Author's note: This is an extended scene of sorts from World Heroes' Mission. There's minor spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution if you haven't yet seen it.
"So, this is the asshole who got us into this mess, huh?"
As far as introductions went, it certainly wasn't friendly, but it could have been worse, coming from Kacchan.
"Kacchan," Deku responded, his voice slightly chiding, "This is my friend, Rody." Deku emphasized the 'friend' and noticed Rody's gaze draw to him at that. It had probably been a long time since he'd been introduced as such. "Rody," Deku continued, gesturing as he turned his glance to meet the other boy's, "this is Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki, my—" Deku quickly caught himself before the word 'friends' slipped out. While it would have been an honest introduction, Deku didn't really want to deal with the headache of Kacchan immediately interjecting that they were in fact not friends, and how dare Deku even suggest it? It would only confuse Rody and complicate the situation further, so Deku quickly finished with, "—classmates. We attend the same hero course together in Japan and have been working together in our internships."
Todoroki provided a curt nod, but Kacchan would hardly acknowledge the other boy apart from scowling so hard Deku was almost flinching in Rody's place.
Kacchan's gaze dropped to the case in Deku's hands. "So, this is the damn case that everyone's after?" he asked, reaching out to roughly wrench it from Deku's grasp.
Deku hadn't expected it and couldn't help the gasp and wince that escaped him as he gave up the case to Kacchan.
Kacchan paused, clutching the case against him as his eyes immediately snapped to Deku. His scowl deepened with suspicion. "You injured?"
That drew Todoroki's eyes as well, and Deku noticed Rody's gaze drop as Pino seemed to peek guiltily from his hood.
"I'm a little banged up," Deku said, trying to quickly gloss over the question, "but I'm fine."
Kacchan groaned, giving Deku a once-over. "We all know your definition of 'fine' usually means the furthest thing from it. You asshole, how you could you let yourself get hurt on top of everything that's going on?"
It was Deku's turn to take on a hint of a scowl. "I said I'm alright, can we focus on the case for a minute, I thought I noticed—"
"He took an arrow for me," Rody decided to pipe up, sounding nervous and a little miserable at the same time.
"…What?" Kacchan demanded.
"An arrow?" Todoroki questioned, sounding concerned as he stepped nearer to give Deku a closer visual examination.
If Deku thought Kacchan was glaring at Rody earlier, he was mistaken. Now he was glaring.
Pino had disappeared into Rody's hood again.
"Yeah, a legit arrow. Like from a crossbow," Rody confirmed, his voice lined with guilt. "I…tried asking him why he did it, but I still don't understand it…"
"You obviously haven't gotten to know Deku very well in the past three days you've spent with him, so let me fill you in, asshole. Deku is all sorts of effed in the head. He has the biggest, most delusional savior complex you've ever seen, and he doesn't possess a shred of self-preservation skills or common sense. You're not the first shitty extra he's tried to sacrifice himself for, and God knows you won't be the last," Kacchan finished, eyes boring angrily into Deku.
Deku just stared blankly at Kacchan, refusing to take the bait. "Guys," he finally said, exasperated. "The case? Can we focus? I think I noticed something, let me see it, Kacchan." He reached for it but Kacchan held it out of his grasp.
"Do we need to take a look at you first?" Todoroki asked, giving him another go-over.
"What? No, that was a few days ago! Rody patched me up. Now let me see the case, please, I thought I saw something!" Deku finally managed to snatch it back from Kacchan and flipped it over, examining its underside. "A hidden compartment. Look," Deku said, pointing.
The boys spent several minutes fiddling with the puzzle contraption they found inside. It wasn't until Rody took a go at it that they were finally able to get it open.
They were surprised at finding an SD card and a mysterious sort of electronic key inside, and after debating for several minutes about what to do next, they finally agreed to find a hotel and hopefully get to a computer as soon as they could.
"Well, so long, Extra. Thanks for the shitty mess we're now forced to clean up." Kacchan hardly afforded Rody a parting glance before turning dismissively away.
