Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

Some things are bound to change. There's no such thing as fate, destiny, or whatever weird crap you hear in stories where the result of the story will still be the same no matter what the characters do. In real life, there's only one thing that holds you back from becoming the best version of yourself, and most people don't even know they're self-sabotaging until the opportunity has already passed. And that one inhibiting factor is fear. 

Fear ruins your chances of a successful life with just a snap of your fingers. With fear, you could end up living your days out in regret—never truly unlocking your full potential, and never quite finding the courage to figure it out for yourself. Fear is the leading cause to becoming a side character in your own story.

Nobody wants that. A boring life all because you're too worried about what will happen if you say, do, risk that, or don't? Seems like a shitty way to live, and pretty ill-advised. Luckily, there's a way to avoid that outcome—and it's relatively easy. By looking fear right in its big ugly face and telling it to fuck off.

When the dust clears, everything might not work out the way you wanted it to, but at least you've told your truth. When it comes down to it, that's all you can do. It might be true that love is a gamble. But most would rather take that risk than spend the rest of their days living in the dark.

-----

5:04 P.M. That's when they finally got themselves checked into the hotel.

"Midoriya Izuku," the woman called into the quiet lobby, where Katsuki, Shoto, and Izuku were all sitting, waiting for their cue. The setting was a large hotel lobby, filled with old shelves, couches, books and glass chandeliers that were so old they definitely weren't manufactured anymore. Izuku had noticed a few interesting things around him—photos on the walls dating to the early 1900's, titles of authors he knew to have passed away ages ago, and a striped, faded green wallpaper that had likely never been changed out since this place was built. The only other sound aside from the woman calling out to him was some classical piano playing from a record player in the corner of the room. Real old-fashioned type—just like the theme of the place.

Izuku stood from his spot on the couch, leaving an indent on the well-worn green leather after how long he'd been sitting there. He walked over to her desk in the corner of the room and took the set of three copper keys from her age-wrinkled hand. 

"Thank you," he said politely, flashing a kind smile. The woman just silently nodded. With her eyes huge-looking through the thick glasses, and her faded gray hair tied into a slick ponytail, she reminded Izuku of a librarian—quiet, curt, and to-the-point. 

From each their separate couches, Katsuki and Shoto stood to follow as they watched Izuku get handed their keys. They lugged their suitcases behind—cases filled with their hero suits. That was all they needed, anyway. Izuku looked at the keys. Room 205, the tags read. That was on the second floor.

"It's about damn time," Katsuki grumbled as the trio made their way down the hall. Around the corner was the elevator. They were currently exasperated after having to wait more than an hour just to get their key. The front desk lady had mentioned 'room cleaning' or something like that, but it seemed like it'd taken much longer than it should've. As they walked, Izuku noticed that the hallway wallpaper was darker than the lobby, more like a faded dark olive green.

"Hush, Kacchan," Izuku said over his shoulder, hoping the receptionist hadn't heard him. "She's just doing her job," he added quietly. He wasn't in the mood to bicker with Katsuki, but out of habit, he found himself reminding the other to be polite.

"Shut up. I know that," Katsuki shot back. So he hadn't taken it lightly, Izuku realized. “And don't tell me what to do, shitnerd." 

"Calm down, both of you," Shoto inserted himself with a sigh. "You're tired and nervous. This isn't the time to be picking fights," he said. He was all too familiar with their arguments, and was probably trying to stop them before it could have a chance to progress.

"Like hell I'm nervous," Katsuki denied with an indignant glare at them both. At this point they'd arrived at the elevator, so Izuku pressed the button with the arrow pointing up as Katsuki continued. "This mission is gonna be a fucking breeze. Aizawa himself said so."

"First of all, he didn't say that—he said he thought we could handle it on our own," Izuku corrected, ignoring Katsuki's eyes as they narrowed into fiery slits at the comment. No matter how reasonable Izuku tried to sound, Katsuki always ended up feeling antagonized by his corrections. When am I going to learn that I should just shut my mouth and let it be? "And second of all, we can't go into it thinking it's going to be a clean in-and-out mission. Just because we're seniors now doesn't mean we have it made. We've been on solo missions before, but this one is actually drug-involved, so we don't know how strong the villains are really going to be."

What Izuku was saying was true. Mr. Aizawa had sent them on this mission—to infiltrate a suspected drug lab and gather evidence, including pictures, samples, and recordings—so the Pro Heroes could swoop in and make the arrests afterward. It was supposed to be just a quick in-and-out with no conflict at all. But still, there was the threat of a fight if they made a mistake and got themselves caught.

“Tch. You think I don't know that, Deku?" Katsuki snapped. "Fuck off." His tone was laced with venom, but didn't seem to have any interest in taking it further than just a verbal argument. Usually, they could sort out their arguments without resorting to violence, especially nowadays when things were getting better between the two. But that didn't mean they didn't still have disputes or arguments pretty much every time they spoke to one another.

Katsuki and Izuku have always had a complicated relationship. Ever since they were kids, they've been off and on about each other. Neither really knew why. There wasn't a blatantly obvious reason—it was like they were drawn to each other without actually trying, or even wanting to be—but at the same time separated by their differences. And there didn't seem to be anything that anyone could do about it. It's just always been that way.

Izuku tried to be fine with that. Katsuki was Katsuki, and wanted nothing to do with Izuku. They both had their own friends and people they love. They were completely different. But at the same time...there was just something about Katsuki that always made him want to stay close.

"You're just angry because we spent an hour sitting in the lobby with nothing to do," Izuku pointed out, displaying his palms in a gesture of innocence. "Don't take it out on me." 

"No, I'm pissed 'cuz you keep acting like you know better than me," Katsuki growled in turn. Izuku clenched his teeth and refrained from rolling his eyes. A moment later, the elevator dinged and the doors shuddered open, revealing a space hardly large enough for three grown adults. Izuku was hesitant to step inside. It was tight—they'd have to squeeze inside to all fit. He glanced over his shoulder at Katsuki, who seemed to notice his hesitance. He didn't say anything, just stood there. Izuku assumed he was waiting to see what he would do.

Finally Izuku just pursed his lips and stepped inside. Shoto and Katsuki took their time following him. Izuku tucked himself into the corner so they could all fit, trying not to take up too much space. Katsuki had to stand between him and Shoto. He was close. Izuku could smell the faint scent of amber cologne radiating off his skin. Really close. He thought about the argument they'd just been having. Well, it hadn't really been an argument—more like a small dispute. Some back-and-forth. Regardless, they weren't on the best terms, so he just hoped Katsuki didn't mind standing this close to him.

Izuku focused his gaze on the wall of the elevator to avoid looking at Katsuki as the door slid closed. He silently noted the floral patterns etched into the small vanilla tiles on the walls, noticing their faded color and chipped edges in a few places. There was no doubt that this place had been built ages ago. It was a small little building, old-fashioned and snug, but with a comforting vibe. As he studied the tiles, he couldn't help but notice just how utterly slow the elevator was moving. They only had to go up one floor, and it was taking longer than 30 seconds.

"Could this thing go any fucking slower," Katsuki voiced Izuku's thoughts with a huff, and the area of the room was so small that he felt the draft of his exhale as he spoke. Izuku let his eyes drift. Katsuki was wearing his familiar black tank top that hugged his lean frame, especially accentuating his incredibly defined waist and broad chest under the thin fabric. After training for hours daily—for years straight—it wasn't a surprise that Katsuki was well-defined. Unfairly well. His ratio of muscle to body fat percentage was incredible, and next to none that Izuku had ever seen. Every time he was able to catch a glimpse of Katsuki shirtless, for whatever context that might be, he was always impressed by the dedication that obviously went into his body. 

Izuku sometimes found himself studying his physique out of jealousy, but then he'd remember just how hard Katsuki worked to get a body like that, and he wouldn't feel jealous anymore—only motivated to someday achieve that same level for himself. The only reason he thought about this kind of stuff in the first place was because he liked to take notes about it in his hero notebooks, however childish that might've seemed. The blond needed to be aerodynamic so he could get into the air without a problem using his Quirk, so he couldn't be too bulky; yet he also needed to be strong, so there was that, too. At this point in his life, Katsuki sat at a happy medium. 

Over the years, he's dedicated at least a few pages of his hero notebooks to Bakugou Katsuki alone...and though he would never, ever admit that out loud, the fact was there. It was embarrassingly true that even when Katsuki wanted nothing to do with him, Izuku was constantly there to keep a close eye on his improvement. And that part of him likely would never change.

Another quite embarrassing thing to note was that Katsuki had an almost uncomfortable height advantage on Izuku. Now, of all times, when growth spurts were supposed to stop happening. This was especially strange because they'd been similar heights for most of their lives until this point. But no, Katsuki just had hit a growth spurt sometime within the last two years—and Izuku, for some reason, had not. Katsuki now probably stood at about 6' 1" or 6' 2" while Izuku was only at about 5' 8". A whopping 6-inch height difference that he could add to the list of things that Katsuki did better than him. Hopefully Izuku wasn't done growing just yet. 

Izuku's eyes probably lingered on Katsuki for a little too long, because when Katsuki glanced down at him with that piercing red stare, he quickly looked away. He wasn't shy, and he wasn't particularly scared of Katsuki anymore. But that stare wasn't one you wanted to be caught under for too long.

Finally, the elevator dinged and the doors opened with difficulty. Katsuki clicked his tongue as he was the first one to file out. "Should've taken the damn stairs," he muttered as he started off down the hall, dragging his black suitcase behind him. Izuku followed, though he wasn't even sure that Katsuki knew what room they were in.

"Do you know where you're going?" Izuku asked. 

"Two o'five," Katsuki replied without looking back.

"Oh, how'd you know?"

"I looked at the keys in your hand, dipshit," Katsuki replied as if responding wasn't even worth his time. Izuku sighed inwardly. He was used to Katsuki being like this, but still...the blond was acting a little snappier than usual. Had Izuku done something wrong? Said something? Maybe it was the small argument they had earlier, but he didn't think something like that would actually affect Katsuki's mood. He thought back to when they'd been sitting in the lobby. It'd been silent then. When did this argument really start? Was it when they arrived? No...he was fine then.

Oh, Izuku remembered now. It was after the receptionist had revealed that all three had to share a room.

"What? Oh, hell no," Katsuki snapped, shaking his head ardently. They were all standing around the front desk, trying to get the woman to give them another room. Any other room.

"I'm sorry, but I already told you. All the other rooms are booked. You need to call more than just a few hours beforehand if you want to rent more than one room," the old woman said sternly. It was clear that she wasn't going to put up with any arguing. It wasn't like there was anything she could do about it, anyway. If all the other rooms were booked, there was nothing they could do to change it.

However, Katsuki had always been an argumentative person. "I'm not sharing a room. Icyhot probably snores," Katsuki said. But to Izuku's bewilderment, he looked at him when he said that. As if Izuku was the problem, not his own arrogance. "Come on, lady, there just has to be a one-bed room that I can take," he pressed.

"Come on, Kacchan, just deal with it. You're being a nuisance," Izuku told him. It's not like he wanted to share, either—but he also wasn't the one begging the receptionist for an open room. Part of him wondered why Katsuki was so determined about this, but the answer was simple. He didn't like Izuku. He had a stubborn soul. And whenever Katsuki was told something that he didn't like, he was renowned as the guy who fights hard to get rid of it. Izuku continued, "There's no need for you to sleep apart from us. We're only staying for one night, anyway."

"Yeah. And I don't snore," Shoto added indignantly.

"You three will just have to share," the woman interjected. "There are two beds. Sort yourselves out. But I hope you know it'll be a little while before the room will be cleaned, so you'll have to wait here in the meantime." She waved her hands in a gesture that said 'sit down and leave me alone.' 

Katsuki was the first to stalk away with an annoyed scoff. Shoto followed with an unbothered look, while Izuku looked indifferent on the outside but was secretly bothered by Katsuki's irritation to just be sharing a room with one another. He was aware of his and Katsuki's uneasy past, but when someone's looking at you like it'll literally kill them to spend a night in the same proximity as you, it's not exactly a confidence boost. Deciding to just forget it, Izuku sighed and sat down a few chairs away from Katsuki, waiting for the receptionist to call one of them up and tell them the room was ready.

And now, here they were. Katsuki arrived at room 205 first and stood impatiently outside, watching as Izuku used one of the keys to unlock the door. He was painfully aware of the other's eyes on the back of his head as he lined the mouth of the doorknob up with the divots of the key, pushed it in, and then turned it to the side. It unlocked with a soft click and Katsuki was instantly pushing past him to get in. Izuku decided to just ignore the rude gesture. Katsuki was impossible to figure out.

The rest of the night was spent quietly. They turned on the TV, ordered some food from room service—which was surprisingly good for such a small hotel—and started prepping themselves for the mission tonight. They were supposed to leave at around Midnight, so they had a few hours to sleep if they wanted. Katsuki claimed the farthest bed from the door, so Izuku and Shoto fought over who was going to sleep on the floor. Izuku ended up beating him in the argument, so now he was setting up his blankets and pillow in the center of the floor between the two occupied beds. In his household, he'd been raised to always sleep on the floor if the beds were taken. It was just the polite thing to do. Apparently Shoto was taught the same thing, so that's why they always ended up arguing about it.

Their room wasn't particularly large—the ceilings were low-hanging and the lack of furniture made it seem more spacious than it really was—but it was cozy. The thermostat was set at 70, the perfect mixture of cold and warm. A large window filled up most of the far-side wall, giving them a nice view of the quieting city outside. 

Their location for this mission was a small city just outside the urban area of Tokyo, a few hours away from UA—which meant no Pro Heroes or teachers to immediately back them up. The city was one that Izuku had never heard of. In fact, none of their classmates, or even teachers, had recognized it when they got the call saying that witnesses were suspicious of illegal drugs being sold. Nobody would expect that in a small, unknown town, something like that would happen right under the residents' noses. But here they were to investigate anyway.

Izuku finished making his bed and laid down, covering himself with a thin white blanket he'd found in the closet. Above him to the right, Katsuki was under the blankets scrolling through channels on the TV, muttering about how there was nothing to watch; while above him to the left, Shoto was on his side facing away from them, presumably asleep. Izuku stared up at the popcorn-textured ceiling, busying his mind with a fun little game where he tried to make out shapes in the texture of the paint. He noticed one clump that looked particularly like a disfigured dinosaur. And another that looked kind of like a three-legged dog.

