Chapter Text
Monday, you went back to work.
It’s strange – that so much can change, and the world just keeps turning. It feels like time has come to an end, until you’re on the train ride back to campus expected to work like everything is as right as rain. Expected to perform like you hadn’t just ruined one of the few truly wonderful things in your mundane life.
It was hard not falling into the pit you dug out for yourself.
But you had students to see, sessions to get through. There were more important things that required your attention than your feelings, despite it seeming like that wasn’t true. You were thankful for the busy day laid out ahead of you, you thought as you passed in the halls with your head held high, you needed a distraction from the crippling heaviness you harbored. It would be impossible to ignore this… hole in you without one, especially when you came to the dreaded, albeit obvious, realization that he would be there. Every time you went to pick up a student from his class, every time you passed him in the halls, every time you bumped into each other in the copy room. A constant reminder of what you did and who you hurt would be with you, every time you went to work.
The sound of All Might’s laugh bounced off the walls, loud and as heroic as ever. You walked faster, nails biting through the thin fabric covering the skin of your palm.
Yes, that’s right, a distraction is what you need.
You had been so... hazy these past couple days you forgot that you were finally catching up; the schedule you reworked moving things along quite nicely. Izuku Midoriya was up first today, having been one of the delayed due to the break-in, the freckled-faced boy with anxious energy and a tendency to ramble. Aizawa had made sure to fill you in on the boy’s dangerous habits, apparently, he is constantly irresponsible with his quirk – often pushing himself despite the physical injuries that accompanied its usage.
This wasn’t unheard of. Often children with mutated quirks or especially powerful gifts were met with physical repercussions before they adjusted to it or found a way to support it. That being said, it was uncommon for adolescents of his age to deal with this adjustment period, since quirks typically settle by then. You wondered if he was going through some kind of quirk mutation, and thinking about the things Bakugou mentioned, it would make sense if Midoriya had some kind of hidden ability that mutated into a more intense apparent form due to middle-stage puberty.
You were no quirk counselor or specialist, although you dabbled in quirk science during your clinicals, but it was still something to keep in mind. The physical and the psychological were often mended together, two parts of the whole picture.
Two halves of one whole.
Two forms of the same thing.
You felt your eyes sting, dipping your head.
…How could you have been so foolish? All the signs were there, but you failed to notice them, unable to connect them until the answer was presented directly in front of your face. Even when you had accidentally tapped into him, that fleeting moment with your hands on his chest - when you met your best friend for a second time, you failed to register the familiarity of his emotions. You were ashamed that you didn’t catch it before, but how could you have? For the outside eye, they were as different as day and night.
Bone and muscle.
You claimed to know him, but you couldn’t even identify feelings that were distinctly his.
He had his reasons for not sharing with you, a proper secret that could jeopardize you and himself if it got out to the wrong people, but you just couldn’t leave him alone. In an attempt to do good, you failed to see the selfishness of your own actions. You wanted to help him so bad, you ignored whatever personal reasons and limitations that were keeping him from opening up to you. You had blatantly gone through with something shady and dishonest, just pretending it wasn’t harmful if he never found out.
And for what? You were no closer to him, in fact you had effectively cleaved a gap between the two of you right after he had no doubt worked up mountains of courage to share himself with you.
A pressure washed over your sinuses, and you were suddenly hyperaware of the tightening sensation in your throat.
You thought you knew him enough to predict his level of understanding, but the truth was much sharper and more realistic than that. The reality was that, despite the late-night talks and the regrettable tricks you pulled, you never really knew him. At least not anything deeper than just past the surface.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true, not too long ago he had sat across from you and inadvertently confessed All Might’s thoughts on you – his thoughts. All Might respected you, he liked you which meant…
You had someone who adored you and you hurt him.
Disgust.
Shame.
You were a good person, weren’t you?
With sharp eyes, Inui watched as you moved past him and into your office – ears pressed flat against his skull and the scent of salt coating his tongue.
Izuku prided himself on his observational skills.
It was something of his that had developed at a very young age, bright eyes collecting data and sensing patterns others couldn’t. He had been bullied for it in grade school, being picked on for being the biggest nerd in the room. However unfair that was; he was simply more passionate about certain things than his peers – the bins of notebooks tucked under his bed and in his desk were more than enough proof of his perceptiveness. Heroics were obviously his schtick, but it bled into other aspects of his life too – showing itself in the small details and idiosyncrasies he noticed in his friends and idols.
And while he wasn’t the most skilled at social interactions, he wasn’t stupid.
He recognized the increased strain between him and Kacchan after his… attempt at a confession. After their big fight during the ‘heroes vs villains’ exercise, he felt he understood his childhood friend a little more. Kacchan felt slighted that Izuku hadn’t shared his quirk with him, so in attempt to reconcile, the freckled boy reached out and shared his secret.
That his quirk didn’t originally belong to him.
He had left out who he got his quirk from, but he believed that this would help Kacchan understand him a bit better too. An olive branch. Of course, the blond was the opposite of understanding. He hadn’t believed him; he called him a liar and accused him of hiding his power all along – somehow feeding even further into his dislike.
