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Apologies for the slow release of the Chapters. I know the initial chapters need heavy re-writing.

But I will do that once I complete the story.

This is going to become a lot more angsty for all those angst lovers.

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Drawn by the intoxicating scent of Deku's blood, the wolves approached the fence, fangs bared and saliva dripping. Low growls rumbled in their throats as they stared us down, ready to attack. One particularly large wolf, threw back its head and let out a chilling howl.

But they were unable to cross the sturdy divide. We flinched back from their snapping jaws and vicious growls, taking several cautious steps away. My palms itched to ignite, to unleash the explosive power on those wolves. Oh! how much I wanted to blast them away. I could see the satisfying impacts, the beasts yelping as they flew through the air. But I shouldn't give in to temptation this time. My ankle is still throbbing and I am exhausted. A battle with the wolves would deplete my last reserves of strength. I need it to search this wretched hill and complete the assignment. The urge to battle was strong, but the burning desire to get home again was stronger. In the end, I decided to sneak away like a coward, like DEKU.

I looked at him and realized that Deku's freely flowing blood was driving the wolves into a frenzied state. We couldn't leave yet - not without stopping the blood flow first. Before I could pull out the emergency kit, Deku croaked weakly.

"Kacchan! Give me your bag. I need to stop the bleeding before we go or they'll follow us."

"Don't you dare order me bastard. I know that already" I yelled. "And you need to get rid of that smell before wrapping it up. Did you carry anything useful for this kind of emergency?"

I said sarcastically as I dug through my backpack and pulled out the medical kit. Deku was shaking badly, either from pain or fear, I didn't know. He has already been through enough. As much as he irritates me, he doesn't need my sweet words right now on top of everything.

"I have a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide but its in MY bag" he said, his voice cracking as if he was on the verge of crying.

I found a small bottle of rubbing alcohol that could be used to clean the wound and reduce the smell and risk of infection. I pulled out a water bottle to clean the excess blood.

"Give me you hand" I said. He looked at me with hesitation.

"Its alright, Kacchan. You don't have to do this. I will take care of it" he muttered.

"Just shut up and do as I say" I yelled. He flinched and looked at the wolves again. He steeled himself and outstretched his arm. I poured water on his fist and grabbed it tightly. Then I poured some on the area with heavy bleeding. There was so much dirt and blood on his arm that I can't even find the source. He winced a bit but remained stoic. I slowly twisted his arm to examine the injury. There were 8 puncture wounds in total, four on both sides. The wounds were so deep that I was worried about the infection. We need to look out for any sign of infection till we get out of this hill.

I pulled him a few steps back, away from the pool of blood, and hurriedly cleaned the wound. He was clutching his upper arm so tightly that his nerves were bulging under his skin. Without any warning, I picked the rubbing alcohol and poured some drops on the puncture marks. He let out an agonized scream and instinctively tried to yank his arm away, but I held fast. His entire body shook violently, overcome by the intense pain. I paused to allow him a moment to breathe and then twisted his hand to continue with the marks on the underside of his arm. He continued to whimper lightly. Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

"Stop whining you wimp" I said. I continued dabbing at the wounds, intent on properly disinfecting the injury. I can't imagine how he thought he could do this on his own. If I were the one injured, there's no way I would let anyone come near my arm, let alone pour alcohol directly into open cuts. But this treatment, while excruciating, was necessary.

I wrapped his arm tightly to stem the crimson tide. The wolves stayed right where they were, pacing along the fence line, their hungry eyes tracking our every move.

"Come on, we need to get out of their sight before we try heading back" I said, keeping my voice low but insistent. He nodded, wincing as I cinched the bandage tight over the wound. I packed my bag and started limping painfully toward the shelter of a nearby apple tree, glancing nervously over my shoulder at the prowling wolves. But Deku didn't move, seemingly lost in thought as he contemplated some internal struggle.

"What the fuck are you waiting for nerd?" I growled in frustration. "Are you planning to stay here all day?"

Hungry wolves are just a couple of feet away, yet he seemed oblivious to the imminent danger. How can a sane person even think of staying? Where was his survival instinct? After a few moments that felt like an eternity, he slowly started to get up, grimacing with every moment. Finally! I wanted to shout more to make him move faster but held my tongue. We don't want any more attention right now. This much adventure is enough for one day. He managed to stand, but after taking just a few halting steps, a wave of dizziness washed over him and he collapsed to the ground with a muffled groan, cradling his throbbing arm as he bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain.

