Chapter Text
Midoriya panted, pushing himself desperately through the throng of people in the town square. His heart was throbbing in his ears. He was going to be late to the guild meeting, and Aizawa didn't take kindly to being interrupted.
Why did there have to be so many people here today? Normally by this point they'd be in the marketplace, and the only reason that he could think of for them straying from the expected pattern was to punish him for getting distracted with training and losing track of time. On the off chance that it would help, he offered up a quick, muttered prayer to whoever may be listening that either he got to the meeting fast, or Aizawa took pity on his bedraggled appearance when he did manage to make it.
"Midoriya," Aizawa's voice pierced the silence that followed his arrival, and he winced, head down. His prayer had not worked. "How nice of you to finally join us. Take a seat. Now, while I won't be going through all that again just for one person who didn't deign to show up on time, for Midoriya's sake I will quickly recap. Something is happening in the lands to the north of the capital. There have been reports of corrupted animals sweeping the nation, beginning somewhere within The Grey Summit, and spreading into Gampon Woods. From there, it can be assumed, it is only a matter of time before it passes through to the capital. We have no idea what could be causing this, or why, and therefore it falls to us to set up an adventuring party to investigate the woods, and eventually the summit."
Midoriya sucked in a breath. This was a proper adventure, the kind he had joined the UA guild for, and he longed to be sent on it. Yet he could tell that Aizawa didn't think him ready, and his performance earlier probably hadn't helped. Nevertheless, he could hope.
"Bakugo," Aizawa continued, and Midoriya's thin hope shattered into a million pieces, "we feel that this mission would suit you well." Midoriya had to agree, even while it hurt him. Bakugo's strengths lay in everything except being sneaky and being charismatic, and in an adventure such as this it didn't appear that either skill would be needed. The barbarian stood, there had never been any chance of him not accepting. "You may choose five companions, and then join me in the back room for a discussion of tactics."
"Kirishima," Bakugo chose instantly, but then paused, unsure of who else to pick, while Kirishima whooped and stood up too, acting for all the world as though it hadn't been glaringly obvious that, as the only one Bakugo could stand to be around, he would be chosen. Bakugo looked around the room, clearly weighing each person very seriously. His eyes lingered on Todoroki, who met his gaze easily, but eventually slid off and he deferred to Kirishima's whispers.
"Kaminari, Ashido, Jirou and Sero," he repeated, uninterested in them as he turned to the back room with Aizawa. Still, Midoriya mused, it was a miracle that he had five people to choose. Bakugo had never been the best with people.
Defeated, Midoriya turned back to the doorway he had stumbled through not five minutes ago, jumping when someone jostled his shoulder. He smiled at Uraraka, which turned into a grimace as Iida began to chastise him on turning up so late and looking so feral. He nodded in all the right places, but his mind was elsewhere. Specifically, his mind was in the back room, thinking of strategies and hoping that his friends, his guildmates, made it out of this mission unscathed. He wished them luck in his mind, something that he would never be able to do to Bakugo's face without him blowing up.
To Midoriya's never-ending surprise, once he managed to escape Iida's lecturing and enter the safety of his own home, someone was already there.
"Young Midoriya!" All Might yelled, although truthfully his voice was always a yell. "How good to see you!" He sounded so excited to see Midoriya that for a second it could be forgotten that he was in Midoriya's home, the one place it could be counted on to see Midoriya, and instead conjured up images of meeting an old friend by chance in the street.
Midoriya bowed lowly. "Good afternoon, master. What brings you here?"
"Distressing news, my boy, distressing news indeed. I suppose, by now, you are aware of the rumours from the north?"
"The corrupted animals?"
"Those rumours exactly. Although, it seems to be far worse than that. Nature is turning in on itself, dying and killing with no rhyme or reason. Someone powerful has to be behind this, someone very powerful indeed..." he trailed off, and Midoriya, knowing better than to interrupt, settled down for a long story. "I've told you the story of my arch-nemesis?"
"All For One?" Midoriya yelped in shock, almost missing the chair. All Might had never explained the animosity between them, only naming All For One as the most powerful man he knew.
All Might sighed and leaned forward. "I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I am unsure whether I should have told you this long ago. I promise, young Midoriya, that I only did it to protect you." Midoriya nodded eagerly. "When I found you, weak but wanting to help people more than anything, I saw goodness in you. I presented you with my god, Rhonas, the god of my mentor and her mentor before her, going back for generations. If the acolyte was willing and able, Rhonas would present his disciple with the ability to gain incredible strength, for use when it was needed. With enough hard work, practice and training, the disciple could reach unrivalled strength."
"And you did excellently," he paused to smile at Midoriya. "But, for every god of protection there is one of destruction. And so, a rivalry emerges. We, as the disciples of Rhonas, God of Strength, must always be at war with the disciples of Chemosh, the Destroyer. But there was one amongst those disciples who quickly rose up among the ranks and became the favourite of Chemosh. As such, he was granted a unique ability, to harness the magic and skills of others for his own. And so, All For One appeared, already far too powerful and hungry for more."
