Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Kacchan!” Izuku Midoriya sobs as he watches his childhood friend disappear into a dark abyss. Wet tracks flow down Midoriya’s cheeks, the young hero feeling completely helpless. 

“Stay back, Deku.” Katsuki Bakugou orders Midoriya as he is dragged through the portal to who knows where. 

“Kacchan!” Midoriya’s screams can be heard for miles, the cracks in his voice only confirm the anguish he's feeling. His veins feel ice cold as his warmth is taken away. 

No one approaches him, leaving the green-eyed boy to let out all his emotions in the middle of the woods. Midoriya’s heart yearns for his childhood best friend, but it breaks at the seams when the thought of never seeing him again floods his mind. 

-

Two days had passed, and Midoriya struggled to keep himself together.

Midoriya wakes to the sound of machines beeping, his eyes opening to a bright, white room smelling of overused cleaner. He sighs to himself, recalling the events that led him here. 

He can’t help it when tears form at the corners of his eyes. His throat tightens, trying to hold back the sobs that want to escape. 

Suddenly, the door to Midoriya’s room slides open and Kaminari fills the doorway.

“Hey! Midoriya, good! You’re finally awake!” A large, relieved smile graces Kaminari’s face, as the students from class 1-A fill the small room, crowding around Midoriya’s hospital bed. They catch him up on what had been going on the past couple of days - who was injured, who was okay. 

“So it’s just us, obviously we wish the class could be here.” Iida solemnly says, sighing at the end of his sentence. 

“Only fifteen of us for now.” Uraraka speaks up for the first time since they entered, eyes glossy from unshed tears. 

“Because Bakugou is gone.” Todoroki’s monotone voice broke through, causing Midoriya to look at his friend. 

“He knows, Todoroki!” Ashido scolds him. 

Midoriya ponders on the last moments he saw Kacchan. The tears that had formed earlier, fall freely down his face. 

“All Might told me there will always be people beyond our reach that we can’t protect, even though we want to.” The students stand beside Midoriya’s hospital bed, shoulders slumped in sadness. “Which is why we have to save the people we can reach. I-I was so close to being able to save him. I needed to save him. Had to.” 

They let their injured classmate talk, all knowing that Midoriya needed to let this out. 

“That’s the entire reason I have my quirk. It’s exactly like Mr. Aizawa said to me…” 

He thinks back to the first day of school. “You’re worthless if you can only throw a single punch before breaking down.”  

“My body - wouldn’t move” Midoriya’s voice cracks, but he keeps going. “I couldn’t save somebody who was right in front of me.” Kacchan. He takes a shuddering breath. “And since I failed, he’s gone.” 

The room is quiet as the classmates mourn over the kidnapping of their friend. Suddenly, Kirishima speaks up. 

“Alright, then let’s go get him.” 

Everyone in the room gasps. Midoriya snaps his red face to Kirishima. “I was here yesterday too. So was Todoroki. We were on our way to visit you, when we saw All Might and some police officer talking to Yaoyorozu.” Todoroki nods along to Kirishima’s explanation, confirming every word. “She planted a tracker on a villian, and has a device to follow it.” 

“This means you’re going to have Yaoyorozu make another reciever for you, doesn’t it?” Even if it was a question, Iida said it like a statement. He knew where this was headed and he simply couldn’t let it slide. 

“What if it does?” Todoroki stares at Iida, challenging. 

“You can’t! We have to let the professionals handle this! It’s not the right time for us to get involved! Idiots!” Iida screams at his fellow classmates, frustration making his entire body shake.

“Maybe!” Kirishima breaks through the upcoming argument. “But all I know is that at camp, I couldn’t do anything! I heard my friend was targeted, and I just stood by, helpless! So if I stand by and do nothing now, how can I call myself a hero or a man?!” Kirishima’s volume rises the more he speaks. 

“Kirishima!” Kaminari shushes the redhead. “Calm down, we’re in a hospital. There’s a better time and place for this, dude!” 

“Yeah, and what Iida is saying is true!” Tsu joins in, hoping to help in stopping her friends from doing anything reckless. 

“All of you, just listen to me for a minute. I know what you’re saying is right,” He pauses, mind obviously made up. “But still! Come on, Midoriya!” Kirishima extends his hand to Midoriya. “He’s still within your reach! We can save Bakugou!”

-

That night, Kirishima and Todoroki stand outside the hospital’s main entrance. They’re hopeful for Yaoyorozu to show up, knowing they need that device if they plan on looking for Bakugou. 

They gasp when they see Yaoyorozu exiting the hospital and their eyes widen when they find Midoriya trailing behind her. 

As the four begin to discuss what they are going to do, Iida steps in trying to deter his classmates from acting on their emotions.

But it’s no use. In the end, the five go together to the train station.

The five friends travel to Kamino Ward, the location that Yaoyorozu’s tracking device is leading them. Yaoyorozu and Midoriya sit across from Kirishima and Todoroki, while Iida sits across the aisle, facing inward so he’s part of the conversation. It’s quiet, until Kirishima tries striking up conversation. 

“So, are you two like, dating?” Midoriya and Todoroki’s heads snap up and over to Kirishima. 

“Huh?!”

“What?” 

Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, and Iida laugh awkwardly. “I don’t know, you guys got closer after the sports festival, and it just seemed like maybe you were together or something.” Kirishima shrugs with a bit of a knowing smirk on his face. Midoriya’s cheeks turn bright red as he sputters out incoherent words. 

Todoroki saves him. “No, we’re not dating.” He says simply. Midoriya shuts his mouth and nods. 

Kirishima hums. “You sure?” He eyes them skeptically. “I won’t tell anyone, promise.”

Midoriya lets out a strained laugh. “N-no, Kirishima. It’s not like that. I, um, Todoroki is just a really good friend.” He gives a wobbly smile. 

“He’s right.” Todoroki confirms. “Besides, he’s got a crush on Bakugou.” 

“Todoroki!” Midoriya gasps before narrowing his eyes at Todoroki. Then he looks at Kirishima. “I take that back, he’s not that good of a friend.” Kirishima snorts; Todoroki scoffs. 

“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Kirishima shrugs his shoulders. “You guys did grow up together.” 

“Yeah,” Midoriya murmurs. 

“But isn’t he kind of-”

“An asshole?” Todoroki interrupts Kirishima. 

“Yeah, that.” 

Midoriya rolls his eyes. “He just struggles with showing emotion.” 

“Pretty sure anger in an emotion,” Kirishima points out. 

“I mean the other ones!” Midoriya’s face is still red, his words coming out quickly. “He just, I don’t know. When I look at him, I see my best friend from when we were young, before he got his quirk. Even after, I still looked up to him. Thought - think he is amazing. I really believe he’ll be the best hero out there one day, and I can’t wait to watch him.” Midoriya sighs. 

The other two hum in understanding and the conversation is left there.

-

Bakugou glares downward as he shakes the shackles around his arms and legs, testing their strength. More worried about how he was going to escape, he misses basically everything the dumb hand guy and his croonies have to say. Until he hears the words: “And you like to win, don’t you?” 

The blonde looks up at the villain, scowl never faltering. “Dabi, let him go.” Bakugou’s eyes narrow. 

“Huh? You know he’ll just fight.” Scarface, or Dabi, responds. Bakugou holds back a smirk. Guess not all of them are stupid.  

“It’s fine! We’re recruiting him, so we should treat him as an equal.” An equal? “Besides, he’s smart enough to know that he can’t take us all, right?” Bakugou has to keep himself from scoffing at the bastard. “After all, UA students are so clever.” Now he’s mocking me?!

“Hey Twice, you do it.” Dabi tells another of the villains, who agrees, then disagrees right after. “Do it.” 

“Aw, man.” Twice sighs before making his way to Bakugou. 

The blonde stays still, letting the villain remove the restraints. The fucker who trapped him in a marble says something about a “third act”, and that kidnapping Bakugou was “no accident”, but the explosive teen pays him no mind. Then, gross hand guy starts talking again and Bakugou resists the urge to roll his eyes. He rubs his wrists out as Shigaraki walks towards him. 

“Even though our backgrounds are different, everyone here has suffered. Because of people, rules, and heroes who try to hold us back. I’m sure your the same.” 

Hearing enough, Bakugou attacks. Kneeing Twice in the face to get him out of the way, Bakugou lunges towards Shigaraki, sending an explosion from his hand. The villain staggers backwards as the disembodied hand covering his scarred face falls to the ground. 

“I’m done listening to your endless talking. Can you not get to the point or do you just like your own voice?” Bakugou speaks for the first time since being brought to their hideout. “Basically what you’re saying is you want to cause some trouble and you want me to join you.” Shigaraki hasn’t moved, staring at his cover-up. “Well screw you.”

“I like to win. I like to win just like All Might.” Bakugou smirks as though he’s already won. “No matter what you have to offer me, that will never change, do you understand?!” 

Aizawa’s voice breaks through, causing most of the rooms attention to focus on the television. 

“As Katsuki Bakugou’s teacher, I take full responsibility for not taming his violent behavior.” Bakugou’s confident grin falters slightly at those words. “However, his actions at the sports festival were born of his deep seeded convictions. He’s trying harder than anyone in his pursuit to become the top hero.” Bakugou’s stomach lurches at the - what is that? Pride? In his teacher’s voice. “If the villains think they have a chance with him, then they are grossly mistaken, I can guarantee you that much.” Bakugou’s cockiness comes back in full swing.

“Ha! Did you hear the teachers? They give me more credit than I thought!” Bakugou crouches into a defensive stance. “I’ll never join your league of bastards!” 

Bakugou then takes a second to evaluate the events leading up to now. They went through the trouble of launching a huge attack, all just to bring me back here. He takes in his surroundings, studying each villain. The idiots even told me what they wanted, to join their pathetic group! Which means I know they won’t kill me… what a bunch of amateurs. Bakugou’s palms begin to spark. Now’s my chance. I’ve got to take a couple of them down and get the hell out of here. 

Each villain gives their intake on Bakugou’s attitude and words. Dabi calls him a fool, followed by Mr. Compress saying Bakugou should’ve “pretended” he was going to join, but now that Bakugou has fought back, he’s “finished”. Ha!

“I only do whatever I want to and I won’t even pretend otherwise.” Bakugou continues to talk back, refusing to let these shitty villains think they have any control over him. “And I’m tired of being surrounded by a bunch of lameass wanna-bes!” 

Shigaraki finally makes a move. The warp villain yells out, stopping his boss. Bakugou tenses then, getting only slightly nervous. 

But Shigaraki only holds his arm out, blocking Kurogiri and the others. 

“Don’t lay a finger on him.” He commands his league. Bakugou raises a skeptical eyebrow.

Whatever. I need to get the fuck out of here. Bakugou clenches and unclenches his fists a couple times, producing more sweat so his explosions would be bigger. 

