Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it! Let me know if you have any comments or critiques!
I suppose this could end the story, but I've enjoyed writing too much to stop just yet.
Chapter 10—
It was Wednesday. Possibly Tuesday. Maybe Thursday.
Uraraka used the heavy chain hanging from her neck to carve a fifth mark onto the dusty, concrete floor. Her hands stung with the effort, cutting her last line a bit shorter than the others.
At this point, Uraraka had lost track of the days, but she knew it was important to try and retain some semblance of time passing. The room she was in had no windows, the only source of light being one flickering lamp near the door. She tried to judge the time of day by when they brought her food, but there was no guaranteeing that they were consistent.
They were keeping her in a makeshift 'dungeon' in the basement of what she assumed to be an abandoned building. The room was bare except for the heavy chain that pinned her to the floor like an animal, and one corner which had an old toilet and a large utility sink. She was thankful to have access to running water as she rinsed her stinging hands, turning the water a faint pink color with her blood. She had refused to trust the water for the first few days out of fear of the poison, and it had taken until Twice drank from the sink in front of her before she would even touch it.
Twice and Toga were who she generally saw enter the room. Out of all the villains to care for her in this situation, she got relatively lucky. Although she was not particularly fond of either of them, both were relatively loose lipped with information, and they had apparently been barred from harming her themselves. They adhered to this for the most part, although she had a few bruises from going a bit too far with probing for information.
With Dabi, things were different. She had been there roughly a day before she saw him the first time, but the memory was already seared into her.
"It's not my purview to kill someone who is tied up, so you can stop trying to squirm away from me."
The figure loomed over her, the flickering light casting an ominous glow over his burnt skin. She bit at her lips to try and remove the tape. If she could get her mouth free, she could bite off the ropes around her wrist and use her quirk to get out of here.
"It won't work." His aqua eyes met her own, almost reminding her of Todoroki, only colder. "That cord around your hands won't come off without cutting or burning, your quirk is unusable."
He leaned back against the wall and eyed her. She felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze, and became acutely aware of her tattered dress, maneuvering to cover herself.
"All you heroes are the same. Always so confident you can win, even when you're facing death. I don't even give a shit about you being here, but it seems like your life is in my hands now, isn't it?"
His lips curled upward, distorting his half burnt face into a painful-looking grimace. The wicked smile only grew as he moved closer to her, squatting down to her level.
He ripped the tape off her mouth in one quick motion, leaving her face stinging.
"Rot in hell." She growled at him, surprised at the venom in her own voice.
"You know, you've been here less than 24 hours and you've managed to knock Toga on her ass and give Twice a black eye, all with being chained to the floor and your hands tied. As humorous as I find that, we can't keep you alive in here for long with your wrists bound together, and I can't have you scaring off any underlings." He stood up, looming over her and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Your quirk is a problem, but I like your spunk so I won't take it away from you just now."
His voice sounded bored, almost adding to the weight of his words. What did he mean take it away?
He pulled a towel wrapped bundle from his jacket and tossed it at her. She crawled towards it slowly, hesitantly reaching out her bound hands to awkwardly knock the contents onto the dusty floor. It contained medical supplies, which made her instantly feel uneasy. Distracted, she must have missed him pull out another bottle from his jacket, and was shocked to feel liquid splattered onto her outstretched hands, soaking the fabric between her palms. It smelled like strong alcohol, and she realized his intention seconds too late.
The fire hit her as she was attempting to roll away. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt. She smacked her hands on the dusty ground, unable to suffocate the flames. Hero's were trained that torture was a possibility, but all she could think of was the need to stop the pain. She was sure that everyone in the building could hear her scream, but she knew there would be no one to save her this time.
She instinctively made her way to the sink, turning it on and dousing the flames without even registering moving. The cold, rushing water offering a brief relief to the pain. The fabric binding her hands had burned off, leaving her only restraint the heavy chain that hung from her neck. Even with the fire extinguished, her skin continued to sting like a violent, raging blaze. Acrid smoke entered her nose, the charred metallic smell that could only be attributed to burning skin and blood caused bile to rise in the back of her throat. She choked back vomit, her irritated eyes beginning to water.
Looking at her hands as they began to blister, she understood what he had meant. She couldn't use her quirk like this. Tears overflowed, streaming down her face as she continued to let the water run over her burnt flesh.
