Chapter Two: The Value of Hope

The first thing he was aware of as he woke was the sound of explosions.

BOOM!

His eyes snapped open, his entire body on fire. His heart thrummed loudly, playing his ribs like a drum. He KNEW that sound!

BOOM!

He struggled with a strength he didn't know he was still capable of. He willed his quirk to life but it still lay dormant. Izuku screamed in frustration, the sound escaping through the loose gag.

'Kacchan!...I'm Here! ...I'm in here!...'

He knew his struggle was pointless but the flame of hope had been stoked.

BOOM!

The door swung open and Izuku steeled himself. Shigaraki looked furious, brushing dust and debris from his clothes as he approached. What had he expected? Izuku barely hid his smirk. You don't challenge Bakugou Katsuki unless you have the balls to back it up. Sigaraki scratched angrily at his neck and cheeks. Izuku fought the urge to flinch as the man passed, expecting a kick to the ribs or stomach….but it never came. Instead, he heard the sound of keys.

BOOM! BOOM!

"DIE!"

Kacchan 's scream carried and Izuku's heart skipped a beat as the entire building shook. His breath caught, his attention brought back to the brackets that pinned his knees to the floor. With a click, they swung free. "Don't you fucking move…" Shigaraki warned, then strode out of the ring of light where Izuku hung.

' No problem…' Izuku thought. The strain on his wrists increased as his lifeline was pulled tight. He nearly collapsed as the pressure released, the chain slipped free of the pulley system. It clattered to the ground, coiling around him with a finality that Izuku found oddly satisfying. Izuku swayed on the spot, his body feeling foreign, weak.

Then the kick came, catching him in the chest. Izuku crumpled to the floor, curling around himself. As unpleasant as the attack was, he was oddly comforted by his ability to relax, even for just a moment before Shigaraki was on him.

He pinned Izuku to the floor and used the chain to secure Izuku's wrists and arms to his chest before wrapping one more coil around his neck. He pulled mercilessly, forcing Izuku to stand as he spluttered. His green eyes bulged as his airway was cut off. Shigaraki crushed Izuku beneath his body, pressing the precious air from his lungs. He leaned close to Izuku's ear. He could feel his hot, stale breath on his skin. "If you so much as struggle, you'll be eating your friends' ashes…"

...Noted...

BOOOM!

"WHERE IS HE?!"

' I'm coming, Kacchan…'

Once he was permitted to breathe, Izuku was dragged to his unsteady feet. They felt numb from disuse, the prickle of pins and needles spread as blood returned to his legs. His cough sounded more like a death rattle but none of that mattered now.

Kacchan was here...

Izuku fought the urge to smile. Shigaraki hung his arm over Izuku's shoulders as if they were pals, hand drooping lazily on his chest. He placed four fingers firmly on his skin, pinky extended threateningly.

BOOOM!

Slowly and awkwardly he stumbled out of his prison, Shigaraki steering him roughly down a dimly lit hallway. The building quaked around them, dust falling from fissures that snaked across the ceiling.

BOOOOM!

"DEKU!"

The explosions were getting closer... louder...Kacchan's voice gave him strength and he stood just a little taller.

They turned a corner, the hallway opening into a bar he'd only seen in passing. Except this bar was...no longer a bar. Rather it was a mess of dark splintered wood, broken liquor bottles, and rubble. The strong scent of alcohol bit at Izuku's nose.

Izuku squinted trying to make sense of the scene. The door and part of the front wall were blown away, laying in the middle of the room.

A figure stood amidst the wreckage, heroically silhouetted by the brilliant sunlight that filtered in behind him.

...KACCHAN...

Hot tears streamed down his face and Izuku made no effort to stop them. He didn't care that he was naked, chained, and literally a finger away from death. Kacchan was here.

Really and truly here.

He made to move toward Katsuki but was yanked ruthlessly back.

" What did I SAY, insect!" Shigaraki spat and closed what little gap there was between their bodies.

Izuku wasn't phased and, in a moment of blind will, leaned into himself, chin to chest, his jaw working furiously. In moments, his fingers found purchase around the gag and he ripped it away. He mentally thanked Twice. Whether this was an oversight on Jin's part or his attempt at kindness, it made no difference.

"Kacchan…" Izuku wheezed through a wobbling smile.

"You ok nerd?" Katsuki's voice was low, gravelly, and hard as steel.

