"You'll be ok, kid."

'I did this…'

"We'll keep him away from you."

'Thank you…'

"You're safe now."

'He's not safe with me.'

"Kacchan's amazing."

Katsuki's eyes grew with disbelief. There's no way he heard that correctly.

The arms around him softened their grip though they had never been painful. Present Mic had been so gentle with him, as if it was Katsuki laid out on the floor with hands around his neck.

He tore away from the hero, refusing to meet his concerned eyes.

He didn't deserve concern. He deserved handcuffs, to be questioned, regardless of his lack of answers. And yet most treated him as a victim, just like Deku.

The doctors and DeathArms had the right idea. They looked at him warily. He almost wanted DeathArms to grab him on his way out the door, but he hesitated.

So Katsuki ran, ignoring the phantom twinges of flame still prickling at his skin and the startled looks of those he passed.

The fear from the dream was wholly gone, replaced with something he wasn't used to.

Shame.

Self-hatred.

The image of Deku's terrified face was stuck just behind his eyes, a horrible memento of his cruelty.

But-

'Kacchan's amazing.'

"I'm NOT," Katsuki bit through gritted teeth.

Deku was insane, high on so many medications Katsuki had lost count. Nothing he said could be taken to heart.

Tomorrow, Izuku would be right back to thinking Katsuki was a villain. And perhaps he wasn't wrong.

Guilt coiled within him, and with it, an unexpected sense of betrayal.

Deku's attack had been avoidable. This is why he'd confided in Aizawa to begin with; why he'd asked his sensei to keep an eye on him.

He'd warned them and Sensei had promised yet…here he was.

The moment he was out of the hospital he breathed deep of fumes from idling engines while orderlies helped patients to and from their vehicles.

It made him nauseous, stomach turning and bits of the dream came back to him.

Oak trees and underbrush.

A river.

Gasoline.

Azure flames.

And Pain.

"Don't play with fire."

Katsuki's legs nearly gave out. He braced himself against a brick wall as bile found its way up his throat and into the red bark landscaping.

He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, grimacing. That voice wiggled around in his brain and it was triggering his fight or flight. He pushed it down.

It was nothing.

Just a dream.

A dream he'd felt hopelessly trapped in, unable to wake up no matter how much he screamed.

It wasn't until Present Mic had yelled, his quirk buffeting the both of them, that reality had returned to him.

Mic had pulled Katsuki against his chest, and Katsuki felt safe, like the man was consoling him rather than restraining him.

"Shhhh, it's alright. Gotta breathe for me, ok? Nice deep breaths, that's it. Can you tell me what's going on? Are you hurt?" Mic's words had reached him, soothing and kind, like he understood what was happening. Like he wasn't upset.

Katsuki wasn't sure how to answer. He didn't know what was going on, didn't even know if he was hurt. He saw flashes of the assault as Mic held him secure, keeping him tethered with gentle hands and even gentler words.

Izuku had been so small beneath him. The way he had screamed and tried to get away. Then he'd given up, as if he was content to let Katsuki kill him.

His neck was burned. The room smelled sweet, and Izuku's words…

"Kacchan is amazing."

How could he? It was the meds, he was drugged. Either that or the selfless idiot just didn't want Katsuki to get in trouble.

It wasn't fair. Deku should not have had to go through any of this shit. Let alone be attacked in a hospital.

Katsuki threw his hood over his hair and took off, ignoring the persistent queasiness. His head was so full. He just wanted it all to make sense.

His feet carried him past startled civilians as he searched for Aizawa. He may have left Izuku's room, but he knew he wouldn't leave the area.

He'd simply put too much faith in Katsuki's character.

He'd never asked much of any of his teachers, and this was why. They didn't take him seriously. The one time he'd asked, they'd left Deku unguarded and this happened.

He saw the hero perched atop an office building observing a busy intersection below. Katsuki leapt up, grabbing the aged fire escape and pulled himself up. He took the stairs 3 steps at a time as he raced toward the top. He didn't use his quirk, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

Katsuki hoisted himself up onto the roof, trying to steady his breathing. It seemed as though his sensei hadn't yet noticed him which was just fine.

"Oi!" Katsuki's yell made the man jump, a fact that would have made him proud on any other day. The man looked more haggard than usual, his stubble seemed longer and his hair was tied back in a messy bun.

Aizawa recovered quickly, turning to regard his student with a single cocked eyebrow. "Bakugou, the commission doesn-"

"I don't give a shit!" Katsuki growled. "I warned you! I told you not to trust me!"

"What do you mean?"

"You left me alone with him! I fucking told you!"

