Chapter 10: Deku

Kacchan's shoulders bobbed slightly as he walked, allowing Deku to focus on the changes in his movements to keep himself awake. He could no longer keep his eyes open or grip onto Kacchan's shoulders, instead letting his arms swing aimlessly across Kacchan's chest, but he could at least hold onto consciousness by feeling the movement of another person supporting him. Kacchan had risked so much to make sure that Deku was safe, so even if he didn't have enough strength left to speak or move, Deku would muster whatever it took to return the favor-to at least be a second set of ears, a lookout of sorts.

Deku had never been this close to Kacchan for this long, and he found himself trying to recall any other time when Kacchan had been so gentle and kind to him. He was so accustomed to Kacchan's harshness that he had almost been shocked into silence by his behavior back in the garden. He hadn't uttered a single complaint about taking care of Deku, even when Deku aired his embarrassment about being carried around like a toddler. Maybe whatever Kacchan had gone through to save him from Shigaraki not only once, but twice, had changed his outlook towards others. Maybe now, they could truly be friends like Deku had always hoped. Despite the torrents of pain running through his body, Deku had enough strength to smile.

When Kacchan's feet stopped with an abrupt jerk, however, Deku forced himself to open his eyes. He didn't have enough strength to lift his head, but he could see enough from his position with his head resting against Kacchan's neck, face leaning forward slightly over his shoulder.

They had just turned off of the hospital road and onto the sidewalk of the public road, but Kacchan had frozen in his tracks at the sight of three figures before him. Under the harsh fluorescent lighting of the streetlamps, Deku could see Kurogiri and Dabi with their arms crossed, standing on either side of Toga, who was dangling a knife before her face and licking it while sporting a wide grin.

"Hey, kiddos!" Dabi growled and sparked a small flame in his palm. "You didn't think the boss would really come here by himself, did you?" He took a few paces forward, causing Kacchan to back slowly away.

"Shigaraki!" Kurogiri shouted suddenly as he summoned a large cloud of black smoke, out of which stepped the aforementioned.

"Next time you try escaping from a hospital, don't go down the main road, kid," Shigaraki snickered. "We always have a backup plan."

Shigaraki began strolling forward, causing Kacchan to continue backing up until he was in the middle of the turn-in from the main road to the hospital drive. The others followed behind him, brandishing their quirks or weapons at the ready and spreading out in a half-circle. Kacchan glanced down at Deku and his eyes lit up in surprise to see that he was awake, just beginning to regain the strength to lift his head up.

"Behind us," Deku whispered carefully. "Clear...Run… before they surround… I'll be okay."

Kacchan nodded quickly, then tightened his grip around Deku's thighs and hoisted him up higher onto his back, Deku biting his tongue to keep from reacting to the pain. Then Kacchan turned and bolted across the turn-in and down the sidewalk, away from the hospital and in the opposite direction of the way to U.A. Every pound of his footstep was agony to Deku as his body bounced repeatedly against Kacchan's back, but the surge of adrenaline that was somehow pulsing through him rallied enough strength in him to hold on. He turned and watched the Villains behind them, puzzling over the unconcerned looks on their faces as they began running lightly to catch up.

I need to help somehow! Deku began to panic internally, glancing forward again to see Kacchan begin swerving frantically across the road, unsure of where to run or if he could find a place for them to hide. Anything I can do to give Kacchan some time to think!

"Kacchan!" He shouted, whipping his head around again to check on Shigaraki approaching quickly behind them. "I'm going to fire off a few Delaware Smashes to put some distance between us, so look for somewhere to go and prepare for the rebound!"

"No!" Kacchan screamed as he started pumping his legs faster. "You can't take any more damage. You could go into shock!"

"They're just my fingers!" Deku screamed back, and didn't offer Kacchan the chance to retort again. He lifted his good arm up and over Kacchan's shoulder, then did his best to aim it as he flung it behind him and fired off four successive Delaware Smashes from the tips of his fingers. The wind pressure fired off behind them, causing Shigaraki and the others to jump around on the street as they dodged. It was just enough to put some distance between them.

