Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Her tiny hands were freezing, the short plain white dress she was wearing did not help warm her up at all. The old thin scars that littered her pale arms were aching ever so slightly, but she was happy no new ones were added to the collection.

The huge amount of dolls, toys and plushies she was surrounded with couldn't make the dark, cold room less scary for her.

She tried to comb her messy white hair with the tiny fingers she had so she at least looked a bit presentable. She came across the horn that sat on her forehead and flinched. Tears pooled at the sides of her eyes before clutching the hem of her dress bitterly, she really hated this horn, she really hated this quirk, it only brought her suffer and pain. No one wanted her, no one needed her. That's why she was thrown to the Shie Hassaikai. She was just a burden, and the thought of it only made her chest ache more.

It hasn't been that long since she got taken on by her grandfather, 6 months at most, but it felt like she was suffering for an eternity already.

But something was off recently, Chisaki hasn't been coming to see her at all for the past few weeks even though he used to drag her to that room every day since her grandfather fell ill 3 months ago.

Even though she was being locked in her room all the time, she was able to get a glimpse of foreign scary looking people visiting quite regularly. And since then, no one did hurt her. Maybe they were just too busy with those visitors?

Fear crept into her soul at the thought of going back to that room, will Chisaki come for her soon? Whoever those people were, she inly begged that they will keep him busy.

Please, just a little longer...

******

Despite having no windows or clocks, she could tell that it was pretty late. She was half sleeping on her bed, never really sleeping properly because her nervous system kept her alarmed all the time, when she heard loud voices talking behind her door.

Her eyes flew wide open immediately and she jumped to the corner of the room to make her little frame even less visible. She knew it was to no avail, it only made her seem pitiful and helpless, but her body moved by deeply rooted reflexes that she couldn't help but acquiesce.

"Is he really willing to hand her over to them?" She heard one of the guards of her room loud-whisper.

It wasn't unusual to hear them talk outside without considering her existence, and she was not gonna lie, it made her feel less lonely. But it was always useless chitchat about this and that, this was the first time she could get any useful information about her situation. Were they even talking about her to begin with?

She crawled hesitantly towards the door and put her ear to the cold dark metal.

"Yeah that's what I've heard too, they've been negotiating for the past few days, apparently we agreed on their terms just today" The other guard said. "But wasn't the brat a major element in our plan? What could the league offer that is more important to the leader than the plan of erasing quirks?" He pointed out with an annoyed tone of voice.

Now that, was informative. She knew that Chisaki was with no doubt using her quirk for something, but she didn't know it would be this dangerous! She herself didn't even know what her quirk was exactly or how to control it. But despite everything that have been said, a small bud of hope bloomed in her heart. Was she finally getting out of here? No more locked rooms, pain and tests? But she can't raise her hopes too much, what if those people the guards refaird to as 'the league' were bad people? Will they be using her quirk to do something evil too? Will it be even worse for her there?!

Too many negative thoughts blurred her vision and her breathing quickened. She shut her eyes tightly clutching her hair in hope that the hyperventilation and the weird feeling would disappear soon.

She was too caught up in her own world that she didn't hear the shuffle outside. She only came to realize the tender hand on her shoulder and the gentle sad eyes looking upon her too late after someone entered her room.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, I'm here with you"

Chapter Text

"A sudden test?!" shouts and groans of protest reverberated around the classroom. A mischievous grin crept its way to the face of the mean teacher as he announced about the deceiving exam. That's gotta be the best part of being a teacher, he reasoned, or why else would someone in their right mind choose to struggle with a bunch of teenagers on a daily basis?!

"But Aizawa-sensei! We've just had a test last week!" Declared a certain loud blondie. Kaminari, of course, he just had to oppose his sensei's decision.
Agh, problem children these days. Aizawa rolled his eyes with indifference. 

"So what?" He simply answered. A few students glared at him, not daring to show any other signs of disapproval because well, you know, it's Aizawa-sensei we're talking about.

"Everyone, don't be too disappointed, everything counts for our grades and you gotta believe that Aizawa-sensei is doing this for our own good!" Iida took it upon himself to reassure the class and show them the bright side of the situation. Chopping the air with his arm movements, he continued his lecture for a little while before getting yelled at by the one and only Bakugou Katsuki.

"Shut up, four eyes! Let's just get this stupid exam done with!" He yelled angrily, as usual. Getting a few agreeing nods from some of the other students.

By that, Aizawa gave each student in the first row a couple of papers to pass it back to the students behind.

Bakugou snatched the papers from his sensei's hand, not without receiving a sharp glare, and passed the rest of them behind to Shinsou after taking one himself.

Aizawa crawled tiredly to his yellow sleeping bag, not giving a shit about what would happen to the rest of the world.

"Only two things, don't cheat and don't wake me up, do either of them and consider yourself expelled" he threatened before plopping to the ground.

Gulps of fear were the last things he heard before drifting into a stirrless sleep, unaware that a certain purple student already started doing one of the prohibitions, hopefully not both though...

*******

Sitting in the teacher lounge grading exams was certainly not Aizawa's favourite activity in life, watching cat videos was. But anyhow, it was still way better than giving lessons in class, or any other job that requires being around his problem children, really.

"SHOUTA!" Aizawa couldn't help but sigh, hearing the loudest hero, no, human being he ever met calling his name in the corridor. Aizawa pretend to not exist and got in his usual sleeping bag under the desk, hopping that loud Mic would give up searching for him after getting convenience that he didn't exist.

But there was a tiny problem, it may be shocking to some, but in fact, Aizawa existed (in his own universe of course, don't get too excited you crazy fandom)  so he got caught in the end.

"BUDDY! What are you doing down there?!" Aizawa could feel his eardrums getting pierced by the soundwaves, and the only thing he could do was to roll around and pretend that Mic, this time, was the one not to exist.

But suddenly, he felt himself getting lifted off the ground, along with the sleeping bag, and getting thrown on Mic's shoulder.

"Where are you taking me now?" Aizawa said tiredly, too lazy to fight his way out.

"I'm getting you coffee, so just come with me". Mic beamed and proceeded walking.

The sides of Aizawa's mouth turned slightly upwards, I don't dare to call it a smile, but it was surely something genuine that didn't appear around any other person. Now don't get him wrong, Mic was sure the opposite polar of our dear Aizawa, but he was the only one who could understand him too.

"Whatever" Aizawa muttered under his breath, getting too comfortable in the warm bag and melting into it.

(No shipping my dears, I really like their platonic friendship)

******

After the short trip to the cafeteria, Aizawa was back to grading the sheets. Mic tried to help too, but got kicked out after giving every single student a full grade. (A/N Ah I wish Mic was my teacher!)

"I'm here! Entering through the door like a normal person!"

This was surely not Aizawa's lucky day. Another loudmouth has entered his sacred space. He was sure he heard a vein or two pop inside his body.

"All might, you know this is not your lounge, it's the one next door" Aizawa said, rubbing his right temple with his fore and middle fingers.

"I know, I know, I just have some information for you" All might said, his beaming smile wavering ever so slightly and a serious look took over his features.

That was enough to alert Aizawa that the matter is serious. He dropped his red pen and drew his full attention to the number one hero.

All might looked around cautiously and walked closer.

"Earlier on, an underground basement of the League of Villains has been located, your presence is required for the raid that will be taking place in the next few days" All might started explaining in a hushed tone. "They told me that they want to minimize the amount of heros to avoid any leakage of information, they also suspect the possibility of a spy among us". Toshinori proceed.

Aizawa only nodded to these information. It's not that he wasn't used to sudden missions and patrols, it was merely a part of being a hero. But he sure wasn't used to getting personal requests. Did they choose him because they trust him? Aizawa didn't know how to feel about it, it was sure reassuring, but that also meant more job getting thrown his way.

"Roger, so when will we be having the first meeting?"

"Well, it's not we, they want me to be on standby, the government do not wish for my involvement because it would draw unnecessary attention" All might said sheepishly scratching the back of his neck, clearly wanting to participate.

"Then only few heros are in, huh? What a drag" Of course, Aizawa had to comment. 

Well, it's only one of many missions he has to perform as a hero, it can't be that bad now, can it? Plus! He gets to ditch his classes! Not a bad deal, really.

Chapter Text

" Senseiiii~~" one of the students, going by the name of Uraraka, started whining after I announced my sudden furlough.

"You will be gone soon?"

"Who will take care of 1-A?!"

"How long are you going to be absent?"

"Is it a dat-"

Aizawa activated his quirk and erased the students' quirks momentarily which made them shut up all at once. He sighed heavily and rubbed his red dry eyes.

"Don't make a fuss. I don't know how long I'll be gone either, but it's not like I won't be back so be quiet" He answered drily.

After stealing a glimpse at his disappointed children, his non-existing heart softened and he tried to reassure them the best he could with his limited social skills.

He coughed awkwardly. "Ma, don't worry, present Mic will take care of you, and all of the UA staff of course" the underground hero tried ... uhm, how should I describe it ...pathetically. He thought about mentioning All Might being their homeroom teacher but decided that it would do more harm than good in that context.

It's not like Aizawa disliked the number one hero or anything, but he was sure not the best teacher out there. Not that Aizawa thinks he himself is, though! But anyways, there's always Recovery Girl to lecture those who would need it so Aizawa was resting assured that she will keep things, and certain teachers too, under control.

"But Sensei~, we didn't even get back our test from yesterday!" Mina reminded the class and the uninterested teacher.

"Well yeah, about that, all of you failed so you will have to do another one tomorrow" Aizawa tried to suppress the entertainment in his voice but kinda failed.

"What?! Everyone?" Kirishima wondered, not able to hide his shock.

"Even Yaoyorozu?" Shinsou asked, not being the talkative type but the shock being too big for him to stay silent.

"Even the class top" Aizawa repeated with a wide grin. Well that's not too surprising, because the class was not supposed to be able to calculate derivatives until next year, but let's not talk about that now....

******

Pain.

All she could feel was pain.

She didn't know pain was a wide concept until now.

Her arms were wound-less, only the old usual scars, no new knife wounds. Her clothes were stainless, no blood or decayed skin scattered over. Her skin was color-less, no purple or green bruises were forming. Her organs were functioning normally, no internal bleeding or a failure. Her body and mind were free from any quirk that might be cause any harm, meaning she can't be under a spell or someone else's influence.

No fractured ribs, no concussion, no broken bones, no torn ligaments, no bursted lips, no black eyes, no no no no!

So why did her heart ache so violently?! Why couldn't she stop her pouring tears?! Why couldn't she contain her muffled sobs?!

WHY DID IT HURT SO MUCH?!

Why was she so powerless and helpless?

******

Chapter Text

What a shady looking area. An abandoned old warehouse stood totally alone in a dense forest of long naked trees. The wood sticks sticking from the timber wall gave the impression that no one could have possibly been here in years.

However, Aizawa's sharp and experienced eyes were able to locate a few suspicious details that raised red flags.

"Huh? This is a league basement?" Midnight voiced what everyone was thinking about, while trying her best to hide her presence behind some bushes.

Eight to ten well-experienced heros were hiding a few miles away from the warehouse. They made sure they were out of range of any possible sensory quirks, but that they still had the upper hand in a sudden fight if any villain decided to make an appearance.

An entire force of policemen and detectives were also on standby, but inasmuch the nature of their quirks and qualifications which weren't really suitable for combat, they were staying behind the heros within a safe distance to not get affected by any possible fights.

"Well, it may seem deserted at first glance, but if you look carefully you could see that someone was here not too long ago" Aizawa stated, being the underground hero with most experience and sharpest perceptions.

"The grass and wild plants around this area are very long and dense, but only infront the back door, it gets way shorter and paler in color, which can imply that this grass right there was planted intentionally by someone to hide the fact that the door is frequently being used"

Cementoss nodded in agreement, while Mt. Lady was left with awe about Aizawa coming to such a conclusion by only this.

"Not only that. Look at the broken left window right there. The glass shards are splattered outwards on the bush beneath. There is no way the glass would have shattered like that if the window was broken from the outside, it had definitely been broken from the inside of the warehouse. And by the looks of it, the shards are still new if they are still on the top of that young bush under the window"

No one of the heros said anything after that. The tension in the air got heavy, now that Eraserhead's explanation made it clear that this warehouse was out of ordinary.

After a few minutes of silent observation, detective Tsukautchi's voice came from handheld transceivers every hero had.

"Now, hero force, sorry to keep you waiting! Everything is ready! This mission is of high risk and we have little to no information about what this secret hideout contains. It could as far as we know be a trap, so be careful. And the secrecy the location of this specific warehouse was held with is worrisome" All heros, though they were used to these kind of danger, were cold sweating.

"Don't forget to demand reinforcements if you ever feel that it's too dangerous to handle! Now, let the raid begin!"

Aizawa couldn't help but roll his eyes to the dramatic tone. But as soon as his goggles were on, his eyes turned dead serious. Aizawa may be lazy and sleep deprived, but he was sure a reliable hero to the heart.

He dashed forward, followed by his fellows, as soundlessly as possible.

All heros centralized themselves at every possible escape route, both windows and doors, and slammed their way in.

Midnight's eyes widened and she was clearly very surprised with what they came across.

"Huh?" Cementoss couldn't help but let that slip.

"What?! Th- that's different from what we've been told!" Midnight said.

She ran inside to the totally empty warehouse. Not a single box or door were seen. The ground was covered in dust and sand that no one could have possibly been here without leaving a trace.

"Ha, so even Eraser can be wrong sometimes" Ectoplasm joked as he walked around the warehouse checking for anything unusual.

Aizawa put his goggles up and scrutinized the whole place. He really thought that there definitely was something wrong with this place.

He sighed and took out his transceiver to report their situation.

"Here's the hero force, we didn't find any-" before Aizawa could finish his line, Tsukautchi's distressed shouts came from said transceiver.

"The police force is being attacked by villains! It's as we thought! The warehouse was a trap!  T̸̪͂h̴̬̳͆̈́- ̵͇͊̀h̷͓̚hh.̴͓͛͝.̶͉̠̫͌́̽͂̕.̵̱̏̌͊̿.̸̡̨̚.̸̧̧̫̤̥̔͊̾͘.̶̧̲͖̓̾.̷̹̘̘̅̅̒̉͝ hȩ̴̥͘r̸̦̒ọ̵̃͐

̴̥͛̈́fo-f̵̰͌͠o̴͍̼͛r̶̗̾c̴̲̖̀́ë̷̜̠́̉'̶̩́ͅs̶͇̃͠ ̷̫͓͗á̵̢͘i̴̬̹͛͝d̸̯̃̄ ̵̟͉̐́i̵͎̓̐s̶͈͙̽́ ̷̭͋.̴͓͛͝.̶͉̠̫͌́̽͂̕.̵̱̏̌͊̿.̸̡̨̚.̸̧̧̫̤̥̔͊̾͘.̶̧̲͖̓̾.̷̹̘̘̅̅̒̉͝.̴͓͛͝.̶͉̠̫͌́̽͂̕.̵̱̏̌͊̿.̸̡̨̚.̸̧̧̫̤̥̔͊̾͘.̶̧̲͖̓̾.̷̹̘̘̅̅̒̉͝ ̶̢̄i̵̤͋̑m̴͍͐m̸̭̊͗é̷̻͊d̶̙̈́̓ t̵͖͕̀ḙ̶͊͒l̸̬̽̀- " The

sound started cracking and became soon inapprehensible. The noise became louder and louder until the line was cut off.

All heros raced out at once. Aizawa following right behind.

But uneasiness still lingered in his heart. If the warehouse was really a trap, wouldn't they have made it more obvious? Would they really have tried to disguise it like that? Wouldn't it have been better to give them a lot of information and threads to lead as many heros as possible here instead of being this reticent?

'I don't have time to think about this now!' He scolded himself and decided to think about it later, but something caught his attention just before he was about to leave the warehouse.

In the very corner, one of the floor's old wooden planks was sticking slightly out. It may look totally normal considering the age of the building, but Aizawa had a feeling, and his feelings were often right on spot.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to inform the others, but found that they were already gone.

He knew he had to go help the others, but this gut feeling was so unnerving that he decided to just check on the plank really quick before leaving.

He spun on his heels and walked in again to the corner, his fast leaping made the floor beneath squeak with every step.

He squatted down and tried pulling at the flooring. And to his prediction, it came off and a handle to a hidden basement door became visible.

Aizawa bit his bottom lip and glanced at the exit for the last time. Should he really go down alone? He didn't know what to expect, it would be wiser to wait for everyone else. But this may be a chance to catch some villains. He can't give them this opportunity to escape.

He decided yo at least check his gadgets to make sure he had everything he needed, and to his surprise, he came across something that wasn't supposed to be there.

'Good luck Sensei! We will be waiting for you ♥️

PS. Girls like gentlemen, please refrain from looking like a beggar and wear a suit to your date.

From your students, 1-A'

Aizawa couldn't help but chuckle at the card his students snuck in his hero suit.

Well, someone is clearly getting detention for a whole month, or maybe two, for calling him a beggar. No, let's make them three for invading his privacy and touching his suit.

'Well, here goes nothing' he thought bitterly before putting the card back in his pocket to open the door on the ground and jump down.

Chapter Text

She was terrified way beyond imagination. She could hear loud noises coming from above somewhere. The room was only lit by a dim lightbulb in the middle of the ceiling. There was not much furniture other than the bed she was cradling herself on, and a few other things scattered on the floor that he sneaked in for her. Compared to her previous room with the toys and paintings, this situation was so much worse. But she knew that it wasn't true, because she hasn't been hurt at all since she came to this unknown building a year ago, not even a scratch. No one did those painful experiments on her that she used to go through with Chisaki, but she is still hurting, maybe so more than ever.

She heard a heavy creak and a thud, her head shot up and her eyes widened. She let go of her legs that were dragged to her chest protectively as she ran to the locked door and tried to listen carefully.

She knew it would be risky to call for help right now, it could very well be those mean men who hurt him. But she couldn't resist a chance of possible rescue!

Tears started to run along her cheeks as she began banging on her door madly.

"Please, Help!" She shouted as loud as her unused vocal cords allowed her to. She knew she had to help, she knew she had to do something! It was all because of her in the first place!

Her heart was banging inside her chest and she could feel every pulse running inside her veins.

"I'm... sorry" More tears fell from her innocent sad eyes as she couldn't quieten her sobs.

"I shouldn't have come here!!"

********

Upon landing blindly in the dark crypt, Aizawa took out his transceiver and tried to contact his fellows. But as soon as he turned it on, only statics were heard, it gave him a sharp headache that he was forced to turn it off immediately.

"Tch!" The underground hero couldn't help but curse his luck. The only thing in his head was the wish to be cradled home in his sofa surrounded by his furry friends with a cup of coffee in hand. But nooo, he just had to be here doing dangerous hero work after getting separated with everyone else by some trap set by those freaking villains!

Why did he decide it was a good idea to become a hero in the first place?

Anyhow, while Aizawa was busy regretting his life choices, he thought he heard a faint sound coming from the end of the stairs leading downwards.

Aizawa was still feeling uneasy, and with him being unable to call for reinforcements at the time, he was not sure if it would be smart to proceed.

"Pl- .....-lp" He heard a faint whisper again. So he didn't have the time to consider his choices before he found his body running down on its own. 

As he came closer to the source of the voice, it became clearer and clearer. It was a child calling for help. He couldn't help but grimace at the idea of a child being help captive in this creepy place, but now at least he knew that his suspicions were right. This was really a secret hideout. But then, why did the villains attack the stationed force instead of running away if they knew that they have been found? Or did this place contain things they just couldn't give up on and leave?

Not too soon, Aizawa was in front of a metallic heavy-looking door.

A kid, a girl, was heard sobbing behind.

"Kid! Do you hear me! I'm a hero, Eraserhead. Don't worry I'll get you out of here!"

Aizawa could hear the uneven breathing suddenly going quiet. He heard the kid shuffling closer to the door.

"A- a hero?" A very tiny voice asked trembling.

"Yes! Yes, are you hurt? No, firstly, just stay still, I just have to break the door" Aizawa said, trying to contain the panic in his own voice to reassure the scared child. She surely didn't need any more stress caused by the person who was supposed to save her.

"No! Go to h-him! Go h-help him instead!" The girl surprisingly declined. Her voice seemed so desperate that Aizawa stopped his attempts of breaking the door.

"P-please! I'll be fine, I-I'm not hurt at all. But he-" sobs shook her body and she couldn't finish her sentence.

Aizawa felt torn, but he knew he couldn't leave the little girl. So he tried to calm her down first.

"Okay, okay, we will help everyone. But first I need you to breath deeply. Get away from the door so that I won't accidentally harm you"

The pro hero heard a whimper, and a small 'un' before hearing her steps get away from the metal door.

It's times like these that makes Aizawa curse his quirk for being totally useless. A mutant-type quirk would be much more appreciated in this kind of situations. But anyway, he had to use what he had.

Aizawa wrapped his scarf around the knob and shoved a card between the lock and the doorframe. In a single move, he swiped the card quickly downward while angling the card toward the frame at the same time as he pulled the knob down and broke it.

Not wasting a moment, he dashed into the room to check the girl for any possible injuries. He went to grab her but realized that she was trembling uncontrollably so he stopped.

Aizawa was sure not the best with children, but trauma was something he dealt with frequently during his time as a hero.

"Hey, hey it's fine" He tried as gently as he could muster. He squatted down to her level and looked her in the eyes. Her beautiful red iris wet with tears as her gaze shifted nervously, looking at everything except Aizawa's own eyes.

The hero stretched his hand slowly, making sure she saw every movement he made so he won't startle her any further, and patter her silver hair protectively.

"Are you injured? Does anything hurt?" He asked her quietly. She only shook her head in response.

Aizawa eyed her to make sure she was telling the truth, and beside her bandaged arms, and the puffy red eyes, she seemed fine.

"Then, what's your name? Is there anyone else here beside you?" He tried to muster the long-lost kindness inside his soul, you could clearly see that he was straining himself to not scare her off.

But right then, the girl seemed like she had remembered something important she was forgetting about. All her insecurities seemed to vanish and get replaced with dread. Her eyes stopped wandering and she looked at Aizawa directly.

"Nii-chan! You have t-to save him! Please, hero-san! Please I b-beg you!" Her eyes started to water and her voice wavered again. She clutched his scarf tightly with her tiny thin fingers. She was clearly very desperate.

"Yes, I promise you I'll help him, do you know where he is?" Aizawa started to think about all possible hiding places in this crypt. And how many children are these villains holding captive anyway?! Is it only this girl and her 'nii-chan'? Aizawa didn't think he could protect a lot of small children in this situation, three has to be his limit.

"I- I" the little girl started, not knowing the exact answer. She felt so weak and useless. Now that they've finally have someone to help, she doesn't even know where nii-chan is! How dumb can she be?!

She started to panic yet again. And Aizawa could easily catch on that.

"Hey, I need you to breath, don't be scared, we'll find him" He reassured, standing up and examining the surroundings. Honestly, he wasn't so sure. The only thing in his mind right now was getting this child to safety, but seeing how panicked she was about that brother of hers, he wasn't sure it was wise to leave just yet. Neither the girl would obey, nor was he so sure that the other kid could wait or not. The girl made it seem like the brother was somehow injured, but she could as well be just too worried, you can't be sure about what kids say.

While lost in thoughts, Aizawa felt a tug to his hero suit and his attention got shifted to the girl again.

"Mr. Hero. Don't w-worry it's only Eri and nii-chan h-here. T-there used to be m-more but nii-chan said that they went to a better place" The little girl, Eri-chan, told our disturbed hero.

Better place? Aizawa hoped it's not what he thought it was, but decided to put off the thinking part until later, now he had to take action.

"Okay, Eri-chan, I need you to stay close to me. Don't leave my side unless I tell you so, got it?" Aizawa gave the instructions, still trying to be gentle and not too frightening.

Eri only nodded and grabbed his leg hesitantly.

That was not what Aizawa had in mind when he said close, but hey, since when was he a good explainer?

Therefore, and to be easier to move around, he crouched down, telling her yet again what he was going to do to avoid frightening the already traumatized child, and lifted her up with one swift movement.

She flinched at first, but relaxed a little more after realizing that this man ment no harm, and that he was her only chance to get her nii-chan out of here too!

Chapter Text

Aizawa paced down the corridor, not being able to swallow the growing lump in his throat. The poor light made the hero paranoid as he felt someone's eyes on him the whole time. So he was cautiously glancing around, but refined from being too obvious to not startle the fidgeting child in his arms.

****

Saying that Eri was nervous was an understatement. She couldn't stop the pounding in her chest or the throbbing dread in her head.

She didn't know what this place was, despite being here for over a year. She didn't know who these mean people were, or for what purpose nii-chan and the others were held captive. But she knew that she was a burden. A burden to her nii-chan.

Maybe nii-chan thinks that she hasn't realized that, but she really knew. She only knew why she was here, and that was so that nii-chan would listen to the mean men.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as a certain conversation she had heard flooded back to her senses.

"Is he finally listening to you, Tomura?" A deep robotic voice was heard from a big screen. No one realized that the always locked door has been left open by mistake and that a certain little girl was out of her room, eavesdropping.

Well she wasn't exactly eavesdropping on purpose. She was just too afraid to move or speak. She just got lost while trying to find her nii-chan who she didn't see for a few days.

"Certainly, Sensei. Since our deal, he has been very obedient. Can't believe how easy it was to manipulate him with only mentioning the brat. I don't even know why we were struggling before for that long" The other scary man that Eri saw quite regularly chuckled.

"Well that's reassuring. But may I remind you that you need to be careful. We are putting everything on line with this plan, so don't be hasty and take your time, failure is not an option!" The voice from the screen said with a dark tone that made poor little Eri flinch aggressively.

"Yes, Sensei. Everything will turn out just as you wish..."

At that time, Eri was pretty much clueless to what the conversation meant. But now, she knew that 'brat' was referring to her, and that 'he' has to be her nii-chan.

Eri may be young, but she was definitely not stupid. She knew that her presence was forcing nii-chan to do things he didn't want to do, she could see it in his sad crystal eyes every time he came to visit.

With every time, his eyes were getting hazier, more tired, less focused and much more miserable. He would look at her less, smile at her less and talk to her less. Until one time he just came without saying a word, or even sparing her a glance, and only left in a minute.

That was the last time she ever saw him, and that was already a few weeks ago.

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes again, as she tried to think if it was something wrong she did to make him hate her. Maybe nii-chan was simply tired of her? Did he not love her anymore? Because she was too clingy and a crybaby? Because she would ramble and talk too much every time he came to visit? Because she begged him to let her go with him instead of leaving her alone in that locked room? Because she would ask him again and again about his new scars and bruises? Because she couldn't make him smile anymore even when she tried very hard to make funny faces for him? Becau-

"Kid, it's okay" The kind hero spoke while stroking her hair tenderly. She didn't even realize she was trembling this much until now.

****

Aizawa was not sure if this is how giving tenderness to scared children works, but he tried his best. Oh how Mic would be laughing at him if he saw his situation right now.

For Aizawa, he would be very annoyed if someone tried to touch his hair like that, but he was told that children liked it, so..?

When the kid's trembling deceased and she leaned into his touch ever so slightly, he took it as a yes to his previous question.

The sides of his mouth turned slightly upwards in an expression that I wouldn't dare to call a smile, but it vanished immediately when he was hit with a scent, that he was too familiar with for his liking.

He recognized it immediately as fresh blood.

His movements came to a halt as he tried to identify the source. He could tell it was the room on his right side just a little further.

The hand he was using to caress the child's hair moved to grab her head protectively instead.

He took a few steps closer to the door to take a quick peak, still not letting his guard down in case of a sudden ambush.

Once his nose was adjusted to the sharp smell, he took in the contents of the room.

It was as dark as the rest of the crypt, which was pitch black by the way. There were four long tables filled with different lab tools and instruments that have definitely been used for cruel purposes considering the fact that they were coated in blood. The flooring was covered with a plastic layer, clearly to withstand the blood splattered everywhere. A huge library with all kinds of files and research took a whole wall. Shelves after shelves lined the wall and was fully stacked with jars of different shapes and sizes, but one thing was certain, something was definitely wrong with its contents.

All in all, the room was an unpleasant sight and Aizawa was about to move on when he noticed an unmoving figure in the far corner.

Aizawa could feel that his heart skipped a beat and his breath hitched.

At that moment, the kid tried to turn her head to see what the hero was so indignant at, but a firm hand restricted her from doing that. She whimpered slightly, wondering why the gentle touch turned so stiff in a matter of seconds.

So instead, she looked up to the hero's face and was struck with the dread expression he was showing.

But he couldn't help it, that was nothing he saw before in his long career, and trust me when I say that he saw much that nothing would surprise him at this point.

He pulled Eri's head tightly to his chest without sparing her a single glance, trying to take in the scene infront of his own eyes instead.

Someone, a boy not older than his own students, sitting on the ground with one hand chained to the wall above his head. A hand, the hands, missing all nails and some fingers, with blood still oozing out. The rag covering the body not doing a great job in hiding the flesh wounds underneath.

His face was not visible from Aizawa's angle. But the lack of movements made Aizawa think that this may be a corpse he was seeing.

To confirm that, Aizawa shook himself awake and walked away from the room, putting Eri down quickly and telling her to not move an inch. Aizawa was sure that all kindness in his voice was gone, and the kid's flinching reaction confirmed that, but he couldn't care less at that point.

He walked back to the room slowly, letting the sight sink in. He crouched down and reached his hand out hesitantly to the boy's neck and looked after any sign of life.

He waited for a second, not feeling anything, while observing the face.

One eye still not visible as it was hidden under long loose green hair locks soaking in a serious amount of sticky blood. The other lid was half closed, the greenish glassy hazed iris could only convenience the hero further of the boy being dead.

When Aizawa was about to retreat his hand in defeat, he felt a faint pulse.

His eyes widened drastically and he couldn't settle between feeling relieved or heart wrenched.

He took out his scarf and tried to break the shackles on the left hand, being the only thing restricting the boy to the wall behind.

The metal shackle was rather tough to break, but the adrenaline in Aizawa's system made it possible to pull it out of the wall with pure human muscles' strength.

Catching the body immediately and lowering it to the ground, the pro hero tore a piece from his hero suit and began the first aid.

The priority went first to the big gash on the abdomen, Aizawa tried to tighten the rag as much as he could but it got soaked in seconds.

Okay, okay, deep breath. Scanning the rest of the body, Aizawa could vaguely tell that the limbs were broken, maybe some ribs too. Listening closely to the breathing, he could tell there were some serious internal damage as well. God! How was this boy even still alive?! And that empty gaze, is he even conscious?

Okay focus! The bleedings, those were at least manageable. The fingers, the head, the abdomen, oh yeah that has been already taken care of. Then, then, there is th-

"Nii.....chan?"

Chapter Text

"Nii-chan?" Eri's trembling voice echoed through the dark room. Aizawa was caught off guard, his head lashed towards the little girl in surprise, holding back a breath. His heart got filled with sorrow while he tried to block the view from the girl at the doorframe with his body.

"Kid! What are you doing here?! I told you to sta-" He didn't even get to finish his sentence before he saw four fingers wrapping around the girl's neck and jolting her upwards very unkindly. 

"Well well well, seems like a rat sneaked into our lab" A dangerously low and raspy voice came from behind a hand pinned to a face. "Well, two rats" He added while grabbing Eri's chin tightly with his other hand by two fingers. 

Eri's pupils shrunk drastically and she gasped in both fear and pain. Her airway was getting shut as she struggled with every breath. 

Aizawa gritted his teeth in frustration while he got hit with a rush of hot adrenaline from all possible glands in his body. 

"Now now, hero, we don't want this little girl dying because of you, now would we?" The man covered in hands said, waving his last finger around Eri's neck threateningly.

The man, clearly a villain, seemed very menacing and dangerous, so Aizawa knew better than to make the wrong move and get both kids, and himself, killed. He didn't even know what the villain's quirk was, so he couldn't act rashly. He raised his hands slowly in surrender, still on his knees, studying the man carefully with his gaze. 

The villain only chuckled in return, seeming quite satisfied with Aizawa's subjection. 

But on the other hand, seeing that Aizawa was restrained because of her made Eri's teary eyes regain some courage. 

She quickly knitted her eyebrows together, raised her tiny hands to grab the villain's hand that was holding her chin, and bit it with all her might. 

The man with hands yelped and let Eri fall from the unexpected pain rush. 

Aizawa, not letting this opportunity slip away, slipped his goggles on and tried to erase the villain's quirk, whatever it was. When he realized that he could, in fact, erase it, he dashed forward and readied his capturing gear, not wanting to waste a second to get the kids to safety. 

But right when he was about to get hold of the villain, a large ugly creature appeared and threw Aizawa across the room. 

Aizawa crashed into the library shelves behind, causing several folders and jars to fall down and shatter. Blood dripped down his forehead and his vision blurred for a second. But instead of falling, he forced his aching body to land on his legs and not show any signs of weakness infront of the kid. 

He felt something getting squashed beneath his feet, something very sticky and disgusting that he may or may not recognise from previous experiences, but he chose to ignore that for the time being.