He could feel himself stilling before suddenly, the peaceful silence was broken as Katsuki clicked his tongue and his arm extended over the edge of the bed, still holding the remote. It seemed that he'd finally given up on finding something to watch as he sighed in defeat. Izuku remained quiet, wondering if the blond knew that he was still awake after that long period of silence. Another few moments of quiet ensued until eventually, Katsuki spoke again. “You up, Deku?" he asked. A simple question—not a trace of malice or trickery. Just curiosity. The room grew quiet in anticipation of Izuku's response, who was contemplating whether he should say something or not.

Katsuki sometimes alternated between calling him his childhood nickname, Deku, and his first name, Izuku. He seemed to interchange them at random. Izuku sometimes theorized that it changed with his mood, but then he would be proved wrong when even while angry, Katsuki would call him 'Izuku'; or when they were having a normal conversation and he could call him 'Deku' just for the fun of it. Izuku lost sleep wondering what Katsuki's logic was—if there even was any.

Finally, Izuku sighed lightly and spoke. "Yeah." His response was quiet as if he were tired, which he wasn't. The anticipation of the mission later, along with the discomfort of the hardwood floor digging into his shoulders and tailbone, was enough to keep him wide awake. Katsuki set the remote on the nightstand and folded his arms beneath his head, looking up at the ceiling as Izuku was just doing. He glanced up at the blond. He looked calm for once, a little peaceful even. Izuku had never shared a room with him like this. And even though Shoto was there, he was asleep so Izuku could pretend for a moment that he and Katsuki were sharing a serene moment by themselves.

"Can't sleep?" That same gruff-toned voice reached his ears. Izuku looked back up at the ceiling.

"Nope." Izuku's response.

A minute or so of awkward silence followed as if neither of them could come up with a thing to say. It wasn't like they'd never shared a quiet moment together—but for some reason, this one seemed different. As if there was something hanging in the air that neither of them quite understood. Was it trepidation for the mission, or was it something else? It was strange, because moments like these had been popping up more frequently between them. Izuku was noticing more awkward silences where in the past, insults may have been thrown or snappy comments could have been made. It was like their relationship was becoming more placid, but at the same time, more difficult. More difficult to understand, as well as maintain. He didn't get it, and sometimes, it scared him. The last thing he wanted was to lose his friendship with Kacchan, especially after all this work the both of them had been putting in to build it.

It wasn't like they were the best of friends or anything. They had their differences, and they kept their distance. But Izuku had known Katsuki longer than anyone at the school. He felt a deeper connection with him than anyone, and he knew that if there was one person in the world he could trust, it was Katsuki. He didn't want to lose that.

"The mission is gonna be easy. Stop worrying about it," Katsuki finally said. Izuku blinked.

"What makes you think I'm worried?" he asked curiously. He'd given no indication that he was worried. Mostly because he wasn't.

Katsuki sniffed. "You always get quiet when you're worried," he said flatly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. There was a pause before he added, "That, or right before you're about to talk someone's ear off with some bullshit you came up with."

Izuku scoffed to cover up how surprised he was that Katsuki would notice something like that about him. He must have really been paying attention if he would notice something so small about the amount he'd been speaking. "Yeah..." Was all he responded with. Had he been acting quieter than usual? Whether or not he was, Izuku hadn't noticed it himself. And he wasn’t worried. So what was up with him? Maybe he was worried after all but just didn't want to admit it.

Eventually, he realized he should probably say something, so he snapped out of his mental tangent and back to reality. "Sorry, I'm just..." Izuku shook his head. "Thinking."

"Like usual," Katsuki added, and Izuku rolled his eyes lightheartedly.

"Right," he shot back. "And you're acting awfully quiet, which is far from normal."

Katsuki looked over the edge of the bed at him, and in that brief few moments their gazes made contact, Izuku felt his heart start to speed up with alarm. Those red eyes—the same ones that he'd looked into thousands of times—seemed a little more electrifying in that moment. The soft yellow light from the bedside lamp made Katsuki's skin glow, and the crimson hue of his eyes seemed to be boring into his head. "Watch what you say, nerd," he uttered as the cherry on top. Izuku looked up at him, giving an innocent smile to hide the fast pace of his heart. 

"Whatever you say, Kacchan," he said cheerfully as Katsuki rolled back into his comfortable position. Izuku's eyes looked back up at the ceiling, but he was still seeing those eyes in his mind. His heart lingered at that pace for a few moments before it eventually settled down. Katsuki hadn't made him nervous like this since middle school.

Katsuki sighed from atop the bed, re-folding his arms to cushion his head above the pillow. "Anyway, I can't sleep either. Too busy thinking about how many villains I'm gonna fuck up later," he said in a boastful tone. Izuku supplied a laugh at that.

"We're not supposed to actually fight them. But yeah, I get it," Izuku agreed. He knew this was Katsuki's way of telling him that he was a little anxious for the mission, too. "I just hope you're able to sneak around without blowing everything up."

"Ha! Of course I am," Katsuki snapped. "I could say the same thing about you, Mr. Breaks-His-Arms-Every-Time-he-Uses-his-Quirk."

"Not anymore!" Izuku exclaimed indignantly as Katsuki snickered with himself. "I haven't broken so much as a finger since last September."

"Oh, so you've been counting months?" Katsuki continued. "That really says something. What, have you made like, a calendar for breaking bones? Or maybe a little graph.”

Izuku sighed in exasperation. It was mostly annoying because it was true. "You can stop teasing me for that any day now," he said dully. It was often a topic that Katsuki took advantage of to tease him. However, Katsuki just scoffed.

"That'll be the day," he marveled at the thought. "But I don't think I ever will."

"Does that mean I get to tease you about the fact that you literally have to sweat just to use your Quirk?" Izuku quipped.

Another scoff. "Sure, but there's nothing wrong with that. Sweating is normal. Breaking your fucking bones is not."

"Yeah but have you seen how sweaty you get during battle? It's gross," Izuku continued to tease. "No wonder why you're always wearing black."

"Oh, you wanna go there, shitnerd? How about the fact that you can't keep your mouth shut ninety percent of the time. If I had a penny for every time you started spouting shit that nobody needed to hear, I'd be a fucking billionaire."

Izuku shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Like I haven't heard that one before. Maybe work on coming up with some new insults, hm?"

The argument escalated quickly. The two continued to bicker until Shoto woke up when Katsuki threw the remote at Izuku and he was sent into a laughing fit of pain. "Can you two please shut up?" Shoto snapped groggily, looking over his shoulder at Izuku, who was trying to get rid of the goofy grin on his face. He tried to seem apologetic.

"Sorry, Todoroki," he said, and looked at Katsuki, who was scowling. They both laid back in their beds and looked up at the ceiling, a sort of easy peace settling between them. Izuku always enjoyed moments like these, where he and Katsuki are actually getting along. They're few and far between, but no longer nonexistent. And that was something that Izuku could be grateful for.

Midnight.

Pale moonlight poured through the curtainless windows, and the hardwood planks seemed especially cold under their bare feet as they shuffled to get ready. The time was nigh—and the mission was about to commence. Izuku could almost smell the tension in the air. They were all at least a little bit nervous, despite how many times they denied it. This was their first mission so far away from any Pro Heroes. If they messed up, nobody would be there to save them—and perhaps most terrifying of all, they wouldn't be trusted to go by themselves anymore.

Izuku accidentally bumped into Katsuki exiting the bathroom. "Watch it," Katsuki snapped, and Izuku ignored his coldness by shoving past him in return. That was just normal Katsuki—despite the fact that only a few hours ago they were joking and messing around like normal. Whatever, he thought with a sigh as he pulled his hood over his dark hair and pocketed his phone. He's impossible.

A few minutes later, Shoto was the last one in the room, finishing packing his things. "Ready?" Izuku asked. They had no need for the room anymore, so they were probably going to just check out now.

"Yep," Shoto answered, holding his suitcase. Katsuki was already waiting outside, so they stepped out to join him. Izuku stepped out from the darkness of the room and into the dim orange light of the hallway. They were all wearing their stealth suits, which were different than what they were used to seeing each other in. Katsuki looked him up and down and Izuku returned the favor. They'd both made some changes to their stealth suits recently, but neither of them made a comment about noticing it. Izuku tried to ignore the eyes boring holes into his skull as he started walking down the hallway towards the elevator. 

Instead of using the elevator this time, however, they just took the stairs. Izuku didn't feel like cramming himself into a tiny room with Katsuki after he'd been acting so bitter.

They got to the main floor and Izuku volunteered to check them out while Shoto and Katsuki stood by the door to wait for him. He walked up to the receptionist, who looked way too tired for this. It was a young lady this time instead of the older woman. Izuku wondered if this was her daughter—they had the same brown eyes and arched eyebrows. He supposed that would make sense. After all, a small business like this probably ran in the family.

"Checking out for Midoriya Izuku," he said, and she leaned forward in her desk chair to type his name on her computer.

"You're early. It says here you have the room until morning," she said.

"Yeah, that was just for precaution—but I don't think we'll be back. I'd like to check out now please," he said. She stared at him for a moment before shrugging.

"Alright. Izuku?" She repeated his first name. He nodded. She did some more typing on her computer before nodding and giving him a curt smile. "Okay, you're free to go. Thank you," she said before leaning back in her chair and returning attention to her phone. Izuku thanked her in return before walking back over to the other two—who for some reason both looked pissed.

Actually, Shoto didn't look angry. He was saying something quietly to Katsuki, who looked very conflicted about what was being said. Izuku tried to listen in as he approached, but Shoto stopped when he got within hearing range. Katsuki looked at Izuku with a scowl on his face, and Izuku was almost afraid he'd done something wrong until Katsuki tongued his cheek, scoffed and turned away. "Don't tell me what to do, Icyhot," he muttered over his shoulder as he pushed past the glass doors and left them alone. Izuku looked at Shoto expectantly, hoping for some answers about the silent warfare that had just happened, but the latter didn't look very talkative as he gave a nod and followed Katsuki out the door. 

Izuku sighed. Why did his friends have to be so confusing? He followed them out the door and into the chilly spring night.

The drive to the building was short, as it was only a few blocks away. They parked a few hundred feet down the road, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves by getting too close. The walk from the car to the building was silent—they ducked into the shadows to avoid passing cars, and remained on high alert to look out for any patrolling villains. They didn't spot any. As they approached, Izuku took note of the building. It was three stories tall, with few windows and exits and spray-paint covering the walls of the first floor. Shrubbery had grown up the walls, looking like it hadn't been trimmed in years. There weren't any balconies, and not even so much as an air conditioner sticking out the side. It looked completely abandoned.

Izuku pressed himself against the wall and peeked around the corner, finding an empty parking lot overgrown with vines and weeds growing from the cracks in the asphalt. Again—it looked abandoned.  He turned to Katsuki, who was pressed against the wall beside him. He had his hood up, too. "Are you sure this is the right place?" he whispered. Katsuki looked at his GPS before showing it to Izuku. Arrived, the screen read. All arrows were pointing to here.

"It looks abandoned," Katsuki whispered before leaning over Izuku and peeking around the corner to see for himself. He looked for a few moments before sighing and going back to his original position. He looked at his phone, which still had the GPS pulled up. "Well, empty or not, this is the place," he said gruffly. He glanced at Izuku and then at Shoto. "We should figure out a way to get in," he said in a quiet tone. Shoto nodded and without another word, they all knew to split up.

Shoto moved in the other direction, black hero suit instantly blending in as he moved farther into the shadows. These hero suits were perfectly made for spy missions like this, and Izuku appreciated how well they faded into the dark. He was sure they'd need it, especially if they were going to infiltrate this building.

Izuku used his Quirk to get a head start on the other two, who couldn't use their Quirks without making noise and alerting the villains of their presence. He checked for doors, windows, and anything else that could be useful for them to get inside. He was just about halfway around the building, praying that they didn't end up needing to climb to the second floor, when he came across a mini sliding glass window covered from the inside in boards. There was a padlock on the outside, but it was rusty and looked breakable. "That'll work," he muttered before pulling out his phone and pinging Katsuki and Shoto. They arrived less than a minute later from the other side, likely with as little luck as him.

"This should work, right?" he asked in a whisper as they approached. Shoto crouched down in the overgrown grass beside him to take a look.

"Probably. Nice, Midoriya," Shoto said quietly, and Izuku nodded. 

"Thanks. I'll just break that padlock," he said. "Can someone get me a rock?"

Almost immediately, Katsuki handed him one. Apparently, he'd already thought of that idea. "Thanks," Izuku whispered before taking the fist-sized rock. He summoned the strength of One For All and then swung it down as hard as he could. He hit the padlock perfectly and it broke with a tang before falling to the ground in two pieces. A perfect hit, right in a chink in the metal. However, the sound waves were still vibrating through the air a couple of seconds later. It ended up being louder than he'd anticipated.

"Keep it down!" Katsuki hissed, glancing around nervously. Izuku pursed his lips.

"Sorry," he whispered. Then he cracked open the window and slid it open, struggling slightly at first because of how glued-together it seemed. It was obvious that nobody had opened this window in years. Caked-up dirt and cobwebs crumbled to dust on all sides as he moved it, and he had to hold his breath just to avoid breathing it in. Once open, he got a good grip on the top board before using his Quirk to pry it off rather quietly. He was able to do so without much difficulty. His heart was racing with adrenaline, and he could feel sweat dripping down his chin and gathering at his eyebrows. Here he was, breaking into a supposed villain's headquarters. He just hoped there wasn't anything waiting for him inside once he got these boards pried off. 

Katsuki and Shoto waited patiently behind him, keeping a lookout as he pried off the boards one by one. The last one was the hardest. For some reason, it had four nails on both sides instead of two—so Izuku had to use a little more power. But it was fine. He got it off without a problem, pulled it silently outside, and then stacked it against the wall alongside the other boards. Once finished, he turned to the others, who were watching silently. "I'll go first," Izuku volunteered, and without waiting for a response he turned his body feet-first, grabbed the edge of the wall with both hands, and began to lower himself inside, hoping the ground wasn't too far down. He couldn't see a thing.

He held his breath and could hear every beat of his racing heart as he lowered himself further and further, still not feeling ground. He regretted not using a flashlight to see first, but it was too late to back out now. He didn't want to look like a wimp. He wasn't scared, only a little nervous. Finally, he fully extended his arms so he was just dangling from the edge of the window, not a clue to how far down the floor was. He tried listening for any signs of movement from below, but couldn't hear a single thing. It was silent.

