Notes: So my plan was to get this chapter up last week. And then my daughter got the flu. And then I got the flu. So all in all, not a lot got done at the end of the week. I've also been trying to work on being less passive in my writing, so that meant I took longer doing it. Granted, it's not perfect since I only went back and lightly edited, but I tried more than usual. Uh, moral of this chapter is: let the characters do what they want and don't try to force them. I've learned my lesson. I wish ffn allowed links so you can see the incredible Villain Shouto and Villain Deku art people have done recently, but alas, it does not.
All Uraraka needed to do was incapacitate Ikeda. The villain wasn't a fighter. Even the way she held herself gave her away. No, she did her job by sneaking around. With the heroes too distracted by Todoroki's initial attack, she slipped right through them, probably thinking she was a civilian or non-hero employee. Uraraka didn't even know the names of everyone that worked her agency. It was easier than anyone wanted to admit for someone to sneak in unnoticed and ignored.
However, that meant it wouldn't take much to take Ikeda down. Ever since being inspired by Bakugou to intern at Gunhead's agency in her first year, Uraraka had continued to learn how to fight. She spent years honing in her hand-to-hand combat skills until even she could admit that she was one of the best fighters she knew. It helped that she had also spent time fiercely training with her friends. Deku had been excellent at sparring, along with Bakugou, Kirishima, and Tsu. Fighting against so many different opponents had taught her a thing or two.
Looking back on it, she didn't know why she had never considered it before then. Her quirk was touch-based, which meant that she would be in close quarters most of the time with any villain she fought. She was capable of using her quirk in more creative, long-range ways now, but rendering a villain's gravity useless was the easiest and fastest way to finish them off. Without gravity, most people were rendered useless. Very few understood how to navigate themselves without that familiar tug to the ground, unlike her. Gravity was hers to manipulate.
With the clock ticking, Uraraka darted forward. The ground literally shifted underneath them, making it awkward to run. She took away the gravity of some of her gear as she ran, making her body lighter and therefore easier to stay upright. Ikeda didn't have the same luck, wobbling on her feet and pressing her hand against a wall to remain standing.
Something else to consider when fighting someone was that every opponent approached a fight differently. If a person lacked in combat skills, they had a few options. One of them was to run. Ikeda had decided to take Uraraka down and blame her death on the building's collapse, so that was currently off the table. Another option was to bring a weapon of some kind. For some people, their quirk depended on a weapon. Toga's knives came to mind, along with Stain's swords. They had needed those weapons to make easier use of their quirks.
Weapons were also great for people that couldn't fight. A hero could be incredibly strong, fast, and capable, but they could die by a gun or sword or anything just the same as a civilian.
When Ikeda smiled lazily, Uraraka's blood ran cold and she slowed down. Something was wrong. The moment the villain pulled a handgun out from behind her back, Uraraka came to a screeching halt. She dove behind a desk as gunshots rang in the air, piercing a pillar and shattering a window.
"How are you going to explain away gunshots in my body?" Uraraka demanded. She pressed her back against the desk and considered the options in front of her. A long-range attack first was her best shot. Lucky for her, she was surrounded by plenty of things she could float and turn into projectiles.
"Midoriya doesn't have to find your body to know you're dead." Ikeda giggled like a delicate windchime. "Isn't that what you all did to him? You all couldn't find him and left him behind while you moved on with your petty lives."
Uraraka clenched her hands into fists. No, it wasn't. They had searched for him for weeks until Todoroki and Tsu had pulled her away from it. By then, her only choices were to either lock herself in their empty apartment or go back to work. She couldn't face their home alone. She had to go back to work. She had to keep moving. If she stopped for even a moment, she would look back, and if she looked back…
If she had looked back for even a moment, thought to search for him again, she would lose herself. She never would have come out of that darkness.
She had to look forward - for herself, for Todoroki, Bakugou, Deku's mom, their friends, her family. So many people counted on her. She could only look ahead. But she had never left Deku behind. She couldn't possibly forget him, not for a moment. Ikeda was wrong. They hadn't left him behind. None of them had. They had all continued to carry him with them in their own, personal ways. For some, it had held them back; for others, it had pushed them forward; and for some, it had kept them together.
Uraraka couldn't leave Deku behind, not when he would always be such an important piece of her heart.
"Are you just going to hide?" Ikeda taunted before letting off another shot. A bullet pierced the ground next to the desk Uraraka hid behind, just a few inches away from her hand. She snatched it against her chest and leaned her head back against the metal. "I don't think you have the time for that."
"Neither do you," Uraraka pointed out. "If the building drops, I can probably save myself with my quirk. You can't. You'll drop with the building."
She moved to stand in a crouched position, hands on the ground. However, she didn't make a move right away. She stood still, wincing when Ikeda shot the desk a few more times. The villain swore to herself and Uraraka heard the telltale signs of the magazine clip being replaced. Only then did she launch herself out from her hiding spot and rolled behind another desk. Ikeda hastily shot at her, but wildly missed again, not fully prepared. Honestly, if she had planned on using a gun before coming here, she really should've practiced more.
"Not a good shot, are you?" Uraraka said.
"All it takes is one hit to bring you down," Ikeda responded, the frustration now evident in her voice. She wanted to get out of this building as fast as possible. Uraraka needed to take her down before she decided to give up and flee, her more typical MO. "Of course, if you just came out, we could end this nicely. You don't have to die in an ugly manner. Everyone else here is going to go out so peacefully."
"You know getting close to me in a fight is a mistake," Uraraka said.
"What are you going to do? Float me?" Ikeda scoffed and shot the desk indifferently. "You touch me; you'll take away my gravity. I touch you; it's lights out, darling. You won't be alive for the bed bugs to bite."
Uraraka nodded. "Good point."
Without waiting any longer, she activated her quirk on the desk and lifted it into the air. Pressing her palms against it, she pushed it forward and began to run, using it as a massive shield against the bullets. Caught off guard and too close to dodge, Ikeda grunted when the desk collided with her, but Uraraka didn't stop shoving until she slammed her into the wall as hard as possible. Ikeda cried out in pain and dropped the gun. It clattered on top of the desk and fell off the side when the desk dropped back to the ground after Uraraka released her quirk.