****

Eri started running the moment the mean man let her go and dashed towards nii-chan who was laying motionlessly on the ground. She collapsed down next to him and buried her tear-stained face in his shirt, only for him to remain unmoving. 

Just when she was about to question the lack of response, she heard a loud crash and turned immediately to see her hero wobbling on his feet, some wet blood droplets hit the ground underneath as well as some red jars, and she could tell hero-san was injured. 

Few more tears slid down her cheeks and she felt very lost. She didn't want the kind hero to get hurt, but she couldn't leave her nii-chan's side either. She clutched nii-chan's shirt even more tightly and shut her eyes, refusing to witness any further heinousness. 

****

Aizawa couldn't help but stare at the hideous navy blue skinned creature with the exposed brain and maniac eyes. The large and muscular build explaining the force he just experienced. 

'It broke my arm with just one blow?!' Aizawa thought with horror while observing his limp limb that refused to move. He clutched it tightly, overworking his brain to find an escape route, if not for him, then for the children! 

Aizawa needed to distract both villains in order for the kids to sneak out, but he doubted that the girl could bear her older brother, who definitely didn't look like being able move by himself anytime soon. 

He glanced at the girl, making sure she remained unscratched, and when he saw her desperate tears, he just knew he had to stay with them. 

Good luck Sensei! We will be waiting for you! 

Despite the situation, Aizawa smiled genuinely when he remembered the card. Yeah that's right, his students were waiting for him too. No, he can't afford to die. If he dies, there'll be no one left to hold the villains back! 

And he still had to watch over 1-A. Until they become graduated heroes!

With his new-founded motivation still lingering in the back of his mind, Aizawa dashed forward, all pain from his head and arm injuries momentarily forgotten. He activated his quirk again and used the creature's shoulder as a stepping stone to jump and come face to face with the other villain, who was clearly the one controling the creature. If he could take care of this one, he hoped that the other creature will become automatically hindered. 

He landed his kick successfully and the villain covered in hands hit the wall behind harshly. 

"Nomu! Get the hero!" The ashy haired man ordered angrily while propping himself up with his elbows. He began scratching his neck stressfully with gritted teeth.

The nomu obeyed directly after receiving the order and backhanded the hero midair with its right hand after spinning on its heels with inhuman speed, sending Aizawa out of the room and to the corridor. But before crashing, Aizawa used his capturing weapon to wrap the two kids and shoved them to his side of the corridor. 

Eri yelped at the sudden movement and held her brother even closer. And instead of crashing, she felt herself being gently put down on the floor. She looked up and found herself right behind the standing hero who was shielding them from the mean man. 

Now that he had the kids, Aizawa only had one problem left. The exit was behind the villains infront of him.

He went first to lift the -probably- unconscious boy with both hands bridal style, his broken hand not helping much. 

"Hold tight kid, I promise to deliver both of you to safety" he whispered to the girl while crouching down and gesturing her to ride on his back. 

Eri only nodded and proceed to hug his neck tightly. 

Wrapping both the girl and his broken arm with the gear to make sure no one slips, Aizawa jumped skillfully to the right wall of the long dark corridor, his centrifugal force making it possible for him to walk on the wall for a split of a second. 

"Nomu!" The hand-covered villain yelled and the nomu acted promptly, throwing a hook directed at Aizawa's head. 

Right before it was about to hit the rushing hero, he gathered all his remaining power and jumped to the opposite wall, making an air flip over the nomu's head and getting rid of it successfully. The only thing left was getting through the last villain and everything will be just fine! Aizawa felt a rush of relief wash over him, and his pain came flooding back at that. 

"NO! No, no, no, not the research, not this one, Sensei will be so mad, I- Ican'tdisappointSensei! Ihaveto... yes! I have to....!" The maniac villain was mumbling nonstop the whole time, and right when Aizawa was flying right above him, the small whispers came to an end and were replaced with an evil grin. 

Aizawa landed felicitously on the ground. He finally made it! The kids will be safe now! 

But before sprinting to the exit, our experienced hero couldn't help but have this uneasy feeling in his gut. He looked back at the villain who was still grinning creepily. 

Aizawa didn't notice it in that split of a second, but now that he looked closely, the villain held something like an injection? An Epipen? Except it couldn't possibly be an epinephrine shot right? Why would that villain hold something like that now of all times though? 

Aizawa wasn't given the opportunity to think this matter through before getting interrupted by a painful shriek. 

His eyes darted immediately to the boy in his hands, who in addition to his previous critical wounds, had blood flowing from both eyes, ears and nose. The boy's whole body was tense before random spasms shook his whole being. 

"Nii-chan!" Eri cried out with terror and tried to get off to her brother, not being very successful with the capturing gear around her. 

The villain let out a crippling laugh that made chills run down the hero's spine. 

"What did you- ?!" Aizawa didn't know what to do and lowered the boy down to the floor in an impulse. Not being aware of the nomu that towered above him, ready to give the final, deadly blow. 

"Goodbye, HiiiRoooo!" Was the last thing Aizawa heard beside the wicked laughter, before everything he could see was..... 

Blood.....

Chapter Text

"Aizawa Sensei!" 

Someone caught the nomu's fist at the last moment. 

*Bang*

A loud gunshot was heard from behind Aizawa from the direction of the exit. The nomu's blood splattered everywhere. 

Eri was trembling in fear and held the hero's shirt firmly in her small fists. Her face completely buried in his back. 

Aizawa's attention switched from the motionless body of the bleeding boy in his arms to the young hero in training before him. 

"Togata! What- what are you doing here?" 

Mirio used his quirk to avoid a kick from the nomu and ran to grab the injured hero and the kids. 

"Sensei, sir Nighteye saw a vision and instructed me to come here! Glad I made it in time though" he informed as he lifted all three of them with ease, trembling Eri-chan couldn't help but wimper at the unfamiliar touch, she looked up just to be met with a bright eye-blinding smile. 

"Don't worry, you don't have to be in pain anymore, I'll be your hero!" 

Eri's eyes widened and she couldn't stop them from tearing up. No one other than nii-chan had ever told her that, and she felt like she finally had someone to depend on. 

She reached her shakey hands to his cloak and held it tightly with a nod, uncharacteristically deciding to trust this young hero. 

Lemillion sprinted to the exit, being met with the one who shot the nomu in the shoulder.

"Eraser!" Snipe exclaimed with visible worry while he shot two more shots at the two villains, the blue huge one blocking both. 

Midnight, Cementoss, Mt. Lady and the other participating heros and police officers came in rushing just when the nomu was about to throw a grievous smash. Cementoss reacted directly and blocked it with a huge cement wall. Midnight took action too and exposed her skin to spread her soporific gas. 

"Tch, that's it I guess, huh" The hand villain complained. A dark purple fog appearing right next to him. "But it's not over, heros, remember, we will be back, we always make sure to retrieve what is rightfully ours" He said with a petrifying grin and stepped into the fog with the nomu. 

Both Cementoss and Kamui wood unleashed their quirks to try and capture the villains before they escaped, but they were a tad too late. 

"Damn it!" Midnight cursed before remembering the injured underground hero on the ground. 

"Shota! Are you okay?!" She crouched down to put her hand carefully on Aizawa's shoulder. 

"I'm fine, but we need to get the kid to the hospital immediately!" Aizawa said ignoring his clearly severe injuries and broken ribs. 

Everyone nodded while Mt. Lady ran outside to call for the medical team. Lemillion was still holding the traumatized girl tenderly, stopping her from running to the greenette boy.

"Nii-chan! Let me go! Let me go!" She kicked and tossed around in his arms. Mirio could feel her heart pounding harshly in her chest and her hands trembling significantly. 

So he turned her around and hugged her gently, his hand holding the back of her head and stroking her hair just like Aizawa was doing before.  

"Shh, it's fine" he only said. And slowly, he could feel the girl's breath get more even and her trembling reduced. 

All other heros looked at the girl with sympathy, some of them with anger towards the villains too, despite not understanding the situation. 

"Take her to the car" Officer Tsukautchi told Mirio who nodded and stood up.

"Take the injured to the ambulance and comb the basement strictly, not a single detail shall be missed!" He instructed firmly. 

"Yes sir!" All of the available officers and the rookie heros said and dashed to obey.  Midnight stayed beside the heavily breathing Aizawa and filled him in on what happened. How all villains that attacked the police force were mere mid to low tier pupils meant only for distraction. 

"But it's quite impressive you noticed that, guess you're not entirely rusty" Midnight joked, trying to lighten up the heavy mood. 

"I fear we were very late, this place gives me a very bad feeling" Aizawa expressed his fears tiredly while he tried to stand up with the help of the wall, only for him to be pushed down at once.

"Just sit still, the medical team is on its way, we will take care of the inspection" Aizawa didn't really want to comply but had no choice because of the pain that was rushing back. 

"Fine. Just... check the room with the lab equipment, especially the jars on the shelves, I fear we came across something far worse than what we thought" He warned. 

Midnight remained silent, seeing the usually incurious hero this serious made her anxious for sure. 

At that moment, the medical force came rushing and moved the greenette carefully to a stretcher. 

"Sir, you need to come too, your arm does not look too good" One of the paramedics said trying to help Aizawa up. 

Shouta only complied and accepted the help he surely needed, and they all headed to the ambulance. 

****

The little girl, named Eri, didn't even stir in Mirio's arms the whole time. While the ambulance turned on the siren and took off right after, they sat utterly quiet in a police car with her unmoving hands clutching the hero-in-training's suit. An officer tried to take her from the hero but her balled fists clutched even harder, therefore one can say that Mirio had no choice but to stay with her. He could tell vaguely that she was way calmer than before, but the utter lack of noise was rather worriesome. 

Mirio tried to pull her away softly to meet her eyes but she didn't budge an inch. He sneaked a peek at her face and could see a very empty gaze in her sorrowful ruby eyes. 

"Eri-chan?" Mirio tried, but got no answer. Now he was seriously getting worried. He did make sure she was not injured anywhere, so why was she not responding?! Is it an internal injurie? A concussion? 

"Eri-chan!"

****

"Eri...do not...come out... don't make a...noise...today, okay?" Izuku nii-chan suddenly said after being silent the whole visit. 

Eri was sitting beside him showing him her messy drawings proudly in hope to get some response this time, and she just did, but not the one she was hoping for.

The light bulb in her white plain room flickered as it usually would do, it would scare her out of her skin every time, but she mustn't complain infront of her nii-chan. He was barely coming to see her recently and she would do anything to make him stay. 

But to suddenly tell her that out of the blue, it was confusing, to say the least. And he should know that she couldn't leave her locked room even if she wanted to. 

"Huh? Um...okay nii-chan" she decided not to question anything and listen to every instruction he had for her. 

The light flickered once more, making her jump this time and hug his side unintentionally. 

Huh?

Izuku turned his head slowly towards her and raised his hand even slower to reach her hair. He gave her a single gentle pat, his facial expression not changing much. 

At that, Eri felt very lightened, she really missed his touch even though she never voiced those feelings. She smiled widely, closed her eyes and started to melt in his warm embrace. 

Well now that she thought about it, his hand was not exactly warm, it was rather unexpectedly cold. His waist felt thinner, and his slow speech was something new too. 

What? What is this?

But she didn't care. Izuku nii-chan was always gonna be nii-chan. Even when he visited less and smiled at her less. Even when he didn't hug her or pat her head as often anymore. Even when he left her all alone in that skin crawling room. 

But unfortunately, her hug came quickly to an end when her metal door cracked open.  

A man with a white long coat entered, he looked to be deep in thought while looking at the clipboard in hand. 

Izuku nii-chan stood up suddenly, his expression changing ever so slightly to represent something as disturbance or anger. 

This could not possibly be a memory...

"Oh, sorry, wrong room" said the man in the coat and raised both hands in surrender. But his sneaky grin was proving some unnerving ulterior motives hidden beneath. 

The man walked closer to the two kids in the corner. 

"So this is Eri-chan! How old are y-" the man reached out his hand to hold Eri's chubby cheeks but got stopped by Izuku's firm hand squeezing his wrist tightly. 

The man stopped in his tracks and glared at the greenette, seemingly hiding something else under the challenging glare. 

....because she didn't remember any of it happening

After a while of the staring competition, the man sighed in defeat and retreated his hand. 

"Fine I'll leave her, for now. God! No need to be so hostile" He grumbled in annoyance while walking away to the door.

"Don't forget about today" He gave a cheeky remark looking over his shoulder before slamming the heavy door shut. 

Izuku stood freezing in his spot for a few minutes. Eri began to worry. Who was that man? He didn't seem too... friendly. 

Without sparing her a glance, Izuku walked out of the room and shut the door, seemingly forgetting to lock it, or whoever it was that would usually lock her door did. 

She sat down in defeat and tried to concentrate on her drawings. The deafening silence and the flickering light made her crave her brother's presence already. She realized that she didn't hear the usual click of the door and wondered if it would be okay to go visit nii-chan herself for once. And before long, she decided that it would be fine. 

No! Don't!

Forgetting about her nii-chan's warning not an hour ago, she tiptoed silently to the door, opening it slowly to reveal nothing but a dark hallway. 

Deciding it was safe enough, she roamed the corridor aimlessly, being met by only closed doors and hushed howls. She shivered in both fear and coldness, raising her hands to her mouth to warm them up a bit with her shaky breath.

After traipsing all over the place for what felt like forever, she got a glimps of a white lab coat she was not too unfamiliar with.

She got curious and decided to peek inside the surprisingly well-lit room. 

Stop! Don't look!!

Something her innocent, pure brain could not comprehend laid on the floor.

A chunk of meat? 

It was soaked in blood, the red liquid still seeping between the tiles. And the smell, oh God, the smell of iron and rust filled her nose and she just wanted to puke. But instead, she stared. She stared at the bloody limp body right next to the disgusting chunk. Her eyes widened as it crept closer to her. 

Closer....

And Closer....

And even more closer....

And then she felt something cold on her cheek. 

"E- Eri, sorry, don't....be...sad" 

****

Aizawa was positive he had experienced most of life, and wouldn't be feeling anything new at that age. But he was wrong. 

Sitting dumbstruck in the ambulance while all three paramedics accompanying them rushed around in panic made him feel a whole new level of dread. 

"Prepare the defibrillator immediately!!" The teamleader shouted.

"Oxygenation levels dropping" another one said while grabbing an oxygen mask and placing it on the boy's nose and mouth. 

"Sir, it's a case of ventricular fibrillation!"

"We can't raise it beyond 1000 milliamperes!"

"There is no time! Do it now!"  

"Get ready, in three...two...one...." The boy's whole body shook to the electricity going through, just to go back to being deadly still. 

"Still no pulse sir!" 

"Again!"

"Three...two...one"

"Again!"

"Again"

"A-again"

"A-" 

Aizawa only stared in shock. Never had he felt so useless in his life. He stood up slowly and reached for the boy. All paramedics stopped moving and shouting, as if they gave up on him.

"Sir, we lost him"

Chapter Text

"T-toya?" 

The man infront of him looked nothing like the brother he once knew, he was taller and his skin was patched together, some of it being awfully burnt. His scarlet hair no more scarlet. But he could feel it, the undeniable bond of blood, it was indeed his brother. 

The man in the alley looked over his shoulder in surprise. Not expecting anyone to be out this late or in this part of the city, but most importantly, not expecting to hear that name again. 

Both brothers could not hide their shock from seeing each other like that. Especially with a bleeding hero collapsed on the ground of the alley. 

The younger Todoroki's chest tightened and his breath hitched, he didn't want to believe it, he thought that he would do anything to meet his brother again, but now? He wasn't too sure. A villain? Has his brother really become a villain?! 

"You....bro...ther?" A voice came from the darkness of the alley. Not a single glance of the person could be seen from were the younger brother was standing. 

Toya's eyes regained their coldness as his poise came back. He looked at the source of the voice and muttered something Shoto couldn't hear. 

Thereafter, just when he was about to step closer, willing to hug his long lost brother despite the fear and uncertainties he felt, a hand grabbed his head from behind. The same voice as earlier spoke up from behind him. 

"Don't....hurt" 

*****

With a gasp, Todoroki shot up from bed in discomfort. He felt his chest tighten, and he knew something was wrong. His heart was beating uncontrollably and his hands were sweating. 

But....what was it? 

He suck in some air and ran his hand through his messy bed-hair. Realizing he was starting to have a major headache, he cursed his luck for this crappy morning. 

He knew he had a dream, an awful, yet important dream, one that made yearning and nostalgia blossom inside of him, but why the hell couldn't he remember?!

He rubbed his temples firmly, closing his eyes to try to get rid of the fogginess in his head, not being very successful at that. 

Deciding it was not worth it, he got up to take a well needed shower, yanking the towels fretfully.

While the water splashed on his face in a relaxing manner, he closed his eyes again and tried to enjoy the sensation of the cold water. He never showered with hot water, not even after his not so optional swimming lessons in the literary freezing lakes at winter. Which was the same reason why he never used his father's quirk, and never will.

Just that thought made him remember one of his most horrible memories, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. His hand came up subconsciously to touch his scar, clawing aggressively at the unfading redness and the unforgettable image of his mother. 

Shoto wasn't aware of his actions until he saw a trail of red in the running water at his feet. He pulled away immediately, finally realising the blood underneath his nails and the stinging under his eye. 

Frowning slightly, he wondered if that could've left a mark on his face, the last thing he needed was someone's annoying attention and unnecessary intervention. But he doubted that anyone will notice with that angry red hue of the scar. He wasn't even close to anyone in 1-A anyway, so there was really nothing to fear. 

After getting out and dressing, the young Todoroki glanced at the clock hastily, realizing he would be running late if he didn't leave the dorms right away. Therefore he didn't even bother grabbing anything to eat, and left his room to head to the classroom before the substitute teacher's arrival. 

****

This smell. It was something he was familiar with. Yet, he was sure he never had to smell something disgusting like this before. 

"G-go!" A familiar voice shouted. His gaze shifted to the ground, and while he was already having trouble breathing because of the heavy smoke, he lost that ability wholly when he saw his father smashed under a pile of huge pillars of wood from the ceiling. 

His body froze in its place. Eyes only seeing one thing.

Flames. 

"EIJIRO!" His mother's cry could be heard from a mile away. She sounded distant. He was not quite sure if she was outside, or right beside him. 

Although he felt himself getting dragged out, he still couldn't utter a single word. He was just.... empty. 

He could hear the firefighters' screams in the background, he could hear his mother's desperate cry, but the only thing he could focus on was his own thoughts. 

'I couldn't do anything! I didn't do anything! He's dead! He's dead he's dead he's dead and it's my fault!' 

He collapsed to the floor, landing on his knees, and gasped for air repeatedly. He clutched his hurting chest as the look in his father's eyes wouldn't leave his mind. 

He screamed. He screamed in agony. He screamed in fear. He screamed in guilt. He screamed in regret. 

He pulled at his hair, his quirk activating unintentionally. He scratched and clawed at his face furiously, leaving a deep wound above his right eye that would definitely leave a scar. His mother pleaded him to stop, but it only fell on deaf ears. 

Not only he left his father to die, but he was also causing his mother pain. He wasn't a man. He didn't deserve to be. That was something he was sure about. 

'You coward! Not a man! Not a man! Not now, not ever' 

"EIJIRO! Please stop!" His mother continued, but to no avail. She tried to stop him from hurting himself furthermore by grabbing his arms, she just lost her husband to a terrible fire, she was not ready to lose her son too on the same damn night! 

But instead of stopping, he pushed her to the ground, not really comprehending what he was exactly doing. He started coughing violently, the dark smoke still lingering in his lungs. 

He felt suffocated. In every possible way. He couldn't breath, and for a second, he really wished he could just drop dead right there. 

"Don't....suffer" A faint voice that he couldn't bother lay any remark to said behind him. 

After that, him falling to his mother's warm embrace was everything he could feel, before drifting into deep sleep.

*****

Kirishima woke up rather early. Feeling sick and ready to throw up despite not having a cold. What was wrong with him? 

He sat up, paying no attention to the pillow drenched in sweat, and got to the bathroom sink in his dorm room to wash his face. 

He looked up in the mirror and realized that he definitely didn't look good.

He was sure he had dreamt about something. But he couldn't remember what exactly, he felt awful dread whenever he tried to, so in the end he stopped trying. 

But something, something wasn't right, his heart could tell that it was about someone important to him, but he was sure it was not his mother. Then who? The only family he ever knew was her, and he could tell it was not a friend he dreamt about, but family.

Oh God, his mind was acting weird this morning, telling him that someone died. Did he has a nightmare about his mother dying or some shit?

And his body too. Why the hell couldn't he stop trembling?!

He must've caught a terrible cold for sure!

****

To put it simply, class was chaos. But without Aizawa sensei, it was to be expected. Even the class representative and the most disciplined one was tired from trying to calm the class down. 

Uraraka couldn't help but sigh, she was supposed to be the cheerful one, but this was just too much. Especially with Jiro asking Sero to tape a certain someone to the wall, or maybe two. 

But she was mostly worried about both Kirishima-kun and Todoroki-kun. They both were super quiet the whole day. And despite it not being too unusual for the class emo, who literally refused to socialize with any of them, always bearing this grim expression as if he's ready to murder someone, Kirishima-kun was not one to be this quiet at all. 

Wait, was that a cut on Todorokii-kun's face? 

And there was one more student acting weird.

Bakugou-kun.

Is it just because he noticed the change with his buddy's behaviour? Or was it something else? 

God! Why's this class so weird?! It's as if they were imaginary characters with the weirdest diversity of the most inhomogeneous sample!

"Everyone!" Mina bursted in through the door as if no poor substitute teacher was trying to teach a lesson here. 

Everyone's eyes landed on her. Iida wondering how he didn't notice her absence before. How could he be falling behind with his duties as the class representative?! Unacceptable!

"It's Aizawa-sensei! He is in the hospital with serious injuries!" She exclaimed. 

And before long, the whole class roared and bursted in shouts and concerns. Some running, some flipping, some slamming, and some jumping out of windows. (Yes, don't ask)

"Let's go visit him!!!" Bawled Mic's voice from seemingly nowhere. 

"Yeah!" Roared everyone in union.

'I'm... I'm quitting this job...'

Thought a poor, poor substitute teacher, with tears dropping from underneath the shining glasses.....

Chapter Text

"There was a huge explosion, we were barley able to get everyone out" Midnight said crossing her arms in frustration. "We retrieved only a limited amount of evidence from the lab room, but not a single file has survived. Everything was burnt down to a crisp before we could do anything" 

Aizawa gritted his teeth, not ready at all for handling anymore surprises. His hand was in a cast and he was told he suffered a severe concussion. More work and problems were certainly not appreciated right now. 

Midnight, with her usual cheesy nature long gone, sighed and drew closer a plastic chair to sit on beside the hospital bed. 

"You don't have to babysit me, you know" Aizawa said half-heartedly. 

Midnight sighed and snitched an apple from the basket on the table that someone had brought for Aizawa as a get-well gift. Did Shouta really has anyone who would do that for him in the first place? That person needed to be put in a nature reserve for endangered species, because he sure was one if he was sticking around Aizawa until now.

"How's the girl?" The injured hero asked from his position on the bed. He looked quite....sad, if that was a thing he still had. And maybe even regretful, if Midnight would dare say. 

"She's currently fine. We brought her here because we suspected a head injury, but fortunately that was not the case. We just think she suffered some mental trauma and is therefore to stay here in the special hero-ward until everything settles down" she informed while trying to peel the apple with a dull knife and failing miserably. Ugh forget it, she knew she was never meant to be a housewife to begin with. 

Aizawa only nodded, eyeing the weirdly misshaped apple he was offered. 

"And um...the boy?" Midnight looked up, careful with her question. She could tell something unsettling happened on the way to the hospital last night from the look in the other hero's eyes. 

"He's alive" Aizawa answered. It was short and simple, yet it seemed to have burdened the hero this whole time. He seemed very troubled, but only a lifetime colleague such as Midnight could tell that by the few signals his body language was sending. 

"Well that's good, and...?" she very clearly didn't think his answer was sufficient. And she had every right to, considering the state she saw that boy was in. 

"No you don't get it. He...he died. Or we thought he did, but he came back. It was....it was a miracle. He was lucky. And I couldn't...." Aizawa seemed surprisingly disorganized. But he quickly catched on that and sighed, giving Midnight an apologetic look. 

He will be blaming this on the concussion. 

"How about you take a look by yourself instead?" He finally decided, handing her a clipboard about the physical condition of that boy. 

She took it and started reading carefully, from the broken bones and ribs to the infected gashes and burns. Midnight could not help but be disgusted by the deeds of those villains. 

She put the clipboard down on the nightstand and patted Aizawa on the leg from above the plain blanket.

"But you saved him, didn't you? You have nothing but pride to feel" she faintly smiled and stood up.

"We will inform you about the evidence we found when we are done with the laboratory analysis" she waved and walked out before being able to receive an answer. 

"Oh! And I informed Mic that you are here! I advise you prepare yourself with earplugs and maybe an invisibility cloak too" she stuck only her head back in the room and winked before slamming it shut, leaving an annoyed Aizawa behind who let one or two profanities slip. 

****

"Bro! It's so manly of you to come!" exclaimed Kirishima while running to Bakugou's side to walk together. The boy seemed to be finally back to normal.

Only a few students came along because Iida insisted it would be every inappropriate to come to a hospital as a whole class. Wonder how Mic-sensei did even suggest such a thing!

So in the end, he narrowed down the number to him, Uraraka-kun, Mina-kun and Kaminari-kun. Two boys and two girls, the perfect balance that the universe must behold. But for an unknown reason, Uraraka-kun insisted on bringing Todoroki-kun, Kirishima-kun and Bakugou along. 

"Shut up shitty hair, you think I'm here because I want to?!" King explosion murderer yelled as rudely as ever. But Kirishima, being Kirishima, took no offense and grinned wildly, knowing that Bakugou could have declined if he wanted to. 

"Everyone! Be quite, we're in a hospital!" Iida had to comment of course. Not realizing that he was shouting as well. 

He turned his head firmly and led the group to the room the receptionist pinpointed. He couldn't help but remember his brother because of the familiar atmosphere of the hero-ward. It made him slightly anxious and edgy, even more than usual. But he had to pull himself together! He was not alone and he had to take responsibility for the rest of his classmates' behaviour, which was surely to prove itself more than problematic.

And before long, he started to hear his classmates fussing behind him. 

"Oi! Watch where you're going, you shitty brat" Bakugou was the first one to be heard. 

"Don't be so rude! Little girl, are you okay?" Mina scolded Kirishima along with Bakugou even though he did nothing wrong. She crutched down to the little girl's level on the ground to help her get up and gave a beaming smile. 

Unfortunately, the girl was the one and only Eri-chan, and despite the group being relatively gentle, she was too scared that she couldn't utter a world and started to tear up. The big figures towering above her only brought back awful memories. 

Everyone didn't know what to do and panicked, with Mina's smile gone and replaced with a confused look.

"Dude! What did you do to her?" Kaminari questioned, coming to the most reasonable conclusion that it was totally something Bakugou did. And I have to say, it's not dumb at all, for Kaminari, that is.

"What?! You're saying it's my fault?!" Kirishima had to hold an angry Pomeranian to avoid filling more hospital beds. 

Why can't this class act civilized for once? 

Uraraka took it upon herself to reassure the crying poor girl and sat beside Mina. 

"Hey, it's okay, no one is mad at you, we were just concerned" she patted her hair slowly. 

Something about that kind onee-san just reminded her of nii-chan. The same warm voice, and caring touch. It just made her cry even more. 

"Man, don't cry, it's not manly!" 

"Hey! She is just a little girl! And Bakugou scared her!" Mina snapped.

"What! She was the one running in the corridor and bumping into others!" 

"Everyone! It's a hospital! Stop arguing, it's not proper for heros in training to disturb patients!"

Words were flying right and left and they went into chaos. 

To say the least, loud noises and arguments were not exactly good for a traumatized girl that just got rescued, but to her luck, a panicking Mirio showed up just in time.

"Oh thank God, you found her!" He walked to them slightly out of breath, clearly having searched the whole building for little Eri-chan. 

"Senpai?" 

Chapter Text

Eri ran straight to him and stretched her hands up desperately. Mirio, being the softy he is, couldn't refuse and lifted her up to his chest which she buried her face in as soon as she was within reach. 

"Everyone from 1-A, what are you doing here?" Mirio asked with his characteristic smile. Trying his best to conceal his slight dissatisfaction of them scaring little Eri. 

"Senpai! We are here to visit Aizawa-sensei!" Mina said cheerfully raising her hand as if she was answering a teacher's question in class. 

"Very well, we were heading there too" he said and walked past them. 

Everyone looked at each other, colictivley wondering why Senpai seemed to be giving them the cold shoulder. But they decided to follow him either way. 

They reached a room and opened the door to reveal a rather tattered Aizawa. Not that he normally looked better, but still. 

"Sensei!" Mina and Kaminari jumped to the bed for a hug, only to be dodged by Aizawa that they ended up slamming their heads into a wall. 

"We were very worried when we heard you were in a hospital" Ida exclaimed, worry obvious in his tone. 

"But we are glad you are okay now" Kirishima added with one of his heartwarming usual grins.  

Bakugou just tsked and turned his head in annoyance, while Todoroki was just standing there absentmindedly, clearly still thinking about that dream from this morning. 

Aizawa sighed from the sudden burst of noise, not quite in a condition that allows him to put up with his students. But despite that, he smiled, just barely. 

"Good to see you all so energetic" he said. Noticing the two who jumped at him earlier sitting on the ground pulling each other's hair..... for some reason. 

"Sensei!" Mirio's voice turned Aizawa's attention to him and the little girl in his arms. 

Eri turned her head hesitatingly. Her eyes beamed at seeing the one and only hero-san who rescued her. Mirio let her down to the ground and she walked over, very careful and aware of the noisy students who were staring at her uncomfortably, and looked Aizawa in the eyes. 

She fiddled with her hospital gown nervously and was clearly tring to say something. 

"Th- you" she whispered something inaudible. 

She waited for a second before looking up from the floor she was so tensely staring at, to realize that hero-san didn't hear what she said. She bit her lips in anxiety, only to raise her small fragile hands and put them on Aizawa's casted arm. 

"Thank you!" She said this time loud and clear, getting a bit overwhelmed that she ran back to Mirio and hugged his leg to burry her face away. 

Uraraka could feel her heart burst from cuteness. And despite not really understanding the full situation, she could tell her teacher did something heroic yet again. 

Aizawa was slightly taken aback, not really expecting that from a traumatized little girl. No, maybe it was really because she was traumatized that his doings were very meaningful to her. 

He gave out a light chuckle and waved with his cast. 

"Don't mention it" 

******* 

After a very long agonizing hour, his students finally left. Or rather got kicked out by a nurse for being too noisy. Only Mirio, Eri-chan and Mic, who dropped by with a dramatic entrance an half hour ago, were left in the room. 

Eri was glued to Mirio the whole time, not until everyone left that she relaxed a bit and remembered the reason she came here in the first place. 

"Um..." she glanced up shyly, still clinging to Mirio's pant leg. The one-sided chatter between Mic and Eraser quieted down and they shifted their gazes to the little girl. 

"Is nii-chan...um.. how is he?" She asked with glassy eyes, clearly oppressing her tears. 

Aizawa glanced at Mirio, knowing he didn't tell the girl anything yet. Mirio shook his head in denial.

"He is... he'll be fine" Aizawa tried answering as convincing as he could be considering the information he received. 

Eri looked at him unsurely. If her time with the villains taught her anything, it was detecting lies and being extremely cautious from what she was told. 

"R..really?" But despite the uncertainties, she really wanted to trust these people, she needed someone to trust and to let her guard down around or she will most certainly collapse mentally. Since her nii-chan had.... changed, she was handling the pressure alone and in utter silence. 

"Don't worry, Eri-chan, I promise we will take care of you, both of you" Mirio said crouching down to her level and patting her hair very gently. 

"Then, where is he? Can I visit him? Please!" She clutched Mirio's shirt in her small fists and begged desperately. Mirio didn't know the full picture so he didn't dare to make any promises and looked at Aizawa for guidance. 

"You'll see him, kid, but he is resting now, how about you wait until he is awake, hm?" Aizawa suggested, guilt eating at him slightly for not knowing if this will happen soon enough or not. 

The silver-haired girl looked down in disappointment, but decided to not argue and remain a good girl like the bad men would always tell her to do. 

"Okay"....

*****

The room was very colorful, the walls painted in different cartoon characters that most children loved. There were two big shelves on respective walls, one full with children books and magazines, while the other full of toys, stuffed teadybears and boardgames. A fuzzy, calming light-blue carpet was coating the entire floor and damping off the energetic stomps of tiny little feet running across the room. 

Mirio was sitting on a bench in the children's playroom wing of the hospital. He brought Eri-chan here to play and interract with other children because she was looking so depressed after the talk with Aizawa-sensei. But it wasn't going so well, Eri was sitting in the corner silently, hugging her legs and not touching a single toy. 