She tried to think about anything else, desperate to focus of anything other than the pain exploding in her hands. Explosions… She found her mind drifting to Bakugo. Was this what it felt like for him to overuse his quirk? Bakugo… She had been so absorbed in her own predicament, she had forgotten the world outside. She had tried to save him. All of this and she didn't even know if he was even still alive.
Once her senses returned to her, she became acutely aware that she was still being watched.
"Please, just answer me one thing…" She tried unsuccessfully to hide the waver in her voice. "Is he okay? Is Bakugo okay?"
The slim man laughed, sauntering towards the door with indifference.
"Ah, so noble… You sacrificed yourself to save that brat, and now you have to suffer alone" He opened the large, metal door. "Well… Since you apparently have multiple attentive little imps in your life, you better hope the right one shows up to save you. We'd have no use keeping you around if not.
I let you keep your hands. If they get infected, we could always cut them off. Now behave like a fucking good girl for once."
The door slam answered multiple questions for her. They were obviously using her as bait for Deku, and Bakugo had to be alive. She felt an odd mixture of relief and horror as she stared at her still smoldering flesh.
The memory of blue fire and searing pain played on repeat in her mind. Even after treating her own wounds, just thinking about his face caused the pain to flare up all over again.
The medical supplies had been a life saver. Along with her hands, she had to care for the dirty wounds that Toga's knives had inflicted as well. She knew if she had any plans of making it out of her basement dungeon, she had to keep up her strength. She ate everything they fed her, and filed every conversation she could hear through the walls away in her mind to piece together what they were after. Anything to focus her mind on getting out of there.
"It's just a matter of time before he comes... He's just so cute! I can't wait to slice him!"
"What if he fights back? His quirk isn't exactly weak!"
"I like it though!"
"You heard the boss, we have Yuto. So stop being so lame or I'll cut you instead!"
Yuto was a name she had been hearing a lot. It was one of a few names tossed around that she didn't recognize. Meaning the league had been recruiting, which put her at an even heavier disadvantage trying to escape.
But why did they want Deku so badly? It was possible that they were trying to get to All Might, but it seemed to a very roundabout plan for that to be their goal. Toga always referred to him as the 'special heir', which confused her even more.
She knew Deku was special. His quirk was out of this world powerful, and everyone in their class looked up to him. He was inspiring, but to be the sole target of the League?
It was hard for her to imagine that it was just days ago that she had been crying over him calling her weak. She laughed ruefully. He had been right all along. She was weak, and now she was crying to herself hoping he would come to save her. She was stupid to think she could ever be a real hero. All she was good for was needing to be saved. She curled up on the floor, placing her head between her knees. The logical part of her didn't want him to come. It was obviously a trap, and in the end, the world needed more Dekus than they did Uravitys. The thought of never being able to leave caused her heart to race, and a cool film of sweat to form on her forehead. She shook her head hard, forcing herself to focus on solving the puzzle of why they wanted him so badly.
The voices outside were growing more and more nervous as time passed. Bits and pieces came through for her to add to her already confusing collection.
"We need his blood specifically, All Might gave him One for All..."
"Will this stuff even work?..."
"You saw the picture online; I think he's too cute for her anyway! Can I stab her now?"
"No. He'll come..."
Nothing seemed to fit together. What was One for All? And why did All Might give it to Deku? She tried to take all the pieces and place them into a list of what she knew.
-They want Deku, well… Specifically his blood. He has One for All, which was given to him by All Might, who must not have it anymore. Someone named Yuto is how they want to stop him from fighting back with his quirk-
She tried to recall what his quirk really was. He originally called it a strength quirk, but since then she had seen him use energy projections and other things that honestly didn't fit the category. She wondered briefly why she had never critically thought about it before, but was interrupted by the door being thrust open. Toga and Twice entered together, the former carrying her normal plate of food and the other a flip phone. It was unusual for more than one person to visit, putting her already frayed nerves further on edge.
"You must be excited, today's the day!"
"It's not very interesting."
Twice set her food in front of her, it had been awhile since she had last eaten, and she began hungrily grabbing at the hard bread, cautious of her blistered hands.
"We get to see if All Might's successor really does love you, or if your betrayal was just too much of a knife through the heart!"
She cackled and mimicked the motion with a small blade in her left hand that she had procured from goodness know where. Uraraka gazed up at her, confused. Her mouth was too full of food to question her.
"Oh silly me! You wouldn't know, would you? I'm just so jealous you get two pretty guys! Izuku's blood smells so good, but when Katsuki-kun was lying there half dead…Eeeee! I like my men slightly… Abused."
