"a friend is one who walks in

when others walk out."

-Walter Minchell

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Drip.

Drop.

Drip-

Deku stared at the crystalline-like droplets of rain (that ceased to be that the moment they hit the floor, not destroyed, but gaining another form. Their cycle was still turning) that had intruded into the bar with a peculiar sense of apathy and hollowness. The rain seemed to have shifted the mood, somewhat; the previously taunt and worried criminals simply stood there silently, not even a wisp of emotion escaping their eyes. It was inexplicable and unexplainable, but they seemed to have accepted the fact that Shigaraki Tomura was dead. Or Tenko Shimura. It didn't matter, really. Names were nothing and everything at the same time.

Deku looked around the room with world-weary eyes, before silently taking a single step.

No-one stopped him. No one dared to impede his path.

He said nothing, did nothing except continuing to walk towards the hole in place of a door. He stepped out of the building and into the rain.

He had ceased caring about mere wetness quite a long time ago. Still...

The cooling, yet warm, embrace of silk-lined drops was the only thing in the world, it seemed like. Washing away and scrubbing at the impurities and sins of man, promising a clean and unblemished slate. He had a sinking suspicion that nothing could offer him that opportunity, though. Nothing could, really.

Not even the rain.

And that... That was just reality. A cold, ruthless unstoppable tide that you could either swim against or sink under. Those were the only two options. Some, with their valiant bodies and inexhaustible luck, found this to be an easy endeavor. Others had to scream and crawl their way out, popping up for air before inevitably sinking down again. Of course, there were those who were never able to resurface.

A small portion of poor, unlucky fellows found themselves being pulled under, not because of themselves, but because of other people.

The thought made him grit his teeth and want to scream.

It was in that state of mind when he felt someone's presence behind him. Reacting in an instant, he drew out his knife and pressed it against the metallic, fleshy protrusion of the invader's throat. Only to sigh and drop his weapon in the next, ultimately inflicting no harm. The person in question's facial features was alight with a hint of mirth at the sight. Deku did nothing but stare. Finally, he spoke.

"Why are you here, Dabi?"

(And indeed, no-one stopped him; a few, however, did follow him out.)

The rain continued to fall, heavier, but still oh so gentle.

"I never had the chance to say it, but thank you. Thanks to you, my 'father' is finally where he always deserved to be...-" The last part of his words ended in a snarl. "-Jail. I had only had proof when we were in the middle of that ridiculous mission, and that Bakugo Brat exposed it."

A faint hum of recognition throbbed in the back of his mind, but he couldn't pin the melody to a piece.

His brows furrowed, eyes as still as a dead pond.

"...And your father is?"

"He is... Endeavor. Enji Todoroki."

Deku got the sudden urge to laugh hysterically. It had only been a passing whim, a causal recognition of crime and injustice. He had been angry, he remembered, although he couldn't quite reproduce the feeling now. It just seemed so trivial. Regardless, he had told the truth to millions of people around the world via Present Mic and proceeded to duel the man's son while everyone was in shock. But soon enough, that transformed into outrage. Outrage all focused on one little hero. Endeavor.

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U.A. didn't even receive any backlash for their 'decision' to force another match forward - and wasn't that a shame? - simply because it was all washed over the enormity of the news that was the No. 2 Hero in Japan was a child-abusing, power-hungry, piece of shit, to put it eloquently. Reporters and the police swarmed him en masse. Currently, he was undergoing his trial and sentence, but it was almost impossible that he would be found anything other than guilty. His reputation, accountability, and popularity had sunk that much.

And well, of course, there was plenty of evidence as well. It'd take an act of God to get Endeavor out of his current situation.

"I suppose your attitude makes sense now." He closed his eyes and felt the cool water running down his face. He reached up and wiped the water off his face, but it made no difference as it was replaced in the next moment regardless. The rain wasn't just a soft, gentle drizzle anymore-

"It was just a coincidence that the events of that day came to pass. And since you've thanked me now... We'll just leave it at this."

