Notes: "I love Todoroki and Uraraka," I say, as I continue to put them through angst. Thank you all for reading!

"Trying to shatter peace, even if it's not one you agree with, is the work of the mad and the wicked."
― Drew Hayes, Forging Hephaestus

After a while, two things became increasingly apparent: that this bedroom was her cell and that Deku slept very little. No wonder the bags under his eyes never left. She didn't see him at all the next day. True to his word, he had given her space, but it made her feel so alone and desperate. She'd tried to break the door or knob to get out to no avail, but had only ended up frustrated and maybe a broken finger.

After taking a hasty shower out of necessity more than anything, Uraraka fell into a fitful sleep, too worn thin to stay awake. She woke up to a plate of food on the table next to the bed. Deku must have come in, found her asleep, and left the food for her. Some part of her wished that he would have woken her up so she could have seen him, but then her stomach flipped over at the idea of talking to him. She didn't know what she would say.

Despite not having eaten in who knew how long, the food was unappealing and she rolled back over in the bed with her back to the door. Her stomach was twisted into knots as she tried to think of what she could do, but the thing about being locked in a cell was that the person inside was stuck depending on the person with the key. Sure, she could bang on the door and hope that someone would hear her and let her out - but that someone would be another villain that likely wouldn't be nearly as gentle with her as Deku.

Waiting once again infuriated her, but she had to be patient. She thought that she could feel her quirk slowly coming back to her, which made her anxious. More likely than not, she'd be injected with that quirk inhibitor drug again before she could do anything with it. She was terrified that the door would burst open and she'd be held down while administered the drug again.

Flexing her fingers, Uraraka sighed and sat up. If she wanted to keep up her strength, then she needed to eat, no matter how sick to her stomach she felt. She forced the food on the side table down and drank the glass of water that accompanied it as fast as she could. It honestly probably would've tasted good had she not been too focused on getting it over with.

The door opened right when she was finished. She watched with a guarded expression as Deku stepped into the room, looking equally as guarded. Things felt uneven between them, like there was a crack in the ground and they were standing at two different levels. She didn't know what to do with it or how to fix it, but she knew that she had to do something. It was exhausting.

Deku's eyes flickered to the empty plate. "You ate."

Uraraka folded her hands in her lap. "Thank you for the food."

There was a beat of silence between them as they stared at one another, that crack threatening to turn into a chasm if she didn't reach out to him. She dropped her guarded expression, allowing him to see the fear in her eyes, and whatever was holding him back broke. Deku rushed forward and slid a hand around the back of her head, his fingers gliding through her hair. Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead against hers, taking a deep breath, and she did the same.

"I'm sorry you had to see him like that," Deku told her in a genuinely hurt voice. "I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me. I didn't know what I would do."

"You were gone for eleven months," Uraraka murmured. "I don't want to waste time being angry with you."

It was true in a way. She didn't want to waste the time she had with him, but she also knew that she would never be able to recreate what they had. She didn't have time to let her emotions distract her. It was only a matter of time before Deku's illusion was shattered. She had to figure out a way to get out before then. Things were precarious as they were now.

Pulling away slightly, Uraraka touched his face and he opened his eyes. There was light in them today, a healthy glow that made him look almost totally normal. "Where did you go?"

"I had a few things that needed to be taken care of," Deku told her in the most evasive way possible. She didn't think he'd tell her if she tried to pry for more information and she was unsure if she even wanted to know. He smiled cheerily at her. "No rest for the wicked, as they say." It was a joke, but it stung her nonetheless. He seemed to catch on, his smile dropping, and he sighed. "I also had to get this."

Uraraka's face paled a little when she saw the capped syringe in his hand and she pulled away from him. "I don't-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Deku rushed to say, "but we have to do it. I can't let you stay here if you have your quirk."

