So I may have gotten a bit carried away while writing this chapter so I apologize... But I've been building to it so I had a lot of ideas and feelings.

I'm also thinking I may need to increase the rating to M, let me know if you think it needs to be upped!

Chapter 7-

Galas weren't his thing. Parties weren't even his thing. To be fair though, people weren't really his thing. Bakugo sat on his bed glaring at his phone as his hag of a mother could somehow be heard screaming from it after he tossed it across the room. The Bakugo family did not need speakerphone.

"YOU WILL WEAR THE CLOTHES I MAILED YOU OR SO HELP ME GOD I WILL DRIVE TO THAT GALA AND FORCE THEM ON YOU WHILE KICKING YOUR ASS!" The sweet, loving voice of his mother rang out across his room as he took of his shirt and threw it on top of the phone. The yelling was followed my muffled discussion of what he assumed was his father trying to calm his mother down. Unsuccessfully.

"I SHOVED THAT LITTLE SHIT OUT OF ME, HE WILL WEAR WHAT I GODDAMN TELL HIM TO WEAR!" She came across clearly from underneath the shirt as well.

He walked over and silenced the phone. He would get shit from them later, but they could find out what he was wearing by watching a damn television. He kicked the unopened box from his parents under his bed and rifled through his closet for anything acceptable that wasn't from them. Out of pure spite more so than disliking their fashion choices. His mother had impeccable fashion sense, and his father worked in the industry, but pissing them off was more fun than playing along. The buzzing from under his shirt signaled she had accepted defeat. He knew he would be receiving a string of terribly written text messages over the course of the night. His mother was probably already a few bottles of wine into her 'Gala Watching Party,' Also known as sitting with a group of drunk women and bragging about her son. He grabbed the phone to check, confirming his estimation on alcohol consumption.

'U R SCH A SHIT Y DID I BIRTH THE ANTIX'

Ah, lovely. Antichrist was one he hadn't heard before; she was getting more creative. The buzzing continued.

'DONT U IGNORE ME'

'I BET TODOROKI DRESSES NICE THATS Y UR #2'

'Ignore your mother, son. I'm taking her phone away. we love you'

He threw his phone at his bed. The fucking hag always knew how to hit him where it hurt.

It wasn't his clothing holding him back, apparently he wasn't fucking charming enough. Every teacher he talked to had said the same goddamn thing. Who the fuck wants a charming hero? Is charming going to save people from a burning building? He would have to ask the next person he saved if they were fucking charmed enough to live, or maybe they could just wait for the more charming heroes to come and die. He fell back onto his bed, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Being told you are talented enough to be number one, but not socially skilled enough to be seen as a hero really fucking sucked.

Rat Face Nezu had been the worst. "We need our number one to be a good person. And we can count on Mr. Todoroki to be that and represent our school well in public."

Not a good person. That was the basic fucking tenet of being a hero. How could they think he wasn't a good person? He had worked his ass off to save people, to dedicate his life to the weak and helpless. If he made a bit of money along the way, that was no one's business but his own. He had also been trying his hardest to work well with others. He had teamed up with multiple classmates and done okay at not doing everything himself! He worked well with Uraraka…

That girl had so much charm it had to be some sort of fucking witch craft. She had almost fallen on her face in front of hundreds of people and somehow walked away more likeable then ever. She had even found a way to make him look kind of nice, even if only for a second. He didn't really know how, but somehow she had found a way to calm him down. Fucking witch craft.

To be honest, he actually enjoyed being around her, which is more than he could say for most people, and he was slightly looking forward to having her around during the gala, especially since she would now be Deku-less. Their very public falling out, as uncomfortable as watching it had been, had been entertaining. Watching the stupid nerd in emotional peril because of his own fucking ego had been the light in his last few days. The kid couldn't see two feet in front of his fucking face to see he fucked up big time.

On the other hand, watching Uraraka struggle with it was less entertaining. She was terrible at hiding emotions and just looking at her was like watching a depressing, angsty movie. He had also run into her training, he thought about saying something, but decided watching her beat the living fucking shit out of gym equipment was a better, more fun, option.

He pulled an older pair of dress pants out of his drawer and put them on. The hem stopped inches above his feet. It turned out that eighteen-year-old Bakugo was slightly taller than he was when he last dressed up in a suit for something at… Sixteen maybe? He groaned, grabbing the box from under his bed and ripping off the top.

The suit was expensive looking, dark gray with a vest and jacket. The undershirt was red and the tie was black and red, patterned with roses and thorns. There was a note attached, written in his mom's handwriting.

'To my prickly flower, you go kick ass and fucking impress people, you got that? I know you won't read this until you finally give in the day of the gala, so don't you dare embarrass me tonight. Love, Mom.'

So fucking witty, old hag. He picked up the tie and examined it. He could do thorns. The suit fit like a glove, along with the shoes she included. He sprayed some cologne to avoid smelling like a living bomb and ran a hand through his hair. It was passable. He felt odd meeting face to face with the top heroes without his costume, it felt unnatural. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be any fighting tonight, at least that would be something he was good at.

