Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sound of that damn saw echoed through the room again. Phantom couldn’t hear it very well. It was just background noise.

It couldn’t feel the difference in pain, it was all the same, yet its body still violently trembled, nonetheless.

Tears couldn’t come out of its eyes anymore. Neither can any sounds after they took out its vocal cords and injected a blood blossom solution as a way to paralyze healing in that area.

Phantom learned it all, knew it all. It wasn’t like back in that landmine where it only heard scientific terms here and there. It wasn’t like it could only learn through trial and error after watching a similar process.

No, it was just said over and over with the pain stabbing through. Phantom learned so it could brace itself. There wasn’t much left to do.

It was impossible to do anything more.

At least it learned new things about its body.

It learned that its regeneration was almost all powerful; that it could survive despite how much damage was done with slow healing.

It had regrown a heart, a brain, a spinal cord, full limbs, an entire half of its body, a head- the ones that cut off its pain receptors were the only breaks from pain it had ever gotten. It was paradise in Hell.

It learned that it was possible to gain a resistance to its weaknesses.

The blood blossoms now needed to be processed, strengthened. The ectoranium needed to be folded over and over again like making a proper sword. It was pretty sure that it needed to be done 17 times now, though it might’ve changed, they don’t talk about it much unless they feel like complaining about a decrease in materials or funds.

It learned that it could not reproduce the human way or the ways plants could.

They took pieces of its body to grow into another ghost. They took his ectoplasmic signature from all parts of his body. They placed an embryo into its body. They brought another ghost. They brought another human.

They tried to recreate the incident.

All attempts to make another ecto-entity like itself had failed judging by how they didn’t dig to carve out its core. It found that out when it was free. When it was trying to save others like it and arrived just in time for enough of them.

It’s been there for so long now. How many years? It wasn’t sure. All it knew was that orange and black became gray and white before they disappeared. Its body started to become lighter. They said it lost weight abruptly for no reason. There was one, it forgot what it was by now. But that was ok, it didn’t need to know anything.

In fact, Phantom was starting to not understand what they were saying. The words said over and over until they lost meaning. They sounded like a jumbled up noise that was sawing through its skull to cut out parts of its ears. (since when were they so pointy?)

It was normal. The pain was normal by now. It wasn’t registering as much as it had before. Phantom thinks it's shutting down. Maybe it’s fading. Maybe it’s Ending. That wouldn’t be so bad. There wasn’t a point to stay. There was no escaping unscathed from the beginning. Where did it even start?

If it was, then would it be so bad to see something other than white? Please. Just not white. No more white. It can’t do it anymore.

It heard some rushed shuffling. It was that dreaded static zipping that brought it to reality. It was that pain, that anticipation. This was it. This was it. This was it!

Once. Just once. Phantom will let every defense down just once. Do it. Please do it. Electrocute him. It wouldn’t take much, even a static shock would be enough in its current state.

It felt this fear, this anticipation before. It felt it each time it went down those stairs. It felt it at the sight of green. It felt it when dark clouds clustered together and rumbled. It felt it when they powered up the machine. It felt it, it felt it, it felt it.

Just once. A lightning bolt, the static leftovers from friction, the waves of electricity used for that portal, those electric rods .

Its vision was blurring. Its voice was trying to tear out of its throat. Its body was struggling to get away.

No

                                                                                                                  NO

                                            No

    NO

                          No

                                                                               NO

                                                                                            No

                                                     No

                  NO

NO

No                                                                                                                               

                                                  NO

NO NO NO                                                NO NO                                                    NO NO NO NO                  

NO NO NO NO                                          NO NO                                            NO NO                NO NO           

NO NO NO NO NO                                    NO NO                                         NO NO                       NO NO       

NO NO           NO NO                                NO NO                                     NO NO                             NO NO     

NO NO                NO NO                           NO NO                                    NO NO                                NO NO   

NO NO                     NO NO                      NO NO                                    NO NO                                NO NO   

NO NO                         NO NO                  NO NO                                    NO NO                                NO NO   

NO NO                             NO NO              NO NO                                     NO NO                             NO NO     

NO NO                                    NO NO NO NO NO                                         NO NO                       NO NO       

NO NO                                          NO NO NO NO                                            NO NO                NO NO           

NO NO                                                NO NO NO                                                    NO NO NO NO                  

NO

NONONO

NONONONONO

NONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

                                    NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO                                      NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

  NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO    NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

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Please

k̸̛̛͙͍̦͆͆͌̀͑̌̐͒̀̂̍̑͆̒̄͗́͛̈́̏̄̐̿̂̎͆̑͋̒͌̿̓̑͆̋̔͊̚͘̚͝͠͠į̴̧̢͖̮̥͕͕͖̹̥͈̜̲͖̱̰̺͔͇̉̇̏̀͗̍̇̄̋́̄̈͊̌̀̍͌̈́̅̀̿̓̂̒̅͂́̀͊̈͑̓̄̉̇̀̄̏́͌̕͝͝͠͠ĺ̶̮͈̪͔̹̬͓̅̊̽̏͊͛̎̎͂͊̎͌̐̅̈́̇͑́̃̃̓͌͝͝͝l̶̨̧̧̨̨̫̞̮̪̮̦͈̺͕̭̠̯͉̼͎̘̖͔͉͉̠̹̻̫͉͉͇̑̏̐͗͂͊̿̿̉̽̇͛̓̾͒̂͑̂̎̀̂̀̑̄̈́̉̈́͗͆̔̈͂͐͑̊̊͒͛͌̽́́͊̆̆͛̀̕̕̚̚͝͝ ̶̨̛͚̱̯̩̻͔͓̟͛͒̌̅̓̾͊̔̔̅͋͛̓̎̑m̵̛̛̳͈̺̰͂̓͛̇̋̋̄́̆͌̒̈̄̅͋̊̑̈́͌͛̌̓̔̿̊̋̌̎̄̈̈́͐̔̚̚͘͠͝͝͠͝e̸̛̬̤̩̜͓͕̻͖̱̞̻͔̰̽͗̈̑̑̑̊̀͂͋̌̋̓́̔̑̄̈́̊͑̇̄̊͆̋́͛̑̈́̅̈́̋̎̈́̎̎͆̒͘͝͠

