"Your worst battle is between what you know

and what you feel."

-Unknown

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There was an explosion, deep within the forest. It dyed the night sky in the hue of destruction, painted with heat, agony, and slaughter. A new color palate joined a few seconds later, this time painting the ground. Blue, wispy, hot flames emerged from the emptiness of the air, called forth into being with nothing more than sheer will. The wispy flames spread incredibly quick, crackling with madness as it burned foliage and animals alike with complete and utter ease. It was effortless.

Deku and Kota could feel the heatwave from the mountain itself.

"...No matter how many times I see it, his quirk is definitely impressive. Generally speaking, blue flames are the hottest of all the flames out there, and while it isn't truly comparable to flames that occur in nature, it is far above the normal temperature produced by quirk users."

He sighed and closed his eyes, thinking of all the poor trees that were going to burn down. He was tempted to just mindlessly stay at this spot, but at least for now, he had a job to do. It was an aggravating, soul-wrecking, annoying job, but he was stuck with it for the time being. Now that he had lost his excuse, he had to get back to his post as soon as possible. Muscular stood up rather unnaturally as a result of his lacking control, but it got the job done. No matter how ridiculous it looked. It seemed that the noise had gained Kota's attention, as he looked at Deku with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Kota had never seen destruction quite like it; the ground below was a sea of fire and the occasional explosion in the sky - Bakugo, his mind whispered - was like a loud firecracker booming. More than all of that, his savior, the villain, was in cahoots with those guys. He didn't get it, not at all. He might be young, but he wasn't stupid. The green-haired guy, no, Deku wouldn't have just happened to be here at the same place and the same time. He was a part of the group down there, wreaking destruction on the surroundings and the people-...

The U.A. students... Pixie-bob, Ragdoll, Mandalay, and Tiger... They-, they were all down there.

His family was down there.

"Why... Why are you doing this?" He felt so, so stupid as his finger clenched down on the fabric of his coat, but it was his family. He couldn't let them get hurt. But he had also saved him, and everything was just so messed up. Why couldn't he just be a typical villain? "Why are you part of that group? Why are you here if you're just going to hurt my family? Why are you saving me but hurting them?!"

He felt horrible.

He couldn't stop.

Why couldn't he just be a villain? It would make things so much easier.

"Y-your family..? There should only be U.A. students here..."

The faintly horrified tone of his voice awakened some of the reasoning that had been buried under his emotions, but anger still existed.

"...My family are the heroes. They took care of me when no-one else did when mama and papa were gone."

His brow crinkled and an empathetic look filled his red irises.

"I thought it was possible, considering that a child was here and your parents were killed, but you really are the child of Water Hose."

Deku's mouth fell into a frown, escaping the neutral mask he had worn throughout this entire little adventure. The little brat's words stung, but the fact that they did in the first place meant that he was right. It was incredibly hypocritical to align himself with villains and then save one of the people related to those he was hunting. He still had to save Kota, that much was certain (he'd never regret that) but he, technically, had a choice. He had loads of excuses he could pop on, and pair it with the prettiest of bows, but the situation wouldn't change.

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He was trying, he had no choice, he made them not hurt people, etc.

It didn't change that a forest was being burned to the ground, people were getting hurt, and a child was nearly murdered. Oh, and he let the order to kidnap his childhood friend/bully go through. They would realize that he wasn't villain material (that kid was ridiculously stubborn), and then he'd be experimented on and tormented and it would all be his fault. Just like everything else that he touched.

Peachy.

So for the first time (and hopefully the only time. He didn't want to screw up anymore), Deku truthfully apologized and took some responsibility. It wasn't anything big, and it was something he had already thought to do, but he felt lighter than he had in months.

"I'm sorry for this whole mess. I won't give you any excuses, Kota. I promise that I won't let them touch your family members, or harm them. Muscular was an odd case in the first case. Fighting and murder isn't the objective. He was blatantly disobeying me and the orders."