"I don't want to be cut off from it," Uraraka pleaded. Not when she was just starting to feel it again. It scared her not to feel it. She could barely remember what life had been like before her quirk had manifested. She didn't want to know how it felt now.

"It has to be done," Deku said, holding her arm. "I thought it wouldn't be so bad if I did it instead and not surprise you with it."

To be honest, Uraraka might have preferred it to have been a surprise, but she didn't want anyone else putting their hands on her. She bit her lip and nodded her head. He took another deep breath and loosened his grip on her arm, running a soothing thumb over the red mark he'd left on her skin. After taking off the cap, he lined it up and the needle bit into her skin. She hissed as the quirk inhibitor drug was administered and a cold chill ran all the way through her body.

The second he pulled it out, she felt woozy again and fell forward into Deku's waiting arms. She couldn't feel her quirk being blocked off, but she imagined it being walled away. Her heart began to thump in panic, but her body didn't respond to the adrenaline. Deku ran his fingers through her air, just the way she'd loved him to do in order to help her fall asleep after a rough day. This definitely counted as a rough day, in her opinion. She felt herself slipping and before she knew it she was out cold again.

When she woke up again, she was lying alone in the bed. She heard movement at the foot of the bed and looked down to see Deku in the middle of changing into his villain costume. There were a few more scars on his chest than she remembered and a patch of red skin where Bakugou must have landed a hit with one of his explosions. It was still jarring to see him where the black suit when she was so familiar with his green one. She wondered what had happened to it. If the villains had thrown it away after capturing him.

The bed squeaked as Uraraka struggled to push herself up. The nausea was there, but it wasn't as bad this time since she knew what to expect. No quirk. The sound alerted Deku to her waking up and he turned to her as he snatched up his red gloves. "Good, you're awake. I didn't want to you to wake up in an unfamiliar place."

"What's going on?" Uraraka asked, her stomach knotting up as she took him in.

"I have to pop out for a bit, but it'll be quick," Deku promised her as he slid on his gloves.

Uraraka didn't like the sound of that at all. If he was going out wearing his costume, then he was leaving to do actual villain work. "Where are you going?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Deku reassured her, leaning over to kiss her on the temple. She was still too out of it to react other than blinking, her mind trying to focus on what Deku might be leaving to do. He put on his boots and then his belt. Besides the colors, it looked so much like his hero costume that it hurt.

"You're not…" Uraraka tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. "You're not going to hurt anyone, are you?"

"Only if they try to do something stupid," Deku replied in an offhand manner while he put on the last piece of his costume. "We're only supposed to scare them, but there's always that one person that tries to be a hero."

That person used to be Deku. He had told her the story about why All Might had chosen him as his successor: how, quirkless as he was, Deku had jumped onto the scene to save Bakugou from a sludge monster villain even though he had no hope of doing anything. And then there was him saving her from that zero point robot during the hero course exam. That was the kind of "something stupid" that Uraraka had admired him for.

Deku stood in front of her and held out his arms. "How do I look?"

Uraraka's eyes traveled up and down him. "Like you're ready to take on the world," she answered honestly.

"That's my girl," Deku quipped with a grin. Words that had once made her heart skip a beat now just made her want to hide. "Now, come on. You can't stay here while I'm out. I wish you could, but that's the orders. Besides, I don't trust these guys to stay away from you while I'm gone." He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She slipped her shoes on and then followed him out the room, feeling like she was in a dream once again. "I really hate doing this - it's so uninviting - but you're not one of us yet, so we have to take extra precautions."

"Where are you taking me?" She'd noticed that they were going a different way this time.

This time, Deku didn't respond right away. His mind was distracted. When she caught sight of his face, she noticed that the light was gone from them again and she knew that wherever she was going wouldn't be pleasant. At the end of the hallway, a woman sat in a chair flipping through a magazine in front of a door. It was strange to see a villain read something so average as a girly magazine.

As they come up to her, she looked up and her heavy-lidded violet eyes landed on them. A languid smile appeared on her face as she stretched in the chair. "Off to have some fun, Midoriya?"

