And to think I originally hoped I could fit this entire arc into "Spoonful of Cinnamon." Lol!
Goes to show I never improve when it comes to judging the length of an arc ahead of time.
===============================

"Pretty intense security system you have here..." All Might muttered as he drove along slowly. Almost at a complete stop, his car followed many others up to a very secure gate. A thick, military-grade wall much like UA's surrounded the growing city of Deika. His nerves were made even more uneasy as armed guards wearing bullet proof vests approached the vehicle.

"Are you two residents of this place?" One man asked after the retired hero rolled down his window.

"No.." Yoichi chuckled softly, pointing over his shoulder at the woman. "Just this lady here in the passenger seat."

The young man tore the sunglasses off of his face, wide eyes exposed. "Wait, is that you, All Might??" A faint smile crawled onto the young man's face. The retired blond smiled back, eased a little to meet a fan. The young man forced himself to be serious again, clearing his throat as he pulled up his tablet. "I'm sorry, but unregistered heroes, even retired ones, aren't allowed past the gate."

"I understand." Lying. "I'm just here to drop Mrs. Midoriya off. Inko... Midoriya Inko."

The guard tapped around on his tablet until his upper half suddenly perked up. "That checks out! Did you have a fun evening, ma'am?"

Inko nodded. "Yes. Thank you." All Might couldn't tell if the woman was nervous on his or her own behalf. Either way, it made letting her go just a little more difficult.

"Alright! You'll have to turn the car around at this next fork before the gate. Mrs. Inko, mind stepping out and following me?"

"Y-yes.." The woman jumped into action.

"Don't forget your purse." All Might leaned over to grab the purse and hand it to the woman.

"Thanks.." She took it swiftly. As calm as Inko was trying to be...Toshinori could sense something was a little off.

His eyes stayed on the woman and the young man who escorted her until they disappeared behind the gate, tapping the steering wheel agitatedly as he was forced to veer left and out of the way.

'Sure hope it's just me.... But something feels a little off about that place...'

----------

Inko walked alone through the neighborhood, the sun's light falling to a close behind the wall. The place was far less cluttered than UA's refugee center had been, but that came at the cost of there being so little sense of community. The suburban neighborhood was awfully quiet. The people originally living here were all so nice to take in the refugees, but that also meant it was the original residents who held power over the newcomers' lives.

Mrs. Inko was lucky enough to be taken alone into the house of a very well off woman. A top reporter who apparently had a soft spot for the mother and her story. Sometimes, the young woman would even go on about wishing she had a loving mother like Mrs. Inko.

...Inko highly doubted that.... There was nothing great, or special about what she did. In fact...she was pretty used to being down on herself for never before believing in her son; and before that she would always blame herself for giving birth to a child born without a quirk. But..if this young woman insisted she was the inspirational type, then guess there was no point in arguing with her...

Inko stopped at the large, modern home of the woman. Almost every window was lit with warm light from inside. She hesitated.. then rung the doorbell.

The door was almost immediately swung open. There the young woman stood. Pale blue skin, violet hair, green and black eyes. She smiled broadly as her eyes landed on the green haired woman.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Inko! You came a little later than expected! Did you have fun?!" She spoke cheerily. Inko calmed a little, seeing such a kind face, and covered her mouth as she yawned.

"..Yeah, just a little tired is all."

"Well, come on in, then! I tried that recipe you taught me and I think it worked!! Your cooking really does wonders, you know that?!"

"Mhmhm... Thank you, but it really isn't much. I can't even use the rare spices Hisashi brings me anymore.." Inko slipped through the door as the woman opened it more to allow her inside. The younger one trotted back toward the kitchen in her high heels as the mother slid off her sweater and hung it by the door. As she entered the kitchen, the woman was excitedly scooping some of what she had made onto a plate.

"You know, you really need to stop being so down on yourself." Handing Inko the plate of rice, veggies, and chicken.

Inko sighed as she took it from her. "...Hmm, yeah, maybe. ...Wish it were as easy as it sounded."

"Well maybe you can start by appreciating the things you are good at! Like cooking and bowling!"

"That's a good idea--" Bowling..? She...when did she ever mention she was going bowling to her housemate, Chitose Kizuki? After falling frozen for a few seconds, Inko forced herself to calm down. '...Maybe I mentioned it in a previous conversation. Yeah. That must be it.'

"Sorry I can't accompany you for dinner tonight. I have a lot of work to catch up on!" Stepping backwards to exit the kitchen.

"Oh! No worries. You don't have to put taking care of me over your work."

"You're too kind! Ta-ta~! You'll have to cook with me sometime again! I can really use the lessons!" Vanishing with her own plate of food in hands, the younger woman left Inko all to herself in this big...empty house.

...It was eerily quiet. She needed something to fill the time, and the noise. There wasn't much to clean, but after eating dinner, which wasn't all too bad for a beginner, Inko grabbed the broom and started to sweep around the place. The open windows revealed nothing but a pit of blackness all around the house, which made the woman feel even more alone.

It was kind of depressing, now that she thought about it. Usually, when she was feeling lonely, Inko would invite old friends over like Mitsuki and Serii. But, because of the rules set by the owners of their temporary homes, gatherings, even of the simple kind, weren't allowed unless the home owner was there to witness. Made things...difficult. Especially for someone like Mrs. Inko, who lived alone now that her son had moved out.

She didn't want to be that person...but part of her wondered if this was intentional.

After she had cleaned up the floors of any and all dust she could find, the woman set the broom and dustpan aside and looked around for other things to do.

It was rude of her to be suspicious of the very kind woman offering her a home to live in. Insulting, even. So she hoped to make up for this silent offense by cleaning up and doing chores here and there to help however she could.

