CHAPTER CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains descriptions of death, minor gore, and bullying. Reader discretion is advised.

Many solemn days followed after the attack on the city. The attack on USJ. The damage was incomprehensible, given the short few hours it had taken to cause it. Buildings were toppled over and broken into being mere piles of rubble and stone. Lifeless craters were in areas that used to be busy shopping centers. School buildings were left in ruin, hospitals were turned to ash…

Dust and smoke lingered in the air in the most devastated areas, masks being worn by anyone who wandered into those places to protect their lungs as they searched for survivors and the bodies of the fallen. Heroes like Kamui Woods – a man with limbs that could sprout into vine-like tree branches - and Mt. Lady – a woman who could make herself into a giant - were using their Quirks to dig people out of the wreckage and bring them to medical staff for healing and to the safety of the refugee camps that they had set up with the help of Heroes like Cementoss, who used his abilities to build small cement structures to provide shelter for the survivors. The least they could do, after all, was keep the now-homeless population out of the rain.

The list of those missing was slowly growing shorter, whereas the list of the deceased was steadily gaining more and more names as bodies were excavated from the debris.

All Might felt the weight of the city on his shoulders. The despair, the sorrow, the helplessness… It was too much to bear. He had to bear it, though. He had to keep a smile on his face and give hope where he could to the hopeless civilians, no matter how hard it was to smile. No matter how frustrated he was with himself.

He was there. He had been in the city, in UA, when it all occurred, leisurely sipping tea with Nedzu as the principal lectured him, unknowing of the chaos occurring outside until the main campus of UA itself had been breached.

He should have been able to stop this, to save more people! He should have… should have…

But… But he didn't. He should have been able to stop this but he didn't. Couldn't. He was an aged Hero with a waning power. He wouldn't have even survived himself when he went to USJ if not for the help of some students and the sacrifices of others. It had taken everything he'd had to defeat the Villain called "Nomu." Hell, if Principal Nedzu hadn't gathered other Pros to go to USJ with him after they got UA's main campus under control, and if not for a specific pair of students – Bakugou and Todoroki, the latter of whom was now unconscious – he wouldn't have even been able to accomplish that.

He was weak. He was pathetic.

Civilians were dead, and he could do nothing to help them. Heroes, teachers, and students had all died under his watch.

Young Bakugou was right. He had caused this.

For fuck's sake, he had told a suicidal boy with no known Quirk that he couldn't be a Hero. What the Hell was wrong with him? Was he himself not once a Quirkless boy aiming to be the Symbol of Peace? A child with no power whatsoever who dreamed of being a pillar of justice for all? He was nothing until the day came when he was blessed with the One For All Quirk by his master… And he went and told a tired, drained and desperate child to give up on his dreams, which were the only things keeping him standing and moving forward in life. He saw the broken smile cross that innocent freckled face. He watched the child laugh, cry, then thank him for being honest with him before stumbling away with a lowered head and sunken shoulders. Because of that interaction, because of his cluelessness, because of what he had said… that boy was now a Villain.

A Villain who had helped cause all of this. A Villain who had helped plan the worst terrorist attack to befall their nation since the last attack from All For One himself.

Weak. Pathetic. Irredeemable. There was nothing good about All Might, not when he himself knew that he was the one who caused this. Knowing that Midoriya Izuku – the boy he wanted to succeed him as the next One For All user – was suffering now because of him was torturous. He was sure, after all, that Young Midoriya had been kidnapped, and who knows what the so-called "League of Villains" had done to him or what they had on him that had him helping them even when he had so badly wished to be a Hero only a year before. The possibilities of what they could have done to harm him made All Might's blood boil.

So, with that being the case, how could All Might call himself a Hero? He had failed Izuku, and subsequently had failed the entire city. The entire nation. The entire world.

He shook his head, ridding himself of such thoughts. He didn't have the time to be distracted right now. He had work to do. People to save.

The reality of death stood before him as he looked through buildings that reeked of burnt flesh and decay, reminding him again that people were dead because of him and his screwups.

His resolved wavered again, but he pressed on. He had people to tell "everything will be alright, for I am here!" to to ease their worries and fears.

No one had ever died under his watch. No one had ever died once he had arrived at a crime scene. He always saved people. He always saved everyone – at least, everyone who had been within his reach.

No one ever died when he was around.

No one.

At least… No one had died until now. If only he hadn't been such an idiot.

He heard whimpering and crying come from somewhere to his right, and, instantly, he ran to where the cries sounded from. He forced his signature grin as he broke open a crooked door and found a child trapped inside a caved-in room within the demolished building that he had been searching through – the child could have been no older than fifteen.

Around the same age as Midoriya Izuku, his thoughts reminded him.

Large, tear-filled, frightened eyes looked up at him, and he forced himself to smile wider. "Fear not, dear civilian, for I am here!" The tearful boy before him smiled back, relief flashing over his features.

