Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I’m always calm and rational, you red haired loser!”

Quietly, from behind a wall, Deku stifles a laugh.

It’s a shitty situation he’s stuck in, and the moment is tense, but he’s glad to know Kacchan hasn’t changed much from what he remembers. More than that, it means his memory is accurate to begin with. He’s spent two years questioning his memories, and this is the confirmation he’s been needing. Kacchan is exactly what he remembers, the same explosive personality and quirk, the same talent.

Shame, that he’s supposed to die today.

But that’s why Deku’s over here, isn’t it? To check on Kacchan, and if he can’t handle the villains on his own - well, Deku can probably lend a hand, right? No one has to know, if he’s sneaky enough about it. He's very good at being sneaky.

And, besides, he’ll head back to his assigned spot soon. Kacchan seems to be handling things fine, with that other classmate of his, and Deku is the only villain still in the area. He just wanted a glimpse of what his life could have held. He pokes his head out, just a bit, just enough that he can see Kacchan’s face.

He looks - well, he looks older, but he’s still the same Kacchan Deku remembers. Red eyes, spiky blonde hair, that same ridiculous face he makes when he’s concentrating.

Deku’s heart clenches. He doesn’t want to go back, now that he sees him. He wants to lunge forward and hug him, to ruffle his hair and see if it’s as soft as he remembers, to go home.

That’s not an option, though, so he settles for letting himself stare a little longer. His shifts his weight a bit, preparing to stand, and then his foot slips. He hits the ground with a soft thud, quickly scrambling back onto his feet.

“Did you hear something?” Kacchan asks, looking around, and Deku darts back. Shit.

“Yeah,” the other student - Kirishima? - says. “You think there’s someone else here?”

“Probably,” Kacchan says. By the sound of his footsteps, he seems to be coming closer. Deku tries to flatten himself against the wall as Kacchan steps forward. It’s dark back here, and with his black hoodie and face mask, Deku might blend in.

For a second, he thinks it might work. And then -

“There!” Kacchan grabs him by his hood, yanking him away from the wall and into the light. Deku struggles, but achieves nothing, flailing uselessly. Kacchan spins him around and slams him against the wall, holding his arm at an uncomfortable position, close to breaking it. “You assholes really have it out for me,” he growls. Deku’s got his head against the wall, trying to look behind him, but he only sees Kacchan’s glare out of the corner of his eye.

Deku opens his mouth to say something and thinks better of it, going silent. There’s nothing he can say to make the situation better. This is bad, in a way he might not recover from. If Kacchan figures out who he is -

“What? Not gonna fight back? Fine, I can work with that.” Kacchan kicks him in the back of the legs, sending Deku to the ground - more out of shock than pain. Part of him had almost expected - almost hoped - that Kacchan would somehow know who he was, subconsciously, and wouldn't attack him. “Kirishima, get his arms.”

Kirishima obliges. Kacchan stands up, walking around Deku slowly.

“So what the hell do you guys want, huh?”

Deku stays silent. If he talks, his voice might give him away.

Kacchan narrows his eyes. It hurts, seeing so much anger directed at him, but there’s nothing Deku can do. He has to get out of Kirishima’s hold, has to run before Shigaraki realizes where he is. Being silent, he realizes, isn’t going to work. Kacchan’s expecting a reply.

He coughs, clearing his throat, trying to make his voice sound deeper. “If you let me go, I won’t hurt you.”

“Ha!” Kacchan actually smiles at him, looking almost excited. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we have you captured?”

“Yeah, man, I don’t think you’re really in a spot to try and bargain with us,” Kirishima adds.

“Here’s a deal for you: Tell us who you are and what you want, and maybe we’ll let you live.”

“I - I can’t,” he says, forgetting to alter his voice. “Please, you have to let me go, if they find out I’m here….”

Kacchan looks unsettled, and he and Kirishima exchange a look, but he quickly shakes his head and gets back to it. “Then I’ll figure it out myself,” he mutters, kneeling down and pushing Deku’s hood down, then taking off his flimsy little paper mask. Deku ducks his head as fast as he can, before Kacchan can get a good look at his face, but Kacchan quickly grabs his face in his hand, pulling him back into the light.

And then, just as fast, he lets go, stumbling back.

“Deku?” he says, like he’s seen a ghost, which...he has, in a way.

“No,” Deku says, struggling to get out of Kirishima’s grip. “No, no, you can’t -”

“Bakugo, you know this guy?” Kirishima’s grip loosens, just a bit, just enough.

“I -” While they’re distracted, Deku manages to touch the ground with his hand, encouraging the growth of every plant nearby. Something big and leafy starts to sprout right under Kirishima’s feet, knocking him off balance, and in his scramble to regain his footing, he drops Deku. In a flash, Deku’s on his feet, a wall of plants separating him from the other two.

“Wait!” Kacchan shouts, blasting the plants as fast as he can. They’re thick, though, and Deku’s at the window too quickly for Kacchan to follow. “Get back here!”

He hesitates in the windowsill, dangling high above the ground. Kacchan hasn’t changed much, even in ten years, and the Kacchan Deku knows would never let a villain escape like this. Especially if that villain is him.

“Don’t come after me, Kacchan. Deku’s gone.” Before Kacchan can reply, he lets himself fall.

Chapter Text

Sleep avoids him that night.

It avoids him the way he wishes he’d avoided Kacchan. Deku lies in bed and stares up at the ceiling, thinking over the day’s events - one part in particular.

The attack had been a failure. That, at least, was good. A few students and teachers had been injured, but no one had died, and Deku was glad for that at least.

But.

Kacchan had seen him.

And that - that was worse than someone getting hurt. That was something that could get everyone hurt. He shouldn’t have taken a risk like that, no matter how much he wanted to.

He can’t stop playing it over in his head, thinking about Kacchan’s shocked face and Kirishima’s question. Did Kacchan really know him? He had when they were five, sure. But that wasn’t really saying anything. Two five year olds could become friends in a matter of seconds, and their friendship wasn’t much more than that, just two little kids who happened to live near each other and went to the same park.

But Deku isn’t the same person he was when he was five. And even back then - Kacchan had pushed him away. Now, with Deku being what he is….

