When Sabo blinked awake, the sun was just beginning to rise on the horizon. Beautiful pinks and reds and purples painted the sky, a backdrop to the many fluffy clouds that swirled above. They were still flying and he had a sneaking suspicion that the kid had continued on all night. He immediately cursed himself for his moment of weakness the previous evening and glanced down at his eternal pose, only to realize that it was missing. However, he didn't have any time to panic before the kid glanced back at him and revealed the instrument delicately held in a lose tendril.

Although Sabo was immediately relieved by that revelation—with nothing to say about the matter now that he knew they weren't lost—the kid began to slow to a halt.

"Good morning," the kid greeted, somehow sounding chipper despite his apparent exhaustion.

"Sorry," he grimaced, "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. Literally."

The kid huffed in amusement, "It's no problem. I'm glad you got some rest, yesterday was a lot. It's important that one of us has a clear head for navigating. Unfortunately, I kept drifting a bit off course because it was difficult to see and I'm a bit of a novice at navigation."

A hint of blush rose on the kid's cheeks, as though not knowing how to navigate well was some kind of pathetic failing. Lots of people wouldn't know how to navigate unless they needed it. And since this kid didn't have any memories, there were a whole host of reasons why this kid simply wouldn't have needed to know it.

But Sabo bit back a grimace more than a laugh. This kid was doing more work to look out for him than the other way around. That was the opposite of what he'd set out to do. Yet the kid continued on as if nothing was wrong.

"Although, we made some good distance last night. I'm not sure how long the journey will take, but I was able to gradually speed up without waking you up," the kid tiredly smiled at him and if he'd been any less tired, Sabo would have described it more as him beaming up at him with pride.

If Sabo hadn't already had no idea of how long their trip would take given the odd transportation method, he certainly would've been lost now.

"How fast would you say we went?"

The kid hummed, clearly considering his question. He would be surprised if the kid knew.

"If I had to guess, around a thousand kilometers per hour? Or maybe more like nine hundred? I'm not entirely sure, but that seems about right. I kept it up for at least six hours without having to stop, so that means with a conservative estimate, we probably traveled about five or six thousand kilometers in total? Of course I could be totally wrong so-"

And apparently the kid continued to surprise him, even as he anxiously rambled on doubting his estimations. They had been flying at a thousand kilometers per hour? If he wasn't misremembering, that was several hundreds of knots. Why the hell not? If this kid could do all these things, why not be incredibly smart too. This only further tempted Sabo to offer the kid a place in the Revolutionary Army. He was kind-hearted and clever, not to mention quick on his feet. He apparently had the stamina to use his powers for near twenty hours straight and was pleased that his ally had been able to rest rather than annoyed at being the only one awake.

The kid had a better track record than half of the officers twice his age. Or at least, the age he looked to be.

At least now he knew that their trip would be much shorter than he had expected. Normally it would take around six days travel by ship. At the rate this kid was estimating, even using his conservative guess, the whole journey would take them two days, at most. And that was with the several times the kid admitted to drifting off course.

"-and I don't know if that's a good thing or if I've been accidentally flying us in circles-"

Sabo cut the kid off, "Even if you had, you probably shaved off decent amount of travel time in the periods where you remained generally on course. Were there any issues with weather?"

The kid paused, "Um, there were a few sudden storms and even hail at one point, but it was no problem."

The Revolutionary blinked at the kid, who immediately understood his unspoken question. He gestured with one of the tendrils, flaring it out with several others and creating a make-shift umbrella of sorts. Guess that answered that.

He sighed, "Well I honestly have no idea where we are right now, but as long as we follow that Eternal Pose, we'll get there. Are you sure you can hold up? It'll at least take another day to get there, possibly two."

Sabo didn't like the way the kid frowned as he genuinely had to consider whether he would be up for such a feat. It wasn't surprising, but he hated that the kid was put under this kind of pressure, even if it was partially the kid's fault in the first place for choosing to flee by air. Even if that had truly been their best option.

The kid nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I can do it. At worst, I can probably go for longer if I need to, it just won't be at full speed."

