A/N: **There is slight mention of the following trigger warnings: Blood, Depression and Suicide**

Please be advised for this chapter. It is minimal but I still feel the need to warn just in case.

It's currently 1am and I decided to smash it into a two-shot. If there is mistakes, I apologise and will try to fix them in the morning.

I hope y'all enjoy my trash!

For a lack of a better phrasing for it, Midoriya felt like the walking dead.

The pills that Recovery Girl had given him did nothing. Well, almost nothing. He couldn't say there wasn't some change. He felt better by a tiny smidge. It was enough to be noticeable, but not large enough to have a lasting effect. Regardless, he still felt like he was going days without any sleep even though he had slept for over eight hours every night that past week.

Midoriya knew he was attracting the attention of their classmates more than he would've liked. Midoriya had hoped no one would pay too much notice to his lack of training in class that very next day.

In short, everyone noticed, and no one was at all surprised. Those with seats near Midoriya's saw as he obviously struggled to focus. And especially during their training they could tell how the teachers were watching Midoriya more closely than anyone else. And almost everyone knew that Midoriya had seen Recovery Girl with Todoroki the previous day, so it wasn't exactly a mystery.

It was even more reason why during his lunchbreak being left alone with just himself and All Might in the consultation room was the breath of air he felt he needed.

They sat in a comfortable silence as All Might finished pouring himself and Midoriya a cup of tea.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Young Midoriya?" All Might to see Midoriya's eyes shut and his head down toward his side. All realised then why it had been so quiet between the two of them. Midoriya was dozing off. All Might lightly tapped on his shoulder. "…Young Midoriya?"

Midoriya immediately jolted upwards with a gasp, his eyes open and alert.

"I'm sorry!"

"Don't be, it's alright." All Might made sure he sounded as reassuring as possible. He carefully pushed the cup of tea towards Midoriya. "Tea?"

Midoriya muttered a small 'thank you' as he quietly grabbed it only to stare down at his reflection in the tea. All Might patiently waited for Midoriya to speak. Once Midoriya understood that, he spoke.

"I take it Recovery Girl told you what's going on with me." Midoriya said, his eyes not leaving his tea.

All Might nodded.

"She did. So, how are you really feeling, Young Midoriya?"

Midoriya sighed. He dropped the front he had been putting on in class. And so, Midoriya told him everything from when it began to even that morning. Midoriya even lost his train of thought a few times, apologising several times. All Might reassured him each time and attentively listened with the occasional nod.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to speak to you earlier about this." When Midoriya finished, he still hadn't taken a single sip of his tea. It got cold.

"It's okay. By the sounds of it, you didn't know about it either." All Might leaned back into his seat with a frown.

"I didn't mean it to seem like a secret or anything. I wanted to believe it was nothing, but it's only gotten worse."

"Recovery Girl mentioned to me that your situation was unusual, but I didn't realise it was this progressed. I am glad you've decided to come to me about it."

"If I'm being honest since it wasn't about my powers, I didn't even consider it," Midoriya smiled sheepishly as All Might deflated slightly at the confession. "It was actually Kacchan's idea. To talk to you, I mean."

All Might didn't bother hiding his surprise.

"Young Bakugou?"

"Yeah. I was surprised too. He asked if what's been going on was to do with One for All. When I told it wasn't, he told me that I should talk to you anyway."

All Might slowly smiled. He was pleased that the two were finally finding some semblance of getting along. He did know how much Midoriya looked up to Bakugou after all.

"I'm glad he did." All Might said.

"So, am I," Midoriya beamed. "And I do feel better about it now after speaking to you."

Midoriya liked to think Kacchan had told him to talk to All Might because of the sole reason that it'd make him feel better about it. Whether that was the case or not, didn't matter to Midoriya. He was still happy if it was or wasn't.

"Well, for what it's worth, I know that you're one of the toughest people I know. Rest assured that I know that you'll overcome this rough spot. And even if things take an unlikely turn, you know I'll be with you every step of the way."

Midoriya smiled.

"Thank you, All Might."

That's when All Might saw something odd. Midoriya rubbing a up and down his left arm as if it were cold or hurt.

"Did you hurt your arm?"

"Huh? Oh—no, I didn't!" Midoriya immediately stopped.

All Might made a note that he was doing it without realising. All Might had noticed Midoriya's many habits over their time as mentor and student. Like his quiet and frantic mumbling or the pinching at his lip when lost in thought. But the absent-mindedly way he was rubbing his left arm was new.

He opted to pretend he didn't notice for Midoriya's sake.

"There's still about a quarter of your lunchbreak still left. It should be spent with your friends, Young Midoriya. They'd be just as concerned as I am."

"Right," Midoriya stood up. "Thank you again, All Might, for listening."

All Might too stood up and went to leave the room with Midoriya.

"Anytime, my boy. If you ever feel like you need to talk to me again, just let me know."

"I will."

All Might watched as Midoriya faded down the hall. His smile withered into a frown. The whole situation made him more worried than what he had conveyed to his student. Recovery Girl had enquired already to All Might if it was possible that One for All was causing such an effect. The answer had been no, of course.

At that answer Recovery Girl became sure that it was something that would pass, but even she expressed how strange it all was. All Might couldn't help but become suspicious of it all. He didn't have a reason exactly to suspect anything other than the bad feeling lingering over his him.

As if to answer a silent prayer of help, that's when All Might saw a familiar face walking around the corner. It was Bakugou.

With the impeccable timing All Might couldn't help but smile. All Might immediately walked over to him.

"Ah, Young Bakugou! This is extremely good timing! I wanted to speak to you!"

"About what?"

"Thank you for sending Young Midoriya my way."

Bakugou's nose scrunched up his first thought being of course what All Might wanted to talk about was Deku which made him want to roll his eyes.

"It doesn't have to do with me. If he spoke to you, that was because it was his choice."

"I'm sure you're right," All Might was obviously humouring him rather than agreeing. Suddenly his expression shifted into one more serious. It caught Bakugou off guard. "Would you happen to know if something has happened with Young Midoriya's arm?"

That was not a question Bakugou had been expecting.

"Why ask me?"

"Humour me."

If it were anyone else, Bakugou would've walked away already. But since it was All Might, he shrugged and gave a reply even though he had no real answer.

"Nothing I know about," Bakugou scoffed when he saw All Might frown. "Why is that? Has he gone back to breaking his arms with your power again?"

Bakugou knew that it wasn't the case, but perhaps deep down that the comment was his own way of confirming with All Might if what Midoriya was experiencing was due to One for All. Whether it was that or a simple mockery of Midoriya, All Might didn't know. All he did was sighed at the remark.

"I have something to ask of you, Young Bakugou," All Might's serious tone made Bakugou immediately listen. If he respected anyone, it was All Might. "Please keep an eye on Young Midoriya as often as you can."

Bakugou was at first taken aback at such a request. But that's when it occurred to him what he'd need to do. He shook his head with a sneer.

"I'm not going to act as your babysitter. Ask someone else who gives a damn." Bakugou turned to walk away.

"Young Bakugou, please. Look at it as a favour to me. I'm sure he's telling the truth, but something doesn't feel right about this. It could be something, or it could be nothing. Just…please."

Bakugou paused at that. So, All Might had that unsettled feeling about it all too?

Maybe it was because it was All Might requesting such a thing or maybe it was for another reason he had yet to come up with.

"Fine." Bakugou yielded. Whatever it was that truly compelled him to agree was a mystery.

All Might smiled.

"Thank you. I know I can count on you."

What All Might didn't know is that he didn't need to ask Bakugou to watch over Midoriya.

Bakugou had already been watching. But, Bakugou would argue it wasn't because of something as pointless as sentiment.

It was more because how could he not? His rival was practically half asleep all the time. He didn't want to beat him because of a weakness out of his hands. He wanted to beat him when he was at full strength and prove that he was more superior than All Might's successor.

The rest of the night was nothing interesting. It was just their classmates hovering over him. Ponytail gave him chamomile and lavender tea, while Ears gave him a USB with music that apparently helped with sleep.

Shortly after that Midoriya retired for the night and went to his room by 8'clock. Nothing was strange. At least, it wasn't until the next morning.

Bakugou was always an early riser compared to the others on his floor. He very rarely saw anyone else in the elevator when he'd go down to the common room to get ready for the day. So, when he saw Deku already in the elevator. They looked as surprised as the other to see the latter.

Midoriya was an early riser too and was always outside training by the time Bakugou was already in the common room. But then there was the fact that the elevator was going down. That meant Midoriya would've been coming down from the fifth floor.