"All Might! I-I'm saved!" The Hero tensed hearing those words, his mind's eye seeing fluffy green hair before him, a smiling, shy, excited boy having just woken up from being saved from a slippery sludge Villain. Oh, memories…

Yes. This boy was indeed saved. Now if only All Might had been able to save Young Midoriya.

Bakugou Katsuki was helping out as much as he could at the refugee camp where some of his classmates were finally waking up – at least, the classmates whose homes were among the ruined and who were in a condition good enough to not need to be taken by helicopter to the hospitals in the cities nearest to them.

The classmates of his who weren't in body bags, at least.

He wasn't much help, as one who knew him might suspect. He had a face that resembled that of a Villain's when he was angry – which was all the time – and whenever his emotions got the best of him, he exploded – which, well, was also all the time.

He really was trying, but, if he was going to start changing for the better, he really did have to admit to his faults. It didn't matter how much he hated admitting to the bad things about himself, it was important that he started doing it. Becoming a better person had to start somewhere, right?

With that being said, if there was anything that was common knowledge about Bakugou Katsuki, it was that he was as impatient as an aggravated wasp looking for something to sting. Thus, he decided that starting somewhere started now.

"I'm bad at helping people." There. He said it. It hurt like Hell to admit but he said it… even if he'd only whispered it to himself.

It was unfortunate but true. He really wasn't gentle. He really didn't know how to not be scary-looking to other people. He didn't know how to comfort people.

All he knew was being the king of the hill. All he knew was being above everyone else and pushing others down beneath his feet.

All he knew was pushing Izuku away and telling him he was nothing.

All he was good at was calling Izuku stupid and beating him down.

His only true talent was leaving burns on Izuku's skin and making him suicidal.

He only knew how to be angry. To throw fuel onto his own fires, his nitroglycerin sweat an endless stream of gasoline being poured over a flamethrower. So how could he, as he was, help anyone? How could he put his fires out and be a better Hero?

He grumbled to himself as he wandered through the camp after another patient under Recovery Girl's watch awoke and screamed "Villain" in his face. It was frustrating. He wanted to explode, but he couldn't. He had to change that about himself, too, after all, so that he didn't accidentally hurt anyone or cause panic, especially in a camp of injured and anxious survivors of a terrorist attack.

He had to change so much about himself to become a Hero. To become someone who wouldn't scare others instantly with his scowling expressions. To become someone who people could count on to save them.

To become someone that stupid Deku would be proud of.

He stopped, looking over when he recognized a man – a Hero whose costume was set ablaze. He sighed as he watched the Flame Hero Endeavor twitch beside his unconscious son, a classmate of Katuski's named Todoroki Shouto. The muscular hero beside Shouto had his legs crossed, his foot that was in the air unconsciously ticking the seconds away in small little kicks. His arms were crossed over his chest, his fingers tapping at his biceps impatiently as his sharp eyes stared down at the boy with bi-colored white and red hair. It was clear that he was worried in… some… form of the term, though he, like how Katsuki was when it came to his own feelings, wouldn't admit to it, preferring to ask why his son was so weak under his breath. There were a lot of emotions in that expression of his. It was hard for Katsuki to decipher much of it. There were things like disappointment, rage, hate, desire, muffled worry and, behind all of that, some kind of parental love – though it was very hidden and almost non-existent. There was clearly a lot of unease in the relationship between Endeavor and his child, but it was none of Katsuki's damn business.

Stupid Deku would have made it his business.

Katsuki growled in frustration, pulling at and ruffling his hair to try to focus on something that wasn't Izuku, though it was constantly proving to be impossible. He sighed after calming himself down and looked back up when he noticed the flaming man suddenly stand and yell at his unconscious child for being weak, having given in to his impatience over Shouto not waking up. Then he paced around, broke a few things, then returned to the icy-hot boy after cooling off.

The number two Hero reminded Katsuki so much of himself that it was almost frightening. It was uncanny. He turned away from the scene, pondering again what he could do to change. He had to change to not be like Endeavor. To not be angry all the time, to not pretend he was perfect, to not be dishonest with himself and others anymore…

To not hurt people anymore.

Seeing Endeavor by his classmate's side like that reminded him of how he'd been when he'd sent Izuku to the hospital with injuries that were bad enough to put the little nerd into a coma. It was only maybe two or three years ago. He didn't know why he'd been so violent that day. Why he thought it was okay to throw Izuku around like he had, kicking and hitting him as he burned him, the sound of sizzling flesh echoing in his memories, the smell of burning meat creeping into his nose and making him want to vomit.

Screaming and pleading entered his mind...

"Kacchan, please stop!" a small, terrified voice begged. Emerald eyes were filled with terror as they stared into the explosive blonde's ruby-colored orbs. They had been alone, as Katsuki had told his goons to leave and go home, and they had obeyed.

"Please, Kacchan! You're hurting me!" Adrenaline rushed through Katsuki and his smile widened.

He liked this. He liked being strong. He liked that people feared him. That they listened to him…

He liked that he had control over what happened to Izuku in that moment.