Pinned against the wall, Ikeda groaned as she tried to shove the desk away, but all Uraraka had to do was kick it back in place. She reached over the desk, grabbing a handful of Ikeda's hair in her hands, and slammed her face-first into the desk. It was a brutal move, one she might not have considered a month ago, but she didn't care. It knocked the villain out cold.
"Good fucking night," Uraraka muttered, grim satisfaction streaking through her. Quick as it was, it hadn't been much of a fight, after all. Good.
With the villain slumped over the top of the desk, blood pouring out her broken nose, her quirk's hold on the unconscious heroes ended abruptly. All around her, heroes stirred awake, confused and in a panic over what had happened. Uraraka had to hand it to her: even if Ikeda wasn't a fighter, she had managed to take out ten heroes on her own without any of them realizing what was going on.
"What's happening?" one hero asked as he pulled himself to his feet. His eyes landed on her, then Ikeda, and he frowned. "Uravity? What are you doing here?"
"There's no time to explain," Uraraka said. "This building is going to collapse at any second. We need to get out of here. Anyone that can move on their own, go now and I'll take care of the rest."
"What about her?" another hero asked.
Uraraka glanced back at Ikeda. She was still breathing. Even though she had planned on either killing Uraraka or knocking her out and leaving her here to die, it didn't feel right to do the same to her. If put in the position, she would not show any mercy to a villain. It was an ugly truth about hero work, but some villains did not leave them any other choice.
(Please, Shouto, don't do this to me. You're not a villain. Give us a chance to save you.)
However, Ikeda was unconscious. If Uraraka left her here, it would be akin to killing her in cold blood when she could have easily rescued her from the building. There was that hero complex so many villains hated, rearing its ugly head at the worst time.
"Does anyone have a pair of handcuffs?" Uraraka asked. The second hero handed her a pair. She pulled the desk away with ease, catching Ikeda before she could fall. Lying her on her stomach, she cuffed the villain behind her back and then stood back up. "Her quirk is touch-based. It knocks you out, gives you dreams. I don't know. Be careful not to let her touch you though. She is slippery and quick."
A short hero stood at the window, teetering anxiously as he stared outside with wide eyes. "That ice…"
"It's Shouto," Uraraka confirmed, as much as she hated to say it out loud. She didn't want these heroes to become disillusioned by Todoroki - he was a hero, damnit - but she couldn't sugarcoat the situation either without putting them in more danger. "Long story short: he was taken by the same villains as Deku and now he's… It's not him - he is being manipulated - but he's not on our side." She took a deep breath and stood in the face of their wary, grim expressions. "We have to go - now."
The sad truth was that no one was probably more disillusioned with himself than Todoroki at this moment. She would have to shed some light on him somehow. She just didn't know what that light would do to him.
Todoroki readied himself to beat some bloody sense into Bakugou for Uraraka's and Deku's sakes when the latter called out, "Oh, hey!" in a tone that radiated vicious glee. Normally, that tone was reserved for when talking about All Might and sometimes other heroes like Eraserhead or Present Mic. He ignored it, too focused on Bakugou when Deku continued, "Nice of you to arrive, Endeavor! I think your sons wanted to speak to you about something."
Out of the corner of his eyes, Dabi reacted about as positively as he could. Blue flames erupted in a massive wall that cut off the heroes he had been fighting, his own attention now focused on a new victim. Todoroki felt like he was moving in slow motion, swinging his head around to follow the direction of Dabi's flames until his gaze landed on their father.
("It hurts! I can't breathe! Please, dad, I can't- I can't-"
"Get up, don't be so weak, no successor of mine will be pathetic, get up-")
Fire exploded from his left side without him even blinking, a raging inferno to match his pain. Endeavor only had a moment to react, cutting through the flames with his own fire, but it wasn't enough to save him completely, not when they were hotter than his own. Todoroki had been able to make his fire stronger than his father's before. He didn't have to watch his temperature nearly as much with the ice half of his quirk. With the braces from Dabi's jacket, he could go even hotter without having to worry.
It didn't matter. Even without them, Todoroki would've pushed himself past his breaking point. What did holding back matter? His father was the weak one now. An old man past his prime. He should've stepped down years ago, but he was too stubborn and kept holding onto his rank since everything else in his life was gone. It was pitiful. Sad. Pathetic.
Weak. So utterly weak that it disgusted Todoroki.
"Shouto!" Endeavor called out to him. "Stop! This is not you!"
"Not me?" Todoroki lashed out with another wave of fire. This time, the color flickered to something more akin to white. He needed to go higher. Stronger. Hotter. It was what his father had wanted, wasn't it? That ultimate move he had pressed upon Todoroki to learn, but he never had out of the last remaining bit of spite in him. It was his quirk and his quirk. That was what Midoriya had said once, a long time ago. He would use it how he wanted.
Besides, Endeavor already had a son who had perfected the move to burn as bright as the sun.
"Not me?" Todoroki exclaimed, louder this time, angrier. He slammed his right foot on the ground and attacked with a thick wall of ice. His father countered with a highly concentrated form of his fire, creating a spear to slice through it. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it? A kid with the strongest quirk possible? To fill in the gaps where you fail?" His fire flickered to white around him again. If he got hotter, not even his father's fire resistance would be able to keep up with him for long. He'd burn from the inside out. "I'm just trying to take out the number one hero! Isn't that what you wanted?"
His father sliced his flames with another powerful blast, forcing him to create a wall of ice to shield himself. It wasn't anything he wasn't familiar with already. Endeavor had trained him every day until he could no longer stand some nights. They might never have gone at each other with their full strength, but this wasn't the first time they had fought each other. It would, however, be the last. And then he could finally let out the breath he'd been holding for what felt like forever.
"You're a hero!" Endeavor insisted angrily.
"I'm what you made me!" Todoroki shouted, ice and fire exploding from him at the same time. His father wasn't able to block or dodge it completely. The ice partially hit him in the side, knocking him across the street. His back slammed into the wall, but he stayed standing despite the pain. Todoroki advanced on him, ice and fire coating the road with every step he took. "You wanted the strongest? You got the strongest! The best! The most advanced!" He pointed an accusing and flame-covered finger at him. "You want the best? You get the worst too."
