Notes: I wrote this in between combating a very clingy one year-old. What can I say? I've got a mama's girl. However, that also means if she sees me, I better damn well be holding her or I'm a human jungle gym. The amount of times she tried playing with my laptop and messed with the document is unreal. But I love her to bits. OKAY SO, I know this isn't the chapter that everyone was expecting, but it's been on my mind for a while. The next chapter is all action so I needed one more bit of an emotional punch to the gut before we go on the ride of a lifetime.

"There weren't any villains though. The world was just complicated in various ways, and there weren't any obvious villains to be found. It was excruciating."
― Tatsuhiko Takimoto

When the door to the cells opened and Mr. Compress guided Uraraka back inside, Todoroki stood up, his face unreadable but his eyes flashing with concern. It had only been a few hours since she'd last been in here, but he already looked stronger and more energized. He must have been surprised to see her considering what had occurred in here not too long ago. Whatever the reason, it couldn't be good and she could tell that he was running through every scenario.

All of them led to the possibility of Deku losing trust in her.

"Back again so soon?" Dabi drawled from his seat in the corner. He had the magazine that Ikeda had been leafing through in one hand, lounging as if this was the most comfortable place in the world. Uraraka's eyes flickered from him to Todoroki. He didn't seem to be hurt any more than he already was, just the cut on his arm and the bruises under his dirty and sweaty costume that he still hadn't been able to change out of. She had been worried that Dabi might do something, but it appeared as if he'd let Todoroki be.

"There's trouble afoot, to say the least," Mr. Compress responded. "Midoriya requested that I replace you."

"Does he not trust me to be on my best behavior?" Dabi asked.

Mr. Compress tsked. "Since when have you ever been on that?" He shook his head. "You're needed out there. The other side has made their move. It's time to figure out our next one."

Dabi pulled himself to his feet and stretched his arms and back. "Oh, good, it's been days." He swept his gaze from Todoroki to Uraraka, both of whom stood their ground. "I was beginning to wonder if they'd given up on their friends. And they say we're the cruel ones."

"Tread lightly," Mr. Compress warned him as Dabi started for the door. "Midoriya is fired up."

The grin that slid onto Dabi's face pulled on his staples. "Even better."

As he stepped out of the room, Mr. Compress guided her back into the cell she'd been in earlier. The mess from Deku's kill had been cleaned up, though there were some stains that couldn't be taken out without even more extensive cleaning. He sat down in the chair that Dabi had been occupying, although he didn't pick up the magazine, pulling a small book from one of his pockets. So no privacy then. It meant that they were safer, but Uraraka would've liked some time alone to discuss what she had seen on the television. She didn't like any of the villains being privy to how she felt, scared that they would use it against her with Deku.

After suspiciously eyeing Mr. Compress, who was doing his best impression of eavesdropping, Todoroki turned to Uraraka. "What happened? Why are you back so soon?" He frowned. "Midoriya acted like he was never going to bring you back here again, but he didn't even escort you."

Uraraka bit her lip. "There was a press conference of sorts on the news - with Bakugou and Aizawa."

In another world where he hadn't been kidnapped and mentally tortured for days, Todoroki would've been able to hide how he felt instead of groaning as he did now. "Bakugou said enough to antagonize Midoriya, didn't he?"

"More than enough, I'd say," Uraraka replied, rubbing her right arm. "Deku...wasn't happy." She glanced at Compress, who did little more than turn a page, not reacting at all to her understatement. He'd been an entertainer before becoming a villain. He was good at hiding things. "Bakugou basically made a declaration of war, like he was looking to pick a fight."

"That sounds like something he'd do," Todoroki sighed, running his fingers through the ice side of his hair. He paused, fingers halfway through the tangled mess, and his eyes darted back to hers. "Did Midoriya-?"

"No," Uraraka cut in quickly, maybe too fast. Todoroki's mismatched eyes narrowed marginally. "I swear, he didn't." She brought her other hand up to grip her arm, so that she was hugging herself. "He was upset and angry, thinking that I had only asked him to take me with him for Bakugou's sake. We had an argument and he…" She closed her eyes, picturing the anger on his face but also the pain and fear in his eyes, both angry with Bakugou for supposedly taking her away from him and afraid that he'd lost her. Maybe he was afraid of being alone. "But he swore that he would never hurt me, no matter what."

Todoroki looked at her, completely unforgiving as he said, "I'm sure there were a lot of things he swore that he would never do that he's done now."

Uraraka flinched back, but it was the truth. How could she say that she was so different when Deku had done much worse things that hurt her? He'd killed people. Sure, they had been villains, but they had still been people. They had still probably had families, people that cared about them, someone that would miss them. Seeing him in person - where he could sweep her into his arms, toss grapes in the air to catch with his mouth, dance with her to their favorite song - unfortunately made it easy for her to forget that every awful thing she'd seen him do was something that he had already done.

