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There was an explosion. It was loud and it reverberated around him. It shook the very ground he laid on. Ground? Midoriya woke up from it, that's how he knew there was one at all. His first thought was the people this explosion possibly hurt. An explosion loud enough to wake even him had to have been devastating. He knew he had to spring into action to protect the people as a hero-in-training. To protect the innocent civilians that were unwillingly involved. It was his job. His future career.
As he tried to hoist himself up, he realized that he couldn't, which was weird but whatever, all he’d have to do was try again. It was always a matter of trying again as All Might liked to say. He tried over and over and over again but he couldn’t move as much as a thought. It was strange to him. He didn't know why he couldn’t get up, he felt fine. Well, fine was an overstatement, he felt the way he thought he should feel, alive. Then Midoriya began to notice a few things. Things he felt he should have noticed from the beginning. As a hero-in-training, he was kind of ashamed to have not noticed these things sooner.
One, Midoriya was in an alley, not in bed. Strange. How he’d gotten into the alley? He had no clue. He directed his eyes into every corner of his vision and saw nothing as to how he got there or how long he’d been there. Except for maybe some blood on one of the walls which was concerning to him. It wasn’t a semi-bright shade of red like fresh blood but a red, hardening red. He’d investigate that as soon as he could get up.
Two, Midoriya couldn’t really feel anything at all. His whole body was numb as if he’d bathed in numbing cream. Not a good sign . It was kind of like an out of body experience for him. It didn’t feel like he was in his own body. It wasn’t like one of those experiences that people talk about where they said they were looking back down on themselves but it was like he was nearing that. Like he was close yet not quite there.
And three, there was something seriously very wrong. Obviously. He was on the ground in an alley he didn’t recognize. But he also didn’t remember anything. Like how he got here or why he can’t feel anything. Nothing. His memories of the past 24 hours or so are completely blank like they’ve been scraped out of his memory bank.
When he’d finally gotten the courage to lift his head up enough to look down at his body, that was a horrible decision as he laid his head back down instantly. He was finally able to feel the total effects of his injuries. His body started to throb to the beat of his heart. He felt like his body was just one big bruise, except for his stomach. His stomach felt like it had been ripped apart. He was unable to catch a glimpse of his stomach before his injuries started to flare.
His body felt like lead. And his head felt like osmium. It was heavy. He felt heavy. He worked up the guts to just take the pain and lift his head up once more to assess the injury on his abdomen. His eyes began to water. He felt his heart sink. Or what he felt was left of it.
There was a hole in his stomach. It was the size of All Might's wound but his was just below his ribcage. If he were able to lift up anymore, he bet he could see right through himself. How am I not dead? As if on cue, his body gave him the answer he was looking for as he spit up blood onto his neck, chin, and lower cheeks. Oh, yet, not dead yet. Was his thought.
His eyes watered as his choked up blood ran down his cheeks, mixing with his tears in the most disturbing and sad kind of connection ever. Midoriya knew what his fate was. His injury was too grave for regeneration.
Am I going to die alone? Was his last thought as he passed out once again.
-
Midoriya and Bakugou fought together which had become a recurring theme for the two lately. They fought together in training, in class, on missions, even in the field during patrols like today. They were kind of like a wonder duo. They fit together like the perfect puzzle, complimenting the others talents with their own. Their compatibility was an art form.
Today, they were fighting this new villain that’d been terrorizing the poor citizens of Musutafu for weeks. For some miraculously odd reason, none of the hero’s had been able to catch the sneaky little bastard for weeks until now. But of course he was caught on Endeavor's patrol while Todoroki was out sick so they were down on their normal trio dynamic. Of course he had to fight Midoriya and Bakugou because Endeavor was busy with the surprise attack of an even stronger no name villain that seemingly came out of nowhere. Of course the boys were fighting alone because the other no name villain brought a crew of more no name villains and now Endeavor and his sidekicks were busy. Of course that was the case. It’s always somehow the case.
The cheeky little bastard villain called himself Nano with his laser beam quirk. According to Bakugou, it was a pretty weak quirk which seemed to piss off Nano even more as he began targeting civilians that just happened to be in the area. Most civilians ran off and with adrenaline high, most civilians that were hit, didn’t even know until they were at a safe distance.