Endeavor pushed away from the wall, holding in a grunt of pain. "What are you talking about, Shouto?"
"He's talking about me," Dabi drawled, stepping up next to him. Todoroki didn't need to look over to his oldest brother to feel the flames he was holding in his hands. "Isn't this a fun family reunion?"
"You," Endeavor snarled. The flames of his costume burning brighter in his rage. "You kidnapped him. He's had his mind twisted because of you! This is your fault."
"I saved him," Dabi retorted coldly. "They wanted to kill him. If not for me, your precious masterpiece would be dead right now. I protected him." He snorted, wearing a disgusted look on his face. The scars and staples made it so much worse. "That's more than you've ever done, Mr. Number One Hero."
Dabi lashed out with his flames. The blue fire was a brilliant contrast against Endeavor's orange and red ones. When the two fires collided, there was an incredible explosion strong enough to melt bits of the asphalt between them. No one would want to get close to this fight. Not even someone fire resistant would be able to escape this without getting hurt. That was the point.
The fire died, smoking rising in its place. Endeavor stared Dabi down hard, concentrating on him with a conflicted look on his face. There was rage, but also confusion. His eyes were glaring, but his brows furrowed.
"He still doesn't get it." Dabi laughed somewhat hysterically. A hint of pain tinged his voice, something Todoroki would've missed before. Always so focused on the fact that Dabi was a villain, he never considered the underlying cause for his actions. It had never seemed important.
"I told you he wouldn't," Todoroki said. "Once he deems something not worth his time, he cuts them out of his life and forgets them altogether. Nothing else matters except what he wants."
Understanding bloomed in Endeavor's eyes, quickly transforming into horror and anger. That familiar anger would always be associated with his father. It was a part of him. Anger lived in his fire, his fists, his eyes. Todoroki would never be able to escape it, if only because it was a part of him now too. Dabi understood that. It was what fueled him as well.
"Ah. It finally hit him." Dabi sounded off for a moment, distant and shaky. How long had he been waiting for this moment? Years and years. And now it was here and he didn't know what to do. At least he wasn't alone. Todoroki didn't want to imagine how he would've reacted without him next to him.
"Touya?" Endeavor asked.
"Hey, Dad," Dabi said, a grin twitching onto his face. "Look at us: your greatest achievement and your greatest failure working together. Who could've seen that coming?"
Todoroki shot off a spiral of flames at the same time as Dabi, their two fires mixing together to strike a shocked Endeavor head on. This ended now. All of it. For both of them. Todoroki felt like he had been trapped in a nightmare, but they were at the end of the story now. He wanted to wake up. He was done with this. It was time to get rid of the monster haunting his shadow since he'd been born.
The moment Todoroki snapped, Bakugou had to launch himself into the air to avoid getting hit by his flames. There was no precision in the attack. He blew up, completely out of control, fire going everywhere. Endeavor managed to break through them with his own fire, but not everyone else was as lucky. A few heroes in the vicinity weren't able to get out of the radius of the wild blast. Bakugou drifted in the air, propelled up by his explosions, and watched as heroes were felled down.
The craziest thing? Todoroki didn't even seem to realize that he'd hit people. None of them mattered. No one was on his radar except for Endeavor. Even though he had been ready to maim Bakugou within an inch of his life, he had seemingly forgotten about him as well. It was like he didn't exist. He would not want to be in those crosshairs right now. Having Deku focused on him was enough as it was. Todoroki had gone wild. It was like this new League had set a rabid dog with laser focus loose.
Bakugou dropped back to the ground, his knees bent to absorb the shock of the landing. He threw his hands back, preparing to launch himself forward to help Endeavor. However, right as he let off an explosion, he felt someone snatch the back of his collar and jerk hard. The only reason he didn't go flying into the broken building was because he'd been in the middle of setting off an explosion to go to opposite way. He was still thrown wildly and crashed into a lamppost. He caught himself on his hands and knees when he fell, grunting in pain as his lungs refused to cooperate.
"Not so fast, Kacchan," a cheerful voice taunted him. "That fight is none of your business."
"That's funny." Bakugou pushed himself back to his feet. Deku casually strode toward him, stepping on a large piece of broken concrete and hopping it off it. "You love sticking your nose in other people's shit."
Deku smiled sheepishly. "I would love to help Shouto out - I really would - but he's got his own demons to fight. That right there is between father and son. I won't step in unless he asks."
"Look at you," Bakugou snarled. "Being such a good friend."
"It's important to be considerate of others and their dreams," Deku said, a sharp edge to his tone. His eyes had gone dark again. It wasn't him. Bakugou had to keep telling himself that it wasn't him. He didn't have the time to let Deku get in his head too, not anymore. "Not that you would understand that. The only thing that has ever mattered to you is what you want, even if it means crushing other people's dreams."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a bastard and not heroic at all," Bakugou snapped. "Cut the crap. Let's finish this, Deku. I'm tired of hearing your shit."
A dark expression settled over Deku's face. "I couldn't agree with you more."
Mini explosions peppered the air around Bakugou's palms. He needed to work up a bigger sweat in order to use his quirk to its full potential or even more. If Deku used One for All at one hundred percent, there was no way he could beat him on his own. That was just a fact. He could bitch and whine about it he wanted, but Deku's quirk had been building up power for multiple generations. Bakugou was confident that he was one of the strongest heroes out there. He was willing to do whatever it took to drag Deku back to the light.
But for once he had to accept that he couldn't do something on his own. It was hard, especially considering his life absolutely counted it.
Deku darted forward in a flash. Instead of attacking him head-on, Bakugou blew himself backward, moving in the same direction as him. He changed his trajectory at the last second before he crashed into a building, launching himself in the air. Going at the speed he was, Deku didn't have the same ability to change his course or skid to a halt. He jumped, his feet slamming into the building and breaking a large hole through the brick. Bakugou's feet connected with the side of the building and he pushed off, using his explosions to launch him away.
