Chapter 9 Deku vs Kacchan

No one knew how long it had been since the fight started. Could've been minutes, maybe hours or just mere seconds since the alarms had begun blasting. The class was at an advantage, as the villains had done their research beforehand and knew every single one of the student's quirks and weaknesses. As for the newcomer villains, nothing was known about their power. It would be difficult, but it wasn't like the class hadn't been in some dire predicament before. There was a joint goal at hand, they actually didn't have to defeat any of the villains really. The real objective was to rescue Deku and once they did that, everyone could retreat.

Some of the students stuck to their pairs and allowed the warp gates to transport them somewhere. Most pairs and groups had tried to avoid the altogether, refusing the warp gate villain to scattered them before like what had happened during the USJ incident.

The class had gone through the most rigorous training and had experience prior, so this attack? Just another day at U.A. Of course it was still frightening to everyone, especially since no teachers were there at the moment to assist, but with fear came the desire to combat it. It was essential to every hero to know that fear was a part of what made them stronger. Even Bakugou, who stood there at the ready, his eyes fixated on the green-haired boy that stared back.

He was scared.

Never would Bakugou have admitted something like that, but it wasn't the fear of dying that he had – Bakugou feared losing Izuku Midoriya. The result of this fight would end up in one or two ways, either Deku would be rescued and returned of Bakugou would die trying. There was no way that the villains would try to retreat and regroup again, this was their final push to destroy U.A's students, they couldn't afford to try again and again, not with their limited resources and their tantrum toddler of upper management.

It was do or die, now or never.

Bakugou kept his eyes locked on Deku who only furrowed his brows and grit his teeth back in response. Tomura Shigaraki kept one hand on the boy's shoulder with a pinky up, holding him back. Bakugou noticed that the hands freak was muttering things behind the hand that fastened itself to the creep's face. Deku only nodded in response, taking a few steps back. What? Was he not going to fight? Bakugou grit his teeth and took a few heavy steps forward.

"WHAT?! NOT GOING TO FIGHT ME?! I thought this is what you wanted! C'mon Deku just TRY and kill me!" He screamed out, the others watching Bakugou as he carefully kept his distance despite the threat. He could see Deku's mouth pulling and his fists clenching, but the other villain kept him at bay.

Before Bakugou could send another round of taunting insults, a nomu began racing towards them with such speed it was almost a miracle that Bakugou saw it in his peripheral. He jumped back, dodging the nomu's charge while keeping his eyes back onto Deku and the villains surrounding him. There was no way he was going to let him escape, not again.

Kirishima moved forward to throw a hardened punch at the nomu, keeping himself close to Bakugou. The nomu's speed was far too great, avoiding the attack and began barreling towards Kirishima. Breaking his gaze, Bakugou moved and projected himself with his explosions to grab ahold of Kirishima's arm, pulling him back from the attack.

"Thanks bro! Let's get rid of this monster first, it's way too fast!" The red head hardened both his arms, getting himself ready for any other charged attacks. Bakugou quickly scanned behind him, seeing that the remaining students that were around were Sero, Ojiro, Iida, and Todoroki. Behind them there were other classmates who had begun fighting with various other nomus and villains. He couldn't check for too long but he had faith in every single one of his classmates that they'd be alright. Everyone had each other's back, they would be fine.

"Please allow us to take care of this nomu." Iida stepped up alongside Todoroki who had both prepared themselves in battle stances. Bakugou scoffed. Both four-eyes and icey-hot had been working extensively hard together to build each other's quirks up, Bakugou saw a bit of what they were capable of together. He could tell that beating the nomu would be easy enough for them with Iida matching the monster's speed.

Bakugou turned back towards the villains at hand, preparing his hands. "Fine by me! Don't fuck up, got it?" He turned his attention towards the nomu who was getting ready for another charge. Before it was set to move, a path of ice quickly formed towards the nomu, encasing the legs of it. Almost in a flash, Iida had sped down the ice, using the icey sleet to quicken his speed before jumping and landing a powerful kick at the nomu's face. With a hand, Iida took a hold of the nomu's shoulder and propelled himself upwards, lifting his other leg and crashing it back down on the monster's head.

Iida glanced back at Bakugou, determination shining through his glasses. "I leave Midoriya to you! Bakugou!" He shouted out. The fiery boy could only smirk, turning back and kept his eyes back on Deku who stood next to Shigaraki.

The green-haired boy didn't make any motions, nor any movements that indicated he was going to attack. Was he not going to fight? The first few times he and Deku saw each other the latter was more than willing to jump at the chance. It seemed like the head honcho was keeping him back, probably because he knew that the class would try to take him back. If that was the case, then the easiest way to go about this was to taunt Deku into fighting. That would be easy enough, but the actual fighting part wouldn't be. If there was something that never changed in Bakugou over the last few months was his over tenacious desire to win – and he will.