“Focus on Nano! I’ve got the citizens!”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Nerd! I already know!”
And just like that, they were separated. Things were now going as according to plan in the best way possible. For Nano anyway.
Midoriya left Bakugou to deal with Nano who was surprisingly easy to fight. Too easy. By the time Midoriya was out of sight, Bakugou blasted Nano with enough power to destroy an entire building. Thinking he may have killed the man, he ran over to where he predicted the body should be. Though once there, there was nothing but sludge. Mud? Bakugou thought until a memory formed for him. The camp incident, when he was kidnapped. Twice .
Soon after that thought hit him, there were at least fifty Nano’s surrounding him. “Well shit.”
He dreaded asking for help but he knew with this many copies, he definitely needed at least a little help. He finally uses his comms after the second Nano rushes at him. “Oi Deku.” Static. No response. “Deku! Don’t ignore me!” More static. More silence. Still… no response. Guess I’ll deal with these fuckers my damn self. Bakugou attacked the fifth Nano that tried to rush him. He was a full on sludge mess by Nano number fifteen.
-
Midoriya woke up again to another massive explosion. He hopes for these explosions to go on since they were possibly keeping him alive. Even with the possible implication that these explosions are hurting innocent people. Impossible really but it was his one thought of reason at the moment since he’s well, dying .
Midoriya tried to lift his lead arm to put pressure on his wound but was met with a metallic taste in his mouth as a warning. The pain pulsated throughout him. The pain was unbearable. He almost wished for death.
That was until he heard a voice. “Stupid nerd, you better be dead or hurt to leave me with that psycho alone and not answer me on comms.” Bakugou had been calling out to him? For how long? Maybe he could save him. Maybe he could whisk him away from the sweet jaws of death.
Midoriya tried to speak but was stopped by the air being knocked out of his lungs from a blood cradling cough from his throat. It left his throat raspy and blood just pooled into his mouth and down the side of his face like little red rivers.
“Deku, this is no time for games, DynaMight is hurt. Respond.” Endeavor cued in. Kacchan is hurt? How? Midoriya tried to reach his comms but was countered by his pounding wounds. He could speak, yell, or even hum to let them know his situation. He was going to die and they’d never know. No one would ever know. He’d just be another hero kid that disappeared.
No, I won’t die like this. Not here.
Midoriya forced himself up which opened whatever wounds that had somehow closed and started to scab. He was visibly bleeding out now. It was like a river gushing out of him. As he slowly, slowly, slowly stood up, he finally saw how much blood he’d lost. It was completely unfathomable to him how he was still alive and even standing.
He heard a raspy chuckle behind him and painfully, slowly turned around. It was Nano. Nano was hurt. Not as bad as he was but still, it would take months to heal. “Damn hero.” Nano coughed as he passed out. Midoriya was now worried about Nano. Not because he cared about everyone and anyone but because no one deserved to die in an unnamed alleyway.
Midoriya spit out the blood stuck in his throat. It was dark red and looked to have a bit of bile in it. He cringed at the sight but was brought back to his current situation by his throbbing abdomen. He cleared his burning throat and tried to speak. It came out broken and hurt as bad as it sounded.
“Down… need…” Cough. “…help…”
That was all he could get out before he collapsed back onto the ground. Passing out again.
-
Bakugou finally defeated all of the Nano’s around him. He was definitely hurt and bleeding, he just didn’t know where. He didn’t even care to look. He still hadn’t gotten a response from Midoriya. He was all beyond angry but a little worried as well. Midoriya was not one to just ignore comms, even in the most dangerous of situations.
Endeavor and his sidekicks made it to Bakugou after some turbulent fighting and rescuing of civilians. “Where is your little green haired friend?” Endeavor's voice was that of sounds like cat's having sex while being slowly fed into a woodchipper. It was disgusting. But he answered, not because he was some obedient brat or because he was worried about his friend, but because he should for whatever reasons. “We split up, I took the nano-bitch and he collected civilians.” he rasped the last part. Great. Broken ribs.
“As hero’s you should know better than to split up during a time like this.” Bakugou glared at the ingrown ass hair of a man in front of him. “Well it’s not like we had a choice.” Bakugou sneered at the pro hero and wished he could throw literal daggers at him instead of glaring them into him with his eyes.