The two stood at opposite ends of the elevator. Midoriya awkwardly kept rubbing his neck like he was ashamed of something or if it had been hurt.

"You slept walked again." Bakugou said as a statement rather than a question. It was the only explanation in his eyes.

Midoriya frowned. "I woke up lying near the fifth-floor stairwell."

"Still not rested then, I take it." Bakugou was being strangely sincere. It wasn't meant as a jab at Midoriya, but that's obviously how he'd taken it.

"What do you think?" Midoriya snapped.

Bakugou would normally be fired up immediately by such a response, but he was too shocked to truly process it. Midoriya never had the guts to snap at Bakugou like that since...well, ever. The elevator doors opened on the second floor, Midoriya's dorm's level. He shuffled out without another word, effectively ending their short-lived conversation.

Midoriya obviously had finally hit a wall with his lack of rest. Bakugou wasn't the only one to notice. Midoriya's friends finally picked up on it when Midoriya had nothing but a few sips of his miso soup for breakfast, insisting he wasn't hungry.

Bakugou silently kept an eye on him during the day.

Kirishima was going on about something to do with what he wanted to work on during training, but Bakugou's attention was elsewhere.

Midoriya still didn't eat by lunch. He instead was drinking a hot cup of green tea. At the table he began nodding off, fighting it every time.

At least his friends had the sense to leave him be to nod off. They weren't blind. They could see how much it was affecting him. He was asleep upright for a total of five minutes.

However, Todoroki had regretfully disturbed it when he attempted to pull the cup away from Midoriya's grip to make sure he didn't spill it.

"Oh—Sorry," Midoriya rubbed at his eyes. "I started to sleep again, didn't I?"

No one blamed him.

"Do you want to go to Recovery Girl?" Todoroki asked.

Midoriya shook his head. "No, that power nap helped. I'll be okay."

It was at this point that Kirishima had finally noticed that Bakugou had been watching the table adjacent from where they sat. The two watched as someone began approaching Midoriya's table.

Kirishima liked and got along with almost everyone. Monoma from Class B was not one of those people.

"Oh great. What does he want with them?" Kirishima mumbled as he too began to watch what began to unfold.

"Oh, have the mighty have fallen. So, Class A students really can't handle the hero courses then without falling asleep on the job."

Midoriya gripped at his cup. Monoma had obviously seen him nodding off and with nothing better to do, he decided to annoy him about it.

No one, not even Midoriya himself noticed that the cup in his hand began to crack.

"Don't you have somewhere better to be?" Uraraka rolled her eyes. He ignored her and went on laughing manically and spouting more nonsense at his pointless attack on Midoriya.

"So, a student from the infamous 1-A have been slacking off. What an unsurprising turn of events. You think you're all better and yet, you expect to become a hero by sleeping?"

And just like that, the cup in Midoriya's hand shattered.

"Do you ever shut up!?"

A hush of silence fell over everyone nearby. Even Monoma was stunned into silence. Midoriya of Class 1-A was known for being quiet yet confident. The sudden display of aggression wasn't something that anyone was expecting.

It took a moment but even Midoriya looked like he became shocked with himself. He arudptly stood up and began walking out. Monoma had even silently stepped aside to let him pass. Todoroki and Uraraka rushed after him while Iida stayed back to clean up the broken pieces of the cup.

"Yikes, Midoriya never gets mad like that," Kirishima remarked. "I hope he's okay."

Bakugou said nothing.

Midoriya's pace just got faster and faster as soon as he walked out of the cafeteria. Sure, Monoma was an infuriating person, but never would he let himself lose control like that unless he was in a fight. But just then, he didn't feel like himself.

He hated it. All he wanted and needed was rest. It was then that Todoroki and Uraraka finally managed to catch up to him.

"Are you okay, Midoriya?" Todoroki asked.

"I'm fine." Midoriya didn't stop walking.

"Deku-kun, wait!" Uraraka grabbed his arm, letting go as he halted. "Don't let it get to you. Monoma just wanted a rise out of you. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

Midoriya sighed, rubbing a hand along his left arm.

"Please I just need a minute alone right now. I need to clear my head. Just…..please."

Uraraka grew silent. Todoroki on the other hand seemed to understand it better than Uraraka.

"If that's what you need. Then, okay."

With Todoroki's permission, Midoriya walked away and wasn't seen for the rest of the lunch break.

Midoriya was fine after lunch, but his friends kept looking at him with such a look of pity and concern, and the news of Midoriya yelling at Monoma had also spread. Everyone kept asking if he was okay and he couldn't take it anymore

As soon as class was over, Midoriya immediately went to hide out in his room. He needed to be alone. Midoriya immediately got changed out of his uniform and went straight to bed. What he really needed was some rest.

When Midoriya's eyes opened once more. It was already dark out.

And still, sleep did nothing. He was still exhausted. Rage overcame him once more. Midoriya threw the sheets off himself and jumped out of bed. In his anger he grabbed and was about to throw his All Might plush doll, but immediately held it to his chest as he sunk to the ground. He could be the angriest he was in his life, but that didn't mean he was prepared to ruin his All Might merch.

Instead, Midoriya felt everything he had been keeping inside him come out through his tears.

He wasn't getting any better. At the rate he was going his grades would start to slip and he wouldn't be able to keep up physically. And one thing would lead to another and he wouldn't be able to become a hero.

Midoriya held the plush All Might closer to him. Some successor he was, crying over a lack of sleep like a child.

When Midoriya started to collect himself that's when he saw that something seemed off about his reflection in the glass of the window. His reflection wasn't in the correct position. His leg looked like it was sitting up rather than down.

Midoriya experimentally flailed an arm around. His reflection didn't match the movement. His reflection merely stared back with an unimpressed expression. Midoriya staggered backwards with a gasp.

"You must really be losing it."

Midoriya froze. He must've hit a breaking point. His reflection was speaking to him.

"I'm hallucinating." Midoriya mumbled, nodding to himself.

"I can see that. You know this isn't a good sign."

Midoriya rubbed his eyes vigorously.

"This isn't real. This isn't real."

He dared to peek back at his reflection. It was still staring back at him with wide eyes.

"About time you finally cracked, huh?" It said.

Midoriya shook his head. No. He wasn't dealing with this.

He immediately pushed on his reflection, opening the doors to his balcony. He felt the cold air creep around him. It was an incredibly cold night, but the fresh air was good. It had to be. That'd clear his head.

He took deep breaths before he glanced backwards at his reflection in the glass. It was back to normal.

Midoriya dragged a hand down his face. He knew he'd have to tell Recovery Girl. That was obvious. He stepped back into his room to grab his phone.

Midoirya's first thought was to maybe tell All Might. He shook his head. No. That could wait until morning. There was no use worrying him overnight. Midoriya knew what the problem was and how to solve it.

He needed at least one night of restful sleep. Just one would make all the difference.

Midoriya climbed into bed and shut his eyes. His only wish was for the fatigue to go away. He just wanted to go back to normal.

When Midoriya sank away into pull of the dark, he was too late to notice that he was falling in deeper than he should've been. Perhaps the hallucination wasn't what he thought it was.

Bakugou was never one to stay up later than nine o'clock on the average night. But he honestly couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. He was too restless. If someone had asked why, he wouldn't know the honest answer. He didn't know why, but he felt so unsettled.

After an hour or so of rolling side to side unable to sleep he thought he'd at least try and be productive. He attempted to do some more homework. It worked for a while but found himself struggling to truly focus. It all began blurring into one big ball. Bakugou huffed aggressively at himself and checked the time. It was already past midnight. He figured that maybe a cup of something warm would help him sleep. He grabbed his phone using it as a flashlight as he stepped out of his room into the dark hallway.

He took a total of five steps toward the stairwell when he saw a flash of green hair walking up it. Bakugou stopped and blinked several times, processing what he had just seen.

Was that Deku?

Bakugou sighed. The idiot must've been out sleepwalking again. Bakugou was about to go back into his room but he stopped himself. He kept hesitating to grab the doorknob. He attempted to grab it three times before he knew his conscious wasn't going to let him. Bakugou growled to himself.

Fine. He'd go and make sure Deku got back to bed.

Bakugou would've left it for someone else but it was already past midnight. No one would've been awake. At least, no one on the upper floors would be.

He pulled his phone back out for light as he grumpily trudged up the stairs. He expected Midoriya to be pacing in the hall, but that's not what he found. Midoriya was nowhere to be seen on the fifth floor.

Did he keep going up the stairs?