He didn't fully believe the kid's optimistic reassurance, but he had to have faith in his original assessment otherwise he might create a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.

So when the kid asked if he was ready to take off again, Sabo lectured the kid on taking care of himself as he pulled out another set of rations. There was plenty left, considering how much time the kid had managed to cut out of their journey, so he was far more liberal in shoving food into the kid's hands even as he protested.

And then they continued their journey. Sabo had nothing to occupy his mind other than continuing to ponder about the mysterious child that had saved his life not once, but twice already.

Bakugou was pissed as fuck.

He was also frustrated and upset and worried and guilty, but all of those complicated emotions swirled together and were expressed as anger. It was his specialty and was probably far from healthy, but whatever. He could care less.

The only thing he cared about at the moment was finding Deku. Finding Izuku.

After those fucking Pro Heroes fucked up and gave up on rescuing Izuku, Bakugou knew he had to be the one to search. And he knew he wasn't likely to find him if even the Pros were at an utter loss, but the fact that he was out looking was what mattered to him.

But he was still pissed as fuck.

Leaving his phone behind to avoid being tracked may not have been his best idea, considering the only thing he had to tell the time now was a shitty watch with cracked glass from a time he had accidentally stepped on it. And since it was dark as fuck outside, he had no idea where to go beyond how to best get away from the UA campus. He knew that route like the back of his hand, though it was a bit risky to be so predictable.

It almost felt like a retribution of sorts. Like this was some kind of penance for how he had mistreated Izuku because of his own weakness, and now Bakugou was meant to suffer the same way he had.

How many times had Izuku been out on these streets, squinting up at the ruined street signs trying to figure out where to search next?

How many nights had Izuku wandered until there was no light to illuminate his path, forced to search for some kind of temporary shelter to protect him from the weather and keep him out of the sights of villains?

How many time had he been woken up and forced to fight in the middle of sleeping, or when eating, or when taking a shit? And how many times had All Might and Best Jeanist and Endeavor and Hawks just let him struggle?

Bakugou didn't want to know, but only because he knew the answer would piss him off like almost nothing else would.

Because he was at a loss for where to search for Deku. He had started at the plaza before realizing that that was a really stupid idea. If someone else had taken him like Bakugou suspected, returning to the scene of the crime was usually a terrible decision. Plus a civilian that hadn't recognized him mentioned that the plaza was being guarded by a dangerous man with razor sharp-teeth and swords.

He had a feeling that was exaggerated rumor, but he wasn't one to press his luck when it likely wouldn't turn out to be anything useful. Although that required leaving a villain to their own devices to harm more people, Bakugou had to prioritize Izuku.

After all, it had been because Izuku'd spread himself too thin that this mess had happened in the first place. He had no doubt that if Izuku had been more awake and aware, he could have avoided or warned them of whatever had happened to him.

He spent all night walking around like this, almost aimlessly, if not for the fact that he did have a goal.

As he wandered further away from Musutafu and UA, he was left in a near darkness that was only broken up by the occasional broken crossing sign or an abandoned phone or flashlight. He grew more nervous than he cared to admit to himself. He checked places that seemed suspicious or recently disturbed, only to find the places empty or occupied by the occasionally terrified civilian. Bakugou encouraged these people to go to UA for shelter instead of staying out here with limited success. It was hit or miss, really.

It pissed him the fuck off every time they started yelling at him or attacking him instead of doing what would literally save their life, but he held it in if only because he knew that Izuku would have done better.

He must have spent hours out and about, just wandering listlessly in search he knew to be pointless. Though he knew that the odds of him finding something worthwhile increased alongside the amount of danger he put himself in. Whether that be a villain who could point him in the right direction or Izuku himself, Bakugou swore to find out.

Though he was determined, he knew that someone was likely to be sent after him. They would no doubt try to convince him to return to UA to do absolutely nothing while everyone else sat around feeling hopeless and miserable instead of taking action. He had a feeling that this was similar to what Izuku had felt. That restlessness and the urge to do something…

Even if his came from a place far less altruistic than his classmate's, it still had the same effect.

