Izuku's mind was swirling with emotions, none of them good. Tomura and he were deathly silent, sitting not far from one another.

A cold breeze from the drafty motel room they were hiding in sent shivers up the teen's spine. He was afraid. Despite the fact that this building was abandoned and run down, he couldn't shake the fear from his mind that somehow, they would be caught. Would it be the light that emanated from the wizened young adult's phone, or perhaps the face that the window to the room they were in had been disintegrated, allowing the breeze to throw the curtain about whichever way it pleased?

Tomura just kept refreshing the news page on his phone, over and over. He was scratching his neck rather violently. Izuku wanted so badly to reach out to him, to tell him that he needs to take care of himself, that he was already starting to bleed from the patches that he had scratched raw.

But his breath caught in his throat every time he tried.

Izuku knew what article his partner was refreshing. He didn't need to see it to know what it was. It was the late night news broadcast, detailing how All Might had defeated Sensei. The cover photo showed that large man, face covered in scars to the point it covered his eyes, being led into an armored prisoner transport vehicle. All Might's emaciated form was blurred out in the background.

They were sitting on the opposite ends of a cheap vinyl couch. Tomura wedged himself into the corner, leaning over as much as he could, focusing solely on the phone. Izuku was sitting as far back as he could, with his knees brought up to his face and his arms wrapped around his fetal form. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to block everything out, but he couldn't escape the painful grinding noise as Shigaraki continued to scratch his neck. He breathed in shakily, doing his best to muster up his words.

"Bro-"

"Don't." The older one cut him off immediately. "Don't you dare."

Izuku whimpered. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He heard the other flip his phone shut.

"You're... sorry? You think that's going to change anything?"

Izuku curled up further. He knew why Tomura was angry at him. He was ashamed of himself.

"You let All Might do that to Sensei. You stood there next to them and watched."

"I c-c-couldn't m-move..." Izuku trailed off.

It only seemed to make the older villain much more agitated. "You could have saved him." He accused. "You could have prevented that... that cheater from hurting Sensei."

The green-haired boy couldn't respond. He knew he was right. Izuku truly wanted to save him. He saw All Might wind up his ultimate move, striking down on All for One's head, but... when the time came to actually move forward, despite the earnest desire to dive in between the two and take the blow for Sensei... his body locked up.

The moment the blow struck, Midoriya dropped to his knees. There, from his hidden perch atop a neighboring building, he saw the man who changed his life for the better defeated. Kurogiri had to pull the boy away, through a warp gate to Tomura. They immediately searched for a temporary hideout while the slime villain began making sure the safe house they had planned to go to was actually empty. They chose an abandoned small motel room on the third floor. Kurogiri left not long ago to get supplies.

"Did you get second thoughts, was that it? Did all that time at Yuuei make you regret becoming a villain?"

"No!" Izuku gasped.

"Then what the hell happened?! You always jump into the fray when a party member gets hurt!"

"I don't kn-know why!" He looked up, tears streaming down his eyes. "I don't... know..."

Shigaraki clutched his head in his hands. "Sensei organized that kidnapping at that camp so you could come back, Izuku. He did this all so all of us would be together again! And the moment we get you back..."

"I d-don't know what I can s-s-say!" Izuku stammered out. "He sh-shouldn't have d-done that! Sensei should have known th-that the school w-w-would come after m-me! It was a s-stupid move-"

"Don't you dare blame Sensei for caring about you!" Tomura yelled. He pulled back his hand without thinking, and in his rage slapped Izuku on the face. The force sent the shaking boy onto the ground, face turned away from the older villain.

It was in that moment that Shigaraki realized how badly he had messed up. He retracted his hand immediately, but it was too late. He heard the familiar cracking sounds of his quirk activating. Izuku didn't scream or cry. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, and ran to the window, clutching his face. The older one could hear the boy quietly whispering the phrase "I'm sorry" over and over like a mantra.

By the time Tomura reached the window, the boy had disappeared. He wanted to scream at himself for his actions, but found the only thing he could do was sit against the windowsill and continue to claw at his neck in rage.

It wasn't long afterwards that a warp gate opened in the middle of the room, with the familiar face of Kurogiri stepping outwards. He was carrying some basic snack and water, nothing that required any power or heat to eat.

"Tomura, I know it's not much but we..." He trailed off, seeing the atrocious state of the villain's throat. "Shigaraki, stop this at once!"

