Notes: This is a quiet chapter, I would say. Uraraka has gone through a veritable shit ton and has not been given the time to process any of it. Does she do that in this chapter? Uh, not really, but I felt like a few things were important to bring up considering her time in captivity. Maybe this chapter didn't get as emotional as I'd planned in my head, but when you write as it comes to you - I don't know - things take certain turns. The next one definitely will. At any rate, wow, Bakugou and Uraraka are finally given a small chance to talk after like sixteen chapters. Has it really been that long? Yeesh.

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."
- Bob Dylan

The first thing they did was take Uraraka to the hospital. She had assured them that she was unharmed, but they had wanted to be careful, especially considering that she'd been in the not-so-pleasant care of the villains for the past week. Beside her arm hurting from when she'd been dangling off the side of the building holding onto Deku, her body was fine. She was fine. When Bakugou spotted the restraint marks on her wrist that she'd gotten while Todoroki had gone under Kyomu's quirk, it had looked like he had to visibly hold himself back from reacting. He didn't say anything about them though.

Not that she could explain to him where they had come from. Uraraka didn't know if she had the strength to talk about what had happened.

By the time the first responders arrived at the scene, Bakugou and Uraraka had descended from building that Deku had dropped from. The paramedics looked her over, but Aizawa had told them to take her. Protesting had been the first time she spoke since the rooftop, but one flat look from him and she'd gone silent. She had panicked, sitting in the back of the ambulance and looking around, until she connected eyes with Bakugou. Seeing as how he was more injured than her, he huffed and clambered inside, saying that he'd go with her to the hospital to save Aizawa the trouble of bothering him.

The ride to the hospital had been silent. Neither one of them had known what to say. It hadn't even been two weeks since she had asked Deku to take her with him in order to spare Bakugou's life, but it had felt like a lifetime as well. So much had happened since then, likely for the both of them, and that time stretched between them like a canyon that she was terrified to cross. She wanted to reach over and take his hand - to comfort him, as she knew that he was beating himself up, and herself, because she was afraid - but she didn't. She was afraid of how he would receive the gesture.

Funny how she was with the heroes now and she'd never been more terrified in her life.

Once at the hospital, she and Bakugou were separated. So out of it, she could only remember reaching for him so that he would stay with her before the curtain was pulled around to give her privacy. When she had asked about him, the nurses had pointed out that Ground Zero's injuries were much more extensive than hers and he needed a closer look. And so Uraraka sat silently on the bed as she was examined, knowing full well that she was just fine. Her shoulder and arm hurt and the marks on her wrists burned a little, but her ankle was fine.

She was sore and so exhausted that she didn't even know if she could manage to cry. Whenever the nurses asked her questions, she mumbled one-worded answers, unable to truly focus as the clinical white surroundings of the hospital bore down on her. Half the time, she wasn't even aware of what they were saying, not when Deku's words were echoing in her head.

"You have to let me go."

Uraraka clenched her hands into fists on top of her thighs. She should've been stronger. She should have held onto him and never let him go. Deku had been the one to peel her fingers off of his hand. He had been to one to let her go, not the other way around, and it hurt worse than she could imagine. She had sworn that she wouldn't let him fall again, but she had done just that. It happened just like in all her nightmares, the ones she would sweep away come morning and pretend that she never had them.

Why had he done that after everything he'd done to get her back?

"Uravity?" a doctor asked. "Or...would you rather go by Miss Uraraka?"

"I'm not here as a hero," Uraraka responded, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. She had been taken by the villains because she was Deku's Ochako. She'd thought she was acting in the hero capacity, but maybe she'd been wrong this whole time.

She could have done so much more, but the truth was that she didn't feel like a hero now. She'd failed Deku, but even worse, she'd broken her promise to Todoroki. She wanted to lash out, but there was only the doctor standing in front of her, wearing a patient expression on her face that made Uraraka want to scream. She needed to be discharged. She needed to get out of here so she could explain what was going on and then do something about it.

"I just have one more question for you," the doctor said.

Get it over with them, Uraraka thought as she raised her eyes to the doctor. She was holding a clipboard tightly to her chest, but what she noticed the most was that delicate look on her face. It immediately made Uraraka tense up.

"Did anything...happen to you during your captivity?" the doctor asked.