Who would want to know him? Kacchan is studying to be a hero, to save lives, and Deku is a villain. All he’s accomplished is making things worse for himself. AFO is already going to be mad the attack failed - if he finds out Deku let himself be seen, he’ll be furious.

It’s just another thing on his list of things he has to lie about. It started out with just him knowing who he was, but now he's reached the point of disobeying direct orders, something he would have never dreamed of doing before Yasuhiro.

He owes a lot to Yasuhiro, really. Deku still has no idea why he was sent to kill him, but it’s because of his magazine collection that he knows anything about himself - besides the lies AFO fed him, at least.

He sighs, sitting up. Sleep isn’t likely to come for him tonight, and he has other things he could be doing. He saw a lot of interesting quirks during the fight today, between Kirishima’s rock-like arms and the way their teacher had completely erased quirks.

He pulls his notebook out from its hiding spot, turning on his light to make some notes. He adds a few to Kacchan’s page, as well. Those gauntlets he had…..

Kacchan’s going to be an incredible hero, someday. Deku just hopes he can stay out of his way.

---

Bakugo can't sleep.

He's one of the first ones out, usually. Kaminari had called him an old man, when they'd first moved into the dorms and Bakugo had gotten up at 9 pm to go to sleep, but Bakugo had only needed to look at him and Kaminari had backed down.

He feels old, right now. Like the new knowledge he's gained has aged him.

Deku's alive.

More than that, Deku's a villain. And not just any villain - Regrowth is one of the most terrifying villains currently active. He's been responsible for dozens of deaths, and yet no one has ever seen his face before, only the plain white mask he wears.

But now Bakugo has.

He hadn't meant to say the name. Shock had given it a chance to slip out, and the reaction had been all the confirmation he needed.

He'd called him Kacchan.

“Deku’s gone,” he'd said, but Bakugo didn't believe him. Villain or not, that was Deku. That was the same boy that had held his hand on field trips, cried when he squished a bug, and told Bakugo about his plans to be a hero.

The same boy he'd pushed away, over and over, until he was gone and there was nothing to push. When Deku had found out he was quirkless, the other kids had bullied him, and Bakugo had joined in. He’d felt a little bad, sure, but not enough to stop.

The last time he spoke to Deku was to tell him they couldn’t be friends anymore. The next day, Deku vanished.

He’s spent ten years wondering if things could have been different, blaming himself for what happened. But now….this is a chance to redeem himself. If he can rescue Deku, maybe he can make up for what he did all those years ago.

Of course, this relies on Deku wanting to be rescued, but Bakugo had seen the look on his face. He hadn’t attacked him or Kirishima. If Deku was a real villain, like the others that had been at USJ, he would’ve attacked him. But Deku hadn’t even fought back, meaning he was still that same kid Bakugo knew somewhere in there, even after ten years. Maybe Regrowth had killed people, but that’s not really Deku, is it? And if Deku really didn’t want to be rescued…..well, he’d cross that bridge when he got to it.

It’s too late for him to be thinking about this. The clock reads 4:34 AM, and he’s got class the next day. He rolls over and tries to shut off his brain, and eventually, falls asleep.

He doesn’t get much sleep, though. His alarm goes off at 7 am, and he knows if he slips in his routine, people will notice. So Bakugo drags himself out of bed and into the kitchen, desperately trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.

He doesn’t normally drink coffee, but this morning, he’s grateful some of his classmates do. There’s a fresh pot already, though whoever made it’s wandered off. There’s only a few others awake at this time - Sero, Yaoyoruzo, that one guy with the arms - but they're in the common area. He pours himself a cup and downs it, slumping against the counter.

“Woah, man, you okay?” Kirishima asks. Bakugo hadn’t even heard him approaching.

“‘m fine,” he mutters, not turning around. “Had trouble sleeping.”

“I can tell,” Kirishima says. “Is it about that dude we saw yes-”

Before Kirishima can finish his sentence, Bakugo slams his hand over his mouth. “Shut up!” he hisses, wide awake now. No one else is in the kitchen, but he glances around anyway, just to check. “You can’t tell anyone about that. Anyone. And don’t talk to me about it, either! This is secret. You say anything and I’ll blow your head off.” He releases his hold on Kirishima, who rolls his eyes at him.

“Jeez, dude, you don’t need the threats,” he says, laughing. “...Are you sure you don’t wanna talk about it? You seemed pre-”

“I’m fine,” Bakugo says, pouring himself another cup of coffee. “Conversation over.”

He leaves Kirishima standing in the kitchen and marches back to his room. He has a rescue mission to plan, and he refuses to let anyone get in his way - not even Deku.

Chapter Text

Planning a rescue mission is so much harder than Bakugo thought it would be.

Rushing in is not an option, as much as he'd like it to be. Bakugo has never been one for strategy and planning ahead. He meets his problems head on, with force. His quirk allows him to act like that - he's never faced a problem he couldn't punch his way out of.

Until now, at least.

Despite what many people may think, Bakugo isn’t stupid. Reckless, yes, destructive, sure, impulsive, absolutely, but even he knows his limits.

His former best friend’s life hangs in the balance, here. If Bakugo fucks this up -

He won’t. He's going to rescue Deku, and nothing is going to stop him. Not some weird bird beaked monster, not some teleporting bartender, not some asshole with too many hands. And he's going to do it all on his own. The teachers wouldn't understand, they'd treat Deku like he's just another villain, and his classmates are too likely to let something slip.

So, for the first time in his life - he takes notes. He writes down what he remembers, though it’s not much. Deku was only five when he vanished. His only memories of Deku are fuzzy childhood memories, insubstantial and blurry, flashes of playgrounds and sleepovers, and that one last day. When he’s out of memories, he scours the internet for more information, about Deku, about Regrowth, about the villains that had been with him.

Regrowth has quite the body count. At least nine deaths can be attributed to him, according to the articles Bakugo finds. His victims vary, from criminals to heroes to civilians, but they all have a few things in common. Most are found with flowers growing from their mouths, the roots stretching into the throat, into the lungs in some cases. The cause of death is fairly consistent, as well - infections, for almost every single one. Something in the blood. Severe infections, that should have been the result of some kind of injury or illness, that lead to even worse sepsis, followed by organ failure, and finally, death.

