Chapter 7: Tragic

Introduction

V/O (Kirishima): Hey everyone! I'm back doing the intro! And with Todoroki this time!

V/O (Todoroki): Hello.

V/O (Kirishima): Have you noticed that Bakugou hasn't come down to the common room for the last few days?

V/O (Todoroki): I have. It's been strange not seeing him around as much. Do you think something's wrong?

V/O (Kirishima): Not sure! I mean, he acts like his usual self every time I've talked to him. Though…he has cut our conversations short and he is quick to go back to his room everyday…Maybe something is wrong…

V/O (Todoroki): Should we go up and invite him to join all of us for dinner?

V/O (Kirishima): I like your thinking, man! Let's go! But we should wrap this up first.

V/O (Kirishima and Todoroki): Plus Ultra!

"Crybaby! I told you not to stop moving!" Katsuki yelled, throwing Hikari to the floor. He wasn't really holding back anymore, and to be clear, he wasn't being all that quiet either. He took a few steps back, resetting himself for anything that could happen next, be it offense or defense.

Hikari winced in pain, slowly getting up. She knew he was holding back before, but this was a whole new level she didn't expect to see. He was incredibly strong and no matter what she did, she couldn't keep up. She clenched her fist. Why was he going hard on her now?

"You're moving too quickly! You're giving me no time to think!"

"'Course I'm not! No villain's gonna!"

Katsuki ran at her, preparing to grab and throw her again. She unexpectedly dropped down before his hand reached her and she tumbled forward, landing on her feet, just behind Katsuki. She cocked her fist back, took a step forward, and tried to punch him. Katsuki jumped straight up, his feet a few inches above her fist. Momentum made her take a step forward, allowing Katsuki to land on her back; more accurately, allowing him to use his feet to kick her forward. She ran and fell head first into the wall.

"Oww! This is so frustrating! No matter what I do, I still can't hit you!" Hikari complained, holding her throbbing forehead.

"You just suck," Katsuki retorted, hand on his hip.

"I don't suck! You do with that attitude of yours! Honestly, I'd be surprised if any girl liked you!" Hikari pouted.

"HA!? Are you stupid? I think there's a hole where your brain should be! I don't need to hear that from some stupid girl who will probably only attract stupid guys who take advantage of weak-ass, naive girls!"

"You really think I'll end up with guys like that?" Hikari looked at Katsuki as if she had just received horrible news like she wouldn't make it past 20. Katsuki's opinion of the type of guys she would fall for really hit hard and, in that moment, she believed him.

"UGH! I feel your stupid rubbing off on me! Just don't go following anyone until you have a friend who'll tell you you're being stupid."

"Like you?"

"WHO SAID WE'RE FRIENDS!?"

"I mean...you took me in almost three days ago. We've been training together, sleeping in the same room together, eating together, opening up to each other...isn't that being friends?"

/That sounds more like the a... No!…No way!/

"We aren't friends! You're just some charity case I picked up stranded in some dumb town hours away…" Katsuki paused briefly before looking away, clearly regretting his word choice. "Pushing it...we might just be acquaintances….and even further from that...probably a tolerable roommate..." Katsuki responded bitterly, trying to fix what he had just said. The words just sort of fell out of his mouth, forgetting for a moment that she had been captured by villains for years and forgetting she gets her feelings hurt very easily. Calling her a "charity case" was a dick move and definitely something that she would cry over. He felt he was developing some sort of empathy toward her, which made his stomach turn. The word "friend" wasn't quite right to describe them. He didn't have a word to describe their relationship. It was complicated, after all, and even Katsuki didn't know how he felt toward her. A nuisance? Someone he needed to protect? A thorn in his side? A chore? And yet, he didn't entirely hate that she was around and found himself captivated by her at times… or maybe he was only feeling that way because of her quirk? His mind began to spiral.

Hikari stared at Katsuki. "Pfft!" She started cracking up, laughing so hard she felt tears beginning to form. The way he stood there, with his face scrunched up as though he had to make some life-threatening decision, was the funniest thing in the world to her. To think he would struggle with something so simple as understanding what friendship was. Not to mention this was the first time he had said something mean and then, before she could react, started backtracking and regurgitating a nonsensical amalgam of a word salad to fix what he had said. It was like he was actually trying not to be an asshole; the very thought was both wholesome and hysterical at the same time.

