Don't Give Up On Me: TodoDeku (Book 2 of You're Like Me)

24

"I'm really worried about Amajiki."

Kirishima's words hang in the air, surrounded by the heavy breaths of the heroes as the run down the corridors. 

FatGum is having none of it. Just because the first years haven't seen his intern kick ass, doesn't mean he isn't capable, "Listen! You've left a comrade to guard your backs! If you're a real man you'll trust him!"

Kirishima and Izuku both nod, "Fat's right! We have to have faith in him!"

Eraserhead has finally caught up and covers the students from the back, his eyes darting around the area, but it seems as if the guy manipulating the walls has stopped. 

The hero grimaces. It wouldn't be long until the villain noticed them, that would be his chance to catch a glimpse and stop him. There's a single second that is silent, right before a wall expands, violently slamming Aizawa from the side, "ERASER!" Kirishima and Izuku shout.

FatGum jumps, pushing him out of the way.

He gets pushed into a new room altogether, and he hears a sound from beneath him, "Kirishima?!"

The boy grins sheepishly and stands, "I jumped to push Eraser, I figured I would take less damage then him, and then, well, you did the same thing and I got stuck."

The man sighs, looking ahead, "Oh well. Get ready, kid. We're not alone."

Kirishima activates his quirk just in time to take a punch from a man three times his size, and gets thrown across the room. He gasps for air, choking on his own breath as he helplessly watches his mentor get pummeled. 

When FatGum finds a second to look back at the boy, he sees a panicked look before turning his eyes to his arms, which are beginning to chip away from the impact of the villain, "The cowards way of fighting is with a knife or a gun! A real fighter uses his own strength to kill his opponent. Are you a real fighter?" Rappa challenges.

FatGum grimaces, he has to protect the kid, "You're not taking us down without a fight!" But when he tries to hit the man, a protective barrier stops him.

A man steps out from behind the fighter, no doubt the cause of the shield.  Rappa throws more hits at FatGum, and the man can't help but wince. Each punch felt like a bullet, something his fat usually protected him from. 

Kirishima can't help the tears falling from his eyes. He tries to regain his balance, but he hurt. He hurt so bad. If he tried to take one more hit, he could lose his arms, right? He shakes, as the words from the three others fade under his own thoughts. He was supposed to be strong. He wasn't supposed to be weak, what had he been working like a dog for? What was he if he wasn't strong?

FatGum shouts, "Riot!" Kirishima exhales his breath he had been holding as the hero pulls him into the present, "You're unbreakable! If you let them break your spirit that means you've lost! When you're up against villains, the key is to make them lose the will to fight first! So snap out of it! Lets take these two losers down and get the hell out of here!"

Kirishima watches as FatGum and Rappa fight, and with every hit the hero takes he finds his guilt getting worse. He was useless, he was in the way. This was stupid, why did he think he was capable of being a hero? In the moment that it comes to fight, to protect others, he breaks? He wasn't ever going to be ready for this. He couldn't fight. His parents were right, he was entirely useless. He wasn't worth anything to anyone. Nothing's changed at all, he was just as weak as ever before. He couldn't save anyone, hell, in the end, he doubt he'd be able to save himself- as if he was worth saving.

"Because you're strong, you idiot! And I only want to fight the best!"

Bakugo. This was before they were dating, mere weeks before they could even be considered friends.