It's theorized he has a growth quirk, which would make sense, based on his name. Very little is known about him, beyond that. He's only been seen briefly, in glimpses, but it's said he wears hoodies and a white mask that covers his face. Bakugo has seen pictures of him, grainy photos from security footage, plastered on TV, warning people. Even in the worst photos, his eyes are clear. They’re a bright, piercing green.

Bakugo has to take a break from reading. When he closes his eyes, he sees the faces of those killed by Regrowth, the glazed looks, the flowers splitting them open, the rotting limbs.

Is there enough of Deku left to even be rescued?

---

Deku gets by.

It's hard, pretending to be fine when he feels like he's being ripped apart, but he's had practice. He's been pretending for two years, after all. What's one more lie?

He digs out the old magazine article, again. Loses himself in daydreams. Maybe he could have gone to UA and been a hero. Maybe he and Kacchan could have become friends there, along with that other boy, Kirishima. His quirk has a lot possibilities, used properly. He's healed himself with it enough - maybe, if he'd been given proper training, he could have learned to heal other people.

He can almost picture it - instead of cutting people open, putting them back together. Repairing broken bones and skinned knees and then giving patients a flower, just for the fun of it.

Eventually, though, reality reasserts itself. Deku's as likely to heal a wound as he is to create a horrible infection that kills whoever he's healing - in fact, the second option is more likely. That's what he's been trained for.

He's never going to be a hero. At this point, he doesn't even deserve to be. He's not the carefree, cheerful child he once was.

Villains don't become heroes, especially villains like him.

He wonders what his next mission might be. Another murder, or maybe for once something that doesn't make him hate himself as much. Then again, the League is lying a bit low for once, letting the press run wild with theories about the USJ attack. They'll strike again soon enough, but Shigaraki is enjoying the chaos.

For now, he’ll enjoy the break, such as it is. He’ll lay low, and hope he doesn’t get dragged into something else.

Mostly, he’ll hope Kacchan stays safe.

----

Breaking into the League Of Villains headquarters is unsettling easy.

Bakugo’s spent about a month doing research, at this point, digging through crack theories and troll rants, trying to find any nuggets of truth buried deep in.

A lot of theories mention an abandoned bar, where a variety of different villains have been spotted, including a bunch that appeared during the USJ attack. Most notably, Regrowth has been seen there often. Bakugo finds a series of pictures taken by the security camera nearby. There's massive gaps between photos, months between them at times, but still. Regrowth is a consistent presence here. It's the closest thing Bakugo has to a lead.

He waits for a holiday weekend, a rare opportunity where students are encouraged to go visit their parents. Bakugo's never bothered before, but this weekend he tells his teachers he's going home.

He doesn't.

The bar isn't too far, but it's not close enough to walk, so Bakugo takes the train. His suitcase is only for show, completing his disguise of student visiting his parents. All his supplies are in his backpack, and even then, there's not much. Some rope, first aid supplies…..Bakugo couldn't think of anything that would actually help, with this. His whole plan really hinges on Deku being willing.

Well, there is one person he did ask for help, despite his better judgement - Hatsume Mei. He’d offered to test out some of her weird inventions in exchange for her helping him sneak back into the dorms that night. She’d agreed easily, and he’d left out the part about bringing a second person into the dorms.

The bar is exactly where his notes said it would be, tucked away behind other buildings, the neon sign having gone out a long time ago. The front is crumbling, the windows cracked and dirty. It's not an inviting structure.

Bakugo goes in anyway. The door is locked, but when has a lock ever stopped him? One small explosion and he's in.

It's suspicious, but not enough to make Bakugo go back. Inside is surprisingly nice, plush seats and recently swept floors and clean counters. Sure, everything’s kinda worn out, but it’s obviously been used as an actual bar pretty recently.

The door to the kitchen is locked like the door outside, and Bakugo disposes of it in the same way.

The kitchen is not a kitchen. Bakugo grins upon seeing the hallway ahead of him. Now he's getting somewhere. There's windows in each door, revealing a variety of things - closets, mostly, little storage areas, with some blank bedrooms spread out.

The halls are long and twisting. Bakugo starts getting discouraged when he turns down a hall and, for the fourth time, is greeted by the exact same view he was greeted with the last three turns.

He turns a fifth time and sees a shadow at the end of the hall.

Picking up speed, still aiming for silence, he darts down the hall. This one goes in two directions, and he thinks he sees a flash of black hair turning towards the right. He practically sprints after it, following it down a few halls, until it suddenly vanishes.

It's then that he realizes he has no idea where he is. There’s two ways for him to go forward, one way to go back, and he has no idea how to backtrack.

One direction is a dead end, with just a door at the end, so he decides to check that first. The door is locked - of course - so he gives a quick knock, to see if anyone’s inside.

No response. That’s fine by him. The door breaks easily, crumbling under the explosions.

---

When Deku hears the doorknob rattle, he hides.

It’s not a conscious plan, really, more something he does on instinct. The door is locked, but that rarely stops people from bursting in. Within seconds he’s hidden under the bed, watching the legs of whoever’s decided to come in. He can tell every league member apart by their shoes alone.

….Except he doesn’t recognize the pair he’s currently looking at. They’re a pair of plain black sneakers, well worn but still in good shape. The only person who ever wears sneakers is Dabi and his have some distinct burn marks on them.

“Fuck,” the person says.

Deku pokes his head out from under the bed, just far enough to look, not enough to be seen, only to be greeted with -

“Kacchan?”

Kacchan whirls around, looking for the source of the voice. Sheepishly, Deku crawls out from under the bed.

“What are you doing down th-”

“You can't be here!” Deku nearly shouts, interrupting him, before realizing how loud he's being. “What am I doing? No, what are you doing?”

Kacchan glares at him.

“You can't be here,” Deku repeats, standing up.

“And why not?”

“Because - why are you even here in the first place?”

“I’m here to rescue you, you idiot!”

Deku stares at him, unsure of how to even react. “You - I - You can’t. I’m a villain, Kacchan.”

