Notes: When I started this fic, I had little idea where I was going. This doesn't start out as the most exciting of chapters, as it's Uraraka telling their friends about Deku, but then Todoroki stole the scene and I ran with it like I was going for a touchdown. This is setting up for some seriously epic chapters, IMO. The dynamic between Bakugou, Uraraka, and Todoroki has been a very unexpected but pleasant surprise while writing this.

"Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale."
― Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

By the time eight rolled around, Bakugou's apartment was cramped and Uraraka was a bundle of nerves. It had taken everything in her not to explode multiple times throughout the day. While everyone else was in the living room or connected dining area, she hung out in his bedroom, sitting on the edge of his bed and bouncing her foot. She knew that she was hiding right now, but she couldn't help it. She felt guilty for wishing that she could rewind to this morning so that none of this had happened, but a small part of her was still happy that he was alive.

She'd lost count of how many times Bakugou had checked the perimeter to make sure that Deku wasn't around. Maybe he'd wanted Deku to show his face. Bakugou had never felt more like a ticking time bomb before. The once strange but easy flow between them was staticky and tense. He hadn't been in a talkative mood and she hadn't forced him, too lost in her own mind. She knew that it would be only a matter of time before he blew up; she just didn't know when or how bad it would be.

The door swung open and Bakugou stepped inside, shutting it behind him. "Now you're just trying to make things look bad." Uraraka gave him a frazzled look and he let out a huff before walking towards her. When he was standing right in front of her, he folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her. "Everyone's here. Well, everyone important at least." The fact that he'd admitted that other people were important definitely showed how serious this was.

"What am I supposed to say?" Uraraka asked him.

"The truth, duh," Bakugou told her. "Deku's alive masquerading as a villain and is obsessed with you."

Uraraka frowned at his description. She couldn't understand how he could sound so flippant about this while she felt like she was dying on the inside, but then she noticed how tense he was holding his arms and how he was straining to keep his expression passive. She wanted to tell him that he could talk to her - tell her how this was affecting him and not just her - but she had a feeling that he'd brush her off right now. Instead, she took a deep breath, stood up, and walked out of the bedroom.

Immediately she was assaulted by the distressed voices of her former classmates and friends. Kirishima and Iida were the loudest, the latter rushing up to ask her if she was okay. Then it was Ashido, pushing him aside so that she could hug Uraraka even though she hadn't said anything. Kaminari was in his hero costume, having come straight from work, while Momo was wearing a very nice gown, looking like she'd let an opera to come here. Everyone was shouting over each other with the exception of Todoroki, who was leaning against the threshold of the kitchen and eyeing her carefully.

"Everyone shut the fuck up!" Bakugou yelled, the loudest of them all as usual. It got their attention at least. "I've got one rule and one rule only: no interrupting until she's done saying what she's gotta say, no matter how much you feel like we need your opinion."

Uraraka stood in front of her friends and wrung her hands together as they looked at her with a mixture of confusion and wariness. How insane this must be to all of them, having received a terse and demanding message from both her and Bakugou. She wondered what they were thinking. She'd ignored the flood of text messages while Bakugou had sent a flurry of them back with barely contained fury. She didn't realize that she was trembling again until Tsu grabbed her hand and she stilled herself.

"I know this is going to sound like I've gone mad, but…" Uraraka closed her eyes. She pictured Deku standing in front of her, wearing that smile, the one that had sent chills down her spine. It pained her to think of him like that, like her memory of him had been tainted. She wanted the old one back. She didn't want to remember him like this. It wasn't him. She looked at all of her friends. They'd mourned him too. "Deku is alive."

As predicted, the room exploded, everyone so loud that she couldn't understand anything. Shock, confusion, and disbelief spread like wildfire through the room until Bakugou yelled, "What did I say!" It took an incredible amount of willpower for everyone to quiet themselves, but he glared at them so viciously that they finally did. Most of them outright gawked at her. Even Tsu had pulled her hand away, too stunned to say anything. When she caught Todoroki's eyes, he nodded his head for her to continue, but she saw the way his fingers twitched.

Everything spilled out of her in a flood of words. She felt as if she'd talked for hours, rehashing the story one more time draining her completely. It was like she'd been holding herself up for days and now all she wanted to do was collapse in bed and hide under her covers.

As she spoke, horror slowly crept onto everyone's faces. Momo with her hands to her mouth, Jirou painfully still, Ashido with tears in her eyes. Kirishima held his head in his hands, staring into the distance, while Kaminari's mouth was wide open and Sero was silently wording swears. Ojiro covered his eyes with his tail and looked away. Tsu placed a hand back on Uraraka's back. Tokoyami grew more tense every second that passed. And then there was Todoroki, whose expression had hardened and a shadow hung over his face.

