1 MONTH LATER.

Both Katsuki and Toshinori had been in to see Izuku multiple times over the past month. They always seemed to avoid each other and Mrs. Midoriya as much as possible. Today though, Bakugou had received word at school that Izuku had woken up recently. As soon as school ended for the day, he headed straight to the hospital. He had thought of what to say over and over in his head, yet nothing seemed good enough. He had bullied Izuku for years, and for once in his life he actually felt remorse. Katsuki had always thought Izuku felt he was better than him. He now realized it was the complete opposite. He knew Bakugou was better. In fact he looked up to him. He admired me. And all I ever did was beat him down for it. I didn't realize how much weight my words carried.

His feet were dragging by the time he reached the hospital. As he approached the room, Izuku's mother, Inko Midoriya, was leaving. Usually Bakugou would try and avoid her, but he couldn't now.

"Katsuki?" She looked surprised.

"Hi, Mrs. Midoriya." He gave a small wave.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check on Izuku. How is he?"

Inko sighed. "He's been in and out. He's been awake for a little while now, but he hasn't said a word since he did." She started wringing her hands. "The doctors say his vocal chords are fine, so he can talk. He just won't. His head's mostly okay too, but he'll barely even look at anyone. He won't eat or drink anything either." Her voice broke. "I just wish I could get in touch with Hisashi. I've left a few messages so hopefully he'll reach out soon."

Bakugou tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He couldn't help but feel completely responsible. His eyes started to sting with tears. Mrs. Midoriya saw the tears forming in his eyes and put her hand on his arm. "Oh honey. It's going to be okay. What matters is that he's still here with us." He wiped his eyes with his arm and composed himself. She's right.

"Can I see him?"

Inko's eyes soften and looked almost happy. "Yes, of course! I was just heading out to get some food." She gave his arm a light squeeze and walked away.

Bakugou slowly opened the door and looked at Izuku. He was sitting up for the most part, but leaning far enough back to rest his head on the pillows behind him. The news was playing softly on the television but he wasn't paying it any attention. His head was turned mostly to the right and he stared at the wall. A long red scar stretched across his left eye. Normally, he was pretty plain looking, but there was a new roughness to him Katsuki had never seen. He ducked into the room, as if the door frame was too low. "Hey." His voice was almost a whisper. Regardless, Izuku's eyes flitted over to Bakugou. His eyes were blank and emotionless. He let out a huff of air at him, almost like a scoff and turned his gaze back to the wall. "Listen, Deku, I wanted to apologize-"

Izuku cut him off. "You were right, Katsuki." His voice was rough and low, lacking any hint of feeling, just like his eyes. Bakugou was surprised. Izuku never used his real name, even when he was upset with him. It was always Kacchan. "I'm a useless, quirkless, loser. You were right about me."

"I was wrong." His voice came out as an angry whine.

"No!" Izuku snatched his head towards him, angry to the point of hatred danced in his eyes, burning in to Bakugou so much that he physically flinched. He sat completely upright now. "You were absolutely right." His voice was a growl. "Did you know it was my fault that sludge villain got to you in the first place?"

Bakugou was confused. "What?" Izuku looked down, a flicker of his normal self shining through. "I ran into All Might on my way home that day. I was so worried about asking him whether or not I could become a hero, that I made him lose that guy. If I hadn't been such a fan boy you wouldn't have been grabbed in the first place." He ran his left hand through his disheveled green locks. "Although it's not the reason I jumped, at least I somewhat fixed my mistake by taking him out." Bakugou opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but Izuku waived his hand to dismiss him, all feeling leaving him again. "Even he said it. I'll never become a hero without a quirk. If anything I'd just die trying. I was just too caught up in my paranoid delusion of a dream to see the reality." A creepy grin spread across his face, a look of pure insanity, and he let out a small chuckle. "Poor, quirkless Izuku. He'll never be a hero. Let's just kick his ass since we're so much better than him. Better yet! Let's tell him to off himself!" He laughed and then wheezed to catch his breath. "Here's a novel idea for you, Katsuki. Get the hell out." The last part was a low growl.

Despite Izuku's anger Bakugou took a step forward. "Izuku, I'm sorry. I-"

"SORRY?!" Izuku bellowed, his anger exploded. "After all these years, you're sorry?!" He lowered his voice. "You're not sorry. You're guilty. Why? Because you were right?" He scoffed. "You win, Kacchan. I don't want to be a hero anymore." He leaned his body back, returning to the position he was in when Bakugou first entered the room.

Bakugou guffawed, his mouth hanging open. "You don't-"He clamped his mouth shut and clenched his fists. It wasn't like Izuku to ever give up. Even when Katsuki was outlandishly mean to him, he would still try to be his friend. "What about your dream?! What about All Might?!"

"FUCK ALL MIGHT!" The scream came out strained, so much pained laced into it. Immediately, Izuku broke into hacking coughs causing him to writhe in pain and gasp for air.

Bakugou took a step back, then rushed over to his bedside and in an attempt to calm him, grabbing his left hand. "Izuku, please."

He snatched his hand away. "Don't touch me!" He wheezed. Izuku pressed the nurse call button and pointed to the door. "Get out." Bakugou didn't budge as the nurse entered the room preparing an oxygen mask. "Get. Out. Katsuki." He growled. Bakugou reluctantly backed himself to the door watching as the nurse put the mask on Izuku and his body relaxed into unconsciousness. He shut the door and grit his teeth, tears stinging his eyes again. He had never felt this utterly frustrated in his life. In his frustrated state he let out a grunting roar and stomped off, passing Toshinori in the hallway.

Toshinori had heard most of the conversation and stood frozen in place. My fault. All my fault. The phrase kept repeating in his head. I broke his spirit. Why did I say those words? I could have just said 'Anyone can be a hero!' and left it at that. I'm such an idiot! He leaned his head back against the wall with a soft thud. I really am pathetic. He peeled himself off the wall and sulked out the door.

Across the room, an older man with glasses and grey hair sat watching. He pulled out his cell and made a call.

"Giran." A voice on the other side of the line came in sternly. "How is he?"

"Not going to lie to you, boss. He's pretty worked up. Some blond spiky haired kid royally pissed him off. Oh, and Toshi showed up."

"Interesting." He grumbled. "I'll have to handle that."

"Does that mean you're coming back?"

"No. I'm coming home."

"Yes, Hisashi."