The whole dance made him feel like he was running away, especially when Deku stepped himself out of the hole he had created, seemingly uninjured. He fucking hated it. He didn't run away from anyone or anything, least of all fucking Deku. More than anything, it made him feel like he was running away from himself.
This is your fault, a voice in the back of his mind kept repeating. You did this. You helped create this. Stop running and own up to it!
He wanted to more than anything. Every time he saw Deku, be it on the news or internet clip or that picture from Uraraka's apartment security camera, his stomach clenched uncomfortably. It was like the acid was trying to eat away at him. He had to fix this. He couldn't do it alone and his only choice was to run out the clock and give all he had until someone else joined the fray. Deku was his responsibility. He knew that Uraraka was hellbent on saving him (and goddamnit, where was she? Was she still inside that crumbling building?), but he had to do it.
He had to save Deku like Deku had saved him.
With a near unparalleled strength, Deku picked up a burning car and chucked it at Bakugou like it was a ball. He couldn't afford to waste his grenades or go over the top with his explosions in the beginning. Instead, he used his fingers to create a circle over his other palm and created a concentrated but powerful AP Shot that struck the gas tank of the car, exploding it mid-air. Fiery metal debris rained down from the sky like meteors as the main husk of the burnt car crashed to the ground.
Bakugou landed hard, having been thrown harder by the explosion, and his boots skidded on the ground before he came to a stop. There was no time to relax. Deku dropped down on him, nearly taking him out with a kick that he managed to dodge by ducking. He was a hell of a lot quicker than when they'd been teenagers, continuing to spin around fluidly to kick with his other leg. Bakugou threw up a hand to blow himself back, but Deku's foot hit the brace and knocked his hand away, stopping the explosion.
A sharp pain ran all the way up Bakugou's wrist to his shoulder and he hissed, "Shit!" He couldn't wallow in the pain. He dropped his hands, aiming to blow himself in the air again. Deku moved to follow, but Bakugou swung his hands further back and shot off a powerful explosion behind him instead. It propelled him forward instead of up and he crashed hard into Deku's chest with a knee. The sudden change in direction surprised him and they careened through the street before they both crashed into the ground.
Having been on top, Bakugou was able to roll a few times and spring back to his feet quickly, but Deku landed on his back and was thrown about awkwardly. He stopped himself by reaching out with a hand, his fingers digging into the ground, and brought his feet up so that he ended up in the starting position for a race.
"Not bad, Kacchan," Deku said in between pants. Bakugou was breathing heavily as well, but he felt like he was still near the top of his strength. He hadn't used any massively powerful explosions yet. Deku twisted his neck to pop it and then lifted his head. "Not good enough though. I'm stronger and you know it. That's why you're holding out." He grinned. "I'll force you right over your limit and break you. Guess we'll find out if we can burn a quirk out. It should be possible. It's like a muscle, right?"
It was now or never while Deku was still at a slight distance. If he dodged this explosion, Bakugou would be leaving himself open, but he had to take the shot. Deku had no idea what his limit was or what he was capable of. He would break himself and still keep fighting if that was what it took. He lifted his left hand and held his wrist with his right, in front of the bracer. Green lightning crackled around Deku.
And then a familiar cry rang out in the air that had made both of their hearts skyrocket, followed quickly by Uraraka screaming in pain, "Deku, help me!"
Bakugou almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. Deku jerked upright and swung his head wildly around in the direction of her cry. His eyes were manic and bright again. All he could think about was Uraraka. His mouth opened to call out to her - Bakugou's as well - when he cut himself short and clenched his jaw shut. A furious yet knowing look came over his face.
Without saying a word, Deku lifted finger and wagged it in a disapproving manner, like a parent scolding a child for doing something wrong. Bakugou followed Deku's sharp gaze until it landed on a dark figure standing in the relative safety of an alley down the street. Slowly, the person stepped out of the shadows, only to reveal that it was Shinsou in his full pro hero gear, including the binding cloth Aizawa had taught him to use during high school. He wore a hardened expression on his face, half-obscured by the voice changing support gear, his eyes cold and tired.
Bakugou startled in surprise. The cry for help hadn't come from Uraraka but him. It was rare for Shinsou to be out in the public like this. He had taken after Eraserhead in being an underground hero. Then again, he didn't have much of a choice right now. Even someone like him used to working in the shadows had to step into the light in order to deal with Deku and Todoroki.
In truth, Bakugou had forgotten about him and the question of if his quirk might combat whatever the villains had done to Deku. They had brought as many heroes with similar abilities after Uraraka and Todoroki's kidnapping. So much had happened since then that it might as well have been another lifetime. He had died once already since then and was doing it now. Uraraka had been saved Todoroki turned into a villain since Shinsou had viewed the recording from outside Kaminari's apartment complex.
Shinsou tried to trick Deku into falling for the trap that entangled so many villains, but something must have stopped Deku at the last second. It was a good gamble, one that almost worked, but still fell short. Maybe he had realized that Uraraka wouldn't cry out to him for help.
Still, it gave Bakugou an idea. Not wanting to fall victim to Shinsou's quirk, Deku wouldn't talk to him. He even pressed his lips together and lifted his mask to cover the bottom half of his face, which would help keep him from responding. However, if there was one thing Bakugou was good for right now, it was riling him up. Before, he would have been smart and strong enough to know better, but this Deku was different. He was off. He was more out of control. Faster to fly off the handle when provoked, he was stronger than all of them but also more likely to slip up.
Whatever that Kyomu bastard's quirk had done to Deku to unhinge him enough to become a villain at this level, it had also taken away his control over himself. His armor was cracked, whether he realized it or not. All Bakugou had to do was find a way to dig a knife in those cracks and free him.
"I don't think so!" Bakugou shouted. "You pay attention to me, you bastard!"
He threw one hand back to launch himself forward and reached out with another to snatch Deku. Right before he could grab him by the collar, Deku sidestepped out of the way, using the unnatural speed of his quirk. Bakugou hadn't been quick enough, but then he'd expected that, having only used one hand. Deku used the momentum from stepping away to swing around and kick him, but Shinsou's binding cloth wrapped around his ankle and he jerked on it hard. Deku fell backward and hit the ground hard. He dug his hands into the rubble, but it wasn't enough to keep him from getting pulled forward and awkwardly flung into the air by the cloth.
