notes: Well, this morning's episode thoroughly wrecked me. I cried a lot. How about I make things worse? I can promise you that things will...get a little better soon. We're about to come to a head, starting with this chapter. Deku's position with the villains is an interesting one and being protective isn't always a good thing. Warning for violence. Deku is not a happy camper.

"If you have not been a villain at a certain point in time, you will never be a hero. And the day you are a hero, you may become a villain the next day."
- Carlos Ghosn

Minutes or an hour later, when Uraraka woke up from hazy dreams, it was to hands around her throat. The second she recognized what was happening, her eyes snapped open and she immediately reached to grab the assailant's wrists that were pressed up against her chin. They only squeezed harder, tilting her head back harshly, and she wheezed, but then her eyes latched onto the person choking her.

Panicked as she was, it took her a moment to figure out who it was. She didn't recognize them at first and her brain was more focused on trying to fight and breathe than piece together information. It was the villain from the other day, the only one in the hallway that hadn't spoken when Deku first had brought her out of his room. He had only glared at her in the background. She remembered how furious he had looked, like he wanted to wring her neck.

"You think just because you belong to Midoriya that you're safe?" the villain hissed, squeezing harder. Uraraka clawed at the man's hands, her nails digging into his skin, but he didn't let go. He had a death grip on her. "You don't belong to him though, do you? Oh no, I remember you, Uravity, running around with another hero. That damn Ground Zero. You two ruined everything for me. Took away my entire life when you caught me."

Uraraka gasped desperately for air, wheezing out, "Stop," but of course he didn't listen. She kicked her legs up and down on the coat, her ankle banging painfully against the metal bar in the process.

The sound startled Todoroki awake. At first, he moved like he would to use his quirk, but nothing came. Less than a second later, he saw what was happening in Uraraka's cell and he jumped to his feet. "Hey, hey! Let go of her!" He reached through the bars, but couldn't reach them. All he could do was wave his hand uselessly in the air. "Stop it!" He banged on the cage bars loudly with his hands and feet, going absolutely wild. "Somebody! He's going to kill her! Let go!"

Just as her vision started to go black, Uraraka managed to pull one of her legs in between her and the villain choking her. She kicked out hard, her foot bending at an awkward and painful angle, but it had the desired effect of knocking the villain away from her. The second his hands left her throat, she sucked in a gasp of air that hurt so bad that she fell into a coughing fit. The villain came at her again, growling furiously, and she kicked again, her heel connecting with his nose, and he stumbled back against the bars of the cage.

Before he could attack her again, Todoroki slipped his arms through the bars and around the villain's neck, holding him back tightly. The man kicked and pulled on Todoroki's arms, screaming obscenities that would've had Bakugou raising his eyebrows, but Todoroki didn't let go, no matter how weak he'd felt before. Uraraka pulled herself up, gently touching her sore neck.

The door to outside the cells swung open and Ikeda hurried inside. Her heavy-lidded eyes flew wide open at the sight and she exclaimed, "Murai, you idiot!" She fumbled for the keys as the villain unsheathed a knife and slashed Todoroki's arm, forcing Todoroki to shout in pain and let go of him. Right as the villain came at Uraraka with the knife, screaming in rage, Ikeda unlocked the cell and bolted inside to smack him in the back of his head and he crumpled to the ground like a sack of rice.

A strange silence followed the man's fall into unconsciousness. Uraraka was pressed against the back of the cell in a stance ready to fight back and take control of the knife, her neck red and already starting to bruise. Her neck was aching, her lungs and throat burning, and her ankle throbbing. She was having trouble standing up, but didn't want to show it. Todoroki was holding onto his injured arm, blood slipping through his fingers and dripping onto the concrete floor.

Ikeda stood over the unconscious villain, Murai, breathing heavily and frowning down at him. Her fingers twitched as she touched her lips. "He's going to have some bad dreams." It was a cringing thought voiced out loud.

It occurred to Uraraka that this would be a good shot at trying to escape, but she didn't even know where they could go. Besides, without her quirk, she felt more anxious than she wanted to admit and her ankle was starting to really hurt. She didn't think it was broken, but after hitting it against the metal bar and bending it weirdly in that kick, she knew that she'd done something to it. Todoroki was standing, but holding Murai back had zapped the energy out of him.