Feeling the weight of her carefully balanced act falling on her shoulders, Uraraka slumped onto the cot while Todoroki kept standing, like he was watching over her. "He knows the truth now though." Todoroki nodded his head. "But I didn't just come to stop him from hurting Bakugou. I came here for him - to save him. All I can think about is how close I was to grabbing his hand and then the look on his face right before he went under the waves. I can't let him fall again. I can't."

"I know. I understand." Todoroki had been there too. She could still remember the way he was shivering violently in the rain, the right side his face covered in ice while fire sputtered at his fingertips and smoke rose around his left side. Unable to use his ice, he couldn't reach Deku falling to his death. It could only be Uraraka. And she'd failed. "But you're running the risk of going under with him. That's where he wants you."

"I'm not afraid of falling," Uraraka told him. She gave him a humorless smile. "Not when I can cancel out gravity."

Or she used to be able to do that. She spread her fingers over the pillow on the cot, touching it with all five pads on her fingertips, but nothing happened. It hurt not to be able to use her quirk. This must have terrified Deku, back when he'd been in Todoroki's shoes. He would have felt like he had before inheriting One for All, back when he had been quirkless...and a punching bag for Bakugou.

Uraraka fell forward and put her face in her hands. "How did we get here? Fighting for our lives because my dead boyfriend came back to life and is upset because his childhood bully and I…" She laughed mirthlessly, too tired to do anything else, but then tears began to leak from her eyes and she stopped. "Maybe I did betray him - or his memory or….something. I didn't mean to. I never would've done that on purpose. I loved him - I love him. You know that. Now he's going to kill Bakugou - he said that he had to do it for us - and I'm scared. I should've..."

"He was dead, Uraraka," Todoroki said in that flat tone of his that left no room for arguing. "Did you betray him by living your life? Should you have put it on hold indefinitely? Would that have made you more loyal to him? Would that have made him happier - less of a villain? Should you have waited on a person who wasn't coming back? Should you have just died?"

Slowly, she pulled her hands away from her face and dropped them in her lap, although she didn't look up. "I don't know what he expected of me. Maybe he did think I would hold out for him to return or that it would just take me longer to move on. I didn't-" Her throat constricted painfully and a few tears slipped out, dripping onto the floor. She hated showing this much emotion with Compress right there, but he didn't react in the slightest. Would he tell Deku what she and Todoroki had talked about? "I didn't want to move on. I told myself time and time again that he was it. Deku was the only one for me. How could anyone compete with him? How could anyone compare with what we had? I was so happy with him. I didn't want anyone else…"

"Eleven months had passed. That's more than enough time. We were scared that you'd do all of those things, even Bakugou. Midoriya has no right to be angry or upset when Bakugou didn't do anything more than Iida, Asui, or I did." Todoroki frowned and shook his head. "Would he have reacted the same way if it had been me instead of Bakugou? Would he be so hellbent on killing me instead of turning me to the villains' side?"

"I was just…" Uraraka sat up and took a deep breath. "I was just trying to live a life where I wouldn't be miserable."

"And you did a lot," Todoroki told her firmly. "You shot up an unprecedented amount in the hero ranks. You saved so many people on rescue missions around the world. You took down villains. You were there for all of us when we needed you, never once hesitating to give a helping hand to lift us up even when you were down."

Uraraka flopped down on the cot, staring up at the ceiling. "Try telling Deku that."

"Love makes you do crazy things," Mr. Compress offered from his position, his eyes still focused on his book. Both Todoroki and Uraraka glared at him. They had known that he was listening in on them, but they still didn't like him jumping into their conversation. "It's blinding and all-consuming."

"Deku wasn't like that before," Uraraka said scathingly as she sat up. "He was kind and understanding."

Compress flicked the book so that it rested against his chest. "He still is. That's the heart of him, isn't it? Kyōmu's quirk could never erase that. He's...got a good heart."

"You all twisted his mind," Uraraka snapped.

A chuckle poured like liquid out from behind Compress' mask. "The mind is a terribly fragile thing and easy to break, considering how important it is." He tilted his head. "Isn't that right, Shouto?"

It was his hero name. He'd never changed his desire to simply use his first name, like it was a slap in the face to the Todoroki name. So many other names had come up, but he had refused to budge. Still, it was his given name as well and hearing it come from a villain made her furious. On the other hand, Todoroki had frozen and then turned away in either shame or humiliation. She saw the way his adam's apple bobbed as he gulped and tried to put on a mask of indifference.