But before he can light up his hands, a knock sounds at the door behind him. 

“Hello? Pizza delivery.” Silence fills the small room as no one responds to the rapping. Then: “SMASH!”  

All Might crashes through, breaking the concrete wall to pieces.

The villains and Bakugou gasp, surprised by the intrusion. Bakugou recovers quickly, smirking at the number one hero. 

Following All Might were more heroes, older and newer. One by one, they contain each villain while also knocking out there way of escaping. 

Shigaraki begins to lose it then. He becomes hysterical, screaming at All Might about hating him. The fire in his eyes scares Bakugou just a little, but it’s short lived with All Might standing next to him, praising him for his bravery.

But then…

“W-What’s happening?” The crazy, school-looking girl screeches. The other villains yell along with her in surprise. 

“The crap?!” Bakugou grumbles as a grey, liquidy substance escapes his mouth and then gobbles him up. 

And before anyone knew it, Bakugou and the League of Villains disappeared. 

-

Growing up quirkless, Midoriya was always a bit afraid. He thought he’d been through the worst of it. 

But the fear he is feeling listening to All for One take out three pro heroes, then Bakugou’s cough and gruff “The hell?!” mixing in… it was almost too much. 

Standing beside a shaking Todoroki, Midoriya listens closely to All for One speak with his childhood friend. 

“Ah, Bakugou Katsuki, is it?” All for One towers over the explosive teen, eyeless face holding the blonde’s attention. 

“Who the fuck is asking?” Bakugou stays strong, tough, because no one is here to help him now. That’s not true, All Might was right there, I’m sure he’ll be here any min-

“Where’s your number one hero, hm?” All for One asks, breaking through Bakugou’s thoughts. 

“I’ll take you on myself, fuckface!” Bakugou shoots back immediately, prompting the five other heroes in training to tense further, eternally rolling their eyes. 

All for One laughs loudly, shaking Bakugou to his very core, but he stands tall, refusing to let this man have power over him. 

“Oh, you young, naive child,” All for One starts, taking two large steps towards Bakugou. “You have no idea what I am, do you?” He continues forward, while the blonde tries to stay confident. 

“I don’t give a damn!” Bakugou yells. “You’re a villain, so I have to beat you!” 

Midoriya tries to ignore the pain in his chest as he begins thinking of a plan to get to Bakugou. As a light goes off in his mind, Iida reaches over and grasps the freckled teen harshly. He pleadingly stares at Midoriya, hoping to get the point across that they must not interfere. 

Midoriya opens his mouth to explain his plan when an explosion shakes the earth and Bakugou’s battle cry is heard loud and clear. 

Voices are thrown around, all trying to “Get the boy!”  The chaos is loud, so Midoriya tries explaining his plan again. 

“Kacchan is doing his best, we just need to give him the extra leverage.” Iida looks at the other teen, horrified, but Midoriya holds up a hand. “We’re not going to fight, we’re going to grab him and get out of there .” Midoriya then goes into full detail about his plan, and soon enough, all agree to go through with it. 

During this time, Bakugou’s fighting for his life. 

Where’s All Might? Where are the other pros? He’s becoming restless and starts to lose control of his quirk. 

Focus . Bakugou chants in his mind, dodging attacks from the League of Villains. 

“Get the boy and bring him to me.” All for One’s booming voice bleeds through and Bakugou feels the League crowding him. 

I’m out numbered. Bakugou mind starts to go wild, trying to find any sort of escape. 

But before he can form a single plan, he’s shrunk into the same glass marble ball he had been in the night before.

Bastards! Bakugou curses, anger and fear flooding his body.

He doesn’t have time to get comfy, as he’s soon released, but in the clutches of All for One. This close, the faceless person looks even scarier to Bakugou and he’s traumatised for a moment before the man speaks. 

“Guess we’ll do this the hard way.” 

A hand covers Bakugou’s face and the world goes black. 

“Everyone understand the plan?” Midoriya confirms one last time while everyone gets in position. The noise seems to have calmed immensely, and that’s both scary and comforting. Either Bakugou has taken down a majority of the villains or…

Midoriya shakes his head to rid himself of the bad thoughts and begins counting down. 

“On one, Iida.” The class representative nods curtly. “Three… two… ONE!” Green sparks fly and exhaust fills the air as the two heroes in training push forward, crashing through the wall they were hiding behind. Todoroki’s ice shoots out and up, giving Iida and Midoriya a ramp towards the sky.

All eyes are on them, including wide, crimson ones. 

“Kirishima, now!” Midoriya yells to the redhead in his arms. 

Kirishima turns slightly and reaches out a hand. “Baku-” His voice dies in his throat, causing Midoriya to look at Kirishima, whose eyes are wide, terrified, staring at the ground below them. 

Following his line of vision, Midoriya finds Bakugou, alive and breathing. But his relief is short-lived, because even from way up here, Midoriya catches the darkened red eyes of his childhood friend. 

“Guys?!” Iida calls out, keeping an eye on where they’re going, but obviously confused as to why Kirishima and Midoriya were staring in the direction of the League of Villains. 

“Bakugou…” Kirishima rasps, heart clenching. They continue to fly in the air, further away, but Midoriya hears All for One loud and clear. 

“Get them.” 

Suddenly, Bakugou is flying through the air towards the trio, face blank, eyes hooded. Midoriya gasps. 

“Ka-Kach-” His words cut off as a hand wraps around his throat tightly. Surprised by the attack, Midoriya lets go of Kirishima and Iida, who continue to soar. 

Midoriya prys at the arm belonging to Bakugou, trying to rid himself of the pressure and gain his breath back. But it’s no use, and suddenly the two are falling. Midoriya can faintly hear his friends screaming his name from above, but it’s starting to blacken at the edges as he starts to lose consciousness.

Midoriya is sure this is where it ends. At the hands of his childhood friend as they free fall to their death. 

But before he can fully accept his fate, strong arms wrap themselves around him and air returns to his lungs as Bakugou is ripped off him. Midoriya coughs roughly into the chest of the man holding him, and when he opens his eyes, he recognizes the familiar red, yellow, and blue of All Might’s costume. 

“A-All Might…” Midoriya tries, but it comes out as a whisper. Thankfully, All Might hears and shushes him lightly. 

“It’s all right, young Midoriya,” He assures, though Midoriya can tell he’s shaking - in anger or fear he can’t tell. “You’re safe now, I am here.” And with those words, Midoriya shuts his eyes, letting darkness consume him. 

Chapter Text

When Midoriya wakes, he’s in the privacy of his bedroom. Sunlight shines through and he squints, taking in his surroundings. 

Was it all a dream? Running a hand through tangled, green curls, Midoriya sighs.

“Izuku!” Midoriya looks up in time to see his mother standing in his doorway. 

“Hey, mom,” Midoriya rasps out before coughing harshly into his fist, throat feeling scratchy and raw. 

“Oh, baby,” Inko walks swiftly to her son, setting a tray with tea and toast, before kneeling beside his bed. “How are you feeling?” 

Midoriya shrugs, reaching over and taking the steaming cup into his hands. He takes a sip before responding, “I’m okay.” He gives his mom a wobbly smile which she returns before her gaze hardens. 

“Izuku,” Her voice is serious and Midoriya feels a cold chill down his spine. “Do you want to explain to me what you were doing in Kamino where that horrible villain was?” Her hands that were laying on top of Midoriya’s bedspread were shaking and Midoriya could feel the anger radiating off her body. 

“I-I,” Midoriya stutters. While trying to find the words, flashes of the night before filter through this mind, landing on the blank look on Bakugou’s face when the blonde wrapped his hand around Midoriya’s neck. The young hero’s throat closes up thinking about it, a shaky hand reaching to touch the faint bruises on his skin. Tears begin to fill his eyes and he squeezes them shut.

All he can see is his childhood friend’s eyes, the bright, fiery red that filled them dulled out. All he can feel is the callouses on Bakugou’s hand as he chokes him. All he can hear is the screams of his classmates as he falls through the air. All he can smell is the nitroglycerin seeping through Bakugou’s fingers. 

“-uku! Izuku!” Inko is screaming, calling out her son’s name in a frantic voice.  

Suddenly, he can smell the scent of salty tears (his own or his mother’s - probably both). He can hear his own harsh and labored breathing. He can feel his mother squeezing his hands tightly. His eyelids flutter and can see the sweet, caring eyes that belong to his mom. 

Her hands reach up and hold Izuku’s face in her palms. 

“Oh, Izuku,” She lifts herself from the ground and sits beside her baby boy, wrapping her arms around him. “You’re safe. You’re okay. Mommy’s got you.” She cooes softly, rocking them back and forth lightly. 

Midoriya sniffles and tries to slow his breathing while focusing on his mother’s soothing words. 

A couple of minutes pass before he can breathe properly and finally answer his mother. 

He starts from the beginning, explaining how Kirishima and Todoroki had come to him at the hospital, offering the chance to save Bakugou again, and how Iida and Yaoyorozu tagged along to make sure they wouldn’t get into trouble. He laughs softly at the disguises they picked out while Inko smiles sadly at the back of her son’s head.

“So, Momo’s device lead us to where the Nomus were and as we were trying to figure out where to go and what was going on, K-Kacchan…” Midoriya trails off and takes a shaky, deep breath. “Kacchan came through some sort of warp gate. A-And so was that villain that got away, his name is All for One. A-And we heard him trying to re-recruit Kacchan as a villain. But y-you know, he’s always wanted to be a hero.” Inko hugs her son a little tighter, not liking where this was going.

“I-I guess it happened while we were figuring out how to rescue him. So then we decided it was the right time to reveal ourselves a-and get Kacchan. Kirishima, the hardening guy from the sports festival? Me and Iida held him up while he was supposed to grab Kacchan. B-But…” Midoriya’s voice falters, a small choking sound escaping his throat.

He shuts his eyes tightly. “T-They must’ve used a quirk on him b-because it wasn’t him anymore.” Tears fall down his cheeks, too fast for his mother to swipe away. “All for One told him to ‘get them’, and then K-Kacchan was so close. A-And he grabbed me by the throat. A-And mom, his eyes they were s-so dull , so empty .” Midoriya is openly sobbing now, pushing the words out, hoping he was making some sort of sense. “A-And, he just started ch-choking me, a-and then we were falling, a-and then All Might came and rescued me. A-And…” Midoriya pauses, trying to think of what happened next, but he realises that’s where it ends. “A-And I don’t remember anything after that.” 

His voice is hoarse from crying, his body shakes in fear and his mother feels helpless .

All she can say is, “Oh Izuku…”

-

The days pass slowly for Midoriya as he rests his body from the intense training he endured at camp and the fighting against the League of Villains. He plays over Bakugou’s expression hundreds of times, trying to find any indication of what he may have missed, if there’s a flaw in this quirk. He thinks of Shinso and how he broke free of his quirk by hurting himself. Maybe that’s all there is to it? He’d have to ask Shinso when they return to school. 