"It's a shame you can't join, Ikeda," Deku said in a light-hearted tone.

"My skills are put to better use here," Ikeda replied, holding a hand out towards the door. She leaned in the seat to gaze at Uraraka, who was half-hiding behind Deku, and let out a tired sigh. "Oh, you're bringing her here? Poor dear. Does Kyōmu not trust her in your room?"

"Afraid not." Deku shrugged his shoulders. "House rules for guests."

"Such a shame," Ikeda said. She had a slow way of talking, as if she was closer to falling asleep at any given moment than Aizawa. It was a bit mesmerizing. "At least she'll be able to keep your boy company. I feel sad for him, being cooped up all by himself. It's not healthy in his condition."

Her words lit a lightbulb in her mind. She knew where Deku had taken her: the cells. Behind that door was where Todoroki was being kept. It didn't scare her as much as one might've thought. She was only trading one cell for another. This one might not be as comfortable, but she wouldn't be alone. It would also give her a chance to speak with Todoroki. She was certain that they'd been kept apart for a reason. Now they were going to be locked in a room together. She was ready for it.

Ikeda stood up and opened the door, calling out in her low voice, "Todoroki, you've got company."

Sitting on a cot inside what looked like an old prison cell was Todoroki. He was hunched over with his forearms resting on his knees, his face cast in shadow until he slowly raised his head. Unlike her, he had not been given the chance to shower or change and he looked rough for it. Dark shadows hung under his eyes, similar to Deku's, and there was a haunted look about them that reminded her of right after Deku's death. Quite frankly, he looked as if he'd been wrung out too many times and had little left in him.

They connected eyes and he pulled himself up straight, although it looked like it took some effort. Her feet moved on their own accord until she was standing in front of his cell, even managing to ignore Ikeda as she unlocked the one connected to it. He had a massive wall put up right now. Besides the exhaustion and shadows, she couldn't read anything on his face. It looked like he was barely holding it up though.

"I'll be back soon," Deku told her, pulling her away from Todoroki. He turned her around so that she was facing him, putting a finger under her chin and kissing her sweetly. When he pulled away from her, she stepped back into the cell - one) to appear cooperative and two) to get space in between them. They stared at each other as Ikeda shut the door and locked her inside until finally he turned towards the other villain. "Make sure nothing happens to her while I'm gone. If there is so much as a hair out of place, there will be consequences."

Ikeda lazily saluted him. "No worries, boss, your girl is safe with me." Deku nodded his head and glanced back at her for only a second before turning on his heels and walking out the door, leaving the three of them alone in an uncomfortable silence. Ikeda strolled towards their cells and leaned against the bars. "How do you want to do this, hon?"

"Pardon me?" Uraraka furrowed her brow, not anticipating Ikeda's behavior. She wasn't antagonistic at all like Uraraka had come to expect from the other villains here.

"I mean, do you want to spend your time here asleep in la la land or do you want to be awake in this hell hole?" Ikeda wiggled the fingers of her left hand, drawing Uraraka's attention to them. Her quirk must originate in her hands like Uraraka's zero gravity. "You can have a nice dream and wake up when Midoriya gets back."

Uraraka gave her an unimpressed look. "I'll stay awake."

"Probably a good call." Ikeda leaned her head against one of the bars, looking all for the world like she could fall asleep right then and there. "The dreams are always touchy for first timers." She grinned at Todoroki. "Isn't that right? Kyōmu digging around in your head right before probably didn't help."

Chuckling to herself, Ikeda meandered out of the room like a bored cat and shut the door, finally leaving Uraraka and Todoroki alone for the first time in days. It was difficult for Uraraka to tell how long they'd been here, but it had to be at least two or three days. Deku had brought food to his room for her to eat, but without a phone, watch, or window, she didn't even know if it was day or night right now.