A cry, shrill and pain-laced, filled his ears as he grabbed the stupid Deku's arm, bending it until it snapped, singeing the skin under his palm with his Quirk as he flung the boy against a tree near the riverbank. Izuku whimpered, trembling but not trying to escape as Katsuki grasped him again, this time with both of his hands and by the neck. He wrapped his fingers around that thin neck, squeezing and enjoying the choked gasps and breathless pleas erupting from the green-haired boy's throat. The arm that Katsuki had not broken feebly fought to try to make Katsuki let him go.

Katsuki didn't like that Izuku was trying to fight back. Not at all. So after burning that pretty little neck of his in a small explosion, Katsuki lifted Izuku's neck and head and slammed down on the stony riverbank as hard as he could, feeling raw pleasure flow through his veins in response to the pained cry that Izuku made that sounded so much more desperate than before. So he did it again, and again, and again.

And again.

And again.

And again and again and again and again –

And then he heard something crack that made him go pale, and he noticed that Izuku had stopped moving.

"…D-Deku?"

There was no response. Katsuki started to shake, and he got up, finally releasing that skinny little neck and looking at what he had done.

Burns had started to blister on black-and-blue skin. An arm was bent so unnaturally that it almost looked fake and, now that he looked at it, it made him feel sick to his stomach. Blood pooled from under Izuku's head, onto the rocks and into the water of the stream's shallows.

He looked at his hands.

Blood.

He could not get to help fast enough as he carried the limp but still-breathing body of Izuku back to town from the riverbank. He was lucky that Aunty Inko hadn't pressed charges, instead opting to get a restraining order (even though the stupid Deku somehow managed to get that restraining order undone, for some reason, even though he was even more afraid of Katsuki than ever after that incident) after talking things over with Katsuki's mother, Mitsuki, who was a good friend of hers. He was so lucky that he hadn't ruined his mother's relationship with the woman completely. He was so lucky to not be in jail.

He was so lucky that stupid Deku didn't die.

He was so lucky.

One night, he asked Mitsuki to ask Inko if he could visit Izuku in the hospital, to see how he was doing. It was the only time he had been extra polite in front of Mitsuki, so she agreed to ask Inko, and she somehow managed to get permission for Katsuki to go and see Izuku in the hospital just that once. After all, he said that he wanted to apologize. So, even though it went against the restraining order that Inko was working to set in place, the kind woman had allowed it. Even if Izuku was not yet awake and thus couldn't hear the apology, she wanted to hear it. She wanted to hear Katsuki apologize to her son. For him to finally say that he was sorry for all the pain and torment that he had dealt her baby.

When he arrived with his mother to Izuku's hospital room, he looked between the plump, glaring woman with straight green hair that was a few shades darker than Izuku's and Izuku himself. He winced at her glare a little, sure, but what really made him flinch was seeing just how many bandages were wrapped around Izuku. Seeing just how much damage he'd done was horrific.

He really was lucky that Izuku survived.

"H-He…" he started, and Inko looked at him, her eyes narrowing as she started to judge internally what his worth was when standing there before her baby. She was a mother in protective mama-bear mode and it was truly intimidating. It made him stutter. "Does he… his… his brain, I mean, does it… Is he…"

"No. Somehow, he didn't suffer brain damage, even with how you broke his skull," she rasped at him.

He flinched once more, but, yet again… he was lucky.

"May I… Umm…" He wasn't used to being timid, and he rubbed his arm, looking away, doing his best to keep his emotions in check so he didn't blow up. Mitsuki seemed worried about him, while Midoriya Inko seemed pleased that her prey was cowering before her. "It's a lot to ask, but can I sit by him?"

Inko almost yelled, but he held up his hands, and she finally noticed that the boy had flowers. Freshly-cut white lilies, daisies, peonies and hydrangea sat neatly in a small vase. This calmed her a little.

"I, uh… Got these for him. I don't know if he likes any of these or anythin', but I tried lookin' up the ones that were best for this, and my mom helped. She says they all mean 'get well' in some way." He wasn't looking at Inko anymore – he'd become too embarrassed to. There was silence for a few minutes before Izuku's mother sighed and finally acknowledged his wish.

"You may have a moment with him."

He nodded and slowly approached, putting the bouquet on a counter across from Izuku so that the green-haired boy could see them when he woke up, then drudgingly made his way to Izuku's bedside, sitting in a chair that was placed next to him. He looked down at the boy for a second but couldn't handle it, so he looked at his trembling and clenched fists in his lap instead, trying to will himself to calm down as he listened to the steady beeping of the machines attached to the Quirkless idiot, reassuring himself that Izuku was in fact alive.

"Stupid Deku," he said under his breath. "Why are you so weak…"

He wanted to say that he was sorry, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. He wasn't strong enough to. Mitsuki had been so angry with him. But Inko… Inko was confusing to him and to his mother. She said that he did say it, loud and clear.

