I do not own these characters or the world, that belongs to our lovely author of MHA, Kohei Horikoshi. Also, cover art was a commission by me from the artist Krumbs. Follow them on or Twitter—though I guess that's called X now—if you'd like! They are extremely talented!

A/N: Phew, sorry about the day delay! I had never originally intended to include this part of the Dark Hero arc but then I changed my mind and added it in after the fact. I had intended to finish writing it yesterday and posting it then as well, but I ended up working like all fucking day and I was just like, yeah fuck that, I'm done with shit today…so here we are. Hot off the fucking presses. Thank you for all reviews/favs/follows—they're much appreciated. Please enjoy! And hopefully I'll get the follow up to this posted tomorrow!

Seventy-One

This Burden You Bear

He was exhausted—beyond exhausted, but that didn't matter; he had to press on. Someone somewhere knew about All For One and Shigaraki and he was bound and determined to locate that person and make them talk.

It was raining; it seemed like it'd been raining incessantly since the start of Deku's personal death march. He wondered if there was a hurricane somewhere that was causing all this inclement weather. Such a rainy season wasn't really a typical seasonal occurrence.

As he walked, Izuku vaguely became aware that he was near the All Might statue; something that he'd normally always found comforting but now…now it just made his heart hurt more. If he looked at it or spared it more than a second thought, he'd remember the last time he saw All Might and how he'd abandoned him.

I had too…

He fell to his knees, exhaustion prickling at every fiber of his being. He felt his black whip appendages fall limply to the ground with him. So tired, so exhausted…but I have to keep pushing, I have to…danger sense suddenly pinged, making Deku raise his gaze from the concrete and ahead. The effort of lifting his head made him grunt from exhaustion.

Ahead of him, a squat, derpy looking faced man stood with a crowd of armed civilians surrounding him. Dictator…

"Such impatience and anxiety! You wish to fight alone," his voice was high with excitement and bordering on unhinged. "So you're exhausted. You're the raging ball of fatigue he said you'd be! There's power in numbers and if I bring you into the fold, my future is secured!" The little fart of a man waved his hand, the invisible puppet string pulling tight over the unwilling civilians.

Deku struggled to rise to his feet; the exhaustion so far reaching that it was difficult to make his muscles follow instructions. That's Dictator. He was locked up in Tartarus. Another assassin, he thought to himself as his muscles continued to protest as he struggled to stand. Good. I need someone with more info. He at last managed to stand, though it was more so a kneeling position. Black whip slowly began to rise around him but it was a sluggish response. He was going to have to dig deep if he wanted to hold his own against this villain. Summoning rage from the very bottom of his heart, he thought, maybe he can tell me where All For One is hiding.

Hiding behind the crowd, Dictator excitedly called out to him, "Oh! So you are up for a fight?! What fun! I was hoping for action!" The unwilling civilians began to swarm in front of Dictator, their bodies moving at awkward and forced angles; faces twisted in terror. "Start by smashing these ignorant fools!"

The invisible string connecting Dictator to the innocents snapped taught and the crowd began to rush toward Deku. Deku's vision was starting to blur due to fatigue, making the already large crowd look even larger. He could hear a few of the terrified civilians crying out in fear.

A lady in a purple hoodie scuttled toward him, her face twisted in terror and fear. "My body—my body! I can't stop!"

A tall man with an equally terrified expression moved further away from the crowd and closer to Deku. "No! I don't want to fight!" The crowd surged forward.

Izuku moved to a sort of squatting position, black whip moving out like spider legs around him, ready to strike. What do I know? Crust was the one who apprehended Dictator…I wanna say it was around five years ago during the bloodless surrender case. With a strong blow to his puppets or better yet by knocking him out, his quirk—despite—can be nullified. Deku blinked and was only mildly alarmed to see that the crowd was about to swarm him. His vision was fuzzy and dotting between blurry and complete double vision. He briefly wondered if this is what it felt like to be drunk.

He blinked, trying to see past the frazzled crowd and toward Dictator, hiding behind his puppets. Pathetic coward, whispered in an angry voice. He again looked to the crowd. But he's got a plan to keep me from touching him: Human shields. Deku rose his arm defensively as he contemplated what his move should be. I can't attack with anything big; air force? No, I don't have my gloves. Black whip then.

"I can't stop! My body is moving on its' own!" Screamed someone in the crowd.

"We can't control what we're doing!" Another shout from the swarm.

The crowd swarmed him. Deku felt hands on him pinching and pulling adding bruises to bruises that already existed. He felt his hood tugged on and knew he should fight back but the trauma it would cause them, the hurt he'd inadvertently inflict, was something he wouldn't do. It's okay; I understand. I'll break his hold on you, he thought to himself as his hood was pulled free from his head. Somehow his respirator was still in place. He was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. It didn't help that all he could see was double now.

