Notes: I suppose I should say something that I guess I didn't make clear, which...is most likely. Some people have asked if this is going to end in IzuOcha or Kacchako and, to be honest, the answer is I don't have any clue HOW this going to end. I'm coming up with it as I go and just writing what feels right. I will say that the heart of this story is IzuOcha, so there's that. This is definitely a story about Ochako and Izuku.

Another thing is that I've had a few people more or less say it's sketchy of Bakugou to move in on Uraraka so soon after Deku's death. But he didn't. Bakugou has never once made any moves on her. As of right now, they're still very much strictly friends that got closer through mourning (both in their own way). Now, could there have been/is there potential for more? Yeah, there is. They're right on that precipice. But that's something that neither of them would've gotten into for months from now and, well, Deku's return kind of scratched that to hell. Bakugou respects Uraraka and if she was uncomfortable with anything he'd back off, even though neither one of them have really considered more yet. Until Deku came in PROJECTING the HELL out of his jealousy, which made the whole "oh shit could there have been more?" thing a lot more obvious.

Anyways, didn't think I'd be defending this asshole's honor. lmao THANK YOU ALL FOR READING STILL AND PUTTING UP WITH MY WAFFLING! Now we're getting to that good shit. Guess who's back! I had a ton of fun writing this scene. Man, Villain!Deku is wild. So starts the beginning of Bakugou's No Good, Very Bad Night.

"Maybe I am villain in your story, but I am hero in mine."
― Shon Mehta, The Timingila

The first day was painful. The second day was almost unbearable. It was like he was on house arrest and Bakugou was going mad. The three of them circulated the apartment like it was a prison, trying to appear casual and like this was normal except it fucking wasn't. Every now and then Iida would do a quick check outside, but nothing ever happened. All conversations led back to Deku anyways. What they thought he was doing, what his game plan might be, how he'd survived, what had happened to make him turn his back on everything he believed in.

Eventually, they would have to tell All Might and the other teachers at U.A., but none of them seemed to have the heart or strength to do it. Bakugou didn't want to see the look on his hero's face when he found out that his protege was using the gift he'd given him to do evil. He had a feeling that Uraraka would be the one to tell him. She was better at stuff like that. It shouldn't have to be her, but she'd shoulder the burden.

They'd need all the help they could get though to deal with the shitstorm that was Deku now. Aizawa would be especially needed. If they could cancel Deku's quirk just for the few seconds needed to get him, then they would have a much better chance at stopping him. But how? What if they got a hold of him and couldn't snap him out of this villain mindset? What if this was just who he was now?

A video call on Bakugou's laptop jerked the three of them out of an intense argument about dinner. Noticing that it was Kaminari, they all crowded around the computer as Bakugou sat down and answered the call. "Checking in to make sure I haven't killed these two sorry asses yet?"

"Yeah, uh, sorry to disturb the fun, but, uh-" Kaminari looked anxious on the other end, squirming around in his seat and having trouble connecting eyes with them. "Have you seen the news?" They shook their heads. The tv had gone untouched the entire day. "There isn't much public information right now, but I was able to get a hold of some more details and video. This, uh…" He cringed. "This isn't going to be good."

He sent them a link, which Bakugou clicked on and immediately swore when he realized what he was seeing. A giant hole in the wall of a maximum security prison where the most violent villains were held. Had been held. Judging by the smoke coming out of the prison and the amount of pro heroes and cops surrounding it, there probably weren't that many left.

"How many escaped?" Iida questioned.

"Forty-two," Kaminari answered. "The exact number hasn't officially been made public, but I have my ways."

"Fucking hell," Bakugou swore. Forty-two highly dangerous villains loose on the street all at once? There was going to be pandamonium. More than anything, he felt the need to be out there - to do something - but he was locked up in his building. The agency would probably be calling him any second to come back in. Heroes were going to be in overtime for months.

Kirishima gripped Bakugou's chair tightly. "Do you…? Do you think it has something to do with Deku?" He clearly hadn't wanted to ask, but it had to be brought up. The four guys looked at each other.

"It's him," Bakugou said decisively.

"We can't know for certain," Iida hastily said.