All Might visits the Midoriya household, begging on his knees for Inko to allow Young Midoriya to join the UA dorms with the promise of risking his own life teaching and training Midoriya. While Inko appreciates the determination shining in All Might’s eyes, she asks him not to risk his life, but to live for her son. And as long as Midoriya swears he’ll be extra careful, he could return to UA. Midoriya cries in relief and happiness, thankful he doesn’t have to give up on his dream. 

The following week he moves into the dorms. All of Class 1-A stands in front of the doors leading to their new home. Well, everyone except… 

Midoriya shakes his head, ridding himself of the melancholic thoughts of his childhood friend. Aizawa lays down the rules before opening the doors and orders the students to follow him. They travel throughout the building, receiving instruction and direction on who will room where, the bathroom, the kitchen, and lastly, the common area. 

That night, after seeing everyone’s rooms, Tsu and Uraraka asked those part of the Baku RescueSquad to meet outside the dorms to talk about something. There, Tsu apologizes for verbally attacking the group for going to rescue Bakugou. 

“And now he’s gone and if I just, was more supportive, maybe more of our f-friends would have gone with, a-and he’d be h-here with u-u-us…” Tsu trails off, her crying shaking her entire body so much, the others were worried she was going to collapse. 

“I’m so sorry, Tsu!” Kirishima is the first to break, taking the smaller girl into his arms, holding her tight. “I’m so sorry we made you feel that way!” He yells into the night air as Iida, Momo and Todoroki crowd too, telling her ‘It’s okay’ and that ‘It’s not her fault’. Midoriya stays back, twiddling his thumbs, unsure of how to approach. 

He doesn’t go unnoticed for long before hearing his name. 

“Deku…?” Uraraka is suddenly standing in front of him. Midoriya takes a shaky breath, accompanying it with a wobbly smile. “You okay?” 

The others have quieted down and are now looking to the young hero. 

“I-I, yeah, I’m good,” He pushes out, trying to make his smile less awkward. The sound of crickets fill the air as silence falls over the young teens. 

“M-Midoriya…” Tsu walks out from behind the other three. “I-I’m really sorry.” Her pouting lips tremble. She takes tentative steps towards the other. “Maybe if more of us came to help, B-Bakugou would be h-here.” She continues forward until she’s in front of Midoriya. 

“Tsu…” Midoriya whispers, eyes casting to the side. “It’s not your fault, Tsu.” Midoirya swallows harshly before taking a steady breathe. “It’s no one’s fault but my own.” 

“Midoriya-!” Kirishima yells, eyes wide. 

“It’s my fault, guys.” Midoriya sniffles, looking each of his classmates in the eye. “If I had gotten to him quicker at camp, none of this would’ve happened.” His voice cracks at the end, but he doesn’t back down, standing behind his words. 

The students of 1-A all speak at once, similar phrases coming from each. It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself. It’ll be okay. Midoriya clenches his fists tightly at his sides, anger boiling in his gut. 

“Stop!” He shouts, shutting up the others. “ Please ,” His voice comes out as a whisper and Midoriya’s eyes shut as he takes a deep breath. “This is my fault. You can’t change my mind on that.” 

The defeated looks on his classmates faces break his heart. Tsu and Uraraka softly crying, clinging to each others' hands. Kirishima opens and closes his fists, arms shaking in anger while his eyes are shut tight. Iida looks to the side, frustration and sadness written all over his features. Yaoyorozu closes in on herself, arms winding around her front as silent tears fall down her face. And Todoroki stands in the back, face blank as ever, but there’s a dullness in his eyes that can only be depicted as sadness. 

With a deep sigh, Midoriya speaks up again. “Tsu, this is in no way your fault. Please do not blame yourself. And the rest of you…” He trails, waiting for each young hero to meet his eyes. “Thank you for all your help with trying to rescue K-Kacchan.” He stutters on Bakugou’s nickname and clears his throat. No one says anything and Midoriya takes that as his chance to leave, solemnly walking up the steps to the dormitory. 

He continues through the common area, swiftly walking past everyone as to not cause attention to himself and heads straight for the elevator. Once in the privacy of his room, Midoriya falls onto his bed, letting out the heart wrenching sobs he had tried so hard to keep down. 

An hour later and the young teen falls asleep, tear stains on his cheeks and a sharp pain in his heart. 

The sun glares through Midoriya’s window, causing the young teen to groan in annoyance. Eyes still closed, Midoriya sits up in his bed, rubbing his temples as a migraine begins to form. His eyes feel heavy from all the crying the night before. Midoriya stretches his arms up and over his head and finally wrenches his eyes open. 

Pushing himself off his bed, Midoriya quickly leans on his nightstand, the world spinning slightly. Once he gets his bearings again, he slowly roams about his room and gets ready for class.

Moving on auto pilot, Midoriya finishes preparing for school with enough time to have breakfast with the rest of his classmates. But as he steps in the elevator, he realizes that may not be a great thing. With the way he left things with his friends last night and not speaking to anyone else from class, he admits that he’s a bit nervous of how things will go down. 

Walking down the hall towards the kitchen, Midoriya can hear various voices animatedly talking with each other, shouts from Iida asking for his classmates to 'Hurry and eat so they can head to class'. There's also boisterous laughter distinctly coming from Kaminari and Kirishima. 

Midoriya practically tip toes into the kitchen and the noise level drops. You could hear the whistling of the wind outside it was so quiet. Midoriya looks to the floor and walks to the food cabinet, taking out a box of cereal. He then scoots around Jirou who is standing by the sink and grabs a bowl from the shelves on top. Pouring the cereal into his bowl, Midoriya cringes at the tense air surrounding him - it's almost unbearable. He's putting away the cereal when he hears the beginning of a conversation between Ojiro and Hagakure. Letting out a small sigh of relief, the One for All user goes into the fridge to get the milk, pouring it on top of his cereal then putting it away. The conversations around him build up from there. 

Sitting at the island away from his classmates, Midoriya eats his cereal in silence. 

Assuming he was safe from judgmental eyes, Midoriya looks up, studying his friends. Could he even call them that anymore? 

Everyone is engrossed in their conversations and Midoriya feels some of the tension in his body release. He watches the expressions on each student, admiring how they could be so carefree when one of their own is gone. 

Stop it. Midoriya scolds himself, shaking his head lightly. It's your fault he's gone, they're allowed to be happy.  

Sighing, Midoriya looks up again and immediately makes eye contact with Kirishima. He freezes, holding the other's stare. Midoriya could tell Kirishima was trying to tell him something with his eyes, but the green-haired teen just couldn't figure it out. Midoriya raises an eyebrow, trying to keep the rest of his features blank. 

Kirishima sighs deeply before shaking his head side-to-side sadly, breaking eye contact and returning back to his own breakfast, pretending to have been listening to Ashido that entire time. 

Soon enough, the heroes in training pack their belongings and head to the school in a large group. Midoriya stays to the back, hands clenched at his sides as he tries to keep himself grounded. He lets his eyes wander over the back of his classmates heads, studying each student and distracts himself by picking apart their individual quirks. 

His gaze falls to Kirishima once again, who is already looking back at him. Midoriya quickly looks away, face flushing at being caught staring so intently at his classmates. With his thoughts no longer capable of keeping him occupied on their journey, Midoriya can hear the separate conversations, but Kirishima’s sticks out the most, probably because the OFA user hears his name. 

“Go ahead without me Kaminari,” Kirishima’s pace slows, causing Midoriya to get closer as he continues his walk. “I’m going to talk with Midoriya.” The hardening user doesn’t wait for a response as he turns his whole body towards Midoriya, side-stepping so he’s walking beside the other. 

“Hey, man,” Kirishima’s voice is soft as though he is talking to a wounded animal. 

“Hey,” Midoriya voices comes out rough and he coughs into his fist to clear his throat. 

“How’re you holding up?” Kirishima stuffs his hands in his front pockets, face tilted towards Midoriya as he tries to catch the other's eye. Midoriya shrugs, causing Kirishima to sigh and continue. “Look man, we’re all hurting pretty bad and I know you feel it’s your fault, but we miss you just as much as him.” Kirishima’s voice shakes only slightly, but enough that it causes Midoriya to look at the redhead from the corner of his eye. “We don’t want to lose you too, so please, just…” He trails, unsure of what he is asking exactly. 

But Midoriya gets the idea and turns his own head to face Kirishima, finally meeting his fiery eyes, and offers a wobbly smile. “Okay, Kirishima.” Midoriya agrees although he can feel his whole heart isn’t in it. The redhead practically beams, thrilled to have gotten to the hard-headed teen.

“Awesome! How about we hangout after school?” Kirishima’s tone raises in volume as Midoriya can see the other’s spirits lifting each second that passes. 

“Sure.” Midoriya nods once, smile a little stronger as he thinks of these plans as the perfect distraction from his self-loathing. 

At that point, they reach the entrance to UA and head to class. 

-

Midoriya loves heroes. Anyone whose gotten to know the teen can feel how much he adores heroes. 

So you can imagine the students and teachers confusion and worry when they watch the teen space out during every lesson. His eyes always drift to the empty seat where his childhood friend should be. There’s a faraway look in his eyes as he answers questions that are specifically asked to him as the pro-heroes try to keep him involved in the studies. 

Aizawa hears the murmurs in the halls and classrooms about the young teen and is at an absolute loss of what to do. He knows he should probably talk to his student, but about what? Anyone with a brain can see how much that boy is hurting, how much he hates himself for not saving his lifetime friend. 

The lunch bell rings and Aizawa lets all his students head to the cafeteria, eyes lingering on Midoriya’s retreating back as he begins forming plans of how to get through the thick skull of one of his biggest troublemakers.

-

The past hour went much faster than the beginning of the day for Midoriya. When he realised he would have a chance to speak with Shinso, his mood brightened only a smidge and he felt excited to go to lunch. 

He enters the cafeteria, eyes already searching the messy, purple head of hair. The smaller teen weaves through the crowd of students before his eyes land on the man of the hour (to him, at least). 

Without wasting another moment, Midoriya barrells up to Shinso, promptly startling the brainwashing hero in training, the tray of food in his hands wobbling a bit before he regains his bearings. His tired eyes look to Midoriya, whose practically bouncing on his feet. 

“Midoriya,” Shinso greets the other as his surrounding classmates scatter to the tables, leaving the two alone. 

“Can I talk to you about your quirk?” Midoriya gets straight to the point. No reason to beat around the bush. 

“Uhh…” Shinso somewhat freezes, thrown off by the question. 

“Please?” Midoriya kept his back straight and stance firm, but could feel the tears welling in his eyes. Shinso notices this and his eyes widen. 