That's when he noticed that he was crying.

It was an unwelcome memory for the teen. He had tried so hard to forget it. No future-Hero would like recalling almost killing someone (even if that someone apparently had a Quirk that brought him back to life or some bullshit like that) for no reason other than hurt pride and maybe – horrifyingly – one's own entertainment, himself included. He looked at his hands, shaking, expecting to see blood on them like he had on that day. He was still a little caught up in his memory. Luckily, his hands were clean, and he breathed a sigh of relief, managing to soothe his wavering emotions.

Katsuki kicked at a stone on the ground after shoving his hands in the pockets of his school's blue P.E. uniform, its logo strewn about the top in giant white letters reading "UA." Almost instantly after kicking the rock, he winced, being reminded of how he had called Izuku a pebble. He stared in horror at the stone, which was now several meters in front of him, more unpleasant thoughts crossing through his mind.

He never asked to press charges; he only asked how Katsuki was after he woke up from that coma. He begged to get that restraining order absolved, as he didn't want to mark Katsuki's perfect record with such an incriminating document, nor did he want to be separated from his 'friend.'

Even so, Bakugou barely changed. He still burned Izuku sometimes. He still beat him up sometimes. He still put him down with his words.

Izuku always came to help him whenever he knew Katsuki needed it. He always inexplicably showed up and did what he could, no matter how much Katsuki hadn't wanted him to.

He was such a huge help to him. He was such a kind boy.

But Bakugou still didn't change.

Bakugou still told him to take a last-effort dive off of their school building to be reborn with a Quirk if he wanted to be a Hero so badly.

What kind of friend did that? What kind of Hero did that?

Fuck.

He looked back at the people in the camp, watching them cry over injured and dying loved ones if they weren't silently sitting and staring worriedly. His job, as a Hero-in-Training, was to provide assistance and comfort to these people. He wasn't to leave the camp to go into the devastated areas of the city for any reason, for his own safety, while Pros went around finding people who were still trapped and lost.

But he was bad at this. He couldn't soothe their fears. He couldn't give them what they needed.

What would Izuku do? How could he be a Hero that would make Izuku proud?

With that thought plastering itself into his brain, he took off without looking back, ready to help search for survivors instead of being called a Villain again by some scared idiot waking up from their little injury-induced naps.

How many people had All Might managed to save? He wasn't sure, but as he brought survivors, one-by-one, to refugee camps, he felt himself beginning to wear down.

Thirty minutes more at most. That's how much longer he could do Hero work for the day. That's how much longer he could make his efforts count. That was how much longer he could make up for his mistakes, then he'd have to wait until the next day to do more.

He was almost useless. It didn't matter that he'd saved hundreds today, thousands were still dying and dead because of him.

He huffed, losing his smile for a moment. That was no good. Thinking that way right now was no good, how many times did he have to tell himself that? He really had to stop those kinds of thoughts. He could brood later, after he reached his time limit. He could sulk after that.

People needed him right now. They needed the Symbol of Peace. They needed All Might.

And by God, if he wasn't All Might, then who on Earth was he?

His smile returned. It was sincere now.

He was still afraid. He was still going to beat himself up. But he had to keep going. He had to help the people in the city, otherwise, how could he go on? If he didn't do his job now, he wouldn't be able to later, and if he couldn't do his job later, then how would he ever be able to help save Young Midoriya?

He ran at full speed towards the sound of a man calling for help.

"I am here!" the Hero proclaimed proudly, finding a mostly-uninjured man standing outside of a collapsed residential building. "Citizen! Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, but, m-my wife and daughter, they're still trapped! Please, All Might, sir, please save them!"

All Might nodded. "Of course! But first, let me get you to see a medic! You look fine on the outside, but we must be sure."

"N-No, please, I'm okay–"

All Might waggled his finger, tsking at the middle-aged man standing before him.

"That's no good! You could be injured internally! You could have a concussion!" He softened his smile. "I'll come right back to save your wife and child, but please, let me help you, too. It's part of my job, sir, and if something is wrong, it's best to find out now rather than later. You wouldn't want your wife and child to have to worry more than they have to about you, now would you?"

All Might's words and mere presence seemed to lull the man into a calmer state, and he nodded, finally agreeing to let the number one Hero help him. All Might took him into his arms and raced to get him to the nearest safe area. He left the man with some medical staff who were doing checkups there before turning to go back and save the man's family.

Fifteen more minutes. He had to be fast.

He called into building, being careful of some downed wires and doing his best to not do anything that would further undo the structural integrity of the building. He heard crying, and like with the boy he'd found earlier, he followed the sound to its source, finding a toddler that he assumed was the man's daughter in one of the many apartments on the middle floor.

"Don't worry, little one! Don't cry! I am here!" He lifted the tiny girl and offered his best smile. She settled into his arms comfortably and cooed, saying 'mama' and pointing to a room that was blocked off and that was in a particularly badly destroyed spot. Pieces of brick still tumbled from the ceiling there, along with chunks of wood framing, some wires hanging and just barely holding up a flickering light. If not for the equipment that the family had had to prevent some of their larger furniture from falling during earthquakes, shelving would be in the way.