He knew that above the fifth floor was the roof. The roof of the dorms had a small greenhouse there as per request from some of the students. But that wasn't meant to be accessible after lights out and the doors automatically locked when closed.

Bakugou concluded to himself that Midoriya would be more than likely standing in the stairwell in pure darkness.

But Midoriya wasn't in the stairway either.

That's when Bakugou spotted it. A thin book was used as a wedge to hold the door to the roof open. Which could've meant several different things. But what he knew for sure was that Midoriya was on the roof.

Bakugou shoved his phone back into his pocket. The moonlight from outside was bright enough to see. He pushed open the door and just like that he saw a mop of green hair in the distance. He didn't pay it too much attention at first.

"Oi, Deku. What the hell are you-"

Bakugou's blood froze throughout his veins. He finally took in the sight before him.

Midoriya was standing on ledge the rooftop. The wind ominously brushing through his thick green curls. There could've been several explanations of what Midoriya was doing, but Bakugou knew that none of them boded well.

Bakugou snapped out of his shock the moment he saw that Midoriya began to gradually lean forward off from the ledge.

His mind finally pieced it together.

Midoriya was about to jump.

"DEKU STOP!" Bakugou yelled, his legs already moving without another thought.

Midoriya flinched and shot his hand out backwards to motion Bakugou to stop.

"Don't come any closer!" Midoriya's foot shifted slightly on the ledge, inching closer to the edge. A threat to cross the threshold.

Bakugou halted in his track. He felt his skin crawl. Deku's voice had been loud and coherent which meant what he was doing was a conscious decision.

That meant Midoriya wasn't sleepwalking. He was awake.

Bakugou's breaths were heavy as his mind ran a mile a minute.

Everything in him wanted nothing more than to leap at Deku and pull him back over to the side of safety and away from the ledge. But Midoriya obviously didn't want him any closer. Bakugou knew he wasn't close enough to grab him before he'd have time to jump.

But that was crazy, wasn't it? Deku wouldn't jump!

"Get the hell down from there!" Bakugou yelled. "Are you crazy!?"

"I can't do this anymore." Midoriya quietly replied.

Bakugou felt a horrible squeezing feeling in his chest.

"What the hell does that mean!?" Bakugou barked. The desperation was no longer being masked in his voice. "Get down from the ledge or I'll make you get down!"

Bakugou quickly concluded that a threat might've not been the best means of persuasion as he saw Deku's left foot shifting closer over the edge.

"It's too much," Midoriya muttered. His voice sounded devoid of emotion that it sent shivers down Bakugou's spine. "It's all too much."

Bakugou wasn't an idiot. He could connect the dots. He knew what Midoriya was planning.

No…..No, that couldn't be right! None of it made sense. Deku would never resort to such a thing. Never. Not a million years…..Would he?

NO! He not only ever wouldn't, he couldn't! He had One for All! He had to carry on All Might's power and legacy.

"W-What are you saying!? So, you're just going to throw it all away after everything you've done to get here!? Just get down from there, you idiot!" Bakugou knew his demands sounded pathetic, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He was panicking. He couldn't believe it. He refused.

But suddenly all the times he had caused Deku pain and made him cry over the years came crashing back into his mind all at once. Had he helped cause such an internal suffering that lead Deku to the roof?

Bakugou mentally shook his head.

No!

Deku had worked too hard to get where he was, and he was just going to throw it away suddenly? Bakugou didn't buy it.

He refused.

And if there was some semblance of truth to it, which Bakugou greatly feared, then he wouldn't let him.

"Deku, I don't know what the hell is going through your head but snap out of it! You don't really want to do this so get down from there!"

"But this is what I want."

Bakugou felt his blood freeze over. No! He wasn't hearing such a thing.

"No, you don't!" Bakugou yelled, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He knew how much it made him sound like a child throwing a tantrum, but he didn't care. "Why would you possibly want this!?

"I can't be a hero. I don't expect you to understand it, Bakugou."

And just like that, Bakugou's racing mind came to a screeching halt.

Bakugou?

In that moment, Bakugou's anguish and panic immediately shifted into rage in its purest form. He gritted his teeth and bore them like a wild animal as his palms wildly crackled with dangerously large sparks.

"I'll admit, you had me fooled there for a minute, but you just gave yourself away, asshole! Our whole lives he's never once called me by my last name. And he sure as hell wouldn't start now of all times!"

It had been 'Kacchan' from the day they met. Whoever was standing on that ledge may have had Deku's voice, but it wasn't him talking. It was someone else.

There was a moment of silence, before Bakugou heard 'Midoriya' chuckle.

"Oh? So, you're that close, huh?" 'Midoriya' mocked. It was Midoriya's voice, but it lacked something that was purely Deku, and it made Bakugou's blood boil.

'Midoriya' let out a large sigh, stepping down the ledge. At least he wasn't near the ledge anymore, but Bakugou still had to hold himself from striking. He had to wait until he was closer. 'Midoriya' turned towards Bakugou with a smirk.

"It seems that I've made a mistake. What does he call you then?"

Bakugou ignored the question, his palms still crackled with sparks.

"Who are you? What did you do to him!?"

Even in the moonlight Bakugou could see that Midoriya's eyes were dull. The eyes have been Midoriya's, but he wasn't the one staring at Bakugou.

"It doesn't matter. He's mine to control now." 'Midoriya' took a few steps towards him. He was walking strangely. His legs shook and wobbled. It looked like he was attempting to use his legs as something else held him up. Almost as if his body were being held up by strings.

Bakugou suddenly felt like it all fell into place. Bakugou knew that there was no mistaking who Midoriya was being controlled by. Bakugou wanted to punch himself, he knew something was right but had brushed it off instead of going with his gut.

"You're that shitty old man with the puppet, aren't you!" Bakugou spat, the vein on his head looking like it was about to emerge out from his skin.

'Midoriya' began laughing. It started off as a giggle before becoming an all-out maniacal laughter. It was a laughter that should not have been coming out of Deku of all people.

"Deguchi Jun is my name. You should know it's rude to forget people's name's, young man."

Bakugou swiftly pounced to take down 'Midoriya'. But the slippery bastard managed to dodge his blasts.

"I would stop there if I were you." The man, 'Deguchi', warned in Midoriya's voice.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't attack you just because you have control Deku?" Bakugou almost wanted to laugh.

"Oh, but that's just it. I wouldn't feel any of the pain, but your friend here would and besides…"

Bakugou immediately froze where he stood.

"…As quick as you are, I don't think you'd have time to stop me."

Deguchi held a knife to his or rather, Midoriya's throat. It must've been concealed in his pocket as a backup of a sort. Midoriya was a hostage in his own body. Bakugou couldn't afford to attack. Deguchi would be able to kill Deku before he had the time to strike him down.

Everything inside Bakugou screamed at him to win. He got back into a defensive stance.

"Try and attack again and I'll cut his throat straight to the bone," Deguchi pushed the blade hard enough to break the skin causing it to bleed. "Understand?"

Bakugou looked as if he was still going to pounce but took three deep breaths. His palms stopped crackling. It took everything in Bakugou to lower his hands in surrender. The act of surrendering was killing him on the inside.

His mind raced with all the information in front of him. The man, Deguchi, obviously had an emitter quirk to do with some sort of mind control. But he wasn't like the purple-haired student from the sports festival. This was different. And Bakugou could only think of one thing to do about it.

The only way to win the fight was for Deku to live.

Deguchi let out an exasperated sigh.

"Of course, it would be you that would come and spoil my plans yet again. Luckily, I'm good at improvising."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bakugou hissed. "What plan?"

Deguchi seemingly ignored Bakugou and kept talking.

"What's ironic about this is that I never wanted this boy. I wanted the young hero taken by villains only to return. You, Bakugou-kun," There was just something so wrong with Deku's voice calling him anything but 'Kacchan'. "Finally running into you that day was a sign from above that I needed to begin my plan, but you - you just wouldn't take my hand, would you?"

Realisation came hurtling down on Bakugou. When they had met, the man had to think about Deku's name, but not his. He immediately and without hesitation knew that his name was Katsuki Bakugou. It was because he had been the initial target of the man. It was why he had approached them in the first place.

"You wanted me for what?" Bakugou slowly asked.

"To die, of course," Deguchi laughed. "But your behaviour may have put a screw in my plans, but your friend was more than willing. So, I took what I could get."

Bakugou knew that Midoriya had helped the man up. That must've been how he managed control. He needed willing contact.

That's when it hit him. The strange bruise on Deku's arm! It had to be what bound Deku to Deguchi. That had to be what maintained the control and effect of his quirk.

"Why?" Bakugou pressed on.