His hands froze, staring at the black misted man. Not once in his life did he ever hear that tone come from the one who served him. It was unnerving.

"Tomura," Kurogiri spoke, looking around, "where is Midoriya?"

The decay villain clenched his fists, doing his best to avoid returning his hands to his throat. "We had an argument. I hit him. He ran away."

Kurogiri sighed. "Of all the times... What was it about?"

Tomura grunted. "He let Sensei get hurt!"

"I assure you, that boy didn't let anything happen. Your anger is clouding your judgement, Tomura."

The villain froze. "What? Explain. Now."

"Did you really think that Sensei would admit defeat like he did? Why didn't he just teleport away, like his last match with All Might?"

There was no response. Kurogiri continued.

"It was his intention to get caught. He was worried Midoriya would interfere at the last moment and paralyzed him to make sure that he would make it out with you."

Tomura's eyes widened. "Why would he do that?!"

"Because everyone thinks that All for One is out of the picture. Right before the battle, he bestowed upon an unknowing Midoriya All for One and all but a handful of the quirks he used to fight All Might. Midoriya still isn't aware of it. In case the boy was captured, he didn't want him using it and making Sensei's sacrifice moot."

The wizened adult gritted his teeth. "He did this all for us. All Might's guard is down because of his sacrifice!"

"The heroes are going to get sloppy now that they think our trump card is gone."

"...I have to find Izuku. I need to... He's hurt pretty badly."

Kurogiri looked out the window, seeing no sign of the boy. "Tomura, stay here. It's safer if I go for the boy myself."

He opened a warp gate behind him, continuing. "Please remember, you are all that boy has. He might have gotten less dependent on you than when he was younger, but everything that boy does has always been in your interest."

He left, leaving a shaken Tomura clutching his face. "I know," he muttered.

It took almost three hours to find the boy. He had stayed to the rooftops, and was actually not that far away from Tomura's temporary hideout. He had his face covered with his Rogue hoodie, curled up in the small outcropping of an air duct opening. If it weren't for his choked sobs and whines, Kurogiri probably wouldn't have found him. The mist villain gently reached out and grabbed the boy by the shoulder, causing him to jump and whimper in pain. He gingerly pulled the boy from his hiding space. Izuku didn't resist.

He felt himself get placed on the rooftop, and rolled onto his back. He had covered his face with the hood, making it impossible for Kurogiri to see him. The fabric settled against his face, causing him to stifle cries from the pain.

"Midoriya..." Kurogiri began. "Would you uncover your face for me?"

Izuku paused, before reaching up and grabbing the fabric. He slowly pulled it away.

Kurogiri did his best not to react to what he saw. There were ugly lines running across the right side of the boy's face, skin cracked off and muscle tissue showing underneath. The boy was doing his best not to sob, despite the constant stream of tears running down his face.

"When we get to the safe house, I'll disinfect these wounds for you." Kurogiri stated. "After that I'll find a healer so you can recover quickly."

That only seemed to make Izuku cry harder.

"Midoriya, don't blame yourself for what happened." The bartender sat next to the boy, something that Izuku strangely couldn't ever remember happening before.

"Sensei is gone because of me." The boy yelped. The gashes on his face made it hurt to speak.

"Everything is exactly how Sensei planned. Including you."

"Then why does it feel like we lost?"

"Because we lost the battle." Kurogiri responded. "Sensei intentionally lost so that we would have an advantage next time we fought."

"What advantage could have come from this?"

"...you, Midoriya."

With those words, Izuku couldn't contain himself anymore. He felt like a five year old, whimpering and sobbing loudly in front of the bartender. He turned onto his side, curling himself into a ball as he felt his sorrows escape his mouth.

"I never wanted this!" Midoriya blubbered. "I just... I was so alone, and he was the only one who actually saw me! I'm just some useless Deku that he pitied! Why am I the important one?! All I want is Tomura to be happy in a world that he wants! Why is someone as pathetic like me the key to all this?"

Kurogiri had nothing to respond to that.

Izuku didn't want a response. He continued. "Instead, I watched the one Tomura look up to get captured. He hates me now."

Kurogiri immediately turned to look the boy in the eye. "Tomura most definitely does not hate you."

He looked away, huffing. "Of course he does. I'm just as useless as when I was a child. I don't deserve him."