Mirio sighed in disappointment and stood up, deciding to bring Eri-chan back to her room. But when he was about to call her, he realized a little boy her age heading toward her. 

At the beginning, Mirio though of stopping him, because he couldn't risk getting either of them hurt, but concluded right after that this was a chance worth of giving, so he sat back down slowly, carefully watching the interaction and readying himself to interfere if needed. 

*****

"Hello" A tiny timid voice snatched her out of her daze. 

She looked up to be met with warm hassle eyes and an abundant mop of brown hair.

"Why are you sitting alone? Are you sad?" The little boy asked her. 

She was so confused as to why he was talking to her in the first place. She was too used to being ignored that the attention was very unnatural. 

She remained silent.

"Ah! I know!" The boy suddenly said after receiving no answer for a while. He ran directly to the bookshelves and grabbed a book. 

Eri looked pleadingly at Mirio, secretly asking to be rescued, but Mirio only gave her a reassuring smile, not moving an inch to grab her. 

She would have ran away herself if not for the many children and adults blocking the door beside Mirio's bench. And before she was able to form a plan, the boy was back. 

He sat hurriedly infront of her, blocking her view of Mirio and the door and making her shuffle away in fear. 

"I know what to do! Dad always reads a book for me when I'm sad" the boy looked at her sincerely. 

Eri stared at the boy, trying to detect any kind of hostility or trickery, but found none. His childish and sincere concern made her relax ever so slightly. 

"I'm kiyoshi! What's your name?" He smiled brightly, eyes shinning, waiting for an answer. 

Eri was really unsure of what to do now, but her tongue spoke on its own.

"Eri" 

She was surprised over her own calm tone of voice despite being so close to freaking out internally. 

"Eri-chan! That's a beautiful name. Sounds like a princess's name from fairytales"

"It does?" 

"Yeah! Look here at this princess in this book" the boy opened the first page and started showing Eri the colourful paintings of a big kingdom, a beautiful princess and a huge dragon. 

Forgetting her fear for a second, her eyes widened in wonder and passion. She had always enjoyed drawing and doodling in her single notebook that nii-chan gave to her, but never did she has the chance to color or read a book. 

"Then..then what's that?" She pointed at the next page showing a farm full of different animals she never saw in her life. 

"Oh this! Let me read you the story so you can understand......"

Chapter Text

Aizawa was feeling a lot better. He was able to roam around freely without Midnight or Mic nagging him to rest or stay in bed, not because they finally allowed it, of course, but because he sneaked out on his own. 

He can't sit in bed forever after all. He has very important matters to attend to. And though he hated to admit it, he missed his students and wanted to go back to teaching. 

But before that, he needed to check on the new problem kids. He wasn't too worried about Eri-chan, because Mirio was taking care of her instead of going to school. Under normal circumstances he would have punished him for missing so much, but he gotta admit that the sense of responsibility he had seen from the hero in training exceeds many of those half-baked public heros that he had met throughout his career. 

The other problem child, however, was a different case. Aside from not waking up until now, a week later after the rescue mission, the doctors informed him of instability in vital signs. 

Aizawa was not a doctor, and he knew that he couldn't be of any help, but he decided that it was his responsibility to bear. Maybe if he had found them a bit earlier....

No, these thoughts won't help anyone now, he's gotta focus on what's important for the time being.

The hero reached the intensive care unit before he knew, and found himself at the door of the kid's room. A nurse that was changing bandages greeted him before excusing herself out. 

The bare, dismal room fell into silence, only the noise of the many hooked machines was left beside his racing thoughts. The beeping got distorted and blended with the sound of his beating heart, as he felt himself getting sucked to the shadows. 

Aizawa could only stare at the still form of the boy that looked very small and pitiful in the pile of blankets. The previously unrecognisable hair colour was now a clean grass-green hue. He looked awfully vulnerable, as if a single faint breeze was enough to dissolve his pale skin and erase his very existence, not leaving any traces behind. 

Aizawa sighed and closed his eyes, feeling very mentally drained. His thoughts drifted toward little Eri-chan, what should he tell her? Should he just let her see the boy like this? It didn't sound right for Aizawa, he realized how unhealthy attached she was to him, and he can't blame her now, can he? And with their bound? It would definitely be painful for her. 

The sound of the ventilator, forcing the air in and out of the boy's lungs echoed through the whole room. The beeping of the heart monitor slightly irregular, making Aizawa itch in irritation, and giving him a tad of unexplainable fear. 

He didn't know how much longer he would have to keep her waiting. She finally began to open up and trust them little by little, he can't break his promise. 

Well, the sooner the better. Guess he gotta let her see him today. 

So reading himself to leave, Aizawa took a last glimpse of the boy and stood up. But before he turned around, he realized a finger twitching. 

It took him a second to process the movement, but he found a flower of hope starting to blossom inside his injured chest. 

Maybe it was really the right day he chose to allow Eri to visit after all! 

But soon enough, Aizawa's hope turned into dread. It was not only a finger, the boy's arms and legs were twitching, at first barely remarkable, but in the matter of seconds, it got very violent and uncontrollable. 

Aizawa immediately pushed the alarm button that called over a stream of doctors. 

By the time they came the monitor was beeping at a high pace. The kid was bleeding from his ears, nose and mouth, and he was sure he saw the boy open his eye to look at him pleadingly for a millisecond, as if pleading for help, or maybe..... for salvation.....

*****

Mirio sat very happily watching Eri-chan interacting with her new found friend. It hasn't been more than a week since they first met, but Eri-chan was already feeling comfortable around him. The little boy, Kiyoshi, was holding a book and reading for her. She sat surprisingly close to him and looked with wonder at the paintings. 

"I...I want to do that too!" Eri exclaimed shyly. She looked up at the hazel colored warm eyes, a bit scared of rejection. She knew during those few days they spend together that he was different from the bad guys, he wouldn't get mad at her for wanting something, and he would consider her needs even if she didn't say anything. He felt more like...more like nii-chan. 

Why can't she meet nii-chan? The kind hero-san saved her, he was a good guy, then.... then why is he keeping her away from her brother? Is he....is he playing a trick on her and trying to do something bad to nii-chan? Just like the bad guys?! Just like they...they- 

"You want to read too?" That made her  stop spacing out as she regained her focus, taking a moment to actually look at the letters she was mindlessly staring at. 

She nodded quietly, being careful with what she does before fully trusting anyone. 

"Sure! I can teach you how to read" he said extremely excited. He put the book in her lap, making her flinch ever so slightly, and ran to get a paper and a handful of different pencils. The room was not too big, but he came back to Eri panting. Maybe he was just so excited. 

He dropped everything on the ground and sat beside her, handing her a red pencil while grabbing a black one himself. 

"Hah...okay, let's start with...letter A!" He grinned innocently through his panting. The sight was very heartwarming for Mirio, and he couldn't help the smile from finding its way to his face. 

While watching the two kids doodle something not even close to a letter, a man in his thirties came in. He stood at the door frame, scanning the room closely, before he spotted Eri and her friend, his eyes softening at the sight. He then saw the empty spot on Mirio's bench and proceeded to sit beside him. 

"Good afternoon" the man greeted as Mirio made space on the bench so that  both of them could sit comfortably. 

"Hello" Mirio nodded, quietly wondering what the man was doing in the children ward. He wore a long white coat, so Mirio assumed he was just a doctor here. 

The man that was silently watching the kids play realized Mirio's gaze on him and turned his head to face him. His eyes seemed pretty tired from underneath his thick glasses, he even had black eyebags, kinda reminding him of Aizawa-sensei. 

The man smiled kindly at him, raising his hand for a hand shake. 

"I'm doctor Tanaka, nice to meet you" 

"Ah" Mirio took his hand. "I'm Mirio, hero in training, nice to meet you too" 

"Oh, are you the companion of pro hero Eraserhead? I heard he was staying here" 

"Yes, that's right. But we wish to keep things low to avoid any unnecessary attention from the press" Mirio said sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh, of course, totally understandable" Tanaka-san smiled reassuringly. 

They fell into a bit of awkward silence for a while. 

"So um, Tanaka-sensei, you look tired. Are you feeling okay?" Mirio was one of few people who would boldly ask these kind of questions to a person they just met. Ah, extroverts. They just have no social barriers.

The exhausted doctor sighed, he took off his glasses with one hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. 

"Yeah you're right. I'm just a little stressed at work..." He answered, Mirio felt that there was more to the story, but even he knew better than to press on the matter any further. 

They exchanged some questions to have a light conversation, he got to know that dr. Tanaka used to work in the emergency department, and just recently changed to the *paediatric department, though he never mentioned why. Mirio in return told him about UA and his friends, without revealing anything about the recent mission. 

*(The department for children)

"Your friend Tamaki seems ve-" the doctor cut himself midsentence as his eyes landed on Eri and an overjoyed Kiyoshi.

He excused himself in a hurry and stood up to walk to them. 

When Eri realized the man coming closer, she cowered in terror and clutched the other boy's shirt. Mirio got alarmed by that and jumped immediately to help, but stopped when he realized that the doctor was simply just talking to the boy with a gentle smile. 

The two held a short conversation that the hero in training couldn't hear, Kiyoshi nodded half-heartedly after answering the doctor and whispered something in Eri's ear. She looked up at him and nodded in return. 

The boy then stood up and waved goodbye to Eri with a beaming wonderful smile. 

"See you tomorrow!" He adorably said. 

When dr. Tanaka passed beside Mirio, he looked quite troubled and uncomfortable, he nodded hurriedly in Mirio's direction, not even looking in his direction, and patted Kiyoshi's back lightly, leading him out of the room. 

Mirio, being very confused and disturbed by the sudden action, decided to ignore it for the time being and prioritized Eri. 

He walked to her and squatted down, brushing his hand through her hair.

"Hey, are you alright?"

And to his surprise, she wasn't as afraid as he thought she would be, she nodded instead and gave a huge smile! A bright, happy and precious smile Mirio didn't know he longed for until he saw it. She finally smiled, Mirio realized. She smiled for the first time!

Mirio couldn't help but be overwhelmed, he didn't realize he was hugging her until she was already in his warm embrace. His iconic smile in place. 

"I'm happy you have a good friend your age" he whispered. Eri giggled faintly and clutched the back of Togata's shirt, returning the hug. She had done that before when she would be terrified out of her mind or simply just anxious, trying to find protection and safety in the hero in training she came to trust, but for it to be just a simple joyous cuddle?! 

But to his dismay, the hug didn't last long before Eri pulled away, slightly flushed and uncomfortable that she had for once let her guard down. 

Realising the bitterness on the young hero's face, she fiddled and shuffled hastily trying to do something to lighten the mood up again. She grabed the paper that sat on the ground and practically shoved it in the the hero's face. 

"Umm.. I... Kiyoshi helped me write this" she said, too shy to admit that she wrote this by herself by just coping the letters in the story rather than from her friends unreadable instructions. 

Mirio studied the shaky characters written widely across the paper, spelling the sentence 'I love sero'. 

The future hero raised his brows, slightly unsure what his kohai* from 1-A have to do with the little girl. 

That little shit, when and how did he make his precious little girl fall in love with him?! Wait until Aizawa-sensei finds out about that!

"It says that I love hero!" She beamed brightly, her uncertainty momentary forgotten. 

Mirio gave out a breathy laugh at the (not) amusing coincidence that made him nearly want to strangle a **kohai. 

Eri kept handing him other sheets with different random words, the most common things being the H's that got substituted with S's and the E's and B's being written backwards, making pretty funny new words that were almost tempting Mirio to add them to the dictionary. 

After a good ten minutes of Mirio teaching Eri the right spelling of each word, he remembered Kiyoshi whispering something to his little girl.

"What did your friend say to you before leaving?" He asked casually, tring not to look so overprotective, but he wasn't doing a very great job at that. 

"It's a secret!" She grinned and tilted her head to the side in a very cute manner. 

For Mirio, she finally looked like a normal happy little girl, and you can't even begin to guess what he was willing to do to keep her that way.....

Chapter Text

Aizawa was pacing back and forth in trepidation, clutching and unclutching his fists. He didn't get any new piece of information since he was driven out of the intensive care unit, and it was driving him crazy. He could absolutely not go back to his room in this situation, so he was just waiting in the hallway. 

Both Mic and Midnight came rushing with a nurse.

"Hey, Shota, what happened?" Midnight questioned worriedly. They came to visit Aizawa per usual but couldn't find him in his room when they heard about the emergency in the ICU and could only suspect it was about the boy. 

"I don't know!" Aizawa bursted in clear distress. Mic tried to go into the room but got blocked by the same nurse who brought them here. 

"It's.. it's gonna be fine. Let's sit down first" The usually loud hero sounded so faint and unsure now. 

They all sat in silence for an hour or so, only the echoing sound of Aizawa's tapping leg was heard. 

And finally, a doctor came out. 

"Are you the guardian?" The clearly exhausted doctor in the long lab coat asked the heros. Aizawa stood up and nodded, not really thinking the question through to realize he wasn't actually the legal guardian. 

The doctor directed him further away from the other two to talk. 

"I'm Dr. Matsuda, I'll be in charge of this patient from now on" the doctor introduced himself. Aizawa didn't make a reaction, not really in his right mind for formalities right now. He waited not so patiently until the doctor continued.

"The boy has been stabilised now" dr. Matsuda decided to start with the good news. Aizawa's grim expression eased up and he let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. 

"But it could be temporary. To be honest, we weren't able to understand the cause, we suspect a nerval damage or brain injury, or in the worst case scenario..." Aizawa's stared at the doctor to detect any signs of lies, but found none. The uncompleted sentence made him especially unnerved. 

"Can I see him?" 

"Well, you can, but I advis-" before the sentence was even finished Aizawa was already dashing and pushing his way through the swarm of doctors and nurses. 

He saw the child sitting upright, a ventilator still over his mouth and nose, as he was staring at his sheets.

"Kid" He ran and kneeled down beside the bed. His bouncing heart slowing down in ease for finally seeing the kid awake. 

He tried reaching for the greenett's freezing hand, but was met with no response of any kind. 

"Kid?" He tried again, but still got no answer. 

Doctor Matsuda walked inside and placed his clipboard on a table. 

"Sir, we are afraid he went into a catatonic state. If I am not wrong, you can consider him brain dead, or in a vegetable like state at this moment" 

The doctor's statement was nothing more than gibberish to the hero's ears. Brain dead? That's not how it's supposed to work, right? Usually, if you are brain dead then you would be in a coma. And vegetable state? Well his hair kind of does resemble a broccoli, but that was a very bad timing for humour on the doctor's side. 

"Catatonic?"

"Catatonia is a group of symptoms that usually involve a lack of movement and communication, it may be caused by various mental disorders such as schizophrenia, or it may be caused by kidney problems or Parkinson's disease" the dr. explained as he instructed everyone in the room to leave them alone. He dragged a chair for Aizawa to sit on. 

Aizawa, regaining his focus, complied and sat heavily on the chair with a stern look on his face. He could hear Mic's loud voice from the other side of the door, but that was the least of his worries right then. 

"For now, we can't say for sure what the main reason is, but the closest guess we have is that it's Encephalitis, an inflammation in the brain tissues" 

Aizawa's sceptical and puzzled look told the doctor immediately that he had to explain further. 

"This in itself may be caused by getting infected with any of several viral illnesses, which wouldn't be shocking to know that he endured during his captivity" Aizawa gritted his teeth in frustration as the image of the blooded boy burned at the back of his mind. It was not unlikely that the poor hygiene and the dirty scalpels used on him were covered in viruses. 

"Also in rare cases, this could be caused by drugs and toxins, which were truly found in the patient's blood system" 

The chair fell to the floor with a loud thud as Aizawa stood up fiercely. How could they! Could it be the syringe the villain had used on the kid?! And it happened infront of his own goddamn eyes too! 

"Sir! Please calm yourself. It's in no one's benefit to act impulsively" dr Matsuda stood up too and lowered the enraged self-proclaimed guardian to sit down again after picking the chair up. 

"Could this be treated?" The hero asked with a dangerously low voice that the doctor himself felt intimidated. 

"We will try our best, the quicker solution would include supportive care, as well as intravenous antiviral therapy with a drug such as acyclovir. Other treatments may be used to lower fever, provide hydration, treat seizures and reduce any pressure in the skull. But because of the toxins in the body, we are proceeding very carefully with the chemicals. And..."

Oh my God. There's more?!

"We suspect the presence of a quirk that may be applying a constant strain on the body's cells. All in all, it's a complicated case and we don't want to make any rash decisions. So we will contact other hospitals and wait for their responses for the time being"

"We still have to wait?! How long does he have? Can his body bear it until we get an answer or will it be too late by then?!" Aizawa exlaimed, his eyes glowing red and his hair floating intimidatingly. 

"Sir! We are doing what we can!" the doctor stood up, slightly irritated by the hero's threats and disrespect. He always tried to understand and contain the families' grief and anger, but it just gets too much sometimes. 

"Please refrain from using your quirk in the hospital" he decided to add even though he knew he was talking to a pro hero here. 

Aizawa's hair fell down again. He covered his dry eyes with his right bandaged hand furiously. 

"Sorry" he apologized guilty, knowing that it was not the doctors' fault and that he had no right to take it out on them.

Doctor Matsuda's eyes softened, he saw this kind of state too often to know that people are not in their right mind at these moments to be blamed. He patted the distressed hero on the shoulder and decided to give him some time and space. It was surely not easy to comprehend all of this information at once. 

Hearing the door click behind the doctor, Aizawa raised his sight to look at the still form of the kid. 

He stood up and walked closer. Still bothered by the lack of respons, he held the boy's head in his palms and turned the kid's face to face his, careful not to strain the tubes connected to the ventilator. 

He stared, trying to spot any signs of life in the boy's dull, unfocused eye. Was it really too late? Was he too late in saving him? 

He stared, trying to see a glimpse of the sad tormented soul. Was there any of it left?

He stared, trying to see if Eri was still somewhere in there. If the memories were still there. But maybe, just maybe, were they better off forgotten?

He stared, trying to see if there was a future in thos- this unseeing eye. How can the window of the soul.... be so empty? 

He stared, for a long time. He just stared, but this emerald, it did nothing. It didn't even....stare back.....

Chapter Text

"I recommend emotional stimulation" dr. Matsuda said. Eraser and the doctor were discussing what the hero could do in the meantime while he is still recovering and can't go to work either way. He figured he could at least try something instead of just watching from the sidelines.

"It is so that we can confirm that the catatonia is not caused by psychological factors. We want to make sure the issue is organic to proceed with a chemical treatment" Matsuda-sensei made it clear how urgent the boy's condition was and that they don't have a lot of time on their hands, which didn't help ease Shouta's sense of uselessness.

How do you even stimulate emotions? Asking that of Aizawa is like asking a fish about how flying feels! It's just not in the range of his.... daily routine.

And it's not like they haven't tried that already. They tried talking and making any sort of communication, but how could they even do that while the boy didn't even look at them?!

But then an answer crossed the hero's mind. A very oblivious one that he should've not been missing to begin with.

They just needed Eri. Eri has clearly a strong bound with the unaware boy.

But, he couldn't make little Eri go through this. He's been trying to delay this meeting as long as possible. Guess it's as far as he might get with this, huh?

Aizawa sighed heavily, nodding halfheartedly and telling the doctor he will see what he can do.

Leaving the doctor's office, the healing hero headed to the nearest vending machine, his ponding head demanding coffee to keep his mind from the annoying thoughts and the itch of his arm beneath the gypsum cast.

"Sensei!" Mirio's voice brought Shouta back to the world of living, far far away from his paradise coffee land.

Aizawa grumbled secretly, sparing a glance at his approaching student, before drifting back to icha icha coffe-dise.

Mirio sat swiftly beside the hero on his bench in the empty corridor.

"How's Eri?" Shouta asked without turning, pretending he wasn't concerned out of his mind for not seeing the girl with the young student as she usually would be.

"She's great!" Mirio gave a bright cheeky grin. "She's playing in the common room with her friend!" he pointed toward a room at the end of the hall which giggles and annoyi- cute children clutters erupted from.

"Is that so" Aizawa felt even more disheartened, letting Eri meet her brother would mean ripping off that tiny amount of happiness she just recently got to experience.

"Do you think that... she is ready?" Aizawa didn't even need to clarify what he meant, because Mirio's smile dropped instantly in understanding. He turned his gaze to the ground and looked to be deep in thought.

"I'm not sure. I know she is a strong girl, and I know that she is very attached to her brother. But I want her to have more time to figure everything out slowly. I don't want risking her emotional wellbeing if possible. Not yet at least" he answered truthfully.

It was not something Aizawa didn't know about before, but hearing it from someone else proved he had to just find another way.

Yeah, let's not involve Eri, adults have to carry the burden, not children. And these two had carried enough for a lifetime.

"Onii-san!!" A panicked voice disturbed the trains of thoughts of both hero's.

Mirio looked up to meet the boy running towards them. Kiyoshi stopped at the vending machine, resting his hands on his knees to regain his uneven breath. His panting made it seem he just ran a marathon even though it was only a couple of meters.

"What's wrong?" Mirio patted the boy's back gently, retreating his hand when the boy started coughing a little.

"I can't find Eri-chan! She said she needed to go to the bathroom, but didn't come back!"

Aizawa's nerves skyrocketed at that, remembering his encounter with the villains, and he was reliving that feeling of incapability all over again.

Mirio on the other hand was very calm, he smiled a little and tried comforting the panicking boy. Guess he is an expert in handling kids now, maybe he should change his career to a preschool teacher or something.

"Don't worry, she could have gotten lost on her way back. I'll go look for her, okay? So no need to worry" he ruffled the boy's hair and sprinted into the hallway.

Kiyoshi, now sitting on the bench breathing heavily, kept glancing waryly at the indifferent hero.

"Do you have anything to say, kid?" Now Shouta was totally back to his older self that was just rudely cold and generally bad with any form of human communication. But that was the true him! The situation with the other two kids is just too complicated and those emotions he had for them were just temporary for sure, right?

"Um.. N- no! I'm sorry. It's just ... Eri told me about how cool you are, but you don't seem like a hero to me"

Wow. A rude reminder of why he was so horribly bad with kids. Aizawa was just barely able to stop himself from rolling his eyes and telling the boy he was expelled, he is not one of your students, remember?

"But I know! All heros don't necessarily have to be in colorful suits and shiny armours! My dad for example! He is not a hero, but a doctor who saves lives far from the lights and camera flashes!"

Those words were certainly the last things Aizawa was expecting form an 8 years old child in the middle of a hospital.

"You are one of those right? You helped my friend Eri after all!" The annoying boy said with a big, awfully bright smile.

An airy laugh escaped Shouta's mouth as he stood up and ruffled the kid's hair, coping his student's former action.

"I'm nothing this noble, I'm just doing my job" he simply replied and started walking away.

"That's still admirable" he could faintly hear the kid's statement from afar.

Kids these days, were did they learn to talk like that?

Being an underground hero had it's peaks, like being able to go out in the daylight without being harassed by fans, or your quirk being unknown for most villains you encounter, which works for your advantage in a fight.

But this, they never get admired by the people. They never get praised or noticed for their hard work like normal heros do. So seeing that they were still doing something important, something worth risking your life for, getiting reminded of that even when it's once or twice, it's a very warm feeling.

"But it's not over, heros, remember, we will be back, we always make sure to retrieve what is rightfully ours"

Shit!! Don't tell me...!!

Chapter Text

Aizawa's adrenaline levels hit a new high record for sure. His pulsing heart was in his throat and every hair on his body stood up in warning.

But how?

How did the villains find them?! Everything was being kept secret and this hospital had a bunch of eyes on the heros' side, observing and protecting!!

The part of a second it took the distressed hero to reach the open door and burst inside was taking forever.

Please don't say he's too late again!! Please say he didn't fail them once more!

But to Shouta's surprise, there were no villains to be seen.

It was just the room, the thin curtains that moved with the faint breeze, the disturbing beeping of the machines and the ventilator, the small table beside the bed, the constant faint trickling sound of water in the pipes inside the walls, and most importantly, the same dull and unaware eyes. They were all there, just as he left them.

But instead of relaxing, the hero bit his lip in sadness and grief. He held his head with his hand, covering one eye in the process.

"Sensei! I couldn't fi-" Mirio's voice was heard from the outside of the room, but his unfinished sentence lost its purpose after entering.

"Eri-chan!" Mirio couldn't help the mix of the opposing feelings of relief and bitterness from blossoming inside his chest simultaneously.

Eri was just standing beside the bed, her back to them, and her gaze not leaving the still form on the bed at all.

Her shaky little hands came up to enfold the unmoving ones on the sheets. The absence of all ten fingers made her flinch violently, retreating her hands instinctively. Apparently, the boy hadn't been missing an eye and three fingers the last time they met.

But despite this being a very traumatizing and upsetting thing to see, Eri wasn't any less determined to encase those pitiful hands and offer what little comfort it could afford.

She looked up briefly, then down at the hands, then up again, trying to see if her nii-chan was aware of what she was doing.

The last few times nii-chan had visited her were strange. But never once did he ignore her like that. Even those times he didn't talk to her or look at her, she could always feel his attention on her. Always.

So why was he not acknowledging her presence at all now? Was he really mad at her like she thought?! Was that why she didn't get to see him this whole time?! Because he didn't want her to?!

"Nii-chan" her voice came out weaker and more pitiful than she intended to. "I'm sorry. Are you angry?" Her red ruby eyes started watering, she squeezed his hand tighter and started blinking to get rid of the tears.

"I'm sorry, please!" her cracked voice betrayed her once again. How many times does she have to prove again and again that she is so weak and unreliable?!

"No, Eri-chan, that's not-" she could hear someone behind her, but all her focus was now on one person, so she didn't even try to set up her usual barriers that helped her avoid angering the bad guys all those times.

"Nii-chan!" Her eyes couldn't hold the heavy tears of sorrow and betrayal any longer, so they ran freely on her cherry cheeks. She could feel someone's gentle hand on her shoulder, but she didn't want anyone but nii-chan right now!

She clutched the plain white sheets to make sure no one tried to separate her from her brother, even though she knew that it was the good heros, she didn't care! She only wanted one person in this entire world!

So she was going to be as close to him as possible!

She started climbing the bed, her tiny short legs not reaching all the way up, but she climbed as if her life depended on it.

The hand on her shoulder retreated hesitantly, not wanting to take away the girl's freedom anymore than it already has been all those years.

Eri was successfully on her brother's lap now, and he was still not even looking at her. She clutched the front of his hospital shirt despairingly, looking up directly at his unseeing orb.

Wanting any type of acknowlegment, she glued her ear to his chest, finding comfort in the sound of his slow heartbeat. She closed her eyes, not bothering to control her flowing hot tears anymore, and focused on just the heartbeat. She tried feeling her own pulse, trying to slow down her heartbeat so that their paces were in union. She desperately wanted to belong, and the only home she ever knew was him.

It was not for nothing many claimed he had anger issues. Too bad for them they all got punched in the face after saying that.

*Riiiinnnng*  *Riiiinnnng*

"...for 3 years" she wiped the tears quickly with the hem of her sleeve. She cried too much today, it's time she stopped being a crybaby in front of such brave heros.

Mirio sat on the side of the bed, careful not to smash anyone's leg in the process, and reached his hand to pat her hair gently with a warm sympathetic smile.

"It's fine. Take it slow" he said. His tone was so tender and it didn't take long until she started to calm down.

Aizawa didn't want to pressure her, but he knew that they were short on time.

"Good girl. Then, hmm, how about your quirk?" Aizawa thought he was beginning with the easy questions to not overwhelm the poor girl. But her scared expression told him something else.

She flinched slightly at his question and looked up to meet his gaze. She squeezed her nii-chan's shirt and clenched her teeth before answering.

"I- I don't-" Mirio held her clutched hands gently in his, showing her that there's nothing to fear anymore.

She took a breath or two before going on.

"I-I have a bad quirk" she whispered in shame, as if it was her fault to be born with whatever her 'bad' quirk was.

"There's nothing such as a bad quirk, little one, it depends on how you use it" Mirio comforted.

"But it's- it's really bad!" she shut her eyes tightly. Horrible memories of how her quirk was used to mercilessly take lives. Her time with the Shie Hassaikai was short and seemed distant in her memories, but the trauma was still there, lingering in the background, waiting for the right moment to strike again. What would've happened to her if nii-chan didn't save her that early? If he was a year or two too late?

But then she opened her eyes again, looking up at the hero's, as if she remembered something so suddenly it gave her an electric shock.

"But! Nii-chan, he said- he said that I have another one! A good one"

Mirio looked up at Aizawa, who gave him a puzzled look as well. It wasn't unheard of to have two quirks, such as his student Todoroki. But knowing that the girl had lived her whole life with villains made him worry. What if it was something dangerous the villains did to her? Also, as much as he knows from the blood tests the doctors did when she first arrived at the hospital, the girl only had one quirk. Did the lab team make a mistake?

"He said that he could feel it, it's right here" she put her tiny palms to her chest, closing her eyes and smiling shyly. This was sure something she was proud of, unlike her other bad quirk she talked about.

"He said that I had it inside here. A quirk that makes people love me, a quirk that makes me good and capable of loving and caring. It's called a heart, he said"

Mirio and Aizawa looked at each other. Is that... really a quirk? No, they know what this is, and it's something much more valuable than any quirk one could have, it's a quirk many people were lacking these days, and a quirk that has been already activated and used on them.

Yes, the quirk made them love this little girl, with their whole existence.

And that, was a quirk that Aizawa can never, and will never, erase.

Chapter Text

His throat was tightening into itself, air getting forcefully knocked out of his burning lungs. His hands reached up, clawing fiercely at his neck, with the tips of his nails turning red from the blood gathering underneath. He opened his mouth widely, trying to gulp in as much oxygen as possible, but it only made more water flood into his chest, which made the burning even worse.

His last breath made its way up by taking the form of bubbles, angry massive bubbles flought in the water and made his eyesight even dimmer than it already was.

He was squirming in agony as his forehead collided with the glass, his feet glued to the bottom by a thick metal chain .

He felt his grip on consciousness slip away slowly, and his movements died down. He knew that he couldn't close his eyes, he knew that it was dangerous, but he couldn't help it.

He let out a last choked sound, that was not really a sound considering that he was underwater .

His eyes closed, and his clawing hands went limp.

He only floated lifelessly in the tube.

"Start" A deep voice said, an unpleasant excitement very clear in the tone.

The ticks of the hour hand were heard, alongside the sounds of buzzing machines and the pump, pumping water constantly into the tube.

Few agonizing moments went by, the unsettling grin never leaving the man's face, while the other figure wearing a white cloak kept staring professionally at the timer he held in his palm.

Suddenly, a muffled gasp for air was heard, and the limp body woke up to life at once.

"Time?" The grinning man demanded.

*Bakugou Mitsuki*

Chapter Text

He could feel it in every fiber in his body, his whole being screaming in agony. His lips were moving, but no sounds were coming out of him. His hoarse vocal cords were heavily damaged that he couldn't even scream any longer.

The room smelt of burning body tissues that would make anyone nauseous. The flaming sensation in his inner organs made it clear he hade internal damage as well.

His spasming muscles were the least of his worries, as his heart started to feel very heavy and dysfunctional. Every breath was wreaking his burning lungs.

The shock suddenly stopped, and he found himself relaxing in relief as he was finally able to inhale, he thought they were never letting him do so this time.

"The cells were able to withstand!" The white coated figure exclaimed happily.

"How much?" The ashy haird man sitting in the corner asked curiously.

"8 000 mA!" the researcher said in disbelief. 

"What's the normal range?" The sitting man asked in impatience, bouncing his leg up and down, not understanding the meaning behind these numbers.

"Usually it's life-threatening at 2 000 mA"

"So it's 4 folds huh?" He could his math, surprisingly. "Not enough!" The man-child began whining childishly.

"S-sir, it's tremendous enough to get the cells to be immune t-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion" he glared with murder intentions at the coated man.

"S-sir. My apologies" he castad down his gaze to the ground in defeat, having no other options than to comply.

"Do a 16 000 next!" The man's unsettling grin grew wider.

"T-that-! I strongly advise against it. That would be very risky and the chances of success are very slim, we should no-" he couldn't finish his objection before he felt four cold fingers wrapping his neck.

"One more word and I guess we will be having a new team leader" Shigaraki narrowed his eyes dangerously behind the hand attached to his face.

"S- sir!" The choking man closed his eyes as he fell to the ground coughing.

The man-child walked over to the restrained boy, watching as he helplessly wheezed, attempting to breath through fried lungs.

He clutched a handful of the forest green hair and yanked his head up.

"Oh what a good boy, not even screaming anymore. Should have been obedient from the beginning, no?" He grinned maniacally, but his cocky manner disappeared when he realized the boy was not laying any attention on him. His glazed eyes, that turned blind due to the electric chock, staring into space mindlessly.

Tomura's grin turned into a frown and he smashed the boy's head into the wall behind the stripping chair. Blood trickled down the boy's hair, but the man was still not getting a response.

He could feel rage bubble inside him, but his smile was back as he got the perfect idea.

