When The Raven Swoops, the Prey Run In Fear

by orphan_account

Summary:

Midoriya Izuku has never had the best childhood; being quirkless guarantees ostracism and bullying. Add in his former childhood friend, Katsuki? It’s a miracle he’s gotten through it. Yet his childhood still haunts his memories.

Bakugou Katsuki has had the perfect childhood. Every adult has praised how great a quirk he has. He knows he’ll become a great hero one day, the best to even crush All Might himself. He doesn’t need useless extras. Especially Deku.

Aizawa Shouta suspects something. His years as an underground hero have honed his observation skills, and it’s plain as day to him that something is going on between Bakugo and Midoriya.

AKA Bakugo is an asshole, and Izuku isn’t as strong as he thinks.

Notes:

I wanted to explore Bakugo being an asshole, so some events will be changed.

Chapter 1: Midoriya Izuku

Midoriya Izuku is quirkless.

He learns this truth at the tender age of 4. It’s long past when a normal person gets their quirk. Even the doctor says it’s impossible. His mother sighs; he doesn’t even cry. He just stares, blankly.

”Why me?”

He goes to school, and Kacchan doesn’t invite him to his lunch table anymore; “quirkless extras aren’t welcome.”

Another week passes. Kacchan won’t touch him now, and the teachers stop caring about him. He can’t go two feet in the corridors without getting tripped.

Kacchan calls him Deku, too. It hurts.

“Why, Kacchan, why?”

Another week, and that’s when the endless hell starts.

Kacchan— insists he call him Bakugo now— loves his quirk. Loves it so much, in fact, that he wants a test subject. He wants to see how powerful it can be, how much damage it can do. After all, the number 1 hero needs to take down powerful villains.

Izuku returns home with a gigantic scorch mark on his shoulder. His mother frets, so much so that it hurts him to see it. The lie slips out easily: ”Kacchan was careless, mom. He aimed in the wrong direction.”

After a lot of time, Izuku convinces mom not to call Auntie Mitsuki and get Kacchan to apologise. He won’t, anyway.

He learns to hide his burns and bruises. His mother no longer worries. It’s a relief. He learns to lie, too.

---

Midoriya Izuku doesn’t hurt. At least, not the way he used to.

He’s 8 when he realises it.

Scorch marks only flinch him if he sees the damage. He’s long past flinching at bruises. Indeed, they barely faze him.

He counts this as a win. Heroes have to be strong and bear injuries, right? He can’t let these small injuries faze him. Otherwise, what kind of hero would he be?

(A dead one, his brain supplies. You can’t be a hero without a quirk.)

He keeps his mouth shut. He has some suspicions whether his mom knows anything, but if she notices him concealing burns and bruises, she doesn’t say anything. His teacher barely bat an eye at Ka— Bakugo either. 

Its not the physical pain. It’s the insults that are hurled his way, daily.

(“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words never will.”)

(“Liar,” He breathes.)

He tries to brush them off, but unlike physical altercations, they just keep hurting.

 They whisper dark things. Jeer loudly. The noise penetrates his eardrums, day in, day out. It’s almost become a ceaseless voice in his head. He knows it’s fake, but the noise drones on.

Even when the bullies are silent.

---

 

Midoriya Izuku despises himself.

He comes to this realisation merely a year later.

He’s 9 when the gives up telling the voice to shut up. He’s dimly aware that it’s his mind, but he wants it to shut off, all the same.

(He’s vaguely aware that it’s impossible. That’s why he stops trying.)

The voice is part of him, now.

He only rarely succumbs to the voice; now, not only can he hide physical pain, he can hide emotional pain, too. Izuku counts this as a win. Heroes need to be strong and unafraid. He needs to train himself to be like that, too.

(Bakugo wonders why Deku is stone-faced in front of his insults. Something unfamiliar twists in his gut, and he decides that Izuku needs more. He wants a reaction from the useless Deku, not him to blank Bakugo out every day. So the burns grow in number.)