"Izuku!" Kurogiri snapped at him, causing the boy to flinch. Seeing the distress the boy was in, Kurogiri spoke again, with a softer tone. "Midoriya, do not downplay yourself like that. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to get to the USJ. If you didn't get us into Sir Nighteye's computer, we would have never figured out who the potential One for All candidates were. Do you think we would have gotten this far if we didn't take them out? What would happen if One for All was passed down?"

Izuku didn't respond, still looking away from the bartender.

"Because of your efforts we are so close to eliminating One for All forever. That is to your credit and your credit alone."

"It could have been anyone."

"But it was you."

Izuku stayed silent, feeling tears welling at the corners of his eyes once more.

Kurogiri spoke again. "I know you think Tomura hates you, but he was just angry at losing his mentor. He truly wants to be with you, you have to believe me. While you were at Yuuei, he was always tense and agitated when you weren't there for him. When he saw you get injured in the school festival, it took me all I had to keep him from attacking the people who you fought."

"I said something stupid." Izuku responded. "I said Sensei shouldn't have come for me. I told him it was a stupid move."

The bartender sighed. "Honestly, I would be inclined to agree with you. Sensei wanted you two back together, and you out of Yuuei. I told him that he should have prioritized his own power over a reunion, but he... had other plans for you. And he was willing to sacrifice himself to do it. I'll explain everything in full, but for now let's get you back to Tomura."

Kurogiri grabbed Izuku's hands, pulling him to the ground. The bartender draped the boy over his back, before grabbing the boys legs and pulling them into his sides. The teen took the hint and locked arms around the mist man's neck. Izuku rested his head on Kurogiri's shoulders.

The boy chuckled. "Even after everything that's happened, you still smell like Angostura Bitters."

"You're to young to know what those are."

Izuku yawned, feeling sleepy. "I had a few friends who lived at the bar they ran. They were my best friends."

Kurogiri looked over his shoulder, glancing at the boy. "I don't know about that, they sound like people of ill repute."

They boy laughed at the warp gate opened before them. "No, really, they were! They were always there for me. They treated me like family, though I didn't deserve it."

Kurogiri paused. "Midoriya, I want you to listen to me. Sensei, Tomura, and I never cared for you because we thought you deserved it. We wanted to. We liked you for you. Not because of a quirk you had or didn't have, and certainly not because we were obligated to. When you first came into my bar, I saw you as someone who stayed with Tomura because they genuinely cared for him. You saw Tomura, and in turn, I saw you. And that was more than enough for me."

Izuku didn't respond with words. He tightened his grip on the bartender slightly, which was more than enough to convey what he thought.

Kurogiri moved forward, stepping through the portal.

Once the darkness around them subsided, Izuku recognized the motel room they were in. Tomura was there, his face contorted into a horrified expression once he saw the damage he dealt to the boy. As the bartender sat a tired Midoriya on the couch, the League of Villains' leader rushed over.

Izuku noticed that Tomura was wearing something. It took him a while to recognize it.

It was the gift that Izuku gave him so many years ago. They were gloves that covered only the palm and ring finger. He made them so that Shigaraki could hold onto his game controllers with all five of his fingers without turning it to dust.

Although, this time they weren't used to hold game controllers. Tomura was using them so he could grab Izuku's hands without harming him again.

It was the first time in the almost seven years that Izuku knew Tomura that he had seen the older villain on his knees.

It was the first time that Izuku had seen Tomura cry.

It was the first time that Izuku had seen Tomura beg for forgiveness.

It was the first time that Tomura hugged back when Izuku pulled him into a hug.

Izuku fell asleep in the older villain's arms. Tomura didn't let go.

They would eventually fall into slumber, exactly as they did then; in each other's protective embrace.

Kurogiri watched the two, as he stood guard near the window. He glanced out at the sky, watching as the stars twinkled overhead. He chuckled to himself, whispering, "To think these two would get so attached to each other... was this part of your plan, too, Sensei?"

A/N: Holy shit this was LOOOOOOONNNG. I thought I would finish it yesterday, but considering I wrote a chapter over twice the normal length I think it sort of equals out. THAT BEING SAID, I might end up writing another chapter later tonight to make up for not posting this yesterday.

I had debated for a while if I really wanted this in the story, but I decided in the end that I liked it enough to do so. I really like the idea of Kurogiri being the glue that keeps all the League of Villains together, like in the manga. He's like the Villain version of Dad!Might.

I didn't realize how much I would write, and I hope you enjoy all of it. Please write anything you'd want me to know in the comments, your support and criticisms really support me!