AN: This chapter contains direct quotes from "My Hero Academia" anime English Dub Episodes 119 - 122. This also contains spoilers for the Paranormal Liberation War Arc for MHA. I do not own the words or the characters.

"Shigaraki is headed straight to the evacuees; the battle zone is expanding clear the area surrounding the city." Endeavor's deep voice sounded crystal clear through Bakugo's communication device. A tinge of exhaustion coated the Number 1 hero's words setting off warning bells in Bakugo's mind, but he couldn't focus on them at the moment.

The sound of civilians evacuating transformed from organized and borderline casual to nervousness bordering on panic. Heroes barked orders to move faster, adults shouted for loved ones, and children's cries permeated the air around them. If all this was enough to get to him, he knew what it was doing to Deku. There was only one reason Shigaraki would even think of heading this way.

Only one.

"You can't tell them your secret." Bakugo barked at the green-haired boy, who was already shaking with frustration. "Heroes will try to split forces to protect you and the civilians,"

"Yeah, I know." Came his tense response.

Although Bakugo was sure that Deku really did understand the gravity of the situation, he had a tendency to get stuck in his head, running through statistics and probabilities. He needed to get out of here. "The only thing they know right now is that they are after One-For-Alll. It's not a lot to go on." He said, already turning toward a direction opposite to where they were currently standing. Burnin's directive that the students should also evacuate came through their communication device, but Bakugo ignored it, "It's a hero's job to protect the people, so you only have one choice."

"I need to make sure that the evacuees can be protected…" Deku said through his teeth, already making his way toward where Bakugo had been looking at. Away. Away from the civilians.

"Yeah, which means you gotta get out of here quick." Bakugo was already hot on his tail. He couldn't let Deku do this on his own.

"Hey, where are you two going" Four Eye's voice sounded from below them, and Bakugo turned despite himself. If he was here, then maybe so was she. He hadn't allowed himself to think of her after Endeavor announced Shigaraki's change in direction, afraid that doing so would prevent him from doing what needed to be done. If Deku got out of here, then she would be safe. Shigaraki would follow him. Still, he turned.

He couldn't help it, and as he did, he saw her. She appeared out of breath as if she had been running fast in this direction. Had she been running toward him? Uraraka looked at him through wide, tense eyes, but he could see the love and understanding that flickered inside them. She knew what he was going to do, and she wasn't going to stop him.

"Uh, I left something! I'll be right back!" Came Deku's weak excuse as he continued to barrel his way in the opposite direction of everyone else, towards the destruction that the sudden blast from before had caused.

Bakugo didn't follow him immediately. There was something he had to do first.

This wasn't a goodbye. He didn't want to say goodbye. He refused to let it become one. But still, he needed…something. Bakugo made his way toward his girl in record time, completely disregarding anyone that might be around, and pulled her in towards him, their mouths united, and he wasted no time tasting her. Memorizing the feel of her lithe body pressed so close to his, the wetness and ferocity of how she kissed him, how soft her hair felt as he grasped at it with his fingers. This wasn't a goodbye, but fuck if it wasn't starting to feel like one. He tore away from her then. Their heavy breathing was the only thing he could focus on for a second before the chaos around him roared back to life.

With one final look at her, Bakugo forced himself to turn away and run after Deku. When today was over, he would find her, and he would tell her how much he loved her, how proud of her he was, and then, if she let him, he would make love to her until they couldn't physically go any longer.

Bakugo put all thoughts of Uraraka safely in the box he had carved out for her in his heart. It was quickly becoming too large to keep inside, but for now, it would have to hold. He had to focus. He had to help Deku. He had to get through the day if any of what he had just wished could come to pass.

He raced through the rubble, shooting through streets of rubble until he could make the flash of green ahead of him.

"Deku here. Sorry for using a private line. It's highly possible that I'm the one Shigaraki's after." Deku's voice came through as Bakugo got closer to him.