Kacchan’s determined glare starts to slide off. “What, do you like being here?” he scoffs, gesturing at the room around him, the gray walls and lack of any personal touches.

“I’m -”

“You always said you wanted to be a hero,” Kacchan continues, balling his hands into fists. “So what, you changed your mind? You wanna hurt people now or something?”

Deku flinches. He wants nothing more than to sink into the floor, but Kacchan keeps going. “If you do, then fine, I’ll leave. But if you don’t - why the hell are you arguing with me? I’m trying to help you!”

“You could die trying to help me!” Deku says, digging his hands into his hair. “Did you even think this through? What if I did wanna hurt people?”

“So you admit -”

“Listen to me! If I was a proper villain - you’d be dead!”

“But I’m not, and you’re not,” Kacchan says, like that solves anything. “You’re not, and now you can leave.”

“I can’t,” Deku says, some of the tension leaving him, replaced with exhaustion. “It’s not that simple.”

“It could be,” Kacchan says. “What’s stopping you?”

“I don’t deserve it! I’ve done some awful stuff -” and here he can see Kacchan looking away awkwardly, like he knows what Deku’s done and is rethinking things a little, good - “I’ve killed people and hurt people and ruined lives and - I’m not the Deku you remember.” He grabs onto his arm, a half hearted hug. “I’m not Deku at all. I’m Regrowth.”

Kacchan is silent. Deku doesn’t dare look at him. He can’t pretend he’s not tempted by Kacchan’s offer, but he knows he can’t accept it.

“If you’re really such a horrible person, then why’d you let me and Kirishima live?”

“I -” he doesn’t have a reply to that. Kacchan, for once, does have a point there.

But that doesn’t erase everything else. It doesn’t erase the dead bodies Deku sees when he closes his eyes. “I’m still a villain. Villains don’t get happy endings.”

“You’re being a dumbass,” Kacchan says, interrupting the uncomfortable silence. “You know what I think? I think you’re scared. Which I should’ve expected, but also, stop being a self sacrificing little shit and let me fucking help you.”

“I’m being a dumbass? You’re the one -”

“Shh!” Kacchan says suddenly, moving to put a hand over Deku’s mouth, though Deku quickly knocks it away. “I think I hear something.” He moves away from Deku and pokes his head out the door.

“But -”

“Do you wanna leave or not?” he asks, turning suddenly. “Yes or no.”

“I -”

“Yes or no.”

“Yes,” Deku admits.

“Good,” Kacchan says.

Something hits Deku in the head, something heavy, and before he has the chance to try and figure out what it is, the world goes black.

Chapter Text

Someone’s coming.

Bakugo is standing in the middle of the league of villains secret base with a passed out Deku at his feet and no idea of how to get out, and someone is coming.

He’s glad he brought the rope now. It takes a few minutes, but he manages to tie Deku to his back, wearing him like a backpack, his actual backpack attached to Deku. It’s...weird, but it works.

He looks around Deku’s room for a bit, grabbing anything that looks like it belongs to Deku. There’s not much, just a few pieces of All Might merch and some random crap that probably holds weird sentimental value. Under the bed, he finds some notebooks and an old magazine, and he grabs them too.

With that, he sets out, attempting to retrace his steps in the winding halls of the league. He gets lost quickly, which isn’t a surprise, but is annoying. Everything here looks exactly the same. And the whole time, he hears footsteps behind him.

He’s so close. If he can just outrun those footsteps, figure out where the hell he’s going, he could get back. But this place is probably designed to be confusing.

He regrets knocking Deku out. Not a lot - it was better than leaving him there or continuing that stupid argument - but Deku probably knows his way around the place and that’d be very helpful right about now.

He’s barely focused on where he’s going, instead looking at where he’s been, trying to keep track, and that’s when he slams into someone.

Bakugo scrambles back, uncomfortably aware of the boy strapped to his back. The man standing in front of him is a terrifying figure; black hair, bright blue eyes, and bizarre, almost patchwork skin. He looks like the staples in his skin are the only thing holding him together.

“Hey,” he says.

“Fuck,” Bakugo says.

“Whatcha got there?” the man says, nodding his head towards Deku. Bakugo tries to stand up taller, to block the man’s view, but this asshole is tall.

“Nothing.” His voice shakes, badly. Bakugo has never been more afraid in his life.

“Sure looks like something to me.” There’s no emotion in his voice, and that's the scariest part. He doesn’t look concerned or annoyed or happy. He’s completely blank, and it’s terrifying.

“We’re leaving,” Bakugo says, tilting his chin up. “You can’t make him stay here.” His palms are sweating, blood replaced with pure fear. This is where it all goes wrong. This is where Bakugo gets him and Deku killed, and no one will ever even know. There’s more footsteps coming - backup, probably.

“You’re taking him with you?”

“Yeah, and you can’t stop me.” This time, his voice is steady. “I’ll - I’ll fight you if I have to.” He holds out his hand, preparing an explosion. Any explosion he sets off is likely to just draw more attention, based on how much he’s sweating, but the man doesn’t know that. “So don’t get in my way.”

The man is silent for a moment, blank as a brand new sheet of paper.

Then he nods at Bakugo. “Exit’s that way.” he points back the way Bakugo came. His facial expression never changes. “Take two rights and then a left. I’ll buy you some time, but you should go soon.”

“You’re helping me?” Bakugo lowers his hand. “But -”

“You’re running out of time. Get him out of here,” the man says. His expression softens, just enough for Bakugo to notice. “....take care of him for me.”

“I -”

“Go.”

Bakugo has a thousand questions, but he doesn’t ask any of them. He goes.

---

Getting back into the dorms is much easier than any other step in the process. All he has to do is text Hatsume, who immediately starts doing her thing, and texts him back less than a minute later to give him the go ahead. With the cameras and sensors shut off, he can just walk back in without anyone knowing.

Once he's inside, he realizes he has no idea what to do next. He hadn’t really expected to get this far.

Still strapped to his back, Deku starts to stir, and Bakugo decides he’ll just do the first thing he can think of - build a hiding place.

He puts Deku on the bed for now and gets set up. There’s built in closets in each dorm, but Bakugo never uses his, instead using the dresser he brought from home. Hanging up clothing is too much effort for him.

