Notes: One) I'm sorry that this chapter took so long. It's one huge action scene with a lot of players involved and that takes a lot out of me. I kept procrastinating because I couldn't picture things and it was really frustrating. Writing characters with different fighting styles and quirks is no joke. Hori, you cray cray for writing this. I'm not really happy with how this chapter turned out, but I'm not terribly disappointed by it either. So there's that.

Two) This chapter has two of my favorite scenes in it, one of which has been in my head since the very beginning before I even started writing this fic. I had this scene in my head, but literally no context for it, so I didn't know how it was going to get featured in the story. I've pretty much been writing to get here and it feels like such a relief to finally build a bridge to it and get there. Twenty-four chapters later.

Three) I'm only going to say this one more time and I'm done. Another reason why I've taken so long for this update is because I've been getting a lot of nasty messages over ships. I get it: you don't like Kacchako or Izuocha isn't your thing. You'll hate me and feel like you wasted your time if this ends in Kacchako. I'm a bad writer if it doesn't end in Izuocha. Cool, awesome, whatever. Don't read this then. I love both ships and Izuocha was my first one in the BNHA fandom, but it's getting to the point where I don't want to write for it and that has severely affected how I write and view this fic in particular. Everyone is entitled to their ships - whether the ones they love or the ones they hate - but at the end of the day, I started writing this story for myself alone. I'm fucking FLOORED and SO GRATEFUL for everyone that has read, reviewed, and liked this fic, even when it's a total hot mess, but please, no ship hate. The ships are not my priority for this fic at all. What I'm looking forward is to seeing how the characters end up individually at the end of this story - if they're alive. Also Uraraka is NOT a whore. That's all.

ENJOY AND THANK YOU!

"A hero has faced it all: he need not be undefeated, but he must be undaunted."
- Andrew Bernstein

As the sound of Bakugou's explosion echoed throughout the park, Deku scowled and his eyes swung to the left to look over the horizon. He clenched his fists at his side, preparing for the fight that he knew was on the way. Judging by the sound, Bakugou wasn't too far off and the look on Deku's face suggested that he was ready for it. No doubt Bakugou was as well.

Iida, on the other hand, was not, judging from how he called out, "You don't want to do this!"

Uraraka's heart sank. There was no reasoning with Deku when he was like this, lost in his own muddled head, but she could understand the sentiment of what Iida was trying to do. He didn't want to fight one of his closest friends. So far, he had been on the outskirts of this battle - Kyomu had said that he'd pushed Iida's and Tsu's importance back to deal with later - but now they were coming to a head. Try as he might, Iida wouldn't be able to avoid a fight.

"Oh, don't I?" Deku countered, wearing a sneer that looked so wrong on his face. She couldn't remember him ever doing anything like that. "You don't know what I want."

"Then tell me!" Iida exclaimed.

"You wouldn't understand," Deku replied.

"Help me understand!" Iida practically pleaded. He tore off his helmet so that they could look at each other face-to-face. Deku shakily relaxed his fists so that his fingers could twitch against his legs. "We have always been there for each other. It's because of you that I was able to become the hero I am today. We kept each other on the path to our future. Let me be here for you now."

For a moment, Deku didn't say anything. Despite knowing better, Uraraka couldn't help but feel a kernel of hope. Out of all of them, Iida had been Deku's first friend at UA. Years later, he'd confessed that he hadn't really had friends growing up, being quirkless and all. It was impossible, but some people were afraid that a person's quirkless nature could rub off on them or they were just plain not liked. Iida was one of the first true friendships Deku had formed. They'd spurred each other on right from the start.

A dark cloud fell over Deku as he stared down at them. "What was it that Asui said when I decided to save Kacchan? That our actions would be no different from a villain's?" That hope vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Tsu had apologized for that. She'd cried as they hugged her and began anew. Did he not remember that? Had Kyomu taken that memory away from him? "My actions aren't so different from a hero's. Society, especially hero society, is built on a foundation of lies and manipulation."

"How can you say that?" Iida demanded.

"Because I lived it - because I died for it," Deku retorted. "A person is only as good as their quirk. A hero isn't truly a hero in the eye's of society unless they sacrifice again and again, but they're just as quick to condemn a hero if they fall short of the pedestal. Even then, a hero dies, a nice memorial occurs, and then they're immediately replaced by someone more people like. It's a sham."

Iida actually flinched. "Are you saying that I'm a sham? That I'm a false hero?"

"I'm saying that society forced you to conform to their idealized version of what they want," Deku told him, "when you could be so much more."

"How?" Iida questioned. "By following you?"

