Izuku woke up to a rhythmic beep in a white room, with white walls, on a white bed – a large curtain hung to his left. He was propped up slightly by what he figured was a hospital bed, a heartrate monitor loomed over him on the right. He was tired, no, he was utterly exhausted. He thought for a moment about drifting back to sleep. Succumbing to that blackness he had just emerged from. Sleep sounded so much better than fighting All Might… All Might! His heart raced, causing the monitor to beep at an increasing speed.

His thoughts raced. Where was the Villain? Where was he himself? How did he survive? Where was Kacchan? Kacchan! Where was his brother? He frantically looked around what little of the room he could see. His brother was nowhere in sight. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, his breathing became short and labored.

Deku, for fucks sake, calm down will ya? I've got enough of a headache without your muttering echoing in my brain. Kacchan's firm voice echoed in his mind.

Kacchan! Kacchan, where are you? Are you ok? Izuku asked, relief washing over him.

I'm on the other side of this damn curtain. Am I ok? Deku, worry about yourself for once... you're the one that almost fuckin died. I'm… I'm just glad you're ok, Deku. Kacchan sounded really concerned. Was he really hurt that bad? Last he remembered he was hugging his brother when Eraserhead showed up and saved him, then it went black.

I'm glad you're ok too… that… that was close, wasn't it? Izuku asked, his brother huffed on the other side of the divider.

Yeah, I think you could fuckin say that. Izuku laughed. They did it. They had fought off All Might, The Symbol of Fear, and survived. If only barely.

Before Izuku could talk to his brother further, the sound of footsteps and a rhythmic clacking sound drifted into the room. "Ah, children, you are awake. Good, good." The curtain between him and his brother was pulled back. An ancient woman no taller than Izuku's hip stood between his and his brother's hospital beds.

"R…Recovery Girl" Izuku asked, dumbfounded that the healer of Japan, The Sainted Surgeon, was standing before him.

"Ah, you know who I am? Smart lad," a caring smile spread across her face. "You boys gave me quite the scare. It was touch and go there for a bit but you are both tough lads." She patted Izuku's leg twice before doing the same to Kacchan – his brother scowled but didn't yell at her. He knew better than to bite the hand that healed him.

"Uh, thanks, lady…" Kacchan said, "for healin my brother…" Izuku looked over at Kacchan. The blond's head, arms, and torso were covered in bandages. He looked as ragged and tired as Izuku felt.

"Oh, don't mention it, child. It's my job after all. Do you two know where you are?" She smiled again. Izuku thought she reminded him of a caring grandmother. He was thrilled he had the opportunity to meet her, even if it meant having to fight that lunatic.

"UA right?" Kacchan asked.

"Yes, smart lad. Your injuries were quite extensive…" her smile vanished, replaced with a sorrowful frown. "For lack of a better description, you two looked like you were hit by a vehicle moving at fast speeds."

"Fuckin felt like that too." His brother mumbled.

"Language child," the old lady chided. "but yes, the amount of internal damage you two sustained was staggering. Aizawa, you might know him as Eraserhead, figured that your best chance at survival was under my care. He was right of course," She pointed her cane towards Izuku. "Young lad, somehow most of your lacerations and injuries were healed prior to your arrival. Is that part of your quirk?" He was healed before he got here?

Oh… um… his brother's voice floated into his mind. That was me. I tried to use Commandment to heal you… It didn't seem to work well. I'm not sure how much we should tell these people.

Izuku thought for a second then started to respond to the healer. "Uh, yeah, in a way I guess?"

"Well, however it happened, you owe your life to it. I had a difficult enough time keeping you alive when you arrived, had your major wounds not healed prior, you would have certainly died in transit. I'm happy to report that you both will make full recoveries."

Thanks, Kacchan… I… I owe you my life.

Can it Deku. You saved my ass more than I saved yours. That fucker was about to punch me into the next prefecture had you not blocked it.

Recovery Girl looked back and forth between them before she spoke again. "Now, I imagine both of you are feeling quite worn out?"

