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Chapter Text

A pair of hands, dark-skinned and perfectly manicured, slammed down on the desk in front of you. Without looking up from the paperwork you were filling out, you hummed acknowledgement. The owner of the hands was panting, having clearly run from her own office to yours. You used the time it took her to catch her breath to finish filling out your report.

"Start packing," she finally said.

"Excuse me?" You muttered, turning the page over to start filling out the back side.

"There's gonna be an emergency, and you have to be there to heal someone, but we're in the wrong country."

"And what country are we supposed to be in?" You asked, finally looking up from your papers.

"I... Don't know." Her hair was in a bun at the base of her neck, but the run from her office to yours had knocked a few micro braids out of it.

"Have you ever had a premonition that specifically told you to go to another country before?" You stood, tucking your own (h/c) hair behind an ear.

"No, but I'm absolutely certain that we're in the wrong country right now." You could tell that it was a true premonition because her normally brown eyes were glittering gold.

"Okay, Inara, sit down. Let's figure the details, and go from there." You went to the mini fridge next to your desk and pulled out two bottles of water, passing one to Inara. Inara did as she was told, taking deep breaths to settle herself.

"(Y/N), I think this is the biggest premonition I've had since that earthquake two years ago," Inara said, staring down at her hands.

"That's alright," you said calmly, settling back into your chair. You tucked the unfinished paperwork into its respective folder and set it aside, pulling out your notebook instead.

"Let's start with when," you said, clicking your pen.

--

The trip from America to Japan was more exhausting than expected, and Inara suggested getting a hotel immediately. The walk to your hotel, however, brought you past a restaurant that smelled too good to ignore. A tug on Inara's sleeve and a finger pointed at the building was all it took to convince your childhood friend that the detour would be worth it.

You were teaching Inara how to hold her chopsticks when someone decided to interrupt. That someone was an oversized crocodile-looking fellow that insisted his plate didn't match what he'd ordered. How that drove him to swinging a clawed fist at the waiter was beyond you, but you didn't get your hero's license to watch waitstaff get smacked around. With a sigh, you set down your chopsticks and stood up.

"Leave it alone, friend," you said tiredly. "No one wants trouble here. Why not have the staff bring out the plate you did order?"

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" He yelled, turning toward you. You glared at him, crossing your arms.

"Why not? Getting arrested over some sashimi doesn't seem worth it to me." He just roared, charging you now. Inara yelped, falling backward out of her chair as she tried to stand up.

Just as you shifted your weight to better receive your new guest, the door to the restaurant slammed open and your opponent stumbled to a stop, turning toward the interruption.

"Never fear!" A deep voice announced. "Why? Because I am here!" The man in the doorway was massive; maybe 7 feet tall and nothing but muscle. His blonde hair was pulled up into spikes on either side of his head, the rest greased back behind tanned ears.

"WRONG PLATE!" The crocodile yelled, now turning toward Muscles.

"He's lost it," you noted drily as Croc charged Muscles. You were somewhat impressed when Muscles stepped to the side to let Croc by, effectively bringing the fight out to the street instead of the crowded restaurant.

Looking around, you spotted the waiter that had been struck and walked up to him. His face was a bloody mess, three or more cuts running from one corner of his face up and around to his forehead. It was hard to see details through the blood. The woman he'd collapsed into was in hysterics, but at least your new patient was unconscious.

"Settle down, Miss," you said in your best hero-voice. It wasn't much, but Inara was already approaching, so you let your friend take the woman's attention while you turned to the waiter.

Turning him so that he lay flat on his back, you pressed a finger under the corner of his jaw and touched your other palm to his forehead. Silver lines spread from your touch across his skin at jagged angles that reminded you of lightning bolts. Lightning quirk? You wondered, only vaguely curious. Such a small injury healed almost instantly, the skin pulling back into place and closing itself up neatly. Though his face was still covered in blood, you could tell he wouldn't have a scar. A quick check on his brain told you that there was no concussion; he'd probably passed out from simple shock. His nose had nearly come off, after all.

You were wiping the man's face off with a nearby napkin when a shadow passed ominously overhead. Ignoring Muscles, you reached for a glass of clear liquid from the bar in front of you. Sniffing it, you grimaced.

"Sake," you muttered, setting the drink back down and looking around. Muscles cleared his throat, clearly trying to get your attention. He could wait, you decided. Looking around some more, you spotted another promising-looking cup on the table a few feet away. It was when you stood that Muscles finally decided you'd ignored him long enough, and put a hand on your shoulder.

"Forgive me, Friend," he said in that rumbling voice. "But did you just use your quirk on this man?" You turned to frown at him, and were met with shockingly blue eyes and an oversized smile.

"Yes," you said shortly, "and now I'm looking for water to clean his face off. He'll wake up soon." As if on cue, the man on the floor let out a small groan.

"It is illegal to use one's quirk on another without proper authorization," Muscles said, a bit sternly.

"Well, good thing I have authorization," you answered, tugging your shoulder out of his hand and reaching for that cup. Another sniff, and you were disappointed again. You should have known from the bubbles on the side of the glass that it would be soda.

"Oh," he said, clearly startled, "then may I see your permit?" You glared up at him.

"Only if you help me find a cup of water," you grumbled, already reaching into your pocket. He blinked with confusion, then turned to one of the waiters that had gathered nearby.

"Good friend, can you please bring a cup of water?"

"Yes, Sir, All Might, Sir!" The waiter answered excitedly. He practically tripped over himself to get behind the restaurant counter. By his reaction, you guessed you ought to have recognized Muscles already. Pulling your hero license out, you offered it to the blonde giant in front of you.

"I haven't gotten a Japanese permit, yet, but I'm told that an American license is still enough around here."

"Yes, of course it is," he said, inspecting the plastic ID carefully. "Well, in that case, Dr. (L/N), I apologize for the interruption! Welcome to Japan!" He handed the license back to you, and you shoved it back into your wallet.

"Thank you," you muttered, turning toward the waiter as he returned with an entire pitcher of water. The man on the floor had sat up, looking up at Muscles - no, All Might -  with awe in his eyes. You took the pitcher of water and sank down to the man on the floor, dipping another napkin into the water.

"Thank you, All Might!" He said excitedly, completely ignoring you. With a grimace, you took his chin in your hand and forced him to turn toward you.

"Thank him later," you ordered, "I need to make sure I healed you properly, first."

"(Y/N)," Inara said in her most exhasperated voice, "he's clearly meeting someone he idolizes." Inara spoke in English, still a beginner at Japanese. You grunted in response, wiping the man's face off with the damp cloth.

"Please do as this hero says, Sir!" All Might said cheerfully, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. "One should always follow the instructions of a doctor, after all!" All Might squatted down next to you, then signed the paper and presented it to the man whose face you were wiping off.

"Wow!" your patient gasped. You gave up on wiping the rest of the blood off of his face, pressing the wet cloth into his empty hand instead. What kind of ego does someone have to have to sign an autograph without even being asked first?

"Well, you'll be alright," you said, straightening up, "but please eat more broccoli." All Might stood up at the same time, turning that grin on you instead. You frowned up at him, wondering why he was still around.

"May I ask why you would tell him to eat more broccoli?" He asked, a tiny crease between his eyebrows.

"Iron deficiency. Don't you have a crocodile to arrest?" You turned back toward your table to find Inara standing uncomfortably close, staring openly at the big blonde. "Inara." She jumped, blushing at your raised eyebrow.

"I think I may have hit him too hard," he looked a bit embarrassed to admit it. "I would be grateful if you would heal him while we wait for the police."

"Fine," you grumbled, shoving her hands into your pockets and turning back toward the entrance. Two tables had been overturned in the chaos, but the waitstaff was already picking it up, some of them still sneaking glances at All Might.

The villain's injury turned out to be a concussion. It barely took a tap from your finger to fix him up, and by then the police had arrived. You watched with detached interest as the police interviewed All Might and packed their latest villain up into the back of one of their trucks. When they turned to you, you had to resist the urge to scowl. Was being left alone long enough to eat dinner really too much to ask?

Several minutes of answering questions - and a few compliments on your Japanese from the officer that interviewed you - and the police were on their way. All Might looked around, as if deciding where to go next, and caught your eye once more. You returned his look with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" You asked drily. Inara was standing behind you again, though this time she wasn't standing as close. That only really happened when she was nervous, and the danger had passed.

"You already have! And I thank you again! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask!" With that, the giant blonde sank into a squat before disappearing with a rather impressive leap. You watched him go for a moment, distracted by those antennae-like bangs of his, before turning back to Inara.

"Let's get back to- Inara?" Inara was staring after All Might, eyes glittering gold and full of tears. "What is it?" You switched to English, knowing that she would be too distracted to translate from Japanese.

"That's it," she whispered as a tear trickled down her cheek. You grabbed her by the shoulders, steadying her and sending in a little bit of comforting warmth with your quirk. "That's what we're here for."

"What is, Inara?" You asked, shaking her slightly. You'd never seen her so upset by one of her premonitions - not even when she'd sensed the upcoming death of your father. "Inara!"

"He is," she finally said, eyes fading back to dark brown. She stepped closer to you and rested her head on your shoulder, shaking with sobs. After a moment of hesitation, you wrapped your arms around your friend, letting her lose herself into your shoulder.

Chapter Text

The next three days were lost in the chaos of finding and moving into the two bedroom apartment Inara had found online before your departure. Given how last-minute your move had been, you were rather impressed with your friend's ability to find an apartment at all. What was more surprising was how quiet the neighborhood and apartment building seemed to be. Though the two of you wouldn't be living in the lap of luxury, and you felt that your rent was higher than necessary, you at least had a bed, a shower, and a stove.

Unfortunately, the job hunt hadn't gone quite as well. There were plenty of openings in the area for doctors at hospitals and local clinics, but the last time you'd worked in a public building, the extent of your quirk had gotten out. After the entire city tried to get into your clinic, your supervisor had been forced to let you go. In fact, it got so bad last time you advertised your quirk that you'd been forced to move to another city halfway across the country.

Jobs that allowed you to use your quirk without advertising it were few and far between. Inara had done her best to help you in your search, but only came up with a few options; and of those applications, only one had resulted in an interview. You weren't overly interested in teaching part-time at a high school for heroes, but it was better than living on the streets, and Inara, with her limited Japanese, was having an even harder time finding a job than you were.

Getting up on the morning of the fourth day was brutal. You'd never been a morning person, and your body still hadn't adjusted to the time change between America and Japan. As a result, the morning sun felt more like a flashlight in your face than a comfort.

One button-up shirt, a pair of slacks, and a microwave breakfast burrito later, and you found yourself on the morning train with your battered suitcase and a desperate craving for coffee. Still half-asleep, you stared out the window at the city as it passed by, noticing a bit of smoke in the distance. When you passed a crowd of people surrounding what you assumed to be a hero vs villain brawl, you began to wonder if Japan's villain trouble was even worse than America's.

Your mood hadn't improved much by the time your train stopped, but you managed to get to your destination without too much trouble. Staring up at the school's oversized gate, you didn't notice the man standing in front of you until he cleared his throat to get your attention.

Looking at him, you nearly dropped your suitcase. The man in front of you was practically a skeleton; even his eyes, bright blue though they were, were sunken so far into his skull that you almost couldn't see them. Frizzy blonde bangs framed a malnourished face, drawing attention to a pointed chin. His neck seemed inhumanly long, but that was only because his shoulders were slumped as if he'd been carrying a huge weight. The man's shirt was about five sizes too large, and the only reason his oversized pants stayed up was because he'd invested in a belt. He had to be less than 2% body fat, and it took a certain restraint to keep yourself from reaching out and filling him to the brim with your healing energy.

"Uh-" you started, a mixture of shock and sleepiness leaving you speechless.

"Good morning," he said before coughing nervously into a too-thin fist. He gave you a small bow. "I am Yagi Toshinori. Principal Nedzu asked me to greet you at the gate in order to give you your visitor's pass, and bring you to his office. U.A. has a high security system; you wouldn't be able to get past the gate without a pass."

"Oh," you managed, returning his bow and readjusting the grip on your suitcase. "Doctor (L/N F/N). Pleased to meet you." Yagi handed you an ID, and you clipped it to the front of your shirt before following him through the gate.

"The principal told me that you are American," Yagi said over his shoulder. "Is U.A. well-known in America?"

"It is. U.A. is regarded as one of the best schools for prospective heroes in the world for a reason."

"If you don't mind my asking, did you graduate from a hero course, as well?"

"No," you admitted. "I went to a regular high school, then a medical school to get my doctorate. Becoming a hero was sort of an afterthought. The license allowed me to use my quirk while I was tending patients in the emergency room."

"An admirable use of your quirk!" He said cheerfully. Though you'd heard that from others in the past, there was a note of sincerity in his voice that made you smile a bit.

"I'm glad you think so," you said honestly.

Principal Nedzu was nearly as much of a shock for you as Yagi had been. Though you'd seen quirks that manifested in a non-human body, this man seemed to be completely inhuman. He even greeted you by asking what kind of animal you thought he might be. You made a mental note to fuss at Inara for not preparing you beforehand.

--

"We teachers at U.A. are dedicated to the proper training and health of all of our students, both those working towards becoming professional heroes and those that are not. If you are to work here, I need to know that you feel the same!" The interview had been long and somewhat painful; human or not, the principal could certainly talk. It finally seemed to be grinding to a stop, and you felt it had gone well overall. You'd even managed to keep the sarcasm out of your voice the whole time.

"I do," you promised. "I think it's vital for the next generation of heroes to be better than this one. And the generation after that must be even better. But we can't expect the children to carry that weight themselves. It is our duty as adults to make it happen." Though you felt your little speech was a bit pretentious, you were completely serious about it. Inara had gone over it with you when you first put in the application for a teaching position. Saying it out loud, you started to feel a bit better about the prospect of being a teacher.

"Very good!" The mouse-bear-man said cheerfully. "You are aware that you would be a part-time teacher only, and that you may be called in on what would normally be a day off to fill in for a teacher that is unavailable for their classes?"

"Yes. That shouldn't be a problem; my schedule is rather flexible since I won't be going on official hero patrols like most of your teachers will. I can also assist the school nurse if any of the students or teachers are injured. I'm sure you saw that in my resume."

"I did! That's part of why I considered hiring you in the first place. I also spoke with a few heroes you knew in America, and they all gave their best recommendations. I cannot think of any reason not to hire you, actually." Principal Nedzu set down his cup of tea as you tried to figure out exactly how his facial muscles worked to allow a smile without a human face.

"I'm flattered," you answered, wondering which heroes he'd spoken to. Inara had told you multiple times that if it weren't for your quirk, no one would come to you as a doctor because of your smart mouth.

"Well, then, if you have no questions about what will be expected of you while you work here, I can ask Mr. Yagi to give you a tour of the school grounds while I finish the necessary paperwork." The principal smiled again, and you tried not to stare.

"I would appreciate that," you said, setting down your own cup.

Yagi had sat in on the interview, staying quiet except for the occasional cough. You hadn't noticed until he sat down and saw his knees bent to his chest just how tall he was; now that he stood up, you realized that if he straightened his back, he would be more than six feet tall. Something about those blue eyes was familiar, but you brushed it aside. You hadn't met enough people since your arrival to be recognizing anyone, and you definitely would have remembered someone that thin.

You and Yagi spent the next two hours touring the grounds of the school. Every classroom he took you to had an oversized door, and when you went to one of the 'practice grounds', you had to sit down from shock. You'd been to a hero-based school in America, but nothing like this. There was actually a small, empty city. On school grounds. Surrounded by a wall so that the students could demolish parts of it with their quirks without damaging the perfect grass lawn outside.

The more time you spent marveling at the size and scope of the school, wondering what exactly you'd just gotten yourself into, the more amused Yagi seemed to be. Though he appeared to be permanently exhausted - and no wonder, with how underweight he was - he was smiling by the time you finished your tour. Walking you back to the principal's office, he gave you a pat on the shoulder.

"You seem overwhelmed, Doctor," he said cheerfully. "But I'm certain that you will do well here. I look forward to working with you!"

"Right," you muttered, slowing down to get your fifth look at one of the classroom doors. "I look forward to working with you, too."

"Do you have any questions about the school? Or about the city, since you're new to Japan?"

"Well, 'new to Japan' is only relative - I lived in Sasebo for several years when I was little. Father was in the military and got stationed there."

"Ah, that would explain your Japanese," he said, nodding. "But it still doesn't help you with the area."

"True," you admitted, finally tearing your eyes away from the door. "Do you have any suggestions for restaurants my roommate and I should try? It's her first time in Japan, so I'm trying to show her what she's been missing all these years."

"Well, there is a well-respected ramen shop a few blocks south of the school," he said, digging a piece of paper out of his pocket. He scribbled down the name and address, then added a phone number at the end of it.

"Giving me your number?" You asked with your best wicked grin. He blushed and coughed, which only made your grin wider.

"I-in case you have any trouble with the area. Or want another recommendation..."

"I'm only teasing you, Mr. Yagi." You opened your suitcase and pulled out a piece of paper of your own, scribbling your name and number onto it. "So that you can see who it is if I call."

Yagi finished the tour in the teacher's lounge, pouring two cups of tea and sinking into one of the chairs. Though he was a bit awkward, and he certainly needed to eat more fatty foods, you had to admit that you were starting to like the man. His eyes practically glowed when he told you that this would be his first year teaching, or when he told you stories about his time as a student. He looked so excited about the idea of teaching children that you felt a bit guilty that until this morning you'd had less than zero interest in the idea.

As he drank his tea, however, the light in his eyes seemed to fade. The small smile he'd shown a few times during your tour disappeared, and he seemed to lose himself in contemplation. You drank your own tea, choosing to leave him to his thoughts for a few minutes. You didn't want him to feel like he had to keep a smile on his face whenever you were around, after all; that sort of thing wasn't good for anyone.

--

Before you knew it, Yagi was waking you up with a gentle hand on your shoulder. Apparently, you'd fallen asleep, your body still convinced that it was supposed to be night time. Looking up at him groggily, you felt a shimmer of recognition again, as if you'd seen those eyes before. Blinking several times, you told yourself to stop being silly and sat up.

"I apologize," you grumbled as he stepped back to give you more room. "I guess I'm not adjusting to the time change as quickly as I thought I was."

"Not to worry," he said cheerfully. "I very nearly fell asleep, myself."

"Well, I suppose I should get back to Inara, then." You said, looking at your watch. You didn't expect Inara back at the apartment for at least another hour, but that would give you time to get some grocery shopping done.

As if she'd heard you say her name, your phone began to ring. Inara only really called you for emergencies, so you excused yourself and picked up right away. Digging around in your suitcase, you pulled out the notepad you used for your friend's premonitions and opened it to a blank page.

"My stupid quirk!" She greeted you in English, anger clear in her voice. You held the phone away from your ear with a wince.

"No need to yell, Inara," you answered, also in English.

"Well! It happened during an interview! And it was going so well, too! Ugh, (Y/N), I don't want this stupid quirk any more!"

"Well, you know the only way to get rid of it is to tell me about it," you said, tugging the chair you'd been sitting in over to the nearest table. Yagi gave you a questioning look, so you pulled another chair up next to you with a foot, inviting him to join you. He sat down, looking curiously at your notepad.

"I know, I know. It's someone that needs your healing, but you don't know them yet."

"Okay. Do I go to them, or do they come to me?" You put the phone on the table, pressing the speaker button. "I have someone with me, maybe he can help us with details."

"You go to them," she answered, sounding less annoyed now. "And so does the man that's with you. It isn't a long distance, though. Maybe a few blocks."

"Does Yagi - the man with me - does he know who I need to heal?"

"Yes, but only in a professional sort of way. Maybe the other person works with him? Kinda vague on that, though."

"It's my first year working here," Yagi said, looking completely intrigued now. His English was accented, but easily understandable. "So it may be someone who works at the school, too."

"Yeah, that sounds right. Nice to meet you. Anyway, it's to the south. Like, two blocks."

"Are their injuries life-threatening, or just painful?" You asked, writing down what you had so far.

"Uh, painful. Not broken bones, though. I know you're no good with bones." Inara sighed. "That's the end of it, (Y/N), so I guess I'm headed home now. The guy interviewing me looked super offended when I got my phone out, so I'm not even gonna try to go back to it."

"Alright, Inara, stay safe." There was a small beep as your friend hung up.

"No good with bones?" Yagi asked as the two of you stood.

"Every quirk has its limits," you said, stuffing the notebook back into your tattered suitcase. "I can heal bones, and it's not like I don't heal them properly when I do. It just takes a lot out of me to do it."

"Ah, I see. That's still quite the quirk you have, there." He seemed genuinely impressed, so you gave him a small smile.

"It has its uses. Shall we go?"