---

 

Midoriya Izuku faces the worst-best day of his life. His day shatters twice, and repairs itself.

(Bakugo was right. I’m a useless Deku who can’t even escape a low-level villain.)

(But All Might is here. Everything is ok.)

Then All Might shatters his dreams. The slime villain, Bakugo in its grasp, shatters his resolve. 

He considers pitching himself off on the way home. But when All Might shows up, bright and shining, giving him the chance of a 1000 lifetimes, Izuku doesn’t have the heart to say no. Isn’t this what he wanted?

He cries in gratitude. 

(Who would want to give a quirk like that to me? A useless, quirkless Deku?)

His day doesn’t repair itself. But the cracks aren’t as noticeable anymore. He considers it a win. The voice even quiets down a bit, allowing him so free time without the voice tainting it.

He looks at All Might’s training schedule, and he lets out a small smirk.

He can be a hero, right?

(“Wrong,” the voice whispers. “Wrong, wrong, wrong.”)

Chapter 2: Aizawa Shouta

Summary:

Aizawa is more observant than people give him credit for, and Midoriya Izuku, the plain boy with freckles, somehow stands out to him.

Shouta was never really impressed at all the students in the entrance exam. Most of them had powerful, flashy quirks that suited aboveworld fights, but were terrible for incapacitating real villains. 

Of course, Shouta didn’t judge them just by their quirk; he watched their combat strategy and how efficiently they took down robots.

Several participants stood out to him: Uraraka Ochako, who had a zero-gravity quirk, cleverly manipulating scrap metal to slam into the robots, or using her power to drop them from great heights. She would be very suited to rescue heroics.

The Iida kid had speed, and was incredibly good at utilising it, taking down robots in swift kicks without causing much collateral damage. 

Even the kid with the explosion quirk showed potential, although his loud and brash attitude scared others. He was undeniably skilled at using his quirk, explosions covering the area in smoke, preventing the robots from seeing him. He filed those 3 away for later examination.

Beside him, Nedzu grinned. “Already picking, Aizawa?”

”Shut up,” he mumbled into his scarf. “They show potential.”

Nedzu let out another one of those mischievous grins, releasing the 0-pointer.

He watched as the participants scattered; the Iida kid used speed to swerve out of the path of his lasers, rescuing some slower examines along the way. He’ll probably get some good rescue points from that, he thought idly.

Explosion kid was using controlled blasts to head for a denser area of robots, avoiding the 0-pointer entirely. 

But Uraraka... gravity girl was too slow, and the 0-pointer trudged on, rubble flying and pinning her under some stone. Her arms twisted painfully, but she couldn’t reach behind her to float the stones. Shouta winced in sympathy.

Just as he was going to intervene, Ectoplasm appeared beside him. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”

He turned to the screen again, watching as a green-haired kid stood torn nearby, looking between the 0-pointer and the nearest escape room, before shaking his head. Mind made up, the kid’s quirk pulsed in his legs, and he leapt up to face the giant robot.

And damn, Aizawa couldn’t help but exclaim, as the kid’s destructive quirk shredded the 0-pointer, it quickly collapsing into scrap metal and wires.

But now, he was falling. Aizawa squinted suspiciously as he saw the kid’s legs dangle unnaturally, and his arm being snapped at an odd angle.

Of course. Quirks, no matter how strong or weak, always came with drawbacks. His Erasure caused dry-eye, Ectoplasm’s clones were limited by stamina, and Mic’s voice hit everyone, including bystanders, making using it extremely tough. Was the drawback of this kid’s power quirk the breaking of whatever body part he used?

He was half out of the door towards the examination grounds when he heard it. Turning around, gravity girl had slapped freckle boy, slowing his descent with her quirk. He was gently set to the ground, just as the timer rang for the end of the entrance exam.