…So much for that.
Now, Izuku was in a difficult position where he wasn’t sure if he was happy or disappointed that Kacchan didn’t believe him. All Might had been clear that this tie between them was strictly confidential. No one could know about One for All. No one.
But… he thought he owed Kacchan an explanation.
In the end, his explanation was ruled out to be a lie, and now the boy he grew up with and admired hated him even more.
Behind him, the boy in question kicked the back of his chair. “Oi, moron! Quit muttering, I can barely hear All Might!”
Right, he was still in class.
A stuttering apology left him as he ducked his head, narrowly avoiding an explosive strike so close that he could feel the heat against the back of his neck. They were currently in foundational hero studies, covering basic search and rescue, a fumbling All Might up in front of the class attempting to get through a coherent lecture.
Field training was his forte. Actual teaching however…
He was working on it.
The larger man was scratching the back of his head, having lost his place in his notes, and Izuku flopped his head on his desk – peeking up through his folded arms.
“Ahah, like I was saying… uh… well, in the case of… um,” All Might squinted, bringing the lesson planner closer to his face. “…oh goodness, where was I–”
“Burning buildings, sir.” Chirped Momo from the back of the room.
“Yes! Thank you, young Yaoyorozu! In the case of burning buildings and urban fires it is your responsibility as a hero to ensure two things before anything else: get victims out of the building as quickly and as safely as possible and to control the spread of the fire until the firefighters arrive! What are some factors that should be taken into account when dealing with an active fire?”
Multiple hands rose.
“The type of fire?”
“That is something to take into consideration! Say, for instance, you are a hero in charge of controlling the fire you might not want to use water if it is an electric fire – as water may only cause the fire to spread more rapidly. Good thinking!”
Ashido beamed, happy to be praised.
“Anything else? Come on, put on your thinking caps, heroes!”
Iida’s hand shot up first.
“Building stability. It would be irresponsible and dangerous to simply charge into a burning building that is half-way to collapsing.”
“Another great answer—”
A gentle knock cut through the room, the rapping of knuckles on wood. Then the door slid open.
You peeked into the room, many students greeting you cheerfully as you waved. Izuku sat up, he had almost forgotten he was supposed to see you today. What time was it? Oh no, was he supposed to go before or after this class? Was he in trouble?
The freckled boy pinkened with anxiousness, eyes meeting yours, nervousness fluttering in his skin. But then… the weirdest thing happened.
“Ah,” All Might turned to you, and Izuku could swear he saw his smile change. Unnoticeable to the average eye, but Izuku was no average fan. He could replicate All Might’s every smile to the T with little to no effort, having practiced it in the mirror for years - for cons and Halloween costumes and for the sake of it, he knew what his smile looked like.
But in this moment, it almost looked…
“Is it that time already?”
“I’m afraid so.” You said professionally, flattening the non-existent wrinkles in your comfortable-looking slacks. You were wearing a sweater, thin but enough to cover your arms to your wrists, the dark color trailing all the way down to your fingertips. Gloves? Maybe you were coming down with a cold?
You paused, a twitch in your calm expression, eyes drifting to the time. “You’re ten over…”
All Might faltered, checking the clock on the wall.
“I see.”
Class 1-A glanced at each other, a tenseness settling over the room.
“I need to get started on sessions before lunch starts…”
Another nod.
“Right.”
… You weren’t looking at each other.
“…Right.”
Then just like that, almost like something clicked back into place, All Might was laughing.
“HAHAHA, silly me! I got so swept away in my teachings I didn’t realize the class period was over! All right everyone, we will pick up where we left off next time! Now, watch as I leave the room with heroic style!”
In a dramatic fashion he was strutting out of the room.
Izuku watched on, the distant sound of everyone packing and raving about All Might’s dramatic exit drowned out by his curious thoughts, noticing the way you held your head down when All Might brushed past you. He tracked the way you watched the hero disappear down the hall, a connection registering.
Sad.
All Might looked sad.
With suspicion on his mind, he packed his bag and followed you to your office. You asked how his day was going, he answered, then you walked the rest of the way in silence.
You learned a lot about Midoriya Izuku during that first session. He was an open book, nervous but talkative once you got him started.
He grew up in downtown Musutafu with his mom; his father left when he was young, leaving her to raise her boy while he provided financial support overseas. He was a big, big fan of heroes, being a super fan of All Might’s, and shared his interest with his best friend Katsuki, or Kacchan, when they were kids.
He never made many friends after kindergarten, often being picked on for being quirkless – when you brought that up, he had turned white, stumbling around it until he declared he was just a very very late bloomer – but he was having an easier time here at U.A.
“I’ve made so many friends here, it’s great! I never knew people were actually this nice!”
Your heart throbbed. Ow.
“Tenya and Ochaco are awesome!” He made a chopping motion with his hands then tapped his fingertips together, imitating them. “Their quirks are so cool, and they always want to team up with me during training. Did you know Tenya's family had a hero agency?! That's why he's top of the class.”
