Oops. I kind of forgot about this story. I'M SO SORRY GUYS! I DIDN'T MEAN TO LEAVE FOR SO MANY MONTHS!

Thank you for your patience and enjoy the chapter! I'm pretty certain that updates will be a lot quicker from now on (if school doesn't get in the way, blehhh). ALSO I'M SORRY IF BAKUGO SEEMS A LITTLE OOC IN HERE, HE'S JUST A TOUGH CHARACTER OKAY.

THANK YOU TO LAST CHAPTER'S REVIEWERS: katurdi, JusteCamille, BlueCookiesforRick, Guest, thelonelypinappledude, animalsarepeopletoo, Angstygirl001, HeartofChaos13, !EliteRoyale, SweetWritingIsMyLife, clobird2005, and wolf-that-is-dark!

Chapter Three: Slumber

I chose a small grove for us to camp in for the night before I started to pull out a waterproof blanket from my backpack to sleep on. We had brought tents, but seeing as it was already late and the tents weren't well made to begin with, I figured I'd just set it up tomorrow night. Besides, Deku's little "injury" would probably prevent him from setting it up, anyway.

Deku struggled to open his backpack from beside me, his fingers fumbling for the zipper as a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

I gritted my teeth. Even if he was injured, he could at least try harder.

Finally, we were both settled down and the sun was just starting to set. After checking my watch, I noted that it was already 8:45. I'd made a small fire and was just about to pull out something to eat from my pack when, after half an hour of silence, Deku at last spoke.

"So, Kacchan…" he stammered out. "How-how far are we going to walk tomorrow?"

I turned my head to look at him. With the dim lighting and only the fire to illuminate his face, he seemed drawn and pale. Maybe a little worse than earlier.

I clenched my jaw and looked away. "As far as it takes."

"Well, y-you know… we don't have to walk that far." He coughed again. "The point of the exercise wasn't speed- Mr. Aizawa just wanted to focus on our survival skills. We have plenty of time to reach the other side."

"I don't care!" I whipped towards him again, sparks flying from my palms.

Deku flinched away and he nearly fell over from where he sat.

I glared at him. "I don't want to work with you. I don't want to talk to you. You think you're Aizawa's little pet because you do exactly what he says, but out here, none of that matters. Neither does your stupid injury."

Deku's eyes lowered. "I'm just trying to stick to the rules. We're supposed to-"

"Shut up!" I hissed. My appetite had gone, and I abandoned looking for something to eat. "I'm going to bed now, but as soon as the sun rises, you better have your butt up and ready to go or I'll really give you something to whine about." I kicked some dust over the fire and it began to sputter out, the burnt branches losing their glow.

Turning myself on my side from where I'd set up to sleep, I closed my eyes and tried to fight back the growing wave of rage inside of me.

He didn't matter. He never did. He wasn't good enough for U.A. and should never have been accepted there in the first place. Now I was stuck with him and his hurt side, and it'd be another full day and a half before this exercise ended. What was I even supposed to do until then? Babysit him? Unlikely.

"Night, Kacchan," I heard Deku whisper from a few feet away.

I clenched my teeth.

He was just another bug I could crush.

And nothing could convince me otherwise.

The next time I woke up, it was still completely dark out, with only the light of the moon making anything visible. Though I had just woken up, instead of feeling groggy, I felt almost alert. The realization didn't do any good in calming me down.

I blinked and tried to shake myself out of the intensifying fear. What was I getting so riled up for? I was in the middle of the woods, of course things were going to be moving around in the night. I'd probably just heard something and had woken up as a result.

Still, the nagging thought that something else was wrong caught me. What if there was something dangerous out there? If there was, I could always kill it with my quirk. In fact, I'd be happy too. But if I was caught sleeping...

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. It was hard to see anything clearly with everything so dark out, but I could make out Deku's sleeping form a little ways away from me and the branches scattered around our campsite.

A twig snapped from behind me and I swerved my head around to peer into the thick brush. An owl suddenly hooted, making me flinch. Giving a huff, I growled in annoyance. I was getting too paranoid. There was nothing out there.

Laying back down, I tried to close my eyes and fall back asleep.

But a few seconds later, something rustled a few feet away, over from where Deku laid. I sat back up and let out a breath, eyes darting around. What was that?

