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"We can take these lame wannabes on our own!" Bakugo said.

He complained the entire way back to camp. You were able to lose Toga and Twice thanks to Bakugo's grand rescue, but that didn't slow you down.

The two of you ran as fast as you could, using your quirks to maneuver through trees. Bakugo glowered, reluctant to leave the fight but following you seemed to distract him from his bloodlust.

"Where's your stupid boyfriend anyway?" He asked, "Did he ditch you when the villains showed up?"

"N-no," your heart dropped at the mention of Shinso, "He was never here in the first place."

"The hell kind of nonsense is that?"

You paused, but only for a moment to hopefully explain what you didn't even fully understand, "It wasn't Shinso. That girl back there, she... turned into him, somehow. Must be her quirk."

"Great," he spat, "And I'll bet they have zombie-boy locked up somewhere waiting for you."

For some reason, you expected Bakugo to argue with you or call you crazy. But he listened. You underestimated the hot-head; beneath all the rage was a boy really wanting to be a hero.

The best hero, who would viciously destroy his competitors and anything in his path - but still.

"I'm sure you're right," you said, humbled by his trust, but also troubled by the truth in his words.

"You better not do something stupid like surrender. If that's your plan tell me now so I can knock some sense into you."

"Decision pending..."

"What was that?!"

"Nothing," you said, "Lets focus on finding the others."

"Now you're telling me what to do?! See if I rescue your ass again."

There was a shortcut down a steep hill but you decided to take it anyway. Bakugo was right on your tail, until a blast of blue flames cut between you.

The heat was unlike anything you have ever felt before - including Shoto's quirk! The fire didn't touch you but it may as well have. Your skin screamed at the intensity and you swear some of your arm hairs were singed.

You rolled down the hill just to get space between yourself and the blue hell. The cool air felt like an ice pack soothing your warm body.

Once you were done pretending to parkour, you looked back to see where Bakugo ended up.

"Katsuki!" You called.

"Keep going!" you heard his voice from the opposite side of the wall of flames, "I can handle myself!"

"But-"

"I said go!"

You knew better than to argue. He would just fight you and you would take too long finding help. Still, the hero instinct inside of you felt torn leaving him behind.

Don't make me regret this, Katsuki...

Guilt pulled you like a magnet back to Bakugo and the fire, but you kept telling yourself that he was fine. He would rather die than lose to anyone... which honestly didn't make you feel any better.

Even if you could find just one person, someone to relay the message for you, then you could go back for him.

Please, someone, anyone?!

"Aizawa! Deku!" You spouted names left and right, "Shoto! Mina! Ochaco? Tenya!... Denki? Kirishima! Anyone!"

Finally, you could see the camp through a clearing.

"Thank the gods," you huffed.

"Not so fast, little missy!"

Your body suddenly malfunction either- or so you thought. Instead of moving forward like you had been, you felt yourself being dragged backwards by an invisible force.

It was quick and powerful. Your heels dragged in the dirt, but there was no stopping it. Whose quirk was this? You couldn't even turn your body at your command.

"Step aside boys! Looks like Big Sis is bringin' home the prize," the voice came from behind you.

Another villain.

"Shiiiiiiiiiit," you didn't know what to do but keep attempting to stop your momentum.

"I got you, (Y/N)!"

Your back collided with another body. Thankfully, not the villain's, whom you finally got a good look at now that you were released from their quirk.

She had shoulder-length red hair, sunglasses (at night...) and broad shoulders that supported an impressive hunk of metal. What an odd weapon, you thought, but it did look heavy and like it could do some damage.

As for who you ran into -

"Deku," you breathed, "Thank yo- holy hell, what happened to you?!"

The poor green-haired boy was covered in bruises and split skin, likely from taking a punch (or fifty.) It reminded you of the earlier days when his quirk used to nearly kill him.