He bragged, and you smiled at him. “That’s awesome! I’m glad you’re finding your people. I take it you like hanging out with them?”
He was nodding, his green mop of hair swaying up and down, agreeing enthusiastically. Something you noticed about Izuku was that compared to most of his peers, he felt big. His emotions were bursts instead of waves, almost always big and strong. It was refreshing; his were easier to detect and determine what was what.
So, it was interesting that any focus on Katsuki lead to a confusing, fuzzy blend.
Hm.
“What about Katsuki? You said you were friends growing up, has your relationship changed at all since then?”
Midoriya made a face. You pursed your lips. “Uh… not really? Well, actually he might be a little less…” He brought his hands up into claws, much like Bakugou did when he triggered his quirk, growling. “Then before…”
Less? You thought about the way Bakugou talked about Midoriya during his session and Aizawa’s recap of the mock battle the two got into. Even All Might said he had been afraid that the blond might kill Midoriya during one point of their fight.
Kill.
That was less?!
“Aggressive?”
He nodded.
“Midoriya, would you mind telling me a little about your friendship with Katsuki? How did he treat you growing up?
His eyes lit up.
“Oh, he was always super brave even when we were little. He would lead me and our other friends into the park and pretend to beat up bad guys, and that was before his quirk developed! We got along fine until, well, until his quirk came in…” Then his face dropped, almost like he didn’t like talking about his friend like this. Like he was talking bad behind his back. “Then he started acting different.”
“How do you mean?”
“Even more prideful. Mean. He pushed me around a lot. But I always got back up!” He said it with an uncertain smile, like it was normal for your best friend to attack you. “It got worse in middle school though, he got meaner when he found out we both were applying for U.A.”
“I see.”
“Yeah, then when he got attacked by that sludge villain he was mad at me for trying to help!” He made an exasperated noise, ignoring your wide-eyed response to this information. A bell went off in your head, what he said sounds familiar. You were going to do some news hunting later. He brushed past it like being attacked by a villain was normal.
“Seriously, Kacchan is just so stubborn! Honestly, I think the only reason he doesn’t lose his temper and use his quirk on me anymore is because he knows he’ll be in trouble if he’s caught.”
“Did he do that or anything else to hurt you a lot, growing up?”
He froze, looking at you like he said something he shouldn’t have. You were writing this down, Bakugou wasn’t Midoriya’s friend on paper – he was his bully.
Midoriya felt fear and regret fill him.
“Please, please don’t get him in trouble! I shouldn’t have said that –”
“Midoriya,” You held a hand up, cutting him off. “Is he still physically hurting or threatening you?”
Yes. Well, maybe just the threats now o-days…
“No!”
“Then he won’t get in any trouble, as long as he keeps his hands to himself during class. I don’t know how they handle this in training that has you fighting each other” You rolled your eyes, what a wild sentence. “But as long as he isn’t causing you serious harm with the intention to do so, I have nothing to report.”
“Oh, ok.” It was a relieved sigh.
“I don’t want you to be scared to tell me these things,” Softly, you looked at him. He was still scared his friend was going to get kicked out of his dream school. Oh, sweet boy. “I’m only required to report abuse that is currently taking place. Kids bully each other all the time, it’s sad but it’s true, I’m not going to get him expelled for something he isn’t currently doing.”
He sagged back into his spot on the couch, then he hit you with a look. It was something convincing but it didn’t sit quite right.
“I know it sounds bad, but Kacchan is my friend.”
It was a hard statement, solid. He meant it. But underneath, there was something soft with uncertainty.
“He just…” An alien sense of doubt flickered through his concrete defense. He nodded with finality. “He’s my friend.”
You felt sympathy for him. It was clear as day that he cared deeply about the boy he grew up with. To not receive that amount of care or compassion back…
You pushed that thinking away. You didn’t know enough about their relationship to be thinking like that. But by all appearances… it looks like Midoriya admired him, so much so he ignored the bruises and burns in hopes his friend would notice and appreciate him back.
In return, Bakugou wanted nothing to do with him.
You made a note to get these two in a room together later, if you succeeded with Bakugou. You could just picture it. He’d probably blow up your office if you suggested a joint session now.
“Midoriya, I want you to do something for me.”
Midoriya sat up, nodding.
“I want you to think about what kind of friend you want to be. Then when you have a good idea, I want you to make a list of all those traits. Use that as a guide when picking who you want to be friends with. The friends we choose can make or break us. It’s important to choose those who push you to be a better version of yourself.”
He looked disappointed, shifting a little.
You chuckled. “I’m not saying you can’t have a little class rivalry. But there’s a difference between a rivalry and something poisonous.”
“I understand, but I admire Kacchan. I made a promise to myself that I won’t be a bulliable little kid anymore. I’m going to grow up to be a good hero – the best, the strongest! And I’m going to beat Kacchan in the race to the top!”
He bumped his fist up, a look of pure determination on his face.
‘To be the strongest, to never lose.’
Ok, maybe you were beginning to see some similarities.
A couple days later, you were still hiding away on your breaks.