As soon as Uraraka was certain that Ikeda had gone back to her post, she bolted to the side of her cell that was connected to Todoroki's and wrapped her hands around the bars. "Thank everything you're alive!"

Todoroki looked like he was considering standing up, but then shook his head. Better to stay sitting and conserve what little energy he had. She let go of the bars, stepping back until she was sitting on her cot like him. "You look…" His voice was rough, probably from screaming. "You look well."

It was stupid, but Uraraka blushed. "I feel terrible. Deku has given me so much and you're-"

"No, I'm relieved," Todoroki cut in, looking her in the eyes. "When they wouldn't let me see you, I got worried, but then no one would even tell me where you were. 'You don't need to worry about her anymore.' That's all I was given to work with." He fingers twitched in the air, but then he stilled them. "When I saw you with Midoriya, I thought at least he was telling the truth. Have you been with him this whole time?"

Uraraka nodded her head. "For the most part. I've just been in his room. I feel like some sort of doll…"

"He's trying to live out your old life together as some sort of fantasy that he's built up while with the League." Todoroki's gaze dropped to the floor. "That's not going to last forever." She thought back to that moment when he had tried to deepen their kiss and push her against the wall. No, it was not. She would always love him, but she couldn't give him what he wanted right now. "Has he...tried anything with you?"

Damn Todoroki for being so painfully observant.

"Just once, but he stepped back when I asked him," Uraraka answered.

"At least he has some notion of boundaries," Todoroki said thoughtfully, "even if it doesn't extend to psychological torture. Maybe it's just me."

She chewed on her bottom lip. This was territory that she didn't want to chart, but she needed to figure out what was going on in his head. She didn't want to come in here one day and find that he wasn't himself anymore. She thought that he looked afraid of that as well. "How…?" How could she word this? "How are you holding up?" It was an inadequate question for what they both knew was a deadly serious matter, but she didn't know what else to say.

"It's… I don't know how to describe it, Uraraka," Todoroki said. "It feels like my mind is being split open like a melon and everything is spilling out." He pulled himself further back onto the cot with some effort and leaned against the wall, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. "There are things that I know happened and things that I know didn't, but then when he puts everything back in, it's hard to tell which one is which."

If they were going to figure out a way to save Deku, then they needed to find a way either around that villain's quirk or through it. Experiencing it firsthand was one way to get information on it, but that hadn't been in either of their plans. She watched the way Todoroki swallowed and how he was holding onto his knees. He was scared, but he couldn't admit it. He had to stay strong or admit that he would succumb the same way that Deku had.

"I can feel him in my head, like he's digging around through my memories, sifting through my emotions and thoughts." Todoroki forced himself to breathe steadily, but she could see him struggling. "You can't hide anything from him. I've never felt so exposed in my life. Every fear, every desire, everything I even hid from myself - it's all out in the open for him to take and twist ."

Uraraka wanted to reach out and take his hands, but he was sitting just out of her reach. It was probably strategic, but neither one of them would acknowledge it. Physical comfort was not Todoroki's strong suit and he was showing too much weakness as it was. There was nothing she could say right now to make things better either. He could only work through this by getting it out of his head. At least he had her. Deku had had no one.

"He...pulls up memories and shows them, like a picture, and sometimes they're real and sometimes they aren't," Todoroki continued. "Sometimes he just changes little things about them. Maybe how you reacted or what a person said to you." A painful expression crossed his face as he thought back to them. "He doesn't have to change much about my childhood. Maybe that's what hurts the most."

"You can fight this," Uraraka insisted. "You can resist him."

Todoroki shook his head. "I don't know if I can, Uraraka."

