AN: Finally got off my lazy ass and finished this chapter.

Izuku kept glancing behind him, where All Might and the noumu was currently locked in a furious battle. Punches were exchanged faster than the eye could see, and if the situation wasn't so dire, Izuku would have liked to take this time to fanboy about how amazing All Might is. Instead, he chewed on his lip nervously, until the taste of iron in his mouth forced him to stop.

The hero had left him and Kacchan in charge of Aizawa's unconscious body. They were carrying him towards the exit, Izuku careful not to jostle the wounded man more than necessary.

When All Might first arrived, he wasted no time. In one fell swoop, he had scooped up Izuku and Kacchan in one arm, and Aizawa in the other. He dropped them off at a safe distance, being extra careful with his co-worker as to not injure him any further.

"Take care of Aizawa, will you? Bring him back to the entrance, and stay safe!" was the only warning they received before All Might flashed them with a thumbs up and dashed away, charging head first toward the villains.

"CAROLINA—" he began, bringing his arms up in a cross formation. He aimed for the gray haired villain, moving toward him at an impossible speed. "—SMASH!"

But rather than the thin, lanky body All Might was going for, his arms collided with a much larger form that stopped him in his track. By all rights, the noumu should have been swept of its feet and sent flying through the air and smacked into the nearest wall. Instead, it just stood there, looking just barely aware of its surroundings.

All Might, undeterred, dodged a swipe sent his way, before unleashing another punch straight into the creature's gut. But no matter how many blows was delivered, the thing refused to budge, leaving All Might panting in exhaustion.

Shigaraki said something, but the only words Izuku could make out from this distance was "shock absorption". Must be it's quirk, he thought. It would explain why even the Number One Hero's punches seemed ineffective against it. Still, it didn't explain why Kacchan's explosions couldn't put a dent on it. There must be something more to it… if I can just figure out what —

"Put your back into it Deku, I'm doing all the work here."

Izuku's attention snapped back to Kacchan and the task at hand. He steadied his grip on Aizawa and pulled an arm tighter around his shoulder, stabilizing the teacher's drooping form. The other arm lay limply across his friend's neck as Kacchan attempted to not jostle the injured limb and upset the broken bone further.

"S-sorry, Kacchan. I got distracted by All Might's fight," he apologized. "That thing… it's like All Might's punches doesn't even affect it. I'm worried."

Kacchan scoffed. "All Might is the Number One Hero. He won't be beaten by pathetic, wanna-be super villains like these."

There was a loud bang as what sounded like an explosion erupted behind them, and they had to catch themselves when the wind pressure threatened to topple them over. Izuku whipped his head around, unsure of just what the hell happened. Blinking green curls out of his eyes, he was met with the sight of a large cloud of dust. All Might and the noumu must be hidden within, and the freckled boy froze mid-step, temporarily forgetting the additional weight on his shoulders.

Is this it? he wondered, eyes glued to where All Might was battling one of his most troubling foes as of yet. Did he win?

Slowly, the dust cleared, unveiling what was hidden within. Izuku almost dropped Aizawa in shock and couldn't stop the gasp that escaped him.

All Might's arms were locked firmly around the blue monstrosity's waist, having just executed a german suplex, and still holding on tight to pin his opponent down. It would have probably been effective too, if this had been a fair, one on one battle.

But villains don't play fair. The black misted villain had opened two warp gates, positioned beneath the fighters. The first one was placed right were the noumu would have made contact with the hard floor, while the second one opened just under the Symbol of Peace's back.

Emerging like from dark water were two muscular and heavily scarred arms, along with the googly eyed and grinning visage of the noumu's head. Its thick fingers dug into All Might's side, and even from this distance, there was no mistaking the blood blossoming across the hero's white dress shirt like crimson flowers.

"Shit," Kacchan swore beside him. " Shit, " he repeated, for emphasis.

Midoriya Izuku's instincts told him to run, help him! but his brain told him what are you so worried about? This is All Might! He can handle this! You'll just get in his way!

He glanced over to Kacchan, eyes pleading for guidance. He could use his quirk now, and risk both his secret and safety. Or, he could wait, and trust in All Might's power.