The way his teacher sighed, removing his goggles to rub at the bridge of his nose made Katsuki's anger flare. "Present Mic was with hi-"

"NO the fuck he wasn't, I-" Katsuki tried to hide the the way his voice shook with emotion, but it was no use. There was a lump in his throat he could hardly breathe past. "I attacked him!"

Suddenly it seemed Aizawa was really listening, facing fully forward and eyes alert. "Attacked who?"

"I didn't- fuck- I didn't mean too. Deku- he- I was running and they were chasing me. Everything hurt." Katsuki gasped, clutching at his sweatshirt directly over his chest. "I was on fire- my legs. Everything was burning-"

"-Bakugou breathe-"

"-I could feel it." Aizawa stepped closer and he winced at the proximity. "I- it was a dream. The villains who had Deku… they had me too. I thought- I thought I got away." Katsuki gripped his pant legs, sliding them up just slightly, exposing his ankles, his calves to the open air. He expected to find horrific burns but there was nothing. "It felt so real. My skin it was… melting? I can still smell gasoline."

**"Hey," Aizawa barked, trying to snap the teen out of his spiral. It worked but a flash of something he didn't like passed before Bakugou's eyes. Aizawa took another step closer but Katsuki opposed him, stepping backward to maintain the distance. "It was a dream, Bakugou, who did you attack," he urged.

Katsuki looked away from the hero, aiming his words instead into the evening wind, "I hurt Deku." It pained him to admit it, however he hoped his sensei would do something. He shook his head. "Something's fuckin' wrong with me! I can feel it."

"You need to give yourself time. You and Midoriya went through someth-"

"I didn't go through ANYTHING." He lifted his sweatshirt, showing the near flawless skin beneath, the sculpted muscle gained through constant conditioning. "Look at me! It's like I never left!" Katsuki dropped his shirt, his fist sunk into his spikey hair and pulled. "When I called you, when I told you I'd been successful, where to meet, that I had Deku-"

"-Kid, we've been over this," Aizawa huffed, frustrated. He scanned the street below to avoid the teen's imploring eyes. They wanted answers he simply didn't have.

"Yeah? And what theories do you have huh? What a convenient chunk of memory to lose right? But Deku sure remembers. And he's Scared of me. What a fucking coincidence!"

"I am doing everything I can to figure this out. But I have hoops I have to jump through, Bakugou, I can't materialize information. These things take time. You have to be patient."

Katsuki scoffed coldly. "Yeah, ok Teach. I'll be patient. Until you pull your head out of your ass, I'm staying away from Deku. Tell'im I died or some shit. Maybe then he'll actually get some fuckin sleep."

Eraser watched as the boy turned without another word and descended the fire escape. He knew that was a horrible place to leave the conversation. He knew he should have said something. But the question was…what?

What could you say to a traumatized teen who was convinced he was a villain?

He watched as his student crossed the street and headed back in the direction of the hospital, hands stuffed deep in his pockets and his posture worse than he'd ever seen it.

Not a moment later, Shouta's phone was vibrating in his pocket.

There were very few people who had access to his direct line, and even fewer who would dare to call while he was on patrol.

Which meant two things.

His husband was lonely.

This was urgent.

He answered and knew, no matter which it was, it wasn't safe to hold his phone directly to his ear.

Hizashi's quirk was barely contained as he practically vomited into the phone. His litany of words was inscrutable, a jumble of half formed sentences delivered at top speed.

"Zash…"

"Zashi…"

"YAMADA!"

The line grew quiet, followed by a deep, shaky breath, "Sorry, Shou-"

"-don't be. Its fine, how's Midoriya?"

There was hesitation over the line then, "it could have been worse. For now, he's sedated."

"They put him under again," he asked, alarmed. Shouta walked the edge of the roof, peering down at the dwindling civilians below. There was something foreboding in the air, hanging like a threat, but, from what Shouta could deduce, everything was right as rain. "What happened? Did Bakugou say anything to you?"

"Sure, but Shou, none of it made sense. You should have seen him. Bakugou was absolutely terrified. I heard Mido yell all the way from the nurse' station but it looked like the kid didn't even struggle."

That didn't feel right. Then again, his problem children were anything but predictable. "Any new injuries?"

"A few burns. Ripped his I.V. out again, other than that…" Hizashi trailed off, no doubt struggling with the words 'he's fine.' Those words couldn't be further from the truth.

Neither of his kids were fine.

"Will I see you at home," Shouta asked, though he knew the answer.

"Nah, I've got a feeling this one will need me here tonight, no doubt he's convinced what happened is his fault."

"Typical," Shouta sighed and made his way to a neighboring rooftop. "If you can, check on Bakugou."

"Love you, Shou."

"Sap. Love you too."

Eraser tucked his phone back into his pocket.

Tonight was going to be a long one.