Finally, Izuku let go. His gut dropped as he fell, but he was relieved as he realized the floor was only a few feet down. It was a high wall. He was a good distance underground at this point. Looking around, but still couldn't see a thing—however, based on the echo his boots made when he landed, the room was big. He turned his gaze back up to the window, where Katsuki was poking his head through. "You good?" he heard the other ask from above. Izuku cleared his throat, trying not to sound anxious. He was unnerved after that little trust fall, and the darkness engulfing him wasn't making things any better.

"Yeah. It's only a few feet of a drop," he said. A moment later, Katsuki was lowering himself inside just like Izuku had, and a moment after that, he dropped down beside him. It was comforting to have the presence of someone else beside him in this unknown territory. Before Katsuki had gotten down here, his heart had been nearly beating out of his chest—but now he felt like he could calm down. He wasn't alone anymore.

Shoto came a few seconds later, and soon they were all standing together and turning on their flashlights to investigate. Izuku switched on the headlamp built into his stealth suit and shone it around, giving himself a moment to adjust to the light before he split from the group and started the search for evidence. The first thing he noticed about the room was how big it was. Walls made of concrete, stretching far around and echoing their every move. There were only two windows in the entire room including the one Izuku had broken into. The other was in the opposite corner of the room, and it was the exact same shape and size as this one. There was only one door, and it was in the corner to the right of Izuku. The next thing he noticed were the rows upon rows of tables. Almost like this was supposed to be a cafeteria.

Only, these weren't cafeteria tables, and there weren't any chairs to sit. These tables were silver medical tables—like where doctors lay patients when they're about to perform surgery. Not a single table had something on it. They were all empty. But the sight of it left a bad taste in Izuku's mouth—like something terrible had happened in this room, and he didn't want to know the history of it.

By his friends' reactions, they were both thinking the same thing. "The fuck..." Katsuki muttered as he shone his light over the tables, taking everything in. Izuku caught a glimpse of his face and noticed he looked troubled. He hadn't been expecting this—none of them had.

"What is all this?" Shoto asked nobody in particular, venturing into the center of the room and looking around. He looked creeped out. "This is..." he trailed off.

A moment of silence ensued before someone could gather the courage to speak again. "We should search the room for signs of drugs. That's what we came here for," Izuku said, but his words felt shallow. He was starting to feel like drugs were no longer the focus here—like they were obligated to investigate all these examination tables. Why were they here if not for people to be kept? And if they were here for medical purposes, why was the entire place locked down? Why did it seem abandoned? This building wasn't registered as a hospital—it was a warehouse. People don't get medical treatment in a warehouse.

He walked to the nearest table and ran his finger across the smooth, cold surface. If this place was as abandoned as it seemed, his finger should be caked with dust—but when he took his finger back to his eyes, it was clean. Not a speck of dust in sight. Meanwhile, back when he was opening the window, he'd been holding his breath just to avoid breathing any of it. Which meant—these tables were freshly cleaned. People have been using them, and using them recently.

He took a breath to tell Katsuki, who was closest, but could tell the other already knew what he was going to say. They made eye contact, lights illuminating each other’s faces. "Should we keep going? We were only sent here to find drugs—not investigate some crazy psycho crap," Shoto piped up as he made his way back over to them. He looked a little distraught. "Maybe we're in over our heads here. We don't have any backup."

"We haven't done what we came here to do. We need to gather evidence of drugs, bag it up, and then bring it back for the Pro Heroes so they can take down the villains," Izuku said, though he was rather uncertain himself. Something about this was making him uneasy, and he could tell it was affecting the others, too.

Katsuki had his own opinion. "You two can leave if you want. I'm finishing the mission," he said before walking away. Izuku noticed he was going towards that door in the corner. There was nothing else in this room to see.

"Kacchan, wait a second," Izuku said, but he knew it was pointless. Once Katsuki got an idea, he didn't give up until he got what he wanted. He was stubborn like that—but it was also something Izuku could admire. If only they weren't in a possibly dangerous situation right now. Katsuki continued walking towards the door, completely ignoring Izuku's plea. He looked at Shoto, willing him to come along. The three of them together were powerful enough to take on some tough villains. But at the same time, this place was really giving off odd vibes.

Shoto looked at him hesitantly. He glanced at Katsuki, who would surely go on his own if he had to. Finally he sighed. "Fine, let's go," he said, and Izuku breathed a sigh of relief as the three of them made their way to the door. 

The door itself was huge, about eight feet tall and made of heavy-duty oakwood. The wood itself was dark and stained with color, chipped in some places, especially along the edges. Katsuki was already staring at it as they approached. "How the hell are we supposed to get past this?" he grumbled as Izuku and Shoto walked over. He then tried pushing it—leaning his shoulder and planting his feet into the ground, pushing until the veins were visible in the temple of his forehead. Finally, he backed off as it didn't move an inch. "Won't budge. Damn thing," he said before giving it a frustrated kick.

"Let me try," Izuku offered after watching Katsuki struggle, and the blond reluctantly stepped back with a begrudging sigh. Izuku put his hands near the doorknob before planting his feet firmly on the ground and taking a deep breath. He started to feel the electric power surge through him, up his legs, torso, and all the way down to his fingertips. Then he started pushing. At first, it didn't budge, so he added a little more power. Then he heard the wood begin to creak. 

"Careful, Midoriya," Shoto warned from behind him. He gave a muffled "Yep" in response. He was adding power slowly to avoid making too much noise. 

The door continued to creak until he began to hear splintering from the inside. There we go, he thought as the old wood began to give way beneath his palms, where he was concentrating most of the power. It wasn't long before the old knob gave out and the door cracked open with a loud snap and a few flying splinters. The noise sent echoes through the room—but it was successfully open. He looked back sheepishly as the echoes continued for seconds after. He'd been too loud again. Shoto looked nervous while Katsuki only looked pissed as he walked forward.

"Fuck, Deku, think you could've been any louder?" he hissed as he pushed past Izuku into the darkness beyond. But Izuku snatched his forearm before he could get any further. 

"Could you just wait a second?" he snapped. "Don't go running off. We need to stick together." That much was true.

Katsuki looked over his shoulder at him. "Watch it," he said dangerously. "This ain't your mission, nerd." His red eyes shone in the otherwise darkness.

"Right. It's all of ours," Izuku shot back, trying to ignore how suddenly intimidated he was feeling. The unease in his gut was growing heavier with every passing second. With Katsuki trying to run off on his own all the time, and Shoto nervous to the point where he didn't even want to continue, Izuku was starting to feel really bad about this. But he knew one of the reasons Katsuki was being so cocky was because he was nervous, too. If they just all worked together, this wouldn't be a problem. Walking into a dark, secret hallway wouldn't be scary. And they'd get this done in a matter of minutes.

Katsuki looked him up and down again. Their faces were close—in a few seconds Izuku could pick out every little scar from previous battles and training, every speck of dust settled on his sunkissed skin, and every shade in the nervous eyebags under his eyes. His heart was starting to speed up. If Katsuki didn't start listening, they were gonna have a problem. It took a few seconds of intense eye contact for Katsuki to finally answer. 

"What percent of your power did you use to get through the door?" Katsuki asked with a totally straight face. Izuku blinked and his mind drew a blank. The question completely caught him off guard. 

"Uh...what?" 

"You can let go now," Katsuki added, glancing at his arm. "You'll give me a damn bruise."

Izuku didn't realize he'd been squeezing Katsuki's arm to the point his hands were shaking until he released his grip. But he didn't apologize. "Does this mean you're gonna listen?" he asked, trying to sound demanding.

Katsuki scoffed like that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. "Answer my question," was all he said as he started walking. Izuku followed. And Shoto came last, well-adapted to listening to their arguing. 

Izuku sighed, hoping if he answered Katsuki's question he would start being more cooperative. "About 20 percent," he said, walking beside the other now. They both had their flashlights on and were walking down a darkened cement hallway with no lights and no doors. It was a little claustrophobic, even though he'd never had problems with claustrophobia before. He was on high alert. Heart racing, eyes wide to catch any movement, ears strained to hear even the slightest sounds of an oncoming attack. He was talking to Katsuki in a low voice. This was a weird hallway. A weird situation. The door had been locked for some unknown reason. The flashlights didn't reach past 10 feet ahead, so they couldn't see how long the tunnel was, and the air seemed to be buzzing with life even though nobody was there. It was truly unnerving.

"Really, 20 percent? I could've done it in 10," Katsuki poked at him to relieve some of the suffocating tension. Their footsteps continued to echo around them. Was it just Izuku's ticking brain, or was the tunnel getting narrower?

"Well you don't exactly have One for All, so I guess we'll never know for sure," Izuku shot back. Normally Katsuki would've quipped with something sharp, but in their situation right now Izuku could tell he was fighting to come up with something.

"Actually, I'll have you know that—"

"Sh!" Izuku cut him off with a brief grab to the forearm and a shush. Looking ahead, he'd noticed a drop in the ground. Stairs? Katsuki noticed it as well after following Izuku's gaze. Shoto peeked over Izuku's shoulder as they precariously advanced.

"A hole?" Shoto asked quietly as they approached, but once they got to the edge, they realized that it was indeed a staircase going down. Izuku shone his flashlight and was further exasperated to realize he couldn't see the bottom. The darkness was thick. 

"Of course it had to be stairs," Katsuki muttered as they began their descent. "The hell is this place? An underground bunker?" he asked, coming to a silent mutual agreement that after coming all this way, none of them had any intentions of backing down.

Izuku continued to walk beside him. "I wonder how it's avoided all the sewers. Must've been built a long time ago.” He'd never seen something like this before. A long hallway and now a staircase? At least the walls around them seemed to be expanding the further they went down—getting taller as well as wider. He wondered what was waiting down there, hopefully some drug samples that they could take and then book it outta there. "These flashlights suck," he murmured out of frustration as he couldn't see the bottom yet. "How far down is it?"

"I can see it," Katsuki said, and Izuku looked closer to see a moment later that his flashlight was finally reaching the end. A few more steps and he could make out a wide room beyond, with walls stretching to where the light wouldn't reach. Twenty steps later, they made it to the bottom. Shelves upon shelves of vials filled with variations in colors of liquid. Plastic containers filled with powder stacked together from size small to size extra-large. Testing tubes hanging off the sides of the metal shelves. Syringes piled on tables, cardboard boxes filled to the brim with small white pill bottles, clutter littering the ground and filling the countless shelves. Some of it didn't even register in Izuku's mind until he looked twice.

None of them moved. They just stared. All this equipment...Izuku noticed a heartbeat monitor, a cardboard box of unopened syringes, a shelf filled solely with small clear glass bottles of "medicine." A shiver ran up his spine. What was going on here behind closed doors? Those tables upstairs...were people being...experimented on?

"Holy shit," Katsuki muttered under his breath. After a minute or so of adjusting, Izuku was the first to step forward. He walked to the nearest shelf filled edge-to-edge with thumb-sized vials containing yellow, blue, and red liquid. He grabbed one of each color and stuffed them in his pocket after removing his phone. 

"Start collecting," Izuku said. "Let's get this done quick." He was trying not to let the shakiness show in his voice. He was scared—mostly to find out what these vials, syringes, and medical equipment were being used for. Experimenting? Human testing? Some people were capable of very evil things. And for that, he was angry.

He grabbed a few more vials along with a packet filled with white dusty material, which he stuffed in his chest pocket. Along with that, he was taking pictures of anything and everything he saw that might be important. But unfortunately, they didn’t have any data as a result of them being probably around 50 feet underground, so they couldn’t send the photos back to Aizawa just yet.

Minutes passed as they explored; collecting evidence, taking everything in, and trying to figure out what the hell was going on here. Why the syringes? The gauze? The heart rate monitors, breathing tubes, and vials filled with mystery liquid? He was feeling more and more nervous with every passing second. The room seemed to go on and on—shelves upon shelves of medical equipment. Whatever this place was, it wasn't new. This was an ongoing operation with decent funding. However, another question was surfacing in Izuku's mind—where were all the bodies? If their hunch was correct, and people were being tested on, where were all the victims? The evidence? And on another note, he hadn't come across a single villain yet. Where was everyone?

Izuku kneeled down to take a picture of a pile of unraveled gauze sprawled across the concrete floor. His muscles were taut, ready to start running at a moment's notice. This whole place was giving him a bad feeling, especially since they hadn't seen any villains yet. He was ready for something to spring out from around the corner at any second.

He heard soft bootsteps behind him and was naturally startled. He looked over his shoulder to see Katsuki emerging from behind a shelf with his phone in hand as he scanned the walls using the flashlight. He caught Izuku's eye and turned to walk over, and Izuku gave him a nod of acknowledgment before going back to take his pictures. Izuku could hear every step of his boots with how quiet it was in the room. It felt nice to finally have someone beside him after a few minutes of silent exploration.

"This is so fucked up," Katsuki muttered as he walked over. Maybe he was thinking the same thing. "Makes me wonder what's been going on in here. With all this medical stuff, and the tables upstairs...I bet it’s something really shitty," he added, standing beside Izuku now, who was still crouched even though he had finished taking pictures. "The human testing type of shitty," he added lowly.

Izuku chewed his cheek. He'd been thinking the same thing—but now that Katsuki had said it out loud, it seemed more real than ever. "I've been thinking the same thing," he admitted after a moment of contemplation. Suddenly his eye was caught by a spiderweb glistening in the light between a couple of overturned boxes. The silk strands, so thin and durable, beautiful and intricate for such a widely-feared creature. He wondered what made them so terrifying. He stared at the web for nearly half a minute, unaware that he was doing so. He was deep in thought until Katsuki spoke again.

"Izuku," he said quietly. His voice was placid, not a touch of anger or annoyance like it usually had. He didn't exactly sound concerned, but the only thing Izuku noticed, or even heard in that tone of his voice, was that he wasn't angry. Izuku looked over his shoulder at him, attempting to meet his eyes. But the latter was focused on something else, something past him, over his head and behind the shelves only a few feet away. He looked a little too focused—like he was intrigued by something there. Maybe a piece of medical equipment they hadn't seen before, or a box of vials with a new color liquid. At least...that'd what Izuku was hoping. Izuku watched as his expression slowly faded from curiosity into unease. Then, he said just about the most terrifying thing Izuku could've imagined.