He made his way downstairs into the crowd of classmates sitting around the TV, it looked like neither Icy Hot or Round Face were there so he would probably have to talk to people.

"Damn, Bakugo, if hero work fails you, you know you could always be a model." Mina had come down after him and grabbed his arm.

"Shove off, Racoon Eyes." He gently shoved her away and went to stand near the door, unfortunately he was now the center of attention.

"You clean up good, man." Kirishima was the next to annoy him. "Make sure you drop my hero name while the lady pros fawn over you."

"Would they even recognize it? Sounds like a waste of their precious time to me." Bakugo smirked as he got a bat in the head from Kirishima.

"Kacchan… Have fun tonight…" So Deku actually came, he didn't think the shitty nerd would have the balls.

"No one asked you, Nerd, go wallow alone and…" He noticed the room get quiet before he could finish his sentence. They were all looking towards the elevator. Icy Hot had some girl on his arm he must have asked to go with him, and she was way out of his league. As they walked closer, the girl smiled, revealing large pink cheeks.

"Uraraka…" The breathy voice of Deku put a voice to his realization. If her intention tonight was to rub salt in the shitty nerd's wound, she definitely succeeded. She was wearing a long red dress and heels that placed her just a few inches shorter than himself. There was a large slit up one side and it plunged precariously low. Her hair was down in loose ringlets and reached down to her middle back. He glanced towards the boy beside him as she walked towards them, he was slack jawed and speechless. One look at the satisfied smirk on Uraraka's face told him this was the reaction she wanted.

"Bakugo, are you ready?" She walked up to him, purposefully ignoring Deku. He could definitely say as satisfying as this was for her, it was equally as entertaining for him.

"I am." He threaded his arm through hers, "You look beautiful tonight, Uraraka. I'm glad you finally agreed to being my date." He said it quiet enough that only she and Deku could hear. If she was surprised, she didn't show it, giving him a stunning smile. He winked at his rival before heading out the door, leaving him in a wonderful mixture of angry and confused.

The moment the door shut behind him Uraraka broke into a large laugh, pushing him gently.

"That was mean on purpose, Katsuki!" He was taken back a bit by his first name, but found his signature scowl quickly.

"Of course it was on purpose, you gave me a good chance to piss off the fucking nerd and I was not about to let that one slip away."

"I don't want to make him mad! I just want him to think he made a mistake."

"He did make a mistake." They both looked over, he had forgotten icy hot was even there. "He thought himself better than others, which is the same trait my father had that ended in him alienating himself."

"I was going to go more along the lines of being born was a mistake, but I guess that works too." Both of them glared at him. "Hey, learn to take a fucking joke."

Uraraka smiled at him, "I know you're joking, but if I had heard you say that three years ago, I think it would have been true."

"Well fuck me for becoming better person or some sappy ass shit." He kept quiet the rest of the way to the car. Small flakes of snow had begun to fall and Uraraka was visibly shaking. Todoroki gave her his jacket because it turned out, apparently, sleeveless dresses weren't a practical early winter attire. Who could have known?

He felt slightly nervous as he saw the convention center draw closer and closer. It was some super fancy place; he had walked by it once or twice before. There were stone pillars, and large windows covering the walls of the main hall. He hid his feelings in a large scowl, feeling beads of sweat form on his palms. He had to somehow be likeable. Why did they have to expect so much from him?

Almost all the top heroes would be there, probably bragging about themselves and drinking heavily if it was anything like the previous galas his mom had forced him to watch with her and her shitty friends. Drunk heroes could be a real problem, so the convention center had a strict no quirk use policy or you'd be banned for life. Just another thing he would have to be careful about.

As their car pulled up, he saw the three pros waiting to escort them into the hall. There would be a large announcement congratulating not only the three of them, but the pros they worked with as well.

"Took you guys long enough, if this guy wasn't a human blow torch we would have frozen out here." Rumi glared at him. They had been working together for almost two years now and the lady had his respect. Plus, she shared his fondness of nicknames.

"Well if you didn't wear a goddamn miniskirt maybe you wouldn't be so cold, Ears." Not his most creative name, but it did its job annoying her. "Why can't you women just wear clothes that cover your bodies? Or better yet, just not complain."

"I give it 10 minutes in the hall before you can't stand how hot it is and take off your jacket." The dragon lady, Ryuko if he remembered correctly, was much more level headed than Rumi and therefore much less fun to mess with. "You look very lovely, Uraraka. I'm pleased that you were given the chance to come. Although I am not at all surprised."

"I guess I just got really lucky!" Of course she couldn't take a damn compliment. She smiled her signature large, goofy, smile. It looked slightly out of place with her current attire.

"Luck didn't have a damn thing to do with it, gravity freak there could be fucking lethal if she wanted to be." He started walking towards the entrance, assuming they would follow.

"I knew he had a mouth on him, but this kid never fails to surprise me." The human flame torch was criticizing him for language? It had literally taken him almost a year for the world to consider him a good enough person to not throw shit at him on the street after All Might retired. He glared at the ground, trying his hardest not to express his thoughts. "Now my Shoto… Bright, talented, and respectful, you could learn from him, Bakugo."