Midoriya realised that he had forgotten to breathe. He sucked in a breath, desperate for All Might to finish what he was saying, but he was in no hurry to. "Master," he questioned eventually, unable to wait a second longer, "what does that have to do with the corrupted animals?"
All Might sighed heavily. "The corruption is a unique mixture of druidic and necromantic magic. I can think of no-one this would suit better than All For One. Therefore, we must continue as though this is his doing. I shudder to think of what his plan must be, for his current obsession is obliterating me, and I am at no risk of dying to some undead cattle. Now, I come to the sensitive part of this conversation. I am old and have wielded the power of Rhonas for longer than any mortal should. I am not fit to face All For One. It is time for you, my student, to take up my mantle. If you agree, it will be your duty to travel to The Grey Summit and stop All For One."
"But, but, but," Midoriya stuttered and stumbled over his words, filled with simultaneous excitement and dread. "Kacchan is already going on that quest!"
"Ah, yes, young Bakugo." All Might sighed again. "It is true that he is incredibly powerful, and the rage of a berserker is not something to be sniffed at. However, against the terrifying might of a disciple of all walks of magic, raw aggression alone will not be enough. It would be best if you could work together, for only then will you be able to outmatch All For One."
"Work...with Kacchan?" Midoriya gulped. He hadn't managed to successfully work with Bakugo since they were both four, before Bakugo had seen how easy it was to use anger and power to get what he wanted. Now, Bakugo could hardly bear to be in the same room as Midoriya, let alone the same adventuring party.
"I see that that is not possible," All Might acknowledged, and Midoriya felt faintly guilty for having such a qualm when the fate of the capital may rest on this. "No, it is no matter," he raised a hand to brush off Midoriya's apologies, "you will simply have to set out with a party of your own. Find people that you trust and tell them that your god has told you that you must do this."
"They're going to think that I'm only doing it to steal Kacchan's quest!"
"If they think that, then maybe you shouldn't be trusting them." All Might stood and turned to the door, "You have good friends, Midoriya Izuku. They will help if you ask for it." With that, he left. Midoriya stood alone for a minute longer, before the gravity of the situation hit him and he was scrambling through the door, already trying to think of who to ask.
The first person was obvious, and he was on their doorstep without even thinking about it. Uraraka opened the door to him and smiled widely, but paused when she saw the frenzied look on his face, and let him in.
"What's happened?"
"Uraraka," he began urgently, "do you trust me?"
"Completely," she answered immediately. "What do you need?"
"The quest that Kacchan went on, it has something to do with Al- with my god." He cursed himself for almost letting slip the secret that All Might, one of the leaders of the UA guild, had been mentoring him secretly. If Bakugo ever found out he would be dead instantly, he already suspected some form of favouritism when Midoriya's strength increased in a matter of months.
"Your god?" he was shocked back to the present by Uraraka's gentle pressing.
"Yes. There's a whole," he waved his arms desperately, "thing going on between my god and another. Rhonas is the god of strength, and Chemosh of destruction, and the disciples of the two are destined to be enemies, apparently. No-one told me that when I got involved in the church! I didn't know I was signing up for enemies!"
Uraraka giggled, and he realised with a jolt that he was rambling. He finished with a strong, albeit sudden, "So my god says I have to go on the same quest as Kacchan and I want you to come too." That stopped her laughing.
"A quest? But Bakugo is already doing it?"
"Disciples of Chemosh are," he sucked air between his teeth, “adept at multiple schools of magic. I'm concerned that brute power won't be enough."
"And your god chose you!" True to All Might's prediction, it didn't even cross Uraraka's mind that Midoriya could be lying to steal Bakugo's glory. Instead, she threw herself headlong into preparations for the trip, while Midoriya mused over who else should be coming.
The two set off together for Iida's house, unsure of whether he would approve of a quest not handed out by the guild. He listened to the story with a raised eyebrow, and, once Midoriya was finished, asked,
"And why can't you go to Aizawa and tell him this?"
"I," Midoriya faltered.
"Because he would say no." It wasn't a question, and Midoriya flinched at Iida's tone.
"My god told me to do this," he began, almost pleadingly, "and if I thought I could just march up to Kacchan and tell him that the power he's relied on his whole life won't be enough, I would. You think I want to fight Chemosh's favourite?"
"Besides," Uraraka piped up, "Bakugo has already left. I saw him go as soon as Aizawa was done talking to him. There's nothing Aizawa can do."
Iida considered this, caught between helping his friends and following the guild rules. In the end, he fixed them both with a glare and announced, "Well, someone has to stop you doing anything stupid. Once again, it falls to me."
Tsuyu was easier to convince. It only took Midoriya going through the story before she agreed that the quest was necessary, and she seemed pleasantly surprised at being invited to come. Tokoyami was easier even than that, his faith in Midoriya coupled with his gratitude at being trusted in return meaning he agreed almost before being told what they were doing. Try as they might, though, the five of them could not think of who the sixth person should be. In the end, they returned to Midoriya's house to pack and strategize.