That means the closet is empty, with plenty of space to hide a certain (former??) villain. Of course, he’s not gonna wanna stay in a plain, empty, uncomfortable little space, so Bakugo starts piling some blankets and pillows in there, turning it into a sort of nest. There’s not as much as he’d like, since Bakugo doesn’t have many extra pillows, but it’s comfy enough.

It’s better than Deku’s old room, at least. Bakugo hadn’t stayed long, but it didn’t look like a place for someone to live. Everything was gray and black and cold, from the walls to the tiny desk in the corner to the hard plastic chair to the too small bed. It wasn’t a place for anyone to live, much less Deku.

So, maybe it’s just a closet, but it’s cozy. Comfy. And that way, Deku can stay safe while they figure out what to do next.

With that settled, he gently moves Deku in the closet, leaving the door open. For all his movement earlier, Deku is still now. Bakugo paces back and forth, waiting for Deku to wake up, and also dreading it just a bit.

He didn’t think this far ahead. They’re in unknown territory now, and Bakugo has no idea what to do. What if Deku wants to go back? Bakugo can’t really force him to stay here. But if he does want to stay, he’ll have to be completely hidden, from students and teachers alike.

Bakugo takes a seat on his bed. Deku’s safe, now, and that's what’s really important. They’ll figure out what to do. Bakugo had seen the way he looked, the place where he lived. There’s no way he wanted to stay there.

He looks peaceful, curled up in the closet. Bakugo can see how he’s changed since they were kids better, and how he’s stayed the same. The most obvious difference is the scar that runs across Deku’s face, starting next to his eyebrow and traveling across his nose before ending right under his eye.

He looks so much like he did when they were kids. The same big green eyes, same freckles, same messy hair. Yeah, he’s older, and a little messed up, but he’s unmistakably Deku.

It makes something in Bakugo’s chest clench up. He’d been so awful, when they were kids. Maybe now he can finally make up for it.

There’s so much he still doesn’t understand. Deku didn’t have a quirk when they were kids - what was with the plants at USJ? Even weirder is the man Bakugo ran into.

“Take care of him for me.”

The man was clearly a villain, and yet he helped out. He wanted Deku to be safe. Why?

Too many questions, not enough answers. Bakugo flops onto his bed, dropping an arm over his face. Rescuing someone is emotionally exhausting, and he’s tired.

Despite his frantic thoughts, he falls asleep.

Chapter Text

The first thing Deku does when he wakes up is panic.

This….isn’t really anything unusual. He’s often panicking straight out of bed. But this is a different panic, because for one, he’s not in bed. He doesn’t know where he is, but it’s dark and small and….oddly soft?

He sits up slowly, feeling around the “room” he’s found himself in. This isn’t the first time he’s woken up somewhere mysterious and dark, but it’s the most pleasant. He’s still got all his limbs and nothing hurts, so that’s a bonus. But that doesn’t answer any of his questions.

One of the walls is a sliding door, it turns out, and he pulls it open slowly, careful so that whoever’s outside can’t instantly see what he’s doing. He just needs a little bit of space to see, just enough to tell where he is.

The very first thing he notices is that Kacchan is there, and he doesn’t notice anything else because the shock makes him jolt away.

Memories flood back. Kacchan breaking into his room, arguing with him, insisting on rescuing him. Everything going black - did Kacchan knock him out?

He really hasn’t changed from childhood.

He peeks again, longer than this time. It looks like a bedroom - probably Kacchan’s, which means Deku is most likely in a closet. Is he at Kacchan’s house? Deku pushes the door a bit more, louder this time, to get Kacchan’s attention. It works a little too well - Kacchan nearly falls off the bed when the door squeaks loudly.

“Oh, shit,” he says, staring at Deku. “You’re awake.”

“Did you knock me out?” Deku blurts.

“....Maybe,” Kacchan says. He has the decency to look a little sheepish, at least. “You were being a dumbass. It was the quickest solution.”

Deku doesn’t know where to even begin with that argument. “Where am I?” he asks instead, poking his head out of the closet.

“You’re at UA.” Kacchan sits up and stretches. “My dorm, specifically.”

“I’m at UA?” Deku squeaks, ducking back into the closet. “You can’t - I -“

“You gotta stop telling me what I can and can’t do.” Kacchan rolls his eyes. “What, do you really wanna go back to the villains?”

“....No.” He ducks his head, not looking at Kacchan, mind already racing with the implications of what Kacchan just said. “But I can’t be here.”

“Deku -”

“This is a school for heroes, if anyone finds out I’m here they’ll -”

“Deku -”

“What if the teachers find out? I’ll get thrown out, I should - oh god the league is gonna be so mad -“ He has to leave, now, before they realize he’s gone. He’s still talking, a consistent stream of panicked, frantic words, realizing things as he says them. “They’re gonna punish me again, I’ll have to make them think this was all my ide-”

“Deku!” Kacchan shouts, cutting into his thoughts.

“Stop calling me Deku!” he snaps, sitting up straight.

“Then what should I call you? Regrowth? I know you’re not the same person you were when we were kids, but that’s not you either.” Kacchan folds his arms, glaring at Deku.

“Yes it is!” Deku shouts, throwing his hands in the air. “All the stuff Regrowth has done, that was me! You can’t just pretend that ‘Regrowth’ is some entirely different person. I’ve been Regrowth longer than I was Deku.” He pauses, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he starts crying. “Look, I get you wanna help, but -” His breath catches as tears start to roll down his cheeks. “You can’t. And even if you could, I don’t deserve it.” He hunches in on himself, digging his hands into his shoulders.

Arms wrap around him, holding him tight, startling Deku into staying still. “Stop doing that,” Kacchan says. “Stop acting like you’re some kind of monster.”

Deku shoves him, wriggling out of his grasp. “I am! Stop acting like I’m not! I’ve seen the articles about me, the things people say. Do you seriously think I have even a chance of surviving out here? What are you going to do with me now? Am I just gonna hide in your dorm room forever? Are we gonna pretend that the teachers aren’t going to lock me up the second they find out I’m here?” He’s half shouting, wiping desperately at his face like it might actually get rid of the tears. “You say you know I’m not the same person anymore but you don’t really get it.” He holds his hands in front of him, balling them into fists. “There’s blood on my hands. No matter what I do, I’m always gonna be a villain.”