Deku smiled. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not leading the revolution." He gestured around him, but when Uraraka looked around, she didn't see anything. Dabi wasn't in view and Kurogiri was nowhere to be found, even though she knew they were around here somewhere. "This can't be done by one person. We all have a stake in this and everyone involved has their own part. Sure, I might be more recognizable and a little more polarizing, but that's the point. We've turned these hero worshippers on themselves. We have to burn this whole mess to the ground to remake it."

Uraraka was unsure if Deku thought he was capable of convincing Iida or if it even mattered, but it clearly didn't work. Iida shook his head and took a few steps back, his grip on his helmet tightening. "Can you even hear yourself? You're not making any sense. This isn't you, Izuku."

"You're right, it isn't," Deku replied. "You're smart, Tenya, so you'd be wise to remember that."

The moment Deku activated his quirk, lightning crackling around him, Uraraka knew that the time to talk was over. Iida knew he'd lost his friend as well and, after anguish flashed in his eyes, he hardened his expression and put his helmet back on. It wasn't Iida against Izuku anymore; they were no longer two old friends. This was Ingenium and whatever villain Deku had become, both of them putting everything else behind them.

Iida threw out an arm. "Uraraka, get Kota out of here!"

"You don't get to tell her what to do!" Deku shouted.

In a flash, he leaped from the slide, but instead of going for her and Kota like she'd feared, he directly attacked Iida. Dust was kicked up in the air as Iida used his quirk to dodge the attack and Uraraka used the sudden cloud to tug on Kota and push him towards the trees where they could hide. Without access to her quirk, she felt pitiful. She knew how to fight, but she wouldn't be able to come close to Deku's strength or Iida's speed and she didn't want Kota to get dragged into it.

As Deku skidded to a halt, Iida came back around in a half circle, using his momentum to kick hard. Deku was forced to bend backward, his top half nearly horizontal to the ground, as Iida's leg swiped over him and missed him by a hair. It was so close that his green hair was ruffled by the wind. However, when he popped back up, he miscalculated Iida's next move and was struck in the gut by a engine powered roundhouse kick. It didn't knock him down, but he doubled over and slid three meters back.

After coughing and spitting, Deku straightened up. Instead of looking angry at being hit though, he wore a rather pleased expression. "You've gotten faster."

"Your death made us all realize how weak we were," Iida said. "If you could fall… I could not take the idea of losing anyone else. I had to be better. I had to be stronger."

"In that case" - Deku got into a running fighting stance - "I'll stop holding back."

When he kicked off, his foot cracked the ground, forming a crater, and he shot off towards Iida like a rocket. This time, it took a lot more effort for Iida to dodge and he jumped back with only half a second to spare. It didn't give him enough time to recover, his feet having barely touched the ground when Deku spun on his right foot and kicked him hard enough to send him crashing against a slide and denting it behind repair.

Deku was already back in position when he declared, "Not fast enough." It had been a painful hit and an even worse landing, but not one to be stopped, Iida got back to his feet. "Oh, c'mon now. I don't really want to hurt you. Just back down."

"I'm not giving up on you," Iida said, although his breath was notably labored. Uraraka wouldn't be surprised if Deku hadn't broken a rib or two. He shot off again, this time to the left. Deku twisted on his feet and ran in his direction, but then Iida abruptly changed directions, using a powerful burst of his engines to launch him directly at Deku. Having used his quirk, Deku had built up too much speed to stop or change angles and took a direct hit by Iida, who used his body to slam into him. His bulky hero costume worked to his advantage, taking the brunt of the collision while Deku was knocked back hard.

This time, Deku didn't stay on his feet. He landed on his back and rolled a few times before getting back on his feet and using his hands on the ground to steady himself. When he raised his head, there was a deadness in his eyes that took Uraraka's breath away. That wasn't a good sign. It was like he wasn't there and she didn't know where he went. When he was like this, he was unpredictable, dangerous, someone else entirely. The light had gone off in his head and he was swallowed up by the dark.

When they charged at each other again, Deku leaped to the side, kicking off the side of a building, and attacked from the right with a kick. Iida managed to block it with his arm, but let out a shout when the kick broke the forearm piece of his costume. It caused him to halt, a terrible mistake which Deku took advantage of, unleashing another kick straight into Iida's back and sending him crashing front first on the ground and go prone.

Kota ripped out of Uraraka's grip and took a step forward to worriedly shout, "Ingenium!"

When Deku glanced back at them, Kota flinched back and Deku scolded, "Stay out of this," like Kota was a child butting into a simple argument between adults.

Another explosion rang in the air, this one much closer, and echoed throughout the park. Deku jerked his head around, but his brow furrowed when he couldn't see where it was coming from. Uraraka was confused as well until it suddenly hit her and her eyes flickered up to the sky. Her heart skipped a beat and jumped into her throat the second she saw Bakugou, dropping to the ground like a missile.

