It's Monday and I'm back with another chapter! OMG last week and this week have been so stressful... registering for classes while being in the middle of finals SUCKS. Would not recommend. Anyway, enjoy chapter 3!

Izuku couldn't hide his relief when he finally saw Todoroki trudging back over one of the sand dunes nearby, his backpack slung over his right shoulder and gripping Izuku's yellow one with his hand.

Izuku's heart leaped in excitement. He'd found them!

While his friend had been gone, Izuku had settled himself into a somewhat comfortable position in the sand, and his throbbing arm had calmed down a little once he'd managed to adjust to the pain.

As he stared at Todoroki while he approached, he saw that his friend almost looked worse than he had earlier. While his head had stopped bleeding, the cuts on his face were almost glowing red in the glare of the sun and he looked nothing short of exhausted. He was covered in a fine layer of sweat that matted his hair to a darker color. This confused Izuku, seeing as the other boy could easily just make ice to cool himself down.

Once Todoroki had finally trudged the rest of the way over to him, he set the backpacks down on the sand and grunted before stretching his arms.

"Are you all right?" Izuku asked worriedly. "You don't look too good."

Todoroki stared at him before he said, "You don't either."

Izuku was again reminded of how he didn't even know what his own face looked like. With his injured arm, ankle, and whatever other cuts covered his face, he probably looked like a walking disaster.

"How's your arm?" Todoroki asked him, his eyes focusing on Izuku with concern. "You still think it's broken?"

Izuku nodded slowly and gave his arm a quick glance from where it lay in his lap. He hadn't much moved it while Todoroki had been gone, but it still pulsed with pain. "Y-yeah," he admitted. "But it feels a little better than it did earlier! If we make a sling, then it'll be fine."

By Todoroki's expression, it did not seem like he was convinced by his argument.

"We should still clean it," he said. "There was a lot of blood earlier and sand might have gotten into the wound. We don't want you getting an infection out here."

"Yeah… right," Izuku said uncomfortably. It was a little odd that Todoroki was helping him like this. They didn't interact much, and the last place he'd expected them to actually form some kind of bond was in the middle of the desert. "Anyway, where did you find the backpacks? You weren't gone for very long."

And it was true. Todoroki couldn't have been gone for more than twenty minutes.

Todoroki kneeled over on the sand beside the book bags and began to zip his own one open. "They weren't too far away," he said. "Just a few yards apart from each other, behind some sand dunes. We couldn't have seen them from where we were standing." He started to rummage through his backpack before he finally pulled out a dented water bottle and, a moment later, he was tugging out what looked to be an old black jacket.

Izuku's eyes widened. "What are you going to do?"

"Well..." Todoroki started to tear at the jacket, ripping some of it in half before he came to a stop midway down. "Like you said earlier, your arm needs a sling. It's dangerous to leave it dangling like that."

Izuku slowly nodded but was mostly mesmerized by his friend's ambition. Todoroki was always well prepared for emergencies, it seemed, and briefly, Izuku wondered if he'd taken a first aid class in the past. Based on Endeavor's hardcore training, he figured it must be true, although he didn't want to question Todoroki about it.

After another minute of fumbling, tying, and ripping, Todoroki nodded, staring at the newly shaped black cloth. "All right. This should be enough for now, but you need to be careful not to jostle it."

"T-thanks," Izuku told him. "You didn't have to do this."

Todoroki looked at him a little oddly before he shook his head. "I suppose that's what, uh, friends do… help each other out. You would do the same for me." He held out his hand. "All right, give me your arm. I'm going to clean it with water before I put it in the sling, so it might sting a little."

"Why not use your ice?" Izuku asked curiously. "We don't have to use the water bottles up. We only have two each."

Todoroki sighed and rubbed his temple. "It's a little… complicated. It's not easy to make ice out here, in the middle of all this heat. And the more dehydrated I get, the less I can make. I can usually create a lot of it, but here… I just don't know. I'd rather save my ice for when we really need it."

That made sense, Izuku thought. His hands itched for his journal so that he could take notes on the other boy's quirk, but was dismayed when he remembered he'd left it back at the hotel. He hadn't wanted to lose it while training- and, looking back, he realized that it was probably a smart decision. He might lose it forever if it was brought out here.

He slowly raised his left arm and allowed Todoroki to hold it while he unscrewed the water bottle's cap with his other hand. He raised it and poised it above Izuku's arm, ready to pour it down.

"Are you ready?" he asked carefully. "This is going to hurt."

