~~

He was standing on a very familiar, flat rooftop, overlooking the city. It was dark, but the lights from the street and other buildings allowed him to see his surroundings clearly. He stood at the edge of the roof, looking down at the concrete courtyard very far below. His stomach lurched and his feet urged him to step off the roof, to plunge into the oblivion below.

"Have you decided yet?"

Katsuki started, spinning around at the voice behind him. He stared into the freckled, round-faced boy from his childhood, who was standing a few feet beside him. He was wearing the familiar black uniform from middle school, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. The boy smiled and Katsuki felt his skin prickle.

"What?" He demanded.

"You'll have to decide soon." The boy said quite unhelpfully. He looked over the edge of the roof, looking down at the spot where Katsuki had just been staring.

"Decide what?"

The boy looked at Katsuki appraisingly and smiled again. He opened his mouth and a cruel imitation of Katsuki's own voice escaped him, "You know, if you really want to be a hero that badly, there actually might be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building."

Then he took a running start and jumped over the edge as Katsuki screamed.

~~

Katsuki jerked awake, sitting bolt upright with a shout. He panted heavily, trying to shake fuzz out of his brain. The dream, or nightmare, he'd been having was slipping away from him and he struggled to recall anything other than the horrific sense of dismay and shock. He was sitting in his twin bed in his dorm room in Heights Alliance. He looked outside, seeing the sun rising up over the hills of the UA grounds, birds chirping happily just outside the window.

It took a few groggy moments for his head to fully clear of the nightmare, then suddenly all the memories came rushing back. He leapt to his feet, barely registering that he was wearing the black t-shirt and sweatpants that he normally wore to sleep. He dashed to the door, where the small briefcase containing his hero costume sat, and flung it open, running down to the first floor, taking the stairs two at a time. When he reached the common area, he could see several of his classmates sitting together and eating breakfast.

"What happened?" Katsuki shouted, making the others jump in surprise.

"Good morning, Bakugo! Iida made omelets for everyone! Feel free to help yourself." Ochako Uraraka smiled brightly at him and walked into the dining room, balancing her plate and glass precariously in her arms.

Katsuki blinked at her. He felt completely disoriented and bewildered. How was he back at Heights Alliance? Why did no one seem surprised to see him? Hadn't he just been kidnapped?

Growling under his breath, he stormed into the dining room to see only a few of his classmates. Iida and Todoroki sat at the far end of the table, eating a couple of omelets, while Uraraka, Asui, and Ashido sat opposite them. The others raised their heads when Katsuki burst in.

"What the hell happened to me?" Katsuki demanded, banging his palms on the table. "How did I get back here? Did the heroes find out where I was? Was there an arrest?"

They stared at him in utter astonishment and confusion. The girls all exchanged looks of bewilderment, while Iida stood up, outstretching a hand.

"What do you mean, Bakugo? Did something happen yesterday?" Iida asked slowly.

Katsuki looked around at each face, looking for a hint of recognition, but they were all blank. "Did none of you see what happened to me?"

Iida and Todoroki exchanged confused looks. "Well... no. You were at your work study yesterday, right?"

"Yes, and I was kidnapped!" Katsuki exclaimed. "I was held hostage by the same villains who kidnapped and killed all those missing heroes! Seriously, none of you saw how I got back here?"

There was a tense silence as the other gawped at him, utterly bemused.

"You were... kidnapped?" Ashido whispered.

"Bakugo, I don't know if anyone saw you come back last night." Asui piped up. "We thought you just had a late patrol, so we all went to bed."

Katsuki grimaced and stared down at his hands, trying to clear his head. This wasn't right, this didn't make sense. He needed to speak to someone who would know what was going on.

"Where's Mr. Aizawa? He must have brought me back or something." Katsuki muttered that last bit more to himself than the others.

"Um... probably still at the teacher's quarters." Iida said tentatively. Katsuki turned to leave. "Bakugo, wait!" He halted in his tracks at Iida's voice. "Are you sure you're okay? If you were kidnapped, do you think you should go to the infirmary?"

There was a beat of silence.

"If I was kidnapped?" Katsuki saw Iida's face drop and a sheepish look overtake him.

"I-I just meant–"

"Shut up. You're all fucking useless."

Katsuki stormed out of the room and out of the building, rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants. He could barely put his thoughts in order. None of this made sense. How had he gotten out of the underground fighter ring? He couldn't remember anything after that girl had collected his blood. Perhaps he had been let go... But then, how had he gotten back to campus? There was no way the villains could bring him back without being noticed.

I'm going to destroy you, Deku had said. Didn't that mean Deku wanted to kill Katsuki? Why would he let him go, then? That meant that he must have been rescued from the villains. That was the only rational explanation: he had been rescued and then... and then the police brought him back to the dorms? That didn't make much sense either. Shouldn't he have been brought to a hospital or something? Shouldn't there have been police officers wanting to ask him questions? This didn't make any sense.