Her smile was filled with madness as she giddily swung around her knife. She did not succeed in making Uraraka any less confused.
"Hey! Why don't you ever tell me I'm pretty! I'd treat you good!"
"You're too ugly for anyone else."
She had almost gotten use to Twice's conflicting personalities, but the two of her captors together in one room did not mesh well.
"You couldn't handle me! I need a real man to slice… And Izuku-kun has such a strong quirk. He can handle a lot of… damage." Toga's cheeks were red with excitement as she grabbed at the collar of her sweater.
"It's not even his quirk! If someone handed me a powerful quirk would you like me then?"
"I can't believe you'd want a quirkless bastard."
The dark suited man roughly grabbed her, and began to tie her wrists together. She was too preoccupied with what she had just learned to even care about the pain.
"Quirkless…?" She asked softly, half to herself.
"Looks like your prince is keeping secrets from you, he obviously doesn't care about you…" She ended her sentence with a swift motion to pick up the plate on the floor, deftly smashing the metal across her face and knocking her to the floor. "I'd move on if I were you… Or you could just stay here forever and be my best friend!"
Her face would definitely be bruised after that one, but she was prepared for the next hit, rolling away before Toga's foot could hit her chest. She didn't make it far before a tugging around her neck brought her back to the floor hard, slamming her head onto the dusty concrete. She slowly sat up through a wave of dizziness, and hoped she didn't have a concussion. She glanced over at Twice, who had the end of the chain in his hands, pulling her back. She reluctantly headed towards them, avoiding another jerk to her neck.
"Best friends? I didn't think you liked the company of loose women."
"You're loose enough as it is."
Loose…? That was an adjective that Uraraka had not heard used to describe people.
"That's true, you did almost get us in trouble!" Toga's face darkened as she leaned in closer. "Kissing Katsuki-kun like that when we are trying to use you as bait for Izuku-kun"
The memory hit her like a rock. She had barely even thought about anything that had happened before the incident since being brought here. There had been a gala before the explosion. She had walked around and talked and laughed, she had danced, and she had a good time. All with Bakugo. Who had kissed her. Or did she kiss him? Her memory was kind of fuzzy and she couldn't imagine him having feelings for anyone like that…
"Earth to girl, you're bright red! Obviously you're embarrassed to be seen with Crazy dude."
"I bet it pissed off Midoriya off to see his girl getting around."
Both of Twice's personalities apparently found the situation funny. Uraraka could feel her blood begin to boil.
"You'll probably have to apologize to him before he'll save you. If he even bothers at all! He will just have to keep a better eye on his goods next time! I'll be there for him if-"
"I am not goods!" She could feel her anger spilling out unchecked. "I do not belong to anyone!"
She had forgotten in her anger that Toga still held the plate until it smashed against the unscathed side of her face. She fell to the floor, making sure to put most of the weight on her shoulder. Her head couldn't take many more hits, and it would likely be in her favor to avoid angering them too much more.
"Hey, be careful with that thing, we're just here to escort her up and take a photo."
"She is cute when she's mad though."
Twice leaned down and unhooked the chain around her neck, helping her stand. She took a couple deep breaths, relishing the new freedom.
"Everyone looks better in photos with a few bruises!" Toga quickly shifted back into her usual crazy, manic, bubbly self. She threw the plate across the room and skipped towards the door, opening it to reveal a steep stairwell.
They lead her out of the room and up the stairs to a ground floor hallway. The sun was setting and the light from the windows hurt her eyes. How long had it been since she had seen the sun?
She let Twice lead her without resistance. She used the time her eyes needed to adjust to process what she had learned.
She placed all feelings about the kiss aside. It seemed like something she could save for if she survived the night. With all the pomp and circumstance, it felt like tonight would be her only chance at escape, and if she wanted to get out of here alive she needed to focus.
They had honestly given her way more information than she knew what to do with.
Deku had been quirkless. It made sense. He hadn't known how to control his quirk when they first met, and most people have decent control by the time they hit high school. If he inherited the quirk instead of being born with it, it is possible that that's what All Might gave to him.
It fit so well that she almost felt stupid for not figuring it out sooner. The timing of starting UA and All Might losing his powers, how invested he seemed to be in Deku, and how similar their abilities were. It would also explain why Bakugo was so angry at him first year, growing up together without a quirk and all of a sudden developing the most powerful one imaginable. Well… It kind of explained it. Bakugo being a giant ass all throughout first year probably played a large roll as well.