Uraraka snorted, too worn down to hide how done she was with this whole thing. "Besides my imprisonment, witnessing the man I loved go into rages that prompted him to commit murder, a villain trying to strangle me to death, and watching one of my closest friends get tortured? No, it was a blast."

The doctor cleared her throat. "I meant, did anyone harm you inappropriately?" She gestured towards Uraraka's wrists. The bruises from where Deku had gripped her too tightly the first day of his return had just faded away before her capture. "The binding marks on your wrist suggest that you were tied down."

The moment realization struck her, Uraraka's face flooded red. "No! No, nothing like that happened."

"Don't feel like you have to protect anyone," the doctor continued hastily. "It's not a mark against you as a hero if anything did happen." Uraraka couldn't even respond to that. She had never once in her life had something like this suggested to her. Any unwanted advances made towards her had been dealt with immediately. "I was made aware of your...captor's infatuation with you and so I need to make sure-"

"Deku would never do something like that!" Uraraka protested furiously, jumping to her feet. "He would've gotten rid of anyone that tried. He never forced himself on me. I can't believe you'd even think that."

Her mortification quickly turned into rage and all she could see was red. How dare anyone suggest such a thing? Maybe Kyomu had twisted Deku's love for her into more of an obsession, but he could never have manipulated him so much that he was capable of that. She'd gotten scared when he'd first kissed her, but not because she was afraid he would take more than she wanted to give. She had known that he would pull back. She had known that he wouldn't hurt her like that. It disgusted him too much.

No, he wouldn't do something like that.

He just murdered people, broke villains out of prison, and attacked his friends. That was it.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said, a truly apologetic expression on her face. "I didn't mean to upset you. It was something that I had to ask considering your wounds and the circumstances."

"I…" The fight fled from Uraraka as quickly as it had appeared and she sank back on the bed. "No, you're just doing your job. I shouldn't have…"

The doctor laid a hand on her shoulder. "You're under an incredible amount of stress. I would be more concerned if you didn't react at all." She pulled her hand back to write a few notes on her clipboard. "You have one more person that would like to speak to you before I can discharge you."

Uraraka tried not to sigh. This was only the beginning. There would so many people that she would need to speak with before she could finally rest. When was the last time she slept? Had it been when Deku had given her that last dose of the quirk inhibitor drug? That hadn't even been a proper sleep since it had been drug-induced. So much had happened since then. She was not only worn down physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. She didn't know how much more she could handle before she broke down, but she didn't have the time or luxury of getting a break.

The doctor slipped through the curtain, replaced by someone that Uraraka honestly hadn't expected to visit her, making her sit up straight out of habit. "Recovery Girl." She furrowed her brow. "I'm not hurt enough to need use of your quirk. I hope you didn't waste your time coming here. Ground Zero, Mandalay, and Eraserhead were the ones that were hurt."

"I've already seen to their wounds, so no need to fret about them," Recovery Girl told her with a faint smile as she pulled a chair over to sit next to the bed. "I was just with Ground Zero. He's very worried over you and it made me realize that we've been neglecting a few serious things."

Uraraka folded her hands in her lap. "I'm fine honestly - at least as much as I can be."

"No, you're not," Recovery Girl said firmly yet gently at the same time, "and you don't have to be." She laid a hand over top Uraraka's. The gesture was genuine enough to bring tears to Uraraka's eyes, but she tried to hold them at bay. "No one expects you to be fine with everything that's happened. No one expects you to be constantly strong."

Uraraka's hands turned into fists. "I should be."

"No, because then you would be heartless," Recovery Girl pointed out. "You're doing it again, aren't you? Acting like you have to take care of everyone, can never show your grief, and like everything is your fault. He said that was what you did when Midoriya died. You can't do that again."

"That's not…" Uraraka swallowed thickly. It was exactly what she had done. Recovery Girl might not have seen her then, but Bakugou had. He must have mentioned his concerns that she was falling back into the old habit. While she was frustrated with him for saying anything to someone else, she couldn't say that he was wrong. She could easily point out that he was doing the same thing - pushing himself far past his limit to his own detriment and closing in on himself - but likely it was already known.

Recovery Girl sighed and pulled her cane into her lap. "My quirk focuses so much on physical wounds and the body that I often forget the other side. Mental care is an important part of healthcare that is so often neglected in heroes. They see such awful things and jump headfirst into travesties to save the day, but we shouldn't expect them to remain unaffected."