"Hello?" he called out. A weak, feminine voice replied back to him, and he had to focus to hear her.

"P-Please! Get my daughter to safety! S-She's out there somewhere, she's been talking to me through the door since the place fell down!"

"I will do just that, ma'am! Your child is alright, I have her now! I'll get her to safety and I'll come back for you!" He wanted to get her now, but getting to her would be dangerous, especially with a child in his arms. He could handle the building falling on him, but this toddler certainly could not.

"Thank you!"

Twelve more minutes.

All Might raced to the refugee camp faster than before, despite his exhaustion, dropping the child off to her father. Like her father, the child was mostly unharmed besides a few scratches and bruises here and there, much to his relief.

"W-Where's my wife?" The man asked.

"She's trapped. I'm going back to get her now. I couldn't before because it would have risked the little one."

"Thank you, All Might… Thank you."

If only he could be happy about all of the thanks he was getting. If only he felt that he could deserve their admiration and praise.

Nine more minutes.

He was back in the family's apartment, clearing away a path to the door. It hadn't taken too long, and breaking the handle to get in wasn't hard at all.

But when he got in there, he knew he had to be fast.

Unlike her husband and child, the woman was in bad shape. She was sitting against the most stable-looking wall of the small bedroom, near a crib that was toppled and broken. She was clenching to what could only be her daughter's baby blanket for comfort. Her breathing was labored, and blood was covering half of her face and was all over her side.

"I am here!" He tried to sound cheerful. To sound unworried, though he was by her side in the blink of an eye. "I am here. You'll be alright."

"I…" She opened her eyes and looked at him, smiling and touching his face as if to be sure that she wasn't hallucinating.

"I never thought All Might himself would ever come to save me." Worry furrowed in her brow, and she tried to stand but tumbled. He caught her, being careful of her head, which was where most of the blood was coming from.

"Careful!"

"M-My daughter, and my husband, are they–"

"They are safe."

She breathed a sigh of relief, nodding a little. He lifted her up, carefully getting her out of the building and down the crumpling stairs before heading towards where he'd left her family. Her bloodied hair felt wet and crusty against his forearm, and she felt colder than a person ever should.

"They're all right…" She sounded so tired. So frail.

He wanted to rush her to help like he had with the other two, but he had to go slowly, for her sake, because of her head.

"Yes." His answer was short, but it was enough.

She smiled, a gentle laughter escaping from her blue-tinged lips. "I-I'm so glad… My daughter… she's healthy…?" She was getting weaker.

"Y-Yes. She's safe and unhurt."

"I'm so… glad…" relief washed over her. "All Might… My daughter… she's the world to me. You… You saved my world. Thank you…" Suddenly, she went limp in his arms, and the hand holding her daughter's blanket let go and the small cloth fell to the ground. Her breathing stopped. He panicked, setting her on the ground, pulling the blanket she had dropped under her head for her comfort and for support.

Five minutes.

He cupped one hand and placed it against her chest, his other hand a flat palm that he laid on top of it as he pushed down, pumping her heart for her. Every so often, he'd pinch her nose shut, lift her neck to open her airways, and blow a breath into her.

"Y-You can't give up!" He felt tears running down his cheeks. "YOU CAN'T GIVE UP! YOU HAVE A FAMILY WAITING FOR YOU!" He tried to start her heart again. He tried to give her more air. Still, nothing.

"YOU ARE A MOTHER! YOU CAN'T LEAVE YOUR CHILD LIKE THIS!"

He tried until he felt himself deflate into weak, useless Yagi Toshinori. He slumped over her, sobbing over the woman's body. He looked at his trembling hands, staring at the blood on them.

Her blood was on them. Hers and everyone else's who had died in this attack.

He took some deep breaths, and even though he shouldn't, he forced himself to take on his muscular form once more. It was painful, like needles stabbing every fiber of his being over and over. It would probably have a lasting affect on how long he could use it in the future. But for now… for now, he had a job to finish. A body to return to a family.

A sad frown glued itself onto his face and he lifted the woman from the ground, holding her corpse close to him as he continued his mission to reunite the family.

When he finally saw the camp come into his line of sight, he stopped, his eyes boring holes into it. Pondering how he could console the father and child he had saved.

No one ever died once he made it to the scene of a crime or disaster.

He clenched more tightly to the body.

No one… no one until today.

He had failed.

Katsuki finally felt useful.

He finally felt like he was doing something right.

He finally felt like a Hero.

Villainous as it was, his smile was spread cheek-to-cheek across his face. He used his explosions to get himself high up onto buildings, giving him good vantage points to find people who needed help. It made him happy, even if he was still scaring everyone that he was coming into contact with. Even if some of them were still screaming and accusing him of being a Villain.

He didn't care.