The only difference was that Bakugou wasn't a fucking idiot about it. He knew when to rest and when to back off. And although that might not have been the case in the past, it certainly was now. It was almost as though they had swapped places. Izuku had always been reckless, but he knew when to cool off and slow down. Back then, Bakugou had been the one charging forward with reckless abandon and little thought about his well being. He had been ready to kill himself trying to defeat All Might during the Final Exams back in the summer.

He had certainly come a long way; Izuku had backslid terribly.

So until that idiot was brought back down to earth, Bakugou would have to be up in the metaphorical clouds with him.

The night passed by slowly. He was determined to keep going even as his legs protested and his eyes burned from the occasional blinding flash of some broken, abandoned electronic that cut through the darkness. He powered on. Before he knew it, the sun had risen again.

When morning arrived, he was much farther from UA but no closer to Izuku. But he wouldn't let that hold him back, so he continued his destination-less trek.

It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize one of the more difficult challenges of wandering alone on the abandoned streets was finding a place to shit. Especially when he was in the destroyed parts of town, most of the plumbing was either destroyed or held hostage by some ragtag civilian gang or even villains. And while it would have been good to take them down, he wasn't going to risk it getting back to UA. He wouldn't make it that easy on them to find him.

Besides, it would have been pretty pathetic to only fight villains because he had to take a piss and wanted to do it in private. He wasn't some pansy.

But at the same time, he didn't really want to do it on the streets were it would sit for days or even weeks. Maybe less if the rain washed it away. The non-destroyed buildings weren't much better, since they were locked and he wasn't about to go around breaking and entering.

Not since Izuku likely wouldn't be in one of those buildings anyway. If he was, the odds that whatever villain was holding him hostage would attack Bakugou on sight. He'd be painfully aware of it.

Hopefully.

And so he kept walking. Eventually a found an unlocked public restroom far away from the ruined downtown area, though he couldn't bring himself to care all that much. He continued moving on.

A distraught civilian here.

An abandoned gang hideout there.

A ruined building here.

An empty mall there.

If anything, the sight of destruction and ruin was just as draining as the monotonous walking. The way everything was either deserted or destroyed beyond reapir made it truly feel like the world was ending. If nothing else, living at UA protected them from the truly cruel sight that Japan made these days. It was incredibly cruel to realize that this could have been stopped at multiple points if they had just been a bit faster or a bit smarter.

If he hadn't been kidnapped, perhaps they could have dealt a more decisive blow to All for One and the League of Villains.

Or All Might could have weakened to the point that he would have been helpless against All for One, Bakugou reminded himself.

How many people have died because heroes prioritized saving the few over the many? It was a cruel question but understandable. If his life hadn't been so important, perhaps the League members would have been captured. Or maybe if someone, anyone—had had the guts to kill some of the villains on sight instead of sparing them, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

But he also knew that it likely would have anyway. It was a bitter pill to swallow, realizing that the heroics he admired as a kid was completely and utterly flawed, practically rotten to the core. The day that perfect image truly began to crumble for him was when he had eavesdropped on Half and Half and Izuku's conversation back at the Sports Festival.

Everything started to go downhill in his eyes after that.

Now he knew it had always been like that from the start.

He wondered if Izuku had known that or if he too was blinded by his idealized dream? Bakugou wanted nothing more than to be able to ask him that question. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to let those words slip from his lips until he apologized and they defeated the League of Villains once and for all.

He simply didn't know whether either or both of them would make it through this.

By the time the sun set again, Bakugou was completely and utterly lost. The street signs—or at least the ones that were still intact—were completely foreign to him. But that meant the odds he was starting to look in the right places were higher in his opinion.

And fucking hell somehow, someway, and against all odds, he was fucking right.

Midoriya didn't know what he had been expecting, honestly.

The blonde man had told him the island was pink, but he hadn't thought it was a literal and overwhelmingly applicable description. Even from a distance away, he could see the bright pink on the horizon, standing out amidst the sea of blue beneath them and the white puffy clouds above.