"Rations, clothes, weapons, tents and sleeping bags," Midoriya whacked the few supplies they had onto the table. "Is this all we're taking?" It wasn't very much, and just looking at it disheartened him slightly. He tried his best to liven up as they split everything between their backpacks, but the knowledge that they were wholly unprepared for the journey ahead just would not go away.
"Well," Tsuyu began, with a heavy heart, "we might as well make the most of what we have."
Midoriya looked at his friends, completely ready to go on this quest for him, and was struck with the realisation that this was a dangerous mission. One they might not all make it from. He had to do everything in his power to ensure that his friends came out of it unscathed. With his mind made up, he stood suddenly, unsettling the table in his haste. "I have an idea," he told them, striding to the door, resolve increasing with every step. "Follow me."
He led them, to everyone's surprise, to the pub.
"Midoriya," Iida began, "this is not -"
Midoriya ignored him and pushed open the door, entering the dingy tavern without checking to see that they would follow him. He made a beeline to the back, where he knew he would see who he was looking for. Sliding into an empty seat next to a pink haired girl with large goggles, he nudged her shoulder slightly and grinned.
"Midoriya!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. He winced theatrically at the volume and returned her embrace slightly less enthusiastically. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Guys, this is Mei. She worked with me when I was applying to get into UA," Midoriya explained, "she's an inventor."
"An inventor?"
"A wizard," Mei pushed herself into the conversation, reaching a hand to Tokoyami, who had asked the question. "I take it you need an invention?"
"Is there anything you can do? We're on kind of a tight schedule." Mei bent down to rummage around in her bag, and Midoriya stage-whispered to the others, "Make sure they work first. She likes to 'experiment'." He managed to drop the air quotes just in time for her to resurface, smiling innocently at her.
"Hover soles!" she announced, waving an ungainly set of shoes at the group. "Use them to fly!" She thrust them at Uraraka, who took them without complaint, and handed Iida something else. "Booster shoes, for increased motility!"
"Are these going to explode?" Iida asked, holding them at arms' length. Mei's manic smile didn't die down if anything it widened, as she replied,
"If they do, I'll make them again better!"
Midoriya heaved a put-open sigh and began to explain. "We can't do that, Mei. We're going on an adventure tomorrow."
Mei didn't seem to hear him, focussing instead on continuing to pull out random objects. "High density weights!" Tokoyami refused to accept them, and she placed them on the table instead, which began to groan ominously.
"An adventure?" Midoriya pressed, "Tomorrow?"
She seemed to snap back into a little and focussed her eyes on him once more. "What time do you leave?"
"Early," Midoriya was relieved that he was getting anywhere.
"I'll meet you in the morning with some upgrades," she announced, packing up the inventions that were spilling out. "They'll work perfectly for you, and everyone will know about Hatsume Mei and her super-cool babies!"
Everyone watched her go with an expression befitting someone who had just watched a tornado travel right past them, and Tsuyu managed to croak out, "We never did manage to check if they work."
With promises of super-cool inventions still ringing in their ears, the group headed back to Midoriya's. For the second time that day, however, he almost had a heart attack as he entered.
"Crap!" he yelped, "Why do people keep doing this to me?"
"You need to lock your door," Todoroki told him, making no move to apologise for materialising in Midoriya's house. "Someone could break in."
"Someone already has," Iida pointed out, but Todoroki ignored him.
"Is it true that you're going on the same adventure as Bakugo?"
Midoriya spluttered. "How do you know that?"
"I hear things," Todoroki shrugged, "if it is true, I want in."
Midoriya gaped at him. This was it. He had well and truly gone insane. Todoroki, disputedly the most powerful and undisputedly the coolest of the UA guild, wanted to come with him on an adventure that he had been assigned by All Might to carry out for his god. He almost put his hand on his forehead to check for a fever, but thankfully some small shred of self-preservation told him it was time to stop embarrassing himself.
"Why?" he managed to squeak out.
"Firstly, because it's a quest. Secondly, because I don't think you'd be doing this without a good reason, which means it's in my best interest to ensure this is completed properly. And thirdly," he paused, glancing down quickly before making eye contact again, "because you don't have a very good track record of being careful."
Tokoyami cut in before Midoriya could respond. "We could do with a sixth person. And Todoroki is strong."
"So," the glint in Todoroki's eye didn't bode well for any rebuttals Midoriya could have come up with, "let's hear the story then."
Once Midoriya had finished explained the series of unfortunate events that had led to that exact moment, right up until having to explain the series of unfortunate events, Todoroki quirked an eyebrow and shrugged.
"The gods have done weirder things," he stated, his deadpan voice making it seem as though he was announcing a great secret of the universe. Then he stood, arching his back a little to stretch, causing Midoriya to notice a sliver of white skin being revealed as his shirt rode up a little. Guiltily, although he could not think what he might have done wrong, Midoriya flicked his eyes back up to Todoroki's face, and yelped in a panic,
"You're leaving?"
"I've got to pack. We're leaving tomorrow, right?" he turned to leave, calling over his shoulder as he did, "I'll be here early. Make sure you're awake."