-

Toshinori frowned, his patience was growing thin. He had listened to All for One ramble on and on about his ideals but the reason he was able to muster through was the secrets he kept about Young Midoriya's state.

"The combination of quirks, it's quite an interesting topic to think about don't you think? Of course with heroes they are only able to place trust into one another which can lead to horrible outcomes. When you place multiple quirks into one person, however, some combinations can lead to the perfect blend. I've been making these nomus to create the perfect synergy of warriors but I was quite surprised when that young boy was able to take a quirk as well." The villain began chuckling, his shoulders moving up and down lightly with what his restrains could allow.

The once number 1 Pro Hero felt his heart leap in his chest. His hands clenched in his lap, working hard not to show any signs of concern or worry.

"You gave him a quirk?" Toshinori tried to keep his voice as calm as he could, but the man couldn't help but grit his teeth in annoyance. He thought about what that would mean for One for All; if there was a destructive quirk then it would be stockpiled and transferred down to the next user. The idea of that made Toshinori's stomach drop. There had been instances of self-destructive quirks throughout history, most of the time those users would have to be hospitalized for the safety of themselves and others. Was it possible that One for All had given Midoriya some sort of self-destruct quirk? How would it be activated?

The vision of seeing Young Midoriya blowing up as enough to get Toshinori back out of his seat, deciding whether or not he should leave to find the others or stay and listen to what the actual quirk was. Judging from the way One for All was stalling, the retired hero had a hunch something was going on during their meeting.

"You're not leaving again so soon? You haven't heard what the quirk was. Truly, I believe that because he was born quirkless he was able to receive the quirk quite easily. Or maybe it's because he was used to having a quirk passed down onto him. Either way, I'm pleasantly surprised his mind did not break like other's have in the past." Toshinori couldn't see but it was almost like All for One was grinning at him.

"Just get to the point. You either tell me what the quirk is or I won't waste any more time here and let you rot." His brave, bold bravado wasn't shaking All for One.

"Come now, All Might. You're going to stay here until you hear what it is, so let me indulge in my magnificent planning. It was a quirk that I had stolen while I was back in my prime days. At the time I was stealing as many quirks as I could. Rather foolish of me looking back, but of course there would be a time and place for everything."

Toshinori sat back down, gritting his teeth as he felt his blood boil. He was being played around, information being used to keep the man at bay. His hands curled back into fists, listening idly as All of One continued on and on.

"Oh don't give me that gloomy look, it doesn't suit you at all. Where is the hero smile of your's?" The villain continued to chuckle as Toshinori kept silent.

Thoughts began bouncing back into the man's head. Worry sprouted from different scenarios that played in Toshinori's mind. He had promised Inko that her son would be saved, but was there really no hope? Was it determined the moment Izuku Midoriya was taken from them that he would die? No, he had to push those thoughts away. He had to believe in his successor, believe that One for All will guide him and protect him like they've done before. On top of that, the entire Class 1-A had pulled their powers together to save him. Toshinori had to put faith in the youth, he couldn't give into despair now – now when there were still people to save! Even without the power of One for All coursing through his veins, the best he could do was continue to give the new generations of hero the light that shone on him once.

He got up from his chair, keeping his gaze on the glass in front of him.

"Whatever the quirk is, Izuku Midoriya is a strong young man who can endure anything. With the help of his classmates, those memories that are trapped inside will break through, I know of that." He felt some surge through his chest, something that he came to know as hope. Toshinori smiled softly, it wasn't the smile he used as All Might that combatted the fear he felt inside of himself, but it was a smile that had complete faith in his students. There came a point in time where you just have to leave it to the young ones. They'll come through, not only because they were strong, but because they had to.

All for One stayed still, pausing for a second before muttering something under his breath. He began chuckling lowly, then the volume went up.

"Foolish! You think that this is some story that comes with a happy ending? Whatever the outcome is, Izuku Midoriya will no longer be the same. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I didn't plant a bomb in him, nothing that could destroy and kill him." Toshinori let out a sigh of relief.

"There are some things worse than death, and I enjoy hearing your cries when you find Izuku's body without a mind, lost in his own void." The voice was threatening, looming over the room.

Toshinori kept his gaze hardened, scoffing. "And what do you mean by that?"

"Once those memories break through, the emotional turmoil is going to set off the quirk I gave him. Every single memory he owns will slowly break apart, leaving him nothing but a hollow shell of what once was. He won't remember you, his classmates, not even his own name. The boy you once knew will be gone."

-

Explosions went off, clanging of metal was heard. The entire class had continuously kept their stance against the nomus and villains. Things were not without issues, a lot of the pairings had received copious amount of injuries as a result but kept pursuing their goal. The nomus were all strong, but once the students figured out the different quirks that were stored on top of one another, strategies came to play.