Oh shit. Midoriya. He was still out there somewhere not answering his comms. He picked them up one more time in hopes that maybe he just wasn’t being heard. “Stupid nerd, you better be dead or hurt to leave me with that psycho alone and not answer me on comms. Radio silence again. It was starting to really irritate Bakugou more than being in Endeavor’s presence already did. He waited for a response while Endeavor wasn’t that patient. “Deku, this is no time for games, DynaMight is hurt. Respond.” he could have at least said please. Bakugou’s thoughts were drifting but that was one coherent one he could muster. The words coming out of Endeavor’s mouth felt like insults to his ability. Naturally, he knew he was hurt but mentally he was not having been insulted by the world’s number 1 dickhead.
Finally after a few cursory moments of silence, comms came through.
“Down… need…” Cough. “…help…” The comms were dead. No static, not voices, no nothing. Just dead.
Bakugou passed out from the immensely searing pain he was suppressing before he could act on what he’d heard. 3/3 down. Great.
-
When Midoriya woke up this time, it was to his comms and not an explosion. His comms were beeping which meant they were dead. He’d forgotten to change the damn batteries before they’d left Endeavor’s agency. He felt a bit stupid for forgetting something so rudimentary. He felt as dumb as Kaminari was during quirk overusage. But there was nothing he could do about it now. What’s been done is done. Now he’s bleeding from every newly created orifice and can’t stop any of it.
Midoriya figures that if he’s going to die then he’s going to die comfortable. He does his best to roll onto his back since being on his stomach burns more than he’d like to admit. Once miraculously on his back, looks around again to find Nano looking dead at him. At least he’s not dead. The villain looks angry. Of course he’d be angry, he’s hurt and can’t run away from the eventual capture by heroes. “Why aren’t you dead yet? Damnit.” The villain coughs up a bit of blood as he sneers at Midoriya. So that was the objective of today’s mission, kill the kid. And then do what? The only villains he knew for sure, without a doubt in his mind, wanted him dead was the league. Does Nano work with the league? Didn’t hurt to ask. Well it did but he wasn’t going to tell a villain that. Interrogating this guy wouldn't do him any good since he is… well... dying and all. But it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “Are you working with the league?” Midoriya coughed. Nano seemed to freeze for a moment before recovering himself. “Why would I tell a rotten wannabe hero such as yourself?”
“So you are. Why? I mean I can see why since they are the strongest villains in Japan right now, hell, maybe even the world at this point but why?” Midoriya allowed himself to ramble just a tiny bit. It helped distract from the increasing pain that plagued his entire body. “It’s not like they’re gonna keep you around. If they aren’t physically here to help with this mission then you're just a puppet performing their dirty work for them. They don’t care about you or anyone besides themselves. Whether you succeeded in killing me or not, they’d still kill you so they could take credit for the kill. You mean as much to them as an old toy does to a toddler. Nothing.” Midoriya didn’t mean to come off as horribly as he did but his filter had been destroyed along with his stomach. Which speaking of was starting to feel like it was being torn out of him all over again. He doesn't even remember how it happened the first time, all he does know is that it hurts like hell. He whimpers as the blistering feeling spreads outward all over him.
Nano laughs just a bit. Midoriya’s not sure at what but he can only assume it’s because he’s in such agony. “You don’t know anything, hero.” He sounded as defeated as he looked. Midoriya couldn’t see him but he could only guess he looked defeated from his voice. “Maybe not.'' There was something that was supposed to come after that statement but Midoriya didn’t have the energy to finish it. He could feel himself slipping away. It was agonizingly slow so he opened his mouth again.
“I can’t remember what happened. Could you tell me?” Midoriya sounded almost like he was pleading. He didn’t mean to sound so desperate but he was literally coming upon the last bits of his life so he’d at least like to know how he’d come to this point. To Midoriya’s surprise, Nano answered. “You separated from the blonde one to help some people running away like we’d hoped you would. I followed you and left your friend to around 50 more copies of me. When you came across a kid in the alley, you stopped and grabbed a lady to take the kid away from the area, to find more pros. When they were all gone I shot you with a beam, that's where the hole in your stomach comes from. The other injuries are from when you attacked me even with the hole. We fought until you broke my arms which means I can't use my quirk. Once I was down, you collapsed and we both passed out. That’s it.”
