The struggle we face

The luminescent TV screen glowed through the dark sleepily living room, Kaneki sat back in his favourite seat with a cup of coffee when the tragic news hit the air.

"Two Nights ago, a group of first-year hero students from Hero School UA was attacked during a summer in the mountainous region bordering western Tokyo."

His favourite drink suddenly turned vile...

"The camp was meant to be situated in a secure location, at the wild-wild pussy cats' mountain agency, where only staff members having been made aware of the location, unfortunately the attack has resulted in the kidnapping of two hero students Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku along with pro-hero Pixie-bob."

The china mug of coffee slid from his fingers as his jaw hit the floor, wide-eyed, as the news anchor looked up as images of villains appeared on the screen...

"Midoriya….." His words were laced with fear.

"Two villains have been reported as dead at the scene of the attack, including serial killer Muscular, who has involved the deaths of pro-heroes Water Hose and a Nomu similar in looks to the ones seen during the Hosu attack and the attack on UAs US) earlier in the year.

Amongst the deaths of these villains, three more villains were arrested at the scene including Himiko Toga, serial killer MoonFish, and Mustard.

There have been no other reported casualties from either side as of yet."

The news continued on. And on. And on...

"The League of villains, who are suspected of being behind the attack, have currently not put out a bargain for the students and pro-hero Pixie Bobs safe return, leaving us currently unsure if the condition either party is in, we'll have more information tonight after Us press conference..."

"So why do you think the league of villains chose to kidnap those students too?!"

"Well Sarah, we all know how Bakugou reacted after winning the sports festival and the aggressive behavior displays. I mean, did you see how he behaved while fighting that poor gravity girl during the sports festival!"

"You're quite right Susan, that is no way for a hero student to behave. Heros need to be able to save and keep people calm without excessive violence!"

"I totally agree! Which begs the question; did they kidnap them in the hopes to turn them into villains?"

"I sure hope not.. We already have enough violent villains running around with the league; we have no need for another unnecessary one. But it does make me wonder, why did they kidnap Midoriya?"

"Midoriya..? I haven't the slightest clue; the poor boy didn't even use his quirk during the sports festival, Heaven knows how he got into the finals."

"Someone who isn't putting their all into becoming a hero shouldn't be in a hero school... There are thousands of candidates who dream of being in the position he is in at UA...

"Maybe he only went to UA to gather Intel for the league of villains... I mean, why else would they kidnap him, unless they were getting a member back..?"

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, Susan, that's the only likely observations I've heard so far. Still! You shouldn't claim something like that without evidence, it's immoral-!"

The Tv talk show was turned off with a slam...

"...One-for-All, hu.?"

The dreary room echoed Bakugous' words as they sat side by side against the damp wall, the wounds on Midorivas' hands almost completely healed as he gave a weak nod in response; the stench of the blood never really vanishing as the pair of them slowly went noise blind.

"…Mhmm... Yep... That's why All for One hasn't stolen my quirk or killed me yet, I think he's trying to torture it out of me...

Midoriya looked down bleakly at the ground, numb to his surroundings as the feelings of pain and regret swirled around him, as Bakugou stared at him ludicrously at his statement.

"Bloody hell, Deku..." Bakugou cursed as he stared at him wide-eyed, "I don't know how you have managed to keep a hold of it for so long now...

Guess it was a good thing All Might chose and went along with your weak ass in the end hu.?"

Midoriya nodded weakly, shifting slightly as he took yet another bite out of his arm; the squelch leaving Bakugou squeamishly cringing as he looked away.

He swallowed it down whole.

"…..If I ever get out of here alive... I'm going to give it back to All Might... I never should have accepted it in the first place, If I hadn't taken it I wouldn't have been here right now..

Midoriyas downright depressing words began to tickle against Bakugous nerves, irritating him to no end as his classmate continued to verbally beat hingself up.

"Haal? Even if you weren't here I'd still be stuck, idiot! Do you want me to be left here with these stupid villains alone..!"