Icy Hot shot him a look that probably was a mix between an apology and the fucking teen angst the half and half bastard had about his dad. He could feel his anger rising, keeping his cool all night with comments like this was going to be impossible. He felt a hand grab his arm.

"I don't know about that, I think both Todoroki and Bakugo are going to be pretty great heroes." Uraraka smiled sweetly at him, but the force of her grip was what was telling him to calm down.

The back entrance had a handful people waiting to greet them. A rather plump, dark haired woman came up to them with a tray of champagne.

"I must insist you drink; you all need something to warm your bones or you'll all catch a frost!" The woman was odd, she smiled stiffly at them until they all hesitantly grabbed a drink before making her way back to the main hall.

"You don't have to ask me twice." Rumi knocked hers back in one gulp. He sniffed before taking a large drink, expensive champagne had a weird smell. He didn't really care about the quality of his alcohol. Drinking too much made people lose muscle, and it seemed like a waste of calories to sit and sip the shit. He finished his own before noticing Uraraka dump her drink into a nearby plant.

"I'm pretty sure alcohol doesn't work like that." He loomed over her and she jumped slightly. She blushed deep red as she turned to face him.

"I just… After last Friday, the thought of drinking makes me kind of sick… But the lady seemed so nice! I don't want her to think I didn't drink it!"

"No kidding, I don't plan on dragging your ass back to your room again this time. Either way, those heels don't look alcohol friendly."

"Again? Were you the one who hel-" She was cutoff by the the plump lady yet again refilling their drinks and pushing them towards the designated stage area. Eighteen may have been the legal age, but this bitch was getting pretty loose with her pouring. The poor plant got another dose while the woman's back was turned, filling the remaining glasses. Rumi signaled a silent toast before they both tossed back their glasses.

"Tonight we have an extra special trio of students from UA!" The announcer was a woman he didn't recognize, who had, by the looks of it, had one too many glasses herself. "The number three ranked student is Ochaco Uraraka accompanied by the number eight hero Ryuko Tatsuma!" The woman stumbled towards them to clumsily shake their hands as the pair made their way onto the stage. There was significant clapping and some questionable whistling as the two waved to the rest of the hall.

"So, when did my little explosion lord find himself such a good looking girlfriend?" Rumi sidled up to him, invading all sense of personal space. He was so taken back by her question he was barely able to form a coherent sentence.

"What the fuck?"

"Don't try to play games with me, I see how you look at her." She jabbed him roughly in the side. He crossed his arms, turning away from her as much as possible.

"I think your confusing the look of infatuation with my look of not wanting to stab someone. I know it's not a look I show you too often."

"Fine, have it your way. Die alone for all I care. Ungrateful turd."

"The number two ranked student is…" The woman fumbled over what looked like poorly written note cards. "Katsuki Bakugo accompanied by the number four hero, Rumi Usagiyama!" They were pulled on stage by the woman, who gushed about his appearance for an uncomfortable amount of time. After it was evident the crowd was equally as uncomfortable she moved on.

"And the number one student with the number one hero, Shoto Todoroki accompanied by his father, Enji Todoroki! Both of whom are also very attractive if I do say so myself."

The crowed cheered as the pair ignored the announcer and walked to where the media had gathered. His phone buzzed in his pocket, he slid it out discretely to check.

'I WIN'

His mom had gotten her phone back apparently. He put it back in his pocket and moved his focus onto not talking in front of cameras.

"Miss Uraraka, we first saw you televised in your first year. Your match with Mr. Bakugo was not one viewers are likely to forget. How does it feel to have to be here with him after that brutal beat down?"

Was he never going to get to live that down? Take a fight seriously and the world gets on your back about it forever.

"He definitely did do a number on me," She smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "But if it wasn't for him, I would have never become as strong as I am today. So I guess I'm pretty lucky to even be here with him at all!"

The group began to nod and write. Many had recorders, nudging others to make sure they got the best sound clips. They reminded him of animals being herded. The room was already starting to get warm, and the mount of people surrounding him didn't help.

"Mr. Bakugo!" His plan to avoid talking had not worked. "Have you been working on your anger issues? How can the public feel safe knowing one of their future heroes can't even control his temper?"

He could feel his nails digging into the skin of his palms. Sweat was dripping from every pore as he felt anger boil up inside his stomach. Did they see him as some kind of monster? His vision felt blurry, were they right to think of him like that? He felt like he had made so many strides in the last few years, but did any of it matter if all they saw was the boy who beat up a 'helpless' girl on television?

Rumi shoved him quickly behind her as she took control of the media. He saw the door to a balcony in the back corner of the room which was cracked open and clear of people. He made his escape quickly, without turning around to see if anyone noticed. He found it odd that they would leave the large doors unlocked during such an exclusive event, but he was not going to question his small stroke of luck. The snow fell softly as he took a deep breath to calm himself. The balcony overlooked a small garden with a fountain, away from the city and the noisy streets. He looked up at a surprisingly cloudless sky for a night with snow, he could see the stars clearly and he could make out a few constellations. It calmed him for a moment. He could feel the sweat on the back of his neck begin to dissipate and his breathing became a bit less shallow.

