Chapter 10

Bakugou sat in his bed, staring at the ceiling. A vision of Izuku's soft pink lips lingered in his head. He shook his head. He's not gay. He's not. He never will be. Right?

He shook the thought out of his head. He flipped the sheets over him and got out of his bed. He grabbed a glass of water. After drinking it he splashed water onto his face.

A small hand tapped his shoulder. He flinched and turned to see Uraraka.

"Bakugou, are you okay?"

"Mind your own business, Round Face."

"It's just... you don't look so good and you're jumpy. And you're up at 3 in the morning. Did something happen?"

"I'll tell you all later." Uraraka stared at Bakugou with a perplexed expression. She was surprised at Bakugou's response. She smiled.

"Okay, when you're ready Bakugou."

He violently slammed the glass on the table and small water droplets splashed out of it.

He trudged up the stairs and collapsed on his bed. Guilt made his stomach drop. He once was praised for his quirk and abilities. Others followed aimlessly. But now, along with Izuku, the only thing that followed him now was his loneliness.

After class had ended they all sat on the couches in the dorms. They sat in silence until Bakugou spoke up.

"I saw him. At the place where we became... friends. He... he seemed lost. He told me... he was lonely. This... this is my fault." Todoroki remained silent.

Ilda presses his glasses higher against his face. "Bakugou, along time ago. Midoriya said something. We decided not to bring it up, but..."

"I... I beat him down every day. I broke him, all for the sake of my own pride. The quirk-less nobody..." They all flinched and shifted in their seats, including Todoroki. Midoriya never did tell them about anything before UA.

"I always had people by my side. I didn't even deserve it. I had everything that I wanted. Izuku had nothing. I was the one to take it all away. I was just afraid. Afraid of him rising to the top. Leaving me in the dust. In a place where I cannot reach. But now he's even farther away." He began to cry.

"And I can't save him."

"I've said this to Midoriya and I'll say it to you," Kirishima spoke. "You can still reach. We will save him no matter what. I know we've already sworn that we will save him, but now it's time to get serious. Midoriya won't even know what hit him!"

Bakugou silently nodded.

"Why is it always Kirishima who convinces us?" Kaminari asked. Kirishima shrugged.

"Never mind that. He's correct." Ilda spoke.

"We managed to get you back in this way and I'm confident it can get Midoriya back as well!"

The room perked up as chatter filled the room. Mina jumped up from her seat on the couch. "I have an idea!" She yelled. "How about we go to the mall? Like old times! Everyone has been so down in the slumps, maybe this could help our moods a little bit!"

Uraraka quickly jumped out of her seat next to Mina. "That's a good idea!" Her eyes filled with excitement. "I'm gonna but all sorts of clothes!" After a bit of silence, the class erupted in laughter. Mina put her arm over Uraraka's shoulders.

"New clothes! New clothes! New clothes!" They chanted together. Soon they all joined in, and the classroom filled with "New Clothes!". For once in a long time, Katsuki cracked a genuine smile.

He watched his classmates run around the mall and swerve past the others walking in front of them. Bakugou and Todoroki were the only ones just watching their gleeful playing. They exchanged glances and laughed.

"You're being awfully weird lately, Bakugou," Todoroki said. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned in a smug grin.

"Shut up, Half-and-Half!"

"Better."

Bakugou grunted in response.

Denki, Tokoyami, and Jirou visibly perked up once they saw Hot Topic and ran inside. Bakugou took a glance at a small shop to the side. On the window, it said, "EXPLOSIVE SALES!!!" And he silently chuckled to himself.

Uraraka came to a stop and Bakugou, who was distracted, almost slammed into her back. He violently skidded to a stop. "What's the deal, Round Face!?"

She stared at the fountain where she remembered Shigaraki and Izuku's interaction. "Bakugou?" Bakugo's raging stopped and his attention snapped back to Uraraka.

"Do you think the reason he left wasn't mainly because of Inko's death, but because The League of Villains took him?" Bakugou's eyes widened in realization. Deku's new quirk, the ability to steal and give quirks. He knew he recognized it from somewhere. That man. The man who killed Auntie Inko and the one who forced All Might into retirement.

Then he remembered the disappearance of The League of Villains, a couple months before Deku's debut. Cementos's talk with Deku popped into his head as well. Izuku had almost blatantly said he killed the League. Had he looked for them or did they kidnap him themselves?

But no matter how much Bakugou didn't want to admit it, Deku was strong. He wouldn't simply give in to peer pressure. He never had. He had to have been forced.

His stomach twisted. Bakugou and Uraraka walked in silence. A loud bad I'm followed with screaming sounded from the direction they came from. The classmates that ran ahead came to a stop to watch smoke rise from the buildings. They all snapped out of their daze and ran towards the destruction.

He alerted the teachers of their location and asked for permission for the whole class to engage as he ran down the street, which was answered with a "permission granted". He passed a sign in flames on the ground. The sign read, "E-SIVE SA-!."

"All the long-range fighters wait on the rooftops. Do not engage until I give the signal. Ilda, you wait for my signal as well. Uraraka, Kirishima, and everyone else follows me."

The close range classmates along with Bakugou stopped when he saw Deku with a limp body in his hand. He lazily threw it to the side and it thumped onto the ground. He looked back to Bakugou. The bags under his eyes were more apparent under the sunlight and they had been much worse then Bakugou had originally thought they were.

Instead of looking like he hadn't slept for months, it looked as if he hadn't slept in years. His face was pale and the only color you could see on it was the dark black freckles on his cheekbones.

The strangest thing was that he didn't smile. Before he would smile and exclaim "Kachan", but now the only expression he made only held emptiness, anger, and rage. The sight sent shivers down Bakugou's spine.