"Stop laughing and fight me!" Katsuki sprinted at her, enraged by her laughter. Hikari jumped, clumsily trying to figure out how to defend herself. Just as Katsuki was about to land a punch, a knock came at the door. Katsuki and Hikari froze and stared at one another.

/Shit, who's here?.../

Katsuki growled and pushed Hikari toward the closet, forcefully giving her a hint to go hide. She took the hint and shut the door as quietly as she could. Once inside, Katsuki sighed, moved the coffee table, and opened the door. Kirishima and Todoroki stood in front of him. He furrowed his eyebrows, indicating to the two boys that he was annoyed by their sudden appearance.

"Hey, man! Everything okay? We heard you yelling and making noise…" Kirishima smiled, neither noticing nor paying mind to the angry vein bulging out of Katsuki's temple.

"Yeah, what of it? I'm just training…"

"But you said 'stop laughing and fight me'...who were you talking to?" Todoroki asked, in his naturally calm, dead voice.

"MYSELF! WHO ELSE, ICY HOT!?"

"That's a weird thing to do, man," Kirishima laughed.

Katsuki always got overly defensive whenever he interacted with Todoroki. It was definitely entertaining. Despite the bickering, the two actually grew closer since having to take remedial classes together to get their provisional licenses after the two hotshots failed the licensing exam. They were friends, but Katsuki would never admit–it either because he was ashamed to accept it or he just couldn't figure it out. Todoroki already accepted Katsuki's personality, and was fine with the passive aggressive repartee between them.

"What's so weird about simulating a fight!? Visualizing your opponent while training is completely normal! I just take it a step further!" Katsuki responded, already over talking to the two of them. He wished they would just get to the point and leave. Hiding a girl in his dorm room certainly made his fuse that much shorter.

"You're so dedicated, Bakugou." Kirishima felt almost inspired by Katsuki's drive and determination to be the best.

"Yeah, whatever…"

"Listen, we actually came up to let you know we're all hanging out down in the common room. Sato is making dinner tonight. Wanna join?" Kirishima asked.

"I'm not hungry. And I don't wanna hang out."

"Come on Bakugou, you can't lock yourself in your room the whole time…" Kirishima frowned.

"I can do whatever I damn well please, spiky hair!"

"Like talk to your imaginary fighting buddy?" Todoroki chimed in.

"YOU WANT ME TO KILL YOU, ICY HOT!?" Katsuki yelled, sparks flying on the palms of his hands. He gritted his teeth before continuing, "not like it's any of your business but I got school work to do for that project next week..."

"Oh! Getting an early start! Good on you, man! If you want to take a break, come on down and join us, okay?" Kirishima waved and left with Todoroki.

Katsuki looked annoyed and his drive and excitement to fight had left him.

/Did she use her quirk on me?…Were those even my own feelings or…./

Katsuki opened the closet door to see Hikari sitting on the ground looking up at him.

/This girl...is really messing with me.../

"What's with the face?" Hikari asked, and started to raise a hand toward his cheek.

"You look like something's wrong," she continued.

He looked tormented, and strained; fragile and worn near to breaking.

"Everything okay?"

Something about the way he looked made memories of her capture flood her head.

Katsuki turned before her hand got too close.

"I'm fine...we're done; help me clean up." Katsuki said abruptly.

Hikari sat there for a moment before getting up and helping put the room back together. The two remained silent as they cleaned. She wondered if she had done something wrong. She didn't know why he made that face at her. What was he thinking? Feeling?

The silence began to hurt.

This silence welcomed negative thoughts to intrude. Hikari kept thinking how to break this silence. What could she do? What could she say? Was there anything she could do? Nothing...absolutely nothing. She began to remember her young self being chained to the cold floor of the villain lair.

/Talk already...say something.../

Helpless.

/Why aren't you saying anything?.../

Weak.

/No.../

This silence was bringing back the worst. She had to do something, anything.