Fuck. We are doomed. We are both in bad shape. I glared at him with contempt. Can't he even walk on his own? God, I hate this weakling so much. I limped over to him and roughly pulled him to his feet, acting as a crutch even as my ankle threatened to give out . He leaned heavily against me, face white with pain, as we slowly made our way toward the apple tree. Once we reached there, we collapsed against it, ensuring we were out of their sight. Every muscle in my body screamed for rest. We sat there for some time, watching the wolves every now and then. I collected some apples in my bag and munched on one. I offered one to him but he declined. I shrugged and kept on munching. I wanted to open that damn box and check the final clue but if I do it now, Deku would probably want to have a look and will never stop babbling.

Even though we were both exhausted, he kept twisting and turning like he couldn't find a comfortable position. Perhaps his arm is not the only injury he have. He is in a lot of pain, I could tell just by looking at his face. The permanent frown, eyes opening to slits and beads to sweat clung to his brow. So I gave him pain killer but he refused, said he can't take it on empty stomach or something. I want to murder him right now. He was the one to refuse the apple when I offered him only to have him complain afterwards. But I held my emotions in check. His face developed a green shade. I don't want him to be sick here when we are trying to be as silent as possible. In the end, I forced the pain killer down his throat and watched him intently. His posture seemed to relax a bit and soon his eyes grew heavy as started dozing.

The sun began to set over the treetops, casting an orange glow over us. We sat there for around half an hour when I noticed that the wolves had lost interest in their watch dog duty. I nudged him awake, signaling him to get ready for the escape. He flinched, eyes flying wide, panting slightly as if he had run a marathon. He nodded and started to get up. I was feeling much better after the rest but same was not true for him. It feels like his pain hasn't receded at all. He was still clutching his arm in a vice grip, close to his chest. We started moving towards the other side of the fence, towards the entrance, ensuring we remain out of sight. The shadows of the trees are helping as well.

Once we were out of earshot, I signaled him to use his quirk to cover the ground quickly. He nodded and we both took off. When we reached our initial spot, I saw Deku running towards some bushes. I took few steps towards him when retching sound rooted me in place. I turned around and started unrolling the tent with angry, jerky motions.

He came back when I was setting up the wooden sticks I gathered for our camp fire.

He collapsed onto the ground, took small sips of water from his bottle and then laid there panting, completely spent.

"What are you doing?" he asked, unable to even lift his head to look at me. His voice came out cracked and breathless.

"What do you think I am doing?" I said without even glancing at him.

"Why did you set up the tent?" he asked, sitting up and wincing when he put weight on my injured arm. "We should decipher our last clue and head over there. We still have time. If we start now, we might be able to reach there tonight."

"Look at yourself before opening your mouth, you wimp" I said. "You can't even sit properly. Tend to your other injuries first. We will have our dinner and then we will see what the fucking clue says."

Deku managed a weak smile of gratitude. "Alright. Thanks Kacchan. But I am not hungry. I will just rest in the tent then, till you finish your dinner". He motioned to get up.

I shot him a sharp look. "Where the hell do you think you're going? I said we're having dinner, and that's final." I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out a couple of granola bars and a mint toffee, handing them to Deku. Despite the harsh words, there was an underlying note of worry in my tone and I absolutely hate that. "These should help with your nausea. And finish that water before you go back in the tent." Deku nodded, mustering up the energy to sit up and nibble on the snacks I gave him.

With a few well-placed, controlled blasts, I carefully stoked the campfire, coaxing the flames to life until they crackled and danced, filling the air with a comforting warmth. The fish I caught earlier were carefully arranged over the fire, the sizzling and popping sounds making my mouth water in anticipation. Meanwhile, Deku remained uncharacteristically quiet. He was still trembling slightly and feeling uneasy. He tried to hide it but his shaking hands and occasional deep breaths gave him away. Whatever. I am not concerned for him. I will give him rest for the first watch but then he needs to take over. He is not the only one exhausted and injured here.

As we both finished our dinner without incident, I wasted no time in pulling the clue box out of my bag and sitting down next to Deku. This time the box had a slim, sturdy, long rope firmly attached to the top and some folded sheets of paper. The pages turned out to be printed articles from Wikipedia. Certain sections were highlighted on every page and something messy was scrawled at the bottom. The lack of creativity in this clue was screaming Aizawa sensei - the lazy slacker. The scrawl at the bottom was too messy to read so I flipped back to first page and started reading the printed part.