"Should we get the little brat?" He whispered sinisterly in the boy's ear.

The unseeing eyes widened and began searching around desperately. He couldn't see, but he knew that he had to look at the right direction if he wanted to save her.

His voice was not there either, but he had to answer! Or else they will target her too!

"N...n...n....o" he managed to get out a very weak and barley audible whisper.

Shigaraki felt satisfied now that he saw the dread and fear in the emerald eyes, but he was not feeling so generous today.

"Then let's do a 18 000 mA and if you don't withstand that, then she will be next on this chair!"

"Mr. Aizawa" Doctor Matsuda said firmly with an awfully serious expression on his face. This was something he personally had to say.

Chapter Text

Something was wrong.

From what they had already discovered, it's not impossible. But it was beyond his wildest imagination.

This file was seriously the last thing he needed to top his problems with.

Dr. Matsuda needed time to comprehend everything that happened recently. It was too much, let's start from the beginning.

One, his young patient had immortal cells, making him immortal. But his life was in danger too? How could these two facts exist simultaneously?

Something must be contracting the cells mitosis for sure, it could be one of the many drugs injected by the villains? If they figured it out, they would surly be able to help the boy.

Two, these hospitals are awfully slow in their response! Hasn't he made it clear that it is an outmost emergency?! Have doctors these days none concerns for the lives of other human beings?!

Three, the anno- the concerned guardian (who is not the legal guardian, Matsuda came to realize a tad too late) is making a fuss in the hospital and no one is capable of containing him. Should they just kick him out? No, no, he can't do that, he has to be wise and dampen the shock the pro hero must be going through.

He did hear that the hero witnessed how the boy's heart stopped in the ambulance and came miraculously back shortly after, but Matsuda could only brush it off as an exaggeration of the inexperienced eye.

Four, and the most horrifying matter in hand; the file he was reading now.

This morning a patient that had undergone a transplant of kidneys came for an ordinary checkup routine. He did not have the surgery here at this hospital, but it doesn't make the disgusting truth less disgusting.

These kidneys had the same properties as the immortal cells.

These kidneys belonged to the kid...

Chapter Text

"We got the same results" Midnight informed. The dark expression on Aizawa's face got even darker, as he cursed the accuracy of his senses.

He knew these jars in that underground basement were shady, he had a feeling he didn't want to know their contents, and he was right.

He didn't need to know that these were organs forcefully uprooted from a single kid, just because he was undying.

What about pain? Couldn't he still feel it?

The thought made Shota squeeze his eyes shut in devastation. What about the conditions of these surgical procedures? Did he even get anesthetized?! And the equipment? He sure hopes that it was not those unsterilized and dull scalpels...

Midnight squeezed his shoulder, her heart breaking for seeing her comrade despairing. Aizawa covered his eyes with his right hand, clenching his teeth as hard as it's humanly possible.

Dr. Matsuda sat at the opposite bench in the same silent corridor, reading frantically the pile of results he just received.

"It's still an initial estimation, but we believe that over 46% of our blood and organ supplies are also..." He didn't need to finish, the horrific fact was already said.

Midnight clenched her fists in anger. How could they?!

"I'll start an immediate investigation and track down the traders, I'll make sure every single one of them is being dealt with! And that every organ out in the marked is confoscated" She exclaimed in devastation, not even sure herself if she could accomplish that.

"Wouldn't that put the boy in danger?" Mic who was sitting oddly silent the whole time started to speak up. Midnight turned her head fastly, nearly aggressively, and glared at the man. Was he suggesting they don't do anything?!

"I mean, if we strip these villains of their products, wouldn't they try to get the source back?" Mic was uncharacteristically being rational, making the boy's safety his priority.

"Then what?! We just sit still watching them trade with a kid's freaking organs?!" Midnight was getting rather emotional, probably feeling slightly guilty at what became of the kid, thinking that she should have rescued him sooner.

"Of course not! I'm just saying that we need to be careful not to risk the children's safety! You think they could handle getting kidnapped once more?!" Though Midnight considered herself more rational than Mic, he did make a point.

"Sir" the laboratory researcher that discovered the cells' immortality made her presence known. She was sitting beside Dr. Matsuda this whole time, though most of them didn't realize her presence.

"What should we do with the organs we have? We even have several transplantations scheduled for the next few weeks too" she asked the doctor who was still busy reading the details.

"Cancel everything for now" he ordered. How many transplantations have they already done? Do they need to call back every single one of them? Should these patients even keep these organs?

"But sensei! There are many who has been on the waiting list for years, some of them relying on these surgeries as their one and only hope to survive!" The reasercher argued, and although she had a fair point, she got sharp gazes from three different people.

"I'm aware. But beside the ethical dilemma, we are not sure of the safety of these transplantations anymore. It's for the patients health as well, I'm not taking an emotionally based decision" the young doctor explained patiently.

Upon hearing the reasoning, the reasercher retreated the arguing back, if it was for the patients' safety, then it indeed did make sense.

Coming to think of it, they always analysis the organs before any transplantations to check various factors such as the blood type and  matching percentage of the tissues. How come they never discovered that half of them belonged to the same person?

Is someone manipulating thier data to hide this fact? Is there a traitor in the hospital working for the villains?!

..... No, how can she be so ridiculous. She is totally overthinking.

"Um..." This was really not Todoroki's best expertise. He was always the one needing comfort, never did he think about offering it to others.

"Shut up!" The disturbance in Katsuki's voice was clear, the wet unshed tears being heared in his tone instead.

Todoroki sighed, being too familiar with that feeling, the feeling of loss and despair, the feeling of urgent need for help, despite being too proud to accept it.

He plopped down beside the angry teenager, doing the thing he himself would have appreciated the most if he was in Katsuki's shoes.

Just being there.

They spend a few minutes just in silence. Neither one of them making any noises. They could eventually hear Rei's muffled voice, having a one-sided conversation as she would always do, but nothing else could be heard.

"You better not say anything about this" Katsuki broke the silence. And of course, he had to take the intimidation route.

"Do you take me for the chatty type?" Well, not very supportive-ish, but that was just the way these two communicate, I guess?

Bakugou only frowned, his gaze never leaving the ground. His elbows resting on his tights as he was leaning forward, his bangs shadowing his melancholic eyes.

Todoroki got a little too uncomfortable, so he tried to start a conversation.

"Wh-"

"Don't!"

And they just sat in silence.....

Chapter Text

Eri sat in her usual corner, holding a blue crayon, stroking skillfully the big well-read words one after the other.

Mirio was in the corridor at the vending machine, out of sight. But recently, she grew more confident, enough to not freak out if she doesn't have him within eyesight for a couple of hours.

But she was awfully lonely. With her brother still in that state, her hero busy with something she didn't know about, all the other kids avoiding her as she has isolated herself from them, and then, Kiyoshi...

He didn't show up for a couple of days, even though they didn't fulfill their promise yet!

Why was he not coming anymore? Did he get tired of her? Of how clingy she is, or how sensitive and avoidant she could be? Is he not having fun writing and reading with her all day long? Did he..

Did he get tired of being her friend?

He was her very first friend, and it meant something to her. It really did.

But if he decided he didn't want to play with her, then who was she to complain?

But...

She at least hoped they could do the things they promised to do before he abandoned her.

No!

She was not going to give up. If not with Kiyoshi, then she would do it herself!

It was cold.

He could feel his exposed skin getting hastily rubbed with something cold.

A cold scalpel touched his side, and he knew exactly what would come next.

An unseen figure in the shadows watched carefully from the side, his grin not visible, as he watched in more awe than excitement.

Someone muttered something beside his ear, but the whole world was out of focus, he couldn't comprehend what was being said.

The tip dug painfully into his skin, creating a long straight cut, but he knew better than to let out any noise. He could feel two metal retractors getting placed on either side of the cut, before they got pulled apart, causing immense pain to shoot throughout his entire body. He tried to stop himself from reacting, but a small gasp left his mouth unintentionally.

"Why isn't it working!" A distressed voice said beside him. He could feel a long needle inside his arm. Something was definitely getting pumped into his veins, but he didn't react whatsoever.

Blood oozed quickly and strated to drip on the surgical table, and before long there was a pool of blood on the floor too.

"Hey! Don't get the floor dirty!" The shadowy figure snarled.

"S- sorry sir!" The one holding the scalpel apologized. He ordered nervously his assistant to get a towel and a suction pump. Should they get some blood while they are at it? It's better than waisting it on the floor like this anyway. And the market price is great these days.

Someone was pacing back and forth, muttering incomprehensibly, anguishing over how to deal with the situation. The person was biting his thumbnail, as  shuffling and flipping of files and paper were heard.

And there it was, the awfully excruciating pain he could never get used to. The feeling of the nerves and vessels getting forcefully torn, the feeling of emptiness in a spot that should not be empty. The tormenting long seconds of pulling aggressively at the tissues and the screaming flesh.

"I- I have t-to do it" A trembling hand reached out for the table of medical tools.

A cold scalpel touched his chest, and he knew exactly what would come next.....

Chapter Text

Katsuki woke up startled, looking right and left in a confused manner, getting Todoroki startled as well in the process, who shot up from his uncomfortable position on the hallway's chair.

"What's wrong?!" Shoto asked, his reflexes resurfacing as his body tensed up ready for a fight or flight situation.

Katsuki stared at the floor in confusion, not grasping the scenes that had just flashed through his head.

"What the hell is this?!" He asked himself out loud.

It was the same thing that happened back then at the dorms. That dream he had, of a person he did not know.

But in his dream, his little self seemed to know them. He, his family, his aunt, a-and... his mother too.

They seemed close. His mother had her smile back then. She had her usual scold-ish behaviour and her strict way of commanding him. Her weird, unique way of showing her love and concern for her beloved son. It was all there.

He must find that person. Maybe he could have the answers he needs for helping his mother!

"Why do I have to do it?! Old hag?" A tiny voice squeaked in annoyance.

"Shut up and set the table already! Is that too much to ask for?! You brat!" Another voice screamed back from across the kitchen.

Poor Masaru standing right in between the kitchen and the dining room, cold sweating in discomfort as insults were thrown back and forth.

"They will be here soon! Masaru! Is the chicken ready?"

Masaru tried finding his way through the chaotic kitchen, dodging a sprinting Katsuki, and a fretting Mitsuki.

Everything's a mess.

But he could never be happier.

"Inko! Darling! Lovely to see you again! Please come in" Mitsuki welcomed genially. The green haired single woman smiled gently, as she held the hand of the seemingly young teenager followed by her. His facial expressions were stotic and phlegmatic, as he let himself get led into the house, apparently moving on autopilot and not deciding much on his own.

"Why did you bring that weirdo!" Katsuki exclaimed, earning a sharp glare from his mother, that he simply huffed and turned away from.

It's been a year since auntie brought in that freaky person, who would always stare at space. In. Katsuki's. own. spot. in the woods! Unforgivable!

The teen unexpectedly gave a response. He turned his head slowly to look at the angry little boy.

He thought Katsuki's attitude was cute.

He smiled gently.

Inko's eyes widened in surprise. Never was she able to get a response from the teen, let alone see him smile.

Inko couldn't help but smile too.

Chapter Text

Matsuda-sensei stood shocked, mouth wide open in surprise.

He couldn't understand what have just happened. He only remembers the awful long beep and the dreadful sight of flesh and bones.

And then there was a blinding light, before everything settled down, and a normal heart rate was being showed on the monitor once more. 

Chapter Text

"What do you mean you don't know! There are eyes guarding the hospital from every angle, there are security cameras and firm checking of the visitors. And you are telling me you don't know who did this?!" Midnight was losing her mind. They were very cautious and took every measurement they could, but a villain was still able to sneak in, and open up their patient to steal his organs?!! 

The hospital's security guards were getting scolded mercilessly, but they made sure to defend themselves and swore over and over again that they were sure no villains infiltrated the hospital. 

Which earned them an even harsher scolding. 

Mic sat in the hallway, utterly quiet. Even disturbingly so. Beside him sat Eraser with a grim expression, as he found himself doing almost everyday since the rescue. His leg bouncing up and down in distress, the shouting of Midnight in the background not helping ease his anxiety. 

The security cameras were all disabled at the same time when it occurred. All guards reported not seeing anyone enter or exit the hospital building neither from the main entrance nor the back exits at the time. Not with a bag big enough to fit organs at least. 

So this was either the doing of a quirk they were not aware of, or that the culprit never left hospital grounds.

It could be that the guards let their guard down or were lounging, he dare even say they could whatsoever be working with the villains. 

But since he was a paranoid person, he made sure to have trustworthy peers watching the hospital from a distance, and they too confirmed the guards' statements. 

Mirio was back from the bathroom, as he sat on the opposite bench of Aizawa's, having little Eri seated on his lap. 

She was still a bit shaken from the encounter earlier, her quirk being a sensitive topic she unexpectedly had to discuss so unprepared. 

Mirio would rather not have Eri here right now, seeing how Midnight-sensei was unstable and Aizawa-sensei being enraged. But they were unsure of the safety of the hospital right now, so they had to stick together. 

Eri didn't say anything, as she clutched Mirio's shirt firmly and listened to Midnight's outcries. The image of the empty chest refused to leave her mind. 

Who-..... w-why did this happen to n-nii-chan? Were the bad guys back?! This- this was not the f-first time...was it? That...that vague dream, that... that undefinable phantom she once thought she experienced, that day when the kind hero saved them, when she saw something she didn't remember seeing, that was a memory of something similar to this incident, wasn't it?  

The .... the things on the floor...what were they again? She swears her memory is weaker than a goldfish's! Wait it was... yeah, a chunk of meat on the floor, was that....

"Doctor Matsuda! Where's doctor Matsuda?!" A doctor in a white coat came flying towards them, the panic in his voice reaching levels they've never knew were possible. 

The man stood panting right outside the door of the boy's room, right where they were sitting. He turned around right and left, looking for the mentioned doctor.

And suddenly, he started to madly bang on the door for the ICU, startling everyone in process and making the heros jump immediately to restrain his unexpected outbreak. 

"Stop! Who are you?! What do you think you're doing??" Hizashi exclaimed while holding the madman back by the shoulders. 

"Doctor Tanaka?" Togata recognized. He sat Eri to the side on the bench and stood up, trying to figure out why the usually collected man was acting so frantic. 

"M-mirio-kun?" His wriggling came to a halt abruptly when he saw the hero-in-training and the little girl behind. He gritted his teeth and casted his gaze to the floor, seemingly avoiding eye contact with these particular two. 

But before anyone could say anything, the door flew open, revealing a very annoyed Matsuda-sensei, who got rudely interrupted while examinating the patient whose case has been the most difficult one he'd ever worked on. 

His face softened slightly when he saw who it was, but still not by much. 

"Matsuda! You have to help me!" Panic came into Tanaka-sensei anew, as he broke free from Mic's grip to hold Matsuda's shoulders firmly. All honorfics seemingly dropping at that point. 

"My son! Please help him!" He pleaded desperately. 

Dr. Matsuda's eyes widened in realization. 

"Your son?" Mirio wondered out loud. He didn't mention a son in any of the frequent conversations they've had. Wouldn't it be natural to talk about that topic while being in the children's ward this whole time? Parents did tend to chatter alot about their kids too. 

But that was not the important part. It was that his son needed help. Even though Tanaka-sensei is a doctor himself. Why would he ask for help from another doctor?

"Did something happen to Kiyoshi-kun?!" Matsuda-sensei asked in equal concern. 

"K-kiyoshi?" Little Eri's voice came from behind, alerting everyone to her presence. 

They did not like the direction this conversation was headed. 

Aizawa made a gesture for Mirio to take Eri away. Mirio understood that quickly and rushed to pick her up. 

But Eri held her hands out, refusing, for the first time, to obey. 

Her big wide eyes looked up desperately at the doctor's. What happened to her friend?! Her first and only friend!

"T-the transplantation seemed like a success a-at first, but something went wrong and I- I couldn't finish the procedure by myself! You are the most talented surgeon in this hospital! P-please! You have to help me!" 

Matsuda narrowed his eyes, yanking the other doctor's palms aside, breaking free from the older man's grip on his shoulders and stepping back a couple of steps. 

"Wait, I didn't hear about any surgical plans for little Kiyoshi. And, wasn't he pretty low on the donation list considering his condition? How-? W-when did he get the.... necessary......." Doctor Matsuda trailed off as his train of thought led him towards a conclusion he didn't want to believe. 

No, this couldn't be. Tanaka sensei sure did love his son more than anything in the world, and it's true that he has been so very desperate to save him. 

But he wouldn't go to such lengths, would he?

No, this is impossible. 

Tanaka-sensei's eyes watered. He looked down in shame as his lips trembled. 

"I'm- I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't want to do it, I swear! I had no choice!" 

No one understood the meaning behind his words. Except for one particularly experienced hero. 

In a blink of an eye, Shouta was at the man's throat, holding him by the collar and slamming him mercilessly into the wall. Everyone else shot up in surprise as they didn't expect that reaction from the dignified and collected Aizawa. 

"IT WAS YOU?!" He shouted, venom dripping from his voice, every fibre in the doctor's body trembled in trepidation.

"I'm sorry!" He squeezed his eyes tightly, holding the hero's wrists in an attempt to not get choked to death. 

"Shouta! What's gotten into you?! What did he do?" Hizashi ran towards them to try to pull the enraged Aizawa off the poor doctor. But he was seemingly stronger than anticipated. 

"Mic! Let me go or I swear I'll-" Aizawa threatened as he was not in his right mind. 

He knew in the back of his mind that Eri was there, that she should not hear what he was about to say. But his upheaval took the best of him and he lost all his reasoning. He just found himself yelling at the top of his lungs;

"HE KILLED HIM! IT WAS HIM! THE ONE WHO STOLE THE KID'S ORGANS!!" 

Chapter Text

"He's stable now, the heart and lungs are all in the right place"

The other doctor slumped down on the floor in relief, his jelly legs finally giving up and allowing him to finally relax.

But the repose didn't last long, as Matsuda's face scrunched up in disbelief.

"But how could you do that?!" He was barely able to concentrate while working on little Kiyoshi because he couldn't believe a veteran with a conscience such as Tanaka-sensei was able to do what he did.

"You are coming with me!" He practically dragged the older doctor with him to meet the heros whom have been waiting restlessly for an explanation.

The older doctor got shoved down at the feet of the furious Aizawa by the younger one. Not daring to raise his eye level, he kept staring at the floor.

Eri was now taken away by Mirio, as her emotional outbreak got out of hand and they had to sedated her forcefully. The poor girl has been met with a shock after the other without any breaks, it was no surprise her fragile mental health crumbled down under the stress. It was already a miracle she lasted this long to begin with.

Doctor Tanaka didn't know the details of Eri's relationship with the ICU patient, but he understood that they were close. So not having Eri there made him feel a little bit better.

But the three heros towering above him made relaxing pretty far, as he felt he could get murdered at any given moment.

"I- I know I did something awful, I'm terribly sorry" he whispered weakly.

"But I had no choice. My son, Kiyoshi, he had heart and lungs failure since birth, but his condition started worsening recently and I just.... I had to do something. The chance of donation was very slim and I feared we had no time left..." He explained in distress as he held his head in consternation, his orbs darting in every possible direction.

Aizawa walked over to a bench slowly before plopping down heavily. Clenched teeth and disorganized eyes being shaded by the wild long hair that covered his face because of his downward tilted head.

Mic's and Midnight's sympathetic gazes followed their troubled friend all the way, and stayed on him after he'd perched. Both heros were out of their hero costumes and they looked generally awful. Mic's hair being uncombed and un-geled, while Midnight's sexy traits nowhere to be seen under the baggy clothes.

"I swear I tried anesthetization, but it just- it didn't work! I tried!"

Aizawa's head shot up in horror. The boy was awake throughout the ordeal?!!

"Well, we found out he was immune to anesthesia! If you had asked I would've told you!" Dr. Matsuda lashed out. 

"Whatever condition he has, his immortality is limited to not dying. Which means he has no regeneration or healing properties!" He continued.

"Wait. That doesn't make sense. We know that there are hundreds if not thousands of his organs out there" Hizashi commented.

"That's right. Which is why we suspect it's either a quirk of the villains, something similar to what the young girl did, or that the patient's state was not the same back then"

They all went silent. Giving each other silent looks of worry.

"T-then, does it mean that the cells are instable?! Does it carry any risks for Kiyoshi?!" The distressed dad could only think of his son.

Aizawa flounced up furiously, slamming the older doctor to the wall with one arm once more.

"Do you not realize what you did?! He can't die, but he can't heal either! He can only be alive with the very bare minimum. He can still feel pain! He is a human too!"

"Can you still call him human after knowing what he is?!! He is immortal!!" Dr. Tanaka decided to finally yell back, gripping the hero's wrist tightly trying to get it off his neck.

"I just wanted to save my son!! No one can tell me that it's wrong!" Tanaka-sensei yelled, showing no regret. Though the tears streaming down his face told another story.

The flame burning in Shouta's chest couldn't get agitated any further, as his quirk got activated unintentionally and he felt his patience slipping through his fingers.

But before he could land a well deserved punch, his two colleagues held him and restricted his movments firmly.

He considered saying goodbye to his mother, but it was pretty late and she sure went back to her room while they were asleep. That would explain the jacket he found on him upon waking up.

But before he could go unnoticed, he bumped into someone.

Just his luck.

A tall, well built middle-aged man with brown hair and old fashioned rectangular glasses stood in front of him.

Todoroki murmured an half-hearted apology, but realized upon looking up that the man's attention was not on him.

Katsuki froze in his tracks, as a mix of rage and relief pooled inside of him.

"K-katsuki! I- I didn't think you would be here, a-after visiting hours!" Masaru stuttered in clear panic. Katsuki didn't even come here anymore, let alone stay for this long. He was not prepared for this meeting, especially after the fight earlier that day.

"Old man...." He eyed his father with displeasure.

"You decided to come now?" Bakugou replied, surprisingly calm. But the underlying outrage was not concealed in any way.

"Ah- I j-just" The poor father wasn't able to finish his explanation before getting shoved to the side and surpassed by Katsuki who wasn't willing to listen.

"F*ck off" He walked away without looking back.

Todoroki felt very awkward having to witness more parental issues. Seriously, what's wrong with this family?

Not that he has any right to talk about family issues though.

Katsuki's tired father sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose from underneath the glasses.

Shoto thought that this was his chance to tip toe out of the situation, but got stopped by the man before him.

"Are you Katsuki's friend?" He asked with a gentle tone. Todoroki wondered why Bakugou was treating such a nice father this coldly. Shoto was willing to sacrifice anything to trade his father with this one.

Actually, anyone would be better than Enji.

"Um, something like that?" Todoroki's answer was more of a question. He didn't think Bakugou considered him anything close to a friend, but that'll take explanation, and he wasn't feeling for talking anymore than he did today.

If you don't feel like giving the long answer, you just agree with anything they say.

"What a relief. I thought that kid shut himself out from the whole world. Glad to hear he could make friends"

Todoroki knew Bakugou was not the friendly type, but he seemed to be the type to attract people to him despite his unbearable aggression.

This conversation didn't seem to be coming to its end, as Bakugou's dad took a seat and gestured Shouto to do the same.

There is no escaping this.....

"I- I guess... you saw..?" Masaru hesitantly asked.

"Hm?" Todoroki didn't get what he was trying to say. But when Mr. Bakugou nodded towards the door infront of them, holding the nametag 'Bakugou Mitsuki' big and clear, there was no doubting he shouldn't have meddled in this family's affairs.

He could only nod in response.

"I'm sorry we had to burden you with that" Masaru said. His eyes not leaving the edge of the beer bottle he was rubbing with his thumbs continually.

"It's hard. It hurts. Having to continue living. I just.. you know. I keep wanting to do something. Anything. To make me forget. So the only thing I really can do is work. And I know that Katsuki's pain must be greater, and that I need to be there for him, but I just... I can't. I can't find the strength to continue. I just want us to be happy, as we used to be before"

There was silence. Masaru glancing to the side occasionally to see the reaction of Katsuki's friend, silently apologizeing for dumping his life problems on a teenager out of the blue.

Yet he found comfort in this long lost company. He found himself continuing.

"Katsuki is the only one she doesn't recognize. Or... I don't know if she recognizes him or not.... but he's the only one she keeps rejecting. So seeing how his mother doesn't reject me as well.... It must've hurt him. So much, that I can't even start to imagine. So I.... I tried not to come here. Not when he is here, at least. But... I- I guess he intercepted it as if I didn't care. I... I don't know what the right thing to do is.... I just-"

Masaru's voice broke in agony. Words getting stuck in his throat as he felt wet hot tears starting to take over his vision.

This is pathetic, and infront of a teenager. Katsuki's friend, of all people.

"S-sorry. Forget everything I said. This must've been so sudden. I apolo-" he felt a warm hesitant hand reach his back, patting it back and fourth, ever so slowly.

And to his surprise, the touch soothed his sadness and made him calm down.

He hid his teary eyes behind his palms as he felt himself getting flustered. How embarrassing is it to get soothed by your kid's friend?!

But he didn't mind at that particular moment.

He was glad someone heard him out. 

He felt grateful.

"Thank you" he whispered. The freely running tears hidden behind his hands that covered the majority of his face.

Todoroki kept patting, as he sat in utter silence with a distressed Bakugou.

Once more.

Chapter Text

Aizawa sat staring at the endless tubes. The ones going to support the weakened lungs, the ones attached to the digestive system keeping the body fed, the ones attached to an urine bag keeping the residues out.

He kept recalling what Dr. Matsuda said; an overall organ failure.

Apparently, the body's cells were already falling apart slowly, but after getting restored by Eri's quirk, they couldn't keep up with the rapid change and failed simultaneously.

The 'original' state the cells got rewinded to, were not as ideal as expected.

The only thing keeping the body alive were the machines.

And the mind?

Well, it's not even clear if that was still functioning.

Shouta's gaze travelled guiltily down to his now bandages-free hands.

Never before in his life did he feel so powerless, so hopeless, or so useless, as he was at that moment.

An idea did cross his mind, when he had a prolonged discussion with Eri about her quirk the other day. Her quirk was powerful and full of potential, but it was very dangerous, untrained and unpredictable at the same time. Not to forget that it was one of the reasons for the quickened deterioration. He, of course, didn't say that the little girl, but he had to keep that fact in mind.

So for the first time, he is totally out of solutions.

There is nothing he can do, nothing he can attempt to try, nothing he can even think of.

While sinking in his depressing thoughts, he failed to realize Yamada who entered the room, looking at his distressed friend in sorrow, not able to help him.

Only when his hand was on Aizawa's shoulder, in an attempt for consolation, did he make his presence known for the desperate hero.

Shouta turned his head back slowly. When the dull, despairing, deep black eyes met the other yellowish-green pair, Mic could only feel how his heart clenched, never could he imagine heartache was one of the feelings his lifelong friend could give him.

"Hizashi..." His cracked voice didn't make it any better.

Aizawa was not a man who showed weakness ever. Not even when Oboro....

Never did he see the seemingly careless man cry or break down, but he feared that was exactly what he was about to witness.

"Shouta. You... you should eat something" he knew his friend hasn't put a single bite in his mouth for the last three days.

He wanted to help, he needed to help, he had to help, but he didn't know how....

A single broken look was the answer he got.

Mic was not helping. He knew that, but...

He glanced at the shredded, torn and vulnerable figure in the bed. Is he alive? Is that even considered living?

He couldn't help him either.

"Nee..." He started, to try to get the man's attention.

He didn't feel very confident when he was met with Shouta's sorrowful eyes though. Should he really be saying this?

But he continued anyway.

"Do you want him to live like that?"

He waited a few seconds for his words to sink properly. But Aizawa's confused looks told that they were not on the same track.

"What do you mean?" Eraser's whole body was now facing his friend's, as he got his full attentiveness.

"The boy isn't..." He felt even less confident when he felt Shouta's body stiffen and his palms getting balled into tight fists.

They both knew what was about to get said.

"...he isn't aware. He isn't here, his soul... It's just the meat that is alive, and we are only prolonging the suffering. Ours..." He let out a shaky breath he was holding.

"....and his. Wouldn't it be.... Wouldn't it be more merciful if... if w-we let him.... just...." He clutched his own hand firmly to stop the visible trembling.

"..go....?"

His words were heavy, he knew. He didn't have the right to say them, he knew. He didn't have the right to decide, he knew!

But he had to say what needed to be said! Lying to oneself and running away from the truth was never his style.

But for Aizawa, it wasn't about the truth.

His stiff body was shaking slightly, as his eyes were tightly shut while the words spun inside his head in upheaval.

He wanted to stand up and rage out. He wanted to scream at Hizashi for even suggesting such a thing. He wanted to show his unfaltering will in believing in the kid.

But he couldn't.

He found himself silent. Rethinking everything that had happened to this kid. Thinking that Mic may be right.

And that frightened him.

He didn't want to give up. Not yet.

Uraraka took a fast glance at the boy's eyes, wondering if he was conscious to feel what they were doing, but couldn't find any traces of awareness in the dull orbs.

Chapter Text

The cold rain on his skin felt oddly soothing. He could feel every rain drop landing, trickling slowly down across his abdomen, before harshly getting dyed and turning into an intense red when reaching his widely open wound.

At first, every little droplet sent immense pain rushing through his body. But now, the appealing cold numbness was all he could sense.

Lying down on his side, with his back pressed to the wall behind, he closed his eyes in defeat. Maybe this was not bad after all.

Not the bleeding out alone in an alleyway part, but the calming nothingness that came after it.

He listened to the calming sound of the falling rain, acting as his last personal symphony, sending him away in peace. He never imagined his ending to be relaxing, he always thought he would die in the most painful way imaginable.

That's if he would ever be able to, to begin with.

The sounds began gradually to fade into the background. Soon, silence would be his only friend, and he welcomed the stillness with open arms.

What he didn't expect though, was the soft hand on his cheek.

He wondered if that was a near death hallucination, but the warmth felt too real to his freezing face.

He cracked one eye half open, too tired to make out what he was exactly seeing.

What he could make out though, was a woman with green hair on her knees beside him. The umbrella she was using as a shield from the heavy rain was dropped to the ground next to her in panic, her expression displaying concern and genuine affection, one that he thought would never, ever, be directed towards him.

A foreign feeling he had never experienced swept away the numbness in his limbs, making his senses wake up to life and hit him with an unimaginably painful load of stimulations. The stopped world was suddenly back in motion. But the emotion itself was everything he could focus on. How could a stranger make him feel this.... warm?

The woman cuddled his head in her slender arms, gently stroking his messy mop of wet sticky hair.

She was saying something, but he couldn't comprehend it as anything other than faint, drowned noises.

When she realised how unresponsive he was, she rested her hand on top of his blooded one. Not an ounce of hesitation or repellency could be detected in those emerald orbs.

That tender touch, he was sure he would never forget it.

And right at this moment, he could swear....

He was feeling it again...

Dr. Matsuda didn't hesitate a minute when Shouta told him of what he saw, running several tests that were to either confirm or deny the plausibility of Aizawa's doubt.

"My God..." Came the wavering voice of the doctor.

"What is it?" The hero couldn't help concern dripping from his words.

Dr. Matsuda spun around his chair, to face away from the monitor he was so eagerly studying.

"These MRI and EEG scans...." He pointed at the screen. Aizawa followed his finger to see several images of a brain, some areas colored darker than others. "...show that there is brain activity..!"

Aizawa was no doctor, but he knew what Matsuda was implying.

"Is he waking up?" Something in Shouta's chest felt lighter, but he knew better than to celebrate too early, so he tried to force his facial expression into an indifferent one.

"I wouldn't call it waking up..." Matsuda didn't want to raise their hopes up too much "..but it is a good sign nonetheless," but he couldn't conceal his own new-found determination.

Yet he couldn't help himself from worrying about a single detail. He frowned slightly, turning back to the monitor to double check.

"What's the matter?" Aizawa, of course, caught wind of the sudden shift of mood and feared the worse.

"The thing is, most activity is located in the amygdala..." he pointed at two almond shaped parts of the brain showed on the screen. "It's this part that's placed within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum" Aizawa ignored the medical gibberish that he didn't understand.

"The amygdala is responsible for processing and storing up memories, especially when it comes to more emotional remembrances," the doctor said before falling into an unpredicted silence.

Aizawa eyed him cautiously, waiting for him to continue, still not seeing the problem.

"It's clearly hyperactive, those are definitely not normal numbers. I've never seen anything like this before," he leaned closer. Too close, his nose did almost touch the screen before him.

"I would almost say that it's swollen..." his face scrunch up, unknown if it's caused by the harsh light to his eyes or the realization of what this could mean.

"This must be putting enormous strain on his brain and body. It could even be the reason behind the organ failure," he let the thought sink in for a moment.

Dr. Matsuda sighed and leaned back in his chair, combing a hand through his hair.

"I'm just confused. I've never handled anything like this, so I'm not expecting an explanation I'm familiar with either." They fell into a tense silence, the only sound being the fiddling of folders the doctor was making.

"I'll go see the boy," Aizawa broke the silence, probably restless to go see any improvements....

