Izuku was frankly surprised at how different Kacchan had been acting recently. Sure, he was stressed out like everyone else right now, but he really seemed to be trying to make sure everyone else was doing ok. Izuku noticed that Katsuki seemed to be paying particular attention to him especially… Izuku wasn't entirely sure if there was something more behind it than just Kacchan trying to be kind to him. Though, he supposed that was a new sensation in and of itself. Was he trying to be a friend? Izuku didn't know. He could hope, though. Did he want there to be more behind his friend's actions than just kindness? Something more personal to himself? Izuku didn't know to be honest, but the thought persisted as they moved all of Denki's stuff into the empty room next to Eiji-Kun's.

Kacchan was a bit hesitant when he first suggested that they move Denki into that room. At first, Izuku had thought it was simply due to Kacchan being tired from moving all of his stuff earlier in the day. While fair, Izuku didn't think that was very nice of him; however, he quickly remembered something that he hated himself for forgetting. That room had a prior owner. It was Shoji's room. A classmate who was no longer with them. A friend they had lost.

The room itself was empty now, cleaned out by the school. But they were all worried about how Denki would respond when he realized. Or if he would even want to move into the room formerly owned by their friend. What Izuku hadn't expected was how Denki responded to the information. Though surprised at first, their friend explained that he was happy to sleep in his friend's room. He explained that it felt like keeping a part of their classmate with him on some level. It was keeping him alive in their memory. Surprised by their friend's answer, the four of them set to work moving all of Denki's belongings.

It didn't take nearly as long as Izuku expected to move all of Denki's stuff up to his new room. As soon as they began packing, it became apparent that Denki didn't have nearly as many nicknacks as Izuku. Second, he didn't have as much furniture. The electric blond only had a shelving unit full of hats, a dresser, desk, coffee table, and a bed in his room. Within three hours, the four of them had managed to completely move all of their classmate's belongings up to his new room and get him moved in. Work was quick with twice as many hands. Plus, Aizawa had said nothing against using their quirks to move Denki in.

Izuku was relieved to be done. The brunt of the heavy lifting fell on himself, with Kacchan and Eiji-Kun bringing up the smaller boxes. They wouldn't let Denki carry anything too heavy.

From the moment Denki returned, whether they meant to or not, everyone was subconsciously dancing on eggshells around him. They weren't sure how far along he was in his recovery. They only knew that he was well enough to return from the hospital, though Aizawa made it pretty clear that it was only because the hospital needed the room — whether or not Denki was well enough. The thought of that made Izuku nervous. Even Kacchan seemed a bit on edge around their friend. The more they interacted with him, however, the more they soon realized that his difficulty communicating was the only thing different about him. He was still the loveable goofball their class had become to know. Even though he had difficulty getting his intentions across, Denki never failed to lighten the mood with a well-timed joke or quip. Jokes that, more often than not, elicited an explosive reaction from Kacchan.

"The fuck did you just say, Dunce Face?" Kacchan let off some sparks from his hand.

"I. Said. At. Least. I. Only. Sound. Dumb." Denki's face contorted into a comical grin as he poked a finger at Kacchan.

"Come on, come on, let's not start a fight," Eiji-Kun said with a smile, putting his hands out between the two blonds.

"Oh, I'm not starting a fight," Kacchan took another step forward. "I'm ending one."

Denki laughed and started running around the room, Kacchan in pursuit. "You. Wouldn't. Hit. A. Cripple?" Denki hid behind Izuku's back.

"You don't seem too crippled to me; I think I can make an exception." Denki chortled behind Izuku's back, fingers lightly digging into his shirt for support.

"Give it up, Kacchan. It was just a joke" Izuku placed his hands on his hips and stared at his friend incredulously.

"Move, Deku. I've got a score to settle," Kacchan grinned a wide grin, his white teeth flashing.

"I don't know, Denki's not wrong. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently?" Kacchan's smile faltered. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to tame his spiky hair. He quickly looked away from Izuku, his face flushing red slightly.

"I… Uh… Didn't have any time to get cleaned up this morning." Realization dawned on Izuku. He'd screwed up. That had been his fault. He had woken up his friend that morning and knocked him out of his morning routine. Something that he knew his friend didn't feel right unless he completed.

"I'm sorry, Kacchan, I didn't think about…."

"Don't worry about it, Deku. It's fine. Don't worry about me. Just know I'm here if you need help or anythin." They stared at each other in silence for several seconds. Izuku nodded.