”AAAND IT’S OVER! THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING, FOLKS!” Mic’s voice rang throughout the grounds. “IF YOU NEED A LITTLE TOUCH UP, WAIT WHERE YOU ARE FOR RECOVERY GIRL!”

Shouta watched as the boy gushed over Recovery Girl. He even tried to stand up on his broken legs, only being dissuaded by Recovery Girl’s stern glare.

Some pain tolerance he had.

And he used his broken arm to hold the gummies, like nothing had ever happened. Shuuzenji sent him a disapproving glare, but he didn’t seem to be bothered. With a sigh, she gave him the gummies and instructed him to get a good rest at home.

Did his quirk come with increased pain tolerance? 

Nedzu chuckled. “I’ll assign Midoriya Izuku to your class, then.”

Damn that mind-reading rat.

“Just make sure I don’t get too many problem children. Save some for Vlad.”

Something told Shouta that this Midoriya Izuku was going to be one hell of a student, but he wasn’t sure why. 

Chapter 3: Dragon’s Breath

Summary:

Izuku enters UA, and the first inkling of what’s wrong appears.

In simple terms, Bakugo is not happy Izuku made it in, and Izuku has a defense system for a reason.

Notes:

Warning: Bakugo swears heavily. Otherwise, go ahead.

”Deku you fucking bastard!” Is the first phrase he hears as the door slams behind him.

There goes my luck. I’m sure this is the end of me.

“How the fuck did you get into UA? You quirkless, cheating bastard!” Sparks fly, and the next second he’s pinned against the wall, Bakugo’s hand at his throat.

Instantly, his body is on lockdown, and his limbs feel like ice. His mouth freezes over, eyes glaring at Bakugo with a cold, cold fire. He can’t move, even if he wants to.

”Let go, K-Bakugo.” He spits ice, sending the fiery Bakugo into shock.

”What did you say, you little—“

Finally, someone comes to his rescue, a certain blue-haired glasses boy with engines in his legs. 

“This is not appropriate behaviour for a hero-in-training! Bakugo, please stop antagonising others!” He pulls the snarling Bakugo off him, and the red-haired shark teeth kid immediately engages in a conversation with him, denying Bakugo any chance to pounce on Izuku again.

He takes a moment to regroup, feeling the ice-cold flow out of him slowly, leaving him tired and drained.

If you can’t handle a little confrontation what kind of hero are you

If this is what day 1 is going to be like, how is he going to survive UA?

At least Aizawa-sensei enters and restores order to the class. He’s not happy that he’s eyeing him and Bakugo, though. Did he see what happened earlier?

A chill runs through him. If he’s anything like his old teachers, Bakugo’s going to take advantage of it. He can’t let them know what’s going on.

The quirk test goes well enough, he supposes. He doesn’t come last in anything, and manages to snag a first in endurance, even over the shark tooth kid, who has a skin-hardening quirk. He would be asking questions if Bakugo’s burning glare wasn’t on his back.

He had never liked Izuku’s habit of analysing quirks.

Shark tooth kid (Kirishima, he comes to know), asks whether endurance is due to his quirk. He answers no, saying it’s just that he’s had a lot of training. Out of the corner of his eye, Bakugo stiffens. 

Stupid stupid why did you say that you should have let Kirishima win he suspects something now and it’s not good

It’s the last one now. They have to throw a ball as far as they can. Aizawa-sensei is studying him, and he hates the feeling of prickles on his back, knowing that someone is watching him. And knowing people will start whispering if he doesn’t use his quirk, he stokes the flames of One for All, and throws—

Yet the ball lands pathetically, a few meters away. He turns to find Aizawa-sensei’s eyes glowing, capture scarves snaking towards him, and he barely has time to utter an astonished “Eraserhead!” before being pulled in front of him. Aizawa-sensei raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t comment on how he knows his hero name.

His limbs lock up again, and his spine freezes over. He barely keeps his composure, ice running through his veins.