Before Uraraka could say anything, the door opened and Dabi appeared. He took one look at the scene, swore tiredly, and stepped inside fully. "What the hell happened here?"

"This is bad," Ikeda mumbled to herself. "This is really bad. He's going to be very unpleasant to wake up."

Dabi snatched her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him. "What happened?"

"He said he just wanted to talk to her," Ikeda muttered, blinking groggily, like she was the one waking up from a dream. "I didn't think he would… I didn't think a little talking would harm anyone. We all know what Midoriya is like…"

"He did a little more than talk," Dabi said coldly, waving a hand in Uraraka's direction. "Look at her." He stepped back out of the cell, rubbing the bottom half of his jaw, the purple skin stretching in an ugly manner. "Remember the last time someone hurt her? They're dead. Hase was lucky that she was left behind for those damn heroes to take." He swung his right arm around and rubbed where it connected with his shoulder. "He nearly broke my arm for almost burning her."

Uraraka was rendered speechless. The way they were talking about Deku - it almost sounded like they were afraid of him. Dabi had most likely referred to the villains that Deku had killed because they had hurt her while she was in the process of capturing them. Hase must've been that knife villain that had attacked her multiple times, striking her once in the thigh. Deku had cleaned and patched the wound when she'd first been knocked out by that quirk inhibitor drug.

After his eyes flickered over Todoroki, taking note of his injury, Dabi fixed a flat glare on her, as if telling her not to try anything, and then grabbed Murai by the back of his collar, brusquely dragging him out of the cell and throwing him on the floor. "Wake him up," he ordered.

As Ikeda stepped forward, Dabi reached back to slam the cell door shut again. Uraraka returned his glower and lowered herself down onto her cot. Bending down into a couch, Ikeda tapped Murai on the face a few times before he jumped awake with a scream, like he was coming out of a horrific nightmare. He scrambled to get away from Ikeda, who slowly stood back up, but couldn't seem to find his footing.

Murai's whole body shook. "Wh-what-?"

Dabi interrupted him, dragging him up by the front of his shirt onto his feet and shoving him into the wall. "What the hell were you thinking?" At first, Murai didn't answer. Whatever Ikeda's quirk was, it must have done a number on him. Blue flames appeared in Dabi's hand, flickering in the air like snakes. "Weren't you taught not to play with things that don't belong to you?"

When Uraraka squirmed on the cot, Murai's eyes locked onto her past Dabi and he snarled. "That hero - she ruined my life - her and that bastard Ground Zero."

Recognition struck her like lightning. She'd thought that the villain looked familiar, but she couldn't place his face. She and Bakugou had caught him a month back, working together by combining their quirks to bring him down, although he'd been officially labeled as Bakugou's collar. That was why he had slipped under Deku's radar. The fight had been fierce and the villain had gone out of his way to endanger civilians. After catching him, she had gotten into it with another pro hero for getting cocky and causing too much collateral damage.

"Midoriya thinks she belongs to him?" Murai snapped. "He's dead wrong. He didn't see the way she and Ground Zero worked together. That wasn't just friendliness. I'd be doing him a favor by getting rid of her!"

Dabi slammed his hand against the wall next to Murai's head, fire exploding and making Murai flinch. "No one here cares about your personal vendetta, not when it goes against the rules. I don't care what she did to you. Were you not warned of the consequences of touching her?"

"Since when do you listen to Deku so much?" Murai mocked.

"Since I have a brain and he broke me out of prison," Dabi replied, smacking Murai upside the head like he was an annoying child. "Not to mention you cut the other one. You know what recent injuries does to Kyōmu's quirk. He won't be pleased either." Murai looked infuriated, his eyes swinging to all of them in the room, but he couldn't get an edge in. "Now I'd get as far away from her as possible before Midoriya returns."

"Pathetic," Murai spit out. "You're all so scared of him."

"Scared of who?"

Everyone in the room whipped their heads around to swatch as Deku walked into the room. His hair was a wavy mess and there was a curious look on his face, looking relatively normal minus wearing his villain outfit. There was no blood on his clothes at least. Whatever he had left to do, it was finished and it appeared as if no one had been killed, at least not by his hands. Uraraka couldn't even be relieved. That might not be the case soon.

