Chapter 6: Katsuki

Dabi began to pace around the room, flicking sparks aimlessly off of his ball of blue fire, until he stopped a few paces to Uraraka's left. While Katsuki had his eyes trained on the Villain, he could see out of the corner of his vision that Uraraka's face was full of terror. Registering this as well, Dabi offered a wide smile and chuckled again. Katsuki slowly moved forward so that he again was standing next to Uraraka, between her and the open door, with Dabi standing near the wall opposite the one that held the now-shattered window.

"Careful, boy," Dabi scoffed at him. "Any sudden movements might make me think you're about to attack. I just want to settle this conflict civilly, now."

Katsuki seriously doubted that was true, as the flames in Dabi's hand had grown several feet higher as he spoke. He held his hand out beside him casually, his elbow dipped low as if about to rest on his hip, but it didn't deter Katsuki from keeping his vision locked on the flames at all times.

"Your sudden movement gave me the same impression," Katsuki growled back, clearly catching the dark-haired man by surprise. Even through the shadows his tousled hair threw across his eyes, Katsuki could see them widen. He quickly regained his composure, however.

"I guess I should expect some attitude from you if you were crazy enough to figure out a way to break through a third-story window."

"Maybe I'm the sane one and you and the rest of the League are batshit crazy freaks who get their kicks out of kidnapping high school students for no reason." Katsuki could feel his legs shaking, but his pride as a future pro-hero wouldn't let him take anything from Dabi without fighting back. He could feel Uraraka's eyes on him as the words tumbled out of his mouth, but he balled his fists and stood his ground.

"Well," Dabi sighed and shifted his weight, placing his non-flaming hand on his hip. "It's one thing to insult me personally, but the goals of the League altogether? You're just picking a losing fight, kid, regardless of how you fare against me. And you, little lady, are obviously guilty by association."

Before Katsuki could even turn to gauge Uraraka's reaction to Dabi's threat, a sudden explosion of blue radiated from his hand and sent heat traveling rapidly across the room. He arched his arm backward, lifting one foot off the ground, then stepped forward and swung his arm like a baseball pitcher. Katsuki turned towards Uraraka only to see her quickly swing her arms across Deku's head, most likely thinking that he was in the most danger.

"No!" Katsuki screamed and lunged at Uraraka, grasping onto her shoulders and dragging her to the ground just in time for the ball of flame to soar above their heads and lodge into the wall behind them, creating a dent with a border of melted metal. He breathed a sigh of relief into the back of her head. "Deku wasn't in the line of fire, Uraraka. They need him for something."

She scrambled to sit up and confirm Katsuki's statement, and indeed, Deku was in the same state he had been moments earlier: definitely not fine, but not on fire either. "Thanks, Bakugo. I almost got completely fried." She stood and then offered him a hand up.

When the two had regained their composure, Katsuki could feel the blood flowing hotly through him and his rage beginning to build. He had hoped to cover the distance to Dabi at the far wall with a few solid explosions from his hands, but looking up now, he knew he couldn't do that anymore. He and Uraraka had been thrown back a few paces when they dodged the ball of fire and Dabi had made up the distance by walking forward. He was now standing right next to Deku, while they were back where they had landed when they had jumped through the window. Any sort of movement forward using his quirk might end up hitting Deku.

Dabi laughed and stuck one finger into the air, letting flame channel through it like a blowtorch before slowly lowering it down so that it was hovering only inches above Deku's chest, which was hardly moving with the rise and fall of his breathing and already covered in bleeding wounds and what looked to be exposed muscle-from Shigaraki's quirk, no doubt.

"One step from either of you, and Midoriya here gets another trophy for his collection."

Katsuki scowled and shoved his hands into his pockets to keep them from moving on their own. Neither his quirk nor Uraraka's quirk would work in this situation; he couldn't risk hitting Deku with an explosion-with how hurt he already was, it might kill him-and she needed to be able to touch him to lift him away from Dabi, which clearly would not be happening.

"Now, what shall I do with you," Dabi continued, tapping his free hand across his chin. He turned with a smile as a shadow suddenly poured into the room from the open doorway. "Oh, maybe I can get a little help brainstorming."

"I was beginning to wonder what was taking so long in here," the cold, scratchy voice of Shigaraki Tomura echoed across the four walls of the room as he stood in the doorway. "Dabi, you told me you would handle our little disruption, yet I see two living, breathing children standing here. With all the fuss, I had hoped it was All Might."

"I was having a little fun with them before I completely wasted them," Dabi replied, moving away from Deku's body and extinguishing his flames as Shigaraki stepped further into the room.

"Now that I'm here, I think we'll change things up a bit," Shigaraki's face was covered by one of the creepy hands he always had, but Bakugo could tell by the glint in his eyes that he was smiling. Some kind of wicked plan was hatching in his mind. "I've seen these two around Midoriya before. The girl showed up when I met him at the mall, and this young boy is the one we tried to make into an ally. Remember that failure of a mission, Dabi, when All Might showed up and ruined everything?"