"Yeah," Izuku said. "I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"Funny you should phrase it like that because I advise each of you to take it easy for the next week while you let your bodies recover and heal. My quirk heals you by using your own energy to mend your body, hence why you feel as tired as you do. Young lad, your arm was practically dust. I was able to reform and repair it. I don't expect you to have any lasting complications from it, but please take it easy going forward. Most of your energy was used up in mending your internal injuries. Unfortunately, that means that there will be some major scarring left with your surface injuries."

Izuku looked down at his arms for the first time. Spiderweb-like scars radiated out from where he had blocked All Might's punch. He winced remembering the pain of the encounter. The scars would serve as a reminder of this encounter for the rest of his life.

"Thank you for healing me and my brother," Izuku said.

"Oh don't mention it, as I said, it's my job," Before Izuku could say anything else, a black-clad figure walked into the room.

"Ah, children. You're finally awake." The figure Izuku recognized as Eraserhead stopped before them next to Recovery Girl.

"Eraserhead!" Izuku practically shouted. "You… you! Thank you! You saved us!"

"Yes, about that. Can you two tell me exactly what happened? Why did All Might let you live?" The stoic figure stood before him. His face was unreadable, only his eyes visible above the scarf-like object wrapped around his neck.

"What do you mean let us live?" Izuku asked, he tilted his head to the side slightly in confusion.

"Yeah," Kacchan spoke up. "I don't think that bastard had any intention of letting us walk away." Aizawa stared at them, beady black eyes drifting cautiously between both of them.

"How did you survive then?" The hero asked.

"We fought him off!" Izuku said triumphantly. "Well, for the most part at least." Izuku winced and looked down at his scarred arms.

"Yeah, we were doin a pretty fuckin good job at it too till that bastard stopped toying with us," Kacchan added and Aizawa crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that fucker was holding back! Deku threw that psycho through a wall and the bastard got pissed, said he was gonna fight us for real. Whatever the hell that meant. Anyway, the fight went pretty much downhill after that point."

"What do you mean holding back?" Aizawa placed his hands on the foot of Kacchan's hospital bed and leaned forward.

"Um…" Izuku cleared his throat, "Well, sir, he said something about always having to hold back. Needing to go easy so that his fights weren't over so quick. Something about him not having as much fun when they were always over so fast." The hero before him started to pale. He stared intently at him but his eyes looked like they were staring into distant lands.

"That's not possible. The Symbol of Fear never holds back. He leaves nothing but destruction in his wake." Aizawa said gravely, standing back to his full height, arms again crossed on his chest.

"He made it sound like he's always holding back. That he's intentionally trying to draw out fights. Like Deku said, he said it's not entertaining to him to win so easily. The bastard made it sound like this was the first time really letting loose." Izuku shuddered at the memory. The imposing figure, the booming voice, that psychotic smile. He knew those images would haunt him forever.

"That is…. Concerning," Aizawa said with a glance to an equally stoic Recovery Girl. The door to the infirmary burst open suddenly, a blur of blond fury flew into the room.

"Katsuki! Izuku!" Their mother cried as she ran to their bedside and started hugging them. "I'm so glad you're ok. We heard about the attack on the news and we tried to call you. We were so worried when you didn't pick up. Then we got the call from UA and…" She started to cry. Izuku rarely saw his mother cry. She, like his brother, was more apt to process her emotions with rage. It broke his heart to see her like this.

"We're just happy to see you two safe and sound," his father said. Their father was a man of few words. He was the emotional foil to their mother. The calm to her storm. But even he, mister cool and collected, looked like he was shaken to his core.

"I'm… I'm really glad to see you too!" Izuku said, tears welling in his eyes as his mother hugged him and then his brother again.

"Let go of me hag!" Kacchan shouted, it looked like mom just hugged him tighter.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bakugo, if I might have a moment of your time I'd like to speak to you in my office. Is that possible?" Their mom scowled and looked between them and Recovery Girl.

"Will you two be ok for a few moments while we talk to the doctor?" Izuku and Katsuki nodded. Mom sighed, ruffled her hand through Izuku's hair, and then followed the short woman into her office. The door closed behind them with a click. Izuku and Kacchan were now alone with Aizawa.

"So, you two said you were able to fight off All Might? What… what are your quirks if I might ask?" The hero asked them, looking between them, an eyebrow raised.