Uraraka gazed at him with worry - and a nagging feeling of fear. How much of this was him? How much of it was the residue of Kyōmu's quirk? No. She shook her head. This was him. She'd know if he was different. She would be able to tell, just as she had been with Deku.

Todoroki sat down on his cot and stared down at his hands. "Uraraka?"

"Yeah?" Her eyes were still on him.

"Do you remember our first Sports Festival?"

The question was so innocent that at first Uraraka didn't hesitate to respond, "Of course," but then she realized that the whole point of Kyōmu's quirk was that it affected memories. Could Todoroki not remember it? That had been such an important turning point in his path to becoming a hero. "Can you?"

"Yeah, I can still remember it, but…" Todoroki hung his head. "It's foggy. I know Kyōmu has started to play around with it and it's frustrating." He turned his head to look at her. "Did they really muzzle Bakugou?"

Uraraka's lips twisted into what could've been a smile but felt like a frown. "Yeah, on the podium." It had been partly because of that moment that the League of Villains had thought that Bakugou would make a good addition to their ranks and had kidnapped him. "He was furious about the way he won - because you wouldn't use your fire side against him. He felt like it was unfair and it wasn't a true win since you held back."

"I wouldn't use my fire side," Todoroki repeated, completely monotone.

"Yeah, like you did against Deku," Uraraka continued carefully, feeling like she was now walking on a fault line. She frowned in earnest now. "You remember that, don't you? During your match against Deku, you kept only using the ice half of your quirk, but then he called you out and you… You beat him by using both sides."

Todoroki closed his eyes and swallowed again. "Yeah…" His voice was hoarse. "Yeah, I remember that now."

"It's your power too, isn't it?" Deku had screamed at him.

Had he not remembered it fully?

"Shouto?" Uraraka prompted.

"Can you…?" Todoroki clasped his hands together. "Can you just talk about it? The whole thing?"

Uraraka sat back, shaken by his quiet and pleading tone, but replied, "Okay," and did as she'd been asked. She told him everything - how he had stunned everyone at the beginning of the race, how Deku had overcome the obstacle of having the most points after beating him and Bakugou, how he won in the end despite almost using his fire quirk during the cavalry battle. She even talked about how she had faired: how crossing that canyon would be cake to her now that she could use her quirk on herself more, those stupid cheerleader uniforms that had him smiling in thought, and her fight with Bakugou that had inspired her.

It didn't matter if he remembered it already; she talked about it all. Every little detail that she could remember, even if it had nothing to do with either of them, she told him. It ate up hours of their time, her telling him something like it happened yesterday and him interjecting with his own thoughts. This was something Mr. Compress would never be able to understand. It was theirs alone.

"I didn't know half of this," Todoroki admitted by the end of her story. "I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"You had a lot going on," Uraraka said gently. He'd told her years later that their first Sports Festival had been the first time that he'd confronted his father in a while. Like many of their classmates, she had been curious about why he didn't use the fire half of his quirk the first part of their year together. It had taken time, but he had opened up to her while she and Deku had been dating. They'd gotten closer in those years. "I barely remember Kirishima's match. I was so worked up about having to fight Bakugou."

"So much happened that first year set the tone for our careers and lives," Todoroki murmured, halfway to himself. He sounded sad. Uraraka dropped her gaze. Kyōmu must have been fiddling around with it. Changing a few things here and there, making Todoroki think other things… Their first year had been a defining one. Many were, but not like theirs. Who knew how he would have come out had things been different?

When the door opened, Uraraka and Todoroki froze. She narrowed her eyes when she realized who it was: the man who had stuck them both with needles and injected them with something that canceled out their quirks. His eyes flickered anxiously from them to Mr. Compress, who had closed the book and set it on his knee. His back was hunkered over and he was fiddling with his hands as he said, "Kyōmu wants him now."

It was impossible to tell, but it sounded as if Mr. Compress was frowning when he replied, "But the injury-"

"It's been long enough," the man interrupted. "He says we haven't the time to delay progress."

"We don't." Taking a breath, Mr. Compress stood up and produced the keys to the cells seemingly out of nowhere, like some sort of magic trick. He walked to the front of Todoroki cell while Todoroki took a step back. "Your presence has been requested."

"The girl's too," the man added.

Mr. Compress turned to face him, somehow causing the man to shrink even without his eyes being visible. "Does Midoriya know about this?" When the man hesitated, Compress held up a hand. "If this comes back to haunt us, it's on you and Kyōmu. Midoriya is in a fragile state as it is." Somehow, Uraraka knew that his eyes were on her and she glowered at him. It wasn't her fault.

"He assured me that it was fine," the man replied. "You know he is with Midoriya."