Or to force out some.

That's a dangerous series of thoughts, Matsuda noted.

"Eraserhead," The young doctor's voice made the hero's hasty movements come to a halt, as he turned his head around with a short, impatient 'hmm?'

"You should know that the amygdala is also responsible for emotional responses, especially the primary ones including aggression, anxiety, stress and..."

He met the hero's eyes directly, knowing that concern and sympathy is what would be seen in his own.

"...fear."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes a tad, wondering where the doctor was going with this.

"Excessive amygdala activity is connected to post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders, because it causes extreme reactions to emotional events, memories, emotional stimuli, and visual stimuli."

"What are you trying to say?"

Matsuda was only speculating from that point on, but he really felt the urge to tell the uneasy hero, before he did something he would regret.

"He must be trapped in an endless swarm of memories, with a sole feeling rushing through him."

It would certainly explain the catatonia too. Regardless, the whole phenomena remained a mystery as to why only the amygdala was hyperactive. What could be the cause?

"I know a nurse who can help us, her quirk is quite literally brain activity control."

Aizawa's stance shifted as he turned his whole body to face the doctor instead of the door he was just about to reach to.

"Are you suggesting we activate his brain forcefully?"

"The opposite actually. I'm suggesting we dampen the amygdala's activity, thus lessen the strain. I'm not sure it would work, but my hypothesis is that the rest of the brain will start working once we do that."

Chapter Text

Aizawa had no idea how he had managed to endure the painfully long hours of waiting for the nurse to be available, but he did.

The shorthaired petite woman stood finally in his presence, eyes shut tightly as she was trying to focus. She was going on with her attempts for quite a while now, but seemed to struggle greatly.

Doctor Matsuda stood beside him, seemingly as anxious and restless as he was, tapping his clipboard repeatedly with the tip of the blue pen in hand.

"What seems to be the matter?" The doctor in the white coat asked.

The nurse's hands resting upon the boy's temples retreated as she began to breath heavily.

"I'm.. *huff* not quite sure..." She took a deep breath. "It feels like... something is interfering," she sucked in as much air as she could between her words.

"Do you think it's an external, long lasting quirk that has been used on the patient?" She didn't know the details of how the kid was rescued from the villains, but it seemed pointless worrying about information leakage right now.

"Could be. But it feels slightly different," her breathing has evened now.

Aizawa stared at the half-lidded eye, staring at the void hazily; I wonder if...

"Could we try something?" The two medical staff turned their heads to him.

"You said it's about brain activity, right? Then we should stimulate the amygdala to activate. With memories. Wouldn't that pave the way to access the area better?"

The nurse gave the idea a moment of thinking.

"A higher activity could help navigating my quirk to the right area..." She reasoned. "But won't it be dangerous considering we are worried about the already abnormal high activity?" She shifted her attention to the doctor in the room, who stood tapping the top of his pen to his lips, deep in thought.

"Well he's already having organ failure, what could be worse?!" Aizawa asked the doctor beside him rather impatiently. The nurse's eyebrow twitched slightly at his offensive tone. And why was he directing his question at the doctor and ignoring her, while she was obviously the one asking?!

But for Shouta, he was desperate. He couldn't care less about what other thought. This could be the only chance he has to help! He would be damned if he let it slip away!

Dr. Matsuda weighed the possibilities in his mind, sighing as there seemed to be no easy answers.

"What do you have in mind?" He decided to trust the hero.

As much as Shouta didn't want to involve the poor creature again, he had no choice.

"Eri"

Mirio didn't like this. Not at all. He wished he could shield her from all this pain. Forever.

But he can't.

Those last few weeks, he came to an awful realization; There are many forms of evil in this world other than villains, and he couldn't fight them. He couldn't save people -children, even!- from experiencing them.

Heros can't always save people. He came to realize. In more ways than one....

But Eri's determined eyes told another story. She was not here as a victim. She was here as a fighter. As a hero. She is his hero. And she was determined to save him!

Aizawa was crouching down beside her, his hand gently placed on her shoulder.

"We need to jog his memories. Talk to him about something..." He didn't want to phrase it that way. He didn't want to tell her to talk about a traumatizing experience, but basically, that's exactly what they needed. "...that would have a strong impact," yet he proceeded with a milder choice of words.

Little Eri looked at her hero in the eyes and nodded, her brows knot together in resolution, showing her unwavering will.

The nurse placed her hands on the boy's temples once more, the meek glow of her quirk appearing.

Eri held nii-chan's hands firmly, ignoring the feeling of emptiness in where fingers were supposed to be, before she started talking about their time together. She went on and on about how they played, drew and colored together, but the nurse didn't seem to have it easier than before, if her sweat and hitched breath were to go by with.

"It needs to be something stronger," Aizawa urged the little girlz giving a light squeeze to her shoulder.

Mirio, from his position in the corner, seemed distressed and unpleased by the pressure put on the small, helpless Eri-chan.

"Sensei..." He took a few steps forward, not liking where this was headed.

"T-then, how a-about the time when you took me a-away from.." agony started to appear on her angelic face as tears pooled at the brims of her eyes. "..O-overhaul," she spat the name out as if the mere letters that composed the name were hurtful to her tongue.

Aizawa glanced at the boy in hope for signs of recognition, but found none. The nurse was getting out of breath too.

This was not working.

"Eri! What is the worst memory you have with him?!" Aizawa raised his voice in hope of a last chance.

"Sensei!" Mirio screamed from behind them and ran to collapse on his knees beside Eri-chan.

She was not supposed to be doing that! It's not her responsibility. She should not have to shoulder what the heros failed to accomplish!!

"Why was there a chunk of meet in that room!!" Eri lost her composure and screamed at the top of her lungs, tears running down freely from her already puffy, squeezed eyes.

Suddenly, the heart monitor's beeping pace quickened.

Something changed in the boy's stance.

It was working!

Aizawa's head snapped to the side to study the monitor, then at the nurse whose scrunched up face relaxed a bit.

Just a little further..!

"Why were you on the ground bleeding?!" Eri's hysterical outburst continued.

"Hey! It's okay! You don't have to talk if yo-" Mirio's concerned consolations were cut mid-sentence. "WHY WAS YOUR WHOLE STOMACH CUT WIDE OPEN?!!" All adults in the room froze in place.

They knew about the organs from the black market, but for Eri to have witnessed that gruesome scene....

Eri continued to cry out hysterically. Mirio's face scrunched up in sorrow and despair as he pulled the thrashing girl to his chest, his own tears threatening to spill. Oh God, Oh God....

The monitor beeps seemed to continue getting louder and louder. Dr. Matsuda ran forward to the nurse to try to pull her away.

This was a bad idea! They shouldn't have tried that!

Until suddenly, all commotion stopped abruptly.

The nurse's knees buckled underneath her as she collapsed down, dr. Matsuda catching her by the arm just in time before her knees would've hit the ground painfully.

Eri's agonizing screams ceased and her teary eyes widened as she looked at the still form on the bed.

All ears could only focus on one and only voice. A voice Aizawa thought he was never going to hear, and a voice Eri thought she would be forever chasing the phantom of.

A voice that roughly uttered a simple;

"E....ri..."

Chapter Text

Her bright smile was incomparable, never leaving her face. She hadn't left the room since that fateful accomplishment, when the greenette managed to voice his first word.

Not much was said since then, but the fact that there was improvements was no doubt undeniable.

Mirio observed from the other side of the room, as Eri was showing various drawings, this time getting a slight reaction to that.

A reaction!

Nothing bigger than a faint nod or a hum, but it made such a huge difference to know that he was aware of his surroundings at last!

Aizawa seemed to have the same attachment as Eri -as much as the hero tried to deny- that made him stick to the side of the bed 24/7.

"Nii-chan, nii-chan! This is a giraffe! Do you know what it is?! It's like a cow with a reaaallly tall neck!" She made exaggerated movements with her arms to explain her point. Though Mirio was not sure 'cow' was the best example to go with, he chuckled at her enthusiasm.

Aizawa observed the boy thoroughly up and down. He had Eri seated on his lap and didn't seem to mind her weight. He was sitting upright in his propped up bed, his arms dropped to the sides, limp, as he seemed to not be able to move them with ease. His lone eye, that was not covered by the wild curls, was slightly more focused than before, having some life back to the dull gaze.

The boy closed his eye with painful sluggishness, proceeding to answer the excited girl with a nod. Aizawa noted how his body slumped forward, as if trying to envelope the girl with a hug, but having his arms not comply.

Eri's grin grew only wider. Nii-chan was answering her! He was listening to her. Seeing her. Acknowledging her, even! Her eyes twinkled with emotion, which was the most these heros have seen of her childish side since the rescue.

Eri was about to continue her rambling when her hero's voice cut her off.

"Kid," Aizawa put his hand on the boy's shoulder, feeling how stiff the muscles underneath his palm got, just as if there was a flinch, yet having the body not comply again. Aizawa withdrew his hand, noting to himself that he should be careful not to touch him carelessly again.

The pale boy turned his neck to the side a bit, not managing to look at the hero, but still enough to inform him that he had his attention. Aizawa was trying to get used to the improvement, but couldn't quite yet get rid of the uneasiness of the feeling that the boy was never going to respond every time he tried to communicate.

"What's your name?" It was dumb, really, how they never tried to find out the kid's name. They could have asked Eri, but personally, Aizawa had just realized that he wanted to hear it from the boy himself.

"Izu...ku"

Shouta fought really hard to stop the tears from flooding his vision. Now was not the time to be emotional!

Despite just noting to himself not to touch the bo-, Izuku, so idly, he subconsciously found his hand on top of the unmoving one. Not much repulsion was felt this time around.

"You're safe now. You both are..." He flashed an uncharacteristic warm smile at the kids before him.

Eri's eyes began watering, as she threw herself onto him, encircling his neck with a tight hug. His other free hand jumping up to hold her and pat her back gently.

As for the the other boy, Shouta did just miss the tugging of the lips, as something close to a humble smile formed on his tired face.

The boy seeemd oblivious to the internal conflict as he wheeled himself closer to the duo, stopping infront of them as he waived at the girl passionately.

He must be unaware of how he got the transplant.

Mirio decided to speak up first to spare the poor girl this conversation.

"How are you doing, little one?" He really tried to force a smile on his face, this boy was not to blame, after all. But he just couldn't.

"I'm great! I feel much better! I'll have to stay at the hospital for a while but now I can finally go to school!" The tension in the air didn't seem to bother the little boy as he went on rambling cheerfully.

Mirio caught with the corner of his eye a person in the background. It forced an uncontrollable urge for lashing out, as he could feel his blood boiling in his veins. This despicable man! How dare he show his face here?!!

He remembered the prolonged  conversations they had about this man's fate. They really wanted to hand him over to the police, to let justice befall upon him and punish him for his actions, but they just...couldn't do that to Kiyoshi-kun.

Not while he was recovering and needed his father, his only remaining family member, at least.

But they had warned him to stay out of sight for the rest of their stay, so what was he doing now infront of traumatized Eri-chan?!!

The way Eri suddenly turned her face and buried it in Mirio's chest didn't go unnoticed, as both Mirio and Kiyoshi looked at the direction of her previous line of sight. The vile man flinched from the sharp gaze upon him, fidgeting slightly before dashing away, out of sight. As he should!

Kiyoshi gave Mirio a puzzled look of disorientation and uneasiness.

"Did something happen?" He asked innocently.

Mirio softened his gaze and sighed. He should not pour his outrage on the guiltless. Much less this ray of sunshine of a child.

But before he could answer the boy, he felt the weight on his chest disappear as Eri leaped into Kiyoshi-kun's lap, encircling his torso in a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay!"

Mirio didn't know how she was able to bring herself to say that with the knowledge she had. How pure and immaculate did you have to be to become this forgiving??

Now Mirio can't let himself be the resentful one, can he?

He smiled gently and patted each kid on the head with each hand.

"Get well soon, little ones..."

Chapter Text

Mirio was bouncing his leg in distress, worry lacing his racing thoughts as he stood up. He knew that it was needed, he knew they had to do that sooner or later, but was Eri-chan really ready? Wasn't it too early for her?

No, this could rather be the perfect timing. Now that her brother was awake and her friend out of danger. Now that she was still a green branch, still fresh, malleable, still growing.

Still savable.

Her trauma was severe, but there is still something left to save. And that's exactly what she was doing in there.

Yet Mirio could only think about how petrified the little girl must be right now. Sitting alone on the huge couch with a stranger, feeling betrayed by those she entrusted her life to.

He stood up hastily, casually creeping closer to the door slowly in hope of hearing anything, acting as if he wasn't eavesdropping.

Just in case she was crying or needed his help. Yeah, just in case....

Eri looked up from her lap for the first time, looking at the kind woman with inconsistent emotions. This won't be an easy pathway to walk, that's to be expected. Yet a shred of hope was still able to make its way to the woman's heart as Eri nodded with a shy smile.

Slowly, she rose up, walking closer to the couch and sitting down to Eri's right, holding her tight, short skirt and folding it neatly under her legs as she sat down, still giving Eri a few centimetres of personal space.

"So, what was that image that kept bothering you?" Sachiko angled her body towards the little girl, as a body language signal that showed interest in what is about to be said. Yet she kept her gaze off the girl as not to look too eager and intimidate her.

At the shift of the conversation topic, Eri became visibly uncomfortable as she shut her eyes and clutched the end of her dress. Panic practically radiating off.

Sachiko laid her left hand on the girl's back as her right went for the balled fists.

She started to use her quirk mildly to calm the girl down.

Eri's erratic inhales got back to normal and her squeezed eyes opened in a relaxed manner.

Sachiko-Sensei's quirk was called Mood Control. She could manipulate the production of neurotransmitters in the brain to cause both comfort and relaxation as well as distress and confusion. If used without caution, it could cause aggression and/or irreversible madness to the subjected person, which is why it took her a lot of time and studies before she felt confident using her quirk on others.

Not many appreciated that quirk of her, to be honest.

"It- it was when I once got out of that room. A-and found.. s-some-something on the floor in th-the other room," Eri kept recalling the image inside her head. She didn't know how she had forgot that memory at all. It was not until recently that she had remembered it even being a memory and not a fictional nightmarish fantasy.

Sachiko drew soothing circles on the girl's back as she continued to use her quirk. Increasing the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, that is known to be the regulator of anxiety, while simultaneously reducing cortisol and adrenaline levels.

Eri felt much more lightened and restful immediately.

"It's nii-chan's." Eri's wild, agitated emotions clashed with the effects of her therapist's quirk, which made her kind of drowsy.

"It's all my fault." Despite the soothing neurotransmitters in her system, she couldn't help getting emotional as tears flowed from her eyes, the drowsiness making her less able to hold up her usual act of being fine, and more willing to show her true feelings.

"It's my fault," she repeated, tears getting smudged around her face as she tried to dry them up with her palms forcefully.

"Do you know what your name means?"

Eri stopped and looked up at the woman, confused by the sudden question that had nothing to do with what she was saying.

"H-huh?" She sniffled and tried to get rid of the tear stains on her cheeks and chin.

"If you look here..." Sachiko-Sensei took a notebook from a nearby table and scribbled down the two characters that composed Eri's name. The 'E' 恵 and the 'ri' 理.

"... the first kanji stands for favour, blessing, grace and kindness. While the second one is the kanji for reason," she turned her eyes to the baffled wide ones studying the letters with awe. She reached for the girl's cheek and proceeded to wipe the tear trails. A big tender smile on her face as she lifted Eri's own face to look at her.

"Eri is the reason for blessings. For the favour and the kindness in everyone's life, including your brother's." She let go as Eri's eyes started brimming with tears once more.

"Eri is a blessing. Don't you ever forget that."

"What happened?" Matsuda-sensei wondered.

"I don't know, really. He was upset about something. About someone knowing, someone coming. He insisted we should... get away."

The doctor's face paled instantaneously, as he stopped fiddling with whatever machine he was attaching.

"Mr. Aizawa, I think I know what's happening," he turned around to face the hero as everyone else left the room.

"I just found out why we never got any feedback from the other hospitals. The information was getting blocked by some force," Aizawa slumped down in defeat, knowing what this was implying.

There was a mole in the hospital.

The villains knew where they were.

Chapter Text

Footsteps echoed through empty hallways, everyone being in the cafeteria as it was lunchtime. Only one person walked those paths, checking the surroundings repeatedly. Turning their head right and left, being very cautious not to be seen, the person creaked the door open, revealingly the empty desk of Dr. Matsuda.

The person knew what was needed. In and out, as fast and stealthy as possibly, get the necessary documents and disappear instantaneously. It shouldn't be too hard.

Eyes plastered to the computer, the person tapped the password hastily. How they always knew these things was beyond the person, but no questions, that's the rule. The person only had to comply silently.

Scanning through medical files, finding the required one with the greenette kid, the person used their phone to snap several pictures.

They always seemed to need constant update. No idea why.

Being a traitor was no fun, I tell you.

Just do it.

Chapter Text

The new facility was nothing too big, but it made the hero feel at ease. The atmosphere was welcoming and neat, the light colors of the walls and ceilings with strokes of blue paint emitting a rather peaceful aura.

Or maybe that was just him, finally feeling a sort of fulfillment for being able to give something to the kids, and had nothing to do with the actual facility itself.

They made sure to move the kids here with outmost secrecy, not even the hospital staff knew their destination on the release date. Yet it couldn't provide the distressed hero any relief, seeing how he was tense and hyper aware throughout the whole period. He was only able to breathe out a sigh of relief upon closing the last of doors in the facility, securing the locks and security cameras.

They had a total of nine rooms aligned after each other in a long hallway. One with colorful wallpaper and toys for little Eri, one with medical equipment and ventilators for Izuku, one common room functioning as a living room of sorts. Dr. Matsuda got a study room functioning as his office, while the other two rooms were for the two nurses the doctor brought along, beside a small kitchen and a guest room for either Aizawa or Mirio if they happened to stay overnight.

Much to their dismay, the facility had no windows for security reasons, which together with the unusual sectioning of the rooms made it feel less like a home and more like a prison for the kids.

Eri found it hard to get separated from her newfound friend, especially that he was still recovering, and that they didn't get to fulfill their promise yet.

Mirio made sure to convince her that she could still visit the hospital with his or someone else's guidance, and persuaded her that it's what is best for her brother. With that, she didn't utter a single additional objection afterwards.

Aizawa was deadly resolved over staying for the meantime and keeping a keen eye on the staff. Beside Dr. Matsuda, who he already decided to trust, he knew nothing about the two nurses, the cook who would come daily to provide a strict diet, the therapist who talked to Eri -and soon to maybe Izuku too- and the officers admitted for protection. The officers were Tsukaushi's men, so he didn't concern himself with their motives much, but Matsuda's staff... Not so much.

Not after what happened with that sorry excuse of a doctor, Tanaka.

Which brings us to the meantime, where he was having an interview -more like an interrogation- in the living room. He sat on a chair infront of a long sofa in the middle of the room, a cozy green carpet coating the whole floor.

He glanced at the older male, nurse Akashi, who was fidgeting nervously under the cold scrutinizing gaze of the hero.

"What do you know about the kids?" Aizawa felt the tingling of his quirk at the back of his eyes that he tried to suppress, leading his eyes to narrow dangerously, which did not ease the intimidating aura he was already emitting.

"S-sir. I only know of the medical information. I don't know anything else. I haven't been able to meet them yet." His eyes darted back and forth from the table separating the sofa from Aizawa's chair, to a picture of landscape on the wall behind Shouta, to his fidgeting fingers. Anything but Aizawa.

"And you?" He turned to the younger female nurse, Yuki, whom he remembered helping Izuku on several occasions at the hospital. When he was dying repeatedly, when he needed to change bandages and when he cut his neck recently.

Aizawa winced at the images that popped in his mind, trying to push them aside to focus on what's important.

He wondered if it was wise to bring a nurse who had been there the whole time, which made her a candidate for espionage. Yet he understood that it was medically necessary to have someone familiar with the medical history.

"Sir. I know of their circumstances, but not with much detail. I have worked with the older patient several times and is conscious of his needs and current state." She was clearly much more collected and certain, not wavering under the hero's gaze. Aizawa didn't like the vague answer and the confidence, but he can't deny that handling Izuku requires nerves of steel. She didn't seem villainous, but he will be keeping an eye on her for the time being.

He kept throwing questions back and forth, probably more than necessary, until he felt a bit more at ease.

For several days to come, nothing of importance happened. The two nurses were professional and didn't give Aizawa any reason for suspicion. Akashi was a tad too meek and surprisingly weak-hearted, yet nothing that would affect his performance. Nurse Yuki, on the other hand, was often silent and stone-faced. Her cold and uncaring mannerisms didn't affect Izuku, but Eri seemed withdrawn and uncomfortable around her. In any case, since Eri had noticeably warmed up to nurse Akashi, and since he was capable of fulfilling her needs, whether it be medically or emotionally, nurse Yuki focused more on Izuku, her prior knowledge coming in handy.

Mirio went back to U.A, yet it didn't stop him from visiting several times a week. While dr. Matsuda spent most of his time in his new office, researching and reading papers. He had to occasionally go to the hospital, but most of his time was dedicated to help and study Izuku's case.

The boy was improving successfully, being able to eat and drink small portions every day. He was able to hold short conversations, mainly with Eri, who was now glued to his side all day long.

The little girl seemed to be getting better as well, acting cheerful and flashing genuine smiles, not bothering with any false facades to hid behind and speaking her mind freely. It was all thanks to her therapist Mrs. Shinsou, who was apparently his student's mother. He had been very surprised when Togata told him about the connection, finding the coincidence astonishing. He talked to her after one of Eri's sessions and was amused by the fact that this cheerful woman was the outmost opposite of her gloomy son. After a short discussion he found the woman kind and reliable, his suspicions flying out of the -nonexistent- window.

Last but not least, was the cook who would prepare the meals, who seemed trustworthy for the meantime. Aizawa didn't put much research on that one since he was not from the hospital and had no idea of who they were. He didn't interact with the kids and didn't spend any unnecessary time after preparing the day's meals and departing silently.

Aizawa wanted to spend more time observing, but was rushed by Yamada to come back to teaching.

He practically had no choice but let himself get draged to his tiresome routine as a teacher.

He was not looking forward to that. Yet  he missed his students quite frankly.

No one needed to know that, though.

Upon standing right outside 1-A's door, he grunted in dismay as the chaos inside radiated to him already. Shouts and screeches could be heard from a mile away. Iida's voice was the most distinguishable, followed by Kaminari's and Mina's.

With a sigh, he slipped the door open, counting under his breath to see how many seconds it would take them to shut up.

Yet to his surprise, he didn't even get to two before a deafening silence filled the entire class. He glanced up at the kids, one eyebrow raised in wonder.

"Well, that was fast," he muttered. But before he could admire the discipline any longer, several students sprinted his way with eagerness.

"Sensei!!"

"You're back!"

"How was your dat-"

All of them got silenced as usual by his quirk, the running students dodged by him before they stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Spoke too soon.." he mumbled again.

Seriously, why were those kids trying to hug him at every chance? Aren't they too clingy? Since when did his relationship with students get this intimate?

An image of a certain unfortunate pair of kids flashed behind his eyelids, subconsciously comparing the life his students get to live with what the two had to endure.

He forced the thought away as he walked lazily toward his desk and leaned on the edge of the table. All students were in their seats at that point.

He put the files he was holding on the desk and folded his arms to his chest in disapproval, there were things to discuss first.

"I hear you didn't behave in my absence." All might told him about how out of control things has been without him. He even heard that they drove a substitute teacher into submitting his resignation. Actually, he heard the man quit the whole career and started a small cafeteria instead.

A heavy mood emerged as the students exchanged nervous glances. They hadn't necessarily meant to be irresponsible or chaotic, they simply were too used to Aizawa's ways that they were unable to function without him.

By now, the kind, gentle mannerisms Shouta had accidentally developed from his time in the hospital were gone. And back was the intimidating aura he usually beared.

"And..." A shit-eating grin spread on his face.

Oops. That was never a good sign, 1-A knew that they were done for this time.

"...three months of detention for every one if I don't get to know who's idea this was, in three... two..." He fished the letter he had found in his suit on the day of the mission from his pocket and held it to the class. "...one," before he finished the countdown, several fingers of the less strong-minded students were pointing in Mina's direction.

"Eh?! You traitors!!" She cried out, flailing her head around to glare at the ones who ratted her out, before letting a high-pitched squeak out and squeezing her eyes shut when Aizawa made his way to her desk, hand reaching for her head.

"I'm sorry Sensei! It was a jok-" She got cut mid-sentence when Aizawa's hand rested on her pink mop of hair and ruffled it gently.

"Thank you," he told her as she proceeded to look up at him in utter surprise. "It saved my life."

Shit, he guessed it would take a while to get rid of the softness he had developed.

Mina's cheeks flushed bright red, visible even on her pink skin. She smiled brightly at him as several jaws dropped around the class.

"You're still getting detention, for invading privacy, and using inappropriate language with a teacher." He won't be forgiving being called a beggar, though.

His evil grin was back as he walked back to his desk.

Mina's smile dropped as she proceeded to slam her head against her desk dramatically and let out the loudest groan ever. Other classmates chuckled and some came forward to her, feigning sympathy and patting her back while holding back their laughter.

Aizawa let out an airy laugh of his own.

Yeah, he definitely didn't miss teaching.

Chapter Text

He didn't particularly care about Aizawa-sensei's return. He didn't particularly care about his newfound friends. He didn't particularly care about sensei's out-of-character behaviour.

However, he did care, when he accidentally got a glance at a file his teacher was reading.

It was during lunchtime, when most of the students were out of class, heading hastily to the cafeteria to be able to get today's special desert.

Bakugou loitered in classroom, not feeling particularly hungry or desperate about any sweets. Not that he got to eat anything delicious at home either, it was always instant noodles or some other canned food. On the rare occasions, if ever, when he felt like putting any effort in what would last for a few seconds of enjoyment, he made himself a hot-dog at best.

His dad did start coming home earlier than usual, at eight or nine o'clock. He was trying to "re-bond" as he would call it.

Katsuki had no intention in making that task an easy one.

Masaru had tried various activities, thinking that working together would be more effective than the awkwardness of their 'talks', which were more like silent staring competitions than anything.

Among these activities was cooking. He had tried convincing Katsuki to join, but his stubbornness had no boundaries. That was when Masaru had decided to cook alone, hoping that at least a collective dinner would do the bid.

He had ultimately failed miserably, turning everything he touched into dark matter.

He was even close to burning the curtains once.

A shudder traveled down Katsuki's spine at the memory. He would rather not have his dad cook today. That's why he decided he had to eat something at school if he wanted his stomach to not give him away at home.

He glanced around, realising that it was only him, half-n-half and shitty hair in the classroom. Aizawa-sensei had went to fetch coffee or some shit.

He stood up grudgingly, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath as he draged his feet heavily towards the door.

He could see from the corner of his eye that half-n-half was looking down at his homework, not giving much attention to his surroundings, while shitty hair laid his head atop his folded arms on the desk, uncharacteristically silent and seemingly out of energy.

In his haste, Katsuki bumped into Aizawa's desk and caused few folders to smack to the ground rather loudly compared to the quiet atmosphere.

The other two boys startled and looked up at him.

He ignored their looks and muttered random profanities as he bent down to gather the paperwork in his hands.

And that was when it struck him.

The familiarity.

He froze in his crouching position, glaring at a single name and a hazy picture beside it.

The form of a sleeping boy, exactly as he looked like in his dreams, never having aged a day.

He crumpled up the paper in his sweaty palms, barley keeping his quirk at bay to not explode the thin material.

The shaking of the paper was visible, yet he tried to not think about it. It surely wasn't his hand that was trembling, was it?

He bore holes with his eyes, as the kanjis of the familiar name seemed to mock his distress. The kanjis that read 'Izuku', yet that he could only see one thing in them;

"Deku..."

Aizawa's heart leaped from its place when realization hit him; It was Matsuda's office. The only room where she had absolutely no business entering.

Chapter Text

He was not in his right mind, that's for sure, following random visions that suddenly started popping up in his head.

Yet he was desperate. And desperation makes people act irrational and impulsive, espesially Katsuki.

So when a sudden address and an unknown number of 10 digits suddenly appeared in his head, he clung desperately to the vision.

Having not slept all night, a single piece of paper scrunched up in his fist as he searched miserably after any kind of clue, he was becoming restless and moody. He had tried countless sites on the internet, but to no avail. No trace of any Izuku there.

When his father knocked on the door announcing that he had made dinner, he ignored him. When once again, an hour later, he heard the worried tone in his father's questioning voice, he lashed out and told him to get lost. When finally his dad decided to come in and witnessed the terrible state of his son and tried to have a 'talk', they ended up fighting.

He ended up hurting his dad with his words once again.

But when the vision included the image of a green haired looking teen, he didn't have anytime to worry about that, and reacted with nothing less than leaping and sprinting out immediately.

The location he envisioned was not too far from U.A, which was not too far from home either.

It would have been impossible to find the building without the visions that were suspiciously detailed, giving out the layout and the hidden door to a facility of some sort.

He had stood there in the middle of the night, staring at the door for a few seconds, wondering how in the whole world he would be able to open it, before the 10 digits reappeared before his mind's eye. Only then did he figure out their purpose, and successfully inserted the password to unlock the door.

It was then a matter of minutes before he was roaming a corridor, peeking inside the doors on the sides, until he froze over in disbelief.

He was really there.

The boy from his dreams.

Deku.

With only two leaping steps, he found himself flying towards the slumped thin figure on the sheer white bed.

Deku's eye flew open to look at the source of the audible noise, only to be yanked by the collar of his plain medical shirt, the elastic strip of his oxygen mask snapping, making the mask drop from his face and down to the bed.

"You! You are real! Who are you?!" Katsuki shouted in utter aggravation, obvious to the shallow intakes of breath coming from the other male.

"What happened to my mom?! WHAT HAPPENED TO HER??!" He continued screaming at the top of his lungs as tears threatened to fall down from his angry, squinting orbs. He shook the other boy harshly in demand, ruby eyes staring directly at the dim gaze of dull green ones.

He could feel the shallow pants that weren't his. He could see the small shaking hands that didn't belong to him. He felt cold sweat running along the child's forehead, he knew this was not him. Yet he could feel his fear and pain very clearly. He couldn't begin to express how grateful he was that the child didn't have to bear the memory. That it was him reliving the suffering over and over again. But that knowledge didn't help lessen the pain, didn't help in making this feel less...real.

The smell of burnt meat was so disgusting that he knew what layed there, without having to see it.

Katsuki tried to catch the greenette's attention, yet his eyes seemed too unfocused. Too distant and unseeing.

It only served in enraging him further.

He shook him roughly once more, yelling and demanding answers. He must know how to save his mother. He must know something. Anything!

The back of a person blocked the view, but it didn't make the horrible experience any less horrific.

He felt how the little boy was scared for his mother, above everything else, but he personally couldn't get over the small glimpse he saw of the women whom he cherished so deeply, her corpse being unrecognisable. He searched after her gentle features and caring eyes, but was only met with black, charred remains.

The trembling voice that talked with a stranger was blurry and unclear, probably not because it was incomprehensible in reality, but because that was how the little boy experienced it.

The shock was nothing to be taken lightly, so it wasn't strange his comprehension of reality turned out distorted.

H e knew, however, that the conversation wasn't a friendly one.

From the thumping heart of the boy's body that he could feel banging harshly inside of his chest. From the way the mother infront of him was trembling and shouting. From the sick malicious voice of the stranger toying with their feelings.

He knew this was dangerous.

Yet he couldn't do anything.

Both of them couldn't. The little boy.... and him.

Katsuki's patience dried out as he dragged Deku out of the bed, making the thin blanket fall down, and dangling Izuku's weak legs above the floor as he held him up.

With one last shout, his tears ran freely on his cheeks as he proceeded to throw the hollow male.

Izuku's back collided with the wall of the corridor harshly before he landed outside the room, yet he made no attempts in sitting up, only continuing to lay lifelessly.

He saw a blurry version of Mitsuki collapsing on the ground hysterically, the stranger smirking at the sight in amusement. He locked eyes with him, seeming to just realize that he was there.

"Haha, she was really bluffing?" Was the only thing he could make out of the man's speech.

The scary man crept closer, passing the dissociated women, and sending endless shivers through the poor kid's spine. The fear felt real, as if it was his own, and he had to strongly fight the feeling of being right there, right now. He had to remind himself over and over again, that this was not the present.

Right when Katsuki stepped out of the room for another round, he was met with dark eyes and unkept long hair, a look of disbelief visible over the eyebags that indicated exhaustion.

"Bakugou?!!" Before Katsuki could do anything more, he felt the familiar tightness of rough fabric encircling him and pinning him down with force. His teacher's eyes were turned red and the other end of his famous capturing weapon hung around his neck.

But when a hand holding a knife reached out for his thro- the boy's throat, logic did little to help easing the terror they both felt.

