Broken Soul

Chapter 8

Bakugou stood in front of Aizawa's desk, his mind in a different place. He was in shock. But, it was understandable. He had, quite obviously, pushed Deku to the point where he asked a villain for help.

But, in the moment he had talked to Deku, it seemed that something seemed to be getting into the other's head. Manipulation, maybe.

Aizawa looked up from his work, finally acknowledging the child in front of him. Bakugou seemed to be zoned out, thinking about something deeply. Yet again, he had been doing that a lot recently. Since the U.S.J attack, to be precise.

He stood up, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "What can I do for you, problem child?" He asked.

"I.. um, might have found out where Izuku was." Bakugou muttered, loud enough for Aizawa to hear as the blonde averted his eyes to the floor.

"Where is he?"

Silence.

"Is he in trouble?"

Bakugou looked up, "I-I don't know." He fumbled with his sleeves nervously, "He was with the villains. Taking notes for them." He took in a sharp breath, "I talked to him. I nearly got through to him. I nearly got him back, dammit!" He wiped a furious tear from his eye.

Villains?, Aizawa thought, Izuku's a villain? He sighed before refocusing his attention on Katsuki, "Anything else? You said you didn't know if he was okay."

He looked up at his teacher, "Mhm.. he was listening to what I was saying but then his whole mood changed like there was a voice telling him the opposite in his head. Like, manipulation, I think."

Manipulation? Well, Shigaraki made sense now. But, manipulating children to be your personal slaves? That was just pure evil. But.. who could?

No.

He can't be alive.

If he were alive, and did manipulate two children into being his personal slaves on the battlefield, then maybe he could help them. Give them the help they never received. Help them see that not all heroes are bad.

But, he'd first have to discuss it over with Tsukauchi and Nezu. Those two would be able to help. Well, if Nezu wasn't planning World Domination, that is.

"There was one thing he said." Bakugou began, catching Shota's attention, "He said that All For One saved him."

Saved him? All For One WAS alive?

That was a lot harder to heal over. All For One was manipulating him.. them into thinking he saved them from whatever disastrous background they had.

"Thank you for the information, Bakugou." Aizawa began, "I'll ask Detective Tsukauchi and Principal Nezu to help me out on this. This may be just more than a mere case. This may be a full-blown rescue mission."

Midoriya lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't forget Bakugou's words. They just wouldn't leave him alone. They just wouldn't leave his mind. They just wouldn't disappear at all.

I care about you. I always did. But, despite being miles ahead of you, I always felt behind you. Inferior even.

When I heard you were missing, I thought it was my fault. No, I knew it was partly my fault. So, I looked everywhere for you. I joined search teams, read through multiple articles, anything to find any clue about where you were.

It was hard to understand that the person who had tormented him all these years, tried to find him. Tried to find him even when the police announced he was dead. Tried to find him even when the case was closed.

But, yet, as much as he wanted to leave, at the same time he didn't. All For One had saved him. It wouldn't be nice to leave after someone saved you from something you considered 'pure misery'.

The door opened. He looked up, expecting to see Kurogiri checking on him like always.

But, it was a different person.

Shigaraki stood there. He was wearing a black hoodie that looked too big for him, black jeans much too similar to the ones Izuku now wore. His hair was messier, almost spiking up like Bakugou's.

But, the most surprising part was his eyes. Those crimson eyes observed Midoriya. They were full of worry, which was unusual for the villainous leader.

"You weren't ready, were you?"

The tall, blue-haired male walked over with a slight limp due to his still recovering leg. He sat on the end of Izuku's bed, his eyes focused on the greenette.

"W-well.. " Shigaraki raised an eyebrow, "N-no.. sorry, did I mess it up?" Izuku asked, hoping this wasn't him getting kicked out of the league after finally considering them family.

"No. It's just, from where I was standing, you seemed really uneasy up there." He explained.

"O-oh!" Izuku realised.

Tomura looked at him dead in the eye, "Look, what I'm saying is, if you aren't ready, you don't have to force yourself to go out there. I won't think any less of you if you don't. Kurogiri won't. We will accept if you don't feel ready enough to attack a school as big as U.A."

Izuku felt a warm liquid running down his cheeks. He hadn't realised he was crying, but it made sense. Growing up alone, you don't get this comfort often. It was only right for him to cry when he received it.

"T-thanks, Tomura." Izuku said shakily, as he wiped his tears.

Suddenly, a pair of arms engulfed him in a hug. New tears brimmed in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his brother-figure.

"You'll always be accepted here, Izuku." Tomura whispered in his ear, "Don't forget that."