And, without thinking, she walked over to Katsuki, who was putting things back onto the coffee table. He looked up to see Hikari's fist coming at his face. He caught it with one hand and threw his other hand right in front of her face.

"Boom...you're dead." Katsuki's expression looked slightly annoyed, yet calm.

Hikari stared into his palm, unmoving. Her surprised expression slowly twisted into something manic. She slammed her foot down on his toes.

"AH! WHAT THE HELL!?"

"I'M NOT DEAD! I'M HERE! I'M HERE…RIGHT NOW!" Hikari started in on him with a barrage of punches.

"I SAID WE'RE DONE, CRYBABY! CALM DOWN!" Katsuki blocked the flurry of her fists coming at him.

"I'M NOT DONE!"

Hikari wasn't backing down and continued to go after Katsuki.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Katsuki set off a couple of sparks from his palm, before clenching his fist and punching her across the face with a right hook. She stumbled back a few steps, before looking at Katsuki directly, an expression he had never seen on her before and felt in an instant. Overwhelming anger controlled by fear. She was on a warpath and wasn't going to stop.

Katsuki went back to defense, trying not to be consumed by her insane emotions that tried to drag him in–his own anger not helping stay out of it and encouraging him to fight back.

The two continued, Hikari showing no signs of slowing down, and Katsuki feeling himself lose it, starting to strike back more and more and now striking everytime she almost got a hit in or anytime he felt off balance or surprised or panicked, which was a feeling that was growing. He wasn't even holding back the punches and she just kept getting back up in no time, more angry and more crazy. Every punch he landed he felt that much more sick and equally more angry.

/I need to get her off of me!…/

Katsuki quickly, and rashly, decided to force space between them. He threw his hand down and detonated an explosion, not large enough to cause any real damage, but really enough to push them both back. He knew he needed to create space between them before he did something he'd regret again. Maybe a sudden use of his quirk would bring her back to reality and give him a chance to breathe. She was manic, crazy even. He didn't have time to worry if he'd attract attention. Since he was sure everyone was down in the common room, even if they heard the blast, it would still take them a while to come up.

The explosion did manage to push them both back. Katsuki's leg hit the table, knocking the remote off. Hikari, once she got footing on the ground again, immediately ran right in before the blast had a chance to clear.

/What the hell!?.../

Hikari yelled out as she pushed through the sparks and flames of his explosion. Burns covered her arms, which she used to take the brunt of the blast. She grabbed onto Katsuki. He tried to pull away from her but she wouldn't let go.

"LET GO!" Katsuki seethed. He lost his temper, again, and hit her with his free hand, hard. She let out a yelp but didn't let go.

Katsuki gritted his teeth. He hated how he felt like he had no control over his own emotions anymore and now was trying to hurt her just so she would stop. This lapse of judgment and control stung, but he didn't have time to think about it anymore. She wasn't slowing down. He opened his clenched fist and tried to push her off.

"WHAT'S YOUR DAMN PROBLEM!?" He kept trying to get her off of him. The two struggled. Katsuki took a step back, stepping on the remote that had fallen on the floor in the scuffle. He lost his balance and started to fall back. Hikari fell forward with him. Her fist made contact with his face before they hit the floor.

Katsuki glared up at Hikari, whose expression looked pained and fragile. Katsuki's cheek glowed a light red under his eye, from where Hikari made contact. Her feelings flooded into his head, full of frustration, confusion, and fear.

"Damnit! Use your words, crybaby! I don't need to feel what you're feeling all the freakin' time!" Katsuki pushed her off of him, making her fall back. He sat up and glared at her.

Hikari's face scrunched up, looking like she was trying to hold back crying. Her lips quivered as she tried to make out the words.

"...the silence between us… made me think about being captured...I was helpless and scared...alone...and you looked like you were upset with me earlier and the silence hurt...all I could think of was to continue to fight...because I need to get stronger...be stronger...so I can stop feeling this way," Hikari trembled. Images of her child-self chained to the floor, being ripped apart by Uzer, beaten to death by Despair while he laughed, Phaze resetting her time two minutes, rinse and repeat, played in her head, over and over like a broken record.