Honestly, it was a stupid question. Izuku knew he looked like shit, worse than that probably. In that moment, however, those three words were equivalent to a hug.

Izuku didn't trust himself to speak, Shigaraki having ever so slightly tightened the chain around his neck in warning. Izuku nodded once, the movement stiff.

Kacchan stepped closer then froze, watching Shigaraki's finger twitch above Izuku's freckled skin. The threat was received, loud and clear.

"Gauntlets on the floor…"

Katsuki hesitated, eyes flicking from Izuku, to Shigaraki, to the wall, and back. It was then that Izuku took notice of the room's other occupants.

This explained the explosions. Toga licked her lips, looking close to climax. Her cheeks were ruddy, eyes glassy as she beamed with excitement. A trickle of blood trailed thickly from her brow. Her gaze was fixed on Kacchan, drawn like a predator to prey.

Twice sat propped against the wall, holding his shoulder. It looked vaguely like he'd received one of Kacchan's blasts head-on. His black jumpsuit was torn and bloodied, the flesh underneath looked singed.

Compress laid at Katsuki's feet, costume burnt and tattered, his mask slightly askew. He was so still, Izuku wondered if he was dead.

Shigaraki shook Izuku harshly, drawing the attention back to himself. "I said gauntlets on the floor… NOW!" Shigaraki was perfectly emulating a child's tantrum. Under different circumstances, it would have been funny.

Katsuki made a face then slid his equipment off his forearms. He lowered them carefully to the floor then straightened. Even with the loss of his support items, he remained battle-ready, poised to strike at a moment's notice.

"Fucking thorn in my side, you're too early!"

"So your stupid ass didn't think that I'd just follow your useless lackey back to your base," Kacchan drawled, unusually calm as he addressed Shigaraki, his intense vermillion eyes never leaving his friend's.

"You had specific instructions, you piece of shit!"

"Dumb bastard, that shit don't matter when someone needs saving."

Izuku's heart stuttered in his chest.

"Don't make me laugh! Did you forget who's in control here," Shigaraki hissed and steered Izuku around the bar toward Katsuki.

The blond tensed, taking in the damage his friend had sustained. White-hot rage boiled behind his eyes though his expression never changed. Izuku was a dead man walking and it ripped at his heart.

"Tch," Katsuki scoffed, lifted his combat boot-clad foot, and rested it atop a grenade gauntlet. "Just one of these fuckers is enough to level this shithole of a base and you want to talk about control? You put another finger on him," he paused and gestured vaguely toward Toga and Twice, "and I'll blow this place to fucking splinters. Now give me back my idiot."

"Ooh! I liked his style," Toga clapped gleefully. "Can we keep 'im?"

Katsuki was hyper-aware. He knew the villains were stalling but why? What were they waiting for? He searched his periphery for any threats but found n othing.

"Kacchan!" Izuku screamed, watching as a void began to open beneath Katsuki, the blond barely managing to stumble back, his gauntlets however fell into the abyss. In the same instant, Compress sprang to life, throwing his compression spheres at Katsuki. He turned, palm extended, wet with sweat but he wasn't fast enough. Izuku struggled helplessly in Shigaraki's grasp as the small marble engulfed Katsuki's form.

"NO!" Izuku screamed, kicking back at Shigaraki's legs. "NO! Let him go! Please!"

"Such a nuisance…" Shigaraki smirked, tightening the chain around the boy's neck as he swept his legs out from under him. Izuku dropped like a stone, his face smashing into the side of a barstool. He spluttered, nose bleeding on the floor, and shrieked as his captor pinned him face down on the floor. Shigaraki leaned down to whisper cruelly into his ear. "I have plans that include both of you. The brat was early, but I'm flexible."

Izuku whimpered into the hardwood floor. He'd been so blinded by hope that he failed to see how grossly outmatched Katsuki was. He'd come alone to a villain's hideout. This was child's play for them and Katsuki played right into their hands.

Slowly, Shigaraki pressed the air from Izuku's lungs then pulled the chain tighter, closing his airway. His captor watched the panic build in the greenette's eyes as he struggled feebly.

Red tinged the edges of his vision, heart thudding in his chest...everything was beginning to fade.

It took longer than Izuku expected, his body no longer responding quite as it should. Vaguely, he registered that Shigaraki was talking to him, but he couldn't hear anything beyond the roar within his ears. Then darkness took him.