"Uh... About that." He gave a nervous cough, and you could have sworn you saw blood in his teeth before he closed his mouth. "I have... Business, elsewhere. I can call in a...friend... Of mine to help, though!"

"Inara's quirk is premonitions, Yagi," you explained. "If she says you're going to be there when this thing happens, it means you're going to be there. You might leave now and get grabbed or something, or maybe your taxi takes a wrong turn... But if she says you're going to be two blocks south of here in the next twenty minutes, I can promise you'll be two blocks south in 20 minutes."

"Ah," he said, looking down. "Well, then... Yes, I suppose we should get going."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your business," you said seriously. "But I've learned that it's best to just go with what Inara says than it is to try and fight it."

"Yes," he said, suddenly looking very gloomy. "I had a side-kick who could see into the future. He's told me that nothing can change what he sees, but I have trouble believing him."

"The good thing about Inara's quirk is that what she sees isn't actually set in stone. She gets a vague idea, and whoever she has the urge to call is who will be able to help the situation the most."

Yagi still looked a bit upset about it, but he led the way to the front gate all the same. The two of you had only made it one block when you heard a screech in the distance. With surprising reflexes, Yagi took off at a full run before you could register what was happening.

Chapter Text

No one should have legs as long as this man does, you thought as you raced after him. He was impossible to keep up with, though you were certain you'd outlast him in a long run. When he disappeared around a corner, you made a face and tried to run faster.

"Yagi," you shouted after him, "if the person we're being sent to needed help, Inara would have told us they-" you rounded the corner and very nearly tripped over the scrawny man.

He was doubled over, fists on his knees and gasping for air. Reaching a hand out, you started to call on your quirk, but he shook his head. Pushing your hand away, he gestured at the street in front of you. You looked up, and nearly choked.

The woman standing in front of you, covered in tiny cuts and the blood to go with them, was practically naked. You were looking at her from the back, but she seemed to be dressed like a dominatrix in nothing but black leather straps. Upon closer inspection you could see a thin white catsuit underneath the leather. Her hair was black and layered so that it spiked out all over the place; there was a whip in her hands that made you nervous as she looked down at the pile of unconscious men in front of her. Overall, it looked like the beginning of an R-rated movie.

Strangely enough, all seven of the men on the ground appeared to be the same person. Each of them had a varying number of knives strapped to their wrists and torsos, and when you looked at the ground around where they lay, you saw a scattering of yet more knives all over the place. Given that none of the civilians nearby were screaming any more, you had to assume that the woman was the hero. She turned around to see who was talking and saw Yagi first.

"Hello, Toshinori!" She purred, smiling at him. "Who's this cutie?" When she winked at you, you considered winking back just to see the reaction. Deciding that it would only make things awkward, you chose to bow instead.

"Doctor (L/N, F/N). Mr. Yagi and I are coworkers. He had just finished giving me a tour of U.A. when we heard a scream and came to investigate." You straightened back up, turning to look at Yagi again. Inara hadn't said anything about healing him, but that really hadn't been a long enough run to justify his being so out of breath. As if he heard your thoughts, Yagi coughed one more time into his hand and straightened back up.

"Good day, Midnight," he said politely. "Dr. (L/N) has a healing quirk. I'm sure your cuts would be easy to heal."

"Oh, a healing quirk? I was just going to go to Recovery Girl, but if you're not too busy..." She tried to smile as she approached you, but it turned into a grimace when several of her cuts reopened. "These cuts are rather...irritating."

"Of course," you said politely, offering her a hand and calling on your quirk. A silver film washed over the world, and every cut on her body was enhanced slightly. Looking at each of them carefully as you took her hand into yours, you saw the dull brown color of poison in almost every one of them.

The poison was a mild, almost negligent dose, but if she'd had many more cuts, she would have started to feel the effects. Because you had to burn the poison out, the healing would take more of your power reserves than normal. Since you hadn't performed any serious healings in the last several days, though, it didn't really matter. Taking a pinch of the power in your core, you drew it out along your arm and sent it through the touch of her hand on yours. Glitter seemed to appear on her skin around every injury, and she looked at it with a great deal of interest as each cut closed itself up. As you always did, you wondered what kind of quirk caused that pattern with your silver.

Once the last cut had been healed, you let go of her hand and shut off your quirk. Looking at the world through silver eyes for more than a few minutes at a time usually caused a headache, and that didn't really seem necessary.

"So, you're starting work at U.A.?" The woman - Midnight, Yagi had called her - asked, turning back toward the men on the floor around her. One of them groaned as she rolled him over to put handcuffs on his wrists.

"Yes," you answered, walking forward and poking one of the men with the toe of your shoe. "What did you do to these guys?"

"This guy," she corrected you. "There's only one of him, and it's the one I'm cuffing now. I put him to sleep with my quirk. I'm one of the teachers at U.A., too. I look forward to working with you, Doctor!" One of the clones moved, and you took a startled step back as he suddenly melted like a wax candle.

"Huh," you muttered, leaning down to get a better look. After a moment, you remembered that she had just spoken to you, and stood back up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I look forward to working with you, as well. I'm only going to be working part-time, though."

"Is that an American accent?"

"Yes," you shoved your hands into your pockets. "I'm American, but I recently moved to Japan on...personal business." No need to tell them you were there to save their favorite hero, All Might. "I'm not sure how long I'll be here, so I needed to get a job."

"Welcome to Japan!" She said cheerfully, offering her hand once more. "Nemuri Kayama. Please, call me Kayama! Would you like a tour? I can show you all the best...places... In the city." Her eyes were half-lidded and you were quite sure that she didn't mean restaurants. Pretending not to notice the implication, you took her hand and shook it.

"Please call me (F/N). I might take you up on that offer, assuming you mean a tour of the city. Though I might have to bring my roommate along."

"Ooh, a roommate. You've really outdone yourself, Toshinori," she purred, turning to him. He coughed, blushing slightly and looking away. You had to bite back the urge to tease him. Though you were starting to consider the man your friend, you decided that the relationship wasn't at that point just yet.

A rustle behind you was all the more warning you got before a shock of pain hit your shoulder from behind. Swinging the suitcase you'd somehow managed to hold on to, you spun on your heel. Locking onto your target, you released the suitcase and watched it smack into his temple before could react.

Either Midnight had missed one of the clones, or the one she'd put cuffs on hadn't actually been the offender. The man you'd struck matched all of the others, and sank to the floor like a sack of potatoes. You turned to look at the pile of bodies behind you and saw that they were all beginning to melt at once. Apparently, the real person was the one that had just put a dent in your suitcase.

"Time for a new suitcase, I guess," you said, eyeing the dent.

"You're injured," Yagi said, concern in his voice.

"Oh, right." The knife was just out of your line of sight. "Well, I guess I should pull that out."

"You guess?" Midnight sounded less worried than she was amused.

"Yeah, it's got poison on it, after all."

"Poison?" Yagi started coughing, hiding his mouth behind a hand as best he could.

"You should see a doctor about that cough," you said drily, reaching over your shoulder for the knife. With a grimace, you yanked it out. It had only been half an inch in, but you could feel the burn of the poison in your bloodstream nonetheless. "I think the clones were weaker versions of the real deal. This poison is much more potent than what he got you with, Kayama."

Burning the poison out hurt more than the knife wound itself, but it didn't take more than a few seconds. You couldn't deny that you were starting to feel the effects of using your quirk, including an oncoming headache. He hovered while you healed yourself, but you decided that Yagi's concern was somewhat touching.

--

You were sitting on your couch (lopsided but extremely cheap) with Inara on the floor in front of you when your phone started buzzing. The television was playing a scene from earlier that day of a young boy held hostage by a green sludge monster. All Might had saved the day, but not before a young boy had gone in with no means of fighting other than the backpack he'd thrown at the sludge.

"Inara, my hands are covered in coconut oil," you said, tugging on one of the microbraids you were massaging said oil into. "Pick up my phone, won't you?"

"Is it a boy?" She asked, excited. "Did you get a boyfriend yesterday? It sounded like you two were getting real cozy when I called!"

"Inara, you were on the phone with us for less than two minutes. Even if we had been getting 'cozy', you wouldn't have been able to tell. Pick up my phone." If nothing else, the buzzing was starting to get annoying. Inara reached around and grabbed the phone from the side table (cracked leg patched with wood glue) where you'd left it. Inara looked down at the screen without pushing the answer button; Toshinori Yagi's name flashing across the screen as your phone continued to buzz.

"I don't understand Japanese names. Is that a boy name, or a girl name?"

"Inara." Finally, she answered the phone, pressing the speaker button. "Good morning, Mr. Yagi. I have you on speaker with Inara and I, I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. Good morning, Doctor. Ms. Inara."

"I'm a doctor, too!" Inara said, a bit defensively. "(Y/N), you didn't tell him I have a doctorate?"

"Slipped my mind. How are you, Mr. Yagi?"

"I'm well. I was actually calling you to let you know about a meeting Principal Nedzu is having with all of the teachers tomorrow afternoon. He told me you hadn't established your teacher's email account yet, so I offered to call."

"Ah, okay, thank you. What time should I be there?"

--

A few minutes before four o'clock the next afternoon, you approached the school gate, rummaging in your suitcase for the visitor's badge Toshinori had given to you two days prior. Stopping just short of the entrance, you gave up on looking through the suitcase and dumped it on the ground in front of you. It was mostly empty, except for a few folders, a spare necktie, and the badge you'd been looking for. With a scowl at the offending badge, you picked it up and pinned it to your shirt before starting to put everything else back. A hand appeared out of the corner of your eye, and you looked up to find Yagi picking one of your folders up for you.

"Thank you," you said politely, accepting the folder with a bow and putting it into the suitcase with the rest. He returned your bow, and continued to pick up folders until the mess you'd made was once more in your suitcase. The latch wouldn't close on one side, but you'd tied it down with a bit of string.

"I thought you were getting a new one of those," a familiar voice called from behind you.

"I am, I just haven't gotten around to it," you turned around to greet Kayama with a polite bow. "Inara and I were finishing unpacking yesterday, and I slept through my alarm this morning."

Walking next to Kayama was a tall blonde whose hair was gelled back and straight out in an impressive spike that reminded you of a cockatoo. Not that you would mention that to him. He wore shaded glasses and had what looked like a speaker system around his neck. When he got closer,  you could see little tufts of a mustache on his lips.

--

The longer the meeting went on, the more nervous Yagi seemed to be. You caught yourself glancing at him periodically, wondering what was bothering him so much. Suddenly, Principal Nedzu turned to speak to you directly.

"You weren't here the first time I spoke with the teachers about this," he said, a cup of tea in his hand. You were beginning to wonder if you would ever see the mouse-bear-man without a cup of tea. "But it is important that you know, so that it doesn't come as a surprise later. I also need to know that you will assist with keeping this secret... Well, secret."

"Uh. Okay," you said, not liking the fact that everyone at the table had turned their attention to you. Yagi stood up, looking more stressed than ever. "Is... Is everything okay?"

"I am... All Might." He said, his hands wringing in front of him.

"Oh," you said, trying not to sound too suspicious. You wanted to believe Yagi, but you'd met All Might, and he simply didn't fit the bill. Other than the obvious difference in size and strength, the personality didn’t fit. The Yagi you had met didn't have the ego it took to give an autograph without being asked first. Hell, he probably wouldn't give an autograph if he were asked for one. He also didn't barge into a restaurant announcing himself at full volume. Yagi cleared his throat, and then something truly strange happened.

The man grew. As in, puffed out and up, even those bangs of his suddenly standing at attention. You were completely floored; standing in front of you was, without a doubt, the All Might you had met your first day in Japan. He even had that ridiculous smile on his face. There were those overly blue eyes, and you realized why Yagi had always seemed familiar. Yagi - All Might -  gave you a thumbs up, and you had no idea how to respond. After a moment of awkward silence, there was a puff of steam and Yagi appeared again, coughing slightly.

"Um."

"I was seriously injured about five years ago," Yagi spoke quietly, refusing to meet your eyes. "This is what I have been reduced to, because of my wounds."

"Well," you said, trying to recover your composure, "at least now I know why you wear clothes five sizes too big." Someone chuckled.

--

That seemed to be the end of the meeting. Everyone said their goodbyes, and Kayama left with the man she'd come in with, who'd introduced himself as Hizashi Yamada, as well as a man with an oversized white scarf who had been introduced as Shouta Aizawa. You hoped the others didn't mind that you hadn't memorized their names yet as they shuffled out, welcoming you to the school in passing. You responded as pleasantly as you could manage, trying to keep an eye out for Yagi. You wanted to speak with him alone, and by the way he'd been avoiding your eyes you thought he might try to sneak out with the crowd.

Finally, it was just the two of you. You eyed him from across the room for a moment, hoping he would look up. When he didn't, you let out a small sigh and stood. Walking around the tables until you were next to his chair, you sat on the edge of the table and poked him gently in the side of the head.

"I'm a doctor," you said quietly, "keeping secrets about peoples' health is what I do. I don't really get why this has to be a secret, or why you didn't just tell me to start with... But if you want me to keep it quiet, I will."

"All Might is the symbol for hope here in Japan," he told you. There was a fierceness in his eyes when he looked up at you that you hadn't quite expected. "If All Might fails, the villains will think they've won. They'll come back, worse than ever. I cannot let that happen, (F/N)."

"Okay," you said, sitting on the table and leaning back, swinging your legs lazily. You and Yagi sat in silence for a moment, both lost in thought. Finally, he stood up.

"Thank you for understanding," he said, turning to leave.

"Toshinori," you said his first name without thinking. "Can I look at you? I mean properly look at you, with my quirk? If there's an emergency, it would help me to know how bad things are beforehand." He coughed as he thought about it. This time, you were sure there was blood on his lips before he licked it away. "Please."

"Yes, of course."

You weren't quite prepared for the damage he'd taken. Looking at him through the silver sheen that came with your quirk, you could see every inch of damage done to him. You were going to have to have a long talk with Inara about that premonition of hers.

His stomach was missing entirely. You'd have to consult your medical books to figure out exactly how he was getting any sustenance, but at least you finally had a reason for his thinness. One of his lungs had been removed; the other had a very serious scar that would probably never heal fully. That had to be the source of his cough. The damage to his other internal organs was hard to measure; some were covered in scars, some nearly unrecognizable from the damage. The scar on his side was red and puffy, as if it still hadn't fully healed. Your fingers itched to give him some of your strength, but you knew it wouldn't do anything worthwhile.

Blinking away the silver, you met those ridiculously blue eyes. The man before you had been thoroughly defeated, but the strength in his face said otherwise. His body may have failed him, you realized, but he wasn't giving up yet.

"Well, then," you murmured, smiling slightly, "I guess that makes you my patient."

Chapter Text

The school year was almost over, but Principal Nedzu put you into lessons anyway, usually working side-by-side with another one of the teachers. Your favorite classes were with Kayama, who taught hero-based art history. She had a way of teaching that was both interesting and informative, and you were able to better understand the differences between American and Japanese heroes because of it. Hizashi, better known as Present Mic, asked you to tutor some of his English students during homeroom classes. You learned from one such student that he had his own radio show, and before you knew it you were listening in almost every night. Inara caught you listening one night and teased you about it - until she realized that she liked what he had to say. She became one of his biggest fans, asking every week or so for you to arrange introductions. Aizawa brought you in to pick up the pieces after two of his students got into an all-out brawl during a practical class, and you started attending those classes when you didn't have an assignment. The man was rough around the edges, certainly, but you couldn't deny that he cared about his students and was an excellent teacher. Cementoss was quiet but kind, giving his students encouragement when they needed it and a stern talking-to when they misbehaved. Hound Dog spoke perfect Japanese until he lost his temper and started barking and growling. For the first two classes you taught by his side, you thought Ectoplasm didn't like you. Then he invited you and a few other teachers to that ramen shop Yagi had recommended you.

Yagi, as it turned out, wasn't actually going to start teaching lessons until the following school year. He visited the school often, and you heard reports of All Might sightings on the radio pretty regularly, but otherwise the two of you didn't cross paths for several months. Occasionally in your free time, you would find yourself wondering what the man was up to. After a particularly brutal-sounding fight you heard about, you even sent him a text to see how he was doing. His response was quick and polite, assuring you that he was fine and keeping himself busy. You let it go at that, not wanting to hover over someone who was clearly doing well without you. Inara caught you staring at a text message from him and started singing love songs, insisting that your worry for the man was a sign of something more. You told her to shut up so many times without success that you finally gave up, ignoring her for two days until she apologized.

Inara finally found a small psychiatry firm near the beach that gave her an office and a few patients. She made a few friends at work and spent less and less time at the apartment. This didn't bother you; you had classwork to do and an exercise routine to keep, after all. Though you never went on official hero patrols, you occasionally ran into trouble while on your daily run, or to and from the store. After offering your healing quirk to a few of the local heroes, they began to greet you when you passed by, occasionally asking you to heal a cut or bruise they'd developed in a previous fight. Overall, you were pretty well satisfied with the life you'd managed to establish in Japan. Late at night, however, you would think back to the reason you had come to Japan in the first place and wonder when the big event Inara had predicted would take place. It was during those quiet moments that you most often found yourself staring at Yagi's contact information, talking yourself out of calling him.

--

Four months out from the new school year, you were walking to the grocery store when a familiar voice called to you. Turning to look, you were startled to see a boy you'd known in America. He had bright green spiked hair and oversized glasses, and you'd always felt he was a little bit too attached to you. During a very short stunt as a full-time hero just after receiving your hero license, you'd saved the boy from a fire; for the next two years, even after you'd stopped running around in a costume, he'd still sent you fanmail. That had been six years ago; the fact that he was now approaching you, in an entirely different country where you weren't really known as a hero any more, was more than a little off-putting. Particularly since he was still only 15, and appeared to be alone. Worried that you were about to become a short-term foster parent until you could convince him to go home, you waved back and waited for him to approach.

"Hello, Silver!" he said excitedly, almost tripping on the curb to get to you. You tried not to wince when he called you by your old hero name, but no one else on the busy street seemed to notice.

"Hello, Mike," you said, taking the hand he held out to you for a brief shake. Both of you were speaking in English, and passersby ignored you. "What are you doing in Japan, kid?"

"Visiting you, of course!" He reached into his backpack and pulled out a folder. To your dismay, the folder was filled with photos and printed news articles. You had a feeling that each photo had you somewhere in it, and each article mentioned you in some way or another. The kid was, officially, your first stalker. Great.

"Mike," you said gently, trying not to sound as creeped out as you actually were, "you shouldn't be out in the street by yourself. Where are your parents?"

"I'm almost sixteen! I can take care of myself. My parents are still in America."

"And they let you come here? To Japan? By yourself?"

"Of course not! They sent me with a hero. But I made sure it was someone you knew, so you wouldn't have to worry about me."

"Oh. And who would that be?" Your heart was beating faster than usual, but you tried to keep the nerves out of your voice. The likelihood that he would have followed you all the way to Japan nearly four years after the incident... At least, you told yourself it wasn't likely.

"Your old partner, of course! He told me you guys weren't getting along the last time you spoke, but he really really wants to make it up to you. He went to talk to one of the local heroes to see if they knew where you were, but I knew I could find you faster. He just didn't believe me! See, I knew you would go to this grocery store because you've been around three hero fights near the store since you got to Japan. I didn't know if you would be here today, but you were! I guess it's just good luck that you were going shopping today!"

"Okay," you said, turning toward a coffee shop nearby, "why don't we catch up inside that coffee shop?" Where my old 'partner' is less likely to see me, you thought. You were beginning to sweat. If Tremor was speaking with a local hero, they might just be able to tell him where to find you on grocery day. The last thing you wanted was a confrontation with him on a busy street in broad daylight. Not after the last conversation you'd had with him.

Inara called you as you were ordering a hot cocoa for Mike. You picked up immediately, hoping she was calling about something she needed from the store and not a premonition.

"Hello, Inara," you said quietly, turning back to the table Mike had picked out for you. "What's going on?"

"I need your friend Yagi's phone number. There's somewhere he needs to be, but I don't have any way to contact him."

"Oh, okay," you said, a wave of relief washing over you. Of course Inara would have a tasker for a hero like All Might - though she still didn't know Yagi's true identity. "I'll text it to you, and text him so he's expecting your call."

"(Y/N), you sound kind of nervous. Everything okay?"

"Of course," you lied, "just go ahead and call Yagi so he can get the details of your premonition."

--

Toshinori had almost forgotten (Y/N)'s friend with the future-seeing quirk, but as soon as he answered his phone he recognized her voice on the other end.

"Hello again, Yagi. I had a premonition, do you remember how (Y/N) got the information from me last time? You have to ask me questions and sort of... narrow it down. Sorry, I know it's super annoying. But someone needs your help, so I hope you can bear with me."

"It isn't a problem at all," Toshinori assured her. "Your name was... Inara, right? Doctor Inara?"