Izuku gritted his teeth, preparing himself for the sting to come. "I'm ready. Just get it over with."

Nodding, Todoroki's attention went back to the water bottle and he began to pour it down Izuku's arm. He stopped when he cried out.

"Why-why did you stop? Keep going," Izuku said through a grimace. "I-I'm fine."

Todoroki bit his lip before, tentatively, he continued to wash his arm.

Izuku didn't know how long the torture lasted. Todoroki had washed it, scrubbed at it to clean the sand out, and finally set it in the sling before tying the knot behind his neck. Izuku felt nothing short of agony, but he held back his winces as much as he could.

Once done with his arm, Todoroki moved onto his ankle and tied the rest of the fabric around it. Izuku was pretty sure it was just sprained but was grateful for the help. Although he didn't do anything himself, he felt exhausted when it was all over. The sun beat down on them with a ferocity he couldn't ignore, however it just made him more sleepy. Suddenly, he cocked his head as he was reminded of something. "Aren't you going to wrap your head?" he asked Todoroki. " It was bleeding earlier!"

Todoroki seemed to have forgotten all about it. He cleared his throat and then dipped his head. "Yes, I suppose I should. I don't need much fabric though…"

His eyes roamed over the backpacks before they settled on his arms. Without warning, he began to pull away at his grey uniform so that his sleeve was rolled up, revealing the white shirt underneath. In one quick movement, he ripped a long strip of it off. Izuku's eyes were wide at the scene. He guessed there wasn't enough left of his jacket to make a head bandage, but that didn't mean he had to tear his own shirt.

Once he'd gotten the fabric and rolled it back down his sleeve, Todoroki held it up to his bruised forehead and began to wrap it around his head until it stretched the whole way around. He knotted it firmly before his hands fell back down to his sides. "Okay, at least that's done," he said. "Now we can figure out what we need to do next."

Izuku raised his chin, brow furrowed in thought. "I've been thinking… so-so, Haashim couldn't have sent us too far away from the border, right? He said himself that the larger the object, the harder it was to transport. And-and just think about Kurogiri!"

"Who?" Todoroki asked, confused.

"The warp guy from the USJ!" Izuku was getting a little exasperated. "I don't know how far away he could send people, but he has to have a limit. And, I figure that so does Haashim."

"What are you getting at, Midoriya?"

"I'm saying," Izuku said, "that we should try and find our way back ourselves. We don't know if anyone's going to come looking for us, or if anyone even knows where we are in the first place. It's… it's just too much of a risk to take. We need to move before we can't."

Todoroki let this sink in, and for a minute, Izuku didn't know what he was thinking. Then, he finally spoke. "I think it's too early to decide that," he told him. "We would waste a lot of our energy trying to find our way back and probably worsen our injuries along the way. With it being so hot out here, both of us are at risk of heatstroke just like Rashid said earlier."

Izuku couldn't deny that. Already, he was drenched in sweat and he hadn't even been moving. Still, he knew what was the right thing to do. "But we might only be a dozen miles from town! Maybe even closer. With all these dunes, it's hard to see-"

"Midoriya, we obviously have different opinions, but we shouldn't be rash," Todoroki cut in before his tone grew darker. "We need to stop and think about what we do next because it's a matter of life or death."

Izuku flinched a little. "I know," he said quietly.

Todoroki's face softened and he rubbed his eyes. "I'm just saying that we should discuss our plans before we act."

Izuku gazed up at the sky and frowned when he saw that its blue colors were already melting into a sunset red. A cold breeze blew along with it and he shivered. "It looks like it's already getting dark. The sun's setting, see?"

Todoroki looked up, paused, and then nodded. "We must have been unconscious for longer than I thought if it's already so late. We should find a place to camp soon, then. It's obvious that no one would try searching for us in the dark, they wouldn't even be able to see us."

"Yeah, true…" Izuku didn't want to admit it, but he was getting nervous about sleeping out in the desert. He'd read about the many wild animals and the harsh coldness of the night air. The only comfort he had was that they had the survival blankets Aizawa had made them all pack (in case any of them wanted something to sit down on and not get covered in sand) which they could use for warmth. "Should we go over what supplies we have?"

"Probably." Todoroki stood back up from the ground, giving a stretch of his arms. "I saw a somewhat large dune nearby that would be a good cover to sit behind. We should camp there until we get a better sense of our bearings. Can you walk that far?"

Izuku bit his lip. "With help, I think so."