It was him. It was really him. Tears sprung in her eyes, grateful at his arrival to help Iida, just happy to see that he was okay and strong enough to fight. He'd looked half dead the last time she had seen him before being pulled into Kurogiri's warp gate days ago, half his face broken and his left arm immobile. Now he looked like he was capable of taking on an army and Uraraka sucked in a gasp of air, as if trying to get all the oxygen she could before his explosions used it all.

Even as he was dropping, Bakugou aimed with his right hand and forced a circle against it with his left before shooting off an AP Shot that looked strong enough to obliterate a small building. Deku's head snapped up and caught sight of him just in time to jump back and avoid getting hit by it, but the shot caused the ground to explode as well, knocking Deku off balance and hitting him with rubble. Having been propelled upward again, Bakugou used his explosions to turn himself into a fiery tornado and landed a powerful explosion on Deku right as he swung a right uppercut. The whole park glowed as if a bomb had gone off, smoke and dust clouding the area.

Uraraka brought a hand to her mouth and even Kota froze in shock. She'd seen Bakugou use that move before and it was always devastating when it hit. She had also been on the other end of a hit from Deku, although it had been to save her from crashing into the ocean waves with him. The punch hadn't connected with Bakugou, but had hit his massive explosion, causing the flames to whip around wildly. Deku couldn't have possibly dodged all of it.

Within the smoke, she saw the signs of Deku's activated quirk and then shadows created by its light. Her hand fell away as things became clearer. Bakugou was on one knee with a hand on the ground, his mask blown off and looking somewhat winded but otherwise unhurt. Meanwhile, Deku had been forced to defend himself. The force of his punch had saved him from the worst of Bakugou's explosion, but there were burns on his costume and smoke was coming from him. He was breathing heavily, but slowly lowered his arms and shakily stood up straight.

Bakugou practically snarled. "Managed to counteract most of that, did you?"

"It's an incredibly destructive move," Deku pointed out through gritted teeth, "but it's not your fastest, Kacchan."

Instead of moving to attack Bakugou stayed still, making Uraraka's heart skip a beat. What was he doing? Right when Deku took a step forward, he came to a sudden halt and doubled over, grabbing his head and letting out a pained shout. For some reason, it made Uraraka want to run to him to see if he was alright, but the feeling was misplaced and she didn't move.

"Get out of my head!" Deku shouted, squeezing his head in a way that looked painful.

Mandalay stepped into view, glaring daggers at Deku. Of course she was here. In the back of Uraraka's mind, she had realized that Kota's presence meant that she was also in town, but she'd been so focused on him that she hadn't thought about the implications. Mandalay's telepathy quirk allowed her to get directly into Deku's head. He couldn't talk back to her and she wouldn't be able to find out exactly what had happened to his mind, but maybe she could disrupt him somehow.

Tears leaked out of Kota's eyes. "Be careful!"

Obviously he was terrified. He'd lost his parents to a villain already - and the one that had saved him from the same fate with that same villain could now potentially cost him his aunt.

With Deku distracted, Bakugou got back on both feet and launched himself forward. Before he could snatch him though, Deku grabbed him by the wrist and jerked hard, turning on his heels. However, this time, Bakugou was ready for it and shot off another explosion behind him with his free hand to keep from getting thrown and another large one with the hand that Deku was holding. It blew them apart, sending Deku crashing against a large tree and Bakugou in the air. He was able to use his explosions to steady himself before dropping down to his feet.

A shadow in the alley behind him moved caught Uraraka's attention and then her eyes widened. "Behind you!"

Bakugou spun around and raised a hand at the same time when a ball of blue flames enveloped him entirely and Uraraka screamed. She found herself running forward without thinking, even though she could do very little in the fight without her quirk, but skidded to a halt when the flames cleared and Bakugou wasn't there. It was like the air in her lungs was stuck as she scanned the area. Dabi's flames were hotter than anything, but there was no way they could've incinerated someone so thoroughly, at least not that quickly.

"Hey, you Frankenshit bastard!"

Both Dabi and Uraraka looked up to see Bakugou on a fire escape. He must have used an explosion to launch himself in the air. His boots were smoking though and the soles even looked a little melted and sweat was covering his face. What they noticed the most though was that he was already aiming at Dabi.