"Don't use your quirk unless someone is about to die or some shit—you hear that? " Kacchan's words from before echoed in his head.

"Kacchan…" he begged, but received no answer. He could see that the blonde himself was torn between watching and interfering. He finally seemed to reach a conclusion, when he let Aizawa's slack arm drop loosely, leaving Izuku to carry the teacher alone.

"Stay here," he commanded. "I'm gonna blow that misty fucker to pieces."

"Wait!" Izuku called out, grabbing a hold of the hem of Kacchan's black tank top. "It's dangerous!"

The other boy glanced back lazily, raising a pale eyebrow in response. Crimson eyes stared into Izuku's, as Kacchan replied. "That's why I got you, right?"

He shrugged out of Izuku's grip and threw his arms out at his sides. His blistered palms begun heating up, and small wisps of smoke wandered through the air, bringing with it the scent of blood.

A step, then two, which quickly turned into three, and Kacchan was sprinting toward the heart of the battle. Izuku watched in silence, worrying his already swollen lips while he changed Aizawa to a more comfortable position on his back.

All Might struggled in the grip of the noumu who was pulling him deeper and deeper into the dark void from which it emerged. But Kacchan was almost there—Izuku couldn't see the feral grin on his face, but he could imagine it. Just a few more steps…

Kacchan took a leaping jump. He raised his hands, quirk ready. He was close—just one more second until he would touch the misty villain and unleash his barrage. Just one more second and All Might would be—

Splash.

A wet sound that sent Izuku's stomach roiling. A wet sound that sprayed warm, bright liquid over Kacchan's face, bleeding into his own crimson irises that shrunk with shock and disbelief. A wet sound, followed by a crunch of snapping bones and imprinting a vision that Izuku could never unsee.

He didn't think. He didn't wait. He didn't feel.

He acted.

"...but it's a relief that everything ended well! Well, not well well, but you know, still pretty good. That Shigaraki and Kurogiri got away, but the police arrested everyone else. Besides, no one died, which is very good, and even those who were seriously injured are in stable condition now and being treated by Recovery Girl as we speak, so all in all—"

"Deku."

The boy clamped his mouth shut at the call of his nickname. The police had finally finished asking their questions, and the students could return home to inform their parents of what had happened—once Recovery Girl looked them over and gave her permission, of course.

"Y-yes, Kacchan?"

Red eyes bore into the side of fluffy green curls, belonging to the boy currently seated in a hospital bed, while he waited for the school nurse to discharge him. Kacchan flexed his hands experimentally, now devoid of burns and blisters, but still slightly red. Even though Izuku had acknowledged the blonde, he refused to turn his head to face him. Instead, he opted for staring intently at his fingers, twisting themselves into a nervous mess in his lap.

"..." He could feel Kacchan's eyes burning holes into him, and suppressed the gulp that threatened to spill out, but failed to relax his tensing muscles. He scratched his nose stiffly as the silence continued to drag on. It had stopped bleeding a long time ago.

Once Kacchan decided that the quiet moment had grown awkward enough, he spoke. "...what the hell happened? What the hell was that?"

Izuku's hand fell to the white sheet of the hospital bed and grabbed it tightly. He sighed, as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Well. There was no way out of this one, was there?

Not that he was planning on keeping it a secret from Kacchan in the first place. It was just… hard to explain. Well, not exactly. The whole explanation part was easy enough, but finding the right words… going back to that moment and reliving it. Accepting that it actually happened.

Realizing what it meant, when Izuku used his quirk to change it.

It's not like Izuku hasn't changed the future before. With every use of his quirk, the future is somewhat altered, even if it is just the tiniest of changes. But he's never thought about it before. Really thought about it. He's never actually sat back and thought about what the present would look like right now if he didn't have his quirk—what would have happened if he never used it.

Back at the entrance exam. He could have left Uraraka alone. He could have ignored her. Where would he be now? Probably not at U.A.. Kacchan would be angry with him. And Uraraka… well, who knows what would have happened with her?