I lifted myself off the ground and peered out into the darkness, holding my breath. My gaze traveled over to Deku where I could see the rise and fall of his chest, but something else caught my eye. There was some rustling a few feet away from his feet, although I couldn't make out what it was with it being so dark.

I took a step closer. A low growl echoed back.

Eyes widening, flames started to burn in my palms. I drew closer to Deku and raised my fist in preparation to fight, as well as lighting the area so I could see it.

And then, something scuffled a little ways from Deku's foot. I whipped towards it and saw a shadowed creature prowling forward. Standing about two and a half feet high with dark fur, I recognized it as a wolf.

And it was after food. Deku.

"HEY!" I shouted, and flames exploded in my hands.

Startled, the creature jumped back from Deku and then tried to make an escape into the woods, but I wasn't letting it get away that easy. Lunging forward, I sent a blast of fire at the animal but missed by a few inches. Yelping, it quickly disappeared into the woods.

I skidded to a stop and panted, keeping my eyes on the area where it had disappeared.

Whatever it was, it had been planning to attack Deku.

Which meant I had just saved the nerd's life.

I looked down at my hands, inhaling deeply. Now he owed me big time.

I started to walk back over to my sleeping bag, but when I glanced over at Deku on my way back, something felt... off. Squinting, I peered down at him and it was only when I saw the barely-visible rise and fall of his chest did I realize what it was. He hadn't woken up at all during the whole incident. Even if he was a sound sleeper, he wouldn't have slept through explosions. That just wasn't like him.

Timidly, I crouched beside him and stared at his unconscious form.

"Deku," I said. "Wake up."

Only his raspy breathing answered me.

I gritted my teeth. "Deku, I swear…" I slowly reached a hand out towards his face but paused before touching him. A moment later, I relented and slapped my palm on top of his forehead. I hissed aloud. He felt warmer than he did earlier- much warmer- and I didn't like it. Sleeping wasn't helping his fever go down like I first thought it would.

I pulled my hand away and wiped the sweat against my pants. I'd have to wait until morning to see if he'd gotten any better. While I hated that he was getting sick, I didn't want him to be so out of order that he couldn't even walk. The thought of carrying him made me want to end his life right then and there.

Letting out an angry breath, I pushed myself back up and made my way over to my sleeping bag before settling down again. I just hoped that when morning came, we were both ready to go.

And if that wolf came back, I wouldn't miss him this time.

The sun was just rising as I pried my eyes open, and I dragged a hand down my face once my senses finally returned.

Memories of last night clouded my mind and I hissed slightly. Deku better be ready to travel today. And if not, I'd drag him the rest of the way.

Pushing myself up from the ground and pulling my arms into a stretching position, my eyes traveled over to where Deku lay on the ground. His hair was as messy as ever, sprawled in tusks across his forehead, and his eyes were still closed in slumber.

I bared my teeth. I'd told him to be awake when the sun rose, and here he was, sleeping the day away. "Deku, get up!" I called, and waited for some kind of response.

His eyes didn't even flicker.

Growling, I stomped forward until I was standing right next to his face. I peered down at him, but there was no response. "Deku!" I nudged the edge of his face with my foot. "Get up already."

He let out a low moan, shivering under his blanket.

I rolled my eyes. So this was how it was going to be.

Bending over in one fluid motion, I ripped the blanket off of him and took pleasure in throwing it as far to the side as I could. "I told you to get up!" I yelled.

At the sudden movement, Deku let out a sharp gasp and his hands clutched at his side like he was in pain. Lines creased his forehead and his chest heaved. I realized just how ragged his breathing actually was, with the grayish tinge in his skin being much more noticeable than before.

That hadn't been the reaction I was expecting at all. I thought he'd wake up, shout an exclamation of surprise, and then get flustered when I demanded him to get up and get ready to move. But this time, I couldn't deny the fact of how bad he looked. Sleeping still hadn't helped him at all. It was like he'd gotten sicker.

A second later, Deku started the struggle to open his eyes. I watched in silence as a string of coughs broke from his lips, stiffening at the sound.

He lay panting as the fit eased, but I could tell it would be another minute before he could move. I huffed.

"So, you're finally awake?" I snapped. "About time, you lazy nerd."

His eyes flickered open slowly and his gaze focused on me. "K-Kacchan?"