Black and purple flames had surrounded the dormitory, creating an arena that trapped the students. The warp gates had transferred some of the students outside of that ring, meeting with other villains that appeared from the woods. Everyone had their hand at fending off the villains, even those who had seem to cower in fear were actively fighting, utilizing their quirks with their fellow classmates.

Uraraka and Tsuyu had stayed together, fighting off both a nomu and the villainous girl that had appeared to them during the courage test back in the summer training. She had disguised herself as Uraraka for the attack, but the ruse was easily distinguished by Tsuyu who knew the girl too well.

After Todoroki and Iida had finished off the nomu, they were confronted by the villain that had created the wall of fire. He wanted to match his flames against Todoroki's, finding it interesting to see how he could handle the heat.

Other villains that the students recognized from the summer training were there as well, alongside new villains that they didn't know the quirks of. Despite knowing that these villains had faced off against the Pussycats on equal footing, that didn't stop the students from acting upon their heroic instincts.

Bakugou had just pinned down one of the lowly villains, a hand on their back to keep them from getting up. Kirishima came down with his harden arm to incapacitate them with a hit to the back of their head. The two got up and stood with backs facing each other, ready for the next wave of villains that charged at them.

"Bakugou!"

"I got it!" The fiery teen grabbed the other's arm, swinging him around. Kirishima hardened his legs and crashed them into the villains that got too close, knocking them out with the strength that coupled with the momentum of the swing.

Kirishima noticed Sero and Ojiro working off to fight some of the other villains, using Sero's tape to round them up.

"HEY SERO!" He shouted out, picking up one of the villains that was knocked out. "TAPE ME!" Sero grinned, throwing his elbow towards them as tape came over to stick onto the villain that was being held out. Kirishima looked to Bakugou who had moved to the other side, letting the villains get closer.

"Now Kirishima!" He roared out, getting his palms ready, facing the ground. Kirishima took the villain in his hands and spun around once, using the moment to hurl that villain to the side, the tape following the trajectory.

Bakugou sent explosions onto the ground, hurling himself up towards the sky to avoid the line of tape that started attaching itself to the villains. Using his left palm, Bakugou moved himself to the left, heading towards the first villain that was knocked out and taped up. Landing behind him, he grabbed a hold of the villain and tossed him towards the middle of the tape, crashing into the other villains that had got themselves stuck.

Sero cut his tape off and attacked the end to a rock. Ojiro used his tail to throw the rock over towards the crowd of villains, letting the tape wrap around them.

Once they were detained, Bakugou looked back to Deku who was standing back, grinning from ear to ear.

"Look at that… They used one of the lowly villain as a capture point. They had Sero use his tape and used the momentum of the villain's weight to capture the other villains! That teamwork is amazing!" Bakugou could hear Deku from where he was, analyzing the fight as it went on. He could see that the boy was trembling either from excitement or anticipation. Definitely not from fear.

Bakugou stepped forward, bracing his shoulders back as he shouted through the field. "COME AT ME DEKU! What's wrong with you? Didn't you want to fight? Wasn't the last fight we had a disappointment?" He remembered the words the other had said about the fight they had at the beach. Bakugou was fueled by too many emotions at the time, but now he was ready.

Deku frowned, his hand going towards his belt before Tomura took ahold of his arm.

"No, you can't. Remember what I said." Tomura kept Deku back, the other boy shaking with eagerness.

"I know Tomuchan… But I-" Before Deku could continue, Bakugou let out another roar.

"WHAT? Think you can just sit back and not do jack squat? Are you useless?"

That seemed to have gotten Deku off his feet. One blink and Deku wasn't beside Tomura. He came straight at Bakugou, his fists clenched and a grin on his face. Bakugou could only grin back, getting himself prepared to take the other boy head on. He waited for the right moment until,

"SERO!" Bakugou shouted but the tape quirk user was already on it. He had thrown his tape on the back of Bakugou and pulled him back. Bakugou jumped back and let the tape pull him, Deku shocked. The green-haired boy growled and chased after him, following back.

The protests of Tomura wasn't heard by the boy, the vengeance on his mind clouding over.

"Kurogiri, bring him bac-" Strong legs came from the side, kicking down Tomura. Iida quickly adjusted himself to land on the other side. An ice wall emerged from below, creating a barrier that prevented the main two villains from seeing beyond. Todoroki created more sheets of ice on the ground, allowing Iida to skid back next to him.

Bakugou watched as Deku came closer, the rage in his eyes evident. Using his palms, Bakugou created explosions to propel himself further away, towards the courtyard closer to the entrance of the school. Sero already released the tape and watched the two classmates pass them.