Bakugou shook his head. "It's him. Look at the size of that hole. Look at the damage. This was a calculated attack. We all know how meticulous he is. And for the League of Villains, this is the cream of the crop. Some of the old crew was locked up in there."

Including one or two that had had a hand in Bakugou's kidnapping when he'd been a student at U.A. The fact that Deku had broken them out stung on a personal level. There were other prisons that they could have gone to, but they had chosen this one. It was like Deku was waving a hand at him shouting, Look what I did, Kacchan! Like that stupid note he'd written below Bakugou's own. He'd put some of those criminals in there and Deku had busted them right back out.

"Do the others know?" Iida asked.

Kaminari shook his head. "I don't think so or I would've heard something." He fiddled with the headset of his hero costume. He'd gone to work like everything was normal, but he was definitely not feeling it. "I wasn't sure if I should tell Uraraka or not. It'll really upset her…"

"Not telling her will piss her off," Bakugou pointed out, "which I can ensure you is infinitely worse." There was an ill sort of look on Kaminari's face, but he nodded his head in agreement. "Besides, she'll find out anyways. It should be from one of us."

"You're right," Kaminari sighed. "I'll send you the details I have now and give you any further updates."

"And keep searching for any leads on Deku's whereabouts," Bakugou reminded him sharply. Kaminari bounced his head in a tired but dutiful nod. "I don't care if it's just a grainy picture of the back of his dumb green head. You better put those nights spent hacking into camera feeds with that little grape perv to good fucking use."

The way he jumped in his seat and turned red, it looked like Kaminari had shocked himself. "I did not-"

But Bakugou ended the call abruptly, leaning back in his chair and running his fingers through his hair. Kirishima pulled back slightly so that he could stand up straight while Iida was still staring at the video like he might be able to do some good just looking at it. Forty two villains. According to the most recent report from the police, there were nine confirmed dead, four villains and five guards. Innocent people were being killed and there was jack shit they could do right now. Bakugou wasn't going to get anywhere stuck in here.

Bakugou stood up. "I need some air. Alone."

Kirishima and Iida shot each other nervous glances and Kirishima began, "I don't think-"

"I don't care what you think," Bakugou interrupted. "I need some fucking air and I need you all to stop hovering over me so I can think." He pulled a hoodie out of the closet by the door and dragged it over his head while he slipped on a pair of shoes. "I'll just be two stories up on the roof. If I so much as catch a glimpse of one of you, I'm blowing you off it."

He left Kirishima and Iida standing awkwardly in his living room and made his way to the stairwell. True to his word, he was going up to the roof, but not for the fresh air. The prison break kept bouncing around in his head. It did feel like it had been pointed towards him somehow, like how Deku had been killing villains in Uraraka's sector in order to catch her attention. He couldn't figure out why, just that it did, and he knew that something was about to happen. Things were going to change.

The first step was the roof.

Bakugou sat on the rooftop until the sun went completely down and the stars and moon lit up the sky. He lived in a part of town where there was a decent amount of lights so he could still see well enough. So lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear a swish of air and the sound of someone walking behind him. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up to stand and flexed his fingers before turning around to face his new rooftop companion.

"Did you see the news?" Deku asked, a delighted smile on his face. "I knew you'd fight to be alone afterwards. You're deceptively intelligent. I've always admired that about you, Kacchan."

Out of all the times Bakugou had pictured seeing Deku again, he had thought that he would react quickly, leaping to attack Deku or blow him into the sky. Of course, the moment it did happen, he did neither of those things. The second he heard the use of his old nickname, Bakugou had frozen, just as Uraraka had. It was really him. It was Deku. He was wearing a similar suit to the one he'd worn at Uraraka's, except with a green shirt and black gloves, like he was a chauffeur for some rich person.

It made no fucking sense and Bakugou was suddenly hit by the overwhelming fact that he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

"The prison break was you," Bakugou managed to say.

"They really should do something about their security," Deku mused thoughtfully, almost to himself. It was a bit like how he would ramble his thoughts out loud under his breath. "One punch was all it took to break down the wall. I kind of expected more considering who all was in there."