It was a dull day for you but an exciting day for some of your students, one class going on a little field trip to another facility on campus leaving you with a strange gap in your schedule. You were handling a few of class 1-B’s kids today, namely a cute little American transfer student named Pony who preferred to speak her first language (which you were happy to indulge in) and a quiet, telekinetic wonder named Reiko.
Which was a good variation in pacing, if you had one more disheartening encounter with All Might again you were going to cry.
It was worse than you thought it would be, being around him.
Conversations were short and awkward; texts and emails even more so – if you got any. He got this look on his face like he wanted to run away when he was in a room with you, covering it up with a smile if there were others around but was quick to exit regardless. When you tried to look at him, a rare occurrence now a days, he would keep his head high or pretend to check the time.
God, it hurt.
God, you missed him.
But who were you to complain. You couldn’t imagine how he felt being around you after what you did.
Now you were locking yourself away, you needed a little quiet.
You picked at the gloves covering your hands, feeling silly for wearing them but unwilling to take them off. You were actively trying to keep your quirk in, and the more layers you wore the harder it was to create any unnecessary connections.
Eyes locked onto the floor, you settled in your seat – staring emptily into space as you thought. And how you thought and thought. If the other teachers noticed the difference in your interactions, no one said anything. You wanted to know what All Might, what Yagi was thinking. He obviously was still uncomfortable around you. Why not just call it quits and accept that he hated you.
You knew you were being dramatic, but honestly with how awkward things were now you wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. You didn't register the door sliding open, too busy with your lamenting.
Something wide moved into your field of vision, blocking the dull piece of floor you were locked onto – something knocked against your knees.
Unbeknownst to you, some had noticed your change in behavior and had come sniffing around to find you.
Inui had come to kneel in front of your droopy figure, close enough that his hands resting on his knees brushed against you, head tilting down in order to stare up at you over his muzzle. You… glanced up at him.
He glowered at you, but you knew it wasn’t a mean look – he just looked like that. At the dull, tired look in your eyes, Inui’s ears tilted back.
"Hey."
“Spill it. What’s got you so depressed?”
It was said assertively, but the normal growl and aggression in his voice was gone. He stared at you harder when you deflated even further, eyes closing in defeat. Who were you kidding? Despite your attempts to push it down there was only so much you could do to stop others from noticing the difference in your mood.
Besides, Hound Dog had a nose for these kinds of things.
He really didn’t like the dullness that met him when you once again met his eyes, the deep pulling he had been feeling every time he passed you shifting into something numbing. Fuzzy but lacking warmth.
Something about being confronted head on just made it… spill out. You were tired of lying and hiding things anyhow.
“I know.”
A questioning grunt was your answer.
“I… All Might shared his secret with me.” Then you were frowning at him, a pathetic expression he’d never seen before. “Did you really know this whole time?”
Surprise flashed in his face, eyes wide and tail still, then it melted away into something much more telling. Guilt.
His expression was enough for you, causing your head to bob lightly in acceptance. He grunted, one large hand coming up to rub at his face, venturing so far to ask:
“When…?”
“A few days ago, when school was out.” Saturday afternoon, you had ingrained it in your memory when you played it back time and time again. Memorialized as the day you broke Yagi’s trust and the day you learned All Might would one day disappear. “What all did he tell you about me?”
How much did he tell you about us?
“Not much, just that you only knew him out of uniform." That's one way to say it. "Said you were close. He wanted to tell you on his own time.”
You nodded and he didn’t miss the way you flinched with glassy eyes when he said ‘close’. It was your turn to rub your face with your hands, a twist of molten metal in your chest. Moments passed with the two of you sitting in silence, your face in your hands.
A canine-adjacent whine accompanied the twisting knife in your heart; his snout had come down to nudge your hands away, big hand grasping your wrist where your sleeve had rolled down. At the contact you pulled away as though you’d been burned.
Unbeknownst to him, you weren’t purposefully rejecting his attempts at comfort. The fear that flashed wasn’t due to his teeth or his claws.
You were an exposure risk, and you didn’t want to hurt him on accident.
Not with him. Not again.
The fabric of your sleeve was being tugged back into place and you curled away from him, just slightly. Just enough to prevent any unnecessary physical contact. You hoped he caught the apologetic look you sent him, sighing with your arms wrapped around your stomach.
“What happened?”
It wasn’t hard to guess that whatever happened that day wasn’t good.
“I messed up.” It stung, the ache in your throat that choked the words out of you. But Inui was watching you, unhurriedly, patiently. You understood then why he was the school counselor. He was good at listening when he needed to.
A big wolf turned therapy dog.
“I messed up bad.” The scent of salt was back, accompanied by the droplets dotting your lashes. Still, you hesitated. “I care so much about him… he’s… he was one of my closest friends. I thought I could help him, before I knew what he was really going through… but in the end, I just pushed him away.”
The silence that hung over you was heavy, crushing. It hurt to say it out loud. It hurt not to say it at all.
“…When I was little, I hated my quirk.” At your pivot, Inui shifted, moving to sit in front of you at an angle instead of kneeling like before. Then his head was draped over your knee. His ears pointed up at you with his eyes trained on the floor. He was listening.