When she finished, a heavy silence had fallen over the room. It didn't look like anyone could speak even if they tried. The shock was too raw. Bringing Deku back into their lives like this felt like him dying all over again. It reopened up their wounds. His death hadn't just affected her. It had hit all of them hard and they'd spent months grieving and then getting back in the game. Now it was like they had to mourn him in a different way.

Kirishima was finally the one who broke the silence. "What the hell?" His hands fell from his face, like he didn't have the strength to hold them up anymore. "How? We searched for him for weeks."

"I…" Uraraka bit her lip. "I don't know. I guess they found him first."

"It doesn't matter," Bakugou interjected with a tone that didn't allow room for arguments. "What matters is how we react." A few people nodded their heads, but most were still too stunned to do anything. "Our number one priority should be Uraraka's safety."

Uraraka whipped around on him. "Excuse me? I can take care of myself!"

"I'm not questioning that! But we're dealing with someone that is off his rocker and capable of destroying a building with a single punch," Bakugou countered heatedly, staring at her hard to get her to back down. Uraraka would do no such thing.

"I'm not going to hide while he's out there!" Uraraka said. "Besides, Deku said that he wouldn't hurt me."

Bakugou's eyes flickered to her wrists, the bruises hidden from sight once again, but she was relieved that he didn't bring them up out loud. She would tell Tsu, Iida, and Todoroki later, but not out here. There were some things that she wanted to keep private and for some reason she couldn't bear everyone knowing that he had harmed her, even if she wasn't for sure if it had been intentional. Now that she looked back on the moment, it had almost seemed like he hadn't known that he was gripping her too hard. The entire time, it had felt like he was holding himself back, like he wasn't used to it but was doing it for her.

"I'm not going to take that chance," Bakugou told her flatly.

"I agree with Bakugou," Tsu put in. Uraraka gazed down at her best friend with an incredulous look, feeling almost betrayed. Not her too. "You are a very capable hero and strong in your own right, but Midoriya is on another level. We all know that."

"And if he really is working for the League and...killing people, then I doubt that he'll have an aversion to hurting you if he deems it necessary," Iida added uneasily. "From what you described, he sounds like he's barely holding it together."

Uraraka didn't want to admit that they were right, but it was the truth. Deku had always told her how amazing of a hero she was and how strong she was too, but on a purely combat level, he was much more powerful than her. Even with no energy left in him, he had managed a punch that blew her away from the water and sent her flying in the air without her zero gravity quirk on her. Besides, what if he did snap? It felt like they were playing a tense game of chess where they had to find a way to both placate Deku and stop him at the same time.

"First things first, we need to get you into a safe house," Bakugou decided.

"I am not hiding," Uraraka said flatly. "I'm not leaving my apartment."

It had been hers and Deku's home. While it had grown cold in his absence, now that he was back, even like this, she couldn't leave it empty. It was like a beacon at the top of a lighthouse, hopefully guiding Deku back to safety and home. Back to her.

"You can't stay there," Bakugou argued. "It's totally compromised. He probably came in through your window that you always leave open and watched you sleep."

The mental image was enough to make Uraraka shudder. How long had he been in her apartment before coming out into the open to surprise her? She dimly recalled Bakugou shutting the window last night, but it had been open this morning. It angered her to know that he was probably right, but this was one thing that she wasn't going to let go of.

"I'm not leaving."

Before Bakugou could yell anything back, Todoroki's cool voice sliced through the air. "She should stay." It was the first time he'd spoken since arriving and everyone turned to look at him.

"Are you shitting me, Icy Hot?" Bakugou growled.

"Midoriya is acting very possessive of Uraraka," Todoroki continued as if Bakugou wasn't glaring daggers at him. "If he gets the feeling that we're trying to keep her from him, I think he'll react very poorly and lash out. If he's killing villains just because he thinks it'll make her happy, who knows what he'll do if he's angry?"

It was a valid question, one that Uraraka did not want to think about. Deku thought that what he was doing was right. Yes, it was for the League, but he was also doing good by getting rid of other villains. He could still be a hero in Uraraka's eyes. But what if he dropped that? What if that smile turned into a frown? What would he do if he was upset or mad?

Todoroki focused his steady gaze on Bakugou, ignoring everyone staring at him. "It will be even worse if he believes you're the one trying to keep him away from her."