This was surreal. After being gone for almost a year, Deku was acting like he'd only been gone for a week, like he hadn't died and they were just having a normal conversation. But this wasn't normal. This was anything but normal. Deku had been dead. Bakugou had watched him save them all and then plummet to his death before using the last of his strength to save Uraraka. Deku had been a hero.

Bakugou got into a fighting stance, preparing for the worst. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I felt like it was time we had a talk," Deku said, like everything was super normal. That sounded like something the old Deku had said. The first time they'd been forced to work together solo on a joint agency mission, Deku had tried to pull the same bullshit. They needed to talk. No, they just had to do their damn job.

Just like Bakugou needed to show Deku that he couldn't just fuck around with Uraraka like that.

However, when Bakugou moved to make an attack, an explosion at the ready in his hand, Deku lifted his right leg up like he was about to march and held it there. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." His head tilted in a curious manner. It was so off. Bakugou came to a halt though. He didn't have to see Deku's leg to know that he was channeling his quirk into it. "I wonder what would happen if I destroyed this building. Oh, I know, you'll use your quirk to blast up in the air. Kirishima's quirk will keep him safe. Iida can probably get out in time. But what about all the civilians? How many do you think will survive? Five? Ten? None?"

What the fuck? Bakugou gawked at Deku in horror. This was what Uraraka had dealt with on her own? This wasn't just a villain. This was a fucking nightmare. Deku looked genuinely curious about his estimate on how many people would live if he smashed down on the building with his quirk. There was also a hard glint in his eyes, that shine Bakugou had thought wouldn't speak of anything good, like he was daring Bakugou to make a move and force his hand into destroying the building. Like he wanted to do it and was just looking for an excuse.

Bakugou forced his hands to relax and Deku let out a sigh as he put his foot gently back on the ground. "How disappointing. You've grown more cautious this past year." He raised an eyebrow. "Not as confident perhaps? Did my death shake you up more than you've admitted?"

"I'm plenty fucking confident for the both of us," Bakugou snapped. The anger felt strangely hollow though. It was like he was playing some sort of role in Deku's game. The angry, explosive one to Deku's cool and clever. He was being toyed with again. "Your death didn't do shit to hinder me."

"Oh? Is that why Shoto is ahead of you in the pro hero ranking?" Deku asked.

Everything came to a halt in Bakugou's mind as he stared back at Deku, seeing him but not at the same time. If you had asked him, Bakugou would've said that he had begun to push himself somehow even harder after Deku's death, just as Uraraka had. However, despite doing an insanely impressive job, the numbers told a slightly different story. There were missteps here and there that shouldn't have happened and Bakugou couldn't explain them.

What really struck him though was Deku's knowledge of him. It appeared as if Deku had been keeping tabs on him. He'd been paying attention, watching Bakugou as well. Maybe even Todoroki too. Had the League been spying on all of them or had Deku done his own personal digging?

"You know, I could take care of that for you," Deku offered, one of those helpful looks on his face. Bakugou had hated that look. Once upon a time, it had made him believe that Deku thought him weak when apparently he was just being nice. Bakugou honestly couldn't tell if it was the same now or the very opposite. Deku looked so genuine that it made Bakugou hesitate.

But he didn't like where this was going. "What are you talking about, Deku?"

"I can get him out of the way!" Deku said excitedly, holding his hands out. "I'll kill Shoto - and Endeavor too, for good measure - and that'll open a path for you to the top."

The words coming out of his mouth were so terrible, so out of place, so wrong that Bakugou actually took an involuntary step backwards. He'd never done that with Deku before; he had always pushed himself forward. The only time he had even come close to this had been after the conclusion of their first fight during their combat training simulation at U.A. The shock of experiencing Deku's quirk and finding out that everything he'd thought he knew was wrong had thrown him off.

This new Deku and his flip between casual and excited threats of violence made Bakugou feel as if he'd been hit by Uraraka's zero gravity quirk and he was floating in space with no idea of when he would come down.

"All you have to do," Deku continued, a quiet intensity in his voice now as he stepped more into the light, "is leave Ochako alone."

That snapped Bakugou out of it and he glared furiously. "What?"