He turned to walk, but...

(-it was a torrential downpour.)

He had to catch a knife in the process. He felt his bloodlust spike as he returned the knife full force from where it came from.

He opened his eyes when he didn't hear the distinctive sound that came with punctured flesh.

The perpetrator was looking at him with an innocent smile, absentmindedly twirling the knife he had just sent back at them. The suppressed snort from behind him almost made him take the whole situation lightheartedly, but he was a touch too scarred, a touch too paranoid to let the matter rest. His eyes bore into their form with incredible seriousness, snapping away the previous laid-back atmosphere.

"I'll give you ten seconds," Lightning flickered around his palm, the innate sadism of Gray coming out. "Why did you throw a knife at me?"

The girl's unruly curls had long been plastered onto her face from the rain moved slightly with a slight puff of air from her mouth.

She was pouting.

"Must you be so serious? Pulling out your lightning right away... I'm starting to think you really wanna kill-"

His fingers clenched lightly around her throat, not enough to harm, but the threat was there. His eyes were dull and without emotion.

"You have 5 seconds now."

Finally, it seemed that she was taking this seriously; his brows furrowed, and the smile dissipated from her face.

"I-It was a test. That's... all I swear... I mean, how could you possibly get hit by that? It wasn't even aimed anywhere vital-..."

Deku narrowed his eyes in contemplation, ignoring the panicked babble endlessly escaping Toga's mouth. It was true that even if he had been slow enough - and stupid enough, it was an obvious trajectory - to get hit by that knife, he wouldn't have really been harmed per se. It would only have been a minor scape. Still, he didn't understand why this girl saught to test him in the first place, especially when he had already proved his power. His lightning should have been enough-...

'...This ditzy girl must think all my power comes from my quirk or wanted to affirm it, at least. The place she was in was surrounded by several long pieces of metal; it would have acted as a lightning rod if my lightning was normal. The only thing she didn't expect was for me to immediately throw the knife back at her. She didn't have the time to react, and she was lost her opportunity to flee.'

She was smarter than she looked. Or acted. Even more so considering her next actions... She didn't lose her calm but made the whole thing out like a joke. Or it was just her nature. In the end, it really didn't matter. That little action of hers stopped him from killing her immediately. Deku sighed, before removing his hand from her neck. It wasn't necessary to act any further. There was no point to it.

No grudge existed between the two that required him to kill her.

At least in that respect, as long as they hadn't committed outrages crimes, he wouldn't act before taking into account hostility and severity.

With no further regard for the two former League of Villains members, he quietly started walking in a random direction. He couldn't continue using the hotel he had previously been staying at, simply on the principle of caution, but he was sure he could find someplace to stay. Even stay outside wouldn't be out of the question, as long as it stopped raining. He felt a raindrop fall down his face - in truth, it was the absence of them that alerted him - and looked up to the sky. It had started to clear, and with it, he could hear the voices of the imbecile and the son behind him. No, wait, there was another one as well. He could tell right away from the dialogue-

"What's going on? What's going on? This seems fun!"

"Pssh, this is so stupid. Why are you idiots running?"

-Yeah, that was definitely that Twice fellow. He could hear the voices of Toga and Dabi (he should really ask what his real name was) as well.

Sighing silently to himself one last time, he turned around and asked the dreaded question:

"...Why are you following me?"

Dabi was the first to talk.

"I owe you a debt. I won't feel comfortable until I pay it off."

Then it was Toga.

"You seem interesting~! Still not that cute, but interesting! Plus, you kinda destroyed the League."

Finally, Twice spoke out.

"I don't know what I'm doing here, but you're cool-"

"I don't know what I'm doing here, and you suck-"

"But there's nowhere else to go, so I'm just going to follow you."

Deku's face was the very definition of deadpan, the faint light laughter of Gray only furthering the dissonance.

"...Do what you want."