Katsuki just watched her. The empathy came back as he felt his own nerves calm down. He hated it but he also hated that he hated it. Why did it bother him so much? His stomach felt sour.

/What the hell's wrong with me...she isn't trying to mess with me../

Katsuki sighed and grabbed Hikari's cheeks, pinching and pulling at them.

Her eyes widened in shock. She looked at him confused, cheeks starting to go numb. Who was this guy, and what did he do with Katsuki?

"I'm only saying this once...I'm not upset with you. I was taking my frustration with myself out on you, sorry. I'm sure we are going to fight like this more...this situation sucks...worry about yourself and what you want...and..."

Hikari watched Katsuki's expression change. It was softer…and embarrassed?

"You're doing just fine getting stronger...don't be impatient...you'll get there. You're not alone. I was gonna kick the shit outta Despair anyway without your help...getting you stronger is just an added bonus.."

Hikari's expression softened, dumfounded. He pulled harder.

"Also, that punch was a fluke! You only got it in because I tripped, that's it."

"But I stepped on you, too."

"That doesn't count! I said land a punch! Stepping on my foot isn't a punch!" Katsuki looked irritated. Originally when he put together this challenge, he would have been fine with her using kicks, but he wasn't going to bring that up now. He let go of Hikari. She was smiling now. She could tell he was trying to make her feel better, and it worked.

Katsuki huffed and stood up. He grabbed some aloe cream and some bandages.

"Put out your arms...you're crazy to run through my explosions…" Katsuki said. It was actually impressive, but he wouldn't admit it. Hikari put out her arms, and he applied the cream. She winced, but it felt refreshing after the initial sting. He then wrapped her arms in some gauze he had lying around for when he overdid his own training some days.

"Thank you…"

"Whatever…" Katsuki huffed, then looked up at her. She was staring at the bandages he was wrapping around her arms.

As he finished wrapping her arms, clamping the bandage with the provided metal fastener, Katsuki gave the poor girl a quick once-over with his eyes. Not in a lecherous sense, but just looking her over in her entirety. It hadn't occurred to him really, before, just how meek she had been when he'd first encountered her. Before him now was a girl who'd, in the span of only days, through sheer determination, approached what he might call a challenging sparring partner. She couldn't be more opposite from the girl he'd run into in the rain days before, so scared. Katsuki felt a small twinge of pride well in his chest.

He noticed light bruising starting to appear around her cheek, pulling him out of his thoughts and back into the moment. He really hadn't held back and the consequences of this loss of control stared him right in the face–the feeling of pride shifting to shame. He pursed his lips before slapping some aloe on her cheek. She flinched.

"It's bruised…where I hit ya. Not like the aloe is gonna fix it but it'll help. You apply the rest on your own…" Katsuki tossed her the bottle before getting up and turning away from her.

Hikari looked at the bottle before applying the aloe around her abdomen and shoulder.

"Did ya eat today?"

"...no"

"Ya needa eat more than once a day! Don't wait for me to offer, just have somethin'!"

Katsuki walked over to the fridge. There was only one bento lunch left and several of the yogurts.

/Guess I should go shopping tomorrow…/

"Here." Katsuki handed her his last bento lunch. Hikari accepted it. He also gave her the remote.

"Here; pick whatever ya want." Katsuki went to his desk, with a yogurt drink.

"A...are you going to eat?" Hikari asked as she turned the T.V. on.

"Not hungry; I'll eat later," Katsuki responded, opening a Word document and a few internet tabs of resources he had bookmarked and knew would be helpful for homework.

Hikari flipped through the channels and found the food channel. Her face lit up and her eyes stayed glued to the television as she ate and watched delicious food being made.

"Woah, that looks so good!" she exclaimed. The celebrity chef was making a souffle pancake. She looked down at her bento from a convenience store and made a face. Katsuki looked over and could tell she was dissatisfied–the nerve she had considering she was given FREE food.

"Those are a pain to make…" Katsuki grumbled before turning back to his writing project.

"How would you know? Wait, do you cook?!"

"Somewhat."