She smiled to herself at the thought of how much he had mellowed out since then. It really was possible for people to change, and she was no exception. She caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of one of the windows. Her face was dusty and bruised, her hair matted and tangled, and it looked as if she had lost a good amount of weight. But she was still standing tall. The girl staring back at her looked defiant, despite all her wounds. She might be physically weak, but she was still a hero, and she had no plans of going out without a fight with or without her quirk.
She shook her head softly to focus her thoughts. So... If Deku's blood had this… inherited quirk, or what they called 'One for All', was it possible that taking his blood would take it away from him? Could they use it themselves? She wasn't clear on the details, but she knew she had to keep Toga away from him. Especially since blood was involved. She wiggled her hands, flinching when her blisters rubbed against the rope. The material wasn't very strong, and Twice hadn't tied it that tightly. If she worked at it slowly, she could easily escape, but not with the two of them watching her.
They led her into a large, open, rectangle room. Light streamed in from windows about eight meters above the ground, accessible only by a rickety-looking fire escape on what she assumed, based on the sun's position, to be the west wall. On the east side of the room, was a large warehouse door, likely where they intended to welcome Deku.
A slew of new and unfortunately familiar faces grouped themselves under the windows. They watched her with expressionless eyes as she was escorted to the center of the room. Toga shoved her to the ground unceremoniously. She glared back at her as she wordlessly snapped a photo. It was unlike Toga to be quiet, but the added presence in the room was likely to blame.
Shigaraki's twisted face was among them, and Dabi was leaning lazily against the north wall, standing next to a man concealed with a large coat and hood. She shuddered slightly as her eyes fell upon the final inhabitant of the room. It was a grotesque creature with pale skin and an almost arachnid appearance. She averted her eyes to avoid its piercing gaze.
She almost groaned out loud when she saw the large chain Twice had procured. He fastened it around her neck and secured it to the center of the floor. The reach of this one was much shorter, leaving her unable to even stand. She decided to face the door, where most of the group seemed to be focused. An awkward silence filled the room as the sun finished setting, leaving only the faint glow of the street lights outside.
The silence was broken by the north door. She strained against the length of her chain to see the two figures entering. They were not recognizable in the dark, but one was definitely large and muscular, and the other appeared to be female with… Ears?
Dabi greeted them, taking whatever they had been holding and leaving her field of vision. The sound of his fire made her physically jump as light flooded the room. Torches. He carried them to the east wall, illuminating the door and Uraraka, leaving the rest of the room's inhabitants in the shadows, likely on purpose.
"Now now, Dabi…" The spine-chilling hiss of Shigaraki was growing closer. "It appears you may have scared our little bird. We want her in good condition for our guest."
He waltzed slowly into her line of site, bending down so his face was inches from her own. She bit down the nervous bile that was beginning to rise in her throat.
"Leave Deku alone!" Her voice echoed clearly in the large room. "What do you want from him?"
He straightened and slowly turned away from her. She could feel the breath she hadn't known she was holding release.
"So noble… You kids are always trying to play the hero. It's annoying.
I just want to show you and the rest of the world how childish and fragile your world of heroes truly is. To create a better, more stable, world, where people don't have to rely on faulty heroes in order to survive."
A small pinging noise interrupted his manic flight of ideas. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the flip phone Toga had used earlier, checking it before scanning the room casually.
"I suppose it's almost time for the big event. Yuto, join us here."
The hooded man made his way over to Shigaraki. Even in the light, she was unable to make out his face. The large, black jacket looked ideal for blending into the shadows, and not so much for fighting. Whatever his quirk was, it was likely assist based, and was apparently strong enough to take out Deku. A circle of faint green light covered the perimeter of the warehouse, emanating from the man. The people in the room she could still see appeared wary of touching it, curiosity filled her, but nothing seemed to happen.
They waited in silence, with only the sound of the crackling barrier. The anticipation of seeing Deku again made her heart swell. The thought of seeing her parents again made her eyes water. They had to be terrified. She felt guilty for all the pain they must have been going through because of her. She wiggled her wrists a bit more in her restraints, using the pain as a distraction. She managed to pull half of her right hand out, although she popped multiple blisters in the process. The liquid began oozing down her hands, she hid them between her legs to hide any sign of her escape attempt. Looking down at the new, raw flesh made it sting even worse. The blisters around her fingers were still angry, large and intact, preventing her from using her quirk. She had been hesitant to pop any of the blisters out of fear of infection, but if tonight was really do or die, would it allow her to use her quirk again?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the warehouse door.