There was a small smattering of explosions around Bakugou's hands. He was itching to fight someone and Todoroki was pushing all the wrong buttons. If he wasn't careful, he'd take Deku's place right now. "What the hell are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything," Todoroki replied, infuriatingly cool. "He clearly has a grudge against you and thinks you're trying to take Uraraka away from him."

"Yeah, I am!" Bakugou shouted. "I don't want him in a ten mile radius of her!"

"That's not what I mean and you know it," Todoroki said. When Bakugou didn't respond, Uraraka glanced back him. There was an angry look on his face, but his entire body screamed that he was more uncomfortable than mad, like he knew that Todoroki was right but would be damned before admitting it.

Kaminari looked at the two other guys. "Uh, are you saying that…?"

"Midoriya is jealous of Bakugou," Todoroki finished with a shrug of his shoulders. "Bakugou was the only other person Midoriya mentioned and it was only in reference to her. He thinks Bakugou is trying to take his place in her life as a romantic partner." The situation did not call for blushing and yet both Uraraka and Bakugou did. Her face burned like it had caught on fire. Bakugou was seconds away from blowing a gasket. Why did Todoroki have to say it like that? "Which, I believe, puts Bakugou in more danger than Uraraka. If we're going to guard Uraraka, you'll need to be as well."

Now that the tables had been turned on him, Bakugou wasn't having it. Everything was fine with him when he thought that Uraraka needed protecting, but now that everyone was looking at him like he was the one with the bigger target on his back, he looked absolutely enraged. "Don't you fucking dare. I don't need protecting from him. If he wants to come at me, then let him. I'll pummel that villain shit right out of his head."

"I think we should avoid a head-on fight with him as much as possible," Momo said. "The amount of destruction that he's capable of would be devastating."

"There's no avoiding that!" Bakugou snapped. "Like it or not, there will be a confrontation and I aim to blast the shit out of him for pulling this shit."

Again, Uraraka knew he was right, but she really wished he wasn't. Everyone knew it as well, glancing each other with unease and almost fear. None of them wanted to fight someone that they cared about, perhaps with the exception of Bakugou. She couldn't picture a scenario where they wouldn't have to confront Deku in combat at some point though and she had a terrible feeling that he was going to be the one to make the first move. Much like Bakugou, Deku had seemed ready for a fight. He wanted to come out of hiding and show not just her but the world who he was now. It broke her heart.

Kirishima sunk into the couch. "This is so messed up."

Everyone fell silent again as they continued to absorb how much their lives had changed in a matter of minutes. It had felt like this back then too. She'd yelled at Bakugou to throw her towards Deku so she could touch him with her quirk and he'd done it, but then she'd only managed to snag air. She'd released her quirk on herself so that she could fall with Deku, reaching out for him but always coming up short. The moment he'd knocked her back into the sky and he'd crashed into the ocean and went under, she had screamed. And nothing was ever the same again. A few minutes before he'd been standing at her side and then he was just gone and her whole world had shifted into something she couldn't recognize.

When Uraraka glanced back at Bakugou, she found him looking at her, a burning intensity in his red eyes that told her that he was going to protect her whether she wanted him to or not. Well, as long as he was good with her doing the same thing for him. She was going to save him and Deku. She would. She had to.

If only she'd known just how bad things were, she might have let them hide her.

Bakugou was fucking lit. He couldn't remember being so angry in his life and he really had calmed down since graduating from U.A. even if few believed it. He'd been so pissed that he'd just stood there as everyone else talked about who was going to guard who and how they were going to go about doing it. A steady rotation of guards between the two of them with one main person in charge of each.

All he could do was stare down Uraraka, like she had been the one to say that he needed protection. He didn't. He could protect himself. He wouldn't lose to Deku no matter what, especially not with what was at stake. They hoped that someone always standing guard would keep Deku away, but Bakugou didn't want that. He wanted Deku to come find him; he wanted Deku to confront him. That way he could ground Deku's face into the concrete for how he'd hurt Uraraka.

He'd gripped her so tight that he'd bruised her wrists. Bakugou couldn't get the image of those bruises out of his head. It was beginning to drive him mad.

Even worse was how Uraraka was brushing it off. He knew she was devastated and terrified. How she had held it together for everyone was nothing short of a miracle. There had been some crying here and there, but that was to be expected. He couldn't fault her for that. She was strong though and had no intentions of letting everyone else do the heavy lifting. He just wished that she'd see reason. They needed to get her out of Deku's reach.

Kirishima slapped him on the back. "Looks like you're stuck with me and Iida for a bit."