And now this…

Kacchan noticed his newly bloodied nose right away, before Izuku had time to cover it with a cupped hand. He had hoped the freshly spilt blood would camouflage itself with the dried one already crusting his upper lip, but no such luck. The blonde opened his mouth to speak, but Izuku didn't have any time to spare for his questions. Right now, he had to act.

He loosened his grip on Aizawa, pushing the weight onto Kacchan. The blonde spluttered in confusion, maybe concern, but Izuku didn't waste time for explanations. He just hoped Kacchan would get the message.

Spinning on his heel, he set off in a mad dash to reach All Might. Hurry, hurry, hurry!

"Deku, you fuck!" Kacchan shouted after him. The familiar noise of small explosions invaded his ears, the other teen trying to catch up to him. Good.

Izuku didn't have much of a plan. There wasn't enough time to think of one. But he believed in Kacchan.

"Blow that misty fucker to pieces!" he shouted, repeating after his friend almost word for word, hoping to get the urgency of his message across. He could taste metal on his tongue from the thin streams of blood trickling from his nose and into his mouth, and spat it out on the ground. Determined eyes locked onto All Might, who opened his mouth to shout something. Probably for them to " Run, don't get involved! " but all that came out was a wet cough, and a cloud of red.

"Gladly!" Kacchan's voice sounded behind him. His form zoomed past him in a black blur, his explosions fueling his speed like rockets, and Izuku had to dodge out of the way to avoid his hair getting singed.

Kacchan reached the fog villain much faster than he could. With one hand, the snarling teen kept boosting his speed as his legs fought to not trip over themselves, while the other moved in front of him, directed at the dark, cloudy form of the warp user. Specifically, for a suspiciously solid metal collar that something (supposedly) intangible should not be able to wear. "DIE!"

The villain lurched back in surprise, but managed to summon a gate just in time to redirect Kacchan's explosion. But the snarling teen wasn't deterred; his other hand flew up to detonate another fiery blast, which sent both him and his opponent reeling back.

Kacchan landed with a grunt beside Izuku, while the dazed criminal attempted to regain his bearings. The blonde didn't waste any time however, launching back into action as soon as his feet touched the ground. A hand slapped onto the metal collar adorning the villain's neck, and used the momentum to slam the miscreant into the ground.

"Don't you dare fucking move, or I'll turn your misty ass into dust!" Kacchan threatened with a shout, his blistered hand sending a small trail of blood running down the cool metal. Normally, Izuku may have reprimanded the boy for his unhero like behavior, but after—

He shuddered.

When he felt a familiar, sharp gaze tearing into his back, he whipped around, nearly stumbling to the ground in the process. There stood Shigaraki, and Izuku placed himself protectively between the villainous leader and his friend. All Might was still held down by the noumu, but Izuku knew realistically that there was nothing he could do to that thing. At least this would buy them some time. They had the intruder's exit point hostage. The only thing they could do now was… hope.

Please, let someone come, he prayed. Or, better yet, please, let All Might pull through.

He shivered, but this time, it wasn't due to crimson eyes boring holes into him with a deadly glare. Cold.

Wisps of frozen air wafter over his back. Hope surged in his heart as fear threatened to consume him whole at the same time.

Please don't be a villain, please don't be a villain, please be —

"I finally got you bastards. Your plan to kill All Might; I won't let you succeed."

Izuku couldn't stop the relieved tears that erupted like a waterfall down his face at the sound of a familiar voice. The relief was so palpable, his insides felt like they were floating in air; so light he was almost worried his feet would leave the ground and take him with them.

He dared a quick glance back. With lightning speed, he took in the half frozen noumu, and a boy sporting a distinct set of red and white strands split evenly down the middle, standing just a few steps away. He exhaled white puffs of cold air, whilst his heterochromatic eyes analyzed the situation coolly.

"Todoroki-kun!" Izuku gasped, but wasn't brave enough to let his gaze linger. His head was swimming with emotions, but all he could do was to keep his eyes concentrated on the villain before him. He'd already done what he could for All Might; now, it was up to Todoroki and Kacchan.

