Be Careful What You Wish For

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"You've improved a lot since we last fought each other," Todoroki commented, staring at him with a blank expression that Izuku sincerely wished he could read. "I have to admit, I feel a bit... intimidated."

Izuku laughed nervously, his fingers curling into his hair and tugging at the strands until he felt his skin prickle in pain. "Oh, that was just the adrenaline..."

Todoroki blinked at him slowly, looking sceptical. But then, he shrugged, before training icy eyes upon the unmoving form below them. He ran his fingers over the bleeding cut on his cheek and his face scrunched up into a grimace. His offended expression forced one side of Izuku's lips to curl up in response, and he lowered his head in a poor attempt to conceal it, not looking to provoke his classmate any further.

"Could have been worse," the curly haired boy commented dryly, glancing over Todoroki's unmarked arms. The stoic teen quirked an eyebrow in response, but when no further explanation was given, returned back to the topic at hand.

"At any rate, we should find a hero, before this villain regain consciousness."

Izuku agreed with a silent nod, and Todoroki bent over to pick up one end of the rope meticulously bound around the red and black form of Hero Killer Stain, while Iida stood by the sidelines, uncharacteristically silent. Native wasn't far off, but the pro looked like he didn't quite know what to do with himself. It must be embarrassing for him, to be rescued from the clutches of a notorious serial killer by three school kids. Though the relief of still being alive probably took away most of the sting.

Gran Torino gave them an earful when he found them, as did the other pro-heroes that arrived on scene. Still, there was a hint of awe there too, barely disguised between lectures about responsibility and harsh words telling them how "lucky" they had been. "It's a miracle none of you sustained any serious injuries! You kids could have died, fighting a villain like this!"

Izuku's lips pressed into a thin line. He felt something burning beneath his skin, making him itch with the desire to rake his nails all over it, scratching and scratching until it went away. Instead, he spoke without meaning to, and regretted it as soon as the words left his stiff lips. "Iida and Native would be dead if it weren't for me."

He wasn't sure what the look the heroes gave him meant. Gran Torino frowned at him in clear disapproval, and Izuku bit the inside of his cheek hard until he tasted blood. He let out a trembling sigh and let his green eyes fall to the ground, inspecting every crack and crevice in the asphalt like it was his favorite novel.

Someone called an ambulance while another contacted the police, and Iida approached his classmates silently. Then, he bowed deeply in typical Iida-fashion, before rambling out some apology that Izuku barely had the energy to listen to. "You were both put in terrible danger because of me... I am truly sorry."

Sorry...

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Izuku let out a loud gasp, curling in on himself as he felt a throbbing pain in his chest and a feeling of drowning so great he didn't even notice the fingers scratching at his throat in frantic and desperate gestures. And even though he continuously gulped down air like one would water, it was like vacuum in his lungs and he couldn't breathe—

He felt like he was dying.

"Midoriya!"

There was a second of confusion, where all he could hear were screams and shouts, along with a feeling of weightlessness. Another second and he realized that, no, someone was carrying him, their sharp claws digging painfully into his back as they took off with him into the sky, wings flapping loudly as they carried him off to god knows where.