"Uh, don't mean to interrupt and all," Eji-Kun interrupted, "… but is everything ok?" Izuku looked at Eiji-Kun. He was shifting uneasily from foot to foot, thumbs twiddling together.

"Yeah, it's ok. We're all just a bit tired today, is all." Izuku pulled Denki's fingers off of his shirt. "Lay off of him a bit, ok?" Denki nodded.

"Oi, you don't need to," Izuku cut him off before he could finish.

"I know I don't need to, but I want to." Kacchan's face flushed red again. Izuku could have sworn he heard his friend mumble something about needing to see Recovery Girl.

"Uhh… Thanks, nerd," Kacchan rubbed the back of his neck, walked to the other side of the room, and finished putting the last pile of Denki's hats on the shelf next to his dresser.

They spent the next few minutes in silence as they straightened and cleaned the final remaining things in Denki's room. Finally done with everything, Kacchan grabbed Izuku by the arm and started for the door.

"Hey! Where are we going?" Izuku stumbled along from his friend's firm but careful grip.

"Don't think I've forgotten that easily. You've got a game to lose." Izuku laughed, remembering their game of Quirks in the other room. "Get ready to have your ass handed to you on a platter."

"Denki, I know you have a deck too! Grab it and meet us over in the room next to Kacchan's!" Izuku yelped as Kacchan pulled him around the corner and down the hall.

They settled back onto the floor of Izuku's room and returned to their game. As expected, Izuku and Eiji-Kun lost. After a quick bout of gloating from Kacchan, they started a second game with Denki involved. Much to everyone's surprise, Denki managed to beat them all. Multiple games in a row. Izuku would have never guessed how good Denki was at this kind of game. They played late into the night until everyone decided it was time to shuffle off to bed.

"Good night, everyone," Izuku said, waving to his friends as they walked down the hall to their respective rooms.

"What's with the wave?" Kacchan asked. "It's not like we're on the other side of campus or anything." Izuku pulled his hand back to his chest — his face felt hot.

"Sorry, umm, a force of habit, I guess." Kacchan eyed him appraisingly before he disappeared into his room.

"Night, nerd," Izuku heard before the door clicked shut.

Izuku smiled to himself and turned into his room. He hoped he would sleep better tonight. He hoped that his proximity to his friends, to Kacchan, would help him sleep better. He hoped that it would stave away all of the nightmares he had been plagued with these last few days. He was wrong.

Izuku was on the ground, his head spinning. He had taken one hell of an impact. Kacchan was darting in front of him, fighting off the last few copies of Shigaraki. The prime Shigaraki was laughing in the background.

"You Bastards!" Kacchan yelled as he released blast after blast into the crowd of villains. Izuku brought himself to his feet and returned to the fray. He needed to help his friend.

Moments passed in a blur. They started to gain ground in the fight of their lives. Ten left, then nine, then four. Finally, all that was left was the Prime Shigaraki. The wielder of All For One. The demon that Izuku had been training relentlessly for the last two years to fight.

"Ahh, the final boss is ready to play at last?" Shigaraki's long white hair fluttered in the breeze. The skin of his pale body cracked and rehealed with every movement. It was unsettling.

Without saying a word, Kacchan looked at him and nodded. Izuku knew what they needed to do. They fell beside each other and dropped into a defensive stance. It felt weird at that moment to be fighting like this with Kacchan. After everything they had been through, they would make their final stand together. Honestly, though, Izuku couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather fight and die beside than his best friend.

They began the dance of battle. When Kacchan went high, Izuku went low, and Vice Versa. They were in perfect sync with each other. They never once made an inch of ground against their enemy; however, the same could be said for Shigaraki. This had become a war of attrition. The first side to flinch lost. Shigaraki used quirks neither of the heroes had known existed against them. Lasers from his eyes, ink-like blood pouring from the cracks in his skin to suffocate them, even the ground itself seemed to turn against them at times — rocks sealing their feet to the floor whenever they landed. Though the battle wasn't going well, it wasn't going poorly. That is, a new voice shouted in the din. "Midoriya!" Momo called, "I've got a plan! Duck!"

Izuku flinched.

"No! Don't!" he heard Kacchan scream. A loud explosion rocked the ground around them. Izuku barely had time to look where it was coming from before an object shot past Shigaraki at blinding speeds and crashed squarely into his side. Pain. Insurmountable pain. Izuku flew through the air and landed with a painful thud in a pile of rubble. His vision faded in and out of focus, only vaguely aware of his surroundings at this point.