It was an article on Aravac plant. It had a picture of the plant with dense, dark green bush with narrow leaves and bright purple flowers. The article described about the plant's origin, where it is typically found in the wild etc. However, the truly fascinating information was contained within the highlighted sections, which delved into the various uses and applications of the Aravac plant. Apparently, the extract from the leaves of this plant are used in pain relief medicines. The scrawl at the bottom said: "Rub the leaves around the injured part or bruise if you've lost the emergency kit or run out of the pain killers"

He already summarized the page so in my opinion it wasn't important to read the complete page but I thought Deku would like to read every inch of that page - that Nerd. When I glanced at Deku to see if he has completed reading so that I can flip the page, I met with a concerning sight. Deku's brows were furrowed, his jaw clenched tightly, and his eyes squeezed shut - a clear sign that he was suffering from a pounding headache. His injured hand found its way back to his chest and his other hand sneaked around it and clutched the shoulder in tight grip. Despite the discomfort, Deku attempted to continue reading, opening his eyes to mere slits, only to shut them again forcefully at the sudden sound of a nearby crow's call, as if the simple noise was akin to a drill boring into his skull.

I folded the pages and instructed him to rest in the tent. I told him about the night shifts as he trudged over to the tent and made it clear that no matter how much he whines, he will be taking over the second watch. He simply nodded and retired for the night. I laid next to the fire for some time, watching the night sky. It was completely covered with clouds. Rather than the clear, twinkling expanse I had hoped to see, the heavens were blanketed in a thick, heavy layer of clouds - an ominous harbinger of the storm that was soon to come. The air felt thick and charged. I watched swirling patterns of the clouds as they obscured the stars, knowing that at any moment the floodgates would open.

After some rest, I sat up to read the pages. The second page was an article about Magrimulish flowers. The picture showed pink flowers with spike ended petals. The flowers were growing in a bunch of 20 with straight and sturdy stems. I read a few highlighted lines but quickly realized that I should not make that mistake again. Its so confusing and I am not exaggerating it. Take a look at it yourself:

"Its cathartic, diuretic and anti-scorbutic properties make it a good remedy for purifying blood. In some region, extract of the plant is applied as a poultice for cutting and bruising. The juice made from the plant is also applied to stop bleeding. Besides that, tea and tincture prepared from the leaves of this plant cures influenza within a short span of time."

I skipped to the handwritten text at the bottom.

"If you are unable to stop the bleeding, crush these flowers and apply them directly to the wound. Use the leaves to cover the wound but make sure they are not in direct contact with the wound as they are toxic in nature"

I read the next article about Actortium roots and was determined to complete all the pages. However, just as I was about to read the last page, I saw Deku running out of the tent and throwing up in the bushes. Great, he can't even keep a granola bar down now. Sighing inwardly, I carefully folded the pages, placed them back in the box and pulled a bottle from my bag for him. I am not concerned about him. I just don't want him to complain when his shift starts.

As I approached him, his entire body trembled uncontrollably, his chest heaving with each labored breath. Beads of sweat had soaked through his clothing, and his eyes were bulging with each painful contraction, as if his very stomach was straining to escape his mouth. Suddenly, his legs buckled, and he was about to fall face first on his own vomit if I hadn't held him at the last moment. I dragged him a few steps back and laid him gently on the ground. He clutched his head tightly with both hands, his face contorted in agony as he writhed and moaned in sheer pain. Conclusion, his excruciating headache was causing him even more distress than his injury.

I lifted his head and made him slowly slip and spit out some water to get rid of the foul smell. Then I removed his hands from his head and grasped it firmly with both of my own, applying steady pressure in an attempt to provide some relief. He resisted at first, moaning and trying to pull away, but I gently shushed him, understanding that even the slightest noise or movement could send shockwaves of pain through his throbbing head.

As he took measured, controlled breaths, I whispered, "Do you have anti-nausea medicine?" I know how it feels when you have a killer headache. The slightest sound make you want to kill the source instantly. Even a slight moment is agonizing. With a pained, hushed tone, he managed to growl out a simple "Yes". Slowly, I released the pressure and removed my hands. But he grabbed my hands and croaked "No, just help me get to the tent. I can handle the medicine on my own. Just help me up."