You let him rest against you.
“I thought it was so… unfair that people got to keep their feelings to themselves. I never had that. It was worse when I first developed it, but I was always feeling everything in extremes. I was scolded for being too emotional in school, too reactive, too much. I struggled with mood regulation all the way up until my senior year in high school, even with quirk suppressants. I remember thinking, ‘why did everyone else get to keep their hearts in their chests while mine is stuck on my sleeve?’ I knew I wanted to use my quirk to help people, to make emotions less of a burden for just a little bit.” You sighed, long and tired.
“I see know that it’s unfair of me to think of them as such. I just wanted to… help lift the weight off him a little.”
Although he didn’t know exactly what you were implying, he could guess. He looked up at you. You blinked down at him, wiping your eyes, as he asked.
“You think your quirk... hurt him?”
“Oh Inui, I know it did. I… I didn’t even ask before I…” You choked, guilt and shame clawing out at the admission. You covered your eyes, lip quivering.
You felt his head leave your lap.
That’s right. Ridicule me. Tell me I’m a bad person.
“You regret it?”
More than anything.
You nodded profusely, waiting. Claws draped over your shoulders, and he called your name. You rubbed one eye, the other blinking open to look at him. He didn’t look angry. “You had good intentions but went about it the wrong way, it’s ok. It happens. Look at you, it’s been eating you up. That’s how I know you didn’t do it to hurt; bad people don’t feel bad about hurting the people they love.”
His words struck you; he was being so… understanding. You were tearing up again.
“But I hid it from him, I lied—”
“And you want to make it right, right?”
This wasn’t what you were expecting, Inui was standing, stretching his legs. You nodded up at him, bewildered.
“If you care at about him and you want to make it right then go make it right. I don’t know All Might well, but if he doesn’t understand trying to do the right thing then I don’t know who will.”
You… felt a little weight leave you.
“Offer him a sincere, honest apology. Give him the choice to forgive you.”
“I already did…” You winced thinking about your wet babbling -- you had shouted at him. “Sort of. He said he needed more time…”
Inui bonked you softly on the head with his fist. “Then let him come to you! It sounds like he’s thinking about it. If you’re still worried, just ask him. It’s up to him if he forgives you or not, ya' know?”
You were nodding again, he noticed, giving a loud huff. Then you were standing with him, looking at the time.
Break was over.
“Inui… thank you, really.”
Hound Dog smiled, all teeth, tail starting it lazy wag again. “Don’t mention it. Just let me know when you make up. This place is better when you're happy."
The faint sound of an engine flooded the hall outside.
In the half-second that followed, Hound Dog’s ears and your head snapped straight up towards the door – two different triggers causing instinctual reactions. In your case, you only got to experience a millisecond of fear and urgency before the door burst open –
In the doorway was a boy; a familiar large, disheveled blue-haired boy, sweat dripping from his forehead and legs trembling.
Something was wrong.
A sense of danger rolled over you.
Instantly you were behind Inui, who snatched you as soon as the door was thrown open. You gaped, confused and startled behind the growling mass guarding you.
“Iida? What’s—”
“Ha -- the—the USJ is being attacked! Villains –”
He was racked with a painful wheeze, breathing harsh – had he run here all the way from the training facility?! A dull grinding could be heard as he stumbled in the doorway, the mufflers on the back of his legs faintly glowing as his engines sputtered, overheating. You rushed to his side, catching him the best you could, supporting his weight. His legs buckled slightly and the pained exhale he grunted made your heart squeeze painfully.
Panic.
Hurt.
Fear .
Hound Dog’s hackles were already raised, and he grabbed the boy by the shoulders with a growl.
“Are you sure? How many?”
Iida huffed, expression dark and dreadfully serious, leaning against you. “Yes! I’m not sure– we were separated all over the facility, enough to outnumber us. All Might – he’s on his way there now! Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen are there too -- They need help!”
Hound Dog pulled out his phone, having just enough sense to growl warnings (or orders, you couldn’t tell) into the receiver while you worked to help Iida out of the doorway. He was heavy for someone his age, sturdy.
Not even a minute after, the building was flooded with the sounds of alarms. You were trying desperately to stay calm for Iida’s sake, any more adrenaline in this kid and he would likely pass out, but it was hard to fight the ice the filled your blood stream.
Your kids could be hurt; they could be killed –
What could you do? How could you help?
You locked eyes with Inui as he pushed his way past you, his teeth exposed in a snarling growl that had your hair standing up even as he pulled on his muzzle. The message was clear. You nodded once and hard.
“Go! I’ll help here where I can!”
The boy resting on you moved to follow the furious hero, desperate to get back out and into the fight with urgency – but you grabbed him, hands hooking under the seams of his hero costume to tug him back.
“Oh no, don’t you go running off. You’ve done plenty.”
He looked back at you, eyes wide and anxious in the frames of his glasses. “My class—”
“Is highly capable.” You offered, stern but gentle and a little to yourself. “The heroes are on their way now, let them handle this. You’ve done enough; you’re done Iida.” He whipped his head back towards the direction Hound had run off to, then back at you, strained. Then, when you were unrelenting, he leaned back against you with an arm over your shoulders.