"Get back here Kacchan! Trying to run away?!" Deku screamed out, keeping his vicious eyes on the blonde. Bakugou knew that the others could handle the rest of the villains, but Deku? It was true that only strength in numbers could knock down Deku, but deep down Bakugou wanted his god damn rematch. He wanted to face Deku himself, despite the other classmates all agreeing that they would help him out any way possible. Still, he kept the mentality that he was the one that had to repay the debt he owed the boy.

"I ain't running away! Come at me nerd!" Bakugou screamed back, finally stopping near the entrance of the dormitory. Surrounding them was different fights amongst other students. Everyone seemed to have been preoccupied getting their nomus and villains situated. In the corner of his eyes, Bakugou saw some of his classmates on the floor, struggling. Others had visible wounds, some gashes and others with blood.

The blonde gritted his teeth, he had to finish this up as quickly as possible. He had to fight, to win!

"COME AT ME DEKU!" He taunted, getting his arms ready.

Deku's mouth pulled into a strained smile, his teeth barring. He pulled out a few knives from his belt and moved to prepare himself. "STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He shouted back, charging at the source of all his turmoil. With the blade raised, he moved to strike down at Bakugou's shoulder who dodged. With his right arm he threw a punch only for it stop near Deku's chest. Deku held onto the hand grinning.

"Right hook still?" The question was met with Bakugou's smirk.

"You fucking bet." Bakugou took ahold of Deku's hand that was holding his and gripped tightly. Bakugou reeled his head back and crashed it against Deku's forehead, sending the boy off his balance, stumbling backwards.

"KACCHAN WHAT THE FUCK!" Deku held onto his head, groaning. Bakugou winced, rubbing his forehead as he moved to charge at the other. It was an improvised move, but he learned that maybe if he did things that were unexpected, it would throw Deku off his game. It definitely was enough for Bakugou to reel back his arm and send a hard punch to the other's cheek, knocking him onto the ground.

Deku got up, holding his face and glared down the other. Glowing stripes appeared on Deku's face, the power of One for All surging through him. Bakugou knew that he wasn't a match for All Might during the final exams, but he knew Deku was still learning how to handle this quirk. He'd been witnessing it this entire time, and by comparing himself to someone who started from nothing, Bakugou had grown more and more frustrating seeing the other's progress and improvement. Looking back, he shouldn't have been so riled up, he was blessed with amazing powers from the day he was born, Deku started with nothing. It wasn't fair to compare the progress of someone who was level 50 to someone who started at level 1.

In a flash, Deku was already back in the air, throwing a punch at Bakugou once again. The blonde knew he couldn't block it as the strength of the punch could still puncture through, so instead he jumped to the side. Deku seemed to have noticed this and moved to swipe his leg down, tripping Bakugou.

Using his palm towards the ground, he created explosions to propel himself back up and gathered his balance, though before he was able to look up, Deku had landed a strong punch to the boy's chest, sending him back towards the dormitory building.

"That's all you got? Some punches?" Bakugou wiped his mouth as blood began to drip. He clenched at his stomach and got up, seeing two projectiles fly at him. He quickly stepped out of the way but a knife had sliced through his shirt and nicked his shoulder.

"Well, I have some knives too." Deku grinned as he tossed another knife at Bakugou, who jumped to the left.

"You think some knives are going to help you out? Seems like a cheat to me!" Bakugou taunted, holding his hands up. Deku only smiled brightly, throwing his arms to the left. In the corner of his eye, Bakugou saw a glimmer of a string and quickly turned to face the knife that had followed Deku's arm. It swung at Bakugou who ducked, and went back to the owner's hand.

"I think weapons are just fine as long as you know how to properly use it. Same thing as costumes right? Support gear?" Deku hummed thoughtfully, flipping the knife in his hand to hold it with the blade facing down.

Bakugou only grinned back. "Whatever nerd, I'll beat you with or without knives!" Bakugou propelled himself forward with his quirk, one arm moving up to reach out to Deku. The green-haired boy held the knife up, moving to swipe at the hand that was outstretched. At the last minute, Bakugou moved the palm up and blasted an explosion, moving himself lower on the ground and slid below Deku's legs. He quickly straightened himself up and landed a kick to the boy's back, causing him to stumble forward.

Deku growled in returned and flipped himself to land a punch at the ground where Bakugou was. The blonde had quickly rolled to the side and got back to his feet, though the powered-up punch had created a crater in the ground that left Bakugou off balance. While he was moving to keep himself upright, Deku grabbed ahold of Bakugou's arm and swung him over his shoulder, tossing him onto the ground with extreme force.

Bakugou spat out some blood and quickly tried to get himself off the ground but was thrown onto the other side by Deku once more. The expression on the boy's face was twisted, his eyes widen accompanied by a wide grin as he moved on top of Bakugou to throw down a fist. The punches collided with Bakugou's face, another thrown after. The blonde could feel the bone in his nose crack as another punch soared across his face. He used his legs to kick Deku back, quickly stumbling behind him.