"Come in!" Toga's shrill voice rang throughout the barren room.
It happened suddenly. A massive wind ripped through the building, knocking the door from the hinges. She saw both Shigaraki and the hooded man go flying, the barrier evaporating from around her. A green blur began bouncing throughout the room. Flashes of fire began lighting up her peripheral vision, and screeching filled her ears. She strained to see, almost falling over before being caught by a hand.
"Stop." Shigaraki barely spoke, but she instantly realized the hand that had caught her was his. She became stiff, one more finger on her and she would be disintegrated. Deku must have realized something similar as the green blur came to a halt, morphing into a person as he stared at her with a pained looked, already scorched and bruised. The black projections above him held a struggling, cursing Toga. Other than her loud exclamations, the room grew silent, all focused on her fate. She wanted desperately to call out to him, to thank him, but with the cold, dead, hand on her skin, it was all she could do to continue breathing.
"I think we can handle this like business men, can't we, Izuku Midoriya? We have something you want, and likely want intact, and you have something we want." The faint, green circle from before surrounded herself and Shigaraki. The man, Yuto, stood between the two of them and Deku. Based on his nervous stance, it seemed like their original plan had failed.
"Get your hands off of her!" His voice was powerful, but tearful. He sounded like a real hero.
"As you wish," He removed his hand from her shoulder, allowing her to take a relieved breath before kicking her hard enough that she fell to the floor. She was facing the west wall now, completely away from any action. "But you have to come here first."
She could feel a body fly just above her as Toga passed through the green circle into the back wall. It seemed too close to her to be an accident, and she assumed that meant Deku knew how the green barrier worked. The punch that followed was loud enough that she flinched, almost missing the body of Yuto flying passed her to land next to Toga's injured form. He, unlike Toga, was not moving.
It was Shigaraki's laugh that she heard next. Cold, hair-raising, and seemingly out of place.
"I was starting to worry our plan wouldn't work, you know. You obviously were aware of some of our newer members beforehand; you are a good study. But you miscalculated slightly. Even by touching Yuto, his quirk takes effect, and I'm sure by now you know what that means…"
She twisted her neck, rocking back and forth to catch a glimpse of Deku. He seemed unharmed, but he wasn't fighting back. The group in the back of the room remained in the shadows, obviously no longer feeling threatened. Toga was up and moving again, and she could see the delighted grin on her face. He couldn't fight anymore. She could feel the tears in her eyes begin to well up, distorting her vision and making the walls dance. She was glad the light was behind her so they couldn't see her crying. Using small movements, she pulled her right hand completely free of her restraints and wiped her eyes. Despite this, the walls continued to occasionally warp in her vision. She focused harder, noticing multiple black spots appearing on the wall. She was either going crazy, or the wall was changing and no one else seemed to notice.
"It seems you've lost your ability to barter, Izuku Midoriya. There isn't an All Might here to save you this time."
The sound of a distant police siren drew her attention to the windows, it was not especially loud, but she hadn't heard any traffic the entire afternoon. She was surprised to see one of them was widely ajar, letting the sounds of the city bleed into the room. None of the faces in the back appeared to notice.
"It's me you want, Shigaraki. Leave her out of this, she's just an innocent girl!" His voice sounded stilted, she could tell he was afraid, although he would never admit to it.
She strained to hear any footsteps that would indicate either of them preparing to fight, but all she could hear was the distant city, heavy breathing, and an oddly familiar popping sound.
"Oh, but we've been having so much fun here, and I've not even told you what I want quite yet. You may not want her when you find out." Shigaraki sounded excited, reminding her of a cat toying with it's food. He must have called Toga over, because she skipped happily towards them. She could feel herself panicking, wanting desperately to scream and warn him to run away and leave her. But the the thought of those cold, dead, hands on her skin, turning her to dust left her mouth dry and unable to speak.
The fire flickered brightly, briefly illuminating the back wall. She noticed the black spots were actually purple, and seemed almost three dimensional.
She sucked in a quick breath of air when she realized from where she recognized the popping sound.
Deku had backup, whether he knew it or not.
Before she had time to digest what was happening, a pink rope extended down to encircle the now levitating body of Mineta. Seeing the floating gloves next to him, she immediately knew what was coming next, squeezing her eyes shut, she curled up to shield herself.