Bakugou groaned. "Fucking great." He had to figure out a way to ditch them somehow. He had a feeling that as soon as he did, Deku would show his stupid nerd face. The anticipation of seeing him again was almost too much for Bakugou to take. He didn't really know how he felt about it, except that it needed to happen soon. "Who's staying with Uraraka?"

"Todoroki and Tsu," Kirishima told him.

Good, good. As much as Bakugou thought Todoroki could be a pompous ass, he could admit that Todoroki was also incredibly strong. Besides himself, he would consider Todoroki to be the best person to watch over Uraraka and keep her safe and he knew that the other guy would do everything in his power to do so. She also undoubtedly needed the comfort that her best friend could give her. A small voice in the back of his mind yelled at him to do more for her, but he held himself back.

Almost everyone had left, all of them in a daze. Kirishima was saying something, but Bakugou watched Uraraka talking with Jirou and Yaoyozora in hushed tones from the corner of his eyes. The three girls hugged and then parted, leaving Uraraka standing alone for the first time since she'd told everyone what was going on. "Yeah, yeah," he said to Kirishima, not sure if it was even the right response, before walking over to her.

Uraraka immediately turned to look up at him, as if she'd known that he would be there. She gave him a tired smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you, Bakugou, for everything."

"I'm not done yet," he told her gruffly. "We're gonna get him."

Bakugou was going to save the goddamn nerd. He didn't know if he wanted to and he didn't know what would happen if he did, but he knew that it had to be done. Deku as a villain was far too dangerous for the world. He had to be stopped. More importantly, it was wrong. Although he'd believed her after she had told him everything, it had been hard to picture Deku as a villain, much less a killer.

When Bakugou had seen the picture of Deku on her doorstep though, his heart had damn near stopped. It was that same annoying smile that had made him want to punch something when they were younger - but then it wasn't and he could see exactly what Uraraka had meant. It was Deku, but it wasn't. He couldn't put a finger on it, just that Deku looked off. The big smile hadn't reached his green eyes like normal.

Deku's eyes. Bakugou thought back to the picture. He'd never seen eyes so dead before. He had a feeling that when they did light up, it was nothing good.

For a moment, Bakugou half-raised his hand so that he could touch her cheek, but then thought better of it and put it in his pocket instead. She didn't seem to notice. "Be careful, got it? If you so much as see a glimpse of him, you better call me." She nodded. "We're going to fix this. We'll get him back."

Honestly, Bakugou didn't know what it would mean for him to get Deku back. They hadn't exactly been friends before he'd died, but they hadn't been enemies. Allies was probably the best way to describe them. They hadn't had quite the bitter rivalry that All Might and Endeavor had had, but it hadn't really been a friendly one either. They could work with each other and acknowledge their talent, but the competition had never died.

Well, until Deku did.

But what Bakugou couldn't think about - couldn't even let his mind go there - was what Deku's return would mean for him and Uraraka. He thought of her telling him last night that she would always love Deku. At the time it had been a sickeningly sweet sentiment, just like her. Now it just made him feel sick. He refused to think about it.

Uraraka was gone too soon, swept out of his apartment by Tsuyu. For a moment, Todoroki hung back. He sighed and turned to face Bakugou, that impossibly impassive expression that had driven him crazy since high school resting on his face. "I'm going to tell you this as nicely as possible, but I need you to stay away from Uraraka."

"Fucking what?" Bakugou snarled. "Are you her dad?"

"It's for her safety as much it is for yours," Todoroki said, totally unfazed. Using Uraraka's safety against him was a low blow, but it was more effective than Bakugou's scowl apparently. "The more you come around, the more Midoriya is likely to see you as a threat that needs to be eliminated. He might already be in that mindset, but maybe some distance will get him to lessen his fixation on you."

"I am a threat," Bakugou pointed out, though he didn't mean it in the way that Todoroki was suggesting. Telling everyone that Bakugou was interested in Uraraka romantically… That half and half bastard. It was none of their business. Besides, Bakugou didn't think she was ready.

"Of course." Todoroki thought he knew how strong Bakugou was. He didn't know the half of it. Neither did Deku. They'd find out soon enough. "My main concern is Uraraka's safety. I'm worried his promise to not hurt her might get broken if he starts to believe that she's leaving him. If he feels betrayed by her, things could go downhill very quickly. I'd rather not risk it."

Bakugou gritted his teeth because of course Todoroki was making perfect sense. Right now, Deku was living this nice fantasy where he came back and was going to play house with Uraraka again. That she might not choose him or agree with his new villain identity hadn't occurred to him. And when it did… Bakugou didn't doubt for a second that this new Deku would not let it or her go. There were those bruises on her wrists, like they were his mark on her saying, You're mine.