"Come BACK here!" Deku pulled himself forward, his arm reeling back for another strong punch. Bakugou made a move to step back but found his head clouding up from the punches he received. He wouldn't be able to dodge it, he had to block-!

The punch never came, instead, Bakugou found himself being pulled back. Nothing was holding him, but for some reason his body was being dragged across the ground towards the entrance of the building. Looking back, he came face to face with Inko Midoriya who was struggling with an arm out. She had pulled Bakugou out of the way with her quirk, saving him from Deku's powerful punch.

"K-Katsuki!" She cried out, eyes brimming with tears. His face must've been a mess, obviously enough to worry the mother. He got up and wiped his face, the blood staining his arm. Shouji and Satou appeared behind her, moving to guard her.

Finally standing up, Bakugou turned back to see Deku standing there, eyes wide. He stared at his mother long and hard, his mouth agape.

"Why? Why is she here?" Deku's couldn't move his gaze away, Inko trembled at the sight of her son who was so close, almost at reach.

"I-Izuku!" She cried out, ready to move towards him before Shouji held his arms out to block her.

Deku's hands shook, balling into fists as he began walking closer. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?! NOW OF ALL PLACES?! Where were you when I needed you?!" He screamed out, bracing his arm to throw a punch at his own mother. Satou and Shouji moved to counter, but Bakugou was the one who got in front.

He held his palms out and summoned a concentrated blast of explosions, creating his stun grenade attack. It shot directly in front of Deku who blocked it with his other arm, falling back.

"What the FUCK is wrong with you?" Bakugou screamed out, panting hard. "Trying to hurt your fucking mom?" He didn't know what got his legs moving, but he knew that he couldn't stand there and watch Deku try to land a hit on his own mother. For the first time, Bakugou's legs moved on its own to rescue someone.

Bakugou frowned and moved to prepare his next move. He kept his hands close together, the sweat on his palms heating us as he focused the trajectory. Deku looked up and a beam of explosions fired off from Bakugou's hands. The concentrated blast sent Deku flying backwards, falling onto the ground. Bakugou huffed, clenching his fists as he watched Deku struggle to get up.

"No… I'm not going to lose to you Kacchan…" He seethed, looking up with fire in his eyes.

"IZUKU!" Bakugou yelled out, catching the attention of the boy in question and the other classmates around. "LISTEN TO ME! You're a HERO!" He couldn't stop to think what he wanted to say, he had to get him to listen, he had to say what was in his heart.

"You're stronger than this! SO SNAP OUT OF IT! COME BACK TO US!" Bakugou screamed, the sincerity in his voice caused his words to crack.

Deku stared, his eyes wide. Bakugou caught a glimmer of something in the green orbs, something reminiscent.

"Deku! You're the Deku that never gives up! The Deku that does his best!" Uraraka screamed out, her eyes watering as Deku turned to stare at her.

"You're Midoriya of Class 1-A! You're our friend! If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here!" Iida shouted next from behind. The entire class had begun shouting at the green-haired boy, all throwing their emotions into their words.

"You've saved me from myself, you've shown me what it meant to be a hero!" Todoroki called out next, the entire class moving in closer.

"You're strong Midoriya, if anyone could do this it's you, ribbit!"

"You're the manliest guy I know! So hurry and shake it off!"

"You've always been so strong! So like, let's get this done and over with! Come back!"

Bakugou watched as more of his classmates called out, his heart stirring. Deku stared at everyone who called out, from Tsuyu, to Kirishima, to Mina. He began to tremble, clutching at his head.

"Through the heaviest of darkness will you see the brightest of lights, find the guide back to where you truly belong."

"With your strength, you can break through."

Deku turned his head to see Tokoyami and Shouji standing over some uprooted cement.

"You beat Shinsou's brainwashing, you can pull through anything!"

"You're our fellow classmate Midoriya, we won't rest till we have you back safe and sound."

"Listen to everyone… can't you hear how much they care?"

"Yeah! We all need you back Midoriya! Seriously! C'mon back!"

He clutched at his head, turning to see Ojiro, Yaoyorozu, Jirou and Kaminari all staring at him. Something in his heart began pulling, threatening to burst as his eyes welled up.

"Yeah Midoriya! Where's that super strong spirit of your's? Bring it out and let's GO!"

"… You can do it, we believe in you."

"You're too cool to be a villain Midoriya!"

"You sparkle the brightest amongst us, mon ami."

"Man! We're really trying to help you out here, so give us a break!"

"You can do it! Just have to give it your all!"

The boy started hyperventilating looking to the other students that had called out to him. They all had a look of determination on their face, something about it seemed so familiar to him.

"Izuku please come home!"