“O-Okay, just let me drop off my lunch.” He slowly steps away from Midoriya, keeping eye contact before blinding finding his table and placing the tray on the surface. 

“Follow me,” Midoriya commands, already on the move to the exit of the cafeteria. Shinso, with raised eyebrows, follows skeptically. 

They find an empty classroom not far from the other students eating lunch. Midoriya strides in before whipping around. His quick movements throw off Shinso and the general studies student halts in his tracks, the door closing behind him. 

“How can someone breakaway from your quirk?” Midoriya asks, fingers fiddling in front of him as he bites his lip in anticipation. 

Shinso quirks an eyebrow. “You did it yourself, remember?” 

“Yeah, but I don’t even know how I did it.” Midoriya admits, shoulders shrugging. 

“You hurt your finger, broke your bones,” Shinso reminds him, arms crossing over his chest. 

“I know, I know,” Midoriya hurries out. “But if it was someone else, how could they break from the trance?” Midoriya worries his bottom lip some more, hoping for a clearer answer from his friend. Are we friends?  

Shinso sighs, running a hand through his messy hair. “I don’t know really, I’ve never had anyone break it besides yo-”

“C’mon, Shinso.” Midoriya interrupts, getting closer to the other, desperation in his green eyes. “Think, if I had to break my bones, is that what someone else would have to do?” 

“I don’t know, Midoriya.” Shinso exasperates. “I don’t -” Shinso pauses as an invisible light bulbs flicks on above his head. 

“What?” Midoriya asks, heart racing. 

“T-There was this one time, in middle school…” Blush rises on Shinso’s cheeks as he thinks back to the embarrassing memory. “A friend of mine asked for me to use my quirk on him because he was curious what it felt like. We were in class and he sat in front of me.” Like Kacchan… Midoriya pinches himself to keep focus on the taller teen. 

“It was before class and I used it on him before he had a chance to realize I had done it. His body went still and all our other classmates were laughing and yelling, making faces and crazy noises to “wake up” the kid, but obviously nothing worked.” A pale hand reaches behind Shinso’s neck as he rubs it, feeling awkward about explaining this next part. “He had a girlfriend. She had tried tickling him and pinching him to get him to snap out of it, but it didn’t work. I remember feeling all cocky because no one could break through, but then s-she…” Shinso stopped, face redder than before.

“What did she do?” Midoriya’s eyes were wide in curiosity and a sort of excitement. 

“S-She… she kissed him.” Shinso looks everywhere but at Midoriya. 

Midoriya didn’t notice though because his own face went pink at the thought of kissing Bakugou to bring him back. 

“O-Oh…” Midoriya answers, head swirling. 

“Yeah…” Shinso finally looks at Midoriya, finding the teen in a battle with himself - he can practically see the gears turning wildly in the others head. “You alright, Midoriya?” 

The young hero jumps at the sound of his name. “Huh? Oh, yeah.” He dismisses Shinso, causing the taller male to quirk an eyebrow up. Midoriya starts to mumble and Shinso can feel himself getting annoyed. Crossing his arms over his chest, he calls out to Midoriya again. 

“What’s going on, Midoriya?” They hold eye contact and Shinso is tempted to use his quirk on the smaller teen to get him to talk. 

“It’s nothing.” Midoriya breaks off first, looking at the ground below his feet. 

“Bullshit.” Shinso immediately replies, scoffing at his friend’s lie. “Just tell me what’s going on.” Silence follows his demand and he’s on the edge of using his quirk against Midoriya, when the other finally speaks up. 

“I think Kacchan is being controlled by the League of Villains.” The confession is softly spoken, but Shinso hears it loud and clear. 

When Shinso doesn’t respond, Midoriya looks up, catching the other’s blank stare as he let the words sink in. Everyone heard about Bakugou’s new allegiance to the League of Villains. The reports swarmed all news stations and anchors had discussions over the reason behind Bakugou joining the group, but none of them suggested he was being controlled . 

“What makes you think that?” Shinso asks. There’s no judgement in his voice, but Midoriya can feel the intensity in his eyes and it causes him to cave in slightly. 

“I just,” Midoriya hesitates, nervous that his friend won’t believe him. 

Shinso is starting to get incredibly impatient. 

“Just tell me, Midoriya.” His tone is no softer and Midoriya feels himself giving in to the demand. 

“I have this feeling,” Midoriya starts and Shinso snorts. 

“You mean theory?” Midoriya gives a half-hearted glare. 

“Fine. I have a theory after seeing Kacchan’s eyes the night we tried to rescue him.” 

“Wait.” Shinso puts up a hand. “You went to rescue him?” His eyes widen in disbelief. 

“Yes.” Midoriya nods once. “Some of my classmates and myself went after him when we found out where their hiding place was.” 

“How did you know where they-” 

“That’s not important!” Midoriya was getting frustrated. “What’s important, is one minute he was fighting off the League, the next he was a part of them!” The agony in Midoriya’s voice is prominent and Shinso deflates in sympathy. 

“Okay,” Shinso agrees, hoping to calm the other down, if only a little. “What are you going to do about it?” 

Midoriya, who had moved his gaze to the side as tears welled up in his eyes, looks up at his friend, determination seeping through his posture. 

“I’m going to save him.” 

Chapter Text

Midoriya had dinner with his classmates in the kitchen. The atmosphere was less tense than this morning and Midoriya’s mood was better. He was able to joke with Iida and Uraraka, and had pleasant conversations with Todoroki and Tsu. Everything felt more normal than it should have been, but Midoriya refused to show his hurt feelings, knowing there’s a chance he can save his friend. 

“Alright, I’m going to turn in.” Midoriya stands from the couch in the common room that they all had joined after dinner. 

He receives a chorus of ‘goodnight’s and ‘see you tomorrow’s. Once voice sticks out the most and that’s Kirishima’s. 

“I think I am too, later guys!” Kirishima jogs to catch up to Midoriya, who slows his pace. “Glad to see you’re in better spirits, man!” Kirishima gives a hard pat to Midoriya’s back. 

The OFA user chuckles. “Yeah, well…” He trails, unsure if he should spill his plans to the redhead. 

Kirishima, always observant, raises an eyebrow in question to Midoriya’s unfinished thought. 

“Everything alright, dude?” Kirishima tries catching Midoriya’s eye, who keeps staring directly ahead. They are getting closer to the elevator. 

“Y-Yeah! Everything’s fine!” Midoriya stutters, letting out a weak laugh. He presses the UP button and taps his foot as he waits for the shaft. Kirishima squints his eyes as he studies Midoriya. 

Looking him up and down, trying to find a clue as to what the other is thinking of, Midoriya can feel the sweat building on the back of his neck as he tries to avoid the hardening user’s bright red eyes. 

When the elevator dings, announcing its arrival, Kirishima gasps as if the sound was meant for his realisation of what Midoriya was most likely thinking. 

“No,” Kirishima says, following the other into the elevator. “You can’t be serious, Midoriya!” He insists, eyes wide in what can only be described as low key horror. 

“I-I didn’t say anything!” Midoriya tries covering up, but fails miserably. 

“You’re going after him, aren’t you?” Kirishima stands in front of the other, causing green and red to meet like Christmas time. 

“I-I,” Midoirya can’t get out the words, fear raking his body. 

“Midoriya,” Kirishima sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m upset too. I really am. But there’s nothing we can do! He’s with them now!” Kirishima throws his hands in the air, trying to push the point. 

“Not willingly, though.” Midoriya mumbles, clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. 

“What?” Kirishima leans forward, wondering if he heard the other correctly. 

“I said,” Midoriya whispers, then straightens his body in confidence. “I said not willingly.” His voice was stern and Kirishima has to take a second to realize how serious Midoriya was.

“How do you know that?” The redhead plants his hands on his hips. 

Can this elevator go any slower? Midoriya thinks before sighing a response. “It was in his eyes, Kirishima. You must’ve seen it.” 

Kirishima blinks, then confusion laces his features. “What are you talking about?” A small ringing is heard, indicating they reached Midoriya’s floor. The doors open and Midoriya steps out. 

Walking backward, Midoriya says, “His eyes were dull. They didn’t have their usual spark. So I’m going to save him.” The doors shut on Kirishima’s shocked face and Midoriya strides confidently to his room. 

I’m going to save him. 

-

The blaring alarm on Midoriya’s phone wakes him the next morning. Lifting his heavy head, he feels a piece of paper stuck to the side of his face. With slow movements, Midoriya removes the sheet and glances over one of the many notes he had taken on his quirk controlling theory. 

Sitting up in his bed, Midoriya looks around at his sprawled out thoughts before sighing and standing. With a long stretch, Midoriya begins to get ready for the day, going through the motions easily. 

Midoriya flicks through the news on his phone as he waits for the elevator to reach his floor. When the doors open, he’s met with a baggy eyed Kirishima. Midoriya gasps and quickly gets inside. 

“Kirishima! Are you okay?” Midoriya frantically looks over his friend, looking for anything else that may be wrong. 

“I’m fine.” The usual sunny boy blandy states. 

“You don’t seem fine…” Midoriya pushes, very worried about his friend. 

Kirishima clenches his eyes shut before letting out a long breath. He opens his eyes slowly and turns toward Midoriya. 

“I think you’re right.” Midoriya blinks and mutters out a ‘what’. Kirishima sighs, throwing his head back and closing his eyes once again. “I said I think you’re right, Midoriya.” The other opens and closes his mouth, unsure of how to respond. Kirishima takes the silence to keep talking. “I was up all night thinking about it. Replaying that awful night over and over again.” 

Kirishima’s right hand comes to grab tightly onto the collar of his shirt and hangs his head, his body shaking slightly. 

“Kirishima…” Midoriya whispers, hesitant on reaching out to his friend who seems to be in turmoil. 

The silence goes on and Midoriya can’t watch Kirishima beat himself up anymore. “Kirishima.” He calls out to the redhead, who looks up, eyes glossy. Midoriya’s breath hitches before he keeps going. “Let’s save him. We can do it this time.”

Kirishima holds the other’s gaze before nodding once. The elevator doors open and the two step out, minds reeling with plans of how to get Bakugou back. 

-

“You know the others aren’t going to be for it.” Kirishima and Midoriya sit next to each other at lunch, talking quietly so their classmates don’t overhear. 

“I know,” Midoriya agrees. “But that’s why we’ll sneak out and not tell anyone.” Midoriya raises an eyebrow at Kirishima who slightly gapes. 

“Me? I’m not going to say anything!” Kirishima whispers loudly through clenched teeth. 

“I’m just saying.” Midoriya leaves it at that, stabbing his fork into his chicken and taking a bite. 

“Whatever,” Kirishima mutters. “So, we’re going to do it this weekend?” 

“Yes, we’ll tell the others and Aizawa separately that we’re going home, but we’ll meet up at the train.” 