"Yes, that's me. So what's your first question? How long my quirk lasts usually depends on what information you can get out of me, but there is a time limit."

"Okay," Toshinori thought for a moment, trying to remember what (L/N) had asked last time. "Do I know the person I need to help?"

"You know one of them, but it's actually a bunch of people. Maybe a collapsing building?"

"Uh. Where are they?"

"Too vague," she answered. "Try giving me directions, like north or south or something, and I can say yes or no."

"All right! How about south?"

"No, definitely not."

Ten minutes later, Toshinori was flying through the air as All Might, headed Northwest and still clueless about who he would be saving. But at least he had an idea of where to go, and that there was a collapsing building involved. He made a mental note to ask what Inara's last name was, so that he could greet her properly next time she called. Looking ahead, he saw a plume of dust. That had to be the problem, he decided, landing on a building and adjusting his direction before leaping again.

What he found was a destroyed building, just as Inara had said. But what really caught his attention was the person standing in front of it.

--

Tremor had snuck up on you, but you'd sensed him at the last second, right before you hit the 'send' button on the text to Yagi. Unfortunately, dodging his punch meant that his hand made direct contact with one of the support beams holding the tea shop up. When that pillar exploded, someone in the shop let out a scream.

"Everyone out!" You yelled, turning back toward Tremor. He was already throwing another punch, which you barely managed to dodge. "Mike! Clear the area and call the cops!" Tremor's black hair was longer than you remembered, and it looked like he hadn't slept or shaved in weeks. His costume, black and white with green accents, was a little bit too lose, with stains and wrinkles as if he hadn't had it washed in weeks. The man was falling apart, even worse than you remembered.

"Don't pretend to be a hero!" He roared, a mad fury in his eyes as he threw another punch. "You're a monster, just like the rest of them! A villain pretending to be a hero!"

"Tremor," you said, deflecting his next swing by smacking at his wrist. It was only the fists that could create shockwaves, you remembered. "You're putting everyone here at risk with that quirk. Let's take this somewhere else, where no one else can get hurt!"

"You'll just run away. Run, like you did before! I won't let you!"

"I didn't run," you were running now, though, dodging tables as you fought to get to the street. He would take down any building he got close to, insane as he'd apparently become. Maybe hiding in a tea shop hadn't been the best idea, after all.

"You did! You moved across country, hid in a hole in a town no one had heard of. You thought you got away from me, but you were wrong!" There went another support beam, and part of the ceiling with it. Thankfully, the shop had been mostly empty to begin with; now most of the customers and staff were outside, on their phones with the police. "But you found out how close I was, didn't you? I was so close. So you ran again, like the coward you are. You ran to a whole other country, and I had to start looking all over again."

You were only managing to dodge his attacks because the constant talking was slowing him down. Tremor's hand-to-hand had always been better, and you hadn't carried your weapon in years. The building gave an ominous groan as you finally got out the door, trying to slam it in his face. He just punched it, and it shattered in every direction. You heard someone nearby scream, and stumbled backward, trying to protect your eyes from the raining glass. You fell on your back as you felt a dozen or more shards of glass make contact.

The broken door was a blessing as much as it was a curse, however. Tremor was struck by even more glass than you were, and he stumbled backwards as the building began to cave in. You pulled yourself to your feet, looking around desperately to make sure everyone was outside now. A crowd stood nearby, some screaming and others cheering as if this were an episode of their favorite drama. Before you could figure out if that was everyone from the tea shop, Tremor came running out at full speed, covered in blood and dust and crazier than ever.

The fist fight resumed, and you backed away as much as you could without leaving openings for your ex-partner. If you could get to the middle of the street, you reasoned, then the only thing Tremor would be able to destroy would be the street itself. People might get hurt from it, and the buildings around you might take damage, but at least it wouldn’t be a building full of people. One of the shards of glass must have hit something important, because you were getting too tired too fast.

There was another ominous groan from the building, but this time it didn’t quiet down afterward. The tea shop crashed to the ground, shaking the road under your feet and resulting in more screaming from onlookers. You cursed, hoping everyone had gotten out in time. You were starting to get light headed, your movements slower as you tried to stay away from those deadly fists. You couldn’t even hear what the madman was yelling any more, all of your attention on the fists in front of you.

You cursed again when you caught Tremor’s next punch instead of deflecting it. The feeling of every bone in your hand and wrist cracking under the strain of a miniature earthquake blinded you with pain, and you heard a ringing in your ears as you stumbled backward. Tremor had officially won the fight. You knew he would land the next fist in your stomach, and you had no way to stop him.

The next fist never came. Blinking, you looked around; Tremor was gone, and someone else was standing in his place. Looking up  - and up, and up - you found yourself inches away from a very concerned All Might.

“Oh,” you muttered, “hello.”

“Don’t worry!” He said, though you heard worry in his voice. “I am here!”

“Uh,” you looked down, trying to figure out which piece of the tea shop’s door was doing the most damage. “Tosh--- um. All Might. You need to…” It was hard to focus, and the world was getting a little bit darker. You needed to tell Yagi something, but your mouth wouldn’t form the words.

“You need medical attention!” He said, practically holding you up by your shoulders.

“Yeah,” you agreed. “All Might, please… make sure everyone got out… of the building.”

“Of course! I told you not to worry, didn’t I? I will take care of everything. You just rest, and wait for medical assistance!” Your knees gave out, and he caught you with gentle hands, careful not to touch any of the door that was sticking out of you. Your last thought before your eyes closed was that his hands were exactly the right amount of warm.

Chapter Text

The first person you saw when you woke up was Yagi. He was slumped in the chair to the left of your bed, head in his hands. You didn't like how distraught he looked - had you taken more damage in the fight with Tremor than you thought? Or was he just asleep, using his hands as pillows? Inara was fast asleep in another chair on the other side of your bed, using the wall as a pillow with her arms crossed in front of her. You sat up quietly, trying not to wake either of your guests, and activated your quirk, assessing the damage.

"Inara said you wouldn't want painkillers," Yagi spoke quietly, and you turned to look at him without thinking to deactivate your quirk. The damage to his body was easier to look at the second time, but it still made you a little queasy. He had to be in constant pain, you realized, once again resisting the urge to fill him up with your power.

"Inara was right," you said. "Addiction runs in the family. No need to risk that kind of thing over a broken hand."

" 'Broken' isn't the right word," a very short old woman had walked into the room, holding a clipboard in one hand and a cane shaped like a syringe in the other. You'd met Recovery Girl on your second day working at U.A., and assisted her with a few students since. She didn't really need your help, but she seemed to understand how hard it was to see someone in pain and not do anything about it. " 'Shattered' is better. I almost couldn't put it all back together, and you will have scars from the surgery, even with that healing quirk of yours."

"Thank you for your help, Recovery Girl," you said politely. To be honest, you were relieved that she'd been able to do anything with your hand. You'd seen someone come out of a fight with Tremor with so much damage to his arm that it had to be amputated. Looking at the cast on your right hand, you winced. Recovery Girl's quirk had caused about six weeks' worth of healing, but you could see that it would be a long time before you'd fully recover. It also looked like she had focused her quirk entirely on your hand; the shrapnel from the exploding door had been removed and replaced with stitches, but none of it had begun to heal. That wasn't a big deal, as you could heal it yourself once you recovered some of the energy she'd used on your hand.

"You're quite welcome." There was a moment of silence, and Yagi looked down at his hands again, as if all of this were his fault. "You understand how much healing you have left to do, then?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"When you first arrived, I took x-rays of your entire body to determine the full extent of the damage. This isn't the first time you've fought that man, is it? Your ribcage-"

"I don't want to talk about that," you interrupted. After a moment of awkward silence - Yagi had a look of bewilderment on his face - you looked back at your hand, finally deactivating your quirk. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude. But I don't like to talk about... that. Or him." Recovery Girl sighed.

"Well, I can't make you. Come and see me in a few days for another healing session. I expect you'll close the cuts up yourself, but please leave the bones to me."

"Of course," you agreed.

"He got away," Yagi said suddenly, turning back to stare at his hands. "I'm sorry, (L/N), I failed."

"You didn't fail," you assured him quickly. "He's always been hard to catch." You put your good hand on his shoulder, and smiled when he looked at you.

"You shouldn't go anywhere by yourself until he's been captured," Recovery Girl said.

"I'm not going to ask someone to walk me to and from work every day."

"It won't be a problem!" Yagi was suddenly made of muscles again, sitting straight up and grinning at you. You couldn't decide whether the sudden change was annoying or funny. "I will go with you to and from work each day, to keep an eye on you!"

"Yagi," you said tiredly, putting your hand back in your lap, "I can't just stay in my apartment all the time, and I'm not going to call you every time I decide to go for a morning run. I appreciate your concern, I do. But I'll be fine."

"He's after you, (Y/N)," Inara was awake, after all. Which also meant that she now knew about Yagi and All Might. "You can't just go on with life like nothing's changed."

"I'll start carrying my chains again," you offered, beginning to worry you'd be put on house arrest. "And I'll go back to practicing martial arts. I bet if I ask nicely, Principal Nedzu will let me use the school facilities after hours for practice."

"Your hand will take weeks to fully recover, even with Recovery Girl's help," Yagi said. He was a skeleton again, a drop of blood on the corner of his mouth.

"Please believe me when I say that I can take Tremor on with one hand. I just need my weapon to do it." You reached over and wiped the blood away, smiling slightly. "Tremor is harmless when you can fight him from a distance, and that's exactly how I normally fight." He didn't look convinced.

"At least let someone escort you until your hand is better," Inara said. "That's a happy medium, right? A couple of weeks with an escort, and then you can go back to being independent. And by 'independent', I mean reckless." You gave her your best glare.

"It would make us all feel better," Recovery Girl said, though she was looking at Yagi as she said it. You looked back at him, understanding what the old woman was getting at. Yagi was exactly the type of person to worry about you, even if there was nothing to worry about. He already blamed himself for Tremor getting away, though you didn't. You thought about it for a minute, glaring down at the cast on your hand.

"...Okay," you finally agreed. "But please don't let me disrupt your schedule. If you're busy when the school day is over, I'll just stay at the school and exercise, to get back into my fighting shape. I didn't realize how rusty I'd gotten until Tremor started swinging at me."

--

Mike had been taken into police custody after trying to get into the ambulance with you. While Recovery Girl was piecing your hand back together, the police had managed to get his parent's contact information and sent him home. He'd left a letter with the policeman that interviewed him, who gave it to Yagi, who brought it with him when he picked you up at your apartment the next morning. You accepted the letter, assuring Yagi that the damage from the exploding door was fully healed, and that your hand didn't hurt too much.

You hooked your elbow through Yagi's so he could keep you from walking into walls or people as you read the letter. Mike's handwriting was atrocious, but you managed to sort through it after only a few minutes of struggling. Mostly, he apologized for helping Tremor find you in Japan. Apparently, when he'd first shown up at Mike's door, Tremor had been cleaned up and coherent. The closer Mike got to finding you, however, the more restless Tremor had become. Mike, in his defense, had attributed it to nerves about meeting up with an old friend. Once his apology was over, Mike gave a play-by-play of your fight with Tremor, insisting that All Might had interfered with what was sure to be your special move to take Tremor out. The end of the letter included a promise to 'keep in touch'. You decided you would have to get in contact with the boy's parents right away. This problem needed to be shut down as quickly as possible.

You and Yagi got all the way to the train station, chatting idly about the school and what you were planning on teaching during one of your solo lessons that day, before you realized that you were still holding onto his arm like he were your boyfriend. Yagi seemed to notice at the same time, and started coughing. You unhooked your arm, trying not to blush, and handed him a handkerchief, thanking whichever gods may be listening that Inara hadn't seen that. Neither of you knew what to say, so neither of you said anything. The train ride was painfully awkward, and you were relieved when it came to a stop. The walk between the train and U.A. was short, and Yagi didn't come in. You waved goodbye, trying to pretend nothing had happened, and went on your way.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but every time things quieted down, your mind went back to holding Yagi's arm. It had felt so natural to walk that way with him, despite the fact that you had never done it with anyone else. Even if the walk back to your apartment with Yagi was awkward, you realized, you were looking forward to it. In an odd way, you were more relaxed around Yagi than you were with anyone else, even Inara. Talking about nothing had always seemed like a waste of time, until you started talking about nothing with Toshinori Yagi.

When the final class of the day ended, you went directly to the teacher's lounge and asked Hound Dog where best to look for Power Loader. Maijima was working in U.A.'s development studio with a few of his third year support class students, helping them finalize projects that they had apparently been working on all year. When you waved at him, he waved back and asked you to wait for a moment, so you wandered around the studio to see what kind of work his students were up to. You were inspecting a very large power suit when he came back, a student you hadn't noticed before following him.

"Snipe told me you might be coming by, (L/N). Said you were looking for someone to recreate your weapon from when you worked full-time as a hero in America?" While you hadn't worked with Maijima much, you couldn't find any reason to dislike the man. His students were all innovators, and you'd notice that he generally let them do as they pleased, as long as no one was hurt in the process, which you approved of greatly.

"Yes, I was hoping you or one of your students could help me out. It isn't high-tech at all, but I thought you might have access to better metals than the plain steel I used in America." You offered him a picture of your old costume, pointing at the chains coiled around your arms. "I don't need the costume. Just the chain, please. It had weights on either end of it, to give it direction in a fight. I haven't fought with a weapon in years, but I remember the basics well enough."

"I'll assign it to my first year homeroom class, unless you have any objections. Whoever presents the design you like best will get extra credit on their next exam."

"That sounds great to me," you said, giving him the picture. "It was about fifteen feet in length, made of high-grade steel and - as I already mentioned - weighted on both ends. I'll trust you and your students to come up with something wonderful, but please don't let them do anything super crazy. I'm not planning on starting hero patrols any time soon... This is just for self-defense."

Your phone went off a moment later, and you opened a text from Yagi. He was on his way, and traveling as All Might. You imagined his muscle form trying to fit through the doors to the train and had to turn a giggle into a cough. Maijima didn't seem to notice, but the student that had followed him over did, and gave you a sly wink. You considered glaring at him, but chose to wink back instead. He turned bright red, and looked down at the clipboard in his hand as if there were something he really needed to read on it. You pretended not to notice that there was nothing attached to the clipboard.

--

As it turned out, you didn't get to see Muscles on a train, after all. He arrived as All Might with a suitcase in his hand and immediately excused himself to go and change. When he came back out in a baggy button up shirt and slacks, you were somewhat relieved. All Might was well enough, but you liked Yagi much better.

Both of you pretended that nothing strange had happened that morning, and he asked about your day almost immediately. When you told him about your visit with Power Loader and his students, Yagi seemed almost excited to hear that you would be getting your weapon within a week. Your hand wouldn't be healed yet, so he told you he would still walk with you, but you could tell that he was relieved to hear that you would be able to better defend yourself soon. Asking about how his day was going, he admitted that he was training a young man he'd met several months ago, and would be headed to meet with him right after dropping you off at your apartment.

"He has real potential," Yagi said, a light in his eyes that you wished would never leave. "He moved to help his friend, without even thinking about it. It reminded me why I became a hero in the first place."

"Sounds like a good kid," you agreed, realizing you were having trouble looking away from him. Trying not to stare, you forced yourself to look at the buildings you passed instead. Your apartment was only two more blocks away, and you weren't looking forward to saying goodbye. Maybe you could ask him inside for tea...? But no, you'd run out of tea two nights before, as you still hadn't been able to get to the grocery store.

"I made him an exercise and eating plan, to build up his strength and stamina for what is to come. (L/N), do you remember when we first met?"

"At the school?" You asked, looking at him curiously.

"No, at that restaurant, with the crocodile villain."

"Oh, right, of course." You still had trouble thinking of Yagi and All Might as the same person. In an abstract way, you knew that they were the same person. But All Might's personality was just different enough from Yagi's that he seemed like another person. "What about it?"

"Well, you told the waiter who was hurt that he needed to eat more broccoli. I was wondering... could you do that for young Midoriya? I want to be certain that my plan suits him properly."

"Of course," you said immediately. If Yagi wanted this kid to be strong, you were willing to help make that happen. "When do you want me to meet him?"

"I'll ask him today what he thinks of the idea!" Yagi seemed absolutely ecstatic, and you couldn't help but return his smile with one of your own. "If he agrees, I'll take you to meet him tomorrow after class."

--

Izuku Midoriya turned out to be a small, freckled boy with dark green hair and big eyes. He looked exhausted as you approached, but there was a light in his eyes that reminded you immediately of Yagi. The boy seemed to be a mirror of Yagi, with all of the zeal and love for life, but with near perfect health. You looked through the boy's exercise plan - named "The American Dream" - while he cleaned trash on the beach with Yagi to direct him. You watched both of them with silvered eyes for a few minutes before writing little notes on the exercise plan. It was clear that the boy was working outside of the plan; the exhaustion he showed was beyond what Yagi's 'American Dream' should have been causing. The plan itself hardly needed any editing; the amount of studying and detail that went into it was impressive.

The walk from the beach to the train was quiet, Yagi apparently lost in thought about something. You put your hands in your pockets and left the man to his thoughts, wondering how long it would be before Power Loader's class finished producing your chain. Suddenly, Yagi stopped walking, a look of deep concern on his face.

"(L/N), I have to ask a big favor of you," Yagi said, looking at the ground.

"Okay," you answered, stopping as well and turning to face him.

"Please don't tell any of the other teachers at U.A. about young Midoriya. I didn't think of it before now, but he's the type of boy who would consider it cheating if the other teachers knew how invested I was in him."

"No problem," you agreed immediately.

"Will you be one of the judges for next year's student applications?" He asked you, looking up. You didn't like that frown.

"Not that I'm aware of. Principal Nedzu hasn't brought it up, at least. I know I'll be on standby at the practical exam in case someone gets hurt, but that's about it." You paused for a moment. "If he asks me to, I'll tell him to find someone else. I'm American, after all. My judgement may not be as realistic for Japanese expectations as everyone else's."

"I.. Thank you."

"Of course. I like you enough to tell some white lies for you and your protege, Yagi." You grinned at him, and he finally smiled back. Being the cause of one of those smiles made your heart skip a beat. Something you would have to come to terms with... eventually. For now, you just turned back to your walk home.

Chapter Text

Two days later, Power Loader found you in the teachers’ lounge between classes and handed you a pile of papers. Every page was another entry from his first year students, and he sat you down to show you how to read the blueprints so you could begin to sort through which one would be best.

The break ended, and Power Loader went back to his classes. Since you still didn’t have a class to teach, you made yourself a cup of coffee and went back to sorting through the pile of papers. By the time the next class bell rang, you had narrowed it down to four options. Realizing you were officially late to the last class of the day, you packed the papers up and ran through the hallways.

Aizawa glared at you when you entered the classroom two minutes late, but thankfully he didn’t say anything. The lesson of the day was on the limits of quirks, and he had asked you to give your medical opinion on the matter, as the subject had been studied more extensively in America than in Japan. Though your presentation was only a small percentage of the class, you stuck around for the rest of it to listen to Aizawa’s lecture and help answer questions the students had.

When the class ended, you asked Aizawa what he thought of the submissions for your new weapon. You had seen a small demonstration of his fighting style in one of his other classes, and realized that it was fairly similar to your own. After a 20 minute discussion with him, you had finally narrowed it down to one submission.

“When I do get my chain back,” you said, helping the tired-looking man sort through the assignments his students had turned in, “would you mind helping me practice? I’m going to be very rusty, and my old practicing partner is… well, he’s out of the picture.”

“Your old partner is the one that did that to your hand, isn’t he?” Aizawa asked, gesturing toward the cast. You grimaced, wishing the man weren’t quite so perceptive.

“Yes,” you admitted. “Tremor is the one who convinced me to get a hero’s license in the first place. Now he’s… Well, I guess he was always a little unstable. He’s just gone over the edge now.”

“I’ll help you practice,” Aizawa said, “but it would be better for you to practice with more than one person. I can talk to Hizashi about practicing with you, and I’m sure Midnight would be willing to help. She seems to like you a lot.”

“I’ll talk to her later. Thank you again, Aizawa.” You hesitated for a moment, thinking about those bloodshot eyes as he walked away. “Uh, Aizawa?”

“Mmm?” He asked, stopping in the doorway to look back over his shoulder at you.

“Would you let me heal your eyes? It’s a chronic condition, associated with your quirk, so I can’t get rid of your dry-eye permanently… But I should be able to give you two or three hours, at least.”

“No, thank you.” He said. “If I were going on patrol and you thought that healing my eyes would make me more effective in a fight, then I might consider it. But it would be wasteful for you to heal me now, when I’m not even using my quirk.”

“Ah, okay. Well, if you ever decide you want me to, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He grunted again in response, leaving the room with a wave over his shoulder.