It was unfortunately true. Uraraka could count the number of times she'd seen mental healthcare professional on two hands. Considering all of what she'd gone through when she had been a U.A. student, it should have been much more than that. Her boss had forced her to see someone after Deku's death before returning to work two weeks later. She'd said just enough to get a pass to come back. She had to work. The idea of being grounded would have made her feel so much worse about failing to save Deku. Still, in all likelihood, she should have gone to a series of appointments to get into a better headspace.

She knew for a fact that neither Bakugou nor Todoroki had gone to see or talk to someone. Either their pride couldn't handle it or they were certain that they didn't need it. Mostly, she thought it was their guilt that hindered them from seeking out help. It was humiliating to admit, especially as a pro-hero.

"You've been through so much and, while everyone has been concerned about your safety, it's easy to put your mental health on the backburner," Recovery Girl continued. "I have suffered loss as well. There have been times when the damage was too severe for even my quirk to help. I've seen people I care about die." It was difficult to imagine such because of how powerful her quirk was, but even she had tasted failure before. It should not have been comforting, but it was, knowing that she wasn't alone. "But I've never had to watch those people come back to life as someone very different set on destroying all the things they once loved. Uraraka, that is something no one should go through. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like when you were taken."

There was a moment when Uraraka couldn't get any words out. They all felt lodged in her constricted throat, refusing to come out. Was it because she was afraid or something else? Ashamed? Embarrassed?

"You can't keep all that in," Recovery Girl told her. "It's not healthy and it will only hinder you in the end."

"I'm not going to," Uraraka managed to mumble. "I'll have to explain what happened this past week a hundred times to so many people."

Recovery Girl fixed her with a serious look. "That's not what I mean and you know it. You can tell what happened a hundred times without ever mentioning what it meant to you." Uraraka turned her face away to look at the white wall behind the bed. It meant everything to her. "Like it or not, but you will never be the same after this, just as you weren't after Midoriya's death. It will change who you are - it will shape you into someone you never expected - it will make you a different person and hero. You can't keep going on like it didn't - not again."

Uraraka tilted her head upward and closed her eyes. "How? How do I do that?" A mirthless laugh started to tumble out of her before it turned into a short choking sob. She stopped it cold by biting her lip. "I don't have time for that. I don't have time for healing or recovery. Deku won't stop until he's stopped and Shouto…" She shook her head, pushing away the tears, and opened her eyes. She didn't have time to cry. "My well-being will have to wait until this is over."

Or I'm dead. Best not to say that out loud if she was trying to convince Recovery Girl that she wasn't one step away from having a breakdown. It'd be nice if she wasn't afraid of that being the case.

"Once this is over - and it will be over - I'm going to suggest that your agency put you on leave and not let you return to full capacity until a medical professional clears you for active duty," Recovery Girl said, not sounding apologetic in the slightest.

It felt as if Uraraka had been punched in the gut as she stared at the older hero. "My agency?" How long had it been since she'd been at work? Did she even have a job? What about her bills? Such stupid, normal things and she had totally forgotten about all of them. What did they matter now that Deku was back as a villain? Now that Todoroki's very being hung in a delicate balance? Now that Bakugou was a target? What did any of that matter? "You can't… I need that. It's who I am. I'm a hero."

Was she though? All this failing to save people was making her triple guess herself.

"And you always be a hero, Uravity," Recovery Girl said as she stood up, "but if you do not take care of yourself, you will crash and burn regardless of how much you can float." She wasn't much taller standing up as when she was sitting in the chair, but her height did nothing to take away from her strength and authority. "Maybe, if we had taken the time to take better care of Midoriya - of Todoroki and Bakugou - they would not have been the targets of such a malicious villain who can turn people against their loved ones."

She didn't even know half of the truth. It wasn't just his loved ones that Deku had been turned against; it was like he was against the whole world. He wanted to burn all of hero society to the ground. He wanted to change the way that people looked at quirks. He wanted to destroy everything that he'd once believed in. It was a nightmare that Uraraka felt like she couldn't escape.

"I don't know what to do," Uraraka admitted hoarsely.

"You take a step forward and then another," Recovery Girl told her. "That's all you can do some days."

It wasn't nearly enough to help her, but she was right in that there was nothing she could do right now. She'd probably spend the next few days in debriefings, giving descriptions, writing and talking about details of her kidnapping. There was a lot of information in her head, but she was so exhausted that she was worried it wouldn't come out straight. She felt like she could both sleep for days and never sleep again.