Overall, their travel took a little over two days. The first night, the man had fallen asleep, but on the second, he'd seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. But his exhaustion must have caught up to him as he was currently fast asleep and had been since just before dawn. Midoriya could only wonder what the man had been thinking about as the wind would have whisked away his words into nothingness before the two of them could hold a proper conversation. They would have to stop or slow down significantly for that, which was in neither of their interests.

Truthfully, Midoriya was tired. He hadn't expected to ever have to fly for such a prolonged period of time, but he was glad he found the strength within himself to do it. After spending so many sleepless hours fighting villains on the streets, such a journey of only two days was child's play.

The worst part was the boredom. He hadn't thought he would miss the constant pain of Danger Sense warning him of villains to defeat. Being constantly alert and on-guard was exhausting, but somehow when nothing was demanding his attention, the monotony of the flight was mind-numbing and torturous. He had nothing to do except constantly make sure he wasn't losing altitude or veering off-course. His passenger assisted him in that regard, tapping the corresponding shoulder if he was slowly drifting one way or the other.

The man was also insistent on treating him like some child. Giving him larger amounts of food and insisting he eat it all despite their limited amount. It would be better to ration it so they don't end up starving to death, but he couldn't seem to convince the man of this basic survival strategy.

But apparently the man was in the right because their destination was right in front of them.

It was mid day and the sun was boring down on them. Even so, the weather around this island was very pleasant. More like the gentle breezes of late spring, early summer, when the wind and air was still gently chilled yet the sun provided a soothing warmth.

It was in contrast to the cold, wet weather of April he had left behind. But of course, given the odd weather patterns in this world, it wasn't as if he could have made a one to one comparison, so the point was moot. Even though he knew that, the reflexive thought left him with an aching homesickness that made his chest feel tender and his eyes burn with the warning signs of tears that he refused to shed.

As soon as they grew close enough that the shoreline took up at least a quarter of the horizon, Midoriya began to slow down. He'd attempted to do so smoothly, but give the way his passenger startled awake, the attempt must have been the furthest thing from it.

After a second where the man was clearly regaining his bearings, he spoke up, "We're here already?"

Midoriya offered a smile, though it felt half-hearted at best, "Well, you have been asleep for about seven hours now. You were right on track with your estimates."

If the man was surprised by his talent, he certainly didn't show it, instead he frowned and squinted at the pink island.

"What's the best way to meet up with your… colleague?"

"We can just land on the beach," he rubbed at his neck, "I'm not sure who we'll run into, but just let me do the talking and it'll all work out."

Midoriya conceded. The man had said that this island was outside of Marine control, so that should be fine. Unless this was some elaborate set-up, but even he knew that was a bit ridiculous. He refused to be paranoid. They had gotten this far and had yet to run into any adversaries. Midoriya would simply keep his guard up and continue on without hesitation. If there was one thing he had learned in his year at UA, it was that hesitation would get himself or others killed. Hesitation was weakness, moreso than any deficit in strength or strategy.

And so as the land got closer, much more slowly than before, given their significantly reduced pace, he braced himself for potential chaos or even the terrifying feeling of being lost or in an unknown place or situation. If anything, that had been his whole experience in this world, struggling to get his bearings long enough to begin to search for a way back home.

When the finally landed, he was a bit surprised to find that the ground was a bit more purple than the bright pink vibrancy of the trees. It was a bit easier on the eyes, though the colors made his pupils burn. It didn't help that he hadn't slept in… two days and had to stare out at such a limited range of colors for the entire trip.

He couldn't help but laugh—though he did his best to suppress it—at the thought of his eyes adjusting to the pink and purple. The idea that he might end up recoiling when staring at regularly colored foliage… it was silly and he was just sleep deprived enough to find it funny.

The beach around them was deserted, though it clearly hadn't been for very long. There were trails of footprints scattered about, in various states of being erased by the wind. Among the various shoe prints, many of them appeared to be from heels or bare feet.

Without a word, he gently set his passenger down, waiting for him to get his feet under him before letting go. It took a minute, which wasn't a surprise considering he had been essentially sitting down for nearly two days straight. Anyone would have to readjust after that. Hell, Midoriya himself was no different, if not a bit more wobbly on his feet considering his physical exhaustion.