Taking a breath and forcing the rage to bleed out of him, Bakugou made a grunt in acknowledgement and turned away. He'd stay away from Uraraka - unless she called for him. If Deku tried anything shifty with her, there wasn't anything the others could do to stop Bakugou from showing up and kicking his ass.

"Keep her safe," Bakugou said, implying that he was actually trusting Todoroki with her. "If Deku comes around…"

"I won't let him even come close," Todoroki promised, a hard edge in his voice finally breaking through the cold. "And Tsuyu will make certain that Uraraka doesn't do anything foolish. She wants to believe the old Deku can come back."

Bakugou gave him a sideways glance. "Don't you?"

"I'll let you know after I face him." Todoroki looked down at his left hand. "It's going to happen sooner than later."

That was something Bakugou could understand and agree with. He could feel it too. The air was charged with a power that reminded him of Deku's quirk. He also knew things would change once he saw Deku in person. He needed to see just how far Deku was gone. No offense to Uraraka, but she was seeing him through some rose-colored glasses and they all knew it. Even Bakugou didn't want to believe that Deku was at the point of no return, but he had to be so far out to even get to where he was now.

After Todoroki left, the only other people with him were Kirishima and Iida. They all sort of stared at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say, until Kirishima said, "So...movie?"

"I'm going to bed," Bakugou said instead, blowing past the two to go into his room. "You all can do whatever the hell you want."

He didn't wait for either of them to respond, slamming the door behind himself. Their muffled voices could be heard, but he ignored them. They weren't going to watch a movie. Deku floating around somewhere as a villain was too big of a thing to simply not talk about. He didn't think anyone was going to get a good night's rest tonight, least of all him or Uraraka.

The whole situation sat heavy in Bakugou's mind. He threw himself on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, trying to imagine what it must have been like for Uraraka. What had Deku been like? She'd done her best to explain it, to him and to everyone else, but it was hard to say. He'd sounded...excited. Cheerful. Very intense. Maybe even slightly manic. He went from disdainful to understanding in seconds flat. Oh, Deku was good at being caring. He was so damn compassionate. Or was he anymore? Was any of it real?

Bakugou didn't know. It was still hard for him to picture Deku acting as he looked in the security camera photo. He still couldn't tie a damn tie properly to save his life. That had stuck out to Bakugou in a painful way, like it was some shitty reminder that it really was Deku in there somewhere. A truly far gone villain Deku would know how to tie a tie, right?

He had to have been lying in bed for hours obsessing over it when he heard his phone vibrate briefly on the table, alerting him to a text message. He didn't bother getting it at first, but then he had nothing else to do, so he rolled over and grabbed it to see who it was.

Uraraka
I can't sleep. I keep thinking he's gonna crawl in my window and watch me. I feel so stupid.

Bakugou's fingers curled around his phone. He shouldn't have said that and put the image in her head, but it was true. He'd thought that he had locked her window up, but Deku being Deku had probably made sure that there was a way for him to still get in through it. Bakugou had a feeling that it hadn't been the first time Deku had snuck around her apartment. It made his stomach flip and his hands sweatier than normal.

Katsuki
Is Tsuyu in there with you?

Uraraka
No, I don't want to bother her. I already feel like burden having people guard over me like I'm some helpless civilian.

Katsuki
Stupid. They're there because they care about you and want to help. Let them.

He wanted her to say that she wanted him there, not Todoroki or Tsuyu. He would be better at protecting her. He knew Deku better than anyone besides her, even more than Todoroki or Iida. Bakugou could admit that Todoroki was strong enough to take care of her, but it wasn't enough. He should be there with her. But he also knew that Todoroki was right. His presence around her would make things worse. His not being there makes him feel like shit though too.

Uraraka
Be nice to Kirishima and Iida. They're worried about you too.

Katsuki
There's nothing to worry about. Go to sleep.

Fucking understatement of the year. There was everything to worry about.

Freaking Deku had come back from the grave to announce to the world that he was now a super villain and gods knew what else. What was his endgame? What was his plan? Surely Uraraka wasn't the only thing motivating him. He'd told her that he had killed those villains to make her happy, but also because the League of Villains wanted them out of the way. Were they expanding their territory? Were they planning an attack on somewhere in the area? There was so much to consider that the idea of sleep was entirely lost on him.

However, sleep had other ideas for him. Bakugou was mid-thought when he drifted off, his cell still in his hand.