"Thank you," Uraraka said, unable to think of the right words for this moment.

"I don't want any thanks until I see that you're taking care of yourself." Recovery Girl turned back to face her, one hand on the curtain. "I'm serious about this. If you're not careful, you are going to get yourself hurt or, even worse, put other people at risk. You're in the thick of this and I can't expect you to come out of this unscathed, but this kind of trauma can lead to reckless behavior and decisions that won't just affect yourself."

Uraraka bit her lip and then nodded, feeling properly scolded. When Recovery Girl vanished behind the curtain, a lonely feeling threatened to swallow Uraraka whole. She knew that what she had told her and warned about was true. She could feel herself breaking down, piece by piece, as more pressure was weighed down on her shoulders. It had been difficult enough when tasked with the goal to save Deku and bring him back to the side of the heroes. Now she had to worry about Todoroki as well? It was hard to think straight when she was so emotional, much less stressed out.

A part of her was angry that she could let herself get this emotional, afraid that people would think she was just because of her love for Deku or being a woman. As if no one else involved had a high emotional stake in this. Would someone accuse Bakugou of getting over-emotional over this? Because he was. Had he been thinking straight the other day? He certainly hadn't been the night that Deku had attacked Kaminari. He had been out of control and foolish, allowing himself to get caught and nearly killed. He'd been more brutal today, but filled with more precision as well judging from how he'd worked with the other pros.

She bet Aizawa had said something to him, also hence why he had done the press conference with him. He was the best option to keep a level head. Maybe he was just a U.A. teacher, but he had been theirs. Deku probably recognized the significance as well once he got over how much Bakugou had infuriated him. It wouldn't have surprised her if Iida or Kirishima had talked to him too. Someone needed to get through that stubborn head of his, especially when she knew that he thought all of this was his fault.

The curtain was pulled back once more and, lo and behold, it was the man himself.

A tired smile twitched onto Uraraka's face as Bakugou stared her down with an unreadable expression. She was entirely too grateful to see him, but she could hear Deku's voice bouncing around in her head. All that pain, all that rage, all that grief - all of it pointing directly at Bakugou. It wasn't him. It wasn't Deku. It wasn't Bakugou. Yet she couldn't simply forget it either. Kyomu had used him as a focal point to bring out the hate that would twist Deku into something else for a reason.

"Come to tell me off as well?" Uraraka asked.

Bakugou shook his head. "Nah, I figure Recovery Girl either got through to you or she didn't. Nothing that I say is going to change your mind." He'd be surprised how much he influenced her. It had been like that from the very beginning. She hadn't wanted to just be strong like Deku. It had been Bakugou too - and Todoroki and Momo. All of them had helped shape her into the hero she was today. She just hadn't been strong enough. "I'm here to escort you out of here. You've got the all clear to go and, well, you know what comes next."

She was going to have a lot of explaining to do. That was what came next. She wasn't looking forward to it. There was likely to be a hundred questions at least and she didn't even know where to begin. Did she start with Kyomu and his quirk? With Deku and his mental state? What was happening to Todoroki? Their goals, as loose as they were? She'd been with them for days and still couldn't figure out everything. She had overheard too much, but not enough that it made sense. There didn't seem to be a set goal in mind besides chaos.

"What about you? Are you…?" Uraraka lifted a hand to him, but then dropped it back onto the bed when he didn't step closer or reach out in return. He was closing himself off again. It hurt more than she wanted to admit. This was what Deku would've wanted him to do, right? What he wanted her to do? For them to pull away from each other, for them to keep apart, a safe distance from one another.

Bakugou must have caught on to her sudden insecurity and she watched him loosen his shoulders and take a deep breath. It was impossible for him to get rid of all the tension in his body, but he forced as much out as he could and took a step toward her. He wasn't in her space, but he let the curtain fall back into place so that it was just them, if only for a moment.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, his gaze dropping down to her hand. "Recovery Girl took care of the worse off wounds."

Indeed he didn't look too bad. He was stripped of most of his hero costume, which had been damaged anyways, down to his baggy pants, boots, and black tank top. The bandages and band-aids that covered him made her think of the aftermath of his and Deku's huge fight after the provisional license exam in their first year. Both of them had looked worse for wear, but it should have been much worse considering the damage that they'd caused. She remembered going out to look at Ground Beta the next day and being shocked by what she saw. It wasn't unlike what the playground had looked like after their fight earlier.

