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The trip to hell wasn't that far away. A brisk jog and one could make it in ten minutes. And thankfully, they made it in five.

It was a trashed warehouse on the outskirts of town, abandoned with walls crumbling and rotting away under the sheer weight of expectation and loss. Darkness seeped through the various holes of congregating rust, praying for the setting sun to give them a flattering silhouette as evil stole the spotlight. Then, surrounding the building were similar structures higher than the sky, burned bridges disintegrating from a whisper in the air, and a fence made of trash piles that leaked from ocean currents miles away. It was a horrid place with a stench unimaginable, having the metallic taste of blood and iron. And other people living nearby may have been only a few blocks away, but the difference in worlds made the distance seem unimaginable.

However, Izuku and the other two boys still entered the inescapable maw of rotting death alone, unsure of their futures, but with hope in their hearts.

But...

Kacchan wasn't here, much to the dismay of the three boys.

Because

This was the House of Betrayal.

Izuku ran over infected nails to search piles of driftwood and broken furniture, avoiding the rats and snakes that hid underneath. "So, Kacchan is here?"

"He should be here! I saw him! I swear... Wait." One boy paused in his investigation, seeing a strange silhouette in the doorway.

"I can't see him... Maybe he's hiding somewhere," Izuku responded.

"No, seriously. Wait."

Izuku turned, looking at the doorway.

And with the setting sun's light, he saw someone very familiar.

"Is... Is that a fuckin' dog?"

"Pochita!" Izuku bounded towards him, side-stepping the debris that covered the floors.

"Y-you know this abomination?!" The two boys ran back, both of them crouching to hide behind two piles of discarded trash as Izuku welcomed Pochita with open arms and held him close. Dodging the chainsaw coming out of the dog's head, he tucked him under his chin with a soft smile on his face, giving a gentle kiss to Pochita's orange fur.

"Ha! I keep forgetting that people don't know about Pochita! Isn't he so, so cool? It still baffles me to this day that I even got to meet him! How long has it been?" Izuku swayed from side to side with Pochita held tight as the two boys slowly approached him from behind. "Let's see... I met you when I was four, so that makes it ten years! Gosh, you are getting old, aren't you?"

One boy held Izuku's shoulder, gazing at the dog he was holding with clear disgust. "How... How did it even get here?"

"Oh! That's a good question! Where did you come from, Pochita? It's not safe to be here!" Izuku said, interrogating the dog with a shake of his finger. "But maybe... maybe you can help find Kacchan! You have a good nose and, if he's trapped, we can free him easily!"

The guy next to him sighed and shook his shoulder. "Uh... Izuku? Forgetting the dog, we outta give our thanks..."

Izuku gave a nod, albeit slow with clear suspicion. "For helping find Kacchan? It's obvious I'd help."

The guy behind him spoke, solemn and unsure. "Yeah, it's just... behind Bakugou's back, we called you a dog. We felt it fit with the way you were so obedient to your classes and studies, especially when Bakugou said you had a monster dog at home that we never saw. Just... never mind. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. That... we were sorry. The both of us."

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