Chapter 105 - Deal With The Devil

I opened the window, a cool breeze whipping my skin.

The morning air, not yet lukewarm, was cold enough to awaken the last sleeping cells in my body.

I ran a hand over my face, regretting for the umpteenth time that I didn't have a pack of soldier pills with me.

The Chakra Encyclopedia had a section covering all things biological, but apart from Irioninjutsu - which I'd had to practice for years to reach a decent level - the other things were beyond my abilities.

Genetic modifications and everything that followed was just a pipe dream that I'd never be able to achieve, but at least I had my Fuinjutsu and a natural ease with it.

Blinking away the fatigue, I hopped onto the windowsill and crouched down, sharingan spinning lazily in my eyes.

Five days stuck in this damn hospital and they're still not ready to let me go.

Not me nor any of the the other 1-A students I could feel-

I turned around slowly, my eyes glued to the door handle as it turned.

My eyes met Katsuki's, crutches in hand, pale as a corpse.

- Finally awake?

He gave me a stern look.

I sighed exaggeratedly, rolled my eyes, deactivated my Sharingan and jumped back silently into the room.

Katsuki's soles squeaked as he passed.

He slammed the door behind him and we were alone in my silent room, the bed I hadn't slept in for days separating us.

- I have things to do, I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. Get to the point.

He watched me in silence, surveying the room with the attention of a detective at a crime scene, his eyes lingering for a moment on the bed with its perfectly ironed and folded sheets.

- I hear you've got Quirks. More than your fire and ice, I mean.

- Everyone has known that for a week.

- I've only been up for an hour.

- And your first instinct isn't to call your family, but to come and see me? How sad.

We stared at each other, neither of us willing to relinquish control of the conversation to the other.

Then Katsuki limped over to the bed and sat down with a relief he barely managed to hide.

- You didn't tell me

- I already told you, Katchan. I don't owe you anything.

He nodded, three times, but didn't look hurt.

- You don't owe me anything, but you still intervened in the fight against All for One.

- Aizawa forced me to protect all of you.

Bakugo snorted disdainfully.

- That's why Iida is in a wheelchair, why Hagakure is no longer the invisible girl but 'the great burned', why Kaminari is - oh no, I forgot. Kaminari is dead.

He searched my face for a reaction, to no avail.

- What are you getting at?

- You claim that Aizawa 'forced your hand' to protect us, but look at the sorry state we're in.

He pointed at his bruised legs, which looked as brittle as glass.

- I saw the video and what you did to the villain with the gigantification Quirk. If you'd wanted to, you could have saved us all without anyone dying.

Anger overcame me.

- Yes, I could have

I smothered the victorious smile that appeared on his face with my next words:

- But I didn't because I don't give a shit

Without giving him time to answer, I approached him.

- You look like you've been talking to the other kids in class a lot, huh? What's the plan?

Bakugo stood up abruptly, his crutches almost slipping out from under him.

- You want me to apologize? Get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness?

Bakugo stirred, and suddenly my face was a hair's breadth from his, my whole body shaking as I was about to hit him.

- You want me to say I'm sorry? Is that what you want? You want me to say I'm sorry I wasn't enough?

- I want you to use your damn Quirk and fix us!

I blinked.

Then I took in his frail form, his feeble body, his wet eyes full of weakness and shame.

I took two steps back.

- I can't do this.

Bakugo clicked his tongue against his palate.

- Cut the crap

But he didn't seem to be sure that what I said was false, or that what he wanted to believe was true.

We fell into silence.

- I can't believe-

- Why did you save me ?

- Stop imagining things.

Another silence.

I stepped back and ran my hand over my eyes, the sudden rush of adrenaline that had awakened me still making my blood boil.

- Why did you join Yuei?

- I've already told you.

- Then tell me again.

I raised my eyebrows in disdain.

- You seem to have the wrong idea about me, Katchan. I'm no good samaritan, let alone your guardian angel who falls from the sky to save your ass in your moment of need.

- You saved my life.

I opened my mouth and closed it.

I'd wanted to kill that Uraraka bitch, to hit someone hard and long enough to vent my anger, and Katsuki had stumbled into it - and now he took it as a sign. Ha.

- Careful what you're doing, Katsuki. Giving away your gratitude and trust so easily is anything but a quality.

His impatience grew.

- You saved my life yes or not ? So don't fucking tell me-

- I've killed people too.

His face darkened.

- You should have been told, right? Even if Nezu had to forbid the students in question from telling anyone -

To avoid the media debacle, to earn my father's gratitude, to earn my gratitude.

-you must have discussed it among yourselves. Nothing like a good shared trauma to strengthen the bonds of friendship, right?

Katsuki's lips were a thin white line.

His jaw was so tight that I could see the taut muscles under his pale skin.

- But these weren't people. They were villains.

My smile died on my lips, as did my next retort.

For the first time in my life, I looked at Katsuki Bakugo with interest, not as a two-dimensional creature, but as a person in his own right, capable of reflection and, above all, of being corrupted.

- You didn't come to me for healing, I said slowly, my eyes narrowing. You knew that even if I could, I'd say no.

He batted his eyelashes without a word, and I knew I'd hit home.

- What's on your mind?

Katsuki looked at me, his eyes cold as steel.

Then he pulled a crumpled blue envelope out of his pocket.

- Read it

I took the document and read it in a few seconds.

- You mustn't...

- Keep this for me? Yes, of course. That's one of the conditions. But since you're Endeavor's son, I thought I'd make an exception. Anyway, you're not really the type to go around telling everyone your life story, so I'm not worried.

I had to read the contents of the letter twice to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

I fucked the canon again without even meaning to.

I found myself smiling in disbelief.

Bakugo continued:

- It's obvious from the wording that I'm not the only candidate. On the other hand, I intend to be more than just another cog in the machine.

I handed the letter back to him.

- What do you want from me?

- Your old man's buddies with All Might, right? Then you can learn a lot from him.

He inhaled.

- What I want is for you to help me become the next All Might.