He’s going to hurt you again just like Kacchan he’s going to explode why do you have a quirk you useless Deku

”Your quirk’s backlash breaks your bones,” he comments. “You were about to sacrifice your entire arm. If you became a hero with that kind of quirk, you’d become a liability after one hit. You have to control this power. Now go, we don’t have all day.”

The suffocating scarves release him, and he instinctively reaches to rub his arms, reassured by the fact that there are no explosion marks or burns on them. Good. The ice melts, leaving a liquid pool of fire.

”A liability,” it echoes in his head.

He wants to prove them wrong. He is not useless.

(Bakugo knows otherwise. So does the voice.)

So instead of breaking his entire arm, he thinks his finger will be enough.

The ball goes flying, and lands just a hair farther than Bakugo’s throw. He barely suppresses a grin at the result. He turns to Eraserhead, voice steely.

”No one has to rescue me, Aizawa-sensei.”

Sensei’s face breaks out into an unnerving grin, eyes actually opening wide at Izuku’s declaration. A rush of pride fills him; he can prove he’s not useless. He’s not a liability. He’s on the path to become a hero.

But the pride dissipates just as quickly, as he hears the telltale sparks of nitroglycerin and instinctively freezes, eyes darting to Bakugo’s furious figure.

This is it he’s done with your bullshit you never should have come to UA in the first place

“Deku what the fuck was that?! You—“ Bakugo charges forward, but Aizawa-sensei’s capture scarves come flying out, holding the boy in place. Izuku’s heart still jumps up his throat, and he can feel his limbs beginning to lock again. He shakes off the feeling and catches the tail end of sensei’s words.

”—otherwise I will expel you. Ojiro, your turn.”

He slumps back in relief, purposely avoiding the pointed glare Bakugo’s throwing at him. He examines his broken finger disconcertingly, flexing it. It doesn’t hurt as much as it should. Perhaps it wasn’t broken, only bruised. Or maybe it’s just not painful enough for him to be clenching his teeth in pain. Either way, he’s rather glad that the backlash wasn’t as bad as before.

Maybe he’s already gotten used to it.

The test finishes, and Aizawa-sensei announces the results. He snags a 10th place, which is miles ahead of what he expected. The endurance test must have really boosted his score. The small, purple-headed boy isn’t so lucky though. He has sticky balls (gross) that he can pull from his head that stick to things, which is a fairly useful quirk all things considered.

However, Aizawa-sensei seems to have noticed the way he was ogling the girls. 

He’s expelled, in an unspectacular fashion. 

That should have been you you worthless Deku you don’t deserve UA

The voice just rolls over his ears. He’s long since learned to bear with it.

They’re sent home for the day, but Izuku has to head to Recovery Girl to get his finger healed. She’s suspicious of how nonchalant he acts, but doesn’t question it. Good. The less questions, the better. He heads home after, tired and sore.

He doesn’t know how he’ll cope with tomorrow. Supposedly, they’re doing a hero exercise. In that case, its possible they’ll be paired together, or against each other. 

He knows how to fight Bakugo: tiring his explosion usage, then turning on him. He’s never done it before, but he knows how to. He’s spent a long time thinking about it.

If he’s paired with Bakugo... he just needs to hope Bakugo cares more for his victory than torturing Izuku. Then he can run and hide, and let Bakugo do all the work. God forbid he steal a “kill” from him.

Izuku drifts off into a restless sleep, thoughts and strategies involving Bakugo flitting in and out of his dreams.

Chapter 4: Lion’s Claw

Summary:

Paired with Shinsou against Bakugo, Izuku strategises. Bakugo’s showdown is less fiery (and sportsmanlike) than he liked, and One For All finally starts to obey him.

Notes:

One For All will function differently! I want Full Cowl to be developed earlier for plot purposes, so please bear with me.

“Team A: Shinsou and Midoriya!”