"It really is a lovely night, isn't it?" The sound of heels clicking slowly on the ground had alerted him to her presence before she had spoken. "The stars are so bright and crisp from here, they make you wish you could just reach out and touch them"

"I always used to dream about using my quirk to blast up there. Get the fuck off the ground for once and be up there near the stars."

"Are you sure you didn't drink too much already?" Uraraka took the position next to him, leaning her forearms against the railing. She smiled at him.

"I'm trying my fucking hardest here to be open with you, Round Face! Because I'm apparently not a good enough hero unless I'm happy and friendly all the fucking time. Did you just come to rub salt in my wounded pride after my failure in there?"

"I don't think it was a failure, you managed to get away before saying anything that would have been, truthfully, justified for that question." She bumped his shoulder slightly. "I've thought about it too before, you know. Just floating away and being up there. I guess we both have quirks that would let us do it, but we both seem to stay on the ground for some reason."

"Tch"

"For what it's worth, I think you're already a great hero." She turned around to lean her back on the railing and rubbed her arms a bit. Snow had speckled her hair and lashes and she had to blink repeatedly to remove them. "You always manage to save people when and how they need it most, even if it means you encourage them to get up and save themselves." She laughed loudly, it echoed in the night air.

"Not everyone needs to be saved. Some people just need to get off their asses and do it themselves."

"You kind of helped teach that to me if I'm being honest with myself." She suddenly stood up straight and grabbed his shoulders. "So let me teach you!"

"Did I say you could fucking touch me?"

"You agreed to help me train to fight better, so let me help you be more charming! Just for tonight!" She grabbed his hands excitedly. His deep scowl did not seem to deter her. "You won't have to do much, just avoid having your face look like that."

She pointed at him accusingly and he couldn't help but laugh at her. Even when she tried her hardest, Uraraka could not look intimidating. But if she was going to do most of the work, he really didn't have anything to lose.

"What the hell, why not. I'll definitely need another glass of champagne to go through with this though."

Almost as if summoned by his words, the plump woman appeared at the door.

"Have another drink you two! And do come inside, it is very dreadfully cold out here!" She handed them drinks and he lifted his glass to toast as the woman sauntered away. He downed his drink as Uraraka tossed hers onto the snow dusted tile.

"Looks like you're out of plants." He smirked at her as she used her shoes to shove more snow on the puddle.

"There! All better!" She slid her arm through his and he pulled back immediately. She placed her free hand on her hip and glared at him. "Look, you're going to have to work with me here. You don't have to be friendly and talkative to be liked, just be approachable. Since you are none of those things, I'll be them for you. People love an aloof bad boy! Just… not one that will eat their heads off. So let me do the talking." She forced her arm through his once more as he begrudgingly agreed, and led him back into the warmth of the hall.

If this was her idea of paying him back for training with her, he owed her way more sparring sessions. Uraraka led him up to different groups and did all the talking, only requiring him to grunt and smile occasionally. She would dig her nails into his arm to make sure he was paying enough attention and even told light hearted stories of their exams and training at UA. She took him near cameras, but never directly to the media area, for which he was grateful. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason he felt light, a bit dizzy, and almost happy being toted around. It was possible he really did drink too much, or possible that getting something out of putting in almost zero effort was satisfying? Either way, he avoided any more glasses from the pushy drink woman who seemed to be making constant rounds.

Uraraka was rosy cheeked and all smiles the entire night, even though she hadn't had a drop to drink. Being awkward, friendly and outgoing came incredibly naturally to her. All the pros loved her, and one or two had asked if she wanted to dance, although she kept saying no.

"You know you can go dance with those guys if you want. I'm not a fucking purse you have to sit and watch all night."

"It's not that I don't want to…" She paused, a blush creeping up her neck towards her cheeks. "It's just that I'm terrible at it, and that's not the thing I want everyone to remember about me tonight! I trip over myself when I try without heels! Imagine the giant mess I'd be with them!"

He groaned and held his hand out to her. She looked at his hand and then up at him like he had two heads. "My mom forced me to take stupid fucking dance lessons as a kid. I'll lead."

She smiled brighter than he'd seen all night as she took his hand. He led her to the corner of the dance floor away from the pros, who looked way too drunk on champagne, spinning around recklessly. He placed her hand on his shoulder and his own on her hip and took her free hand in his. He guided her through a basic box step until she got the hang of it. The smile never left her face for the three or four songs that they danced in circles. The light, dizzy feeling he had had earlier came back stronger and felt like it was getting worse, but she looked so happy he felt too guilty to stop.

Fucking Katsuki Bakugo enjoying a dance with a girl at at stuffy ass party. Who the hell was he? He looked down at her as the last song ended the smile still on her face as she looked back up at him. The dizziness and lightheadedness got stronger as he dropped her left hand, placing his right on her shoulder. A strange feeling of euphoria hit him as he stared at her. Her smile faded as she stared back, obviously confused by his actions. Hell, he was confused by his actions. He felt like he was having an out of body experience, watching himself move his right hand to her cheek. She made no move to stop him as he lowered his head slightly. What the hell was he doing? He felt almost out of control as he moved closer. His lips brushed hers lightly, her eyes widening at the realization of what was happening. He closed his own and deepened the kiss, missing her reaction, but she didn't pull away, and he didn't want her to.