That night, Midoriya's dreams were a weird mixture of Bakugo, eyes as bright as the explosions behind him, Uraraka yelling something at him as the world collapsed and Todoroki, holding a hand out to him and smiling. He woke up with a hand still outstretched, cursing whatever had woken him up before he could reach the end of his dream, before realising that it had been a knock at the door. Glancing out of the window, he saw that it was still dark, and the moon was bright. It couldn't be past 3am. He fell instead to cursing Mei and her inability to keep track of time when she was in her inventing headspace, stumbling down the stairs and to the door without bothering to get changed.
"What the fuck kind of time do you call this, Me - oh."
Todoroki was standing there, eyes lit up with amusement as he took in Midoriya's baggy pyjamas and mussed bed hair. "Is it too early?" He asked, smile seeming to slip a bit but still staying frozen in place as Midoriya squinted at him, not really sure of what was going on.
"No, no, it's fine," he slurred out, opening the door wide enough for Todoroki to step through. Some part of his sleep-addled brain noticed that Todoroki was completely dressed, with a pack, and didn't look at all as though he was feeling the effects of the time. "I thought you said you were coming in the morning?"
"It is the morning."
"It's the middle of the night!"
"The middle of the night is, technically, the beginning of the morning."
Midoriya grumbled a little at that, wiping the heel of his hand over his eyes as he followed Todoroki to the living room and tried desperately to remember any etiquette. "Do you want something to eat?"
"I'm good, thanks." Todoroki appraised him quickly before adding on, "You can sleep. I'm sorry to impose."
"No, no. I'm waiting for Mei anyway; she should be here soon with the inventions." Midoriya sank into the chair opposite Todoroki and smiled at him. The weak light danced off his hair, making it shimmer, entrancing him, until he was brought back to reality with a snap.
"You zoned out on me," Todoroki was closer now, leaning forwards to get a better look, "you should really sleep."
"I'm fine. I was...strategizing."
Todoroki shook his head, but he was smiling again. "You can strategize in the morning. We've got a lot of walking to do, and I won't be carrying you if you fall asleep on the road."
Midoriya chose to ignore this perfectly valid point in favour of being pedantic. "You said it was the morning!"
"You got me," Todoroki leaned back again, apparently deciding that if Midoriya was awake enough to be difficult he was fine and put his hands up in mock surrender. "What were you strategizing then?"
"You distracted me," Midoriya practically pouted, trying to cover up the fact that he could not think of something he could have been planning. "Now I have to start again."
"Don't mind me," Todoroki agreed amiably, and Midoriya sank back into his earlier state, eyes travelling the room until they came to rest on Todoroki's hair again, and then they were shut.
When he woke up, it was to a knock at the door, a blanket over his body and the disconcerting feeling that he had never really fallen asleep. Todoroki was still opposite him, half-risen as a response to whoever was at the door. He flashed a quick smile at Midoriya but stayed tensed, watching as Midoriya opened the door to a very excited Mei.
"These babies are my best ones yet!" She thrust something into Midoriya's arms and entered his house, leaving Midoriya staring at the empty space he could have sworn she had just been in.
"What is this?" He held up a green costume of some kind, trying to work out where he was meant to enter it.
"Armour," without looking up from the bag that she was unpacking, Mei waved in Midoriya's general direction and said, "if you insist on getting into fights, you should have better armour."
The racket appeared to have awoken the others, or maybe they had already been awake, because one by one they began to traipse into the room, chirping hellos to everyone. This, in turn, made Mei aware of the fact that Todoroki was there, and she spun to face Midoriya, jabbing a finger at him.
"You didn't tell me there would be someone else!"
Attempting to defend himself, Midoriya began to stutter out something about not knowing it until last night, but Todoroki cut in smoothly and said, "I invited myself along." His protests that he didn't need any 'babies' fell on deaf ears, however, as Mei began to desperately dig around in her pack, searching for something that she produced with a triumphant cry.
She handed Todoroki a small cylinder with two buttons, one on each end. Cautiously, he reached for it, turning it over in his hands. "Press one of the buttons and throw it. If you press the left side, whatever it touches will be burnt. The right, and it will be frozen. It's one use for each, of course."
Todoroki examined the device more closely, before attempting to hand it back. "It's very kind of you, but -"
"It's more localised than your spells," Mei waved him off, grinning as he gaped at her. "I pay attention to things, you know." She answered his unasked question, before handing a belt to Tokoyami. "Press the button in the middle and a jet of shadow will shoot out. Use it to run if you have to. And finally, my favourite of my babies!" She cheered excitedly as she gave Tsuyu what appeared to be a sweet. "If you suck on this, your tongue will grow to ten times its size, with the strength, dexterity and stickiness of a frog's tongue! " Ignoring the questions that this raised, she shut her bag with a snap and waved. "These gloves might be helpful to you too, they're very sticky, if you have to climb anything. I'll be off then!"
"What," Todoroki asked, after she had gone, "was that?"