Midoriya flinched away at Bakugou's sudden accusation, jumping suddenly out of his depressing trail of thought at the sudden change in his blond-haired classmates' attitude.

"HU! What..! No Kacchan! I'd never leave you here alone..!"

Bakugou sighed with annoyance as he shifted back so his back was against the wall again.

"Well good... I'm fed up with listening to your moaning, it's pissing me off so chill out!"

Midoriya nodded silently before taking another weary chunk of flesh out of his arm, Bakugou not letting himself look at the state Midoriya was getting himself into again as his arm began to bleed out.

"We need to find a way out of here..." Bakugou spat out angrily, rage simmering as he used his arm to push himself up, off the wall, "I'm not going to sit and wait here for those stupid villains to come back and get me.!"

Midoriya looked up at him bleakly, "... And how are we going to do that..." He paused before tilting his head questioningly, "Wait... Why did the villains kidnap and bring you here anyway..?"

Bakugou looked down at where Midoriya sat with a frown on his face, his voice much calmer than it had been before, "They kidnapped me because for some twisted reason they thought they could convince me to switch sides. I told them to fuck and blasted one of them in the face, and when I refused to cooperate they shoved me through that warp villain and then into here..."

Midoriya snorted at that, giving himself a small break from the sorrow he felt within, "That's why they kidnapped you!? Haha..! Wow, they couldn't have chosen a worse person to convince them to join.."

Bakugou felt a small smirk grow on his lips at the small sight of what he had known Midoriya to be, before he quickly switched to grimace of disgust as Midoriya ripped yet another piece of flesh from his other arm.

"I don't know howwe're going to escape, AND COULD YOU STOP EATING YOUR ARM ITS

FUCKING GROSS YOU CREEPY-ASS

MOTHERFUCKER."

Bakugou let out a sigh of irritation as he dragged his hand through his hair, turning to look away from the state Midoriya was in as the boy in question just paused and looked guilty down at his arms, grimacing awkwardly as he felt a wave of sadñess and grief overcome him, before looking at Bakugou numbly.

"God... There's something mentally wrong with you...

Bakugous words were no more than a whisper to himself, clearly not intending for Midoriya to hear the slight edges of his words as he spoke.

"Kacchan, there's been something wrong with me for a while now... But I'm only eating my arms to stop myself from getting hungry and accidentally eating you..

Bakugou turned with a jump at the quiet words Midoriya had shared, looking at him with a shocked expression at the confession, the greenette looking up at him blankly.

"Me eating my fingers is the only thing keeping you alive..."

With a visible gulp on Bakugou's part, the awkward tension simmered between them as they sat silently on opposite sides of the room, waiting...

The only sounds that were occasionally heard were the chewing of someone's food being swallowed.

Ochakos vision was blurry when her

consciousness slowly crawled back to her, the dull ache and pain in her arm the first thing she felt as she began to wake up, numbly reminding her of the last memories her mind could remember.

Slowly shifting on her arm, letting out a small groan of pain as her arm began to sting, slowly trying to push herself up on her arms as her vision slowly cleared; letting out a small gasp of pain as her wounded arm collapsed under her weight.

"Oh..! You're awake!"

Ochako let out a small sigh of defeat as she shifted back onto the bed, looking over to the nurse who was fiddling with the IV leads and medications which trailed into her arms before quickly scuttling over to her to help her sit up; offering her a glass of water as she arrived.

"-thank you..."

The nurse quickly yet calmly shushed her as her voice croaked from disuse, taking a small sip from the water before taking the glass from the nurse and chugging the whole lot down her parched throat.

The nurse offered her a small smile as Ochako took a small gasped for air, finishing her water as some of it spilled down the side of her cheek.

"That's quite alright dear; I just need to inform the doctor that you are awake."

Ochako nodded dumbly as the nurse quickly left, still somewhat out of it as her surroundings slowly finished clearing, allowing her to see the medical equipment scattered around the room and the sunlight which shone happily through the window.