A demonic grin, one that branded his memories, his nightmares, one that he particularly didn't want the kid to remember, plastered itself on the distorted face. The figure didn't resemble a human being, but a monster. Ink-black, abysmal swirling pools of nothingness instead of eyes. An abnormally stretched smile reaching the ears, the corners of the mouth seemingly cut and extended, forming a nightmarish detachment straight out of a horror movie.

He tried to convince himself that this was the doing of the child's mind, not what the man really looked like, but he couldn't stop the trembling they both experienced.

It was his fault. He should've been there. He should've prevented this outcome. He should've never implicated others with him, he was never a good omen.

"Izuku!" Aizawa's aghast call rang through the air as he collapsed down beside the motionless boy. Shouta couldn't oversee the shallowness of his breath as he collected the sickly boy in his arms.

He touched Izuku's face slowly, moving stray locks out of the way and examining the unresponsive look.

Shit! That can't be a good indicator.

The monste- man muttered something unimportant, at least for the ears of the child, and disappeared through the broken door.

But that image, that trauma, that scarring, didn't disappear.

That memory, didn't disappear.

So he had to carry it.

He had to take responsibility. He had to burden the consequences.

And burden, he truly did.

Aizawa stood up abruptly, Izuku rested in his arms, and ran to the nurses' rooms. He hesitated about knocking on Yuki's room and decided to go for nurse Akashi instead. After a couple loud bangs, a drowsy man in his pyjamas opened the door sleepily.

"How did you not hear the commotion?! The boy needs help!" He hadn't meant to sound scolding or harsh, but the panic gave no room for consideration.

"Aizawa-san! I'm sorry! It's just my quirk that allows me to put people into deep sleep, and I've used it on us every nigh- ah sorry! Right! Please take him to his bed," Nurse Akashi's rambling came to a halt when Aizawa shot him a sharp glare indicating the seriousness of the situation. Yet Shouta didn't miss the 'us' that meant he could have used his quirk on Eri too, which was good considering what's happening. He couldn't have handled a distressed Eri on top of everything that was going on.

After placing Izuku back on his bed and making sure that Akashi knew what he was doing, Aizawa turned to Bakugou, still slumped in his capture weapon, surprisingly without much resistance.

Shouta couldn't decide between feeling outraged or confused. How did his student find this place? Why would he attack Izuku? How did he even get in here?

So many things were not adding up.

"Bakugou, you're coming with me."

This busy night was far from over, that's for sure....

Chapter Text

Aizawa kept re-reading the file Tsukaushi had fetched for him. The cold case of one Midorya Inko, found dead in her apartment ten years ago, still unsolved with not much leads to go by. Her corpse, that was burned beyond recognition, was found by her friend and neighbor. By one-

Oh, that complicates things.

Midorya Inko's body was found by one Bakugou Mitsuki, found unresponsive at the crime scene with a disturbed mental state.

And one other.

His own student, the one that had bursted into this very facility yesterday night, Bakugou Katsuki, was found unconsciousness at the scene as well. With no memories of what had happened, he couldn't even recall being there with his mother, and couldn't help in providing an explanation for his mother's terrible state.

The investigators concluded that Mrs. Bakugou had received a tremendous chock because of witnessing Mrs. Midorya's state, yet no one has been able to determine if anything else had happened to the woman.

Aizawa sighed heavily as he recalled the conversation of the previous night with his student. An address that simply popped into his head? With a password and a map? Not that he doubted his student, but that was incredibly sketchy and unbelievable.

Not without massive resistance and objections, Shouta managed to escorted -more like drag with his capture weapon- the explosive teen home last night, after hearing his story about his mother. Which was what led him to Midorya Inko's file.

The first-year student claims that he saw Izuku in a dream of his, and that he had a feeling he was connected to his mother's condition somehow.

Aizawa found the entire thing questionable, but a slight reveal of his thoughts and the blond would've exploded in his face. Literally.

So for now, the hero was determined to research every last bit of Midorya Inko's case. How convenient that it was a weekend.

It was time he got answers to his questions.

"That is not up to debate. I'm not leaving you alone. You are coming with me. No objections allowed." She made her final decision.

Hitoshi grunted under his breath in annoyance. When his mother was like this, there was no backing down.

Yet it was weird, how possessive and clingy she had been acting. The woman had never been a pushover, sure, but she used to be more easygoing and flexible.

"Ugh! Come help me with this stupid zipper!" She called from her room after countless failed attempts at reaching her back and zipping the zipper all the way up.

Hitoshi walked over begrudgingly to her, helping the shorter woman. She had always liked to tease him about their height difference, as people always assumed they were brother and sister instead of mother and son.

After doing the zipper, Hitoshi stood at the door frame, leaning slightly on it, as he observed his mother fumbling and running around trying to get ready for work. Sachiko was a beautiful woman that would've looked younger than her actual age, only for the dark circles under her eyes. Hitoshi had always felt guilty growing up, watching how hard it was for his mother to raise him as a single parent, which certainly didn't get easier after he got his hated villainous quirk. She had always blamed herself that Hitoshi inherited a variant of her quirk, so he tried as much as he could to hide the misery and hardships he had to live through because of it.

The U.A student's gaze followed his mother's steps as she sat on the bed, putting on her high heels with on hand and tucking away a stay hair lock behind her ear with the other. He studied and tracked ever stress line and every wrinkle that littered her exhausted face, scrunching his face as the guilt flared up in his chest once more, and crossed his arms.

Maybe he will tag along if that's what she really wanted.

Just this one time.

Shit! She had messed up. That was the trigger-...

"No! I mean- Mitsuki-san! I meant-" she tried, but was evidently too late.

"Shut up!" Mitsuki began panting harshly. Her vision glazing over and her ears ringing, drowning out all voices.

All voices but one.

"I don't have a son!" She thrashed around in her sheets, feeling firm hands trying to hold her in place.

A black disfigured image flashed across her mind, which only made her screams louder and more intense.

Yet she could only hear one voice. One, demonic voice, taking over her reality.

"Oh ho~, we have a witness." The man didn't notice the trembling Katsuki at the doorframe as he addressed her only. Mitsuki, despite her tremendous shock, realized that.

She stepped to the side shakily, blocking the man's view of the little boy.

"Hmm, let me guess, you must be her friend," he pointed at the charred remains of what used to be her outmost dearest friend.

Mitsuki couldn't help but quiver and jolt in disgust and terror. She could not comprehend that her angelic friend was that chunk of meet, barley recognizable as a human being.

"Wait, do you have someone with you?"

Her whole body stiffened and her breathing hitched. Has he seen Katsuki? No it's not possible, she is for sure blocking the view.

He must be playing mind games on her, she came to realize despite her disturbed state of mind.

" N-no , " she could barley force the words to come out of her throat, trying not to shake too much to seem as believable as possible.

"Hmm? You sure? Cause I think you are Bakugou Mitsuki, isn't that true? And you have a husband..." She felt her heart dropping.

"...and a son," he smirked as his eyes glowed with indefinable viciousness.

"No!" She shrieked, clawing at her skull.

"Don't lie." The devious man was enjoying every moment of her terror. "We don't want either of you to end up like your precious friend right there, now, do we?" He smirked and used a thumb to point at the lifeless corpse behind him.

Mitsuki's eyes darted fretfully from corner to corner, hunching over and doubling on herself, emptying her stomach on the bloody ground as unimaginable hysteria started taking over.

"I don't have a son! I don't have a son!" Her voice hitched as the burning acid stuck in her throat, refusing to neither get pushed down nor out through her mouth. She broke down in despair.

She had to save Katsuki! At least Katsuki!

She went into hysterical panic, denying over and over again. Her face was full of scratches at that point and blood started dripping slowly to the ground.

Katsuki was still trembling in the background, too young to understand anything, just staring wide-eyed at the disgusting black thing beside the man, which made him sick to his stomach. His senses were blurry and he didn't seem to comprehend what he was seeing or hearing.

"I don't have a son, I do-"

"-n't have a son! I DON'T HAVE A SON!!" Mitsuki screamed over and over again, shaking her head repeatdly in denial and squeezing her eyes shut, still trapped in that moment, at that time, never able to escape that horror.

A very pained Katsuki stood still, his face scrunched up in agony and his tight fists by his sides drowning blood from his palms. He didn't want to leave, but knew that this was the only reaction he would ever get from the broken woman.

Why did she suddenly forget him? What the hell happened to her?

Why the hell can't he remember that day?!

Chapter Text

It was getting suffocating.

That was not what they had agreed to. It was only information to provide, not planting trackers and listening devices at all!

And now they were demanding a location?

They can't have that. It's too dangerous.

It's too dangerous for the kids.

Yet....

Don't forget what's at stake here. Shigaraki's malicious voice echoed disturbingly.

Clenching their teeth, the person knew what they ultimately had to do, no matter the consequences...

Upon arriving after a long tiring day at U.A, the facility was oddly and utterly silent. Aizawa had expected doctor Sachiko to be having a session with Eri at this time, and Matsuda should arrive any second now.

The hero stealthy crept closer to inspect where everyone was.

He was relieved to see Eri in nurse Akashi's arms, both slumped on her bed and diving into deep, peaceful sleep. The older male could have probably used his quirk on both of them, since he had gotten permission from Aizawa in advance to do so if he had deemed it beneficial for the sleep-deprived Eri-chan, who had been occasionally plagued by nightmares at night.

They won't be waking up for a while, if that really was the case.

Nurse Akashi and Eri had surprisingly grown closer. The timid, meek nature of the man making it easier for Eri to feel at ease around him.

Izuku was as usual, propped up in his bed with an oxygen mask. An empty bowl of soup sitting on the bedside table indicating that his appetite had fortunately gotten better.

Yet one fact managed to disturb the observing hero.

Where was nurse Yuki?

Right on cue, he whipped his head towards Matsuda's office when he heard a soft thud coming from inside.

Matsuda was expected here today, yes, but not before Shouta.

Without sparing any second, Aizawa found himself flinging the door wide open, only to reveal the woman he had been suspecting this entire time.

Nurse Yuki, who was in the middle of taking out medical files from the drawer, startled violently and fell backwards in her kneeling position.

Aizawa didn't need any more evidence to sprint into action, grabbing his capture weapon and restraining the nurse before she could attempt escaping or any other threatening action.

"It was you! The mole from the hospital. I can't believe we trusted you and brought you right here ourselves. Have you already contacted the villains? Have you given them our location?!" Aizawa was usually a collected man, yet since he practically took guardianship over those two children, he found himself losing his temper more often than not.

Not to mention that this outcome was very dangerous, to say the least. He had allowed this woman to be alone with the kids. He had allowed her to treat them without monitoring. She had the chance to do literally anything to them! He had failed. He had failed both as a hero, and as a guardian.

He had failed as a father.

"Mr. Aizawa. I can expla-" he hated how collected she acted even after getting caught red-handed like this.

"Shut up! What were you going to do with this information? Is it only you? Are there more traitors among our units? Was Ma-" Shit, please say he didn't make that foolish mistake of trusting the wrong person.

"Was Matsuda with you on this too?" He was the one who had recommended these specific two nurses to begin with. It was only natural to come to that conclusion. But..

She won't be snooping around in his office like this if they had been working together, though, would she? These files that she was obviously trying to steal were fully accessible to Matsuda whenever he pleased.

Unconsciously, Aizawa had found himself tightening his weapon around the traitor nurse with a bone-crushing grip.

"I-it's a mi-missunderstanding." The pained nurse gasped out, panic and fear finally seeping into her now wavering voice.

However, Aizawa was not willing to listen to any excuses this woman had to attempt making up. He tossed her to the side and-

A loud bang coming from the front door stopped him in his tracks.

Shit, had the villains really gotten their hands on their location after all?! Was he too late on catching wind yet again?!

He dropped everything he was doing and sprinted out of the office.

What he was not expecting, though, was to be met with his panting student's terrified purple orbs, darting around in all directions searching for his teacher.

"Sensei!!"

Shinsou felt that something was wrong the moment he had arrived at the door of his house. He had just finished school and it was too early for his mother to be back home. And she didn't usually leave the front door open like that. He always left to school at morning before her, so it was her who locked the door before leaving everyday.

Maybe she was in a hurry, though? Maybe she had forgotten something at home and came back in a hurry and forgot to relock it?

Whatever it was, he went inside and made sure to lock the door behind him. He was going to give her an earful about that later. Sometimes he felt that he was the responsible parent, he swears.

Yet uneasiness was back when he had entered the kitchen. The kitchen drawers were pulled out and the cutlery were messily scattered around.

He sighed and set everything back in its original place, wondering why in the whole world would his mother need to come back home abruptly in such a hurry to grab a spoon or a fork.

Or a knife.

His movements halted as that though crossed his mind. He re-opened the drawer that he had just closed and scanned for anything missing.

A knife was indeed missing.

In the millisecond that took him to glance around the kitchen fretfully, horrible panic had flared up, before it settled down upon seeing the knife in the sink.

A heavy sigh was well-earned in that situation.

Why was he being so paranoid? His mother had clearly been in a hurry at morning, and that's it. Sure, she wasn't usually sloppy, but he should allow her a day or two of haphazardness.

He tossed his uniform's jacket aside and proceeded to enter the bathroom for a quick wash up.

At that moment, thought, a faint sound caught his attention.

He realised it was coming from his mother's room as he crept slowly closer, identifying the sounds as shallow intakes of air.

He grabbed a nearby baseball bat, switching into hero mode and expecting a fight with an intruder.

What he didn't expect, though, was the horrifying sight of his own mother slumped on the floor, a big pool of blood spreading to underneath his feet, seeping into his shoes.

Everything froze around him for a moment as he studied the gash on her lower abdomen.

"M-mother?" His own voice was what snapped him back to reality as he collapsed down beside her, pressing his palms heavily on the stab wound. Rescue and first-aid lessons he had taken as a hero-in-training popped into his mind, but theory could have never prepared him for the emotional shock and thinking paralysis.

"Hi...toshi," the hushed voice of his mother did both set him at ease and awaken horror in his heart. She had never sounded so helpless and weak before.

"Mom! It's okay! It's going to be okay. I'll take you to the hospital." He proceeded to grab her arms, but her weak hand grabbing his first stopped the motion entirely.

"No...it's- dang...erous. They'll.... find you." He had no idea what the hell she was talking about! She needed medical attention right this instance! Her shallow breathing was only getting weaker by the second. And her slurred words pulled at the strings of her son's heart harshly.

He couldn't care less about the tears running down his cheeks at that moment.

"Go....to E-eraser...," she exclaimed dimly before passing out.

"Sensei!!" He looked desperately at his shocked teacher. He could feel the warm, shallow breathing brushing the back of his neck where he carried his mother. Her entire body slumped on his back, and her no longer tied hair hanging loosely from his shoulder, her whole face buried in the side of his neck.

"Shinsou?"

A muffled cry from his student's throat snapped the hero from his trance.

"Come quickly! Lay her on the couch." Aizawa instructed immediately, following behind his students and studying the blood-coated abdomen of the unconscious therapist.

What shall he do? Nurse Yuki was out of question, and nurse Akashi would not wake up because of his quirk. Maybe he could try erasing it? He hadn't tried that before but it may work.

"Shinsou, go fetch bandages and disinfections from the bathroom." Aizawa was now calm and staid, panic washing away and professionalism taking the lead.

As expected, it was only these two kids who managed to make him lose his cool.

Making sure the boy complied, he stood up from his crouching position beside the couch and out, intending to try waking the male nurse up.

Yet it was not needed when the sound of the front door opening echoed once more.

Turning around, he saw just the right person that needed to be there. A small smile of relief could be seen on Shouta's tired face.

"Right on time, Matsuda."

"There must be a mistake. Mrs. Yuki had been my trusted assistant since graduation." Only Matsuda's hushed whispers were heard in the silent facility.

Fortunately, Mrs. Shinsou's wound had not been too deep, and Matsuda was quick to disinfect it and wrap the woman in tight bandages, giving her pain medicine and allowing her a relaxed sleep.

Hitoshi had never left his spot on the ground beside his mother's bloodstained couch, holding her cold hand gently in his. He wasn't able to relax entirely even after the doctor had explained that she was going to be fine.

Moreover, he couldn't stop thinking about who could have possibly wanted to hurt his kind and caring mother, and why she would instruct him to go to Aizawa-sensei instead of a hospital.

In the same living room, Aizawa and Matsuda sat together, talking in hushed voices about nurse Yuki's treason. Matsuda was refusing to believe his colleague would do that, yet Shouta had no doubt that she had always been the traitor in question.

Nurse Yuki was tied down to a chair in the corner of the room with Aizawa's capturing weapon wrapped around her hands, feet and mouth. She looked disturbingly and infuriatingly calm and unfazed.

Aizawa couldn't stand her nonchalant attitude and stood up, interrupting Matsuda's objections mid-sentence.

He walked closer to the chair in the corner and loosened the fabric of his weapon around her mouth.

"Now, tell me immediately what information you have given the villains." He had to act fast. They were no longer safe if the villains knew their location. But this woman simply didn't want to make things easy.

"Mr. Aizawa. I'm not the traitor. I would never betray my patients' trust."

She still had the nerve to deny and lie through her teeth with a straight face after being caught mid-action?! Aizawa's mind was running wild and anger bubbled rapidly.

He smacked his fist on the wall at his side and held the backrest of the chair, tilting the the woman forward dangerously close to falling if not for his grip.

"You either talk here or in the interrogation room. It's your choice." He narrowed his eyes coldly, his unfazed stare threatening and calculating.

Hitoshi awoke from his slumped daze abruptly and turned to look at the commotion.

"I'm not-"

"She's not the traitor." The nurse didn't get to finish her protest before another voice interrupted.

All heads turned to the voice source in surprise. Matsuda and Hitoshi because they were surprised the woman had awoken already and Shouta because he had not expected anyone to claim the nurse's innocence.

"Mom!" Even though Hitoshi didn't consider himself emotional, his sentiments were running wild. Just like his tears.

Sachiko raised her hand slowly to brush a stray tear from her beloved son's face. He could slightly feel the effects of her quirk, with the sensation of a splashed cold bucket of water washing away his fears and concerns.

"She's not the traitor," she repeated as her eyes shifted from her son to his teacher in the background. Her gentle hand still holding Hitoshi's cheek while he clutched and pressed her palm against his face.

"I know who the real traitor is."

Eraser returned and let go of the nurse's chair, refusing to let his guard down until he heard what the therapist had to say.

He walked closer to the mother and son duo before raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms in question.

"And who may that be?" He asked cautiously.

Her whole body stiffened as she tried to prop herself up. Hitoshi acted faster and placed a pillow behind her head.

She turned to the hero and looked him dead in the eyes, her stance certain and unwavering.

Chapter Text

H er heart was racing incredibly fast, all blood drained from her face as she tried not to shake infront of the vicious man.

His whole posture and manners seemed inhuman to her eyes, ink-black swirls looking straight into her soul.

She had simply been on her way home from a long tiring day at the hospital, she hadn't realised the villain creeping behind her that had pulled her instantly to an abandoned alleyway, using a handkerchief to gag her mouth and prevent her from screaming for help.

She sat motionlessly on the dirty ground with he legs folded beneath the short skirt, her back pushed into the wall as far as possible.

The horrendous figure of a man squatting down had his nose nearly touching hers with how close he was leaning in.

"So, pretty lady, we can do this the easy way.." he smiled creepily as he played with a strand of her hair. She tried to back away as much as she could with a scrunched up face, disgusted of his gestures.

"...or the hard way. I personally don't mind the latter." His smile spread even wider, creating a terrifying outwardly image of an ugly beast.

"Your job is pretty easy. We just needs some files and information of a newly admitted patient at your hospital."

She knew he was waiting for an answer, so because of being gagged, she shook her head a firm no as she glared daggers at the vile man.

She sure was scared, but that didn't mean she would betray her own morals like this. She was known to be a righteous and brave woman, she was not going to submit to some pathetic threats.

"Well, I personally don't mind." The man's laugh that echoed through the empty alleyway was certainly not a good indicator. "But you see, my boss is not as kind as me, and I heard he had found an interesting individual to recruit." He stood up and took a couple of steps back, towering at the woman from above.

"Brain washing would make a fine quirk for a villain, don't ya think?" His smirk was self explanatory at that point.

Sachiko's whole body stiffened and her breath hitched, choking on the accumulating saliva in her mouth.

Her horrified expression was the only answer the despicable man could need.

Even if it was for Hitoshi, she couldn't help but imagine the betrayal on his face as a hero-in-training when he gets to know of her lousy actions.

And that's why she said it. Loud and clear.

"I'm not going to help you anymore."

It was a good thing Hitoshi was still at school. She had not expected the same terrifying figure of a villain to break into her house in the middle of the day.

When the man walked slowly towards the kitchen drawer with an amused smile, she knew she was cornered. She thought about using her quirk to confuse the man, but both thoughts of using her quirk with evil intentions and touching the villains body made her body recoil in disgust and repulsion.

There was only one person who could help.

She ran to her room, looking frantically for her phone before she found it laying on the bed. She reached out to call Eraser, he should be fast enough to make it in time from U.A. to her home, it was a 10 minutes walk.

Unfortunately, time was not on her side when she felt a jolting pain in her stomach, her whole world spinning as she fell down limply.

She felt, more than saw due to her dizziness and foggy vision, the knife getting torn out, making her abdomen bleed much more profusely. She felt warm liquid seeping through the cracks between the wood tiles, staining her glasses, her skirt and her untied hair.

The villain chuckled under his breath and went back to the kitchen, opening the tab to wash the knife from blood and fingerprints alike.

She heard his footsteps leaving the house, probably expecting her to be dead within half an hour.

She hoped Hitoshi was still at school. She only prayed that he won't encounter the murderous villain on his way back.

She had been planning on confessing everything to her son's teacher before asking for protection for both of them, yet she feared that the hero would want her to act as a double agent to deceive the villains. She was neither willing nor capable of taking such risks and gambles. Her son's life was on the line, after all. That was why she had decided to cut ties with the villains first before seeking protection from the heroes, but she came to realise now that it was probably a poor decision. She might end up dead, or worse, risking her son's safety.

No matter how such she tried to resist, unconsciousness seeped into her mind as the warmness of her body perished gradually.

Until, after an undefined period of time, she could faintly hear light footsteps entering the apartment and locking the door behind.

"Damnit!!" The hushed yell under his breath didn't hide the thump that echoed around when the side of his fist collided harshly with the wall to the side, not caring about the painful pulsating sensation that followed.

He had managed to mess up anyway!

He had indeed trusted the wrong people and endangered the kids. He was so angry, mostly at himself, and didn't know what to do with his pent up rage.

He walked into Izuku's room. Izuku's presence would always calm him down. The perceptible proof of the boy being there with him, alive and breathing, being enough.

He sat heavily on the now permanent chair beside the bed.

He looked the boy in the eye. Izuku had been unresponsive and retracted since the incident with Bakugou. Matsuda had concluded that the amygdala, the brain's center for memories, was taking over again. The same nurse that had helped him last time had been scheduled to visit tomorrow. They had waited for the police's research of her before they allowed her to come to this hidden facility. The location was supposed to be a secret, with restricted access to normal people, yet they had done quite the poor job at keeping it so, giving that two of his students had already set foot in it.

It was still a mystery, how Bakugou managed to enter.

And another mystery was Izuku's constant relapsing, that always seemed to involve the amygdala.

That always seemed to involve memories.

"Sensei please let me meet De- Izuku again." The blond bangs hung loosely around Katsuki's desperate eyes as he pleaded.

He had no idea how he was able to contain the itching urge for the whole week. But he did. He had successfully waited for the days to end. He had gone through all his lessons. He had (un)kindly told shitty-hair to f*ch off when he was being too nosy or annoying, asking if he was okay or whatsoever. He had waited (im)patiently for the bell to ring every time.

Today was finally the day. He had waited for the painfully slow students to get the hell out of the classroom. Half-and-half had stayed last, eyeing him with irritating empathy and  ̶u̶n̶wel- unwelcomed concern. And why was shitty-hair persistently asking why Katsuki was acting weird?! He had totally been acting (ab)normal!!

(A/N: Please remember that the story is free from romantic relationships. No shipping my dears! 🙃)

Good thing that round cheeks left him alone, though, busy worrying over why her friend, the purple one with eyebags (Ha! He's one to talk about eyebags), was absent the entire week.

More importantly, after an agonizing staring competition with Icy-hot, Katsuki had finally the chance to talk to Aizawa-sensei in private.

"After what you did last time? Bakugou. You realize the weight of your previous actions, don't you? There is no way I'll be letting you near him anytime soon," the teacher narrowed his eyes, remembering the excessive work they had to put in to get Izuku to recover again after Bakugou had thrown them back to square one.

Clenching his teeth, Katsuki slammed his fists on the teacher's desk, a half yell escaping his throat before he bit back his tongue.

He had to swallow his anger and pride, and try to calm down. Even he knew that aggression was not taking him anywhere.

"I just want to talk." His bangs were shadowing his despairing eyes as he spoke surprisingly low.

"Bakugou. He is in no condition to ta-" he tried to reason before getting interrupted very quickly.

"Please, I need to know what happened to my mother." The broken tone in his student's voice made the rejection, that sat right on the tip of Aizawa's tongue, falter.

The pro hero took a moment to study the boy infront of him, realising how much weight he had lost, and how dark his eye circles had grown. And after hearing his student's reason, while knowing his backstory, he couldn't find it in himself to deny him the chance he wanted.

A heavy sigh echoed through the empty classroom. He indeed wanted to understand what the hell was going on with Izuku, and the Bakugous seemed to be the starting point that held the first hint.

"Only with the condition that I must supervise and monitor you the entire time. I'll let you know, I will interfere if you ever go out of control again."

Katsuki's eyes widened in surprise. While he was planning on bothering his teacher at every breathing second to make him agree, he hadn't expected him to approve from the first try.

"Whatever." The nonchalant attitude did nothing to conceal the hope and anticipation radiating off the teen. He hastily went to snatch his bag and follow his teacher out of the room.

However, they had both managed to miss the eavesdropping teen outside in the hallway by a millisecond, who quickly made a dash around the corner right before the door slid open.

Chapter Text

His mother laid on the sofa beside them, commenting and conversing with the girl from above every now and then.

She and Hitoshi hadn't talked much the entire week. She knew from her experience as a therapist that they needed to talk this through, yet every time she tried to bring up the topic, he would dismiss her. Not even Eraser was that upset like her own son was. Probably because he felt that a share of the responsibility was on him, seeing how he got exploited as a blackmailing card. She wished she could help him with his bottled up guilt, but she knew her son's nature. He would often get withdrawn to himself when cornered and would internalise every thought and feeling.

On the other hand, the nurse that took care of her wound, the one that got falsely accused because of her, and the one that was supposed to be the most upset one, was dealing with the situation calmly. Sachiko had tried to apologize on several occasions, but got a forgiving response every time she did.

"I'm only happy that no harm came to the patients," she would answer with a dismissive tone that would seem rather cold and monotonous to others, yet the experienced Sachiko knew how genuine she had been.

Sachiko realized the new arrival and looked up as well, flashing an apologetic smile at her son's teacher when their eyes met briefly.

Aizawa only nodded hurriedly in response, guiding Bakugou to Izuku's room as the teen shook himself quickly out of his confusion. He was here for a certain goal, he shall not be swayed by trivialities.

They both made their way in silence, seeing the boy in his usual spot on the bed. Yet for Aizawa, the boy looked significantly better than before, not having any oxygen masks, with a clearer and more conscious glint in the usual absent gaze.

"Izuku, this is-"

"Kacchan," the green-haired male interrupted without even looking at them, as if he had known Bakugou his entire life to be able to recognize his presence even if his eyes were to be closed.

The nickname came as an unexpected surprise to the teacher, but for Bakugou, it was as if a thunderbolt had just hit him.

He knew that nickname, it felt just right coming from the other teen. It was very familiar that he wouldn't have Deku call him any other name, ever.

"Deku." The other nickname had a similar, albeit less recognizable, effect on Izuku, who's posture became more relaxed as he turned to meet Bakugou's unfaltering stare.

Aizawa watched with awe how the teens stared at each other for a moment, realising that the connection he had hoped for between Izuku's and Bakugou's pasts ran deeper than he thought.

Bakugou broke the staring contest when he grabbed a chair and sat as closely to the bed as possible, his legs nearly getting smashed in-between. Aizawa remained standing close by, in order to be able to rush and pull Bakugou away as fast as possible if needed.

"I have a lot of questions and I think you have the answers." Bakugou had a demanding tone, yet Shouta was still surprised at how civil and controlled the explosive teen had been handling the conversion.

Izuku stiffened, but nodded anyway, holding eye contact with the familiar, yet much older boy he had always known.

Shouta found it astonishing how expressive and responsive Izuku was acting. He had never been this focused before, even with Eri. That was when he knew that he made the right choice in bringing his student here, for both their sakes.

"How do I know you?" Katsuki was dying to ask right away about his mother, but he had to make sure his strange dreams and premonitions held truth to them, or if they were mere flukes of his own mind.

"We were neighbors when you were a toddler."

Bakugou was surprised that Izuku didn't seem to wonder why Katsuki was acting as if he doesn't know him despite just using a very familiar nickname. It was as if Deku knew that he won't remember him.

Aizawa on the other hand was analysing the clear and normal-paced tone Izuku was using, his usually short, slow speech nowhere to be heard.

"Why do I keep seeing you in my dreams? Or visions, or whatever those are." The blond had almost figured out the answer to this one by the previous responses, he just wanted to make sure.

The way Izuku clenched his fragile fists didn't go unnoticed by neither of the other two occupants of the room.

"You're remembering the past."

Katsuki could tell immediately that Deku was not telling the whole truth. But for now, it was fine by him, he didn't get to the important questions yet, after all.

"And why don't I recall those being memories? I did't even remember knowing you until this happened."

All Katsuki was met with was silence in return. Clearly, Deku was not willing to share everything with him today. His eyebrow twitched slightly. He was starting to get annoyed, but he remained collected for the sake of his goal.

"My mother, Bakugou Mitsuki, do you know her?"

Izuku broke the eye contact for the first time and looked away, but he gave a nod in response nonetheless.

A pause took place, all questions ceasing, and Aizawa glanced warily at his student in question.

Katsuki had finally reached the important point, so why was he finding his tongue heavy and tied up, words slipping away from his mind?! His face scrunched up and his eyes squinted beneath the knotted eyebrows in frustration. He needed to know what happened to her. He needed to know why she forgot about only him!

"Your mother didn't forget you. She just wants to protect you."

The answer that came before the question was even voiced out startled the teen beyond compare.

"What?" Even Aizawa realized the crack that could be heard in his student's voice. "You... you know? Do you know what happened to her?"

Izuku could visibly be seen bitting down on his shattered lips. A tad of fogginess could be seen creeping from the corner of his eye to engulf his consciousness slowly.

Aizawa recognized the scene from the last encounter Izuku had with Bakugou. He was shutting down, sinking back into his mind, somewhere.

He acted quickly and accordingly, holding the boy's face in his palms and calling his name repeatedly.

"Hey, Izuku. Stay with us."

Only because Shouta had been quick enough, Izuku was able to pull back into reality once more before he could start sinking into the memory.

"Why don't I remember what happened?!" Bakugou stood up, making the chair fall down and slam to the floor with a loud screech. Aizawa turned around to the boy with a warning scowl. He was absolutely not allowing a second outburst.

"I... took... the memories." Izuku's speech was remarkably more slurred and slow this time around. This raised a red flag in Aizawa's mind immediately.

Yet before he could act upon his anticipations, he realised that one word that stuck in his mind like a broken record.

Memories, there comes the common keyword again. He took the memories?

He can take memories?

A....quirk?

"Give them back." Aizawa stopped his attempt at restraining Bakugou and dragging him away when he heard the low tone the teen had spoken in. Has he managed to get a hold of his haywire impulsiveness and furry?

However, Katsuki was only met with dreadful, heavy silence.

"Give them back! I need to remember!"

The danger of the situation hit Aizawa fully when he saw the teen's palms glow up threateningly with small explosions. His emotions had clearly taken over the rationality he had been demonstrating.

Shouta knew that he needed to interfere immediately before things escalated. He wrapped his weapon around the teen and activated his quirk.

"You won't be using this tone here. Ever. Do I make myself clear?" His intimidating shiny red orbs managed to convey the intensity and seriousness. Bakugou had promptly stopped his explosions, going completely still in his restraints.

After a moment of silence, Bakugou looked up at his sensei and nodded calmly, showing his will to comply.

After getting released by Aizawa, Katsuki continued to ask about his lost memories, but Izuku remained silent and distant. He stopped answering, and after a while, it was clear that he had stopped listening altogether, getting detached from reality once more, albeit not stuck in memories as before.

Irritation was building inside the blond, yet this time, he didn't let the emotions take over his actions. He just stood up abruptly in annoyance, storming out of the room.

Aizawa didn't go after him directly, concluding that the boy could use some alone-time to cool off his head. Instead, he walked closer to Izuku and put his palms on the greenette's shoulders.

"Izuku, are you okay?"

A small nod was everything he got in return.

Well, at least the boy was still there.

And now, he sighed in defeat, he had to go deal with the other problem child.