"Hatsume Mei," Midoriya sighed, half-in the armour. Todoroki decided not to further question him, and instead helped Midoriya struggle his arms in. Midoriya blushed, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Quickly, the group began to tidy up, checking and double-checking their packs to ensure they had everything they could possibly need. Todoroki took this time to fold up the blanket that had been dropped to the floor when Midoriya stood up and shoved it into his bag. He waved off Midoriya's thanks with a smile and an offhanded, "You talk in your sleep, did you know that?"
"What did I say?" Midoriya squeaked, pre-emptively blushing as he tried to remember whether he had had any particularly embarrassing dreams.
"It didn't really make sense. You mentioned Bakugo a few times, and something about shiny hair, and -" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "It was just nonsense, really."
Relieved, Midoriya shrugged and stated, "Most dreams are."
Todoroki agreed, although Midoriya imagined that he was eyeing him strangely.
They left the town quickly, none of the fanfare and well-wishers that would come from a proper quest handed to you by your guild. Whilst on the road everything was fine, signposts pointing their way and level ground making the journey easy. Immediately upon entering the woods, however, Midoriya felt lost. There were no landmarks, no way of ensuring that you were even walking in a straight line, and the low-hanging branches and high roots seemed designed to trip the group. Uraraka kept up a near-constant stream of conversation, ranging from everyone's favourite foods to the state of the guild, and between her and Midoriya's mutterings of what their plan should be for any given situation, the journey was pleasantly fun.
All good things come to an end, however, and all wood things too. Slowly, the ground became, although Midoriya hardly wanted to admit it possible, more treacherous. It was spongier, feet sinking in wherever they placed them, and an unpleasant odour was emitted from pools of green liquid that sporadically dotted their path, forcing them to choose another route.
"I hate bogs," Uraraka announced, a feeling that the rest of the group whole-heartedly agreed with.
"They're marvels of nature," Iida attempted to lighten the mood, but cut himself off with a cry of disgust when his foot plunged straight into a pool. "Though I wish they could be marvels of nature somewhere else."
Before long, the constant rerouting meant that any sense of direction they had one possessed was gone. Tokoyami suggested just continuing to walk, and once they exited the bog they would be able to find some landmarks to orient themselves around.
"It's not large," he shrugged, pointing at the bog on the map, "we can make it out in good time."
"Not if we walk in circles," Todoroki pointed out, "we could be here for days."
"Guys," Tsuyu interrupted, but no-one heard her over the sound of Iida saying,
"We could climb a tree and see if there are signs of the bog ending."
"Guys."
"Uraraka? You're the only one light enough to climb these trees."
"Guys!"
"I don't know, it looks quite weak near the top."
"GUYS!"
"Yes, Tsuyu?"
"There's a house over there." She pointed, and everyone turned to see plumes of smoke emerging, just able to see the beginnings of a chimney.
"...Oh." Apologising profusely, they set off in the direction of the smoke.
What they arrived upon was a quaint little cottage, deep in the bog. The smoke pouring out of the chimney smelt heavenly, and before even discussing whether or not it was wise the group was knocking on the door, crowding around it. When the door opened, a beautiful young woman was standing there, long blonde hair cascading down her shoulder and ending just above where her apron began. Her hands were wet, and she shook them out slightly as she smiled at them.
"How did you get so deep in the bog?"
"We're on a quest," Midoriya answered almost before he could think about what he was saying. "But we think we're lost."
"Oh, you poor dears! I know these bogs like the back of my hands, I'll get you out in a jiffy. But," she eyed them sternly, "it's getting hot out, and you must have been walking a long time to end up here. Can I interest you in some refreshments?"
Now that she mentioned it, Midoriya felt parched. He looked to the others and saw that they were wearing similar expressions. In the end, Iida nodded, making the decision for them as he said, "If it wouldn't be imposing?"
"Not at all," she opened the door wider, and one by one they entered the cottage, inhaling the wonderful smell. "I've been baking," she explained, noticing the way they breathed in the air deeply. "Would you like some cake?"
Only Todoroki said no, and he was also the only one not to accept the offer of a chair, choosing instead to stand and examine the room they were in carefully.
"Have you seen our friends?" Uraraka asked over a mouthful of cake. "They probably came through here too."
"They haven't come by here, at any rate. But then, very few people do."
"It's hard to imagine Bakugo asking for help," Tokoyami mused, and they agreed, focused once more on the delicious cake.
"Do you bake often?" Todoroki cut in suddenly, and though the question was polite something in the way he asked it was not.
"Fairly often, yes. Have to have something to pass the time."
"A whole cake each time?"
"Todoroki!" Midoriya reprimanded, but the woman only laughed.
"I admit, it's excessive. I give some to the bog alchemist, if I feel like such a trip, and use it to feed the chickens."
Todoroki tilted his head. "You have chickens? That would explain the scratching coming from downstairs." Now that he mentioned it, Midoriya was certain that he could hear a faint scratching noise. He tried to think about it but found himself unable to drag his thoughts from the cake, and the tea, and the smell.
"Yes, that must be it." The woman responded, but her smile was cold and didn't meet her eyes.
Then everything happened at once.