She rubbed her eyes slowly as she slowly laid herself back down onto her bed, the peace of her surroundings allowing the fog of memories to cloud her thoughts.

Tears slowly pooled in her eyes as she remembered the look of fear and anger which had floated around that night...

The scared expression on Izukus face just before he had launched himself at the Nom after tearing at her arm...

Ochako took a moment to look below the covers at the scars which covered the top half of her arm, the wound still giving a phantom ache as she slowly moved it to get a better look at the deformed tissue.

The same tissue which had given the few of them in the forest the time to escape the Nomu, before he was ultimately kidnapped with Bakugou in tow...

"Oh, Deku-kun- Why.!"

The sounds of the hospital machinery coming from the room were accompanied by a small choked, muffled sob as she brought her knees up to her chest and hand to her mouth, tears quickly yet silently pouring from her eyes.

…why did they have to take you...

Her strained whispers went unheard in her empty hospital room, her tears slowed while still silently dribbling from her eyes when the nurse returned with the doctor in tow.

The examination didn't take long to go through and soon she was left to her own devices, the doctors declaring that she was healing nicely and that it would only be a few short days before she was allowed to be released from the hospital; all thanks to the medical miracles of quirk medicine, even if she would have deformed indent for the rest of her life.

It was much better what state her arm could have been left in, in all reality she knew she was very fortunate to still have movement in her arm.

Still, there was no doubt in her mind that she wouldn't hesitate to do it again..! No matter when it was or the reason why, as long as she got to see him again.!

It didn't take long for her to wallow herself to sleep. The sun setting through the windows, slowly warming her sheets, as it dragged her into the world of her imagination, even if she didn't dream that night.

When she finally woke up again, her consciousness came back to her far quicker than the first time, her eyes greeting her to the few figures who were sitting beside her bed.

"Uraraka?"

Her sensei's voice pulled her from her thoughts, as she gave up trying to figure out who the other man was stood behind both Aizawa-sensei and Principle Nezu, slowly using her weak arms to push herself up off of her hospital bed as they introduced themselves.

"The nurse told me last night that you had woken up, but it seems as if you fell asleep again since we couldn't have this convocation with you earlier."

The hidden intent behind his words didn't go unheard as her eyes began to water.

"Aizawa-sensei, I'm so sorry..! I-"

He held a hand out to softly silence her, slowly reaching out to pat the shoulder of the unwounded arm, as her face scrunched up with unshed fear and sorrow.

"Hey... It's alright." Aizawa slowly shifted back as the police detective came closer towards them, settling down in the small hospital chair beside him, "But we need you to tell us everything you remember, everything you know, ok?"

Her sensei let out a small frustrated sigh as he slumped back in his chair, "I'll be honest with you, Uraraka, one of the only reasons why you're not in a prison hospital bed is because Todoroki managed to clear some stuff up for us. Otherwise, it would have been far more difficult to convince the police department and heroes in on Midoriya's case not to brand you as a villainous accomplice.

Ochako let out a quiet sniff as she rubbed her tired eyes, nodding solemnly before speaking.

"Aizawa-sensei, it's not Dekus fault..! He doesn't deserve to go to prison! " Her quite anxious voice quickly picked up in pace as her eyes widened with desperation, new tears slowly dripping from her eyes, " He's saved me so many times i've lost count! If he hadn't saved me and the others from the villains in the US or the summer camp we all would have died!"

Aizawa listened calmly before replying; trying to reassure her as he offered her something of a tired, comforting smile, "Give yourself some credit... You're more capable than you may think...

His smile dimmed a little as he shifted back slightly in his chair, "We'll keep in mind what you've said when we make our reports, alright?"

Nezu, who was sat contently in the chair beside her sensei, shifted his head as he spoke, "We just need you to explain everything that you know about the situation Midoriya has got himself into..."

Ochako sniffled slightly as she nodded in agreement as Nezu took a moment to pause and offer her a tissue which she took gratefully.

"We need to know where and what he's been eating, and confirmation on what he's told you about how he obtains his ghoul quirk to ensure the safety of the rest of the students at UA and Midoriya himself for when he can return to UA..!"

