Rejected Stones

Enter Patroclus

Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida

50. Enter Patroclus

Up, Achilies, mightiest of all mankind; rescue Patroclus about whom this fearful fight is now raging.

-Homer, the Illiad

Bakugo was silent as Mr. Inui drove the car, staring out the window. He'd failed again. The news kept playing in his mind.

"Reports indicate that the current body count for the Feel Good Incident is at 178. Most of the victims were members of the MLA who were trapped in the fires started by Endeavor and Class 1A of UA as they assaulted the building. Others were normal employees caught in the flames, or killed in the fighting between the MLA and civilians. It appears that quirkless individuals were especially targeted."

Bakugo kept seeing the bodies in his mind. They had been weak. And Bakugo had been unable to save them. He was supposed to be strong, to be a hero. And he'd been too weak to save them.

And there had been Ochako.

"It wasn't your fault."

Bakugo's eyes flicked up, glancing to the side at Mr. Inui, who continued to drive. "The hell it wasn't."

"What you saw at Feel Good was bad, Bakugo. The worst I have ever seen," Mr. Inui said, his voice a growl. "Those BARK BARK GROWL- ahem, that is, the MLA is evil. What they did was horrible beyond imagining. They are responsible for those deaths. Not you."

"Tell that to Kota's parents," Bakugo muttered, slumping in his seat. He was still injured, his left arm in a sling, bandages on his face and chest, and he'd walk with a limp for days yet even with Recovery Girl's help. He'd been beaten within an inch of his life. And he wished that he'd died, instead of what had happened.

"Bakugo, we've been over this. You can't blame yourself for events you weren't even there for, and you helped put Muscular away. Right now, the news is placing blame on you. The price of being a high profile hero. But you saved people. What about that man, Yoshi, who came to visit you at the hospital? Do you think you were weak when you saved him?"

"It was his work buddies who saved him, not me," Bakugo muttered, looking back out the window.

"According to him, they were nearly killed, and some of them were ready to turn him over. You saved his life," Inui stated. "You did the work of a hero, trying desperately to end things so that others could be safe. Your actions were reckless, but when they heard Chikazoku was dead most of the MLA gave up. Who knows how many lives your action saved?"

"That doesn't matter!" Bakugo exploded. "What about Ochako!"

"I've talked with her. She's at peace with what she did," Inui told Bakugo. "You should be too. Sometimes, a hero has to take a life to save one. It's a hard choice."

"And yet that idiot Midoriya was smart enough to know I wasn't worth saving," Bakugo growled.

Inui shook his head. "I've spoken with him as well. He's wracked with guilt that he couldn't save you. He feels responsible for your wounds, for not killing Chikazoku when he had the chance.

They pulled up in front of the dorm building, and Bakugo hurried to let himself out of the car before Mr. Inui could help him. The counselor let Bakugo help himself out, but steadied him on his feet as Bakugo tried to climb the stairs.

"It isn't weakness to need help," Mr. Inui said gently.

Bakugo glared at him, but accepted the helping hand up the stairs. "I'll be fine," he told Mr. Inui, then paused. "And...thanks for the ride. And the talk. I...I'm trying not to be weak, but-"