"Why not? UA is a beacon with everything that's wrong with this world. This society is obsessed with heroes and villains, and why? Heroes are nothing more than government lackeys. This society is corrupt. And people brave enough to fight against this warped system like Stain are imprisoned!"

Great. Another dumbass Hero Killer: Stain enthusiast, Bakugou thought to himself. At least he's not with the League of Villains. He's acting on his own, so it should be easy to take him down.

"If you wanted to kill students of UA, why didn't you just try and attack us the day we met?" Bakugou reluctantly kept the conversation going.

"Because I'm looking for a long-term goal. Imagine how the world would perceive it? A student found dead after taking their own life at the famous UA Highschool. Do you know what that would mean?"

Bakugou gritted his teeth in anger, baring it in silence. Deguchi ended up answering his own question.

"The reputation of UA would forever be tarnished. Such a delicate plan took time. I am the one to pull the strings of the future. The Puppeteer."

Bakugou had to bite back at that.

"Get off your high horse, you crazy bastard! What gives you the right to make these decisions?"

"Why does anyone have the 'right'? Are 'heroes' even heroes in this society anymore? Or are they just glorified ideas of what a hero is? And what makes a person a villain? Answer me that."

Bakugou clenched his left fist so tightly that it almost broke skin. All the anger and hatred he felt couldn't come out. Not yet.

"Trying to murder a high school student doesn't sound like a hero to me, so make your own deduction, you piece of shit!"

"Oh, come on now," The 'Puppeteer' pouted. "Is it really murder if it's by his own hand? By how the chemicals are functioning in his hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, I could be doing him a favour for all you know."

Bakugou blinked. What did brain chemistry have to do with any of it?

"What the hell does that mean?" He barked.

The Puppeteer grinned.

"Increased cortisol levels like Midoriya-kun's can only be a handful of things so it leaves much to wonder. So, I guess what I'll say is who are you to say that deep down Midoriya-kun didn't already want to do this; to jump off this rooftop and end his life?"

That statement struck something in Bakugou. And it had hit him hard. It was like the cold truth had reached inside him and ripped the air out of his lungs.

A memory echoed back to him. It was his own words that he had said to Midoriya back in middle school.

Words he had regretted that same day but had never thought to apologise for.

"If you want to be a hero that badly, there's one quick way to do it. Believe you'll be born with a quirk in your next life. And take a swan dive off the roof."

A sick feeling engulfed Bakugou.

No. No. The old man had to be lying! It was just to screw with his head.

Bakugou knew when Deku was hiding pain. He had sadly inflicted his fair share of it when they younger.

The smiles he had seen on Deku's face every day since UA weren't hiding any sadness or pain – well, not the kind of pain that would be as bad enough to make him take his own life. And besides, Deku's eyes had been the most telling.

It is said that eyes are windows to the soul. Midoriya's were no exception to that rule. They had a light in them that could only be described as life. It'd shine through his happiness and even through his tears when he was sad.

Someone who truly wanted to die would no longer have that light in their eyes– the will to keep living. Bakugou refused to believe with the entirety of his being that Deku would ever consider it.

There would be no way he would great at hiding such a thing….. could he?

Bakugou growled, both at his own thoughts and at the man controlling Deku. Regardless whether Deku considered it ever or not, he wasn't about to give the man the any form of vindication for his so-called justification of attempted murder.

"Shut your damn mouth! He would never! So, is that it? Your quirk makes people do shit that they don't want to do?"

"Alright, since you've been so good. I'll humour you." Deguchi said it like he was rewarding a dog with a treat.

Bakugou bite his tongue. Deguchi wasn't about to get anything from him. Instead, he let Deguchi continue his explanation.

"My quirk is a puppetry of the mind you could say. All I need to do is bind that person to me and any part of the brain is mine to control. All I need to do is pull a few strings in certain areas of the brain. With the connection I can even use his eyes to see and his voice to talk."

He made a point demonstrating such as he made Midoriya caress his own cheek with the back of his free hand. Bakugou took long and deep haggard breaths. He had to keep his cool. He knew he had to. But damn if it wasn't one of the hardest things he ever had to do.

Because in front of him, all he could imagine was the old man holding a knife to Deku's throat as he caressed Deku's cheek with his other hand. He had imagined Deku's expression of disgust and fear at the intimate touch.

Bakugou had never felt rage so deep inside him before. All in the meanwhile, Deguchi was completely ignoring the intensely murderous glare coming from the latter.

"And even now all I need to do is pull a string and his voice box becomes like my own, it's like I'm a real-life ventriloquist. Pretty cool right? It took me a long time to perfect it."

Bakugou held back his anger, seeking more answers.

"So that's what the sleep walking was; to make sure that your quirk worked on him so you could pull this off?"

"My, my, my. Aren't you a perceptive one?" The Puppeteer mocked, seeming to enjoy the conversation way too much. "It was a good cover, wasn't it? All I needed to do was pull a few strings here and there in specific areas in the brain, making it so he was never getting any real rest. Very simple things like manipulating his amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus and so on. I increased his stress, made him more emotional, which in turn only made him more tired. A sleep deprived brain makes it far easier to control. They're far vulnerable."

Bakugou tensed. Everything inside him screeched at him to blast 'The Puppeteer' sky high. But he knew he had to wait. It wasn't time yet.

"It's not like that matters now. You've already lost!" Bakugou smirked, his glare sending out a clear message of murder. "You got caught, moron!"

"Not yet," The Puppeteer held the knife once more to Midoriya's throat. "I still have leverage."

"You think I care what happens to him if it means I can stop you?" A bluff. Unfortunately, a bluff that was called out.

"Really now?" The Puppeteer instantly began to slowly slide the knife across Midoriya's neck. Blood began seeping out from the small cut.

"NO WAIT! STOP!" Bakugou shouted.

The Puppeteer stopped, but still held the knife close to Midoriya's neck. The cut was shallow, just enough to make Midoriya bleed. It was only a threat.

"You really should be more honest with yourself, Bakugou-kun." The Puppeteer laughed.

Dammit if Bakugou didn't feel his skin crawl every time he heard his last name spoken in Midoriya's voice.

"I'll tell you what," The puppeteer bartered, "I have a proposition where we'll both be satisfied. Die for Midoriya-kun."

Bakugou was taken aback.

"What?"

"I always wanted it to be you," Deguchi's eyes darted back to the ledge, a forced smirk grew on Midoriya's face. "If you jump off this roof and die, I'll let him go. Midoriya-kun will live. I will release him from my control. Can you do it, hero? Or will you watch me kill him?"

If Bakugou were asked the question on any other normal day if he'd die for Deku, he would've laughed in their face and answer the loudest 'no way in hell'.

But when he was finally faced with such a situation.

Well, in short, without hesitation, Bakugou stepped onto the ledge of the roof. His foot hovered over the edge without a shred of hesitation.

Bakugou shut his eyes, arms spread out and prepared to jump.

"That's enough!"

Deguchi was abruptly tied by a fabric weapon that could only be the one and only Eraserhead. The knife dropped from his grip.

There Aizawa stood with Bakugou's red headed best friend. Never had Bakugou been happier to see Kirishima in his life.

"I got your message," Kirishima stated, his phone still tightly gripped in his hand. "We got here as fast as we could!"

"It's about damn time!" Bakugou casually stepped down from the ledge, back toward safety. "If I had to listen to this idiot talk for one more minute, I would've blown my own ears up!"

Bakugou's plan had worked. It had been what he had come up with to win.

Knowing he needed time and the so called 'Puppeteer' apparently liked to talk, Bakugou got him talking. All unbeknownst to Deguchi, Bakugou had managed to slip his phone out of his pocket and hid it behind his thigh, frantically attempting to blindly text to all his contacts, 'SOS. Aizawa. Roof. Now.'

During that time Kirishima had awoken to the sound of his phone's alert. Somehow, he had understood Bakugou's garbled text message and had sprung into action.

"And that's why you don't monologue, asshole!" Bakugou victoriously mocked.

The Puppeeteer's shoulders began to tremble. It sounded a lot like sobbing, but Bakugou's smirk dropped as he realised what it really was.

Deguchi was laughing.

"You really think I didn't consider if the mighty Eraserhead were to appear? Or any other pro? Please. Give me more credit than that. I suggest you let me go from these bindings."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because," Deguchi smiled, "The knife was for show just in case someone came to stop me, like Bakugou-kun, here. You won't be able to reach him. Midoriya-kun is as good as braindead. I have control over his mind. I can cause him to have a heart attack any second now."