s̵̡̡̨̧͖̭̗͎̝̪̣͍͈̝͎̳͇͍̰̓͊́̐̅̃̌̈́̓̀̊̒̄̌́́̿͘͠ȧ̴̺͈̬̖̠̠̻̍̋̓̓͜͜͠͠v̶̢̡͔͙̫̞̪̫̯͙̼̤̺̠̩̖̏̀̂̉̓͐̿͊̊̏͊̽̀̊̽̚͝͠ͅę̷̢̢͇͖͎͍̞̱̥̳̗͍͖̣͙̻̲̻̈́̈́̓͗͗͐̅̀̈̇͌̈́̓̅̈́̈̿̆͌͊̾͘̕͜ͅ ̸̡̼͔̩͍̻̱̝́̔̋̉͂͆̃̐̂͌͝͝͝͝͠͝͝m̵̫̺̦̪͂͒̿̿͛̈́̾͗̌̅͒̕̚͝ȩ̷̻͉̝̦̥̙̩̌͆̈́͂̄̂̔̀̈́̔͛͛͊͌̕͝͝͠

Chapter Text

[ “Overhaul has fallen” ]

[ “What’s happening to Deku?” ]

[ “Eri’s horn is glowing, someone get Eraserhead!” ]

[ “Immediate medical attention needed for Sir Nighteye.” ]

[ “The girl is now secured, sending in the healers and police now.” ]

The halls were quiet. Echoes of footsteps and light panting was all the noise present.

[ “Suneater has been found. There are signs of malnutrition and internal blood loss. ]

Fat Gum knew he shouldn’t help with the sweep. He should’ve gone with Red Riot for more advanced medical attention, should’ve gone to check on Suneater, should’ve- should’ve taken a break.

[ “Red Riot and Fat Gum have been found with 2 villains. Fat Gum will be assisting with the sweep.” ]

The battle was over. The remains of the building and the secret passageways were a mess. The pro-hero was sure that most of it was altered permanently. Maybe even a few more secret rooms and passageways. He wouldn’t be surprised and it was all the more reason to go back from where he came from and get out of the most likely unstable wreckage.

[ “Overhaul has been secured.” ]

But there was this nagging feeling.

[ “Rock Lock has been found.” ]

A gut instinct.

[ “We need more ambulances.” ]

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Fat Gum tensed, hurrying his pace to the door just a few feet away. He reached for the doorknob, unsurprised when he found it was locked. He backed away from the door and inhaled deeply before running up and slamming himself into the door. There was a creak of metal. Not enough.

He tried again and again until it finally fell. But the sight and sound wasn’t welcoming.

Splash.

Green. There was green liquid that was pooling on the tiled floor. The door had only made it spread more, staining the walls.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was the young boy strapped down on a metal table. A surgical table. His chest cavity was spread wide open and incision wounds all over his naked body.

Green. Green liquid was coming out of his body.

“Shit!”

Fat Gum rushed forward, swallowing back the bile going up his throat. The boy was still alive. He could see his heart beating.

He fumbled around with the first aid kit he carried with him but soon got out the materials needed for stitches. He needed staples, surgery, why were his organs out of place- they aren’t even fully attached to his body!

“I need immediate evac! I found another kid!”

Chapter Text

Another kid. There was another kid. Why didn’t they know? Why was there another one? Eri’s DNA was the only one used for the bullets, so who was the other one? Why was there another one?

Aizawa groaned, raising his arms and arching his back. A couple satisfying pops later, he let out a harsh huff. Any moment now, Sir Nighteye will take his last breath. Togata Mirio and Midoriya Izuku were close to him, the former even more so. That’s not even mentioning the ones who found the pro-hero, that sight wasn’t something 1st years should see so early. None of the things they’ve seen and experienced were supposed to happen.

Nezu already had councilors on stand-by, they were meant for the 3rd and 2nd years. Clearly, this year wasn’t going as planned and the 1st years needed to be trained harder. An archnemesis, it’s insane that All Might brought trouble to literal teenagers.

Though, with how things are going, it’s starting to look like things are building up to something big. Without all this, they might’ve not started pushing these kids for on field experience so soon. Without it, they might’ve gotten caught off guard during a large-scale tragedy like-... It’s unfortunate, but they’re more prepared. They won’t freeze up as much as others would, as much as some professionals have.

But this is another matter. Yes, hero students are one thing, but kids? What are small, fragile kids with underdeveloped quirks that they’ve never had time to truly learn how to control. Eri… Eri was dangerous, but many people were. The only reason he was in the hospital was because they had to be ready in case her quirk goes off. Their predictions so far were that her horn is the visible indicator of her quirk activating.

That didn’t mean that it couldn’t be activated without it getting to full grown. That didn’t mean that outside factors could hasten or slow down the build up to then. For all they knew, it will forcefully activate her quirk when the max energy is accumulated, and that it’s shown through her horn.

But that was Eri. The other kid had a quirk. Self-regeneration, the doctors presume. Many parts of his body were mutilated. And just like Eri, he was most likely awake for the process. But unlike her, they really dug into his body. Tissues pulled apart, organs removed, things injected into him that prohibited his quirk from healing him.

According to the doctors, surgery was going to be needed repeatedly, and his recovery time was going to be extremely long. The organs that were in his body weren’t many and they had to look for transplants. They also had to remove some of the remaining organs and areas where the unknown poison was injected, as they noticed that it was spreading at a fast rate and causing internal bleeding. Not only that but his brain was regrowing, and they saw signs of his spine having undergone some regrowth too.

It was sickening, and he was just hearing about it with just a glimpse of the boy when he was asleep in the medical bed. He was sure a few doctors had requested to change patients. He knew that the poison was getting researched thoroughly. They needed to know what it was and if it only applied to him or others as well. He wasn’t sure which would be better.

“Eraserhead!”

That was his cue again.

- - -

It turns out that the anesthesia and pain medication only worked because his body was preoccupied with the poison and regeneration of his body. Now that they’ve removed the poisoned areas they could and sewed up many open incisions and wounds, his blood was flowing more freely and his regen quirk was working much more quickly. But that also meant that it fought back any other foreign substances like anesthesia.

They were lucky to discover this through their scheduled blood tests. The medication, which should’ve taken 2 days to fully have out of his system, had entirely vanished. Metabolized entirely.