"Kacchan!" Deku was definitely bristling at Kacchan's rudeness now. "Rody's coming with us."
"Like hell he is. Dude's been enough of a problem already!"
"He's in this just as much as I am, and I'm not leaving him until I'm certain he can make it home safe."
"What's your problem?" Kacchan demanded, fuming. "First you take an arrow for the stupid bastard, and now you're set on escorting him home?! He's a liability, Deku, let him turn himself in, deal with his own shit he got himself into, and we can figure out what the rest of all this has to do with Humarise."
Deku quickly glanced to Rody, standing awkwardly and hesitantly behind them. He looked lost. And very alone. He sought little Pino, still peeking out from under the hood, a miserable and pleading expression painted across her.
Something about the kid just tugged at Deku's heart. The patchwork clothes, the forced smirk, the locket hiding the happiest faces Deku had ever seen; faces that likely might not ever be that happy again.
He would always care about every 'extra' Bakugo so flippantly labeled as such. But knowing one's backstory made it literally impossible not to care whole-heartedly. Deku knew it was his both his weakness and his strength. And he couldn't help it.
"No. Rody's coming with us. I'm not about to abandon him after we made it this far, and I'm going to make sure he gets home safely."
Kacchan's glare was quickly becoming more heated and challenging, but it was Todoroki who spoke next.
"I agree, he should come with us," Todoroki calmly cut in. "I don't think it would be of any benefit to have him caught and questioned right away. Not when we have no clue what we may have stumbled upon," he added, gesturing mildly towards the case.
"It's settled then," Deku said triumphantly, offering Rody an encouraging grin. "Come on," he said, reaching to pull the boy closer to the group. He gave him a reassuring nudge to lead the way. "Let's get going."
Deku was a little surprised at the ease with which they secured a hotel room. Apparently, Todoroki had been gifted a significant amount of emergency cash by Endeavor, should any need arise for it. And the need arose, so Todoroki was quick to offer to get them a room.
The two boys who hadn't been on the run came prepared with bags of their belongings, and they took them up to the room, the other two following closely behind and trying their best to conceal their faces.
"Why'd we come up here?" Deku asked after the boys dropped their bags. "We're not staying here. We need to find a computer right away, there's probably one in the lobby area."
"Five minutes won't kill us," Kacchan replied, rummaging through his bag.
Todoroki seemed to understand what Kacchan was up to, as he'd made his way to the window and was patiently peering outside. Rody seemed confused like Deku, as he hung back awkwardly and quietly, Pino still tucked away out of sight.
"Hey, stupid, come here and take your goddamn shirt off," Kacchan demanded, not bothering to look up from his bag.
Oh. So, they were still worried about his injury, Deku realized dejectedly. They didn't have time for this.
"We don't have time for this. We need to go find a—"
"Just shut up and come here. You think I want to do this? You claim Street Urchin here patched you up days ago, but what the hell does he know about tending to an injury, and Icy Hot sucks at everything, so guess what? That leaves me."
"Don't call him that," Deku said defensively, his eyes narrowing a touch.
"Deku, you're the one wasting time now," Kacchan countered, finally throwing a very impatient glare in Deku's direction. "Your stupid, pale-ass face has been flushed as hell all day, which means your shitty-ass injury is probably infected, since it hasn't been treated properly in three goddamn days. Get over here and take your goddamn shirt off and then we can go find an effing computer."
Rody seemed to shuffle guiltily at the subtle accusation, but he stayed quiet—likely in agreement that Deku should let Kacchan take a look at his injury.
Todoroki continued quietly keeping watch at the window.
Deku sighed in defeat, realizing no one was going to back him up on how unnecessary this was at the moment.
He couldn't deny he'd felt a little feverish all day though. Leave it to Kacchan to notice.
Pulling his shirt off, Deku made his way to the bed and took a seat at its edge, noticing Kacchan had already readied the first aid kit.
Kacchan certainly wasn't gentle as he removed Deku's old bandages, and Deku had the feeling Kacchan was intentionally going to make this more painful than it needed to be.