The only reason Deku didn't get further tossed around was because his free foot managed to connect with the driver side door of a car. He held himself there sideways, lifting his captured leg up so he could reach up and grab onto the cloth.
Before Deku could yank on it and drag him forward into the ground, Shinsou managed to release him. As if it fell apart on its own, the cloth unraveled from Deku's ankle. No longer being held up, Deku fell and Bakugou took advantage of him not able to dodge to strike him with a pointed but strong explosion. This time, it hit him and he was blown across the street, crashing right through an abandoned bus and knocking it over sideways.
Shinsou dropped next to him, pulling on the scarf to unravel it from the streetlamp he'd used to swing over from the alley. Lowering the speaker box, he said, "This sure as hell isn't like how we fought back in school."
"We can't fight him head-on," Bakugou pointed out. He hated admitting that, especially to someone like Shinsou who poked at people's sore spots for a living. Maybe he didn't like it though. He'd spent years trying to prove that he could be a hero, only to resort to using underhanded tactics. Using Uraraka's voice to trick Deku couldn't have been easy on him. It was a cold, harsh dig at an old friend. "We have to outsmart him."
"Great," Shinsou replied dryly. "I love it. Sounds easy."
"Use my voice," Bakugou told him. Shinsou eyed him warily. "During the fight, keep using my voice. I'm gonna keep talking too. Say whatever asshole thing you can think of. I don't care. Make me sound like a piece of shit."
"Oh, that will be easy," Shinsou replied. Bakugou grit his teeth. "Anything? What if we push too many buttons and he goes absolutely berzerk?"
"That's a risk we'll have to take," Bakugou said. "We have to get him to respond. And, well" - he waved a hand as the bus began to move - "he can't help himself with me. My mere existence pisses him off right now. You want him to talk? Use me."
Shinso nodded in agreement and lifted the support gear back over his mouth. In a way, it reminded him of Deku's costume. They even had similar dark circles under their eyes now. Deku must have been so tired. How much did that quirk take out of him? And he'd been under it for so long. Did he sleep through the night? Did he eat? Bakugou didn't know why those thoughts came to him now, but…
Those are things that friends worry about, isn't it? came a snide voice that sounded an awful lot like Deku. You were never a good friend.
He hadn't been a good friend, least of all to Deku, but he had learned. Kirishima had taught him through his own sheer stubbornness that friendships were important. The others followed after that, no matter how much he tried to push them away. Kaminari, Sero, Ashido, and Jirou during school, Uraraka always on the outskirts because, like Kirishima, no one could truly escape the brightness that radiated from them. Was he the best friend ever? No, that wasn't him. He had his own methods. They got that and never faulted him for it, even if maybe they should have at times.
Bakugou would never say that he and Todoroki were friends, but hell, even they had come to an understanding with each other, especially after Deku's death. His turning hurt like a motherfucker too, if only because he knew how hard he'd struggled to be a hero on his own terms.
"Oi, Deku, you gonna spend all day dragging your feet or what?" Shinsou called out, using Bakugou's voice. He blinked. It was jarring to hear his voice come from someone else, even if his mouth was covered up. It sounded exactly like him, even capturing the seemingly permanent indignation in his voice. Did he really sound angry like that all the time? "You know, maybe I didn't go out of my way to get Uraraka, but it's no wonder she chose me after your weak ass was gone!"
What the fuck? Bakugou shot him a glare. Shinsou, for his part, didn't look abashed at all. He shrugged, as if pointing out, You told me to make you sound like a piece of shit. Yeah, he'd done that and more. He gripped the binding cloth in preparation for an attack. No shit after saying something like that. Fuck, he really knew how to get under someone's skin. Even Bakugou was unsettled.
When Deku finally emerged from the bus, green lightning crackled down his arm. He pressed a palm against the bus and shoved it out of his way completely, throwing it down the street, like it was nothing. His glare was downright murderous as he stared Bakugou down. Bakugou bent his knees in a ready stance. He'd known what he was asking Shinsou to do, but that wasn't going to make this any easier. If Deku wanted to believe he was a selfish monster, he would play that role if it meant saving him. Hopefully, Uraraka would forgive him later.
Uraraka had nearly been too late, but the large piece of concrete she dropped in front of Endeavor at the last second shielded him from the worst of Todoroki and Dabi's combined attack. Their fire crashed into the concrete instead, exploding it into dust and shards of rock. The explosion caused a shockwave strong enough to force Endeavor back, but he was able to use his own flames to keep from being knocked off his feet.
It was close, but she'd made it in time for once.
After saving as many victims from the agency building as possible, Uraraka had leaped into the battle. At first, she had wanted to find Deku, but then her eyes landed on Todoroki and her heart leaped out to him. She had to let the others take care of Deku. She was needed elsewhere. She'd touched the concrete and floated it with the intent of using it for an attack. When she had realized there wasn't time for that, she had thrown it to float over Endeavor and released it from her quirk. He would've survived the attack, but that kind of intense heat would've damaged even someone as fire resistant as him.
Todoroki reared back in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden interruption, and stared at the dust settling in the place where his father had once been. He was either too stunned or indignant to notice Uraraka drop to the ground behind him, forced to release her quirk on herself as well.
Unfortunately, Dabi either heard her or saw her out of the corner of his eyes. He turned to look in her direction and snarled, "Oh, great, your little girl friend is here."
Todoroki only had time to connect eyes with her before she grabbed him by the arm and activated her quirk on him. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as she threw him across the street. He crashed into his own ice glacier. Instead of falling to the ground, he continued to float up. She didn't return his gravity to him. Even if he remained conscious, he wouldn't be as dangerous if he couldn't control himself.
As much as it pained her to hurt him in any way, Uraraka needed to get Todoroki out of the fight. If she could get him away from here, maybe she would be able to reach him somehow. He hadn't been under Kyomu's influence nearly as long as Deku. His quirk's claws couldn't be dug into him as deep. One thing for sure was that she had to get him away from his father.