Dabi stepped away from Murai, pulling himself out of the scene and the crossfire. Ikeda shrunk in on herself and stepped back as well, like she could hide. Only Murai stood his ground, but he wasn't nearly as confident as he was seconds ago. Maybe his words were coming back to haunt him. Deku eyed the three villains, waiting for an answer, when he finally turned his focus to Uraraka. The change in him was immediate. Any brightness in him fled as the light smile vanished from his face. He snapped his fingers and Ikeda unlocked the cell.

In a flash, Deku was kneeling in front of Uraraka, peeling her hands away from her neck. She didn't know why she'd tried to hide the growing bruises from him. All she could think was that it would be terrible for him to know. His hands hovered over neck, his fingers lining up with the bruises. "My gods, Ochako…" When his fingers touched her skin, she tried really hard not to flinch. It didn't hurt, not with how delicate he was touching her, but it still made her think of those hands wrapped around her neck, squeezing the life out of her. "Who did this to you?"

Uraraka couldn't answer. Honestly, she was afraid to talk because of how much her throat hurt, so she shook her head. She was afraid to tell him anything. He brushed her hair out of her face and stood up straight. She could see him changing before her eyes: going from soft and warm with her to hard and cold until it was like he was a completely different person. The others must've noticed it too. Todoroki's gaze turned wary while Dabi and Ikeda glanced at each other, like they were witnessing a car crash that they'd seen before.

First, Deku turned to Ikeda, who brought her hands up in front of herself in surrender. "He said he only wanted to talk! I didn't give him my keys. He must have copied them." Gone was her slow, deep way of talking. She was much more jittery now, reminding Uraraka of when someone got a burst of energy after being awake for so long.

"I told you to make sure nothing happened to her," Deku warned. "I entrusted her to you."

"I know, I know," Ikeda said in a soothing voice. It did nothing to placate Deku though and she knew it, shrinking back against the wall.

"I told you there would be consequences," Deku said coldly, his quirk glowing in his clenched fists and up his arms. Ikeda swallowed, but nodded her head, a sickly expression falling over her pale face. His eyes swung over to Dabi, who shook his head in disappointment, until they landed on Murai. "You did this?"

Murai licked his lips. "Midoriya, I did this for you." Uraraka was the closest to Deku, so perhaps she was the only one who saw him begin to visibly shake. It was so small, but it made a chill run up her spine. If Murai had noticed, then maybe he would've stopped there, but he didn't and they all had to watch him dig his own grave. "That witch is lying to you! She didn't come here for you. She's trying to trick you. I saw her when I was captured. I saw how she was with Ground Zero. She's manip-"

In less than a second, Deku held Murai by the neck, lifting him off the ground so that his feet were scrambling for purchase and he was gasping for air. He clawed at Deku's hand and wrist just as Uraraka had done with him when he'd been choking her. It was pointless though. With his quirk activated, no one was stronger than Deku. Blood flew out of Murai's mouth when Deku slammed him hard against the wall.

"Not another word!" Deku cut in viciously. "I won't have you talking about Ochako like that!"

It was like when that one villain that had commented that Uraraka smelled like nitroglycerin. Anything related to Bakugou was clearly a trigger for Deku. That villain had gotten away with it then, perhaps because it was such a mild comment and Deku had been distracted by what was about to happen. This villain, on the other hand, had done everything terribly wrong. He'd pressed every single button and Deku was vibrating with rage.

Murai kicked weakly in the air and could only manage to wheeze out, "Ground-" before Deku yelled in fury and threw Murai across the room, causing Uraraka to gasp and the others to flinch. Murai crashed into a table, breaking it into pieces, and practically bounced off the wall and fell to the ground in a thump. Somehow, he was still alive, but Deku stalked towards him and slammed a fist into the side of his face as he was trying to push himself up. There was an audible and terrible crack of bone breaking as Deku struck him again so that he wouldn't move.

