A blaring horn startled the occupants of both hero course dorm buildings awake, the students all sleepily stumbling into their respective common rooms. Those in Class A rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, half listening as Aizawa explained that they would be leaving for camp in three hours so they better be packed and outside by the time the bus pulls up. Once he finished informing his students that he would leave them behind if they weren't ready by then he dismissed them to go about their morning routines, he himself walked off to finish his own preparations.

Surprisingly, none of Class A were willing to risk being left behind, not even those in the rehab program. They all quickly and quietly agreed to finish their individual preparations before meeting back in the kitchen to eat breakfast together, mumbling good luck to one another as they returned to their dorm rooms. Toga excitedly skipped ahead of her friends, cheerfully waving to them before closing the door to her dorm. Shigaraki and Dabi wordlessly entered their own dorm rooms, leaving the two frenemies alone in the hall. The blond made a split second decision when Izuku turned to go into his own room, snatching the other's wrist to prevent him from leaving.

"You know it's not too late to change your mind, right?"

Izuku glanced down at where Bakugou held onto him, meeting his friend's eyes with determined resignation. "We are so close to finishing this. I am not going to throw out all our hard work when victory is within our grasp, Kacchan." Izuku pulled his wrist from Bakugou's grip, scanning the hallway for a moment. "Besides, even though we are in the final stages doesn't mean we shouldn't be mindful of cameras."

With a wink and a sharp smirk Izuku left Bakugou in the hallway, closing the door to his room while ignoring the slight tremble to his hands. Izuku took a seat on his bed next to his fully packed bags, taking the time he was allotted to burn the memory of his dorm room into his brain, knowing it would be the last time he was there, at least for a long time. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips when he thought about the few months he and his friends spent at UA, the bonds they made with the other students and teachers, and hoped that his future actions wouldn't destroy the peace his friends had found. His gaze landed on the phone he had stolen from Bakugou's old dorm room, his thoughts returning to the blond and to the beginning of his plans.

Izuku watched the blond he had grown up with lock the doors of his house behind him, adjusting his Rabid mask once more before he moved. He made sure to choose a time when he knew his friend would be home alone, unable to risk his parents finding out before he could strike a deal with the other teen. So with a practiced ease Izuku broke into the Bakugou household the old fashioned way, jimming open the bedroom window to lay in wait for his friend.

Bakugou's footsteps could be heard from down the hall, causing Izuku to take a few deep breaths and mentally prepare himself one last time for whatever the outcome of this gamble may be. The door to the bedroom opened and the lights were flipped on, an explosion immediately heading towards Izuku as soon as Bakugou laid eyes on him. Having expected this, Izuku teleported out of the way of the blast and right in front of Bakugou, grabbing him by the shoulders to slam him into the wall.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend, Kacchan?"

Upon hearing the nickname only Izuku used for him, Bakugou's murderous gaze faltered for a second before returning with a vengeance as he shoved Izuku off his body. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm exactly who you think I am." Izuku chuckled hollowly, removing his mask to prove his identity. "And I need your help."

Bakugou blinked, clearly not having expected Izuku to actually be standing in his bedroom and not some twisted imposter. With the confirmation given to him Bakugou sighed, dropping to sit on his bed and rub his eyes. "Fuck, the hag was right. You guys aren't dead."

Tentatively, Izuku sat next to Bakugou, leaving a respectful distance between them. "Well, I'm not at least. Mom on the other hand..." Izuku hissed out a wince, shaking his head to prevent the onslaught of unwanted memories heading his way. "What did you mean Auntie was right?"

"She kept going on and on about how there was no way you two were actually dead, she would 'feel' it if that were true. She kind of went off the deep end when the news of your deaths broke." Bakugou glared at Izuku when the villain just stared at him silently. "What?"

"Why don't you seem shocked that I'm actually alive and haven't been horribly murdered?"

Bakugou snorted. "You've always been too stubborn to give up." Sobering up, he stared at the mask in Izuku's hand, recognizing it for what it was. "Are you still being held captive? Are they forcing you to work for them as a villain?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Izuku pulled the flash drive from his pocket, handing it to the blond. "This will explain it better, as well as providing evidence to support my claims. You can watch - "

"Tell me what you need from me first, I'll decide whether watching this is even worth it."

Izuku nodded, steeling his nerves. "I need you to help me infiltrate UA, specifically the hero course." When Bakugou went to either protest or question him, Izuku cut him off. "Even more specifically, I need you to be a red herring for me. I need you to pretend to be a traitor for my boss - All For One - in order for me to gain the trust of both the heroes and the respect of my boss so that I can kill All For One. I would do it now but I know I am not strong enough and need help to do it."

"Deku - "

"Kacchan, please. You are the only one I can turn to for help and I promise on my mother's soul that I will take full responsibility once everything is over."