Glancing at your phone, you saw that Yagi hadn’t texted you yet. Tucking the winning submission under your arm, you left the classroom and turned toward the development studio.

Yagi complemented your new weapon, testing the weight in his hands as the two of you walked down the street. It was a simple design, made of some alloy that you didn’t bother to remember the name of, and with smaller links than your previous chain. Though the length was the same, and the links were about half the size, the chain had almost exactly the same weight to it as your old weapon. Each end had long, oval weights with a laser-etched design to make enough friction for a solid grip without taking from the aerodynamic shape. Overall, you were rather impressed with the skill of Power Loader’s student.

Your next healing session with Recovery Girl was the following day, and after she worked her magic, you were able to get rid of the bulky cast and replace it with bandages to support your fingers and wrist. Though it still ached horribly, you were able to use it for basic tasks and begin physical therapy exercises.

The day after that, you started practice sessions with Aizawa. In inviting Present Mic, Aizawa had managed to invite the entire school facility. To your surprise, every day of practice you found a different member of staff waiting for you in the gym. Even Principal Nedzu showed up to one session, though he mostly just talked for an hour until you were able to get away to a patiently waiting Yagi.

Time passed, and you became good friends with most of the professional heroes that worked at U.A. through your practices. They never asked you to heal the cuts and bruises they earned on the job, but you always offered. Sometimes, the stubborn men and women even accepted your offers.

Inara became more and more frustrated that she hadn’t met anyone you worked with other than Yagi and Recovery Girl. Finally, you relented and asked a few of the teachers to join you and Inara for a dinner in town. They agreed, and Inara finally got her chance to meet a few of them.

--

“Hizashi Yamada!” He said loudly, offering a hand to Inara. It was strange to see Present Mic in civilian clothes; his hair was no longer spiked, but instead in a messy bun at the back of his head. He still wore tinted, triangle glasses, and his eyebrows seemed to do whatever they wanted, but he wasn’t wearing all black leather any more. Inara nearly fainted, taking his hand and shaking it enthusiastically. She gushed about how much she loved his radio show until you elbowed her in the gut and pointed out Aizawa, who had arrived with him.

“Shouta Aizawa,” he said quietly, giving Inara a small bow. She responded with a bow of her own, looking a bit confused. His long hair was also pulled into a bun, and his scarf was missing, but his face was still scruffy and his eyes still bloodshot. It was clear from Inara’s expression that she had trouble believing the man was a professional hero. She looked even more perplexed when Yamada wrapped an arm around Aizawa’s shoulders. Theory confirmed, you thought to yourself.

“Hello, Beautiful!” Kayama approached now, looking more professional than she ever did as a teacher in a long sleeved, button up shirt and pencil skirt. Her bright red, horn-rimmed glasses were still in place, but her hair was tucked neatly into a bun. You were beginning to wonder if you should start wearing your own hair in a bun. “Kayama Nemuri, pleasure to meet you.”

Inara was floored by Kayama, and you had to hide a grin behind your hand as she blushed, stuttering for the first time in years as she greeted the woman. You made a mental note to show Inara a picture of Kayama in her hero costume when the two of you got home. With how much Inara teased you on a regular basis, you were looking forward to being able to tease her for once.

Yagi approached last, apologizing for being late as he scrubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Reaching into your pocket, you offered him the handkerchief you’d taken to carrying around for just this reason. He smiled and thanked you, greeting Inara and the others with a small bow.

Putting Inara at a table with people like Present Mic and Midnight was a recipe for a loud dinner, but you enjoyed yourself all the same. Aizawa was mostly silent, but when he did speak he managed to say exactly what you were thinking in fewer words, even if that meant they were harsher words. Most of the night was spent laughing at Kayama’s dirty jokes, or at the responses those jokes got from Inara and Yagi. Yamada and Aizawa sat next to each other, and you had a strong feeling that they were holding one another's hands under the table.

When he laughed, you found hard to look away from Yagi. Inara noticed you looking multiple times, and kicked you under the table so that she could let you know that she'd noticed. You responded by complimenting her hair - which was followed immediately by Kayama giving a flirty complement of her own and making your friend blush. Raising an eyebrow at her earned a glare that made you laugh again. Secretly, you hoped that Kayama might feel the same way about Inara as Inara clearly did about her. Your friend could do with a healthy relationship outside of the office.

--

When the day finally came that Recovery Girl gave you a clean bill of health, you had to admit that you were somewhat disappointed. Your walks with Yagi had become your favorite parts of the day. Even when the two of you walked in silence, or stood on a busy train where talking wasn’t really an option, you were happy. Yagi even admitted that he looked forward to the walks, looking a bit embarrassed to tell you that it was the most relaxing part of his day.

But he had better things to do than escort you to and from work, so you texted him that you were fully healed and leaned against the gate to U.A., trying not to think about how lonely your walks home were about to become.

There was burst of wind, and a thud, and you found your view of the road obstructed by a very muscular blue and red torso. Looking up, you were met with that overdone grin and glittering blue eyes.

“I am glad to hear that you are fully recovered!” He said, actually giving you a thumbs up. Still a bit surprised by his sudden appearance, all you could do for a moment was stare at him.

“Uh, thank you.”

“Please wait for me! I see no reason not to walk home with you today.” He walked past you - so closely that you felt his warmth - and into the school to change. Stunned, you watched him go, feeling a small flush in your cheeks.

Since when had you been so impressed with all that muscle? Or was it the smile? His eyes? That little bit of warmth when he walked by? You stood in shocked silence, trying to figure out why your heart was in your throat, until he walked back out of the school, tired and skinny and in another one of his oversized button up shirts. You knew (and Inara knew) that you'd developed something of a crush on Yagi. But this reaction seemed to be a bit.. much.

“Is something wrong?” He asked as he approached, looking concerned. You blushed even more, realizing that his changed appearance didn’t seem to do anything to settle your racing heart. Well, that eliminated the muscles as a possible factor, at least.

“N-no,” you managed. “Just...thinking.”

“Okay!” he answered, giving you another thumbs up. You cleared your throat and looked away. Why were you reacting like this? You’d known Yagi for months now, and never felt this strongly about his presence.

You managed to get your composure back a minute or so later, and you tried to act as if nothing had happened. It was when you got on the train that you realized why he would affect you now where he hadn’t before.

He wasn’t obligated to be there any more. His task to protect you was, officially, complete. You had your weapon; you had been training with your weapon with multiple other professional heroes for weeks, and your right hand was fully healed so that you could use it in a fight if Tremor showed up. Yagi had absolutely no reason to stop his hero patrol and walk you home today.

And yet, he had done exactly that. Looking at him from across the train, you saw that he looked far more relaxed than he had when you’d first met him. His shoulders were slumped, certainly, and he would likely look exhausted for the rest of his life. But his eyes twinkled with happiness, and even though you knew that part of that happiness was his protege Midoriya, you knew that part of it was you, too. The idea that you brought him happiness had your heart in your throat again, and he gave you another worried look as you blushed again.

You’d made him happy, and he’d made you happy. Happier than you'd been in years.

No. No, that was a dangerous train of thought. You had fallen for someone you worked with before, and now that man was out to kill you. Literally. The moment Yagi found out why Tremor hated you so much, that smile he wore around you would be gone. He would realize that Tremor’s hatred, while extreme beyond necessity, was not completely unfounded.

Besides, you were here because Inara had a premonition about your healing helping All Might. And that meant that he would be put in a situation where your skill was the only thing keeping him alive. Having a personal attachment to someone you were supposed to be healing wasn’t good for either party. As a doctor and as a hero, you knew that love only served to make situations more complicated.

Complications weren’t worth the risk. So you shut the feeling down, and said goodbye to Yagi at your apartment building’s door.

Chapter Text

As you were getting on the train after a day of preparing the school for its entrance exams, you remembered that you'd eaten the last egg with your breakfast that morning. Considering going home and dealing with it tomorrow, you decided against it. Inara liked eggs with her breakfast, and she was hard enough to deal with in the morning without being hangry, too. You sent her a text to let her know that you would be home later than usual, and got off a stop early, turning toward the grocery store.

It wasn't the same grocery store you'd been headed to when Mike found you, so you were more than a little shocked to find Tremor waiting outside. What was more shocking was that your old partner had cleaned himself up; his face was shaved, his hair was clean and freshly cut, and his costume - now devoid of stains - fit him well. Maybe a little too well, you realized, noticing that he was considerably more muscular than you ever remembered him being. He stood just outside the door to the building, a few civilians snapping pictures and asking if this was his debut. Considering your options, you stopped at a safe distance and frowned at him, flexing your hands and ignoring the fear bubbling in your stomach.

You've spent the last several months preparing yourself for this, you thought nervously, shifting your weight until you were in something of a fighting stance without being obvious about it. One of your hands drifted up to the shoulder board sewn into your button-up. It kept the chains in place, looped through and dangling from either shoulder. You've got your chains back, your hand is fully healed, and you've been training with professional heroes for months. Even Aizawa was impressed, last time you dueled him.

"I don't want to fight you," Tremor said calmly. "(Y/N), I just want to talk."

"I have trouble believing that." You held up your right hand, showing him the scars Recovery Girl's surgery had left. Your hand was so damaged that sometimes when you saw it out of the corner of your eye you had to do a double-take to make sure it was yours. It wasn't the sort of thing you were inclined to complain about - scars were part of the job, after all - but you would never be used to it.

"I'm sorry about that," he said.

"I don't believe you," you answered, tugging at the button that kept your chain in place on your right shoulder. A woman walked out of the store, sliding an arm around Tremor's waist like a lover.

"This doesn't have to be a fight. Why don't you come inside, and we can sit down and talk."

"Last time we 'talked', you tried to drop a building on my head." Tremor shifted his weight, and you tensed, ready to fight.

You blinked, and Tremor's face was inches away from yours. You felt his hand rest on the top of your head, and you could swear your heart had stopped beating. The damage that hand could do ...

"If you don't want to talk here, old friend , why don't we go back to my place?"

“Depends,” you said, trying to pretend you weren’t scared out of your mind, “is your place away from civilians?”

“Yes, actually, it is.”

“Ah. Let’s go there, then.”

"Sure, Dick."

“I’m not dropping my guard because you agreed.”

“One can dream.”

--

It was nearly a twenty minute walk to Tremor’s ‘place’, though he shifted his hand from the top of your head to the small of your back. As your back was still an incredibly bad place to be hit with a shockwave, you continued to cooperate.

Not that you weren’t figuring your way out. The biggest problem was the woman who could teleport. Even if you did break away from Tremor’s grip, she could just put him right back in range again. Without knowing whether she had to touch the thing she was transporting, you couldn’t risk knocking her down to keep her out of the fight.

The rundown part of town Tremor took you to would still have civilians, and the abandoned warehouse he walked you into would almost certainly have a homeless person or two sleeping in it. If you did end up fighting him, you’d have to be careful to keep him from taking the building down again. Though he seemed more lucid now, you couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t lose all control again the moment he started fighting.

The real concern was why he hadn’t killed you already. Tremor’s vendetta started and ended with you, so why was he taking you to the middle of nowhere to kill you? All he really needed was a dark alleyway; his quirk wasn’t registered in Japan, as far as you knew, so he wouldn’t be easy for them to trace if he just got rid of your body.

When you saw the chair in the middle of the room, with a camera set up to face it, you realized why he hadn’t killed you yet. He wanted a taped confession of your ‘crimes’ as a villain. Sitting down in the chair, you watched as they used your own chain to tie your hands down. It was almost ironic.

“What are you after, Richard?” You asked him, trying not to squirm and hoping that the use of his actual name might keep him in this reality. The chains were just a tad too tight, and you could tell you’d lose feeling in your fingers before long. Better think of a way out of this before then.

“The truth.”

“I gave you the truth. Six and a half years ago. Just because you don’t like it-” He interrupted you by smacking you in the mouth and splitting your lip.

“You’re a liar!” The crazy was back, and you had trouble keeping eye contact. Keeping your composure didn’t seem to be working, so you switched tactics.

“Hey, Dick, get your head out of your-” He smacked you again, this time hard enough to make you dizzy.

“Call me Richard, or call me Tremor, but don’t ever call me Dick. We’ve been over this, little Silver.”

“Yeah, yeah. I almost forgot that calling you Dick made you remember how small your-”

You were woken by a splash of cold water in your face, making you sputter and grimace. Judging by the smell, the water had been stagnating in a corner somewhere.

“Let’s try this again,” Tremor said, standing just behind the camera now. A little red light was lit on the side of the camera, so you knew it was recording. “State your name, little Silver.”

“Doctor (L/N), (F/N).”

“Doctor. You’ve always been so proud of that title.”

“It took some work to get it, so I figure I should flaunt it sometimes.”

“You need an attitude adjustment.”

“Look who’s talking.”

“Once you confess to what you’ve done, I’m going to kill you.”

“That isn’t a very good way to make someone talk, Dick. You’re supposed to offer them freedom.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be begging for death by the time I’m done.”

“Sure, Dick.”

--

"Good afternoon!" All Might said, landing on the nearest roof.

"Yagi, it's Inara. (Y/N) didn't come home, isn't answering the phone, and I'm having a premonition that I think directly involves you both. But I can't tell. Which means that the outcome is fifty-fifty instead of the usual near certainty I have when I get one of these things."

"Please calm down! Everything will be okay. You've called the right person. Please tell me what you know."

"Mortal danger, multiple enemies, and the rest you'll have to ask about because I DON'T KNOW, YAGI, AND I--"

" Inara !" All Might said sharply, snapping her back to the present. "I am All Might, remember? I will take care of everything."

"R-right. Ask away, All Might."

"Where is (L/N)?"

"Five minutes from your current position, at your normal rate of speed. Wow, it's not usually that specific. Next!" Inara seemed calmer, as if answering questions helped settle the nerves that came with her quirk.

"Should I travel north or south?"

"More north than south, but it isn't directly north. Northwest, I think."

"How many people are involved, can you tell?"

"Three. Wait, no, two. Wait.. that doesn't make sense, Yagi, the number keeps jumping between 2 and 3."

"I'll figure that out when I get there. Do I know any of the villains I'm fighting?" All Might couldn't decide whether he wanted to know the them or not. There were only so many villains he knew in the world that weren't already in jail.

"Yes, you definitely know one of them. Don't know the second at all. And the last one, you think you know them but maybe you don't. Wow, Yagi, I should call you more often. You really get the details outta my quirk."

"Is the villain that I know All for One?"

"That's a weird name. No, it's Tremor. Shit, it's Tremor ! You need to get moving, now . And now I know why- well, that'll be something to deal with when we get to it."

"I don't understand, Inara-"

"You don't need to. Five minutes northwest, at your normal rate of speed. Less if you can move faster, but maybe don't do that because you told me when I saw you skinny that your quirk has a limit."

"Understood." All Might was turning, glancing at the afternoon sun to make sure he had the directions right in his head.

"Toshinori?" Inara asked.

"Yes?"

"Whatever Tremor says.. it isn't the whole truth, okay? Please take care of (L/N)."

"I will."

--

Surprisingly, Tremor wasn’t actually using his quirk to torture you. A smart man would have shattered your hand again, or maybe a foot. But Tremor didn’t appear to be a smart man. Instead, he hit you several times in the stomach, broken a couple of ribs, and punched you quite a few times in the face. Your knees had been struck with a hammer, but not hard enough to break anything; only leave some serious bruises. Overall, you were rather unimpressed with his attacks. You supposed he was working his way up to something worse, but it was taking too long. You had places to be, after all.

The teleporation girl was more frightening than Tremor. She had an unnecessarily long knife in her hands, and she kept urging Tremor to ‘hurry up and do it’. You could feel the bloodthirstiness coming off of her when she approached, and saw an entirely different kind of crazy in her eyes than what you saw in Tremor.

When they finally both looked away, you managed to loosen the chain around your right wrist just a little bit. It was enough, though, and you slipped your hand out of the chain and kicked Tremor in the back of the leg before they had time to react.

Tremor crashed into his girlfriend, and in the confusion you were able to unwrap the chain completely and take a few steps away from the chair. Starting to twirl your chain, you eyed the teleportation girl. Her eyes locked with yours, changed from black to blue for a split second, and then she was gone. A sharp pain in your left shoulder told you that she had teleported behind you, sticking you with that oversized knife. Grimacing, you pulled the spinning chain behind you, and heard a thunk before she appeared in front of you again, off-balance but with knife still in hand.

The floor under your feet began to shake, and the girl disappeared again, reappearing behind Tremor, who was still on the floor. He glared up at you, one hand planted firmly on the ground. You had time to lock eyes before the tiles under your feet crumbled and you started falling.

Crashing to the floor below, you felt your bruised knee scream in protest, and knew you wouldn’t be running on it any time soon. Before you could start your chain spinning again, there was a hand under your chin and a knife to your throat.

“You healed a monster!” Tremor was above you, screaming down into the room with drool on his chin. You glared up at him, trying not to move too much. This girl was a special kind of crazy, and you didn’t know what might make her snap.

“Yes, I did.” You answered finally. Tremor wanted to be the one to kill you, you knew. If you could lure him down here, get him to convince the girl to let go…

“How many people did he kill before you healed him? How many did he kill after?”

“Too many, Tremor. I know.”

“It could have been over. That night, all you had to do was walk away! But no, you’re a doctor! You heal people. ‘It’s what I do,’ you said, over and over. All that blood on your hands. And you just walked away. They still call you a hero, you know, those blind fools. You let all those people die!”

“You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t lose sleep over it?”

“Lose sleep? You should lose your head. Do it, Tish.”

--

All Might landed on the roof of an office building, right as his watch ticked the fifth minute from hanging up on Inara. Last time, he’d arrived exactly where he needed to be without any further instruction, so he was a bit confused when he didn’t immediately see (L/N).

Then he heard the rumble of a floor caving in. Looking across the street, he could just barely see movement through an oversized window. Dust filled a room on one of the top floors. With a leap, All Might covered the distance between the office building and the window he’d seen movement in. Crashing through the window, All Might saw a figure laying on the floor ahead, dangling half in and half out of a hole in the floor. Approaching with caution, All Might could hear the man yelling something.

“They still call you a hero, you know, those blind fools. You let all those people die!” From somewhere below, All Might heard (L/N) respond.

“You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t lose sleep over it?”

“Lose sleep? You should lose your head. Do it, Tish.”

All Might didn’t know who Tish was, but he charged forward and leaped over Tremor, falling down to land on the floor below... Just in time to see a woman sliding a knife across (L/N)’s neck. Blood spurted everywhere, and for a moment, everything went red.

He was too late.

The fight lasted a much longer time than it should have. All Might seemed to be fighting through a heavy fog, his reflexes slower than normal and his mind constantly drifting to the unconscious form on the floor.

The woman with the knife was a teleporter, and he was just fast enough to keep her from dealing any serious blows, but she did manage to shed some blood. Eventually, Tremor hopped down from the overhead, nudging (L/N) with a foot, as if to check for life. Satisfied, he turned his attention to All Might.

“Bring him here, Tish,” he said almost absently. All Might felt a hand wrap around his wrist, and suddenly Tremor was only a foot away from him. Tremor reached a hand out, and although everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, All Might just couldn’t move fast enough to deflect the hand aimed at his face.

Suddenly, the hand stopped. A chain had wrapped around Tremor’s wrist, and he couldn’t move any further. Stunned, Tremor and All Might looked in the direction of (L/N)’s body.

“What’s wrong, Dick? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Chapter Text

"Do it, Tish."

You wrapped your mind in silver and withdrew into your quirk as you felt the knife make its way across your throat. Knowing you didn't have time to waste, you directed all of your attention and energy to that cut, beginning to heal it even as it was dealt. Your heart was struggling to keep up with the blood loss, so you sent some energy to it as a booster. Recreating blood was a time-consuming task, and time wasn't something you had. Once your neck was in one piece once more - a rush job, that would leave the skin around the affected area weak - you pulled your mind back into your head where it belonged and opened your eyes.

Someone nudged your body with a boot, but you didn't react. Opening one eye - the one that was almost swollen shut - you could just make out the shadow of someone standing a few inches away. Twitching a finger, you realized that your chain was still in your hand. Rule Number One: Never drop your weapon. The person standing over you turned, and you heard Tremor's voice.

"Bring him here, Tish." Snapping your other eye open and looking up, you saw Tish appear directly in front of Tremor, with a hand wrapped around a red, white, and blue wrist. A wrist attached to a very muscular man with blonde hair-

Pulling yourself off of the ground and swinging your chain to wrap around Tremor's arm took nearly all of your strength. You were immediately dizzy, your neck screamed in protest, and you knew it would only take the tiniest tug for Tremor to rip the chain out of your grip. But the appearance of the chain was enough of a shock to stop him in his tracks. He turned around to look at you, face pale and eyes wide with horror.