As Deku's strength began to fail again with the pain starting to reverberate through his fingers and the force of the action having knocked him back into Kacchan's back, he struggled to hold on as Kacchan suddenly made a sharp turn around a corner, sprinting through a small alley and clambering out onto another road. He turned on his heels and began running in the opposite direction, running parallel to the street they had been on but now heading towards the direction of U.A. once again.

"This is risky, Kacchan! They'll catch up to us if we turn around now!"

"We need to get to U.A. now! You can't fight at all, and I can't take them on all by myself! The farther away we get, the more fucked we are!" Kacchan was gasping now, showing signs that he was reaching his limit. They needed to find somewhere to hide and let him catch his breath.

"There!" Deku screamed, trying to point but lacking the strength to even raise a finger. "In that park over there, under that turtle thing!"

"What the FUCK are you talking about?"

"Stop running, and look!"

Kacchan stopped, Deku's weight slamming into his back and causing him to groan. "Sorry…" Kacchan said through panting breaths. He looked over his shoulder to see that Deku was growing pale again, sweating and shaking. The bandages across his forehead were beginning to tinge with the red of blood, meaning that wounds were starting to reopen. "We need to get you down."

"Get there… first… We can't stop… here," Deku grimaced as Kacchan carefully leaned down to the ground and deposited Deku there, then turned and scooped him up in his arms.

"This will be better for you, less painful," Kacchan explained as he began to stand again, but Deku's eyes were wide. He could just make out Shigaraki stepping out of the alley behind Kacchan's shoulder.

"GO!" He screamed, throwing up his injured arm above Kacchan's shoulder and cocking his fingers to prepare for another Delaware Smash. Kacchan didn't even bother to turn around and verify whatever was spooking Deku, he just bolted into the park down the street.

"There's a giant dome-shaped turtle thing we can hide under right there, in that playground area!" Deku gestured wildly with his head while he kept his arms raised. "But they might see us before we make it there!"

Shigaraki and the other members of the League had luckily decided to look in the opposite direction when they turned out of the alleyway. By the time they had retraced their steps, Deku had lost sight of them as Kacchan had entered the densely wooded park and headed in the direction of the play area. The dome Deku had seen was a giant turtle shell with small grips running across the outside for children to climb on. Between each of the turtle's feet there was a small, open space, leaving just enough room to slide under and be able to sit up on the inside of the shell.

"I got this!" Kacchan screeched as he moved even faster than before, jumping and shifting his weight to land on his back and slide underneath the rim of the shell. He pulled Deku's head close to his own as the two peered out into the park.

"How the hell did you see this thing from the street?" Kacchan whispered.

"I think I may have been to this park before, as a child," Deku huffed into the ground in front of them. "I saw the top of the turtle shell through the trees and remembered playing hide-and-seek with my mom underneath it."

The thought of his mother, and the uncertainty of not knowing where she was, sent a shiver down Deku's spine. He turned his face away from Kacchan as he felt tears begin to trickle down his cheeks, then did his best to wipe them away subtly as Kacchan sat up inside the shell.

"It looks like they totally ignored the park," he sighed as he transitioned his gaze from the park around them to instead look at Deku, still resting on his stomach and looking out from under the shell. "I think we'll be safe here for a little while. Long enough to make a new plan. But first, we need to fix this."

He slowly rolled Deku onto his back and pushed him into a sitting position, then helped him to scoot over and lean up against the inner wall of the dome. He scanned Deku's bandages for any loose pieces that weren't absolutely essential, then found a strip beginning to fall off his leg.

"Your head's starting to bleed again," he explained as he tore the strip and wrapped it as best as he could amongst the other bandages on Deku's forehead. "This isn't gonna cut it, though. We need to get you real medical care. How are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy, to be honest," Deku squirmed under Kacchan's stoic gaze. "But I'll manage!" He watched Kacchan's face as he glanced out at the park again, could almost see the cogs in his brain working as he tried to think of their next course of action. Deku himself found his brain severely lacking in the means to think properly as spots began to dance in his vision. He took in a few long, deep breaths, but it didn't help.