They took another blood test and discovered that it took 8 hours to eat away at the anesthesia and convert it into something similar to an immune cell. Upon further testing, the cell was self-sacrificial to slow down the growth and spread of foreign bacteria. That must’ve been why the developing infection they first saw back when the poison was in his system was now gone.

God, with a quirk like this, what could he have endured? What had completely healed over by now? And for fuck’s sake, what the hell was that fucking poison made out of?!

- - -

A seizure. The kid had a seizure. But that wasn't the worst part of it. The boy flickered. He flickered out of the visual color spectrum a few seconds into the seizure.

That was 2 quirks, 3 if his slowly glowing brighter appearance was counted as well. Or it appeared that way, at least. They were suspecting a multi-ability quirk. One that had many outlets but could easily be classified into a single quirk.

Currently, they were stumped. High tier self-healing and theorized on-command invisibility had nothing in common. Not obviously so at the very least. And nobody but Principal Nezu were the type to be able to theorize to the point of bordering conspiracy.

Because of this, a new protocol was added. They must treat the boy more cautiously. Not for their safety, no. But for the boy’s. Clearly, his abilities are for self-defense. His regen ability kicked in because he was injured and his flickering, as they call it, was due to the seizure. They weren’t sure if there was a trigger from his body spasming a certain way or if it was the sudden spike in brain activity. All they knew for sure was that none of his current abilities have been harmful. Not truly.

But that’s why they had to be careful. If his body deems a treatment as a threat and accidentally jeopardizes his health by activating his quirk at the wrong time, it wouldn’t end well. They couldn’t just call Eraserhead during surgery and expect him to rush into the room by the 3 second mark tops. Yes, they have a window, but what if they accidentally get in his way? What is the distance limit? And how could they ever subject the hero to a sight like that when they’re always the reckless type? The type to jump in the moment they believe a patient has become a victim.

They’ve seen it happen. They’ve had to hold down pro-heroes plenty of times before, whether it was to treat them, victims, criminals, or villains. They were always the rowdy types. Some even needed to be sedated.

And nobody doubts that Eraserhead would be the type to rush in. Yes, he’s one of the most levelheaded heroes, Underground heroes tend to be that way, but he was also a teacher. He was also a survivor. He was also a very empathetic and determined individual. He’d break through the quirk-proof and bullet-proof glass somehow. They wouldn’t put it above him to pull off.

“The boy fell through the floor!”

Shit-

Chapter Text

If Aizawa weren’t happily married and Sir Nighteye wasn’t dead, he’d propose to the man. They just dodged the largest bullet because of how meticulous, spiteful, and petty of a man he was. Nobody could’ve blamed him and honestly, not many people saw it coming.

Who knew that Nighteye owned several orphanages and foster homes under his agency’s name??? Not Aizawa. Not most of the public either! This was a lowkey act he did as a Twilight Hero; one he made sure wouldn’t get out to the press.

But with the slightest context of the situation, they were in at this moment, Aizawa knew what it was.

Sir Nighteye had challenged the HPSC directly .

Ok, let’s go back. It started with the rescue and detain mission and didn’t end when the kids were put into the hospital for medical care. No, it only reached another hill to climb over.

The kids had no legal guardians. They had temporary ones as hospitalized victims, but that wasn’t forever. Preferably and not commonly forever, at least.

Fortunately, it was easy to keep Eri under UA watch. She needed to have her quirk erased at a moment’s notice, quirk-cancelling cuffs were unethical, and she showed clear bias in people she’ll allow near her.

The boy wasn’t so lucky in that area. Not only was the boy still receiving a multitude of treatments, needing an army of specialists , but he wasn’t at all conscious and his quirk wasn’t allowed to be erased or cancelled. So Aizawa wasn’t the trump card, the ace of the team. He couldn’t sway any opinions by mentioning his quirk. The boy couldn’t build a trust bias, he would give severe medical debt to whoever took him in, and his quirk had an extremely wide range in abilities.

So far, he only used them in self-defense. But there’s a possibility that he’ll lean towards offense the more he recovers. So that adds another layer of requirements.

The guardian needs to be rich, trained in multi-ability quirk handling, capable of combat, and have connections to a private quirk counselor that may need to be flown internationally.

UA had obviously fit the bill. But the HPSC had too. And they couldn’t reach out too far due to the entire case belonging to a Twilight hero, not a Spotlight.

That’s where Sir Nighteye came in, still being absolutely god tier in his grave.

Early in his career, as a Twilight hero leaning more into business, he had seen things. All heroes who aren’t Spotlight heroes see another side of reality and accept it in some capacity. Something mostly Japanese Underground heroes saw was more on the legal side of things.

Sir Nighteye had seen the flaws and some secrets of the HPSC.

More relevantly, he saw that the HPSC would take child victims without legal guardians or kids with a bad homelife into their false care, brainwashing them into perfect soldiers.

Aizawa speculated that Sir Nighteye knew about the assassin branch, the ones they forced towards villainy, those trained for military work, and maybe even heroes with the new one that came up: Hawks.

Sir Nighteye had led his agency with an iron fist. The staff that worked in the main building was kept to a minimum, most of the cases had him monitoring or leading them, and he was always included when they needed to act. They stook to a very strict schedule, one that left only an hour of wiggle room for overtime. This, Aizawa assumed, was to keep moles out.

(But then again, Aizawa had heard from Bubble Girl that he encouraged family time. He didn't expect that from the man, but the same could be said for himself too.)

He was a determined bastard. One that had started working on the orphanage and new fostering system since he was in his senior year, going to Nezu directly for his plans. It was only when he finally made his agency when he finally made his dream a reality.

Aizawa saw it in the documents. He saw how he built up the finances exponentially and how much he set aside for all sorts of situations. He saw that the Nighteye Agency wasn’t the only ones who owned it, though they were the caretaker, but also the few existing Japanese Underground agencies, All Might’s agency, UA, a multitude of healthcare facilities, the Healer Center agency, and even Endeavor Agency.

Sir Nighteye had established an entire system and facility dedicated to orphaned victims that heroes saved or found. They had teams of lawyers, trusted staff and social workers of all kinds, and more than enough money to support the entire thing for at least 2 decades after paying for the boy’s estimated medical care plan.