You'd practiced a vicious grin for weeks before even Tremor admitted it frightened him. Rule Number Two: Humans fear what they don't understand. You were going to use that to your advantage; Tremor had just finished telling himself you were dead, but now you were attacking him with a chain that dripped your own blood. In a normal situation, he would have remembered your healing quirk immediately and moved on. But this wasn't a normal situation, and as far as he was concerned, you'd just risen from the dead.

"What's the matter, Dick? You look like you've seen a ghost." You'd be proud of that line for the rest of your life.

All Might reacted instantly, jumping sideways and smashing Tish into the wall. Jerking your chain from around Tremor's wrist, you shifted your stance and started spinning it. The madman stood there in shocked silence, watching the chain as if he'd never seen one before. Once your chain had enough momentum, you twisted your grip and brought it up, smacking solidly into Tremor's temple. The crack when it made impact made you wince, and for a moment you were worried you'd killed the man. Then you felt the sticky warmth of your lifeblood staining your favorite button-up, and decided you didn't care.

You were standing over Tremor, staring down at his unconscious form and wondering if it would be inappropriate to kick him in his stupid, perfect nose, when All Might pulled you to his chest in a wonderfully warm hug.

"I thought I'd lost you." It wasn't All Might that spoke. It was Toshinori, and for a moment you didn't know what to say. Finally, you leaned into him, slipping your arms around his waist. Finding a cut on his lower back, you immediately pressed some of your silver into it, healing it immediately. Refocusing your quirk, you sent a shimmer of your energy out through your fingertips and washed it over his entire body. The cuts you found were shallow, but fresh and clearly from the fight with Tish while you were unconscious.

"Don't worry," you mumbled. "I'm okay. Everything is okay."

"A-are you healing me?? You should be healing yourself!"

"Nah, I'd rather heal you."

"She cut your throat. I watched her do it, (Y/N)!"

"Cuts are my specialty. If Tremor wasn't six years gone in his own madness, he would have remembered that."

--

It took a lot of talking to convince Yagi not to drag you directly to the nearest hospital. The cut on your neck was fine, and you had closed up the stab wound in your shoulder without even realizing it. Determined not to spend a night in a hospital - and knowing that any hospital you checked into would make you stay the night - you insisted that you just needed to go home and sleep. Which was actually the truth, given that your throat was closed up and your other injuries were barely worth noticing. You did agree to let Yagi take you home, however. It was likely that he was near his limit, but you didn't really want to have to deal with the faces people would make when they saw the state you were in.

When you'd put your shirt on that morning, it had been a pale blue and a little bit loose. Now, it was nearly black and stuck unpleasantly to your skin. The slacks were pretty well soaked, too, and there was a disturbing amount of blood in your hair. Your quirk's energy reserves were steadily draining in the struggle to keep you awake and walking around; you wanted desperately to take a shower before you slept, but the longer you spent waiting for the police, the less likely a shower became. And you were going to wait for the police. You wanted to see Tremor in cuffs, and know that he wouldn't show up outside of another grocery store any time soon. When they finally came, and you saw Tremor tossed into the back of a police car, you let Yagi pick you up and experienced flight for the first time in your life.

You didn't like it.

He landed at the front entrance to your apartment building, but didn't set you down. Instead, he carried you up every flight of stairs and right into your bedroom, bridal style. You tried not to think about the word 'bridal' as he finally set you down on your bed. Inara hovered behind him, asking too many questions and trying to scold you. Unfortunately for Inara, you had trouble focusing on her voice enough to hear what she had to say. Considering going to sleep right then and there, you decided against it and grabbed a towel instead, limping toward the bathroom.

"Really, (Y/N), you should be sleeping, not showering! You can shower in the morning."

"If I wake up in the morning still coated in my own blood, I will throw up."

Checking yourself out in the shower, you took a tally of your injuries for the night: three broken ribs, one black eye, more bruises than you cared to count, a half-healed stab wound in your left shoulder, a torn ligament in your left knee, and a very nasty-looking scar on your neck. You soaked for nearly an hour before you felt clean again, deciding not to think about the water bill, and finally collapsed into your bed, asleep before you could reach for the blanket.

--

Inara had work the next morning, but you heard her poke her head into your room to check on you before she left. You waved her off with a hand poking out from under your blanket and a little groan. You were already asleep before the door had closed, and you didn't wake up again until nearly noon. Hoping someone had warned Principal Nedzu that you wouldn't be at work that day, you laid in bed for another hour before your empty stomach prompted you to get up.

You didn't have any eggs.

You found a container of yogurt - mango, and definitely Inara's. You ate it while you scavenged, and nearly choked on the spoon when you heard a knock at the door. Still dazed from sleep and the blood your body had yet to reproduce, you answered the door without really thinking about it. You were pleasantly surprised to find Yagi standing in the doorway with a delicious-smelling bag of food. Unfortunately, you realized too late that you were wearing an oversized t-shirt, underwear, and had a spoon sticking out of your mouth. Turning bright red, you hid behind the door and invited him inside.

"Uh, make yourself at home. I'll be right back."

Trying to keep the shirt pulled down over your butt, you made a bee-line to your bedroom and shut the door, leaning against it for a moment while you tried to compose yourself. You hadn't even bothered to brush your hair after soaking in the shower the night before. Digging through your closet, you found an old pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt. After tugging your fingers through your hair, you finally stepped back out to greet Yagi properly.

"Inara said that you would want ramen," he said, looking only slightly embarrassed about how you'd answered the door.

"Oh. Thank you," you said, looking at the bowl he'd set on the table in the kitchen. Pulling a chair up, you looked toward the bowl he had in front of him.

"I got yogurt and fruit for myself. She told me that you wouldn't eat if I didn't."

"She was right," you said, smiling slightly. Inara always remembered the important things, and you would have to thank her when she got home later.

The two of you ate in a comfortable silence, and by the time you'd finished you were sleepy again. But you couldn't bring yourself to send Yagi away, so you asked him how he was feeling after yesterday's fight.

"I actually felt better physically when I woke this morning than I have in a long time. I think you overhealed me, (Y/N)."

"I might have," you admitted, "I was a little... woozy, at the time."

"Thank you," he said quietly, staring down at the plastic bowl his soup had been in.

"Don't thank me for doing my job," you teased, leaning forward to tug on one of his bangs. "Besides, I wouldn't have survived that fight if you hadn't shown up. That teleporter was too quick for me to handle."

"Saving people is my job," he answered, still staring down at his bowl.

"Is something wrong?" You asked, not sure why he was being so quiet. Yagi wasn't an overly talkative man, but he usually reacted a bit more than this.

"It's.. nothing," he said, avoiding eye contact. You shifted your hold from his hair to his chin, and tilted it up until he was forced to look you in the eye.

"It isn't nothing, Yagi," you said quietly.

"It - well," he didn't seem to know how to say it, so you leaned back, folding your hands in your lap and waiting patiently for him to find the words. "It's something Inara said, before I went to find you. And something you and Tremor were talking about right before you were..." He didn't seem able to say it. It was your turn to stare into your empty bowl.

"Right before she cut my throat," you finished for him. "He was talking about when I got a bunch of people killed."

"What did he mean? You agreed with him."

"I messed up," you said, shrinking a little bit into your chair. You really, really didn't want to talk about this. But you knew it would hang over Yagi's head until he heard the whole truth. Taking a deep breath, you made yourself talk. "Tremor convinced me to become a hero after he rescued me from a collapsing building. I found out a few weeks later that the building collapsed because he'd been fighting someone in the basement. That someone turned out to be the head of a very well-known cartel in our city."

"He wanted you to help hunt this man down?" Yagi asked.

"Yeah, something like that. So we spent the next year training me in combat skills, and then I got my hero's license and we got started. Tremor was always good at the detective work, and he was definitely better at fighting, so I mostly just followed him around. One day, we finally had the big bad guy cornered.  Only, it wasn't a big bad guy. He was a kid. Nineteen, maybe, and scared out of his mind. I thought that there must have been a mistake, but I figured we were just going to turn him into the police, and I trusted the justice system to sort out the mistake.

"Tremor didn't trust the justice system, and he was completely convinced that this...child... was the big villain we'd been hunting for months. He wrapped his fingers around that kid's head, and he scrambled his brains like an egg." You were sick just thinking about it, hands clenching in your lap. "I was horrified, so I went in and started healing him. I don't really know how I managed to piece that boy back together, but I did. He ran off, and Tremor was.. distraught. He smacked me in the side, and that quirk of his took out four ribs and half of a lung. If it weren't for my healing quirk, I would only have one lung, like you do. But I'm lucky, I guess." There was a sour note to your voice, as you glared at your hands.

"You were right," Yagi said, sounding completely convinced. "The boy should have been sent to the police, and the police would have sorted it out."

"Except that I wasn't right. And the police didn't have time to sort it out. That kid ran off and killed fifteen people, Yagi. Fifteen. Two of them were Tremor's high school friends, and four of them were children. Fifteen people, Yagi, because I couldn't believe a nineteen year old was capable of murder."

Chapter Text

The amount of pain he'd felt when he saw (L/N)'s blood drenching the floor had been nearly unbearable, even affecting Toshinori's fighting skill.  It was as if the whole world had come crashing down around his ears; he couldn't even bring himself to give 100% to the fight. He hadn't been affected this badly by a loss since his teacher, Nana Shimura had been taken from him. Toshinori had never expected to feel a surge of relief like the one he did when (L/N) stood up, covered in blood, and saved his life with that chain.

So when the fight was over, and he saw (L/N) staring down at Tremor's unconscious form with haunted eyes, Toshinori hadn't been able to stop himself from wrapping his arms around those bloodied shoulders. When (L/N) hugged him back, he felt a rush of warmth that had nothing to do with a healing quirk. He wanted to stay like that forever, wrapped in one anothers' arms and breathing in one anothers' scent. But he couldn't do that, so he forced himself to break the hug and redirected his energy to making sure Tremor and Tish wouldn't ever hurt (L/N) again.

Waiting for the police was the hardest part of the night. Generally, Yagi took care of a fight and moved on immediately, using every second of his limited time as All Might before he was forced to quit. But he wasn't about to leave (L/N) alone with Tremor, and (L/N) wanted to see the man in handcuffs. The more time Toshinori spent staring at his blood-soaked friend, watching the energy slowly drain from silver eyes, the angrier he became. By the time the police arrived and Tremor and his girl were put in the back of police cars, Toshinori was struggling to keep his composure. He almost wanted to end Tremor right there - but he was a hero, and heroes don't kill. At least, not if they can help it.

It wasn't until he'd gotten home after dropping (L/N) off with Inara that Toshinori really had time to process everything that had happened that night. The affect that (L/N)'s apparent death had had on him was beyond what he'd expected to feel. He certainly would have been distraught if he'd lost someone he was trying to save, but for the world to slow down and get foggy... it seemed like a bit much. Yagi tried not to think about it too hard, and worried instead about the injuries he'd noticed before his departure.

(L/N) had assured Toshinori that the injuries weren't serious enough to warrant a hospital stay, but as he took off his uniform, Toshinori got a better idea of just how much blood had been lost; his uniform was ruined. Completely soaked in blood, from a hug that had lasted less than thirty seconds. And how badly (L/N) had limped on the way to the shower... Not that Toshinori was thinking about (L/N) in the shower. Nope, definitely not.

Taking a shower of his own, Toshinori forced himself to think of anything other than (L/N)'s blood-soaked shirt. Unfortunately, that left him to think about Tremor. More specifically, about what Tremor had been saying when he'd arrived at the scene.

"You let all those people die!" He'd yelled, drooling in his madness. But that madness had started somewhere, and (L/N) hadn't argued with it. Worse - (L/N) had agreed with him.

What could that possibly mean? Had (L/N) made a mistake, and gotten people killed? Or had Tremor seen (L/N) walking away from people that needed help? And why had Inara sounded so cryptic on the phone when she'd realized she was sending All Might to (L/N)?

"And the last one, you think you know them but maybe you don't." There had only been three people in the warehouse. Yagi had known Tremor on sight; he didn't know anything at all about Tish, the teleporter. So the last person had to be... (L/N). But he'd known (L/N) for months now. They'd walked home together, spoken for hours at a time. Even walked arm-in-arm down a busy street together.

"Whatever Tremor says.. it isn't the whole truth, okay?" But what was the whole truth? What could Inara have possibly meant?

--

The nightmare started the way it always did; Nana Shimura lay on the ground, coated in blood - Toshinori couldn't get to her in time. He was too late. He looked up, but instead of All for One, it was Tremor, covered in Nana's blood and grinning viciously.

"You let all those people die." The voice was a mixture of All for One's deep growl and Tremor's much lighter drawl. Toshinori took a step forward, calling on the power of One for All, trying to aim a punch through his tears.

The punch landed; All for One was down, nearly dead. There was a chasm where Toshinori's side had been, but the fight was over. Looking down at his enemy, Toshinori saw (L/N), covered in blood and gasping for air through a neck that was cut nearly in two. (L/N) was dying, blinking up at Toshinori with eyes that danced between silver and (e/c). Toshinori felt sick to his stomach, trying to look away but unable to.

"Don't worry," (L/N) mumbled, blood trickling from lips that were turning blue. "I'm okay. Everything is okay."

Toshinori sat up in his bed, gasping for air until he started coughing up blood. His feet tangled in his blanket as he tried to get up, and he fell to the floor with a thump. Still trying to breathe, Toshinori stumbled into the bathroom and spat blood into his sink.

Once he'd gotten himself back together, he looked at the clock. Seven in the morning. He wouldn't be able to go out as All Might after that nightmare, he knew. So he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Inara.

--

One awkward conversation at the door - Toshinori pretended not to notice that (L/N) had only been in underwear, but he couldn't get the image out of his head - and one quiet lunch later, and Toshinori had finally asked the question. A question that had plagued him all day, as he waited until a little after lunch at Inara's suggestion.

(Y/N) needs sleep after a major healing. i think last night counts, don't u? get ramen, tho. (L/N) always gets ramen after a healing.

Looking across the table, with the scent of ramen still in the air, Toshinori was reminded of the day he'd met (L/N) and Inara.

He'd been at the end of a patrol, near his limit for the day, when he heard someone in a nearby restaurant scream. Turning to investigate, Toshinori had opened the door to find a small, unarmed foreigner in t-shirt and jeans standing calmly in front of a six and a half foot crocodile. There was no hesitation in the stranger's stance; no fear in those (e/c) eyes. Distracting the crocodile was standard procedure, and the fight outside was...negligible. Forgettable.

What wasn't forgettable was what Toshinori saw when he came back inside the restaurant. The stranger was kneeling over a waiter covered in blood, gentle hands on his face as silver glittered everywhere the fingers touched. Those cuts would have marred that man's face, left him scarred for the rest of his life. Instead, they were healed in less than a minute, and the stranger even started wiping the blood away. Toshinori had no intention of reporting this use of a quirk to the police, but he had to learn more. Had to see that quirk again - not because he hadn't seen someone heal someone else before, but because of the gentleness in which this silver-eyed person had just touched an injured man. The same gentleness had been in (L/N)'s hands with the crocodile-man, despite the fact that the crocodile was who had caused problems to start with.

The more Toshinori had gotten to know (L/N), the more he'd wanted to know. Every sarcastic comment, every teasing tug of his bangs had drawn Toshinori closer. Seeing (L/N) standing, covered in blood and dust outside of a collapsed tea shop, Toshinori had struck Tremor out of instinct more than anything else. Seeing (L/N) nearly unconscious, collapsing under the strain of dozens of open cuts and a very broken hand, begging Toshinori to help the people inside... Toshinori had met hundreds of heroes in his life, but this one was.. different.

The answer (L/N) gave made Toshinori's heart crack a little bit. That he'd started to suspect this person - a friend, a healer, a fellow Hero - as a possible killer, or as someone who stood by and did nothing when someone was in trouble... Yagi was ashamed of himself. He looked across the table at his friend - more than friend? What was the right term for this feeling? - and tried to figure out how to answer.

"You did nothing wrong, (Y/N)," Toshinori stood up, walking around the table and putting a hand on (L/N)'s shoulder. "You aren't responsible for the decisions other people make. The blood of those fifteen people is on that monster's hands, not yours. There was never any blood on your hands. And Tremor? He was wrong, (Y/N). We're heroes. We're supposed to be stopping people from killing others, not killing them ourselves."

(L/N) looked up at Toshinori with haunted eyes, eyes that were filling with tears. He didn't know if what he'd said was right, but Toshinori believed every word of it. (L/N) was a hero, and anyone who felt differently could take it up with All Might, any day.

Chapter Text

You'd told yourself over and over again that you were right when you healed that boy. But telling yourself wasn't the same as hearing it from someone else. You'd waited six years to hear what Toshinori had just told you, and the sincerity in his eyes made you fall for him even further. There was no more denying that you were in love with this part-time gentle skeleton, part-time muscle bound hero.

Screw it. Complications be damned, the doctor-patient relationship wasn't going to work. It wasn't enough. You wanted more.

You didn't really notice that you were crying until the hand on your shoulder moved to your chin, a gentle thumb wiping away a stray teardrop. You leaned into the hand, wanting to be closer to this man that changed your world so much. His grip on your chin shifted, and he traced your newest scar with the rough fingers of a fighter, tickling the oversensitive skin there. His eyes were distant, as if he were remembering something from another life. After a moment of hesitation, you stood up. Inches away from him, his fingers still on your throat, you traced his jaw - too thin, a little too pointed...and somehow, perfect.

It might have been a few seconds or several minutes that you and Toshinori stood there, staring at one another and marveling at how close you were. You were the first to move, leaning forward and gently pressing your lips to his. Toshinori didn't react at first, too startled to respond, and you pulled away slightly, embarrassed. But the hand touching your scar tangled itself in your hair, and he pressed his lips into yours.

His other hand, hanging limply at his side, was suddenly wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer until your chest was pressed into his. Toshinori had to bend down to kiss you, but he didn't seem to mind, and the kiss deepened. You had a hand on either side of his face, and he tasted like iron and canned peaches, smelled like ramen and a little bit of sweat. His skin was dry, his hair rough and brittle, but his lips were softer than you'd thought possible. And he knew what he was doing with them, as he shifted his kiss to the corner of your mouth, then your jaw, then your neck - barely touching your new scar, as if he knew how sensitive it still was. Your fingers tangled in his hair, and you were having trouble breathing as that hand on your waist moved to your lower back, exploring every inch he could reach, despite the t-shirt in his way.

Then the hand wandered up, and pressed into the hole in your shoulder. It was healed enough not to bleed if you stretched, and nothing more. In the priorities you had for healing yourself from last night's ordeal, you'd put the cut on your shoulder in third place, behind your neck and the torn ligament in your knee. You could handle the healing pains of a stab wound - until someone touched it.

Jerking away, you gasped quietly, and Tashinori looked mortified. He stepped away immediately, coughing and trying to apologize through the blood in his throat. You immediately wished you hadn't reacted so strongly, and took a step toward him again.

"No, you just hit a sore spot. It's okay - Toshinori?" He'd winced when you said it was okay, and you could tell it wasn't just because he didn't believe you. His coughing settled, and he wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve, refusing to look you in the eye. "Toshinori, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing," he said. Lied, more like. You weren't an empath, or a psychiatrist like Inara, but you knew a lie when you saw one.

"Tosh'," you said, putting a hand to his cheek again. You wanted to go back to kissing him, but it was more important to find out what was bothering him. "Please talk to me."

"It... was a dream. It's nothing, like I said, just a dream."

"A nightmare," you corrected him, pulling gently at his chin until he was looking into your eyes once more.

"Yeah."

"I was too tired to dream last night... but I'll probably have nightmares tonight." You didn't like to admit to your nightmares, and avoided the subject with Inara, who would immediately recommend a psychiatrist for you to see. She knew that having your best friend inside your head wasn't a good idea. But you didn't want a psychiatrist. You just wanted the nightmares to stop. (that's what the psychiatrist is for, you dummy, Inara would say)

"Will you be okay?" As if he weren't suffering from nightmares of his own, Toshinori was immediately concerned about yours. You glared at him, annoyed that he would ignore his own pain to try and help with yours.

"I wasn't saying that so that you would worry about me," you tugged his bangs gently, and he blushed slightly. "I was saying it so that you knew you could tell me about yours. Because I've been there... I wasn't a hero for long, but I was a hero for long enough. I have nightmares every time I heal myself, really."

"About your time as a hero?" He asked, leaning closer to you. The peaches weren't as strong on his breath now, overpowered by the blood he'd just coughed up.

"And as a doctor. I worked in the emergency room for a while, and emergency rooms can get pretty bad."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, staring at your lips.

"I told you what my dreams are about. Tell me about yours."

"All for One." He said shortly, and he shuddered. "My greatest enemy. The one who did... this, to me." He put a hand to his side, where you knew the scar was. Without really thinking about it, you put your hand over his.