The carnage they could incur just by fighting each other was massive and horrific.

Deku knew that. He also knew that Bakugou had to play by a set of rules while he didn't. Maybe Bakugou didn't see himself as holding back, but he would have to unless he wanted to cause as collateral damage and endanger as many innocent lives as Deku. They couldn't afford to hold back anymore, definitely not if Kyomu managed to turn Todoroki to their side. He'd held himself back when fighting Deku so that he wouldn't cause as much destruction. She doubted he would be so considerate of his power if he was turned.

"How are you feeling?" Uraraka asked carefully.

Bakugou ran a hand through his hair and let out a huff. "Like I'm the world's worst hero. Deku's got a real talent at making me feel like I've been dragged through the mud." He stilled, like he was just now realizing who he was talking to and how insensitive his comment had come off, but Uraraka didn't tell him off. It was unfiltered honesty and she could appreciate that more than anything right now. She'd been swimming in lies since being taken, fighting to break the surface to find the truth

Tears pricked at Uraraka's eyes again. "Everything is so muddy right now."

There was nothing he could say that would make her feel better and he knew that. All he could do was look down at her while she refrained from crying again. She couldn't afford to waste any energy on that. Later, when she was by herself and could finally lay down, she'd cry her heart out. She'd held so much in while being held captive, even with a few outbursts, that she felt filled to the brim with unchecked emotions.

On the flip side, there was so much he could say. There were a hundred things that she wanted to say and another hundred that she felt but couldn't put into words, neither of which came out. All her thoughts sat on the tip of her tongue as she sat in front of him. He wouldn't shame her for being afraid and he wouldn't scoff at her devastation, but he couldn't understand all of it. The pathetic truth was that, after all that Deku had said and as much as she had missed him, she felt somewhat awkward in front of Bakugou now and she didn't know why.

"Uraraka…" His voice was low, rough, her name scraped out of him. It was desperate.

It was enough to force the tears out of her eyes.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to explain what happened," Uraraka cried, bending over and hiding her hands in her face. She curled in on herself protectively. She knew that Bakugou wouldn't scoff at her for getting emotional, but she was embarrassed. She didn't want him to see her like this. She hadn't been this bad since right after Deku's death and she'd hid herself away from everyone. She'd cried in front of Bakugou and Todoroki, but the only time they had seen her truly break down had been right after Deku had gone under the water.

She could add this week onto it. Todoroki had seen her screaming and crying while he was being tortured and Bakugou again on the rooftop.

"It was… It was surreal, like some sort of weird nightmare."

It didn't help that parts of it were foggy due to being injected with that quirk inhibitor drug multiple times. Her quirk should be coming back to her any minute now. It would be a powerful relief when she could use it again, one she knew would make her cry all over again. She had never had to imagine her life without it. Gods, she hadn't even asked Todoroki how he was taking not being able to use his quirk. He'd gone from one of the most powerful heroes to all but helpless.

That was what the whole situation made her feel like now. Weak. Powerless. Useless. As relieved as she would be to have her quirk returned to her, she would still feel all those things.

Bakugou peeling Uraraka's hands away from her face stopped her cold, causing her to hiccup and lift her head up to look at him. His attention wasn't on her face but on her wrists as he held them between a finger and his thumb. He was careful not to touch the raw skin. His grip was surprisingly gentle and delicate, so warm and soothing that it made her want to pull away. She didn't deserve this from him.

"He swore that you would be safe with him," Bakugou grumbled in a raspy growl. "I don't know why I believed him after all the shit he pulled. Maybe I just wanted to hope that he wasn't lying about something."

"I think he honestly believed I was," Uraraka replied. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with her free hand. "It wasn't Deku, if that's what you're worried about."

She had only been afraid of Deku once and that had been after he had seen Bakugou's press conference on the news. Even when he had kissed her that first time and she'd panicked, she hadn't been scared. She had to believe that he wouldn't hurt her or she would have fallen into despair. As a hero, she couldn't allow herself to do that in order to do her job. As Ochako, she couldn't in order to save them.

Bakugou's red eyes narrowed like a missile locking onto its target. "And that?" he asked, pointing at her neck.

