The air felt grim as the nineteen teenagers stood in the rain, letting it patter against their costumes and soak them with a fitting chill.
Uraraka spoke up, softly reassuring despite the hopelessness that threatened to overtake them all, "It's not your fault, Bakugou."
"He was right there," Bakugou whispered instead.
"There was nothing-"
"Exactly! He was right there and there was nothing we could do about it," he yelled, eyes wide and shoulders tense as his palms grew uncomfortably cold, "Everything we've done has been for nothing! And it was all my fault! I should have brought one of you with me! Even tape-face would have restrained him and kept him here. But he's gone and it's all because we were too slow! You were too slow! I was too slow!"
Uraraka's lips wobbled dangerously and the blonde immediately regretted lashing out. He sighed harshly, grimacing at how his gut ached in protest. It wasn't her fault as much as he wanted to scream and shout at them all for failing Deku. Izuku.
He was trying to be better, he couldn't take it all out on others who were already suffering just because he couldn't handle the fact that he was weak, that he was a failure. He would never be good enough. Even when he had pushed himself to the limit, fighting against the pain that wracked his body, he had still failed. It felt like that day all over again. Only the feeling of rain gently drizzling over him kept him grounded in the moment.
But even as his senses were aware of his surroundings, in his mind, he was witnessing the dreaded scene all over again. He was stuck again on the ground, staring up with the dread and horror clawing its way up his throat. The frustration and fear and anger mixing together into a wretched combination that culminated in his ultimate regret.
The uselessness of watching Deku destroy himself from far away, the two figures so far away that they were mere specks in his field of vision, holding the weight of the world in their hands despite the visual insignificance. It felt like a metaphor, but he couldn't bring himself to complete it and follow the logic to its conclusion.
He knew he wouldn't like the results of his thoughts just like how he had known in that moment that he wouldn't like the results of Deku's determination. That Lock Hero was exactly right, Deku shouldn't have been the one taking responsibility, carrying the burden of adults who had screwed up at every turn. Hell, even Endeavor knew what he was talking about as the old man had complained about Deku holding Shigaraki back instead of the new Number One. If nothing was done, Deku would destroy himself.
Bakugou knew that he would do so willingly and without regret or complaint. And he was certain that he was partly to blame for Deku's disregard for his own wellbeing. His classmate had always been caring and selfless, but the self-destruction was a learned behavior that bullying had contributed to. After all the reflection he's done in the past few months, he realized that it was selfish to think about things this way, but he'd come to accept that its selfish nature didn't make it any less true.
Even if All Might's positive attitude towards self-immolation hadn't helped, it didn't change the fact that Deku had been prepared to drape himself on the sacrificial altar of heroism long before he was offered that cursed quirk.
Yaoyorozu interrupted his mental spiral, confidently striding up to him with her shoulders back and determination set on her face, "Bakugou, you know that it isn't your fault. There was no way to know he would disappear. We don't even know how it happened, it's possible that it was-"
"A villain? You think that a villain doing this makes it any better? Just as I arrived, he was so tired that he couldn't claw himself out of a crowd of weak civilians. What makes you think that he can handle himself against a villain that can teleport?!" Bakugou retorted, chest heaving from more than just his exhaustion.
In an instant, the Class Vice President's demeanor melted away, exposing the unsure, upset girl underneath. Despite his drive to do better, Bakugou couldn't help but be angry that the one person who could hold it together and properly support their classmates in a situation as dangerous and precarious as this is the one person they're struggling to save. The one person they need to keep going is the same bastard that left them all behind to struggle. The same person who chose to suffer the most to save others from suffering.
The same person who, in choosing to suffer, made everyone who cared about him suffer as well.
It was honestly cruel how such a selfless act could be so incredibly selfish. In a way, Bakugou understood Deku. If it were him, he would probably do the same. He would up and leave and try to take care of everything on his own with only a select few to help him.
But it was when Deku decided to leave everybody behind that Bakugou struggled to keep his rage in check. If it were the old him, that was a decision that he could see the merit in, though admittedly for all the wrong reasons. However, over the last year, he'd learned to work with others and was drawn to the benefits of having people to watch his back.
