The next day, Bakugo didn't show up to class. Or the day after that, or the day after that. Midoriya, despite his relationship with him, was starting to get worried. What happened to him?

Flashback, after the fight between Gojo and Bakugo

Midoriya shot up with a frenzied look in his eyes. It took a couple seconds for him to calm down and realize where exactly he was. Wha- what? This is my room. When did I get here? Wasn't I- His eyes widened as memories flooded his head. Wasn't I just with Kacchan?

"How much do you remember, Izuku?" He looked across the room and saw Gojo leaning against the wall, eyes slightly dark. "Gojo-sensei? How did I get here? What happened?" The green haired boy's face grew a bit red and bitter. Did he see? After that, there's no way he thinks I'm still worthy...

"That Katsuki kid really did a number on you. How do you feel?" Satoru felt a bit relieved at the lack of reaction. Good, at least he doesn't remember being possessed. That would've been a hassle. "Uh..." He flexed his hands before giving the man a reassuring smile. "A bit bruised, maybe, but nothing I'm not used to. I'll be fine."

That was a lie. To be honest, he felt like Bakugo was socking him in the gut with every breath he took, and his mind was replaying the blond's harsh words over and over again, like a torturous taunt. But he wasn't about to admit that, especially not to Gojo. I've put up with it for almost seven years now. I can go a few more. By the time I've mastered this power, I'll be strong enough to stand up for myself.

With those words, Satoru felt a slight pang. "...but nothing I'm not used to." He was only eleven, for God's sake. He shouldn't have to be used to it. He shouldn't have to take a beating and follow it up with a clearly fake smile and say, "I'll be fine."

"So how did I get back here anyway, Gojo-sensei?"

"Wha- oh, uh, after you fainted, one of your neighbors found you and brought you back. He already left though. And your mom is out buying groceries. She doesn't know you're home." In actuality, Gojo had walked home before Izuku's body collapsed from exhaustion on the bed, and he was forced out. It's a good thing I landed on the bed instead of the floor. "Oh, I'll have to thank him later. Who was it?"

"No idea, I didn't really get a good view of him. And..." Gojo mumbled something afterwards that Midoriya didn't quite catch. "What was that?"

"I'm sorry, Izuku." With those words, Midoriya suddenly remembered his mother crying and hugging him so long ago, saying, "I'm so sorry, Izuku! I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" to him over and over again, even though she wasn't at fault at all. "Why? It wasn't your fault." I should apologize, if anything... for being such a weak and cowardly successor. "You know, I just thought that if I wasn't a ghost, I could've stopped him. And... if I'd just taken action earlier instead of hesitating..." you would've been left unscathed.

Midoriya just laughed his usual it's-fine-no-worries laugh, as if he weren't carrying the weight of the world. "There are some things in this world that we can't change, no matter how much we want them to. Instead of dwelling over what's already done, we should focus on what's already happening and what's bound to happen." Gojo let himself smile a bit. "I guess you're right... I mean- hey! I'm the elder here, I'm supposed to be giving you wise advice, not the other way around!" After a moment, the two of them began to laugh (although Midoriya's chest admittedly hurt with every chuckle).

Four days passed, and Bakugo Katsuki finally summoned the courage to go back to school. That, and if he didn't, his mother would murder him. But he couldn't help the strange, dark feeling bubbling up in him as he walked to school.

I'm not scared of Deku. I'm not scared of him. I just... I'm just wary of whatever possessed him, he convinced himself. But not scared. I'll just ignore him for the rest of the school year. I won't make eye contact with him. I won't acknowledge him. He doesn't deserve to be acknowledged, anyway. He doesn't deserve to-

The smell of something burning filled the air, and Bakugo realized that he'd been holding his bag just a little too tightly.

When he entered the classroom, covered in Band-Aids and a scarf around his throat, the class erupted with comments and whispers.

"Woah, what happened to you, Bakugo?"

"You get into a fight with a high schooler?"

"I've never seen him hurt before..."

"Geh- why's he glarin' at us?"

"Was it some low time villain?"

"Why're you wearing a scarf? It's spring."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Midoriya flinch and look away as he took his seat. "Yeah," he finally muttered. "It was a villain."

Did Kacchan actually fight a real villain in these past four days? That's... amazing. No wonder he's all beat up, Midoriya thought to himself as class started. He heard some of the students murmur amongst themselves.

"Did you hear that? Bakugo fought a villain!"

"With his quirk, he probably won."

"Ke, I wish I was born with his quirk!"

"He's so cool!"

He hasn't glared at me even once yet. Why? Does it have something to do with our fight? He glumly remembered that it hadn't been much of a fight and more of a one sided beatdown. But it's fine, because I'm getting stronger now. Back then, all I could do was dream and take the hits... I've made progress. I'm so glad Gojo-sensei chose me.

"Oi, Izuku, pay attention. I'll abandon you if you fail class," Gojo said jokingly. Midoriya straightened in his seat. "Ah- yes sir!" His face turned tomato red when the students and teacher looked at him confusedly.

He knew something was wrong when two whole weeks passed and Bakugo didn't yell or even look in his direction even once. "And if I try to ask him about it, he'll beat me up again," Midoriya confessed to Gojo. Well... I can't exactly tell him that I possessed his body and scared the shit out of Katsuki... "He's probably just used to you."

"Used to me?"

"Yeah. Like, you know how kids throw away an old toy after it's not fun anymore? It's probably like that." Gojo sweatdropped. Don't take this badly, Izuku. The boy deadpanned. "Ah... so I'm like a worn out toy to him. Yeah, that's probably it. It can't be that fun beating up and bossing around some quirkless kid, after all. I basically just retired." Woah, he's gullible.

"I might talk to him though."

"Huh? Why?" I can't risk Izuku finding out what really happened. "Probably not anytime soon, but..." The boy smiled. "I want him to know that I'm not the same quirkless kid anymore. I have to tell mom, too. It's not fair to keep her in the dark. But for that to happen, I have to get stronger first. Strong enough to defeat Kacchan."

"The kid can make explosions, right? Believe me, once you get a hang of my power, he'll be like an ant." A- an ant? Ah... to this day, I'm still not sure why Gojo-sensei picked me. But I want to make him proud.

Omake:

"Izuku, honey, what are you laughing at up there?"

"N- nothing, mom!"