"But-"

"You don't understand," Todoroki interrupted, opening his eyes and dropping his head so that he could fix her with a level stare. "I don't know if I want to. That's how strong it is. I can already feel the change in me. It's small, but I can feel it and it's so…" He clenched his fists. "I'm so angry. There are flashes when I forget everything except how much I've gone through - how unjust it is and cruel it all was - and I want to burn it all to the ground. I could kill Endeavor. I want to, gods, I want to so bad ." His fists had started to shake. She had no doubt right now that if he had not been injected with that quirk inhibitor drug, both ice and fire would be blooming right now. "And then I'm back to normal and I know what I felt is wrong and what I remember isn't real, but I can't forget how it felt to be…"

Uraraka looked down at her feet. "To be free."

A sigh that was more like a breath escaped Todoroki and he stopped trembling. "Yeah." There was shame laced in his voice, but mostly it was just exhaustion. "I know it's false. You don't have to tell me that. Everything's a lie and it's already getting difficult to tell the difference after two sessions."

"Only two?" Uraraka prompted.

Todoroki nodded his head grimly. "Apparently he can only use his quirk once a day on a person or there's a high chance of turning them into a useless vegetable."

She could only wonder how many times Kyōmu had used his quirk before figuring that out. Who knew how many people he had hurt while learning his abilities. Deku clearly hadn't been his first subject. "So we've been here for two days then."

"Coming up on number three soon, I imagine," Todoroki added. "It's about that time for another session."

This time, Uraraka stood up and walked over to the bars that separated them, sliding a hand through a gap and holding it out to him. Todoroki took a breath and stood up too, grabbing her hand and stepping forward until he was leaning against the cold metal rods. She squeezed his hand and he almost flinched, but then returned the gesture and laid the side of his head against the bars. They could pretend that she was the one that needed comforting.

"If you ever start to get too confused about what's real, I'm here for you," Uraraka told him. "Tell me what he showed and I'll tell you the truth." She would be his center as best as she could. It wasn't much, but for now, until they figured something else out, this was all they had. He nodded his head. "You're not alone."

"I wish I was," Todoroki replied. He stood up straight and looked her in the eyes. "It won't be long before Deku puts you in a situation that you can't fake - and then he'll figure out the truth." The open look in his eyes made Uraraka's heart skip a beat. He knew so much. Too much. There were too many memories and thoughts locked in Todoroki's mind for the taking right now and Kyōmu would use every single one to twist Deku further. "You didn't ask him to take you because you wanted to be with him, did you?"

She swallowed and stared back at Todoroki. He had been unconscious during the time that Deku had almost mauled Bakugou. He hadn't seen her throw her life in Deku's hands in order to save Bakugou. She had a feeling that someone had told him in between when she'd seen him being tortured and now, probably Dabi, who would use Todoroki's inability to protect her as a way to wound him. Todoroki would've understood the significance of her actions even if Deku was ignoring it.

No, she hadn't. Todoroki was right. It wouldn't be long before Deku knew that too.

Uraraka pulled her hand out of his grip and he let her, so she could fiddle with her fingers. There was no way she could possibly explain what Deku had been like in that moment. He had been broken. His history with Bakugou was a lot more complicated than any of them knew. She wondered how much Deku had told Todoroki, but she couldn't imagine that it was much more than her. It had to have been worse than he'd let on, although she believed that Kyōmu had messed with his memory to make things worse.

That story about Bakugou telling Deku to kill himself the morning before Bakugou had been attacked by that sludge monster though? As horrible as it sounded, as much as she didn't want to believe that he had said anything like that, she knew that it was true. It upset her, although she knew how much he had grown since then. They had all matured since middle school, but he had had to do a lot more growing than some.

"Did anyone die?" Todoroki asked point blank.

She shook her head. "Deku said they didn't. He was...disappointed in himself. I think you and Bakugou were supposed to be killed, maybe others too."

"But he didn't kill us." Todoroki paused to think about this and then rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger like it might prompt an idea. "What changed his mind?"

"It was Dabi's idea to take you," Uraraka explained, even if she didn't understand it fully herself. "It sounded like it was meant to be a personal jab to Endeavor. He is your father and the number one hero right now, after all."