“But how will we know where to go?” Kirishima’s leg bounces under the table and Midoriya has to resist the urge to kick it to get him to stop. 

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.” 

-

“What do you mean you can’t tell me where they are?” Midoriya looks incredulously at his teacher. 

“I mean just that.” All Might stands his ground, arms crossed over his broad chest as he holds his hero form, though Midoriya can see the man crumbling. 

“All Might, it’s just me, you can drop the hero form.” Midoriya tells his favorite hero, hoping to convince the man in being more careful and saving his power. 

At Midoriya’s words, All Might poofs to his sickly form, coughing small drops of blood into his fist. 

“Young Midoriya,” All Might waddles slowly to the couch in the teacher’s lounge. “I promised your mother I would take care of you and teach you so that you’d be able to stay at UA.” He leans forward on his legs, hands clasped in front of him. 

“Yeah, but-” 

“No buts, Young Midoriya.” Even in his weaker form, All Might sounds intimidating and Midoriya shrinks in on himself a bit. 

“I think Kacchan is being controlled.” Midoriya rushes out, hoping his teacher hears him. 

All Might, who is used to Midoriya talking at a hundred miles per hour, hears the boy loud and clear, but stares at him as though he just spoke another language. 

“You think he’s being controlled?” All Might clarifies, causing Midoriya to nod in affirmation. “And what makes you say that?”

Midoriya eternally roll his eyes. Why is that so hard to believe?  

“Because I saw his eyes, All Might.” Midoriya is assertive, reminding All Might of how much the teen has grown in a couple months. “His eyes were dull. Like, there was a shadow hanging over them.” 

All Might leans back and lets his mind wander, pondering over Midoriya’s words. 

“It would make sense, I guess,” All Might says distractedly, not aware he’s speaking his thoughts. Midoriya keeps his mouth shut, hoping he can get more out of his superior. “All for One could have taken someone who had a mind control quirk. I mean, young Bakugou is a feisty teen, but his goal was always to be a hero… anyone could see that.” Midoriya smiles at All Might’s words before cutting through. 

“Exactly.” All Might jumps when he hears Midoriya, blushing once he realises he spoke aloud. 

“Okay,” All Might clears his throat. “What is your plan to save him?”

Midoriya goes into a tangent about what he learned from Shinso’s quirk, leaving out the kissing part of the other's story. He explains how they just need to get close enough to knock some sense into him, though his mind keeps wandering back to kissing his long time crush, causing a flush to spread from his cheeks down his neck. 

If All Might didn’t know better, he’d think the redness on Midoirya’s skin was from talking so much… but he could see in Midoriya’s eyes and voice, “You’re holding something back.” 

Midoriya stops talking and stares at his teacher, then sputters a response. “W-Well, there’s one other thing, b-but I doubt-”

“Spit it out, young Midoriya.” All Might demands and the teen concedes. 

“Shinso’s quirk b-broke once because the one under control had been k-kissed by his l-lover.” Midoriya looks to the ground, rubbing his sweaty palms on his legs. 

All Might stares at the young teen in front of him before thinking, I’m getting too old for this shit.

-

“Kirishima!” Midoriya calls out, jogging to meet up with his friend whose walking side-by-side with their classmates back to the dorms. 

Kirishima turns at the sound of his name and his eyes widen. Quickly turning to Mina and Kaminari, he tells them he’ll see them later then walks the opposite way to catch Midoriya.

“What’s up, man?” Kirishima’s stomach fills with anticipation.

“I know where they are.” Midoriya whispers, eyes gleaming with excitement. 

“That’s great!” Kirishima exclaims, grinning widely. 

“Yeah!” Midoriya’s smile falters and Kirishima catches it immediately. 

“What is it? There’s something else, isn’t there?” Fear fills Kirishima’s mind, but is quickly washed away at Midoriya’s next words. 

“All Might is going to come with us.” The OFA successor admits, cradling the back of his neck with his hand, looking very sheepish. 

At first, Kirishima isn’t sure what to think about All Might joining their escapade, but soon he’s smiling wide again.

“No worries, the more muscle, the better.” Kirishima winks and returns to walking to the dorms, leaving a gaping Midoriya behind. 

Smiling with pride and appreciation, Midoriya snaps from his trance and quickly follows his classmate. 

-

Around 10 p.m., Midoriya hears a knock at his dorm room door. He dashes over quickly and opens it, revealing an obviously nervous Kirishima. Stepping to the side, he lets the redhead in before closing the door once more. 

“Almost everyone is out of the common room. Have you heard from All Might yet?” Kirishima walks over to Midoriya’s bed, unzipping his backpack and flipping it over, letting the contents fall onto the mattress. 

“Yeah, he said to text him once everyone’s in bed.” Midoriya stands next to his friend, looking over his shoulder at everything he’s brought. 

There was capture tape from training, the night vision goggles from the first rescue mission, protein bars, two water bottles, and a credit card. Midoriya looks up and raises an eyebrow at Kirishima. 

“What? We may have a better chance at snapping him out of it if we tie him up first; it’s night time, so duh; we may get hungry; gotta stay hydrated; and what if we need to buy disguises again? We don’t have Momo for that.” Kirishima explains his reasoning behind each item. His foot taps anxiously against the floorboards. 

“Kirishima?” Midoriya calls out, eyebrows furrowed in worry. 

“Hm?” Kirishima looks to his friend, hands now wringing themselves in front of him. 

“Are you okay?” Midoriya asks, voice soft. 

“Y-Yeah, man, I’m fine!” Kirishima stutters, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I guess I'm just a little bit more nervous than last time.” 

Midoriya nods in understanding, reaching up and squeezing his friend's left bicep. 

“If you don’t want to come, it’s okay. I understand.” Midoriya offers a way out, refusing to make Kirishima feel like he has to come along. 

“No!” Kirishima quickly yells out with wide eyes, causing Midoriya to jump in surprise. “No, I want to. Really.” He lowers his voice, body curling into itself slightly. “There’s just, it’s only two of us this time - well three including All Might - and we have less quirks to use to help, all we really have is strength. And I’m just nervous about us getting caught or hurt or-”

“Kirishima,” Midoriya interrupts the redhead's rambling. “I promise you, everything will be okay. We are going to get Kacchan back and return safely.” He extends his other hand to grab Kirishima’s right arm, turning the muscled teen to be directly in front of himself. “I promise.” Midoriya reiterates, green eyes never faltering from holding Kirishima’s red ones.

Kirishima takes a deep breath before nodding once.

“Okay. What’s the plan?” 

-

Where the fuck am I? Why can’t I fucking move? Why does my head hurt so damn bad?

“Tomura,” A deep voice growls. Who the fuck…? “Tomura, you must remain calm.” 

“But master…” That gravelly voice… “He almost got away with him .” Bakugou couldn’t be any more confused than he is right now. 

Isn’t that the dumb hand guy from the USJ? And why does that other fucker sound familiar? And why the fuck can’t I see anything?! 

Bakugou was close to losing his patience. He tries to open his eyes, but it’s still dark. He tries to move his body, but it won’t budge. He tries activating his quirk, but it won’t explode. 

“Now Tomura, you still have the boy here at your call, who cares what could have happened.” The low voice tries assuring the other, but his tone held an underlying aggression, as though it was daring Shigaraki to disobey. 

“Yes, Master,” Shigaraki reluctantly agrees. “You, kid, get over here.” 

Suddenly, Bakugou feels his body moving without his permission. 

What the hell?! 

“You must find this boy,” A picture of Midoriya filled Bakugou’s black surroundings. Deku? “And kill him.” What?!?! Hell no, why would I do th-

“Yes, sir.” Bakugou’s own voice responds to Shigaraki, and if his eyes would open, they’d be wide as hell. 

What is happening….

-

Knowing they would only get in trouble and be suspicious if they asked for their hero costumes, Midoriya and Kirishima left the dorms in dark clothing, hoping it would help blend them in with the dark. 

Midoriya dressed in a dark green sweatshirt, zipped up halfway over a black v-neck shirt. He wore black jeans and his usual red shoes. Kirishima had to hold back a snicker at the brightness of Midoriya’s sneakers.

Kirishima kept his hair down, a black bandana wrapped around his forehead, keeping the stray hairs at bay. He wore a dark grey, pullover hoodie and also dressed in black pants. He actually used a black sharpie to cover the white in an old pair of track shoes. Midoriya couldn’t hold back his comments when he figured it out. 

“Heh, you really colored your shoes?” Midoriya had chuckled into his hand, seemingly trying his hardest not to laugh, but failed miserably. 

Kirishima huffed before he teased back, “Well at least they aren’t a bright, obnoxious color.” 

The comment made Midoriya stop at the bottom of the steps of the dorms. 

“But Kirishima,” Midoriya started, causing Kirishima to turn back with a raised eyebrow. “Isn’t your hair the same -” 

“Whatever, Midoriya!” Kirishima dismissed the clever comeback with a pout and a wave of his hand. 

Midoriya let out another string of giggles, jogging to catch up with his classmate. 

-

“All Might!” Midoriya yells, waving frantically to his teacher waiting on the sidewalk outside of the UA dorms. 

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” Kirishima whispers shouts, causing Midoriya to curl into himself, with a quiet ‘sorry’. 

“Young Midoriya, Young Kirishima,” All Might greets the two students. “Kirishima, Midoriya here tells me you’re coming along to help find Young Bakugou?” 

“Yes, sir.” Kirishima agrees, standing tall. 

“Did he explain to you what is crucial of you two tonight?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

~  “Okay, so, we’re not allowed to fight.” Midoriya told Kirishima, as he paced his bedroom floor. 

“Yeah, that much was a given.” Kirishima nodded. 

“And we cannot be seen by anyone.”

“Okay… how-”

“And we can’t use our quirks.” Midoriya continued.

“Well-”

“And we have to snap Kacchan out of it as soon as possible, without causing attention to ourselves. We also have to make sure we’re in a safe area to do that, in case, well, never mind that. He is being controlled, I know it. So all we have to do is break the quirk control and -”

“Midoriya,” Kirishima’s voice had raised, trying to grab the other’s attention. 

“Oh, sorry Kirishima.” Midoriya stops abruptly and looks down. 

“It’s okay, just, take it easy,” Kirishima stood, coming closer to Midoriya, laying his hands on the smaller teens shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get him back.” He offered a kind smile, one filled with passion and triumph, as though they’ve already won.

“You’re right. We got this.” Midoriya put out his fist and Kirishima bumped it.   ~

“Alright,” All Might agrees, eyes flickering between the young heroes. You better be right, Young Midoriya. I pulled a lot of punches for you. He lands on Midoriya’s intense stare. We can do this.

The three go out into the late night, letting the darkness cover their tracks as they stealthily move to Kamino. 