"Did you hear that?"

Finally Izuku followed Katsuki's gaze, still crouching on the ground. He didn't dare move. His heartrate sped up, and he strained his ears to pick up on any sounds that Katsuki may be referring to. He stared with wide eyes into the darkness beyond the shelves, wishing his flashlight had a higher wattage so he could see better. The darkness was just so thick. Where's Todoroki? he wanted to ask so they could make a break for it, but the lump in his throat was prohibiting him. Something about this situation was screaming danger. What had Katsuki heard that caused him to look so nervous?

Suddenly, he didn't have to wonder anymore. Suddenly, the world around him erupted into chaos.

A bloodcurdling scream shattered the silence, causing him to jump up and take a leap backward out of shock. Katsuki wasn't far behind him. That scream wasn't anything like he'd ever heard before. It wasn't human. It was deep, like the creature had immense strength, but at the same time had a shrill insect-like undertone. The best way Izuku could describe its tone of voice was angry.

In his haste to get out of range, he realized he'd dropped his phone. Moving on instinct at this point, and thinking only of the mission, he made a move to go back for it. However, before he could get his legs going fast enough, the nearest shelf to him was plowed over with such immense force that horror and shock seized his body. A 400-pound eight-foot-tall pure-steel shelf, thrown at him as if it were made of playdough. The shelf came hurdling towards him and surely would've inflicted a few decent-sized injuries if Katsuki hadn't jumped in the way and blown it back with an explosion that shook the ground. Sparks lit up the room and for a split second, Izuku could see what they were up against. Not a villain. A monster.

At first glance, it looked like a serpent. An elephant-sized serpent. A long slender body, accompanied by silver scales, a broad head, and fangs oozing with venom. It moved like a snake—slithered along the ground like a snake. It hissed, but it also screamed. Oh, the screams were horror-invoking. Every noise sent a shiver down his spine. This was something out of a nightmare. A horror story. A scary movie. But never something he thought he'd see in real life.

Now, at first glance, it looked like a serpent. It moved like one, too. But as Izuku took a closer look, he began to realize it was not only a serpent—but something far more terrifying.

Arachnid-like legs had sprouted from the sides of the snake—long, sharp, and dangerous. Something in him knew that just one jab from those lightning-fast limbs would mean a serious injury. Everything about this thing was screaming death to the point where he wasn't even sure he could touch it without getting seriously hurt. Somehow it made a clicking sound that accompanied the screams. Perhaps the most unsettling thing was its eyes—large, round, and glowing with intelligence. This thing was truly the stuff of nightmares—the result of a genetic experiment. Like the creators were trying to make something as terrifying as possible using the two most widely-feared animals, snakes and spiders. And to be fair, it was a success.

Izuku was beginning to understand why people were afraid of spiders.

"Fuck!" he could barely hear Katsuki shout before the creature was screeching again and scurrying towards them, moving at something between a slither and a crawl. Those legs were stronger than they looked—this thing was moving fast. It knocked over another few shelves in the process, yellow eyes glowing with the light from their flashlights as they struggled to predict its path. Izuku barely had time to mentally recover before he was jumping out of the way, dodging jabs from the spider legs and avoiding the venomous teeth of the snake. Beside him, Katsuki was doing the same, blocking attacks with explosions and trying to scan for a way out. A shelf was coming up fast behind them—they'd be cornered soon. Katsuki attempted a quick escape using his explosions, but before he could get out of range the creature wrangled him back in using a few of its many legs. Weren't spiders supposed to only have eight? From the brief glances he was getting here and there, he could count almost twenty.

The ongoing shrieks and rattling croaks of the creature were unsettling and totally distracting. This thing was a mixture between a snake and a spider, and the size of a fucking semi truck. It was making Izuku's stomach churn. Silver scales reflected the light from his flashlight as it darted back and forth with startling precision for something its size. He spotted a leg darting in from the side and quickly reacted by swinging his leg towards it while dodging the razor-pointed tip. He swung, made contact, and followed through. His leg swept straight across, detaching half the leg from the body and sending black steaming liquid splattering across the ground. The thing screeched even louder, causing his eardrums to vibrate and a sharp pain to shoot through his skull because of the frequency. He was sure his ears were bleeding at this point.

Even though he'd just taken one of its legs off, the creature didn't seem fazed at all except for the scream. It continued attacking furiously—yet its movements were shadowed by percision. Izuku dodged and weaved, gritting his teeth and struggling to remain focused. Only a few seconds later, he looked down at his leg as he started to feel a tingling sensation like his skin had fallen asleep. He was shocked to see his hero suit had been burned through with acid and his shin was bleeding as the outer layer of skin started to shrivel away. His eyes remained impossibly wide. The injury didn't even hurt—yet looked gruesomely bad. He'd been right. Either this thing was coated in poison, or its blood was pure acid—and both options were terrifying.

"It's poisonous!" Izuku cried in exasperation as the creature lunged with its fangs, snapping at the air where his bleeding leg had been only milliseconds before. He glanced over his shoulder and realized they were now cornered against a giant shelf. He couldn't just push this one over as the monster could. No, this creature needed his full attention if he wanted to avoid getting skewered.

"Duck!" Katsuki suddenly yelled from behind him, and the other's voice, even if angry and in the midst of this impossible situation, somehow gave Izuku a sense of control. He ducked. "Eat shit!" Katsuki directed his arms at the serpent, going airborne with a series of blasts to get just out of range. Not a second later, a deafening explosion filled up just about the entire room, enveloping the creature in smoke and blinding curtains of fire.

Izuku could feel the heat on his back as he looked over his shoulder from where he was crouched. Bright red and yellow waves of light surged from Katsuki's outstretched palms as he fired off one of his gauntlets—enough firepower to fry any freak like the one they were facing. That familiar sensation of admiration toyed with Izuku's chest as he watched the other unleash his full power and take out this monstrous creature in one blow. It was truly amazing—he was impressed every time. When Katsuki finally dropped to the ground and explosions stopped from his hands, the top half of the creature was black and charred and it seemed to be struggling to stay upright. The spider legs creaked and croaked like turning gears and the once-shiny silver scales were sizzling with heat. The serpent's head hung low and its eyes were surely burnt, as it wasn't trying to look at them. A soft hissing sounded from its throat. And that's when Izuku knew it was his time to contribute.

He got a running head start, eyes set on the broad spot on its skull right between its eyes. He didn't plan on giving it any time to recover. With gritted teeth and a sense of strength surging through his body, Izuku propelled himself through the air and, silent but deadly as the snake itself, swung his foot and swept directly through the skull of the target. He only got about halfway through before he lost momentum and was forced to fall back, but that was more than enough to kill it. The serpent collapsed to the ground with a mighty boom and Izuku landed beside Katsuki, watching it spasm and twitch in its final moments of life. Despite the sizzling feeling in his leg, he felt triumphant. They'd beaten their foe rather quickly.

"Nice job, Kacchan," Izuku panted. "But what even was that thing?"

Katsuki took a few seconds to calm his breathing before replying. "I'm assuming it's a result of these fucking drugs they have everywhere. These fuckers are probably mixing genetic information. Sickos," he replied. He then looked around begrudgingly. “Where's that damn Icyhot? You think he would've heard us fighting and maybe stop by to help out," he added. Izuku looked around, too, but the darkness was too dense to see much. And just like that, the room was back to silence. Was that the only villain? He doubted it. Shoto wasn't anywhere to be seen. Was he in trouble? Izuku couldn't hear a thing. Now, he was getting nervous.

"Don't even think about yelling for him," Katsuki added sharply as Izuku was about to take a breath to yell. Izuku looked at Katsuki. "If there are any villains here, they already know our location—but that doesn't mean they know Todoroki's. So keep quiet," he added. As Izuku turned his body to face him, something else caught the other's attention. Katsuki looked down at his leg and muttered a, "Shit."

Katsuki pointed, and Izuku looked down at the leg he'd kicked with only moments before. This was the same one he'd kicked with the first time, too. The clothes had burned fully away and his skin was bubbling from the acid in the serpent's blood. He grimaced at the sight—even though he couldn't feel an ounce of pain. It just felt like a warm towel wrapped around his calf. What was a little concerning, however, was that he could no longer wiggle his toes. He was losing motor control already—not a good sign. "What the fuck, Deku, didn't you say it was poisonous? Jesus," Katsuki cursed, and Izuku refused to meet his eyes. "We need something to wash that off," he added hurriedly, looking around as if a bottle of water might appear out of nowhere. "I think I saw a sink in the back. Let's go," he ordered. Izuku didn't protest, so off they went.

They made their way briskly through the rows of shelves, Izuku well-aware of the trail of blood he was leaving from his bleeding leg. He didn't limp. He didn't feel any pain, so there was no reason to. The way he was walking felt a little too casual for the way his leg looked like a crime scene.

They maneuvered around tipped-over boxes and navigated through darkened aisles, trying to retrace their way to the back of the room—but the place was truly a maze. Katsuki had his hand cupped and was using some small-scale explosions along with his flashlight to lead the way. The sound reminded Izuku of firecrackers and was almost soothing after the obnoxiously loud battle that had just ensued.

After only a minute or two, it was starting to get harder to move—bending his knee was becoming a challenge of its own—but the poison seemed rather slow-moving and hadn't reached his head yet. He decided to just keep it to himself, glancing at the passing tubes and boxes filled with expensive equipment as they walked. He wondered how much money it would have been to buy all these supplies. Most of it didn't even look like it was being used. How did these villains have such lucrative funds? They were working in a literal warehouse. He sighed inwardly. So many unanswered questions.

It seemed like only a few seconds passed before his leg started locking up when he went to take a step. His eyes widened with alarm the first time it happened—but then he popped it back into place, and all was good. At least until a few seconds later, when it locked again and he stumbled, almost tripping if not for his other foot's quick work. He clenched his jaw, still set on not asking for help. The poison was slow-moving. He'd gotten himself into this mess, anyway, so he didn't want to trouble Katsuki.

The only thing was, he didn't need to tell Katsuki that he needed help for the other to figure it out. The blond noticed Izuku's slower pace and turned to look at him. He studied the way he was walking for a few seconds—with a locked knee, quite uncomfortably—before asking, "Does it hurt?" 

"No," Izuku quickly responded, "It doesn't hurt. The thing is, it's starting to get..." he grimaced with another step, "...harder to move." New fear started to kindle in the back of his head as he realized what this poison could do to him. Paralysis was no joke. Katsuki slowed out of unease, but Izuku waved him off. "I'm okay," he assured.

"Well hurry up, then," Katsuki with a doubtful stare and harsh tone, but Izuku could detect the worry underlining his words. "It's just up ahead."

"The poison's already in my system," Izuku pointed out as they continued walking, trying to go faster to just get this done. "What's more important is getting out of here. Let's do this quickly," he added. An unknown expression washed across Katsuki's face for a moment—something he didn't often see on a face so rigid with intensity. Concern. But it was gone just as quickly as it had arrived, and quickly he was making a move to do something about it.

"Let's hurry the fuck up, then," Katsuki said before walking over to the struggling Izuku and hooking an arm behind his back and in the crook of his knees. 

"What are you—" Izuku was about to say before Katsuki swept him off his feet and into the air. A little huff was physically sucked out of him as Katsuki took him up bridal-style and continued walking like it was nothing, like he was a bag of pillows. This was impressive because Izuku knew how toned with muscle he was. He wasn’t light. Katsuki was just strong. "Kacchan!" Izuku exclaimed in embarrassment as this was happening. They were now going faster than before, but still it felt kind of unnecessary. He was cradled close to Katsuki's chest, strong arms keeping him off the ground to move him purposefully from point A to point B. There was no doubt that this was probably the more efficient way of movement. But that still didn't eliminate the fact that it was just straight-up mortifying.

"This really isn't necessary," Izuku muttered, holding tightly onto Katsuki's shoulders as if he would drop him at any second. He got a nice close-up look at Katsuki's face for a solid few seconds. 

"First of all, quit staring at me," Katsuki said, scowling at Izuku and chasing away his gaze. "Second of all, your fucking knee locked up—what do you mean this isn't necessary?"

Izuku looked down at his leg, which was sticking straight out, still bleeding and even sizzling softly from the lingering poison. He winced at the sight. "Plus, movement spreads the poison faster. Didn't you know that, nerd? So suck it up and shut your mouth."

Izuku did just that. 

Thirty seconds passed, and that was all it took before Izuku was starting to feel a bit woozy. The steady dip of each of Katsuki's steps as he carried him was starting to shake up his brain, and the tingling in his leg was spreading up his thigh, his hip, and into his torso. He couldn't feel his foot at all. "Urgh..." he muttered, blinking slowly as he stared over Katsuki's shoulder where his chin was rested.

"How you feelin'?" Katsuki asked in response. 

"I don't feel," Izuku replied dumbly.

"Don't feel what?" Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"My foot," Izuku replied. "Or my leg. And my head is starting to hurt..."

Katsuki pursed his lips. "Damn it," he muttered. "You idiot."

Izuku continued to stare over his shoulder. "Am I gonna die?" he asked. 

Katsuki kept walking, and Izuku noticed he'd sped up to more of a stride. "Hell no. We're gonna rinse this shit off your leg, call Aizawa, and get you fixed up right away," he replied with confidence. Izuku laid back in his arms, removing his chin from his shoulder and meeting Katsuki’s eyes. Surprisingly, Katsuki locked gazes with him. Izuku could feel every muscle straining in Katsuki's body to keep him off the ground. He wondered if Katsuki was studying him, too. With his poison-muddled brain, all he could do was stare.

After a few seconds of that, Katsuki broke the thickening silence between them by saying, "Your pupils are super fucking dilated. It's creeping me out."

Izuku frowned and rolled his head back so that he was just hanging there limp. "I don't care. As long as my leg doesn't hurt, I'll be okay," he said. 

"And now the poison is getting to your brain. Even worse," Katsuki grumbled.

They reached the sink and Katsuki dumped him on the counter before turning on the tap and starting to work on unlacing Izuku's boot for him. Izuku just laid his head back on the table and let Katsuki do whatever he wanted. His breathing was starting to feel laborious and it was getting harder to focus on one thought at a time. He tried to fixate his attention on the steady sound of Katsuki's breathing. He was breathing through his nose. It sounded a little panicked. "I'm gonna rinse your leg now, so if it hurts, just deal with it," Katsuki muttered before grabbing Izuku by the foot and dragging him a few inches across the table to get his leg under the running water. Izuku couldn't feel it, so he just lay there in silence. "Can you feel that at all?" Katsuki asked after a minute.