"I don't have time for you, asshole!" Instead of shooting off one large AP Shot, Bakugou shot what looked like a hundred smaller ones. They weren't as strong, but they were impossible to dodge completely. A hiss on his face as the explosions rained down on him and everything began to pop with explosions, Dabi threw up a cover of flames in an attempt to vanish. When the flames died down, he was gone. Putting a hand on the rail, Bakugou threw himself over the fire escape and dropped to the ground, using his explosions to soften his landing. He pressed a finger to his ear and barked into what was probably a com. "Find that shit and deal with him! The warp gate villain too! We can't give them an escape route!"

With that taken care of, Bakugou returned his focus to Deku, who was half doubled over with a hand pressed to his head and a pained expression on his face. Mandalay's telepathy didn't hurt, but it was jarring, especially if she kept it up relentlessly. He already had so much going on in his head. Adding another voice to it had to be disorienting for him.

Bakugou took advantage of his mental struggle, aiming one of his gauntlets at his back, an intense expression on his face that made it look like he was ready to set the world on fire. As his palm began to glow, Uraraka ran back to grab Kota by the arm and pulled him to the playground for cover. The charged up explosion shook the whole area. She threw herself over Kota, shielding him from the heat of the flames. There was no chance of him dodging it, but Deku, still not letting go of his head, lifted his right leg and swung it in a downward kick. The powerful wind created by the kick sliced right through the explosion, parting it like waves. A tree burst into flames and it came dangerously close to the playground, hot enough to make Uraraka sweat.

"Enough!" Deku shouted before he bolted in Mandalay's direction instead of Bakugou's.

Mandalay didn't have the speed capable of getting out of the way. Kota screamed wordlessly as he scrambled out from underneath her and the slide, Uraraka clumsily following him to keep him from running into the fight. Deku snatched her by arm, but before he could do anything else, Iida came down with a strong kick, having used his recipro burst to strengthen it. The kick to Deku's side forced him to let go of Mandalay, who dropped to the ground and clung to her throat, and he let out a pained cry as he was knocked back. Without any chance to recuperate, Bakugou, having used his explosions to catch up, shot off another explosion with an outstretched hand that struck Deku and sent him flying and rolling on the ground when he landed on his back.

If there was one thing that Deku was exceptional at, it was tolerating severe pain. He had been doing it for years even before getting One for All and repeatedly breaking his bones. Uraraka would never truly be able to comprehend how much he'd suffered that first year at UA - maybe no one could - and she'd seen him so horribly hurt that it had made her want to cry, but her heart still climbed into her throat when Deku stood up again, ready to take on even more. He swiped at the blood coming out of his busted lip and glared those dead eyes.

However, Deku only took one step before coming to a sudden halt, as if he'd been frozen still. A cringing snarl slid onto his face as he lifted his head to look up. Uraraka followed his gaze until her eyes landed on Aizawa, who was standing on top of a streetlight. No wonder Deku had abruptly stopped. He didn't have access to his quirk. "Took you long enough," he said in a strained voice.

Aizawa didn't respond to the taunt, using his scarf in an attempt to bind Deku still. He managed to dodge the first one, but then had to duck and roll to avoid one of Bakugou's explosions and was caught by the wrist with Aizawa's capturing weapon. Aizawa leaped back off the streetlamp, using his weight and fall to the ground to jerk Deku up into the air when the scarf caught on the metal pole like a pulley. He had to use his momentum to swing up onto the light where Aizawa had just been, but it tied him further down, the scarf now wrapped around it.

With Deku effectively stuck and tugging on the scarf. Iida started to run to attack, but was once more deterred by Dabi, who had appeared out of nowhere. It must have been with Kurogiri's help. Uraraka hadn't seen him at all a second ago. Dabi's flames wrapped around him, blocking both him and Mandalay from the others. Aizawa had to stay on Deku to keep him from being able to use his quirk, so they would have to deal with Dabi on their own.

As Bakugou launched himself in the air for another vicious attack, a warp gate appeared next to Deku like a door. With what little tension he had with the scarf, he jumped through the gate and it snapped shut right before Bakugou to reach him, cutting the extra strong material of Aizawa's weapon in half as well.

"Fuck!" Bakugou screamed as he dropped to the ground. "He's gone again!"

But then another warp gate appeared right above Aizawa's head and Deku dropped down through it, landing on Aizawa's shoulders and using his legs and body to throw him onto the ground. With his quirk back since Aizawa had been forced to deactivate his for a moment, Deku pinned him on his stomach with one hand and tightened his grip on a knife in the other. He stabbed down, but was caught by Aizawa's weapon at the last second so the knife sliced his cheek instead of his neck. Deku rolled away, jumping through another portal and appearing again to escape the binding.

When he reappeared again, it was on the opposite side of the park away from where Iida and Mandalay were currently fighting Dabi. His flames kept attacking them from all sides, using little warp gates like windows. It looked like they were getting overwhelmed. Bakugou's eyes flickered from them to Deku and she could see him tearing himself in half. He couldn't defeat Deku and help them at the same time. He had to choose.