While she took care of Shouto, Endeavor went on the offensive against Dabi, but Uraraka noticed immediately that the number one hero's movements were much more lackluster than she'd seen from him. Normally, when he fought against villains, he left absolutely no room for mercy. Endeavor was not a hero known for his compassion or care. He had total control and finesse over his quirk, but he also knew it was powerful and destructive.
He wasn't like Todoroki, who had learned to use his dangers quirks in a much safer capacity. It was part of why she had always assumed that Todoroki would easily beat his father's tenuous hold on the number one position. Most heroes had known that era was coming to an end, but Uraraka had a feeling some of it had to do with the fact that the public had another flame hero to compare Endeavor to and found him lacking.
(They wouldn't anymore, not after this.)
He lacked something right now - that usual fight and anger in him that was so Endeavor. He had much better control over his flames, but every time they clashed against Dabi's, they seemed to weaken each time. Did it have to do with the difference in temperatures? Dabi's flames were much hotter. It was possible they ate away more of the oxygen in the air and took away from Endeavor's. She didn't know for sure. She'd never paid much attention to chemistry, being more fond of physics. All she knew was that they were hotter. The heat washed over her even from a distance. They were also a brilliant blue, like their eyes.
However, when Uraraka stepped forward to help him, Endeavor held up a hand and shouted, "No, take care of Shouto! Get him out of here! I will handle this!"
"Like hell you will!" Dabi yelled back, sounding both petulant and furious.
Uraraka froze. Endeavor was stronger than Dabi. She knew that. Dabi had to know that too, but he didn't look anywhere close to giving up either. At Endeavor's proclamation, his flames grew even more out of control, smoke seeping out of his arms. Was his quirk actually hurting him? Did he care or even notice?
But for some reason, her gut twisted uncomfortably at the thought of leaving him to do this on his own. The way Endeavor looked at Dabi now, his jaw clenched tightly as he grit his teeth, an almost pained glimmer in his eyes. She would have thought he would be more than pleased than to take down the villain that kidnapped Shouto and turned him into their puppet. The last time she had seen him had been after her debriefing. He had burned with outrage, livid with her accusations. He'd wanted nothing more than to tear the villains apart. So why did he look like this was hurting him?
"Go!" Endeavor ordered. "This is my responsibility!"
Uraraka didn't need to be told twice. She spun on her heels and ran in Shouto's direction, the heat of their flames licking at her heels. Endeavor was the number one hero. He could handle himself, certainly against a villain that his son had already taken down once. Wouldn't it be fitting for his father to do the same?
Shouto was still floating in the air where he'd crashed against his ice, precariously so, but he was slowly returning to consciousness. His hands dangled in the air, his fingers twitching. She didn't want to hurt him, but she also didn't know how he would react to her presence. They had figured that Todoroki wouldn't take kindly to Bakugou, as it would line up with Deku's own hatred for him, but she was different. She was wary to place any importance on herself, but she had to be careful too.
The best option, as much as it irritated her, would be to get Todoroki out of this warzone. He couldn't be in the thick of this where he could cause even more damage. She had to snap him out of it. Hopefully, Kyomu had not twisted his memories of her too much or his loyalty to Deku was stronger than his hatred for his father.
Uraraka snatched Todoroki by the wrist, intending to pull him away, but then he grabbed hers with his left hand. Ice crept up her arm as he activated his quirk, if only a little. She yelped, more in surprise than pain and let go of him, caught off guard by how aware he was. She let go of him and stumbled back. He grabbed hold of her helmet and yanked on it hard, forcing her head down and pulling him closer to the ground.
"Let go of me, Ochako," Todoroki growled.
Uraraka didn't respond. She reached up to grab his wrist again, this time refusing to let go when he used his ice on her. Instead, she used the ice connecting them to her advantage. Activating her quirk on herself, she used the rockets in her boots to launch them both in the air above the fight. His side smacked against hers, but he couldn't pull away because of the ice.
"I don't want to hurt you!" Todoroki shouted through the rush of the wind.
"I don't want to hurt you either!" Uraraka yelled back.
"Then let go!"
"I can't do that!"
Todoroki melted the ice with his left hand. He didn't burn her, even though he could have easily. Once he broke free, he shoved her and swung his leg in a sideways kick. He struck her hard enough to knock the wind out of her. His wrist slipped from her grip and she spiraled out of control in the air away from him. Her rockets shot off in quick spurts to stop her from spinning, but right as she turned herself upright he crashed into her middle. Despite his gravity being negated, he propelled himself in the air with his flames the same way Bakugou flew with his quirk.
They careened wildly through the air. Neither one of them held by gravity, Todoroki's flames threw them about like they were nothing. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his back, when the realization hit her. His goal was the same as hers but vice versa: get her out of the battle. He couldn't fight her or use his full potential with her around, lest he accidentally injure her. Deku wouldn't like that.
He was trying to take her out of commission without even fighting her.
Hell no.
Propping her hands on his back, Uraraka pressed her fingertips together and grunted, "Release!" Gravity returned to them immediately, dragging them to earth in a downward arch.
"Ochako, use your quirk!" Todoroki screamed. One hand of flames would not be able to keep them in the air, not even combining them with Uraraka's rockets. They were only meant to help guide her with her quirk activated, not actually help her fly. Without her quirk, they fell as surely as a comet.
"No!" She would wait until the last possible second to use her quirk. Such feats were normal to her, but Todoroki wasn't as familiar with her quirk as she was. Falling didn't come naturally to him. It never had.
"Ochako- Shit!"
Todoroki changed his grip on her, sliding his left arm around middle, and flipped them around so that she was on top. Throwing out his right hand, he created a long slide made of ice down the side of the building they had been about to crash into. His back and the bottom of his feet hit the ice, but she put a hand over the back of his head to protect him from seriously injuring himself. They slid down, holding onto one another protectively. When they hit the ground, they broke apart and rolled through the rubble until finally coming to a rest.
Uraraka's body ached from the landing, but Todoroki had taken the brunt of everything. He'd shielded her from the worst of it with his own body. As she pushed herself onto her hands and knees, he did the same, but his body shook more than hers. Gravity was a brutal and unforgiving beast. Over the years, she had learned to respect it greatly, as it did not care if a person was a hero, civilian, or villain. And she harnessed that power to be a hero.