"What are you talking about?" Came Endeavor's grunted response. He sounded strained, which set off even more warning bells.

"I might be able to lure him to an unpopulated area! Please keep this channel open." Despite everything going on, Deku's voice sounded calm. But Bakugo could hear the frustration simmering underneath, the anger. He felt it too.

Bakugo's anger toward Shigaraki and the League of Villains had always been personal, but after what they had done to Uraraka. The target they tried to put on his parents. He was pissed, and he saw that same emotion reflected in the green-haired nerd.

"Why would Shigaraki be coming after you? Explain yourself now!" Endeavor, understandably, sounded confused and annoyed.

"It'll have to wait. Give me directions if he changes his path." Bakugo wasn't always fond of the nerd, but right now, he had to admit he had some balls on him to talk to Endeavor, of all people like that. He wasn't sure how Endeavor felt about getting directions from one of his interns, but he barked at them that Shigaraki was moving in a different direction anyway.

As expected, Shigarki seemed to be targeting Deku.

After Deku had made it clear that he would serve as bait despite it all, Endeavor resigned himself to the new turn of events and informed them that Shigaraki was on a different level now. His powers, his strength, were off the charts. He was already ridiculously strong for someone so immature and prone to tantrums, and Endeavor was saying he was even worse now. But he had altered his course. He was heading toward them and not where the civilians were, where Uraraka was.

But out of the frying pan and into the fire because now OP villain boss was heading toward them, and if he got his hands on One-For-All…Bakugo didn't even want to let himself consider the possibility.

"Right, he said he's following us," Deku said off-handedly as he continued his race down the streets getting as far away from where both teens had started as possible.

"I heard! You're the one who's not listening! That creep has leveled up into a final boss. You better make damn sure you don't get caught." Bakugo barked at him, already closing the final gap between them.

Deku stayed quiet for a beat before turning around with sheer confusion on his face, "Um, Kacchan, why are you following me?!"

You've got to be fucking kidding me. "You wanna die!"

"What!" Deku shrieked but never lost his step or speed. God, he was annoying.

"There's no time to explain the situation," Bakugo stated matter-of-factly, "So I'm the only one who gets what's happening." The irritation in his voice was palpable, "I had to come!"

"Wow! Thank you!" Deku said genuinely, and it pissed him off.

"You idiot, I'm not doing it for you. Don't think you're the main character on the battlefield, I just owe that piece of crap villain a beat down for all the shit he's put Ochako through." For all the shit he's put me through, but he wouldn't say that out loud.

Since the moment the League of Villains had kidnapped him, something had changed inside him. Shigaraki was so sure that he would join them. His violence. His anger. His arrogance. These traits had called them to him. Bakugo had only ever wanted to be a hero like All-Might, and yet the ones who tried to end him thought Bakugo could be the same as them. It made his stomach turn to lead, his insides revolting and threatening to be spilled. His classmates had attempted to rescue him, going against Mr. Aizawa's orders and risking expulsion. Kirishima had even spent his hard-earned money to pay for supplies for his rescue. It angered him. He wasn't worth their efforts, not after his own conceited and selfish behavior had gotten him on the League of Villains' radar. But they had come. Deku had come. All-Might…he came. And he lost his powers facing off with All-For-One. He would have never been there if it hadn't been for Bakugo.

In the aftermath, in the safety of his room at his parent's house, Bakugo saw the press release where Mr. Aizawa, of all fucking people, had defended his character. It had been his fault, and yet powerful heroes were stepping up for him. Protecting him. Defending him.

He hated it. He hated feeling so useless. So powerless. And there was fucking Deku. Always fucking Deku. Despite every insult Bakugo hurled at him, Deku was the first to defend and plan to rescue him. But it hadn't mattered because All-Might had lost whatever embers of One-For-All he had still carried with him after transferring the power to Deku that night—his fault.