He heard the quick shutter of a camera near him, breaking his trance slightly and causing him to realize what exactly he was doing. It wasn't clear to him if he somehow pulled away or if she had pushed him, but they were both now back in the present and very aware of what had just happened. They stared at each other, her eyes were misty and confused.

"I… I'm sorry.. I don't kno-"

SMASH

His apology was interrupted as he felt the floor beneath him begin to shake and toss them both to the ground as dust filled the air. He got up slowly to look around, still feeling dizzy. The west wall of building was gone and replaced with rubble and shards of glass. He looked around and found Uraraka a few feet away, already on her feet and looking around. She seemed to be moving faster than he was, running into the rubble to free trapped heroes, heels already left behind. He was surprised by the lack of response as he looked around. Most of the pros were barely off the floor and looked more dazed and confused than himself. These were people who should have been bouncing off the fucking walls to take on the next battle! He felt himself wobble slightly as he scanned the room for familiar faces, he saw Rumi passed out on a table surrounded by alcohol, not a new look for her, but based on the number of glasses next to her, she should still be awake and kicking. He swung to the south side where they had entered to secure the closest exit.

He spotted the plump woman standing near the door, smiling as if nothing had happened. Next to her he noticed one of the large plants near the entrance had somehow shriveled and withered away. It hit him hard. The plant Uraraka had her dumped her champagne glasses into.

"Shit." He slowly turned towards the west wall and located her. "Uraraka! The drinks were drugged!"

It didn't take her long to realize the situation. She was possibly the only hero in this building who was completely coherent at this point. She pointed him towards the door to the kitchen, throwing a weightless, unconscious hero towards him. He caught the girl in his hands, recognizing her as Nejire Hado, one of the heroes who also worked with the dragon lady, who he had been introduced to earlier in the night. He ran into the kitchen, looking for an exit or somewhere safe to lay her. The only door he found was locked, he immediately blew off the lock with a blast much larger than intended, stepping a few feet back in recoil. His quirk wasn't working right, his hand already ached. He swung open the door to reveal a stairway out into the cold, but no safe place to hide the girl. Shit. His brain was too jumbled to think of what do…

A banging noise coming from the freezer in the back of the kitchen pulled him out of his thoughts. Fuck. He couldn't handle ferrying people out and fighting right now. He set Hado down before turning to the door, planting his feet more consciously to avoid even more damage to himself. He blasted the door and it fell in front of him, revealing a half-frozen, tied and gagged version of the plump woman. Fuck fuck fuck. She was still moving, terrified, eyes searching him frantically to see if she could trust him.

"It's okay," he said slowly approaching to untie her. "I'm a hero. Someone did something to the drinks, no one is able to function right." He struggled over his words, realizing he wasn't going to be able to do this alone. "Can you help me get them all out of here?"

The woman rubbed her wrists without speaking and nodded. He led her back into the kitchen to where Hado was and ran to get more people.

"Wait!" The woman called weakly. "She was blonde… She… She took my blood…"

Fuck. That was enough information to tell him who was behind this. He ran back into the hall and saw Uraraka fighting two men he didn't recognize, she seemed to have the upper hand from what he could tell. Some of the heroes who likely drank a bit less were firing long distance shots when they could to aid her. He ran over to a group of confused people, some holding multiple other unconscious victims in their arms. Some were heroes, and some likely just guests and staff. He led them to the kitchen and the fat woman directed them to the wine cellar beneath the building. The woman appeared stronger and more confident as she hurried them down the stairs, hopefully they didn't draw enough attention to bring the fighting to the weakened guests.

Some of the more conscious heroes joined him in evacuating, many stumbling around like him, others joined pockets of fighting. He saw half and half and his dad engaged with the burned bastard from the league, confirming who was behind this. Todoroki was stumbling around, at least careful enough to stick to his ice side to avoid burning the place down. Endeavor seemed to have handled the drug better, but was still obvious altered. With how large he was, Bakugo had hoped he would have tolerated it for a bit longer, but it didn't seem to spare anyone.

"Hey! You're that Bakugo kid, right?" He swung around to see a few people from the media teams hiding near the still intact east wall. He jogged over to make sure they were okay.

"Quiet the fuck down or you'll draw attention to yourself" They looked scared, but not altered. "You don't look like you guys were drinking on the job, but it's still too dangerous to be here. That door over there will lead you to help." He grabbed the shirt of one of the larger men, shoving him lightly towards the door. Most took the hint and ran, two remained, one with a large camera on his shoulder.

"Mr. Bakugo, why aren't you joining in the fight?" The dude obviously wanted to die, and whether it would be the league that would do him in or Bakugo himself, he wasn't sure. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, and tried to explain to situation since it was likely being broadcast live.

"Look. Anyone who had anything to drink tonight got drugged somehow, including me. And it's messing with my quirk, which if you remember from scolding me earlier, can be really brutal." He recognized the man as the one from the beginning of the night, and was starting to wish he had punched the fucker in his face then and there. "As long as there are people like you staying in here for no reason other than some sort of sick death wish, I can't use my quirk without knowing I won't hurt civilians."