So that’s how it happened. A hero till the end I guess. Midoriya sniffled. He really was about to die. All because he wanted to be a hero and help a kid in danger. He doesn’t regret saving the kid, he just wishes he could have been more careful, seen Nano coming, something. Wishes he could do anything to keep from dying. He’s only 16 years old. He’s not ready to die yet. He’d always said he’d give his life for the sake of saving another human being but he meant when he was a seasoned hero. Not when he was barely through his first year of U.A. But it’s too late now. Too late to change this outcome. Too late to change the fact that he’s going to die here and there’s nothing he can do about it.
He realizes his time is close when he has to fight to keep his eyes open. He was scared. He was so so scared. He’s just a kid, he shouldn't have to be scared. Breathing is becoming harder and harder. His eye lids are like weights over his eyes, he can’t keep them open. Everything hurts but the pain is dying. Just like him.
-
Endeavor sends 2 sidekicks away with Bakugou so that they can get him treated. Then he gives other side kicks to search from the ground. After that he takes for the skies, searching for the kids from up high. He can’t have a kid die on his watch, it’ll ruin his image as the number one hero. He can’t have that happen. He’d worked hard for what he had. He wasn’t about to give it up because of some kid. Yeah, that’s it. That’s why his eyes are brimming with tears and his hands are shaking. He’s worried about career, not this kid. It’s not like he hasn’t seen many kids be killed during his time as a hero. He could handle another one. Even if it was the one kid that made his son smile even after all these years. Even if it was the one kid that seemed to be able to go against him without any hesitation. It’s not like he liked the kid. No, of course not. That’s not-
“I found Deku, sir.” Endeavor stops midair and lands on a roof, almost crashing into it. “Send me your location.” He gets the ping immediately. He was just there. He was literally a street away just moments ago. He turned around immediately and made his way to the alley on his transmitter. He landed just outside the alleyway. He did crash this time. Now he was hurt as well. He didn’t care though, he had to get to the very much alive kid in the alleyway.
He entered the alleyway slowly. He saw the villain he could barely remember the name of at the beginning of the alleyway. He knew the boys had been fighting the villain before they all had split up. He knew the boys were strong enough to take care of themselves and trusted them to do so. That showed in the villain that was obviously rendered immobile.
Endeavor walks further into the alleyway and finds his sidekicks hovering around something. It has to be the boy. Because why else would they have tears in their eyes as they look to Endeavor. When the kid finally came into full view, Endeavor had to stop the bile threatening to tear through his throat for rocketing his out of his throat. There was a literal hole in the kid in front of him. There was a hole big that he could see the kids intestines. He was looking at the insides a literal baby. The baby he was in charge of taking care of. A baby too new to the world to be… He wasn’t ashamed of the tears that immediately left his eyes at the sight of the kid. He wiped his eyes as best he could but they just kept coming. Sniffle. “Um…” Sniffle. “Does anyone have a time of death?” Sniffle. He was obligated to ask even though he didn't want to know. A voice behind him was the only one to come through. “He stopped talking about 20 minutes ago. I don’t know exactly when he stopped breathing but it wasn’t that long ago. The villain he still didn’t know the name of said. 20 minutes. 20 minutes ago he was just standing around waiting for the boys to come to him. 20 minutes ago he was cursing under his breath about how irresponsible children are and how he hated that he had to bring them with him. The tears fall faster and harder now. What a horrible person he really is. Instead of looking for a dying kid, he was complaining about said kid. He was a disgrace to all heroes. He’s who gave heroes a bad name among villains. It was him.
He stabilizes himself and he puts on the face of the hero he should have always been. He kneels and carefully picks up the child. He’s incredibly light. Too light. A testament to all he’d lost. Endeavor stands and walks out of the alley with the kid. “Arrest him. Make sure he’s charged for this.” Endeavor sneers at a sidekick when it's really meant for the man who did this to the poor child. Himself. Not the villain but him. The arrogant, hate filled hero that didn’t deserve the title bestowed upon him.
He made his way to the paramedics who were treating Bakugou. He walked past them and went straight to the coroner. And that was the end of the night. Not the arrest of Nano and the other villain, not the reporters, not the victory of the night. But the loss of a child too young to even drink. And that was the end of Endeavor. Now there was only Todoroki Enji.