It was more than impressive; it was a goddamn miracle. One that saved the boy from going into the HPSC’s greedy hands for at least the coming months. Yes, they still needed to sort out his living situation, but he wasn’t even awake for the HPSC to use that in court. It wasn’t relevant. Even the jury had agreed that the boy didn’t seem like he could even wake up until next year with the damage he had. If it wasn’t for the slight movements of his body and the crazy high level of self-healing, they’d believe he was on his deathbed.

So yes, they dodged a huge bullet with Sir Nighteye having an orphanage and fostering system under his agency’s name. The agency’s custody was only solidified and reinforced by the fact that the boy was from Sir Nighteye’s case. Not an employee, not another hero, but Sir Nighteye himself.

The kids were legally safe, and they will eventually be physically and emotionally safe soon enough. Eri needed some more adjustment, as she would be coming home with Aizawa and Hizashi soon, but she’ll be talking with Hound Dog once she’s a little more comfortable with them.

And the boy? The boy was on his way to recovery. Some of the transplant surgeries have been done and successful judging by the lack of rejection. His healing was putting more effort on organ integration, his nervous system, and the associate areas of his brain now. The poison hadn’t been identified yet. According to the forensics team, they had to reach out to horticulture majors of several kinds to find extinct plants.

Things were looking up. The School Festival would be coming soon, his students were finishing up their remedial course, and the boy seemed to be on his way to a speedier recovery.

- - -

Well, it looked up until it didn’t.

“I left him, I left him alone! Somebody else was in there and I didn’t know! I- he- what if he- they-”

Aizawa heard Tsukauchi curse under his breath while he ran into the room. It turned out that Eri hadn’t known about the boy. She was in a state of full panic, wrangling all of the blame on herself for the damage dealt on the boy.

Overhaul might’ve been so angered by her that he let it out on the boy. By playing along, she had inadvertently caused more of the attention to go on the other victim.

She was spiraling, hyperventilating and her horn growing faster. Aizawa quickly activated his quirk, but it didn’t work. She wasn’t using her quirk, it was naturally accumulating due to the stress. He signalled Tsukauchi to get out of there quickly, right on time before her quirk activated on the room. He was able to erase it, hearing a soft snap of electricity before she passed out in his arms.

He looked around, seeing that the walls looked less dusty and the paint job the slightest bit brighter. He sighed and picked her up, walking out of the room and to the detective.

“Sorry, Eraserhead. I didn’t mean to-”

“Don’t. We’ll just have another thing to sort out with Hound Dog. I think that’s enough questioning for her on anything. I’m going to go and call Mic. Check in on the boy.”

“Right…”

They still had a lot of work to do. Helping Eri and the boy was just a single bullet point on their list. So was taking down the LoV.

“I think Sir Nighteye also had a villain redemption center under his agency’s name too.”

Chapter Text

Eri had really wanted to see the boy.

She started getting new nightmares. Nightmares about what had happened to her were instead done on the boy. Each time she cried, he’d scream. When she ran, he exploded in blood like someone who tried to help her in the past.

She somewhat knew what he looked like from the descriptions given to her. White hair, sickly pale skin a little lighter than hers, neon green eyes, and freckles. She heard about him. She heard it from the doctors that talked to Aizawa right outside her hospital room. He bled green. He was poisoned. He could heal insanely fast, but only if he’s not poisoned.

That was all she needed to dream so vividly. And it was all she needed to throw up with both a full and empty stomach.

It was her fault. He got hurt because of her.

She kept thinking about it over and over again. Her quirk had activated three times since the questioning, not including the one that interrupted it. It was exhausting and the food that wouldn’t stay down or even going in didn’t help with that.

Everything was becoming fuzzy, and she felt time become meaningless. It was like everything was on repeat, like it was all the same and it’s been like that for eons. Like she was stuck there watching the other kid scream and cry in pain until he couldn’t because he was in shock.

She wished that he’d stop screaming and crying forever. But that would only happen if he died. That was a better option though, wasn’t it? She can’t even save herself; how would she save him?

But how would she be able to pull it off?

She’d have to find a way to get to him. Running away only to find him. He’d get hurt because of her and she’d be punished, but that was fine. It was fine because she’ll stop it from happening again. He won’t be hurt again. She won’t let that happen. She just had to find him.

It wouldn’t be hard to snatch one of the scalpels. The scissors would work too, she’d just have to put more force into whatever she had to do. She’d make a trail of some blood, making it look like she tried to escape again. She’d find the boy in 1 of 3 places. And once he was dead, she’d run. She’d run for real and make sure Chisaki couldn’t get to her in time to revive her.

Right, right. First, she had to find him. Where was he? Where… Where was she? It didn’t look like her room. Where did the creepy barbie dolls go? And her puzzles that she broke down over because her hands wouldn’t stop shaking to put the piece down? Where was she? How much time passed?

She didn’t know when she lost her sense of time, she didn’t know what was happening around her until she saw green. Forest green eyes and curly hair. The freckles and the weirdly funny shirt that labeled itself as pants.

“Eri?”

And that’s when it all came back to her.

She was saved. She was saved and he wasn’t. He wasn’t because they didn’t know about him. They didn’t know about him because Eri didn’t either. She didn’t try to help him escape. She didn’t try to bring him along at all.

She wasn’t enough. She couldn’t ever be enough. She wouldn’t know before it was time.

Time.

Time.

Time.

That was always the problem. She wasn't fast enough, she didn’t pick the right time, she was too slow, she couldn’t find the right words in time, she didn’t ever know until it was time.

Too late.

Something in her told her that she let it happen. That it was better that way. She abandoned him because it would end better.

How was it better? It wasn't better!

When hands squeezed her shoulders lightly, she snapped out of it with a gasp.

“Danny-” She choked on air and cried, “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want to!”

“You didn’t know-”

“NO! No no no no nonononononono!” She choked on another gasp of air only to gag, but there was nothing in her stomach.

“You need to breathe, Eri! You can’t- you can’t save him if you can’t calm down. If you can’t breathe, then you’ll die.”

Die, die, die. She wants to. Then she won’t be stuck in that place. Cuts cuts and more cuts. Then white, because it’s always like that. It too bright, all fuzzy. Her eyes can’t focus well, it’s too loud, too quiet, it doesn’t feel like anything then all the pain shrieks-

“Midoriya!”