Ochako paused her nod of understanding as his words registered in her head, looking up towards the three men questioning her beside her hospital bed.

When..? Nezu had said when..!

It took a little over half an hour for Ochako to explain in length the events of the months since the start of school, and the information she had been told about from before they had entered UA high school; answering them in as much honest light that she could set Midoriya in. Detailing the events of the US| attack and the conversations she had before and after Todoroki had been brought in oh their secret.

She confessed the amount of worry and concern she had held for him, ever since he had broken down before her in his own home, and the considerable change in behaviour he had gained over the last couple of months; failing to mention the confessions of attempted suicides he had mentioned months ago from the year before.

That didn't feel like her place to tell... And she wasn't about to reveal her closest friends' past lows to a trio of men who didn't fully trust Midoriya in the first place...

She knew how few ways there were for a ghoul to kill themselves... And they'd know just as well..

The introduced detective took turns with her teachers asking her questions, Tsukauchi leaning forward to lean on his knees as he wrote down notes in his book, "Do you know where he's been getting his food from recently?"

Ochako shook her head with a no, saying almost the exact same thing Todoroki had a day or so ago.

"No, I don't, sorry... I don't like to ask... But I do know he hasn't been starving himself..."

Tsukauchi nodded as he took another note in his notebook, already knowing that it was pretty clear that a ghoul couldn't starve themselves for two moths without going on a murderous Killing spree or dying alone in some locked closet.

"Alright, thank you for answering my question, I believe Nezu has one more question for you..."

He turned to look at the principal who bopped his head with confirmation, "That's right! I'd just like to ask you if you'd told Todoroki about where you and Midoriya had been during the USJ attack..?"

Ochako furrowed her brows with confusion as she wondered what the principal was on about when she remembered the document Todoroki had access to.

"...Oh, Yes.! He had been wondering how I had found out about Midoriya Ghoul's quirk..!"

She sounded convincing enough, but Aizawa didn't need to ask Tsukauchi if he should believe her or not.

Nezu gave a small hum as he stood upon the chair, grabbing a hold of Aizawa scarf as the two taller men stood up.

"Alright then, everything you've said lines up nicely with what Todoroki said so thank you for explaining things for us, you've helped us tremendously."

Nezu offered Ochako a small smile as the trio walked out of the room, leaving the girl alone to her devices

"So, did she lie at all..?"

Tsukauchi sighed slightly as he rubbed the back of his head and Aizawa's words. " Only about the same things Todoroki lied about, unfortunately, it seems as if they both seem to know what Midoriyas been eating. The only other thing was about whether she had told Todoroki what section of the USJ she had been in during the attack, but other than that, everything was registering as true."

The principal nodded at the detectives' statement, accepting his word. "As much as I'd like to know what Midoriyas been eating, we can ask him if we ever find him, what I'm rather interested in is why they both lied about Uraraka-san telling Todoroki about their location during the USJ."

Aizawa sighed deeply, the stress that had been pooled deep in his stomach slowly surfacing again,

"We can find that out some other time, how are we even meant to find where Bakugou and Midoriya were taken without a lead.?"

Nezu lowered his head slightly, "That I don't have the answer to... Unless we-"

"Umm..! Excuse me!"

The trio paused at the sound of someone calling out to them, turning around to see a nurse dressed in blue jogging up to them with widened, urgent eyes as she directed herself towards Aizawa, "Sir, one of your students, Yaoyorozu-san has woken up and has requested to speak with you."

The trio of men looked at each other for a split moment before quickly hurrying after the nurse in the direction of Aizawa students' hospital room.

"..The Nomu walked past us and Awaze managed to use his quirk to attack a tracker I made!"

The undeniable excitement in her voice from managing to do such a dangerous and would-be very useful thing was clear as she used her quirk to pull out the unfortunately useless tracker.

Aizawa sighed slightly as he offered his students a weak smile, the detective and Principal stood only a few feet behind him.