"You know…" Deku looked up to see Kacchan staring at him more intently now. "I know you didn't want me to say anything, but I told All Might what you thought about Shigaraki targeting you. He didn't think it would be this soon, but he knew Shigaraki would want to get rid of you, just like we thought. So… I'm sure that he knows what's going on by now and he's out looking for us, or something."

Deku just nodded and leaned his head back against the shell, closing his eyes as he focused on his breathing. He couldn't be mad at Kacchan for telling All Might, after everything he was doing to protect Deku right now, but he couldn't help but feel his anxiety levels rise at the thought of All Might out there alone with the League around.

I would rather try to tough this out alone than put All Might in a position where he could get hurt, he thought, as images of All Might's fight with All for One flashed through his head. All Might was his mentor, and the closest thing he had ever really had to a father. He needed him, and a reality without him around was something Deku had no intention of facing if he could help it.

"Deku, you okay?" Kacchan's voice seemed far away, and Deku realized that he was slipping into unconsciousness. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up straighter, but he couldn't bring himself to feel more alert.

"I think… I might pass out." His own voice seemed far away this time, and slightly slurred.

"Woah, okay, time to go then." Kacchan scrambled to the exterior of the turtle shell and dragged Deku out behind him, then scooped him up into his arms again. "That bandage I just wrapped around your head isn't doing shit right now, so you need to keep talking to me so I know you're-"

"Kacchan?" The dark splotches were making it difficult to see Kacchan's face, but once he saw through them, the horror registered there was unmistakable. His eyes were fixed at the top of the turtle shell, so Deku did his best to follow his gaze.

"Hello!" Shigaraki beamed at them from where he sat, cross-legged, at the top. "You thought you'd lost me again, huh? Shouldn't have taken your eyes off your surroundings."

Kacchan turned and bolted towards the street again, only to be met with the other Villains waiting outside the park entrance. This time, the two boys were surrounded.

"I don't know why you continuously think that running is your best option, here, firecracker," Shigaraki began as he jumped down from the turtle and walked towards them. "See, I know you. You and that gravity girl caught me off-guard the first time, but you can't do that to me twice. If you would've only stayed to listen when I first approached you at the hospital earlier, you wouldn't have wasted your time. Heck! If you had accepted my offer to join the League back during that training camp of yours, you could be blowing off some steam torturing this kid right now! Why don't you just hand him over to me, and I'll let you go like you were never even involved?"

Deku felt Kacchan's grip around him tighten, which he was thankful for despite the pain it caused. He was sure that Kacchan wasn't going to give him up after everything he had done up to now. But that meant that they were both about to be in some serious trouble.

But before he could even wrap his mind around the idea of planning an idea of escape, a forceful whooshing sound reverberated from somewhere on the street, traveling upwards, until Deku saw a shadow looming over his head. He felt a disorienting burst of movement as Kacchan lept backwards and a huge pile of rocks came tumbling down in front of them, right where Shigaraki had been standing. He had gracefully sidestepped, but even he couldn't hide the expression of surprise on his face.

Deku craned his neck to look over Kacchan's shoulder in search of the source of the rocks, and saw the other Villains searching as well. Across the street, at the top of a low building, stood Uraraka and Tsu-chan, smiling and waving. They had used their super combo-attack, Meteor Fafrotskies, to target Shigaraki. Two others were standing behind them, and when they walked forward, Deku realized that it was both Aizawa-sensei and All Might.

"We are here!" All Might shouted, placing one hand on Uraraka's shoulder and smiling. Deku couldn't stop himself from crying huge, fat tears at the sight of All Might being the hero he had always known him to be, but not ashamed to seek the help of others around him. Yes, he was retired now, and unable to participate, but he still had the passion and the courage to instill a fighting spirit in the children that he was training to be a future generation of heroes.