"Not at all," Izuku replied drowsily.

"Okay," Katsuki said. Izuku lifted his head and looked down to see Katsuki rubbing the red, tender skin under the water, gently scrubbing the remaining poison from the wound. Izuku laid his head back down after observing for a few seconds. 

"I didn't know you were such a gentle doctor," Izuku said, mostly to make conversation. He wiped his forehead and came away with a sweaty sleeve. He was probably burning with fever.

"Why, do you want me to be rough? I can be," Katsuki demanded, but his threats were empty. “And I’m not a doctor, I'm just smart enough to know that the longer the poison stays on your skin, the more it's going to spread through your system. I just wish we could've gotten here sooner. The poison's probably already gotten to your head. Fuck."

"It's getting harder to breathe, too," Izuku added casually. "My chest feels like it's tightening up."

Katsuki clenched his jaw but didn’t say anything. “Okay, I think I got it all washed off. Let's go." He grabbed Izuku's legs, pulled him to the edge of the table, and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

"Ack!" Izuku exclaimed as he did so. "Ow, my leg!"

"You can't even feel it," Katsuki growled.

"Well, that time I did! You need to be more gentle."

"I’m not gentle.”

“Yeah, obviously, you’re not,” Izuku rambled.

“Whatever. We're getting out of here," Katsuki snapped as he hurried back in the direction they'd come.

"What about Todoroki?" Izuku asked worriedly, giving up on being embarrassed about the fact that Katsuki was carrying him. "We can't just leave him here."

"Yeah, well, if we don't get you out of here in the next ten minutes, you're probably gonna fucking die. So we're going now—with or without him," Katsuki shot back. "The guy can take care of himself. Even though it is a little weird that we haven't seen him lately..." he trailed off. Izuku bit his lip anxiously. 

"What if he got ambushed? We need to help him," Izuku said, weakly elbowing Katsuki's back. The other shrugged him off.

"I'll get you out of here, call Aizawa, and then come back for him."

"You can't do it all on your own! What about me? I can help."

“You can barely fucking move. Stop trying to be the hero and sit this one out. You already took out that other villain."

"I'm just saying that if there are a bunch of villains down here—villains that were strong enough to kidnap Todoroki—you might need some backup," Izuku explained. He could feel heat rising in his stomach. He didn't want Katsuki getting captured while all he did was sit helplessly out of danger. Couldn't he understand that? Could he try to see things from Izuku's point of view?

"I can take care of myself. I don't need you to fucking worry about me, especially when—"

"Run!" A shrill new voice cut through their conversation, startling them both into stopping and looking back. Izuku's eyes flew open. He recognized that voice.

"Todoroki?" he called in response into the darkness, looking behind them where the voice had come from. His heart began to speed up. Shoto’s voice was strained with fear. A few rows of shelves back, he could see a flame approaching, flames outlining the frame of somebody's body. Shoto was sprinting toward them at full speed—and he was telling them to run.

"I said go, dammit!" Shoto shouted as he approached. With the second scream to knock some sense into him, Katsuki started booking it in the other direction with Izuku still on his shoulder. He felt his guts being rearranged as Katsuki's shoulder dug further and further into him with each step. The only thing keeping him anchored to the other was the strong hands gripping his legs and the small of his back. The sound of their footsteps and heavy breathing was the only thing he could hear, and his brain was being shaken vigorously with every bounce of Katsuki's step. He seemed to be struggling with the extra weight, and Izuku noticed Shoto catching up quickly, which meant they were running rather slow.

"What is it, Todoroki?" Izuku demanded, his voice shaking with every one of Katsuki's steps. He tried to prop himself up on Katsuki's back and grimaced with discomfort, while Katsuki muttered, "Stop wriggling around!" It felt like his torso was being squished, but it probably would've hurt more if half of his body wasn't already paralyzed. He looked back. Flames licked across the left side of Shoto’s body, lighting the way and revealing the look of terror in his eyes. Terror? What for? With an even closer look, Izuku noticed that most of his clothes were torn and battered, and he had multiple gashes and wounds covering his body. He was bleeding a sizeable amount. Izuku could only stare in confusion before he worked up another question to ask.

"What happened?" he asked loudly to be sure Shoto could hear him. Shoto had been fighting? They hadn't heard a thing. Was that somebody's Quirk? How did Shoto get away? What were they facing? 

"Villains!" Shoto exclaimed between breaths. "Lots of them...too many to fight...hah...we need to...hah...get out of here!"

Izuku looked behind Shoto and, peering through the darkness, could faintly see dark figures maneuvering through the shadows hot on his tail. They were catching up quickly. Flashes of teeth and wild eyes that could only be from an animal. Dogs, maybe? No, something worse. Wolves. Izuku grated his teeth. "Kacchan, they're catching up!" he exclaimed. "Just put me down!" 

"And leave you to die? Fuck that!" Katsuki huffed, struggling to run faster. Shoto was outpacing them and had nearly caught up. Suddenly an ice wall sprouted from the ground behind them—right between two shelves, so it should've blocked the wolves off—but somehow they just jumped right through. Izuku blinked. Had he been mistaken? There was no way they could’ve just jumped right through it. Right?

Izuku continued to look back and could see now the figure of a man among the wolves, running alongside them. They must be a part of his Quirk, because if they were real wolves, they would've caught up already. Izuku clutched onto Katsuki's shoulder.

"Fine, but at least use your Quirk to get us off the ground!" Izuku shot back. Hearing that, Shoto decided to use his ice and slid past them with a woosh. Katsuki let go of Izuku's legs and suddenly light sparked beneath his palms and an explosion filled the air. In an instant, they were flying through the air towards the exit, all attempts at staying quiet thrown out the window. Repeated bursts of light and grenade-sized explosions emitted from Katsuki's hands, propelling them forward at a much higher speed. His stomach dropped with each time. He figured Katsuki must be accustomed to flying like this, because it was much different from the way he did it. Izuku looked down to see the figure still following them, teleporting through shelves with his shadow wolves right at his side. Izuku pondered on his Quirk. Whatever it was, it was interesting.

"Are we being chased?" Katsuki asked after a few more explosions. They were soaring through the air at this point. Izuku wondered how high the ceiling was, because they were about twenty feet off the ground right now. 

"Yeah, but the guy can't fly, so we're good up here," Izuku replied.

"It's only one guy?" Katsuki asked.

"It's a guy with a bunch of shadow dogs that can teleport through walls and dodge Shoto’s ice. I guess that's why he was telling us to run," Izuku replied. "Todoroki had a bunch of cuts and it looked like he was bleeding."

"I can fucking see that," Katsuki replied. "He's below us."

Izuku looked down and, without much surprise, realized Shoto was flying above the shelves on his ice right below them. They were going about the same speed. And then suddenly, Shoto was shouting and pointing at something across from them—and then he was firing up his left side, reaching back his arm as if he were about to throw his flames. Izuku followed his gaze. And then suddenly, just as Shoto started to light up the ground, there was a flash of something in the air—a tiny object hurdling straight towards them. Straight at Katsuki. A bullet.

Izuku didn't even give himself time to think. Time slowed down. His heart skipped at least few beats. Every movement of his body accounted for something, and every motion that he made worked for his benefit. No mistakes. He hurled his weight to the side so that the bulk of his body was shielding Katsuki's, and then he held on and prayed that the mystery bullet didn't hit the blond. Whatever it was, he didn't care. It didn't matter. At this point, Katsuki was the only one that could save him. He couldn't let Katsuki get hurt. 

The bullet hit him in the back with a chk. He didn't even have time to react to the flaring pain that instantly seized his muscles. However, what he hadn't accounted for was that Katsuki might be thrown off balance by his sudden change in positioning. And as a result of his miscalculations, they were now hurdling straight towards the ground as Katsuki tried frantically to straighten them out—and failed. "Fuck!" was all he heard before they collided with a shelf. Izuku's leg hit a box of vials, so glass went flying everywhere, shattering all around them and filling his ears with melodic screams. He felt shards slice through his clothes and pierce his skin, covering him in tiny cuts that only added to the pain he was already experiencing. He tried to remain focused on Katsuki, but couldn't keep his eyes open in fear that a shard would find a way to blind him.

He hit the ground, rolled about twenty feet—bouncing off multiple shelves and other clutter in the process—and ended up in the middle of the floor surrounded by shards of glass, tipped-over boxes of medical equipment, and multiple splatters of his own blood. His body throbbed. His head hurt. He couldn't move his right leg, and his left leg wasn't working much better. His flashlight was broken, so he couldn't see a thing. He could hear banging and thumping a couple of shelves away, so he assumed that was where Katsuki had landed. He propped himself up, groaning. The world was spinning. He looked towards where he'd heard Katsuki fall, and was glad to see his flashlight bobbing, so he must've been getting up. "Kacchan," he called, trying to sit up. He still couldn't move his legs.

Footsteps jogged closer, and Izuku looked up at the headlamp standing above him when he arrived. It was Katsuki, all right—and he did not look happy. "Deku, what the fuck?" he demanded, crouching down beside him and harshly grabbing his wrists to pull him to his feet. "What the fuck? Are you fucking serious?" he continued, cursing more than his usual amount. No "are you okay?" No  “thanks for saving me." Just a whole lot of cursing. Izuku noticed he did that when he was stressed or angry—and in this case, it was both. "You really are a goddamn idiot. Do you realize what you just did?"

"Saved you from a bullet?" Izuku guessed. Katsuki ignored him.

"You've made this a lot fucking harder for me, that's what you did," Katsuki corrected without even listening to what Izuku had said. He must not have noticed the bullet, then. "Get on my back. They're gonna catch up, thanks to you."

"Okay, but can you at least take the bullet out first?" Izuku asked hotly, even though, strangely enough, he wasn't feeling affected at all. The spot in his back had stung a little at first, but now it didn't even feel like he'd been hit at all. Was it a fake? A trick, or maybe a dud? He didn't know, but he was confused.

"The hell are you taking about?" Katsuki snapped. So he hadn't noticed the bullet. Izuku turned his back to reveal the silver tranquillizer-type bullet with the tip embedded in his spine. Katsuki just stared at it dumbfounded for a moment before planting his fingertips firmly at the base and pulling it out. He examined the thing for a moment before Izuku heard the metal clanging on concrete as he dropped it. "That's why you jerked around like that? You were shielding me from a bullet?" he asked, looking Izuku square with narrowed eyes and parted lips, like he couldn't believe it. Like he couldn't believe that Izuku had a motive for throwing them off course.

"Yes, of course I had a reason! Now stop standing there and let's get out of here!" Izuku exclaimed, snapping Katsuki out of his stunned state. They didn't have time for 'thank you's or 'I’m sorry's. They just needed to get the fuck out.

But alas, they were a few seconds too late. The once-distant sounds of claws ticking on the ground suddenly became near, and in an instant they were surrounded by the dark figures of those shadow wolves. Snarling and snapping with glittering teeth and glowing eyes, these creatures were a little too savage-looking for Izuku's comfort. With the addition of the poison muddling his brain, he was feeling extra overwhelmed by the things circling him, growling and yapping and trying to bite wherever they could. He could barely even stand on his own—let alone dodge the attacks of vicious wolves. Things were not looking good for him at the moment.

Katsuki used his explosions to fend off the creatures. Whenever one got too close, he would fire one off, sending the dog yelping with smoldering fur to hide within the rest of its pack. He was handing it fine. Izuku tried to stay out of the way, trying to ignite his Quirk if needed—but he wasn't feeling that familiar electricity in his chest that he got when he turned on his Quirk. No...it was more like a dull ache. Emptiness. That electricity was gone. His strength was gone. He balled his hands into fists, trying to muster up something, anything, to be of use. A dog lunged at him, and he tried to punch it, but Katsuki ended up having to do it for him. His strength was...no. It couldn't be. His Quirk had never done this before...

Another dog went flying with one of Katsuki's explosions. Izuku could tell he was trying to find an opening to get them both out of there, but was too focused on defending to spend too much time pondering an escape. "What's their fucking weakness?" he asked after exploding another set of snapping teeth. Izuku had been searching for an answer to that well before he asked—but to his dismay, it seemed there was none.

"I can't tell!" he replied. He scanned the darkness for the human figure he'd spotted earlier, hoping maybe for a hint on how to weaken his Quirk—but he couldn't see anything, not even when Katsuki fired off a big explosion. Everything was just too chaotic. His head was spinning. His legs were wobbling. He felt so useless, helpless, weak.

One for All was unresponsive. Not even when he tried to reach within himself, when he tried to communicate with the previous wielders, could he reach them. Fear and frustration seized his chest. A lump formed in his throat. That bullet...it must've been a Quirk tranquilizer. It turned off his Quirk.

He was Quirkless. Izuku nearly started panicking before he could talk some sense into himself. We don't know how that bullet works. Maybe it only works for a few hours. Maybe it's just for now that I can't use it—I mean, they can't just take my Quirk forever, right? 

Yeah. He was gonna go with that.

"Kacchan, I can't use my Quirk," he said over his shoulder once Katsuki got done exploding another wolf. He was handing the current threat well on his own, so Izuku wasn't too worried yet about not being able to use it. Maybe they could get by with Katsuki's power alone.

"What?" Katsuki shouted before letting loose another explosion, followed by a pained yelp as a dog was sent flying through the air. 

"I can't use my Quirk!" Izuku shouted. 

"Yeah, I heard you!" Katsuki shot back. "Was it that damn bullet?"

"It was," Izuku confirmed. "It must've been a Quirk tranquilizer or something. So don't get hit by one!"

“Yeah, no shit.”

Just as he said that, a new sound filled the air—a whistle. Katsuki and Izuku both ducked on instinct. Then, just to the right of Katsuki's foot, a silver dart embedded itself in the ground—the same type Izuku had been hit with. The villain that shot Izuku was here.

"Great," Katsuki muttered. Another wolf flung itself at them, but he easily blew it off. "Now we got bullets to worry about."

Suddenly light flooded the room and Izuku looked up to see Shoto flying across the shelves on a sheet of ice. On his left side roared a wall of fire, lighting up some of the darkness and revealing the villain that he was up against. A dark-clothed man floating in the air, holding a yard-long sniper pointed straight at Katsuki. Obviously he was trying to get rid of Katsuki's Quirk. If he did that, he and Izuku were pretty much done for. But thankfully, before he could pull the trigger, Shoto raised a wall of ice from the ground and blocked his vision. Then, he looked down at the two of them.