An hour or so after arriving, Inko decided to prepare for bed. She could always clean tomorrow, after all. Not like she had much of a job around here. The refugees weren't allowed to continue their businesses here either..meaning they often took it upon themselves instead to takes care of the families who were kind enough to offer them homes...kinda like slaves, now that she thought about it.

No no! She shouldn't think such things. These people just wanted to be nice while keeping things neet and orderly.

She hoped that was the case.

...

While getting ready for bed, standing before her bathroom mirror, Inko dug through her purse for her chapstick. She swore she had it earlier. Ah! It was... in a different pocket than she normally put it in. '...Maybe I was in a hurry and put it in the wrong place?' No. She knew that wasn't the case. She should really stop doubting herself and questioning her own memories. Something she noticed herself doing a lot lately.

Okay... So, maybe she was now a little too suspicious to let things slide.

Inko dumped the contents of her purse into the sink to find out why things had been rearranged. After digging around in the fabric, literally turning the whole thing inside-out, she found a small device latched onto the inside cloth, suck between the inner and outer layer of her purse. Using some tweezers and small scissors from her purse, the woman cut the device out and examined it closely.

Her eyes widened as she realized what this was.

A tracker. Not only that, but a tracker-microphone combo! The woman's heart rate increased tenfold. 'S-surely I'm just misinterpreting it! Kizuki wouldn't go through such lengths to-- surely there is a good explanation for this!' But there wasn't. Not a thing could justly explain why someone would do this without having some seriously suspicious motives.

Every one of her suspicions through the past week came back to haunt her. Suddenly, this place didn't feel so safe anymore.

Inko rushed down the stairs. She had no real plans other than to get the heck out of here! All the lights were turned off when she ran to the front door. She jiggled the doorknob. Didn't budge. Twisted the lock. Didn't budge.

"What?? Why is this locked on the inside!??"

"What's the matter, Ms. Inko?" Tilting her head, the young woman and owner of this house leaned her hip against the entryway wall. She flicked on the switch to a light behind her, toying with a small object between her fingers. "I thought you liked it here.." pouting.

"Kizuki!" The mother's brows furrowed. "Did you put that tracker in my purse?!"

"Tracker?? What tracker? I wouldn't do that! You're like a mother to me, after all!" That didn't do the trick this time. Inko's usually round and passive eyes were now narrowed, clearly stating her distrust. "Hhhh, alright, alright, so what if I did? It was with good intentions! I just wanted to make sure you were safe!"

"Noo! You just wanted to spy on me and my son!"

The young woman's shoulders dropped. "Did I...though?" She pushed herself off the wall via hips and sauntered slowly toward the front door, boxing Inko in. "Last I checked, you were the one running to me for a place to stay... So why then would you suddenly be so scared of me trying to help out~?" The object twisting between her fingers was held out beside her, revealed to be a key.

Inko gasped and reached out for the key, using her quirk to snatch it. Once the small metal object was between her hands, it exploded! "Aa!" The woman shrieked as stinging pain encompassed her palms and fingers. Blood dripped from her hands and onto the floor, along with the tears that leaked from the older woman's eyes. "What?!"

"Awwwh..~ I'm sorry it had to come to this, Inko. I really am." The older woman twitched as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Her hands still stung so bad! They were now caked in crimson blood. No way could she escape on her own now! "..But I can't let you leave... So either you cooperate with me.." Suddenly, the hand shoved her shoulder into the door. Inko's head shot up, wide eyes staring up at the blue skinned lady in horror. "..or I will be forced to make a lot more than that little key of yours explode~"

----------

He didn't wake to the crashing of glass, nor the muffled yelps and shouts. No, he wasn't even stirred as the scent of blood filled the room. It took a while. A moment of silent stillness, before a noise at last shrieked loud enough for him to hear.

"DOCTOR!! SOMEBODY HELP HIM!!!"

Bakugo jerked up, finding himself trapped in a webbing of blankets. It took him a moment of fighting his own sheets before he was at last freed. And by then he was already being diligently watched by a man with two spiky black buns of hair sitting there on the floor on his knees, cradling the pink haired caretaker in his arms. Bakugo blinked a few waking times, trying to piece together what happened.

"THE H### ARE YOU!? GET THE F### AWAY FROM PINKY!" The blond's eyes shot over to the window, which was shattered and open to the chilly night air. All the blood on the floor was starting to make him go crazy too!

The stranger's arms trembled as they cradled the limp pink haired boy. He, with the most distraught and regretful expression a person could imagine, tucked his chin into the crook of Yuji's neck as he pulled him even closer. He started to rock there slowly. Then he realized Bakugo might be of some help. His head jerked up again. "You there! Get someone who can heal him!!"

Already full of that same idea, Bakugo was on his feet and running to the door. He, however, could not open the rounded door knob..as much as he tried. "D###it!!" The teen freaked. Almost as much as the stranger pressing Yuji's chest in an attempt to contain the blood.

All was looking mighty grim...until those strange slits under Yuji's eyes opened wide. Dark striping designs appeared on the boy's skin, a grin sliding onto his face. "Ughh, I was afraid it would come to this.."

"What!?" Bakugo spun around at the sound of another new voice.

Yuji's body smirked the blond's way, two new, smaller eyes joining that face. "Hey, kid! I've been enjoying your pathetic suffering as of lately!.. So keep it up! ...And for that alone.." The boy shoved the black haired stranger away and jolted to his feet. "I'll let this body live a little longer! Eh??" Stretching casually, the strange new presence inside of Yuji's body watched with endless amusement as Bakugo predictably took offense to that.

"HEY, I AM NOT WEAK AND PATHETIC! YOU HEAR ME!?"