It had taken time and a whole lot of trust, but he'd done it.
But Bakugou could empathize with the trust Deku must have lost in that one battle alone. Endeavor had failed, dozens of pros had given up entirely, and the only reason everyone hadn't been slaughtered at the hands of Shigaraki was Deku himself. The pro heroes, the adults, hell, even the teachers had completely and utterly failed him. They had failed them all.
In a sense, Bakugou had failed him too. Deku had said it himself, back in the fight at Ground Beta. Bakugou was an idol of sorts, put up on a pedestal just like All Might had been. In hindsight, it was an absurd comparison, but it didn't make it any less impactful for the nerd. And then he went and sacrificed himself for Deku.
In his eyes, that was the ultimate betrayal. Even if he would never be angry at Bakugou for such a thing, Deku's trust in him wouldn't recover until he could prove otherwise. Catching him here and apologizing was supposed to be the first step towards repairing that trust, but now it was all for nothing.
Deku… Izuku was long gone.
"Maybe it wasn't a villain…?" Kaminari proposed, the hesitancy and worry made obvious by the way her voice wobbled over the words.
"So you're saying that one of his quirks that All Might wasn't able to figure out is a teleportation quirk? I doubt it," Bakugou grimaced despite himself.
That would be a favorable outcome, given that it implied that Deku was safe from any villains for at least a moment, but if that was the case, then the previous user whom the quirk belonged to likely would have been able to evade All for One easily. But as far as he knew, the quirks that All Might had been unable to find were the Second and Third Users', but they had both died gruesome deaths at All for One's hand.
With a heavy sigh, Bakugou forced back an insult. It wouldn't help for him to raise the tensions when they were all working towards the same goal. Besides, he didn't have the energy or motivation to argue at the moment. Even so, holding himself back from yelling and taunting was a struggle, although he'd never admit it. Luckily for him, a distraction arrived in the form of Endeavor, accompanied by Kirishima and Ashido.
A quick glance at the two classmates' panicked expressions and the pro hero's grim frown set Bakugou on edge.
"We have a slight problem," Endeavor admitted.
It was by far the most vulnerable Bakugou had seen of the pro, excluding perhaps when Dabi revealed his identity. Clearly the older Todoroki had come to care for and worry about Deku. During their Work Study with him, he had started out cold and unfeeling, openly admitting that he only cared about training his son. At some point, though Bakugou couldn't put his finger on exactly when, that changed.
And now, Endeavor had been let in on one of the most dangerous secrets in the country and chosen to support Deku despite it. He faced the anger—the hatred—of the public to shield the boy from it all. He had been keeping track of his movements and stood by as back-up should Deku need it.
He had borne witness to what must have been Deku's slow deterioration as he refused to take care of himself: all the way up until Deku had abandoned the pros entirely. That must have been the reason he'd caved so easily to their demands when 1-A cornered him at UA.
So to see this expression on the man's face made it clear that something was horribly, horribly wrong.
"Quit with the dramatics. What happened?"
Bakugou watched with growing fear as the man's frown deepened and eyelids fell shut. His eyebrows pulled tight and the blonde knew that they were fucked.
"The GPS signal… it's… completely gone."
It was as if his world finally shattered.
Logically, Bakugou knew it was possible that it was the result of a signal suppression quirk or simply that he was transported to a bunker with an EMP or even one that was underground. There were also a few places where GPS struggled to emit a signal. And that was just the complicated explanation. The simple possibility was that the device was destroyed in the transportation, which depends on the mechanisms of the quirk itself.
Regardless of its lack of implications on Deku's well being, the fact remained that they could no longer find him no matter how hard they searched or far they went. There was no trail left for them to follow.
They were once again left in the dark, but he held no comfort in the fact that the pros were equally lost this time rather than simply hiding the truth from them. At least back then, they could fight to find Deku. They could use their words to convince or their quirks to restrain.
But this? There was nothing they could do anymore except sit back, watch, and beg some higher power for his safe return.