"We don't have to talk about the details," you offered quietly, realizing he wasn't as ready to face his nightmares as you were. "Just know that you can, if you want to."

"...Thank you."

There was a moment of awkward silence, as you stood with one hand on his cheek and the other on his chest, before he pulled away again. He ran his fingers through his hair, as if he were trying to compose himself, and cleared his throat with a small cough.

"Please don't go," you whispered.

"I should go," you both spoke at the same time, and he froze in the middle of turning away. You reached out and threaded your fingers through his, staring down at your intertwined hands.

"Please don't leave," you said, louder this time.

"You need rest, and I'm interrupting," he argued.

"You need rest, too," you said, tightening your hold on his hand. "So rest here. With me."

Your bed didn't leave room for you and Toshinori to have any space between you, so you skipped pretense and immediately curled up against him, pressing your forehead gently into his chest. He hesitated for a moment, and then wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling your hips closer. You smiled into his oversized t-shirt, tracing the printed design with a gentle finger.

Toshinori was warm - not hot, or sweaty, but warm. Laying this close to him, you felt completely and utterly safe. His breath tickled the top of your head, and you watched the rise and fall of his chest until your eyelids began to get heavy. Despite your exhaustion from a depleted quirk and the injuries of the day before, Yagi still fell asleep first. You were shortly behind, wishing this would never have to end.

Occasionally, one of you would wake up, either from an unpleasant dream, or to adjust the way you were laying. Toshinori apologized each time he woke you, and you responded by slipping a hand under the hem of his shirt and pressing a little shimmer of silver into that overworked lung of his. Every time you touched the skin of his stomach, he would tense, as if expecting you to pull away in disgust. Every time he tensed, you pressed a kiss into his chest, feeling his heart beat a little bit faster.

--

You woke for the final time to a coughing fit from Toshinori. Without really thinking about it - or bothering to open your eyes - you slid your hand under his shirt and sent energy into his lung until it had settled down enough for him to breathe normally. Pressing your head into his chest, you let out a little sigh, expecting him to change his position again and go back to sleep. When he sat up instead, you rolled onto your back and looked up at him. He was bright red, and looking toward your bedroom door.

When you heard the click of a phone's camera, you very nearly fell out of bed, cursing loudly at Inara and blushing furiously. Detangling yourself from your bedsheets, you were finally able to stand up and give Inara a piece  of your mind.

But it wasn't Inara. At least, it wasn't just Inara: It was Kayama (the source of the camera sound effect), Hizashi (grinning hugely), Inara (blushing for you, apologizing futilely), and Shouta (holding two bags of takeout and looking somewhat bored).

"I knew it! I knew you had a thing for (Y/N), Yagi! Good! It's good to see that you have something to do other than hero work!" Hizashi gushed, looking overjoyed at the news.

"Someone to do, more like it," Kayama purred, directing a wink at you that made you blush so hard your neck started hurting.

"...Are we going to eat dinner, or not?" Shouta asked, sounding annoyed. "I have patrol in a couple of hours and I don't want to be late."

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)," Inara said, looking truly ashamed. "When Tosh' didn't answer my text, I thought he was on hero patrol..."

"Uh," you said, still blushing, "I guess we'll eat, then. Let me - can you give us a minute?" You'd decided to accept your attraction for Toshinori, but you hadn't decided to share it with anyone else; and you didn't know if he was okay with anyone else knowing, either. The others shuffled out of the room, Kayama and Hizashi trying to figure out which of them had 'called it' first, and Inara leaving with another muttered apology as she closed the door.

"Well," Toshinori said, still flustered,"what do we do now?"

"We can pretend this never happened," you said, hating the idea, "and eventually, the others will forget it." You couldn't bring yourself to look at him, terrified that he would choose that option.

"Or?" He asked quietly, walking around the bed and putting his hands on your shoulders. "I don't think I can pretend this never happened, (Y/N)."

"Or... we can go with it. See what happens, and play it day-to-day." Your heart was in your throat, and you still weren't looking at Toshinori. He gave a gentle tug to a chunk of your hair, and you melted.

"I like that option," he whispered, pressing his lips to yours once more.

The two of you left the bedroom hand-in-hand. Inara had gotten a foldable table, including folding chairs, so that there would be room for everyone. Your friends had left two empty chairs next to each other, a plate of baked fish in front of one and sashimi in front of the other. Toshinori kept his hold on your hand as you both sat down.

Chapter Text

It was a battlefield; blood and bone and unspeakable things scattered around the room like a scene from a horror movie. You moved through the room, a hand over your mouth as you tried not to throw up at overwhelming scent of death. You knew that this was a dream, a fevered nightmare that came with the overuse of your quirk, but you couldn't break out of the dream no matter how hard you tried. There was nothing to do but go through the motions, dreading every step.

A whimper came from the floor to your right, and though your mind screamed, No, don't do it, don't look, your body turned toward the noise. The world became silver, and you looked at the corner of the room. Dead tissue and bone was always blackened, darker than the world around it. The man in the corner looked like he'd been soaked in black ink, clearly dead for at least four hours. But just underneath his arm, you could see the glittering silver of life. A hand - a child's hand - stuck out from under the dead man's torso, and you felt light-headed as you realized what kind of trauma that child had faced.

Rolling the corpse off of the boy, you looked down at him and felt your eyes fill with tears. The boy's lower half was nearly the same level of inky darkness as the corpse that had been on top of him. Just looking at him, you knew that there was nothing you could do. This boy was dying, and he was dying faster than your quirk could heal him. Your mind screamed for you to stop, begged you not to kneel next to that boy and wrap your hand in his, but your dream-body moved anyway. You couldn't undo the past, not even in your dreams.

Though you knew you didn't have enough, couldn't possibly save him, you flooded that child with your energy. For a moment, it even looked like it was working - the darkness receded, pulling back as if it were burnt by your silver. But it was only a moment of retreat before death started its steady march once more, pressing against the silver of your quirk with eternal patience. The darkness felt cold against the warmth of your quirk, and you almost stopped right then. But the boy let out another whimper, and you steeled yourself.

You stayed with that boy for what felt like forever, fighting a losing battle. You watched as the darkness took him one organ at a time. Forcing your quirk into his heart, lungs, and brain, you wondered where on earth the emergency responders were. This boy could be saved,  you told yourself, if only he had proper medical attention. You could hold off the darkness with your quirk until the doctors fixed him. But the doctors were taking too long. Where were they?

He died on minute 57. Normally, the heavy use of your quirk turned every sense of the world around you off, and you didn't feel the passage of time. How you knew it had been exactly 57 minutes since you first touched him, you would never know. But you'd stayed with that child, murmuring words of encouragement and love, flooding him with your quirk, for 57 minutes. Just to watch him die. The blackness overtook his body, just like it had overtaken the body of the man on top of him. He was dead, and you had drained yourself so completely that now it was you losing consciousness.

You had time to look around before you passed out. The room, which had been empty of other living people when you arrived, was teeming with life now. Paramedics, police officers, firefighters, all sorting through the carnage in search of life. Looking around the room, you lost some of your faith in humanity. These humans had seen a dying boy, and chosen to do nothing. The last face you saw before you passed out was Tremor's, and there was nothing in those eyes but terrible grief and blind hatred.

The rest of your night was filled with restless dreams: flashes of the carnage in that room. Of the boy's funeral (his aunt and uncle, thanking you for the last 57 minutes of his life). A memory of putting a brain turned to mush back together again. The grief in Tremor's eyes. The door to a tea shop exploding. A puddle of blood so deep that you felt like you were drowning in it. Spittle dribbling down Tremor's chin as he called you a monster.

You woke to your alarm drenched in sweat and panting as if you'd just run a marathon. Dreading facing the day after such a night, you dragged yourself out of bed and climbed into the shower. Though you knew it wouldn't wash off the blood you felt was on your hands, you turned the temperature of the shower up until it hurt to stand under the water and scrubbed until your skin turned red.

Inara recognized the symptoms of a bad night immediately, and wrapped you up in a tight hug, whispering kind words that you didn't hear. Mumbling that you were okay, you poured yourself a cup of coffee and dug around in the refrigerator for some rice. Looking at the shelf where the eggs went, you sighed. Inara had worked late the last two days, and you'd been on house arrest at her request, to recover from the fight with Tremor. With a short goodbye to Inara, you left the apartment in search of a breakfast that you could eat on the train.

--

It was the day of the entrance exams, and all of the teachers were ecstatic. Though everyone welcomed you back and expressed their sympathy for your injuries, they didn't comment on the shadows under your eyes, or the fact that you kept losing track of conversations partway through, assuming it to be symptoms of overusing your quirk. Which it was, in a way - the dreams only came when you overextended yourself, as you'd been doing over the last few days. You drank as much coffee and tea as you could find, forcing yourself to return your coworkers' smiles and idle chatter. You were a proctor during the written exam, but you had trouble focusing on whether or not any of the students were cheating, as your mind kept wandering back to that recurring nightmare.

Recovery Girl had assured you that morning that she wouldn't need help from your quirk during the practical exam, but you walked with her to each exam with a first-aid kit, cleaning and bandaging any small cuts Recovery girl deemed too small to waste her quirk on. Most of the students recognized Recovery Girl, and one or two even recognized you from the fight at the tea shop, but they were thankfully all too concerned with whether or not they'd passed U.A.'s strict exam requirements to ask you any questions.

You almost didn't recognize Midoriya when you got to the exam area he'd been assigned. When you saw that both of his legs and one of his arms were shattered, you had to look away. Though you weren't looking at the world through your quirk, you could imagine what such damage would look like with it. It made your stomach churn, but you smiled at Midoriya anyway and congratulated him on a fight well fought. You offered a few antacids to the brunette girl that had apparently caught him before he hit the ground, and left the healing of his bones to Recovery Girl.

As expected, you weren't asked to judge the students for the practical exam. If you hadn't been lost in your own head, you might have even brought up how unfair the entrance exam really was. Pitting children against robots was not only dangerous to the children, but didn't allow for proper demonstration of their quirks. Aizawa did bring it up during the evening meeting, but Principal Nedzu admitted he didn't have any other reasonable way to test their quirks. Too tired to offer your own opinion, you stared at the chair Toshinori would have been sitting in. Apparently, he'd been called to help the police with a raid of some sort almost immediately after the practical exams had ended.

Though you didn't judge the practical exams, you did help with scoring the written exams. Looking at the stack of paper in front of you, you welcomed the mindless task of grading. You worked silently at your desk for the rest of the day, until even Aizawa was packing up to leave. He took the pen from your hand and set it down, glaring down at you through bloodshot eyes.

"Inara asked us to join her for dinner," he said, leaving no room for argument. "We need to leave now, or we'll be late."

"Oh," you muttered, staring blankly at the paper you'd only half graded. You really, really weren't in the mood for socialization, but you knew that nothing you said now would get you out of it. "Okay."

--

You almost didn't recognize the restaurant Aizawa took you to, until you saw the waiter you'd healed on your first day in Japan. He recognized you, as well, thanking you and apologizing for ignoring you before. Numbly, you told him not to worry about it and sat down in a chair next to Inara. She looked at you, worry plain on her face, but thankfully didn't ask you if you were okay. She knew the answer to that question, after all. When you didn't answer the waiter as he asked what you would like for dinner, Inara ordered for you. Now everyone at the table was eyeing you worriedly.

"I heard the entrance exams went well!" Inara said before anyone could ask if you were okay. She gave Hizashi a meaningful look as he opened his mouth. "I don't really know how they work, though..."

"Well," Hizashi said, realizing what the look meant and forcing cheer into his voice. "We start with a written exam, which is pretty standard stuff. Then we have the practical exam - I proctored this year! Grading for the practical..."

You lost focus again, staring at the dark red tablecloth and seeing a puddle of blood. Standing up suddenly, you excused yourself to the restroom. Unfortunately, the restroom didn't help - it was crimson-themed, as well, and you were starting to get light-headed. Knowing that you were breathing too hard and your heart was beating too fast, you made your way to the front door.

As you opened the door, trying to take deep breaths, you very nearly walked into Toshinori, who had apparently just finished his mission and was coming to join the dinner party. He looked startled at first, and then concerned, putting an arm around your shoulders and leading you out into the street. Guiding you around a corner, you realized that he was taking you to a dark alleyway, where the bustle of the street was muffled.

"It's okay, (Y/N)," he said, over and over, "I'm here. You're okay, you're safe." He didn't try to hold you to him, but kept a hand on each shoulder and occasionally squeezed, clearly aware that you needed space but refusing to let you feel alone.

It took a full fifteen minutes for the panic attack to run its course, and Toshinori stayed with you the whole time. By some miracle, you didn't cry, and you didn't say anything throughout. That seemed to worry him more than your panic attack, but he didn't ask questions. With every decision he made during and after your episode, you saw more proof that he'd had episodes of his own like it. Once you'd settled enough to go back inside, he wrapped an arm around your shoulders once more and led you inside.

The rest of the group didn't ask what had happened, though they all exchanged looks with one another when they saw how badly your hands were shaking. While you were gone, someone - probably Inara - had replaced your chopsticks with a fork. It was a blessing, as you weren't entirely certain you would have been able to function chopsticks with your hands shaking so much. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Inara pulled out her phone and presented a photo to the group.

The photo was of you, standing next to Tremor in your hero costume. Chains were wrapped around your arms like bracelets, twisting up each arm and hooked through leather loops on each shoulder. Your top was a jacket, made of dark leather and with a few studs on it; a navy blue tank top gave you color. Your pants were jeans, dark blue and sporting a few tears in them; your boots steel-toed and made of black leather. Overall, you looked like a parody of an American biker, with wild hair and a vicious grin on your face. Your quirk was activated, turning your eyes silver, and you'd even spread the effect out, making it look like you wore smudged silver eye shadow. Overall, you'd always considered the outfit embarrassing. Tremor had insisted that it made you look intimidating, but you'd always thought he secretly considered it a joke.

Kayama absolutely adored it, as you more or less expected. She gushed about the concept of someone who looked so frightening actually being a healer, and asked how you'd managed such an evil grin. You mumbled something about practice, still exhausted from the panic attack. Hizashi complemented your use of leather, likening your outfit to his own and asking you why you'd stopped wearing it. Choosing not to point out how out-of-date such an outfit was, you just said that you'd quit being a public hero and had no reason to wear a costume.

Aizawa seemed to approve of your becoming an underground hero. Though you'd stopped crime fighting altogether, you told them that you would still respond to emergencies like collapsed buildings and fires, helping pull people from the debris and healing major injuries. Inara listed numbers - how many emergencies you'd responded to, how many people you'd saved, and how many arrests you'd led the police to make during your time as a hero. On a better day, you would have been impressed at her level of knowledge about your hero work.

No one asked why you'd stopped being a public hero, assuming that it had to do with Tremor. In a roundabout way, it did, but you and Inara both knew that he didn't have any significant impact on the decision.

"You should get a new costume," Toshinori suddenly said. "You don't have to go out and be a full-time hero or a crime fighter any more, but you could wear it to U.A. for the students."

"YES!" Kayama said instantly. "Let me design your new outfit, (Y/N)! It'll be super sexy-"

"(Y/N) doesn't want sexy!" Hizashi interrupted. "That's only you, Kayama. What was your hero name again? We can design your outfit based on that..."

"Silver," you said quietly.

"Silver? Silver what?" Kayama asked, looking confused.

"Just Silver. It's a boring name, isn't it?" Inara asked, giving you a fake glare. "I've told (Y/N) a thousand times that there are better hero names out there. But no, Silver is the only hero name allowed."

"It's a good name, though," Toshinori said, slipping a hand into yours under the table. "It's simple, and to the point. It suits you."

"Thank you, Toshi'," you said quietly, truly smiling for the first time that day. When everyone at the table saw your smile, they immediately agreed with Toshinori, and the discussion on your new outfit began.

Chapter Text

Four days before the new school year began, you were waiting for the train to the grocery store when your phone began to buzz. Surprised to see Kayama calling you, you picked up right away.

"It's done!" She announced as soon as you answered.

"What's done?"

"Your new hero costume!"

"Wh- I thought that was a joke! I don't need a new hero costume, Kayama, I don't run patrols any more!"

"But you do teach at a school for heroes! And you have a hero license, so you need a hero costume."

"Kayama," you started, before someone yelled in the background.

"We're at U.A., in the development studio! Hurry up!" Hizashi sounded even more excited than Kayama did, and you let out a sigh.

"Guess I need to get on the other train," you grumbled.

"Don't be so sore about it. Inara is on her way, too, so I'll meet you two at the gate with a guest badge for her."

--

"What have you gotten me into?" You asked Inara when you met her at the station near U.A.

"Hey, you're the one who keeps starting fights in busy streets. If you don't have a costume, people will think you're just another villain!" She looked way too pleased with herself for your liking.

"Inara, I didn't start either of those fights. And Tremor is in jail now, so I have no reason to be fighting anyone."

"Nonsense. You're a hero, with a hero's license. Besides, you never hesitate if someone's in trouble. Next time you're going to the grocery store and someone's being robbed, you're gonna jump in, chains swinging. I know you, (Y/N)."

"Ugh." You would never admit it, but she was right. You'd lost count of the number of times you'd reached for your chain before a local hero had shown up.

"Good afternoon, Beautiful!" Kayama was at the gate to U.A., waving excitedly at you and Inara. Judging by your friend's blush, the 'beautiful' hadn't been directed at you.

"You asked her to dinner yet?" You muttered in Inara's ear. She elbowed you in the side, blushing even more. "Guess not."

"I'm not her type," she muttered to you, looking a bit hurt.

"Does she have a type?" You asked, looking curiously at Kayama. "I don't mean that in a bad way, it just seems like she likes everyone she meets."

"All of the Japanese people she sees," Inara corrected you, looking down. You grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her to a stop before you got within Kayama's hearing range.

"I don't believe that for one second," you told her quietly. "Kayama hasn't shown even the slightest prejudice since I've met her, and you know it. Ask her out, Inara, or I'll ask her for you."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would, and you know it. You're stuffing me in a hero costume; I have to get revenge somehow."

"You're a villain after all," she accused.

"Maybe so."

"What's all this? Is everything okay?" Kayama asked, still at the gate.

"Nothing, Midnight," you answered cooly, tugging Inara forward by her elbow. "Let's see what damage you and Hizashi have done, then."

"Damage? It's perfect! Besides, Inara helped, so it wasn't just us."

"Inara helped design it, did she?" You asked, narrowing your eyes at your friend. She seemed to shrink into herself, still blushing as Kayama clipped the visitor's pass to her shirt.

"You'll be happy I did," she said, a little bitterly, "when you see what they came up with the first few times around." You suppressed a shudder, thinking about what Kayama and Hizashi wore as their own costumes. Kayama grinned.

"Well, let's get this over with," you sighed, walking through the gate.

--

In all your years, before during and after your time as a hero, you'd never imagined yourself putting on a costume to teach a class. But here you were, the first day of a new year at U.A., putting on a hero costume to teach at a high school. You supposed there were stranger things you could be doing, but at the moment none of them came to mind.

It did help, though, that your uniform wasn't skin-tight like All Might or Midnight's. Though Inara took some of the credit for that, you felt that Aizawa had played a larger role in the decision. The long overcoat was similar to what you would expect a doctor in a hospital to be wearing, but instead of white it was blue - you pretended not to notice that it was the same shade of blue as All Might's costume, with silver buttons and two 3/4 inch silver stripes at the wrist. Underneath, you wore a bright red shirt that just barely showed above the collar of the jacket. Red and silver shoulder boards allowed you to loop your chain a few times around each shoulder, with a loop between your shoulder blades that was buttoned into place for quick removal. The pants were made of a loose, stretchable material that somehow held a crease when ironed, so that they looked more like slacks. The boots, thankfully, weren't anything special; just black leather and steel-toed.

Though it looked like you'd bought everything at a local clothing store, Power Loader had assured you that none of it was standard clothing. The cloth of your jacket was made of a material that could withstand most sharp edges, effectively protecting you from knives. Though  you wouldn't use it normally, there was an extra button on the collar that would put the top hem at your jawline, effectively protecting you from another throat slash. The pants were made of a similar material, though not as strong, and were surprisingly breathable. Overall, you rather liked the costume, and only felt a little bit silly walking down the street in it.

Approaching the school, you saw that the first few students had started to arrive. Though class wouldn't start for several more minutes, you noticed quite a few parents dropping their children off at the gate, some even taking pictures. The students seemed too excited to be there to notice you, and you managed to slip through the crowd and into the building without being stopped.

Since you weren't in charge of a homeroom class, the first block of your day was free. You considered going to one of the classes - maybe Midnight's - and sitting in for it, as a chance to see a few of the new students, but decided not to in the end. Instead, you went to the teachers' lounge and pulled out your notes on a general health class you would be teaching that afternoon.