Deku turned to face his mother, tears falling down his cheek as his heart continued to pounce and his mind began to drum. He held onto his head, falling to his knees while writhing in pain. The entire class began to approach, concern filling their face as they watched Deku crouch on the ground, fighting himself.

"IZUKU!" Bakugou raced towards him, a hand reaching out to him. As the green-haired boy looked up, his eyes widen and a click was heard. Once Bakugou got close enough to touch Midoriya, a strong shock wave emitted from the boy's body, throwing the surrounding debris back and blasted Bakugou back onto the ground.

Midoriya fainted, as did Bakugou.

-

The first thing Bakugou noticed was the pain he felt on his face. It stung. Like someone had punched it repeatedly- oh, that's right. He blinked away the blurriness in his vision before sitting up, looking at his surroundings with aching muscles.

There was debris everywhere, but not the same he saw earlier. No, he wasn't in the courtyard but the location was familiar. He was inside a building, cement blocks littered the ground around him.

Ground Beta.

Bakugou got up quickly and noticed that he was back wearing his hero costume, the realization hitting him like a punch straight from All Might himself. He quickly scanned the room, looking for the person he knew would be there with him.

Across the room was a hunched up body in a green body suit, holding onto himself. Bakugou quickly scrambled over to the boy's side, grabbing ahold of his shoulders.

"Deku! Did we do it?!" He gasped out, shaking the other before noticing the other was crying, tears streaming down his face.

"K-Kacchan… Everything hurts..." Midoriya confessed, turning towards him, one hand on his head.

"What's wrong?" Bakugou's eye twitched. They've done it right? So maybe this was just an aftermath of breaking the quirk's hold.

Midoriya moved to stand up, nearly stumbling into the taller boy's arm. He looked up at the ceiling that had been blasted through. Bakugou followed the other's gaze, nearly gasping at what he saw. Instead of the sky above, pieces of visions were floating about, almost like screens to another dimension playing out a scenario. It was almost like watching a movie until Bakugou realized what they were.

They were memories.

A few floated around, but what Bakugou noticed is that they looked like they were crumbling. Pieces of light scattered down on the two as the memories began to fade into thin air.

"I think I'm losing my memories, no, I'm not losing them, they're erasing." Midoriya gasped, lip quivering as more tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Bakugou continued to stare. What did that mean? Everything that the boy had worked up to this point would be gone, wasted. Every memory he had with his classmates, with his mother, with All Might, gone? Would he remember who he was? Would he remember how to speak? What did this all mean?!

The blonde gritted his teeth, fists clenching as he watched the memories slowly crumbled away. He heard muttering from Midoriya and normally his first response would to shut him up, but what he heard almost yanked his heart out of his chest.

"Izuku Midoriya, Shouto Todoroki, Tenya Iida, Uraraka Ochako…"

He was muttering the names of his classmate to keep himself aware. He wanted to remember them. Midoriya continued to mutter to himself while Bakugou kept silent, his brain scanning through possible solutions to the predicament. Could he catch the pieces of memory and stitch them together? What can he do? What was there to do?!

The memories continued to crumble, half of them had disappeared already.

"S-Sho… I-I can't remember! Kacchan I can't remember!" Midoriya grabbed ahold of the other's arm, gripping them tightly as he began to sob. "I don't want to forget! I don't want to lose everyone!"

Something in Bakugou's mind clicked. He quickly grabbed ahold of the boy's shoulder and stared at him directly in the eye.

"SHUT UP! You're not losing anyone! Memories or not, we're still going to be with you okay? You're still going to be you no matter WHAT! I don't care if you can't remember us! Who cares? They'll just become your friends again!" Bakugou watched as Deku's eyes widen, his mouth quivering. The blonde couldn't stop himself from trembling himself, biting his lip.

"But Kacchan-"

"No buts! Stop making excuses! You're not dying are you? So what's there to be worrying about you damn nerd?" Bakugou knew the answer to that.

"What if I'm not myself? What if I don't want to be a hero anymore?" Midoriya looked down, holding onto his arms.

"Ha! What a joke! Of course you're going to want to be a hero! Who doesn't?" Bakugou laughed, grinning before seeing Midoriya's defeated face. "Oi, don't give me that look. You'll be fine okay?"

Midoriya looked up, meeting Bakugou's eyes, giving him a watery smile.

"I'm scared…" He whispered softly, shivering.

Bakugou took a moment before moving to embrace the other boy. He held onto him tightly, pouring all of his emotions into the hug.

"I'm sorry Izuku, for being an ass. For ruining your life." His voice was softer, somber and almost desperate. "If this really is the last time we see each other like this, I want you to know I'm sorry for everything I've done to you."

Midoriya chuckled into the other's shoulder before returning the embrace.

"Thanks… But you never ruined my life, I've always looked up to you, you're amazing Kacchan." He admitted, smiling softly as he looked up at the memories disintegrating away.