He’s paired with that purple-haired kid? He seems to have a mental quirk, as he didn’t show a physical one in any of the quirk tests. He did snag a 3rd in endurance, behind him and Kirishima, so that must have boosted him out of expel range. His costume seemed to be dark purple-themed, gloves a nice shade of indigo. He idly notes that he also wears a mouth guard, like him. His costume was quite similar, but he’d padded his fingers and arm especially hard to lessen damage done by One for All backlash. Shinsou seemed to have the same idea at the knee and elbows. Hmm... maybe he should consider adding that too...

”Figure out my quirk yet?” Shinsou saunters up to him, smirking. He inadvertently blushes, caught muttering again.

”Uh... y-you do seem to have a mental one. For all I know you could be an empath, but if those b-bags under your eyes are any indication, you either have i-insomnia or a q-quirk that’ss keeping you up at night. Future sight, maybe?”

Shinsou lets out a soft, lilting laugh, breaking Izuku out of his nervous reverie. “I was joking! Chill, dude.” 

“So... what is your quirk?”

Shinsou’s express hardens. “My quirk is... Brainwashing.” He seems to slowly roll the words over his tongue before speaking. “If someone replies to me, I can... control them. Only one at a time, though.”

He senses a hidden history behind that expression, but why bother commenting? He wouldn’t like anyone to pry at his past, either.

”Shinsou-kun, that’s so cool! Imagine all the hostage situations you could instantly solve, especially if you become an underground hero! That must be what the mouth guard thing is for, to change your voice right? Does your quirk work through signed languages? If so, it’s really powerful!” He plasters on a smile, but his words are genuine. He desperately wishes to have a quirk like that. Imagine how easily he could get Bakugo to leave him alone...

Bakugo would hate you more you should have been grateful you didn’t have a quirk you useless wannabe

“Well, I don’t exactly know how to respond to that... I’ve never tried sign language before. Yes, the mouth guard is a voice changer.” He slips on the voice changer, clicks a button, and Izuku’s excited voice comes chattering out of Shinsou’s mouth. “Does your quirk work through signed languages?”

He’s practically starry-eyed at this point, but refrains from showing his stupid, clingy behaviour, why are you like this what’s wrong with—

Shinsou interrupts his thought process. “Anyway, I think we’re paired up against Team D. I’m thinking surprise attacks will work best against Bakugo and that Iida kid. We can’t win in a straight on fight.”

Izuku feels his breath being knocked out of him, barely suppressing his panic. “We’re paired against B-Bakugo?”

”Yeah.” Shinsou seems oblivious to his barely-concealed panic. “Strategy time?”

---

 ”Team Heroes! You may enter the building! Timer starts... NOW!”

Shinsou puts on his voice changer, muffling his voice to avoid detection. “Ok, are you sure you can deal with it on your own?”

”Yeah,” Izuku whispers back, voice barely existent at all. “Iida must have hidden it in a big room to take a-advantage of his quirk, so check floors 2, 4, 5, and 8. I’ll join you once Ka- B-Bakugo is dealt with.”

At Shinsou’s dubious expression, he sighs. “Fine. Divide and conquer?”

As they creep up to the 2nd floor, Shinsou gives him an apologetic look. “I just didn’t want to leave you alone.”

”U-understandable. When you hear his-s-s footsteps, hide, ok?”

Little did Shinsou know, underneath that calm facade (apart from a barely noticeable stutter) was an incredibly panicked Izuku, heart threatening to beat out of his chest.

You can’t beat Bakugo you quirkless loser his quirk is stronger and he’s much better than you 

Suddenly, heavy thumping echoes from above. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, DEKU!”

Shinsou casts a worried look, darting into one of the side rooms. Izuku winks at him with one eye, then begins treading lightly around the corridor. Bakugo was bound to—

Bang. 

That was quick, he thinks. Then—

“THERE YOU ARE, DEKU!”