Kacchan gave him a rough, impatient push. "Lay down."
Deku complied without complaint, willing this to go as fast as possible.
Sure enough, the abrupt application of alcohol to his wound saw Deku jerking in surprise and biting back a yelp. He spasmed, gripping the bed spread, and trying to still himself.
"Dammit, that hurts," he grunted under his breath, eyes scrunched shut.
He could feel Kacchan's gaze on him, though through his pain, he was certain if he met it, he wouldn't be able to tell if Kacchan was apprehensive about hurting him or if he might actually be enjoying it.
A couple more involuntary spasms as Kacchan continued to wipe the area. Deku had the uncontrollable urge to kick at him, but he instead settled with allowing his lower half to writhe as he gripped the bedspread harder and focused on keeping his voice as level as possible. "Ughh—are you done? This—really sucks."
"Almost," Kacchan replied, and Deku could actually hear a rare hint of unease behind his voice. So, he wasn't enjoying it. Deku immediately felt a little bad for suspecting he may have been. Kacchan could be a little scary at times, and definitely more than a little rude at most times, but he wasn't sadistic.
The pain lessened as Deku felt Kacchan apply a cool antibiotic ointment and press a fresh bandage in place. He released a tight breath and attempted to force himself to relax.
"'Kay, you can sit up." There was no apology behind Kacchan's voice and Deku didn't expect to find one. They both knew he was just doing what he had to.
"Give me just a sec," Deku exhaled, giving his breathing a moment to even out. That had really hurt.
"I thought we didn't have any time to waste." Kacchan replied, unwinding a thick roll of gauze. It was very rare that Kacchan made any attempt at conversation, and it made Deku wonder if he might actually be trying to provide a distraction. Sometimes he really wasn't as bad as others made him out to be.
"Right," Deku said, slowly pushing himself up with a heavy wince and realizing he may have been better off if his wound hadn't been readdressed. He was feeling pretty crappy now.
"Arms up," Kacchan ordered.
Deku complied with another small wince and Kacchan started wrapping him.
"Why did you do it, then?" Kacchan asked, eyeing Deku with annoyance.
"What?"
"Why'd you take an arrow for that kid?" Kacchan demanded, likely attempting to hide his anger over it but not really succeeding.
"Why wouldn't I? He was in trouble, they would have killed—"
"Deku. You've gotta cut that shit out." That barely-restrained anger was threatening to break loose.
"Cut what out?"
Bakugo huffed, clearly reaching his irritation threshold. "That over-eager, bullshit attitude of throwing your goddamn life away for any random, shitty extra who happens to cross your path."
Deku's brow pinched in confusion as Kacchan made another pass under his arms. "I—didn't," he stammered. "And stop calling them shitty extras."
"This is what I'm talking about. You get so freaking defensive over everyone, regardless if you know them or not, for no effing reason."
"But that's—" Deku was a little bewildered. "That's the whole point of being a hero!"
"No, it's not! We protect who we can. We save who we can. Within fucking reason, Deku. We don't throw our lives away to save one shitty thief."
"Don't call him that!" Deku lowered his arms, losing his restraint on his own anger. He almost wanted to shove Kacchan away, but he refrained.
"I'm not finished," Kacchan hissed, his breath tight and posture stiff.
Deku could tell they might be on the verge of a fight. He'd have to tread carefully. He reluctantly lifted his arms again, determined to keep his temper in check.
Todoroki was watching them warily from the window. Rody was seated on the opposite bed, facing away from them, his gaze in his lap. A downtrodden Pino perched on his shoulder.
"Look, moron." Kacchan's tension eased a fraction as he continued winding the gauze. "All Might's not going to say anything because he's a goddamn overly-optimistic pushover who lets you do whatever the hell you want. So that leaves it up to me to try and make you see some goddamn sense every now and then. You can't be so quick to throw your dumbass self in front of anyone and everyone." Deku realized the way Kacchan emphasized 'you' meant he was attempting to add hidden meaning to his words, and Deku knew he was expected to pick up on it.