“Deku, shut the fuck up.”

Deku shuts the fuck up.

“You’re being an idiot again. What, just cause you’re one thing right now, you’re gonna be that forever? If that was the case, then I’d be right, cause you’d still be the same person you were as a kid. And you know what that kid was like?”

Deku looks up at him, peeking through the hair drooping into his eyes and the tears blurring his vision. He doesn’t want to hope. Hope hasn’t gotten him anywhere in the last ten years. Every dream he’s had has been crushed, some harder than others, and he doesn’t have the energy to go through that again. He shakes his head. He barely remembers what he was like as a child.

“That kid wanted to be a hero. That kid wanted to help people. So if you’re right, and that kid is totally, completely eradicated, fine. You can go...I don’t know, go live in the sewers or some shit. But if I’m right - stay here. You don’t have to become a hero. Just...stay.”

“And how are we gonna prove who’s right?”

“Like this.” Kacchan stands up, and Deku moves to follow, but Kacchan shakes his head. “Stay there. Now….” he moves towards the window, opening it. “Would a bad person let me do this?” Kacchan asks, and jumps out the window.

Chapter Text

Deku’s on his feet in seconds, vines exploding from his hands, reaching for Kacchan. One manages to wrap around his foot, right before he goes tumbling out. Deku can hear Kacchan laughing, caught by a vine and dangling from a window, but he ignores it as he pulls Kacchan in, careful not to actually touch him.

“What was -“

“Told you you’re a good person,” Kacchan says, with a self satisfied grin. “You didn’t even think, did you? You just automatically tried to save me. That’s not something a bad person would do.”

“You just jumped out a window,” Deku says, too bewildered to say anything else. “What would you have done if I didn’t catch you?”

Kacchan shrugs. “I knew you would.”

“No you didn’t!”

“Yes I did! Maybe you’re not exactly the same person as you were when we were kids, but you’re not completely different. You think I’m exactly the same?”

“I don’t know, I think five year old Kacchan might have thought twice before jumping out a window.”

Kacchan shrugs, brushing it off easily. “Anyway, that means you’ll stay, right?”

Deku had completely forgotten all about Kacchan’s “deal”. “I never agreed to that.”

“Seriously, you’re still gonna argue? I went through all the work to rescue you and you’re just gonna leave?” He sits on his bed with a thump, pouting. Kacchan would probably call it something more dignified, but he can’t disguise what it actually is.

“I never asked you to do all that! In fact, I’m pretty sure I tried to tell you to leave!” Deku’s trying to keep his voice down, since Kacchan probably has neighbors, but it’s hard when all he wants to do is scream.

“So you lied to me? You wanted to stay there?”

“What I want doesn’t matter!” Deku says, and for once, Kacchan doesn’t have a reply.

...For a few seconds, at least. “Of course it matters!”

“Fine, then you know what I want? I want you to stay safe.”

Kacchan sighs loudly, moving off the bed and down to the floor, eye-level with Deku. “I am safe. And you’ll be too, if you stay here. I had to bribe someone to shut off security for me, you know. It’s not like this is a normal school.”

As much as Kacchan has stayed the same, he is different in some ways, and this is one. He’s thinking about others, not just himself, and he’s clearly put some thought into this. Not enough - Deku staying here could never be more than a temporary solution - but some. Enough. His expression is softer than anything Deku’s seen before, eyebrows drawn together, no trace of his usual scowl.

“Stay here,” he says, scooting closer to Deku. “Just for a while, til we figure out something better.”

Deku stares at him in silence, remembering playgrounds and sand castles and the easy friendship of childhood.

“Okay.”

---

Staying in Kacchan’s dorm ends up being a lot more boring than Deku expected.

There’s not a lot to do during the day while Kacchan is in class, so Deku spends a lot of time reading. He’s always enjoyed reading, but books were scarce in the league, and the few he did own had all fallen apart over countless re-reads. Kacchan’s collection isn’t much bigger than Deku’s was, but it’s new, and Kacchan even promises he’ll bring more from the library.

It is, at the very least, an improvement from before. Yeah, he’s still confined, in a way, but at least this time he’s there by choice. Kacchan may desperately want Deku to stay, but he wouldn’t force him to. If Deku really wanted to, he could walk right out the door and never come back.

He doesn’t, though. Being here is...boring, sure, but it’s peaceful. For once, he can almost pretend like he’s a normal high school student.

It doesn’t last.

Kacchan storms into his dorm room one day and immediately flings himself onto the mattress, face first so he can scream into a pillow. This isn’t actually that unusual.

“What’s wrong?” Deku asks, once Kacchan is done screaming.

“We have a fucking group project,” Kacchan snarls. “And I got paired with Todoroki.”

Todoroki Shouto, son of the Number 2 Hero. Deku’s heard mentions of him in the league, as someone to keep an eye on in the future. He seems destined to be a hero, but past that, Deku knows almost nothing about him.

“Is that bad?”

Kacchan doesn’t reply with words, but with a deep, pained noise that comes from somewhere deep in him. Deku pats him in sympathy.

“That’s pretty bad.”

“I mean, it could be worse, but fuck he’s annoying. Never talks to anyone, acts like he’s better than everyone…”

“Sounds kinda like you,” Deku says, laughing when Kacchan glares at him.

“I don’t act like I’m better than everyone. I know I am.”

Deku rolls his eyes as Kacchan rolls himself out of bed. “Sure.”

“I’m gonna go grab myself something to eat. You want anything?” Deku shakes his head, and Kacchan leaves.

A minute after Kacchan steps out, there’s a knock on the door. Deku rolls his eyes. Kacchan keeps locking himself of out his dorm room, and this is the fifth time in the last three days.

“This is the - “ The boy standing in front of him is not the grumpy, disheveled boy Deku is used to. This boy is neatly dressed, a blank expression on his face. There’s no emotion in his two-toned eyes. “You’re not Kacchan.”

“...No.”

