"And Always, Sweet Dreams."

The Light in the Darkness

Midoriya's POV

When given the news late in the night that the man who assaulted me was found dead outside the UA dormitories, I felt sicklily relieved, and then anxious.

It was wrong – I knew that – to have sympathy towards someone despite the hardship they bestowed on me, but to take a human life without mercy was a cruel act, much crueller than exposing and raping an unexpecting teen. That man had a dangerous quirk and could have killed me at any time during our encounter, but he didn't. He left me broken, but alive.

And apparently being alive is better than being dead.

It wasn't just the fact that the man died though – it was also the way the man had died. He was burned to death, and from the brief details that I was given from Aizawa through a phone call, I could puzzle together that he was killed slowly and painfully. He was probably being tortured for hours; days even, since some parts of the burn marks seemed to be partially healed and yellow towards his feet. The man had died slowly, and surely. It was sad and disgusting to think about.

The worst part of all, though, was that it was Dabi who left his body in front of the dormitories. This just complicated everything, and got Shouto trapped in the mess of a case as well. He wouldn't do or speculate something like this – he knew what was right and what was wrong and knew when or when not to act on his intentions and emotions. It didn't stop him from being taken away, though.

When Aizawa and I pulled up to the Bakugou household after a teary farewell from mine, I was excited and nervous. I had missed Shouto despite being able to talk to him every day, but speaking through a screen just wasn't the same as speaking to them in person. In person, you could reach out to them, touch and comfort them when they needed it, but we haven't been able to have any of that. I knew it was selfish to stay with my mother all the time and to catch up with some much-needed son and mother time, but it was something I had to do in order to ensure that my Mum was going to be okay when I left again. It was hard and painful to be away from Shouto, but it was paining my mother more when she was unable to see me. I had weighed the odds and figured that while things are calm, I would stay at home. It was the best option.

That is, until Aizawa called me.

After the call, I felt satisfied, and then unmistakably lost. My mind was on a shutdown, and everything felt like it was slowed. My emotions didn't show through, and I felt weirdly calm about the whole situation, which just wasn't right. I figured that I was just tired and under the influence of shock, so after quickly calling Shouto to update him on the situation, I went into the living room and sat down for a long while. It was long enough that when I finally managed to snap out of my trance, Aizawa had already arrived, and had taken me without a moment's hesitation.

I thought that it would be easier to go through this with Shouto, especially since he was an amazing pillar to lean on, but with one glance at his ashen face, I could tell that the murder was taking a toll on him. He must be thinking a lot about his brother – thinking of the past – and even though he had just regained his balance after falling down the stairs, I didn't hesitate to run towards him and wrap my arms around his right side. He was cold, which was expected from his ice quirk, but his heat quirk was also slightly flaring, which was a sign that he had many complicated things on his mind.

But still, being able to wrap my arms around him again was a gift I could never forget.

It was great to see Kacchan, too, although we didn't speak much. Aizawa was in a hurry, and had quickly informed the two adult Bakugous about the situation before being disturbed by a sleepy Shouto, and swept him into the car almost immediately. Everything was moving so fast, and I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

We were missing something about the investigation.

While thinking in the car, an idea hit me, and figured that it would explain the rush. Apparently, Dabi had left a note near the body. While being informed of the note, I still wasn't sure what was specified on it. The whole situation and the unfamiliarity of it was making my stomach twist in uneasiness.

Distracted by my thoughts and the lights from outside the car window, I didn't realize that Shouto was trying to get my attention until he gently patted my shoulder, and turned me to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes worried and a frown on his brows.

I smiled softly as usual, and placed my hand on his knee. "I'm doing fine. I should be the one asking if you're okay. This must be difficult for you."

He gave a small nod, and his hand trembled on my shoulder slightly. "Once everything is over, I will be fine."

It wasn't exactly the answer I was hoping for, but I was glad for his honesty. He was seriously just too small in this big world, and despite being pretty tall, he was still a little child inside. I guess that just means that he needed extra protection from the world. But that was already too late.

He was abused since he was a five-year-old – forced to train until he collapsed, neglected the right of food for some time, which turned into anorexia in his later teenage days, and lead on to his depriving and harmful tendencies. He had been through many difficult situations, including being injured from a villain attack and being left with a problematic brain injury, so truly, it was too late to protect him from the worse.

He has had to battle his family before, and now he might need to do it again.

"Do you think Kacchan is going to be okay on his own?" I questioned, glancing to the front of the road, past Aizawa's shoulder.

Shouto nodded. "He should be fine. I'm sure he'll enjoy having his bed to himself again."

I smiled brightly at the dry humour, and nudged him with my elbow gently. "I'm sure he enjoyed having a living air conditioner with him under the sheets. All he had to do was switch sides depending on whether he was too cold or hot."

A small grin flickered Shouto's lips. "With Katsuki, he needs to be both warm and cold. I find him half lying on the floor sometimes."

I chuckled. "That sounds chaotic, just like Kacchan."

He smirked. "Oh trust me, you haven't seen chaotic until you hear about what's going on at Kirishima's house . . ."

With that, we started a conversation about the certain teens taking refuge in Kirishima's room, and the heavy mood in the car lightened a bit, and while pulling up at the UA dormitories, the world felt a lot easier to deal with.

Despite the police tape and investigators everywhere, the dormitories was my second home, and I was slightly glad to be back.

Shouto and I were finally home.

Now the story really begins . . .

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