The explosions are right behind him. Did Bakugo drop from the ceiling? What in the—

He turns around and narrowly evades his grip, rolling forward to get behind him and land a hit—

“NOT SO FAST!”

Bakugo’s explosions singe his clothes as he dodges again, smoke starting to fill the air. Pure instinct is what keeps him moving, years of experience with cataloguing Bakugo’s favourite hit points. Mostly the arm and the stomach area.

He has to use One For All, but how? Bakugo’s clearly upped his stamina, and he only has one shot to end it. Or he could..

There.

Bakugo’s twisting to face him again, but instead of dodging he lunges under him and shoves his elbows hard into Bakugo’s solar plexus, followed by two kicks to his knees. 

Bakugo reels back. “you little SHIT! QUIRKLESS IDIOT! YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN ME NOW!?”

Izuku shoves down the cold pit of fear, and doesn’t give Bakugo time to recover, darting forward again landing behind him, shoving him hard onto the ground—

Bakugo’s hand twists, and the smell of nitroglycerin begins to permeate the air—

Shinsou abruptly darts out of his hiding place, capture tape at the ready. “Hey, Bakugo, your ego so big it could put a hole in this ground!”

”WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU PIECE OF—“

”Take out your earpiece and sit on the floor, stop using your quirk,”  Shinsou’s quirk activates, immediately ending the fight. Izuku is a little singed from the fight, but generally unharmed.

”You good, Midoriya?” Shinsou seems only half-present, probably due to the strain of controlling someone like Bakugo. “Injured?”

”Nah, I-I’m good.” Izuku is thankful his voice doesn’t shudder or catch on the way out. He’s not sure what Shinsou thinks of him right now.

Weak you can’t even face him without almost dissolving from fear Shinsou must be disappointed

Shinsou gags, staring at Bakugo in disgust. “This guy has one radioactive mind, I tell you; I do not want to be anywhere near him after this.”

Izuku can only wonder what he heard. “You and me both, S-Shinsou-kun. Anyway, let’s get Iida now?”

Shinsou picks up the earpiece, grimacing slightly. He tosses it in a clumsy throw towards Izuku, getting to work on tying Bakugo up.

Izuku puts it in his ear, and Iida’s concerned shouting immediately makes him flinch back.

”Bakugo! I told you not to go off alone! Where are you!? We are supposed to be guarding the bomb!”

He switches the mic off and walks to Shinsou. “I-I have an idea.”

Shinsou raises an eyebrow, finishing the knot. “What?”

Izuku nearly flinches at the (imagined) accusatory tone in his voice. “We could use... your voice changer? And tell Iida false information?”

Shinsou grins. “I got plenty of ammo to work with from just now. Gimme a sec.” Slipping the voice changer on, he presses a button again, and Bakugo’s (unusually soft) voice comes out. “This is really weird,” says Baku-Shinsou, in a tone he has never heard him use before. 

Izuku flicks on the mic. Shinsou takes a deep breath, and begins yelling at Iida, who’s still droning on. “FUCKING COWARDS. FOUR EYES, YOU SHUT UP! THE LITTLE SHITS WENT DOWN THE THE BASEMENT AND NOW FUCKING DEKU IS AVOIDING ME! SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

Izuku does a double take at the venomous words, but once the mic goes off (Iida just being silent, apart from heavy breathing) he can’t stop giggling at Shinsou’s act. Shinsou looks dubious, but quickly lets out a small grin of his own.

”Anyway, we should get going now.” Izuku eyes the tied up Bakugo in fear, giggles receding. “Bakugo couldn’t have been far from the bomb when he heard him, and we’re on the 2nd floor now, so I imagine it’s the big room on the north side of the 4th floor, since his footsteps came from the north. Also, the north side houses the only staircase down from the 4th floor, so it has to be there.”

Shinsou looks vaguely lost, but follows his command nonetheless. (Since when did he become the leader?) 