Uraraka used her quirk in turn on the others standing around her, and they quickly floated down to ground level and approached the Villains. Aizawa canceled out Dabi's quirk and began focusing on him while Uraraka and Tsuyu both approached Toga, All Might hollering directives to help them out. Kurogiri bolted forward at the same time as Shigaraki, both heading directly towards Deku and Kacchan in the middle of it all, so Kacchan quickly set Deku down and supported him with one arm, getting his free hand ready to fire off shots.

"Kacchan! We'll each take one!" Kacchan flashed an annoyed scowl his way before returning to the Villains around them.

"You're in no shape to fight!" He growled back.

"I can do this!"

"Fine!"

There wasn't time to argue, so Kacchan swung Deku around to face Kurogiri as he aimed towards Shigaraki. Simultaneously, Kacchan let an A.P. Shot explode towards Shigaraki as Deku fired three consecutive Delaware Smashes towards Kurogiri off the fingers of his bad arm. Shigaraki dodged, but Kurogiri was thrown back, stunned. It was enough, however, for All Might to act.

He sprinted forward and lunged over Kurogiri, reaching Deku and Kacchan before Kurogiri could even sit up. He scooped Deku into his arms and started running back the way he came, instructing Kacchan to keep firing after Shigaraki behind them as he ran, but to prepare another shot for Kurogiri with his free hand. As they passed him, Kacchan let the explosion release straight into Kurogiri's body. As they made it out into the street, Uraraka and Tsuyu joined them in running away, throwing their combo-attack at Toga as they went. Aizawa joined soon after, having managed to trip Dabi with a bit of his scarf. He trained his quirk on Shigaraki, who was several feet behind them now and thus incapacitated with Aizawa's erasure.

Despite the pain of being jostled around so much by the running, Deku was ecstatic. He felt the safest he could ever be in All Might's arms, with his friends and his sensei around him as well. The dizziness was coming in stronger waves now, the black spots consuming his vision almost entirely, but he continued to fight to look up at All Might, who was smiling widely down at him despite the tears beginning to well up in the corners of his eyes. Deku turned his head slightly to see Uraraka running beside All Might, her face pressed close to his, a smile on her face as well.

"We got you, Deku-kun!" Uraraka squealed and brushed her fingers quickly through Deku's hair with a reassuring touch, causing heat to rise quickly to his cheeks.

He turned again to look at the Villains behind him, now starting to regroup and follow Shigaraki, but he felt a stab of pain in his chest as he caught sight of Kacchan. He had stopped directly behind All Might and turned to face the League, fingers outstretched in front of him.

"Kacchan, no!" Deku tried to shout, but he had only enough strength to whisper. It was enough, however, and All Might turned around.

As Kacchan started shooting rapid-fire towards Shigaraki and the other Villains, each shot being dodged perfectly, All Might raced back to him and pulled him forcefully backwards. Before Deku could make sense of what was going on, he was being passed into Kacchan's arms.

"Go!" All Might shouted, shoving Kacchan forwards towards the rest of the group. As Kacchan started running, Deku watched in horror as All Might stalked slowly towards Shigaraki, his small frame standing firmer than Deku had ever seen him, even in his best days as a hero.

"All Might…" Deku gasped quietly, the helplessness he felt starting to weigh down his lungs and send him back into the terrifying sensation of breathlessness that he was now all-too-familiar with. There was nothing All Might could do against Shigaraki, especially with Aizawa unaware, now facing forward as he ran, his quirk not activated.

The two collided as tears began to stream down Deku's face, All Might's arm coming up to brace against Shigaraki's touch as he aimed towards All Might's face. Deku watched in horror as the skin on All Might's arm began cracking and peeling, disintegrating before his eyes. Shigaraki cackled, raising his other arm. But then All Might did something Deku thought he would never see him do again. As he stepped forward, pushing against the pressure of Shigaraki's hand, he balled his free hand into a fist. Deku gasped as energy began to flow through his body and collect in his arm, taking on the familiar shape it had when All Might had last fought. All Might shot his fist upwards, into the bottom of Shigaraki's chin, sending him flying into the air and crashing down into the concrete many feet away. As the League members raced to Shigaraki's side, All Might turned and offered a smile, both arms completely crushed from the damage of Shigaraki's quirk and All Might's own.