Aizawa pulled himself to his feet as he touched the cut on his cheek. It was right under the old scar he'd got during the USJ Incident. When he turned his gaze to Deku though, Deku actually smiled. A confused frown appeared on Aizawa's face and he was the one to freeze this time as his eyes darted side-to-side. As Deku activated his quirk even with Aizawa looking at him, he began to laugh.

"It's not so fun, is it?" Deku jeered. "Having your quirk erased."

Uraraka could not remember ever seeing Aizawa panicked before, but the warning look flashing in his eyes put her totally on edge. "The knife-"

"It's a boring old knife," Deku told him, sounding utterly pleased with the results as he gracefully spun the knife between his fingers, "but we coated it in something cooked up especially for you. Probably won't last as long as an injection, but it'll do."

The knife must have been coated with the same stuff that had blocked Uraraka and Todoroki from their quirks. With Aizawa affected now the same as her, Deku didn't have to worry about his quirk being erased.

His confidence bolstered and his quirk activated, he shot forward and Bakugou countered him. The two of them went at each other hard in close combat. They punched, blocked, kicked, and dodged in a flurry, almost like some sort of dance. Bakugou backed all of his punches with an explosion, which Deku had to block or knock away, but then had to raise a leg to block a kick that would've broken more than a few ribs had it landed. Bakugou managed to knock the knife out of his hand at least and it fell clattering on the asphalt.

Knowing that nothing could interrupt them, Uraraka tried to think of what she could do to help. The flames were proving to be tough for Iida, who couldn't get close to Dabi even with his speed. Aizawa certainly wasn't helpless without his quirk, judging from the way he jumped in to help, and neither was Uraraka. She spotted a fire hydrant nearby and then turned to Kota, who was watching Bakugou and Deku fight, pale-faced and eyes wide.

"Kota," Uraraka said, standing in his way and blocking the fight from his sight, "I need your help."

The young boy blinked. "My help? What can I do against this?"

"We need to help Mandalay, Ingenium, and Eraserhead," Uraraka explained. "Those flames are too much. They can't get close to him to take him out and Ground Zero needs help with Deku."

Even if he wouldn't admit it.

There was an obvious fear in Kota's eyes as he swung his gaze over to the secondary fight. "That villain's fire is blue. He attacked the training camp, didn't he?" After everything had calmed down and scared as he was, Kota had been the one who had helped put out the fire most before the fire department was able to reach them. With the use of his quirk, as small as it was, it was thanks to him that the fire hadn't reached any of the buildings.

"Yes, it's him," Uraraka told him. She put her hands on his shoulders. "I know you're scared and that's okay - I'm scared too - but if we can give them an opening, they can take him out for good this time."

Maybe she should've just run for the flames. All she had to do was put herself in danger to distract Deku, but when she looked at them fighting again, she wasn't sure that anything could distract him. There was so much rage and resolve in his eyes, everything in the world gone except for his goal to kill Bakugou. Only then would he feel like he was free from his past and able to take back his future with her. Besides, she didn't want to leave Kota by himself. He was safer by her since she was essentially untouchable.

She had to do everything. Help the others. Try to distract Deku. Keep Kota safe. She had to do it all, even if she was afraid without the use of her quirk. Just because she didn't have it did not mean she was no longer a hero. Her quirk didn't make her a hero. She made herself one.

"What do I have to do?" Kota asked, a shaky determination in his voice.

"Can you only manipulate the water you create or any water?" Uraraka questioned.

"I started being able to control other water sources two years ago," Kota answered, though he sounded somewhat uncomfortable with it for some reason. "It took a lot of practice, but Deku said if I just kept working on it, I could unlock new abilities of my quirk…"

"Okay, that's good." Uraraka pointed a finger to an area in between both fights. "Do you see that fire hydrant?" He nodded. "Can you force the water to come out?"

An unsure look crossed Kota's face. "I can try."

"That's all I'm asking. Just get the water out and then get away from here as far as you can." Uraraka hated asking him of anything, but she needed an opening, however small of one she could get. "How close do you have to be?"

Kota thought it over for a moment and then rushed forward without answering. Uraraka hastily followed, stopping when he did. He stretched out his arms like he was trying to reach for the water and pull it out with his fingers. There was a slight rumble underneath them and Uraraka watched as the hydrant began to tremble. Sweat beaded Kota's flushed face and his hands began to tremble, but he didn't stop pushing his quirk. Maybe it was too much. She shouldn't have involved him.

But then Kota gasped, seemingly shocked with himself. "It's happening!"