"It's a thin wire," Compress said. "I hope he knows how to walk it, if he's going to do this again."

Before he opened the cell, a handful of other villains stepped into the room and Todoroki readied himself, getting into a fighting position and clenching his fists in his hands. It didn't matter how good he was in hand-to-hand combat though; as soon as the cell was opened, he was overwhelmed and dragged out.

"Stop it! Let him go!" Uraraka shouted as she bolted to her feet. She clung to the bars of her cell and watched helplessly as the man injected him in the neck again. Todoroki went limp quickly after that, sagging in the villains' grip, and she let go of the bars to cover her mouth to keep from whimpering. When they turned to her, she held up her hands, not wanting to go through the same thing. "Deku already gave me another dose earlier."

"I know," the man told her. "It would do little good to do it again."

"Except to make you more…" Compress turned to Todoroki, who was being hauled into a chair and strapped in so that he couldn't move. "Pliable."

Uraraka didn't want to be under the influence of anything. Not having her quirk was bad enough, but to be half out of it like Todoroki looked right now made her stomach turn. No, she had to have her full wits about her. "I won't fight. I promise." She didn't drop her hands. "I'll be compliant."

When Mr. Compress opened the door of her cell, Uraraka stepped out of it slowly. She made no moves to attack. Five against one wasn't good odds for her, especially when she couldn't reach her quirk. She stepped up so that she was next to Todoroki, although he wasn't all there. His head was bobbing up and down as he tried to fight whatever had been injected into his bloodstream and he was strapped in over his wrists and ankles. She touched his cheek and he stopped, raising his head up long enough to catch eyes with her and then dropping it again.

As soon as she felt a prod in her back, she started forward and followed the man out and down the hall until they reached the room where she had first met Kyōmu. The entire walk had been quiet and filled with tension. She could tell that no one wanted to be here, except for Mr. Compress, who remained unaffected. Uraraka looked around, waiting for Deku to appear, but he didn't. He really had wanted to be alone. Without warning, rough hands pulled on her and shoved her into a chair. She'd started to fight out of habit, but then metal braces slid over her wrists, locking her in place and directly facing Todoroki, who was coming to again.

Once he realized what was going on, Todoroki pulled against his restraints, hard enough to where Uraraka knew the metal would dig into his skin, and she straightened up. "Calm down!" she called out to him. Foggy as they were, his eyes latched onto hers. He blinked a few times, trying to regain his composure, but it was difficult with the drugs running through his veins. "I'm here. I'm with you. It's okay."

"No," Todoroki croaked, his voice little more than whimper, "no, no, no, you need to get out of here." He shook his head, slow at first but then it turned violent. "No, no! Get her out of here! Take her away!"

"Stop!" Uraraka shouted over him. "It's okay! I'm fine, I promise."

"No, you can't be here," Todoroki cried weakly. "You can't see me like this. I can't… You…"

He didn't want her to see what he was like under Kyōmu's quirk. She'd seen it once before. It had been horrific. She would never be able to forget that moment, how Deku had held her back, how much he had shook as he'd held her, and Todoroki's screams. Restrained as she was, she couldn't get to him now. It had to be worse alone and yet still he wanted her gone.

"I'd rather be with you than you suffer alone through this," Uraraka told him.

Todoroki hung his head, ashamed of himself, his whole body shaking. "Don't let me believe it. Whatever he does, don't let me believe it."

"I won't," Uraraka promised, although she had no idea what she was saying. It didn't matter. Her response seemed to soothe him, to the point where he didn't even react when Kyōmu stepped inside. She did though, jerking upright in her seat and glaring at him as he crossed the room. Their eyes were locked on each other's and a grin slowly appeared on his face. He had the upper hand, but she could tell that he was irritated with not being able to get his hands on her. If he did, Deku would be furious. He had to bide his time and he wasn't used to that.

"Good," Kyōmu said, "you're both here."

"Does Deku know?" Uraraka demanded.

Kyōmu smiled. "Of course, he thought it'd be a good idea. You've been far too bold."

"I don't believe it." Uraraka scowled and sank back in the chair.

"You don't have to," Kyōmu replied, tapping his head. "He just has to believe it."

Everything in Uraraka screamed to fight and yell, but she knew that there was nothing she could do right now. She watched with bated breath as Kyōmu carefully rolled up the sleeves of his blazer and walked to stand behind a now heavily breathing Todoroki. He was preparing himself to go under Kyōmu's quirk. It made her feel even worse, knowing that the only thing she could do was watch and call out to him. She wanted to touch him - hold his hands, his face, anything - but she could do was kick uselessly and jerk on her restraints.

Kyōmu rested his hands on Todoroki's shoulders and leaned down until he was level with his ears. "Are you ready to learn more about yourself?"