"Keep going!" All Might yelled before blood began to dribble down his chin. He collapsed, his head crashing hard into the pavement.

"All Might!" Deku screamed at full strength, finally, clawing at Kacchan's shoulder to try to get loose and run to the hero. Kacchan instead gripped him tighter, but stopped running.

The others turned around too, at the sound of Deku's strained crying. He felt a strong pressure at the back of his head as he was yanked forwards, facing upwards and locking eyes with Kacchan. He tried to resist Kacchan's hold as he saw some sort of movement speed past Kacchan's shoulder, but his grip was firm and he leaned in close to Deku. He could feel the last drops of energy leaving his body as Kacchan stared down at him, leaving him powerless to resist or help All Might in any way.

"Let me help…" Deku trailed off as the breath caught in his lungs

"There's nothing you can do, Deku. You can't fight anymore." Kacchan pulled him closer to his chest and leaned his head down so that their foreheads pressed together, his eyes closed. "Just breathe with me, okay? In and out… in and out…"

Deku couldn't slow his breathing, he wasn't even trying. He tried to raise his arms, to break out of Kacchan's embrace, but his fingers wouldn't even move a fraction of an inch. He could see Kacchan's eyes, so close to his own that he could count the eyelashes, but his face seemed so far away at the same time, as the blackness crowded the edges of Deku's vision and spots danced among Kacchan's eyelashes. He felt something hot and wet slipping slowly down his forehead, causing Kacchan's skin against his to feel slimy, but again couldn't move to wipe any of it away.

"Again, breathe…" Kacchan said, farther away now. Deku lost count of the eyelashes, as Kacchan's face began to blend into the night sky, his features becoming indistinct. His voice rang out like a bird, twittering far above him. "Deku, hey… Oi, shitty Deku! Wake up! Wake up! I need you to…"

It seemed like Deku had been lying alone in the dark for hours, restrained by some invisible force as he lay on the road and watched the stars traverse the sky. He didn't have the strength left to think, didn't have the strength to feel anything at all, and everything he had experienced leading up to now seemed like a far off memory. He attempted to move his head to the left, to the right, anywhere except the dazzling stars in the sky above him, but he just couldn't move.

He shouted, but nothing left his mouth and no one replied. So he lay and watched the hours pass as the constellations traversed the sky, only to be replaced by the blinding sunlight of an early dawn, to then be replaced again in a cycle of stars-to-sun, never really sure how much time had passed, why he couldn't move, or what had become of him.

Finally, the light of the sun, after another cycle, became too much and Deku's head began to pound. He closed his eyes for the first time after this all had started, and when he opened them again, the blue sky was gone. It had been replaced by a soft white light, with a more blinding yellow light filtering in from the side. This time, Deku was able to turn his head as he sought the source of this brighter light.

A small window, the curtains wide and fresh air streaming through, was set into a large white wall to his left. He turned to face the other way, and was met with a small table, a large glass of water resting on top of it, a piece of paper with a note scribbled on it (Call me AS SOON as you wake up - Mom) and Uraraka Ochako sitting next to him, watching him. She was dressed in a pink sweatshirt and black sweatpants, all her hair except a few pieces in the front tucked into a small, messy bun at the back of her head.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she whispered. Deku felt a tug on his fingertips and realized that she was holding his hand. He lifted his head to start sitting up, but she pushed him down gently. "Hold on, not so fast! Relax Deku-kun, you're in Recovery Girl's office at U.A. She's been taking care of you!"

Uraraka lifted her hand, intertwined with his, to show fresh bandages over all of his fingers and running up his arms. She leaned back and let him look around the room, where Tsu-chan was sitting on a small couch, a book in her lap, while Todoroki gazed over at him from the seat next to her. A few feet away, Kirishima leaned against the wall and was speaking quietly with someone who was blocked from view by Uraraka, who leaned over slightly when she noticed him looking.