"Sure sure.. So anyways. Wanna fight me and find out just how pathetic you are~?" Raising his fists casually, he got Bakugo to back off. "HAHAHAHA! You're more bloated than a starving puppy!!" He rested his hands on his knees, that joke a real knee slapper in his eyes. The demon's four eyes stared ahead at the blond one with pure, unfiltered, head tilting joy. "I would torture that stubborn look off your face, but, eh, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, now do I~?" Yuji's body loosely held both arms out on either side of him, dipping his upper half into somewhat of a bow. "Until we meet again, king of the weak~" Bakugo growled, about to shout something else. But then the two smaller eyes closed. The tattoos dissipated, and Yuji's smile slipped away. He stumbled once returned to normal, that dark haired stranger standing behind him to catch the teen before his fall.

"...Ugh... What on earth happened, exactly..?" Yuji, with his normal, though tired voice now, rubbed his face. Bakugo's head tilted a little, confusion rising in him again as he noticed Yuji had stopped bleeding under his shirt. The stranger stepped up behind the pink haired one, embracing him tightly from behind. Yuji's entire body stiffened, eyes going wide.

"Uhhh.. who is that?"

Whispering hoarsely, "I don't know."

----------

"I'm your what now??!" Yuji exclaimed. Both boys sat on their respective beds, the elder presently seated on the pink haired one's bed, arms loosely wrapped around him still. ..The whole scene kinda looked a lot like a girl's sleepover...except with a lot more blood and glass shards everywhere.

Bakugo's brows furrowed. "Hold up.. So you're telling me that you came here to kill Pinky...only to then find out at the last second that he was your brother??"

"Half brother, technically." The stranger answered. "My name is Choso, by the way. Half human. Half cursed spirit.

"Wait, so am I like a half cursed spirit too??"

Choso laid his chin on Yuji's shoulder, staring now with a bored look down at the floor. "..I suppose." Yuji attempted to wiggle free, but the elder held on tighter. The teen was also suffering from blood loss fatigue, so much of his strength had been zapped from him. "I found out a few months ago that my father -- a terrible monster who forced my mother to have my brothers and I as part of his experiment -- had the ability to swap bodies with whoever he pleases. From that, I can surmise he somehow wound up in the body of one of your parents before your conception, making you my half brother."

"Wait so then how do you even know we're related??" Yuji knocked the side of his head against elder's, trying to get him to back off.

"...It's part of my ability.. I can sense when my brothers are about to die... When they did die.. I should say... You killed my other two brothers, remember?"

Yuji's face paled for a moment. "....Wait, the green and, uh, skimpily clad one??"

"Exactly." The man sighed, melting a little more against the youngest. "Though.. now.. I see that was all part of my father's plan... Tricking me into killing my last brother...making me truly alone. ..And to think he almost succeeded." Choso shuttered a little at the thought.

Bakugo's concerned staring was well justified. This certainly was no normal looking person. Yes, he had the skin, hair, and complexion of a man, but there was also a weird aura about him that one couldn't explain. His long hair was all tied up into two of the sloppiest high-buns known to man, black hairs jutting out at every conceivable point. A light tan robe, which was excessively baggy and loose, covered everything from his arms to his legs, closing off snugly around the ankles. Over that was a dark purple scarf and v-shaped vest, which was also not the slimmest fitting to his form. In all, he looked like a walking blast from the past. His eyes were a dark violet and was that..purple eyeliner around his eyes?? Strangest of all was the black, rectangular tattoo-like strip stretching over the bridge of his nose.

"Not to bug too much," Liar. He was actively trying to pry the elder's arms off of him. "but how old are you again?? And what's up with this dad of yours??"

"I'm not entirely sure how old I am, though I can assume it has to be somewhere between two-hundred fifty and two-hundred seventy years or so. I don't know how old our father is, though I can assume he is over five hundred." Bakugo in the back gasped at that. The blond always tended to find bizarre family drama interesting...but this was getting a little too crazy for even him to believe! But this Choso guy seemed pretty sure everything he was saying was the truth! And that's all that mattered at the moment, really. ...Too bad Bakugo had no real way of helping the younger one out. He'd already tried yelling and kicking but that did no good! Yuji was at a loss too, slowly fighting less and less against this stranger's persistent hugs. For now, he could only pretend he believed what this guy was saying until given actual evidence. ..This theory did make a little sense... Since it was said that any past "vessels" for Sukuna were instantly killed under the weight of his power..maybe being part spirit himself could explain why he was the exception?

Whatever the case, this was a mess for just about everyone involved. The room itself included.

Yuji suddenly chuckled. "You know, if I had a nickel for every time some maniac tried to kill me, only to have a sudden turn-around, claim I am their brother, and then defend me with their life, I'd have two nickels!.. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice!" His attempt to throw some humor into the silence but failed terribly.

Several minutes of awkward silence later, the half, human, half whatever inhaled sharply. Unhooking his arms from around the teen, "Alright, I know what I must do now."

"Hm??" Yuji's torso twisted around once freed. The elder slid off of the bed easily.

"You are here defending the weak, correct?"

"Um..." Side-eyeing Bakugo worriedly. "Yes?" He received a growl for that.

"Then, as your eldest brother, it will be my duty to defend you and your post as well."

"Pfsshh, noh, I should be fine-!"

"-I insist." Standing, towering over the teen, the dark haired one glared down with such intensity. It was made painfully clear he had no intention to back down.

"...M.. okay then." Yuji shrugged. He really didn't have anything else to add here. Good thing too, because the stranger took his leave through the window from which he came shortly after, leaving the two teenagers at last alone.

Bakugo's eyes shifted from the window back onto Yuji again. "Alright, now you have to tell me how the h### you got here! Start from the start too!" Bakugo shifted to laying on his belly, propping his torso up with a pillow, as the tired young man begrudgingly started his tale from the very beginning.