One For All was riding on Deku's shoulders. The fate of potentially millions of lives was riding on his shoulders.
Right. Deku knew that.
But that still didn't mean he regretted saving Rody and that still didn't mean he wouldn't do it again.
Kacchan seemed to read his thoughts, because his lips pressed into a fine, angry line and he shook his head in exasperation.
"We save everyone, Kacchan," Deku insisted quietly, lifting his eyes briefly to meet Kacchan's fiery gaze. "Don't pretend like you wouldn't have done the exact same thing."
Kacchan tsked and whispered something that sounded a lot like 'effing idiot' under his breath. He appeared to let the matter drop though as he turned back to the kit.
"Here," Kacchan said, roughly pushing a bottle of pills into Deku's hand.
"What's this?"
"What's it look like? Take one now and two a day till they're gone," he paused a moment, giving Deku a brief once-over again, likely to subtly assess his patch-up job. He seemed satisfied enough. "Don't forget, you stupid nerd."
"Sure," Deku said, pocketing the bottle of antibiotics. He was about to add a 'thanks' but he caught a glimpse of Kacchan's glare just daring him to, and decided better of it.
"Icy Hot, you got the card?" Kacchan asked, turning his attention to the other boy across the room.
Todoroki turned his gaze from where he was leaning against the window and nodded.
"Get off your ass already and let's go find a computer."
"Right," he said, following Kacchan out of the room.
Deku stiffly pulled his shirt back on as he crossed the room. The bed creaked slightly as he took a seat next to the too-quiet Rody.
He broke the silence after a long moment. "So…that's Kacchan for you," he said with a weak attempt at a laugh. "He's a little…" he paused, realizing he had no idea how to adequately sum Kacchan up in one sentence.
"Intense?" Rody offered, gaze still down.
"Yeah, that's one way to put it, I guess," Deku said, offering an apologetic half-grin. "Sorry about…" Deku was struggling a little with his words, not knowing exactly how to adequately brush over Kacchan's rudeness.
"Nah, there's no need to apologize," Rody cut in, returning the same apologetic hint of a grin. "He was only speaking the truth."
Deku's grin quickly faded. "Rody, if you knew the first thing about Kacchan, it's that half the things he says is stuff he doesn't really mean, and the other half is so overly exaggerated—"
"It's okay, Deku." The small understanding smile was still there, but it appeared forced, and Deku managed to steal a glimpse at Pino, who was looking quite distraught.
"He's really not that bad of a guy," Deku explained, wondering why he felt the urgent need to apologize on Kacchan's behalf.
"I told you, I'm not bugged by it." Rody's aloof facade was settling in again, but Pino's demeanor remained the same. "And…I am really sorry for everything I caused..."
"Rody," Deku went on, unsure of why he felt such a sudden need to explain himself and knowing he was doing a poor job of it. "I don't regret taking that arrow for you. I'd do it a hundred more times if I had to. Your life is worth that, and my purpose is to prove to everyone that their lives are worth saving." He took a breath, wondering what more he could say to hopefully lift Rody's mood. He wasn't coming up with anything impressive. "So…just…don't feel bad. Okay?" He hated when others felt bad. Especially Rody. Devil-may-care Rody, with his past in tatters, and his future so uncertain, and his current world fully comprised of two little kids who depended solely on him. Deku knew he'd do absolutely anything for those kids.
"You know, there's not many people like you out there, Deku," Rody said, seemingly trying to be subtle as he thoughtfully studied him.
It was a funny thing to say because Deku happened to be thinking the same thing about him.
Deku let out a small half-hearted laugh. "I was about to say the same thing about you," he paused briefly. "But, you know, I think Kacchan would probably tell us we're similar because we're both idiots."
Rody responded with a genuine laugh. "He'd be a little more colorful than that though, I'm sure."
"Oh, no doubt about that," Deku replied, grinning. "So…" he added after a moment. "How are your computer hacking skills?"
"Well, let's go find out, should we?"
"After you," Deku gestured.