"Don't eat the cake!" Todoroki cried out, launching himself forwards and knocking it out of Midoriya's hands. The rest of them paused, hand halfway to their mouths, as though warring with themselves. The woman seemed to change, shifting before their very eyes until she was no longer beautiful, or homely, but instead withered, with a face that looked like it was melting.
"No!" She shrieked, anger twisting her already marred face. "The cake is good! Eat it!"
With great effort, Tokoyami threw his cake onto the floor. Tsuyu and Uraraka followed suit, although it seemed to pain them to do so. Finally Iida, whose hand appeared to be moving towards his mouth of his own accord, managed to drop his cake.
The woman snarled at them, raising her hand as though to slap Todoroki, but before she could there was a loud explosion from downstairs, followed by a yell of, "I'll fucking kill you, you old hag!"
"Bakugo," Midoriya whispered, his fuzzy mind trying to tell him something important.
"We have to go help them!" Iida exclaimed, but when he tried to stand his legs would not co-operate, and he almost found himself face-down on the floor, stopped only by Todoroki's hand under his chest.
"You guys have to get out first," Todoroki helped Iida to his feet, slinging a hand over his neck to assist him in walking. Once he judged them to be a safe distance away, he propped Iida up against a tree, and returned for Uraraka, then Tsuyu, then Tokoyami. When he came for Midoriya, he whispered in his ear, cool breath tickling against the back of Midoriya's neck, "No more accepting sweets from strangers."
With everyone out, Todoroki turned back to the house once more, squaring his shoulders as he prepared for a battle. Midoriya watched him go, still struggling to remember whatever it was that he had to know, when it hit him.
"Wait!" He called, stumbling to his feet and managing to propel himself off the tree, staggering a few steps before almost collapsing. "Todoroki, wait!"
Todoroki turned back, surprised at how far Midoriya had managed to get.
"Bakugo is -" Midoriya began to slur, struggling to put his thoughts in order, but Todoroki interrupted, impatient to help them.
"Bakugo is in trouble, Midoriya. I'm going to go help him." With that, he turned and ran, leaving only the wind to hear the end of Midoriya's sentence.
"Bakugo is angry."
Todoroki took the stairs three at a time, pushing himself to get down there as fast as possible. When he did, he saw Kaminari, Kirishima, Jirou and Sero, all in varying states of near-unconsciousness, tied together. Bakugo was the only one standing, facing off against the old woman with murder in his eyes, his stance heavy. With a shout, he lunged towards her, a heavy crack filling the air as his fist collided with her ribs. He didn't stop, didn't even seem to consider it, continuing to use his body as a weapon without even caring about the bruises it would definitely leave on his knuckles. Todoroki noticed his weapon, a double-handed axe, lying on the floor near him, and he picked it up and held it towards Bakugo, who took it without even looking.
Getting involved in the fight seemed to be a bad idea, so Todoroki turned to the rest of the team. He pulled out a small dagger and began to cut at the ropes that bound Kirishima's hands.
No sooner had he touched the knife to the ropes before, inexplicably, he found himself against a wall, legs dangling in the air, choking slightly. Desperately, Todoroki looked around to see where Bakugo was, and how he could possibly have let the hag go for long enough to do this to him, but to his surprise the woman was on the floor, out cold.
Bakugo's hand tightened around Todoroki's throat, cutting off more of his air supply, and he growled lowly, "Don't touch him." Todoroki shivered at his voice, at the coldness radiating from him.
"Bakugo," Todoroki tried for placating, but with all of the wheezing it probably didn't work. "I would never hurt them. We're friends."
"Don't touch them," Bakugo repeated, and Todoroki nodded. This seemed to be enough, because he was dumped unceremoniously onto the floor, and Bakugo had the gall to use his dagger to cut Kirishima's ropes. It was all Todoroki could do to watch and rub his throat, but he scrambled to his feet when Bakugo turned to look at him again.
"Make yourself useful and tie her up." The words were still brusque, and the rope slapped him across the face when he made no effort to catch it, but something of the emptiness was gone, replaced by his usual menacing aura. Todoroki hadn't ever expected to miss Bakugo's usual lack of tact and decency, but he was incredibly grateful that Bakugo could at least be relied on to put emotions into things, even if that emotion was, nine times out of ten, anger.
By the time Todoroki had tied the woman up, Bakugo had taken everyone but Kaminari upstairs, and was just finished undoing his ropes. He handed Todoroki back his knife, an unexpected gift given that Todoroki had given up on it ever returning to him the second that Bakugo took it, and they went up the stairs together.
"Are you okay?" Midoriya called out as soon as Todoroki left the cottage, looking up from where he was slowly feeding Kirishima sips of water. Bakugo growled, but Midoriya either didn't notice or didn't care, instead continuing, "Kirishima said Bakugo attacked you!"
"He pulled a knife on them!" Bakugo complained, rolling his eyes, but he wouldn't meet Todoroki's eyes and instead glared fiercely at the ground.
"I was trying to break them out of the ropes."
Bakugo hmphed and stormed off to check on their packs, leaving Kirishima to smile weakly at Todoroki. "Downside of the incredible strength, I guess."
