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Chapter 12: Rescue

Midoriya broke through the window and jumped down to the ground. He rushed out onto the battlefield, searching for his comrades, but the chaos was too difficult to sort through. Pushing past several people, he tried to make his way towards where he last saw Dabi's fire, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Deku!"

As he turned to see Uraraka, her face twisted to shock and disbelief as Midoriya aimed his hand towards her. Blackwhip shot out of his knuckles, twisting and gripping the large boulder about to crush Uraraka. She slumped to the ground. Kirishima ran up to her, checking she's okay before turning towards Midoriya, who had thrown the boulder to the side.

"That was amazing, Midobro!"

"Midobro? ...Whatever. You guys should pay attention or you'll get seriously hurt." Midoriya turned to leave, but he's stopped by a voice.

"Deku! Please!" Uraraka pleaded, her voice cracking, "This isn't you! You're too kind to participate in anything that would hurt people!"

"Everyone has their breaking point, Uraraka. Maybe you all should have thought about that before."

"What are you talking about? We're best friends, remember?!"

"Friends? With the people who never accepted me, who tormented me?!"

"You're confused, Deku! We've been inseparable since the entrance exam. I know all your secrets, and you know all mine."

"That's a lie." Midoriya tried to think about his conversations with Uraraka, but his brain tugged, sending a jolt of electricity behind his eyes.

"You even know who I like. Would I have told you that if we didn't trust each other?"

Did he know that? He racked his brain, and found a name; a name told in a giddy voice, Uraraka's voice.

'Deku! You have to keep this a secret okay? I'm finally going to ask Tsu out. You should ask out your guy too, and we can double date! Deal?'

"Midobro, our entire class admires you! We love you! Uraraka is right. This isn't you. You proved that the moment you saved her!" Kirishima interjected.

"Midoriya."

Midoriya turned to see Todoroki, as he hesitantly walked towards the group. Midoriya's blood ran cold while his stomach churned from the memory of fighting Todoroki a few months back. Even though he felt he had good reason by protecting the twins, hurting someone still left a bad taste in his mouth.

"If you don't want to end up hurt again, don't come any closer!"

Todoroki stopped, and held onto his left arm, as he lowered his head. "You don't have to come near me if you don't want to, Midoriya. Just please listen to what I have to say."

"I need to go-"

"I love you!" Midoriya froze in place, while Kirishima and Uraraka gasped at the sudden declaration. Todoroki took the opportunity to continue, "At first, I didn't think much of anyone, and focused only on my goals. But I saw how you treated everyone. As we got to know each other, I wanted to see you more and more. You broke through the wall of ice I created around myself, and became my first friend!"

His first... friend? Midoriya tried to think back to how they were like together in 1-A, but the headache returned, forcing him to grab his head as he doubled over. He got flashes of happily talking with his friends and the bonding moments they shared. His classmates tried to get closer to see what's wrong, but a roaring blue fire erupted between them. Midoriya looked back, startled. Dabi calmly walked towards the group.

"I told you to stay inside, Izuku."

"I'm sorry, Dabi. I was just worried about everyone."

"Come here. We need to get you out of here." As Dabi reached for Midoriya, spikes of ice burst from the ground. Dabi scoffed as he looked over to Todoroki. Todoroki jumped through the flames, covering himself with ice to avoid the worst of the heat.

"Don't touch Midoriya!" Todoroki made his defensive stance directly between Dabi and Midoriya as she glared daggers into the villain.

"Possessive much, Shoto?" asked Dabi.

"Midoriya, please listen to me. I don't know what they have done to you, but our relationship isn't what you seem to think. Don't you remember how we had dinner with my family and Bakugou? Or how you sacrificed winning the sports festival just to help me overcome my family issues?"

Midoriya did remember the events. He remembered everything just how his classmates describe, but every time he tried to envision a happy atmosphere with them, his headache worsened. Did this mean he was under the effects of a quirk? He looked up at Dabi, pleadingly.

"Dabi, what's going on? My head hurts-"

"You're wasting my time." Dabi glared at Todoroki. "I won't let you confuse him anymore." Dabi raised his hand, and Todoroki braced himself. To their surprise, Midoriya took the flames directly, protecting Todoroki. "Izuku?!"

"Midoriya!"

Midoriya fell to his knees as Dabi extinguished his fire. Todoroki kneeled next to Midoriya and used his ice to cool the burns as best he could. His other classmates were just getting to him after avoiding the sea of flames as best they could. Ururaka helped some float overhead, while Kirishima, forced through using his hardening, though he was scorched.

The sudden kindness shook Midoriya, leading him to look up at Dabi with too many questions in his eyes. He could only sum them up. "Was it all fake? Everything?"

Dabi looked around for the twins. There was no way they could enter into this war zone to reinforce their hold. Dabi looked at the crumbling boy, covered in burns. He stilled his heart as he spoke.

"I have my orders. You either come with me or I kill you all."

Midoriya's breath caught in his chest as his muscles tensed, prohibiting him from moving.

"Why won't you answer me? Was it really fake, even the things we did and said?" stuttered Midoriya as his burnt cheeks stung as his tears rolled down. "You'd even kill me?"

"I guess now that the cat's out of the bag, there's no other option." Dabi began to raise his arms, readying to incinerate everyone. Midoriya tried to jump up to push Dabi back, but Dabi jumped back just as an explosion hit the ground right below his feet. Bakugou emerged from the smoke.

"Fuck off, you pyro maniac!" Bakugou's strong back somehow made Midoriya feel safe. The Bakugou Midoriya knew was a loner and a bully, but he could feel Bakugou's protectiveness in an instant.

"Kacchan?"

"Shut up, Shitty Nerd! I'm still mad about the warehouse!"

"Bakubro, it's obvious Midobro was under the effects of a quirk, and he's really hurt right now. Can't you be a little nicer?" argued Kirishima.

"It's none of your business! Deku, you're coming back with us even if I have to drag you back, so I can yell at you for what you've put me through these past several months!"

Midoriya couldn't get a grip on the situation. Everyone felt so familiar and kind, even Bakugou. He was still mad and yelling, but it wasn't scary. Instead, there was a warmth to his words, like he was covering up embarrassment. The striking pain throughout Midoriya's head worsened, but he didn't mind. With every strike to his brain, he felt the warmth from his bonds with his classmates spread throughout his body.

Everyone who could see Midoriya's face tensed as they saw his features twist. He bit his bottom lip as his chin scrunched up. His brows knit up. The large, dewy eyes gave way to endless tears as he sobbed.

"Okay, Kacchan. You can yell at me as much as you want." His angelic smile showed through his tears, warming the hearts of all his friends.

Bakugou smirked, "That's more like it!" Bakugou jumped towards Dabi, ready to set off his gauntlet, "Hear that, Freakshow?!"

"N-no! Wait!" screamed Midoriya.

Midoriya reached out towards Bakugou and Dabi. He didn't understand why, but even after hearing everything was fake, he still couldn't stand the thought of Dabi getting hurt. However, Bakugou continued his assault, ready to take down one of the assholes who took his rival and childhood friend.

Dabi swiped his hand across the space in between them just as Bakugou let loose a maximum explosion. Swirling smoke and debris clouded them, leaving everyone with bated breath, waiting for the air to clear. Midoriya's heart sank to his stomach at the sight beyond the thinning smoke.

"No-"