Izuku's eyes came back into focus just in time to see Kacchan lying on the ground; blood poured out from massive wounds on his head and arms, Shigaraki loomed over him. Izuku didn't have time to think, he had to act, or his only friend left in the world would be gone too.

"You can't have him!" Izuku screamed as he threw himself in front of his friend on the ground. He couldn't let Kacchan die like this. He couldn't lose his friend. A friend that meant so much more to him than he ever understood. Izuku was prepared to give his life if it gave him even the slightest chance that Kacchan could walk away from this.

Shigaraki's crazed eyes met his. A crooked smile cracked across his face, skin flaking off in the slow breeze. "Game over!" he shouted and lunged at Izuku with blinding speed. Izuku hardly had time to react before the calloused hands clasped around his face and neck. "Give me your Quirk!" he screamed; pain seared through Izuku's mind.

Izuku stood there, ready to die. Willing to sacrifice himself for the person he loved more than anything. Izuku started to crack and crumble around his neck and arms. The decay had begun radiating out from his neck and rushed to the rest of his body. This was it. This was the end for him. Izuku closed his eyes and waited for the blackness to take him.

"Hey, what gives? Why won't you decay?" The crumbling and pain had stopped. The villain who had killed so many sounded like an annoyed child - A child throwing a tantrum because they didn't get their way. A new voice echoed across whatever connection he and Shigaraki now shared.

"New Order! All For One will Merge with One For ALL!" A new pain seared into Izuku's body. The feeling of power rushed into him. An energy that burned. A power that filled him to the brim. Izuku's ears began to hurt too, though, not from whatever was happening after that voice. He heard screaming. Blood-curdling screaming. Izuku opened his eyes again to a sight he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Shigaraki was screaming. With one hand, he held onto Izuku's neck; with the other, he tore at his flesh. He clawed at his eyes till blood poured from the damaged slits in his face. Nothing seemed to end his endless cries.

"You Bitch!" He screamed and tackled Izuku to the ground. Izuku was crying now. Pain more incredible than any he had ever experienced filled his body. Shigaraki was clawing into him, digging into his body with his cracked fingernails. "Give it back! Give it fucking back!" he screamed louder and louder. Izuku couldn't fight back anymore. He was too hurt — too weakened by the initial decay. Izuku knew he was dying. As his vision started to fade out, he was brought back to reality by a familiar sound. His friend's shout of rage. An explosion very near to himself. The next he knew, he was being propped up by someone.

"Kacchan?" Izuku gargled, blood poured out from the holes clawed in his neck.

"No, don't talk, Deku. Don't… shit. Stay with me! I can't fucking lose you too!" Izuku thought he saw Kacchan crying. But that couldn't be right. Why would Kacchan be crying about him? He had always been a thorn in Kacchan's side.

"Deku, you… you need to stay with me." Izuku's heart raced. He needed to save his friend. Shigaraki would be back and attacking any minute now.

"Shig…" Izuku tried to say before he coughed up more blood.

"He's dead. It's over. You beat him." He's dead?. No, no, it can't be over. It can't… Izuku's vision faded further into the blackness. He felt cold. He felt cold and tired.

M Sleepy…." Izuku murmured, head lolling to the side in his best friend's hands.

"Don't you fucking dare go to sleep! Stay awake, damnit! IZUKU!" Izuku closed his eyes and started to fade. He was so tired. So very tired. The pain was mostly gone now. He figured that was a good thing. It would let him sleep better. Izuku was about to drift off when he heard someone shout again.

"No! Fucking stay with me, Deku! I can't lose you!" He heard a wailing scream then Izuku felt something warm and soft press against his lips. He faded into the darkness.

Katsuki woke up to a sound that knotted his chest. Deku was crying. Katsuki could hear him tossing, turning, and sobbing on the other side of the wall. The fact that his friend was mere feet away from him, suffering, separated only by a bit of wall, made Katsuki want to blast a hole through the drywall divider. Katuski quickly reasoned that wouldn't be a good plan. The explosion could hurt Deku — let alone the fact that it would probably just scare the poor guy more. Katsuki pushed himself out of bed, threw on some loose-fitting clothing, and stepped out into the hallway. He didn't bother to look at the clock. The time didn't matter. All that mattered was being there for Deku.

Katsuki knocked lightly before pushing open the door to Deku's room. His friend was curled in a ball in the center of his bed; his covers lay strewn across the floor.

"Deku, you awake?" Katsuki said as he crossed the distance to his friend's bedside. No response.