"You're the one that's fucking amazing! Listen, Izuku-"

"You can call me Deku, it's okay, for some reason it seems right."

Bakugou swallowed hard.

"Deku, you'll be alright."

The two let go of one another, taking a step back as Midoriya rubbed at his eyes. He looked up to the ceiling to watch more of the memories fade into nonexistence. The rumble around the two began to sparkle themselves, pieces of them crumbling away into the white abyss.

In that moment, Bakugou watched as the lights of memories faded around Midoriya, illuminating the boy from behind. He didn't want to shed any tears, but his body betrayed him when a single droplet rolled down his left cheek.

"Kacchan?"

Bakugou wiped away at his face.

"What?"

Midoriya looked around, the entire memory of Ground Beta disintegrating into pure white.

"Thanks for saving me."

Bakugou chuckled.

"No idiot, thank you."

In front of him, Midoriya smiled softly before the light enveloped Bakugou's vision.

-

The ground around him was shaking, or at least that's what it felt to Bakugou in that moment. The waves of movement shook his body to full consciousness. More light flooded in Bakugou's vision, making him grimace.

"So much fucking light…" He murmured, blinking rapidly. A sigh of relief came from someone above, different shadows clouded Bakugou's vision.

"You're awake! Thank goodness!" Uraraka's high voice was too recognizable, it was also annoying in that moment.

Bakugou sat up, rubbing his head and looked around. His few of his classmates were surrounding him, though not everyone. In the distance, Bakugou could hear the wailing of sirens. Turning his head, he saw Inko Midoriya sitting on the ground with her son's head resting in her lap. A few of the other students were around the green-haired boy as well.

"Is he…?" Bakugou calmly asked, looking at the other with wide eyes.

"He's breathing, that we know." Iida spoke up, placing a hand on Bakugou's shoulder. The blonde nodded in response, gritting his teeth. Izuku was going to be fine, he was alive – that's what the important part was.

"The villains are being apprehended as we speak, we've managed to incapacitate all the monstrosities and captured a good amount of the lowly henchmen. As for Tomura Shigaraki and the warp gate quirk user, they've unfortunately escaped." Iida added, lowering his head in guilt.

Todoroki turned from watching Midoriya to Bakugou. "If they plan to come back for him, we will be ready."

Bakugou felt a lump appear in his throat. Would the villains come back for Midoriya despite…?

A groan came from the unconscious boy, alerting everyone and gathered the entire class closer. Bakugou's breath hitched, he couldn't help himself but look over to the boy who started coming to. He had hope, maybe the memories didn't really fade away, just locked again.

They all waited for him to wake up, finally, Midoriya blinked and looked around him. His lips quivered, eyes wide with fear and confusion. The boy scrambled up and began crawling backwards, unsure at how to take in the new surroundings.

"Deku? What's wrong?" Uraraka asked, holding a hand out to the boy who jumped at the sudden movement. Inko's eyes began watering, reaching out for her son as well.

"Izuku baby!" The mother's cry only startled the boy who cowered even lower.

"What's happening?" Kirishima asked, panicked.

Before Bakugou could say anything, a figure came before them, clearing his throat.

"I think I can explain, for now everyone please gather over here, allow young Midoriya some space." The man's darks eye moved to look at Bakugou who met the gaze with a knowing look. All Might closed his eyes and shook his head, letting Bakugou know that the inevitable had occurred.

Bakugou turned back and took another look at Midoriya who looked like a deer in headlights. How could he say he was successful in saving Midoriya? How could he had returned the favor when the boy he knew no longer knew him?

The pain inside his chest began to swirl, crushing through his organs and his heart. He felt utter defeat.

-

It had been a week after the villain attack at the dormitories, but it wasn't until today that class resumed as normal.

Normal was really an understatement, the class no longer felt normal. With the continued absence of Izuku Midoriya the entire class seemed to have been dropped in a pit of gloom and despair. Even with the knowledge that their classmate was alive, after being informed on what had happened to Izuku Midoriya afterwards, no one felt like they had succeeded in what they hoped for.

Aizawa cleared his throat at the front desk, gathering everyone's attention despite no one really talking.

"I'm sure you're all worried about Midoriya, so we've gotten some updates from his family." This seemed to bring everyone's mood up, or at least sparked the entire class's interest.

"We've received reports that he has started talking, so the ability to speak was not forgotten. However, it's what All Might said, his memories have been seemingly wiped. He doesn't know anything, not even his own name."

The class was already silent, but hearing the news only seemed to bring the room into an even deadlier silence.

Iida had his arm up in the few seconds of dreariness. "Excuse me sensei! Would it be possible if we could visit Midoriya? Maybe us being with him could spark some memories in him!" The class seemed to like the idea, using any excuse to bring their hopes up.