He had found Bakugou sitting begrudgingly in the living room with the rest of the residents, mostly because there was no other place he could sit in.

He was eyeing Shinsou carefully, his eyes narrowed as he remarked the way eyebags would awkwardly interact with the woman that he awfully resembled. It wasn't hard to guess that they were related with their identical eyes and hair colour.

He couldn't stop scowling at the interactions. It was infuriating him to no ends. Why was his shitty classmate avoiding her like that?!

Aizawa-sensei walked into the room to sit beside him, he went on to say something, but got interrupted when Bakugou flounced up in impatience, stomping over to the Shinsous, who looked very uncomfortable and on edge as they anticipated what the furious teen was planning to do.

"You! Eyebags! Is that your mother?" He pointed at Hitoshi with an accusing finger. The purple-head looked baffled at the sudden question, but nodded nonetheless.

"You better get your shit together then, you a**hole! If you don't cherish her now, you will come to regret it! Do you understand?!" Katsuki was visibly riled up as he clenched his teeth in anger, hating how he could feel tears stinging and gathering at the corner of his eyes.

He turned around before anyone could realize his glassy eyes, his tight fists at his sides, and stomped back to Aizawa, blinking harshly to get the fogging wetness out of the way, his back to the mother and son duo on the couch.

Hitoshi looked taken aback, as he hadn't expected such an advice from his tempered classmate whom he rarely talked to.

Aizawa, on the other hand, looked at Bakugou with a knowing gaze, his eyes unusually soft and lacking their usual sturdiness.

"Let's talk in the study room." He offered.

Katsuki didn't need to think twice before accepting the privacy.

Again. It happened again. He was left alone again. He always ended up alone. Always. He would always be there, while his loved ones withered and perished before his eyes.

The realization that he was alone once more pained him more than the sword sticking out of his thorax. The sword that dug itself in his back and out through his chest, only to impale the small girl he was hugging, the child that he was trying to protect.

After finally finding a reason to live for. After finding the poor orphan on the street and realising he was her only hope. After the harsh war had accounted her as insignificant collateral damage.

He had lost her. He had lost everything. Again.

With his pale face covered in dust and tears, he wailed loudly at the scene of dead unresponsive empty eyes. The broken sound got lost in the sea of booming noises, of clashing swords and armours, of war-cries erupting from every direction, and of thundering shrieks that split the air, coming from friends and foes alike.

He was tired of it. He was tired of the endless fights, of the pointless wars, of the countless lives sacrificed for the sake of greed and hatred. He had witnessed every single one of them, and he had loathed evey passing second of them each and every time.

And again. It happened again. He was left alone again. He always ended up alone. Always.

He couldn't bear the weight. He couldn't bear the weight of being left behind. He couldn't bear the weight of the memories. He couldn't bear the pain of remembrance. He couldn't bear the agonizing memories of the people he had to see die throughout the long millennia.

He had found himself on this earth at the dawn of history, alone, as he continued to be since.

He didn't know why he was so different. Everyone else lived and died within a blink of an eye, but only he would always remain.

Alone. He would always remain, alone.

If only he could forget. If only he could erase those excruciating memories. If only-

.

.

.

He blinked once, twice, and three times. 

Huh?

He looked around in surprise.

What..?

He looked down at the weight on his chest, finding an unfamiliar corpse of a dead kid.

What was he doing here?

He looked around at his back and realised the sword that had stabbed its way through both of them. He took it out nonchalantly and stood up, the limp remains of the child falling over to the bloodstained ground with a heavy thud.

Where was he?

He felt the wetness on his face with both his hands, moving the pair frantically all over his unrecognisable features.

Who was he again??

Chapter Text

"It must be his quirk, right?"

Aizawa was startled when Bakugou asked in the middle of the eerie silence, seemingly all calmed down and composed now.

"What?"

"Deku. He said he took my memory. It must be his quirk, then," he explained.

Since they had discovered the immortality, Aizawa had assumed that it was Izuku's quirk, and therefore never asked him about it. He hadn't expected Izuku to have more than one quirk.

Maybe it was the villains' doing.

"He won't give them back." Bakugou interrupted his train of thoughts once more. The teen was obviously upset and on edge, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

"Maybe he can't. Maybe his quirk is only to take memories. Maybe it takes them and discards of them forever, while he himself cannot retrieve them back. We don't know how it works." Eraser tried to reason, yet he was sceptical about all of his suggestions. He simply didn't have enough information to form any theories as of now.

"No. He said that I was remembering. And I know I was seeing weird visions. It can't be a coincidence that he was in all of them." Bakugou was certainly smarter and more logically analytical than he looked.

A thought flashed through Shouta's mind at hearing what was said.

"Bakugou. When did you exactly start to remember for the first time?"

Katsuki took a moment to think the question through. He fished his phone from his pocket and flashed a quick look at the date.

"The first time, I couldn't remember what I saw, I brushed it off as a wired dream. It was about... 52 days ago..."

52 days. The rescue. The ambulance.

Dying.

"The next was more clearer and repetitive. When I was visiting mo-, the mental hospital, exactly a month ago..."

A month. Doctor Tanaka. Missing organs.

Dying.

"And since then, small glimpses kept reappearing in my head. And it had been especially vivid since two weeks ago."

Two weeks. Scalpel. Tracker. Blood.

Almost dying.

That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

The memories were coming back as a drawback, Shouta concluded.

A drawback to dying.

Chapter Text

He was really trying not to lose control, but his students didn't make that an easy job for him.

How could he fail time after time in keeping this location a secret? He could as well broadcast their whereabouts on local TV at that point. 

"How did you find this place again?" Aizawa could be vividly seen clenching his teeth together in frustration as he towered over the two new students added to their collection, while they sat awkwardly on the sofa in the living room, observing familiar faces and wondering about what this place may be. 

"Bakubro didn't turn off his location on Snapchat!" 

Aizawa flashed a glare over his shoulder to said boy behind him, who only clicked his tongue in disapproval and looked away. 

Kirishima flashed a cheeky grin but was instantly shot down by his teacher's reprimanding frown. 

"I overheard your conversation and was worried. Then I met Kirishima and tagged along." Todoroki beside him said as if it was the simplest thing in the world, as if that explained everything. 

"What is this place anyway?" Kirishima asked as he looked around curiously.

"Somewhere you're not supposed to be," Aizawa was clearly in a sour mood now, everyone in the room could feel the radiating annoyance. 

Everyone but oblivious Kirishima, of course. 

"What were you doing here anyway, Bakubro? I'm hurt you didn't take me with you! Why is Shinsou and Aizawa-sensei here too? Why ar-" Kirishima's rambling got interrupted by the look from his teacher. 

"Stop talking," was everything Eijiro needed to swallow back his words and sit in obedience. 

The black haired hero stomped away to God knows where, to probably call Tsukauchi and demand more security measures, leaving a bunch of inharmonious students behind. Together.

Bakugou took his chance and walked closer to the duo on the sofa, his frustration not concealed in any way.

"Who gave you two the right to worry about me? Huh?!" With hands shoved in pockets and teeth bared threateningly, Katsuki didn't wait for an answer and followed his teacher's steps out of the room. 

"But, Bakubro!" Kirishima leaped up from the couch to trail behind his angry friend, Todoroki hot on his heels.

As Kirishima rambled out excuses with exaggerated arms movements, he found himself bumping into Katsuki's back when the latter had stopped abruptly. 

Kirishima's voice quietened as he took a step back rubbing his nose, realising that Bakugou was looking at the room to his left that they were standing right outside. 

He found a petite boy his age with green hair, sitting up on a bed while staring right back at them. 

Like, really staring. The kind of stare that felt like it bore into your soul and right into the essence of your being. In the poor light, a lone eye with exotic neon green seemed to glow brightly at the sight of the three teens. 

Something as recognition flashed across for a second before the green went dull and the boy looked away from them.

While Katsuki seemed frustrated at the exchange, Shouto was wholeheartedly bewitched by the occurrence. 

He suddenly found himself walking closer towards the boy to stand right beside the bed, his eyes studying every inch of the male before him as if admiring an ancient piece of art that hung gracefully on a wall of a historical temple. 

"What are you?" The wonder in his tone was something foreign for both his classmates and himself. He never spoke with anything more than his monotonous voice. He had lost the ability to express emotions with his speech long time ago. 

"Izuku." 

Even though Todoroki was the one who asked, he had not expected the boy to actually answer. It was more of a rhetorical question? Or something he blurted out without thinking? 

Yet Kirishima's eyes were wide open for different reasons. 

That voice. He had a faint feeling that he could recognize that voice from somewhere. The boy's appearance didn't ring a bell at all, but when he talked, Eijiro knew that he had heard that voice before. 

He just couldn't put his finger on when and how. 

While everyone was busy being shocked, Izuku had averted his gaze up to Shouto's mismatched eyes. 

Slowly but steadily, his fingers made their way to the other teen's face, brushing his scar lightly before the U.A. student jerked back in surprise. 

Todoroki's hand flew immediately up to cover the area, suddenly hyper-aware of the ugliness that hid behind. He expected aversion, disgust or even pity. But when he look at the boy, when he looked at Izuku, he could only see one thing. 

Understanding. 

And that shook him to the core for more reasons than one. 

"You should... let go." The timid voice came unexpectedly. Shouto continued to hold eye contact in confusion. 

"What?" 

"Grudges.... are only hurtful... for the one bearing them." 

Todoroki eyed the small frame warily. Why was he saying that all of a sudden? They had just met, after all. What did he mean? What did he know? 

"Your quirk.... does not define you. It's you.... who define your quirk, by your actions." A spark ran suddenly through those heterochromic eyes. Shouto felt uneasiness creep to his insides and a knot strated to form in the pit of his stomach. This green haired boy, that looked no older than him, knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You are not him." 

Izuku's fingers reached out to Shouto's left hand. He held it in his and raised the stunned student's palm to rest on Todoroki's own chest. 

"It's your quirk, isn't it?" 

Shouto snatched his hand away from the boy as he felt his heart hammering against his ribcage, threatening to fall out. He could hear his blood rushing in his eardrums and his adrenaline levels spiking in his blood, all his muscles tensing in self defense. 

He felt a long-forgotten heat erupting from his left side as the room suddenly lit up with dancing red and orange flames. 

Not a second after, Shouto realized what he was actually doing and stopped his fire from leaking out, his breath coming out as shallow pants in more distress than exhaustion. 

He looked so shocked as he took a few steps back, before dashing out of the room, bumping into Bakugou and Kirishima on either shoulder in his hurry as he sneaked between them,  leaving the facility as a hurricane that couldn't differentiate between friend and foe. 

Kirishima looked at Bakugou. Even the angry teen couldn't conceal his baffled reaction. 

Well, that certainly wasn't what they were expecting of this encounter. 

*****

Very mysteriously, and with no idea how he ended up in that situation, Bakugou had found himself sitting at the dinning table and playing Monopoly with four others. 

Mirio had dropped by earlier and was forming a team with Eri, who sat gladly on his lap as she clutched the money tightly in her mellow palms. 

"I'll give you Old Kent road in exchange for Mayfair and a 1000 bucks and the condition that I won't have to pay if I ever stand on your property!" Kirishima, seated right across from Katsuki, grinned wildly as he proposed his absurd deal while waving with his brown card. 

"Haaaah?! Are you f**ing stupid?! What kind of idiot do you have to be to accept this unfavorable offer?!" Katsuki shouted back in annoyance. He had to admit, maybe he was getting a little too invested in this shitty game. 

Kirishima only chuckled in response. 

"We don't have enough money!" Eri suddenly exclaimed with a gasp, turning her head to look up at Mirio. "Can we please have some more?" She asked in her angelic pleading voice, unintentionally using her most powerful weapon.

✨The puppy eyes✨

Togata could feel his heart leap out of place and back, upon seeing her sad and beseeching gaze, and thus became simply incapable of refusal. 

"Of course!" He said nonchalantly as he grabbed a handful of bills from the bank and handed them to her casually....

As if it was the most natural thing in the world....

"Hey!! You can't do that! That's cheating!" And back were Bakugou's fiery objections. Though he only got a flashy thumb up from his senior, who was busy watching the little girl cheerfully organise the new budget. 

"Bakubro! That 500 wasn't there before! Did you embezzle from the bank?!" Kirishima remarked out of nowhere. 

"Are you fu**ing blind?! That has always been there! And are you seriously going to act as if these two weren't stealing openly and accuse me with baseless accusations instead?!" 

Bakugou sat back down after he had gotten a bit too agitated at the accusation. 

He needed to chill. It's just a stupid game. 

He took the dices with a huff upon realising it was his turn, and rolled. 

"Bakugou. Go to jail," Shinsou, who had joined them later on in the game, and who had taken it upon himself to move everyone's pawns after they had thrown their dices, announced. 

And that was it. 

"Go to hell!! I'm done here!!" He yelled and stood up, his chair falling back with a thud. He stomped away in rage, muttering endless profanities about idiots and cheaters under his breath. The chuckles and giggles he could hear behind him didn't help in easing his bubbling anger. He could swear they were doing this on purpose. 

He stormed out of the room and into the hall, catching a glimpse of Shinsou's mother resting peacefully in the guest's bedroom. 

During the day, she and her son had finally figured things out between them, whatever it was. A fair share of arguments, yells, tears and hugs was unavoidable, but Katsuki found a settling calmness anchoring in his heart for that. For a second, it was his mother he saw on that bed, but upon blinking, the woman turned into Mrs. Shinsou once more. 

He turned away before unwanted thoughts could start seeping into his consciousness. 

Further ahead, he arrived at Deku's room, where Aizawa was sitting and reading a book out loud. Katsuki couldn't understand why his teacher would bother with that, seeing how Izuku was never listening. 

The pro hero stopped his reading to look up at the approaching student, not too tense but not letting his guard down either. 

You can't be too careful when it's Bakugou, after all. 

But before neither of them could say anything, Izuku spoke up first. 

"Kacchan." He said without moving his gaze from the sheets he so intensely would stare at. 

"Let's... go to your mother." He looked up to meet him dead in the eyes this time around. "I know.... how to help her."

Chapter Text

Eri could not hide her excitement as she ran enthusiastically infront of them in the corridors, looking back occasionally to make sure they were following her.

Mirio pushed Izuku's chair slowly through the wide corridors of U.A. as he waved at Eri-chan reassuringly whenever she looked at them. 

The little girl's heartiness was self-explanatory, seeing how it was their official first time out since God knows how long.

Mirio had done his best to not make the girl feel trapped by taking her on walks when they were in the hospital, but since they changed locations, Aizawa-sensei had been especially strict and more worried, so he tried to refrain from upsetting him.

But honestly, it couldn't have been good to Eri's mental health to be cooped up in a matchbox continuously like that. So he, of course, had volunteered to help guarding and protecting the duo on their trip outside.

Currently, they were roaming U.A. freely, waiting for the last period to end so that Aizawa-sensei could accompany them when he has finished.

Infront of him, Eri was running with wildly outstretched arms, her silver beautiful locks flying in her trail, as she was trying to enjoy every single detail of her small newfound experience of freedom.

Izuku has been still and quiet in his wheelchair, which wasn't anything new, but his gaze was, more than ever, full of life. Not to mention that he was actually watching closely, with alot of concentration, what the little girl was doing. He was starting to seem more and more present with each passing day, which would in return heighten Eri's spirit, leading to more improvement in both of them. A perfect reinforcement cycle they would do anything to maintain.

Turning a corner, Togata found that Eri has stopped, turning his way, with sparkling wide eyes, and pointing at a group of students stationed right outside a classroom.

1-A's classroom.

Eri didn't waste a second before she ran to the group, grabbing the hand of one specific Uraraka Ochako and literally dragging her over to them.

"Nii-chan! Nii-chan! It's the kind nee-chan that helped us when you were sick!"

It took Ochako a moment to process what had hit her so suddenly, but then she recognised little Eri-chan, and... her sick brother from the hospital?!

"Oh my God! Eri-chan!" She dropped down to her knees and hugged the girl affectionately. Eri, despite not getting wholly used to the physical attention just yet, accepted the act of kindness wholeheartedly and with zero hesitance.

When they pulled away, Ochako took a look at the sickly boy in the wheelchair.

Although he certainly didn't look healthy, and his sluggish movements and gaze suggested he won't be for a while, Uraraka couldn't help being happy that he has at least woken up! The little girl seemed much happier too, nowhere close to the teary withdrawn girl she had met at the hospital.

"Brother-kun," she smiled gently as she held his hands in hers, just like she had done before in the hospital. "I'm glad you're okay."

Something had remarkably changed in Izuku's stance, as he looked down at their hands with more awe than anything else. He kept staring intently, as if trying to figure something out, before the edge of his eyes softened and he seemed to relax again.

Inko...

Before anyone could comment on the unexpected reaction, several familiar voices from the student group started approaching.

"Eri-chan!" Squeaked Mina, trying to give her a bone-crushing hug, but failing miserably when Eri hid behind Ochako uneasily, eyeing the loud unfamiliar teens and returning to her shy and avoidant nature.

"You are way too loud! Watch and learn, that's how you do it!" Kaminari proudly declared as he squatted down to the girl's level, yet all his confidence flew out of the window when Eri only stepped further behind Uraraka.

"Hahaha! Say again?" Mina would not let him live that one down. Ever.

"Everyone! Please! Quiet down! Don't shout in front of the poor girl!" Iida walked to them while he shopped the air with his hands as he would always do.

"You are the one shouting the most tho!" Mina returned.

"Shitheads. Shut up." A surprisingly quiet voice that didn't belong to a quiet Bakugou appeared from the direction of the classroom, followed by Kirishima, and Shinsou, who was finally back to class under Aizawa's protection. It took a bit of convincing Mrs. Shinsou, but she couldn't keep him away for much longer. And U.A. should be relatively safe considering the amount of heroes working there everyday.

While no one was expecting, Eri ran to the particularly unfriendly duo to hide behind Bakugou, while clutching Shinsou's pantleg.

Shock was evident on everyone's faces without exception.

Why... why would she seek comfort from these particular two...?

And what came more of a surprise, was when Bakugou placed a reassuring palm on top of her head and snarled at them, while Shinsou held her hand gently to rub it with his thumb.

She had tamed the untamable.

Mirio smiled in a knowing manner, looking victorious.

Welcome to the protection squad...

While they continued bickering back and forth, as Eri started relaxing, maybe even enjoying the class dynamic, they failed to realize Todoroki making his way towards Mirio and Izuku.

Shouto has been shaken to the core after the latest encounter, and he couldn't take his mind off of what he had done that time.

How he had used his fire.

So for obvious reasons, he had kept questioning Bakugou until he got the full story of the mysterious boy. It did include some outbursts and explosions from the story teller, yes, it did include pressuring him into telling the particularly painful parts, yes, but Todoroki needed to know.

And so when he knew that Izuku probably knows about his life situation somehow, he had one thing to tell him.

"Izuku," Todoroki watched the visible stages of recognition unfold before his eyes as Izuku raised his head slowly.

"About what you told me that time..."

The green-head gave no reaction to the topic that has been brought up.

"I just wanted to say..... thank you."

He half expected her to throw him out as soon as she could, no matter how kind she seemed to look. He half expected her to get tired of him sooner than later, and so back in the back alleys he would lay.

He had wholeheartedly not expected her to enfold his limp hand with her warm fingers, glancing at the frame on her lap in sadness.

When she met his gaze once more, her voice wavered with unshed tears trapped right behind her eyelids.

"Then from now on, you shall be my Izuku."

Chapter Text

"I should wait here."

Aizawa was not expecting Bakugou to be so discreet at that moment. In his head, he had been running simulations of what he would do if, or rather when, Bakugou was going to be too impulsive or impatient that he would start disturbing.

Yet once again, Bakugou had proved that there was more to him than his angry facade. And that he knew when to step down for the sake of the greater good.

So just like that, Shouta had rolled Izuku's wheelchair in to Bakugou Mitsuki's wardroom, as they left Katsuki outside. 

The whole mental hospital seemed informed about their visit, and everyone looked rather anxious, expecting them to trigger the fragile woman one way or the other.

Every other minute a nurse would come by and take a look, making sure everything was calm och peaceful. Each one of them seemed familiar with his student, and he had to say, the quick glances of pity did infuriate even him, so he couldn't imagen how the easily irritated teen had felt the entire time.

Katsuki, though as said, didn't come in with them, was still watching them from a distance. He was angled that his mother couldn't see him, and only he got to see her bed and the majority of the room.

At the sight of Izuku, Mitsuki had nearly whiplashed her neck by the sudden jolt that ran through her body.

"I-izuku.."

A pang of pain hit Katsuki right in his chest, seeing how his mother recognized someone he didn't even remember, while she forgot her own son. He knew it was immature, but he couldn't help the jealousy that started to burn in his heart at the caring tone she had addressed the other greenette with.

"Ah...agh...agh.." the woman started to suddenly shake violently as sobs rocked her whole being. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively as a single syllable escaped her lips.

"In- In- In-"

Katsuki took a step closer, but had to resist the overwhelming need to go there and embrace his precious mother. He knew he would do more harm than good. He hadn't stopped trying approaching her for ten years, and he still got the same results, so he got the lesson inside and out at that point. And he was this close, this close, to finally help her. He just had to be patient for a little longer.

"Shh, Mitsuki. It's....going to be....okay." Aizawa let go of the wheelchair to let Izuku wheel himself closer to the bed. When he placed his hand on top of her eyes, Katsuki was suddenly hit with a feeling of a phantom touch, as a familiar distant shadow echoed in his mind. 

" Shh , Kacchan . I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to witness that. It's going to be okay. It's going....to be okay."

As the phantom fingers on his eyes disappeared, he snapped out of it just in time to see Izuku drop limply on his mother's lap, as his teacher frantically shouted out his name.

That left Katsuki gaping in surprise, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Yet as quickly as the paralysis had come, he found himself sprinting towards his mother.

She had her eyes squeezed tightly shut. And unlike Izuku, she looked like she was about to wake up any second.

At the commotion the hero had caused when he had run as if his life depended on it, several nurses, and even Todoroki's mother, had shown up. And honestly, Katsuki was a little grateful, not wanting to be alone when his mother woke up in case her reaction was just as usual.

A whine escaped the woman on the bed, and all people in the room held their breath in anticipation when her eyes fluttered open.

For better or for worse, her gaze had landed right on Katsuki first, making every fibre in her body tense visibly.

Katsuki's breath got stuck in his lungs as a layer of shiny tears covered his narrowing eyes.

So nothing has changed. He shouldn't have raised his hopes too much. He shouldn't have been so naive. He took a step back, followed by another. Yet before he could dash out in his teacher's steps, Rei had stepped in, walking closer to his mother whose gaze was still entirely fixated on him, and only him.

"Mitsuki, dear, do you recognize yo-"

"Katsuki."

An unexplainable feeling invaded every sense and every cell. He had never imagined that hearing his own name would be this joyful.

"M-mom?"

"Oh my God! Katsuki! What happened to you?! You are so...tall!"

Unbelievable. Unbelievable! It was her. It was his mother. The mother that he knew from ten years ago. The mother that knew him and accepted him.

Mitsuki, with an entirely different shine in her eyes and foreign enthusiasm to all nurses, looked around in confusion.

"Where the hell are we? What happened?" She examined her weak body in puzzlement, releasing how straining it was to move around.

"Well, you had been in an... accident, ten years ago," the nurse was very careful with her description, unsure of what could be sensitive and trigger her deterioration.

"Holy f*ck, are you saying that I have been in a coma for ten years?!"

Worse. Katsuki wanted to say, but stopped himself, knowing better than to ruin the moment.

"It doesn't matter now," he stepped in, closer and closer, till he was standing right beside her bed, still unsure of how to approach the woman.

Mitsuki didn't hesitate a second in draping her arms around her boy and dragging him down to her bed, tackling him in a weak hug followed by a smack on the head.

"How dare you grow up to be such a fine man! It was only yesterday you were the size of a shrimp, ya little shit!"

Yeah, it doesn't matter now.... cause you are finally back.

He can't deny that he was irritated when his father was informed. He felt that his time with his mother was being violated. But when his father left work and showed up in 15 minutes, despite working at a company an half hour away, Katsuki suddenly didn't mind the family reunion as a whole.

His father had cried rivers like the crybaby he was, but if a stray tear or two managed to slip from Katsuki himself, well, no one needed to know that.

All staff members had left, to give them some privacy. And although Rei seemed like she was dying to get to know the new unfamiliar woman that his mother had turned to, she had decided that it could wait.

His mother had been in the middle of a conversation when she had stopped abruptly, earning puzzled looks from the two males.

"Where is Inko though?"

It was as if the temperature in the room dropped drastically, sending a shiver down their spines.

Through the conversation, the family had understood that Mitsuki had no memories of the past ten years. Time seemed to have stopped for her right before the incident. It was only logical to assume she had forgotten about Inko's death as well, yet it was such a rude awakening to have the question asked out loud.

What should they say? What if they somehow made her remember again? Would she just go back to how she was?!

No, Katsuki couldn't allow that. He didn't go through all that struggle to only lose her yet again.

He knew his useless father would not be able to answer. And if that was the mother he knew, then she would be able to read her husband like an open book anyway.

Katsuki decided to take the matter into his own hands before his father could even open his mouth.

"She got married and moved to America." He tried to make his lie as short and simple as possible. Because as much as he would deny it, his mother could read him just as well as she could read his father.

Mitsuki stared darkly at him, making every silent moment so nerve-wrecking and unbearable. 

Chapter Text

Of every beat of his heart, he was aware. Of every contraction and every pump, with every expanding artery, and every retracting vein. With every rushing drop of blood echoing in his ears, with every lump forming in his throat, he was aware. Of his rocketing anxiety, and his thundering dread.

"Nii-chan?"

It has just been a few moments, before the boy's eyes lit up with recognition. It should be normal, considering he had been unconscious for a week, but Aizawa couldn't help the fear that washed over him when he saw Izuku staring at Eri and Mirio with an empyt, unrecognising gaze. As if he had no idea who they were. As if he had no brain activity at all.

The long agonizing moments after Eri's question stretched longer than they should have, but maybe it was just Aizawa's imagination. Because upon Izuku's small whisper of Eri's name, everyone seemed to relax just fine.

Everyone but Aizawa.

He just hoped he was being paranoid yet again....

Chapter Text

The figure didn't resemble a human being, but a monster. Ink-black, abysmal swirling pools of nothingness instead of eyes. An abnormally stretched smile reaching the ears, the corners of the mouth seemingly cut and extended, forming a nightmarish detachment straight out of a horror movie.

She could not comprehend that her angelic friend was that chunk of meet, barley recognizable as a human being. 

Chapter Text

"I... I think..." Matsuda's hesitation was something unusual and certainly unnerving. Aizawa's heart was pulsating in his throat, as nervous anticipation hung in the air, waiting for the doctor's next words.

"No. I could be wrong. It's not r-" he began to dismiss, but got interrupted with a stern glare and an unwavering, demanding voice.

"Matsuda. What is it?" His stoic external appearance did not, for better or for worse, convey his inner turmoil. Yet that most certainly didn't convince the doctor that the hero was indifferent, nor ready, for the the news he was about to drop.

"I don't think that... he's gonna make it."
And as expected, Shouta's shock was evident by his stunned expression and his overbearing silence.

Matsuda found the silence so suffocating that he tried to fill it with an explanation, which he knew was very unwise in this situation.

"Izuku's body is at its limit. None of our chemical treatments are having the desired effect. I don't know why, but his cells keep deteriorating and the cell count keeps dropping drastically. While this normally would lead to instant death, Izuku's ability, whatever it is, is preventing his death for the time being. And as it seems that the center that controls this phenomena lies in the brain, if what you told me about Izuku's other ability is true, then the memories he keeps taking will only lead to his perdition."

Aizawa's eyebrows came knotting together, yet he remained utterly quiet. Matsuda couldn't even decide if that meant that the hero was dealing with the news badly or not. He really couldn't imagine himself being on the receiving end of such news.

"I need a moment," Aizawa said abruptly, turning on his heels and entering Izuku's room.
Ignoring the doctor's strained advise about not dealing with the news on his own, he shut the door behind him, muffling Matsuda's voice in the background to an indistinguishable string of noises.

He took a moment to gather his scrambled thoughts, finally acknowledging the icy fear that was spreading through his spine, starting from the back of his neck, at the thought of losing his boy.

He was glad he had sent Eri with Merio today -not without strict supervision of course-, it only made sense when the doctor had hurriedly requested a talk. Yet he feared that he could be stripping Eri of precious limited time with her most dear person alive.

He had never heard of someone regretting the future, but this feeling in his chest proved it exists.

He was already regretting the future that he knows he can't change, and that made an old wound -one that was buried under deep layers of dust and a  fragile shroud woven by the blissful passage of time- painfully rupture and bleed again.

Will it only have the same outcome, with the same regrets and the same bitterness and with another lump forming in his throat, refusing to neither get swallowed nor spat out?

A faint huff from the bed snapped his attention back to the living world.

No, self-pity wasn't what they needed right now. He couldn't spiral down in his -oh so familiar- thought process, not when he hadn't even tried to do anything yet, not when nothing had happened yet, and certainly not when he had got a warning ahead of time,  this time around.

He crept slowly closer to the weak body slumped on the bed, hooked to various machines that struggled to maintain what little was left of the flagging ember.

"Izuku," Shouta whispered above the whirring of the machines, kneeling down to touch the boy's hair gently at realizing he was actually awake.

The petite boy looked up at him with a knowing gaze, a faint reassuring expression plastered on his face as if he knew what kind of turmoil the hero was having within.

"Wouldn't you... can't you give them back? Free yourself from their burden?" He knew he didn't need to clarify what he was talking about, not when Izuku was giving him that soft, half-lidded look.

"You don't have to bear the pain of entire lives alone," he hated how his desperate whispering voice faltered and disappeared at the end of his sentence.

Despite Izuku having immediately taken her memories, meaning she no longer could explain what she saw, what Tsukauchi's colleague had said kept ringing in Shouta's ears all the way back from the police station that he would be dense not to realise what it had implied.

"You know that they are killing you, don't you?"

Why was Izuku looking at him like he was the one needing the consulting?

"You should give them back..." he placed his hand on top of Izuku's. "...please.." he had never imagined that he would ever use that pleading tone with anyone in his life.

The corners of the greenette's mouth moved weakly into a tired smile, his hand moving slowly to rest on top of the hero's instead, as he shook his head in refusal.

And wasn't it curious, how Izuku's gaze looked alive the most when he was on death's bed? Aizawa couldn't decide if he wanted to smile or cry at the irony.

"Then you leave me with no other choice," Aizawa had clearly been expecting the refusal. If those months with Izuku had taught him something, it was that this fragile-looking kid had an iron-will and an unwavering need for self-sacrifice. It hurt his heart to think of a possible martyr complex, of the circumstances that led him to believe his life had less worth than everyone else's.

He knew the risks he was about to take were immense. He knew he could do more harm than good, that he could kill his kid, even. But he was really driven to a corner. It was either try everything he can or let his boy die slowly infront of him.

So he let it consume him. The feeling of his hair floating above his head, the burning sting of his dry eyes, the rush that followed the activation of his quirk.

Was he killing Izuku this way? Was he plundering the tiny valuable time from both of them? Maybe. But he won't, can't, stand doing nothing again. Not this time.

He won't let him die.

Not yet.

At least, not yet.

"Mom. Did- did anyone die?" He fiddled nervously as he sat on the dining table, watching his mother fry some meat, utensils clattering together and a delicious smell engulfing the whole kitchen.

"Huh? What do you mean?" The sizzling from the pan died down slowly as his mother moved it to another cool stove eye, so that she could turn and look at him, slightly concerned.

"Like, did someone die recently?" He felt even less certain under his mother's studying gaze. Yet he really needed to get this off his shoulders.

"Of our relatives? No. No one I know of, at least." There was a long pause, the only sound in the kitchen filling the silence being the soft bubbling coming from one of the pots on the stove. "Ejiro. Is everything alright?" She crept closer, drying her hands with her cooking apron and crouching down to rest her hands on his knees.

"I- err, sorry, I know it's strange, but there's just... something that keeps appearing...ugh" He ruffled his hair in annoyance. Setting words to his thoughts was harder than he had imagined.

"Did someone die...in a...uhm.. fire?" He didn't know where that came from. He himself was not sure of what he wanted to say when he started opening his mouth, but the question felt so natural.

It felt like the right question to ask.

When his mother's eyes widened, he knew he had hit the nail on the head.

"You remembered?!" She blurted out unintentionally. "You just couldn't remember anything after that boy with green hair came over and I thought, I thought that I shouldn't say anything and you wer-" before she had finished her frantic rambling, Kirishima had shot up from his chair to hold her shoulders firmly.

"Remembered? Remembered what?!" He shook her shoulders lightly.

At his question, his mother's hands came up to cover her mouth as she suppressed a sob, large tears running down her cheeks.

"N-no. It's..it was no-nothing." She freed herself from his grip and stood up, dashing upstairs before her son could bombard her with questions she was not willing to answer.