"Shh. Just wait here. I will be back in no time" I said as I started removing my hands from his grasp. He immediately recoiled and looked at me wide eyed.

"NO" he shouted, shutting his eyes tightly. "No, Please. Don't look into my bag. I'm fine, really. I'll just...I'll just go. Thanks for the water though."

What is he hiding in his bag? Is it that important that he is willing to crawl like a snail just so I can't take a look? Is it his analysis notebook, filled with meticulous scribbles that he guards zealously? He is really insane if he brought that notebook here. Or is it something even sinister or illegal? The thought caused my brow to furrow in a mixture of bewilderment. I thought Deku was too goody-two-shoes to do something of that kind.

I watched him intently as he tried to get up twice and failed as soon as he put his injured arm to use. As I grabbed his good hand and pulled him upright, the sudden movement caused his face to turn a sickly greenish hue, and he immediately retched, vomiting all over himself. Curling onto his side, he continued to retch and heave, his body wracked with the violent spasms. I could no longer deny the feeling of growing concern for him. I was truly worried for him. His condition is clearly deteriorating by each passing second. This is not the time to pry into his dark secrets. I am not interested in whatever he is hiding. He need fluids and a quiet, dark place to rest right now.

After his last dry heaves subsided, he weakly collapsed on the ground again. Quickly, I retrieved a cool, refreshing mint-scented face wipe from my bag and gently cleaned the vomit from his ashen face. I slowly sat him up, slipping my hands under his armpits and starting to carefully drag and guide him towards the tent. Once inside, I began to peel off his ruined shirt, revealing a troubling sight. There, on his right shoulder, was a large, dark bruise, the skin mottled and discolored. Grabbing another wipe and shining my flashlight, I inspected the area more closely, but the sight of the angry, discolored flesh on his back was deeply unsettling - not only was that substantial bruise present, but another, smaller one had formed just above his hip as well. All the while, Deku continued to writhe and moan in obvious agony. I brought his bag near him and urged him to take the medicine while I take care of his shirt and went out of the tent to give him his privacy.

When I returned a short time later, he had a new shirt on. The medicine box remained untouched, sitting near Deku's feet as he sat hunched over, his head buried in his hands and his elbows resting on his knees.

"Found the medicine?" I asked as I nudged him. He shook his head and uncurled his hands to pick the box but I guided him into a supine position and took the box from his hands. I found the anti-nausea and pain relief medicine. I handed him a bottle and lifted his head to help him with the medicine.

"What's the 2nd pill for?" he croaked, his voice raspy due to vomiting. I whispered the name of the pills. I don't know if he heard me or not but he croaked "No".

"You are not thinking straight. Just take it already." I whispered, controlling my rage. How can he refuse the medication when he desperately need them?

"No, not the pain relief. I think I am sick because of the pain relief medicine I took earlier."

"What?" I exclaimed but immediately regretted when Deku moaned and converged again. Then I recalled what he said earlier. "Pain Relief medicines should not be taken on empty stomach as they cause Gastrointestinal side effects that can adversely impact the delicate lining of the stomach. Though the severity of these side effects can vary from person to person..." Fuck. I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, realizing that his agony was directly my fault. I had forced the medication down his throat despite his refusal, and now he was paying the price. I couldn't stop the way I was feeling; unnerved, disturbed and troubled. The pained sounds escaping his lips made my own stomach churn with guilt and unease.

Shut up. Just Shut up. Its nothing. I was only trying to help him. And that's what I am going to do now too. I am not regretting my decision of giving him pain medication. There is no time to feel guilty. I did what I thought was right. Though the consequences of my actions has landed Deku in this mess, but I am determined to make things right.

"Alright, take the anti-nausea then" I whispered, taking care of my tone.

I offered him a mint toffee to help with the uneasy feeling and started massaging his head to alleviate the pain. Each twitch and turn of Deku's pained expression only served to remind that I was the root cause of this discomfort. Eventually, he relaxed a bit. As time passed, the pitter-patter of raindrops against the tent began to fill the air. I initially intended to rouse Deku from his misery-induced slumber to start his nightly watch as agreed, but I simply couldn't bring myself to disturb him when he was suffering so greatly, not after my own actions had precipitated this condition. Throughout the night, I remained steadfastly by his side, determined to soothe the slight fever that gripped him.