…

Midoriya. Midoriya was Deku’s name, right? She didn’t know that before. Why does she-

“Listen to me, Eri. You have to breathe. Stay with me. Don’t think- don’t think about anything else. Just focus on breathing. Then we’ll go see him.”

“Save Danny?”

She has to. She couldn’t before. The foggy feeling tells her that someone else didn’t even bother to. Someone just like her but better worse. That he was here because of someone else. Someone right there.

She looked up, really looked, and saw Deku. He smiled hopefully, desperately.

“Yeah. We can go to him. We can see how he’s doing. We got him out but if you think it’s not safe, we can move him to somewhere better. But that’s only if you’re strong enough to.”

“Strong enough? Do I have to train like you do? I don’t have to kill him?”

Deku’s eyes went wide, skin paling. She distantly heard stuttering breath and cursing.

“No no! You don’t- W-why do you even-”

“That’s the only way out! I-I can’t-” She wasn’t in that place. She was saved. She was saved. She was saved. “I couldn’t even get myself out, how can I save both of us?”

Deku’s eyes looked shiny, the rims becoming red.

“Eri, can I hug you?”

Eri bit the inside of her cheek.

“What does that have to do with saving Danny?”

“Please?”

Eri hesitated but nodded. Deku hugged her gently, taking shaky breaths.

“You- you don’t have to do that. Overhaul lost and the heroes won. We were able to save you and- and Danny. He’s still hurt. Really hurt. But he’s safe. He’s in the hospital, sleeping.”

And that was a relief. She knew it, she knew he was okay, but she didn’t believe it. It was too good to be true. She wasn’t that lucky.

“...Then what type of strong do I need to get if I don’t have to fight him?” Eri whispered.

“Enough that you won’t go back to the hospital for hurting yourself.”

“Hurting myself?”

“Eri, you aren’t getting any sleep or eating at all. Mr. Aizawa called me because you started hallucinating and didn’t see or hear them at all.”

“Aizawa…?”

Eri looked around and found herself somewhere she vaguely recognized. She found Aizawa holding a frantic Hizashi, both looking very worried. And they never showed their worry in front of people, especially Aizawa.

She looked back at Deku and gave him a hug back.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s-... I’m not going to say it was ok. You really scared us. But we aren’t going to hurt you, lock you up, or anything like that.”

She relaxed further in his arms. She felt so dizzy now.

“All that we need you to do is eat and sleep. When you do enough of that, we’ll take you to Danny, ok?”

“Ok… I think I’m going to start now…”

She heard a light chuckle.

“I think so too. I don’t know if I’ll be here when you wake up, but please eat when you do.”

“M’kay.”

Midoriya didn’t expect to be called over to Aizawa’s house. He wasn’t at all prepared to find a blond man there. (Was that his roommate or lover?)

But he wasn’t there for them. No, he was there because Eri had started to hallucinate and started mumbling things about scalpels and scissors, ending up with Yamada-san finding her reaching for one of the kitchen knives.

When he saw her, he saw that the visible weight she started to gain had gone away. He could see new bandages and the filed down nails that used to be a bit longer. He could see the heavy eyebags and her dry lips. He could see how wobbly she was and how she swayed and shook when she walked over to the living room by hand.

“Oh my god, Eri-”

He ignored Mr. Aizawa and Yamada-san, rushing over to her, kneeling down.

“Eri?” She was silent. “Please Eri, it’s me, Deku. I saved you from OVerhaul, remember?”

He looked at the other 2 for a moment before taking a breath and reaching out to Eri, holding her hands with a light grip. Her breathing rhythm changed. She blinked for an elongated time, dry eyes most likely, before she looked at him. Really looked at him.

“Eri?” He called out hesitantly.

Her mouth opened and nearly closed a few times, before one of her hands lifted to her horn. Her eyes were glazed over again, darting around as if trying to comprehend something.

“It was easier, how could it be easier?” She mumbled.

Her breathing became quicker, she was starting to hyperventilate.

He moved his hand to her shoulders, gripping them a bit tighter than he had her hands.

“Eri-”

“Danny-” She choked on air and cried, “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want to!”

Danny, who the fuck was Danny? Is he the other kid they saved?

“You didn’t know-”

“NO! No no no no nonononononono!” She wouldn’t screamed if she wasn’t forcing out air she didn’t have in her lungs.

It was scaring him; it was scaring everyone. He could see Yamada-san dialing a number as he rushed for the very apparently advanced med kit. Aizawa was probably close to rushing over and shoving Midoriya aside.

Fuck, he had to do something. What- what would All Might do?

Wait no, bad idea. He slapped him when he panicked about staying too long after the sludge villain attack.

Then-

Ugh, Gran Torino isn’t much better.

He has no idea what Sir Nighteye would do.

Kacchan would scream at him to snap out of it and threaten to kill him if he didn’t while setting off explosives.

Uraraka would also probably slap him.

Iida would shout for someone better suited for it if they didn’t respond to his shouting.

And Todoroki-

Actually, he might work. Fuck, he hopes Aizawa won’t be too mad at him for this.

“You need to breathe, Eri! You can’t- you can’t save him if you can’t calm down. If you can’t breathe, then you’ll die.”

“MIDORIYA!” Aizawa shouted.

He flinched inwards.

“Sorry Mr. Aizawa, but we really don’t have many options if we don’t want to take her to the hospital!”

“Listen to me, Eri. You have to breathe. Stay with me. Don’t think- don’t think about anything else. Just focus on breathing. Then we’ll go see him.”

Todoroki would say something like that. He sort of has. He’s one for quick solutions. He’d tell him that he has to be alive to save someone. He’s blunt like that. He knows that the only real way to prove to someone that someone else is okay is by letting them see the person.  It’s a simple solution. Quick and easy. But they wouldn’t be able to do that if they suffocate to death

And judging by her breathing becoming a bit better, it was working.

“Save Danny?” She rasped out.

"Thank fuck-"

“Yeah. We can go to him. We can see how he’s doing.” He’s starting to ramble a bit, say something different Izuku! “We got him out but if you think it’s not safe, we can move him to somewhere better. But that’s only if you’re strong enough to.”

He was pulling on loose strings, but really, he was desperate. 

“Strong enough? Do I have to train like you do? I don’t have to kill him?”

“WHAT?!”

He could hear Yamada-san’s phone drop on the counter with a shuddering gasp and Aizawa swear up a storm.