"But this is the greatest story we've had in years We can't afford to miss it" The camera man was apparently also an idiot.

"What's more important to you? Getting good footage or fucking surviving long enough to leave this damn place alive?"

That finally got the point across it seemed. The camera man positioned his camera on a nearby chair. "Hopefully we can get some footage even if we leave." Bakugo tried to make a mental note to 'accidentally' destroy it if he could.

He ushered them gruffly to the kitchen before making one last visual sweep of the room. Everyone who wasn't able to fight at least a little seemed to have been cleared. He stuck his head back in quickly and yelled to the woman to shut the doors and not open them until the police and other heroes arrived.

Uraraka had managed to take down the two men by the time he stumbled back into the center of the room. She had tied them up using neck ties before tending to the wounds of those who had gotten hurt. Her dress was ripped to pieces as he noticed red bandages distributed among the remaining heroes.

"The league." He barely managed to get the words out loud enough for her to hear. She nodded and jerked her head over to where a few other groups were fighting.

"Kurogiri keeps bringing new villains in at random, and Dabi is still fighting with Todoroki and his dad. You see anyone else?"

"Toga is here somewhere." He saw her shiver at the name. They had history, and it wasn't pleasant. "No Shigaraki so far."

She seemed to calm a bit at that news. His quirk would not bode well for all the people becoming more and more altered. He noticed some of the heroes who had been previously helping were slowly losing the ability to stand. It did cross his mind that the drug could be fatal, but he had pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with the issue at hand. He felt his vision blur as he wobbled slightly.

"Bakugo…" Uraraka, barefoot and clothes tattered, ran up to help support him. Struggling with their newfound height difference "Are you okay? You need to get out of here and get help, we don't know what this stuff could do to you!"

He gave her a crooked smile, "As long as I'm still able to stand, there's no way in hell I'm leaving. We've still got to find the crazy bitch."

As if on command, portals of purple mist opened up around them. Low life thugs began to pour out, and he heard Toga's cackling and a scream in the distance. Fuck. They nodded at each other before running towards separate groups.

There were about a hundred or so in total, his mind was foggy, but he still felt confident in his battlefield assessment. Most had knives, likely indicating lackluster quirks. They seemed to be uncomfortable running in packs, meaning they probably weren't used to working together and would most likely run at them one at a time at first. With the two of them and the five or so other heroes still standing in the main area, it wouldn't be impossible to take them all down.

He was right about the coordination. They came at him in basically a straight line, obviously unfamiliar with his quirk. He landed an uncontrolled explosion on the first one to reach him, knocking himself back on his own ass and taking out the first seven or so men. The one who he had hit first was burnt and bleeding heavily. He looked down at his hand that was stinging and slightly scorched, and back up at the man. He wasn't going to be able to hold back his explosions to not be lethal. He looked around, making sure he was a good distance away from Uraraka and the others before standing up and walking towards the confused group of remaining men.

They had enough sense to ditch the straight line tactic and come at him from three different angles, two from each direction. He planted his right hand towards the ground, grabbing his wrist with his left for support and waited for them to get within about three or four meters of him. He let go a deafening blast, knocking back the six men and shooting himself higher into the air than he anticipated. Realizing quickly that he wouldn't have the coordination to land without doing a number on his legs, he made a last minute decision and blasted himself even higher. He was able to barely grab the large chandelier hanging on the ceiling, and shimmied his way up to the top. His blast had left decent sized hole in the floor that had consumed a large swath of the men. Good. If he was going to destroy his hands, he could at least take these mother fuckers with him. The jacket he was wearing was singed and torn, his mother would probably be pissed at him, if he made it out of this alive. He went ahead and ripped it off, freeing up his movement a bit more, and tossed it towards Uraraka. He was hoping to get her attention, or he'd be stuck there helplessly watching the entire fight. The ceilings in the place were huge, probably 15 to 20 meters minimum, meaning without good accuracy with his explosions, a fall from this height could possibly kill him, and she was his only safe way down.

She was using the ceiling height to her advantage, tossing the men up and letting them fall. She was calculated about it, none of them hit a lethal height. Which was impressive with the amount of men she was dealing with. If she saw his jacket, he couldn't be sure, but the thugs were slowly pushing her underneath him. She was only able to touch and float so many and long range attackers were causing her to retreat more and more. He noticed the men he left behind had begun to move their focus to her, likely planning to hit her from behind.

"URARAKA!" His voiced sounded slow and muffled, but he managed to bark out her name. One glance up was enough for her to see a potential escape. She launched herself towards him, reaching out for his hand He grabbed her, brining her to the safety of the support chain. The chandelier was metal and crystal, likely measuring about 4 or 5 meters in diameter, and had enough surface area to protect them from ranged quirks. The crystals were large and sharp, and looked precarious enough he hoped they were smart enough to avoid lobbing attacks their way.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated their intelligence. One of the men, likely with a strength quirk, launched a large piece of tile up towards them, shaking the chandelier. They grabbed the chain and each other tightly as it rocked back and forth, releasing one of the crystals and stabbing the same man in the chest, pinning him to the ground. Uraraka hid her face in his chest. As good as she was with dealing with the sick and injured, causing fatal injury was a different story.