"Quit standing around! There are villains here!" A smaller figure attached to Izuku's back exclaimed. You noticed it was little Kota. He didn't look nearly as pissed this time, but his juvenile anger had been replaced with fear.

"No, stand still, small fry," the villain with red hair said, "And be crushed!"

She readied the heavy magnet to swing at the two boys. No way could Izuku take another hit. It was amazing he was able to carry a boy AND catch you in his condition.

You threw yourself in front of them - with only half of a game plan. While running with Bakugo earlier, you tried to take a sample of every tree you passed. Hopefully that was enough energy to save yourself from any broken bones now...

"Uh oh," the villain attempted to stop.

You grinned. Looks like what Twice said was true; Shigaraki's orders were definitely not to harm you.

Excellent.

The villain's hesitation created a window for you to grab the oncoming weapon - which was just as heavy as it looked! Her eyes went wide at your show of strength.

"Hey, now," she chuckled, "Careful with tha-"

You just smiled before kicking her square in the stomach. It was a solid hit and it felt like kicking down a brick wall, but you had enough strength to send her flying back into the forest.

"Wow..." Kota muttered, "You're like Midoriya?"

"I wish," you winked, "But you're right, let's get out of here."

"(Y/N)," Izuku's voice was faint even as he stood next to you, "The villains... they're after you. You and Kacchan."

"Kacchan... Katsuki?"

No...

Izuku set Kota down, wincing as he did so, "The villain I faced... he was a loud mouth and asked about you two. But so did this other shady character - but we'll worry about him later. We need to find Aizawa and get you and Kota somewhere safe."

"Speak for yourself!" You huffed, "Look at you! I bet you're running on pure adrenaline right now. You're not okay, Deku."

Kota flinched and looked up at Izuku, "She's right. What more do you have to do... you're already injured."

"That doesn't matter right now. We have to alert everyone," he said, "And find Kacchan."

You nodded, "Then I'm coming with you."

Just then, another dark figure came running towards you. You immediately let down your defenses when you noticed your teacher's concerned, leering face.

"Midoriya. (Y/N)," he came to halt.

"Mr. Aizawa," Izuku said, "The Villains are targeting (Y/N) and Kacchan. I found Kota too, but Kaachan is still out there. I don't know how many villains but it's definitely The League again and-"

"Midoriya!" Aizawa said, "Slow down. You three need to get inside - now."

"But sir!" You both protested.

"I will alert Mandalay - her quirk can reach all the other students telepathically."

"Let me do it, sir," Izuku said, "I can do it - and you can protect Kota and (Y/N). Please."

"You're in no condition to do anything right now," Aizawa said.

"I can! Trust me."

"I'll do it, I'm still good," you chimed in, while also pitifully hiding the gash on your arm.

"This isn't up for negotiation," Aizawa glared, "And you most certainly will not leave this camp, (Y/N)."

"You don't understand! I left Bakugo behind I- it'll be my fault if they find him," your voice cracked halfway through your sentence, "I have to help, please, Aizawa."

His eyes were suddenly red, "Knowing Bakugo, that doesn't surprise me. I will find him. You need to consider the situation and what the best thing you could do is; not get an ego and put yourself at risk needlessly."

You wanted to fight. Kick. Scream. Shake him if you had to - anything to get him to understand. But you also knew he had a point and you couldn't even open your mouth to argue.

"We'll find him," Izuku reassured you.

Why did you leave him? Why did you listen to that idiot? You were getting help - you thought you were doing the right thing.

If I'm responsible for Katsuki and Hitoshi getting hurt or worse...

You couldn't dare finish that thought.

You were about to comply with Aizawa's request and hide out, when you felt another presence joining your circle.

They appeared so silently, in dark drapes of blue and black, you almost thought it was an apparition. When you realized they were real and physically standing next to Aizawa with a hand raised, you saw the tortured flesh along their arms, neck, face and the staples holding the skin together...

Not a ghost. A corpse!