The side cap on the fire hydrant popped off with a crack and then water was gushing out. Kota dropped his hands and heaved out a heavy sigh. He didn't need to use his quirk for the rushing water splash over Dabi and his flames. There was so much water, smothering everything, almost immediately killing his fire.

That was when Uraraka rushed in. He must have heard her feet splashing in the water puddles and spun around in time to avoid her grabbing him. As powerful as his quirk was, the second Uraraka started in on him, using the hand-to-hand combat skills that she'd learned over the years, she could tell that he had little experience in this area of fighting, but he had to avoid using his quirk against her.

"Fucking stop it!" Dabi snapped.

"Scared I'll beat you?" Uraraka countered as she landed a blow to his gut that sent him stumbling. She had to subdue him somehow. Every time he tried to edge away from the water, she'd move to push him back into it and towards the others.

Dabi sneered. "Scared I'll have to hurt you and deal with Midoriya is more like it."

"Must suck having to hold back all the time for someone that you spent years fighting against," Uraraka said as she readied her stance again. "You take orders from him, don't you? And he's not even a real villain. He had to be forced to become one. You went to prison for your beliefs. His are fake and now you're below him."

"You're dancing on a thin line," Dabi warned coldly.

"Oh yeah?" Uraraka leaped forward to strike him again. He knocked her hand away, but he couldn't avoid her follow up punch. Flames sparked at his fingertips when she hit him. "I can't even use my quirk and I'm still beating you. Just how weak are you, huh? Especially compared to Deku. He's stronger than all those puny villains back at your base! Everyone just walks on eggshells around him. He doesn't even need you, not really. You're a second class villain at best, stuck doing whatever he tells you to do because you're afraid of him."

She didn't just toe the line; she'd leaped over it completely. Dabi's face contorted into a furious scowl that pulled on the staples and burnt skin. He jumped back and raised his arm so that flames covered it, even though the water put a dent in how much he could keep alight. Before he could shoot the fire at her though, she ducked and Iida jumped over her in an explosive burst. So worked up and focused on her, just as Deku was with Bakugou, Dabi hadn't heard Iida coming up from behind her, but she had. It hadn't been her original idea, but it worked, as Iida landed a solid kick against his chest that threw him into the side of a van.

Dabi staggered, barely staying on his feet and holding his chest. Growling at them and a glare that promised retribution, he called out, "A little help here?" and a portal appeared. He was too far for them to do anything, so all they could do was watch as Dabi stepped through the gate and vanished. Unlike Deku, he did not reappear, but Uraraka was still worried that he wasn't gone entirely. His flames were just as dangerous at a distance as they were up close.

"I have to stop Deku," Uraraka said, turning to Iida. "Maybe if I can get in the middle of their fight, get hurt or almost hurt, it'll be enough to get him to hesitate."

Iida shook his head and put a hand on her arm. "You can't just throw yourself recklessly into things!"

"It's the quickest and easiest solution," Uraraka insisted. "Deku won't purposely hurt me and every time I'm in danger he gets distracted. That'll give you and Bakugou an opening to subdue him."

But what if Deku thought that she was only trying to save Bakugou again? It would infuriate him even further. She couldn't forget how dangerous he had felt when he'd demanded answers from her. He had been so upset and angry over the idea that she had only asked Deku to take her with him in order to keep Bakugou alive. She was afraid that if she tried it again he would really snap - against Bakugou, against Iida, against her. How could she keep him appeased enough so he wouldn't break and they could beat him? The moment he lost control, like he had on that villain that had hurt her, they would all lose.

In the end, Uraraka ran, slipping out of Iida's loose grip. Both Bakugou and Deku were in bad shape. Their fight had crossed the entire area, the playground damaged and the street broken up and scorched. Bakugou shot off an explosion that Deku rolled to dodge. When he popped back up, instead of attacking, his head turned to see where the knife had fallen.

When he bolted in that direction, Bakugou shouted, "No you don't!" and launched himself forward. Just as Deku snatched the knife, Bakugou got a hold of his foot and pulled hard so that he crashed to the ground. Deku kicked out, his leg connecting with Bakugou's shins and knocking him down. It was a scramble as the two of them grappled with each other on the ground until finally, Deku had Bakugou pinned on his back on the ground, one hand strangling him as he picked up the knife with the other.

"Deku, don't!" Uraraka screamed, running to catch up with them.

"It's the only way, Ochako!" Deku exclaimed, a wild light in his eyes, sweat and blood dripping from his face. "I have to end this now! I have to kill him - for us !"