He was finally doing something that he was capable of doing.

He wasn't just standing around, he was successfully doing something. He was helping people!

Maybe he wasn't completely doing things right, but at least he was pointing people who were wandering and lost in the wreckage in the direction of the camp he'd come from. Sure, he wasn't going into buildings to search for more like he wanted to, but at least he was doing something! Every time he went down to help show people where to go, he'd propel himself back up so that he could find someone else in need of direction.

He just wished he was allowed to wear his Hero costume. It would have been helpful, since it was fine-tuned to suit his Quirk, unlike his school's P.E. outfit.

After some time of going up and down buildings and showing people where to go for safety, he was finally getting tired out from overuse of his explosions. Even Bakugou Katsuki had a limit. It took a lot of doing to make him reach his limit, sure, but he had one.

He was smart, regardless of what his violent and impulsive nature might make one think. That's why he avoided going into buildings to find and save people – he was reckless, but he wasn't stupid. His Quirk was more suited for battle than helping dig people out of buildings that could collapse at any moment. And now, with him being tired, he would be even less helpful. Thus, he surmised that if he was running out of energy, then he had to head back to camp (regardless of how much he didn't want to – he wanted to keep finding people, to actually help, to not be in the way…), because if he didn't have energy, he couldn't protect himself – be it from falling buildings or from any Villains that might be around reaping the benefits of the disaster. With that in mind, he started running back to where he came from, keeping his hopes high that maybe some of his surviving classmates were waking up. Sure, he didn't really like the damn extras, but he'd take small victories wherever he could get them right now. He was sure everyone else felt the same way too. Seeing people wake up was better than watching them die.

But then he stopped, thinking that he heard something. He looked to his right, listening closely. He narrowed his eyes, cautiously turning to face the shop, his eyes searching through the broken windows of the architectural dregs, seeking out what that sound could have been, if he'd really heard it. It had been quiet, so he wasn't really sure–

"H-Help! P-Please, somebody, I-I can't get out! I'm here, please, please help me, I'm here!"

Now he was certain.

He could see that the floor had caved in in the corner of the structure, the footing sloped down.

"Please! Please, I, I'm trapped, please help! Someone! Anyone!"

Katsuki shouldn't go in there. He knew that. He had overused his Quirk already, and what energy he had left, he had to use to get back to his class in one piece. This should be left to Pros…

"PLEASE! SOMEONE, ANYONE, PLEASE! PLEASE, HEAR ME! I'M HERE! I'M HERE!" the cries were more desperate. Maybe the person had heard Katsuki as he was running by before he stopped. Katsuki swallowed, jumping in through one of the broken windows, treading carefully on the uneven tile and surveying the floor he was on before looking down the sloped ground that led to the floor below.

"Where are ya?!"

"Oh, thank God! Down here! I-I'm down here!"

Katsuki squinted, looking down into the darkness below him. He crouched, carefully sliding down. The hole was deeper than he thought – it would be a pain to get back up, especially with an injured civilian. Even so, he had chosen this. He knew it was dangerous, but… he was aiming to be a Hero. This was part of his job, right?

Once his footing was steady enough, his eyes scanned the area, quickly becoming used to the low amount of light that was provided through the hole that he'd come down from. He followed his ears to where most of the rubble was, and spoke again.

"Oi! Ya in here?!"

"Y-Yes! I-I'm here, I'm here!" Katsuki heard some scuffling behind the rocks and sighed, looking up – this situation was dangerous at best. The man was lucky to be alive. The debris must have fallen in a way that entombed him without crushing him. If that was the case, then…

"Ya alright?"

"I-I'm a little banged up, but nothing bad! J-Just stuck!" Katsuki heard more attempted digging.

"Oi! Stop that!"

"H-Huh?"

"If yer stuck in a cavity in there and ya dig recklessly, it'll all fall on ya. There's a lot of stuff above ya and we need to be careful about this."

If only he'd followed his own advice.

"R-Right!" The man squeaked back, fear evident in his voice.

"Just leave gettin' ya out to me."

If only he hadn't been so over-confident.

"O-Okay! T-Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you–"

"Shut up! I need to think." He carefully observed the pile trapping the man before looking up. The building itself wasn't sound in the least when it came to its stability. The pile on the man looked to be part of what was holding up the remainder of the floor above them. How was he going to do this? He had to think. Think like damn Deku always did. Analyze the situation in front of him and act based on that.

His eyes wandered back to the pile over the man, and finally, it clicked. He could see a week spot in it all – a spot that didn't seem to be affecting the integrity of the rubble's stability in any way. Perfect.

If only he had gone to get a Pro-Hero instead of trying to save someone on his own.

He slowly removed the rubble, rock after brick after chunk of wood. When some of the pieces were too big or stuck a little too tightly for him to move, he used his quirk to break them down a little or help him dislodge them.

He couldn't save anyone. He should have learned after what happened with Izuku. After he led the city to this outcome in the first place.