Kacchan, what do we tell him? Explosion?

Yeah, Explosion. Kacchan replied. It was the best course of action. Though Izuku was pretty sure he could trust Eraserhead with the true extent of his quirk, he wasn't ready to put full trust in the man yet. Not until he and Kacchan had more time to talk about it.

Kacchan spoke first looking at his hand, palm held upward with his fingers curled slightly. "My quirk is called Explosion. My sweat contains a nitroglycerin-like substance that I can ignite with my palms to cause explosions. Because of that, I also have an increased strength and reaction time. My brother Dek…Izuku has a similar quirk but slightly different." Kacchan looked at him and nodded for him to explain.

"Yeah… well, my quirk is also called Explosion," Izuku was interrupted by the hero.

"You both have the same quirk?"

"No, not exactly," Izuku continued. "Instead of secreting explosive sweat like Kacchan, my palms produce a powdered form of nitroglycerine. I can use it in most of the same ways that my brother can, but I can also spread it through the air to create larger more broad explosions. It also doesn't degrade over time like Kacchan's sweat does, so I can collect it for later use in bombs or traps and such. Kacchan can do the same, but mine keeps indefinitely. Or, at least I think it does." Izuku smiled.

Quirk analysis had always been of great interest to him. It had started when his brother's quirk had manifested when they were four. It became even easier after he obtained Appraisal when he was seven. Being able to see someone's name, quirk, and general info about them was invaluable.

"We actually used to think we had the same quirk," Kacchan said. "We only realized they were different when the bastard almost blew up our house."

"Hey! That wasn't my fault and you know it!" Izuku laughed.

"How did you…?" Aizawa started to ask before Kacchan continued.

"The fucker noticed some kind of powder on has dang bedsheets and decided to shake them out. There must have been a spark from static electricity or something." Kacchan laughed. "Deku, I thought your eyebrows were never going to grow back. You should have seen the look on mom's face when she burst in, the room filled with smoke, and you standing there holding the charred ends of your bedding. I thought she was going to pass out," Kacchan covered his mouth as he started to laugh. Even the hero seemed to be snickering behind his scarf.

"It Wasn't that funny," Izuku stuck out his lower lip and pouted. "I miss that bedding, it was the limited-edition Endeavor set you got me for my birthday."

"Mom got you new ones," his brother replied.

"Yeah, but they weren't the same… I mean, they were, but I knew they weren't the same… does that make sense?" Izuku asked.

"No," Aizawa said with a shake of his head. "Anyway, with such similar quirks, did they manifest at the same time?" Izuku cringed slightly at the question. That was always a bit of a touchy subject for him.

"Uh, no… Mine didn't show up for a few years." Izuku left it at that. He didn't want to talk about that time of his life too much. His brother was always there for him back then. He always defended himself from the bullies. He even found a way to turn the childhood taunt 'deku' into a loving nickname just to help him feel better. He told him that it didn't mean useless as the other kids told him. He said that it meant that he could do anything, be anything. Still, though, that wasn't a time of his life he liked to replay in his mind. A time when he was powerless to help others. Thankfully the hero didn't seem to press further.

"It was actually quite a surprise when the nerd's quirk showed up," Kacchan said. "He damn near took my arm off at the park." He pointed to a hand-shaped scar on his left bicep. Izuku's hand.

"Yeah," Izuku laughed at the memory. "I thought mom was going to kill us when we walked into the house covered in blood and burns with those huge smiles on our faces." Kacchan laughed at that.

"Deku, the hag passed out. Dad was the one who drove us to the hospital."

"Oh… wait, really? I… oh you're right. I don't know why I thought it was mom."

"Because you are an airhead, that's why. That, and we were both so excited about you getting a quirk that we weren't paying much attention to what was going on."

They talked back and forth for a few more minutes before their mom and dad came back into the room. Izuku didn't know how it was possible, but their mom's scowl was even more fierce than before. She kept casting death glares at Recovery Girl as she walked.

"Is everything ok?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. Come on, put these on, let's go." Mom handed them each a spare change of clothes, they had been wearing hospital gowns up to that point. Izuku figured his old clothes had been pretty thoroughly destroyed in the fight.