The man let out a long sigh, rubbing at his face as he glanced around.

"Do you know where we are on the island?" Midoriya wondered aloud as he stretched out his limbs.

As the satisfying cracks echoed out onto the empty shoreline, the man turned in a full circle. After another moment of awkward silence, he shrugged.

"Not really," he admitted, "I've only been here maybe once. But it'll be fine!"

And that was that.

Midoriya followed the man as he attempted to navigate the island. Mostly they walked along the beach until there was a path that allowed them to walk through the trees without having to rustle through underbrush and squeeze between tree trunks. The wind was soothing as it brushed against his back. Not to mention the pink tree leaves scattering in the wind and occasionally falling from their branches reminded him of the cherry blossoms back home.

It felt like everything in this world was determined to make him wish he was back home. And every time, he had to remind himself that the home he longed for didn't exist. It was practically in ruins. And he was the only one who could fix it.

Ha. What a great job of that he was doing. Getting lost in this foreign world instead of fighting the battle he was tied to by fate.

It was his destiny, yet here he was, struggling not to laugh as the blonde man accidentally ran face-first into a tree branch, nearly tripping over a stray tree root as he stumbled backwards.

"You're awfully distracted," Midoriya noted, as he bit back another laugh.

It was terribly rude to laugh at someone else's misfortune, even if it was pretty funny.

"You've got that right," he huffed, "I must be out of practice. That's what I get for being holed up at the base instead of out in the field."

Midoriya frowned. Base? As in a Marine base?

No, that didn't seem right.

"Out of practice? What, do you normally explore forests for fun?"

"Of course," he replied quickly, with contempt, as though it was odd that someone would ask him something like that.

But then the man froze in place. He frowned at Midoriya with an odd expression that the boy immediately knew wasn't because he'd almost run into the man. His features almost looked blank even though there was clearly some underlying emotion that had made him stop walking.

"I've never gone out of my way to explore forests before," he admitted aloud.

Midoriya frowned, if that was true then why had he…?

The man shook his head violently and forced a relaxed grin as he waved Midoriya forward and continued walking. From that point on, he didn't stumble, trip, or run into a single plant, oddly enough. He looked far more practiced with his maneuvers even though he had just claimed this to be an unfamiliar environment.

Although the blonde man did his best to keep ahead of Midoriya, the boy still managed to steal a few glances at his face. He looked utterly troubled. Each time he ducked out of the way of a hidden root or avoided stepping in a hole in the ground made by some burrowing animal, his frown grew deeper, his eyebrows more pinched and upset. The boy hoped he hadn't done something to upset him.

He didn't have very long to ponder it, however, as they finally came face to face with the first person they had seen since the soldiers back in that town. The… man? Woman? Had many masculine features, but wore makeup and a dress with long, curled, brunette hair that clearly took a great deal of effort to style. Not to mention the heels that they seemed to be able to walk in effortlessly.

It was odd, but far from the strangest thing he'd seen. As far as he was concerned, it was nothing when compared to the disturbing sight of genetic modification and human experimentation. The true monsters of society were men like All for One and his Doctor who disrupted, destroyed, and mutilated people's lives.

The beauty of people was that they were all different and unique and brought new perspectives to the table. Besides, if something as foolish as outward appearance put him off, he wouldn't be able to call himself a hero.

The blonde man didn't seem to mind either, which was reassuring. It meant that his impression of the man's character hadn't been wrong.

Midoriya would simply have to put in a little extra effort to be respectful.

"Hello," the blonde greeted in a rather formal tone, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you kindly lead us to Ivankov. I'm a… friend."

Midoriya was unsure of the sudden shift in tone, but followed suit nonetheless, dipping into a semi-formal bow. He only straightened his back once the man asked after Ivankov, whom he assumed was the colleague the man previously spoke of.

"It's been a long time since we've received willing visitors," they replied with a flirtatious grin, "Do you want to join us? We're having a party by the lake."

