#oh! that's a really big explosion. okay. nevermind. let's uhhhh. go. before he notices us.

[ramblebramblefun]

Of course, right then, there's an ominous clomp of feet behind them, exactly where Kacchan was, and Izuku's heart may or may not skip a beat.

Before he can turn his head to see, though, the figure comes clomping past them to take up a position in front of Izuku and his fellow students and- Oh, it's big Kacchan. Not a villain that's outflanked them. Okay. Izuku can-

...

Oh, it's big Kacchan.

"Apologise to the Pussycats for me, would you?" Big Kacchan says lightly, and Izuku starts mentally drafting Aizawa-sensei's eulogy in his head.

There's a clink as Ground Zero's return mechanisms engage. Izuku would love to study his gauntlets at some stage, because he has no idea how big Kacchan activates them and he never appears in a time or place to ask.

Big Kacchan hand rises, tilted so as not to let his sweat drip onto the forest floor and make an even bigger mess than there was about to be.

...

The Wild Wild Pussycats really really won't take this well.

The villains in front of them start making noises, such as who are you and who cares? We'll kill him too.

Izuku takes the opportunity to throw himself at the nearest fellow student, dragging them both to the ground and squeezing his eyes tight.

(The safest place to be when an explosion happens is nowhere near ground zero.)

(The safest place to be in a forest full of villains that wanted to kill you was right behind the broad back of probably the most powerful hero their generation had the potential to produce.)

Hopefully Recovery Girl will be able to fix the hearing loss.

Just as whoever it was underneath him began to struggle-

The world.

Erupts.

For all of the lecturing that he gives Izuku to pass on to regular Kacchan, Ground Zero himself is not a man who cares about excessive force and collateral damage.

Those villains are almost certainly dead.

Izuku can feel bad about that later.

When the flash of heat has faded, but not the ringing in his ears, Izuku slowly makes his way back to his feet.

He's shaking.

Anyone would, he tells himself. He's got two broken arms and Kacchan's hurt bad, if big Kacchan has come out to play.

Izuku looks down. It's Asui that he has flattened to the ground. He should probably help her up.

Big Kacchan gently pushes Izuku out of the way and lifts Asui up himself, instead. Right. Izuku has two broken arms.

His ears are still ringing.

Ground Zero dutifully checks over everyone present, because he does take his role seriously and tries to set a good example for regular Kacchan in the areas that regular Kacchan struggles in, even when regular Kacchan isn't going to remember anything that happens after they swap places.

Hopefully regular Kacchan won't be in too much trouble for big Kacchan obliterating approximately half the forest.

...

Or so Izuku assumes. He's refusing to look in that direction.

There had been people there.

Villainous people, but...

Izuku can feel bad about that later.

"Um, Kacchan?" Oh, that sounds weird.

Big Kacchan might make a listening noise, but Izuku can't be sure. Eventually the man turns to look at him instead.

"Um. We should probably go back to the lodge."

The villains were after regular Kacchan and Tokoyami. Tokoyami is here, relatively fine, and regular Kacchan is currently big Kacchan, which means he's hurt, so it would probably be best for them all to get back to where the official pro heroes are waiting.

Big Kacchan nods, slowly.

They, the students, are gently but firmly bunched up and herded away from- from the scene of- of the crime. Attempted kidnapping. Maybe possibly on purpose murder.

Big Kacchan takes threats to regular Kacchan's safety very poorly.

Izuku should probably count himself lucky that big Kacchan views regular Kacchan and Izuku as a set. And that he's never been around to hear regular Kacchan disagreeing.

Then Izuku has to focus, because big Kacchan has shuffled him into taking point to lead the way back while Ground Zero takes up the rear. This is... Flattering? Big Kacchan trusts in Izuku's abilities a lot, even when Izuku feels inadequate to the task.

But! He does in fact know the way from here, and they all eventually straggle back into the lodge, to a chorus of worry and possibly shouts. Izuku can't tell.

Naturally, at that moment, wisps of familiar smoke drift past him.

He whips around, nearly wobbling right off his feet, to see the figure of Ground Zero rapidly, but carefully, lowering himself to the ground, just as regular Kacchan's bruised-up face comes back into view.

(They'll rush Kacchan to the hospital and blame the damage on a fire that one of the villains started.

They'll blame the deaths on the arsonist, too.)