"What did I say about Ochako? What did I say?" Deku raged. To be honest, Uraraka didn't think Murai would be able to talk if he tried. The two punches Deku had given him had broken his jaw and half of his face was a swollen, ugly mess. The bruises rising on her neck had nothing on his face. Deku slammed the heel of his left boot down on Murai's hand, his bones crackling like wood over a fire as they broke, and Murai let out a horrific, garbled scream. "She is not to be harmed in any way! She's under my protection. She's with me! She's mine!" He stomped down a few more times for good measure, as if to ensure that Murai could never touch her again. "But you didn't listen and I won't have some petty, weak villain hurting her ever again!"

Behind him, Dabi and Ikeda watched in silence as Deku beat their colleague to death. He was on one knee, striking Murai again and again, even after it was obvious that the villain was dead and blood was splattered everywhere. Ikeda wore an ill look, but was holding herself in a very still manner, as if terrified that Deku would turn on her if he saw her move and remembered how she had failed him in keeping Uraraka safe. Dabi was more passive, watching the scene with wary but mild interest. He looked like he enjoyed seeing Deku break like this, but also knew that he could be next if he wasn't careful.

Even Todoroki had gone deathly quiet. He must have been as horrified as she felt. While Ikeda and even Dabi turned their gazes at times and Uraraka had to close her eyes at some point, Todoroki never once looked away. He watched as Deku continued to strike, as bones broke, as blood sprayed, not even blinking. It was like he was committing this moment to memory. Maybe to remind himself of what he would become if he let Kyōmu's quirk win.

The whole scene devastated Uraraka on a level that she wasn't prepared. This wasn't her Deku. He had always been incredibly protective and passionate, but never this temperamental and violent. It was like he was breaking into jagged pieces and there was nothing she could do to piece him back together. This must have been how he was with the other villains he'd killed. She had seen the pictures and known how awful their deaths were, but it was nothing compared to seeing Deku destroy a person now.

Uraraka herself felt destroyed, her hopes and dreams crushed. This was a nightmare.

When Deku finally stopped, the villain that had attacked her was unrecognizable. It was almost impossible to look at what used to be his face without getting sick. Deku stood up, swaying slightly, and wiped his face with the back of his hand. With his back to everyone in the room, she couldn't see his face, but she saw enough blood on his hands and spatter around him to know that it wasn't a pretty sight. He swallowed and took deep breaths, head tilted back, his whole stance reminding her of Kyōmu after he had used his quirk on Todoroki.

"I don't understand," Deku sighed, sounding exhausted. "I'm doing all the heavy lifting here - I'm the one making most of he sacrifices and doing more than half the work - and I asked for one thing. Only one thing!" He finally turned around to face them and Uraraka cried out a little. "Not to touch or slander Ochako!"

It was like someone had thrown a bucket of red paint all over him. His green eyes eerily like lights, contrasting with the dark blood. He'd taken his red gloves off, but it was hard to tell with how covered they were now. It was like he'd dipped his hands in blood. His costume was mostly black, making it hard to see the red, but the glossiness of the wet blood stood out.

"Do you understand?" Deku demanded.

"You got it, boss," Dabi said, no mocking tone in his voice, just straightforward agreement.

Ikeda bowed her head. "Of course."

Deku pointed a warning finger at her. "And don't think I'm letting you off the hook." Ikeda actually winced and nodded. She had to be older and could've potentially knocked Deku unconscious with her quirk. Uraraka did not doubt it before, judging from the way she'd reacted to Murai attacking Uraraka. He shook his head like he was trying to get his bearings straight. "We're leaving."

When Deku stepped towards her cell though, Uraraka jumped to her feet and blurted out, "I want to stay with Todoroki." It proved to be too quick of a move and she stumbled a little when her ankle almost gave out. Deku furrowed his brow, but then his eyes went to the ankle that had bent too much when she'd stood up.

Dabi coughed. "You are a little…bloody." He shrugged his shoulders, as if it made no difference. She had to wonder if he had seen Deku like this before. Maybe when he'd killed those villains after the break out. He'd gone a lot more berzerk on them as well than his previous kills.

Deku glanced down at himself, as if he'd just now come to the realization that he was covered in blood. His eyebrows raised curiously as he looked at his front and then his hands, flipping them palm up and back. "Oh." He looked back at Uraraka and she couldn't even try to disguise the fear in her eyes. She'd never seen something so violent and personal before, not even in movies. It took her breath away, but in a terrible way.