Todoroki took a breath and then went completely limp, his gaze and face entirely emotionless. "I don't need you to do that."

"That's what Izuku said," Kyōmu said as he stood up straight. When he dug his fingers into Todoroki's hair and connected his fingertips to his skull, Todoroki flinched, but he didn't change his facial expression. Uraraka couldn't look away from him, horror filling every inch of her. There was nothing she could do to stop this. "He learned well enough."

Closing his eyes, Todoroki swallowed down the terror that must've been lodged in his throat and then opened his eyes to look at her. She tried to look calm and never once looked away from him. He was trying so hard to be strong - to act like this wasn't tearing him apart - but she could see the fear in his eyes. "You're not alone," she mouthed, trying to convey some comfort to him. As much as he'd stressed that he didn't want her to be here, she could tell that he was grateful for her presence now.

It twisted her heart to know that Deku had gone through all of this alone.

As soon as Kyōmu activated his quirk, Todoroki's entire body tensed up. He back went ramrod straight, his jaw clenched so hard that his teeth must've hurt, and he was gripping the ends of the chair tight enough to look like he might break his fingers.

"Let's see," Kyōmu hummed thoughtfully to himself. His eyes were closed, but she could see movement behind his lids. Todoroki started to blink, but didn't look away from her yet. "What shall we get into today?" As Kyōmu dug deeper into his mind, Todoroki began to shake and he squeezed his eyes shut, like he was trying to lock down whatever memory was playing in his mind. "The Sports Festival again? Oh, those look more vivid today. Was it on your mind? How about the Provisional License Exam?"

Uraraka felt disgusted, She hated the way Kyōmu dug around in his head. It felt like a complete violation and it made her want to throw up. She pulled on her restraints again, but they didn't budge. Her ankles weren't tied down like Todoroki's, but the most she could do was kick her legs and stomp on the ground.

"I know," Kyōmu drawled. "How about hero training with your father? Such good bonding times."

Todoroki began to pant, his head pressed against the chair. "Get out of my head." It sounded like it was a struggle to force the words out. The effort to talk was almost too much.

"Get out?" Kyōmu smiled. "I'm just getting into the good stuff."

Whatever he did next with his quirk made Todoroki start convulsing. He was trying so hard not to scream or make any sort of noise, but he was biting down on his lip so hard that it started to bleed. He was going to bite right through it at this point.

"You're going to kill him!" Uraraka exclaimed, jerking in the chair so that the legs scratched the floor. Kyōmu ignored her as a deeply pained whimper began to pour out from Todoroki unbidden despite his best efforts. Tears leaked from underneath his eyelids and blood down his chin. "Shouto, listen to me! Focus on me! Whatever he's showing you, it's a lie! It's just his quirk! He's messing with you!"

Kyōmu opened one eye to peer at her. "I'm not lying to him about anything. That's the beauty with him. I don't have to change much of anything, just help him remember. He's blocked out so much."

Uraraka stared at him, unable to understand how someone could be so monstrous, but also terrified that he was right. She knew more than others about Todoroki's history, but she also knew that there were some things that he kept hidden even from himself. They all had their secrets. He glazed over his: how he got his scar, his training with his father, being kept from his siblings. He talked about those things without any emotion and little detail. They weren't important to them anymore, as far as he was concerned.

What had Deku said about his past with Bakugou? "It's funny, when you look back, how much it still hurts."

"There's the first time your father hurt your mother," Kyōmu said in a voice that was somehow a cross between soothing and mocking. A low groan came from the back of Todoroki's throat and he shook his head desperately, trying to fight the memory off. "You were so small, so young, so weak. Pathetic really. He threw her to the side and you did nothing but cry. Did you even try to help her? Were you too afraid?" Todoroki's face was covered in sweat now and his chest was heaving as he struggled to breathe. "And he did it again and again and again. He hurt you. He hurt your mother, your sister, your brothers. He's a hero. He's your father. Shouldn't he have protected you from monsters instead of being one?"

It was too much. Uraraka couldn't bear to hear more. She knew that Kyōmu was partly talking out loud for her benefit, forcing her to listen to what Todoroki was being forced to see.

"You still hate him, don't you?" Kyōmu said regretfully, a frown on his face to match his tone. "Oh, sure, he did what he could to change his ways. He tried to become a better father and a good person, but you could never fully forgive him for how he twisted your mother against you - how he hurt her so much that the mere sight of you made her crazy with hate and forget herself."

"Stop it," Todoroki ground out through gritted teeth.