"Kacchan, don't play stupid with me now," Deku said, like he was scolding a child. He pulled something out from behind him and tossed it onto the ground in between them.

Bakugou dragged his eyes down to see what it was. A folder, splayed open, with dozens of pictures of him and Uraraka these past ten months. Them sitting at a cafe talking over coffee, getting drinks at a bar near his agency, a large group of them celebrating his birthday, the two of them in their hero outfits working together. There was even one of him holding the door open for her and glaring back at someone while he had a hand hovering over the small of her back. Someone had been keeping very close tabs on them.

What was it that Uraraka had told him? That the League had shown Deku pictures of them together to prove to him that she was spending time with Bakugou? This had been their way to point Deku in his direction and turn Deku into their weapon. They'd used Uraraka to turn him against them. It felt like a violation. All this time they had been mourning him and trying to move on with their lives and someone had been following them. It made his skin crawl.

"While I appreciate you taking care of her while I was gone," Deku said, "you're not needed anymore. You've been a good friend to her, but that's my responsibility now. I want you to leave her alone."

"Like hell I am!" Bakugou snapped.

Any semblance of pleasantries vanished from Deku's face in a flash, replaced by a cold, dead look in his eyes. "I'm not going to tell you again nicely, Kacchan."

"Or what?" Bakugou countered.

When Deku simply replied, "Or I kill everyone you've ever remotely cared about," Bakugou knew that he was telling the damn truth. There was no hesitation in his voice, no trembling of his body, not a single blink or flinch. He didn't say it out of anger or desperation to get what he wanted. It just...was. He would not hold back out of uncertainty. It would just be simple retribution for Bakugou not listening.

Still, Bakugou wasn't the kind of person to back down even when threatened. He could hear that stupid half and half bastard warning him not to rile up Deku, but he didn't give a shit. If this was how Deku wanted to do it, then Bakugou was going to take him down first.

"Fucking try me," Bakugou snarled, "but I'm not letting you get near Uraraka." A few explosions burst around his hands in preparation. Deku didn't flinch, but a hard expression had fallen over his face. "You're out of your mind, Deku. If you try anything with her, I'll beat the ever loving shit out you. I'm not letting you hurt her."

This seemed to strike a chord. Deku's hands began to shake, even after he formed them into fists, the black gloves stretching over his knuckles. "Hurt her? You don't have to worry about that. I would never hurt her." His voice was starting to get a little hysterical, his green eyes bright in all the wrong ways. "I love her!" He pointed a shaky finger at Bakugou. "You're the one that's going to hurt her. Look at you. All you do is destroy things, Kacchan! That's all you're capable of! I love her! She loves me! Me!"

"Then what the hell do you call those bruises on her wrists, you bastard?" Bakugou shouted back.

Deku suddenly snapped, like a twig. One second he was ready to explode and then he froze, as if his brain had shut down. And then, slowly, like he was being rebooted, his entire body started trembling. "I...I didn't…" He blinked, seemingly stunned. "I wouldn't..." Had he really not known what he was doing when he'd grabbed her too hard? Had he lost control without realizing it? "I would never… She knows…"

Bakugou was struck by Deku's sudden shift and he knew. It was him. It was Deku.

He was still fucking in there somewhere.

Damnit, Uraraka was right. But Bakugou was probably the last person on earth capable of actually dragging the real Deku back into the light. If anything, he knew that he'd make things worse. Even now, as Deku stood shaking like a leaf in front of him, it had been Uraraka that had done it.

Then, Deku shoved his fingers into his green hair and bent over in half, staring at the ground. "No, no, no…" he kept muttering as he violently shook his head. "No, no, no!"

Bakugou saw it coming a mile away. Deku was spiraling, but even worse, he was activating his quirk. Torn between two identities, he was coming apart at the seams and the result would only end in destruction. He had to be stopped before that happened.

With Deku distracted, Bakugou took his chance, rushing forward to attack, but then Deku's eyes snapped to his at the last second. They were somehow wild and dead at the same time, practically glowing. It was too late to correct himself and Deku snatched him by his hoodie collar with the superhuman speed of his quirk and threw him hard into the ground, hard enough to crack the roof. Bakugou gasped in pain and shock, the wind knocked right of him.

