Midoriya jerked awake, feeling as though he was falling, not quite being able to take in their surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the flame. The second thing being how much pain he was in. This was not the kind of ache he had had after being healed by recovery girl when he had fought Todoroki during the sports festival, and it was way worse than how he had felt after fighting the League of Villains at the Summer camp. He was in pure, raw pain. This could only mean that nobody had been able to heal him. He was broken. He was useless. And worst of all, he was now a burden on whoever had to take care of him.

The third thing he noticed was the silence. He was acutely aware that there were people around, but he couldn't quite remember what had happened. He was delirious from how much pain he was in, but he took in as much as possible.

He was around a campfire, laying on the ground. Somebody had tucked him into a sleeping bag, making sure he was far enough away from the fire to not get too hot. He took mental inventory of everybody around. He started with his immediate left, and worked his way around. Kirishima was there, a worried look on his face as he ate something that they had no doubt had to hunt for to cook over the fire. Next to Kirishima was Kaminari. Midoriya was alarmed at the uncharacteristically solemn look on the electric boy's face. Next to Kaminari was Lucy. It looked as though she had been crying? And her head was resting on Kaminari's shoulder, though judging by the look of the two, it wasn't under the circumstances that Kaminari had pictured in his head. Beside Lucy sat three cats: blue, white, and black. Midoriya didn't know who the black cat was, though he knew Carla and Happy. Carla wasn't eating, though it looked like Happy was gnawing on a raw fish as though it comforted him. Erza was next, relaxing in full armor as usual. She wasn't eating, though she had a stick and was doodling in the dirt. Beside Erza was Gray, who had a sleeping Juvia in his lap. The ice-maker seemed too exhausted to even be annoyed at the girl in his lap. Lastly, immediately above Midoriya's head was Levy. She too looked as though she had been crying. This was when Midoriya noticed her hand slowly working through the tangles in his green curls, almost as though she was trying to comfort him. He almost had drifted back to sleep when something clicked.

Kacchan and Todoroki were missing.

For that matter, so were the dragon slayers.

What had happened? Panic started to swell inside Midoriya's chest, and he let loose a choked sob. Levy's hand froze.

"Midoriya? Are you awake?" She asked, sounding gentle, yet concerned.

"Levy, I - Kirishima. Where… Where is Kacchan? And… And Todoroki? Where are Nats-" Before he could finish, Kirishima cut him off.

"We don't really know. Things got pretty bad when the dragon had several people KO'd. Todoroki had a plan that bought us enough time to get away and retreat, but we weren't able to catch up with the other's before dark. We're assuming they stopped for camp as well, but…" The way he let his voice waiver at the end did not help Midoriya feel better. In fact, he burst into tears.

"Hey.. I'm sure they're fine. Your friends are strong. They have strong powers, and strong minds. I'm sure they would never let Acnalogia get the better of them. Especially with three dragon slayers by their sides." The voice came from across the fire, and Midoriya made eye contact with Lucy, who was trying her hardest to smile at him.

"You should really eat before all the fishies are gone. Maybe they'll help you feel better! They always help me…" Happy trailed off, offering a raw fish to Midoriya, who promptly bent down to retch. Happy frowned.

"Happy, I don't think your offer offended him. I think he's in so much pain that he's nauseous. The only problem is, Wendy is with the other group so we have no way of healing him." Levy spoke gently, rubbing small circles on Midoriya's back.

"The others are strong. I have no doubt they escaped, unharmed. For now, we should get some rest. We need to be up bright and early to be able to meet up with the others in the morning. I have packed enough tents for us to split. Juvia, Lucy, Levy, Carla and myself will take one, and Midoriya, Kirishima, Kaminari, Happy, Lily and Gray will take the other." Erza's tone was softer than normal, but was still harsh enough to say what she meant as though it was an order. Everybody began moving to settle in for the night, Kirishima and Kaminari helping get Midoriya settled. He hissed in pain when the two boys picked him up, and again when they laid him down. His head was throbbing. His hands were throbbing. Hell, every bone in his body was probably broken, and his muscles were screaming at him.

"I wish I at least had a damned ice pack." He muttered, letting his eyes slip closed. He heard shifting around the tent, and then his sleeping bag was comfortably cold around him. He opened his one of his eyes enough to see Gray hovering above him, his hands out over the sleeping bag. He had created the thinnest layer of ice over the top of the sleeping bag, essentially making the entire sleeping bag an ice pack around Midoriya.

"Oh, Gray. Thank you so much. This feels...I would say so much better, but I don't think I'm that numb yet."

"Yeah, don't mention it. Although, it's kind of weird you get this injured by using your own power?" Midoriya just hummed in agreement, and let his exhaustion take over. He was somewhat aware of the fact that the other three boys were speaking quietly to each other about various things, but he was too tired to care, and too tired to contribute to whatever conversation they were having. He really hope that they were able to catch up with Kacchan and the others tomorrow. He finally drifted off, ignoring the throbbing of his body as best he could.