"Thank you, Yaoyorozu. That was a brave risk you took, but I don't advise you to do something this dangerous without a plan or back up again..."

His students nodded with a muffled smile as she held out the device towards him, causing him to shake his head regretfully, "I'm afraid if you attached it to the Nomu, we won't be able to use it to trace it back to the villains' hideout..."

Momo tilted her head questioningly as she slowly brought her device closer towards her with hesitation, "…um, Aizawa-sensei.? Why..? …What do you mean?"

The sound of confusion and growing anxiety was

clear.

"The Nomu as the summer camp has been... apprehended and is now in the hands of the police department."

Aizawa's voice was calm and steady as he spoke, his professional appearance quickly softening as he saw his student lower her head with guilt.

"Oh... Ok, I'm sorry I couldn't have been of any help-"

Aizawa wasn't having any of that, walking up to the side of her bed before squatting down to be face level with his student, speaking calmly as he did.

"Hey. There is nothing to be ashamed of, even if what you did won't help us in the long run it was still incredibly brave and incredible use of foresight to do. With that mindset and willpower, I know you, along with the rest of your class will become great heroes, alright..?"

Momo looked at him with a surprised expression and the rare sight of his soft side, nodding slowly as tears welled up slightly in her eyes.

"Ok... Thank you, sensei..!"

A little while later, Aizawa stood and ruffled her head a little comfortingly as they walked out of her room, allowing her to recover in peace.

"….. What the hell are we meant to do now..?"

Aizawa cursed, his stress about their situation slowly getting the better of him.

Nezu hummed thoughtfully, "...The only option I can think of is interrogating the villains we caught, more so the young girl, Himiko Toga..."

Aizawa raised his eyebrows wearily, "You mean the kid with the knife..?"

Nezu nodded with agreement, "She's underage, too young to legally be put into Tartarus yet, and she's still in police custody along with Mustard while the rest of the villains have already been escorted to their decided facilities."

"What makes you think Himiko is going to be any easier to get information out of than mustard.?"

Aizawa huffed out.

Nezu paused and turned to look behind him where Aizawa had been trailing behind him, a silent response all that the two taller men got.

Tushucki shifted cautiously, "You're planning on Manipulating her, aren't you..?

"Manipulating is a little strong... I'd say more persuading.

The two men sighed exasperatedly at Nezus innocently sounding words, fully understanding the connotations beneath them.

Nezu didn't seem too bothered by their response.

"Times are ticking and we don't have any leads to find Midoriya and Bakugou. Talking to her may be our only hope, even if it does mean emotionally manipulating or persuading in some way.

Nezu turned to look forward as he pulled out his phone and began typing something in.

"She may be a villain with several murders under her belt, but so doesn't Midoriya? They're both in need of help in some form, no matter what deeds life may have forced them to take..!"

The cell in the police station they had dumped her in was dull and boring, no colour, little light, and definitely no red; apart from the few bits of her clothes that they had allowed her to keep after fully searching though for weapons and contraband.

All her knives! Gone! And her new kit the league had given her to help with her quirk, even if she didn't like the very uncute mask that came with it...

And now she was left all alone in this stupid cell with nothing but white walls and a mirror on the opposite side of the bed she was sat on. She couldn't smell much either, the air-tight door not letting anything through, only the vent on the ceiling revealing a little of the people who were obviously wandering around outside the station.

It was a few hours after they had given her some food that the cell door opened at an odd time, three men walking in behind the heavily armed guards behind masks that she had smelt before.

One of the two men and rat thing that had walked in smelt the same as one of the sense's at UA High too...

"Hello Himiko Toga," The rat-man began cheerfully,

"I am principal Nezu of UA High! I've been told that you've interacted with a group of villains I've been rather interested in recently!"

Togas' confused and cautious expression turned as she sneered darkly, quickly catching on to what those disgusting heroes were here to beg for from those few simple words the hero had uttered.

"We'd just like to know if you happen to know the location of where they had hidden some of our precious students from Us..!"

A/N no chapter this Saturday