Everything is alright, he thought to himself and was vaguely aware that even his inner voice sounded exhausted. I just…need a second, he thought to himself, again hearing the weakness of his inner voice. Deku thought he could hear the vestiges screaming alarm at him and could feel a headache begin to form at the back of his head as danger sense continuously pinged. He could hear Dictator laughing. He really needed to react or do something. Need a second…or two…

A loud and angry voice suddenly cut through the screams of the crowd; a familiar voice. "Dammit! Armor piercing shot!" Deku heard what sounded like an explosion nearby and slowly looked up, his face now completely bare of both his hood and respirator. The sound of Kudo's voice suddenly filled his head as his eyes widened in shock when he took in Katsuki Bakugo's face in the air above him.

"There is one thing that Izuku Midoriya needs more than anything else right now."

"Over here! I found him." Bakugo yelled in a direction that Deku couldn't see.

The crowd that had been swarming him suddenly stopped and began shuffling away. Deku could only stare where Bakugo had been, vaguely aware of the sound of something like the tinkling sound of ice nearby. Kudo's words still played in his mind. I need friend—no! I need no one! He snapped at himself inwardly; refusing to allow himself to entertain such a thought or finish what the memory of Kudo had said.

Deku looked up from the swiftly exiting crowd of civilians and to the large gathering of familiar faces in the place where Dictator had been just moments before. He took in the giant ice wall that encompassed the fallen villain, Shoto Todoroki and Momo Yaoyorozu facing the villain encased in ice. His eyes swept over the familiar faces, lingering on Bakugo and then…Uraraka…the sight of her filled his belly with a strange mix of anxiety, dread, and a very small amount of happiness. He took in her face and the weary expression he saw there and felt his heart begin to ache.

"The villain is secure; we're in the clear Bakugo!" Yaoyorozu's voice shouted in the direction of Bakugo, interrupting Deku's forlorn thoughts.

In typical Kacchan fashion, the blonde cast a fiery glance over his shoulder in the raven haired girls direction and yelled, "great explosion murder god dynamight, dammit!"

"Oh right! I forgot, sorry!" Yaoyorozu was quick to apologize with a smile.

Some small part of Izuku wanted to smile at the distant recollection of Kacchan's choice of name but it was such a small part of him now…barely a whisper of his heart. Smiling felt so…unfamiliar. How can I smile when All For One is still out there? How can I smile when my very existence threatens the lives of innocents all because of the quirk I bear?

"My bodies mine again!" A lady that was stumbling away from the still shell-shocked Deku exclaimed.

"What just…?" Another voice called out in confusion.

Deku looked back at the still fleeing civilians. A man briefly looked between him and the 1-A class and said, "A bunch of hero kids showed up!"

Slowly, Deku turned his exhausted head away from the panicked fleeing of innocents and back toward his class. Why are you here? "I don't understand. Why are you here?" Izuku felt alarmed at how weak his voice sounded to his own ears. Had it just now taken on that weak candor or had it been that way for a while?

The slight downward incline of Uraraka's head caught Deku's gaze and again he took in the weary and saddened expression she wore on her face. Why is she so exhausted looking? You're safe, aren't you? "Because we're worried about you." It was a simple statement but one that held an emotional weight to it that tugged at his heartstrings. She sounded so…helpless.

No, do not think about that. The world is a sad place right now and that is why they are all looking rough. Them being worried about me or not doesn't matter. Any second they spend around me is a second too long. I'm like death incarnate…being around them is a risk; a risk that I cannot take.

Deku slowly reached toward his hood and respirator and lowered his head, eager to get them back into place. The sooner that thin barrier was in place, the easier it'd be to leave his classmates in the dust. "That's nice but I promise I'm fine. Really." The hood fell into place along with the respirator as Deku managed to get to a squatting position. "No need for concern," he said flatly as he attempted to distract himself by fiddling with his respirator and mask. "So leave." Izuku nearly bit his tongue out of frustration when he heard the very audible waver on that last word. It was weak and unconvincing to even him.

Just leave Deku; just turn away and go. The longer you stay here the greater risk you put everyone in. Leave. Now. He could practically taste the wave of concern and disapproval from the vestiges at his stubbornness. A loud clapping made Deku's attention snap away from his inner conflict and the concern of the vestiges and toward Bakugo who had a particularly smug expression on his face.

"Oh yeah! Great speech! Just what we wanted from the famous One For All successor!" He paused briefly to thrust both his thumbs back at himself before adding, "real talk: are you able to smile right now? Come on, go ahead and show us."