He reached the teacher's quarters and knocked as loud as he could on the door. Crossing his arms, he looked over the green lawn, still feeling a bit shivery, despite the spring warmth from the sunrise.

"Bakugo?" Katsuki turned as the door swung open, revealing his homeroom teacher, Mr. Aizawa, in the frame. "What are you doing here?"

"Sir, I was kidnapped yesterday and I have no idea how I got back to the dorms." Katsuki started, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a rush. "Was I brought back by the police or heroes? No one seems to know anything and I'm really fucking confused."

"Whoa, slow down. What happened to you yesterday?" Aizawa stepped fully out of the building, crossing his arms. Katsuki exhaled sharply, again trying to clear his head.

"I was kidnapped by the same villains who abducted and killed the other missing heroes." He ground out, trying his best not to raise his voice. "I saw the whole operation, I even talked to the main kingpin. But, I don't remember how I escaped or if I was rescued or something. I don't remember how I got back." Aizawa was quiet for a few moments taking in Katsuki's words, and Katsuki felt like he might burst from anticipation.

"Bakugo... You were kidnapped? You went on patrol yesterday, though. Kaminari already told me that he'd seen you come back to the dorms last night when I went to check on everyone. When did this happen?" Katsuki blinked, having not expected that response. His fists clenched as a sense of dread curdled in the pit of his stomach. There was something very wrong.

"It happened on patrol!" He shouted, unable to keep his voice level. "There was another hero... but he wasn't a hero. He caught me by surprise and knocked me out and then I woke up in this underground arena thing and they wanted me to fight against–" Katsuki stopped abruptly, sucking a breath. "He still has the sidekick hero I was patrolling with! We have to tell the police, we have to go after him!"

"Bakugo, slow down, please–"

"No! You don't understand, I saw what they did to those missing heroes! They didn't beat them up, they forced the heroes to fight each other until they were killed! It was Deku–sorry, it was Izuku Midoriya! He's the mastermind behind the whole thing. I thought he was going to kill me too, but then I woke up... back... in Heights Alliance."

Katsuki trailed off, seeing a flicker of doubt and concern pass through Aizawa's eyes. He realized just how ridiculous he was sounding and swallowed hard.

"I need to get to the agency." Turning on his heel and feeling his ears start to burn, he made to walk away.

"Bakugo, wait." Aizawa caught Katsuki's shoulder and closed the door behind him. "I'll come with you. We'll figure this out together."

~~

During the ride to Best Jeanist's agency, Katsuki recounted all the events that he could remember to Aizawa since he had been on patrol. His teacher did not speak much, only listened as intently as he could. His expression was unreadable and Katsuki was feeling more and more self-conscious and angry. His story felt incredulous and fantastical to his own ears even though he had been the one to live it, and he was starting to worry that no one would believe him.

Once he and Aizawa had arrived at the agency, he had been ushered inside Best Jeanist's office, followed by his homeroom teacher and a detective from the police force. There, he recounted his story again, trying to remember every single detail he could. He did leave out a few details, like the in-depth conversation he'd had with his former childhood victim. The others listened and Best Jeanist's eyes continued to narrow throughout the story, steepling his hands in front of him.

"The villain you spoke to... You said his name was Izuku Midoriya?" Best Jeanist asked finally.

"Yes, but he goes by Deku now, I think."

"I know that name." This came from the detective standing behind Best Jeanist. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Wasn't he the boy who committed suicide a few years ago? He jumped off the roof of his middle school building, right?"

Katsuki blinked again. "I–yes. But he must have faked his death or something." There was a brief silence and Katsuki could practically feel the doubt coming from the detective's gaze. "It was definitely him, though." He growled, glaring back at him.

"Did you know him?"

"We... We went to the same middle and elementary schools. But we weren't friends or anything." Katsuki said quickly, immediately looking away.

"Hmm..."

"I'm not making this up!" Katsuki blurted out suddenly. He snapped his mouth shut as the three men both looked up, penetrating him with their scrutinizing gazes. "I wouldn't... I'm not lying."

"No one has accused you of lying." Best Jeanist said calmly, leaning back in his chair. Katsuki desperately needed them to believe him, but he could tell he was already fighting a losing battle. He quickly pulled the one shred of proof he had out of his back pocket.

"I was on patrol with one of your sidekicks. He hasn't come in today, has he?" He demanded, leaning forward and digging his nails into the arms of the chair. Best Jeanist's eyebrows raised and he was quiet for another few moments.

"No, he hasn't." He said finally, which sent a wave of relief through Katsuki.