"I'd get cleaned up first, if I were you," Dabi suggested.

"Right." Deku bit his lip thoughtfully, but then made a face when he tasted blood and spit it out. He tried to wipe off his face again, but he only managed to smear more blood. "Dabi, I'm leaving you in charge here since somebody" - he shot Ikeda a look and she shriveled - "can't handle simple orders." Dabi nodded his head. "I swear, if something happens to her…" He let out a breath, as if he'd been about to activate his quirk. "I don't even want to think about that."

Swinging a lazy gaze over Uraraka and Todoroki, Dabi considered them with those eerily bright blue eyes of his. "Not a hair out of order."

"Todoroki is hurt too," Uraraka pointed out.

Deku carefully examined Todoroki, who almost looked like he was trying to hide his wound. It made no matter what he did since blood was seeping through his fingers. He had to get it taken care of, unless he wanted it to get infected and make him even more delirious than the brainwashing quirk was already doing.

"Ikeda, find someone that can tend to Shoto's injury," Deku ordered. She jerked upright and nodded. "You'll have to alert Kyōmu and suffer his consequences as well."

Blue flames appeared in one of Dabi's hands. "I could always cauterize the wound."

Todoroki immediately tensed. The wound was on his right side, the half where his ice quirk resided. One burn was bad enough. He had been careful throughout the years to avoid getting another one.

"Forgive me for sounding rude," Deku sighed, "but you're not exactly a trusted source on medical treatment with those burn scars covering half your body." The blue flames went out and Dabi made a face as if to say that it was Deku's loss. "You'll also need to find someone to help you clean up this mess."

Ikeda made a noise that sounded close to throwing up when her eyes raked over the dead body. "Midoriya, please, I don't think I can-"

"I don't care," Deku interrupted hotly, shutting her right up. "You should've thought of that before you directly disobeyed an order." He scowled. "You're lucky that you're worth more alive."

It was so strange seeing Deku interact with these villains. Although he was ordering both of them around, Dabi seemed to be more on an even level with Deku, even if he did call him "boss". It was like a nickname, like how Bakugou had called him "Deku" instead of "Midoriya", except it wasn't exactly an insult. Maybe it had to do with the raw power of Dabi's quirk. Ikeda's was more passive and she seemed it as well. Instead of looking like she could fall asleep at any second, she looked like she'd never sleep again. Gone was the friendliness between her and Deku, replaced by sheer terror.

Uraraka couldn't say or do anything. It had taken a lot out of her to speak up about Todoroki. She stood still as Deku took a step towards her, hesitate when he seemed to consider his appearance again, and then turn to leave without another word. Even with him gone, the tension in the room didn't leave. It was impossible with the body lying in the corner of the room. Uraraka tried to avoid it, turning her back to it, but the whole scene kept replaying in her mind's eye.

Deku had been so angry . That had been the out of control they had all feared. She couldn't let him get like that, but then… It had been partly because of her. Kyōmu had been right. Her being here was actually helping Deku fall further into their clutches. It was confusing him, but also forcing him to dive deeper into the dark side of him that Kyōmu had dragged out into the forefront.

"That went better than expected," Dabi hummed. Ikeda let out a mirthless laugh. "Don't complain. You're alive. He practically turned Murai into a puddle of goo." He stepped closer to peer at the dead body, a slightly impressed look on his face. "It's still hard to believe that's the same kid I remember before going to prison."

"That's not him," Uraraka insisted, shaking her head.

Dabi's eyes flickered over to her. "Keep telling yourself that. You're in the most danger of us all. I'd hate to be the focus of that tsunami."

Of course she didn't want to believe it, but his words lit all of her nerves. She sat back down on the cot, looking away from him, and touched her neck again. Although there were no doubt bruises there, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it a few minutes ago. Breathing and talking were easier at least.

When she raised her head back up, she connected eyes with Todoroki, who was watching her through a guarded gaze. She could see Dabi's words ringing in his head. He couldn't protect her like he'd promised Bakugou that he would. He was failing, but she couldn't let him fall.