Finally, he could see into the cavity where the man was trapped. He was a frail-looking fellow, scared out of his wits. He saw that Katsuki was almost to him, though, and his expression brightened. He crawled to where Katsuki was, helping to remove some of what was left in the way, making an opening just barely large enough to get the man through.

If only Katsuki had been more careful.

Katsuki reached his hand in, his other holding onto the edge of the hole he'd dug. The man laughed, tears in his eyes as he took hold of the teenager's outstretched palm.

"Thank you, thank you!"

Katsuki started to pull him through, pushing himself back with his other hand in order to help him get the man up and out.

He pushed a little too hard, and it nudged the piece of rubble he'd been holding on to. The pile started to rumble, and with it, the half of the building that the man was under. Katsuki panicked and tried to speed up, but this made it worse. His sweat had made his hands slippery, so the man couldn't grip him well enough, his hand sliding out of Katsuki's grasp, and Katsuki stumbled backwards and landed on his bottom. The civilian screamed for a moment as everything crumbled on him with a sick, wet, cracking sound, so quickly and violently that it cut off the hand that had been in Katsuki's own hand just moments before, sending it flying past Katsuki, blood gushing out of it and splattering onto the wide-eyed blonde and everything it flew past before landing with a thump somewhere behind the teenager's left side.

Everything was silent for a moment as the building re-settled.

Katsuki stared at the pile. He watched as dark, crimson fluid pooled out from beneath it, into the small amount of light trickling from above.

"O-Oi…"

He was trembling as he willed himself back to his feet, walking back to the more condensed pile, ignoring how unsafe it was. He fell to his knees before it and, stupidly, he started to try to dig through it again.

"H-Hey…! Hey, come on! S-Say somethin'!"

He was too distracted to feel when the blood started to saturate the area of his pants over his knees. He was too distracted to hear when a voice called into the building, sounding alarmed and asking if anyone was there and if everyone was alright.

"Hey! Come on! We almost had ya out! I-I'll save ya, just say somethin'! Say somethin' like ya did when I was runnin' by! Come on! Hey! HEY!"

He stumbled back when he found the tenderized and flattened end of the arm that was now without a hand. He felt nausea run through him at the sight of the torn, squashed meat, crushed and cracked bone sticking out from it. He lumbered backward, turning away, unable to keep himself from retching.

"…Young Bakugou?"

Tears dropped from the teen's eyes like rain onto the ground beneath him and he looked up, seeing the deflated form of All Might standing above him, at the top of the hole where the floor caved and sloped downward from.

"Is that you, my boy?"

Katsuki remained silent, standing upright and wiping vomit from his mouth. He was tense as he shook, pointing behind him to the pile where the dead lay.

"H-Help him."

Toshinori carefully stumbled down the tiled hill, walking past his student to look at what he was pointing at. His heart sank when he saw the blood and the unmoving piece of man that had been uncovered. He looked back at Katsuki, noticing the severed arm beyond him but not bringing it up. He approached the explosive boy, and Katsuki tried to fight him off when he wrapped his bony arms around him, screeching at Toshinori to back off.

"No! What the fuck are ya doin', stop! HELP HIM! SAVE HIM, YA FUCKIN' DUMBASS! SAVE… save him…" he wailed, his fists finally stopping hitting the Hero as he hunched over, crying onto the man's chest.

"I'm so sorry, my boy."

No.

"Whoever that was, they're gone. I can't save them."

No. No. No.

"Y-You have to try!" Katsuki begged. "He– I-I–! It's my fault, he, I was an idiot!"

"Shh…" Toshinori tried to soothe him.

"I should have gone for help! I should have found a Pro, but, instead, instead I!" He shook as he let out an ugly sob. Toshinori understood what he'd been trying to tell him and felt pain pierce his heart. Katsuki was young. He tried to do more than he could handle, and as a result…

The aging Hero looked at the ocean of blood that seeped from beneath the debris.

As a result of doing more than he could, and as a result of his inexperience, he'd had to witness someone die.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was!"

Toshinori grabbed the boy by his shoulders, pushing back and looking seriously into his quivering, tear-filled red eyes.

"Listen to me. This isn't your fault. Even if experienced Pro-Heroes had been here, this would have been a difficult rescue to accomplish." The boy was quiet as he said that, so he continued. "Even if you'd gotten help, even if people with more experience had been here, this still would have likely happened."

Katsuki looked away from him. He sighed, looking up into the dimming light. It was getting late.

"Now, come. You were supposed to stay at the camp with your classmates today. I'm sure Recovery Girl and the other school faculty there have noticed your absence and are worried. I'll take you there, but remember – you can't tell anyone that I'm All Might when we get there, so just call me Yagi when I'm like this." It was especially important right now to uphold his image, after all. He may not see it himself anymore, with how pathetic he felt, but he was still everyone's number one hero. He was still their pillar, giving them hope during such trying times as these.