"You have to get out of here," Todoroki told her in a pained voice. He touched his right side and winced, but continued to stagger to his feet.
"Not without you," Uraraka proclaimed as she followed suit and stood in front of him.
For a moment, he seemed to sway on the spot, but then righted himself like nothing was wrong. No, he would keep fighting until he had nothing left. She was used to him wearing a blank expression, but there was next to nothing on his eyes now. Her heart ached when she saw that only the pain and anger remained in his eyes. It didn't look right.
"I have to do this," Todoroki said. He closed his eyes and swallowed down a lump in his throat. "I have to-" His right hand trembled as he raised it to rub the side of his head. "I have to get rid of him. I can't stop until I do. I have to-"
Uraraka lurched forward. "You don't have to do anything!"
"Yes, I do!" Todoroki snapped, waving his left hand out in front of him. A wave of fire flared out, forcing her to a halt and nearly singing her outstretched hands.
"No, you don't!" Uraraka retorted. "This isn't you! This isn't what you want!"
"What I want? What I want?" Todoroki dragged his hand down and pressed it against his heart. "I want him gone! I want this nightmare over! I want him to suffer for what he did! He ruined my life! He created our family for one sole purpose and he used and abused us until there was nothing and no one left except for me to manipulate and mold into what he wanted! What he wanted!"
Tears sprung to Uraraka's eyes. "I know!" She jerked off her helmet and added in a softer voice, "I know." She held out her hands again and took a tentative step toward him. "What he did to you was awful and unfair and-and I can't even begin to comprehend it. I'll never understand what you went through."
"You didn't… You shouldn't have to." Todoroki shook his head. "He broke us all in different ways. Mom was beaten. Fuyumi was used. Natsuo was neglected. And Touya…" A strangled half-cry/half-laugh slipped out from his mouth. "He made him burn and burn until he went mad. He burned himself until he looked like the monster our father was and ran away. And our dad just erased my brother from our lives like he was trash."
Uraraka stared in horror as Todoroki broke down. He was falling apart right in front of her. Kyomu really had torn him to pieces and haphazardly glued him back together. It was real - she knew it was real - but then it wasn't. Old memories forcibly dragged back to the surface and planted in the forefront of his mind so it was all he could think about. Things he had forgotten or maybe pushed aside in an attempt to move on.
"He's back now though and I have to…" Todoroki was eerily calm as he gazed down at the ground. He wasn't here though. He was locked in his head, lost somewhere in the memories Kyomu had forced upon him again. For once, she hoped he had made them worse. If they were simply real memories he'd repressed to protect himself…
"Wait." Uraraka pulled her hands away. "He's back?"
"I know he thinks he has to do this," Todoroki continued frantically, talking more to himself now. "That he has to take our father down and it's his job to-to protect me because he didn't finish the job before. Stupid idiot. He should have just said something in the beginning all those years ago. I would've understood. I-I would have made sure our dad paid the price then. But he's so fucking stubborn and I have to do this for us both. He can't. I was created to take down the number one hero and that's what I'm going to do."
Uraraka held a hand over her mouth. "Dabi's your brother."
"I feel so stupid," Todoroki said. "I knew it. A part of me knew it right from the start, but I didn't want to believe it could happen. That my own brother-" He stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I was wrong. He didn't turn on us. He got out. He escaped. Everyone else crumbled under our father's iron fist. I was just the last one standing and even then- it wasn't me. This wasn't me. Did I even want to become a hero? I don't know. There was never a time when I was allowed to think of being anything else."
You're a hero to me, Uraraka wanted to say, but she couldn't get the words out of her mouth.
"This isn't you either," she managed, but the words rang hollow and caught in her throat. Hadn't she said the same thing to Deku once upon a time?
A massive explosion echoed around them, the ground rumbling under their feet and glass shattering, but it was impossible to tell who it was from. Blue flames flickered to her right, but she'd seen Bakugou struggling against Deku on her left. Uraraka used Todoroki's brief moment of distraction against him, shooting forward again. He turned in time to catch her, grabbing her by the wrist again, and she smiled in grim determination.
However, before she could take him out, someone shouted, "Shouto!" and he switched gears.
"I'm sorry," he told her, looking her directly in the eyes. She thought - she could've sworn - he meant it. Pain streaked through those two small words.
Ice shot out from his foot below her. She leapt, activating her quirk on herself, and planted her feet on his chest. Using him as a base, she kicked off as hard as she could in order to rip her wrist out of his grip and fly back into the air, but the ice encased her left foot, leaving her to dangle like a balloon.
"Shouto, don't!" Uraraka shouted, grabbing her calf and jerking on it.
"I have to do this." His voice had that hard, cold edge to it again as he turned to leave. "You'll be safe out of the way here. That's what Deku would want. He didn't want you involved in this." He hesitated, but he didn't glance back at her. "You told me- You told me it was okay. That I deserved to breathe. You wouldn't hold it against me if I stopped fighting and did something for myself."
Uraraka's lips wobbled as tears slid down her dirty, pink cheeks. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't. His words confirmed her worst fears. Somehow, Kyomu had taken their emotionally charged time together in those cells - maybe the nights where they saved one another after Deku's death - and pit them to against him. She wanted to scream, but she was terrified cries would slip out instead.
"You'll be safe," Todoroki repeated, as if to reassure himself, and then he was off.
"No!" Uraraka cried out, jerking frantically on her ankle. She turned on the rocket boosters up to full blast in an attempt to melt the ice or pull out of the ice, even if it messed up her foot in the process. "No, no, no! Shouto, don't do it! Come back! Shouto! Come back!"
But he never did.
The sounds of multiple fights collided around her, but somehow, her and Todoroki's fight had taken her to the very outskirts of it. That put her in the safest position, but stuck in one place, if another villain with ideas similar to Ikeda were to happen upon her or she got caught in the crosshairs, she'd be little more than a sitting duck.
Uraraka didn't give a shit about that. She cared about the fact that her friends were out there risking their lives, willing to give them up, and she was stuck here capable of doing nothing. A wave of weakness washed over her, reminding her of those first two years at UA when she had struggled to keep up with the others. For so long, she felt like she was little more than a straggler, clinging to the waistcoats of Deku, Bakugou, and Todoroki. Even Iida and Momo stood leagues above her. She just wanted to be good enough. Strong enough. Worthy enough to be called a damn hero.