The group of men and women below decided on a more cohesive, but still illogical approach. Some had firearm quirks at the ready, and were looking for good enough vantage points to shoot. One of them, who apparently had an earth quirk, was working to build a ladder away from where the dying man was pinned, as the other 40 or so gathered around it, prepared to either climb or provide support. He looked at her and then the chain, waiting for her confirmation to his silent plan. She looked down and nodded reluctantly. She grabbed him around the waist, as they began to swing the chandelier back and forth towards the group below. He trusted her instincts more than his own at this point, and when his weight left him, he knew they had swung enough.

He blasted the chain, sending them weightlessly tumbling back, and sending the giant chandelier crashing down on the group below. The screams were piercing as the crash echoed throughout the hall. They banged against the ceiling a few times before she managed to get her footing and kicked off, sending them gliding to the ground. She returned their gravity at the last minute, causing them both to roll a few feet but remain generally unscathed. The remainder of the men turned and ran, apparently not expected this much of a fight.

He stood up and tried to gather his bearings, he could feel his mind becoming more and more fogged with each passing minute. The smoke that seemed to be filling the room was not helping as he noticed blue and red flames had engulfed the south side of the building. Fucking Todorokis. It was becoming thick enough that he barely noticed the purple misty portal.

"Mmmmmmm, it's been too long." Toga appeared near the fallen chandelier. Her cheeks were blushed with some sort of sick, perverted joy as she bent down and ran her fingers through the pool of blood that was forming under the wreckage. "You made such a pretty mess just for me! Unfortunately, this is not the blood I'm interested in tonight."

"What the hell did you do to all of us!" He commanded more than asked. She had not begun to move towards them just yet and he was keeping a safe distance.

"You didn't like my special cocktail? We made it ourselves, I bet it made you happy, Katsuki." She began walking slowly towards them, splashing the blood with her feet. "Are you happy to see me? Shigaraki doesn't much care for you, you know. He told me if I saw you I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with you… and since it seems my dear Izuku isn't here like he was suppose to be, there are a lot of things I want to do to you."

"You came here for Deku?" Uraraka sounded almost scared to ask.

Bakugo wished she had kept quiet. He did not want Toga's attention on her. They had met a few times in the field the last few years and she had a sick obsession with torturing Uraraka.

"You look so pretty tonight, Ochaco… Your skin is so white and creamy… Do you think your prince back home would mind if I sliced it up? Would he still love you then?"

Uraraka was sheet white as she began to back up slowly. He could feel the bile rising in the back of his throat at the imagery. The explosion happened before he even registered moving, speeding him towards the fucked up freak. He was on top of her, his vision a flurry of punches and explosions. A sharp, intense, pain in his leg brought him back to reality. He saw the handle of a dagger protruding from his thigh. Fuck. He had been careless and let the bitch fucking stab him. He blasted himself back, leaving her battered and with one less weapon. The pain was incredibly intense, bringing him to his knees. Blood was gushing from around the blade, and he was beginning to feel dizzier than before.

"Bakugo!" She was on him in a heart beat, helping him sit more comfortably while watching the giggling Toga begin to pick herself back up. "It hit an artery. If you don't close the wound soon…"

He could take a hint at what that meant, but he had no intention of being taken out by some C-rank villain. He pushed her back before removing the knife and placing his hand over the wound, letting out what he hoped would be a small explosion. The pain was beyond anything he had ever been able to inflict on himself in the past, and his is vision streaked white before he was able to come to and register his work. The wound was oozing and scorched, but it didn't look deadly. Uraraka smiled at him, tearing a chunk of her now thigh length dress and wrapping it around his leg.

"You know my cocktail makes people feel things more intensely." She was walking towards them again, her face burnt and bleeding. "Happiness… Pleasure… Passion… Pain…" She drew out the last word, answering his questions as to why his explosion had hurt worse than usual.

"But something is new here… You know… I don't like sharing, Katsuki, and I don't like the way you're looking at that other girl."

A loud creaking, rumbling noise stopped her in her tracks, pulling their attention to the west wall. Large chunks of the broken ceiling came raining down, dropping massive debris on the multiple remaining groups of barely conscious heroes.

"Fortune favors the wicked." Toga's smile grew large and maniacal as she watched the heroes struggle with the heavy debris.

"You need to go save them." He knew Uraraka's quirk would be able to free them faster than anyone and with Dabi and possibly other villains out there, they couldn't just let them be sitting rocks.

"I don't think you can take her alone in your condition…" She put her hand on his shoulder, silently begging him to let her help.

"Ugh. Ochaco, why do all my favorite boys like you? I'm so jealous! That's why we're best friends!" She had started walking towards them again. He shakily got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his leg begging him to stay down.

"She doesn't love you or Izuku like I do. She's just going to leave you… Or let all those people die."