Deku felt his mind prickle with frustration. Real talk Kacchan: if you and the rest of our class keep playing games like this, you're all gonna die. "In order to smile; for everyone to live in peace…I have to go." Standing at last, black whip falling limply behind him, he opened his mouth to speak but stumbled as his exhaustion took command over his lower extremities. Get it together Izuku! "I'm sorry," he managed to say in a voice that sounded stronger and less weak. Leave, now, he thought to himself and dug deep within to summon his final energy reserves. Green electricity began to dance around him, black whip slowly rising up and gaining strength as a hot and fiery fury slowly started tickling his heart. Good, focus on the rage; it's the only way you'll get away from them. "Everyone, get out of my way!" His voice was hard and biting, dripping with the hot rage that he'd barely managed to summon.

Bakugo looked on at him, smiling in a way that made Deku think of Mirko. He watched as Kacchan leaned forward, his face caught somewhere between excitement and determination. "You're gonna have to make us, ya busted ass All Might wannabe!"

Ida who stood just behind Bakugo added, "Midoriya, we had a feeling that's what you were going to say. Let's do this class!"

"Right!" Uraraka agreed, her face looking equally determined as Kacchan's.

Izuku could feel black whip react to his anger and frustration, his dark energy tendrils up and alert now. No, no, no! Don't you get it? I can't go back; I can't…this is the only way, he sobbed inwardly as he crouched down defensively, grateful for the hood hiding what he knew were tears in his eyes.

"I know you, so I know very well that you can't be stopped once you've decided you're going to do something," Ida said as he looked at Deku with what felt like a probing stare.

Bakugo leaned down in a similar pose to Izuku. "Hell of a look—we heard you unlocked quirks from users four and six but not that you started dressing like a villain," Kacchan gave a wild smile that again made Deku think of Mirko before he said in a mocking tone, "talk you damn nerd!"

The green bolts of power danced brilliantly around him, "thank you for coming…really." Deku didn't let that last word sit for more than a second before in a deep and intimidating voice he growled, "sixth!" A massive purple plume of smoke billowed out around him and easily overtook all of his classmates. Good, he thought to himself as he did half a dozen rapid squats to power up Fa Jin and leapt into the air with float, well above the smoke. Once he was above the purple smoke, he heard a few of his classmate's gasp and marvel at the new display of power.

"Smokescreen!" Kirishima shouted from somewhere in the smoke.

"Of course!" Shoji's voice added.

"He's acting exactly like they said he would!" This voice was clearly Uraraka's which made Deku's stomach flip flop with regret but he pushed that down.

"Heads up morons—make sure he doesn't escape!" Bakugo's voice shouted from within the smoke and was immediately followed up by, "land mind blast!" Deku cursed under his breath as the smoke cleared thanks to his friend's explosion. Half a second later and Deku saw Bakugo looking up at him, irritation clear on his face. "Barely a word and you're running away? Ah, so now that you're the all powerful chosen loner—you think the rest of us are just extras?"

I don't think that, I know that, whispered a vain voice that was quickly extinguished when a flock of angry pigeons flew into his face and began flapping in his face. Birds? What? Where—but the sound of Koda's desperate voice answered his question.

"Everyone wants you back at UA. Did you hear me? Principal Nezu said we can bring you back to campus! There's no reason for you to keep hiding!" Koda's voice called out from the ground below Deku.

Izuku looked down through the fluttering of pigeon wings at the gentle giant below him and felt his heart ache. Poor, sweet, softspoken Koda; never prone to bragging or mean words; always softspoken and gentle. For him to yell like this would take a deep conviction and belief that was rarely seen in him. I'm…sorry. "Koda…I'm sorry." The words were probably lost over the wild flapping of wings but that mattered little. Deku sent out a black whip tendril that immediately freed him from Koda's birds but before he could utilize that tendril Sero's tape suddenly wrapped around the line of energy, redirecting his path. Dammit.

With a glance over his shoulder and smile on his face, Sero called out, "you sure look scary with black whip hanging out; people are getting spooked!" Another run of tape suddenly shot out and bound itself around Deku's left wrist.

Deku used his right arm to cross over the path of the tape, tugging it backwards toward him, quietly muttering, "Sero." His right hand severed the tapes hold on him. Move, now! However before he could launch black whip, a shockwave pelted him, momentarily throwing him off balance.

"Heartbeat wall!" Shouted a familiar female voice.

Deku looked back, not surprised to see Jiro using her quirk to magnify the soundwaves of her heart. Dark Shadow was holding her aloft in the sky. Despite a momentary pause, Deku easily dodged with a well timed arm of black whip, allowing him to bypass the majority of her shockwave. As he flew away from her, he could hear her calling to him. Don't listen—it'll just slow you down!

"So fast! Midoriya hold on! I know this sounds like it wasn't much but when we were prepping for the school festival and you helped me with my notes—you totally saved me!"

