chapter 7

Katsuki Bakugo stared blankly at the ceiling, as if he were blind. The paralyzed boy felt like he may as well be visually impaired considering every other body part was useless. Each second felt like an hour and each hour like a year, Katsuki hadn't cried for as long as he could remember & now it was all he ever did. The messy haired blonde sobbed to himself, ever since he had given up on trying to move, it was all he ever did.

Katsuki's gaze traveled from the roof to the hallway, his bedroom door was left open as his nurse left to gather new medication. Bakugo's stomach growled, he felt like all he ever ate anymore was pills & vitamins alike. The corridor outside his room looked like a freeway, people going by like speeding cars. Only occasionally did Katsuki see someone moving at a slow pace, and they were usually wheelchair bound or walking with crutches as the reason.

Bakugo's eyes never drifted from watching those specified people, his admiration for them almost greater than All Might. Watching them struggle but still manage to limp down the hall made his sorrowful mood become more at ease, like he could some day do the same. Like another dreadful reminder that he would never be given that opportunity, the person with crutches he was watching trips and falls.

Katsuki can't bare to watch the person squirm on the floor, unable to get back up. The pitiful sight reminded Bakugo of himself, like a desperate fish flopping around on the floor. Katsuki had to close his eyes to prevent himself from getting upset again, he wanted to avoid having another convulsion. His hope had been extinguished a second time.

"Sometimes, when we fall, we need help from others to get back up.", Katsuki hears a squeaky voice within the dark confines of his closed eyelids. Bakugo opens them to see who had said such a thing, spotting the principal of U.A helping the fallen patient stand.

The principal named Nezu would occasionally visit Katsuki, despite the two of them never really exchanging words. Bakugo wondered if it was because Nezu felt guilty for what happened or if he was still trying to figure out who Deku was. The short humanoid entered Katsuki's room and closed the door behind himself.

"Hello Young Bakugo. How are you doing today?", Nezu asked in a reassuring tone. The kind being would often ask this in a way that implied things would somehow get better. Katsuki used to get infuriated by it, but today he was thankful for the optimism.

Katsuki choked back a response, not wanting to offend the kind visitor by shouting a rude remark about how he wished he had died. The old Bakugo would have gone on a tirade, but the blonde boy was just too drained of his spirit anymore. Instead, Katsuki watched as Nezu hopped on the end of his bed and listened rather than spoke.

"We recently had another incident at the school.. it's just one after another anymore and it's going to begin concerning the public if we don't get to the bottom of this.", Nezu told Katsuki.

Bakugo stared intently, intrigued by what he had just heard. "What happened?", Katsuki asked. It was the first time he had spoken to Nezu during the visits and caught the principal off guard.

"One of the classes were attacked by this man.", Nezu answered as he pulled out a picture taken of the hooded man's corpse that had attacked Izuku & Ochaco. "I wanted to know from you personally, if this was the man that had attacked you and put you in this condition.", Nezu asked.

"No.. Deku did this.", Katsuki replied. Young Bakugo knew that the name was unfamiliar to the principal, but it felt like the only name he could call his rival anymore. Katsuki had originally refrained from sharing the information that Deku wasn't his attacker's true name out of selfishness & wanting to get revenge for himself. Now, he was too heartbroken and refused to call his past friend by his true name since that boy seemed so far lost anymore.

Before Nezu could ask for the millionth time, 'who is Deku', his cellphone began to ring. "Whoops. I've got to take this.", Nezu excused himself to answer the call.

Katsuki did his best to eavesdrop but could barely make out the voice on the other line. The call only lasted a matter of one minute or less anyways. The look on Nezu's face was enough to peak the boy's interest though.

"Is something wrong?", Katsuki asked.

"U.A is under attack..", Nezu says in disbelief.

Katsuki watches as the small humanoid rushes to the school, helpless to help and unable to follow. Bakugo felt tears forming in his eyes yet again, he had allows teased Izuku for crying, and now their roles had been reversed. The blonde haired boy screamed in agony, unable to contain his rage & sorrow any longer. Doctors and nurses came running to his aid immediately, and for good reason too, because the outburst caused Bakugo to go into another seizure.