Just to prove a point, Midoriya's nose began to bleed and his breaths became slightly more ragged. Aizawa reluctantly released him. He couldn't risk Midoriya's life.

Deguchi began to make Midoriya slowly back up toward the ledge behind him.

"What is it that you want?" Aizawa calmly asked.

"I want you to watch your student die. You hero's know nothing of what this society has become!"

Deguchi was back on the society is poisonous talk, but Bakugou noted that he sounded too desperate. That only meant one thing to Bakugou. It had to be bluff and he was still trying to get his way.

He had to sever the connection The Puppeteer had on Deku. With a severed connection, Midoriya in theory should be able to take control back from wherever Deguchi had pushed his consciousness.

Bakugou knew he had to think of something quick.

That's when it occurred to him, he knew where the binding mark was on Deku and he was closest to Deguchi and his attention was on Aizawa.

Bakugou matched the steps backwards of Midoriya as he silently stared at Aizawa, using his eyes to say, 'he's full of shit and I know what to do'.

Aizawa's eyes darted over to Bakugou for a moment. He understood and turned back toward Deguchi.

"Just so you know, there's one big mistake that you've made."

Deguchi stopped right before the ledge as he rolled Midoriya's eyes.

"And what is that?"

"You're underestimating the strength of my students. Bakugou now!"

Bakugou pounced on Midoriya. The explosion was small, but powerful enough to singe the skin at the mark on his arm. Midoriya's body dropped as if literal strings holding him up had been cut. In one last act of defiance and control the Puppeteer kicked Bakugou off. And with the last of his fading control the Puppeteer had forced Midoriya to partially leap off the ledge of the roof. The control completely faded but it had been enough of a push.

Midoriya was falling.

Bakugou may have always come off as aggressively impulsive, but to the contrary, he wouldn't willingly jump into something without a strategy of some kind. Bakugou would dare to argue that Deku was always the impulsive person he knew. Sure, Deku could adjust and fight during battle to a frighteningly tactical degree (not that Bakugou would ever tell Deku that), but Deku would almost always jump in first and then plan it out as he went like the impulsive moron he was.

It unfortunately meant that for Bakugou, that the idiot must've been rubbing off on him. Because one moment he's watching Deku limply falling off the ledge, the next Bakugou was already leaping off the roof after him.

From the moment he jumped to the moment he got a grip on Deku there was only three seconds between it and at least seven until they hit the ground.

Two seconds was all the time Bakugou could spare to think about how he'd save Deku and himself from splattering on the pavement below.

His rescue from Kamino. Their landing had been successful due to the force of one of Bakugou's blasts and the timing being the right moment to slow them down.

Bakugou couldn't afford more time to think. He only had one chance otherwise they would both be dead.

Now or never!

A barrage of blasts ignited from his palms. All he could do was put everything he had into it and hope that there was enough time.

The landing had been rough. It had been enough to slow them down, but Bakugou was more than sure that he had at the very least, a concussion. His head had been the first thing to hit the ground.

Wait….Deku!

Bakugou shot up and looked to his side. Midoriya seemed unscathed from the fall. Bakugou shook him.

"Deku, Wake up!"

There was no response.

No….No no no no no!

Panic shot through Bakugou. Deku was supposed to wake up. It was supposed to work! It was a bluff! He had been so sure that it was!

"Wake up you loser!"

There was still no response.

Without a single moment of thought or hesitation, Bakugou found his hand striking Midoriya across the face as hard as he could.

"Wake the hell up!"

Still. Nothing. Midoriya's eyes remained shut and his face looking paler than before. Deku was fading away right before his eyes.

Something deep within Bakugou snapped.

"You said you would surpass me! What happened to that, huh!? All Might's chosen one defeated by some second-grade hack? I don't buy it! All Might wouldn't have chosen you if you were a weakling! You better open your damn eyes or I'll – I'll…." Bakugou's voice died in his throat with a pained squeal. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

With each word he slammed his fist against the concrete. Bakugou seem to either care or notice that he had hit the ground so hard that his fist had begun to bleed.

"This was supposed to work! It can't end like this." Bakugou croaked, burying his head into ground below him.

For as long as he could remember, Midoriya had never left his life from the moment they met despite everything that happened between them through the years.

But oddly what remained unspoken between them was an unexplainable amount of the utmost trust. Even after their friendship fell apart, and the countless times Bakugou had threatened Midoriya or insulted him, that foundation of trust is what remained.

It had been why Bakugou had been so pissed off when he had thought Midoriya had kept his quirk a secret all their lives.

Back then the thought of Midoriya looking down on him? That was fine. Bakugou couldn't care less what Midoriya thought of him. But to seemingly lie and keep secrets from him their whole lives? Bakugou had been out for blood that day.

Bakugou himself hadn't realised how much he trusted Midoriya and felt betrayed about his quirk secret until he had cried in front of him during their fight back at Ground Beta.

All that time wasted on misunderstandings and pointless rage.

Bakugou wanted nothing more to take it all back. To be gifted one chance at a do over.

To be able to get the chance to run side by side as equals from the start as rivals.

But regret was a part of life. Such wishes could never be made to come true. There was no turning back the clock.

He was stuck in the present tense where Midoriya was slipping away.

Bakugou felt an echo of a memory in his mind of a small hand reaching out toward him.

"Are you alright? Can you stand? It would've been bad if you hit your head."

So many times, Midoriya reached out to him. Bakugou had never bothered to take that hand. He always walked away.

Todoroki's words echoed back to him with a vengeful force.

"And what happens if there's a day when Midoriya finally stops reaching out to you; to decide that he's done? What would you do then?"

Never had Midoriya stopped trying to reach him, even with broken arms. Bakugou would never forget the night of his kidnapping. He still could clearly see the image of Deku running toward him looking half dead screaming his name.

"Don't come, Deku."

Despite the fear from having the villain holding him by the throat, the words of warning to Deku came out of his mouth before he realised it.

Bakugou knew that if Deku followed that he would die.

He had said it in a last-ditch attempt to stop him. To protect him.

With everything fragile and slipping away from his grasp, Bakugou felt his walls of denial and pride shatter. What was left was a truth that he could no longer hide from himself.

He cared about the first person who saw him as a hero before anyone else.

He cared about that damn self-sacrificing idiot that never gave up on him.

He cared about Deku.

And so, Bakugou did something he hadn't done his whole life.

He begged.

"Please, just wake up! You need to! Because if you don't, how can I ever tell you that I'm….." There was a pause. Bakugou knew that he owed Midoriya the truth. "…things got so screwed up between us because of me! But I want to fix this, so don't you dare die before I can! So, open your damn eyes!"

Bakugou hated how his voice broke at almost every word. Bakugou dared to look back at Midoriya. Any hope he had died inside his chest. There was still no response. Bakugou bowed his head down, his voice remained hitched in his throat in one last attempt to cajole Midoriya back.

"Please, Izuku."

Bakugou knew that by all rights, Midoriya did not have to do as he asked. Why would he? Not after all the horrible things Bakugou had said to him and treated him in the past.

But luckily for him, Midoriya was also never one to deny someone that sounded like they needed help, especially if it was Bakugou.

"….Ka…cchan?"

Bakugou's head instantly shot up

"Deku?"

Bakugou could barely the mask the relief blossoming through him.

The slits of Midoriya's eyes were barely cracked open, but it was enough to see green orbs looking up at him.

"He's….. He's gone?" Midoriya's voice was barely a whisper and sounded deathly tired.

Bakugou stared for a moment, realising that Deku knew that he had been controlled. That meant he would've been trying to fight back the whole time and had lost. But honestly, Bakugou didn't have it in him in that moment to scold Midoriya for losing the way he normally would have.

"Yeah, he's out of your head. I got his mark off," Bakugou's voice was completely and uncharacteristically calm. "You really need to start winning your fights, you know."

Midoriya half attempted to smile, but he barely had the strength to even do just that.

"…Kacchan saved me."

Bakugou let a smirk appear on his face as he let his usual bravado return like he hadn't just been emotionally pleading with Midoriya moments prior.

"Of course, I did. I always win. What did you expect?"

Suddenly, Midoriya's ghost of a smile faded away and his eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.

"….Why are you crying?"

It was then that Bakugou realised that he had hot tears streaming down his face. He didn't know when it had started, but what he did know is that it wasn't stopping. Bakugou was convinced that it was all stupid Deku's fault. The nerd had been rubbing off on him. Now he was becoming a crybaby too.

Bakugou would've berated himself over such a newfound weakness, but honestly, his state of relief eclipsed all such thoughts.