"Hhhhh, so basically~ I was in this shady supernatural club at school to skip homework and the other club members found this weird, icky cursed object that turned out to be a finger! Once released, the cursed object summoned a few spirits to attack my friends and I had to run in and save them. I ended up having to eat the cursed finger, since Fushiguro -- long story -- said it'd give me powers to fight them off! What he didn't tell me, however, was that through eating it I would become a vessel to the 'King of Curses' himself! And blablabla, everyone wanted to execute me but then this one Gojo guy showed up and convinced the elders to wait a little until I had eaten all the cursed guy's fingers!.. Things were going alright, I was making friends, fighting wacko monsters! ..losing friends... -Until Gojo suddenly lost his quirk, meaning that I no longer had a super powerful guy protecting me! So, very much like earlier this night, I suddenly woke up to a sword slicing me up!" Pointing at the stitch marks across his collar bone. "I fought for my life, my friends joined in, and then at the last moment, Sukuna had to step in."

Staring down at his lap, Yuji sighed, this time a little sadder. "...I.. All I ever wanted was to live a long life, where one day I could die peacefully, surrounded by all the people I loved..." He stroked a hand over his blanket, not all that surprised when his vision started to get a little blurry. Voice weaker now, "...but all I ever seem to do is put the ones I care about in even more danger..like I'm cursed to live miserably... and take everyone I care about down with me..." He sniffed, wiping a tear aside. "...I still don't know if my friends are okay back at Jujitsu High... They gave it their everything trying to protect me and I--" Now, more of the waterworks came, Yuji obsessed with rubbing the tears away. "I couldn't even save them." A weak sob tore through. He hissed sharply at himself to stop, which his body followed along with scarily well. Bakugo just stared in mild wonder, knowing in that moment exactly how he felt. Yuji sat up a little straighter and corrected his breathing before speaking softly again. "...I should go find someone to help clean this mess up..." Bakugo nodded. Itadori stood and ambled toward the door, careful not to step in the pool of his own blood.

"Wait-" Bakugo rolled around to sit up again.

Halting in front of the door and peaking over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

Bakugo sat there somewhat reserved, head tipping after the other looked down on him. "Your grandpa... How many were with him when he died..?"

Yuji turned slowly, inhaling hoarsely. That same, vaguely sad look returned to his eyes. "...Just me."

Bakugo's head jerked up, holding his breath as he stared the other teen down. But he saw no lies in those eyes. "...Mh..." After Yuji left, the blond sat there, still, staring blankly at the rest of the room.

He didn't really have a clue how he felt on the inside... but his heart hinted through a faint warmth. As well as some pain; empathy for the other teen's sorrow. ..And some dread regarding his own potential..lonely fate.

Mean as it sounded.. it was nice knowing the struggles of his caretaker. Someone who could so easily be perceived as the flawless, piece of perfection with no faults.

Even he had his struggles.

...And a pretty honorable dream as well...

Bakugo wiggled against the pillows in his bed, staring up at the ceiling now as voices outside started to stir.

...If he was on his death bed..right now... who would be there? Who would be there who genuinely wanted to be there? And people who he wanted to be there? Because he pushed away so many people throughout his life. He made countless enemies, and even more victims of his wrath. ...So, was there anyone out there who was still willing to stick by his side? Someone who HE cared about as much as they cared about him??

...Why could he never care about people? Why did the thought of letting someone in bring him so much pain..? Why couldn't he just be normal?!

Through the tears in his eyes, Bakugo saw figures rushing in to observe the mess. But that wasn't what was on his mind...

He...even as the weak, pathetic person he was..at least had the power to change this. ..It wasn't too late. He COULD change. ..But how??

The blurry figure of Yuji appeared leaning over him in bed, talking to another as he stared at the blond. Bakugo reached out to him with his little stub arm.

...Let this be his start.

----------

"Uhhh, hey Gojo, can you maybe not be so fruity with the customers?"

"But they like it though~!" Gojo smiled, now sporting a baggy tan suit that didn't fit his frame quite right, as well as a light blue button-up shirt under the suit and navy blue tie.

"No.." Reigen gave up on that for now, picking up the phone that rang on his desk. "Spirits and Such! An exorcism job?? Oh, why, of course!.. I'll send one of my men over right now!" After hanging up, "Serizawa, I thought you said you exorcised the ghost in the park!!"

The brunette, presently sitting on the couch with a book in hands, sat stiffly upright. "I did!!! It was pretty weak. A-all I had to do was hold my hand out and-"

"-See? That's where your problem is. The customers can't see the ghost like you, so you gotta exaggerate your moves a little bit! Add a bit of spizazz to your exorcisms! Even if it's weak as all h###, reenact that fight with that stitch-face Mahito if you have to!.. Otherwise, rumors that the spirit is still around will continue to spread."

:0 "...Ohhhh, so that's why you're always throwing cheap salt around! It's to keep the general population from creating a new one!!"

Waving the other off, "Yeah yeah, now take what I have taught you to heart and become a better man! I'll send you the clients' location over text."

Serizawa bounced to his feet, "Yessir!" and strode out the office door. Gojo at the comedically small desk, meanwhile, scratched at his chin looking like he was trying to remember something.

"...Stitch-face, huh? It didn't happen to have pale blue hair and heterochromia, did it~?"

"Yep! That sounds like the.. uhh, evil spirit my men and I fought off a few months ago! Pretty strong, too! And creepy!" Leaning back in his chair, ankles crossed on the desk, hands folded behind his neck. Reigen stared idly up at the ceiling.

"Heh... No kidding.. That thing was special grade!"

"Huh?"