You needed to get to a better area; there was a possibility that the villains might take this opportunity to hit the school. You swallowed.
“Come on, we need to get to the cafeteria.” You said directing him into the hall. When you felt him limp and flinch, you squeezed his upper arm. “I know it hurts hon’, but we’re going to have to move fast.”
Iida nodded against you, forcing an air of bravery as he pushed through the burning heat and cramping in his calves to match your pace.
The cafeteria was swarming with students, teachers and heroes who stayed guarding the area. You could hear someone shouting instructions, directing students to duck and stay out of sight for the time being in case there were villains scouting the area. Midnight, who had offered to act as crowd control, took notice of you and the young man by your side jogging down the hall – ushering the two of you into the cafeteria.
When Iida was safely seated with his back against a pillar, hands rubbing the muscle surrounding his mufflers, you regrouped with her. She seemed on edge, ready to move if anything or anyone showed up to attack.
You were still wrapping your head around the situation. This wasn’t some annoying false alarm caused by the press; this was real. Villains were here. People were fighting for their safety – students were facing villains.
A well-manicured hand rested on your shoulder, shaking you out of your spiral. “Stay clear headed, our students need us right now.”
You put on a steady face, even though you knew she could probably feel the buzzing under your skin.
“Do they know what’s going on?”
“They know enough. We’re getting them ready to protect themselves if necessary.” You grimaced, heartache pulling at your ribs as you looked over the crowd of high schoolers. There were kids comforting others, quietly going through defense plans and maneuvers, repeating reassurances with brave faces – ‘It’s ok, the heroes are here. We’re gonna be ok’, hand in hand with their less confident peers who had curled up in order to stay out of sight. You looked back at Iida, who was staring darkly at the ground.
What all had he seen?
He had gotten away, made it all the way here on his own, gathered heroes to help his classmates and teachers alone. You felt a great admiration for him then, pride and sadness and anger all in one.
You were certain, whoever these villains were – they highly underestimated this school and its students.
What idiots would attack U.A.? Willingly? Did they not understand that this was the school for young heroes?
“Whoever’s responsible for this doesn’t stand a chance.” You voiced, keeping your voice even. All these students, all these teenagers, were growing heroes – they were here for a reason and no villain could ever hope to match their tenacity.
Midnight glanced at you out of the corner of her eye, all ice and diamond. “No, but it’s still dangerous to underestimate them.”
Lunch Rush, who was wielding a large cleaver, gave a thumbs up from across the cafeteria, some signal you weren’t a part of, and Midnight returned the gesture.
“Midnight, what should I--?
“Remember what you did during the break-in?”
You looked at her funny, of course you did.
“These students need someone to keep their heads on their shoulders. They’re scared, keep them levelheaded.”
Right.
Keep them calm and ready.
With a roll of your shoulders, you steadied yourself.
That you could do.
Considering the circumstances, things were going well.
That being said… it got a lot more hectic after a group of 1-B students started asking Iida questions – recognizing him as the emergency exit guy from the media break in and a member of class 1-A. You tried to break it up before any more information got out, shooing them away, but the damage was already done when one kid, the proud and boisterous Tetsutetsu, asked:
“How many were there?”
Iida stared at the silver headed boy grimly. “A lot…”
Then he took his glasses off the rub at the space between his eyes. “A lot.”
Several worried sounds followed from the crowd, and you moved to do damage control.
“Everyone, take some deep breaths! The heroes are here to help, nothing is getting past them alright! Just try your best to stay calm.”
Beside you, a boy started to hyperventilate and the girl next to him began to weep loudly.
Midnight stepped in for you, offering more reassurances into the crowd while you worked to stop the wave of hysterics emerging. A strong discomfort accompanied the distressed sounds of the couple; the feeling of multiple people being set on edge. You pinched the fingers of your gloves between your teeth, dragging them off so you could grab both of their hands with yours, sliding to sit with them on the floor while taking deep exaggerated breaths in hopes they would follow along.
A mass panic was the last thing you wanted.
The shrill sound of sirens passed, and you saw flashes of red and blue speed by.
“It’s ok,” You sighed, happy. The two you were holding felt the shift, cries dying out and breathing evening. “See, the police are here. It’s under control. Deep breaths, you’re going to be fine.”
The coast was marked clear not too long after that, a slurring growling Hound Dog arriving to announce the villains have been dealt with. When Present Mic and a pair of police men followed after him into the main area, the tense aura of surrounding teachers finally dropped.
Things were under control; no one had attempted to strike the cowering body of students hidden away in the cafeteria and the captured villains at the USJ were being detained by the police.
Students were told to go back to their homeroom until further notice, several staff members and police escorting them out of the cafeteria into the main hall. You assisted getting some of the more shaken individuals up on their feet and calm enough to walk back with their classmates. It was distressing to see the number of students so deeply upset they needed physical assistance to get up, one student who had been stuck rocking side to side with their head tucked between their knees sticking with you.