“No no! You don’t- W-why do you even-” Why was she even thinking that?!?!

“That’s the only way out! I-I can’t-” She was barely able to breathe, but she was choking as much anymore. “I couldn’t even get myself out, how can I save both of us?”

And oh.

Oh Eri…

Has she been thinking this entire time that she was still in there? The knife, scissors, and scalpel made sense. She probably still doesn’t think she’s out of there yet.

“Eri, can I hug you?”

Eri bit the inside of her cheek, a nervous tic she had.

“What does that have to do with saving Danny?”

Fuck.

“Please?” Please please please just go along with it, I don’t know what I’m doing-

Eri hesitated but nodded. Midoriya hugged her gently, taking shaky breaths as he tried to push the thought of her killing someone to get out.

“You- you don’t have to do that.” For my sake, please don’t say that ever again- “Overhaul lost, and the heroes won. We were able to save you and- and Danny. He’s still hurt. Really hurt. But he’s safe. He’s in the hospital, sleeping.”

He could feel her become less tense. It was working, Todoroki’s way had worked.

“...Then what type of strong do I need to get if I don’t have to fight him?” Eri’s voice was barely a whisper with how hard she was still breathing,

“Enough that you won’t go back to the hospital for hurting yourself.”

“Hurting myself?”

"C’mon Todoroki, don’t fail me now!"

“Eri, you aren’t getting any sleep or eating at all. Mr. Aizawa called me because you started hallucinating and didn’t see or hear them at all.”

He could feel Mr. Aizawa’s glare.

“Aizawa…?”

Eri looked around and seemed to just take in her surroundings. He was right, she didn’t notice where she was and was just now seeing Mr. Aizawa and Yamada-san. She wore an ashamed expression when she looked back at him, her heavy breathing closer to normal.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s-...”He can’t lie about this, Todoroki wouldn’t. “I’m not going to say it was ok. You really scared us. But we aren’t going to hurt you, lock you up, or anything like that.”

She relaxed further in his arms, leaning most of her weight on him

“All that we need you to do is eat and sleep. When you do enough of that, we’ll take you to Danny, ok?”

She nodded slightly but looked pretty out of it that he doubted she even knew she non-verbally answered.

“Ok… I think I’m going to start now…”

Midoriya couldn’t help but let out a small laugh of relief.

“I think so too. I don’t know if I’ll be here when you wake up, but please eat when you do.”

“M’kay.”

And then she was out like a light. He gently moved her to the couch, resting a blanket on her. After giving her a few seconds, he let out a soul-deep sigh of relief.

“Oh my god, Thank you Todoroki-”

“Should he be the one I should talk to for talking like that?”

“Eep!” He jolted and turned to his teacher that he forgot was there for a moment. “I-I’m sorry, Mr. Aizawa, I just didn’t know what to do! Mom would just panic and scream for help, All Might slapped me awake one time when I fainted, Gran Torino and Uraraka would do the same thing, Kacchan threatened to kill me if I didn’t calm down, and Iida would get someone else- but both of you, no offense, but both of you couldn’t snap her out of it and the only other person I could think of was Todoroki. He’s blunt and to the point but he cuts through so quickly that you’re sort of put to shock at the audacity that you end up snapping out of it and paying attention and-”

A soft laugh cut him off and he turned to Yamada-san, who was getting glared at by Mr. Aizawa.

“You have to admit, that does sound like something Todoroki would do.” He shrugged while looking at Mr. Aizawa with a grin. He then turned to Midoriya. “I’ve had to do that a few times to get this one” He pointed a thumb towards Aizawa’s direction, “to calm down. It’s good for those who tend to blame themselves or think that all the responsibility falls on them. You did good. Just know that it won’t work for everyone. I’m sure UA teaches something about that. What year is that usually?”

Aizawa let out a sigh.

“Late into the 2nd. They already have their licenses even though that’s not supposed to happen until later than said course. Unfortunately, due to the League of Villains, we’re prioritizing combat, quirk strength and utility. We won’t be going into that until that threat is taken down.”

Midoriya took a steadying breath.

How much of his school life has been rushed through? If this wasn’t supposed to be what their school life was like, then does that mean that they could possibly graduate early? Or maybe they’d end up learning how to make and lead an agency. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of his class groups up to make one. They’d probably end up having to talk to other classes too. Hero work wasn’t just about patrolling, there was paperwork too according to-... According to Sir Nighteye.

“Midoriya, don’t get lost in your head too. We just got Eri out of hers.”

Midoriya jumped.

“Sorry!”

Yamada-san side-eyed Mr. Aizawa but smiled over at him.

“It’s okay, little listener. Would you like some hot cocoa?”

“I-if that’s okay.”

“3 hot cocoas coming up!”

When he left, Mr. Aizawa signaled him to sit down. He sat down by Eri’s feet and Mr. Aizawa on another couch.

“Thank you for coming on short notice and helping her. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you did snap her out of it.”

Midoriya hesitantly nodded.

“I-it was no problem. She-... She hasn't been saved yet.” He looked down at his hands that rested on his lap. “We might’ve gotten her away from Overhaul, but she’s still hurt. She hasn’t even smiled once even when she’s happy. And all of this just proves that she still is saved.” He clenched his hand into a fist. “I’m going to get her to smile and finally be free from him. I’m going to make her believe that she really got away, that she’s safe and won’t ever go back.”

He has to, because otherwise… otherwise, he never actually saved her. She’s still trapped in Overhaul’s talons, clawed and torn apart from the inside out. She’s going to get herself killed and he’s scared that she’s going to be the one to do it. And he knows that she thought of it. You can’t go through the things she had and not think that even for a moment.

He knows that.

He knows that personally.

Even now…

Even now, he has bad days that end up like that.

He won’t let her die from something like that. He won’t let her hold a knife to her wrist and go through the pros and cons. He won’t let her stand at the edge of a building with a locked door and no way down and contemplate whether jumping or trust falling backwards would scare her less.

No, he won’t let her get to that point.

She’s safe and she’ll stay safe.

He’ll make sure of it.

Chapter Text

BANG!

What if it wasn’t temporary?

What if it wasn’t a dart at all?

Quirkless, he’d be quirkless. But that didn’t really mean much at all, did it? That guy was fighting quirkless and he still got a hit in. A hit that could’ve been fatal.