It was infuriating. Upsetting. Tragic.
The list went on, but the only thing in Bakugou's mind was the fact that he had failed Deku one last time, at the most crucial moment. It seems karma finally came to collect for his arrogance, only instead of him reaping what he'd sown, Deku had paid the price in his stead.
"I'm sorry," Endeavor offered, looking truly regretful and wretched.
Even so, that didn't make any of it better as the bottled emotions flowed freely from his classmates. But Bakugou wouldn't let himself shatter just yet. He spared a glance over to Todoroki, who stared back at him wordlessly, the emotions suspiciously vacant from his face. The bastard had always been reserved with his emotions, but it seemed he was thinking the same thing as Bakugou.
If they didn't keep it together for the class, who would?
Even Iida was wavering, holding back tears as he hugged Uraraka who was struggling to keep her cries silent. Yaoyorozu had cracked under Bakugou's snapping retort and even Kirishima looked utterly crushed by the powerlessness of the situation.
Hope was a lot harder to maintain when all of your options were stolen. Bakugou hated that he was beginning to understand how the civilians back at UA must have been feeling.
"For now, it's best if we return to UA. I'll handle returning Dictator to prison. I'll give Best Jeanist a call so we can escort the civilians to UA safe…ly…" Endeavor trailed off, staring at something over Bakugou's shoulder.
Despite himself, Bakugou spun around, squinting at the crowd of civilians who were struggling to calm down. He took a moment to identify what had caught the pro's eye, but when he did, his whole body jolted in shock.
"Hey!" Bakugou shouted, eyes locked on to the civilian that was slowly sneaking away from the plaza, "Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
The man startled, taking a moment to glance back—fear practically radiating from his cowering form—before turning away and making a break for it. In an instant, Bakugou reacted. Before he even knew what he was doing, he was launching himself after the man, using small, concentrated blasts to close the distance between them.
"What are you doing?!" Iida shouted, floundering for a moment before chasing after the two before they made it too far away.
Yaoyorozu glanced hopelessly at her fleeing classmates, "We'll take care of the civilians! Please bring him back here when you catch him!"
The Class President shouted an affirmation before putting all of his focus into his pursuit.
Bakugou grit his teeth once more as he put all of his focus into concentrating his blasts, much like he had earlier. The civilian could simply be panicked from the attack, but the way the man had attempted to carefully slink away screamed suspicious. In the end, if it turned out that he was just a terrified citizen, they could escort him properly to UA for safety.
But in the case that he wasn't… well, they would deal with the situation however it turned out.
His only job at this moment was to catch up to the man so they could find out either way. He could barely hear the roaring of Engine's… well, engines, over the sound of his own blasts. But it was unimportant. Bakugou trusted that their Class President would catch up to him just as he reached the civilian. While the backup might turn out to be unnecessary, it was preferable than having none at all.
Bakugou, admittedly, was a bit surprised by how quickly the civilian was running. They hadn't had a significant head start, but it seemed that they were a bit more familiar with the surrounding streets. More than once, the blonde blasted past an intersection before realizing he had gone the wrong way. Doubling back was a pain, since he had to reverse all of his momentum without accidentally blasting any infrastructure.
He had almost crashed into an abandoned car twice and a traffic light once, which was more than he would have liked. Evidently, his haste made him sloppy; Iida most likely had a similar problem, since he had yet to catch up to Bakugou.
Finally, Bakugou had the civilian in his sights, just another concentrated blast or two out of reach. Grinning, the blonde readied himself for a last hurrah to close the distance between them. Just as he prepared himself for the push, the civilian reached another intersection and turned right, disappearing around the corner.
Bakugou let out one last snarl, abandoning the high power blast he had been preparing for in favor of a weaker one. As soon as the force propelled him forward, he rotated onto his side mid-air and swung his legs so he could make the turn without losing too much momentum. Engines must have been right behind him, going by the increasingly loud rumble behind him, although he spared not even a moment to glance behind him to check his assumption.