Dabi seemed to tense up at the mention of that event. Katsuki recalled how All Might had engaged in battle with the Villain All for One, defeating him despite essentially losing his quirk, and had allowed the police to capture All for One and imprison him. It must still be a really sore subject for Shigaraki, Katsuki thought. Maybe Dabi has to be careful about how he responds.

Shigaraki turned to face Dabi, obviously waiting for a response of some sort. Dabi carefully cleared his throat and began to speak. "All Might, yeah, he did ruin everything."

What a coward, Katsuki thought. Just repeats what Shigaraki says so he knows he's in the clear.

Shigaraki, seeming annoyed with Dabi's curt response, rolled his eyes as he turned back to face Uraraka and Katsuki, who both had their hands raised in a protective stance. "Well, kids, I haven't finished with Deku yet, so you'll just have to wait your turn until I have everything I need." He motioned over his shoulder for Dabi to step forward. "Wall, then leave."

Dabi stepped around Shigaraki and raised both hands, letting massive amounts of blue flame shoot out onto the floor, creating a wall to divide the room, Katsuki and Uraraka on one side, he, Shigaraki, and Deku on the other.

"Not too high. They need to be able to see us if this is going to be any fun." Shigaraki said as he walked forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Dabi. Following his orders, Dabi pulled back one hand, letting the rest of the firepower flow from the other, then finished his work with a flourish and strolled out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he went.

The wall of flames was dense, full of various shades of blue. Katsuki could see a dark navy, almost black, towards the floor. That is definitely the hottest part, he thought to himself as he lifted his eyes upwards. The shades of the fire lightened as he went, leaving a pale blue at Uraraka's chin level. He watched as she brought her hands up near the top of the wall, testing its temperature.

"We can't get through," he uttered in a cold tone. "You'll get seriously messed up if you try."

Uraraka glanced his way, then let her arms drop to her sides and stared across the flames licking at each other. Shigaraki was standing with his arms folded across his chest, watching her and laughing.

"I remember what you said that day," he muttered, leaning forward so that his face with the hand over it glowed across the light of the flames. "When you found Midoriya being suffocated by these very fingers." He pulled his arms away from his chest and began wiggling his fingers above the flames.

"You were so brave!" He continued, beginning to laugh robustly now. "You thought you had such authority, such power over me! 'Get your hands off him,' you said. Well, you don't have any power. I have all the power!"

Katsuki turned to see Uraraka's face, not covered in terror as it had been up until that moment, but burning with rage. Her hands were balled into fists and her eyes were hardened in a way that he had never seen before, not even when he had faced her in the U.A. tournament. She didn't seem scared of Shigaraki at all, despite the predicament they were in and the very real power that Shigaraki had. Katsuki looked down at his own hands, shaking, and tried to instill the same composure into his own mind. Knowing that Shigaraki had worked with a man who was capable of destroying All Might's quirk made Katsuki fear him, which was something he could never admit. How did Uraraka muster up all the strength that was visible in her stance right now?

The sound of footsteps pulled Katsuki away from his thoughts again and back to Shigaraki on the other side of the wall of flames. He slowly backed up until he was standing next to Deku, still unconscious in the chair with his head slumped forward. Shigaraki raised one hand, his fingers outstretched, and began to flex each finger in midair.

I have all the power!" He screamed again, then slowly lowered his thumb so that only four fingers were raised. In the blink of an eye he turned and slapped Deku hard across the face, causing the chair to tip back before righting itself and Deku's head to jerk rapidly to the side, towards the wall of flames and Uraraka and Katsuki on the other side.

Uraraka gasped and her hands shot up to her mouth, then she began to buckle to the side and fell into Katsuki. He righted her and held onto her as the two peered frantically into the flames.

"He put one finger down to stop himself from using his quirk," Katsuki whispered to Uraraka while trying to mask the shakiness in his voice. "He wants Deku conscious again." He glanced down at Uraraka but was unable to read the expression on her face, as she was covering everything but her eyes with her hands. He quickly returned his vision to the other side of the wall of flames. Shigaraki was towering over Deku with his hands on his hips.

"Midoriya, it's time to get up. It's time for me to break you."

Deku's eyes remained half-closed and his body was still, but Katsuki could see his green irises slowly moving. He's too weak to move at all, but he felt the pain of that slap and he's trying to process what's going on in his environment. Suddenly, Deku's gaze shifted above the flames and locked onto Katsuki's own. A bit of light seemed to return to his eyes, which before had been glazed over. Katsuki watched slowly as Deku's vision shifted from his face to Uraraka. He began to lift his head, his eyes widening and seeming to return to life.