"Looks like your concern has you distracted. Eraser Head."

"Aizawa!" But you were too late.

A blast of terrible fire engulfed the area you once stood. You shielded your eyes from the heat, but luckily Aizawa was swift and got all of you out of the way.

With his scarf, he collected you, Izuku, and Kota with lightning speed and threw you all towards the camp. In the process, it looked like his clothes got a little burnt, but he was still alive.

"Nice move," the stranger said, "You really care about your students, don't you."

"W-who is that?" Kota asked.

"No one good," you said.

His voice reminded you of someone, though. You couldn't place it while your chest and brain were having a frenzy. It was cool, monotone and smooth, but it made you feel on edge.

He couldn't be much older than you. He had black hair and Freddy Krueger vibes, but also these insane turquoise eyes that made you think of the blue flames that escaped his hands.

Suddenly, he turned his attention to you. His expression was bored, but behind his blue eyes was something dark. Insane, possibly.

"But I'm going to have to take that one off your hands," he grinned, pointing at you.

Aizawa wound his scarf around the stranger, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Get back, (Y/N)!" Aizawa ordered.

"Aww, stay, (Y/N)..." those blue eyes glittered menacingly.

Aizawa stopped his fire quirk from working, so he was hardly a threat anymore, but you still felt creeped out. Seeing the damage he, more than likely, caused his own body, you cringed at the thought of his intent for any of you.

"Where's Bakugo," you demanded.

"Hm?" He pretended to be coy. Aizawa didn't waste any time in pinning him to the ground.

"Who else is with you," Aizawa asked.

"What makes you think I have your friend?" the stranger brushed your teacher's questions off.

"You attacked us on the hill. If you're already here you either won or he ran off, and I doubt he'd do that," you said.

Aizawa starred at you, but said nothing. Instead, he bent the man's arm back, making it pop, "Do you have the boy, villain?"

"Don't ask me. Wrong guy," he said simply, "I'm just here for the girl. And I know you're willing, aren't you."

Aizawa bent his arm further, "That's enough. Your legs are next unless you're ready to cooperate."

"Scary..." he grunted in pain.

"Something isn't right," Izuku said, his voice still hoarse, "I don't think he'd come attack us on his own. He's strong but he's pretty defenseless against Aizawa."

"Astute little students of yours, Eraser," the villain hummed, "I wonder if you can save them in the end."

More blazing fire surrounded you. This time, it didn't come from the villain Aizawa had detained.

"What!" Izuku gasped.

Two of them?

Sure enough, running up behind you was another ghastly burn victim dressed in blue. It looked like a trench coat with just a plain white tee underneath. He released more horrific fire dividing you from Aizawa and his clone.

The fire stretched farther, nearly swallowing up Izuku in the process. He roared in pain, but was able to shove Kota out of the way.

You caught the little boy in your arms and did your best to shield him from the flames. Regardless of how Kota felt towards you before, he clung to you for dear life. His tiny body shook violently and his hands clutched at your clothing.

The two of you stayed low to the ground. You covered Kota's body with yours like a shell hiding a crab, careful to not take energy from him.

You blinked through the smoke and ash, locating the pyromaniac, "Stop! Let the kid go. He's not even one of the students - he doesn't need to be involved."

His blue eyes held no emotion as he spoke, "He can still fuel my flames."

You were in a ring of fire, closed off from Aizawa and Izuku. The flickering purple and blue hues reminding you that it's temperature could easily incinerate you all.

"I'll go," you voice dropped, "I'll leave here with you right now."

"No, don't," Kota cried into your shoulder, "You can fight him - I know you can!"

"It's okay," you whispered. You wanted to protect this boy. Your father may have killed his parents but you would be damned if you were the cause of his end.

But he wasn't the only reason for you doing this. This was unavoidable if you wanted to find Shinso and save Bakugo.

The half-burned man smiled, "Good choice."

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