They stare at each other for a moment that feels like a year. And then -

“Icyhot what the fuck are you doing here?”

The boy turns to face Kacchan. “I was trying to-”

Kacchan grabs his arm roughly, pulling him into the dorm room and shutting the door behind them quickly. “If you say a single word about this to anyone I will blow your fucking face off,” Kacchan says as he locks the door. “That was aimed at you, Todoroki. Understand?” Kacchan holds a hand out threateningly.

Deku’s had a lot of practice reading “emotionless” people, and he’s starting to realize Todoroki isn’t emotionless at all - he’s confused.

“What is going on here?” he asks, turning to study Deku. There’s something familiar about his gaze, the way he scans the scene in front of him.

Deku looks at Kacchan, biting his lip. Kacchan shrugs back.

“I’m Midoriya,” he says, holding out a hand. “Midoriya Izuku. I’m, uh…staying here, for a bit.”

Todoroki stares at Deku’s hand, the way you might stare at a broken pencil. Deku pulls his hand back.

“Are you a student?” Todoroki asks. “I don’t think I’ve seen you.”

“...uh...”

“He’s not,” Kacchan says. “Do you seriously care that much?”

“I’m fairly certain the rules prohibit hiding a person in your dorm room,” Todoroki says.

“What’re you gonna do? Tell the teachers? Deku - Midoriya - doesn’t have anywhere else to go. You tell the teachers, you’re basically dooming him. And what kinda hero would that make you?” Kacchan folds his arms over his chest, tilting his chin up.

“A cautious one.” Oh god, he’s snarking at Kacchan. Deku tenses, watching Kacchan’s eyes narrow.

“Todoroki, I know you have no reason to trust me,” Deku says, cutting in before Kacchan can speak. “But I promise, I’m not here for any kind of…sinister reason. Kacchan rescued me from somewhere bad. But, uh...I was there for so long, I don’t really have anywhere else to go. I’m not planning on staying forever! Just. Until I can figure out somewhere else.”

Todoroki nods, looking thoughtful, and for a moment Deku thinks he might be fine.

“Who are you, actually?”

Deku laughs awkwardly. “I already introduced myself…” But Todoroki isn’t laughing, and it’s clear he expects a response.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kacchan says, stepping in front of Deku. “He’s staying.”

“I never argued that. I’d just like to know who exactly you’re hiding in your dorm room, before I help you hide him.”

“You can help me or not. Either way, I’m not gonna -”

“Kacchan, stop.” Kacchan’s a second away from exploding, a second way from blowing their cover and making things worse. “It’s okay. If he’s gonna help, he deserves to know.” He takes a breath, steadying himself. “Todoroki, have you ever heard of Regrowth?”

Todoroki nods again. “A fairly prolific villain, known for their very specific style of killing, and for having a few…distinct physical traits.” He makes eye contact with Deku when he says that, and Deku feels his soul shrivel up in fear.

“That’s me,” he says, looking away.

Silence. Dead, awkward silence.

“You gonna respond or what?” Kacchan asks, an attempt to break the tension that only makes it worse. “Like I said earlier, you say a word of this, I’ll -”

“Blow my fucking face off, yes,” Todoroki says dully. “Why do you have a villain hiding in your dorm room?”

“He’s not really a villain,” Kacchan says. Deku sighs.

“All the…stuff that I’m known for, it wasn’t really…I didn’t really get a choice, with all that,” Deku admits, tapping his fingers together. “Kacchan rescued me. It’s just til we figure out something better. I don’t - I can’t go back.” He risks a glance at Todoroki, whose face is even blanker than before.

“I’ll stay quiet,” he says. “For now. Can I leave?”

“Yeah,” Kacchan says, “but -”

“If I say anything, you’ll blow my fucking face off, yes, I heard. Before I go, I did come here for a reason. I wanted to know when we can work on our project.”

“Uh…tomorrow, after class. But I’ll need like an hour first.”

Another nod. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

With that, Todoroki leaves.

Chapter Text

Fucking Todoroki.

It was bad enough getting assigned him as a partner for some school project. But this is so much worse. Bakugo didn’t exactly have a list of people he’d want to find out about Deku, but if he did? Todoroki would be nowhere on that list. He’s unreadable and full of himself and completely impossible to talk to.

Their “meeting” to work on their project is awkward. Bakugo keeps staring at Todoroki, waiting for him to ask something, but he never does. He is, somehow, completely focused on their work.

There’s on upside, at least, and it’s that Todoroki is pretty smart. They make a lot of progress in only about an hour, which is where Bakugo’s attention span starts to drop.

“Can we take a break?” he asks, leaning back in his chair. “I need to grab something to eat.”

“Alright,” Todoroki says, saving their work. “I believe there’s a cafe in the library.”

“I was gonna….run to my dorm actually. I have some snacks there….” Todoroki stares at him, raising a single eyebrow. “Fine, yeah, I was gonna check on him too. He’s been alone all day,” Bakugo mutters, glaring down at the table so he doesn’t have to look at Todoroki’s smug face.

“Was he telling the truth?” Todoroki asks, surprising Bakugo into looking up at him.

Bakugo snorts. “What, you think he was lying?”

Todoroki shakes his head. “Not lying, exactly. But it seemed a strange thing to admit to so readily.”

Bakugo shrugs. “I mean, I didn’t exactly want him to tell you, but….Fuck, I don’t know. He’s not lying, I can tell you that much. But he’s not evil or some shit, so -”

“Don’t tell anyone, I heard you the first three times you threatened me.”

“I just want him to be safe,” Bakugo mutters.

“Why do you care about him so much?” Todoroki asks.

“Why should I tell you?” Bakugo folds his arms, letting his chair legs slam onto the floor.

“Because I’m doing you a favour by not informing the teachers you’re hiding a villain in your dorm room?”

“Why are you helping, anyway?”

Todoroki shrugs. “You seem convinced he’s worth protecting. I won’t stand in your way. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be curious.”

“I mean, you could just talk to him, instead of just asking me.” Bakugo pushes his chair legs off the ground away, bouncing a bit. “Might be good for him, having someone to talk to that’s not me.”