"What, attacking at random?" Todoroki took a deep breath, trying to persuade himself that he was absolutely not bitter.
"Only when you came close to them," Tsuyu, ever the voice of reason, pointed out. "If he was raging to protect them, he would have seen that as a threat."
"I was trying to help!"
"And we're grateful," Jirou pushed himself upright, coughing slightly. "But berserkers aren't well-known for their discrepancy when fighting."
"Just," Midoriya sighed, looking apologetic, "maybe you should just try apologising? We're going to be travelling with them, and it's never fun when Kacchan is mad."
"Kacchan?" Todoroki questioned, but was cut off by an incredibly angry voice yelling,
"What do you mean you're going to be travelling with us?"
"Ah, K-Kacchan," Midoriya twiddled his thumbs, looking away nervously. "A-about your quest."
"There's no way in hell I'm taking you with me!"
"I know you don't want to," Iida cut in, waving his arms about in a way that seemed dangerous to the low-hanging branches. "But Midoriya's god insists -"
"Fuck you," Bakugo spat. "Fucking Deku's god is none of my concern. I can handle this quest without any of your help. I was given this quest, and I can do it on my own."
"Dude," Kaminari called, but Bakugo shrugged him off, growling.
"Bakubro," Kirishima began, and Midoriya began to worry for him, but to his surprise Bakugo tolerated him for long enough to stare at him stumble to his feet. "We know you don't need it. We're here to help you because that's what friends are for!" He beamed, and Bakugo grunted.
"Calm down, hair-for-brains. If you pass out, I'm dumping your ass with fucking Deku and the idiots. We're leaving."
“Deku and the idiots can be their band name!”
“Not now, Kaminari.”
The rest of Bakugo's squad stood up, assembling themselves and their gear, before quietly thanking Todoroki for his help. Todoroki didn't respond, eyes narrowed in Bakugo's direction.
"Why does he treat you like that?"
Midoriya shrugged. "That's just Kacchan. He's been like that since he was young, when he decided he wanted to be a barbarian." He sighed, and his shoulders slumped slightly in a show of sadness that Todoroki wasn't used to from him. The next second, though, he was back to his usual self, clapping his hands and announcing, "We've got to follow them!"
"I don't think Bakugo wants us there," Iida ventured, nervous. No-one could blame him, Bakugo was a hassle to deal with at the best of times. The memory of a knife to his throat reminded Todoroki that now, moments after his team was almost killed by a crazy old woman, probably didn't qualify as one of the best of times.
"We don't need to work with them," Uraraka suggested, "just go in the same direction as them."
"That seems pointless," Tsuyu pointed out, "there's safety in numbers."
"There's also death in numbers, Tsuyu. It's called a massacre. Besides, it's likely that they'd get in our way. And we'd get in their way." Tokoyami continued, and Uraraka huffed air out of her mouth, idea shot down.
"Well," Iida took control, to everyone's gratitude. "At the very least we have to get out of this bog." He cast a quick look over at the cottage, sitting innocuously and not at all as though there was a creepy madwoman in there. "Should we do something about her? We don't want more travellers falling into her trap."
Once more, the memory of Bakugo's knife flashed over Todoroki, and he shook his head. "I don't think Bakugo will have left her a threat to anyone." His voice was flat, and Uraraka shuddered a little.
"Off we go then!" Midoriya called brightly, and they set off in the same direction as the others.
Whatever had been in the witch's food was clearly still affecting them, because Midoriya found himself longing for a rest far earlier than usual. Looking round, he could see that everyone else who had eaten was feeling the same, eyes lingering on low-hanging boughs and fallen logs that looked comfy. He wanted to call a break, let them sit until they felt better, even if it was more for his friends than for him, but he knew that they would never accept it. They had to push on, had to make it out of the forest, had to stop One For All.
He was brought out of his thoughts by angry shouting ahead, which could only mean one thing. They had caught up to Bakugo.
"For the last time," this was punctuated by a stomping noise, so Bakugo had either stamped his foot or punched something, and knowing Bakugo either was equally likely, "you're not climbing a tree!"
"We're lost," that was Kirishima, eternally patient with Bakugo, to his credit or ruin it was still to be determined. "Climbing a tree is the best way to see where the forest ends."
"You're still swaying," as Bakugo said this, Midoriya cleared the trees and made it to where the two were arguing, with Kaminari, Ashido and Jirou sitting on their packs close by, eyes shut. "You'll be useless if you fall out of a tree."
"I thought you didn't need us anyway?" Kirishima winked, an action which threw off his balance somewhat and he stumbled forwards. Bakugo caught him and held him steady, managing to look angry as he did so in a way that only he could pull off.
"That doesn't mean I can just abandon you in the forest. Aizawa would never let me on another quest again." Bakugo looked away, scowling, but he still lowered Kirishima gently to the ground.
"You can tell him an old lady stole my youth through her magic carrot cake." This apparently wasn't the right answer, because Bakugo whipped his head around to glare at Kirishima. For once, Todoroki understood how he felt, because when he thought of how close he had been to losing his friends, his heart clenched. Almost against his will, he turned to look at Midoriya, to reassure himself that they were still there and alive and young, but the thought of Midoriya mentioning his near-death so flippantly had him gritting his teeth.