"I'm not," Bakugou lied as he pathetically attempted to wipe away his own tears. "It was raining."

It was such an obvious lie. Maybe he was allowing Bakugou to save face, or maybe he genuinely believed it. Regardless, Midoriya's only response was a small hum of agreement.

That was when Midoriya's eyes began drooping once more. It was so obvious that he was trying very hard to keep them open.

"….sorry, I can't seem to keep my eyes open," Midoriya quietly confessed as if it was a horrible thing to do. "…is it okay if I sleep now?"

Bakugou felt an initial spark of panic. Would it be okay to let him sleep?

Strangely enough, something in Bakugou's gut was telling him it would be okay. The old creep no longer had a hold over Deku and if the geezer had been telling the truth, Deku was sleep deprived.

Without Deguchi's hold over him, Midoriya would finally be able to rest.

"Why are you asking me for permission? Do what you want." Bakugou said.

And just like that Midoriya was out like a light. If Bakugou had still been worried, he would've been put at ease with how peaceful Midoriya looked.

By the time Aizawa and Kirishima came bolting out the building, the two were met with a sight that neither would've have believed if it hadn't been for the circumstances. Bakugou was using his lap as a make-shift pillow for Midoriya's head.

Bakugou turned to look at them. The calm expression on his face said it all.

They could breathe easy.

Midoriya was safe.

It was over.

It didn't take long for the pro heroes to find the self-proclaimed 'Puppeteer'. It took less than an hour after Bakugou had revealed his name to the staff at UA. It had been yet another misstep from Jun Deguchi because he was foolish enough that he had revealed his real name to both Midoriya and Bakugou.

Deguchi's plan to spoil UA's image made it sound like he was at least smart enough to come up with a contingency plan if it failed. In short, he didn't. He got too cocky. Deguchi had been so sure that he would've succeeded in his plan.

It also wasn't hard to track him down since Jun Deguchi was already known to authorities due to his high-risk classified quirk and his previously known transgressions. He apparently had once attempted to become a brain surgeon in his youth but flunked out of medical school for misconduct. And he had multiple allegations against him of people claiming that he had used his quirk on them. None unfortunately could be definitively proven, so authorities were aware about Deguchi.

Deguchi quirk was known in the registry as 'marionette', a mind-control based quirk in which he was able to manipulate parts of someone's brain after marking said recipient. Obviously with training kept hidden, he had refined his quirk to able to access and connect his own brain with another's, resulting in the semi-possession of one Izuku Midoriya.

The misuse and obsession over his own quirk had led Deguchi down a dangerous path. But at least Midoriya was the last person he would ever be able to hurt.

The entirety of the situation was dealt with under the radar. The media heard nothing of it and Deguchi was quietly arrested. Deguchi's plan had failed miserably.

It lucky that the next day had fallen on a Saturday. Aizawa doubted any class work would've gotten done if it wasn't. When Aizawa had explained the situation involving Midoriya to the class, they went wild.

Aizawa had called the entirety of Class 1-A to the common room early that morning. Some students quietly complained about being awakened early on a Saturday with no classes, but that quickly changed when Aizawa explained what had happened.

He didn't go into too much detail about what had happened other than a basic outline of that Midoriya was affected by a quirk and was taken to the infirmary

And Midoriya. Well, he looked better than he had in days. Recovery Girl's kisses easily healed where Midoriya's neck had been cut and where Bakugou had burnt off the binding mark. They had luckily healed easily. Not a scar or mark to indicate it had ever happened in the first place.

Midoriya was still deeply asleep, even after Aizawa had jostled him carrying him to the infirmary.

After an examination, Recovery Girl expressed no concern over it. She had explained that Midoriya was simply recovering from the sleep deprivation he was experiencing under the man's quirk. She reassured that he would awaken at his own pace.

It was late morning and Aizawa and All Might were present when Midoriya opened his eyes for the first time. Midoriya looked to shut his eyes again to fall back to sleep. But he then suddenly gasped as he shot upright. His eyes were wide with panic.

"Deguchi-san! Did you catch him?"

All those in the room were taken aback. No one had mentioned the name Jun Deguchi. That meant that Midoriya would have to already known about it. All Might placed a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, carefully guiding him back to lean back on to his propped-up pillows.

"He was arrested. They found him with no problems. Young Midoriya, how did you know who it was?"

Midoriya contemplated it for a moment with a frown. It was a bit of a hard question to answer.

"I don't know how but I think the connection between us must've gone two ways. While he could control my mind, I could also feel his presence. I could tell who he was and what he was planning to do with me."

What can you recall?" Aizawa asked.

"I was lying in bed then suddenly it was like I was being pulled down under water. It was like I was chained and left to sink and drown in the dark. But I could still see. It wasn't clear, but it was like watching something from far away distance. I tried to fight back, but nothing I tried worked. I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't move." Midoriya's stare looked far away in the memory of it all.

"So, you can't completely remember what he did while he was in control of you?" All Might asked.

"No. It's hazy. Sorry." Midoriya almost looked ashamed at himself.

"Don't be. Perhaps that's for the best. What matters now is that you're safe." All Might reassured, he knew better than to let Midoriya sit on the thought for too long. but even All Might's words couldn't quell Midoriya's pointless guilt.

"But—"

"Listen to All Might," Aizawa interrupted, letting out a very drawn out sigh. "One of these days, I feel like you'll be the death of me, problem child. You seem to attract trouble everywhere you go."

Midoriya let out a quiet chuckle at Aizawa's own attempt of reassurance.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Recovery Girl smiled, before interrupting them.

"I would normally suggest this for later, but I don't think it can wait much longer without causing an uproar. Midoriya-kun, do you think that you have the energy for some visitors right now?"

"Uh, yes. Why?" He looked around him. Weren't the people in the room already technically visitors?

"I'm sure there are people that want to make sure for themselves that you're okay." Recovery Girl slid the door open so quickly that those pressing against it on the other side tumbled in.

It had been Kaminari and Mina, and behind them was most of Class 1-A, overjoyed at the sight of Midoriya

"Hi everyone." Midoriya tiredly beamed at them from his bed. Happy murmurs and greetings came in a distorted mess of voices. It was a lot all at once.

"Okay, listen up!" Aizawa brought immediate silence within the crowd. "No overcrowding too close, no yelling, and no questions about what happened. You've got fifteen minutes to visit, but that's it. Then back to the dorms. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" They all replied.

Aizawa and All Might stepped out allowing the class to have their time with Midoriya. Uraraka, Todoroki and Iida respectively were the first over.

"Deku-kun, I'm sorry! I noticed something was wrong, but I brushed it off! I'm sorry!"

"Me as well, Midoriya."

"And me too."

Midoriya shook his head.

"Don't be sorry. No one could've known."

Everyone got to have a word with Midoriya, thankful he was okay and wishing him well. Midoriya had noticed almost immediately that there was one person missing out of all their classmates. Bakugou, but Midoriya didn't bother asking why he wasn't. Bakugou wasn't the 'visit at bedside' type.

Kirishima tried to get him to come, but Bakugou had refused. After Recovery Girl treated Bakugou for his mild concussion, he left almost right away, retreating to his room in the dorms. Kirishima tried to get him to talk about what happened before he and Aizawa got there, but he insisted that he was fine and went to bed.

The fifteen minutes had breezed by.

"I'm sorry, but he needs his rest. I'll allow visitors again tomorrow." Recovery Girl said.

She began ushering them all out, but Midoriya knew that there was one thing he needed to say before a certain red head left.

"Kirishima-kun?"

"Yeah?" He paused at the door frame.

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Of course! Anything! What is it?"

"There's a lot I can't really recall, but from I can remember…" Midoriya trailed off, opting decide it was something he didn't want to go into too much detail. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you see Kacchan, please tell him I said, 'thank you'."

Kirishima's smile turned soft.

"Will do. Get some rest."

Kirishima pounded his fist on the door.

"Bakugou, you better open up this door or I'll break it down! And you know I can!"

It took a moment, but the door opened.

"What do you want?"

"You're the only one that didn't go to see Midoriya today." Kirishima said.

A beat passed.

"And?"

"You're the one that saved him!"

Another beat passed.

"Your point being?"

Kirishima stared. His expression shifted from confused to fuming within seconds.

"You're kidding me! Don't you dare try and pull the 'I don't care' card with me either! I saw last night, and you jump off a building to save him without a second thought. You can't lie to me!"

"Because I can't face him!" Bakugou snapped. "There! I said it! Are you happy now!?"