If it wasn't a dart.

If the bullet went somewhere else. Headshot, straight through the heart, his stomach-

Even if it was just a limb, he would've had more bullets. Amajiki reacted better because it didn’t hurt as much, it was just the shock getting to him. But if it wasn’t, if it hurt like a genuine bullet wound, if his blood was pouring out fast because the bullet nicked or shot through an artery-

Just a fraction of a second, another bullet would be shot.

BANG!

Kirishima wasn’t sturdy enough.

If he had better footing, he could’ve prevented it all.

If he was faster, he could’ve had enough time to adjust his stance.

Because if that wasn’t a temporary, if it wasn’t a dart, if it didn’t hit his arm- if it was an ordinary bullet, if the trajectory was just right, Amajiki could’ve died.

That first shot would’ve killed him.

If he wasn’t fast enough, if he hadn’t noticed, if he couldn’t move in time, if he focused on the villain-

If he was the same person as the Kirishima during the USJ Attack, Amajiki could’ve died. If he jumped after the villain, naive and inexperienced, ignoring the literal pro-hero who would’ve been able to land an effective attack- He could’ve gotten his whole class killed just like he could’ve killed Amajiki.

BANG!

A lot of people wouldn’t like how much Kirishima dwelled on his mistakes. Mr. Aizawa would probably agree that he was wrong for what he did, but then say to look towards the future, that it wasn’t fucked over and that he could do something differently.

Crimson Riot wouldn’t think like this either. But he can’t. He can’t be like him right now. He can’t ever be like All Might either. He can’t because he shouldn’t.

He’s a pessimist and a coward. He couldn’t even attempt to save Mina, couldn’t think rationally in the USJ, and couldn’t shield someone with stable footing in the seconds he had.

He grew up weak. He grew up looking up to All Might but turning to Crimson Riot because All Might might as well have been a fictional character. Crimson Riot was more realistic. Crimson Riot was more willing to share what led him to success.

Kirishima remembered the recording of that one interview that talked about his hairstyle. How he changed it from shooting up to shooting forward. He spoke about how it was an intimidation tactic, that it gave him more height. It gave him more power, more courage, it made him feel the need to be more confident.

Crimson Riot spoke about how he was secure about his current position as a hero. That he didn’t feel the need to make up for any shortcomings when he had all that he needed.

Kirishima really understood what he meant when he decided to change. He felt like eyes were on him all the time. It made him pay more attention to his brave persona, the bright and sunny student, the upcoming hero student who was ready to get out there.

He understood when he changed his hair and straightened his back. When he’d try over and over to look people in the eye. When he would step in between Bakugou and his newest victim to serve as his leash or as a mediator.

He was Red Riot! An optimist, the courageous shield, the hero who’d protect those who couldn’t help themselves!

BANG!

But he can’t be Red Riot right now. He can’t look at the bright side and there isn’t some villain to fight.

There was just a kid. A victim. A small boy just like he was. A kid who Fat Gum found with more wounds than he thought Eri would have when they found out that she was being harvested.

Fat Gum couldn’t just visit, not with the kid under intense quarantine due to how severe his injuries were. That’s not even mentioning how he was in and out of surgery.

And just a few days ago, Midoriya had rushed out of the dorms. When he came back, he confided in Uraraka, Tsu, and Kirishima. He talked about Eri and her breakdown. How she still believed she was stuck there. How she believed that desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Mr. Aizawa said that it wasn’t possible to visit him yet. He’s healing faster, but the doctors are worried that any contact would make his quirk go on the defensive and end up hurting him.” Midoriya shared, eyes haunted by the memory of what happened only hours ago.

Kirishima couldn’t see Eri’s current state, but he could see Fat Gum’s. He had to take a break from work. Had been visiting his therapist on a daily basis according to Amajiki, who accompanied him often. He wasn’t eating or sleeping well either.

An intervention was needed and Red Riot couldn’t do shit about it. And you’d think that Midoriya would’ve done something, or maybe even Mirio, but Midoriya was already on thin ice. Thinner than what he had.

BANG!

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.

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.

“His name is Danny.”

It was just like that villain said. Red Riot was just a shield.

The kid, Danny, didn’t need that. Neither did Eri or Fat Gum. What they needed was news. What they needed was trust. What they needed was a little recklessness.

And really, if this wasn’t allowed, they should’ve said something. Haven’t the pros and teachers learned that by now?

- - -

“I can’t believe you dragged me into this…” Amajiki whined.

Kirishima held back a sigh and an eye roll. Really, the complaining gets old after a little while. Doesn’t help that he’s not using Red Riot at the moment. Hair down, no costume, no bright attitude.

“You’re as worried about Fat Gum as I am. This is the only way I could see him being able to get better. Seeing is believing, right?”

“Right…”

Kirishima looked at the apartment door. Fat Gum- Taishiro Toyomitsu’s home address. One that he had gotten from Fat Gum’s agency computers with a little bit of help and manipulation. But it was all for the greater good. He did worse before, he went to save Bakugou when a legendary villain and his very murderous league were holding his best friend hostage. Really, there wasn’t much that could one up that.

Technical hacking to get his mentor’s home address to drive him to meet the kid he saved couldn’t even scratch the surface of it.

Kirishima rang the bell and waited with Amajiki, who was leaning on the wall. It didn’t take long for Toyomitsu to answer. And man, was that guy haggard. Deep dark eyebags, pale, gaunt, long enough stubble to style, and dirty clothing. Absolute mess. Yeah, like hell he was going to see Danny like that.

“Kirishima? Amajiki? What are you two doing here?”

Kirishima didn’t bother to mind his manners, walking straight through the door and grabbing Toyomitsu’s sleeve to drag him along.

“Wha-”

“We are here to get you ready to visit Danny.”

“Who-”

“But first! You have to go shower and change. We can handle the house cleaning later!”

“Would you-”

Kirishima smiled when he found the bathroom and promptly shoved Toyomitsu in before shutting the door.

“Get to, Toyomitsu, sir! We have a lot to do and not enough time! We have about an hour until our appointment!”

Yes, he did check in with the hospital first. Took a very well worded email to Principal Nezu and a very scary interrogation from Danny’s main social worker, but he got the appointment.