Chapter Text

“You mean, they didn’t even change their hideout location?” Kirishima whispers out loud. 

“No, they didn’t.” All Might confirms. “I think they’re waiting for us. Which is why it is incredibly critical you stay out of sight .” In full form, All Might’s words sound menacing and both teens feel a slight shiver down their spine. 

“We will, All Might.” Midoriya speaks up, nodding towards Kirishima who returns it. 

They continue to follow the number one hero closer and closer to the villain’s hideout. Midoriya focuses on controlling his breathing, while Kirishima clenches and unclenches his fists to distract himself from the nerves building inside him. 

They’re walking in the shadows, jumping into dark alleys and looking around the wall to make sure they were still safe to proceed.

All Might recognizes the run down and closed bar that he knows is where the League is hiding, where Bakugou is, across the street. He holds out a muscled arm, stopping the young heroes behind him. 

Before Midoriya can open his mouth to question All Might, the sound of a door opening is heard. All three widen their eyes before quickly moving backwards into an alley. Kirishima and Midoriya crouch behind All Might, completely out of sight of the main roadway, while All Might stands back against the wall, inching closer to the opening to see what was going on. He finds two villains exiting the hideout across the street. 

“That dumb hand guy is so annoying.” Midoriya recognizes the bored voice immediately, pin-pointing it to one of the League members, Dabi, who had helped capture Bakugou at the camp. 

“Hey man, he’s the boss, he does what he wants. I know, right? Such a drag.” Midoriya flinches at the quick change emotion coming from another member, Twice. 

The villains continue their conversation, voices fading out as they walk further and further from the three in the alley. 

All Might lets out a quiet breath before buffing up and motioning to the teens behind him to stand. 

“Across the street there is the hideout,” All Might says. “We must get closer so we can see if Young Bakugou is in there before it gets chaotic. We don’t want to cause attention if it’s not needed.” 

Kirishima and Midoriya nod once in determination and agreeance. All Might returns the gesture before turning his back to them and leaves the dark alley. 

Kirishima follows first, then Midoriya covers the back. They tip toe along the sidewalk, staying close to the buildings and keeping an eye on the hideout. The three sprint across the street and land at the right side of the bar. All Might holds up one finger to the other two, signalling them to stay put. He jumps into the air, landing quietly against the wall near a window. He grabs onto the edge of the roof, using his feet against the concrete and the strength in his arms to hold him up. 

All Might looks down and finds his two students watching anxiously from the ground. He turns back to the small window hidden in the upper right corner of the wall, just a tiny box of light beaming through, signaling someone inside. Peeking in, All Might nearly gasps out loud in surprise. 

Right below the window, behind the bar is Kurogiri, oddly dressed in business casual. Shigaraki sits on a stool at the counter, head held up by his arm that rests on the table. All Might looks across the tavern, finding three other villains who he recognizes from the night of Bakugou’s kidnapping. Before he can start remembering their names, Shigaraki’s voice is heard softly through the cracks in the building. 

“You, kid, get over here.”  

All Might watches as his explosive student walks willingly towards Shigaraki. 

“You must find this boy,” There is a picture held in front of Bakugou but it’s faced away from All Might, so he can’t tell who it is… but he does have a guess. “And kill him.”

All Might’s jaw tenses, his body rigid as he thinks of only one “boy” who Shigaraki would want dead. 

“Yes, sir.” Bakugou replies and All Might looks closer. His eyes… they’re glazed over, just as Young Midoriya had said. 

Without listening any further, All Might lets himself graciously fall, landing silently on his feet. Standing straight, he looks down at Midoriya and Kirishima.

“Izuku,” All Might addresses Midoriya, whose eyes widen at his hero using his first name. “I do believe you were right.” 

“W-What?” Midoriya stutters softly, lips quivering. 

“I agree that Bakugou is more than likely being controlled.” All Might sighs, looking off to the side slightly. “His eyes…” 

Midoriya gasps at that, hands coming up to his mouth, hoping to hold back the sobs that begin to build in his throat. He squeezes his eyes shut as tears form at the corners. 

“Really?” Kirishima whispers, mouth gaping. 

“Yes, Young Kirishima.” All Might looks the redhead in the eye. “So let’s save him.” 

-

This is bullshit. Bakugou glares at the darkness around him. I’m getting seriously tired of not being able to see. And what the fuck is up with me not having control of my own body, dammit?! Bakugou can feel his anger boiling, trying to call upon his quirk, but to no avail. 

“Tomura Shigaraki,” The warp villain calls to his leader. “We must make the first move. We must infiltrate the UA dorms if we want to kill the other boy.” He tries to reason with Shigaraki, presenting the young villain with a plan of attack. 

Deku…

“I know.” Shigaraki growls. “And we will.” Bakugou can hear the menace in Shigaraki’s voice, and for a split second, he feels an abundance of fear. 

Deku… you’ve got to get away. Bakugou is glad no one can hear his racing thoughts as he lets them run freely. Please.. Don’t let them, or me, hurt you… I can’t protect you this time.

-

“Hey, Midoriya?” Kirishima whispers out to his classmate as they quietly follow All Might down the alley to get to the back of the villain’s hideout. 

“Yeah?” Midoriya responds almost automatically. 

“I-I’m sorry,” The unsuspecting apology causes Midoriya to halt in his tracks and turn around, brows furrowed in confusion. 

“For what?” Midoriya asks. All Might continues walking, unaware of his students stopping to talk. 

“For not believing you originally,” Kirishima hangs his head in guilt and shame. Midoriya sighs, taking a few steps forward so he’s directly in front of his friend. 

“There’s no need to apologize, Kirishima.” Midoriya reaches out a scarred hand, landing on Kirishima’s shoulder. “What matters now is you're here to save him.” Kirishima slowly looks up, eyes still filled with sadness. Midoriya offers a soothing smile, one filled with appreciation and care. 

After a couple beats, Kirishima returns the small grin, nodding his head once in acceptance. 

“Thanks, man.” He says, his own hand falling on the other’s shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. “Let’s go get him back.” 

Midoriya beams. “Right!” Determination flows through both teens bodies as they turn around once more to follow their teacher…

But he’s nowhere in sight. 

“Shit!” Kirishima curses. “Where did All Might go?” He looks around frantically, the darkness not helping his search.

“I-I…” Midoriya stutters, also examining their surroundings. 

Before the two can worry any longer, a loud and booming “SMASH!” resonates through the building as the ground and walls around them shake in fury. 

With eyes wide, the two look at each other, before running down the alley towards the sound of the crash. 

-

All Might…? Bakugou would know that deep, heroic voice anywhere. 

“W-what?!” Shigaraki exclaims, clearly surprised by their visitor. “Why are you here?!” 

“I am here! To save Young Bakugou!” All Might proclaims and Bakugou can imagine the muscular man standing with his hands on his hips and a large grin spread across his face. 

All Might! All Might! Bakugou tries with everything in him to call out to his hero, but it’s no use. God dammit! Let me out of here!!

“Ha!” Shigaraki laughs at All Might. “Good luck doing so as he kills you!!” 

Wha-?

“Bakugou, GET HIM!” Shigaraki commands and Bakugou moves. 

“Yes, sir.” Bakugou can feel the explosions in his hands as he launches himself into the air. Stop. Moving. Dammit!! He internally squeezes his eyes shut, hoping to wake from this horrible nightmare. 

-

“Shit.” All Might says just before Bakugou is directly in front of him, hand coming forward to blast All Might in the face. 

The number one hero jumps out of the way at the right time, using his speed to grab Bakugou’s left arm and the back of the blonde’s neck. Using only 10% of his strength, All Might pushes Bakugou to the ground, smashing his face into the floorboards. 

For a second it’s still. That is until All Might can feel small sparks of heat as Bakugou uses his right arm to send an explosion backwards at the hero's chest, catching All Might off guard as he’s thrown into the wall behind him. 

Blood spouts from All Might’s lips at the impact. The concrete wall crumbles around him, debris falling to the ground. Getting to his feet again, he barely has a second to gather himself and his surroundings before Bakugou is in his face again, throwing fist after fist at All Might, who dodges each and every one before using his hands to stop the flying punches. 

“Young Bakugou, listen to me,” All Might tries calling out to his student, but the blonde is already in pursuit of his next attack. 

Using his unrestrained feet, Bakugou kicks at All Might’s knees with so much force, the pro hero buckles. As All Might falls, Bakugou’s knee jabs upward into All Might’s jaw, causing more blood to fly from his mouth. All Might groans but ignores the slight pain caused by the teen and tackles Bakugou to the ground.

His legs sit on Bakugou’s, the weight of them refusing the blonde’s lower half to move at all. All Might captures Bakugou’s wrists, pinning them to the floor. He’s panting but Bakugou has barely broken a sweat. 

Damn kid…  

“Young Bakugou,” All Might’s voice drops an octave as he gets closer to Bakugou’s face. “Listen, I know you’re in there.” Large blasts fire from Bakugou’s palms as he twists them to hit the hero, but All Might stays strong, ignoring them. “You must fight this power. You’re strong. You can do this. Fight. Back.” The blasts come to a stop abruptly and All Might thinks he’s got him. 

That was easier than I thou-

“Deku,” Bakugou snarls in anger, though his eyes hold no emotion. 

“Wha-?” All Might starts before he is flung from Bakugou, as if he weighed nothing. The younger blonde used both his arms and legs to shove at the number one hero, subconsciously noticing that his guard was slightly down, allowing him the opportunity to free himself. 

All Might lands in the same spot as before, back hitting the wall behind him, causing more rubble to fall around and on top of him. 

All Might looks up just in time to see Kirishima and Midoriya standing at the opening of the hole All Might had created in the beginning. Their mouths wide open at what they had just witnessed. 

Bakugou gets to his feet, slowly turning around, locking eyes on Midoriya. 

“Deku,” Bakugou repeats in the same voice as before, as he launches himself across the room, towards his childhood friend. 

-

“Look!” Midoriya points ahead to an opening in the side of the building. Puffs of smoke emerge from the hole.

“That’s probably where All Might crashed into.” Kirishima makes the observation, following behind Midoriya, who nods in agreeance. 

They maneuver quietly, stepping over chunks of debris. As they get closer to the opening, they hear:

“Young Bakugou, listen, I know you’re in there.” Midoriya’s eyes widen at All Might’s words. His body moves without question, yearning to see his crush and childhood friend. 

“Midoriya!” Kirishima quietly hisses before cursing and following the freckled teen. Climbing up the pile of rubble, the two heroes in training stand at the top. Kirishima takes notice of each member of the League before his eyes land on All Might pinning Bakugou to the floor. 

Midoriya only sees Bakugou and how the teen struggles against All Might’s strong hold. 

“You can do this. Fight. Back.” Midoriya catches the end of All Might’s words that are directed at the blonde who is no longer struggling. 