The knife descended down, forcing Bakugou to stop pulling at Deku's fingers around his neck to grab his wrist, stopping the tip of the knife just shy of his chest. His arms were shaking as he tried to shove the knife away, but then Deku bore down on him harder. As light twisted around his arms, signaling the activation of his quirk, Uraraka screamed again and she could hear the burst of Iida's engines as he rushed to reach them.

Everything came to an abrupt halt when a wall of water smashed into Deku and knocked him off of Bakugou. Uraraka swung her head around had caught sight of Kota, who was shaking and close to crying, but had water dripping from his outstretched hands and a tornado of water rising and twisting behind him. "Stop it!" he cried out. "Just stop it!"

Deku froze on the spot with one knee and the hand gripping the knife on the ground. His eyes were wide and bright, his mouth parted, and his eyebrows raised. The only way she could describe his expression was stunned. He looked as if he had been blown away and couldn't even think, much less move. All he could do was stare back at Kota, who was sniffling but refusing to back down.

Finally, Deku blinked. "Kota?"

Uraraka's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't have said how, but he sounded so different in that moment. Soft, gentle, scared, confused - all of it at once. He sounded like Deku and even more so… Everything that had been off about him before was gone. There was an innocence about his face that reminded her of what he'd been like during their first year and all the hardness in his body was gone. And his eyes….

Those were Deku's eyes, not the eyes of the person Kyōmu had twisted him to become.

Deku blinked a few more times and smacked his head twice. When he raised his head again and opened his eyes, the light that she'd recognized flickered until it was out and just like that he was gone. It was something though. Judging from the look on Bakugou's face as he stared at Deku, no heat in his red eyes, he had seen it too. He shook his head and then his expression hardened again. The two of them caught eyes and jumped to their feet at the same time, Bakugou letting off an explosion as he did so.

Instead of counteracting it, Deku dodged it by leaping up in the air, landing some distance away. He glanced behind him at the tall building and then started to climb by making multiple leaps on the balconies. His body must have been worn down if he wasn't making it in one jump. Bakugou swore and did the same, using his explosions to get to the top. It took the fight off the ground, but the building felt even worse. There were people in there still, no doubt watching the battle in fear and shock.

"Iida, can you get Kota out of here?" Uraraka asked.

"I can't run away from a fight again," Iida protested.

"Please," Uraraka persisted. "It's what Deku would want." She could tell that he hated being put in the position of being taken out of the fight again. "If they're going to fight up there, we need to try to evacuate the building too. If Deku were to damage it in any way…" Hadn't he threatened to destroy Bakugou's apartment building during their first confrontation? Considering his fragile state of mind, Uraraka was wary to guess on what Deku was capable of right now. "Mandalay can use her telepathy to broadcast a message, but if there are people that can't get out on their own, we need your speed."

"And what are you going to do?" Iida questioned.

Uraraka turned to the building and looked up at the roof where Bakugou had landed. "Whatever I have to do to save them both and keep them from destroying each other."

It felt like she'd been running since this whole mess had started. Running to Deku, running to Bakugou, running to help the others, running away with Kota. What was she running to now? An end? She didn't know. It was hard to see. As she reached the building, she tried to call up her quirk, desperate to reach the top quickly, but no matter how much she strained, it wouldn't come. The drugs from earlier were still smothering it. How long had it been?

Reduced to being quirkless, Uraraka burst into the building and found the stairwell as people began to rush out in a flurry. Mandalay's message must have gotten to them. She was the only one running up, her legs and lungs burning as she rushed up the stairs. There was a loud rumble and the building shook, causing people to halt and scream in terror. Uraraka had to grip the railing of the stairs to keep from falling over. What if she was too late? What if she didn't make it in time because her cardio wasn't up to speed?

No, no, she'd worked on that this past year. Going on runs with Bakugou had really helped her improve both her endurance and speed. She could do this. She would reach them. She would save them.

Angry tears in her eyes, Uraraka pushed on, panting and sweating. By the time she reached the top floor, she was so out of breath that her lips felt blue. Running fifteen flights of stairs was too much even for a pro hero. She had to stop to catch her breath as much as possible, but then shoved the door open and stepped onto the roof, only to witness Bakugou and Deku collide with one another, their quirks meeting head-on. The explosion that occurred rattled the entire building and forced her to her knees. Both of them were blown back, Bakugou into the brick wall next to her and Deku to the edge.

"No!" Uraraka shrieked when she realized what would happen and darted in his direction.

Deku hit the ground and rolled right over the edge, his hand grasping at the concrete. Uraraka threw herself on the ground and snatched him by the wrist. He was heavier than her, his momentum and weight nearly dragging her completely over the edge with him, but she snagged onto the building. There was no way she could pull him up on her own, especially not with one hand, and she was already exhausted from the run up here. If she could only use her quirk, this would be nothing. He'd be lighter than air.