A memory slowly began to resurface in his mind. He recalled Jiro handing over her notebook to him and the extremely well detailed notes within it; highly reminiscent to his own notes. He recalled how he'd marveled at it, saying enthusiastically, "wow! You came up with these lessons? That's awesome! This makes me so happy!" He remembered how bashful but excited she'd been saying, "I've actually gotten pretty enthusiastic; it's possible I went a little overboard!"

The memory made his chest tighten with sadness. Could…could he really go ba—no! You cannot go back. Going back would be sentencing them to death. This is my burden to bear and it's one I have to bear alone. I'm the last inheritor of One For All and even if I'm the one to complete it; even if that means it costs me my life, I'll be the one to end All For One! I have to be! The wave of disapproval from the vestiges was overwhelming at that thought. Sometimes, he really did hate that they were often privy to some of his most inner thoughts.

"That was probably nothing to you but it was more of a relief than you can imagine!" Jiro's voice shouted after him, gracefully distracting him from the wave of worry the vestiges were throwing at him.

Sparing no more than a side glance, Deku pressed on until Ojiro flew over and into him, shouting, "whirling tail dance!" The tail wrapped around Izuku like a boa constrictor; sealing him in place.

As the two careened down toward the ground Ojiro gave him an imploring look and said, "remember when we faced Shinso at the sports fest? I'll never forget how you fought on my account—I want to return the favor! You're battered and bruised and running on empty, so let me lend you a hand."

No, no, no! Make them understand! "If I got to UA, it's like killing you myself," Deku said in a gravelly and deadly serious voice. Ojiro stared at him in shock but didn't let up the stranglehold on him. More; you need to paint a clearer picture. "All For One would destroy you." The vivid memories of Aizawa cutting off his own leg and Grand Torino nearly being killed by the smiling face of Shigaraki hung heavy in his mind, fueling his rage and desperation.

Infusing his body with just a little bit of OFA he began to shimmy loose from Ojiro's tail. "That's why," he struggled at the effort it took to shake off the weighty tail, "I have to leave!" The desperation in his voice was obvious even to his own ears but he spared it less than a moment's thought as he managed to free himself of Ojiro's powerful tail.

However, just as he'd managed to free himself, Dark Shadow flew into him with startling speed and power and straight into a building. Deku briefly heard Tokoyami shouting after them, "Go! Dark Shadow!"

The impact with the building left him briefly dazed and confused. He heard voices from further away but couldn't pinpoint who they belonged to or how close or far away they were. Deku attempted to struggle against the hold that Dark Shadow had on him but the voice of Satou calling out to him made him pause.

"Midoriya slow down a sec! You might have special powers now but we still share the same goals. Did you listen to what Koda said about the school earlier? Hear us out! If you don't, then the next time Eri wants candy apples," the voice shouting at him trembled with emotion, "you don't get to use my food coloring!"

Eri's smiling face popped into his head and the first candied apple he'd given to her at the school festival. He thought briefly of all the other little treats he'd given her and how he'd managed to get red food coloring all over himself, Satou, and Eri at one point. His chest tightened again and he could feel the beginnings of tears in his eyes. A lump was forming in his throat. Get it together! Anyone can do that for her. "That's fine. Anyone can make them for her…she…doesn't…need…me…" his words were strangled, choked with emotion. But…but I want to make her candied apples; I want—shut up! SHUT UP! Stop being sentimental. Sentiment will get you and everyone killed.

Before he could put up a fight, a device snapped in place over his face and metal seatbelt like structures locked over his chest. Dark Shadow had pinned him to a concrete pillar and now with the metal seatbelt, he was essentially locked in place against it. A sweet-smelling perfume began to fill his nostrils that made his eyes heavy and head feel dizzy. Clever; a device to put me to sleep…he could hear footsteps and the calm tone of Yaoyorozu's voice. Of course, the device restraining him would be of her creation.

"At first, we planned to find you and then fight alongside you in the street, but things have changed. We have a new mission that's been approved by Endeavor and the other supervising heroes. Our objective is now to ensure your safety by bringing you home," she explained in a cool tone.

Deku had to bite down his irritation at her statement. Didn't they realize how dangerous this was? How they jeopardized their very lives by being this close to him? Why couldn't they understand? Why?!

"A device meant to put me to sleep?" Deku spat as he once again tapped into his last stich energy reserves and slammed his head forward, shattering the sleep-inducing device clean off his face. Rage coiled and pooled in his stomach and the lump he'd had in his throat morphed in a growl of primal furty as he roared, "Forget it! You don't have to bother with me anymore!" He struggled against the metal seatbelt pinning him to the pillar, causing them to buckle with strain. The fury tickled his heart once more. "Just accept it and go back to campus!" The restraints snapped.