When most of the students were cleared, you made your way back towards the small group of heroes debriefing. Mic and Hound Dog were some of the first on the scene, but Mic did the bulk of the recapping since Hound was in no condition to speak clearly. He panted and drooled, the run to and from the facility winding him – seems like someone needed to spend a little more time on the field and less in an office. You snuck up beside him when he tilted just enough to create a gap.
From the hushed voices and whispers you walked in on, you gathered they were going over the damages. You looked up at a now no-longer drooling Inui, quirking a brow as if to ask, ‘what happened?’ But he shook his head with a huff, ‘later.’
“—students are all fine, only a few with injuries but nothing severe.” You breathed at that, a hand over your chest. Thank god. “It’s the teachers who took on the bulk of the fighting. All Might’s pretty beat up but was able to communicate with us and seems ok overall. Thirteen and Eraser…”
Mic cleared his throat at the mention of his friend, shaking his head. You could feel his anxiety from here. “Not as good. They’re being transported to the Recovery Girl for emergency treatment.”
Worry bloomed in your chest, that… sounded bad. Of course, from your experience and the things you’ve heard – Recovery Girl’s quirk was a medical marvel many doctors and medical staff would die for. Why go to a hospital when you have such a rare and vital quirk right here on campus.
“All Might is also being brought to Recovery Girl’s office, but the other two take priority. Their injuries are worse.”
Midnight hummed, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. They shared a look, but his frown only twitched.
Apparently, there had been a lot of villains – somewhere in the fifties if they had to guess, but the kids were able to defend themselves in groups. Most of the baddies were caught and carted away to the city’s detention center but the ringleader and mist-guy (nicknames courtesy of Mic) managed to escape.
Of course, not without a little farewell present from Snipe.
From what little you got from Mic, the villains were there with the goal to kill All Might. Suppressing the deep-seated anguish you felt at the thought, pictures that hurt you to think about in your mind’s eye, you focused on the fact that that didn’t make sense.
“But how could they be sure he was even going to be there? They couldn’t have just guessed—”
A deep dread filled you, a look of horror as you looked at Mic. “Oh my god, the break-in – you don’t think--!”
By the looks on their faces, they were thinking the same thing as you.
After the brief discussion/catch up, you were dismissed to assist with getting students out of the building in an orderly manner. School was cut short due to the attack, and despite the fact the villains had been fought off, there was still an air of uncertainty hanging over U.A. high.
Hours had passed since the attack; the facility clear of students and filled with heroes and police and staff working to figure out how to handle the fact that a villain had successfully snuck in to steal the staff itinerary and launched an ambush on class 1-A.
You passed a group of police men in the hall, they were still making their rounds just in case, offering a pleasant gesture as you side stepped them. You had already been cleared to leave, your badge and information gathered by the lead detective for an identity check, but… you weren’t leaving just yet. You were checking on everyone first, having found Mic and Midnight on their way out.
“Heading out?”
Nemuri smiled, but it was tired. “Going out to grab some drinks, figured it’ll help take the edge off from… today.” The word was loaded, you understood the sentiment. “Besides we got news Aizawa woke up for a bit earlier!”
You smiled, clasping your hands excitedly. “Oh! That’s good news! How is he by the way?”
Mic shrugged, cleaning off his glasses with the fabric of his shirt. “Mummified. Recovery Girl’s got him wrapped up from head to toe. The villain that messed him up… he broke his face or something.”
You fought a grimace, but Nemuri was bumping into him playfully. “Oh, you know her, remember that time you broke one of your toes and she put you in a cast up to your knee?”
That got a little grin out of him.
“Hey, you want to come with us?”
You shook your head a little, clasping the object in your bag. “Thanks, but I’ve got one more stop before I’m going to head home. Go, have drinks! Get me posted on Aizawa too, I want to get him a coffee when he feels better!”
With that you were heading your opposite ways, steps quiet as you trailed up the stairs and further down the hall – trying to remember which door.
Your hands shook the closer you got, a pounding in your chest – until you made it to a familiar sign.
Chiyo sighed, adjusting the IV drip connected to the unconscious first yearer sleeping away in one of her spare hospital cots. She had changed his fluids earlier, alternating between pain killers and saline to help replenish some of the fluids he had lost during his accelerated healing.
She muttered when she remembered how much of a mess this boy’s bones had been. Stress fractures to clean breaks, he was lucky it wasn’t worse or else she would have had to go in surgically to pin his bones back into place before healing.
She had done enough surgery for one day.
Beside her, the older of her two patients shifted.
“You’re lucky this wasn’t worse All Might, either one of you could have been killed.” She shook her head but softened at the look of him. He was reclined back, his lithe body too long for his cot – feet hanging over the railing. Speaking of messes, the blonde’s side had been a bloody mess when he arrived – the bird villain that got its hands on him had dug into him, splitting a few of the seams the spiraled away from the center of his scar and leaving a throbbing bruise.
He coughed, wet.
She slid tissues his way.
“But I suppose I can’t scold you too hard for his injuries since this wasn’t your fault.”