Leaving Eijiro, more confused than ever. With only one keyword ringing in his ears.

Chapter Text

He stared for a second, looking around to find no one on the other side, before he decided this must be an invitation inside.

Kirishima deactivated his quirk and walked through the long hallways he knew would lead him to the main door.

And right there, with a widely open entrance, was his missing teacher. With as unruly hair as usual and red irritated eyes, he stared at his student in apathy.

"Kirishima, what is it that you want?"

Kirishima gestured widely with his hands, unable to describe clearly, when he realized he had lost his contact with Izuku and could not hear his voice anymore.

He stopped and crept closer again, putting his hand on Izuku's thin, limp arm this time.

"You can talk to me like that?" He settled on asking aloud to let Aizawa-sensei in on what was going on.

Yes.

"Wow, how do you do that!" It was not exactly a question, so he didn't mind the lack of answer.

You came to ask...

Again, that wasn't a question, it was as if the greenette already know what he wanted to say. Maybe he knew more than Eijiro himself, even.

"There's that...dream.... about... a fire? I can't stop thinking about it. It's like... I'm missing something important." He tried to explain.

Izuku looked at him with an emotion he couldn't quite place. The silence stretched longer than what he's comfortable with.

"You know something, right?" If Kirishima wasn't pretty sure about that statement from the beginning, he was sure now when Izuku had heavily closed his eyelids and sighed silently.

Why do you want to know?

That was a question he wasn't expecting.

"What do you mean?"

If it's something painful , if it makes your heart bleed and your mind shatter, if it would hunt you in your sleep and on every waking second, would you still want to remember?

Kirishima swallowed dryly. He didn't understand the sentements Izuku was describing, he didn't know what Izuku was referring to. But there was one thing he knew.

"If I have to lose something important at the expense of forgetting, then I would rather suffer as myself, instead of living as someone I'm not. I would like to hold to the memories that build the man that I am, even if they were painful, because every experience is a part of me, even the bad ones." He told him with an unwavering voice and a will of iron. He was unsure of many things that had happened recently, but this was not one of them.

Izuku had opened his eye to look at him, staring right at his soul, searching for the tiniest bit of doubt.

Okay

He said simply when he found none, before a cold dread washed over the redhead as he got back the missing puzzle piece he had unconsciously always longed for....

Hint: chapter 8 (؟smaerD)

Chapter Text

"Come on! Come on come on! We have to get you out of here! " The taller boy mumbled under his heavy breath as he carried the other one on his back. Green tufts of hair from the other boy's head that slumped motionlessly against his shoulder poked at his neck and irritated the stitches around his scar, but that was the least of his worries.

He could hear the screams of civilians in the background, running away from the building he had set aflame with his blue fire.

He had nothing against them, they just happened to live right above their underground lab, so it was just their fate. But he gotta say, it was both dirty and clever, hiding in the middle of the city where no one would suspect villains to set their hideout.

Clever, but dirty, nonetheless.

He had to burn the whole area for distraction if he was to get this nameless boy out of that horrible place. Yet it still left a sour taste in his mouth, to burn innocent civilians.

The boy on his back started to wake up, which made the dark-haired teen slow down his steps.

"T-toya," the nameless boy called out for him.

"Shut up. Don't say anything. I'm getting you out, like it or not." He gritted his teeth, knowing what argument this stupid being was going to spit out.

"People... you killed them," the boy's tone was not blaming, nor was it reprimanding . It was just... sad. A bone-crushing guilt and despair hidden behind those few words.

"I don't care! And neither should you!" The panting boy found himself shouting immediately.

"They are apart of this messed up system that abandon people like us! Those people and their beloved heroes only care about themselves! They pretend to uphold high moral standards only when it suits them, only when it's still in their comfort zone! And when a real dilemma arises, they back out and remain 'natural', saying it's 'too complicated' or 'there is no right or wrong' instead of standing with the victim!" His ramble left him breathless as his legs started feeling shaky under the wight of both of their bodies.

He thought of himself as tight-lipped, a man of few words. But he really meant every word he said. This was what turned the little boy named Toya, who dreamed about being a hero with the only goal of making his father proud, into this cold-blooded villain called Dabi. He had sworn to always live as Dabi from now on, but only this nameless being, this unfortunate soul that happened to spark the interest of the most dangerous villain of all times, only around this person has he allowed himself to be Toya again.

"Toya...put me down."

And just like that, Toya found himself always complying to the nameless's commands. Not in the way he followed orders from All For One or the other villains. It was not out of fear, or even respect. Maybe it was out of solidarity, or pity. Maybe he saw himself in him, maybe it was just a whim. But he complied. And he had risked his position among AFO's men to get this one person out. This could cost him his revenge, but he still did it.

He was such a failure for a villain.

The nameless held one hand to his abdomen that still dripped of blood, while his attention was on the mass of civilians gathered outside of the burning building.

A loud wailing was particularly heartbreaking, one that was coming from a distressed young boy on the ground, gripping and tugging frantically at his black hair.

The nameless leaning on the wall took a heavy step toward the wailing boy and his distressed mother beside him, when Toya grabbed at his wrist firmly.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I... I can help. I need to help him." The nameless said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Why?! Why would you bother taking the memories of someone who is practically a stranger? Didn't you already do enough for others?!"

"I... I have to. As long as I roam this earth, as long as I have this ability, I'll bear it for them. Painful memories can torture and ruin a person in many ways than one, so for as long as I can, I will bear as many of those as possible if it means countless people, even strangers, would get to carry on with peaceful and happy lives." A distant look of hollow terror wrapped itself around his features, and Dabi had no doubt the green-head was talking out of experience.

He let go of the other's arm.

He shall do whatever he wants. Toya didn't care.

"Do you want me to take... your burden?" The nameless being offered.

He wanted to chuckle at the ridiculous idea, but his bleeding heart took a second to consider the offer.

Yet he knew his answer before the question had even come.

"No. My memories fuel my anger, my hatred. The hatred is the only reason left for my life. For my revenge. I can't give that up." The Dabi side of him reasoned.

A small whisper from what's left of his Toya side supplied with an 'I want to remember my family, too', but that was just a hallucination, a piece of himself that no longer existed. So he simply didn't acknowledge it.

The nameless gave him a knowing look, a faint tug of his lips, something that resembled a sad smile, barely visible.

Then he turned around and continued towards the wailing boy on the ground.

From afar, Toya could see the nameless reach out to the boy's head saying something that Toya read as ' Don't suffer', before he let the memories float into his brain.

Toya turned around in a haste and walked away.

He had done his part. The rest depended on the greenette and his luck.

Whatsoever, that was the last time he would be Toya. He closed his eyes, forcing any remains of his past self to dissappear behind his eyelids, before he opened them again, only this time as Dabi, and Dabi only. Eyes full of hatred, set only on revenge without getting distracted by anything along the way.

A fading voice in the back of his mind whispered for the last time before it died out;

'Live on, and never come back, nameless...'

Long after he had found himself alone, the nameless laid limp in an alleyway under the heavy rain. The cold rain on his skin felt oddly soothing. He could feel every rain drop landing, trickling slowly down across his abdomen, before harshly getting dyed and turning into an intense red when reaching his widely open wound.

Hint: chapter 25 (H o p e : XXV)

Then came a warm hand, a concerned voice, an unfamiliar gentleness.

And suddenly, he wasn't the nameless anymore. He was Izuku .

Hint: chapter 39 (XXXIX: The Outside)

Shouta watched on i bewilderment as Izuku cupped his palm around the side of Kirishima's head, while the redhead's facial expression turned from surprise, to shock, and then to utter horror.

Hint: chapter 8 (؟smaerD : VIII)

He had watched Izuku take memories before, but he had never seen him give them back.

Yet before he had time to admire the sight, his student's knees buckled under him. Aizawa had barely succeeded in catching him before he hit the ground.

Kirishima looked up at Izuku, who had surprisingly and suddenly become much less pale and more healthy as color returned to his face and limbs.

Kirishima felt alot of things at the same time, he felt horrified and furious and entirely devastated, but he had finally found it.

He had found his father.

He had found his missing piece.

He was whole again...

Chapter Text

Nervousness and anxiety are not feelings he often found himself dwelling on. Yet he didn't know what to expect, and that made his nerves unusually turbulent.

He tried to act nonchalant, for little Eri's sake, at least. But now, standing right in front of this door, he couldn't help the grimace from finding its way to his face.

When his redheaded junior, with a hardened look and a depth in his eyes that hasn't been there before, told him that Izuku wished to see him, he didn't know what to make of it.

He had tried not to think about it, when Aizawa-sensei asked him to take Eri to the other facility to stay with the Shinsous. He had tried not to overthink. He had tried to keep goofing and grinning and peacefully teaching Eri how to bake, how to draw, how to write... how to live.

He had wished he could offer her a normal life and happy memories. Although the shadow of her past still lingered, that could be dealt with. It would take time, but he was sure he was able to give her a childhood. To aspire dreams, to build confidence.

Yet what was really concerning was not the past, but the future.

And eventually they all led to the same point.

To the present.

To the present, where he stood now, facing the door but not having the courage to open it.

However, he had hope. He couldn't change the past, he couldn't predict the future, but he could affect this particular moment. And the moment after. And eventually, that will lead him to where he wants to be in the future.

So he opened the door.

Although he knew it wouldn't look pretty, bad would be such an understatement.

When he saw the boy's form, he knew, maybe instinctively, maybe consciously, what this conversation would be about.

This would be a goodbye.

He clenched his jaw tightly, refusing to let the weak side of him from convincing him to leave, to run away.

He let out a huff through his nose, slowly, trying not to be too obvious with his crushing sorrow and dreadful hesitation.

He plastered a gentle smile on his face and moved closer, dragging a chair and sitting beside the bed.

"Hello, Izuku-kun. I heard you wanted to see me?" He said as casually as the situation allowed.

Izuku's unfocused gaze did barely change direction, seemingly staring at something beyond his form. As if he was seeing through him.

The only indicator of consciousness was the sluggish hand moving to hold his arm.

'Togata..' a faint voice echoed in his head.

Ah, this must be the ability Kirishima-kun was talking about.

'Thank you...for coming. I wanted... to talk to you.... while I still can...'

An invisible lump formed heavily in his throat. He forced his smile to widen shakily.

"Hey. Don't say that. You'll get better soon. Eri is still waiting for you." He tried to convince Izuku. Or maybe himself. He was not so sure anymore.

'Eri...' Izuku's weak whisper echoed once again.

'Please... take care of her for me.'

For the first time, Mirio let his smile falter and his teeth clench. He could hear the quiver in the other's tone, even when spoken with telepathy, or whatever this was.

"Hey. Don't talk like that. You can take care of her yourself too!" He exclaimed, probably too stubbornly. "Don't start talking like that yet! You can still-"

'Please...promise me...'

The blond's agitation died down as he took a deep breath once, twice. He looked up from the ground and scanned the weak frame of the boy, stopping when they made eye contact.

"Of course. I promise you, I'll protect her with my life. I will give her the life that she deserves and stay by her side no mater what." He made sure his gaze conveyed his sincere will and his unyielding resolution.

The way the boy under his grip sagged, even when he was so limp to begin with, made something in Togata's heart clench and burn.

'Thank you...' Izuku's lips moved along the words that echoed in his head, even though no sound came from them.

Mirio couldn't hold himself back and found his body moving impulsively, wrapping his arms around the limp body in a firm, and possibly painful, hug.

He could feel a frail wrist rising to stroke his back reassuringly. As if he was the one needing reassurance.

He was trembling, yes. He had tears in his eyes, yes. But he was not the one in need of reassurance.

'Thank you..' Izuku said again. Mirio made no move to let the greenette go.

'I'll need to see Eri... one last time.'

Yeah, he knew they should.

'I'll take her memories... of me.'

What?

The surprise made Mirio pull back, hands still on the boy's shoulders as he laid down, and stared at him in question.

Izuku seemed to have understood what the young hero-in-training was so surprised about.

'She doesn't have to suffer after my death..'

"Izuku..."

'She doesn't need... to remember me. She'll.... be happy. With a lot of caring people... like you... by her side...' A small shadow of a broken smile tugged at the corners of the sick boy's mouth.

Why was he making that kind of face, if he really thought she'd be happy without him?!

"I'm sure..." Mirio starts, making sure they are making eye contact yet again, his voice never wavering once as he continued, "... that Eri-chan would like to keep on remembering her precious brother. Even if that carries pain. Even if that means going through grieving. I'm sure that.... no matter how agonizing these moments could be, the precious connections and the warm memories would eventually outweigh the bad ones."

A rather rare expression invaded Izuku's features. Disbelief, surprise and a hint of relief. Nothing Mirio, or anyone else for that matter, thought Izuku was capable of expressing.

It was reassuring to Togata, somehow, knowing that Izuku had more emotions than he let the world believe.

Izuku was human, no matter what abilities he had or how old he was.

Because to be human, you only need one thing.

Humanity.

The vision was distorted and marred, it was not clear what the sight infront of him was. Yet Izuku knew.

He just knew.

And oh... how he wished he didn't.

His first instinct was to give them back, to escape from the pain. This could not be happening again. He doesn't want to see this he doesn't he doesn't he doesn't he doesn't-

His stomach twisted painfully and he could taste bile rising up his throat with burning poignancy and unruly rawness.

He collapsed to the floor with nothing to stop his fall. Little Katsuki laying unconscious and limb just to his side.

With every retch, a part of his heart was coughed up alongside the bile. With every tear he wasn't able to shed, a heavy weight sank deeper and deeper in his chest.

No. He had to snap out of it. He needed to get Katsuki to safety. He needed to find Mitsuki and take her memories too.

He needed to... he needed to bury... he needed to bury...

Deafening ringing took over his hearing suddenly, his head feeling light and stuffed with cotton, making his consciousness slip away slowly.

Yet he managed to get a glimpse of someone coming.

It was them. They did this. They were after him again. He was foolish to believing he could escape to begin with. And his foolishness has dragged innocent people into this mess.

Thousands of years, and he was still so foolish. How could he make the same mistakes over and over again?!

At least...

He should at least save little Kacchan . He can't let them find him too.

He pushed his body and mind past their limits and up, stepping away from the limp child. The little boy should be fine, he won't remember any of this afterwards.

Izuku hoped he could have done the same to Mitsuki , but he didn't have the time.

They were close...closer...closer

He collapsed down right when a pair of boots got within his eyesight, but he was hopefully far enough from the Bakugous by now. 

A pair of glinting eyes appeared before him out of nowhere, a man squinting down to his level. A maniac smile out of a nightmare plastered on the sadistic face with a repulsive tongue dangling out, sticky saliva dropping down, down, down.

"Fouuuunndd yooou!!"

Oh, Toya would surely not be happy about seeing him again....

Chapter Text

He didn't tell her, but it was obvious she knew. From how quite she has been, to how spaced out and sorrowful she appeared to be, there was no doubt. It was like she was already mourning, and Mirio couldn't help but wonder what he could do to ease the little girl's pain.

He tried to act natural. He smiled. He joked around. He held her tightly and stroked her hair gently.

She remained still in his arms.

He told her it was just a normal visit. He didn't need to clarify where. He took out the loveliest outfit they had bought together. A purple skirt, with white leggings and a cozy white sweater underneath a white jacket littered with purple and pink flowers. The sweater had a small purple heart right at where her actual little heart would be, and the jacket had both a fluffy collar and fur-coated sleeves.

Togata stood back to admire his little girl, while she stood awkwardly, a little bit self-conscious, clutching the strap of her purple bag crossed on her shoulder.

No matter how warm his smile was, Eri's expression remained numb and grim.

Mirio's smile faltered a little.

He didn't tell her, but there was no way she didn't know.

"All players are in place," a malicious voice said with trembling enthusiasm.

"And here's the main dish," squatting down, a slim, dry hand reached out to grab green tuffs of hair that belonged to the boy slumped motionlessly on the ground.

Chapter Text

It was chaos.

He knew it wouldn't be pretty the moment he got the emergency call not 10 minutes ago, yet this area looked much lika a war zone already, in that short amount of time.

Toshinori scanned the area carefully, he had limited time in his buff form and he had to use it wisely. To save as many people as possible.

His other colleagues that came with him, Midnight, Kamui woods, Mount lady, Snipe and Cementos, among others, were either busy saving civilians from under the rubble and leading them to safety, or fighting off those hideous creatures with exposed brains.

Nomus.

He was so glad they took Aizawa's warning seriously and thoroughly investigated the nature and original of these beasts.

Yet, the situation seemed grim. It was taking several pro heros of higher rankings to just keep up with one single Nomu! And there were 4 of them!

Before All Might could ponder any longer, a heavy hook had nearly caught him off guard had he not put his arms up just before the blue fist landed a punch to his side. The side of his old injury.

That...

That should be a coincidence, right?

"All Might!" The voice of one loud hero cut off his thoughts, as Mic and a few of his students ran towards him hastily.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw a bunch of villains, who had been brough along the Nomus, rush to attack them, but they all seemed prepared with their quirks already activated, and every student deflected one or two of the thugs. The hero students seemed at least able to defend themselves for the time being.

But it was still dangerous. They can't allow them to be here.

"Mic. You should take the students to safety!"

"Haaaah?! No! We are staying here to fight! You think those pathetic extras will be enough to scare us away?!" A yell rang loudly, accompanied with several explosions afterwards, blasting no less than 3 villains away to prove his point.

Katsuki flashed a cocky, smug smirk as he made eye contact with Japan's number 1 hero.

Seriously, these kids....

Not wasting a second, Katsuki was once more blasting away at his next victims that made the mistake of trying to challenge him. The other students, though they didn't say much, were clearly with young Bakugou on this one. He could tell from the pointed look he got from young Todoroki, or the assuring nod young Shinsou gave him, or the confident grin young Kirishima flashed his way.

All Might could only sigh in defeat. These were the future heros of this country. They were the people's hope. He can't deny them the very essence of being a hero. He can't deny them their heroism.

"All Might," Mic made him aware of his presence once more.

"Mic. What happened here?"

"A villain attack," the sound hero replied simply.

Yeah. He figured that much.

Mic seemed to understand this was not the answer he wanted and went on explaining what had happened until now. They clearly were in the dark too. No one knew what was happening.

"Wait. You said 5 impacts?" All might stopped in his tracks, looking around the battle field once more.

If what Mic was saying about the impact is true, if not a missile, that heavy of a landing could be caused by possibly one other thing...

He looked around. He spotted one.. two... three nomus fighting his colleagues in the distance. The fourth one that had attcked him before stood eerily still, as if someone jut switch it off.

He double-checked.

He wasn't mistaken. Four. The nomus here were four.

A shrill from outside of this world resonated through the air and all the nomus stopped at once, turning their gaze toward a figure floating freely in the sky.

A familiar stabbing pain flared in Toshinori's side as a cold shiver ran through his spine. He felt a familiar pressure suffocating his insides as his eyes darted across the figure.

With an elegant black suit, polished dress shoes and a helmet full of tubes, a terrifying man soared in the middle of the sky. His lack of an entire part of his face didn't help in the slightest in concealing the maniac expression or the calculating, uncanny gaze he was surely studying them with.

Of course, All Might thought with cold sweat covering his body, there was only one man capable of creating such evils as the nomus. Of course it was him.

"ALL FOR ONE!!"

"Oh ho ho. My old friend. I see you missed me." The sadistic grin only succeeded in making the hero's blood boil even more. His scar itched and he wanted no more than to pull at his skin, digging his fingernails deeper and deeper till his body bled out all the pain and bitterness he had bottled up inside.

"You-!" All Might was only just about to move when the villain above snapped his fingers, and before anyone could even blink, the pillar of peace was flung to a building across the road, as if he was as thin as paper. The blue nomu that had attacked the hero was now standing in his place.

"Now, now. Why the haste? Ooru Mighto," his sick smile only grew wider. "It's not our show tonight. The young deserves a chance too, don't you think?" His wicked laugh rang through the air and echoed off every building on the street. An amused huff was all he did before said youth decided to join the party.

"Sensei..." a gruff voice said slowly, a large figure walking behind him holding a.....

"S-shouta...?" Mic asked in disbelief as he watched his lifetime friend dangling limply from the shoulder of the bulky fifth Nomu. His hair was caked with blood and his face was hardly distinguishable from all the red covering it. In his other arm, a smaller figure was pulled by his shirt before he was thrown roughly on the ground at Shigaraki's feet.

"Izuku!"

"Deku!"

Shouting was heared from the teenagers behind Mic as one Bakugou Katsuki lunged forward before he could even process what he was seeing.

Mic was barely able to grab him in time to stop him from getting himself killed mercilessly.

"Hehehe," the ashy haired villain cackled in delight as he studied the alarmed, scared faces and the faces an inch away from killing him, glaring daggers at his form.

The younger villain rasied his crazed gaze towards the older one.

"Sensei. I brought him here. The results should be as you wanted. Can I have my fun now?" Shigaraki seemed so impatient to have his 'fun' he couldn't restraint the eagerness from infiltrating his tone.

"Now, now, Tomura," AFO grined as he descended down to the ground right beside his successor. "Are you sure the syringe had its desired effects?"

"Of course, Sensei. Let me give you a demonstration." Shigaraki's grin only grew wider behind the herd of severed hands. He crouched down to Izuku.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Katsuki's enraged voice was only second to his violent attempts in getting his loud teacher off of him, going as far as using his explosions and burning his Sensei's arms. Yamada refused to let go whatsoever.

Shigaraki flashed the angry teen a mischievous smirk and before anyone could react to it, curled all his five fingers around Izuku's wrist.

Chapter Text

Everyone's eyes widened in fear when they watched as....

Nothing happened. 

"You're so cool, Eraserhead.." 

Aizawa had erased Shigaraki's quirk. Despite his battered form and blood-soaked eyelids, he still managed to crack his eyes open and glare at the villain trying to decay his kid. 

"..but you can't do that.." Shigaraki scratched at his peeling dead-skined neck. "I need to show Sensei my work, don't you dare inter-" 

In the seconds it took the young man-child to utter these words, a yellow flash had already passed by him and grabbed the hero dangling from the Nomu's grip. 

"All Migh-" Aizawa grunted at the hero holding him before they were interrupted by All For One. 

"Now, now, don't be too hasty, old friend." The faceless villain said in delight as he placed his iron grip on the stretched arm of the nr. 1 hero, stopping him before he could grab the other hostage in Shigaraki's hands. 

"You see, this old soul here has something that I want." He looked down at Izuku's motionless form. "But it's too foreign for me to take, and the boy is too stubborn to cooperate." 

All Might pulled his arm away quickly and leaped backwards, keeping a safe distance between himself and the monologing villain. 

"All Might! You can't- you have to save-" Eraser was interrupted by a fit of coughs that shook his body and left his lungs a burning mess. 

"So what would you do to a tool that is not working as it should?" All For One directed his twisted question at his successor. 

"You get rid of it!" Shigaraki answered with utter enthusiasm. 

"You fucking piece of shit!" Katsuki's voice rang out loud. Shouto's face contoured in a furious grimace, while Shinsou's grip on his cloth turned his knuckles white. 

"That's right. This soul's immortality is impressive, but it's not a quirk. We learned that the hard way after years of experiments. It's such a waste that I can't have it, but..." AFO's smile made the skin around his mouth stretch unnaturally, his eyeless face giving off a terrifying vibe. "... we can't let someone else have it, now, can we?" 

"What- what did you... do?" Aizawa asked between strained wheezing, the burning rage clear from his growling tone. 

"Oh not much. I just gave him a gift." AFO raised his arms for theatrical effect, putting up a show as he spoke proudly of his deeds. "It was hard to find the right one. It took hundred of different quirks to find one that works!" He turned his nonexistent eyes toward his Tomura. "And my lovely student here administered it at the last minute." 

Shigaraki looked pretty proud as he took out a knife from his pocket. 

"A quirk that continuously destroys cells!" The younger villain finished what his Sensei was saying. His eyes became slits as his grin covered the majority of his face. 

All Might had with the speed of light put down Aizawa and was directly standing infront of the two villains. He stocked up as much power in his right fist and swung at AFO's disturbing smug face. 

"Isn't it ironic?" AFO said, dodging the hook with ease as if he had anticipated the move before it came. "How simple it is to kill someone immortal? We had to shorten the resurrection period in the beginning to make the power reach it's limits. But there's nothing easier-" he floated up, effectively dodging another punch that resulted in a shockwave powerful enough to send everyone else flying backwards. "-than killing a pathetic being with no will to live an infinite number of times, over and over again!" A wicked laugh split the air, as boiling wrath and disgust engulfed the hearts of the heros listning to these poisonous words. 

Aizawa pressed his forehead to the ground, eyes tightly squeezed shut, with a painful lump in his throat being the only thing stopping him from screaming his lungs out. His right arm dangled uselessly on the ground, but he used all his sizzling resentment to push himself off the ground with his head and other arm. 

"Shouta!" Mic was by his friend's side within seconds. But as he kneeled down, he realized a tad too late his mistake of letting go of a furious Bakugou, who flew himself right towards the villain holding the greenette. 

At the same time, a trail of ice appeared beside them as Todoroki let his flame erupt from him left side. Shinsou's capture weapon got wrapped around his neck, ready to be used, and Kirishima's quirk activated, the redhead taking a fighting stance ready to engage. 

Up in the sky, the fight between All Might and All For One was getting heated, shockwave after another affecting everyone on the ground. 

Yet they pushed through. All the hero's in training, rushing towards the villain holding their friend, their savior. 

"Not so fast! You NPCs!" Shigaraki raged. He held Izuki with all his fingers, but when he saw Eraser's eyes gleaming red with his bloody hair floating, he knew it was useless. 

He glanced around, time moving in slow motion, and realized he was being surrounded by the four hero students, each of them rushing towards him from a different direction, hands stretched out either to grab the person he was holding or to attack. 

And for a fraction of a second, he felt a pang of something foreign in his chest. It was sadness, mixed with jealousy, when a faint voice whispered in his head; he's their friend. Of course they want to save their friend. No one would want to save you as their friend, though. 

But he didn't do sadness. He didn't do jealousy. He is Shigaraki Tomura. He only destroys. 

So he did what he always has been doing. What he was meant to do. He raised the hand with the knife, and plunged it into the shoulder of the friend everyone wanted to rescue.

Now, no one will get to save their friend. 

Now....

.....they were all equals. 

Chapter Text

Her ears were ringing, her vision slightly fogging around the edges. The surroundings were loud, with everyone throwing their flashy quirks left and right. She held a piece of wood in her hands, something she had grabbed from the rubble for self-defense, but it was barely enough. Her head throbbed painfully, likely caused by her head injury, though it was still bearable.

Honestly, she didn't sign up for this. She had dedicated her life to nursing, her only goal to live peacefully while helping as many people as possible through this path she had chosen. She believed one didn't need to be a hero to save others. She knew what her calling was and she was ready to follow it in her own way, especially after her useless quirk manifested, and it became apparant that she didn't have alot of options left as to how to save people.

But this? No, she had not signed up to fight a mob of villains. She had taken a risky position by agreeing to work as a nurse at this facility, yes, but only because she couldn’t ignore the similarities, the nagging voice in the back of her mind. She couldn’t shake the image of Inko, haunting her years after her tragic death. She couldn’t ignore her gut instinct as she would usually do this time, couldn’t suppress the feelings behind the icy mask that had kept her going until now. Most of all, she couldn’t face the dread of regretting another choice for the rest of her life. So yes, it was a risky job she had agreed to, but there was definitely nothing in her contract about villains.

But life doesn't do contracts, and villains don't care about civilians or their lack of means of self-defense.

They didn't care about her young junior either. The timid and naive Akashi that was only starting his career, that she had to look after the whole time at the facility. And yet, despite his inexperience, he had managed to connect with a sad little girl, comfort her, make her smile, and lull her to sleep with his soothing quirk. He had healed her heart in ways Yuki never could with her cold demeanor and stone face.

Akashi did not deserve this, nor did he have any idea how to handle this situation, and yet...

"Yuki-san! Please stay close!"

Akashi was using his quirk to put the closest villains to sleep. His quirk was not combative, but it was surprisingly effective in a situation like this, not unlike how Midnight would use hers.

Yuki always thought of him as meek and uncertain, yet here he was, trying to protect her. She had never once told him, or anyone else outside her family and childhood classmates, about her quirk, so everyone assumed it was not something she could use for a good purpose. And honestly, they were not wrong.

It had been years since she had last used it, deliberately hiding it from everyone. Her parents had always told her there was nothing wrong with her quirk, but she couldn’t help feeling ashamed of it. After being laughed at in school, she had vowed never to show it to anyone again. Children could be really cruel sometimes.

"Akashi, how long can you keep going?" She asked. He was panting heavily and clearly exhausted. She knew from before that he had an upper limit to how many times he could put someone to sleep in one day.

"Don't- don't worry about me," he tried to reassure her, but the sweat trickling down his eyebrows and the slight tremors of his hands said otherwise.

Yuki frowned and surveyed the battlefield. Villains filled the horizon, and she had no idea where the others from the facility were, or where Mr. Aizawa was since they’d been separated by that enormous creature. She didn’t know if anyone was coming to their rescue.

She didn't know how much longer they could hold out.

A villain caught the corner of her eye, making her twist around and smack him right across the head. Guess all those long hours studying human anatomy didn't go to waste after all, at least she knew were to hit to knock someone out.

"Yo- you're quite strong, Y-yuki-san!" Akashi stammered on his words, his face a pink shade, probably from exerting his quirk, Yuki guessed.

"Save your breath." She replied curtly, not sparing him a glance.

Akashi faltered for a brief moment, his eyes looking sideways in embarrassment, when his breath suddenly hitched and his body moved without thinking.

Yuki was taken aback when Akashi suddenly threw himself on her without warning, a scolding right on the tip of her tongue as they tumbled unceremoniously together to the floor.

"What are yo-?!" She couldn't finish her sentence before a pained gasp escaped the man sprawled on top of her.

Something glinted in her line of sight, a sharp flash of light that made her squint and raise her hand reflexively to shield her eyes when she saw what it was.

A knife. A blooded knife.

A knife with Akashi's blood on it. The junior that was trying to protect her. Got stabbed. Because of her.

"Y-yuki-sa-"

No. This was not right. She could not do this, not again. She refused to live with that guilt again.

"Stop talking. I'll stop the bleeding." Her voice was calm, though her sentence ended slightly in a higher pitch than she normally deemed appropriate. She was a trained nurse, she knew how to handle stab wounds. She had to do this.

Yet before she could apply pressure, the same villain was charging at them again.

Her next move was instinctive, not a well-thought-out act. She had to protect him, just as he had protected her.

The familiar rushing sensation in her hands appeared, a feeling she had not experienced in years now, and a million tiny grains escaped her palms, spreading into the air.

The villain froze in confusion as the glittering particles clouded his vision. When the grains got in his eyes, he yelped and shut them tightly. When he inhaled them, he started coughing violently, waving his arms to clear the air.

Yuki seized the opportunity, hoisting Akashi onto her back and hastily looping his arms around her neck.

Akashi cracked open one eye to stare at the scene in awe.

"Is that.. glitter?" He asked weakly.

"Shut up. Not a word about this," Yuki snapped mercilessly.

Akashi chuckled faintly. "That was... unexpected." He commented. Yuki huffed and closed her eyes in annoyance. That was why she didn't want anyone to see it. It was ridiculous. It was humiliating. It was anything but appropriate, especially with her character. He was never going to take her seriously after this.

"Yuki-san's quirk... is this cute." He murmured in amusement.

What?

She glanced at him, sprawled on her back, bleeding, exhausted, and... calling her quirk cute?

"You must have hit your head," she muttered and turned her gaze back to the road infornt of her, slightly adjusting her grip on him. He was not heavy, but not light either.

"No, that's you." He smiled shyly. That would have earned him a smack on the head normally. Luckily they both were too tired for that. Yuki remained silent.

They were now hiding in a narrow ally between two buildings, but the villains were closing on them slowly.

It would soon be a dead end.

She would not be able to carry him far, and the slow titter-tatter of blood dripping to the floor was not helpful in easing her worries in the slightest.

"Well, if w-we die... here. I g-guess it wouldn't be... that bad... to die together..." Akashi whispered silently.

What the hell was this lunatic saying. That was an absolute no from her.

"Didn't I tell you to save your breath? Stop talking nonsense," she frowned. Something was wrong. A thick fog was starting to form in the air. This was not natural.

Someone's quirk.

The villains seemed to realize that too, their focus not on the two of them any longer.

"If- if we make it... out of h-here... may I invite you... to dinner?" Akashi said weakly, his panting breath slowing down, his puls easing up.

Yuki could feel her limbs growing numb, her eyes dropping slowly.

The villains on their tail started to fall to the ground, one after another. There were sounds in the background. A group of people yelling instructions. There was a voice she recognized as the hero's Midnight.

"You fool..." Yuki said, her knees giving out, making the both of them fall to ground, Akashi still on her back. She could feel his even breath against her neck. He was asleep.

"I thought you'd never ask.." She closed her eyes, and joined him in his peaceful slumber.