He blinked, once, twice. His eyelids felt heavy in his forehead, and his nose itched with drying blood. He blinked again. Did Shigaraki always look so blurry? He narrowed his eyes, and when he took a careful step forward, he almost fell over. His legs felt as if they had been temporarily turned to jello, and only one word came to mind:

Shit, he thought, uncharacteristically. He knew what this meant. But, maybe if he pretended he didn't, the problem would go away. As if that has ever helped.

He just needed a little more time. The pros will arrive any second now, so if he could just hold on a little longer—

He took another step, and a spike of dizziness shot up through his spine and into his brain. He heard a muffled voice call what sounded like his name—or was something else? Shigaraki was right there, but his eyes felt so tired. Just a second. He would close his eyes for just one second, and then he'd open them again. He could do it. He could. He could.

His eyelids fell like a guillotine. When he opened them next, it was in a hospital bed, with Kacchan staring right at him.

Kacchan explained what had happened after he passed about. Apparently, after Todoroki had frozen the noumu, it allowed All Might to break free. And, just because he is that cool, the first thing he did was to dash off and catch Izuku right before the boy could hit the ground, and bringing him back to Kacchan to look over.

"Don't know why I had to watch over your useless ass," the blonde grumbled. Izuku smiled.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Kacchan!"

"Shut up."

The easily annoyed teen sighed, before continuing. Izuku was shocked to hear that apparently, shock absorption wasn't the creatures only quirk, as it demonstrated when it broke off its own frozen limbs, only to regenerate them moments later. But it helped little when All Might punched the thing right through the ceiling, which Izuku was more than a little disappointed that he missed. It must have looked amazing! But he's glad he didn't get to see how close the villains go to finishing his idol off, before the other teachers arrived at just the right moment to chase them away.

Once was enough.

And that leaves them with this.

"So?" Kacchan questioned, once more. "What the hell happened back there? And don't try to play dumb—you know exactly what I'm referring to." His quirked eyebrow was beginning to twitch in irritation, and Izuku didn't dare drag this out much longer. He just… needed to get it out.

"All Might, he—" he sucked in a breath and clamped his mouth shut as he almost shouted out the answer. Both All Might and Aizawa occupied their own beds not far away, and he could not risk them overhearing this conversation. Even if both of them were currently deep asleep, it would be a wise decision to keep his voice low. He bit down on his already abused lips nervously, and Kacchan swatted him in the face.

"Stop that. I told you, it's a bad habit."

"Sorry." He forced himself to let his lips go, and settled for scratching the back of his neck instead. Much quieter this time, he spoke. "Um, well, like I was saying... All Might, he—he—"

"Just spit it out."

Izuku flinched, as he accidentally drove his nails too deep into his skin. He retrieved his hand and placed it in his lap, before Kacchan could start scolding him about that too. Then, before he gave himself too much time to think, his lips began moving and words started pouring free.

"I rewound time because the noumu tore All Might's stomach open right before you could save him, and it looked really, really bad—I doubt even Recovery Girl could have saved him—and now that I finally have some time to think, I'm kind of freaking out? Not because All Might died—I mean, well, yes, that too, of course, how could I not? All Might died! And that's—he's supposed the be the Number One Hero, the strongest hero, the Symbol of Peace, and he just—he just—"

Izuku sucked in another breath.

"—and now I can't stop thinking about what would have happened if I wasn't there—or if I didn't have my quirk."

By the time he had finished, he was shaking. It took everything last bit of his willpower to not go back to biting his lips. Instead, he bit the insides of his cheek. Hopefully, Kacchan wouldn't notice. Speaking of which—his friend was being awfully quiet.

Izuku chanced a glance in his direction, but Kacchan wasn't looking at him. Just staring at the wall behind Izuku's head, with an unusually thoughtful expression on his face. Izuku decided that he liked this look much better than the usual scowls—although right now, he'd rather Kacchan would just say something.

"Kacchan…?"

Suddenly, red eyes snapped to his, and Izuku jumped back in surprise.

"Deku."

"Y-yes!" Izuku squeaked out, curious about whatever conclusion the blonde had come to.

Kacchan narrowed his eyes, lips falling down into a frown, to Izuku's somewhat disappointment. The blonde scooted closer on his chair to Izuku's bedside, before leaning forward, until it his whole face covered Izuku's vision.