Katsuki grabbed the blanket off the floor and wrapped it around his quivering friend. Katsuki wasn't exactly sure what to do. Did he try and wake Deku up? Did he just sit there and try and be comforting? Would both come off as highly creepy to Deku whenever he woke up? Probably… But did he have much of a choice right now? He couldn't just sit by while Deku suffered. Katsuki opted for the latter option. He figured that Deku needed all the sleep he could get.

Katsuki positioned himself on the edge of the bed by Deku's head. He carefully lifted his friend's head and scooted under it so that Deku's head lay in his lap. Much to Katsuki's surprise, the small amount of contact made Deku stop shaking. A few moments passed before Deku stirred.

"Hmmmmm… Kacchan," Deku hummed; he wrapped his arms around Katsuki's extended leg like a koala. "Why are you in my dream? I thought you were going to get help?" Get help? Why would I….. Oh… he must be remembering more… shit.

"I, uh, I already got help, nerd. Just go back to sleep, ok? You need your rest if your gonna get better."

"Mhhhhmmmm K, thanks, Kacchan." Deku nuzzled in closer, tightening his grip on Katsuki's leg. "Tell the strange lady to get out of my quirk. Afo doesn't belong there." Katsuki wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. Get out of his quirk? Afo…? Did he mean All For One? Damn, Deku must be having one hell of a nightmare…

He realized it would probably be quite a bit before he went anywhere so he sat back against the wall and tried to get comfortable. A few moments later, he started running his hands through Deku's thick green curls. He wasn't sure why he was doing it; he didn't even know if it would be calming to the nerd; he just wanted to do it for some damn reason. Deku hummed in response and started to snore. Katsuki sighed and relaxed a bit for the first time since waking up. There he sat with Deku's head in his lap, hand running through his hair, till the sun began to crest over the horizon, casting the room in its soft yellow glow.

"Kacchan?" Deku's soft voice floated up from where the nerd had been sleeping moments before.

"Mornin, nerd," Well, this is gonna be fun to explain.

"This isn't a dream, is it?"

"Nope," Deku shot up quickly and sat on his knees. Katsuki still lay against the wall, now putting his hands behind his head. Deku was wrapped up in his blanket, the way he sat now reminded Katsuki of Sensei in his sleeping bag.

"Why…. Why are you in my room?" Deku asked red-faced, head cocked like a puppy — Veridian eyes refusing to meet his own.

"You were having a nightmare, or a panic attack… fuck if I know. Ya were tossin around and crying…." Deku's skin paled. Well, except for his face, which stayed beet red.

"Why uh… why didn't you just wake me up?"

"You needed the sleep."

"Oh, uh… thanks, I guess…."

"And before you ask, I couldn't leave after you calmed down because you were hangin off me like a damn sloth. Getting up would have woken you." Katsuki didn't know how it was possible, but Deku turned an even darker shade of red. Deku scrabbled out of bed and stood in the middle of the room wearing his All Might pajamas.

"Thanks, uh, Kacchan," He looked anywhere but at Katsuki. "I'm gonna… go get dressed. Meet you downstairs to go to the principal's office?" Deku backed into the bathroom without waiting for a response.

The bathroom door closed with a bang leaving Katsuki alone in Deku's room. "Well, that was weird," he muttered to himself as he got off the bed and went back to his room. As Katsuki got dressed, he wondered what could have happened to fluster the nerd so much. Surely just waking up finding him in the room wouldn't have done that? If anything, it should have pissed the nerd off. Not made it look like he'd just walked in someone naked. Katsuki froze. If Deku remembers more… that means he remembers… shit, that's gonna be hard to explain.

Izuku thrust his head under the stream of hot water. Thoughts tossed around in his mind like a boat in a storm at sea. He had a hard time remembering much from his dream. His memories fought for control like rabid dogs in his mind. One thing stood out clearly from the rest though. Kacchan had kissed him… KACCHAN HAD KISSED HIM! Well, not now, but then! Back during that fight. Could that have been just a dream? Why would Izuku be dreaming about that then… Sure, he had thought about his friend that way in the past, but Kacchan had always made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with him. Izuku reasoned it had to have been because he was dying…. But still! Even then, why would Kacchan have done something like that? Was that why Kacchan had been so nice to him recently? God, why did everything have to be so confusing these last few days?

Izuku finished his shower, dressed in some jeans and a black shirt, and bolted out the door for the common room. A few steps down the hall, he slowed his pace. It's not that he was trying to delay or anything… no, certainly not that… He… he just wasn't sure he was ready to see Kacchan yet… He kept telling himself that all the way to the lobby.