A growl is heard throughout the small space. “ Deku .”

Everything happens so fast, Midoriya barely catches All Might flying into the wall opposite him and Kirishima. Then, Bakugou is in front of Midoriya, explosions popping from his palms. 

-

The darkness surrounding Bakugou disperses. As he takes in what little surroundings he can see, he finds himself standing face to face with All Might. 

"Get him!" Tomura's voice breaks out and Bakugou feels like widening his eyes in shock, though he knows it’s no use as he can’t fucking control anything.  

"Yes sir." With those words, Bakugou moves without giving it permission. He lunges forward, fist flying towards All Might's face, explosions going off from his hands. 

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Bakugou can't stop any of his movements. He's throwing punch after punch, kick after kick at his favorite hero. His body won't listen to him and he's so frustrated he could... he could...

"Young Bakugou," All Might's voice breaks through. Bakugou looks dead on at the number one hero, body trembling as it tries to break from All Might’s grasp. "Young Bakugou. Listen, I know you’re in there.” Bakugou's quirk continues to go off as he strains to hear All Might. “You must fight this power. You’re strong. You can do this. Fight. Back.” Suddenly, the explosions stop and Bakugou's body goes slightly slack. 

Then, he feels it. 

The eyes that have been watching him all his life. The eyes that Bakugou made sure stayed on him, and him alone. The eyes that he fell in love with a long time ago. Those same green eyes he can feel on him in this horrifying moment.  He knows they're there, because they always were. He recognizes the feeling of being looked at, watched, admired . It's a feeling he's always craved because it meant that Deku was watching. 

Deku ... Bakugou sighs in his mind, thankful for half a second that his childhood friend is alive, is okay. 

But then...

"Deku." Bakugou hears his own growling voice. No ... no not him . 

All Might's body is thrown off Bakugou and for a moment, the blonde feels an insane amount of guilt flood through him. But that guilt is soon replaced by terror as he feels the now familiar motions that he doesn't control.

Bakugou stands from the ground and turns. Then, he sees him, standing on the rubble where All Might had come through earlier. Deku… 

Then, he's in front of him. Deku ! 

-

"Kacchan," Midoriya rasps quietly in awe as his crush flies fast towards him. 

He has just enough time to hold his arms up, fire up 10% of One For All and block the intense explosion from Bakugou. 

The two fly backwards into the alleyway.

"Midoriya!" Kirishima immediately follows after them, jumping from the top of crumbled concrete but is then pulled back by unfamiliar arms. “Huh?!” 

“Sorry, kid,” Mr. Compress laughs evilly. Kirishima cringes as he distinctly recognizes the villain who had captured his best friend in the beginning of all of this. “Your friends are toast.” Kirishima turns slightly tolook at the villain with a terrified expression.

“W-What…” Kirishima stutters, eyes widening. His gaze flickers across each League member, landing on the magnetic villain. 

“Well, our newest member is going to kill that freckled teen fucker,” Magne growls, obviously angry at Midoriya for some reason. The grip around Kirishima’s torso and arms tightens as he’s dragged further and further from the hole in the wall.  “Then, we’re gonna kill the blonde.” The redhead can hear the wicked smirk in the villain’s voice. 

But, before Kirishima could yell out, his mouth is covered with a cloth and his arms are bound behind him. He tries hardening his body but is burned where the ropes are tied. Must have a quirk nullifier engrossed in it. Kirishima’s thrown to the ground in the corner of the bar, far from the action with no way of helping. He can feel the tears of frustration form behind his eyes.

Midoriya, please be okay.

-

“Ah!” Midoriya screams out as he goes slightly airborne, Bakugou attached to his front as he uses the weight of his body to push the two faster towards the ground. 

Quirk still activated, Midoriya uses only a bit of his strength to twist in Bakugou’s grip. Midoriya uses his right arm to wind behind Bakugou and secure the blonde’s arms in a strong lock. Expecting the other to start swinging his legs, Midoriya tangles his own in Bakugou’s. 

The blonde makes a move to use his head to hit Midoriya, but the quirk-inheritor reacts quickly, dodging the attack. 

“Kacchan! Listen to me!” Midoriya tries reasoning like All Might had. Bakugou lets out a snarl before moving so quickly Midoriya is caught off guard. 

He rolls out of Midoriya’s grip, causing the freckled teen to fall forward, hands hitting the ground to hold himself up. Bakugou kicks at Midoriya’s side, the smaller hero crying out as he grabs his ribs, feeling a bruise already forming. Ignoring the pain, Midoriya quickly gets to his feet just in time to miss another kick. He puts some distance between them, holding a fighting stance. 

Taking in his surroundings, Midoriya sees the opening to the alley. Wasting no time, Midoriya powers up and runs at Bakugou. 

“I’m sorry, Kacchan!” Midoriya juts out his right shoulder, ramming it into Bakugou’s stomach. When the blonde coughs and loses focus, Midoriya wraps himself around his friend’s arms and body and continue to push forward until they are out in the open.

Bakugou recovers by time the are in the street. He lets out a series of explosions, palms pointed up and out so he hits Midoriya’s stomach, causing the quirk-inheritor to scream out, immediately releasing Bakugou. 

Realizing his mistake, Midoriya quickly recuperates and dashes down the empty street away from the bar. 

“Deku!!” Bakugou yells after his target, using his explosions to increase his speed. 

Suddenly, Midoriya turns right down another dark side street. Bakugou follows, but stops when he doesn’t see Midoriya. 

The smaller teen crouches behind a dumpster, keeping his breathing quiet and staying absolutely still.

“Where are you, Deku?” What usually would sound like a growl, comes out dry and dull. 

Holding back his tears, Midoriya works up his emotional strength and stiffens his shrunken position, preparing to pounce. 

“Where are you?!” Bakugou starts losing his patience, kicking at boxes, cans, and full garbage bags that litter the alley. Midoriya slowly looks around the side of the dumpster, finding Bakugou’s back to him. 

Before he can even fully power up, Midoriya is lunging at his childhood friend. His body twists in the air and he extends his foot, aiming at Bakugou’s face. 

“I’m sorry, Kacchan!!” Midoriya apologizes again, and just as Bakugou’s face turns to the sound of the voice, Midoriya’s swinging foot makes contact with the blonde’s face. 

It happens in slow motion. 

Bakugou is thrown into the side wall. Midoriya watches in horror at his crush’s pained expression, knowing he’s the cause. The building crumbles just a bit around the blonde, whose sitting limply. Midoriya skids to stop in front of Bakugou before stepping back to catch his breath. Hoping, praying , that it worked. 

Chapter Text

Midoriya pants, keeping a watchful eye on Bakugou whose eyes are fluttering open and body moving to rise. 

“D-Deku…” Bakugou stutters out, legs wobbling as he tries to stand. Midoriya’s eyes widen as he recognizes the emotion in the blonde’s voice. 

“Kacchan…?” Midoriya hesitantly calls, still keeping his distance, but staying hopeful. 

“Deku,” Bakugou sounds stronger now, more like his usual angry self. “You need, ugh , you need to leave.” Bakugou struggles to stay standing. His body tilts to the left, concrete breaking his fall. He lifts his dirty, bloody right hand to his face, eyes scrunching in pain. The little bit of skin that can be seen through the grime turns white as he applies intense pressure to his head. 

“Kacchan?” Midoriya takes two steps towards his friend, but quickly stops and dodges as an explosion is shot his way. 

“Dammit, Deku!” Bakugou curses as he pulls his shaky left arm back, smoke emanating from his palm. “Just-” Bakugou growls eyes still closed as he tilts his face away from Midoriya. “Get out of here.” 

“No!” Midoriya yells, fists clenching at his sides. “I’m not leaving you!” He takes another step forward.

“I don’t have full control, Deku,” Bakugou opens his eyes. The smaller teen gasps at the difference between the blonde’s two orbs. 

Just as Bakugou had no control of his left arm when he shot at Midoriya, his left eye is as hazy as it was before. The right eye is a bright red with a pinch of orange, emulating a great flame, the very same that Midoriya has admired all his life. 

“You can fight it, Kacchan!” Midoriya continues to scream, pushing to break through the control on Bakugou’s mind. “Fight it!” His steps become quicker as he closes in on Bakugou. 

“I’m fucking trying!” Bakugou shouts back, body shaking in frustration. “I’m trying, dammit!” His voice cracks slightly and that’s the last straw for Midoriya. 

Fighting through the pain in his arms, Midoriya uses One for All and takes Bakugou’s wrists in his hands, pinning them to the brick behind him. Green bolts of electricity cover his body as he keeps Bakugou at bay. 

“Kacchan,” Midoriya says calmly, causing Bakugou to snap his eyes to the freckled nerd in front of him. Silence floods over the two rivals. Midoriya feels Bakugou start to relax in his grip, but doesn’t give in, knowing the blonde could lose control at any moment. 

“D-Deku…” Bakugou rasps, Midoriya leans closer straining to hear the other. “I-I can’t…” Bakugou cuts himself off with a groan, eyes shut tightly as though he was in pain. 

“Yes you can!” Midoriya gets in Bakugou’s face. “You can’t give up, Kacchan! C’mon!” Tears fill Midoriya’s eyes, squeezing Bakugou’s wrists tighter. 

Bakugou’s deep breathing picks up speed. His teeth clench and his eyes stay shut. Midoriya feels movement from Bakugou’s muscles and catches his fingers twitching. Midoriya keeps his guard up, watching for any sparks to fly from the other's hands, green eyes flicking between each palm. 

“Izuku…” Midoriya whips his gaze at Bakugou’s whisper, eyes bulging. The blonde’s voice holds so many emotions Midoriya can barely pick one out. 

“Ka-Kac-” 

“I can’t save you this time,” Bakugou’s head hangs in embarrassment, shame . “You need to get out of here, because I can’t save you.” He’s so quiet, Midoriya wonders if this is his Kacchan or another trick by All for One. 

“Kacchan-” 

“ Please ,” Bakugou lifts his face and Midoriya gasps at the hot, angry tears that stream down the blonde’s face. “Don’t make me h-hurt-” Bakugou cries out in agonizing pain, neck muscles popping as he shouts at the sky. 

Midoriya stares in shock, feeling helpless as he watches the man he loves fall apart. 

Suddenly, Bakugou’s body goes completely still. He lowers his gaze from above to in front of him. Midoriya lets out a choking sob as he comes eye to eye with a blank Bakugou. 

“ Kacchan… ” Midoriya openly cries, continuing to hold Bakugou against the wall. But with each tear that drops, a bit of his grip loosens. “ Come back, Kacchan! ” 

Then he’s tackled to the ground.

-

No, no, no! Black fills Bakugou’s vision once more as he accepts defeat of gaining back control of his body. He can’t feel anything. It’s like he’s numb. He knows he’s been beaten to shit, fighting Midoriya. But he can’t feel any of the pain he knows is there. 