“I’ll keep him under for as long as I can, but I’ll have to release him if we want to try... brainwashing Iida.” Izuku nods, jogging up the steps.

They jog in comfortable silence for a while, occasionally slowing down to catch their breath.

(He would be so much more fit if he wasn’t always riddled with burns, infections, and bruises preventing him from exercising. All Might’s training helped, but he is still very out of shape.)

If you’d just developed a quirk none of this would have happened you fucking idiot

He clenches his hands into fists, stopping a few feet away from the target room. Already, they can hear Iida’s “villain monologue”.

”That probably means we can brainwash him easily. He’ll speak to you if you talk, but I don’t know if monologuing counts as a reply for your quirk.”

”Then we’d better distract him so he can’t monologue.” Shinsou exhales, detaching the capture tape from his belt. “Unfortunately, that mean you have to fight again.”

”I’m fine,” Izuku replies, a little too curtly. Shinsou’s eyebrow furrow in suspicion, but he ignores the remark, stating matter-of-factly, “Same strategy as Bakugo?”

Izuku nods, but Shinsou hesitates, calling him back. “Can’t Iida move the bomb with his quirk? He has a speed quirk, right?” 

You fucking moron you need to take that into account as well you could’ve failed if it weren’t for him

“If I keep him occupied, even if he’s moving the bomb around he’ll probably reply. Let’s go.” Without further hesitation, Izuku dives into the room, comforted (and slightly unnerved) by the familiar thrum of One For All under his veins, threads ready for Izuku to pull on at a moment’s notice.

Izuku doesn’t register much once the fight begins. Iida is literally the speed of light, darting back and forth and trying to land lightning-speed kicks on him. His instincts have been finely honed, however, and he narrowly evades most blows, letting Iida tire himself out.

Iida is huffing now, and Izuku realises he’d forgotten to cue in Shinsou for the brainwashing. Iida is way too tired to reply at this point, so he needs to take him down without Shinsou.

Great fucking job

He tugs lightly at the threads of One For All, feeling the embers begin to infuse his body. Then comes the creaking of his bones under the strain of it, and he quickly lets go, disappointed. He needs a way to control it.

”Your fingers!” Shinsou’s voice jars him out of his reverie. He sidesteps a kick, recalling the quirk test.

He doesn’t need an entire limb, especially inside the building. One finger would suffice.

 He tugs gently at One For All again, bottlenecking the roaring river of power to his index finger.

(What about Iida’s speed? He could get behind you.)

Izuku grits his teeth, and his other index finger lights up green and red. Pointing in opposite directions, his only warning is “Shinsou-kun, get out of the way NOW!”

He doesn’t have time to check whether Shinsou is out of the way because Iida is coming at him and he is going to hurt him—

Bang.

Wind wooshes from both sides of him, knocking Iida out instantly. More importantly, however, he can hear Bakugo’s footsteps stomping loudly, approaching the carnage of the room he’d just created. 

“SHITTY TRICKS FROM A USELESS DEKU!” Bakugo’s voice rings out, little explosions accompanying them. 

Izuku feels fear curdle in his stomach, something white-hot and simultaneously cold stabbing through his chest. 

You could never have beaten them you useless quirkless Deku

He’s on the verge of a panic attack now, only sounds reaching his ears the threatening pop-pop-pop of nitroglycerin explosions. 

He will never forgive you for this why did you get in the way of him being a hero

“Midoriya? Midoriya!”

His eyes are glassy with unshed tears, but he vaguely makes out Shinsou’s purple figure, hand clutching his shoulder. 

“FUCKING DEKU!” Shinsou startles, and that’s all the time Bakugo needs to land a heavy, gauntleted swing at his head.

Shinsou’s furious voice (Don’t you lay another hand on him!) and vaguely, Aizawa-sensei’s cold fury (Suspension, 3 days. Now leave before I tie you up and send you to Nedzu’s office myself) blend into one, as the world slips out from underneath him.