Even with her eyes shut, the light was blinding. Hagakure only held the effect for about thirty seconds, but the chaos that ensued was immediate.
"What the hell is this?" A deep voice she attributed to the muscular man rang out above the rest.
"Who cares what it is, get your shit together, we are under attack!" A female voice answered.
"I can't see anything!"
"At least I don't have to see all of your ugly faces."
"You idiots! It came from the back wall, get them!"
The explosion came next, louder than any normal blast should ever be. Even with her hands over her ears, it left her head spinning. She hoped Deku had caught on as fast as she had, or neither of them would be getting away with him being deaf.
She couldn't help but smile, because where there were explosions, there was Bakugo.
Chained down to the floor and unable to move, the entire scene felt incredibly dissociative. When the smoke cleared, standing on the rubble were her classmates. Kirishima, Bakugo and Jiro, all with heavy duty headphones, led the charge. It was likely the combination of the latter two that lead to such a huge effect and noise. Their plan, or what she assumed they were planning, seemed to have worked. The villains began to stand back up, their movements hindered by large chunks of debris stuck to them by Mineta's quirk. Kaminari, Momo and Todoroki were the next to enter the fray. She caught site of Tsu on the fire escape, forcibly altering the battlefield by moving people around with her tongue.
They all seemed to have a specified target for the mission, disseminating quickly into the room and creating mass chaos. She turned back to where Deku had been earlier. He had used the diversion to put a good amount of distance between himself and Shigaraki, but Toga was fast on his heels. The leader himself was only ten feet away from her. As if hearing her thoughts, he turned and made his way towards her. She crawled back on her elbows up to the length her chain allowed, not daring to turn around for fear of what might come next.
"You said you'd come alone. You bet her life on it!" He hissed loudly at Deku while growing slowly closer to her.
"I didn't! I-" His protest distracted him just long enough for Toga to force him into a headlock, knife inches from his neck. Uraraka could feel herself panicking. She knew they needed his blood, but she had never questioned whether or not they needed him alive to get it.
"Turns out we aren't very good at doing what we're fucking told." Bakugo literally exploded between the two groups, quickly taking in the situation. "You better not fucking touch either of them or I swear I will fucking end you."
She had never been so happy to see him before. His normal battle-hungry expression was replaced with something much darker than she had ever seen before, and he was glaring straight death at Shigaraki.
"Well now, Bakugo. Looks like you're in position to chose. Go save Midoriya if you want the girl to die. Save her and you lose him." He closed the gap between them, placing one ice cold finger on her bare shoulder. He laughed almost nonchalantly, sending a soul-withering chill through what felt like the entire room.
She felt the breath leave her chest as she digested his words. He was going to disintegrate her. His finger traced a slow circle on her shoulder, sending pure ice sliding through her veins. She looked to Bakugo, all color seemed to fade from his face as he began to realize the choice he would have to make. His eyes shifted violently between the two scenes as if searching for any sign of bluffing. An emotion briefly flashed across his face that she had never seen before. Even when faced with his own death, Bakugo was always calm, cool and collected, but standing in front of her right then, it was clear he was panicking.
Glancing back at Deku, she could see tears in his eyes and the mutterings of his own internal struggle. For some reason, she couldn't find tears of her own. She knew what had to be done.
"FORGET ME, ONE FOR ALL IS MORE IMPORTANT! SAVE HIM!" She cried out. There was no second guessing for her. She had been right; the world didn't need any more Uravitys.
Both boys looked at her with shocked expressions. She hadn't known whether or not Bakugo would understand, but based on his response, it was clear he did. She smiled weakly, barely flinching as a cold hand slapped her hard across the face. She prepared herself as her executioner took another step closer.
"Stupid bit-"
The sound of the explosion cut off all else in her brain. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, savoring what she knew to be her last few seconds. The familiar warmth and smell of gunpowder put her nerves at ease. At least she was in the presence of people she loved.
She hoped they remembered her.
The hands that grabbed her were not cold, they were rough, clammy and almost too hot. She opened her eyes to find piercing red ones staring back at her. He was crouched down to her level, both hands forcefully clutching her face as if he was making sure she was real.
"Bakugo?" She blinked to ensure she was correctly comprehending what was happening. One of his thumbs wiped what must have been a loose tear from her cheek, grazing one of her more tender bruises and caused her to flinch slightly. He quickly pulled his hands back down to his side, sending gooseflesh down her arms.
"I'm sorry… I just… I couldn't…" His face looked strained and almost confused as he searched for words. It was a side of Bakugo she had never seen before, and she couldn't pull her eyes away from him.