You weren't sitting for long before the door opened and you looked up to find Toshinori, in a somewhat obnoxious yellow and black pinstriped suit that was several sizes too big. He looked startled to see you, but smiled a greeting anyway and came to sit down by your side. He even managed to sit quietly for a few minutes before he started squirming, looking nervous.

"Something wrong?" You asked, setting down your paperwork.

"I'm worried for young Midoriya," he admitted. "Do you know who his homeroom teacher is?"

"Uh," you thought for a moment, trying to remember the rankings they'd announced at the last teacher's conference. Toshinori had missed it, as he'd been on patrol. "Oh, yeah. He got into 1A, so he's with Aizawa."

"Oh no," Toshinori said, standing up. "Aizawa and I don't get along very well. What if young Midoriya doesn't meet his expectations?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," you tried to soothe him, "the kid's pretty impressive, after all. I saw a video of that fight; that's one hell of a quirk he's got."

"But Aizawa expects so much out of his students," Toshinori said, turning to leave the room. "Once, he expelled an entire class because he didn't think they deserved to become heroes!"

"I heard about that," you said, getting up to follow him out of the room. Before he opened the door, Toshinori swelled up into All Might. "But he's a sensible man, really. I don't think he'll drop Midoriya over nothing."

"I can't take that risk!" Even his voice was slightly different, when he was All Might. You watched the antennae-like bangs bounce as he marched toward classroom 1A. "It'll be rough for him, even from the start!"

"Tosh- All Might," you corrected yourself, "you're not supposed to pick favorites!"

"Midoriya must become a hero," he said over his shoulder. Class 1A was empty, so he turned toward the nearest staircase. "It is essential."

"Okay," you said, "but you need to trust Midoriya to take care of this himself, don't you?"

"I do!"

"Then why are we chasing Aizawa and Midoriya to the field?"

"I have to be sure he's okay."

As it turned out, Midoriya was struggling. You were impressed with the abilities and quirks of the other students, and were rather confused when Midoriya didn't make the same cut. You'd seen him punch out a robot the size of a building - so why couldn't he run as fast as the boy with engines for legs? After a few minutes of watching the green-haired boy struggle, you realized why. He'd broken both legs and an arm in his qualifying exam, and he'd only landed one punch. Whatever this boy's quirk was, he had no idea how to control it.

Leaving All Might to hide around the corner of a nearby building, you approached Aizawa, hands in your pockets. Looking at the scruffy man out of the corner of your eye, you could see that the same thing had occurred to him. Aizawa seemed entirely unimpressed with Midoriya, and for the first time that morning you started to worry for the boy. Suddenly, Midoriya being expelled from U.A. on his first day seemed like a very real possibility.

When it came time for him to throw his ball, you watched him stare at it with those huge eyes. He was clearly considering all of his alternatives - you could even see his mouth moving as he muttered to himself. Finally, a look of resolve washed over his face, and you activated your quirk so that you could get a better idea of how his worked. Maybe you could help him learn to control it if you had a better understanding of it - and maybe you could convince Aizawa to let him stick around until he could.

His arm from the shoulder down filled up with a reddish energy that ran in streaks through each muscle, offering more power than the muscle could normally contain. Unfortunately, you could also see the strain it put on the bone and ligaments in the affected area; if the boy used all of that power to throw the ball, his arm would shatter all over again. Just as he was about to throw, however, the energy disappeared. Turning to look at Aizawa, you saw that he'd activated his own quirk - his irises were suddenly red, and both his hair and his scarf was floating.

As if of its own volition, the scarf reached out and wrapped around Midoriya, pulling him closer. You listened, both impressed and worried, as Aizawa told Midoriya that he didn't deserve to be a hero - not because he wasn't strong enough, but because his quirk would leave him useless after the first punch. As much as you wanted Midoriya to do well in U.A., both because you liked what you'd seen of the boy and because of how interested Toshinori was in him, you had to admit that Aizawa was right. In a true fight, heroes didn't have time to pick up after one another.

Looking terrified, the boy made his way back to the throwing circle. He stared at the ball, muttering to himself again, and you wondered what he would do; shatter that arm and throw the ball an incredible distance, or save his arm and throw it the normal distance. Either way, it seemed he would fail this initial test that Aizawa had set. Still looking at him with your quirk activated, you watched him pull his arm back to begin the throw.

When he focused all of that energy into his finger, you had to look away. Knowing that you were useless when it came to fixing bones made watching them break that much more painful. But you had to give the boy credit when he turned to Aizawa and announced that he could still move. He had managed, with only a few seconds to consider his options, to find a way to win the day without completely destroying his arm. Turning to look at Aizawa, you saw that he was smiling.

Well, then, you thought, at least Toshinori doesn't have to worry about the kid any more.

--

Your general health class was 1A, and you were happy to see that Midoriya had gotten his finger wrapped by Recovery Girl after his class with Aizawa. As you waited for the classroom to fill up, you wondered what kind of students you would be dealing with. You'd worked alongside other teachers initially, having arrived partway through the school year, but now you would be teaching most lessons by yourself.

"Good morning," you looked around the room as you spoke, taking in the faces of the next generation of heroes. They greeted you in return, and you smiled slightly - that sort of greeting wasn't really a thing in American schools. "My name is Doctor (L/N, F/N). You may have noticed me this morning when Mr. Aizawa was testing you. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Are you a hero?" One of them asked suddenly - a girl with horns growing through curly pink hair. "I don't recognize you."

"Yes," you answered, tugging at the sleeve of your new costume. "I'm an American hero, though, which is probably why you don't recognize me. My hero name is Silver, so I guess you can call me that if you want to."

"What's your quirk, anyway?" This boy had blonde hair, spiked in every direction, and an apparently permanent scowl.

"I can use my own energy to heal others," you said, still tugging at your sleeve.

"What are the chains for?" This one's hair was bright red, and gelled into spikes.

"They're my capture weapon. Similar to Eraserhead's." You shook your head. "That's enough questions. You probably won't ever see me out in town doing a patrol; I haven't been an active hero in years. And we're not here to talk about Silver. This class is general health education, and you'll have it with me every other week. I'll also sometimes work as a substitute teacher, when your other teachers aren't available for class."

Chapter Text

Time moved forward at a comfortable grind, each day seeming less stressful than the last. You finally made it back to the grocery store and had an omelette for the first time in what felt like years. Inara finally asked Midnight out, and though you didn't ask for details, the smile on her face when she came back after the date told you that it had gone well.

You weren't there when Toshinori taught 1A for the first time, but you found Midoriya with another broken arm in the nurse's office afterward. You wanted to trust that Toshi' knew what Midoriya needed more than you, but you started to wonder why he wasn't more concerned with the boy's recklessness. Walking toward the train station with him that afternoon, you saw worry in his eyes and decided not to ask. Toshi' had a better understanding of Midoriya's quirk, and you had to trust him to know what to do about it.

The crowd of reporters outside after word got out that All Might was officially on the payroll at U.A. was harder to avoid than you'd hoped, and it was only persistence that got you through the gate and out of their range. Desperate not to be on TV - Tremor wasn't your only enemy, and you were enjoying the anonymity that Japan had offered so far - you refused to comment or answer any of their questions.

You were grading homework during one of your off-hours when Thirteen found you, tapping you gently on the shoulder to get your attention.

"Eraserhead and I are teaching a rescue class," they said, their voice sounding a bit robotic through their mask. "He mentioned that you worked for a few years as a rescue and recovery-type hero, so I thought I would invite you to join us for the lesson. If you're available."

"Of course," you agreed, smiling up at them. They looked like an astronaut, and you realized you'd never seen their quirk. "Should I prepare notes, or is this a practical class?"

"It's a practical," they said, "and it's tomorrow morning. I think All Might is joining us, as well."

"Isn't four teachers a bit.. much?" You asked. "All Might counts as two people, anyway, with all that muscle."

"All Might is a close-combat hero, and so is Eraserhead. They can teach the students how to fight, or how to help move debris out of the way. But you and I can show them proper rescue practices, including first-aid."

"Okay," you agreed. "I'll be there."

The break-in was unexpected, but thankfully no one was hurt. You stayed inside while the other pro heroes investigated, trying to keep the students from realizing just how big a break-in like that was. In your time at U.A., you hadn't really looked into the security of the school, but you knew it was extreme. The idea that a few reporters had gotten through the gate was hard to believe, and you were a bit worried that someone else had gotten in. When the teachers all reported back that nothing had been found, however, you let yourself relax.

--

You were very impressed with USJ, and wondered how you'd spent so much time at the school without seeing it before now. When Thirteen told you that All Might had overreached that morning, you shrugged and moved on. Three teachers would be enough, you thought.

You thought wrong. Watching the cloud of purple smoke next to the fountain, you wondered why Inara hadn't called. And when Thirteen fell, their body ripped in half by their own quirk, you had to swallow panic. There wasn't time to heal them, though, as you saw a few villains turn their attention from Eraserhead to you and the students. He couldn't keep that many people on him at once, no matter how good he was in a fight, and despite his best efforts you saw a few villains slip out of Eraserhead's range.

Badly outnumbered, with a group of frightened children and a fallen hero behind you, you didn't have time to watch Eraserhead, or to wonder where the missing students had been sent. The students huddled together around Thirteen, looking terrified. They had to be your top priority, and you couldn't afford to hesitate now. The students looked at you with questions in their eyes, and you felt like a failure when you realized you didn't know how to respond. Thirteen had saved the day by sending Iida away, but his engines could only take him so far so fast, and there was a crowd of monsters gathering nearby.

"Iida will get the other teachers," you said, trying not to sound afraid, "but I have to hold those villains off. So I'm going to trust you students to take care of yourselves and Thirteen. If you see me fall, you break that door down and run."

Putting yourself between the students and the villains, you took deep breath and called on your quirk. Though looking at the world through silver eyes gave you a headache like none other, it also gave you an advantage in the fight; you could see weak spots in whoever you fought. You'd also learned during your third fight as a pro hero that your quirk could suppress your pain sensors, allowing you to fight without the distraction of your injuries. Doing so even added to your 'look', causing a silver design like smudged eyeshadow. Calling on that ability now, you took a few steps forward, your chain dragging on the ground behind you. You hoped it made the chains seem more dangerous than they were, but there was no way to tell. The teleporter floated above you for a moment, seeming to consider his options.

"Don't worry, Mr. Kurogiri," a very large man said as he flexed, making porcupine spikes grow from his shoulders and back, "we'll finish these brats off for you." Kurogiri disappeared, and you saw movement below as he reappeared near the fountain once more. He'd officially left this group of villains to finish the job. Shifting your weight until you felt properly balanced, you turned your attention to the immediate threat.

Rule Number Two: Humans fear what they don't understand.

Tilting your head to the side and recalling the craziness in Tremor's eyes, you looked directly at the villain that had just spoken and offered him your most vicious grin.

" 'Finish us off' ? I'd like to see you try."

There was a moment of hesitation before the villains attacked, but the fight started with a blast of yellow energy from the left. Swinging your chain in a vicious arc, you smacked the offending villain directly in the chin, and he collapsed. The other end of your chain was spinning in a defensive circle on your side, and you shifted your grip just in time to knock away what looked like a porcupine spike.

A villain charged, and you stepped to the side, letting her momentum carry her past you. Slamming your chain down at the last second, you managed to knock a foot from under her and send her sprawling into the concrete. Twisting one arm over the other, you brought the weighted end down on the back of her head with a crack that made one of the students gasp. You lost track of time as you fought, steadily losing ground as the villains pressed toward the students at the gate.

The fight looked to be in your favor at first, but the longer you went the braver the villains got. Soon, they were coming at you in groups of two or three, and dealing a little bit more damage every time. Watching a knife slide uselessly across your shoulder blade, you told yourself to thank Power Loader next time you saw him. One of the villains charged again, and you didn't have time to get out of the way. Squatting to the ground, you rolled under his feet and let him trip over you. You'd have a very unpleasant bruise on your back, but at least he didn't get one of those porcupine spikes into your chest. Rolling to your feet, you came face-to-face with a man whose body seemed to be made of rock. He wrapped his arms around you before you could react, and you cursed. Picking your feet up, you went limp; the sudden weight pulled the rock-man off-balance, and he fell forward.

Pinned by a rock-monster, you tried to push him off of you and realized that he weighed more than you could hope to lift. Pulling an arm from under him, you tried to reach for a pipe one of your enemies had been using as a weapon. Before you could register what was happening, someone stomped directly on your forearm. If you hadn't shut down your pain receptors, you would have fainted right then; instead, as the rock-man started to get up, you pulled your knees up and pushed against his core with your feet. Though you couldn't lift him with your arms, your legs were considerably more effective, and he crashed to the side, taking the one who had stepped on your arm with him. Unfortunately, that also meant he landed on your freshly broken arm.

Pulling your arm from under the pile of people, you started to stand - and heard an explosion behind you. Terrified that the villains were attacking from outside of USJ, you spun to look. One of the villains grabbed you by your good arm as you made eye contact with All Might. For the first time since you'd met him nearly a year before, you saw All Might without a smile on his face. You had time to register the awful mixture of fear and anger in All Might's eyes before he disappeared in a flash. The villain holding your arm collapsed, and when you turned to look, you saw that All Might had taken out every villain between the gate and the fountain below.

You had never looked at All Might directly while your quirk was activated. You'd looked at Toshinori - memorized every scar and damaged organ, spent restless nights trying to figure out how to undo the damage - but you'd never looked at All Might. Some senseless part of your brain had convinced you that All Might was a healed version of Toshinori - that the great wall of muscle was as untouchable and powerful as everyone made it out to be. But as you looked at him for the first time through the silver of your quirk, you realized that that had never been the case. All Might had never been anything other than Toshinori in a suit. The suit looked solid and untouchable, but ultimately it was just a suit.

You stood in stunned silence for a moment, watching as All Might lifted a bloody and unconscious Eraserhead from a crater on the ground. Too fast for your eyes to track, and All Might had three students in his arms, as well. He set them all down and said something, but you couldn't hear him. For a moment, you forgot everything that had just happened and only saw All Might. The fire in his belly, the flame of his strength that you'd never looked at through your quirk before today, was almost embers. He was weakening as you watched, and you felt like the audience in a movie theater - unable to do anything.

Finally tearing your eyes away, and stuffing the fear and pain that All Might's dwindling flame had caused, you turned your attention to Thirteen. You couldn't help Toshinori - not right now - but you could certainly help Thirteen. One of the students moved forward, as if to charge the villains below with All Might, but you caught him by one of his many arms, shaking your head.

"That fight is out of our league," you said quietly. "If we get involved now, we'll only be in the way. So we're going to do what we can from here."

"Your arm is broken," he reminded you. You'd almost forgotten - one of the dangers of blocked pain receptors was that injuries were easy to ignore.

"I'll take care of my arm after I take care of Thirteen. Gather in a circle around Thirteen and I now. We'll be completely vulnerable while I'm working, so I'm relying on you to keep us safe." They seemed considerably less afraid than they had before, and you had to remind yourself that they didn't see the same All Might you saw. Kneeling next to Thirteen, you reached gently into the gaping hole in the back of their suit as you sank into the silver of your quirk.

You wouldn't ever know exactly how long you spent on Thirteen, as time didn't seem to apply when you were healing. You focused on stabilizing the other hero, knowing that they wouldn't be able to fight again today even if you completely drained yourself into them. Wanting to keep as much of your quirk available as you could, you pulled away from Thirteen as soon as they were stabilized, and turned your attention to your arm.

You'd never set your own arm before, so you asked the boy with multiple arms to give you a hand. The pipe you'd broken your arm trying to grab served as a straight, solid item to brace it against, and the boy whose elbows could produce tape provided a means for tying the pipe in place. Thanking your quirk for keeping the pain at bay, you turned your attention to the fight below.

All Might was going blow-for-blow against a very big black creature with a beak and an exposed brain. They were moving too fast for you to process, so you turned your attention toward the two students that were carrying Eraserhead. Sprinting to them, you ordered them to set him down and take up defensive positions. Though there didn't seem to be any immediate threat from villains, you weren't willing to take the risk.

Looking at Eraserhead, you felt your stomach churn. His arms were destroyed, twisted and broken so badly that one hand was facing the wrong direction. His face was a bloody mess, and you saw cracks in the skull as well as an extremely broken nose. What was worst, though, was the concussion. You saw blood pooling up in your friend's skull, putting pressure on an already badly bruised and swelling brain. A concussion this bad, left unchecked, would kill him. Thankfully, as you'd proven once in the past, brains were your specialty.

Taking another deep breath, you pulled him to you, setting his chin on one shoulder, using your broken arm to brace him against your chest and tangling your other hand in the hair at the back of his head. Retreating into your quirk, you put all of your attention on Eraserhead's battered brain and tried not to remember what had happened last time you performed brain surgery with your quirk.

Chapter Text

A quick wash of your silver throughout Eraserhead's body gave you a better picture of the total damage and helped you determine priorities. After your initial inspection, you wrapped your mind up in silver and drifted into his skull through the hand on the back of his head. The source of the bleeding in there was your first priority; second was draining that blood, and third would be repairing whatever soft tissue you could reach so that Recovery Girl and whichever hospital Eraserhead was sent to could focus on his bones.

Finding the burst blood vessels in his brain - there were three total, and you decided the only way he hadn't died already was out of sheer stubborn willpower - wasn't an issue, and neither was putting them back together. Soft tissue like blood vessels and skin was your specialty, and his personal energy responded to your call; his body wanted him to be better, after all.

Before you could drain his skull, you would have to fix his nose - the blood from the break was draining down his throat, and it was something of a miracle that he hadn't drowned in that blood already. It was possible that it was only luck none of his blood had gotten to his lungs, but you felt it was more likely that All Might had instructed the children to carry Eraserhead face-down for just that reason. Your Toshinori might act brainless sometimes, but part of what drew you to him was how smart he could be.

Bones were considerably harder for you to piece back together. Since you'd first discovered your quirk, you'd realized that you could take nutrients from elsewhere in the body (usually fat that was already stored for just such purposes) and redirect them to the tissue you were trying to repair. Unfortunately, doing the same thing with bone risked permanent damage to whatever bone you took the nutrients from. The body didn't store extra bone in the same way it stored extra fat, so you didn't have a ready pool of nutrients to pull from.

Cartilage, while not quite bone, had similar problems. And the cartilage in this man's nose was practically destroyed. After a moment of poking around, you decided to put everything back together with only the tiniest amount of patching to the cartilage - his nose would be extremely susceptible to breaking until it had healed naturally (or with Recovery Girl's assistance), but at least it would allow him to breathe air instead of blood. Once his nose was back in its proper shape, you turned your attention back to the blood in his skull.

To fix Aizawa, you were going to have to break him.

More specifically, you needed somewhere for the blood in his skull to go. Though his brain was no longer bleeding, it was still bruised and continued to swell - if it kept its pace, his brain would squish itself in the confines of his skull. Before you could reduce swelling, you needed somewhere for the fluid causing the swelling to drain to. And you still needed to get all that extra blood out of there. To do that, you decided to crack open the thin layer of bone at the top of his nasal cavity. Squeezing as much of your silver into one spot in the bone turned it into a kind of putty: you were able to gently push the skull out of the way, trying not to waste any of the bone you affected so that you could put it all back together. You did the same with the membrane between skull and naval cavity, until there was a clear path for the blood to drain out of. Using your silver  as a sort of guide for that blood, you made sure that it all went straight out of his nose to drip down your own back instead.

Putting everything back together and reversing the swelling in his brain took a great deal of your quirk, but you had no regrets. Eraserhead's brain would be able to recover, and he wouldn't suffer from any of the ill effects usually associated with a brain hemorrhage. The only real regret was that you didn't have any silver to spare for the rest of his soft-tissue damage, as you'd originally planned. Though you could probably heal the rest of his soft tissue, it would take all of your reserves. Knowing him, Eraserhead would never forgive you for using all of your quirk on him and none of it on his students. You couldn't argue that, either - you were working triage here, and the rules of triage were 'keep them alive, leave the rest for later'. Eraserhead was no longer in danger of dying, so you needed to walk away.

--

Your shoulder was soaked in blood, and as you handed Eraserhead back to his students you realized that (externally) he looked just as bad as he'd been when you'd taken him. To the outside eye, it seemed you'd done nothing but hug the poor man and give him a nosebleed. Instructing the students to carry him the rest of the way to the gate, you turned toward All Might.

It seemed that the fight was over. Behind you, in the direction of the gate, you could hear gunshots: Snipe, at the very least, had arrived. All Might stood in a great cloud of smoke, and you could just barely see Midoriya over the top of a bush, laying on the ground in a jumble of broken bones. A group of other students stood nearby, and you saw the one with red hair - Kirishima, you remembered -  approaching Midoriya, asking him something. Suddenly, Cementoss was there - putting a wall between Kirishima and All Might and directing him to go to the front gate. You approached at a jog, trying to get a better look at All Might and Midoriya's injuries.