Uraraka's hand flew to cover it up. Truth be told, she'd forgotten about the bruises on her neck, even though it had only been a few days ago. They hadn't disappeared yet, turning into a light purple and yellow color. She hadn't seen her reflection in a while to know if they still held the shape of the hands that had been wrapped around her throat. No wonder the doctor had asked her that awful question about Deku. She might not have been injured badly, but she looked like she had been through hell.

"Like you said, I wasn't as safe as he thought I was," Uraraka told him, her hand drifting away. "There was a villain there with a grudge against both you and me." Bakugou frowned. It wouldn't be the first time that someone held a grudge against him, but to take it out on her clearly pissed him off. "We put him away and Deku broke him out, but he had a score to settle. He thought this was a good opportunity."

"Stupid bastard," Bakugou snarled. There was so much fire in his voice, but his grip on her wrist remained soft. "I'll kill that asshole."

"Too late," Uraraka replied with a sad, weak smile. "Deku beat you to it. He…" She took a breath. "It was awful. I've never seen someone react so violently . He was entirely unhinged."

"But he never hurt you?"

Uraraka shook her head. "He cleaned and bandaged me up. He wouldn't even let me walk on my sprained ankle."

"Sweet, considerate Deku." Bakugou snorted, letting go of her wrist. There wasn't a single drop of bitterness in his tone, not like Deku would've expected. It just...was. He'd known that Deku was a thoughtful and caring person. If anything, he sounded wounded that he was still capable of being so hand-in-hand with capable of murdering villains. There was something worse about him retaining parts of his old self along with this new version. "What about Todoroki?"

Hearing his name almost stopped Uraraka's heart. It took everything in her to keep from trembling and breaking down again. She couldn't look at Bakugou, the shame eating away at her. She'd left him. It hadn't been her choice and he had wanted her to escape if given the chance, but it still cut her to the bone. "He...he wasn't so lucky. Deku never touched him. None of the villains were allowed to hurt us, except for… He didn't consider it hurting. He thinks that he's doing Shouto a favor."

He was lonely . The villains had done what they could to become a makeshift found family for him, even the three members of the original League that had fought him the most, but it wasn't the same, not when he knew that they were wary of him on some level and didn't fully trust him. It was for a good reason too since he didn't seem to mind erasing them if they got in his way or displeased him. He'd tried to fill that void with Uraraka, but it hadn't worked entirely since she couldn't be on his side. If Todoroki were to be turned, things would be different. He'd have an old friend and a true ally.

"You said that you'd promised to keep him from being turned." Bakugou was trying to remain calm, but she could sense his frustration. It was one thing trying to bring back Deku; it was another to know that he'd let Todoroki fall victim to the same trap. He hadn't - it wasn't his fault - but she was smart enough to know that he wouldn't believe her no matter what she said, mostly because she felt the same way. "You know what happened to Deku to turn him this way?"

"Know it?" Anger flared in Uraraka's chest again and she latched onto it. She would take anything to keep that spark alive in her so that she didn't collapse. "I saw it, Bakugou. I saw what they did to him and who did it. That…that fucking monster ." She was shaking again, at least not from the grief. Bakugou put a hand on her shoulder, but it didn't stop her. The urge to rip the hospital bed sheets to shreds or throw the pillows across the room came to mind. She was so angry and hurt. "I kept asking to see Shouto. I was so worried and scared that he was dead. It was… It was so much worse than we imagined. Deku had me watch as Shouto was mentally tortured so I'd know how serious they were. And he keeps going through it every day and I can't… I'm not…"

"Breathe, Uraraka," Bakugou said evenly, his voice drifting into her ears like he was far away. "You're no good if you get lost."

It wasn't a cruel comment by any means; it was just what she needed to focus. He was right. Recovery Girl was right. She was going to lose it if she kept trying to bottle this all up. Uraraka sucked in a gasp of air and then slowed down to take steadier breaths. Finally, when she felt like she had a handle on herself again, she peered up at Bakugou and her heart skipped a beat. He was trying to go for impassive, but couldn't quite manage it, not with that fiery determination and anger in his eyes that she knew so well. She wouldn't have been surprised if his hand on her shoulder heated up, but he kept his quirk down.

"Seeing him like that - in so much pain, so weak, so frightened, so needy…" Uraraka took a few more steady breaths. This time, her heart didn't start to go erratic and the tears didn't burn her eyes. "It was horrific. It made me sick to my stomach. Knowing that Deku went through that as well, completely alone while we thought he was dead almost killed me."