Todoroki offered his hand and this time, Izuku was careful as he took it. He didn't want a repeat of last time. Slowly, Todoroki pulled him up from the sand and Izuku swayed on his feet. "Are you all right?" Todoroki asked him.

Izuku gave a shaky nod before he squeezed out a smile. "Y-yeah. I'm good." He squinted, looking outward into the vast orange sand around them. "Okay, lead the way! We need to make shelter, r-right? I know it gets pretty cold out here at night."

Todoroki sighed. "Yes, I suppose it does. All right, let's go. And if you need to stop just let me know."

"Okay," Izuku agreed.

And, leaning slightly against his friend in support, Izuku started to limp forward with Todoroki guiding the way.

Ochako slammed open the jailhouse door, startling the two men who were inside. One was sitting behind a desk in the corner and the other one was near the cells.

Almost immediately, they began to shout things in Arabic, but Ochako didn't understand- or really care- what they meant. She stormed over to the silver cell, ignoring the surprised man who stood shouting beside her. Her eyes turned over to look past the bars and she darkened when she saw Haashim inside. He was sitting on a small, dirty cot with his left leg chained to a spot in the corner, and his hands confined to cuffs.

His head rose and he scowled when he recognized her. "It's you."

Filling with anger, Ochako's fingers gripped the bars of the cell. "Tell me where you sent them!" she yelled. "Tell me!"

Haashim sighed, leaning back into his bed. "Why should I? It wouldn't help you save those… what's the word… brats anyway."

Ochako looked murderous. "I said to tell me, or else I'll use my quirk to-"

Behind her, the door suddenly opened and she heard Iida shout her name before Aizawa ordered, "Uraraka, get away from the cell. This is not the time or place for you to be right now!"

She whipped towards them and saw that All Might and Raashim were also there. Exasperation filled her. "Then where should I be? What else could I do to help Deku and Todoroki?" She pointed at the cell behind her. "He knows where they are. He knows if they're alive or not. And I'm not going to just sit here and wait until he decides to talk!"

Silence filled the room and All Might gave Aizawa a side look. "Aizawa, she does have a point," he said. "We haven't gotten him to say anything yet."

Aizawa kept his hard gaze fixed on her. "Uraraka, even if I did allow you to question him, what chance is there of him telling you where they are? We already went through this earlier."

Ochako knew this was also true, but shook her head. "But there's a chance. Please just- just give me a few minutes! Then I'll go away, I promise!"

For a long minute, Aizawa's expression was unreadable. And then finally, he lowered his head. "Two minutes. Then you will report back to the hotel, and you will not disrespect my direct orders again."

Ochako nodded, her cheeks flushing. "Yes, sir." She turned back to Haashim's cell and inhaled shakily, rubbing her sweaty palms together. "All right, Haashim, tell me where they are. And stop avoiding the question!"

Haashim sent her a black look. "Why should I?"

"Because they're my friends!"

"Friends will only go so far in this world. Don't think I care about your feelings."

Ochako kept silent for a few moments, trying to keep her thin patience intact. "Please tell me…" She clenched her jaw. "Just… tell me if they're even alive!"

"Are they alive?" Haashim rubbed his chin. "Well, yes… I suppose they still are, although maybe not entirely intact."

Ochako's eyes widened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I never had any special training with my quirk, like you pesky heroes." His tone was mocking. "As I said before, bigger objects are harder to transport. People are even harder. But my quirk has never killed anyone before so they should still be alive."

A little of Ochako's fear was replaced with relief. At least her friends were alive if anything else. "Okay, but where are they? They have to be somewhere close."

"Close," Haashim repeated before he laughed. "I'm not sure you understand. I can send a regular object up to, say, a hundred and fifty miles away."

Ochako gaped. That far?

"But with people, it drops to about seventy-five to one hundred." Haashim quirked an eyebrow. "So you see, I could have sent them anywhere… in any direction… and they'd never be found!"

Ochako's heart was pounding in her ears and she felt her breathing speed up as well. Faintly, she heard Iida say her name from behind her, but she didn't answer. She looked back up at Haashim and clenched her fists. "Where... are they?"

Haashim stared at her for a long, horrible moment. And then, he spoke. "Don't you know?"

Ochako's mind raced. How could she know where he sent them? They'd only just gotten to Yemen yesterday, it wasn't like she knew much about the area-

Wait.

The area.

There was only one logical place that he could send them where they couldn't be found. The one place where they were almost certainly doomed to die.