Kyōmu leaned down over him, like a dark cloud. "Heroes are supposed to be kind. They're supposed to be good. But what did he do to you? He broke you down, he beat you, he forced you to use your quirk again and again until you couldn't move." He sounded truly sad, like it pained him to witness what Todoroki had gone through. She knew that he didn't actually care, but tears had formed in her eyes, welling in them until her vision was blurry. He was right: he didn't have to change much in order to break Todoroki down. He'd been through a lot. "Do you remember how it felt? How much it burned? How else could he build up your tolerance? How hot did it get? How much did you burn?"

A scream was ripped out of Todoroki as he fell forward, pulling at the braces and tearing the skin around his wrists, writhing painfully in the seat. It sounded and looked like he was being burned all over again, as if the mere memory could physically make him feel what his father had put him through. Tears and sweat mixed together and dripped onto the floor and his feet.

Uraraka couldn't take it anymore. She was crying in earnest, tears sliding down her face, as she begged, "Stop it, please! You've done enough!" How could she help him if this was the truth? Maybe Kyōmu was making the memories worse than they were - maybe he was twisting them just enough to make the pain even more brutal - but she couldn't be sure. She had an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach that this was the truth. Sometimes, the truth was worse than a lie. "Please, stop." Her voice wobbled and weakened as she cried. She didn't even know if either of them could hear her over Todoroki's screams. "Please…"

Kyōmu jerked his hands away from Todoroki and took a deep breath, stumbling backwards a little. He had to put his hand on the wall to steady himself. His quirk must've taken a lot out of him, depending on how deep he went into someone's memories. Meanwhile Todoroki gasped, like he was choking for air, and then slumped forward in his seat, going still.

At first, Uraraka was terrified that he wasn't breathing and she gently called out for him, "Shouto? Shouto, can you hear me?"

When he didn't respond, a ball of terror dropped into the pit of her stomach. However, when she looked at her closer, she could see his chest barely moving. He was breathing, just unconscious. His hair was hanging in his face and shielding him from her and she still couldn't reach him, but he was alive. She tried to stop the tears, angry with herself for allowing to show so much emotion in front of Kyōmu, but she couldn't help it. Her heart was in so much pain.

Having gathered himself, Kyōmu stepped back over to Todoroki and reached out to him again, making Uraraka jerk upright and viciously snap, "Don't you dare hurt him again."

Kyōmu quirked an eyebrow and then laid a gentle hand over top Todoroki's hair. He twitched awake, trying to get away, but then Kyōmu smoothed his hair down. It was such a kind touch, like that of a parent. Like a father. As Todoroki gasped through a panic attack, he whispered soothingly, "Just breathe. It's okay. Breathe." For some reason, this was even more horrifying than when he'd been using his quirk. It made her feel even worse when Todoroki began to react positively to it, his breathing slowing down and the tears stopping. "He can't hurt you here. You're safe."

"Liar," Uraraka hissed, horrified when Todoroki groggily nodded his head. "You're a liar!" She kicked and bucked in her chair, her wrists straining from the effort. "Don't listen to him!"

"When will you figure it out, Uraraka?" Kyōmu asked as he stood up straight. Still out of it, Todoroki's head lolled until his chin dropped against his chest again. She glared furiously at Kyōmu. "I control the narrative. I control what's true and what isn't. You're just a prop." He walked to the door and banged on it with his fist twice. "Take them back to the cells!"

The villains that had brought them here came back inside and Kyōmu slipped out in the blink of an eye. She watched as Todoroki was unstrapped from the chair and pulled out. They had to hold him up underneath his arms again, his toes dragging on the ground. He was being carried out of the room when Mr. Compress appeared in front of her and undid her restraints. As soon as they were loose enough, she jerked her hands out of them and stood up. She could tell he was eyeing her face from behind the mask and turned away from him to wipe off her tear-stained cheeks.

Whatever he had to say, she didn't care. She strode out of the room in haste to catch up with the villains carrying Todoroki. One of them reared to shove her away, but then Compress cleared his throat from behind them and shook his head. It wasn't like she could escape with Todoroki in this condition anyways and she wasn't about to leave him behind.

By the time they reached the cells, Todoroki was half on his feet again, though his movements were sluggish and weak. Not only had he been injected with that serum that knocked them out and took away their quirks, but he had suffered through Kyōmu's quirk as well. He shouldn't have been standing. Instead of carefully laying him on his cot, they shoved him into his cell and he staggered and staggered, unable to bear his full weight on his own. He would've fallen on the floor in a heap had she not rushed to catch him, allowing him to fall on her back and shoulder, though it knocked her down on one knee. He was taller and heavier than her, with more muscle, on top of basically being dead weight.

"Come back out and into your cell," Mr. Compress sighed once she carried Todoroki over to his cot. She tried to put him down slowly, but he was so heavy and he fell onto it harder than she would've liked.