Aizawa only shook his head. "We've been told that it would be better to give them space as they try to get Midoriya adjusted back to the world. He's having to learn everything from scratch, so until then, we shouldn't interfere." Iida only gritted his teeth, bowing his head to Aizawa before sitting back down in his seat.

Bakugou leaned his face against his palm, looking at the wall instead of forward. He felt the emptiness behind his seat, taunting him. His heart never felt settled since the day, his mind felt numb to the world.

-

After the fight, all the students were sent back to their respective homes to stay while the dormitories were being repaired. On top of that, the media had swarmed the area so returning to the dorms after class was too hectic for anyone to bother with.

Walking back to his house gave Bakugou a feeling of unrest. It wasn't like he didn't walk home alone before, it was just the neighborhood that reminded him of his failures. He should be glad that Izuku was alive and recovering, but everything that happened seem to have been for nothing. This ending was too bittersweet for Bakugou to swallow, he didn't want to believe it.

Being lost in thought meant that Bakugou was prone to not pay attention to where he was going. He kept his gaze directed to the floor a bit ahead of his shoes so when a couple of guys walked into him he nearly tripped over himself.

"Hey, WATCH IT!" He shouted, hands moving up to spark explosions in his palms. The guys cowered away and continue off in the other direction. Bakugou grumbled, running a hand through his hair as he marched off towards his block.

He thought about visiting the Midoriyas, at least just for a second. Not even to see Izuku but maybe to talk to Inko about the situation and her son's progress. After all, Bakugou had done his best to save Izuku, and considering their long relationship, it seemed only right for him to know some things.

Bakugou thought back to what Aizawa said in class, then he thought back to what Izuku was like when he woke up after losing his memories. It definitely might've been too soon to pay a visit, but everyone in class was feeling the unrest. The longer questions went unanswered, the more anxious everyone got; that was understandable considering everything that's happened.

How long would it take for Izuku to be comfortable with guests? All Might had made visits, and Bakugou knew that he'd want to help with Izuku's recovery, especially since One for All was still apart of him. If anyone could get Izuku to remember his life, it might be the one person that inspired him to become a hero. Of course, with All Might's true form, it might've been more difficult.

Bakugou continued to ponder the decision on whether or not to visit the Midoriya household until another pedestrian knocked into him. The blonde lost his footing and fell onto the sidewalk, almost face palming. He slammed his hand on the cement and looked behind him, roaring out.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FUCKING GOING!" The business man didn't even take a look back at Bakugou, speeding away. Other passersby stared at Bakugou but continued on their way. His face grew red with embarrassment, making him grow frustrated. He was about to pull himself off the ground when a hand was extended towards him.

"Are you alright? Can you get up?"

Bakugou looked up, his eyes widening to see Izuku Midoriya standing in front of him, a hand outstretched. Memories ran through his mind, different visions flashed before Bakugou's eyes all leading up to the moment in the woods as a child. He had fallen from a log into the river and Izuku had waded through the water to offer his hand in help.

Maybe a few months back, Bakugou would've found the eyes that looked down on him to be irritating, infuriating, disgusting. Those were the eyes that pitied him, but Bakugou knew better now. The eyes were filled with concern, the hand was meant as an offering for help. There was no pity, no looking down on him other than in a technical manner.

He took the outstretched hand and hoisted himself up, keeping his eyes on Izuku.

"I'm fine." Bakugou didn't know what else to say in that moment. The boy before him gave a nervous smile, letting go of his hand.

"I'm glad, um," The boy nervously looked around, catching the sight of his mother. He beamed, turning back to Bakugou. "My mom's waiting for me so uh, have a good day!" He began heading towards his mother, Bakugou catching her eyes. She gave him a friendly, though worried smile and a small wave.

"Hey, you." Bakugou called out, causing the boy to turn around.

"Yeah?"

The blonde swallowed hard, unsure on what he wanted to say. He stopped the other on a whim. Bakugou realized that there was a lot more he wanted to say to the other, but knew that there was no way he could explain himself without scaring Izuku off. So instead he went with the first thing he should've said.

"Thanks."

Izuku's face beamed, a wide smile crossing his face. Bakugou couldn't help but return the smile, though not as large. The green-haired boy waved and left to meet up with his mother.

Watching the other boy leave with his mother made Bakugou realize that maybe everything they did was worth something. That something was telling him in that moment that everything was going to be okay, and that Izuku would be fine. The hero inside him was still evident, the boy he once knew was still there. Even if things didn't turn out exactly as how everyone planned, Bakugou finally came to realize that he had saved Izuku Midoriya.

To him, his debt wasn't repaid just yet, but the smile that he saw had given him the hope to keep going, to become the best hero that could both win and rescue. Bakugou could see only one person that could rival him for the top spot, but for now he'd just have to wait for him to catch up again