And still, Bakugo had kept moving forward. He couldn't change the past, so he vowed to never be that weak again. Despite himself, he fell in love, and once more, he was put in a position where he was useless. Powerless. Uraraka had been attacked. She had come to him battered, bruised, tears streaming down her face as she broke down in fear over her parents and where had he been? What could he have done? Nothing. Like always, he could do nothing. He was useless, and he hated the feeling.

"It's my fault All-Might had to hang up his costume and retire." All of it is my fault. "You can act as bait, and once he gets close, I'll have revenge for what happened!" Revenge for All-Might. For Ochako. For Me. For You. "I will defeat him, and I'll prove that I'm a hero" Prove that I'm worthy. "Just don't let your guard down or get in my way, got it!"

If Deku heard the desperation in his voice, he was smart enough not to call attention to it, "Yea, I got it."

They continued their way in silence. Deku seemed focused on what was to come. He still couldn't get past 30% without hurting himself. His workaround had been to bring his power up to 45% at the moment of impact, but Bakugo seriously doubted that would be enough for an opponent like Shigarki. Despite it all, Deku was constantly improving. And fast. All-Might had once said that the reason Deku improved so quickly was because he started at zero. That might have been true at first, but now? Deku had caught up to him quickly. In fact, it felt more and more like Bakugo had to catch up to him. Every time Deku improved, Bakugo had to grit his teeth and work even harder to match him. Even now, Deku was once more speeding on ahead of him. And he was only at 30 fucking percent.

I won't lose to a damn nerd. "There's no way I'm gonna give up when I'm still behind."

There was a sudden blast of pulsing power that swept through them with record speed, leaving a lingering feeling of static on their bodies. Their communication devices went on the fritz before powering down completely.

That was the only warning they got before Shigaraki appeared in front of them. It all happened too fast. His lipless smile and piercing red eyes were trained on them, decay all around him.

Bakugo could feel it as it approached him. They were going to die if they couldn't get away, but he was too fast. His quirk moved at a speed Bakugo had not expected despite Endeavors' prior warnings.

And then he felt his whole body being propelled in the opposite direction from Shigarki's decay. He was alive. And someone held him as they raced through the rubble.

"Gran Torino!" Deku shouted. He, too, was being held by the old man as they raced away from Shigaraki.

"After I heard one for all over the radio, I was afraid he would track you down. Were you two planning to fight him by yourselves?" Bakugo bristled at how this long-since-retired hero seemed to dismiss them. "Nonsense. Shigaraki's decay destroys everything it touches! The small pieces of debris could kill you on contact. He's not someone you can handle on your own."

"Well, we can try," Deku also sounded annoyed by Gran Torino's words. The old man wasn't wrong, but it still pissed off Bakugo.

Bakugo focused on the words the old man was speaking instead of losing his temper. It wasn't the time nor the place for that. Sure, they had gotten away and were still on the move, but Shigaraki was crazy fast.

As they passed through buildings, Bakugo saw them. Pro-Heroes, getting ready to attack. Mr. Aizawa stood poised with Rock Lock and Manual close by. Endeavor came blasting through in time to collide with Shigaraki throwing more firepower at the villain than Bakugo had ever witnessed. The heat from Endeavor's attack reached them despite being so far away, but Shigaraki didn't so much as flinch. Mr. Aizawa's eyes are trained on him, his quirk deactivated, and Endeavor's attack was still not enough.

Gran Torino sends both teens flying toward the ground when they reached a safe enough distance.

"His power. Erasure took it just now, right?" Deku asked as Bakugo quickly got on his feet, crouching behind the debris as he took in the fight before him.

"Yes. He's weakened, if only slightly." Gran Torino responded solemnly.

"What? Did you get tired? Why are we still so close to him?" Too close. If Shigarki wanted to, he could get to them, to Deku, in less time than it took for them to blink.

"I trust Gran Torino." Was Deku's dumbass response.