"There! That's proof, he was with me in the arena. They probably still have him, we have to go after him!" He exclaimed, making to stand.

"Let's slow down for a moment." The detective said, holding up a hand to stop Katsuki's motion. "That doesn't explain how you managed to get back to your bed unharmed."

"I-I don't know how that happened. I told you, I can't remember anything from last night. I thought I must have escaped or maybe that someone rescued me but–"

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the door. Best Jeanist called the visitor to enter and Katsuki turned to see the sidekick he'd been patrolling with stroll into the room. Katsuki's jaw dropped.

"You asked to see me, boss?" The sidekick asked, looking around the room curiously.

"Yes, Bakugo here said that the two of you were abducted yesterday after your patrol. Is that true?"

"I'm sorry? Abducted?" The sidekick looked at Katsuki in confusion and shook his head. "Um... no, I don't remember any kidnapping. We went on patrol for a few hours and then I went home as usual. What is this about?"

"W-What? No, that's not possible." Katsuki sputtered, completely thrown off guard. How was this possible? How was the sidekick here, unharmed, and spouting some nonsense story about what had happened. Panic and fury burst in his chest. "You're lying!" He shouted, unable to contain himself anymore.

"Excuse me?" The sidekick tilted his head in a very good impression of someone who had no idea what was going on. But that wasn't possible. He had to have been lying. There's no way he could have just forgotten the ordeal.

"Stop it! Stop lying! You were there, you fucking jackass! We were told we had to fight each other and you couldn't stop your fucking whimpering. You were there! Tell them!" Katsuki shot to his feet and felt his hands start to pop with little explosions.

"Bakugo. That's enough." Aizawa stood up in a flash and Katsuki felt the fire in his chest dissipate in an instant as Aizawa activated his quirk. Katsuki turned to look at his teacher, then at his mentor, and finally the detective. Everyone was staring at him warily, as if he were a ticking time bomb that might explode at any minute.

"But... but... this isn't possible. This is... this can't be–" Katsuki slowly sat back down, staring at the ground.

"Bakugo, please go wait outside. I want to have a discussion with my sidekick. Go, now." Best Jeanist said suddenly.

"Just go wait by the car. This will just take a second." Aizawa added, taking his own seat again. Katsuki's head snapped up as he looked between them in shock.

"I can't–no, wait... You have to believe me, I'm not lying!"

"I know, Bakugo, I believe you." Aizawa placed his hand on Katsuki's shoulder and he felt a prickle of indignation flare up in him at the touch. "Just go wait outside for me, okay?"

Katsuki's jaw clamped shut and he felt a hard wall fall in between himself and the other adults in the room. He let his face drop, let the betrayal and venom slip into his tongue.

"Fine. Whatever."

Katsuki stood up aggressively, stalking out. He passed the sidekick and gave him a murderous glare before slamming the door behind him with excessive force. He panted heavily, staring down at his feet. He couldn't understand what was happening. Why did nobody believe him? Why were they all looking at him like he'd just come out of the loony bin?

Unable to help himself, he crouched down in front of the door and pressed his ear to the keyhole.

"Tell me what happened yesterday." Best Jeanist was saying.

"We went patrolling in one of the suburbs." The sidekick began. "At sundown, I told Dynamight that we were not supposed to go on at night, but he outright refused to leave. I think he was feeling a bit restless since this was his first patrol in several weeks. We argued, but eventually I relented and we stayed out for a few more hours. There wasn't much for us to do, luckily we had stumbled onto one of the few locations with no crime. Finally, I told the young hero to go home, then I went home myself. There was no kidnapping, I would have definitely remembered if there were."

"Aizawa, what time did he return back to the dormitory?"

"I never saw him come back, but one of my students told me he had when I went to do my nightly check. That was around midnight."

"What do you think, Tsukauchi? Is he telling the truth?"

"It's hard to tell. Some of his story makes sense. We had deduced that there must have been some kind of illegal fighter ring going on after the autopsies. But the story of the mastermind being a dead kid? I'm really not sure..."

"This... Izuku Midoriya? Would he have been capable of something like this?"

"From what I knew of him, no. His case was one of my first solo cases after I made detective. It was pretty cut and dry, not much to solve. We found his body in the middle of the school day after he'd jumped, all the kids were sent home and his mother ID'ed him immediately. I'm not sure how he could have faked it if he was still alive."

"Bakugo seemed absolutely certain it was him. What do we know about their relationship?"

"From my investigation into Izuku's case, it seemed the boy did not have many friends. According to his teachers, he was a bit of a loner. He was quirkless, so already an outcast. They also said he was bullied a lot by the more popular students."

"Hmm... It could be that Bakugo simply had a very vivid nightmare. It's possible that he was more affected by the incident at UA than we originally thought."