Free…

Rapid footsteps filled his ears and suddenly there was an arm slung around him and Kaminari's upbeat face right up in his. "Nope, not a chance!" He edged closer. "My dude, I know One For All is super important and everything but right now there's something crucial you gotta accept. You and me may be totally different in some ways but you're my friend so I'm doing you a solid even if you don't want it!"

Make them understand, he roared inwardly. "I told you—" but Deku couldn't finish his sentence because a new restraint was suddenly there, binding Deku, Kaminari, and Dark Shadow to the concrete pillar. Deku looked down at what he assumed were Shoji's arms considering he was on the other side of the large appendages. Except…they didn't look like flesh; they looked more like they were rubber or something rubber like.

"I'm wrapped in electrical tape, courtesy of Yaoyorozu. Do you recall what you said when we were attacked at camp?" Shoji asked making Deku remember that summer that felt so long ago.

"Honestly with a group like this we could probably go up against All Might." What a foolish and naive thought that had been; an innocent child's thought.

"Your words." Shoji said as if he were privy to Deku's inner thoughts.

"This gloom will do nicely," Tokoyami's voice said in a soft tone. He stood beside Shoji, eyeing Izuku with determined eyes. "Dark Shadow, Ragnarök: womb." Dark Shadow reacted, morphing and shifting from holding Deku to completely surrounding both he and Kaminari. It was completely dark and painfully quiet in the darkened space. "Observe how I've used Dark Shadow's offensive ability to protect. That move was your idea."

As comforting as the darkened and warm space was, Deku knew that his time was running short and his strength swiftly waning. The swiftly dwindling reserves he had wouldn't hold out much longer. Just a little longer…just a little more, dig deep Izuku! For them! For her—you're the only one who can! Green electricity began to wildly dance around both he and Kaminari making Kaminari's eyes widen, his face coloring with alarm.

"Stand down!" Tokoyami shouted.

"Listen to us!" Yaoyorozu begged.

"We're not a bunch of fragile victims you have to keep out of harm's way!" Shoji exclaimed in desperation.

Kaminari strengthened his hold on Deku. "Wouldn't you rather relax instead? You could really use a bath!"

A very small part of Deku wanted to laugh at Kaminari's statement and also apologize but the majority of him had had enough. "DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS!" He roared as the green sparks continued to grow in number and intensity.

Kaminari's eyes widened, fear beginning to cloud his face as yellow bolts of pure electricity began to spark around him about in conjunction with raw green energy. Deku had no doubt that Kaminari would willingly fry himself to stupidity in an effort to stop Deku. "Midoriya—no!"

Not fast enough, Deku thought to himself as his body infused with the raw power of OFA and he flew out of his bindings with a furious scream and out of the building, leaving the others to stare after him. He could just make out the sounds of the other's marveling at his power as he flew away from them.

"He managed to break out of Ragnarök."

"Insane."

"Guess that's the power of One For All."

Deku soared in the air, practically sobbing from both effort and desperation. "Please, for your sake and mine, forget about me!" His hood and respirator suddenly flew off and at that moment he was grateful for the rain because he knew that the tears that were beginning to pool in his eyes would be painfully obvious. "I know you're here because you care—the fourths quirk is proof of that. You're fighting me without any malice or evil—danger sense hasn't activated a single time and that's why," if he didn't get his despair under control he was at a real risk of starting to hysterically sob, "you have to stop! I'm begging." His voice was desperate and pitiful, but he had to convince them. "I'm okay," he squeezed his eyes shut to prevent the tears that desperately wanted to fall from cascading down his face, "Really, I'm fine!"

"I disagree," vestige number two, Kudo said from Deku's side.

"I second that," vestige three, Bruce, agreed from the other side of Deku.

"You're pushing yourself too hard; listen to your friends," original user, Yoichi said soothingly, appearing in front of Deku.

"Yoichi's right; they want to help you. Let them," number seven, Nana, urged as she appeared beside Yoichi.

"Kid, you're running on empty. You should at least let them take you to safety so you can take a nap," Daigoro added.

"Daigoro and the others are right. If you try to keep this up, All For One will catch you and then it'll all be over," number six, En said, appearing beside Daigoro.

"Pushing yourself like this is unwise. You have to rest number nine," number four urged.

All Might's vestige appeared beside Nanas', unable to speak but emanating great concern and agreement with the other vestiges. Not helpful—get out of my way! Deku thought angrily as he flew threw the cloudy apparitions.

"Heaven piercing ice wall!" The voice of Shoto Todoroki reached Deku's ears and just as he managed to disperse the vestiges, he flew straight into Todoroki's freshly conjured ice wall.

Deku grunted in pain as his head popped out the other side of the ice. He struggled against the cold ice but it was a futile attempt; he was stuck fast.