But seriously, they couldn’t go anywhere with Toyomitsu looking like that. The social worker would sneer and the nurse would snarl with his sharp piranha teeth. Or maybe it would be the other nurse with the scary eyes who never blinked. Fuck no. He isn’t risking his life like that. Uh-uh.

Amajiki made his way in just as Kirishima walked over to the kitchen.

“A-are you sure this is legal?”

“I’m absolutely sure it isn’t, but who has to know?”

“Oh my god, I’m a criminal-”

Aaaaaand he isn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. No sir-ee.

He sifted through the kitchen, sorting through the expired food and then washing some dishes. He somehow coaxed Amajiki into washing the rest of the dishes, though he was sure that the third year wasn’t fully there during that whole process. Oh well.

As Amajiki did that, he called an uber and prepaid with the gift card Principal Nezu gave him. Like he already knew that Amajiki wouldn’t be able to drive them. Not the best idea to go for public transport with people in shock either.

Eventually, Toyomitsu was out of the shower. About 10 minutes later, he entered the kitchen dressed and more or less groomed. His hair was brushed, but he didn’t do shit about the stubble. Whatever, that wasn’t important.

“Great! Just in time for the uber!”

- - -

Maybe he gave villains too much credit. Kidnapping was easier than they make it seem. He could’ve hauled a whole ass pro-hero out of the city if he really tried with a nearly graduated hero-in-training to boot. Skill issue, honestly.

Amajiki got less paranoid and was comforting Toyomitsu as they neared Danny’s room. It was the closest to the operating rooms and only held glass walls. The only form of privacy were curtains. Curtains that Kirishima soon found out were absent from Danny’s room, giving them a clear visual of the kid.

Toyomitsu stopped outside the room, hand on the glass and eyes tearing up. Kirishima could see the weight of anxiety roll off him as he saw the monitors track the electricity current in the boy’s body.

Danny was alive. He was safe. And while he wasn’t awake, he was on the road to recovery at a very fast rate.

The nurse, Dr. Suzu, opened the door and invited them inside. Kirishima hesitated for the first time during this whole plan, but didn’t stop. He couldn’t. Not now.

He entered the room and took his place beside Danny’s right. Toyomitsu and Amajiki went to Danny’s left. They just stood there for a while, taking in Danny’s appearance and all of the machinery attached to him. Tubes, needles, a bag on his waist region-

He watched as his mentor reached out and grabbed Danny’s hand, tears streaming freely down his face. He watched as the man thanked anyone and everyone, even gods that Kirishima could never get himself to believe in, much less thank.

He watched as Danny’s hand gripped back.

Chapter Text

When Sasaki was a little boy who was only experimenting with his quirk, he looked into the future of his pregnant cat. That night, she’d get run over by a car. He tried to keep her inside but fell asleep. Only one of her kittens survived, though with a missing leg.

Another time, he saw his neighbor break his hip while he carried groceries. He tried to help, but the man still fell and broke his hip. Sasaki had gone over as often as he could to help him as he recovered, becoming a family friend and eventually the babysitter to his niece a year later.

The only thing his quirk was good for was giving him time to brace himself. To let him have time to mourn. To give him time to prepare for the consequences following the event he saw.

He hated it. He hated how difficult it was to prevent his quirk from activating. It took time to refrain himself from using it. He was grateful for the limit at the time, it made it easier to cope when he’d accidentally see someone get shot or killed. When he’d see a crime scene or an active villain chase.

He only went to UA to become a businessman or work behind the scenes for heroes.

Then Nezu came up to him and practically coerced him into having a therapy session with Hound Dog. And as aggravating as it is, he has to admit that that session convinced him into pursuing the hero career.

He didn’t go the route that people would expect. He paid for a specialized tutor recommended by Nezu and trained with the teachers available. He didn’t step into the light in UA. He chose to sit back and take the permit and license tests without the help of the school. He was better in the shadows. Better as an informant. Better as an Underground hero.

Then he got scouted by All Might. He was the one who did things in the shadows for the man, letting All Might shine and blind people enough for him to slip away from the cameras. He did get a bit more publicity, so he had to rework his fighting style and look to match his lowkey sidekick/twilight hero position.

It really was the best position to observe All Might in complete awe. He got to see it all and even wore a smile during it all. He was also the one who started a merch franchise that actually gave profit beyond the necessities. It was a fun side project that made All Might a bit disturbed. Some of the merch did uh… get lower in quality at times.

All that time had blinded him to the reality of his quirk. And it came to a head the day All Might got badly injured fighting with his mentor against All For One. Sasaki had seen into All Might’s distant future and saw it. Saw yet another death.

Desperate, he was desperate to stop it from happening but… but he couldn’t. He knew he couldn’t no matter how much he tried. And it hurt. It hurt him badly. He lost a lot that day. He lost his childish view of All Might, the one where the man was immortal and couldn’t be defeated. He lost his friend. He lost one of the few lights in his life that still remain lit after all this time.

Maybe he lost more of himself than he had thought. It was only when Mirio came along when he felt that familiar strain of a smile, the one that had only existed back when he saw All Might on TV for the first time. He saw the shock on people’s faces when he treated Mirio with the barest hint of affection.

It was a goddamn PR nightmare and he had to go as far as to admit that he felt a father-son connection towards the student.

And then his last mission, his last rescue, his last fight, his last everything happened. Kai Chisaki, Eri, the gang, the bullets, the drugs, that whole fiasco-

It was then that he discovered that the future wasn’t set in stone like he believed. Midoriya was an outlier, someone he couldn’t predict. It was the first thing that gave him joy in his last moments. The second was that Mirio would get his quirk back and become an amazing hero.

He got to see All Might again, he got to say that he doesn’t regret anything or resent anyone. He got to share that the future could be changed with enough willpower. He got to reassure Mirio and wish him the best.

He got to see a future he wasn’t scared of.

It was everything he ever wanted. And the whole mission was a success too, everyone was safe. He was the only one who wouldn’t make it, and what a relief that was. This was the best way for him to go. This was his ideal end, surrounded by everyone he cared for, reassured about Mirio’s future, and his fear of what he thought of as the determined future torn apart. His quirk wasn’t always right, and he was so thankful that there was a possibility that All Might wouldn’t be killed. That there was a possibility that he could die of natural means. That Sasaki’s quirk wouldn’t be the reason why he died.

There was no reason not to smile as his vision blurred and he drew his last breath.