"It's a hero's job to save people, and I can fucking handle myself, now go!" She nodded at him before bolting off towards the rubble. His vision began to blur, making one Toga into four. He didn't want Uraraka to go. He was fading faster by the minute, and unless some sort of miracle happened, he would either be unconscious or dead before the end of this fight. But heroes don't prioritize their own safety over the safety of many. And heroes don't lose.

The four Toga's in his vision began to reach into their pockets and each pulled out a red vial. He rubbed his eyes to bring the number back to one and watched her drink. She began to mold in front of him like gray mush, he knew her quirk well enough to know this wasn't his eyes playing tricks on him. Pink cheeks and a large goofy smile were staring back at him, causing him to take a step back.

"Do you like me more now, Katsuki?" She had her voice and everything. "Will you be happier if she is the one that kills you?"

The Uraraka clone ran at him, knife in her right hand as she pulled out a pipe from her backpack with her left. He could see a flash of metal at the end, likely a needle. Fucking great. He dodged as she ran at him, hitting an explosion on her hand to try and get her to drop the knife. No luck. He had half expected her to float him, he would have to be careful not to assume she would fight like Uraraka.

The bitch kept getting up no matter how many explosions he landed, meaning he was getting weaker. One of his normal blows should have obliterated her. She distorted Uraraka's face into a twisted malicious grin he was sure the actual girl's face wasn't physically capable of. The smoke was getting thicker and his eyes blurrier as he relied on pure instinct to help him dodge. He was getting progressively slower, and the knife was slicing him shallowly more often than not.

She had had a vial of Uraraka's blood ready for the night. He wondered if that was their plan to get fucking Deku. He probably would have fallen for it too. His mind began to wander more as he felt his leg give out, sending him to the floor. His shoulder stung as the needle hit him from behind, knocking him onto his chest. He could feel the blood leaving his body, it was a strange sensation. Was this it for him?

"You know you're just my type, bleeding and dying… And now I get to have your blood inside of me!" Her shoes came into his vision, he reached out and grabbed her ankle, slowly summoning the last of his strength for a blast, he needed to stall…

"Will… They survive…?" He at least wanted to know all this wasn't in vain, that they all wouldn't be killed anyway.

"My little potion isn't poisonous!" She giggled and dropped to a squatting position, knife dripping with his own blood. He willed his hand to explode, but he needed longer. "They won't die… Probably. But you will."

She raised the knife out of his view, prepared to strike. He was begging his sweat glands to function. He heard the sound of her hand begin to fall and dug his nails into her skin.

"BACK OFF!" Uraraka's punch came out of nowhere and slammed into her cheek, sending the look alike flying out of his grasp.

He might have laughed if he weren't in so much pain. Uraraka essentially just punched herself clear across the room. He watched helplessly as Toga found the second knife he had pulled from his leg on the floor and ran at Uraraka. They gray sludge began to melt around her as the blonde returned to her regular form. He may have failed, but Uraraka easily had the upper hand in the fight, even without a weapon. After landing a few brutal punches, she sent the girl flying to the ceiling screaming for help. He could see panic in Toga's eyes as she continued to get higher and higher. She desperately threw the knives, a stupid move that Uraraka would easily block.

He realized too late to try and move that the knives weren't meant for her. He didn't even know if he could move. Time seemed to slow down as the metal came hurtling towards him. It was possible he would survive, depending on how long it took for backup to arrive. He had too many regrets to try and think of them all, so instead he closed his eyes and braced himself.

The pain never came. He opened his eyes to see red. The red of Uraraka's tattered dress as she hovered over him, and the red of the blood dripping from her arm. She had jumped in front of him and taken both hits.

"Why…?"

"Heroes save… Everyone…" She smiled at him, blood beginning to trickle from the corner of her mouth. She'd spent too much time around fucking Deku. She was hurt bad, but not fatal. They were going to make it out of this alive, he felt almost giddy, but it could also be the drug.

"You got into the middle of my fight," he weakly smiled at her, "I had things under control."

Toga's scream as she fell back down to the ground was satisfying, but he never heard the thud of her body hitting the floor. He turned his head to see the girl in the arms of the burnt bastard. Fucking Todoroki's not finishing what they started.

"Time to stop playing with your food. Reinforcements broke though and we have to get out of here." He looked up at them before setting Toga on her feet. "If we can't come to him, we will make him come to us. Grab the girl while she's down, we need her alive."

A man he didn't recognize stepped out from a newly formed portal and grabbed Uraraka, dragging her by her wrists as she fought as best she could with her wounds.

"Bakugo!" She reached her hand out for him, eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry…"

"Uraraka…" He reached out to her weakly, trying to somehow bring her back as she disappeared into the mist. He could barely move. She had apologized to him and he had let them take her. What kind of hero was he?

The world was completely fuzzy as he heard voices all around him. There were familiar shapes and sounds asking if he could hear them, could he feel them touching him, and to squeeze their fingers. He felt them lift him, the voices sounded nervous and scared, but he could only make out bits and pieces; 'Worst attack in…' 'No civilian casualties except...' 'Is he going to make it?' 'We don't know…'

He remembered crying and bright lights, and then nothing but darkness.