Engines would be there when he needed him. Bakugou knew they were all on the same page, and if he failed now, there was no amount of scorn or anger the blonde could toss his way that would compare to the guilt and frustration the Class President would feel towards himself.
But as Bakugou rounded the corner, his heart sank.
It was a dead-end alleyway, no escape route or method to flee as there wasn't a fire escape or dumpster in sight. It was very shadowed and dark, the nearest lamppost having been around the previous corner back far enough that the light barely reached into the alleyway. But even so, it was still clear to Bakugou that there was nothing there.
Just emptiness.
With a frown, Bakugou angled himself towards the end of the alley, giving himself a miniscule blast to give him the last push he needed. As he reached the bricks, he kicked off the wall flipped so his feet landed on the concrete, his momentum successfully redirected. Without hesitation, he blasted himself up to the roof.
It was possible that this civilian had some kind of teleportation quirk, assuming they were responsible for D-Izuku's disappearance. If that was the case, then it stood to reason that the person might have been looking for an opportunity to escape his line of sight long enough to get away. Perhaps they even waited until they reached a dead-end to throw him off his game.
Either way, he wasn't going to stand around and give them any more time to get away.
Unfortunately, the roofs were equally vacant, no sign of anyone as far as the eye could see. He even landed on a roof, going silent in case the man had some kind of invisibility or illusion-based power. But he couldn't hear any shuffling over the sound of his classmate's engines dying down and coming to a halt. Yet even as the quiet settled in, Engines somehow understood the need to be quiet rather than calling out to Bakugou, he couldn't make out any noises.
In a fit of anger, Bakugou crouched down and punched the roof. A part of him hoped that the aggressive action would startle the civilian into revealing themself, but he had no such luck. Another moment passed in silence and, even as his eyes frantically glanced around for some sign of the civilian, he began to give up.
His throat tightened, his own saliva feeling thick as it clogged up his esophagus. A subtle burn spread across his collar bone, trickling down his chest as if mocking him for the fact that his own emotions got in the way of saving Deku. His joints ached fiercely, the throbbing focused on the scarred tissue in his gut and shoulder.
The sweat building up on his palms suddenly became a point of focus, unbearable discomfort growing much like how his anger built up until it exploded, literally and figuratively. The urge to blow things up in a rage was enticing, with the benefit that it would mitigate the collection of volatile perspiration.
He wanted to scream and shout and make his feelings known, but he knew that it wouldn't change anything nor help the situation.
When Engines finally called out to him, Bakugou found himself without any words to say. How could he possibly explain the loss, the failure, the regret?
Would he even need to describe it? His classmate likely felt the exact same. Class 1-A was on the same wavelength and surely when they returned to the plaza empty-handed, the situation would be clear without any words exchanged between them.
Bakugou took a deep breath and turned around to return to the dead-end alleyway where Engines was waiting for him. He hopped off of the roof almost robotically, his mind suddenly bringing up memories he preferred would remain buried.
Take a swan dive off the roof of a building.
He bit his lip, letting himself fall just a bit longer than he perhaps should have before reducing his momentum—essentially catching himself—with a small blast. Before he could prepare himself, Iida's eyes immediately locked onto his form.
Bakugou could imagine his classmate's eyes roaming over his form, taking careful note of his slumped shoulders and downtrodden posture. But he was unwilling to face those calculating, assessing eyes. He didn't want to witness the moment that he put it all together, didn't want to watch the dawning horror slowly bleed into the determined expression that was bound to be on his face.
So, like the coward he was beginning to realize he was, he kept his head down and his gaze fixed onto the concrete. His eyes traced the puddles on the ground, watching as the slow drizzle from above made dozens of ripples in the murky water.
"Gone?" Iida asked.
Bakugou could only nod, tugging his eyes away from the puddle that reminded him a bit too much of the koi pond he had thrown Izuku's notebook into once upon a time.
For a moment, he wondered whether it was a good thing that he cared about Izuku. He had lived in a blissful and self-righteous ignorance for so long, and he was happy. Or at least, he thought he had been. But the longer he tried to maintain the facade once introspection had hit him like a slap to the face, the less sure of his own supposed happiness. Perhaps… the only ones fooled by his tricks were those that suffered the most by his hand.