“I think it’d benefit him to talk to someone that isn’t an asshole,” Todoroki says with the smallest of smiles on his face.

“Oh, fuck off.”

---

The next day, someone is knocking at the door.

“Hello,” Todoroki says, when Kacchan opens the door.

“The fuck are you doing here? It’s Saturday.” Kacchan glares at Todoroki. Deku can’t see this, what with being in the closet, but he can feel the grumpiness all the way from his hiding spot.

“....reasons,” Todoroki says, following it up with, “our project.”

Silence.

“...Fine, whatever.” The door closes again, this time with Todoroki on the other side.

“I wanted to talk with Midoriya,” Todoroki says as soon as it’s shut. “Is this a bad time?”

“Eh,” Kacchan says. “Deku, you can come out.” Deku’s already pushing the door to the side, eager - and a little nervous.

“Hi,” he says, not moving out of his nest.

“Hello,” Todoroki says.

“You wanted to talk, so fucking talk,” Kacchan says, sitting down on his bed.

“Right,” Todoroki says.

“You didn’t actually plan this at all, did you?”

“I wasn’t certain you were actually going to let me in.”

Kacchan snorts. “I wasn’t certain about it either.”

“Are you actually here to talk to me?” Deku asks, still hiding. Todoroki nods.

“If I’m going to be helping hide you, I’d like to actually know the person I’m helping.” On any other person, his facial expression would be called blank. But to Deku, it almost seems like a smile.

“Why?” he asks. The fragment of smile slides off Todoroki’s face. “I mean - it’s not that you don’t seem cool, it’s just - I’m not really good at talking to people.”

“Stop being so self deprecating,” Kacchan says, aiming a glare at Deku.

“I’m not! I’m just being honest.”

“You have a very interesting friendship,” Todoroki says, sitting down in Bakugo’s desk chair.

Deku laughs. “Yeah, a little. We met when - wait, Kacchan, are you okay with me telling him?”

Kacchan shrugs. “It’s your life, dude.”

“We met when we were kids. I was kinda….annoying and clingy but Kacchan put up with it, mostly.” He glances up at Kacchan, smiling at the thought of happier times, before everything went to hell, but Kacchan is looking away. Strange. “A-anyway, our friendship got kinda...interrupted, when I was five. But now we’re friends again!”

Todoroki nods thoughtfully. “Why are you hiding out here?”

“....I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” Deku admits, rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t think there’s anyone that would really want me around. But - we’ll figure out something! What about you?” he asks, trying to change the subject before Todoroki asks him too much. “Why are you at UA? You wanna be a hero, right?”

“Yes,” Todoroki says. “I’m going to become a hero, only using my left side.”

“Right! You have the whole double quirk thing! Your quirk is super cool,” Deku says, grinning. “Is your left half really cold and your right really hot?”

“I’m….not quite sure,” Todoroki says, scooting back a bit. “You know what my quirk is?”

Deku blushes. “I’ve, uh, done a lot of research on heros. And future heros! I wanted to be a hero when I was a kid, so I just kinda...got in the habit of analyzing stuff a lot.”

“What about now?”

“Huh?”

“Do you still want to be a hero?”

Deku looks away, hunching his shoulders. “....I don’t really think that’s an option anymore.”

Kacchan sits up, suddenly paying attention again. “But do you wanna?”

Deku bites his lip, curling in on himself. “I mean - I’d like to help people, but - I’m still a villain.” Kacchan opens his mouth, probably to argue, and Deku holds up a hand. “Former villain, I guess now, but still. I’ve done some pretty awful stuff, I don’t think anyone would really trust me as a hero.”

“But if you could, would you still wanna be a hero?” Kacchan asks again, leaning forward now.

“Well...yeah,” Deku admits. “But -”

“You should. Maybe - maybe you could even attend UA officially!” Kacchan’s practically falling off the bed.

“I - would they even let me?” Deku retreats further into his nest.

“It’s something to consider,” Todoroki says.

“What - you can’t seriously be agreeing with him!” Deku’s head whips around to stare at Todoroki. “I can’t - there’s so many others that deserve it more -“

“Deku, for fucks sake, stop being self deprecating,” Kacchan says.

“I’m being honest! Kacchan, you can’t really think they’d let me attend UA.” He’s laughing, almost, not out of humor but of sheer baffled confusion.

“Why not? It’s not like we have to tell them who you are. We could disguise you are something - dye your hair - they’ll have no idea!” Kacchan’s grinning, that smile Deku’s spent so long missing and is now utterly done with. “Barely anyone knows what you look like, anyway.”

“And what about when I use my quirk and they realize who I actually am?”

“Your quirk isn’t that distinctive,” Kacchan grumbles.

“It’s….fairly distinctive,” Todoroki says. “I’m not very well-versed on villains, and even I recognized it.”

It stings a little that he’s that well known, but Deku’s just glad Todoroki’s taking his side. “Plus, even if your plan works, they’ll figure it out eventually. And then I’ll get kicked out and they’ll probably kick you out too -”

“I won’t let them do shit -”

“You can’t just fight everyone til you get your way!” Deku snaps. “You can’t just punch your way through everything!”

“Maybe we should put this conversation on hold, before the neighbors hear us.”

“This isn’t about you, Icyhot.” Kacchan shoots him a glare, hands balling into fists.

“I’m involved now. I’m not going to get in trouble because you want to start a fight.” Todoroki doesn’t rise to the bait, looking away from Kacchan, which only makes him angrier.

“You don’t have any stake in this! You don’t even care about-”

Deku finally gets out of his hiding spot, standing in between the two. “Stop fighting! Kacchan, I’m not gonna lie to get into UA. We can talk about this later, or something, but don’t drag Todoroki into it.”

Kacchan rolls his eyes. “Fine. But it’s on hold, not over.”

Deku breathes a sigh of relief, turning to Todoroki. “....Sorry about that. It was nice talking to you! But, uh, I think we might need to...try again some other time.”

Todoroki doesn’t seem offended, luckily, just nodding as he stands and turns to the door. “It was...interesting talking to you, Midoriya. I’ll hope we’ll have the chance to speak again.”

Todoroki’s out the door already, but Deku waves goodbye anyway.