His face morphed back into battle-mode as he glanced to where Deku had been.
She followed his gaze to find Deku still entangled with Toga, bleeding heavily, but alive. Both were on the floor, knocked back by a smaller explosion. Her knife had skidded across the room, leaving them grappling on more even ground. Even without his quirk, he was significantly stronger than her, but it would be minutes before all that bleeding left him unconscious. She whipped her head back around to see Shigaraki, who had taken a point blank blow to the chest, beginning to dust himself off. A sickening smile spread across his face despite his injuries, she had the sinking feeling that this was his desired outcome.
She looked down at her chain and blistered hands.
"This is all my fault… I'm sorry I'm so weak."
"If there is one thing you're not, Angel Face," Bakugo grabbed the chain dangling from her neck, blowing through it in one fell swoop. "It's weak."
He grinned at her, setting a small object at her feet before hopping up to face the recovering Shigaraki. His confidence in his own strength, in her strength, was palpable. There was no way she could let herself lose. She looked down at the dark ball, recognizing it as one of his hand grenades. She picked it up and struggled to her feet. Her muscles ached as she forced them to move despite their protest. The remains of her shackles swung against her neck as she began to walk faster, finally feeling free. She smiled wildly to herself as her bare feet began pick up speed on the concrete floor. She didn't need her quirk to be a hero.
"LET HIM GO!" She screamed as she ran. After spending almost a week in all but pure silence, her throat was already throbbing, but she couldn't care less. Toga smiled up at her, she had pulled a needle and suction from her supply and was hovering over Deku's half conscious form. He put up a weak protest as she jammed it into his neck. Thick, dark, liquid began to fill her the tank on her back. Her knife had sliced superficially, and the pool of blood forming, although concerning, was not imminently fatal. The needle in his carotid could prove more dangerous, and she would have to be careful.
She was experienced with Bakugo's hand grenades, and threw it slightly to the slide of the two, causing Toga to tumble slightly, but leaving the needle in place.
Her fist connected before the dust even cleared. The pain was intense, but the feeling of a cracking jaw under her knuckles was immensely more satisfying. Her right hand began to ooze, and she decided to follow with a kick to her stomach, putting her down at least temporarily. She ran back to Deku's bleeding form. His face was pale white, and his teary eyes were barely tracking her fingers. Reaching into the remains of her bra, she pulled out a roll of gauze she had stuffed there prior. Since getting burnt, she had been fearful of infection, and stowed away any medical supplies she had been given incase they took them away from her. She thanked whatever higher power had been watching over her as she carefully removed the needle and wrapped his wounds, temporarily stifling most of the bleeding.
"Aww, you're just a weak little girl without your quirk. Even if you could take me on, you'd never get him out of here. I've made Izuku-kun look so pretty, and I won't let you come between us!" Toga was up once again, face darkened as she prepared her assault. Uraraka looked down at the barely conscious Deku, then to her hands, half oozing and blistered. She ran her thumb over her raw index finger where the force of her punch had burst her blisters. She could feel the pad intact…
"Just watch me!" She stood up to face her, raising her arms above her head to prepare herself before slamming both palms to the ground with enough force to break any remaining blisters. The pain caused a small scream to escape her lips, but she began to laugh as she felt the pads on her fingertips pulse as she ran them across the ground.
She could see fear in Toga's eyes as she began to hesitate, unsure of what she was up against. Taking advantage of her uncertainty, she ran forward. Dodging the needle in her right hand, she dipped under to land an upward blow to her face, breaking her nose and knocking her back to the ground. She bolted forward to grab her by the ankle, feeling the familiar pull of nausea as she flung her into the air, ensuring she was out of range of her syringes.
She turned her attention back to Deku, who was already begging to soak his bandages. She jogged back to him quickly, adding another layer to try and slow the exsanguination.
"Uraraka…" He croaked out her name slowly.
"Shh shhh. Save your energy, I'm going to get you out of here." She slicked his hair back and brushed the tears from his face.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't… Save you…" His eyes closed slowly.
She checked his pulse to find it weak, but still intact. She smiled down at him softly.
"I'm saving you, silly." She could feel her eyes begin to water. He needed a hospital, and soon. She supported his head and removed his gravity, cradling him in her arms. Tsu was the first to spot her, hopping down to land near the two.
"Is he okay…? Ribbit" She placed her hand on his chest, as if needing confirmation he was still breathing herself.