His classmates must have felt the same way because they visibly shook to the side of him.

"Are you out of your damn mind?!" Bakugou yelled. Bakugou looked behind Deku where Ilda and the rest of the class waited for the signal. His eyes quickly snapped back to Deku.

"What do you think, Bakugou?"

"I told you I was going to get your but back with us. I'm going to have to knock some sense back into your head so it didn't matter if your out of your mind or not." Deku rolled his eyes.

"I asked Bakugou of this, now I will ask all of you this..." Deku's eyes shifted off of Bakugou to stare blankly at the other students. "My offer stands to everyone but Bakugou. I have made an exception for Shouto, however. Join me. We will rid this world of our rotten heroes and bring peace back to the world. These fakes' unjust sins can be atoned only by death." He placed a hand on his chin and started to mutter.

"Izuku..."

The sound of his real name coming out of Bakugou's mouth made Izuku freeze in place. His hand was still perched atop his chin, but his muttering had stopped. His empty eyes widened.

An accelerated kick launched toward Izuku's head. Ilda's leg was securely caught in Izuku's hand. His hand remained on his chin and his other arm bent weirdly backward onto his shoulder where he caught Ilda's leg. Eyes still wide and empty. Izuku's grip tightened and Ilda gave a blood-curdling scream.

Izuku dropped his free hand onto his pockets and with the other waved Ilda by the leg around in front of him like a rag doll.

"Of course I was talking to you all as well, but it seems that one more person has lost their chance... Ilda-kun." He dropped him onto the floor and shook his hand which made an unsatisfying crack.

"You see, I seem to be having an unfortunate physical setback and your childish behavior is affecting my mood." He yawned and rubbed his temples. "So why don't all of you little pests come out of your hole?" The long-range fighters jumped off of the rooftops. It would have been futile to stay hidden, they had already been found.

"Better."

Bakugou charged at Izuku with explosions in his hands. Kaminari's lightning flashed, Jirou's sound rippled, and Tokoyami's dark shadow charged toward Izuku. Alongside Bakugou were Uraraka and Kirishima. Izuku caught Bakugou's fist and swung him backward onto his back like a shield. Dark shadow stopped and retreated back to Tokoyami.

He dropped Bakugou to avoid Uraraka and Kirishima's attacks. He kicked Kirishima in the chest, pushing him backward, and he swiped Uraraka's legs from under her. She came to the ground with a thud.

Dark Shadow attacked again. Izuku glared at the dark entity and it fled in fear. "This truly is getting boring." He said. A laser twinkled past him and he took a step backward, the laser barely missing. "How rude of me. It looks as if our useless extras were here as well." He bowed and placed a gloved hand over his chest. "My dearest apologies."

He eyed Aoyama, Sati, Koda, Mineta, Ojiro, Shoji, Sero, and Hagakure. "Where are my manners? You guys aren't extras necessarily, just side characters, unimportant classmates."

"I suggest you don't get involved. I wouldn't want to hurt any of you." He felt something thing grab onto his stomach. When he looked down he saw two white gloves. At once a laser, arms, a tail thrust toward him. The tape attempted to wrap itself around him. He pushed Hagakure off of him but wasn't quick enough to avoid the other attacks.

They collided and Izuku emerged off the ground with a slight twitch. "I've changed my mind." Anger filled his voice. "You useless pieces of shit shouldn't get the benefit of joining me. I think death would be the better choice." He glared at them furiously.

They flinched and took a step back. He walked towards them slowly. He twirled a knife out of his pockets. "You aren't even worth using my quirks on."

A hand grabbed his arm backward and he was pinned down on the ground. Bakugou sat on top of him with sweat dripping down his face. "We have him in custody for now." He said into the phone.

"Very well then, we will arrive shortly. Please keep him under control." Aizawa said over the phone. Bakugou put the phone back into his pocket. He felt a sudden pain in his shoulder. Blood seeped through his shirt where a knife pierced his skin. Izuku kicked him off of him and jumped away from Bakugou.

"So much for keeping him under control," Kirishima said. Bakugou glared at him.

Izuku looked dazed and as he would collapse in seconds. They attacked him from all sides. His movements were slow and his pale skin paled even more. He was breathing harsh and heavy but no sweat had been dripping.

"What's wrong with you now?! Got no stamina?!" Bakugou yelled. His fist collided with Izuku's face. Kirishima's followed and soon after that long-distance attacks collided as well. Bakugou gripped his face and sent an explosion into it, sending Izuku into a building. The rocks and dust fell on top of him like a doggy pile of nature.

After a minute of silence and anticipation they collapsed onto the ground, panting and exhausted. A scarred arm emerged from the rocks. Red lightning-laced around it. He climbed out of the rubble. "One For All 100 percent." He deadpanned.

He flicked the air and sent them all flying backward. Bakugou, Uraraka, Kirishima, Ilda, and Todoroki were the only ones to get up. Everyone else lay on the ground unconscious.

Uraraka looked around quickly, eyes widening at the destruction. She clenched her fists. She took a step forward. "Izuku. I accept." Both Izuku and the rest of the people who were conscious looked at her with a perplexed expression. She reached for his collar and pulled him in, inches away from her face.

"I said I accept. I will join you and get rid of the fake heroes who only fight for fame and money. I will stay by your side." She pressed her lips against his. His eyes widened. The red lighting faded away and Izuku closed his eyes. He put his hands on the back of her head and pulled her against his chest. Todoroki and Bakugou glared at them.

Izuku opened his eyes wide in alarm. His body felt light and he floated into the air. He struggled against Uraraka's quirk when a scarf wrapped around him. Handcuffs clasped his wrists as he was brought to the ground. He was shoved into a police car. He glared at his classmates.

And they completely took him into custody.