"Do you have any idea what this fucking means?"

"U-um… no? Maybe?"

Kacchan scowled. "You just changed the fucking future, dumbass!"

Izuku blinked. "Uh—yes, I know that. I mean—technically, I do it every time I rewind time, so I'm not sure what you…"

"No, I—" the teen sighed and pulled back. "I know, alright? I just mean—think about it. This isn't just you getting us away from some slime villain or saving round face from a big ass robot. This is—it's fucking big, alright? If your quirk didn't exist, that means All Might would have died today. If something like fate or whatever the fuck exists, you just screwed with its plans big time." He leaned in close again and spoke in a low voice. "Just imagine what the world would fucking look like right now if you hadn't rewound time back then."

Izuku tried. A world without All Might? It would be absolute chaos. The fame of the villains who killed him would skyrocket. The world would enter a new area; new villains would emerge from the woodwork like ants, and the need for heroes would be greater than ever. No one would be ready to step in to replace the old Symbol of Peace. Humanity would be…

"Doomed."

"Christ Deku, the world isn't going to fall apart without All Might. But yeah, it'd be pretty fucking bad."

Kacchan crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back, sighing. "Jesus, I can't believe you of all people is the reason All Might is even alive right now. You must be feeling pretty fucking proud of yourself right now, huh?"

"Actually, I'm more scared than anything," Izuku admitted, staring down into his lap. "What if this is like one of those movies? What if All Might was really meant to die today, and now because I changed fate, something much worse will befall us? Or maybe fate will just keep trying to kill All Might in increasingly terrible ways until it finally succeeds."

"This isn't a movie, this is real life," Kacchan scoffed. "Besides, it's a little too late for you if you're afraid of fucking with fate. Just chill for once and be happy that All Might is still breathing, thanks to you. Even if he doesn't know it."

Despite the pit of worry in his stomach, Izuku cracked a smile at that. "Is this your way of telling me I did a good job, Kacchan?"

Kacchan met him with a glare. "If you weren't in a hospital bed right now, I would punch you in the face for that."

"That's not a no!" Izuku's laugh turned into a yelp as he just about dodged the fist Kacchan swung his way. "Kacchan, you can't punch me! I'm still recovering!"

"Recovering my ass—get your smug little face back here, you shit!"

Izuku had jumped out of the bed and was currently running for the door to freedom. His friend stalked after him, but the chase was short lived when Recovery Girl was standing right outside. One hard glare from her was enough to stop them in their tracks, and for Izuku to hang his head shamefully.

"I'm glad to see that you are both recovering nicely, but please show respect to the other patients."

"Sorry," Izuku apologized, sincerely. Kacchan just huffed dismissively, in true Kacchan fashion. Recovery Girl shook her head and sighed.

"Now, let's go inside so I can give you a quick look over and see if you're well enough to leave. I'm sure you have parents at home waiting for you." Her eyes landed on Kacchan. "Bakugou, you've already been dismissed. Just remember to use that ointment I gave you earlier, alright? The instructions are on the back."

"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up and look at Deku so we can go home already."

Kacchan waited outside the nurse's office until they were done—he was waiting inside first, but was kicked out when he wouldn't stop complaining that Recovery Girl was taking too long. He grumbled and stomped outside, and when Izuku was finally given the okay, he stepped outside to join him.

"Finally," Kacchan muttered as they started walking. "Let's go to your mom's and eat something."

"What about your mom?" Izuku questioned, turning his head to peer at the other teen.

"That old hag can wait; I don't want to deal with her right now. Besides, I've already texted her. She's been blowing up my phone with calls since."

"Maybe you should answer?"

Kacchan sneered. "Yeah, if I want to get yelled at. Come on, your mom is a better cook anyways. I'd rather not eat something that tastes like burnt coal today."

AN: There are some parts of this chapter I feel could have been better, but I just want to get it out. I enjoyed writing the last part the most. Probably cuz it gave me the most creative freedom. Once (if) I get past the sports festival arc, this story will hopefully start flowing much faster, since by that point there's going to be some major canon divergences. I'm looking forward to writing it. :)