"I can see it on your face—you wanna cry," Todoroki called toward Deku. Deku cast a glance upwards to see that Todoroki was looking down at him from atop the ice. "But your burden won't allow you to. Don't push us away. We'll share this responsibility with you." Deku stared at Todoroki until another voice drew his attention.

"Midoriya! I won't let you go. I cried a lot back then but those days are behind me now. You're dear to me so when you're scared, I'll be by your side. When you're in pain, I'll cry with you! You're my friend Midoriya. You seem set on becoming some sort of comic book superhero," Asui called out to him as Deku desperately continued to struggle against his ice prison, "but look around—we're with you! You don't have to face anything alone!" The ice began to crack and fracture as Deku shifted and wiggled against it. "He's breaking free!"

More ice began to form as Todoroki reacted to Deku's escape attempts. "Midoriya! Have you considered this might be exactly what All For One was hoping for? Her could go after UA while we're distracted here. You've worn yourself out and you still don't have a lead on the league!" Deku grunted with effort but felt more of the ice crack and give way. "So stop this! You need a new plan!" More ice began to form. "If you actually want to save our school then instead of abandoning it, come back and fight for it! Let's stand together and protect UA!"

"YOU CAN'T BE NEAR ME!" Deku screamed as All For One's words echoed in his head. "Which means now it's your turn."

"Midoriya!" Todoroki cried in alarm as more ice began to crack and fracture.

Grunting with effort, Izuku said, "you could all die!" The image of Shigaraki, Nana, and All Might came to his mind. So many others had failed before him and now…now there wasn't just All For One but Shigaraki too. The odds were stacked insurmountably against them. "This is a fight that's destined to take place between One For All and All For One," the ice finally gave way—freedom was in sight, "the rest of you can't keep up." The words were cruel and savage and deep in his heart Izuku felt regret for saying them but…but that didn't matter! He had to get away from them; he had to.

Deku could hear footsteps somewhere below him and cast a furtive glance in that direction and felt his stomach drop with fear as he took in the sight of Bakugo, Ida, and Uraraka. Bakugo was running to keep up, their eyes briefly meeting making the blonde grunt in frustration.

"Uraraka!" Ida shouted. Deku saw the movement but quickly looked away. He couldn't risk looking at her for more than a few seconds, lest he be swayed by her very presence.

The ice gave way and like a rocket, Deku blasted out of it. At the same time, Asui leapt away from the falling ice shouting, "not so fast!" Deku could see her tongue was out, likely trying to slow him but he was quick to dodge it. What he hadn't expected however, was that her goal hadn't been to catch him with her tongue, but rather supplant Mineta onto him.

"Mineta beads, tenfold!" Mineta shouted as he managed to get one of his chained balls to stick to Deku's leg which briefly halted him. "Honestly I never thought your power was cool or impressive or anything like that," Deku looked back toward his diminutive classmate, saddened to see that the boy had tears in his eyes. "You know what made me fall for you? The times you were sweating bullets," Mineta began to slowly climb his beaded balls, growing closer to Deku. "Shaking in your costume while you figured out how we could kick some butt. I liked you when you could barely throw a smash!"

Deku blinked back his tears, moved by Mineta's words but despairing that he couldn't go back to the way things had been. Everything was different now and always would be.

Shouting he called out, "I can't go back to the old me!" The words were like nails in a coffin and they made Deku feel like his heart would rip in two. Without even thinking, he sent a tendril of black whip to gently wrap itself around Mineta and carefully extricated him from his sticky balls and setting him down safely on a nearby building. The tendril released, retracting.

"Midoriya!" Mineta yelled after him, his chin quivering with emotion.

I can't waste more time here—I can't! He thought to himself desperately as he sent out two strong lines of black whip which stuck onto nearby buildings. He'd use black whip like a slingshot and get to speeds that no one in his class could keep up with. "Black whips elasticity, plus One For All 45%, plus Fa Jin," he said mostly to himself as he pumped his legs, causing more and more tension to build up on his black whip tethers.

A heavenly and painfully familiar voice broke through his concentration, but still, he didn't stop in his movements. "Not giving up on you!" Deku wanted to look up, desperately wanted to look up to see her, but instead kept his face forward and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He could feel his brow knitted tightly together and knew that if he saw her, saw the desperation and determination in her face he'd fail to escape.

"Deku! So much has changed for us—I've changed!" He could feel the wind from her growing proximity and felt his stomach drop with anxiety. Now, go now! He released his tethers and rocketed away just as Uraraka was about to touch him. He vaguely heard her yell, "now's our chance!" He dismissed her shouting and soared further and further away from his classmates.