"You have to help me," Uraraka said through gritted teeth. "I can't pull you up."

All Deku did was stare up at her though. He looked more tired than she felt, as if he was worn down to the bone and had nothing left to give, his body limply swaying in the air. Uraraka's hand and fingers began to strain and her arm and shoulder ache as she held onto him. It felt like he was pulling her arm out of socket. Her grip on the building slipped as her nails broke against the concrete and she could feel his wrist slipping from her too. His red gloves were too slick.

"Deku, please!" Uraraka cried out.

"It's okay," Deku finally, his voice so soft. Even his face was soft. He was so tired. The tears pooling in her eyes slipped out and began to drip down on his face. "It's okay, Ochako, just let go."

"No, no, no," Uraraka pleaded. "I can't let you fall again. Please, try to pull yourself back up."

Deku didn't move to try to save himself at all though. "Listen to me, Ochako. Let go of me. If you don't, you'll fall with me and I can't have that." He swallowed, but didn't take his eyes away from hers. She could feel his body trembling. He was exhausted, afraid, and so devastatingly sad, his eyes dimmed by pain. "You have to let go."

"I don't want to," Uraraka told him, even as her grip on him began to slip.

"Then I'll do it for you," Deku said, "like I did before."

And then he reached up with his other hand to pry her fingers from his wrist and fell, just as he'd done the day he died, just as he'd done in all her nightmares in the months after.

"NO!" Uraraka scrambled to grab him again, throwing herself over the edge to reach him. She would've fallen to the ground too, so used to having her quirk to keep herself afloat, had a hand not wrapped around her ankle and stopped her fall short. She hung upside down, reaching out to Deku, who wore the calmest expression on his face that she'd seen since he had come back. He closed his eyes. She couldn't look away.

Right before he hit the ground, a warp gate appeared beneath him and Deku fell into it. The second it closed, Uraraka started screaming again and flailing. It couldn't have made it easy for the person holding onto her, but she was slowly dragged up, her fingers digging against the building like she could crawl to Deku.

"He's gone!" a voice told her from behind once she was back on the roof. "Uraraka, he's gone!"

"No, no!" Uraraka sobbed. "He can't be gone!"

Strong arms had to be wrapped around her to keep her from going back to the edge. In the back of her mind, she knew that Deku wasn't there and she couldn't get to him, but she couldn't think straight. All she could think about was the look on his face when he'd told her to let go. Accepting. Understanding. So damn sad. It was what a broken heart looked like.

"Uraraka, he's gone," the voice repeated, voice gruff and raspy. The distinct scents of nitroglycerin and smoke overwhelmed her senses. Bakugou. It was Bakugou holding her. It was happening all over again. She couldn't take it. She couldn't breathe. "You're safe. You're alive and you…" He was breathing heavily as well and his body was shaking from the effort of staying standing after what he'd put it through. "Just breathe, Uraraka."

Everything had gone so wrong. She was safe, but at what cost? She couldn't be here.

"I have to go back. I have to go with him." Uraraka struggled in Bakugou's grip and he let her go. She ran to the edge again. "Deku! Deku, please! Don't leave me! Deku!"

There was no answer though, only the echo of her screams. He was gone.

As Uraraka held her head in her hands and stumbled back, Bakugou came up from behind her. When he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, she spun around and buried her face in his chest. She didn't care if she was sobbing so hard that it shook her entire body. She didn't care if she looked weak in front of him. He wouldn't think it was a sign of weakness.

"I can't be here," Uraraka cried into his shirt. "I can't leave him."

"Uraraka…" Bakugou clearly didn't know what to say. He probably hadn't expected her to want to stay with Deku and the villains. It wasn't that though, not entirely. Now that she'd seen the real Deku underneath all of what he'd been turned into, she was more determined than ever to fight for him. But he wasn't the only one that she had to be there for.

"Shouto." Just saying his name made her chest hurt. "I promised I wouldn't leave him. I promised that I'd keep him from being turned like Deku and now he's alone." He would be relieved. She could picture him even thanking Deku when he was told that Uraraka was out of the villains' hands. Somehow, she knew that Deku would be the one to talk to him. He would take her place, except instead of helping him keep his mind, he would only push Todoroki further down that dark path. "I left him behind… I left him with that monster."

Bakugou wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face to the top of her head. "We'll get him back."

What if it wasn't in time though? What if Todoroki was turned before they could reach him? She thought of him asking her to kill him if he gave in to the mental conditioning. What would he be like? What twisted version of him would come out? He was truly alone now, just as he'd been growing up, at the mercy of a man using him for his own means.

And all Uraraka to do was scream.