"No, it's All Might." I let out an annoyed growl. "Of course it's me, you idiot!"

"How long…" He winced, sucking in a breath. "...have you been up?"

"Long enough." I bared my teeth together. "Are you going to sit up already?"

It took some struggling, but Deku finally managed to pull himself up from the ground and into a rather cramped sitting position. His green hair was a mess and his injured side looked even worse. The dried blood against his shirt almost seemed to glare back at me, reminding me that I was the cause of it.

No, don't feel guilty about him, I thought bitterly. That idiot is in charge of himself.

"Um, c-could I have some water?" Deku asked raspily.

I shot him a dark look. "Why don't you get it yourself?"

'Well, I-I don't know where it is..." He shook his head. "S-sorry. I don't want to cause you any more trouble… I'll get it myself. Where is it?"

I scowled. "It's in your backpack."

"Where's my-"

"WELL, YOU'RE JUST FULL OF QUESTIONS TODAY, AREN'T YOU?"

He looked slightly flustered as he sat there. "I'm just asking."

"Fine, I'll just get it!" I hissed. "It would take you the rest of the day to do anything around here, anyway!"

His backpack was only a few feet away, slumped over next to mine. We'd put them next to the campfire last night, and it was a mystery how Deku had forgotten where his was. I guessed it was the fever muddling his mind.

I snagged his backpack with two of my fingers before hiking it up and storming back over to Deku, who was rubbing his forehead as if it was hurting. Rolling my eyes, I dropped it into his lap.

"There's your freaking water. Now, we both brought breakfast, so let's eat it and then go."

"O-oh." Deku nodded. "Sure."

"And while you're at it, you should clean your stupid injury," I growled. "I don't want you slowing me down later."

"Um, well…" Deku was starting to open his backpack now, but his hands were sweaty and they had a hard time with the zipper. "Since you didn't bring the medical supply kit, there's not really a way to… clean it."

"Use water or something, I don't care!"

Deku grimaced as he shifted where he sat. "Even if I did, that wouldn't disinfect it. Plus, it's not like we have a lot of water to spare. We only have a few canteens."

I threw my hands up in the air. "Then what do you want me to do about it? You should've been paired up with Icy-Hot if you wanted someone to make water for you!"

He flinched, and his hands dropped away from the backpack. "You don't have to do anything..." he stammered. "I just- I want to be able to finish the exercise, but if I get an infection, I-I can't."

My eye twitched. As much as I hated to admit it, that did make some sense. If he left his wound alone any longer, I'd be dragging him back to Aizawa half-dead.

By now, I knew what had to be done. Deku was too weak to clean his wound himself, which left me as the only one around to do it for him.

Just the thought of aiding him drew a growl from my throat. I swore I'd never stoop so low as to help a bastard like him. I told myself that he wasn't even close to worth the effort. Except this time... I knew it was different.

If I refused to help him like always and left him behind, he was most likely going to die. I wasn't one for guilt or any kind of regret, but I knew that if he did die as a result from his side, it would be my fault.

My palms tingled and I felt sparks flickering across them. I hated that nerd. He was lower than low- he didn't even begin to deserve my time. But… we had to finish the exercise. Aizawa would fail us otherwise and that was the last thing I needed.

I huffed. Deku would owe me big time for this, in addition to me saving him from the wolf attack last night.

This time… just this once, I'd help him. I'd bandage up his little wound and that was it. After that, I was leaving the rest to him. It wasn't my job to babysit him. Deku was sensible enough- for a nerd- and he probably some annoying plan so that he'd be able to keep up, anyway.

"Alright," I muttered, cracking my knuckles as I peered down at him. His eyes were drooping closed again and his face was drained of color. I could see dry blood stained through the shirt on his side and knew he couldn't possibly make it through the day without collapsing again.

I bared my teeth. "Listen up, Deku! Get out your stupid canteen and I'll do it!"

Deku's eyes slammed open and he winced from where he sat. "K-Kacchan?" he breathed. "Wait, wha-"

"GET YOUR WATER OUT ALREADY AND STOP WHINING! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

His mouth closed.

As he went to work finding one of the canteens in his bag, I glared at the ground and clenched my fingers into a trembling fist.

Just this once.

And then, I swore he'd be left to take care of himself.