"We Jujutsu Sorcerers like to rank spirits by level. Six is the weakest and one is where sorcerers like me usually have to get involved. Special Grade is by far the most dangerous. Impressive that you were able to take one out~" 'Thanks to Mei, I know this guy has no power of his own, meaning he couldn't have killed the thing...' "Just curious.. Who dealt the finishing blow?"

'Well, I can't just steal all the credit.' Reigen chuckled, lifting his arms at his sides. "Though I did most of the damage, I'd have to say it was Serizawa who dealt the finishing blow, though Jin was a great assist as well." 'D###, just remembered Jin won't be able to remember that fight now...' Reigen's face was pale, a moment of silence given to the fallen Jin.

"...hm..." Gojo was leaning back in his small plastic seat, rocking back on only two legs. "Hey, I happen to have a friend who's been looking for the one who exorcised Mahito.. Mind if I tell him it was one of your men who took him out?"

"Wiiiilll iiiit give us more street cred in the Jujitsu world??"

"Pfff. You bet." To Serizawa at least, it would give him a lot more than that!

Even though he didn't have his powers anymore, Gojo still had the chance to help his fellows jujitsu buddies out...and that was pretty cool to think about.

----------

"Lookin' a little pale there, bud.. feelin' alright?" Yuji leaned forward a little to get a better view of Bakugo's face.

In a new room that looked mostly the same as the last, difference being the lack of a window, the two teens sat up in the hospital bed side-by-side, watching a little bit of the news for a change. Nothing interesting was going on on the TV at the moment. Just some commercials.

Bakugo turned away, hiding his sweat covered brow. Maybe it was just that these commercials were so boring, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore the throbbing pain in his arms.

Other than a little difficulty cooperating now and then, the blond had been surprisingly easy-going today. He even made an attempt to ask Yuji a few simple questions about himself, though those answers never turned into conversation. He was mostly just quieter now, which Yuji took as both a good and bad sign. The fact that he was showing minor signs of pain also started to stress him out a little.

"Come on, man! Just tell me if something's wrong! Want me to change the channel?"

"No-o.." His voice, accidentally slipping a hint of that pain he was hiding. Yuji frowned.

"Hurting..?"

"I just had my medicine, though.." Bakugo growled.

"Hey, it's alright!" Yuji rubbed bakugo's hair; something he liked to do now that he knew how. The trick was to come in at the right angle to avoid getting pricked! Seeing how little Bakugo cared to react worried him even more. "I'll go ask the doctor if you can have some more. ...Is it residual pain or phantom pain?"

"Phan--tom.." The elder croaked out. Dang it! Now that conversation had changed to his pain, it got even WORSE! Felt like a million pins and needles were stabbing arms that didn't even exist anymore! Face scarily pale, the teen slumped forward, arms trying and failing to hug each other. Yuji, seeing the urgency now, jumped off of the hospital bed and rushed toward the door.

"I- I'll bring a doctor-- or something!" Bakugo just grunted, hunching over his lap.

Following Itadori, he ZOOMED down the hall at an unbelievable speed, stirring up a wind as he ran. Once he spotted some of the medical staff, the teen screeched to a halt. "Doctor-doctor-doc-doc-doc-doctor!" Aggressively tugging on the man's sleeve. When he had the doctor's full attention, "Bakugoisinpainandheneedsmoremedicinephantompainithinkhesaidanditlookslikehe'sREALLYhurtingsoyougottahurryandgivehimsomemoremedicineFOLLOWME!" And then he booked it back to where he came, leaving the staff confused.

"...Catch any of that?"
"Not a clue." They followed anyways.

When Yuji sprang through the door, Bakugo was not on his bed. Nor was he anywhere to be seen for that matter! Hurling could be heard around the corner from the bathroom. Yuji slid around, spotting the elder hunched in front of the toilet through the open door. He rocked and cried, but that didn't get rid of the pain. His head was throbbing, pressure consuming it from all sides! His mouth salivated, jaw slack. His body wrongly assumed the only out for this pain was through his stomach. But that only drove up acids that stung his throat. Itadori withered as he watched the other hurl again into the toilet. Bakugo Gasped and cried out. The sensation in his arms felt like they were replaying their self destruction over and over again. Relentlessly! Every second!

Bakugo noticed the figure standing in the doorway and turned to him with teary eyes. He could hardly hold his head up, or anything for that matter. "I'M DYING, D###IT!!!" He screamed. Yuji took this as his cue to step into the unlit bathroom, slowly to make sure he didn't overwhelm the other, since he was clearly on edge already.

He held his arms out warily. "No you aren't.. It's okay. This is just temporary pain."

"NO IT'S NOT!!! MY ARMS ARE F###ING GONE!!!" His chest fell forward, pressed against the toilet, but he managed to fight off the urge to hurl this time. Instead keeping his tear filled eyes on the pink haired caretaker. "TE-TE-G-GH-- I WANT MY MOM!! MY DAD!!! LET ME SEE THEM! I HAVE TO TELL THEM I'M SORRY! AND DEKU!! HI-HIM TOO!" Bakugo attempted to stand, but his legs were too shaky. So he started to scoot toward the exit on his knees. Itadori fell to his knees, blocking the way. "GET OUT OF THE WAY IF YOU DON'T WANT BLOOD ALL OVER YOU!" Bakugo threatened.

"But you're not even bleeding!"

"I'M GOING TO EXPLODE!!! JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY, D### BRAT!"

"No, you're not!! You're fine! You're NOT going to die!!" As Bakugo made one final attempt to shove past, Yuji grabbed him and held the teen there instead. The blond was trembling... Terrified for his life from head to toe. Yuji's eyes lined with tears just thinking about it. Hugging the other tighter, "..I w-on't let you."

Now, he understood... This was about so much more than Bakugo just losing his arms... This was a kid thrown into a war he wasn't ready for.. and from it losing the only things he thought gave him any worth.