"You guys okay?" he yelled. Izuku could see blood glistening on his forehead and noticed the way it had soaked into most of his clothes. 

"We're fine—and take it easy, Todoroki! It looks like you're losing a lot of blood," Izuku exclaimed. 

"Just take care of the bullet man, Icyhot!" Katsuki shouted over his shoulder. Shoto nodded and took off in chase of the so-called "bullet man." Suddenly a dog lunged and snapped at Katsuki's leg, so naturally he blew it up—but he left his other side unguarded for only a split second. And in that single moment, a second dog lunged. It sunk its teeth into Katsuki's leg and pulled him off his feet, sending explosions everywhere but the target. Three more dogs saw their opportunity and took it. They bit into Katsuki's arm, leg, and torso, shaking their heads and ripping through his skin. He got to work exploding them off, but other dogs were taking notice of his slip-up and beginning to move in, seeking an opportunity to strike.

"Stop!" Izuku screamed, lunging for the nearest dog and mustering up enough strength to punch it repeatedly between the eyes. It was true that he no longer was in control of his Quirk, but that didn't mean he'd lost his muscle, too. He could still throw a mean punch. He hit the dog a few times before it let go of Katsuki's leg and turned its bloody fangs to bite him, instead. And as this animal snapped and bit at him, Izuku came to the quick realization that this wasn't just some dog—this had the size, strength, and bite force of a primitive wolf. It took a hold of his forearm and pulled him off balance with terrifying strength. He toppled over like a toddler just learning to walk. Two more wolves decided to dig in, taking hold of his legs and starting to pull him in three different directions. He screamed—not just out of pain, but out of frustration. He was Quirkless again. Helpless. Just another civilian to be saved—a terrified kid, unable to do anything to save himself. And he was going to die.

That is, until a huge explosion blinded him and momentarily stunned the dogs. He blinked his eyes open to see Katsuki struggling to his feet, gushing blood in multiple places and staggering his steps. He'd just singlehandedly blown up half the group. Izuku guessed he'd used his second gauntlet, which was now mostly destroyed as the dogs ripped it away from him. But Izuku didn't have much time to think about that before he was shaken back to reality—physically shaken by the wolves as they tore through his flesh and tried to rip him apart. Another scream escaped his lips. He could feel his limbs being pulled, flesh being pierced with razor-sharp teeth, whole body seized by these demon dogs that somehow had no weakness.

Not a second later, two more explosions ensued, and the two dogs that had been biting Izuku's feet were knocked off and thrown to the side. Finally, the third one was blown up—and the explosion that Katsuki created was so large that it killed the animal upon impact. It went limp in an instant and collapsed to the ground in a steaming pile of singed hair and burning flesh. Izuku propped himself up, shaking, and looked over his shoulder at Katsuki. He was breathing heavily, bleeding from multiple places where he was missing flesh and gouged deep with wolf teeth. Izuku noticed a crimson pool growing beneath him. The dogs had done a good amount of damage.

"Kacchan," Izuku croaked, sitting himself upright, but the rest of the pack was already circling them again. There was no time for words.

The wolves looked a little more hesitant to be attacking after watching their buddies be killed by a single explosion, but on the other hand, they looked twice as angry as before. The malice in their eyes was chilling as they glared and circled around the injured Katsuki and Izuku. Izuku was getting the same feeling when fighting the previous monster. That he was the prey...and these wolves were the hunters.

"Stay close," Katsuki muttered, stepping closer to Izuku so he could better protect him. Izuku grit his teeth. He really wasn't enjoying feeling like a damsel. But really...what other choice did they have? They were severely and quite utterly fucked.

"You have to leave me," Izuku blurted as the dogs began lunging again. Katsuki was now accounting for both of their backs—Izuku couldn't even stand himself upright. He was a liability. Useless. Katsuki had to leave him—it was the only way.

"You'd best shut up now, Deku. I'm not leaving," Katsuki shot back furiously. “And don’t you ever even think about suggesting that again.”

Before Izuku could respond, another dog lunged with snapping teeth and managed to get a bite on his unprotected foot, and he cursed and shrieked as it began dragging him backwards towards the rest of its pack, where he'd surely be torn apart. Katsuki grabbed him and blasted the wolf with enough firepower to end its life. The smoking animal backed off and Katsuki took position hovering over Izuku's body. “These damn dogs. Just fuck off!" he shouted, blasting at whatever was in his close vicinity. But the dogs were adapting now—getting smarter. They knew to dodge wherever he aimed his hand. So now, he was having a harder time landing a good hit.

Another thing Izuku started to notice was the way Katsuki was shaking. He was obviously getting burnt out from using his Quirk so much, and probably wouldn't be upright much longer. The situation was becoming desperate. 

"Damn it Kacchan, just go without me!" Izuku cried in a moment of desperation. He could see how hard Katsuki was fighting to stay standing right now—after all, he was gushing blood from multiple spots, especially his legs. He was probably in so much pain. And it was all because Izuku couldn't have been smarter about fighting that first creature. If only he hadn't been so stupid and gotten himself paralyzed—and then better yet, gotten his Quirk erased—none of this would be happening.

"Shut up, Izuku, I swear," Katsuki exclaimed through ragged breaths. Another giant explosion followed his words, singing the tails of two dogs as they were a little slow to jump out of the way—but not really harming any. He grunted in frustration at his trembling hands. "Damn it. Damn it!" he shouted. Another explosion that did nothing. He was getting tired. This was getting out of hand.

"Getting a little worked up, are we?" a new voice boomed, cutting through the noise of the dogs and the explosions. Suddenly, the creatures stopped attacking—every one of them. Everything immediately grew still. The animals formed a ring around Izuku and Katsuki, blocking their route of escape but not going on the offense. A couple of them were still growling, but the lot of them became very silent. Izuku scanned the darkness for the source of the voice—it was probably the man controlling all these animals. He couldn't see anything. 

Katsuki stayed on his feet, dripping blood onto Izuku's back from where he stood over him. The only source of light was Katsuki's flashlight and the minor explosions that were popping from his hands. Izuku willed him to kneel down, conserve his energy and avoid passing out, but Katsuki was stubborn and wouldn't show weakness even if you held a blade to his throat. Izuku knew he would rather pass out than kneel and show that he's been hurt.

A few seconds of intense silence passed. Izuku could hear noise in the distance and assumed that was Shoto taking care of the bullet guy. He and Katsuki continued scanning the darknedd. The dogs kept their yellow eyes locked on the two of them—but didn't move. Finally, the voice came again. "You guys aren't looking too good."

Izuku's gaze darted to the source of the voice. A man dressed in all black, casually approaching with a pistol in his right hand aimed straight at them. The controller of the dogs.

He wasn't wearing a mask of any kind—Izuku could clearly see his face. The first thing he noticed about it was how young the guy looked, late twenties at most. He had a scruffy short-cut beard and an unnatural color of blue for eyes. His brown hair looked only a little longer than his beard, maybe a couple inches. He wasn't your typical "villain." This just looked like some normal guy.

He smiled easily, pistol pointed directly at Katsuki's head. "Try to blow me up, and I'll shoot you. With real bullets this time," he said. Despite how much he despised following orders, Katsuki didn't move. Neither of them did. They were stunned. The guy's icy gaze flitted to Izuku, where it lingered an uncomfortably long time. Finally, he spoke again. "You're Izuku, right? Midoriya Izuku," he said. Izuku clenched his jaw. The man didn't even wait for a response, he just continued talking. "Oh, that's just perfect. You were the one who defeated our boss, yeah?"

Absolute malice glinted in the guy's eyes—strange, wolf-like eyes that were a little unsettling to meet for longer than a couple of seconds. Izuku didn't stir. The man advanced a few steps. Katsuki tensed above him.

"You remember him, don't you?" the guy continued, not paying any mind to Katsuki. His gaze was on Izuku now. His voice was unpleasant, like a knife being sharpened on a wheelstone. "Two years ago. The Shei Hissaikai Compound." He stood there waiting, as if Izuku was going to say something. He felt the gears in his head turning a little slower than usual. Shei Hissaikai...that was...

"Overhaul," the man said. "You might remember him by that name." Izuku remained silent. It was all clicking together in his brain. The underground facility...Quirk tranquilizers...vials upon vials of drugs, evidence of human experiments...it all related to Overhaul. Had there ever been a second compound that the heroes found? No, he thought Overhaul worked alone. He did work alone. So who was this guy?

"You may be wondering who the hell I am right about now," the guy mused, as if reading his thoughts. "Well, let me explain a little. I used to work with Overhaul—at least, until he got put six feet under. Now, I've been carrying on his work all alone; manufacturing and selling drugs, carrying out his name, making money and building the lab, keeping us moving throughout the years so we don't get caught. Actually, we had plans to move to a different facility tomorrow," the guy explained. Izuku and Katsuki stayed silent—they didn't know what to say. This was really bad. Mostly, Izuku was trying to figure out a way to get out of here. He'd lost all feeling in both his legs and most of his torso. Even the tips of fingers were becoming difficult to move like normal, and he was having a hard time staying seated upright.

"I'm guessing you're here to gather data so that you can bring it back to your masters and get us caught. Well, I'm not gonna let that happen. But I am willing to make you guys a deal. Since I'm in a good mood—and we already had plans to ditch this place tomorrow—I'll let you go. But only under one condition. You give me back my drugs that you have hidden in your pockets, hand over your phones, and let me use my memory eraser drug on you so you don't remember any of this when you wake up. 'Kay?" He said it all so casually that Izuku was almost inclined to just blindly agree. But Katsuki was quick to speak out.

"Hell no, scum. We're not letting you get away with all these shitty things you've been doing," he snarled in a tone that even made Izuku nervous. "You're working with Overhaul? I bet your morals are just as screwed as his were. What are you, his brother or somethin'? Or maybe you were his servant when he was still around," Katsuki snorted. This back-and-forth was already making Izuku nervous. With a gun pointed to Katsuki's head, their opponent had the upper hand here. Katsuki was acting a little too bold for his comfort.

The man finally dragged his gaze away from Izuku to meet Katsuki's challenging eyes. "I don't know if I'd be saying that with a gun pointed to my head," he said in a dangerous tone. Izuku tensed as the guy cocked the gun with a soft movement and a click. In addition, his dogs started growling. "I will shoot you. I'm not afraid to kill a kid."

"Oh, I already know that much," Katsuki snapped. "But are you so sure you won't miss?" 

The man grinned. Then, dark and silent as shadows, five more wolves materialized from behind the man's frame one at a time and took place at his sides. They bared their teeth at Katsuki and Izuku, as if smiling. His ability to create these creatures wasn't just uncanny—it was impossible. Izuku had never seen a Quirk quite like this. The wolves could teleport through objects at will, but still bite into Katsuki and Izuku when they wanted to inflict damage. And they just somehow grew from this man's body like bacteria. And he could create an endless amount. Something wasn't adding up—the fact that there wasn't a weakness. Every Quirk has one. So what was his?

"You look shocked," the guy mused, taking control once more. "Allow me to elaborate. I've created this drug—along with many others—that works as a sort of Quirk enhancer. Normally, I'd only be able to create three or four wolves, and they wouldn't be nearly as strong as the ones you see here. But with my Quirk enhancer, I can create an endless amount, with double the strength." He smiled. "Isn't that just fascinating?"

Izuku stared. Katsuki glared. The dogs around them started panting and wagging their tails, almost as a response to the guy's mood. It was fascinating—but it was equally so terrifying. 

"Anyway, back to the point. Even if you do somehow dodge my bullet, my wolves will just tear you apart. Like I've said before, you aren't looking too good. I'm sure you've realized that, too. So if you try to fight, you're probably just going to die."

This was starting to look pretty hopeless. Izuku was praying for Shoto to somehow come and swoop them out of this, but he was off distracting the sniper guy. He'd surely be busy with that for at least few more minutes—minutes they just didn't have to spare.

"Back to my offer," the guy continued. "As much as I'd like to kill you, your teachers probably know you're here—so if you don't respond within the hour, they'll surely come looking. So. Here's what I propose: a solution for both of us," he said with a bizarre amount of delight. Like he was having fun. "You hand me the drugs that you've smuggled into your pockets, along with your phones, which most certainly contain incriminating evidence that I just can't allow you to give to your teachers. Next, I inject you with a memory-erasing solution that will erase all your memories of the past 24 hours. And finally, I kick you out of here, pack up my stuff, and leave. That way I don't get caught, and you two get to keep your lives. How's that sound?" he asked with an encouraging nod. 

Izuku finally snapped out of his confused daze to give an all-out glare at the man. "Our mission was to come here and reveal all of the sick things you've been doing so the Pro Heroes can come and hunt you down. We're not leaving until we've done that," he snapped. Suddenly he felt Katsuki's hand on his back, putting pressure on his shoulder. He realized the other was using him as stabilization to stay upright. Katsuki wasn't doing well. The gouges on his legs and arms had formed a pool of blood around his feet, and now he was struggling to even stay standing. He was hiding it well, though. When he spoke, his voice was still as strong and confident as ever.

“What he said," Katsuki agreed. The both of them stared down the man, who was now frowning.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," the man sighed. "Well, maybe this will convince you." He re-aimed the tip of his gun at Katsuki and pulled the trigger. A loud bang filled the air and Katsuki silently fell to his knees.

Izuku cried out and turned to look at him with wide, terrified eyes. He first looked at Katsuki's face, praying to God that the man hadn't aimed at his head. But his face was fine, aside from the grit and drying blood that had already been there before. He was looking at the ground with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes. Izuku looked further to see him cradling his shoulder, which was spurting new blood from the bullet hole. It didn't hit his heart or any internal organs. It didn't hit his head. In fact, the bullet was aimed in a spot where Katsuki could very well survive. If only he hadn't already lost so much blood...