The sounds of his classmates were growing quieter by the second. Good…I've gotten away. I'm sorry…so sorry, but this is the only way, he thought to himself forlornly. He would need to rest for a little bit but that didn't really matter as long as he was away from his classmates. Being around them…it put them at too great of a risk.

I'm sorry Ochako, Kacchan, Todoroki, all of you…I'm sorry, he thought to himself as his lip began to quiver but suddenly he became aware of some kind of loud sound not unlike the engine of a jet, that was getting louder. Just as he was about to look backwards, Tenya Ida came into his line of sight and in front of him. How…? He thought to himself as Ida's hand grasped his and rocketed them around, completely changing Deku's trajectory.

"To challenge you!" Ida said, his face wet form the rain, glasses cracked from the earth-shattering speeds he'd just achieved.

The voice of Kudo again echoed in Izuku's mind.

"The thing Izuku Midoriya needs most right now—friends who share his drive, who can match his pace and will fight alongside him no matter the circumstances."

Lowering his eyes, Deku snapped, "stop it, dammit! Let go!" He weakly tugged against Ida's hold but Ida held firm.

"Not a chance!" Ida said defiantly causing Deku to gasp and finally look up. "I'll always race to you. Did you forget that my name is Ingenium? Meddling where you don't need to is the essence of being a hero, right?" His voice cracked and tears pooled in his eyes. Deku stared, his heart clenching in his chest.

I have to shake him off fast but…I'm out of strength, he thought to himself as he at last collapsed, only vaguely aware of Ida's arms now encompassing him.

"Uraraka!" Ida's voice sounded far away almost as if Deku was hearing it while submerged under water. He thought he could hear the soft tones of Uraraka's voice from somewhere below them. They'd been going so fast and if Ida had been weightless then now, now they'd be rocketing to the ground. He really ought to wake up enough to prevent them from plummeting into the ground and to their deaths but he was just…so…tired…

The world went dark for a moment until he felt his body ram into something hard and the sound of someone grunting with effort filled his ears. Had they hit the ground? How were they not dead?

"These two won't break me—ahhh—Midoriya! Ah, I ergh, I never mentioned this but a while back this story blew me away! Some kid my age rushed into harms way to save his friend from danger—that kid was you, wasn't it?! It doesn't matter if you've got a special power or fate or whatever, what you did back then is the same sort of thing we're trying to do for you now," the voice belonged to Kirishima who Deku slowly realized was holding him. Where had Ida gone?

Slowly, Deku managed to raise his head in time to see the rest of his class rushing forward, closer to him. Their faces were awash in worry, concern, and desperation.

"Please stop running. I don't think I can lose another person I care about. Let's stick together. It's time for you to come back to our class," Ashido, her face wet with both tears and rain said, her voice close to cracking.

"Yes, we all agree," Ida added making Deku turn to see that he stood close by, unharmed.

Izuku managed to stagger to his feet, and move away from Kirishima. While independent of the red haired boy, he felt wobbly; his legs felt like that of a newborn deer—weak and uncertain.

"For sure," Kirishima said, determined.

"I…I wish I could…but…I'm too scared. There are a lot of people who sought refuge at UA and I don't want to cause them any trouble. You guys must get it…things can't go back to the way they were before," Deku admitted. He was too exhausted to put up any more of a fight but he couldn't go back with them. He just couldn't. It wasn't an option.

Movement from the crowd of his classmates drew Deku's gaze and he was surprised to see that Kacchan had separated from them, and stood several feet in front of him. His face was…apologetic. Wait, apologetic?

"Do you remember what I said when Shigaraki stabbed me through the gut?" He asked in a voice that was incredibly soft; a voice that Izuku had never before heard from his friend.

Izuku opened his mouth to speak but stopped. What had he said? Had he said anything? He honestly couldn't remember. Deku had been so deadest on destroying Shigaraki then and there and then Kacchan had appeared at his side and been impaled. "I…don't."

"'Stop trying to win this by yourself,' but there was more on my mind—the reason I got impaled was because my body moved on its own," Kacchan paused, eyes drifting downward, his face remorseful. "Our whole lives I've looked down on you; you were quirkless, obviously way behind me but somehow it always felt like you were ahead of me too. I hated that. I hoped you'd disappear because I didn't want to accept you…so I bullied you to make sure you'd stay away. I had to reject you so that I could feel superior—I needed to win to beat you. Then…we both got into UA where not a single thing played out the way I wanted it to. Every day, I was forced to see how strong you were and how weak I was," he paused again to look up at Deku, his face pure and full of compassion. "Saying it out loud doesn't change a thing, but it's how I feel…" Deku stared at him, shocked, "…Izuku." He paused again to drop at his middle in a bow of apology. "I'm sorry for everything." The tone was heartfelt and sincere.