"So Bakugo knows your secret, right? Toshinori told me. We can't go much further. Shgaraki's moving faster than anyone could have expected. Few will be able to follow him now that our comms have gone down. If he chases you too far out, no one will be able to catch up. You stopped him temporarily, got him away from the civilians, and put him within Eraser's field of vision. Those are quite the accomplishments. I'll go back and keep your teacher on the move."

They had been dismissed. Bakugo remained quiet as Deku questioned, "Wait, are you saying we're supposed to hide?"

"All-For-One's quirks were translated into Shigaraki. That's what Present Mic said anyway." The old man was already getting ready to leave them after dropping that bomb on them. If Shigarki had all of All-For-One's quirks, they were fucking screwed if Erasure failed.

"So that means that he can…"

"I can't imagine a worse scenario than him stealing one for all. Who could defeat him, then? Right now, he's just one person," Gran Torino said confidently, without looking at the two boys crouched behind him, "If we can't stop him, then what's the point of there being so many heroes in this world?" With those words as his goodbye, Gran Torino sped off toward where Mr. Aizawa stood, unblinking eyes focused on Shigaraki as Endeavor fought him tooth and nail.

All these fucking heroes and Shigaraki was still standing, and they were just supposed to just watch?!

Bakugo could feel the anger in his veins boiling to unmanageable degrees. He was about to say fuck it all when an army of High-End Nomus seemed to spout out of nowhere near where a large cluster of Pro-Heroes stood.

The heroes were now divided, and Bakugo was already standing up from his crouch. He needed to do something. Anything. He wasn't just going to sit back and do fucking nothing. Not again. Not ever again.

If Erasure failed and Shigaraki was able to use Decay again, they were all doomed. No amount of distance would stop him from getting to Deku. He could obliterate everything and everyone in his path, and with how fucking overpowered he was at the moment, he didn't doubt that his quirk's range was long. He couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk her.

Bakugo saw Shigarki break through the heroes, aiming straight at Mr. Aizawa in slow motion. Everything around him had slowed. All he could see was Shigaraki's outstretched hand, poised to rip Mr. Aizawa apart and thus regain the ability to use his quirk. It was all so slow, and yet no one seemed able to catch up. Except Deku.

"No, kid!" Gran Torino's shout bordered the line between fear and desperation.

Bakugo was hot on Deku's heels, eyes focused solely on Shigaraki.

"If Shigaraki cant use its powers, then let us join the fight against him!" Deku yelled with conviction as he barrelled into Shigaraki.

"The worst thing would be losing Mr. Aizawa," Deku shouted, "He's protected his students this whole time. We can't lose him after everything he's done, or what are we even doing?"

Mr. Aizawa had defended him and had stood up for him when the whole of Japan was ready to write him off. To see him as a villain.

Bakugo was so fucking tired of losing.

"It's our turn to return the favor. How's this for rational teach?" Bakugo unleashed explosions as rapidly as machine gun blasts. He doubted they'd do much, but it still felt fucking good to finally let loose some of his anger.

"Arent those fireworks adorable," Shigaraki taunted, but those milliseconds of distraction allowed Deku to throw Black Whip toward the villain and hold him back. It wouldn't hold for long, but any second gained was a win at this point.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you're just not interesting to me anymore," Shigaraki's cold and disinterested voice was aimed at him. The Bakugo of before might have been stung at being dismissed as uninteresting, but he couldn't give a fuck now. They needed to stop him for everyone's sake.

Endeavor raced by them, landing a strong enough blow into Shigaraki to send the villain flying away.

"Endeavor, Sir!" Deku's voice was strained.

"Where is Shoto?" Their mentor asked, eyes focused on where Shigaraki had landed.

"Outside the zone," Deku responded, and Bakugo could see some of the tension Endeavor carried be released. Endeavor the Hero understood. Enji Todoroki, the Father, didn't want his son anywhere near.