Kacchan had been listening quietly to Kirishima's words, but he stood up straight when he saw Deku looking at him. "Hey," he said softly, walking over to stand a few paces behind Uraraka. Spots swam through Deku's vision, but he could make out a smile spreading across Kacchan's face.

"Bakugo carried you all the way here without stopping. He basically collapsed when he got here, although I was in worse shape after all that running." Uraraka chuckled and glanced at Kacchan, who offered her a lighthearted sneer.

Deku had been looking for his voice in the moments since he had woken up, and finally felt it come to him at the sight of their playful banter. "All Might… is he…"

"Iida-kun just went to let him know that you're awake. He's in a meeting with Aizawa-sensei, Midnight, and Principal Nezu right now, and he's perfectly fine. His arms will take some time to heal, but he doesn't care about that."

"You were out for about four days, so we weren't sure what was gonna happen," Kacchan stepped forward and sat down on a vacant stool next to Uraraka. "I didn't think I had gotten you here in time, but Recovery Girl has been working on your injuries a bit at a time and says you'll be healed up enough to get out of bed in a week or two."

Deku struggled to sit up again, so Uraraka stood and helped him sit up slowly, cradling his head with one hand while pressing softly on his back with the other. He was covered in a heavy layer of blankets, but above that he was dressed in a light t-shirt and the bandages covering his right arm were thinner than they had been before.

"Don't worry," Uraraka winked. "Both your legs are healing pretty nicely, too." Deku smiled back at her, feeling some of the pounding in his head subside. As she sat back down, Tsu-chan and Todoroki came over and stood behind her.

"It's good to see that you're doing well, kero," Tsuyu beamed, Todoroki nodding along with her.

"We'll be going now," Todoroki added. "We just wanted to stop by for a little bit, and you still need more rest."

"Okay…" Deku replied softly, smiling slightly as the two waved goodbye and slipped out the door.

"Same here!" Kirishima yelled from the doorway. "I'm happy you're okay, Midoriya! I'll be back with the guys tomorrow." Deku nodded in reply as he slipped out the door after the other two. It was just him, Kacchan and Uraraka now.

"Well, I got shit to do," Kacchan said, standing up.

"Wait!" Deku leaned forward and reached for him with his free hand. "I wanted to say thank you, to both of you. You both risked so much to make sure that I was okay, even coming after me all by yourselves without any of the teachers."

"It's what a hero would do," Kacchan growled, looking past Deku to the window. Then, he softened as he lowered his eyes to meet Deku's. "Even more, it's what a friend would do. Now, don't make me have to do it again, shitty Deku." He leaned over and softly ruffled Deku's hair, catching him by surprise, then stared at him for a long moment before retreating to the door and waving as he slipped out.

"That's Bakugo for you," Uraraka noted with a small laugh as she stared back at the door. "Always has to add that little oomph of aggressiveness to anything nice... He was really worried about you, you know. He would never admit it, and he definitely tried to hide it from me, but the whole time we were trying to get you back here he was crying. I was a blubbering mess, so I can't blame him."

"Uraraka-san-"

"Deku-kun, it would make me really happy if you started calling me Ochako." She blushed a little bit, her fingers resting on the bed next to his hand again. He looked down, then carefully slipped his fingers into hers.

"Ochako…" Deku found that he didn't know what to say. He couldn't think of the right words to express how he had been feeling when he was all alone in the League's cell, or how he had been feeling in that weird space in his mind before waking a few moments earlier, or even the sensation he was feeling now. He just knew that saying her name felt right, and holding her hand felt right, so this would probably feel right, too.

Deku leaned forward and wrapped his arm around Ochako, pulling his body close to hers. She brought both her arms up and around him, leaning forward to sit on the edge of the bed. Tears began to fall silently from both of their eyes, until they were sobbing into each other, sharing the pain of their experience without having to define it for each other. Deku wished that Kacchan had stayed, that the three of them could heal together, but Kacchan had his own way of processing emotions and Deku knew that he needed to be okay with that. So, he leaned harder into Ochako and wrapped his arms tighter around her until their tears together turned into soft, peaceful breathing. They sat, foreheads pressed together, stone-still, for a long time before a light creaking of the door alerted them to pull back from each other.