I'm going to miss that shirt. It was the one that Dad got me for Christmas last year. Kacchan said to him, an exasperated sigh echoing in his mind.

I'm sure Dad can get you another one, Kacchan.

Nah, I don't think so. He had that one specially made.

Oh, yeah, that does suck.

It's whatever.

After they had gotten dressed, they followed their parents out of the infirmary to the car that was parked on the curb outside of the building.

"Oi! I didn't survive a fight with fucking All Might to die to your shitty driving skills!" Kacchan shouted at seeing the terrible parking job.

"Can it brat! I was worried about your ass's so I wasn't exactly worried about where the best place to park was," Their mom shouted back with a wave of her fist.

"Or traffic laws," Their father said calmly raising a finger into the air as he got in the car.

"I swear to god, I will send all three of you back to that infirmary in pieces if I hear one more comment about my perfect driving." Silence filled the car as they got in. "That's what I fuckin thought. Now buckle in, I wanna get home." Izuku held on for dear life as their mother 'perfectly' drove them home.

Katsuki punched Deku on the arm as soon as their bedroom door was closed.

"Hey! What was that for?" He rubbed at his shoulder.

"You can't feel pain? You can't fucking feel pain?" The anger he had held in check since the fight was bubbling to the surface. "How about your bones can't break? Huh? How about literally anything fucking else but that. You self-sacrificial asshole. Do you have any idea how scared I was?" Deku shrunk back and fiddled with his thumbs. His eyes refused to meet Katsuki's glare.

"I'm… I'm sorry Kacchan. I just thought…"

"No! You didn't think!"

"You're right. I didn't think. I just… I needed to do something. He was going to kill you!" Katsuki looked at the scars on his brother's arm from where the villain had shattered his flesh. Katsuki let out an exasperated sigh.

"Look, Deku, please… please promise me you won't do something stupid like that again? I don't want to watch you… Deku, I can't do this without you." Katsuki felt tears beginning to well in the corner of his eyes but he willed them to stay in place. Deku, on the other hand, was practically balling at this point. Katsuki pulled his brother into a tight hug, Deku sobbed into his chest.

"I'm sorry Kacchan. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I promise I'll try and think of something better in the future. I'm sorry I scared you. I never wanted to put you through that." Deku hiccupped a cry. "I just had to do something and at the moment I couldn't think of anything. It just all hurt so much. I needed to do something, anything to clear my mind. Without the pain, I was able to try and form some kind of strategy." Katsuki hugged him tighter before he let him go. He placed his hand on Deku's shoulders and stared into his brother's eyes.

"It's ok… But you better not pull some shit like that again. Find a better way. A less dangerous way."

Deku nodded, "We… we need to get stronger… we couldn't fight him, not really."

"We got damn close. Think about it Deku. Us, two kids from Aldera, were able to take on fucking All Might and survive!"

"He was going easy on us!"

"No! Deku, he wasn't! Don't you understand, that fucker goes easy on everybody. We're the first people to make him fight. To make him really fight! Not even the Number One himself can claim that! And he's been put in the hospital twice by that psychotic fuck!" Deku's eyes widened in realization.

"That means…"

"Yeah, we might actually be able to beat that bastard someday." His brother's lips drew closed, his eyes stared fiercely into Katsuki's.

"We need to start training. Every day. We need to push our quirks to the limit and figure out what we really can do. No more messing around." Katsuki nodded in agreement.

"We'll show this world that they don't have to be afraid of that bastard anymore. But, that's a task for tomorrow. I'm beat," Katsuki said, Deku sighed in response.

"Yeah, I'm completely exhausted too. Let's get some rest then figure out a training schedule when we wake up."

Katsuki and Deku each went to their respective sides of their room, undressed, and crawled into their beds. It was barely dinner time and each fell into a deep sleep. Katsuki's mind trailed over the day's events as he drifted off. His fear, his sorrow, and his determination filled his mind. One thing rose out of the troubling thoughts. They would get stronger. And when they did, they were going to knock the fucking smile off of that villain's shitty face once and for all. He and his brother would take down The Symbol of Fear.