Kiri(Baku?)Kami I probably won't finish

Chapter Forty-Three

I don't think that the full weight of what had happened even occurred to me fully until All Might visited my and Kacchan's room in the hospital.

He sat down, already seeming to expect an explanation. "Young Midoriya, what happened?"

"A lot," Kacchan said. "He, uh... he can't talk anymore. And One for All was destroyed..." There were tears pricking at my eyes as I bit my lip, gripping my blanket with the most force I could muster. All Might put his hand on my shoulder.

"Forget One for All. It's a shame that it's gone. It is. It's lasted for generations. But when you think of it, it's just another quirk," All Might said, both consolingly and quickly to try and ease my mind. I still felt like a disappointment, but I nodded anyway. "How hurt is he? Why can't he speak?"

"Well, besides the blood loss and the quirk gone, Toga cut his tongue out," Kacchan explained numbly. He wasn't really meeting either of our eyes.

All Might's hand tightened on my shoulder. "That girl will pay for her crimes the most," he whispered, then looked into my eyes. "Don't worry, Young Midoriya. I'm still positive that you will become the greatest hero. You're still so strong. Don't leave the class."

I moved my hands to start to say something, but I didn't really know how to respond. He said once that I couldn't become a hero without a quirk. He can't really believe in me now. I'm so weak and pathetic. How could he possibly call me strong? I'm just a quirkless loser again.

"Deku, were you trying to do that dumb muttering thing again?" Kacchan asked. "Your mouth was still trying to say shit, wasn't it?"

I realized as soon as he said it that I was, in fact, trying to mutter by pure habit. "Sorry," I signed, and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Don't fucking apologize, moron. I'm gonna miss it," he grumbled.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes really." Then he turned to All Might. "Were you just coming to check on us or was there anything else?"

"That's right, I almost forgot," he answered, a smile suddenly spreading across his face. "The police found all the bombs and diffused them. The school will be fine. All we need to worry about now is keeping it running."

"Aizawa-sensei said the school would stay open," I said, and Kacchan translated for me. "I believe him."

"And I'm sure he'll follow through on that. As will the rest of us staff at UA," All Might promised.

—

Once he was gone, Kacchan and I had the room to ourselves. "Hey, Deku?" he started. I looked over at him. "What's the last significant thing you remember before all of this?"

I thought for a moment. "You mean before I got kidnapped?" He nodded. "A particularly cruel game of Truth or Dare. I'm sorry about it, by the way, it must've been embarrassing," I apologized. He laughed aloud.

"I'm almost glad to know that that was really you. I guess I let her in too many times, though, huh?"

"You thought it was me." A pause. "How could you believe it was me?"

"I don't know, Deku. I don't. I guess I was just so guilty for who I used to be. I thought I was just getting what I deserved," he sighed.

"You're not an idiot, Kacchan," I frowned. "I know you wouldn't only think that. You know that no one could deserve all of that. So what else was it?"

He seemed a little surprised, but sighed and relented. "I was scared of you, I guess. I really did think you were just getting payback, but you were... you were scary, Deku. Even by the time I admitted to myself I was just being a coward, there really wasn't a way out." He sat up, wiping at his eyes. "It wasn't you, after all. Just your face. And your body, and your voice. It wasn't you."

—

Kirishima POV:

"How long are we supposed to be waiting out here?" I asked no one in particular. The entire school was standing outside, far away from the building. Most of them didn't even know why they were there. I think a lot of them were even grateful that something was going on. The past month had just been so boring.

I heard a familiar voice near me. "It's so crowded here..." I turned to see Tamaki, who looked extremely uncomfortable. "Kirishima! Hi," he said quietly when he noticed me.

"Oh, hey, Tamaki," I grinned at him. "Yeah, there's a lot of people out here. You doin' okay?"

"Separation anxiety is not my friend," he mumbled, frowning at the ground.

Aw, he lost Mirio in the crowd... "Do you want some help finding Mirio, or..." I started to ask, but he just shook his head.

"That's okay. I think I'll stay here with you for the time being. If that's okay," he said, and I nodded in response.

"Sure, Tamaki," I smiled. The corners of his mouth perked up in a soft smile, too. I suddenly felt two arms wrap around my waist.

I turned my head to see Denki testing his head on my shoulder. "Hey, Denks," I said. He just squeezed me tighter.

"I'm scared for them," he mumbled, and I sighed.

"Wait, scared for who?" Tamaki tilted his head to the side. "Is someone in trouble? Is that why we're out here?"

"Did no one tell you why we were out here?" Denki asked. The ravenette shook his head. The Pikachu on my shoulder exhaled, then explained. "Toga got into the school again, this time as Deku. Only, she got here about a month ago, so it really goes to show how well she knows us all if she got away with it that long. She uh... muted Midoriya, destroyed his quirk, and hid him here, but we had no idea he'd been captured at all. Then we found out a week ago that she was being a little shit to Blasty in a number of ways that aren't mine to tell but we all thought that it was Deku. We eventually figured out that she infiltrated the school in the first place so that she could plant bombs all over the building. I just got told that all the bombs were diffused, though. Oh yeah, and we found the real Deku in the gym, and he was still alive, so thank goodness for that. Now Deku and Blasty are at the hospital," he finally finished. Tamaki looked shocked, to say the least.

"That's a lot," he managed to say. "They'll both be okay, though, right?"

"I mean, Deku was strong enough to walk with some help and he's been buried under a pile of rocks and constantly drained for his blood, so I think he'll be okay. And Blasty's strong, he'll be fine. Well, both of them physically. Except now Midoriya can't speak. I'm more scared about how they'll be mentally," Denki admitted, one of his hands coming up to subconsciously tug at a strand of my hair.

"That entire story sounds like the most terrifying thing ever. I'm glad you all cane out of it alive to begin with. And I'm really glad you all warned the teachers about the school blowing," Tamaki scratched at the back of his head. "You guys saved us all."

"I just wish we could've saved them both sooner, though," Denki sighed.

"Denks. Don't worry. They'll be fine," I reassured him, tucking a strand of loose hair behind his ear. "I'm sure of it."