"Deku. Bakaguo." He barked at the boys that were now behind him. "There's nothing we can do about you two being here. I won't ask why you came, but we need to support Eraser. Bakugo you cover deku!"

Bakugo wanted to protest, but that was why he was here. To protect Deku.

He would laugh about this later when they made it out alive. Laugh that he went from wanting to get rid of the nerd to protecting him at all costs.

As Shigaraki approached them again, Bakugo noticed the difference in him. He appeared… severely unhinged, as if Endeavor's hit had knocked around what little sense he had left inside him. His piercing red eyes were crazed as they narrowed in on Deku, "One for all. Come to me, dear little brother."

Little brother?!

But that would mean…that meant…

Bakugo and Deku had no time to process the revelation as Endeavor attacked once more, slamming into Shigaraki with a force so strong it sounded like thunder crashing. But Shigaraki seems to be more focused on fighting whatever is going on inside his head and still somehow making quick work of the Pro-Heroes trying their best to neutralize him.

Bakugo shot off a barrage of explosives, each going off in deafening booms around Shigaraki. Before the dust could settle, Deku launched at him with a "Smash" kick, sending Shigaraki flying toward Endeavor. The Number One Hero put all remaining firepower into a final ultimate move, Vanishing Fist. Endeavor slammed Shigaraki to the ground so hard it left a permanent dip in the ground.

But Shigarki was still breathing, albeit with extreme difficulty.

"You're kidding. The bastard is still alive?" Bakugo was not about to let fear win him over at the moment, but he felt the beginnings of it take root.

"It's over, Tomura Shigaraki," Endeavor's voice was strained, tired, and beaten but steady, "No matter how powerful you get, we will not allow you to continue with this pointless destruction."

"You people," Shigaraki slowly began to get up from the floor, breathing haggard, but his voice was laced with chilling hatred, "You heroes," He spat at them, "In order to save strangers, you don't know you hurt those who love you that's what my father said. Pointless? I have a mission always have."

Bakugo couldn't give two shits about whatever his mission was. Shigaraki wanted One-For-All. Well, tough shit, he wasn't going to get it. There was no outcome to this where they lost. There couldn't be. He refused to imagine a world where Shigaraki won in the end. Hurt the ones who love you to save strangers? What a load of fucking bullshit. Uraraka loved him. His parents loved him. And they understood.

Shigaraki could go on and on about the current hero society's lack. Shit, he probably had some valid points thrown amongst all that nonsense he was spouting, but it didn't justify all this…destruction. There were still good heroes. Good people.

Endeavor cuts off the psycho mid-monologue, and Bakugo couldn't have been more thankful. Nothing Shigaraki said would change anything. It didn't matter. He needed to be stopped.

Shigaraki's rage seemed to have multiplied as he began fighting back. He was on Gran Torino faster than anyone could blink and punched him into the ground, leaving the old man covered in blood. Too much blood. There was no way that old man could have survived that.

Before Bakugo could hold Deku back, Deku was already jumping toward Shigaraki. All reason seemed to be lost to him, and Bakugo had no choice but to follow closely.

Shigarki flew past them so fast that it didn't register until they stared at blank air and the sound of screaming came behind them. Both teens turned quickly in mid-air, just in time to see Ryukyu flying between his warpath toward Mr. Aizawa. But even with all her dragon strength, Shigaraki is still going, still fighting and getting closer to their teacher. Deku lunges toward Ryukyu and Shigaraki, Black Whip whipping around him as he lands on Shigaraki's back and begins choking him, keeping him bound between him and Ryukyu.

And still, Shigaraki was fighting them. Bakugo couldn't see, but he heard the crack of a bullet being shot. He could hear Deku yelling, "Eraser!" The fear in his voice was palpable.

Fuck! Everything just kept getting worse.

It was a quirk deleter. If that bullet landed on Mr. Aizawa, they were fucking screwed. Bakugo races towards him despite knowing his efforts are in vain. He can't outrun the fucking bullet. Not from where he had been standing. Still, he has to try.