When Izuku reached the common room, Kacchan and Eiji-Kun were in the kitchen setting the table for breakfast. Izuku was surprised that Kacchan let him help out with breakfast, especially since the redhead had nearly burned down their dorm on several occasions.

"Oi! Shitty Hair, can you even set the table right?"

"Hey, easy, Bakugo, I'm new to this, alright?" Kacchan laughed.

"How the fuck can you be new to setting the table? Didn't your mom make you help with shit like that as a kid?"

"Uh… no… I kept breaking dishes by accident. Whaaa. Hey! Oww!" Izuku rounded the corner to find Kacchan with Eiji-Kun in a headlock. Had Kacchan always looked so… no! We're not thinking about this right now! Izuku looked down at his feet and quickly found a spot at the table.

"Mornin, Dude!" Eiji-Kun said, "Uh, Bakugo? Could you maybe let me go now?"

"Thinkin about it," Izuku heard the shuffle of feet followed by the scraping of a chair along the ground.

"So, Midoriya, you sleep ok? You look more rested than usual."

"Isleptfinethankyou!" Izuku blurted out all at once. He dropped his head into his arms, crossed on the table.

"Oi, Eiji, lay off him, will ya?"

"I was just asking if he slept ok…."

"What if I asked you that? Huh? What your answer be?"

Silence.

"That's what I thought," Kacchan set a plate in front of him. "Eat up, nerd." Izuku looked up and staggered a smile. God, he thought his face must look like a tomato right now. Hell, it could probably even rival Eiji-Kun's hair. This was going to be a long day.

"Where's young Kaminari?" All Might asked, elbows on the desk with his hands clasped under his chin.

"We, uh, we figured it would be better to let him sleep. He's had a rough few days." Izuku couldn't bring himself to wake his sleeping friend. Especially not for the conversation they were going to have. The three of them agreed to fill him in on whatever they covered when they returned to the dorms.

"Well, I can understand that; we'll make sure he understands what's going on then," All Might looked at them and sighed. "The letter I received from Shinso contained detailed information on the whereabouts of the villain Dabi." Izuku sat forward in his chair.

"So, you found the fucker?"

All Might chuckled slightly. "Yes, young Bakugo. We found the… well, him."

"Where at? Where is he! I wanna pound his face into a wall!" Eijikun blurted out. Izuku found it exceptionally strange that he, of all people, was this enthusiastic about attacking someone. Usually, it was Kacchan who shouted things like that.

"If you would give me time to explain, all of your questions will be answered. I hope at least." The room quieted; Izuku nodded his head, signaling the principal to continue.

"Thank you, now, two weeks ago, Shinso noticed strange activity occurring in a warehouse outside of town. This warehouse resided in a district closed to the public due to massive structural damage in the surrounding infrastructure. Dabi was seen entering this facility yesterday morning with two cloaked individuals — one of whom we have identified as Dr. Garaki. Due to some incredible detective work from Young Shinso, we have a general idea of the layout of the warehouse and its estimated defenses." Kacchan leaned forward in his chair; his shoulder brushed against Izuku's. Izuku leaned farther away, earning a confused red eye in his direction.

"We have also learned something concerning. Dabi is not working alone. It seems he has joined a new organization. An organization we have yet to learn the name of. The one thing we do know is that it is lead by an individual known only as Singularity."

"Singularity?" Kacchan said. "Who the hell is that? I thought all the real big bad's died with AFO and flaky-face?" Izuku shuddered at that particular memory. Kacchan put a hand on his shoulder. Izuku thought about shrinking back again but instead leaned into it slightly.

"We do not know anything about this particular individual. Only that he seems to be in charge and is gaining power at an alarming rate." All Might tapped his finger on a piece of paper on his desk. "According to this, Dabi and the other villains are planning on making a move tomorrow. Something about a new base outside the city. We don't know where that is or how many will be there. All we know is that unless we act tonight, any hope of recovering young Todoroki alive decreases drastically." All Might's statements hung in the air. Tonight. They had to act tonight; otherwise, they might never see their friend again. Izuku didn't know how to respond. He didn't know if he could respond. Was he ready for a fight? Could he fight with his power on the fritz?

Kacchan nodded with a grunt and stood up. "Let's go Deku," he pulled Izuku to his feet. "Suit up, nerd, let's go save that Icy Hot bastard!" Kacchan's intoxicating grin burned into his mind. The uncertainty that had clouded his head moments before washed away instantly. They could do this.

"Let's go save our friend!" The three students left the principal's office to prepare for the upcoming operation. With Kacchan by his side, Izuku had no fear of what was to come.

He should have….