For the villains, taking Todoroki was a much better route than killing him, considering his power and connections to other pro heroes. Maybe it took more out of Kyōmu and weakened him or his quirk since he had to use it on two people. Any break would help.

"Uraraka," Todoroki began hesitantly, pulling her out of her thoughts, "why did you come with them?" Her heart skipped a beat. He sounded hurt. "Midoriya said you asked him to take you."

She dropped her gaze back to the ground, unable to look him in the eyes. After all that he had done to protect her and keep her from this very spot, she had willingly gone with Deku. It had to hurt. "I didn't have a choice. Deku… You didn't see what he was like. It was so awful. He was going to hurt Bakugou. He-" She put her hands to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. "Deku was going to cut off one of Bakugou's hands."

It hadn't seemed possible that Todoroki could pale further, but he did. "He...what?"

"He kept talking about how awful Bakugou made his life with his explosion quirk and how terrible people become heroes even when they do bad things and he…" Uraraka closed her eyes. "I couldn't let him do it, so I told him that he was right and to take me with him. It was the only thing I could think to do. I couldn't let him maim Bakugou like that."

Todoroki stepped away from the bars and ran his fingers through his hair. "I thought Deku would just go for the kill with Bakugou. I didn't think he'd resort to torture."

"I didn't know what else to do," Uraraka repeated tearfully, as if pleading with Todoroki to understand her. Forgive her even. "It was so horrible. We thought we knew what we were doing, but we didn't." She collapsed back on the cot in her cell and Todoroki did the same. "I've never been so scared in my life."

"Judging by how much in love Deku is with you still, you've done an excellent job in hiding it," Todoroki said. It was supposed to be encouraging, but his words felt more like a knife twisting in her heart. She didn't want to use Deku's love for her to keep herself safe. She didn't want to use something so good like that. Todoroki must have caught the pained look on her face. "I know you still love him. It's obvious how much this is tearing you apart."

"I don't know if I can love him in the way he wants," Uraraka admitted, shame creeping inside her.

"I'd say you don't have to, but…" Todoroki sighed. "Things aren't so simple when your life depends on it."

Uraraka pulled her feet on the cot and drew her knees to her chest. "Kind of takes the romance out of it, huh?" She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on top of her knees. "He sure is trying though. He played our song and had us dance to it." That knife dug further in her chest. "He told me about how he was planning on proposing to me."

On his cot, Todoroki froze. "Uraraka…"

"It's okay," Uraraka said. "I understand why you didn't tell me. It would've only hurt me more." She took a breath. She had to let the pain go. It was the only way she could move past this and work on figuring a way out of here. She couldn't do that with a clouded mind and hurt heart. "I'm just upset that you've had to deal with so much of this on your own. I should've been there for you more."

"You were," Todoroki told her. "You are. More than you'll know."

She could hear him growing weaker and knew than he needed to rest if he was going to survive the next session. There would be more time for them to talk later. She laid down on the cot and, taking the signal, he did the same, sighing as he gave in. It wasn't long before Todoroki drifted off. The sleep that the quirk inhibitor drug gave them wasn't restful and he had been worn thin by the brainwashing sessions with Kyōmu. The combination left him weak, so he had to rest often in between if he was to keep up his strength.

Uraraka laid on her cot, watching his chest rise and fall as he slept quietly. There was an almost peaceful expression on his face, like this was the only time he could breathe. Hopefully his dreams were good ones. He looked like he hadn't slept properly in weeks, although they'd only been here for two days, but maybe he could rest easier knowing that he wasn't alone now. Despite being locked in a cage, she felt better with him in her sight.

It was perhaps that easiness that allowed her to drift off. There was little else for her to do and keeping an eye on Todoroki eventually lulled her to sleep as well. She didn't feel safe, but locked up and with Deku's threat looming over everyone, she felt okay enough to fall into a light doze.