He had assumed that, so long as someone was fooled, then it would be or become the truth. Or maybe that was just what he wanted to believe now, so the pain he felt now wouldn't be incongruous with how he used to be. Yet even as he second-guessed his feelings and debated the reality of his situation and how he had changed over time, he couldn't bring himself to regret any of it nor lay the blame on Izuku's shoulders.
As the two classmates stood there in silence, the rain continued to dance as it dribbled on their costumes. It felt as if the world was ending, yet nature carried on. It was maddening and solemn at the same time.
Bakugou frowned as his eyes picked up on something near the middle of the alleyway. The rain splashed against the pavement, but there was a dark spot—a puddle—where the ripples were far less pronounced. As the rain continued to pour, the dark spot lightened and spread outward, as though diluting in the continued downfall of water.
His suffocating emotions faded into the background as he stared at it. Frowning, Bakugou stepped forward and knelt down, dipping his fingers into the odd substance. It was thick and viscous, and upon further inspection, the substance was definitely black. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why.
Reluctantly, he lifted his fingers to his nose and let the smell waft towards him. He instantly froze as the memory slammed into him at full force. This was the warping goo shit that All for One had used back in Kamino Ward.
He had thought that the ooze disappeared after the teleportation, but evidently that wasn't the case. It made sense, considering he was taken away from their hideout where any residue would have remained.
But this meant that the man had either been an agent for All for One, a nomu, or had been taken by them. Perhaps it had been Toga? He wasn't sure, but he knew he needed to report this.
He glanced up at Engines, who was staring at him in concern, his jaw noticeably tight, probably clenched out of frustration.
It struck him at that moment, a realization so sudden and jarring yet unquestionable. Just by looking at Engine's expression, Bakugou immediately knew he couldn't tell his classmates. They were already devastated and if his hunch was right, this would ruin them. His first priority was to inform the heroes who had been working with Deku of the situation, possibly in Nezu's office, so they could figure out what to do next. This was the absolute worst case scenario. All for One had taken advantage of Deku's fatigue somehow, even if they weren't yet sure of the specifics of the situation.
The one person that could actually fight on Shigaraki and All for One's level was now missing and it had those villains' filthy fingerprints all over it.
If they could just figure this out, it might still be possible to regain the upper hand.
Bakugou flicked the viscous goo off his fingers as he rose to his feet, wiping the remaining filth off on his pants.
"Let's report back that we lost the civilian," he muttered, his tone making it clear that it was more of an order than a suggestion.
Iida simply nodded, leading the way back without a word. As they left, Bakugou spared a quick glance at the empty alleyway, shoving down the grief and dread that churned in his gut and threatened to rise up his throat.
He didn't have time to mope, he had things to do.
Luffy was really grateful for Rayleigh's help.
The old man had come up with the idea to storm Marineford and do a bunch of stupid Marine Rituals that would get their attention. He sort of recalled Gramps talking about them at one point or another, but honestly he hadn't been paying attention back then. So while it had felt vaguely familiar he couldn't really put his finger on it.
But he didn't care to try to remember the specifics. He was a Pirate, not a damn Marine! Besides, Rayleigh seemed to know what he was doing, so Luffy had figured he would just follow along unless he tried to make him do something he didn't like.
Luckily, the plan had sounded like fun, so he hadn't had to complain! Deku, on the other hand, had stared at Rayleigh weirdly for several minutes. The old man had told Deku that he could have stayed on the ship since he was hiding from the Marines (oh, that made sense, but Deku was strong enough to beat them all up, so he didn't really understand why he wanted to hide). And then Deku had disagreed, promising to watch their backs.
Luffy appreciated it, but he still kind of didn't understand why Deku had been acting so weird.
At Marineford, they had circled the island while deflecting poorly aimed cannon fire. In between cannonballs, Luffy had taken the moment to appreciate all the damage they had done to the plaza and the island overall. He wasn't one for liking the sight of damage, since damage often meant people he liked were hurt, but he had to admit that it looked pretty badass.