Struggling and crying as she tried to pull her leg free, Uraraka didn't feel like a hero. It hurt her that Todoroki could so callously set her aside like this, even if it was his attempt at keeping her out of harm's way. Damnit, he was trying to save her - he had protected her - and it wasn't fair. She didn't care if what he'd said was true - that maybe he had never wanted to be a hero in the first place - because he had become one anyway despite all the pain and trauma attached to it, just as Deku had.
The two of them had been beaten into the ground, had their faces rubbed in the dirt, were hurt by the same hands that should've helped them. Still, they had risen above all of that to become heroes, two brilliant, shining examples to show the world. And Kyomu had used those same memories that had made them the heroes they were and twisted them to turn them into villains. They were little more than dark mirrored version of themselves and she hated it with everything in her heart. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fucking fair.
Why couldn't she do anything? Why couldn't she save Deku and bring him back into the light when she'd let him take her with the villains? Why hadn't she protected Todoroki and shielded him from the villains better? Why couldn't she reach either one of them now? It was like she meant so much to them and yet so little at the same time. They looked at her, but they didn't really see her, like in those first two years until she'd finally come into her own and they'd matured enough to step back and realize they were thinking about things all wrong.
It was wrong now. How could they not see that? How had Kyomu made them so blind to what they knew in their hearts to be true?
"Uraraka!"
Relief exploded inside of Uraraka's chest, almost making her sputter into frustrated tears all over again, when Iida skidded to a halt in front of her. "Iida, thank gods, get me out of this!"
"Todoroki did this?" Iida asked as he examined the ice carefully.
"Yes, I have to stop him! He's going to kill Endeavor!"
Iida could use the fire that streamed from his engines. It would be safer, but would waste too much precious time. They were already behind as it was. He hesitated and then shook his head, bending his knees to get into a ready stance once he made his decision. "Shield your eyes. This might hurt."
He swung his leg hard at the ice, using his engines to power up the kick. His boot connected with the ice surrounding her leg, shattering it into pieces. Pain shot all the way up her leg, causing her to grip it and float further into the air with nothing hold her down. He pulled her back down so she could safely release her quirk on herself. It hurt to put all her weight on it immediately, the pain turning into a dull throb, but it would go away. Either that or she would pretend it did.
Nervous energy hummed around Iida the longer he stood still. His mask was on, but she could tell he was gazing in the direction of Todoroki and Dabi's fight with Endeavor. "I saw Bakugou and Shinsou fighting Deku-"
"Go to them."
Iida snapped his attention down to her. "But-"
"You know how strong Deku is," Uraraka cut in, not unkindly. "They need all the help they can get. Deku...still respects you, I think. Maybe it'll cause him to hold back. I don't know."
"Todoroki is..."
"I know," Uraraka said, swallowing down the bile that kept threatening to come up her throat. She could get to him. For a moment at the end, she could've sworn she saw him trying to claw his way to out. All she had to do was help him dig, but fear sat in the back of her mind, whispering that she was too late. She put a hand on Iida's arm, taking away the gravity of his suit's armor. It would give a little more speed at least. "Go!"
Maybe in high school, Iida might've argued with her decision, but his engines roared to life and he was off, leaving her in the dust. Uraraka turned in the opposite direction, running and climbing through the broken street, rubble, and destroyed vehicles. Her leg protested, but she ignored it. The pain was ebbing away. Nothing was broken. She could still fight. She could still save him. She could still save-
Multiple things happened all at once: there was a loud crack that sounded like a gun, blue flames roared to life, a man screamed, "No!" and a high-pitch sound that Uraraka recognized as Todoroki's ice sliced through the air.
The blue flames sputtered out, dying abruptly as if someone had doused them.
Uraraka's foot caught on something soft and she staggered, falling down to the ground on one knee and scraping it badly. When she looked back to see what she'd tripped over, she nearly threw up at the sight of the broken body. So damaged, she couldn't tell if it was hero or villain. They wore some sort of costume, but she couldn't tell exactly what it had been. It didn't matter. She pushed herself back up and kept running.
The fight between Endeavor and Dabi (and perhaps a few other heroes and villains, judging by the state of the area) had cleared out a spot. She was so close. She was almost there. Dabi must have been hit. That was why the flames had gone out. It was just Endeavor and Todoroki fighting now most likely. She could do it. Uraraka squeezed through a piece of iced over concrete and a car to get into the clearly, stumbling once more.
Instead of what she'd hoped to find, it was not a triumphant Endeavor trying to subdue his youngest son, but the exact opposite. Endeavor, the number one hero, was lying on the ground, the flames of his costume flickering as if the wind was trying to blow them out. Blood seeped out from a wound from somewhere. Had he been shot? Dabi lorded over him, pale and sweaty and literally smoking, with a boot pressed down hard on the hero's chest. Todoroki stood next to him, a distant and empty expression on his face, utterly still.
Endeavor stared up at them silently, a hard expression on his face even as he panted. (His sons. He was looking at his sons. Todoroki hadn't been the only one to suffer.) He said something that Uraraka couldn't hear, but it must have been the wrong thing to say. Dabi sneered and leaned down further, pressing his boot down even harder, and Endeavor grunted in pain. The scarred villain offered a hand and looked at Todoroki, patiently waiting for an answer that he'd been waiting to hear for so long.
For a brief second, it was like the world held its breath as Todoroki considered his next move before he finally shook his head. He took a deep breath and then formed an ice spear before plunging it into his father's chest.
A wordless scream was ripped out of Uraraka's throat. She slapped her hands over her mouth to muffle it in case the noise caught their attention but it didn't. Both Todoroki and Dabi were too lost in their own world to notice her. She had expected them to look pleased or relieved as they watched their father bleed out - at the least Dabi - but there was something off about both of them. Dabi looked strangely empty while Todoroki wore an almost confused expression on his face.
Their nightmare was gone. It was over. Or maybe, in truth, it had just begun and they were realizing it only now.