Bakugou didn't respond at first. She could tell that he was thinking about what she said, trying to both process it and figure out what to say at the same time. He could tell her that they were going to get him back - he could tell her that they weren't going to let Todoroki get turned as Deku had been - but the fact was that they both knew those words were mere platitudes that they could no longer stomach. In the beginning, they had been a relief and a sign of comfort. Now she just wanted the cold hard truth.

And that truth was that there was a possibility that they wouldn't save Todoroki in time and that Deku would get exactly what he wanted and have a true partner-in-crime. Uraraka couldn't give that to him, not with the way things were. He could at least have someone by his side with Todoroki. She knew, as sick as it made her feel, that he would become a stronger villain with that. It wouldn't be the same, but she had a feeling that his dream didn't solely focus on a life with her, not if it was still him deep down. He'd want others to rise with him - and he wanted Bakugou to fall.

Maybe Deku thought that he would have to complete his goals with the League first before he could focus on her. It made her think of his role as a hero. Becoming number one and the next symbol of peace had been all he could focus on sometimes. Being a second priority to that was something that she'd had to accept, as that goal had been created before he met her. They were heroes though. That was what they did. They put their job and the lives of others before their own. Apparently, that was something villains did as well.

"How long?" Bakugou asked flatly.

"I don't know," Uraraka admitted with a helpless shrug. "Weeks, days, months? I don't think it matters how strong he is. This isn't something you can just say no to. I'll explain it as best as I can, but the quirk that was used on them - is still being used on Deku - warps a person's view reality."

Bakugou scratched his chin and muttered to himself, "Maybe we should call in Illusion then. Combine her and Shinso's quirks..."

Uraraka perked up. "Shinso is here too?"

"You've got a lot of catching up to do." Bakugou held out a hand and Uraraka took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet even though she didn't necessarily need the help. She didn't let go right away, not until his eyes flickered down and she pulled her hand back like she'd been scalded. He was much smoother, pocketing both hands like he planned to do it all along. Maybe he had. "C'mon, let's get this over with. I wish you could get some rest, but there's a lot of questions that need answering and you're our only lead. We don't have the time for piddling around."

"We never do as heroes, do we?" Uraraka sighed.

"Not since we decided it'd be a good idea to attend U.A. at fifteen," Bakugou added. He pushed the curtain aside so that she could walk through and started down the hallway at her side. She wasn't sure where they were going, but judging from the way he didn't immediately follow the exit signs, he did. "The authorities figured it would be best to interview you altogether, although they'll probably record it too for evidence. That's what they've been doing to save time. So you'll be facing a lovely panel of judges made up of police and pro heroes. They created a special task force for this and even brought in the top five pros."

"Not all of them," Uraraka said quietly. Bakugou glanced at her sharply. "The ranks for the first half of the year came up two weeks ago. Shouto was fifth."

Bakugou halted in front of the elevator, staring at the metal doors as if he thought that they'd open to reveal Todoroki himself. It was hard for her to picture Bakugou's reaction to Todoroki's kidnapping as well. He had been so focused on defeating Deku and keeping her safe that he pushed everything else away. It was obvious now to her that he was furious and humiliated. He always shut off when he got like that, as if the two emotions competing to take precedence broke him a little.

When he punched the button to go up instead of down, it was vicious enough to almost break it. "He better keep his head on straight."

After all the years of knowing him, Uraraka knew that it wasn't a threat to Todoroki or an insult to his strength. It was concern. Bakugou, try as he might hide it, was worried and he was probably too tired from the fight and being healed by Recovery Girl to keep it under wraps, so he transformed it into anger instead. Unfortunately for him, she had become fluent in Bakugou. She also knew not to bring it up. They both had stuff to deal with on their own. It didn't make Uraraka feel any less guilty for wanting to keep things from him though, things that had happened that felt like they were just hers and Deku's.

Once in the elevator, Uraraka leaned back against the wall and sighed as she rubbed her face. She didn't care if Bakugou was watching her and analyzing her every move. This whole day was a mess and it was far from over. She had to do one more thing after this extensive interview before she could rest. He might not like it, but he wouldn't argue with her either. The authorities weren't the only ones that deserved answers. She owed Todoroki that much to do what he couldn't.