The boy was silent, merely looking away. Toshinori wanted to press, but he decided he'd trust the boy with his secret. After all, it had been a day since the teenager discovered that All Might wasn't always 'All Might,' and he hadn't said anything. Besides, it was clear that All Might and his problems weren't on the child's mind at the moment. He had just witnessed something horrible, so it was… understandable.

It was worrying to the fledgling teacher, but after that, Katsuki was surprisingly obedient as Toshinori led him back to his peers and other teachers. The other UA teachers were clearly ready to scold him, but stopped when they saw the look on the skeletal-man's face. Even if not everyone knew who he was, no one was willing to speak against them when they realized how grim and bloody the two looked.

Recovery Girl was quick to look them over, and Toshinori quietly told her what happened. About the woman who died in his arms, about how helpless he'd felt when administering CPR, about how useless he'd felt when he gave the body to a wailing husband and a little girl who couldn't understand why her mommy wouldn't wake up. He told her about Bakugou's attempt to save someone, and that the boy had witnessed a gruesome death first-hand.

The old woman nodded as she listened, somber and supportive as she almost always was. She looked between Toshinori and Katsuki, taking a deep breath and sighing before speaking up, catching the attention of both of the blonde males before her.

"Toshinori, why do you always smile?"

"Huh…?"

"Why do you always smile?"

The sunken-eyed man looked at her seriously, noticing the red eyes that stared so intensely at his side.

"When you're working, whey do you always smile?"

"…I smile because I can't save everyone." Recovery Girl nodded, and Toshinori was certain he felt the uncertainty emanating from the boy beside him. "I smile for the people I'm saving, to show them that they're okay. I smile for the people watching, to show them to not fear. And I smile for the people I can't get to in time, to show them that the people they leave behind are safe and in good hands. Even if I couldn't save them, I'll be able to save others. I can't save everyone. I'm a human. And humans make mistakes. So, for that reason… For the people I can't get to, I smile." Recovery Girl beamed at him, nodding again. Toshinori felt tears prickling in his eyes.

"That's right. So, Toshinori, what should you be doing now?"

"Smiling!" he grinned, his self-destructive thoughts temporarily leaving him. Even if he wasn't All Might to everyone now, he was still All Might. He was still a Hero. He was still a teacher.

He looked at the boy next to him, sharing his smile with him, laughing a little through his tears when he saw the flabbergasted and agitated look on his student's face. The explosive boy unfortunately didn't keep eye contact long and looked down at his hands.

"…Yer an idiot like stupid Deku…" he mumbled. Toshinori felt the melancholy feelings creeping back into his mind at that statement, anxiety clawing at his throat.

"You smile even though you fail." Toshinori's grin faltered.

"But… You don't give up." Toshinori blinked in surprise as Katuski looked into his eyes with determination. "Right?"

"R-Right!"

"Then… will you tell me somethin'?" His eyes flickered at Recovery Girl and she took the hint, leaving the two to talk in what privacy could be provided to them.

Once she was gone, Toshinori tilted his head and looked at the boy curiously. "What is it?"

"I… I couldn't save that man today."

"It isn't your fault–"

"Let me finish, ya old geezer."

Toshinori was surprised at being called that, but somehow, for some reason that he couldn't put his finger on, it made him smile.

"Okay. Please continue."

"I couldn't save him, so…" He paused, his train of thought seeming to be everywhere when he continued. "And I bullied Deku into wanting to die. I told him to die, before he ran into you."

Toshinori's eyes widened and his smile fell. Katsuki pointedly looked away.

"I told him that if he wanted to be a Hero so bad, he should pray to be one in his next life and jump off a roof. And he… he did that. So if I can't save a stranger that I never did nothin' wrong to, how could I ever hope to save a kid that I baited into killing himself?"

Toshinori didn't know what to say. He had planned to talk to Katsuki about Young Midoriya after their talk the other day. He knew that, based on what the boy had said, the two had history, but he… he hadn't expected it to be this serious. His face contorted as he lost himself deep in thought, wondering how he could help Katsuki and how he could help the boy that the both of them had failed.

"We... We'll figure that out later," he said to the boy. Later, he'd have the school look into helping Bakugou with counseling and therapy, if he could. He took a deep breath, still deep in thought as he looked up at the sky as it changed colors with the sunset.

His mind started to race, though, as he looked at that sky.

As he remembered the mother he'd failed today.

"…Young Bakugou. This is… terribly off topic, but I have to ask."

Katsuki looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Young Midoriya… Does he have any relatives…?" In the year that All Might had been searching for the boy, he'd never thought to find out.

"He… He has a mother."

"Do you know her well? Or at least, do you know where to find her?"

"…Why…?"

"Because, if you do, we should pay her a visit. Or, at least, I will. It's been a year since Young Midoriya was last seen." He could hear as Katsuki swallowed beside him. He sighed and finished his thought.

"Don't you think that… regardless of the circumstances… she deserves to know that her son is alive?"

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! I may edit this one more. It's so long, I'm sure I missed some things. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!