His eyes widened, and he looked like he was about to cry. Then his face looked suspiciously blank.

"...Why are you here then?"

'...This kid knows how to ask questions where it hurts. Ugh.'

He sighed before looking him right in the eye. He couldn't, wouldn't lie to the kid. He deserved more than that.

"Our mission objective is to... kidnap Bakugo Katusuki."

Somewhere far off in the forest, flames licked the trees and explosions pierced the sky, alongside an occasional lance of ice. Dabi, Toga, and Twice gathered together in a single clearing, power bursting from their every pore. In that same clearing, several teenagers came falling out of the sky, riding on top of Compress like a sled. They included Uraraka Ochako, Shoji Mezo, and Todoroki Shouto.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Uraraka? You already fought with that crazy girl..."

"It's fine, I wasn't injured that badly. More importantly, we have to save Bakugo!"

Dabi narrowed his eyes at the new arrivals. He didn't really want to mess with them any further, especially considering that man's orders. Now that they had Bakugo in their hands, there really was no reason to stay here any longer. Speaking of him... There had been no lightning throughout the operation. Did something happen to him? Was he delayed? The image of their sparring session came into mind and he shook his head absentmindedly. There was no need to worry about him. All he had to worry about now was the teens in front of him.

Meanwhile...

"Y-You want to kidnap Bakugo?! He's one of those U.A. students... Why?"

Deku's lips unconsciously rose upwards in a bitter smile.

"There's really no logic behind it. It's just an order. It's incredibly idiotic to think that that idiot would ever become a villain."

It really didn't make any sense. Bakugo Katsuki was an arrogant asshole that had an inferiority complex at the best of times but he wasn't a murderer. No matter how much he spouted 'Die!' all the time. More than anyone else, he wanted, no, needed to be a hero. Every bone in his body craved it. It may not be saving people that he was focused on, in fact, he cared more about winning than anything else... But. Even people like that save people when they win. He didn't believe people like that were deserving of death like Stain because they were still better than he or Stain would ever be.

They didn't kill, after all.

They saved people.

Whether that be because they wanted wealth, glory, or social status was neither here nor there. They still saved people.

"-...you know Bakugo?"

"Ah, sorry. Do I know Bakugo? Well..."

'I don't really want any relationships I had Before to get out... What should I do?'

His brows furrowed.

'Do I lie or should I-... Why is this so hard to decide? Usually on would just leave my lips without thinking about it...'

He smiled with a hint of bitterness as he looked at Kota.

'I really have changed, haven't I? Mostly for the better, even. For lying to even register on my moral compass... Still, I don't think I'll be able to tell you, Kota. Sorry. If you get involved further with me, you might just get hurt. Muscular isn't really sleeping either. Haaa...'

He resisted the urge to sigh.

'Today is proving to be more exhausting than I thought it would be.'

"No, I don't. But I do know about his personality. I'm somewhat of an information gatherer, you see. It's, frankly, a stupid mission."

"Oh, he seemed like a villainous type to me, though..."

He couldn't help himself from laughing at that, not a faint chuckle like he normally did, but a full-on belly laugh. In fact, he was almost having trouble breathing. Kota's look of alarm on his face almost set him off even more. Eventually, he managed to calm down a little. He walked forward and teasingly flicked the little brat's forehead. He made little grumbles of protests, but they were half-hearted.

Maybe even instinctively, he knew how rare this event was.

"He definitely doesn't look like much, does he?"

The silence stretched on, and the previous laughter faded from his expression quickly.

It was a bizarre mix of envy, melancholy, and pain.

"You can't judge a book by its cover. No, you can't judge a book by even half of its contents. It may be corrupted or hiding its true colors. Most likely, though... That book will grow up from the tribulations it has experienced in its booky life. You really don't know what to do with yourself after that because the game, the book, has changed. You can only do your best and move on if the change doesn't tickle your fancy."

His smile was freer, somehow, after that. Like saying it out loud meant something

"That's just life."