Deku peered over Ochako's shoulder to see that All Might was standing in the doorway, his arms in a double-sling, beaming brightly with tears streaming down his face. "Young Midoriya!" He shouted as he dashed into the room and joined Ochako at the side of the bed.

"I'll let you guys talk," Ochako said as she stood. She squeezed Deku's hand gently. "I'll come back tomorrow after class, I promise!" Then she quickly scurried out of the room.

As soon as she was gone, All Might did his best to envelop Deku into a hug, resulting in his wrapping Deku up in the cloth material of his arm slings. He then sat down in Ochako's chair and pressed his face close to Deku's.

"All Might… what happened after you punched Shigaraki?" Deku said as he leaned back against the bed frame and relaxed his breathing again. "And how did you use One for All?"

"I can't really answer that second question," All Might replied with a wide smile. "I'm just thankful that it happened. I couldn't allow myself to fail in protecting young Bakugo the same way I failed to protect you. I certainly couldn't allow myself to force him to protect you while I ran away, either. When he stopped to fight back, I knew I had to act no matter the cost. You, he and all the other students are my world, Midoriya. I must protect you all.

"As for your first question," he continued. "Using One for All put a huge strain on my body, and I collapsed momentarily. Aizawa turned around and came to my rescue, thankfully, and sent Bakugo and Uraraka on ahead with you. Asui stayed behind to help me while Aizawa kept the League at bay long enough for me to come to my senses a bit." All Might scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It was not one of my finer moments, but I did what I set out to do."

Deku stared down at his feet, small points sticking up underneath the blanket. "I was afraid you would do something reckless to try to save me, and, well, you did… but I'm glad you didn't take everything onto your own shoulders. You brought others to help you."

"I have always understood the value of teamwork, young Midoriya, but I haven't appreciated it to its fullest extent until I passed on One for All to you and began teaching you how to use it. I wanted so badly to be the only one responsible for saving you because I've put you in this position in the first place, but our responsibilities don't always have to be ours alone to shoulder. If they were, we would surely drown in them. Because of you, the other students here, and the teachers I have come to know as friends, I have learned that One for All is not a quirk for one person alone to bear, even if one person alone may possess it. The burden you and I hold in fighting against All for One and the League of Villains isn't your or my fight alone, but a fight that we will win with the help of our friends. A sort of duality exists between One for All and All for One which makes you a target to them, yes, but the power of our friends, whom All for One may know nothing about, will give us all the more strength to be able to fight against him."

"So what, exactly, are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, young Midoriya, is that I think you should build a network of friends in whom you truly trust. Reveal the secret of One for All to them or don't, but work together with them to create a force capable of standing up to Shigaraki and the other League members in only a way that you can. A force built on complete, unabashed trust, communication, and synchronization. I will continue to guide you, but I am not a real threat to Shigaraki anymore. The one who will bring him down is you, with the help of young Bakugo and others who are dedicated to saving the world. Shigaraki claimed he was frustrated with you for taking up my will, yes? Well, here I am, humbly asking you to do so, but to make it your own. Make One for All your own, even more than you have already done, and trust in yourself.

"Now," All Might placed a hand on Deku's shoulder as he stood, "I believe you owe your mother a call, so I'll leave you to that." He reached over to the bedside table and picked up the telephone sitting there, awkwardly handing it to Deku with a sling-wrapped arm before heading over to the door. Before he left, however, he stopped in the middle of the doorway.

"Young Midoriya, two more things. Young Iida wanted me to inform you that all of Class 1-A is bringing you some board games tomorrow night, to cheer you up a bit and make up for some kind of break you all had planned on Friday? So please rest up and be prepared for that. And finally, I might suggest Uraraka Ochako as the first person you tell our secret to. She cares deeply for you, after all." And with that, without waiting for a reply, All Might stepped out of the room, leaving Deku alone with his thoughts and more than one call to make.