"He did seem quite agitated. Well... more than usual. I thought it was just because it was his first patrol back in a while."

"Bakugo has always maintained a strong drive to be the best in everything he does. I always assumed that it was this determination that kept him so focused in class. But perhaps... Perhaps he has been putting too much pressure on himself."

"He didn't seem injured or abused at all... I know he wouldn't lie on purpose, but this does just seem a little too far-fetched–"

Katsuki drew away, unable to listen anymore. His throat felt constricted and he wanted to throw up. Stumbling away from the door, he burst out into the street, gulping in the fresh air that he felt so deprived of. He clutched the material of his shirt over his heart and squeezed his eyes shut, a rush of panic and rage coursing through him. How was this possible? How had things gone so dramatically wrong? How could they not believe him? Why in the world would he make something like this up?

He slowly opened his eyes, staring at his palms. Had he made it all up? Was it possible that this had all been just an elaborate dream? Was it true that he'd just been under too much stress so his brain had concocted a scenario bringing back an old adversary from the past?

The glass door suddenly creaked open behind him and Katsuki flinched, whirling around. The sidekick had emerged in the doorframe, giving Katsuki a wary look before turning away. He started to walk down the street and Katsuki felt some primal claw at his throat. Before he knew what he was doing, he had slammed the sidekick up against the stone wall of the building, his arm slanted across his throat.

"What the fuck kind of a game are you playing?" He snarled.

"B-Bakugo, you need to calm down, please–"

"No! Tell me what the fuck is going on! You lied to them in there, I know you did!"

"I didn't lie, Bakugo. Please, you're too worked up, you need to take it easy–"

"Don't fucking talk to me like I'm a child! You know what you did! You know what happened! Why the fuck are you pretending you don't?"

"Bakugo!"

Katsuki turned his head and clamped his jaw shut. Best Jeanist, the detective, and Aizawa were standing at the glass door, all three looking at him, utterly appalled. Bakugo felt a buzz of warmth on his face, realizing what he'd been doing and how this must look. He quickly took a step back, releasing the sidekick, who doubled over and coughed dramatically.

"What do you think you're doing?" Best Jeanist exclaimed.

"I'm... sorry..." Katsuki growled, knowing that trying to defend himself would be pointless. The sidekick slowly straightened and turned to walk away. Just before he did, he caught Katsuki's eye and there was a flicker of a smirk and then it was gone. Katsuki gaped after him, sure he hadn't just imagined that look.

"Bakugo, let's go." Aizawa said, gesturing to the car that had taken them to the agency.

"You need to take a break." Best Jeanist interjected. "Take this week to cool off and get yourself together."

"Wait, what?"

"You are too wound up. You're under a tremendous amount of stress and you need to be careful. So take the week off and you can come back to your hero duties later."

"What, no! No, I already had to take a break for weeks before this. I don't need a break!"

"Clearly, you do. Mr. Aizawa has also agreed to lessen your workload for a little while so you can get your bearings. Take the time, it's a kindness, not a punishment."

Katsuki's hands shook with rage as he looked from his hero mentor to his homeroom teacher. Both looked solemn, but firm. There was no getting out of this. Feeling utterly defeated, Katsuki stormed back to the car and slammed the door behind him with such force, it shook the whole vehicle.

Back at the dorms, Katsuki stared at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. He was thinking about all the events of the previous night, trying to recall any scenario that would indicate he'd been in a dream. He tried to remember what had happened after he'd been knocked out for a third time in the freezing room, but it was all blank. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't make any more sense of it than he had when he'd woken up.

How could this have been a dream? It had been so real. He could still feel the cold from the room, the helplessness from when his quirk wouldn't perform for him, the irritating burning from the shackles on his wrists and ankles. Katsuki absentmindedly rubbed his wrists, which were as they normally were, no discoloration or rash from any chains. He would have expected that those cuffs left some kind of mark on him, but there was nothing. Was that proof that this had indeed been an elaborate trick played on him by his own deprived brain?

Katsuki exhaled deeply, turning on the faucet and splashing his face with water. He looked at his reflection, noting the bags under his eyes and his white, palid skin. He truly looked gaunt and utterly sleep deprived. Then, he noticed something on his neck that gave him pause. He reached up and ran the tips of his fingers along a small cut on the side of his neck. It was barely an inch wide and already scarred over, but there was no mistaking it. It was the cut he'd received from a knife that had sliced into his skin from the night before.

That was all the confirmation he needed. He didn't know how or why, but somehow Deku had found a way to return him to his room in Heights Alliance. The kidnapping, the threat, the promise that Deku made to him, it had all been real.

Deku had started a game. He'd already made the first move and put Katsuki at a severe disadvantage. But he would not win. Katsuki would make sure of it. Whatever kind of game this was, Katsuki was determined to beat him.

~~