She froze, her jaw trembling as her eyes rose to meet his. "No. You-you didn't."

Haashim's smile was his only response.

"What? Where did he send them, Uraraka?" Iida asked from behind her. "What's he talking about?"

By then, Ochako's face was drained of color, and it took a moment before she turned around to face the others. "He sent them to… to the…"

"To the what?" Aizawa demanded.

Ochako's whole body was trembling. "He sent them to the desert!"

"All right, I think that's everything," Todoroki sighed, stuffing the last of his and Izuku's items back into their backpacks. "We don't have much, but it will have to be enough."

Izuku furrowed his brow, staring down at his sling which rested against his chest. They had settled in the spot Todoroki had mentioned earlier and used the blankets as a mat to sit down on. Then, they had counted their provisions.

Izuku went over the items that they had in his mind. In his own pack, he had a bottle of water, two granola bars, a pocket knife, a notebook (although not his hero one), and his phone, which of course had no service. It was only useful for taking pictures. Still, he internally thanked himself for what he had brought, as he could have packed much less.

As for Todoroki, he'd packed similarly. He'd also brought bottled water and a granola bar, some tissues, and his phone as well.

It wasn't as if they were rendered completely useless, but at the same time, they didn't have much to use, either. The food they'd brought would only last so long, and Izuku wasn't even sure how much Todoroki could make. And while they had their quirks to use as protection, they only had a pocket knife otherwise. If their injuries worsened so much that they couldn't use their quirks and a wild animal attacked, then what would they do? He didn't have to be a genius to guess how low their chances of survival were.

"Midoriya?"

Izuku's head snapped up to his friend who was staring at him from where he crouched a few feet away. "What? Huh?"

"I guess you were lost in thought." Todoroki sighed, finally settling down onto his blanket before he looked up at the darkening sky. His eye twitched and for a moment, an expression Izuku had never seen before crossed his face. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he said.

Izuku bit his lip, not knowing how to answer. "Uh, I-I guess," he managed out, although he didn't quite feel like staring up into the capacious space above them. It almost seemed to be mocking them, trapping them in a cage that never ended.

"It's funny. I'd seen pictures before, but it's another thing seeing it in person." A slight breeze brushed by, lifting up a few red and white strands of hair from Todoroki's face. "It's as if we were staring into the face of death," he suddenly said. "Like it's telling us we're never going to get out of here."

Izuku's eyes widened. "Todoroki..."

"Midoriya, we need to face the facts," the other boy cut in, his eyes swerving to meet his. "This isn't a joke or some adventure. We can't be heroes out here. There's no one to save."

"What about us?" Izuku said quietly.

Todoroki pinched his temple and gave a small shake of his head. "Nine-hundred thousand square miles of sand, and we're stuck somewhere in the middle of it. Temperatures up to ninety, one hundred degrees a day, little supplies, with no one knowing where we are. I don't see much of a chance of being saved."

Izuku felt his heart drop at his friend's words. There was truth in them; more truth than he'd like to admit. As much as he hoped they'd be rescued or somehow be able to find their way back, he knew that there was a greater chance of them not making it out alive.

"But there's a chance," he responded. "We just - we can't give up yet."

Todoroki gave him a tired look. "I'm not saying that we should give up but we do need to be practical. It's not going to be easy getting out of here. We have no idea what we're up against or how far away we are from civilization. They don't even know where we are!"

"Well… I still think that we should move tomorrow," Izuku pushed. "Staying could kill us."

"And going could, too," Todoroki argued. "We have little supplies as it is. We'd just use them all up if we started to wander around. We wouldn't even know where to go!"

Izuku rubbed a hand against his forehead where he felt a headache pulsing. His arm was still throbbing and the cuts over his body ached for relief- all he wanted to do was go to sleep, but he wasn't even sure he'd be able to with only his blanket to sleep on. And arguing with Todoroki was just making things worse. He looked back up and shook his head. "We should talk about it tomorrow. It's been a… hard day."

"That's one word for it," Todoroki said lowly.

"I just wish we could travel at night. It'd be a lot cooler and easier to walk in."

"You know as well as I do that we can't," Todoroki argued back. It seemed as if he almost enjoyed retaliating against Izuku's comments. "The animals out there are predators. And if we started walking out during their time of hunting, I'm sure they wouldn't be pleased. Besides, we'd get lost easily and could end up in an even worse position than we are now."