Katsuki was gagging on air, trying to breathe through the overwhelming, throbbing pain. He rested his forehead on the other's shoulder, jaw held tightly as he breathed through his teeth.

"I want my mom...and my dad... I want them NOW!"

"Shh-hh-h..." Yuji gently rubbed the trembling one's back. "They'll be here soon.. I'll make sure of it."

"No- now! Be-before I d-ie! De-deku too!"

"Hey...it's okay... You're not going to die.. Not alone like this... It'll be okay. You'll be okay..."

Bakugo had a hard time wrapping his head around that idea. The pain was so intense! Part of him wanted to die, just so that the pain and suffering would end! ...But no. He just couldn't leave yet... Not when there were still so many things he had to say.

Echoing softly, "...I won't die...alone..."

Bakugo leaned even more into his soothing caretaker, face completely hidden. He hoped Yuji was right.

He hoped he would be okay...

But even if he did die now..he wouldn't be alone.

----------

It was later deduced that the sudden burst of pain was in-part due to a late trauma response from the jarring display of blood last night.

Bakugo was thusly banned from watching any shows too bloody or tense, as well as cautioning him not to jump into nor view any fights.

At least not until he was in the clear...

----------

He hoped the world would last in his absence...

Gojo stood tall among the rest on the bus ride to his apartment. The place he had chosen was definitely of the more expensive options, but in return it was in a far safer district. And now that his powers had been completely stripped away from him...he had a harder and harder time imagining himself living on the edge.

The world was far less chaotic than what he was used to. It was like living in a constant state of sensory overload, but in reverse. Everything compared to before was so quiet, so still... This was something he had noticed immediately after losing his quirk, of course. In fact, he was in such shock about it that his mind completely blanked out for the rest of the battle. Apparently, a spirit took advantage of that and used his body to fight. It was...unsettling to think. That the ones around him didn't even wait a minute to take advantage of his weakness left and right! As if growing up feeling like he was no more than a puppet wasn't enough.

Made him all the more worried what else might go arai as the news about his weakness leaked into the world. Heh, Reigen might just be overrun with jobs!

His phone buzzed in his pocket, alerting him to pick up his phone. He didn't recognize the number, but answered anyways. "Yello!"

""Aaayyy, Gojo!""

"Yamashi?" It was Elyse!

""Yeah! Sorry if I'm interrupting something. I just couldn't make time to stop by Reigen's office today and ask you a few questions.. Think you would be able to answer them now?""

"Uhhh," A quick glance around checked no eyes were on him. "Fire away!"

"Ok! So it's mostly about your teaching job!. Just wondering what that would even look like for you!"

"Heh, it's pretty simple, actually. The curriculum is centuries old. I just have to update and tweak it a little for each individual student.. Helps that I usually only have one to three students per year!" Rubbing the back of his head. The bus ran over a bump, making him stumble into a poor unfortunate woman. "sorrysorry" He held onto the rail again, smiling as Elyse flipped out about this small detail.

The rest of his ride, then walk to his apartment, was filled with this one sided questionnaire. It all had to come to a close, however, as the man reached his door. "You're pretty interested in this topic~" He brought up while digging around in his pockets for the keys. "Want to become a teacher yourself~?"

"Pfff! No! I couldn't handle so many kids! Just wondering about what it's like is all.""

Keyes in hand, "Welp, this is where I am going to have to end the call. Keep telling yourself that for-"

""One last question!"" Stopping Gojo in his tracks mid opening the door. He waited patiently for her to continue. ""..What made you want to become a teacher anyways?"" His unguarded eyes widened a smidge...then narrowed. He just stood there, hand loosely holding the doorknob.

"..."

"Gojo?"

"I'll have to talk to you later. Bye." With a flat expression plastered on his face, Gojo hung up and shoved through the door. At last inside, he flipped on the light switch, encouraging the humble kitchen lightbulb to flicker on. He walked around waking all the other lights from their slumber, revealing a rather plain apartment, possessing only a few small pieces of furniture and boxes of newly bought stuff.

After taking off his suit and changing into something a bit more casual, Gojo plopped down on a beanbag in front of a cardboard box he used as a small table. Legs awkwardly crossed, he grabbed a lighter beside the box and lit the single candle in front of a picture frame, both on the box.

The picture was of the man and his class, back when everyone was happy -- mostly -- and he still had his powers. A black mask hid his eyes in the picture, eyes which were now clearly visible under the low hanging, dangling white hair. Something was off about that look in his eyes. A still, quiet nature that settled with the uneasy air. One could hear the air conditioner purring in the background, occasionally dipping in and out of intensity. ..This whole place. The whole world

...was eerily quiet.

A smaller, older picture of Gojo's old friend stood propped against the larger one. The long dark haired young man smiled warmly, attention away from the camera at the moment to only get a side view of his face. But.. the cherry blossoms were abloom that day, which could be seen falling like snow in the picture. This created a priceless sort of feel to the photo. Something that could not be so easily replaced with a better angle or higher resolution.

The man sat there staring at these two lonesome images for an embarrassingly long amount of time. Completely skipped out on dinner. In part simply because he zoned out quite a bit and thought long and hard about his own life here while he was all alone.

Finally he wove together his fingers to rest his chin on and propped his elbows on his aching knees. "...Why is it that anyone I put any effort into always seems to die on me..?" He mumbled at last. There had to be something behind this. Some kind of curse.

...Or maybe it was his powers themselves that were the curse...

Well... He was screwed either way, wasn't he?

Forced to kill his old friend because he was the strongest.
Forced to stand by as his student was executed because he was the weakest.
No matter how it went, he somehow always ended up with the negative side of things.