"You're amazing! Make it for me sometime?" Hikari looked at Katsuki excitedly before going back to eat her meal.

"No way…I'm not your personal…" Katsuki's phone buzzed, interrupting him.

"…chef…" Katsuki tapped his phone and saw he got a text message. He swiped and clicked to open it.

/If you are around or near Tomiya Village please evacuate immediately. If you are a resident of Kario City, Mitiya Village, Wakuna Village, and Rikimi City, please stay inside until otherwise notified/

"…Where the hell is Tomiya Village?" Katsuki said aloud, confused by the message he'd received.

"Did you say Tomiya Village? That's my hometown…" Hikari looked up from her meal. She was surprised to hear the name of her hometown from him.

"Your hometown…wait, don't tell me..." Katsuki quickly grabbed the remote and turned it to the news channel. His face shifted into shock, then horror. Hikari dropped the chopsticks.

Pictures of dead bodies, abnormally twisted up came into focus as the newscaster gave the report.

"What a horrific scene! Earlier this evening the villagers of Tomiya were brutally murdered... Among the dead are Maho and Asahi Nozomi, parents of the abducted and missing Hikari Nozomi…."

There was an image of two people, laying face down in a pool of blood. Everything around them was broken into pieces and strewn about the room.

"The brother of the abducted, Hiroyuki Nozomi, the only survivor, is in critical condition at a nearby hospital...Police have reason to believe that Hikari Nozomi is responsible for this tragic, horrific massacre. They are urging everyone to stay indoors and if anyone sees the suspect to report to officials immediately…do not engage…"

Katsuki looked over to Hikari. She was shaking, tears falling, fast and hard. She was taking in shaky, jagged breaths.

"...Hi–" Katsuki stopped, unable to even think of anything to say. As much as he felt he should say something, anything, his mind was blank. Hikari looked up at him with large, glassy eyes that were full of terror. He was sure his own expression wasn't much different than hers, and probably was a mirror image of it. The two were frozen, staring at one another in disbelief, for what felt like forever. Katsuki watched as tears began streaming down Hikari's face. She wasn't shocked anymore, breaking out of this state faster than Katsuki. When everything clicked with him, he realized he wasn't breathing right and his heart was pounding–Hikari was panicking.

"Katsuki….I..I...I shouldn't have run….he killed them….he….killed them because I left...It's my fault…" Her lips quivered, attempting to not start screaming out.

"Stop…"

"He said…if I'd just listen then the pain would go away...but...I wanted to be free from him...I wanted to be saved from him...I was selfish..." Hikari buried her face in her hands and crouched forward, making herself smaller. She started sobbing.

"Stop it…"

"He took me...he owned me, controlled me...I should have known he'd hurt my family if I left….no...I did know but I still wanted to escape...because no one was going to come for me…I didn't care what happened…I'm the worst…"

"ENOUGH!" Katsuki yelled; he was shaking. He could feel her panic growing as his heart was about to explode with how fast and hard it was beating. Hikari was startled, her eyes widened in realization that she had shared her quirk with Katsuki, causing him the same distress she was in. She couldn't bring herself to look at him as she focused on the chopsticks on the ground.

Katsuki stood glaring at her for a moment, before making his way to the door.

"That's enough. We're taking Despair down….so get all yer cryin' and grievin' out now…" Katsuki growled, leaving the room. He made it halfway down the hall before stopping and punching the wall, sparks flying leaving a soot imprint.

/DAMNIT! That bastard…./

Katsuki couldn't figure out whether he was enraged by what Despair had done or that it never crossed his mind once that this was something that could happen. Not to mention this whole time being together, Hikari never once blamed him for anything. For hurting her. For not protecting her family by telling the teachers. He couldn't argue that he wasn't a jerk to others. She had no problem telling him that much. But what confused him was that despite calling him out on his behavior, there wasn't any blame, as if she understood that she deserved to be treated poorly. But she didn't deserve it. No one should feel that way and yet he made her feel that way. Was he any worse than Despair? His mind wouldn't stop dissecting why he was so upset and only continued to worsen. He felt his own emotions trying to drown him–definitely feeling worse than he should be because of the effects of Hikari's quirk. Even trying to rationalize it, and knowing he was being affected by Hikari's quirk, he couldn't brush it off or he just felt he deserved to feel like this for letting Hikari's family get murdered by the villain bastard. The waves of nausea from his stomach twisting and turning didn't do him any favors either.