“Still, if I hadn’t used up my time this morning on hero work…”
The nurse looked at him tiredly, going to sit back in her chair. “Then what, All Might? Their plan was to kill you, if you had been there when they had planned to ambush you and succeeded… Midoriya – your students may not be alive.”
Yagi felt his mouth pull at the thought and Chiyo looked at him sadly.
“I’m sorry there’s nothing I can do about your power…”
He waved it away, sitting up gingerly. His torso was wrapped in bandages and gauze, looping around his shoulder to secure it over his ribs. They were securing the pad placed underneath – still lightly sticky with blood. Since Recovery Girl wasn’t able to heal him all the way due to his exhaustion, he was given some stitches for the time being.
Itchy.
“No use worrying about it now, what’s done is done. I’m just happy everyone is safe.”
One hour.
In his heart of hearts, he knew that’s roughly what he had to work with.
His fight with the ‘Nomu’, or whatever their scrawny ringleader had called it, had taken its toll on his body. He was already low when he was making his way to the facility, having taken a break in the breakroom with the intention of making an appearance at the end of their class, when he had run into young Iida.
Oh, how it made his blood rage when he heard that his colleagues and students were in danger. Someone had come for him and, when he wasn’t there, had decided to take it out on his students.
Still, he felt no satisfaction when he launched that awful creature through the ceiling. Because whether they knew it or not, they had succeeded in weakening him even further.
He brought his knees up so he could rest his elbows on them and ran his hands through his hair.
What a day.
He’s glad that Tsukauchi stopped by when he did, the exhaustion settling in bone deep now that his adrenaline had long since faded. He didn’t feel open to visitors, not that he had anyone else.
Something pulled at a string in his chest.
He looked over at the slumbering boy next to him, sleeping away after a truly frightening day. He did good today -- without young Midoriya there Yagi doubted his fight would have gone his way. A smile tugged at his lips, pride warming his chilled bones.
Class 1-A was not to be trifled with.
A light knock startled him, blood spraying from between his teeth. Recovery Girl shared a look with him and he shrugged, clearly neither of them were expecting anybody.
Carefully, Recovery Girl got up to answer the door, while Yagi prepared to slide the privacy curtain shut if need be. If a student saw him, a stranger wrapped in gauze and blood on his chin, there would be questions.
The door slid open.
“Yes? Who’s—Oh?”
Surprised there was no one waiting on the other side, the older woman peered down the hall -- just barely catching a glance of someone heading down the stairs. Then she looked down.
--!
How sneaky!
“Recovery Girl,” Yagi wiped his chin with the back of his hand, creating a smudge. “Who is it?”
“I’m not sure, dear. But it looks like they left a gift!”
Yagi watched as she bent down and, with the help of her cane, carried something over to him. In her gloved hand, was some kind of metal container with a piece of paper taped onto the side.
She peeked at the slip of paper, then held it out to him. “It’s for you.”
He took it.
It was a… thermos?
Curiously, he unscrewed the metal cap – watching as stream rose out of the top once he dropped the cap onto the bed. Inside was some kind of liquid… soup? He brought it up to his nose.
Tea. Green, unsweetened.
The note brushed against his hand, so he peeled it off carefully– unfolding it open with a brush of his thumb. It was handwritten; the paper printed with little flower designs. It was addressed to All Might.
‘Thank you for protecting them,
Rest well and get better soon!”
Your name was signed at the bottom.
He stared at it, studying the font that was distinctly you. He wasn’t sure how to feel, you were a bit of a sore spot at the moment. He wasn’t going to lie; these past couple days have been… awful. He missed you terribly, but the sting of your confrontation lingered in his mind. It was clear you were thinking about him, though, if this was anything to go by. His mind was a battlefield with conflicting feelings: you used your quirk on him -- he raised his voice and made you cry; he missed you, but he didn’t know how to act around you.
He grimaced thinking about how awkward he felt around you during work hours, but it was only because he couldn’t think of anything to say. You barely even looked at him anymore.
He thought about the way your voice shook with weeping apologies, not like he had stopped thinking about it, begging him to understand.
In a moment of weakness, he failed to put himself in your shoes. If he had been in your position…
He might not have been so covert with it but…
Clicking sounded somewhere far off, Recovery Girl busying herself with something on the office’s desktop.
You were truly only interested in helping him. He knew he was neglectful when it came to his own health, and you were obviously distressed by that. If you had asked, would he have even let you? He was leaning towards no, but at least he would be knowledgeable about the depth of your concern.
You had told him though, multiple times that you were worried, and he more or less brushed you off – compromising with promises of a break he always pushed off to later.
Another fight long ago had started off similarly.
He pushed that back, unwilling to bring it to the surface.
Yagi just couldn’t hate you for what you did, he couldn’t. Not when he thought back on it and saw no signs of ill-will. The note smelled sweet, like you your office. Did you prepare this on campus? He hoped you weren’t overworking yourself.
Hypocrite.
Tired and thirsty, Yagi took a long drink from the thermos, washing away the taste of iron – Recovery Girl typing settling in as white noise and a little note tucked under his pillow.