He had to do something.

The world around him seemed to freeze as the quirk deleter penetrated Mr. Aizawa's leg. Just as quickly as it happened, his teacher pulled out a knife and cleaved his leg off. Losing the limb as if it were hair being cut.

Bile rose inside Bakugo, and it took everything in him not to expel it from his body. Their teacher had just…Bakugo didn't even get a chance to finish that thought when Shigaraki was on the move again. So fast. How the fuck was he still moving so fast!?

Shigaraki was racing toward their teacher, who was bleeding profusely from his wound. Deku tried to reach them. Bakugo. Endeavor. They all made toward the teacher, but they wouldn't make it.

Bakugo felt ice in his veins. The temperature around them plummeted suddenly, and before he could figure out what was happening, a giant wall of ice exploded out of nowhere, pushing Deku and Shigaraki away from Mr. Aizawa, Rock Lock, Manual, Endeavor, and Bakugo.

Fucking Half-and-Half. Bakugo would never admit this, but he was so fucking happy to see those stupid mismatched eyes. Any second they gained was a win right now, and Todoroki had granted them a couple more.

"Is he okay?" Half-and-Half asked as he got close to Mr. Aizawa and began cauterizing the giant wound left where a leg once was. Bakugo moved to stand in front of Todoroki as he helped their teacher. Seconds. They were fighting for one second at a time.

"What's your plan to stop me now, fight all you want," Shigaraki said, already back on his feet and seemingly ready to go, "You're just delaying the inevitable." He almost sounded bored. Dismissive.

All around him is chaos, and yet no one is moving. No one is speaking. The smell of burning flesh comes from behind him, and it is enough to make him go crazy. Deku could smell it, too, and between Gran Torino and Mr. Aizawa, Bakugo knew what he would do before he did it.

That stupid fucking nerd never thought of himself.

As Deku made his way toward Shigaraki, the rage in his green eyes is so palpable that Bakugo could see it from where he stood.

As Shigarki made to take a step toward Deku, his chest suddenly split in half in the most grotesque fashion. Tendons seem to be holding his shoulders to his lower body. Bakugo could see inside Shigaraki's body, and he doubted he would ever be able to remove the image from his mind. Legs being cut off, the smell of burning flesh, the sight of a body falling apart. The stuff of nightmares, but now was not the time.

Shigaraki wasn't healing. His body had sustained a lot of damage, and for fucking once, things seemed to be going their way. At the very least, Shigaraki couldn't go on much longer, not when half his body wanted to fall off. He was tiring. He was hurting.

Deku must have realized this as well. They may have lost Erasure, but the fight wasn't over yet. Black tendrils unfurled from Deku's body, hovering in the sky before Shigaraki. They made their way toward the Pro-Heroes and Heroes in Training below, wrapping around them and lifting everyone into the sky.

Float.

Deku had unlocked Float.

"I'll put a stop to you out here in the air," Deku shouted at the villain in front of them, "I'll use every ability I got in my arsenal! I won't let you escape from here." There was ice in Deku's voice—a chilling conviction.

He was going to get himself killed.

"Please take care of the injured," he said over his shoulder, and Bakugo saw fucking red.

"You moron! You should be getting far away from that guy while you can! We can't bank on erasure anymore." Bakugo hoped no one could hear the small tendril of panic that was settling inside him. If they lost here, they were fucking done. Everyone's future was fucked. His future…his and Urarakas…

"Who else is still able to face off against him in the air?" Deku shouted, voice desperate. Angry. Enraged. "Go!"

All Bakugo could do was fucking watch.

It seemed like all he was good for these days was watching as the people he cared about fought instead of him. Because of him.

Deku. Uraraka. All-Might.

They all fought.

And continued fighting.

And all Bakugo seemed capable of doing was sit on the fucking sidelines.