Instead of finishing him off though, Deku stumbled backwards a few steps and ran his fingers through his hair, head tilted towards the night sky as he took deep breaths. "Oh, Kacchan, that was very rude." He didn't make a move towards Bakugou though, allowing him to drag himself to his feet. He could hear noise from behind the door and knew that Kirishima and Iida were on their way up. "Using Ochako like that to upset me. I didn't mean to hurt her, of course. I'll have to make it up to her somehow."

"You're not getting anywhere near her," Bakugou grit out through the pain, holding onto his right side. He felt like Deku had broken a rib or two. At least it wasn't his back. Shit, that had hurt and Deku hadn't even used half of his strength. "We won't let you."

Deku dropped his head back down to look at Bakugou. "Do you mean Shoto?" He let out a disappointed sigh. "I miss him too, but if he tries to keep Ochako away from me, I'll have to kill him and not to help you." He held out his hands palm up in a shrug, as if there was nothing to be done. "I'll probably have to anyways. It's a shame, but what can you do?"

Not kill him? Wasn't that an option? He was far too casual about it.

The door to the stairs burst open and Iida came to a skidding halt. He was too stunned at first to do or say anything until Kirishima showed up behind him. Bakugou could read their thoughts easily. They had believed Uraraka, of course, and had known that Deku was alive, but hearing about it and seeing him in the flesh was another thing. Kirishima took a hesitant step forward, hand slightly outreached, but then Iida stopped him with an arm held out against his chest like a bar.

Deku brightened up, beaming at them and even giving a cheerful wave. "Hi, guys!"

"Midoriya?" Iida called out.

"Sorry I can't stay to chat," Deku said in that same happy voice. "Catch!"

Once again, Bakugou was blindsided, but this time he hadn't even moved. In less than a blink of the eye, Deku was in front of him and grabbed Bakugou by the arm and launched him towards Kirishima and Iida. Bakugou shouted at them to move, unable to use his quirk to slow himself down without burning them, but they'd been so shocked by the contrast of Deku's sudden act of violence and cheerful demeanor that they stood stock still. He crashed into them like a truck, throwing them all back inside the stairwell and against a wall.

"Fuck!" Bakugou shouted, half in pain and half in anger. He shoved Iida off of him and dragged himself to his feet. He glanced back at the other two. Iida looked stunned still, his glasses having been knocked off his face. Kirishima had fared better; he'd used to his hardening quirk at the last minute to protect himself. Fuck, no wonder Bakugou felt as if he'd slammed through five layers of concrete.

Kirishima reached out to pull him back. "Bakugou, wai-"

It didn't matter. Bakugou knew before he ran back onto the roof that Deku would be gone. He'd probably leaped from the roof a second after throwing Bakugou like a frisbee. The only signs of him that he had been there - that he had been real and breathing and very much alive - were the broken concrete from where he'd slammed Bakugou and the folder containing the surveillance pictures. Bakugou watched as the photos skidded around and blew in the wind, one of them floating near his feet. He bent down to pick it up.

The photo had him and Uraraka in it. They were both wearing their hero costumes, looking a little scuffed up from a fight they'd just finished, destruction surrounding them. Uraraka was mid-yell, telling off another hero for some reason or another. She looked like a hot mess and she was clearly mad, but there was so much passion in her eyes. He stood to her right, arms folded across his chest, but he was gazing at her with a faint, proud smirk. If he had been someone else, he might've thought his expression was almost soft, but that didn't make sense.

None of this made sense.

"Bakugou?" Kirishima prompted, coming up from behind him and glancing at the picture.

"We have to warn Todoroki," Bakugou said, folding the picture and shoving it in his pocket. "Looks like he made it on Deku's shit list."

He thought about Deku's casual threat to kill everyone if Bakugou didn't get out of Uraraka's life and then back to Todoroki's words of warning to stay away from her. He might have put a target on everyone's backs, but he didn't think that Deku would hesitate to take out anyone that got in his way, regardless of what Bakugou said or did. It was a shitty thing to think about.