"Deku-kun, we're here," Uraraka whispered, mouthing the words for him to see while trying to avoid attracting Shigaraki's attention. But the slightest movement of Deku's head had already been enough.

Shigaraki glanced over at Uraraka, huffed, then grabbed the collar of Deku's hero costume and yanked him into an upright position. "Looks like having some friends here might make you more cooperative!" He beamed, his face inches away from Deku's.

"Now," he continued, "let's do yesterday's conversation over again, Midoriya. Tell me how I can use you to eliminate All Might and everything he stands for permanently."

Katsuki was holding his breath, but Deku didn't speak. He couldn't tell if it was his attempt at resistance or an inability due to all of the injuries he had sustained. He just glared into Shigaraki's eyes.

"Are you really making me do this again?" Shigaraki exasperatedly sighed as he released his grip on Deku's hero costume, allowing Deku's head to drop, as he stood and backed away a few paces. Even with Deku's head drooping slightly, Katsuki could see his eyes, and by the look in them, Deku knew that something bad was coming. Katsuki felt his grip on Uraraka's arm tighten reflexively.

Shigaraki shot both arms up into the air, arched them behind his back, folded his hands together, then stretched long and slowly. Then he dropped his hands and tightened them both around Deku's left bicep, all fingers wrapped securely. Deku's head shot up so that he was facing the ceiling, the pale moonlight revealing his eyes squished shut and his mouth scowling with the pain. He was trying so hard not to scream, but as Shigaraki made it past the last layer of skin and started on Deku's muscle tissue, he couldn't help it anymore. Deku's scream, hoarse and broken, reverberated off the walls of the room and burrowed deep into Katsuki's ears. He had never heard Deku express pain with no restraint, especially not like this. He moved forward, letting go of Uraraka's arm, but there was nothing he could do to get past the flames.

After several more seconds, Shigaraki finally released his hands and stepped back. Deku's head drooped again, his screams diminishing to be replaced by heavy, labored panting as his scarred chest heaved. His bicep was raw, bloody, and even displayed small patches of visible bone.

"Deku! Deku!" Uraraka was screaming and clawing at the portions of flame that she could bear to touch. He lifted his head slightly and looked at her, as if to say, I'm fine, don't worry, then let his head fall again.

Shigaraki reached down and propped Deku's head up with his forearm. "So, ready to spill now?" Deku continued to glower at him silently, which sent Shigaraki into a frenzy of anger. He grasped the neck of Deku's hero costume with both hands and began to shake him violently, letting his head fall to hit the back of the chair repeatedly.

"You'll kill him before you get anything out of him!" Katsuki yelled. "Stop!"

Shigaraki paused, practically holding Deku in the air by his collar if not for the chains keeping him secured to the chair. "I'd rather kill him than play this waiting game forever!" He growled, his dark eyes leering at Katsuki. "He is All Might's legacy. I must destroy him!"

Katsuki paused. Does Shigaraki know that Deku has One for All? How would he have found out? It was a sworn secret between Deku and All Might, and I was the only exception! Katsuki began to rack his brain for answers to Shigaraki's obsession, recounting the history of One for All that Deku and All Might had explained to him. It's possible that, since One for All is a quirk that is passed down much like All for One takes and gives quirks, maybe the Villain All for One was able to tell that Deku inherited it somehow? Did he tell Shigaraki before All Might defeated him? There was no way to know for sure, but if Katsuki had a chance to prevent Shigaraki from knowing anything more about One for All, he had to take it, whatever the consequences.

"Uraraka, do you trust me?" Katsuki glanced at Uraraka as he whispered to her. She stopped staring desperately at Deku and looked at him, her eyes widening and her fingers beginning to tremble.

"What… are you going to do?"

Katsuki couldn't waste the time it would take to explain it to her, as Shigaraki was beginning to lose his temper again. He had deposited Deku back on the chair again, Deku's head slumping to the side and his eyes beginning to glaze over again, and was assessing the wounds across his body. Looking for somewhere he could deliver some excruciating pain with his quirk.

I know Deku won't break under Shigaraki, but if I can't save him here today, then One for All will die here too. The secret that All Might entrusted him to him will cease existing, and Deku won't be able to put an end to the conflict that has plagued every user of One for All since its creation. Deku needs to go on to be the hero that everyone needs one day, so I need to save him now! He'll be fine, he'll survive this. He has to.

Katsuki firmly planted his feet on the ground and raised his arms, trying not to look at the horrified expression that appeared on Uraraka's face as understanding dawned on her. He spread out the palm of his right hand and placed the fingers of his left hand in a circle across it, then looked up to center his vision. Shigaraki had his back turned to him as he was scanning Deku's body, but Deku noticed Katsuki and locked eyes with him despite how he was barely swimming on the surface of consciousness. Katsuki offered a small smile, and Deku nodded weakly.