That was the only truth that Bakugou could offer to his friend. He couldn't bare it. Not after everything he had come to realise. He had woken up to his denial. He couldn't go back thinking the way he used to, not even if he wanted to.

He hated it.

He hated it so much for the fact that everyone could tell how miserable he was feeling whether they knew why or not.

Bakugou was convinced for years that putting Deku down all that time was a good thing.

It made him feel superior and strong.

But deep inside him, the part of him that still cared about Deku shouldered the guilt.

Every time he would look at Deku, he'd get so angry. Bakugou had come up with almost twenty reasons why he had 'hated' Deku throughout the years, when really, he couldn't remember where it had begun.

It had begun because he had been attempting to mask his guilt. He hated feeling guilty. He remembered wondered why he felt guilty at all because Deku was quirkless. That meant his words and actions had been warranted, right? Because he was better and had a quirk when Deku didn't.

But even quirkless, Deku had so much spirit that encapsulated a true hero that Bakugou feared it.

And such a weakness of fear had become yet another feeling that Bakugou had buried. And as the time passed, the deeper Bakugou went and as he buried himself so far into denial, he began to mistake those feelings of guilt and fear as anger and eventually hatred.

He had woken up to himself to finally realise how he truly felt was sobering. Or rather seeing Deku almost forced to take his own life and having to save him had been one hell of a wakeup call.

Too much had passed and changed for Bakugou since then to keep ignoring and denying it to himself.

He despised that all the guilt that he had unknowingly buried down for years had finally broken to the surface. He could no longer ignore it or bury it down or mistake it for anything else.

It was out and it wasn't going anywhere.

Every time Bakugou looked at Deku he couldn't help but question to himself how he would've reacted if he had been too late. What if he never saw Deku go up the stairs to the roof? What if he didn't catch him before he hit the ground?

Whenever he thought of a hypothetical answer, all he could see was the flashes of figures in all black and the burning of incense.

And even if he wanted to explain that all to Kirishima, the whole story would take days.

Bakugou was meet with silence. Kirishima took a moment to process it. While Kirishima didn't know for sure what Bakugou had gone through with the whole situation, he did know that Bakugou must've come to some sort of emotional epiphany.

"Midoriya knows that it was you saved him. He told me to tell you thank you," Kirishima softly said, "So, sooner or later you're going to have to talk to him. So, just…. Think about it."

Bakugou silently stood there and continued to do so even after Kirishima had walked away.

"Unfortunately, he's asleep and under observation right now, so he can't have any more visitors for the day."

Before Bakugou had any chance at a retort, a familiar voice cut through the tension.

"It's alright, Recovery Girl, Young Bakugou won't cause any trouble. If he does, I'll see to it."

Only because it had been All Might did Recovery Girl accept and allowed it.

Once allowed in, Bakugou stood silently as we looked at Midoriya as he slept. He looked at peace, but most importantly, safe.

All Might sat vigil by Midoriya's bedside and held his hand if only to assure his unconscious protégé that he wasn't alone. But even if All Might did decide to leave at any point, Midoriya would still have someone there watching over him.

Bakugou had made himself comfortable, leaning against the wall beside the window of the infirmary. Distant yet present.

The two of them had a silent understanding as they both waited to see if Midoriya woke up again. He didn't. For hours he kept sleeping catching up on all the days he had missed. Hours passed and the sun began to set when one of them finally spoke.

"He must be having a good dream." All Might said aloud, smiling.

Midoriya had the ghost of smile of his face as he slept. All Might found it quite endearing.

"I'll stay with him throughout the night," All Might reassured. "So, please. Go get some rest. He wouldn't want you to lose sleep over this."

"I need to tell him."

All Might quietly gasped. Those had been the first words he had heard from Bakugou that day.

"Tell him what?" All Might dared to ask.

"There's so much I need to tell him, but nothing will be the same after I do," Bakugou admitted, his eyes not daring to even as so much glance in All Might's direction. "How…. How can I be sure that he'll forgive me?"

For so long he had convinced himself that he had done no wrong. How could he apologise after all he done for all those years?

And so really, where could he start?

All Might thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully and to recover from the shock from hearing such a thing from Bakugou of all people. It was a rare moment of openness that he knew that Bakugou wouldn't willingly give without reason. And because of that All Might desperately wanted to give proper wisdom to the boy.

"All I can tell you is that in this world, no matter how much someone could wish to be forgiven, even if they're extremely remorseful for their actions and apologise, forgiveness isn't something they should expect to follow. It unfortunately doesn't work like that. It can only be given willingly by the people they hurt whether it be earnt or not. In your case, the only one with that power is Young Midoriya."

All Might was blunt, but he knew it needed to be said. It was the harsh truth. It couldn't be sugar coated.

"The only thing you can do is say what you need to say, make your apology clear and try to make amends. Because that's all you can do. After that, such decisions of forgiveness are out of your hands."

Bakugou's eye remained forward to the ground, unblinking. He needed to hear that. The fact that it was All Might made him feel more guilty about it all if that were even possible.

"You've known each other since early childhood," All Might sighed slowly making his way toward Bakugou. "You know more than anyone that this is Young Midoriya we are talking about. Just talk to him."

Bakugou hesitated. Because there was always a chance that everything, they had built back up would be destroyed. Bakugou wasn't afraid of anything, or so that's what he would always tell himself.

By never apologising he couldn't give Deku the option of rejecting it.

It maintained what they had, but it couldn't progress much further.

It was a fragile balance that Bakugou didn't dare to touch. He thought that he was only being selfish by not apologising, because truthfully, he'd never call it was it really was, which was cowardice.

"But I –"

"Young Bakugou. It's not up to me to judge what guilt you carry on your shoulders," All Might said, placing a strong hand on Bakugou's shoulder causing the latter to finally look up at the retried hero. "Tomorrow will be a new day. Gather your thoughts then talk to him."

Bakugou slowly moved All Might's hand off his shoulder.

"Don't tell me what to do." Bakugou said, even though he still left as asked.

When he got back to the dorms, out of all people that had to see him walk back in, it just had to be Icy-Hot.

Todoroki stared. Bakugou matched such a stare with his own glare. It was only then that he realised that Todoroki held no malice in his expression, instead it was curiosity.

"What do you want?" Bakugou demanded.

"You've been gone all day." Todoroki seemingly ignored the question.

"And? What of it?" Bakugou spat. Did Todoroki want to fight or something.

"I'm sorry." Todoroki said.

Bakugou stared.

Wait what?

"I was wrong about you and your friendship," Todoroki explained. "I misjudged you."

That would've normally been the part where Bakugou snapped and denied it all. But maybe it was their shared time with their provisional classes or something else, but he replied honestly.

"You weren't wrong to judge." Bakugou replied.

With that both he and Todoroki exchanged a look of understanding. Maybe Bakugou didn't like Todoroki, but they understood each other, and that had his respect.

Bakugou wouldn't call himself a nervous person, and yet there he was, pacing outside the doors to the infirmary.

All Might had come to tell Bakugou himself that Midoriya was awake. Knowing that the two needed privacy before Midoriya's inevitable onslaught of visitors, he told Bakugou first.

"You'll have one hour before Aizawa tells everyone. Make it count."

He even had a time limit and he was wasting it like a coward. That's when he got angry. He knew how to do that. In some strange way, he gave himself a pep talk by getting mad at himself. Katsuki Bakugou was no coward! He was a fierce fighter! He always won!

With the confidence boost he almost broke the door down as he threw it open. Midoriya nearly dropped his apple slice in surprise.

"WAH-Acchan?"

And Bakugou felt what confidence he had mustered shrivel. He looked everywhere but Midoriya's face as he stomped his way over to the chair by Midoriya's bedside. He plopped himself down into it with a thud.

Midoriya didn't know what to say. He wanted to see Kacchan, but now that he was there, he didn't know how to react. And the stretching silence was driving him a little crazy, so he decided to fill it. He grabbed another apple slice from the plate on his lap.

"Do you want some apple? They're quite sweet." Midoriya offered him the slice.

He didn't reply. Bakugou's eyes remained glued to the floor. The hairs of his fringe covered most of his face as his he looked down.

Midoriya sighed, he knew better than to attempt small pleasantries with his old childhood friend. If they spoke, it needed to be direct.

"I only have pieces coming back to me about what happened last night. Thank you for saving me and I'm sorry for what you had to go through."

"Don't pity me." Bakugou near growled. Midoriya mentally sighed. He was getting better with rest, but he was nowhere near ready to have an intense argument with Kacchan about misunderstanding each other.