Tears slipped onto his hands. The man didn't even notice how emotional he was getting until his hands were dirtied with his eye water. Yet if there was anyone who had the right to cry right now.. it would probably be him.

He sat there quietly, occasionally sniffing and wiping the tears away. There was an unavoidable emptiness in his heart. Something that no power could fill.

A greater tragedy had been discovered.

Hopelessness.

...

What was the point in taking back his powers..? It wouldn't bring them back anyways..

----------

Warm, soft pillows and blankets wrapped around him snugly. He felt like he was in heaven though he didn't know why, later realizing it was simply because he was no longer in such hellish pain.

His left ear was pressed against the pillow, essentially deafening him to the outside world since his right was so terribly destroyed. For a moment, there was simply peace. Life offering him this thin sliver of kindness he determined to selfishly enjoy.

Breaking through the silence, a muffled familiar voice slipped through his pillow. One so familiar, in fact, he knew exactly who it belonged to instinctually.

"Mom??" The teen sat up instantly. Suddenly, pain erupted through him, mostly in his chest and stomach area. It was a bit sore. But, other than that, his arms were fine for a change.

"Katsuki??" Mitsuki, previously leaning against the far wall, pushed herself to stand straight. Her eyes were wide with worry. Overwhelming fear for her son. This feeling usually came out in the form of rage, as it was the best way she knew how to express such strong emotions, but... The woman clutched her shirt and held on tightly, reminding herself to be calmer, gentler.. and listen for a change. Masaru stood beside her. The arms crossed over his chest loosened as he leaned forward, smiling to see his son was awake.

Bakugo rubbed his eyes against his shoulders. This was a little strange... Usually, every time he woke up after being injured, his mother was quick to shout at him. ..Tell him everything he did wrong...

Maybe this meant they were ready to listen?

"Katsuki," his mother advanced a step. "we heard what happened and are here to help-"

"-Then just shut up and let me speak." He growled, head hanging low. His mother opened her mouth wide. Raising her hand and extended her leg to take a bold step forward, but her sleeve was caught by her husband. The blond spun her head around, shocked by the sincerity in his eyes. He stared at her with the most genuine of puppy eyes, which calmed the woman back down.

Itadori was already gone, presently leaving the responsibility of caretaker to the parents.

Warm, salty water dripped down the boy's chin, shocking his parents a little. His spiky bangs hid the teenager's shadowed face. "...I'm sorry... I'm sorry I could never be the perfect kid. I'm sorry I was such a pain in the a## to you all.. I'm," lip quivering, "m-m-I'm ssorry I could never.. never... I don't even KNOW!" His head jerked upright, red eyes quaking, brimming with large, sparkling tears. His jaw was clenched, teeth rattling as he breathed. "I can't fix myself! I don't know how! And every time I try, I just get worse!!.. I CAN'T make you proud and I never WILL!" Bakugo squeezed his eyes tightly shut, face aimed down at his lap again. "Just know I l--l-love you, okay?! Call me whatever you want! That's just how I feel! And I'll never STOP!.. even if I drive you all away..." The tears on his face continued to flow. He stared down at his lap, out of anything else important to say. "...All I ever wanted was for you to love me too..."

...

Masaru was the first of the parents to move. His wife was paralyzed where she stood, unable to snap out of it until her husband passed her.

The man sat down on his son's bed and slid his slippers off so he could fully be up there with his boy. Mr. Bakugo's arms slid behind his son's back, pulling Katsuki into him. When The blond's left cheek lay forcibly against Masaru's chest, the dad expertly stroked a hand through his son's hair. "...My baby boy..." He whispered, glasses fogging up as warm tears grew to fill his eyes. Katsuki felt a cord snapping in his chest. A strange pain that brought warm tingles to his heart soon after.

Determined not to let her husband get all the spotlight, the woman crossed her arms. "What made you think we never loved you??" She asked genuinely. However, her son didn't answer. Instead his eyes continued to leak even more tears..as slowly he allowed himself to relax more and more, melting into his father's soothing embrace.

Mitsuki's eyes watered at the sight, cheeks shading a warm pink at the adorable sight of her beloved son. The mother shuffled up to the two, slid her hospital slippers off as well, and sat on the bed on the other side of her son. She hesitated, for a moment imagining all the different ways Katsuki might snap at her. But.. as he was now, so adorable and loving...she leaned in, wrapping her arms around the kid as well.

Resting her chin on her son's shoulder as she hugged him, "...Shut up about all this being perfect stuff..." crying all the more. "You were already perfect the moment I first laid eyes on you.."

"Mhm.. You may have made mistakes, but so have we. So have all of us."

"But you don't have to be perfect to deserve our love, little Katsu..." Katsuki was starting to cry again, filled with such overwhelming emotions. Surprisingly.. most were positive. All the bad ones slowly washing away... His parents hugged him even tighter. "...Even if you were a villain, we would still love you..."

The Bakugo family eased back until eventually they were all laying down, cuddling there on the small hospital bed. ... Katsuki had never felt such peace... Such love.

Love that he actually accepted.

----------

It was starting to get plain comical how often Ryo made appearances in Gojo's daily life. Appearing on his walks both to and from work, in the window of work, and even at the nice mochi bar he found... Like, he told to keep an eye on him..or was he just bored?

Of course, this only lasted a couple days, because pretty soon Gojo was ready to face his demons head on!

On the walk back home, just outside his apartment door, Ryo sensed he was being watched. Weird, since he didn't have his quirk, but he wasn't complaining. Instead of slipping inside and hiding, the man huffed loudly and shouted to the darkness at his back. "I know you are here! So come out now!"

"You really want to talk~?" Gojo twisted to his left, there standing the dark haired blind guy. Ryo now wore the mask that was once Gojo's. And he wore it proudly too.

"..You know that really doesn't mesh well with your complexion."