"He will be if we can get him to a hospital as soon as possible." She looked around at her peers who were still fighting, but managing to hold their ground. Everyone had gotten so much stronger these last few years, but so had the League. Tsu looked at her and nodded in confirmation, whispering something into an ear piece that she couldn't quite make out. The scene before her changed as people began to group off, Kirishima and Bakugo began running towards her.
Tsu grabbed her arm above the burns and squeezed tightly. "Everything is going to be okay, Ribbit. We are finally going home." She bounded back towards the top of the building, catching a screaming Mineta, who had been precariously thrown towards the rafters.
Kirishima managed to get to her before the second flash began. Covering her eyes, he rushed her to the door, careful to avoid jostling Deku any more than necessary. The three of them made it through the door just as the room they left behind was replaced with a large cloud of white smoke, also courtesy of Toru. They had obviously planned this rescue meticulously. She didn't ask any questions as they ran, her bare feet scraping on the cold sidewalk. A gust of wind hit her skin, making her realize how underdressed she was, but she was too busy relishing the fresh air to care.
"Red team clear." Kirishima spoke softly into his earpiece. A small pause followed before he turned and gave them both a big smile and a thumbs up. "Everyone made it out okay! But we probably need to avoid stopping until we get to the hospital which should take a bit. It's unlikely they will catch up to us, but sounds like some of them tried to follow."
The three of them ran for what felt like an hour in complete silence. Snow had begun to fall, blanketing the ground in a white dust. Carrying a weightless Deku for so long was starting to pull at her stomach, and between the nausea and her feet going numb, she didn't know how much farther she could go. She stumbled slightly, falling onto her knee before quickly recovering herself and slowing to a brisk walk.
"Aah man, Uraraka. Not offering to carrying Deku for you was super unmanly of me." Kirishima reached to take him from her.
"No! I'm fine… We go faster if I float him! Really! I don't want to be a burd-" A wave of nausea hit her, causing her to drop to her hands and knees to vomit. Luckily Kirishima was already in place to grab Deku, allowing her to release her quirk. A final wave of nausea set in causing her to double over, it had been a long time since she had let her quirk get to her like that, and she was embarrassed to be slowing them down. She felt a warm hand touching her neck, pulling the matted, burnt mess that used to be her hair away from her face. Goosebumps flooded down her arms and legs as she looked up into red eyes.
"It's stupid to try and keep going when you need help." Bakugo helped her up to her feet. He looked her up and down and she could feel her face reddening. "You're cold."
She stared at him incredulously. "Yeah? And water's wet. I've not really had much in the option of coats the last few days."
Kirishima bust out into laughter, and she could see the tips of Bakugo's ears turn red. The whole scene made her feel like a normal person again. Even in a dire situation, it lifted her spirits to know she was around friends. The red head jerked his head through his laughter to indicate they should keep moving. She begrudgingly began to follow, albeit slowly.
"Here." Bakugo had his eyes glued to the ground as he handed her his gauntlets. "They are made to help keep in heat, so they may help you not fucking die of exposure."
The moment she slipped them over her arms she realized what he had meant. They were like mini saunas, and it felt heavenly on her cold skin. Unfortunately, they were also very heavy, slowing her down. She used her quirk to remove their gravity before chasing after Kirishima, but after only a few steps she was lifted off the ground by a pair of strong arms and pulled close to his chest.
"I don't want to watch you vomiting or shivering anymore, so I'll just fucking carry you."
She wanted to protest, but she couldn't deny how tired she was. His chest was warm, and she could hear his heart pounding as they continued on, lulling her into a dozy state. For the first time in a week she felt herself relax.
"Katsuki?" She felt him stiffen at the use of his name, she giggled slightly, earning an annoyed growl in return. "Thank you."
"It's our fucking job, Round face. You know that." He frowned down at her.
"No, not for saving me… Well… Thank you for that too, but… Thank you for trusting me back there. Not many people would have let me fight…"
"Why wouldn't I? You're a good fucking hero."
She smiled up at him with what was probably a gruesome and bruised lopsided grin before burying her face into his chest. She felt tears begin to flow freely down her cheeks and soak into his shirt. She couldn't tell if they were tears of relief, happiness, or sadness, but she couldn't seem to stop them. If Bakugo noticed, he didn't say anything. All she could focus on was his warmth and the sound of his steady breathing as they bounded on into the night.
The sound of sirens was the last thing she heard before finally drifting off to sleep.