Though their circling of the Marine Headquarters had been short lived, the three of them had taken no time to launch themselves onto the ravaged concrete and immediately dashing towards the island's bell. Luffy hadn't even had to worry about his back, with Rayleigh and Deku effortlessly handling every attack.
The looks of shock on everyone's faces had been the funniest thing, something he would have to tell Usopp about later, if he remembered.
Ringing the bell, dropping flowers to pay his respects to the dead, and posing for the cameras with the ink on his skin exposed had gone by in a flash and before anyone knew it, the three of them had made an easy escape. He felt almost like a spy! There one moment, gone the next!
But that had been about an hour ago. At the moment, the three of them were lounging around their small vessel, Rayleigh occasionally getting up to make sure they were still on course. Luffy was a little bored, but Deku was mildly entertaining.
"That was way too close," Deku sighed, rubbing his eyes as if he wanted nothing more than to sleep.
Deku's sleepiness reminded him of Zoro, but Luffy brushed that thought away, snickering instead at his silly reaction. For someone so strong, Deku sure was overly cautious.
"How did you talk me into this again?" he asked, only getting laughter from Rayleigh in response, "Well, on another note, where exactly are we going?"
Luffy wouldn't have thought to ask where they were going, since he never wanted his adventures to be spoiled for him, but he knew that doing so was smart. Just like Nami or Robin!
Rayleigh had a laugh at Deku's annoyed tone, but began to explain their destination. Luffy did his best to tune him out—he wanted to be surprised when they got there after all—instead focusing on Deku's expressions.
Luffy cackled at the mildly panicked expression that grew on Deku's face, doing his best to ignore the growing weight in his gut from the way Deku so easily reminded the Captain of his absent crew.
The rubber man was so happy that Deku had asked to come with him, since he would be a bit lonely with only Rayleigh to keep him company. Plus he would have another person to fight with, it would feel like old times with his brothers, back before Sabo...
Luffy had to be content with the fact that Ace had been rescued, but that little void in his life was still a gaping hole, no matter how much he tried to avoid thinking about it. The entire time he'd spent desperately trying everything in his power to save his older brother, he could only think of Sabo and how there had been nothing he could do because he simply hadn't been there. He was glad that this time around, he had been there.
(And if there was that little voice in the back of his mind that told him his efforts had almost been for nothing had Deku not shown up, well… Luffy could ignore that and put all his energy towards becoming stronger. He wouldn't leave it up to others forever; he still had to get stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger until he could protect the people he loved…)
He was glad that Deku had been there. He was glad Deku was here, now.
In a way, Deku managed to fill up the empty space that he had been struggling against ever since he'd been separated from his crew. Even so, he wasn't a replacement, but rather an addition he wanted to keep alongside the rest of the people that made his life brighter.
He really missed his crew; that ache of loneliness had settled into his chest without his permission not long after they'd left with Rayleigh and flared up at the smallest reminder. But it was fine! That's why he was glad Deku had joined him. He would just have to become friends with Deku! Maybe he could convince him to join his crew since he had refused to join Ace's Pops's crew! Then he could have most of his favorite people by his side.
He would just have to wait until after they had trained for a bit, so that way, Deku was more comfortable around him. Luffy figured that was the reason the other teen had shot Ace's Captain down. They had asked him too soon, so if Luffy wanted it to go differently, he had to be extra careful.
As their journey continued, with intermittent conversation and card games (although Luffy wasn't entirely sure where the deck of cards came from, he wasn't complaining), Luffy couldn't help but stare intently at Deku. There was this… air of loneliness that reminded him of Robin. Deku had something weighing him down, like the whole world was against him and not even the people who showed him compassion and gentle kindness were truly on his side.
Rayleigh didn't seem to pick up on it, but Luffy could see it clear as day. After all, he'd grown up with his idiot of a big brother who felt the same way. But at least Ace had his crew mates and his Captain to knock some sense into him.
Deku had no one.