Breathing heavily, Uraraka stood up and wiped the sweat from her face. "I'm staying in here."

Mr. Compress eyed her for a moment and then flicked his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Suit yourself, but I would be careful. Midoriya hasn't seemed jealous of Todoroki, but I'm not sure he knows exactly how he feels about him yet." He shut the cell door and locked it, waving the other villains away before returning to the chair and pulling out the book he had been reading before, like nothing had happened.

"Uraraka?" Todoroki's voice was so weak that she almost hadn't heard him, but then she whipped around and rushed to his side, sitting down on her legs at the cot's side.

"Hey, I'm here," Uraraka replied quietly, wiping his hair out of his face. It was covered in sweat and sticking to his skin. She felt a sickly guilty feeling crawling in the back of her mind over the fact that she'd been able to do something as normal and simple as take a shower. Maybe, the next time Deku visited, she could convince him to allow Todoroki to clean up or at least give her a wash rag and some water. This couldn't be good for Todoroki's mental state. Then again, that was the point, wasn't it?

Todoroki rolled onto his side, straining as he did so, and then opened his eyes, blinking them muzzily. She gave him a tremulous smile, one that he couldn't return. "You have to get out of here - before Midoriya begins to believe that the only way to fully have you is to give you to Kyōmu."

"It's not going to happen," Uraraka told him firmly, "and I'm not leaving you." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a little low on escape routes as it is."

"I'm serious." Todoroki lifted a shaky hand and grasped her by the collar of her shirt. It was a limp hold at best. If she so much as moved, his hand would fall away. "The second they have you, it's over. He'll be under their control completely. You can't let that happen. If you find a chance to escape, you take it."

"And what about you?" Uraraka asked.

He didn't have an answer for that and they both knew it. He would hold out for as long as he could, but eventually, if he wasn't saved, he would either fall victim to what had happened to Deku or Kyōmu's quirk would kill him. She knew which one he preferred.

"If I can't-" Todoroki swallowed and tightened his grip on her shirt. "Midoriya is too powerful as it is to be under their control. If I turn-"

"You won't," Uraraka reassured him.

Todoroki's voice was low and gravelly as he said, "I'm sure Midoriya thought that too." He let go of her shirt and grabbed her hand that was resting on his head. "I won't work for them. I won't. If you're still here and it looks like I've lost, you have to make sure I don't."

Uraraka tensed up under his touch and her expression hardened. "You can't ask me to do that." Her voice broke a little, but she didn't care. She didn't know how Todoroki could be so cold about this. "I'm not losing you. I'm not losing Bakugou either or Deku. But you can't ask me to do that, not after everything we've gone through."

"I suppose it is cruel of me, isn't it?" Todoroki breathed out and closed his eyes. "I'm scared. I don't think I've ever been this scared in my life. I'm scared and I'm furious." His facial expression changed, molding into one filled with pain. "The memories were so vivid. It was like I was five all over again, watching my father intimidate my mother with his flames and toss her across the room when she wouldn't back down. She hit a vase of flowers and it shattered. Water and flowers went everywhere. All I could did was stand there and cry. I was so scared. And the fire… It doesn't now really, but it hurt. It hurt so much. I was in pain every day. I was just a kid and he was supposed to be one of the greatest heroes."

There was nothing Uraraka could say but gently ask, "Are you sure what you saw really happened?"

"Yeah." Todoroki's face went impassive and he slowly opened his eyes. There was a glimmer of grief in them, so vibrant in his blue eye. "It really happened. It all did. Some things can't be faked." That sadness turned to anger, just as bright. "I keep thinking about how much I want to make him pay - how he needs to suffer - what I'd do to bring him to his knees and make him beg the way my mother did, the way I did and maybe my siblings too. A part of me just wants to give in and do just that. Forget proving him wrong. Forget being better. I want to end him."

"The moment you give into those thoughts-"

"Then I've lost. I know." Todoroki let go of her hand and rubbed his face tiredly. "Unfortunately for them, I spent a lot of my youth being more than furious with him. I'm practiced at pushing those thoughts aside for what's best."

Uraraka chewed on her bottom lip. "Maybe if you talked about it more…"

"Maybe," Todoroki said. "I don't know." He pulled his hands away from his face and pushed himself up into the sitting position. Uraraka got on her feet as well and sat down next to him on the cot. "What's the point of a hero if they've done monstrous things? Can they even be considered a hero?"

"Can we consider Deku a hero back then after all that he's done now?" Uraraka picked at the hem of her shorts where the thread was fraying, anything that might distract her. "I'm not defending Endeavor for what he did. He's saved so many people, but he hurt the ones that should've meant the most to him. And whatever Deku thinks, I'm not forgetting what Bakugou did to him, just like I know that Bakugou hasn't forgotten. We all do things that we can't take back. All we can do is live with them and try to do better."