Bakugou was silent for a couple of moments, squinting inquisitively at his friend. "Have you ever killed anyone before?"

"More people than you would believe." Izuku scoffed.

"Hmph. Okay. Tell me everything first and then I will decide if I can help you." Sighing in relief, Izuku wasted no time in explaining his plan and what had prompted him to create it. He told Bakugou briefly about his time in captivity, how they experimented on him and gave him quirks, forcing him into the role of assassin, how he met his friends and the League of Villains, how he discovered All For One was behind everything, and his desire to kill the man who ruined not only his and his families lives but his friends' lives and countless other strangers over the years he has been active.

The whole time Izuku was talking Bakugou sat in silence and listened, never showing any outward reaction to what he was hearing. When Izuku finished talking Bakugou exhaled slowly, nodding once. "How would I even get in contact with All For One to strike a deal in the first place?"

Izuku chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided eye contact. "Well, you see, he has been keeping tabs on you and a few other potential UA students for similar reasons. I found this out and may or may not have gotten secretly heavily involved in his surveillance of you, altering the information he received about you and your family in order to make you seem like a prime candidate."

"Deku, what did you do?"

"Nothing too serious. I only convinced a few medical professionals to falsify records and claim that Auntie is in a catatonic state ever since she found out about mine and mom's death. Once that was done I wiped clean any trace of her being in public and persuaded those tasked with trailing your family to not report about her being functional." Izuku shrugged. "You needed a strong motivator and using revenge against me for doing this to your mom, for putting her in that state, is a pretty strong motivator. All For One would definitely go that route when recruiting you, figured I'd give him more ammo."

Bakugou sighed, staring at Izuku like he was a moron. "What if he had tried approaching me before you could explain all of this and I accidentally ratted you out by proving his information wrong?"

"He would've praised me for being tenacious and cunning...after he punished me for insubordination, of course." Izuku rolled his eyes. "So, are you going to help me?"

The room was quiet as Bakugou weighed his options internally, groaning when he came to his decision. He stuck his hand out towards the villain. "Don't make me regret this, Deku." When Izuku shook his hand with a wide smile, Bakugou squeezed his palm tightly, making sure he couldn't pull away just yet. "We need to tell my parents at least, the hag needs to know to sell the lie better."

Izuku beamed, nodding again. "Of course." He stood up and walked towards the window. "I need to go now, you'll see me on the news later. We'll meet again to further solidify the plans and timeline once All For One officially recruits you." He opened the window, throwing one leg over the edge. "And...thank you, Kacchan. You won't regret this."

"I better not."

Shaking himself free of his memories, Izuku shoved the phone into the depths of one of his bags, tossing his belongings over his shoulder before heading to the door of his dorm. He paused at the threshold, his hand on the light switch as he glanced back at the room, giving it one last smile before turning the lights off and closing the door on this chapter of his life, prepared to end this once and for all.

"What's got you being more theatrical than usual?" Izuku jumped when he heard Shigaraki's voice, turning to glare at his brother. "Hey, woah, relax there. Why so tense? We're going camping, after all."

"We aren't going camping, we are going to camp. There is a massive difference." Dabi grunted, tossing one of his bags onto Izuku's shoulder. "Carry that for me, will you? Thanks."

"Rude." Izuku huffed, accepting the extra bag nonetheless.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast! We don't have much time before Eraser said we are leaving." Toga cheered, following Dabi's lead in depositing her bags with Izuku before shoving past her friends to skip towards the common rooms.

"Oh, no, don't worry about me, I'm used to being used as a trash dump!" Izuku called after her and Dabi, Shigaraki falling into step with him. "I should throw their bags out the window. It'll serve 'em right, the jerks."

Shigaraki snickered, taking Dabi's bags from his brother. "You're always so dramatic, that's why it's fun to torture you."

"Right back at you, crusty." Izuku stuck his tongue out, copying his brother when he tossed the bags he was carrying into the pile already started by the front door of the dorms. "Let's go, I'm starving."

Breakfast in the dorms was surprisingly uneventful for a meal with Class A, none of the students wanting to risk not being allowed on the trip at the last minute. Somehow they even managed to stick with Aizawa's timeline, everyone boarding the buses on schedule. The students shuffled into their seats, Kaminari taking the window seat and gesturing for Izuku to sit next to him. With a smile Izuku dropped into the seat, resting his head on Kaminari's shoulder so he could take a nap for the bus ride, knowing he was going to need all the rest he could get.

Once Aizawa took attendance and triple checked that everyone and their belongings was on the bus he signaled for the driver to get a move on, everyone who was not choosing to nap was chatting happily amongst themselves about their expectations for the camp.

None of them could've possibly predicted the coming events.

Not even the one to set them in motion.