Once again discouraged, Izuku let out a sigh. "Yeah." He looked down at his lap. "I really hope we get out of here. I mean, someone has to find us, right? With someone's quirk, it has to be possible."

"Honestly, I don't know," Todoroki replied. "Anything could happen, and it's not like this spot is easy to get to. Even with helicopters, they might never find us with all this sand blowing around."

Izuku stayed silent for another long moment. That was what he'd known all along, and yet, he still didn't want to face the truth. He swallowed and looked back up at his friend. "We should try to get some sleep. It's already dark and if we want to get an early start tomorrow, we need all the rest we can get."

"Yeah, good idea. Let's turn in." Suddenly looking uncomfortable as his eyes lingered on Izuku's arm, he scratched the back of his head. "Do you need any help setting your blanket up?"

Izuku looked down at his sling before nodding slightly. "Eh, probably. Thanks!"

"Sure…" Todoroki hesitated, and then he opened his mouth to continue speaking. "We should decide what we're going to do in the morning. You know, whether to stay here or try to get back to town."

"I still think we should go," Izuku said. He promised himself that his answer wouldn't change.

Todoroki frowned. "Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Yeah… tomorrow."

With that, both of them began to get ready to sleep, with heavy thoughts and even heavier hearts.

After Haashim had told them where he had sent Izuku and Todoroki, everyone inside the jail was in a panicked frenzy. Iida and Ochako had been rushed out of the jail shortly after the realization, leaving Aizawa and All Might inside to talk more to Haashim.

Ochako felt like crying. Here she was, safe in town, while somewhere out there Izuku and Todoroki were trapped in the desert. They were both alone and quite possibly injured, if not dead. Would they ever find them with the desert being such a big place?

"Uraraka?" A hand touched her shoulder and her head snapped up to see Iida. "Are you feeling alright?"

Ochako rubbed her swollen eyes and nodded. "I-I'm just… Iida, are we ever going to find them? They're out there with no shelter, no way of communication, food-"

"I know how you feel," Iida interrupted. "But we have to stay calm in a situation like this. If the roles were reversed, think about what, say, Midoriya would do. He'd stay calm and find a way to get us back as soon as possible."

Deku… yes, of course that's what he'd do. He was such a good person that he'd probably sacrifice his own life just to save someone else's.

She sniffed. "Yeah, I know… it's just- the desert is so big." She rubbed her temple. "As much as we could look, I don't think…"

"We have to stay hopeful," Iida encouraged her. "Especially right now. Midoriya and Todoroki are counting on us to find them and we need to find out a way to do that. Besides, think about it. Todoroki's quirk can be very helpful; he can make a fire signal, and he can use his ice to keep them cool and make water."

"He can make water? I didn't know that!"

"Well, he can make ice, can't he? The point is, I know they're very capable of taking care of themselves. We just have to put our faith in them."

"I-"

Suddenly, the jail's door opened from beside them. Ochako's head whipped over and she saw Aizawa and All Might exiting, both looking grave.

Iida snapped to attention and hurried over to his teachers' sides. "Mr. Aizawa! Is there any more news?"

Aizawa grunted, closing the door behind him. "Haashim wasn't exactly helpful. He doesn't seem to know where they are any more than we do, so it's going to be a hit-or-miss type of search."

"Right now, the police are going to send out jeeps to look for them," All Might informed them. "Young Todoroki and Midoriya might not be too far away, and if that's the case, this is our best bet."

"But… what if they're really far out?" Ochako asked meekly. "How would we get them out then?"

"Right now, we're counting on the jeeps," Aizawa explained. "If those don't work, then we'll send out a few helicopters to search for them next. I'm… not sure if they'll be much help, though."

"Why?" Ochako demanded. "They're better than the jeeps!"

"They can go further and faster, but it's hard to tell which area Todoroki and Midoriya are in. We have hundreds of miles to search, either go north, east, or west, and there's no telling what kind of weather we'll run into. If we go even slightly in the wrong direction, then we'd never find them."

"But we're going to keep trying," All Might assured them. "We'll still call in a few helicopters later if the jeeps don't work. We're waiting to hear back from some pro heroes as well, although it would be difficult for them to get out here. Now, you two should go back to the others now. Try to calm them down, but wait until we come back before saying anything about where they are." He gave a tired smile. "It's going to be all right. With all the natives' quirks here, there has to be something that will help find them."

That did little to settle Ochako's fears. Izuku and Todoroki were still out there right now… and it seemed that they would be for a while more. She could hope- no, pray- that they would be found in time.