"It's not-"

"l knew something was wrong, but I didn't say anything! I had a feeling it had to do with that old bastard and I still didn't say anything!" Bakugou snapped. "So, don't apologise when you're the one almost died!"

Midoriya went quiet. He sat and waited for a follow up sentence, but there wasn't one.

There was of a Bakugou definition of a light-hearted statement like 'how pathetic of the chosen one to be saved' or even a jab of 'what a loser'. There was none of Bakugou's usual comments. It was just 'you almost died' then silence. Midoriya didn't know how to reply or if he even should. Luckily, he didn't have to do either as Bakugou continued to speak.

"I treated you like dirt underneath my shoe. Then I watched you almost die."

Midoriya moved the plate of apple slices on to the bed side table as he sat up and shifted to completely face Bakugou.

"Kacchan, you couldn't have known. No one did. This isn't your fault, don't you dare think that it is."

Bakugou ignored him. "Our whole lives I thought I hated you. I thought I hated you so damn much."

Midoriya grew silent. All he heard was Kacchan telling him that he hated him. It hurt, but not for long as Bakugou continued.

"I thought I did. But that was never the truth. All those years I was just angry and jealous."

Midoriya could do nothing but stare. When he had woken up that morning, All Might had mentioned that Bakugou wanted to talk to him privately. Out of all the things that Bakugou could've been saying, never in a thousand years did Midoriya think that Kacchan would ever say such things. Midoriya couldn't help but wonder if he was still asleep and what he was experiencing was a strange dream.

"All these years, I thought it was anger. But I was only angry at you because it was easier to accept that it was guilt," Bakugou's expression darkened. "But I know that's no excuse. Just get over with it and tell me that you hate me for it."

That snapped Midoriya out of his daze.

"Wha-what!?" Midoriya stuttered. "W-Where did this come!? No!"

"Why not!?" Bakugou snapped, as if he truly wanted for Midoriya to hate him, which of course wasn't true. He knew he was a huge asshole for a very long time. He figured he deserved it.

"Because that would be a lie," Midoriya was blunt and gave Bakugou a melancholic smile. "Even with how mean and cruel you could get, I couldn't ever bring myself to ever hate you. I looked up to you way too much for that."

The both times they had fought before, words that Midoriya had said came repeating back to Bakugou.

"Can't you see? That's why I want to beat you because you're amazing!"

"You had so much going for you that I didn't have. All Might was my hero, but you were the one actually in my life!"

He had him say such things, but never gave it the time of day to really process it. Because Bakugou was finally hit by the raging fact that Midoriya had never lied.

It was always the truth he had known but ignored.

"Seriously? What the hell is wrong with you? How can you say that after everything I've done to you? After I told you to take your own life?"

Midoriya's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Bakugou retorted. "You know what I'm talking about!"

"No, Kacchan, I'm serious, I don't know what you're talking about."

"In middle school I told you if you wanted a quirk pray for it in the next life and to take a swan dive off the roof!" Bakugou yelled.

It was lucky that no one else was around to hear such words reverbing in nearby rooms. Midoriya tore his gaze away from Bakugou, his eyes distant. An old memory resurfaced.

"Oh…that." Midoriya mumbled.

Bakugou waited for it. He didn't know what it was be he expected something like anger or him telling Bakugou to leave.

What he got was the opposite of all the possible options he had thought of.

"Honestly, I barely remember you saying it. So, I can't say that it's bothered me at all."

There was silence and they stared each other. Midoriya's expression was completely serious, void of any smile or sign of joking.

A beat passed.

Then another.

And another.

Midoriya nervously fiddled with his hands in his lap.

"I also met All Might in person that day. So, if it makes you feel better that easily overshadowed-"

"But-….I don't get it. Didn't it hurt?" Bakugou's voice had never sounded so small. It was like all his confidence had sank away.

Midoriya went silent. He wanted to choose his words carefully. The answer was both simple yet complicated. It was hard to convey.

"Well, of course it did. But so, did a lot of things you said and did back then."

Bakugou felt a horrible weight in his chest grow heavier. That was going to leave a deep scar on his heart. But he would bare it. He deemed it his price to pay for the mistakes of his younger self.

"I know what you're thinking, and no," Midoriya looked Bakugou directly in his eyes. "You have to know that I never considered it as an option. Neither before nor after what you said. Not once. Not ever."

Bakugou couldn't stop the feeling of relief seeping inside of him.

"Never?" Bakugou asked, needing to be sure.

"Never." Midoriya's voice was firm, not a single shred of hesitation.

"Not even after everything? And I don't just mean what I said, but what other people used to say to you too. It never got to you?"

"Well, no. It always got to me. And because I was quirkless, I never really have any friends. It was… hard to keep optimistic. But as I got older, I got used to it. But even with everything I never considered taking my own life. More than anything I still wanted to be a hero. That never changed."

After such a confession what quietly gnawed at Bakugou was Midoriya's smile. It was so sincere and painful. He may have not wanted to end his life, but it didn't mean that his childhood wasn't tough. Bakugou felt the weight of his guilt. It leaked out of him one tear drop at a time. Midoriya saw him beginning to cry and panicked.

"But it's different now. I'm different. I'm not quirkless anymore for one, and two, I also have friends who support and care about me. And I got to meet All Might-"

"You know I made your life a living hell and yet you're the one trying to comfort me?" Bakugou humourlessly laughed. "You should despise me. I haven't even apologised to you. Not once."

Midoriya slowly shook his head.

"I don't think that's true. You have once."

Bakugou stared back at Midoriya.

"What are you talking about?" He genuinely had no idea what Midoriya was referring to.

"Apologies aren't always saying 'I'm sorry'. It's other things to like… 'things got so screwed up between us because of me. But I want to fix this, so don't you dare die before I can'."

Bakugou gasped. Those had been his words when he tried to bring Deku back.

"Like I said, I don't really remember much, but I remember hearing your voice in the dark. I heard every word," Midoriya let out a small chuckle if only to cover up the few stray tears that had started to flow from his own eyes. "But how I knew for sure was because there was one word that you said that told me that you were truly sorry."

"Which word was that?"

"My name," Midoriya smiled, a tear joy slipped down his cheek. "You called me by my real name and not 'Deku'."

It was true. Bakugou had never once called Midoriya by his first name since coming up with the cruel name turned hero name of 'Deku'. While the nickname had no longer a connotation to an insult to Midoriya, hearing his childhood friend use his real name after so long still meant great deal to him.

Midoriya knew Kacchan their whole lives. He knew how to tell what the other meant behind certain words. By using his real name, Midoriya knew it meant that Bakugou had revoked it as an insult. It revealed his desire to take back those times. That he still cared. It meant more to Midoriya than the words 'I'm sorry' ever could.

"Kacchan, for what it's worth, I forgive you."

"No," Bakugou aggressively wiped away the remnants of his tears. "I don't accept it."

"Kacchan—"

"I only want to hear those words when I've earnt them. It can't be that simple."

Bakugou decided that he would have to spend the rest of his life making amends for what he had done. Deku forgave him, but he couldn't forgive himself.

"We learn. We grow. If we didn't, well, we wouldn't be talking right now, would we?" Midoriya's words were wiser beyond that of his years. "I remember I heard a saying once. 'Regret is a part of life. You can either learn from it or carry it with you until the end of your days', or something like that."

Bakugou sighed, finally looking Midoriya dead in the eye. He kept avoiding Midoriya's eyes, but he needed to do it. Even if Deku had said he was forgiven, he still needed and wanted to say it.

"I'm sorry for everything."

Midoriya smiled, more tears streamed down his face. Bakugou would've teased him if he hadn't been crying himself moments before. Midoriya's eyes suddenly darted toward his own lap.

"Do…" Midoriya hesitantly began, "…Do you think that we can ever go back to the way we were kids?"

To go back to how close they were before quirks and growing up. Bakugou leaned forward in his chair.

"No," Bakugou's replied.

Midoriya looked disheartened by such an answer but they both knew it to be the truth. There was no going back to that time no matter how hard they wished it to be so. Things were different. They were different.

"It'll be better this time." Bakugou suddenly added. "But don't expect me to suddenly go easy on you. I'm still going to crush you and become number, you've got that!?"

Midoriya immediately laughed with smile, wiping away the last of his tears. The weight of their past lightened. The frayed bond of friendship finally old wounds breathe so it could heal.

Because, yes, they couldn't go back.

But they could move forward.

"Okay, Kacchan."

A/N: It's about the healing. Any who, honestly I feel like my pacing for this story just went all over the place, but oh well. Thanks for reading! If you liked it let me know, favourite or leave me review! Until next time, cheers!