Son of a bitch! Bakugou yells into the abyss, fully aware that no one can hear him. He thinks his chest hurts and has a strong urge to cry. 

He hadn’t cried in years. Not since he first got his quirk. Back then, all the emotional and physical pain he endured had broken him. His palms constantly burned, the skin scratched up and bloody from each explosion. Bruises that littered his arms, legs, and torso from accidental blasts.

And as much praise as he had gotten as a child for having such a strong and amazing quirk, there came a lot of backlash as well. His mother, who pushed and pushed him, filling his brain with the idea that he ‘had to be the strongest, or he’d be nobody’. Older kids who thought the baby with a destructive quirk was a joke and someone they could pick on. Even though young, Bakugou proved them wrong many times; it still didn’t stop the ache in his heart. 

The last time he ever cried was when he finally broke. It was the day he heard Midoriya didn’t have a quirk. All the hope he had in getting through growing up and becoming a hero fell to pieces knowing his best friend wouldn’t share that with him. And he was so angry at the world for taking that from his Izuku, he ended up taking it out on the young boy himself. Bakugou gave the other the nickname Deku , because, to him, Midoriya was useless . 

But being useless meant being helpless; and being helpless meant needing to be helped. 

So Bakugou made that his mission.

He’d do everything in his power to save Midoriya, keep him safe. 

Yeah, he made fun of him, pushed him around, even told him to kill himself. He wants to blame it on his anger at the world, but maybe he was angry at Midoriya. 

Because no matter how many times he was knocked down, the damn nerd got back up. 

And Bakugou was jealous . It took so long for Bakugou to come to terms with his quirk, to fight back against his own bullies and mother. 

So how could Midoriya just do it ? 

And now? Now he has a quirk… a strong quirk. A quirk that he can use to save himself. He would no longer need Bakugou’s protection. Which obviously angered the blonde even more. 

Not wanting to believe that Deku could protect himself, Bakugou bullied him even more. At UA, Bakugou constantly kicked Midoriya around, even if he knew it made him look bad to his classmates. 

But he never cared about his classmates. Only Deku.

Deku . All he can think about is Deku . How he hopes the other got away or isn’t hurt. I will never live with myself if I- if I ki… He can barely finish the thought as overwhelming sadness and frustration consumes him. 

He tries shutting his eyes tightly, hoping to wake soon from this horrible dream.

Then, he hears his name. His given name. It’s whispered, but he can hear it. He hears the crackling of crumbled concrete. He hears sirens in the distance. He hears crying that sounds like… Deku ?

Then, he smells the familiar smokey caramel from using his quirk a lot. He smells iron, similar to blood. He smells the wretched smell of burning flesh. He smells… He smells… Deku ?

Then, he feels the hot streaks of tears he thought he couldn’t shed. There’s pain throughout his entire body. His left palm stings and burns. He can feel something pinning him down and something else soft, yet scarred, caressing his face... Deku ?

Then, he tastes something wet and salty. He tastes blood, his own he thinks. He tastes… he’s not sure, but at this point he’s pretty confident it’s…

He opens his eyes, mostly expecting only black surroundings. But he’s wrong. 

-

“Shit!” Midoriya curses through his tears, body wiggling as he struggles against the heavy weight caging his body to the ground. Bakugou releases explosions from his hands, which are pinning Midoriya beneath him. 

“Ahh!” Midoriya screams in undeniable pain. He can smell his own flesh burning, causing a nauseating feeling to form in his stomach. Using his free legs, he curls them upwards and pushes. With the help of One For All, Bakugou is flung from Midoriya, hitting the wall behind him and sinking to the ground.

Midoriya rises to his feet, breathing heavy, trying to keep his tears from blinding him. He keeps a close eye on Bakugou, waiting for the blonde’s next move. 

Bakugou also stands, but his head is hung low. He stays very still and Midoriya isn’t sure what is going on, or what will happen next. 

Ignoring every aching bone and muscle in his body that screams for him to rest, Midoriya walks towards Bakugou, 2% of One For All coursing through his system in case the other pulls a surprise attack. 

“Kacchan?” Midoriya calls out. His guard is up as he gets closer. “A-Are you…” He doesn’t finish his question, trying to tilt down and see Bakugou’s face. 

Then, Midoriya hears soft mumbling.

At first, he thinks it’s himself. Being a mutterer all his life, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was himself letting out strings of words that probably don’t make sense. But he recognizes the tinch of gruffness in the voice. 

Now he stands directly in front of Bakugou. Midoriya bends down to get closer, trying to make out the words Bakugou is saying. He picks up a couple.

“No… baby… Deku… useless… strong… help… can’t…” Midoriya’s eyes grow wide with each word. One may think that Bakugou is calling Midoriya useless, as he always did. But Midoriya can hear the self-hatred in the other’s murmuring. 

“ Katsuki… ” Midoriya uses Bakugou’s given name, hoping it might help somehow . “Katsuki, come back.” He starts to cry again, hands coming out to grasp Bakugou’s upper arms. He pushes the blonde softly, getting him to stand straight. 

Bakugou stops muttering, eyes tightly shut. Trails of blood and tears fall swiftly, landing on Bakugou’s lips. It looks kind of gross, but Midoriya doesn’t care. Kacchan is in there somewhere. 

“Katsuki, it’s me,” Midoriya keeps trying, face inching closer. When he figures that the other won’t bolt, Midoriya raises a hand and places it tentatively against Bakugou’s face. He rubs his thumb under a bruising red eye. “Come back to me.” Midoriya’s whispering. He doubts that even if Bakugou was in control, the blonde wouldn’t be able to hear him. 

Then, a thought, a memory pops into Midoriya’s head. 

“He had a girlfriend. She had tried tickling him and pinching him to get him to snap out of it, but it didn’t work. I remember feeling all cocky because no one could break through, but then s-she…” Shinso stopped, face redder than before.

“What did she do?” Midoriya’s eyes were wide in curiosity and a sort of excitement. 

“S-She… she kissed him.” Shinso looks everywhere but Midoriya.

Midoriya closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, making his final decision. He’s going to kiss Bakugou. 

Midoriya leans in, lips ghosting the other's. And before he can back out of it, he closes the small gap.

God, I hope he doesn’t blow me up . 

-

Bakugou’s eyes gradually open. They feel heavy, like he’d been sleeping for days. 

At first it’s bleary. He can’t really tell what’s in front of him. He blinks slowly, clearing the fog. 

Once his vision adjusts, he’s met with a sight he never thought in a million years he’d get to see, to feel . 

Familiar freckles, dried spots of blood and salty tears on pale skin. Squeezed shut eyes that hold emerald green behind the lids. 

Deku…  

“Deku,” Bakugou mumbles against Midoriya’s lips, which quickly detach from Bakugou’s. The blonde immediately misses the soft warmth. 

“Ka-Kacchan!” Midoriya lets go of Bakugou completely, firing up One For All and shifting into a shaky fighting stance. 

Bakugou just stares at the other. His now shiney lips are slightly parted and his red eyes are wide open. All that’s running through his head is ‘Deku, Deku, Deku’ . Bakugou can’t believe it, he really can’t. Midoriya kissed him. How… why would he… 

“W-Why…” Bakugou tries to ask, but is at a loss for words. 

Midoriya stays on guard while studying Bakugou. The haziness is gone and he sounds like himself. But that doesn’t mean he can trust that everything is suddenly okay again. 

“Kacchan?” Midoriya takes a step closer, fists still raised to fight. “Is that you?” 

It takes a couple moments, but eventually Bakugou nods slowly. Midoriya sighs, but relaxes only a little. 

“Where is All For One?” He keeps getting closer. Bakugou keeps his eyes trained on the freckled teens face. 

“I don’t,” Bakugou rasps before breaking into a coughing fit and groaning like earlier, causing Midoriya to back up a step, guard up again. 

But instead of going still, Bakugou sinks to the ground, arms wrapped around himself, eyes tightly shut. 

“Fucking, son of a bitch,” Bakugou hisses, voice slightly trembling. He can’t find the main source of the pain, it’s just, everywhere .

“Kacchan!” Midoriya jumps into action, kneeling in front of the blonde. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?” His hands reach out, gently gliding along Bakugou’s shoulders and arms as he searches for something, anything to give him a clue as to what was wrong with the blonde. 

Bakugou slowly looks up at the nerd with an incredulous expression, before releasing a small laugh that soon turns almost manic. Midoriya stares wide eyed and confused at the sudden reaction. 

“What-” Midoriya starts before being interrupted by a cackling Bakugou.

“Even though I was fucking possessed, you still jump at first the sign of distress,” he laughs, hand struggling to cover his mouth. “Always worrying about others before yourself, you damn fucking nerd.” 

Midoriya’s cheeks redden at the truth, looking down sheepishly. 

“W-Well, you were in o-obvious pain. I just,” Midoriya tries explaining himself, stumbling slightly. He gasps when he feels hands on his cheeks and his face being guided forward. 

“You’re a fucking idiot, Deku,” Bakugou whispers as he brings their foreheads together. “A stupid, incredible, amazing, dumb, fucking idiot.” Midoriya laughs at the odd choice of words, blush creeping down his neck. 

“Kacchan…” The curly-haired teen wraps his hands around Bakugou’s, holding tightly. 

They go silent, taking in the moment of being so close after so long. And not just the past couple days. 

No, the past couple years. It’s been a long time since they’d been this close to each other and the atmosphere was calm. When they were kids, before Bakugou got his quirk, they were joined at the hip. Did everything together. Made promises of becoming the best hero duo ever. 

The serene moment vanishes suddenly when a loud crash is heard a couple blocks away. 

The teens disconnect, both missing the comfort of the other, and look to the source. Smoke fills the air and another boom resonates. Midoriya and Bakugou get to their feet, grunting and groaning at the pain coursing through their bodies. When they’re finally stable, they look at each other before bolting towards the action. 

“Wait, Deku.” They’re almost there but Bakugou has to say something. 

“Yeah, Kacchan?” Midoriya stops, turning around to stare at the blonde. In that moment, Bakugou forgets everything he wants to say. He clenches his fists and Midoriya raises an eyebrow. “Kacchan?” Midoriya walks to his childhood friend but stops when a calloused hand is raised facing outwards at Midoriya. 

“You-I,” Bakugou struggles to find the words, growling at himself to get it together. A moment passes before Midoriya shoots Bakugou a smile. 

“Let’s get ‘em, Kacchan!” He pounds a fist into his open palm as green lightning covers him. 

Bakugou stills for a second before smirking. 

“Alright, nerd.” Bakugou lifts his hands, palm facing up and lets out a couple pops. 

Midoriya’s already wide grin grows and he takes off in a sprint. He hears explosions behind him and he knows it’s his Kacchan that’s coming along.