Okay, Katsuki breathed. Here goes nothing.

He let go of all of the pressure building up in his system and screamed. "AP SHOT!" A bright orange beam shot out of his hand and pierced through the wall of flames, instantly diminishing them, then hit Shigaraki square in the left shoulder as he was turning around. The beam continued traveling, shooting straight through Deku's right shoulder and smashing a hole into the wall behind him. Shigaraki fell forward, colliding again with Deku's shoulder and causing him to gasp despite how well he had been holding in the pain, and then slumped to the floor beside Deku's chair.

Katsuki, immobilized with the shock that his quirk had worked so well against both Dabi's flames and Shigaraki himself, was tugged out of his head by the grasp of Uraraka as she pulled him across the residual flames and ran to Deku. Uraraka wasted no time in trying to get Deku free, starting by using her quirk to lighten the weight of the shackles and then ripping them out of the ground.

While she worked, Katsuki kept his hands poised for another round as he trained them towards Shigaraki's form, slumped over on the floor. His shoulder was steaming, red and raw, and he showed no sign of movement. Katsuki kept one arm raised in his direction, but turned to Deku, who was still reeling from the pain and trying to stay awake. His eyes were fluttering, but his head was upright.

"Hey, shitty Deku!" Katsuki carefully patted Deku's cheek in the only spot where he didn't see any blood, trying to keep him from losing it completely. "I'm sorry I had to hit you too, so say you forgive me." Deku made an attempt at laughing, it coming out instead as only a breath of air.

"We need to go, Bakugo!" Uraraka yelled, carefully pressing on the top of Deku's head to lighten him.

Katsuki followed her orders, stooping down to scoop up Deku's body. There was no way to be mindful of all of the injuries he had, so Katsuki tried not to look at the pain on Deku's face as he began to lift him. He cradled Deku's head against his left shoulder and placed his arms underneath Deku's knees, then backed away from the chair and Shigaraki on the floor.

Uraraka was already racing towards the wall with the broken window, obviously hoping to lift all of them up to it with her quirk, when Katsuki began to follow her. He had just stepped around the final lingering flames when Deku weakly raised a hand and mumbled something incoherent. Katsuki stopped and craned his head closer to Deku's.

"What?"

"Door..."

Katsuki only had a moment to be confused before the sounds registering around him made everything make perfect sense. The door to the room was already about halfway through swinging open by then, and three people walked into the room behind him.

"RUN!" Uraraka screamed at him from the wall underneath the window. She had her fingers raised in front of her, so Katsuki bolted directly towards her. "Dabi, Toga, Kurogiri, I think!" She shouted at him, as he didn't dare turn around to see how close they were.

Katsuki didn't allow himself to slow down as he reached Uraraka, slamming her up against the wall and squeezing Deku between them, but she had one hand on Katsuki and one hand on Deku instantaneously. They all began to rise, so Katsuki glanced quickly over his shoulder.

Kurogiri, the man with the portal-like quirk, was helping a now-conscious Shigaraki off of the ground, while Dabi stood by the door and Toga, a blonde girl, was running after them. Dabi, strangely, seemed not the least bit interested in trying to get them back, while Toga had tears streaming down her face. She slammed against the wall beneath them.

"Deku-kun!" She screamed, hurling a knife towards them. It missed and lodged itself in the ceiling as they made it to the window. "I wanted to watch you bleed some more!"

Uraraka quickly wrapped both arms around Katsuki's back, careful to go under Deku's head and offer more support with her upper arm, and flung her body sideways to get them moving through the air. They sailed through the window, knocking out the remaining shards of glass that had hung there, then made impact with the side of the neighboring building. All three of their heads hit the building with a resounding THWACK! Katsuki, seeing stars but still thinking clearly, looked up in time to see Uraraka's eyes flutter. The three of them then began to fall.

"Uraraka!"

No response. They were plummeting through the air.

"Ochako!"

Uraraka's eyes cracked open sharply and her vision whipped around, then Katsuki felt the pressure of her fingertips pressing into his back. Their freefall stopped instantly, only feet from the ground. She let them float carefully the rest of the way down, until she and Katsuki both had feet firmly planted.

"Are you okay?" Katsuki asked, panting. She waved him off and started moving.

"We need to go, now! The League of Villains will be after us, and probably madder than ever after you took down Shigaraki!"

Katsuki took off running to follow after her, doing his best to keep his upper body still, to keep Deku from being jostled around too much. He glanced down to check on Deku, and almost tripped.

Deku's eyes were closed tightly, his mouth open slightly but not visibly taking in and letting out air. His skin, what was visible apart from all of the blood, was growing pale quickly. Katsuki slowed down, shifted to lean Deku's head against his shoulder, and moved his arm across Deku's back towards his lungs. He couldn't feel anything.

"Uraraka! We can't go back to U.A.! We need to find a hospital now."