"Please!. Like I even care... So, what is this about.? Ready to give up~?"

"Heh! Don't be so confident. I'm actually here to make you beg on your knees." Gojo turned to the black haired Esper fully, smirking. Ryo tilted his head slightly.

"..And how are you supposed to do that?"

"You know.. I sure have been thinking a lot lately about my place in life.. and this life in general. Pretty crazy how the world doesn't revolve around power like the elite would like you to believe."

"What are you even talking about??-"

"I'll f### your sister if you don't leave us the h### alone." And he gave the villain the most dead serious look too. Those blue eyes so terrifyingly cold.

Ryo blushed faintly, needing a minute to process that. "...Pff. That's it?? That's your plan?!"

"It'd be pretty easy, too~" hands resting on his hips "All I'd have to do is make the apartment look a little nicer, invite her over to my place for dinner, and then turn on the charm~"

"You know I can just kill you right now, right?"

"I dunno~ Your sieter's a pretty good detective... And chances are high she'll resent you for the rest of your life if you kill one of her friends~" Despite being quirkless, Gojo knew he had all the power he needed judging by that stupid look on his opponent's face. Unfortunately for Ryo, he didn't really know his sister well enough to be sure she wouldn't fall for something like that. "All you have to do to prevent it..is to stop following me. ... Simple~!✨" Gojo held his hands together all kawaii like. That added disgust to the array of emotions the villain was now burdened with. It wasn't like Ryo really cared about who Mei was with... BUT THIS GUY?! Not a chance he would be alright with that!

Ryo stepped back, raising his hands at his sides in defeat. "Fine... You win this round.-"

"I'm including Mei, alright?? So if I hear you're still messing with her.. same thing!"

"Sheesh! Mighty aggressive!" Ryo chuckled. Luckily, that mask was there to hide the sweat on his brow. "But.. fine. I'll stop bothering you two... Gunna be so much border, though."

"Sounds like a you problem." The tall one smiled. He couldn't believe that worked as well as it did.

Ryo vanished. After enjoying some peace from this small victory, Gojo entered his apartment, inhaling the not-so-fresh air proudly.

Before he even had time to prepare for bed, he flinched, stopping in place, and pulled out his phone. He called Elyse right away.

""Wassssabi!"" Came the deeper, gruffer version of the woman's voice. ""Wait, who is this?""

"Gojo." He chuckled.

""Gojo??!-- Sorry about all those questions the other day! I might have gone a bit overboard!"" Calmer now, the man stepped into his apartment and started to tidy up around his better furnished place since last time.

"No, it's fine actually. I just...needed a little time... I have an answer now if you want to hear!"

""For which question?? What was it again?? -Oh! Wait-wait I got it! The why you became a teacher one!""

"Mhm!" It was honestly fun hearing another adult speak so fluently the way they felt, not caring how they were perceived by it. As long as no customers were around, Reigen was much the same way too! It...helped Satoru not feel so out of place. "I wanted to leave a legacy. To be more to everybody than just 'the strongest.'" He stood there stiffly, a serious attitude about him as he even took the time to answer the question genuinely. "...Because what's the point of strength if you can't use it to get what you truly want?"

. . .

""Oh--aahhhhh! Pretty poetic there, buddy~"

Gojo smiled again. "Thanks." His eyes rose to that picture of his past class and old friend beside it. On the other side was a newly printed picture as well. One taken not too long ago at the bowling alley with all the new people he was now beginning to consider his friends.

Though he had a long, dangerous road ahead of him...he had a little hope that it wasn't all for nothing. That there would always be a little good sprinkled in with the bad.

----------

"Yo, Bakugo, what's your password?" Yuji asked, presently laying on the couch beside the hospital bed.

"Huh???" The blond sat up suddenly, glaring at the pink haired kid holding his phone, trying out a few different combinations already. "Hey! You're going to shut it down forever if you put in too many wrong ones!!"

Yuji casually rolled his head to the side atop the arm of the couch, a pillow propping his back. "So then which one's the right one?" He smiled.

"UGHHHH!.. 4444..." leaning back in his bed. He sat up against all the pillows, a deep frown set on his face as the other teen giggled and perused through his apps and contacts.

"Wow! Looks like you've got a lot of pictures!" The teen remarked.

"Huh??"

"Awww! They're all from your classmates, too!"

"Wait, WHEN THE HELL'D THEY STEAL MY PHONE!.. LET ME SEE THEM!" Bakugo angrily sat up again, about ready to blow somebody up. Yuji jumped onto Bakugo's bed and sat beside the elder, scrolling slowly with a wide grin through all the photos. Bakugo leaned in, squinting down at the screen.

(Just for the music.)

Sure enough, they were all from times when his classmates stole his phone and used the camera -- the only feature they had access to -- to take infinite photos of their antics while he was away! Bakugo growled at first. He recognized most of these pictures; the ones he simply forgot to delete. But, now, as the pictures upon pictures of smiling faces, goofy poses, and just...life replayed before his eyes...he was glad he hadn't.

Kirishima, Sero, Ochako, Shoto, Izuku, Denki, Mina, and many, many more. They were all there. There and happy. Not teasing him or making fun of him at all.

They were always there for him..weren't they? From the very start.

Yuji hid his staring as much as he could, but nothing at the moment could replace this excitement he felt while watching the blond light up. Bakugo was smiling. Big and proud. A few small tears decorated his eyes as well as he stared down at the phone screen. He had the boldest grin.

What was the point in giving up? Becoming a hero with all these idiots sounded much more fun.

.

.

.

======================
Dang, that boi looong! "IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!" But, AT LAST! The arc is complete! *bows*

So anyways here's a random meme:

(Yuji, btw ^)

Bakugo:

Oh and also here's that Choso guy: