A silhouette manifested in the corner of the room. And though the lurker took cover under the casted shadow of the wardrobe, Bakugou could deduce his identity. Dabi had meant to intimidate him, those artic blues piercing through the dark. The deadlocked stare made his blood run cold, the fuzz along the nape of his neck now on end. That persistent lurching in the pit of his gut commenced and he felt sick all over again, nauseated with the thought of his imminent undoing. The blonde stood frozen in state of panic, unsure how to proceed with his classmate in front of him. The teen could have collapsed right there, but he fought to hold himself together.

Bakugou feared the moment the man would step into the light and reveal he was a traitor. What sort of expression would it generate from the nerd? Would it even surprise him? Would his time at Yuuei be over? Bakugou was terrified dreading the moment it would all fall apart. However that moment never came. The figure remained stationed in between the corner and the closet, allowing Bakugou the chance to shoo away the green mess on his bed.

After a moment of hesitation Bakugou regained his composure and broke the silence shifting his gaze back onto his classmate. With the bridge of his nose wrinkled and with a much harsher tone, Bakugou reiterated the words he had whispered just before he became aware of the presence. "Stupid nerd." Their relationship had just taken a turn, perhaps for the better, however Bakugou need to undo that. Needed to break their bond all over again. Knew that as long as the league of villains idled on the peripheral of his vision, the two could never mend what was broken.

Midoriya furrowed his brows "huh?" It was such a dramatic shift in atmosphere he wondered if he could have misheard?

Bakugou curled his upper lip "tt," he scoffed, "that is the stupidest shit I ever heard." Bakugou needed Midoriya to understand that there would never be mutual respect between them. That there would always and forever be bad blood, because it had to be that way. Bakugou had to maintain that distance in order to keep the other from becoming a pawn in this game of chest.

Midoriya leant forward hand stretched "Kah," he breathed reaching out to him, but the blonde was quick to swat it away.

The blonde looked to the floor, because he knew if he were to look into those greens he might have wavered. "Leave." The dismissiveness was for his sake and he tried to be as harsh as he could, so that there was no room for the other to oppose. But of course the other never understood when to leave well enough alone.

"But?" Midoriya began, wanting to contest but with no grounds to do so. What had happened? In which moment did the line of communication break again?

Bakugou clenched both hands into fists. "Get ouuut!" he roared and after a moment of pause he cleared his throat, so that his voice went soft again "get out before I change my mind and pummel you."

Midoriya was confused and surprisingly upset, overcome with a sense of dejection. Though he was so used too being mocked and overlooked by this person, for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling of rejection. As usual he could never figure out what went wrong? The teen so desperate to fix the distance between them but how could he when the other couldn't stand the sight of him?

With the raise of his voice Midoriya tried to incite a reaction but his words were shaky at best "fh-fine," he shot up exaggeratedly, puffing out his chest to project an unwavering disposition.

The teen had hoped that the bout of aggression would be interpreted as a challenge. To demonstrate how this time he wouldn't be deterred by the empty threats. Yes, it wasn't his usual response to Bakugou's tantrums but he wanted to provoke him, desperate to catch another moment of genuineness between them. Again he huffed before he stormed out making sure to sideswipe him as he passed. In some twisted sense he imagined the blonde would turn around and scold him opening the line of communication again, but it incited nothing.

Midoriya clenched his fist until his knuckles went white, lingering at the door, wanting to turn around but was too much of a coward to do so. Bakugou kept his gaze to the corner of the room but picked up on the hesitation in the dragged out steps. Just for a moment he wished he'd mustered the courage to turn around, tell him to stay, hell just call out his name, no words needed, he'd get it, he always did, however the thought was fleeting and the sense of his dire situation outweighed his desires.

The blonde remained stagnant until he heard the slam of his door and without a moment of hesitation Dabi stepped out of the shadows his hands meeting as he gave an applause. "That Midoriya is a troublesome one. Thought he'd never leave." The corners of his mouth upturned as he closed the distance between them. "Although, that was quite a spectacle. Tomura wasn't completely wrong about you, was he?"

After a brief pause and a rub of his forehead Dabi went on, the amusement in his tone now gone. "I could of excused your earlier stunt, had you went through with that threat, but then you went and chickened out. Should've of let us tag your friend."

"Deku is not my friend." Bakugou scoffed, adverting his gaze so that the man did not catch the uncertainty behind that claim.

Dabi didn't believe it for one second, staring in disbelief at how coy the kid had become. If that is how he wanted to play it Dabi was eager to oblige. Although his approach was slower there was much more aggressiveness in his stride. The two were at a stalemate, the man consumed in an analytic stare and the other refusing to acknowledge his presence.

Bakugou could feel the weight of his gaze on him. The anxiousness in his tone and the unwillingness to look at him elicited a smiled from the man. "How presumptuous of me. However, I was under the impression you two were the best of friends.

"Heh," he reached out and secured his hand behind the teen's neck, the gesture making Bakugou's heart sink, and his face now ridden with panic.

"That was the reason we targeted you in the first place." Dabi cooed sliding his hand into the blonde tresses, twirling a cluster around his fingers. With a forceful pull he yanked Bakugou's head back causing him to stagger and reach out to clutch onto the arm that held him. Of course he attempted to break free but could not dissolve the hold.

Dabi leaned in the warmth of his breath searing into Bakugou's ear as he whispered, "I think our intel was spot on. We were closer than we've ever been to severing the line of succession for one-for-all." Dabi twisted the handful of hair in his hands and Bakugou squirmed. The man drew closer his mouth pressed against his earlobe "go ahead fight back. Although it didn't do you much last time," he jeered before thrashing Bakugou's skull into the desk beside them.

The impact splinter the junction in his lower jaw, the pain radiating from the joint that connected his jowl and cheekbone. It spread through the bridge of his nose and into his left eyes socket. The vessels along the white of his eye ruptured the room was now but a blur. The organ encased in his head pulsated inside his skull. The room became distorted, his mind adrift in a haze. In a panic induced episode he tried to fill his lungs but the flow of air stimulated the radiating pain in his temples. Panic ensued as he darted his eyes around trying to regain his sight. The kid began to frantically squirm about, but Dabi didn't let up unrelenting crushing his skull harder into the wooden table.

Dabi sighed before he began again. "Do you know how painstaking it is to keep a hormonal murderous teen in line under such strenuous circumstances?"

Bakugou tried to hold onto the conversation but could not focus with the reverberations that rang in his ear. The pain was too great to ignore. The panic sank in and he was now scratching at the table and the hand that held him desperate to free himself.

Dabi wondered how he would control Toga now that she was free to roam the campus? There was no way of sending her back now that the kid had fucked them over. There was no more mojo left for their final jump. One-for-all had to be placed on the back burner because bypassing the campus was now top priority. After a minute of contemplation the man looked back down at the kid who was still silent and at that point he doubted he would generate a response from him so he answered the rhetorical question himself and continued on with his rant.

"Well, let's just say enough to earn my wrath." There was brief pause before he reanimated and whipped the blonde's head across the desk, the kid barreling into his computer. Dabi retracted his hand as they approached the edge of the table opting to kick the kid the rest of the way. Bakugou dove into the ground, his chin meeting with the floor first, forcing his teeth to clamp down on his tongue.

It took Bakugou but a moment to shake off the dizziness and wobble onto his knees, blood gushing from his nose and mouth. Although he still could not see, he was able to make out the form of the man. Rising on one knee he curled both his hands for a counterattack. Activating his quirk, he let the rage turn his body ablaze hoping to produce enough nitroglycerin too blast the man into eternity. Bringing both arms forward he fired but there was no discharge. Not a flash, not a spark, not even a flicker. It was the same as last time.

Dabi braced for the explosive impact, but when the room fell silent again he straightened so that he was a bit taller. "A firecracker, aren't you? All sparks and noise with little force behind them," he mocked.

The noise attracted Kirishima who was just getting back from the showers. The red head thought the crash was Bakugou letting off some steam. Perhaps the blonde was throwing another tantrum? Bakugou would sometimes assault his furniture whenever he didn't do as well as he anticipated. The thought brought him back to Midoriya who he had just passed in the hall. The red head went on to assume he had gone to see him and that alone could have incited the fit.

Kirishima had overheard from Sero that Bakugou was injured during the session and wondered if Midoriya had stopped by to make sure if he was okay. The teen imagined the encounter and shivered at the thought of Midoriya attempting to calm him during one of his moods.

The redhead called out, "Bakugou? Are you okay in there?" Placing his hand on the door he wondered how he should proceed? Should he knock? No, that wouldn't work Bakugou would either ignore him or turn him away. Perhaps he should just spark a conversation? Yeah, one with underline humor, that had always seemed to work before. "Remember we communicate with words," Kirishima teased unaware of the nightmare ensuing on the other end of the door.

Bakugou let his hair shroud his expression masking his defeat. The kid dared not look into that ice cold gaze, but imagined the man had a pleased look on his face. Balling his hand he swung the side of his fist into the door. Startled from the sudden noise Kirishima leapt back, interpreting the thud as a 'go fuck yourself.'

"Fine then. Be alone." Kirishima hollered loud enough to make sure the other had heard him. He let a minute pass waiting for a response or even another thump to let him know he was being acknowledged, but the blonde stood in silence his head lowered to the man across from him.

Dabi rolled the chair out from under the desk plopping into the seat. The man stared into those crimson red spheres, realizing the rage had fizzled out and was now replaced with the sense of utter defeat. It was natural for Bakugou to press his mouth into a hard line and have the bridge of his nose wrinkled whenever he was vexed. This amused Dabi, making him wonder how powerless the kid might have felt in that moment, making him relish every second of the pitiful display. The man brought his hands under his chin resting his mouth against the closed fist. He kept the silence between them because he wanted the kid to maul over his sense of doubt and to panic within the silence while he basked in his despair.

Bakugou curled his head into his chest, his chin now against his collarbone. The kid did not want to be seen in such a disheveled state. Many times has he felt useless and defeated but this was the first time someone had stayed long enough to watch him crumble. Again he mauled over how weak he was, thinking about how he was such a coward, considering how pitiful it was losing to such a low level criminal. Thought about how weak and pathetic he was that he constantly hid his faults through boastful theatrics. Thought about how if he'd been brave he would have told someone anyone what was really going on and it would not have reached this point. But he was too arrogant and thought he could handle it all on his own and now he would find out the hard way the price of arrogance.

The man finally broke the silence. "Come."

Bakugou wanted to contest but he knew he held no leverage. Either he complied or it might have resulted in his death or even worse someone else he cared about. Though he shook the thought from his mind that sense of sickness returned.

With his head still lowered Bakugou went to stand, when Dabi stretched out his hand gesturing for him to kneel back down. Curling his fingers into the shape of a spider he directed the kid to crawl to him instead. A cruel smirk played on the corners of his mouth.

Bakugou was hesitant, his legs about too buckle underneath him. This was a severe blow considering he had never been a victim of torment. Their first encounter still haunted him and reminded him of a time before Yuuei when he was the tormentor. It made him recoil all the humiliation he had imposed on others. Made him rethink all the decisions he had made up until now, however it was too late to take it all back. Was this his punishment for his horrendous crimes? Was the stipulation for his hideous nature, to be alone and forgotten?

Once more he turned to the door imaging Kirishima on the other end wondering what was going through his mind right now? Would he think Bakugou was just an asshole? That their friendship was unfounded? Would he continue to let him overlook him and forever remain at his side? More than anything Bakugou just wanted to run to the door and let him in, let him see who he had become since he befriended him. Show him his growth and how much he meant to him but he knew it was no longer possible. If he opened that door there could be no turning back. It would mean he would have intentionally subjected someone, perhaps the only one who could tolerate him into a world of trouble. That wouldn't be fair. There was no way he could ever do that. Kirishima had saved him more than he could ever know.

It should have ended that night but the League of Villains had never dissolved their hold on him. Would he remain stuck forever under their rule? But what could he do? Either he complied or it meant he would be in a world of hurt. It meant he had to let Kirishima go. It meant he had to let all his hopes and dreams go along with him. Everything he had built up to this point he had to knock down. Bakugou had to let go of who he had become in order to endure what was too come.

The kid shifted his gaze back to the floor and tucked one knee under himself his shoulders hunched over as he awaited his next instruction. He bottled all the pride and guilt all the emotions that threatened to boil over and screwed the lid. Maybe he could rebuild later?

On the other end Kirishima had waited long enough. There was no response from Bakugou and he interpreted the silence as him not being good enough to lean on. That after all they had been through he was still too far for him to reach. Why was Bakugou always so far away he wondered? The redhead adjusted the towel on his shoulder and stormed off to the common room.

With Kirishima gone there was nothing to distract him from his imminent doom. The thought of what was to come next made Bakugou hesitate before he brought one arm forward alternating between left and right, crouched low to the floor his gazed fixed to the wooden pallets that formed his floor. Now shamefully on all fours he obediently shuffled over to his tormentor straightening onto his knees once he was at his feet. But that wasn't close enough for Dabi who gestured for him to come closer and closer until he was situated in between his legs.

The blonde was still but the tempo of his heart was erratic and it left him with this sense of uneasiness. The closeness had made him conscientious and aware of his own nakedness. Fucking Deku he cursed him over and over. It'd been this way since they were kids, the asshole like a tornado leaving catastrophes in his wake.

Dabi felt along the bottom of the seat looking to release the lever that lowered the chair. There was a click and on impulse Bakugou snapped his head towards the sound, startled by the sudden movement. And when his eyes locked onto his tormentor's face the fuzz on the back of his neck stood on end. As twisted as ever was his usual grimace. The contrast between his mauve colored mouth and the whites of his teeth made for a horrific nightmare and Bakugou was sure it would haunt for nights to come.

That crocked smile became even more pronounced when he made his intentions known, "unbuckle me," he said.