Midoriya blinked. Willing visitors? That didn't bode well. But the man seemed to consider this and easily agreed, so the boy shrugged and trailed after them.

As they walked to wherever they were going, the stranger continued trying to flirt with the blonde man. Yet the advances seemed to go completely over the man's head. Midoriya stewed in awkward silence, painfully enduring the tension that neither party seemed particularly aware of. He had been in several awkward situations, not to mention his romantic experience added up to a big fat zero, but this had to take the cake.

"What's your name, handsome?"

"I'd prefer not to say," he replied.

Although this was a clear rejection, in Midoriya's opinion, they continued flirting, "Oh, how mysterious. I'm Josaphine, darling. Do you have plans tonight?"

The man continued giving non-answers to Josaphine, who still refused to take the hint. Even so, it was impressive how nonreactive the blonde guy was. He seemed to steer the conversation somewhat masterfully, requesting that they be brought to see Ivankov directly rather than stopping by the lake for whatever this party was.

Midoriya had the feeling that it was a party he wouldn't enjoy very much, so he let it slide. Besides, Josaphine took it in stride and turned off the trail they had been following onto another one that was surprisingly well hidden for being in plain sight.

The walk itself was agonizingly slow, although part of that might have been from how uncomfortable he was. His feelings aside, they were clearly walking far inland. Midoriya honestly didn't know how Josaphine had the energy to keep up flirting like this while walking in heels for so long. He'd heard plenty of complaints from his classmates about doing physical activity in their heels costumes (of which he personally thought they should get changed, but he wasn't going to fight them on it). This lady on the other hand was powering through forest terrain, seemingly not noticing when the thin heels sunk into the soft dirt.

After a while, the trees thinned out even further and they were walking across an open field. Given how covered in pink trees the whole island was, he honestly hadn't expected such a large clearing. When he'd had an aerial view from a distance, it didn't seem like very much of the island aside from the shorelines were free of trees. Yet this field looked like it was never-ending. He resigned himself to an even longer trek, doing his best to only rub his eyes when neither of the others were looking at him.

Midoriya had to deliberately hold back a sigh of relief when they finally arrived at what he presumed to be their destination. Just a few minutes prior, a few more trees littered the ground so it was no longer a completely open space. But now, in front of him stood a large almost-castle like building. Clearly it lacked any of the defensive structures or architecture, but it mimicked the aesthetic. Though whether that was on purpose or accident was anybody's guess.

It was nowhere near the size of UA, but it was still expansive and towering. He wondered if this island had nobility or if this was simply some rich person with too much money to spare. It looked fairly old though, or at least not particularly new. It was possibly an inheritance, but he supposed it didn't matter all that much.

Were they asking this rich acquaintance of the man's for some kind of favor? He hoped not. After all, his goal was to get home, which meant he would never be able to repay them. That didn't sit well with Midoriya on principle, even if whatever favor the requested was nothing more than a small fraction of what this Ivankov could offer them.

As they approached the doors, the blonde man request to enter on their own. Unfortunately, Josaphine insisted that she introduce them to Ivankov, even if the man was supposedly already knew them.

"Iva only just returned after all. I always love an excuse to visit," Josaphine purred.

And that was that. Neither of them attempted to argue, even though it was a bit more than uncomfortable for Midoriya.

He wondered what he was getting himself into as he followed them into the fairly large building.

As they walked through the halls, he made a concerted effort to try to map out the path they took. He refused to be trapped in a place just because he was too lazy to plan ahead. He was reckless, not stupid. Luckily the hallways were relatively straightforward and not oddly interconnected like the Marine Base had been. Granted his biggest issue then had been finding the stairs and now he had a guide.

Midoriya was startled out of his mental map-making by almost walking right into the blonde man's back. He stepped back and stared at the big door in front of him. There were no other doors in sight, and this room was at the end of a long hallway.

"We're here, darlings!" Josaphine giggled and knocked on the door, "Iva! You've got visitors!"

The teen steeled his nerves and waited with bated breath for the moment the door would swing open. He had no idea what this person would be like and he was more than a bit wary.

Then the door open and any and all of Midoriya's expectations were utterly shattered.