/I need fresh air.../

Katsuki headed downstairs. It looked like the get-together was over, though quite a few of them were sitting in the common area, watching the news which was still airing the tragedy. Midoriya was the first to notice Katsuki.

"Kacchan! Did you see the...wait, what happened to your eye?" Midoriya asked, catching him before he could make it anywhere near the door.

"Shut up, nerd! I fell!" Katsuki snapped. He was stuck now, and at the worst time, too.

"This is awful…." Uraraka said, hand to her mouth.

"The poor people….and the Nozomi family…" Momo Yaoyorozu added, putting her tea down on the table.

"That's terrible! Whoever did this is the worst!" Toru Hagakure said. The ruffles on her shirt showed that her arms were in the air, and gave form to otherwise unseen gesticulations, wild and erratic lace and frills, a blur of motion in their speed. No one could see what expression she was making, being that she was invisible, but anyone could guess by the movements of her clothes and her tone of voice that she probably looked upset and angry.

"They think the kidnapped girl did it," Todoroki responded.

/What the hell…she didn't do it…/

"It's Nozomi, Todoroki," Midoriya corrected, "she was taken seven years ago and is still missing."

"Right. She was with villains for so long and at such an impressionable age. It'd be no surprise if she turned villain," Tenya Iida added, making a chopping motion with his hand.

/She ain't a villain!.../

"You're probably right. It's sad, but that's how these stories usually go..." Kirishima said, sighing.

/Why…/

"The poor girl…being pushed to this point…" Yayorouzu said, clasping her hands together.

"Will you guys cut the crap already?" Everyone stopped and looked at Katsuki, confused and shocked by the sudden interruption. It was more shocking that it was Katsuki who had something to say.

"You keep going on and on and on…it's really damn annoying. It's more likely the girl is dead by now than a villain...someone probably blabbed about what her quirk was and got the whole town killed.

"Well, in our Villain Studies courses-the ones where I'm roleplaying as the villain, at least- I've been able to get my captors to empathize with me and even support me. It's called Stockholm Syndrome. Of course you already know about that. So, really, it's not that unimaginable that someone captured at such a young, impressionable age had grown to feel much the same way about her own captors. As noted in the news, no one knows what kind of quirk she has. She could have done it," Todoroki concluded, indifferently.

"Yeah, right. This isn't some tragic novel...she got kidnapped seven years ago, and no one knows anything about her or the villains that took her. Say she isn't dead. For all we know, she could have been retaliating and the boss villain decided to off the town to get her to listen..."

"You are quick to defend this girl, why?" Todoroki asked. Katsuki's vision began to turn red.

"All I am saying is she doesn't have to be the one who did this! You guys are the ones quick to decide she massacred her entire hometown and family! You don't even know her!"

"And you do?"

Katsuki clicked his tongue, feeling his nails dig into the palms of his hands.

"No…but look at the composites and pictures of her…someone that pathetic looking couldn't even murder a bug let alone a whole town!"

"Bakugou, I have to ask: what's wrong with you today?" Todoroki questioned.

"What'd you say to me, Icy Hot?!" Katsuki seethed, teeth clenched tight.

"You're being weird. I never said I was right, just that the most likely scenario is that they got to her and she caused this. You're being overly defensive about it, it's really odd. Did you hit your head or something?" Todoroki looked Katsuki dead in the eyes. Katsuki's expression changed almost instantly, from the normal angry expression Katsuki usually carried to a crazed look, eyes blazing murderously. It sent a chill down Todoroki's spine, stunning him for a moment. In that moment, he realized that Katsuki was shaking and clenching his fists tightly. Todoroki dropped his shoulders, a look of concern crossed his face.

/Wait...is he in pain?/

"Are you–" Todoroki began to say.