Meanwhile, U.A was withstanding an assault from an army of Nomus. Some of the creatures had been given wings and flew overhead while others crashed through the building and wreaked havoc anywhere they could. Teachers such as Eraserhead and Cementoss held the front lines while other staff like Present Mic or Ectoplasm did their best to keep the battle confined to one area.

Tomura Shigaraki secretly watched the battle take place from a distant rooftop, unable to contain his laughter & glee. The hero teachers would soon be overpowered by the Nomus and Tomura would be able to rub his victory in Izuku's face. However, the moment of thrill didn't last long, for the teachers were able to hold off the army long enough for other pro heroes to arrive.

People like Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods relieved the others of the fight, fending off the remaining Nomus rather easily. Tomura scraped at his neck in aggravation, wanting to scream & shout as he threw a tantrum over losing.

"Izuku DID warn you..", All For One announced his presence with Midoriya standing at his side. Tomura spun around to see them watching from behind, they had spectated the battle as well and waited for the outcome before laying down their judgment.

"Master.. I'm sorry..", Tomura cried as he fell to his knees and crawled to All For One's feet. "Please, allow me to use the ultimate Nomu, the one we created for-", Shigaraki pleaded to his master, but the masked man wouldn't allow him to finish begging. All For One backhanded the boy similar to how he had hit Izuku.

"Silence! The final Nomu will be kept for Izuku's will and his wishes only!", All For One declared.

Tomura glared at Izuku through tearful eyes, "Yes sir..", Shigaraki replied to his master.

"You've begged for my forgiveness. Now, what about Izuku's?", All For One practically ordered Tomura to apologize to Midoriya.

Young Shigaraki was dumbfounded, he had to fight the urge to leap off the roof. Despite the shame he felt by apologizing, Tomura choked out what he could. "S- Sssorry..", he hissed at Izuku in hate.

All For One curiously watched Izuku stroll over to Tomura, interested to see what the boy turned man would do. "I could forgive you for what you did to me.. but what you did to Ochaco..", Midoriya's tone raised in anger.

Tomura fearfully crawled backwards, "M- Master! Help!", Shigaraki called out to All For One. The blue haired boy eventually reached the rooftop's ledge, unable to back away any further.

Izuku raised his hand, prepared to move it at a fast enough speed that it would act as an ax and cut through Tomura. Before Midoriya could kill the boy, he felt numerous strands of string wrapping around his body to restrain him. Izuku looked behind himself to see that they had come from the sudden arrival of the pro hero named Best Jeanist! His master, All For One, was nowhere to be seen.

"Leave that boy alone!", Best Jeanist ordered as he tightened the restraints.

Izuku struggled against the bonds, the binding was strong enough to possibly even keep All Might trapped if given the chance! There was no way Midoriya could break free, he would have to come up with a counter strategy.

The pro hero glared at Izuku with dark eyes. Despite being a hero, he was an imposing figure. The tall man had blonde hair combed into a side part, the bottom half of his face concealed by the waste of jeans shaped into a cylinder to act as a mask. The majority of his body was clad in denim, topped off by a jean jacket with long sleeves.

Izuku had studied this hero like many others, learning that Best Jeanist's quirk was Fiber Master. The ability allowed for him to manipulate articals of clothing & control them. The strings wrapped around Izuku were connected to the pro hero's outfit, meaning the two were technically still attached. Midoriya decided he was going to take Best Jeanist for a ride.

The pro hero didn't expect Izuku's Superspeed quirk, the sudden jolt of being pulled forward giving him major whiplash. Midoriya continued running, dragging Best Jeanist behind him. The pro hero scraped across the floor and crashed into objects in the way as he was pulled through the city. Each impact was bound to break a few bones and mortally injure the hero. Best Jeanist had no choice but to release his hold on Izuku and let his enemy go, otherwise, he would most likely have died.

Amongst the strewed Nomu corpses, Best Jeanist laid unmoving & bleeding out.