Fortunately for Kirishima, whatever Bakugo would have said in response was lost as, at that moment, Uraraka cut in. "Can we help?" She chirped, grinning up at Bakugo. He barely reacted, but Kaminari jumped so hard he hit his head on a tree, falling back to earth with muttered curses as he rubbed his head.
"What do you want, Moon-face?" Bakugo spat, barely glancing at Kaminari.
"One of us could climb up there," Tsuyu offered, unfazed by Bakugo's anger. "I'm good at climbing."
"There aren't many branches high up," Jirou announced, sighing. "Kirishima reckons he's good enough at jumping to get up there."
"Do you not think of your health?" Iida exclaimed, seeming completely shocked by the idea, while Kirishima had the good grace to look chastised. "There's no way!"
"Didn't Mei give you those sticky gloves?" Tokoyami cut in, uninterested in listening to whatever tirade Bakugo seemed planning on unleashing on Iida for daring to talk down to his group..
"Yep," Tsuyu wiggled her fingers to show them off, and when Tokoyami squinted he could see small indents on the fingers, presumably where any sticky magic would be. He wasn't a wizard, sue him.
Without waiting to see if someone was going to argue, because someone definitely was, Tsuyu began to climb. When she reached the point where there were no branches, everyone held their breath, waiting to see if the magic would work. She jumped, hands splayed, and hit the tree. Ashido shut her eyes, not wanting to see what became of her friend, but when she dared open them again Tsuyu was hauling herself further up the tree, risking one glance down so that she could wink at her admiring spectators.
Once she got so high that they could barely see her, let alone worry, Iida sat down heavily, the day taking a toll on him. Uraraka and Tokoyami followed suit, and soon Midoriya, though he tried to hide it, could no longer keep himself upright. He sank to the floor, just barely controlled, and smiled up at Todoroki, who was hovering near him.
"Everything okay?" he asked, and Todoroki sighed.
"So like you," he shook his head, looking away and frowning into the distance.
"What?" Midoriya was unsure whether he should be sorry or defensive, and ended up in some weird middle ground where he just sounded lost.
"Are you okay?" Todoroki ignored Midoriya's confusion in favour of a direct question, his eyes piercing Midoriya. "You could've died in there. And don't pretend that it hasn't affected you, I've seen the way you're swaying. And you're sweating a lot. You should have rested."
"I wanted to catch up with Kacchan."
"Ka - Bakugo is a big boy. He can make it without you. And he has the rest of his squad. Who, by the way, were smart enough to take rests."
"Kirishima was trying to climb a tree. No, Kirishima was trying to jump up a tree."
Todoroki waved a hand, but it was clear that the anger was dissipating. "Kirishima is best friends with Bakugo. Any questions about his sanity are long overdue."
"Best friends," Midoriya mused, and seemed about to say something else when Bakugo, speak of the devil, started shouting.
"Hey, shitty Deku! I thought I told you to go home!"
"Actually," Midoriya held up a finger in a way that meant he was going to risk his life just to piss Bakugo off a tiny bit more, and Todoroki sighed, angling his body to better intercept any punches Bakugo might throw. "You said you didn't want to go on the quest with us. And that's fine! We just happened to be walking in the same direction as you, and then caught up."
"Isn't it a pleasant day for a walk in the woods?" Uraraka piped up, and Bakugo throw his head back to groan. Luckily for Midoriya, and therefore Todoroki, this action forced him to notice Tsuyu returning from her perch at the top of the tree, and any interest in killing someone vanished in favour of finding out how to get out of the forest.
"There's a town that way," she pointed.
"Are you sure it's not where we came from?" Jiro asked, and Tsuyu nodded.
"Doesn't have a church spire. It's probably a forty five minute walk. Can we handle that?"
"I hate walking," Ashido complained, standing anyway. Sero bent low, offering her a piggyback even as his legs shook from the exhaustion of just standing.
"Get over it, Pinky," Bakugo growled, waiting for Kirishima to get his balance before setting off, calling over his shoulder, "you can barely walk, Soy sauce, stop trying to help her."
"I'm here to help," Sero shrugged, the criticism rolling off his back easily, and, as if to demonstrate this, he pulled Kaminari up before following the others.
"How did you end up here?" Iida asked Jirou, who had fallen behind a little to walk with him, fully aware that they would never be able to lose Midoriya. "You don't seem as," he waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the rest of her group.
"Dumb?" Iida winced, but didn't disagree. "You'd think so, but I have to be pretty dumb to hang out with these guys."
Just as Tsuyu had said, it didn't take long for them to get to the town and settle down in the inn. After a few games of cards, which Kaminari lost disastrously, in one notable game due to Sero telling him the world 'gullible' was written on the ceiling and swapping cards while he was looking up, everyone said goodnight and headed their separate ways, under strict promises for Kirishima to tell Midoriya's group when they left in the morning. Bakugo didn't seem pleased with that, but he didn't kill Kirishima, which was probably something.