At Kacchan's usage of his first name, Deku felt his mouth fall open in shock. He'd…he'd called him by his first name? But…why? How?

"You've made the right calls since inheriting One For All; followed the best path, acted like a real symbol of peace, but I can see that you're lost right now; you've hit a wall that you can't overcome with ideals alone…so we'll handle the things you can't take care of yourself. In order to be our best selves, we'll save you, the evacuees at UA, and everyone else—anybody out there in need of a hero."

The tears were falling in earnest now. After hearing Kacchan apologize there was no way that he could keep them at bay. Don't you get it? You, all of you—he felt even his inner voice begin to crack with emotion as he began to collapse to his knees—have already surpassed me.

Deku felt himself fall but was suddenly caught in strong arms, supported from falling. He wearily raised his eyes to see that it was Bakugo that held him…how strange. "I'm sorry for saying that you couldn't keep up," he said in barely a whisper.

Bakugo nodded and softly added, "Yeah I know."

Darkness washed over him and exhaustion finally claimed him.

(paragraph break)

He could hear sounds, voices…but who's? Slowly Deku opened his eyes, confused by his surroundings. He was being carried or held by…by…Shoji? A quick glance around made it clear that Shoji carried him on his back and had twisted his arms protectively around him.

"Thirteen! He's awake!" Shoji called after a backwards glance at Deku and then looking in the direction of someone ahead of them. Deku followed the motion and saw what looked like an astronaut standing in front of them.

"Good." The mask blocking Thirteen's face suddenly came off revealing her rarely seen face. He was fairly certain he'd seen it before, or had he? She was pretty. "Hi there Midoriya, can you hear me?"

"Thirteen?" Deku said in a weak and gravelly voice.

She gave him a smile and a nod. "I'll update you. Most civilians have been evacuated to shelters. The ones left in the street are antihero vigilantes or looters that are taking advantage of the chaos the jailbreakers caused but they won't last for long. More and more of them have asked for our protection."

Deku gave a halfhearted nod before looking ahead to see a huge fortified wall. Was this…was this UA?

"Plus since most of the rioters form gangs they're easy enough to deal with in one swoop. During evacuations we had to split our forces—we've done our best to improve the situation outside and inside, though at this point all of the help you've been providing around the city can be taken care of by others. You can leave it to us now, okay?" Thirteen reassured.

"Is this UA?" Deku asked, still confused as to what he was looking at.

"The UA barrier to be exact and this big wall is just the tip of the iceberg!" Sero exclaimed in excitement as he gestured to the massive fortified structure before them.

"You're totally gonna geek out when you hear about the systems. They said we could even merge with Shiketsu!" Hagakure said in an exuberant tone.

Looking at the huge wall, Izuku wondered what the refugees inside would think about him being there. Surely it wouldn't be a seamless transition. I want to respect what everyone has done for me but…"I just can't…take this risk."

The group slowly crossed under the enormous walled fortress and onto the grounds of UA. A huge crowd of refugees was already there, shouts of fear and alarm loud and clear. Shoji let Deku down from his back where he stood taking in the unfriendly hoard of refugees.

"Keep the boy away!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

Thirteen frowned. "Jeez, loud aren't they?"

There were many other complaints and shouts of unrest. No one wanted him here. The crowd was full of scared, frightened people and this was the only little plot of safety available to them. Deku's presence threatened that sanctity. He could never blame them. They just wanted to feel safe.

From closer to the school Present Mic as well as Nezu and several other teachers stood. "Hey, let's calm down!" Mic yelled toward the crowd, a megaphone in his hand. Why did Mic of all people need a megaphone?

There were more shouts of disapproval from the crowd and fearful crying.

"Didn't you hear the principals speech? He guaranteed our safety!"

"Take the boy away!" The crowd began chanting all together. Mic continued to try to calm the crowd.

Deku looked toward the angry crowd the fearful faces and the nervous looks in his direction. He felt his heart fall and once again threaten to break in two. I guess…I guess I can't come back even after everything they did for me…I'm sorry, he thought too himself as he lowered his eyes to the ground. With the tiniest of sighs, Deku turned to leave until something grabbed his hand and tugged him gently back. He turned around in confusion to see that Uraraka was at his side, her face reassuring.

A million memories of the girl in front of him briefly played through his mind and for a moment he felt like the bleeding of his heart might be slowing down. He watched as she closed her eyes and gave his hand a squeeze. He wondered what she was thinking.

"It's gonna be fine," she said as she opened her eyes and gave him a smile that made him feel like his heart would melt. It wasn't brilliant or carefree but it was…hopeful and full of something he'd sorely missed: love.

He watched as she turned toward the crowd, stepping in front of him protectively, her hand still holding firmly onto his. What did she plan to do? How could one girl by herself sway an angry mob?