Katsuki was silent through the pain. His hands were shaking—his whole body was trembling with the shock—but he didn't make a sound. Not a single inclination of weakness. Izuku immediately took to his own clothes, flailing to grab at some loose cloth on his leg where the poison had burned it away. He found a weak spot and, struggling with his sluggish fingertips, managed to tear off a piece. But it wasn't long enough to fit around his arm. Izuku cursed under his breath and ripped off a thicker chunk, praying the fabric was long enough to work this time. He was relieved when it turned out to be the perfect length. Katsuki let him slip it under his armpit and tie a quick knot, pulling it as tight as possible. He hissed in pain, but it had to be tight to slow the bleeding. Izuku wished he could make a tourniquet, but didn't see any objects nearby that would work as a stick. As they performed this, the man continued to talk and walk around them, watching their desperation in comfortable silence.

"You can bandage him up all you want, but with all the blood he's already lost, he won't be conscious for much longer," the villain spoke, pacing to the left and beginning to circle them within the ring that his dogs had created. "It's obvious you care about each other. Are you sure you want to let him die?" he continued. Izuku knew that question was aimed at him. 

"You're not gonna die," Izuku muttered to Katsuki. He was trying to ignore the man—he was just saying that to get in their heads. "Kacchan, you're not gonna die. We'll figure this out," he half-whispered. He noticed Katsuki's breathing was starting to grow shallow, and his trembling was noticeable. This wasn't good.

"I'm fine," Katsuki grumbled through clenched teeth. "It's just a little...scratch."

Izuku's eyes returned to the man, who was watching them with an amused expression. One hand stroked the fur between the ears of one of his wolves, and the other hand held the gun still pointed at the both of them. "Hand me the drugs and your phone, and let me erase your memories. It's easy as that. Then you'll never find me again, and you'll both walk away alive," he said convincingly. "Just believe me when I say I don't want you to die."

A moment of silence. Izuku weighed their options, all while trying to come up with a plan. This guy didn't care if they died or not—he just wanted them out of his hair. They were surrounded by bloodthirsty wolves that followed the every command of their master. But at the same time, he couldn't just give up the mission. Not like that. And he knew Katsuki wouldn't want to give up, either.

Just like that, something popped into his poison-muddled head. Whether it was a good plan, he didn't know—but it was possible. A spark of hope kindled in his chest as he pondered it for a second or two and then decided it was worth a try. 

"I don't believe you. He'll die from blood loss if he doesn't get medical attention soon, so he's gonna die whether we give you the evidence or not. Do you have anything for healing wounds?" Izuku asked. 

Katsuki looked at him. He looked like he might keel over any moment now—yet that angry glow still remained in his eyes. "No, Deku. We're not gonna fucking lose this," he muttered, and Izuku could almost feel the waves of anger rolling off him. He met Katsuki's eyes from where they were kneeling next to each other. 

"It's not losing, Kacchan. It's a tactical retreat," he said quietly. Then, he very, very subtly held out his hand, making sure it was out of the man's sight, and molded it into the shape of something fist-sized. He stared Katsuki in the eyes and mouthed one word. Grenade.

Katsuki understood. The grenades buckled to his belt—he didn't think the man had noticed them yet. If Izuku could throw one and catch him off guard, it was possible that they could create enough chaos to make a break for it and escape. The exit was near—Izuku remembered photographing the test tubes hanging on the shelf near here. And if they timed it perfectly with Shoto, they could all make it together. Izuku could still hear the sounds of fighting in the distance and hoped Shoto was finishing up. 

Katsuki understood his plan. They'd always been able to come up with similar plans in the past, so now was no different. Just to sell it a little more, Katsuki shook his head in disapproval. "No. We're not giving up to this scum. We can still fight our way out of this," he insisted stubbornly. As he was talking, his hand was snaking its way to his side, where one of his grenades was latched. Izuku kept eye contact with him as he precariously managed to pull it from the strap without making a noise. "I've never lost before, damn it, and I don't plan on starting now!"

His tone was so convincing that Izuku himself almost believed it. "Come on, Kacchan, just work with me! I don't want you to die," he said in a hushed voice. Silently, and without breaking eye contact, Katsuki passed the grenade to Izuku's outreached hand. He had it in his grasp—and the man hadn't seemed to notice yet. So far so good.

Katsuki glared at him, then glared at the man, then back at Izuku. "Well, fuck that. You're paralyzed from the waist down. How the hell are you gonna survive this?" he demanded. Then he looked at the villain. "You got some kinda anti-venom or something? Deku here went and got himself infected with that damn serpent's poison, so the future ain't looking too bright for him, either. Give me an anti-venom, and I just might consider," he said snappily. 

The man looked appeased with Katsuki's words. "Wonderful! I'm so glad to see you two agreeing with me," he praised. "Of course I'll get you that medicine. I don't know exactly how well it'll mix with the memory-eraser, but It'll probably be fine," he shrugged. "You'll also need to tell your other friend to do the same. I think he's on his way now." He lowered his gun and turned to one of his dogs, giving it instructions to "go fetch Eiko"—whoever that was. Izuku's heart skipped a beat. The plan was working—he was letting his guard down. As he turned to face the man, he gripped the grenade tightly behind his back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. If he could throw the grenade at the man, and Katsuki could use a few blasts to get them to the exit, this could work. This would work.

With his free hand, Izuku slowly fished the drugs out of his pockets and emptied them onto the ground. Every drug but one. The packet of white dust in his chest pocket. He hoped the man just didn't notice. Katsuki did the same—but Izuku noticed he kept his phone. So they were both keeping some form of evidence, then.

Izuku gathered all the vials into his hand and held them out to the man. His heart was racing in his chest. Now was the time. He could hear the soft shh of Shoto’s ice as he approached—he must've just finished his villain. Now is the time.

The man walked over to them with his hand held out for Izuku to place the drugs. Everything moved in slow motion as he handed them over—and as he did, pulled the pin on the grenade with two fingers. It made a little chnk noise, but Izuku masked it with the sound of glass vials clattering together. He counted the seconds in his head. One...two...three...

On the fourth second, he chucked the thing as hard as he could at the man's chest. It hit him, catching him off guard—and then it erupted into flames and smoke with a deafening boom.

A bloodcurdling scream filled the air as the man was engulfed by a blinding explosion. Shrapnel from the grenade flew back and pounded Izuku's body, but he ignored it as he grabbed into Katsuki and felt explosions lift them off the ground. Even if Katsuki couldn't move, at least he could still use his Quirk. They took off into the air, Izuku clutching to Katsuki's shoulders with all his remaining strength, and Katsuki grunting with the effort of getting them off the ground. Izuku could feel his muscles straining incredibly, and knew he was pushing himself to the near brink.

He looked over Katsuki's shoulder to see the man covering his face with both his hands, all while shouting at his dogs to run after them, along with all sorts of profanities. The shadow wolves took off in their direction, following close behind on the ground, teeth snapping and vicious snarls sounding from their throats. They looked about a hundred times more terrifying in the intermittent bursts of light coming from Katsuki's explosions. Izuku knew that if they landed now for whatever reason, they'd surely be ripped apart.

He heard someone yell from beside them and looked over to see Shoto soaring through the air on a bridge of ice. He looked battered and bruised, but otherwise no worse than the last time Izuku had seen him. He was staring at them with wide, expectant eyes, but Izuku couldn't understand what he was saying. His brain was fogging up. His arms...oh no. He was starting to lose his strength. The paralysis was becoming more prominent in places other than just his legs.

Shoto yelled again, and this time Katsuki responded. "We're fine, Icyhot! Head for the exit. It's just up ahead," he shouted in a raspy voice. Izuku knew he was struggling, too. The explosions were getting weaker with each burst, and the pain on his face told Izuku all he needed to know about how hard he was fighting to hide it. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. But they were almost there...Izuku's eyes widened as he felt his arms begin to slip. His joints were locking up. His chest felt heavy, and he couldn't speak. The paralysis was taking over. He couldn't speak.

He looked at Katsuki's face. He looked pained, but determined. Determined to get them both to the exit. But that surfaced another question in Izuku's mind—how were they going to escape the devil dogs while running up the stairs? Running down that tight, claustrophobic hallway? There was no way that Izuku could run in his current state. He was a liability. Helpless. Useless.

Quirkless.

He grit his teeth, trying to swallow the lump in his throat and failing to even do that. He was losing motor control fast. He had maybe a few more seconds before his muscles gave out and he let go of Katsuki. He had to just hold on enough to make sure Katsuki makes it out alive. His muscles strained, and he could hear ringing in his ears with how hard he was fighting to hold on as his strength sapped away. This was it. There was no getting out of this. All he wanted was for Katsuki to make it out. If he could just get to the exit, then he could let go, be taken by the dogs, and Shoto would at least make sure Katsuki gets out of there. Please don't wait for me, Izuku thought desperately. Let me be taken. I'm a liability again.

Let them take me.

I'm helpless again.

He might as well just kill me.

His friends were all that mattered at this point, and that was because he knew they still had a chance to survive this. Izuku didn't have that hope. If he went with them, he would slow them down so much that they would surely get caught—but if he stayed and let himself be the center of attention, they had a chance at escape. 

All these thoughts passed his mind in the span of a few seconds. Time slowed down as Katsuki’s explosions started to propel them toward the ground, where he knew the exit was coming up fast. He could feel his weak arms begin to give out, joints locking up at this point. He could feel his throat starting to close as he let go. The thought of death passed his mind, but oddly enough, he wasn’t too scared by it. Everybody dies at some point—so why not now? Why not while doing a good deed, trying to save his friends? It was the least he could do to repay them for all they’d done for him. He’d been the one to get himself paralyzed. That was his fault. He didn’t want his friends to die here because of it.

His stomach lurched as he plummeted toward the ground, completely motionless as his body went numb. Another thought passed his mind—he thought of his mom. She’d always been there for him, or at least tried to be. She helped him through his rough childhood, the time when he’d been Quirkless and desperate to get a grip on his own life. He hadn’t known what he was going to become back then. He had no idea. He just figured he’d live out the rest of his life a useless nobody, without fulfilling his dream of becoming a hero.

Well, here he was. A hero. What did that mean, exactly? As it turned out, he’d never get to know.

He fell about ten feet and hit the ground shoulders first. The air was knocked from his lungs and he struggled to gasp for breath, attempting to part his lips to make a grasp for some air, trying to regain it back. But he soon found that he couldn’t move. Not even his lips. Not his throat. He couldn’t swallow, he couldn’t blink. The only thing he could do was breathe—fortunately—and look around. His breaths were labored and shallow, but at least he was still able. 

Katsuki landed at the base of the stairs and, once he could semi-stabilize himself, started running back towards the sprawled-out Izuku to grab him, shouting. He had a wild light in his eyes that Izuku noticed, and he tried to shake his head as Katsuki started running at him. On Izuku’s other side, he couldn’t see the wolves, but he could feel the vibrations of their paws on the ground as they gained on him. It was only a matter of seconds now, he knew.

Go, Kacchan, he thought with what little sanity he had left. His fingers twitched, and that was about all he could do in the way of movement. He felt his mind start to fade. He stared at Katsuki, who was struggling to even stay on his feet as he ran at him screaming. Out of the corner of his vision he spotted Shoto dropping down from a wall of ice and starting to run toward Izuku, too, both shouting. Terror twisted both their faces. Even Katsuki, who rarely showed emotion, looked horrified. Izuku couldn’t move—he couldn’t tell them that it would all be okay. He couldn’t tell Kacchan not to blame himself, and he couldn’t thank Shoto for being such a good friend. All he could do was think it, and hope they understood.

It was another second before the shadows overwhelmed him. Teeth dug into his ankles and immediately he was being dragged away from Katsuki and Shoto, who were still mindlessly trying to save him. There was nothing they could do. Hopefully they understood that. All Izuku hoped was that they could save themselves. He knew Katsuki wouldn't want to leave, but was praying that Shoto came to his senses and dragged him out of there. Maybe now that he'd collapsed, the wolves would stay focused on him and pay no attention to the others.

Izuku accepted it as he was dragged away, the sounds of snarls and shadowy figures enveloping him in a cocoon of death. He couldn’t fight back, so he didn’t even try. He just closed his eyes and let it happen. Whatever fate had in store, he was ready. 

Izuku passed out soon after that.

“Icyhot, you better let fucking go of me!” Katsuki screamed in a dazed fit of panic and rage. His mind was spinning, his body was throbbing, and he couldn't control most of his body very well. Involuntary explosions pulsated from his palms, propelling them toward the exit and doing exactly what he didn’t want them to. He couldn’t control himself. Izuku was still there. He was in danger. Katsuki could only stare at the howling, writhing mass of dark fur and flashing teeth, body rigid with this newfound terror. Why’d Izuku let go? One moment they'd been flying fine, and the next Izuku was stiffening up and falling. They were almost to the fucking exit. Why’d he let go? Had he been more injured than Katsuki thought? Was it the poison that finally took over? Or worse...was Izuku trying to sacrifice himself for them?

“Fuck! God damn it, Izuku!” Katsuki shouted so loud that he felt his voice break. The wolves were paying no mind to him now, only focusing on Izuku as they dragged him away, surely to eat him. Todoroki dragged them away from the scene, but Katsuki knew he would never get that image out of his mind—not ever again. Izuku lying on the ground, bleeding and helpless. The dogs overwhelming him—dragging him away. Away from help. Away from him. 

He fought to escape Todoroki, even if he knew it was helpless at this point. Izuku was surely being torn apart. Katsuki screamed and cursed—out of horror, and out of disbelief. He...no. This couldn't be happening. Izuku wasn't screaming—Katsuki wondered if he was even conscious. He tried to peer through the shadows, but everything was blurring together. 

"Go back, Todoroki! We have to go back!" he shouted in Shoto's ear, noticing the way his voice was becoming ragged and hoarse. Along with his vocal cords, his body was starting to weaken. He could no longer function his legs correctly, so he was stumbling and staggering as Todoroki tried to drag him up the stairs. He could hear their footsteps on the pavement as they traveled up a few. He looked back, eyes wide. He refused to leave. No, he couldn't.

"Get the hell up!" Shoto screamed back, and Katsuki wavered as his eardrums erupted with vibrations from the soundwaves. "I'm trying to save you, Bakugou, so get up! Don't you think this is what he would've wanted?" he continued. Katsuki looked over his shoulder and in a second's glance noticed just how exhausted Shoto looked. Tears—whether voluntary or not—had gathered at his eyes. Blood and grit covered most of his face, along with the rest of his body. He was shaking and had a clenched jaw. It looked like he was struggling to stay upright, let alone drag Katsuki's ass up the stairs.