Would she have changed anything about the months that she'd spent after Deku's death? Even without knowing that Deku was alive, would she have done something different? She would've spent more time with her friends and been more present. She would have listened to them more. Todoroki assured her that she'd done enough, but she would always feel like she could've done more. Would she have turned away Bakugou?

No, not when he'd needed help too. Uraraka had to live with her choices and make the best of them. It was what she had been forced to do when Deku had died.

The door was thrown open, much more forcefully than before. Uraraka's throat constricted as Deku strode inside, Dabi and Kurogiri coming in behind him. What really made her mouth dry was the fact that he was wearing his villain costume again. It couldn't have been a day since he'd killed a villain in this very room while wearing it. There was no smile on his face. When his eyes landed on her, she couldn't find any warmth in them and the light was completely gone.

"Get her out." Even his voice was emotionless, although she noted a strain in his words. Mr. Compress didn't need to be told twice. He was on his feet and opening the cell door in a flash. "Come out."

"Where are we going?" Uraraka asked, not moving from her seat on the cot. She gripped it tighter, like she might be able to hold on and never let go. When Deku didn't answer, she hardened herself. "What's going on?"

Instead of telling her again, Deku walked into the cell and grabbed her by the arm. She pulled away from him and his grip slid down to her wrist. He hesitated and furrowed his brow when he saw the red marks on her skin, which she'd gotten from jerking on the restraints, but then tightened his grip and pulled her to her feet. She dug her heels into the ground, but he pulled on her harder.

Deku huffed in frustration. "Ochako-"

"Just tell me what's going on!" she demanded.

Despite his exhaustion, Todoroki stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Midoriya, you can't-"

"You need to rest," Deku interrupted, putting a hand on Todoroki's chest and shoving him. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to knock him back onto the cot. "And don't tell me what I can and can't do with her." He took a breath. "I appreciate all that you've done for her. I know you did it for me too. You're a good friend. But I don't need you meddling in our business. It's time for you to step down."

Todoroki's eyes went cold. "If you hurt her…"

"Relax," Deku replied, squaring his shoulders. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. I will never hurt her." His eyes flickered to hers briefly. "But we have some business to settle."

Dread settled in the pit of Uraraka's stomach. "Deku?"

"Tell Shouto goodbye." The way Deku spoke made it sound so final that the dread turned into outright fear.

Uraraka stepped away from him as much as she could with him still holding onto her. "I don't want to go."

"You don't have a choice," Deku said. "I'm sorry." In a way, he did sound sorry, but that only made it worse. What was he planning? Whatever it was, she wouldn't like it and he knew that. "Tell him goodbye."

"No, I'm not going with you."

Deku sighed frustratedly. "Ochako, please."

"Just leave her be, Midoriya," Todoroki cut in. "She doesn't want to go."

"Stay out of-"

"You're scaring her-"

"Shut up!" Deku shouted, silencing Todoroki and stilling Uraraka. "I tried to play nice - I did - but we don't have time for this."

Instead of pulling on her, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. The action was so sudden that she didn't fight at first, only squeaking as her world turned upside down, but then she started to kick and reached out for Todoroki. His hand was a few inches from hers when blue flames cut in between them and both of them were forced to pull back or get burned. The cell was slammed shut in Todoroki's face and Uraraka was dropped on the ground, stumbling so her back hit the wall.

Uraraka clenched her hands into fists and then quickly forced them to relax. "Don't touch me like that again."

"I'm sorry." Deku ran a hand down her hair and then cupped her face. "Now will you please stop fighting? I don't want to do this the hard way."

"Will you just tell me where we're going?" Uraraka asked him quietly, willing her heart to calm down.

Deku shook his head. "Not yet. I'll tell you more when we get there." He finally gave her a smile. "Don't worry; it'll all be over soon."

That only made her worry more. The second Deku turned away to speak with Mr. Compress, Uraraka caught eyes with Todoroki, who wasn't bothering to hide the anger and concern from his face. Dabi was leaning against the cell bars now, but he ignored him, continuing to watch her and Deku. He was trying so hard to be strong. It was clear that Deku didn't trust her as much anymore. He was using force, keeping things from her, and, while it had bothered him, he hadn't made any comments on the marks on her wrist.

Wherever they were going, whatever they would be doing, Uraraka had to find a way to fight against it.

I'll be fine, she tried to convey to Todoroki, but she could tell that he didn't believe it. Maybe it was because, for the first time, she didn't fully believe it either and that was what truly frightened her.