Katsuki reached his breaking point and immediately grabbed Todoroki by the collar of his shirt and punched him in the face. The two started fighting it out. Punch after punch and kick after kick. Pulling at and pushing each other. This fight began getting out of hand and the two continued to go at one another. Todoroki was doing more defending than attacking while Katsuki was doing the opposite. Actually, Katsuki wasn't defending at all, just attacking. He was taking Todoroki's hits full force, not even phased by them due to the adrenaline rush clouding his senses. With each hit, he would hit back ten-fold. He was going to take down Todoroki no matter what! Show the bastard how wrong he was to mess with him! Blood started flying.

Just then, Katsuki felt arms on him. He watched Todoroki being held back by Iida.

"THE HELL!? GET OFF ME!" Katsuki screamed, looking back to see which idiot had the nerve to grab him. Of course, it had to be Deku.

"Guys, stop it!" Midoriya yelled out.

"We are in the dorms! Fighting indoors is against the dorm rules!" Iida added.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, DEKU!" Katsuki yelled, trying to get Midoriya off of him. The bastard never knew when to quit butting into his business.

"CALM DOWN, KACCHAN!" Midoriya struggled to keep a hold on him. He could feel Katsuki's heart beat traveling at a million miles an hour.

/Why is his heart rate so high?.../

"Kacchan?"

"DON'T PATRONIZE ME!" Katsuki elbowed Midoriya, making Midoriya let go of him for a second and start to fall backwards. Reflexively, Midoriya reached out and grabbed onto Katsuki's shirt, something to prevent him from falling, but instead making them both fall to the ground. Both of them were out of breath.

Katsuki felt Hikari's quirk dissipate. His heart slowed down to normal, though he was still out of breath from fighting Todoroki and struggling with Midoriya. He gritted his teeth, frustrated with how he acted. He must have sounded crazy. He knew the truth, but it's not like they did. The other thing was, he couldn't stop thinking about how it was his fault this tragedy even happened. They were quick to blame Hikari, but they should be blaming him–not like he could say that, though.

Katsuki threw a punch into his hand, creating a small explosion. He got up and glared at Todoroki.

"Think all you want that I'm being weird or whatever…but not every person captured by villains turns evil…days or years, they don't matter…if you're grounded in your convictions then no amount of torture or threats will change them…you don't know anything about her so don't go deciding that she's weak!" Katsuki said before breaking eye contact with Todoroki and storming out of the dorm. Once out of the dorm, and when he knew no eyes were on him, he took off in a sprint. His stomach was twisting into itself, relentless and unforgiving. It took all he had in him to make it to the nearest tree before crouching down and emptying his stomach. The cool crisp air of the night enveloped Katsuki, bringing a brief moment of relief. He wiped the edge of his mouth.

/Dammit...I need to get a hold of myself...I keep losing to her quirk! And now this happened...I can't keep letting her emotions get to me...especially now.../

Katsuki leaned his forehead against the tree, shutting his eyes and focusing on breathing the cool night air slowly. It only took a few minutes for the nausea to go away and for him to feel calmer. He opened his eyes.

/I should head back in. I left her alone.../

He got up and started heading back. Midoriya was standing at the entrance to the dorm. Why was the nerd always around at his worst moments?

/Damn perceptive as always.../

"Move, Deku; I'm not in the mood," Katsuki growled, readying to push Midoriya out of the way if he didn't listen.

"Kacchan, I don't think they all have ill-will toward Nozomi...it's just really tragic. I think we all want a good ending for this...but we don't know...and.."

"Shut up, Deku. I was just in a bad mood and needed an excuse to punch Icy Hot. Still pissed off actually if you wanna be next." To Midoriya, Katsuki's expression showed he was serious. The truth was, Katsuki was exhausted after dealing with Hikari's quirk and just wanted Deku to move and get back to his room. Midoriya took a step to the side to let Katsuki through.

/Kacchan.../

When he returned to his room, Hikari was curled up on the bed, hugging the pillow and facing the wall. He could hear quiet hiccups as she uncontrollably continued to cry and suppress it. Katsuki turned off his computer, not in the mood to continue that project. He had no words for her, and decided to let her grieve.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow they would come up with a plan.