Katsuki looked back at the pile of dogs and clenched his teeth, barely containing another frustrated scream. He couldn't see Izuku—was he still alive? There wasn't any blood, and he couldn't hear any flesh or cloth tearing. Were the wolves actually killing him? He was denying the thought. Snarls and howls echoed throughout the room, but he couldn't see Izuku. No exposed flesh, no torn-off limbs. Were they sparing him? Then why drag him away?

Shoto hauled him up another few stairs before he came to his senses and remembered to fight back. "I'm not leaving, Icyhot...!" he shouted through clenched teeth. He managed to break away from Shoto and took a step forward—but instantly as he put weight on his right leg, his knee buckled and he was sent face-first down the stairs, going head-over-heels for a few steps before he could frantically stabilize himself. Shock rippled through his body with how weak he'd become. Looking down at his legs, he realized the bite marks and chunks of gouged-out flesh were gushing blood along to the beat of his heart. He couldn't feel any pain due to all the adrenaline, but just looking at the injuries was enough to make him light-headed.

"Bakugou," Shoto said in a dangerous tone, stepping down to him and grabbing him by the collar. He looked him dead in the eyes, stone-cold. "We're gonna make it out of this cave. It's what Midoriya would want, and we're not going to dishonor him by killing ourselves right now. Can you understand that?" 

Katsuki ignored the shakiness in Todoroki's voice. He sounded broken—but at the same time, he sounded like he knew what needed to be done. He was determined. Katsuki looked back one last time, breathing heavily and lip trembling with what he knew he had to do. Izuku was down there possibly getting killed, but...he couldn't save him.

The one time Katsuki couldn't save him.

Todoroki grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, not even waiting for an answer as he began to drag him up the stairs at an unreasonably fast pace. Katsuki had a hard time keeping up, but he was complying. He was leaving Izuku. Fuck, he couldn't believe this. He was giving up.

Every instinct in his brain was telling him to go back. He cursed himself out loud for being so weak, raspy voice filling the staircase with sound along with their bootsteps. He could still hear the fading snarls and barks of the devils behind them. How could he be so helpless? Izuku needed help and he couldn't do a damn thing. Now he was here running like a weakling, feeling his body slowly weaken, letting himself be saved rather than being the one helping. He was furious. But on the other hand, he was terrified.

Even if Izuku hadn't always been a big part of his life, he'd always been there. Always. When they were kids, middle schoolers, high schoolers and now adults. He was always there—sitting on the balcony of his apartment, or doing homework in the common room, or sparring with one of their classmates in the training area. No matter how many times Katsuki refused it, or how long he tried to force it out of his mind, the fact was that he'd gotten used to having Izuku around.

He liked sparring with him—developing their Quirks together, learning each others' strengths and weaknesses, even if it wasn't voluntary. He'd gotten used to the way Izuku was always in his corner. He could always trust him, even if he never asked for help. It was his quiet, assuring presence that Katsuki could appreciate. Their history wasn't something he was too proud of, but the fact was that through thick and thin, Izuku had always stuck around. 

The boy who was always there. The boy who would chase him, no matter how many times he tried to push him away. The boy who helped him realize so much about himself. Izuku identified his flaws, but most importantly, brought out his strengths. They made each other stronger. Over the years, Katsuki had started to realize that. And yet, he'd only pushed him away. And as he ran up the stairs now, abandoning Izuku—the boy who was always there—he found himself regretting it.

He clenched his teeth, swallowing the lump growing in his throat. He couldn't cry. He wouldn't. Not for this, and not now. Right now, he needed to focus on getting out. Even though he knew it was cowardly, and every bone in his body was fighting for him to go back, he had to do the right thing. Over the past couple of years, he'd learned that. Sometimes retreating wasn't the weakest option.

But this time, it really was.

They reached the top of the stairs and started shuffling down the hallway, making their way to the exit. Katsuki was struggling to walk, so he used the wall as support. Shoto currently had better motor control, so he could walk normally aside from a limp—but after leaving Katsuki completely in the dust, he had to turn back. Silently, he limped over to Katsuki, who was trailing blood and struggling to stay upright on wobbly legs. He hooked an arm under his armpit to drag him along. "Tch," Katsuki muttered as Shoto lent him a hand. But as Shoto offered his strength to Katsuki's waning body, he didn't argue like he usually would. In fact, he felt himself leaning farther into Todoroki than usual—as his body was given that relief, he couldn't help himself from beginning to rely on it.

They made it a few more feet without any problems before his eyelids grew heavy and his brain started to fade. He was about to pass out.

Shit, he thought as his mind slipped. The blood loss and physical exhaustion were finally getting to him. Panic gripped his chest but it only lasted for a blink of an eye. Not a second after that, his brain shut off, too.

"Bakugou!" Shoto exclaimed as the blond fell into him, suddenly going motionless and collapsing to the ground. He'd passed out. Shoto surveyed the deep wolf bites littering his ankles and arms, as well as a bullet wound on his shoulder. It was amazing he'd lasted this long on his feet. Shoto looked at his face—clammy and pale. He was breathing shallowly and his body was shaking, despite him being asleep. He was definitely going into shock if he hadn't already. "Shit," he cursed under his breath as he realized he was going to need to carry him from this point on.

Shoto wasn't doing too well on his own. He'd been fighting the wolves before, so he had some cuts and deep bites from where they'd nipped his feet and arms—but he wasn't as bad as Katsuki. His arm was throbbing from when he'd smashed it between a shelf while fighting the bullet guy. He probably broke it. His lungs ached from when he'd been slammed against the ground, and he figured he'd fractured a few ribs. And his left leg was pretty beat up with some deep bites, but he'd managed to apply some bandages, so he wasn't bleeding as badly. He could walk. He was aching with exhaustion, but he could walk. He could get them out of there.

He grabbed Katsuki by his shoulders and sat him up against the wall, allowing for a better angle to carry him. Katsuki was completely unresponsive, even as he yelled in his ear or slapped him across the face. It was final—he was doing this on his own.

Shoto took a deep breath and lowered his shoulder to pick him up. He grimaced with pain in his arm and legs, gritting his teeth at how heavy Katsuki was—packed full of lean muscle. It was terribly inconvenient. After using the wall for support at first, he grit his teeth and moved on with Katsuki firmly on his shoulder, knowing there wasn't a second to spare. The moment he could hear wolves barking behind him was the moment he dreaded.

They headed toward the exit at a steady pace. He was relying on the wall for support, struggling with the weight of them both. Katsuki was heavy, especially while unconscious. The next few minutes were grueling. He made his way down the hallway, wincing with each step, driven only by the sense of duty and determination he had to get them both out of there. As he walked, he thought of Izuku—he'd been left behind. Guilt wormed beneath his skin. He was horrified by what he'd done. Izuku was his best friend, after all. He'd helped Shoto open up to the world, and was the first person he could ever trust to speak with about his past. Izuku was important to him—it'd taken all of his willpower to leave him there.

But at the same time, he knew it was what Izuku would've wanted. Shoto and Katsuki to make it out alive. He'd seen it in Izuku's eyes, even as he was about to be swarmed by bloodthirsty dogs. He wanted his friends to be safe.

That was one of the things Shoto admired most about Midoriya. His selflessness. However, more often than not, selflessness came with self-sacrifice. Izuku would help whoever he could in any way possible. Most of all, his friends, who self-evidently he was willing to die for. God damn it.

After a few minutes of blinding pain and stumbling down the hallway at an aggravatingly slow pace, Shoto reached the end of the hallway with Katsuki miraculously still on his shoulder. He couldn't hear any dogs yet, so that was a relief. The villain was likely too focused on Izuku to pay them any mind. He hauled Katsuki to the window they'd entered from and dumped him on the ground with a grunt of pain. His entire body throbbed. He could hear ringing in his ears. But they were almost to safety.

Once crouching beside Katsuki, he pressed his fingertips to the ground and willed a platform of ice to lift them to the window. Crystals sprouted from his hand and formed a slab of blue beneath them, lifting them toward the exit. Once high enough, Shoto dragged himself out the dirty windowsill, gulping the fresh nighttime air. Around him, the setting seemed a little too peaceful for what was going on inside. He could hear crickets singing, hidden within the overgrown greenery. The quarter moon remained exactly where they'd left it only half an hour ago when they entered the building.

That was how long it took for their lives to go to shit. Half an hour.

Shoto reached back into the building, where Katsuki was still lying motionless on the slab of ice. Shoto dragged him outside with some difficulty, wincing with every extension of his fractured elbow. Then, with one arm hooked under Katsuki's armpits and Katsuki's arm draped around his neck, he stood up straight and continued carrying him the hell out of there. 

He considered calling for help, but soon after realized his body was too weak for that. He was breathing heavily, muscles screaming with overuse, head splitting from blood-loss and vision starting to blur. He cried out as he tripped over a stone on the ground and nearly toppled over with the uneven distribution of Katsuki's weight. He managed to right himself and keep dragging them both along, driven solely by the stubbornness coursing through his veins and determination laser-engrained into his head. Once he got to a safe spot, he could rest. But not now. He had to keep going.

Eventually he reached the front of the building, where he stumbled into the parking lot, trying faintly to yell for help. He knew it was useless—this part of town was virtually abandoned. There was no way people were out and about at this hour. He dragged Katsuki across the cracked pavement, overgrown with weeds that seemed to tangle his feet every time they got the opportunity. Footsteps were loud in the nighttime air. He grit his teeth. He was aiming for a secluded spot where maybe the villains wouldn't be able to find them, but at the same time knew that if they wanted to, they would. They had the wolves to their advantage, after all. It would be impossible to hide from them.

Shoto made it to the street and had to set Katsuki down to catch his breath. Taking a seat to calm himself, he started brainstorming a plan. He glanced at a few buildings, wondering if he could break into one and barricade them inside, before he remembered the dogs could teleport through walls. Back alleys? He thought about trying to hide—but dogs had good noses. They'd find him in about ten seconds, especially with Katsuki leaving a trail of blood for them to follow. What about the car? No use. They’d parked too far away for him to make it. Plus, he was in no condition to drive right now. He clenched his jaw and looked at Katsuki. Still unconscious, sprawled out on the ground, chest rising and falling unevenly with each breath. He wouldn't make it much longer in this state.

Shoto grabbed the bandages strapped to his belt and started applying them to Katsuki's worst wounds, praying he wasn't too late. As he did this, an idea popped into his mind for a temporary escape. If they could just hold off until some backup got there, they could get medical attention and make it out alive—maybe even get Izuku back. He finished applying bandages to Katsuki's wounds, wrapping them tightly in gauze, and then with his remaining strength pressed his bloody hands to the ground. Immediately, a slab of ice formed beneath them, which started lifting them skyward. Farther and farther, he grit his teeth with every ounce of energy he was putting into his ice. He felt his body continue to drain of energy. Despite the fact that he's been training his Quirk for years, with this much blood loss and physical exhaustion, it was a lot harder to control.

They got about twenty feet off the ground before he stopped and added a barrier around them to ensure they didn't fall. Not like they were going anywhere. Then, he finally called Aizawa.

With shaky fingers and a spinning head, he called their teacher.

It only rung for a few seconds before he picked up. "Todoroki?" he asked in his normal monotone voice, with no sleepiness despite how late it was. It was likely he wasn't able to sleep because he was waiting to hear from the three about their mission. However, they'd agreed only to call on emergencies—everything else was supposed to be a text message. So their teacher was quick to add, "What happened?"

Shoto took a deep breath. For some reason, Mr. Aizawa's tone and voice was just making this seem even more real. He didn't like that. The thought of this being real.

"We messed up," he said shakily. Things weren't meant to go like this. This was supposed to be an easy mission—and now he wasn't even sure if they'd make it out alive. Despite all the strength and power that he, Katsuki and Izuku held all together, some things had occurred that sent their luck hurling toward destruction.

"What happened?" Aizawa repeated a little more demanding, and Shoto could hear footsteps and a creaking chair as he got up from wherever he was sitting. He heard All Might's voice in the background, too. It appeared they were all waiting together. "Todoroki, do we need to send help?" He sounded impatient, but his tone was edged with worry. Of course he was worried about his students.

Shoto gulped down his pride and nodded, glancing at Katsuki, who was lying still beside him, bleeding silently through the bandages he'd applied only a minute before. "Yeah," he said. "We failed." The shame in his voice was glaring. Then he screwed his eyes shut, dreading what he had to say next. "Also..." he paused, taking a deep breath to control his voice. "They...They got Midoriya."

Aizawa was silent for a long moment upon hearing that. The One for All user among them had been taken down? It didn't seem possible. Then, Aizawa asked, "What do you mean, they got him? Is he..." Aizawa paused. "Is he alive?"

Shoto blinked slowly. "I don't know," he said, noticing just how slurred his voice was. He was falling asleep. "But Bakugou and I are both injured pretty badly. He's lost a lot of blood and is unconscious. This villain was way tougher than we thought," he continued. "We're on a tower of ice right outside the building. The wolves can teleport through walls. We had to escape," he explained rather poorly.

"Hold up—wolves? Is that the villain's Quirk?" Aizawa backtracked.

"Yes, and they're strong. Just so you know what to expect," he said, shifting so he could lie down on his back. He was getting tired. In the back of his mind, he knew he should be trying to stay awake, but the incredibly appealing thought of sleep right now was really tempting him to just close his eyes. Every breath sent a pain through his chest. He prayed a shard of his broken rib hadn't pierced his lung.

Aizawa sounded concerned. "Okay, Todoroki, I'm on my way right now," he said. Shoto could hear All Might's voice yelling something from afar, but through the phone, he couldn't make sense of it. "You sound tired. Do not fall asleep," he ordered.

Shoto stared up at the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight—only burning dots of light sprinkled across the darkness beyond. Since when had it turned into such a nice night? He blinked slowly, counting stars in his head just to occupy his mind. "Bakugou and I are safe up here. Just get here soon," he said into the speaker before letting his hand go lax. The phone fell beside his ear. He could still hear Aizawa talking, telling him to stay awake, sit upright, make sure Bakugou was still alive and confirm that the villains couldn't get to them. Shoto knew he should be doing all those things—but he couldn't muster up the energy. All he wanted to do was sleep his problems away. Maybe when he woke up, Katsuki would be healed and Izuku would be back with them, uninjured and ready to start training again. Maybe everything would be better if he just closed his eyes...

"Todoroki, stay with me, damn it!" Was the last thing Shoto heard Aizawa yell into the phone before he faded into a nice, gentle unconsciousness.