"Are all of the students accounted for yet?" You asked Cementoss as you approached.

"Yes," he said in his rumbling voice. "And there don't appear to be any serious injuries among them, other than Midoriya and All Might here. How is Eraserhead?"

"He's as well as I could get him. Please make sure that everyone knows his nose is extremely weak right now. A little tap would probably break it again. I'm no good with bone or cartilage."

"Thirteen is standing. They said you healed them, and that they felt they would make a full recovery."

"Yes, Thirteen should be fine. I've never seen a quirk like that, but the damage wasn't as bad as I'd expected. I left a bit of extra energy in them for Recovery Girl to use. I did the same with Eraserhead, and will likely do it again with these two. I'm afraid I'll be unconscious after that, though."

"Should you overtax yourself like that, with your injuries?" Cementoss sounded genuinely concerned, and you patted his arm, smiling.

"Thank you for caring, Cementoss. I'll be alright, though. My quirk recovers relatively quickly. But please don't let Recovery Girl use her quirk on me. I won't have any stamina left for her to draw on."

"Understood. Please take care of yourself, Silver." Cementoss gave you a small bow, and turned his attention elsewhere.

Knowing that Toshinori wouldn't forgive you if you healed him first, you knelt in front of Midoriya. He'd just finished saying something to Toshi', but you weren't listening. Your quirk was nearing empty, and you didn't have time to wait for their conversation to end. You wanted to be able to at least evaluate Midoriya and Toshinori before you collapsed.

Putting a gentle hand on the top of his head, you sent a rush of energy into Midoriya. Leaving some behind for Recovery Girl to use, you pulled back and met his eyes, offering a small smile. The damage was exclusively to his legs, and you recognized the damage caused by his quirk. Considering chiding him for its use again, you decided not to; you hadn't seen the fight, and couldn't be sure what drove him to break his own legs like this.

"I'm no good with bones, kid, but I can put you to sleep so you don't have to feel the breaks any more."

"Please take care of All Might!" He insisted, throwing a worried look past you toward his mentor. "He's reached his limit, and he was injured!"

"I love him too, you know," you said before you could stop yourself. Wincing at the bluntness of your confession - you hadn't even said 'love' to Toshi yet! - you cleared your throat. "I'll take care of him, I promise."

"O-oh. Uh, okay, Teacher. I.. I'll go to sleep, then."

"Good kid." You sent one last tiny wave of energy, this time into his brain, and released your hold on his head. Standing up, you almost fell back over again as a wave of dizziness and nausea hit you. Putting a hand on each knee, you squatted a bit and bent over, trying to put your head between your knees without falling over or having to sit down. The wave passed, and you straightened back up with a deep breath.

"You should rest," Toshinori was small again, and looked at you with so much worry in his face that you almost laughed at him. Here he was, bleeding through his button-up and on the brink of passing out, and he was telling you to rest. You shook your head and walked up, putting a hand on his cheek.

"Sit down, my oversized hero," you ordered, smiling. He blushed slightly and did as he was told, sitting on his bum with his knees up. You sank down to the ground with him, on your knees between his legs and a hand still on his cheek. You gave him a close, careful inspection, looking at every injury and lingering on the scar on his side. It was dangerously red now, and it had to hurt.

You lifted your left arm - the broken one - and slipped your fingers in between the buttons of his shirt. He tried to protest, but you slid the thumb of your other hand over his lips, silencing him. You were staring at his stomach, so you couldn't see his blush, but you could feel it under the fingers of your right hand. Sending a rush of silver into his side, you patched the tissue damage where he'd apparently been squeezed by a very strong hand. There were actually finger markings in his side from the fight, and you silently wished you could have been watching, rather than healing Eraserhead.

Nearly drained, you looked back up into those ridiculously blue eyes, touched by the overwhelming concern there. You considered kissing him right then and there - but the two of you had decided to keep your relationship at work professional, even though several coworkers were aware of the romance. The last of your energy went to putting him to sleep, and you had to catch him by the shoulders to keep him from crashing backwards into the concrete.

With no silver left to keep your pain receptors suppressed, you quite suddenly felt all of the damage of the fight. Your arm hurt the worst, of course, but you also felt several scrapes and more bruises than you cared to count. Your right wrist, recovered from your fight with Tremor but permanently sensitive to overuse, protested the day's work. You vaguely remembered letting a villain trample you so that he would fall as your back screamed about it. But what hurt the most was the knowledge of what draining your quirk so completely would bring. Tomorrow would be unpleasant. But tonight would be hell.

Chapter Text

"Why didn't you call anyone?"

You sat up with a start, turning to find the source of the sudden yelling. Though the voice wasn't right - too high-pitched, and in the wrong language - you heard enough Tremor in the tone to send a shiver up your spine. You sat up too fast, though, and felt all of the blood rush to your head. It felt like a thousand knives were dancing in your skull, and the lights in the room were far, far too bright. You closed your eyes, swallowing bile and wishing you'd lost your hearing instead of breaking an arm. At least then the argument in the background wouldn't hurt so much.

"Hizashi, I-"

"You can see the future. You can sense when your friends are in trouble. And there Shouta was - getting his head bashed into the ground - and where were you? Eating ice cream?"

"Quit it, Hizashi," you said sharply. "That isn't how her quirk works, and you know it."

"Oh, I know how her quirk works. And I know how yours works, too. Why didn't you heal him more? He's gonna have permanent damage to his eyes-"

Thankfully, Inara had put a bucket next to your bed. Picking it up in a rush, you sat the rest of the way up and presented your lunch to HIzashi. Groaning, you glared over the rim of the bucket at him, irrationally blaming your nausea on the broken volume button for his voice. Two more dry heaves - your lunch had been small, your breakfast long since processed - before you were able to put the bucket back down and wipe the tears from your eyes. The only good thing about your sudden display is that it shut your very loud friend up.

"Inara's quirk has limits just like every other quirk in the world. She only sees events that she can affect by calling someone. Which means that calling you would have either had no effect at all, or would have led to you getting hurt."

"I can defend myself, you know," Inara mumbled, staring at her hands. You knew she could, but you also knew that look in her eyes; right now, she wouldn't defend herself. Inara loved helping people, and she loved when her quirk led to saving someone. So when her quirk didn't help a situation, it hurt her twice as much. She was too wrapped up in her personal guilt right now to realize that she had nothing to feel guilty about.

"As for Aizawa. Well, he wouldn't have forgiven me if I'd used all of my energy to heal him. You know how he is, Hizashi."

"You should have healed him, anyway. He'd get over it - and he wouldn't be hurt like this." Some of the fight was going out of him, but you could still see the pain in his eyes.

"Well. Too late for that now."

"You don't even care!" He was back in full force, and you winced as his voice echoed painfully in your head.

"The person you're trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again at a later time." Normally, you would have defended yourself - argued for hours with Hizashi, told him how much it hurt to leave Aizawa behind as a bloodied mess. But right now, you needed quiet. And darkness. And pain medication, but you wouldn't - couldn't - risk that.

"WHAT-"

"Enough! Out, Present Mic! Right now. I will not have you disrupting the recovery of any of my patients!" It was the first time you'd ever heard Recovery Girl speak in anything  more than a kind, grandmotherly voice. If your head hadn't been pounding, you would have been impressed. As it was, you groaned and picked the bucket back up again. There was nothing left to throw up, but your body didn't seem to realize that. A door slammed, and you whined again, clutching your head with your good hand.

"Miss Inara," you could barely hear Recovery Girl over the pounding in your head, "is this a side-effect of Silver overreaching? Or is there something else going on that I should be worried about?"

"It's a side-effect, Ma'am." Inara was still staring at her hands, and her voice was lifeless. You wanted to reach over and put a hand on her shoulder, but you were afraid of dropping the bucket in the process.

"I'll be-" another heave "-fine, in a few minutes. This is from th-" you gave up, tears leaking from your eyes as you heaved again.

"From the headache? I have a pain medication you can take-"

"No!" You and Inara spoke at the same time, making Recovery Girl raise her eyebrows.

"Some day, you're going to have to tell me what this prejudice against medicine is about. You're a doctor, Silver. You shouldn't be so stubborn about this."

"I'm a doctor," you agreed, finally able to set the bucket down again, "but everyone has a weakness, and I'm not ready to risk facing mine." There was a knock at the door, and Recovery Girl looked somewhat annoyed, turning to answer it. When she stepped to the side, you found Toshinori in the doorway - a bandage on his cheek and more poking out from under the collar of his shirt.

"E-excuse me. I heard Present Mic yelling, is everything okay?"

"Everyone and their mother heard that man yelling," you grumbled.

"He's hurting, is all. He didn't take Shouta's injuries well." Inara didn't look up, and Toshinori turned his concerned gaze to her, instead.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" He asked, reaching out to put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. Just useless, is all."

"Useless? You've saved countless people with your quirk. How could you be useless?" Toshinori squeezed her shoulder, and you saw the guilt in Inara's eyes lessen, just a little bit.

"I didn't-"

"Can you have this conversation somewhere else, please? My head is about to explode." You reached up to rub your temple and realized that your left arm was in a cast up to the knuckles. Scowling at it, you let your hand fall into your lap - a decision you regretted immediately, when the broken bones in your arm protested even worse than your head. "Ow."

"Of course! I'm sorry!" Inara shot up out of her chair, turning to leave the room. Before she could get all the way out, you called her back.

"Inara, I don't have the energy to explain how and what and why right now. But you have nothing to feel guilty about. Your quirk didn't fail you, Aizawa, or anyone else. And Aizawa? He'll be fine. He's too stubborn to be anything but fine."

"...I know. I just wish Hizashi knew. I don't want to lose friends over this again."

"Aizawa will smack some sense into him, next time they talk. He's good at that. Tell Midnight I'm okay, please."

"Right. Are you coming home tonight?"

"I don't know yet," you admitted. You didn't like the idea of spending the night by yourself in a hospital bed, but you knew that you would keep Inara up all night if you went back to the apartment and tried to sleep. She had work in the morning.

"A-are your injuries that severe?" Toshinori asked, looking more worried than ever.

"No, Toshi'," you assured him,  "all I have is a broken arm and several bruises."

"Then why.. Oh. You said you have nightmares when you use your quirk up."

"Yeah. Now can everyone please leave? And, Recovery Girl, can I turn the lights off in here? I think my brain is melting."

"You can take some aspirin," she said, glaring up at you.

"Nah. Got any PEZ?" Recovery Girl just sighed, following Inara out of the room. Toshinori stayed, sinking into the chair Inara had just left.

"I'm certain that Recovery Girl is offering you painkillers with good reason," he said quietly.

"She is. And I'm refusing with good reason. Please let it be, Toshi'." You shifted in your bed, deciding that you wouldn't be dry heaving again in the near future. Laying back down, you rolled onto your side so you could look at Toshinori next to you.

"If you insist," he said quietly, brushing hair out of your face with a gentle finger.

"I do," you murmured, eyes drooping. Exhaustion was winning...but Toshinori was still there. Forcing your eyes back open, you flexed the muscles in your broken arm, sending a burst of pain to keep yourself awake.

"I can turn the light off," he offered, shifting to stand up.

"No, it's okay. I don't want to sleep right now."

"B-but.. You need sleep."

"So do you, my oversized hero. But here you are." You were laying on your right side, so when you reached out it was with your broken arm. You had to tug his bangs by pinching it between your index and middle finger, as your thumb was separated from the rest of your hand by the cast. You'd tugged his bangs like that quite a few times, and gotten a reaction out of him every time. But this time, for some reason, he didn't respond, and stared silently into your eyes instead. There was a long moment of silence as you just...stared at each other. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence, but you really didn't like the frown on his face.

"Are your dreams really so bad?" He finally asked.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"Me, too. I'm sure you have some pretty unpleasant dreams, too."

"I do."

"Got any good ways to keep them at bay?"

"Other than sleeping medication?"

"Not an option, big guy."

"Then no, I'm afraid I don't."

"Ah, too bad." You rolled onto your back, staring up at the ceiling. "If I ever figure anything out, you'll be the first to know."

"You shouldn't be alone when you wake up from these dreams of yours," he said, staring at his hands now. You had a feeling that he was speaking from experience.

"I wake Inara up, sometimes. When it's... really bad. She's a psychiatrist, after all. Knows exactly what to say." There was a pause, and you tangled your good hand in your sheets, thinking. "What do you do? When the dreams get bad, I mean."

"I usually go on an impromptu patrol," he admitted. You rolled onto your side again and glared at him.

"You wake up from restless sleep and then spend hours fighting villains instead of making that sleep back up?"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"You should find someone you can go to when your dreams get bad." Your eyes were starting to droop again, and your brain didn't want to cooperate as you tried to think of who he would be comfortable going to. You'd noticed that, while he didn't dislike any of the other teachers, he didn't seem to be close to any of them. "Got someone you trust?"

"You," he answered quietly, brushing your hair with his fingers. You almost didn't open your eyes the next time you blinked, almost asleep already.

Suddenly, your eyes snapped open and you felt your face turn bright red. The machine monitoring your heart started beeping at an alarming rate, and Toshinori jumped up, looking panicked.

"Wh- are you okay?" He coughed, trying to speak but impossible to understand through the cough. You sat up slowly, trying to calm your heart so that you could calm him.

"I'm okay," you said, "I just... thought of something."

"I don't-" his coughing cut him off again, and you wished you had even a spark of silver that you could lend him to make it stop.

"We both need sleep, Toshi, and we both need someone to turn to when the dreams get bad. So what if we... Well, we shared a bed once already, right? It doesn't have to be- if you think that would be moving too fast-" He clamped a hand over your mouth, and you stared up at him, startled.

"I was...thinking the same thing," he said quietly. "I just didn't know how to bring it up." Slowly, he lifted his hand from your mouth.

"Oh."

Chapter Text

Inara had left behind a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, a change of clothes, and oversized sunglasses, so you handed your phone to Toshinori to text her and tell her you wouldn't be coming home while you got dressed. If it weren't for your migraine, you might have been concerned with what she would say to the news that you were going home with Toshinori, but your brain could barely process which side of your shirt was the front. You were practically a zombie, holding the loose cloth of his shirt and using every ounce of your focus to keep from tripping yourself as you followed him to the train station. You fell asleep on the train almost immediately, a head on Toshinori's shoulder and probably drooling. While he'd certainly been injured during the fight, and he'd gone well past his limit towards the end of it, Toshi' assured you that he was feeling almost himself already. You knew without asking that the amount of time he could spend as All Might had been shortened by the fight, but that didn't seem like a problem to you; it just meant he would have less time to get himself into trouble when you weren't looking.

Toshinori woke you as the train slowed to a stop, and you stumbled along behind him, unable to focus on where you were going. If you'd been following anyone else in the world, you would have been nervous about the fact that you had no idea where you were. But you trusted this man more than you trusted Inara, if you were being completely honest with yourself. He apologized as he opened the door to his apartment, explaining that he hadn't had the chance to clean it up in a while. You didn't pay attention to the mess, though; too tired to look at anything other than him, or to think of anything besides the bed you would be sharing.

When he finally showed you to his bed, you collapsed into it immediately, nearly falling asleep on impact. Somehow, you managed to stay awake until Toshinori was in the bed next to you, and you rolled onto your stomach, draping an arm across his chest as he tugged the blanket over you both. Before he'd finished tucking the blanket into place, you were asleep.

You woke three times during the night; twice from Toshinori waking up in a coughing fit and apologizing profusely through the blood on his teeth. When you woke from your own nightmare, panting and clutching at the blanket, he woke immediately, taking your good hand in his and pressing it to his heart so that you could feel his heartbeat. You weren't certain how he knew you needed to feel life under your fingers, but he did, and your panicked heart settled almost immediately. After a minute of watching his chest rise and fall and counting his heartbeats under your fingers, you were able to lie back down and close your eyes once more. You pressed your forehead into his shoulder and wrapped your arm around his chest again, falling asleep almost immediately.

--

You woke the next morning in a strange room and an empty bed. Sitting up, you looked around groggily and tried to remember what had happened. Before you could start to panic, though, Toshinori stepped back into the room, buttoning a black shirt and smiling at you. Realizing that your night with him hadn't been a fevered dream, you smiled back. Toshinori approached, leaning down to offer you a kiss, but before he could pull away you had a hand on either shoulder and pulled him back into the bed. With a move that impressed even you, you managed to pin him underneath you, sitting on his hips with a hand on either shoulder.

"Don't leave yet," you ordered.

Toshinori stared up at you with wide eyes, blushing slightly. A chunk of blonde hair was draped across his nose, so you brushed it out of the way. Trailing that finger down his neck, you watched the pulse speed up. You brushed your thumb over his adam's apple and he put a hand on your hip, dragging his eyes slowly down your body. You traced his collarbone, watching goosebumps rise everywhere you touched, until your fingers met with the collar of his shirt and couldn't go any further. Wrinkling your brow slightly, you reached for the top button of his shirt. He snatched your hand from his collar and brought it up to press his lips into your fingers. Your other hand - in a cast but still functional - reached for the button instead, and he stopped that one, too, a pained look on his face.

"I want to see you," you whispered, staring down at that offending button. "All of you."

"I'm not..." He looked away, the frown that you hated so much in place again. He was still blushing, but it was from shame now. Pulling your hands from his grip, you leaned down and put your elbows on either side of his head, pressing your lips into the corner where neck met shoulder. Toshinori let out a small gasp that made you smile.

"You're not what, Toshinori?" You asked, so close to him that your lips brushed his skin as you spoke. His hands were on your waist now, tentative and soft.

"Not... worth looking at," he finally admitted, face still turned away.

"That's for me to decide, my oversized hero."

"I'm not what I used to be," he said, his voice even smaller than before. Sitting up and putting a hand against his cheek, you forced him to look at you once more. Your other hand brushed hair out of his eyes again, thumb trailing along his brow.

"I don't want to look at who you used to be," you whispered. "I've never known who you used to be. I want to look at who you are." His eyes widened slightly. You gave him a moment to think about it before reaching for the button again. He didn't stop you this time.

As your good hand unhooked the first button of his shirt, you ran the fingers of your other along his arm until your hand was over his. Pulling yourself off of his hips, you scooted further back so that you could bend down and kiss the spot where the first button had been. The hands on your waist tightened slightly, and your heart skipped a beat. Regretting your broken arm - there was so much more you could do, if you only had both arms - you reached for the next button. Pulling his shirt out of the way, you planted another kiss where the second button had been. Keeping the pattern of removing a button and kissing where it had been, you worked your way down his chest and stomach until there weren't any buttons left. He didn't say anything, but the hands on your waist moved down until they were on your hips. When you kissed his stomach after the final button, he let out a small groan and slid his fingers underneath the hem of your shirt. Satisfied that the buttons were out of your way, you pulled his shirt the rest of the way apart until his entire chest was exposed.

The scar was like a spider web, its center just below where his left nipple should have been. You started there, tracing the first line of the web upward until it faded out. His hands inched further up your shirt, and you started on the next line, working your way along where his rib cage should have been. He tugged at the hem of your shirt, and you leaned forward, moving to a scar that ran straight down to his waistline. His hip bone jutted out from the rest of the skin, with no fat to cover it up. Despite his emaciated state, there was muscle underneath the scars. His hands on your shirt asked a question, and you straightened up, lifting your arms so that he could pull your shirt up and over your head. The shirt drifted down to the floor next to the bed as you traced the next line in his spiderweb scar, following it across his stomach to his belly button. A trail of hair, blonde and thin, ran from just below his belly button to disappear underneath the waist of his pants, and his breath caught in his throat as you traced it. His hands were on your ribs now, exploring with the same gentle touch you offered him. Leaning down, you pressed your lips into the center of that massive scar. He groaned slightly, his fingers pressing into your ribs.

Suddenly, he rolled over, pinning you underneath him and leaning down to press his lips into yours. You opened your mouth in shock, and he slipped his tongue in. You moaned into his mouth, gripping his hips with your good hand and tangling the fingers of your left in his hair. His thumb brushed over one of your nipples, and you gasped, breaking the kiss so that you could stare into his eyes. Panting slightly, you moved your hand from his hip to the buckle of his belt, fumbling with it as he started kissing your neck. You would have undone that buckle if he hadn't caught your hand in his and sat back up. The heat in his eyes was breathtaking, and you squirmed underneath him, wanting more - so much more.

"(Y/N)," he said hoarsely, "we're both injured. You've completely used up your quirk." Gently, he pulled your hand away from his belt buckle and put it back on his hip once more. For a moment, you thought about arguing with him, but then you remembered his wet cough the night before. Though his injuries had been mostly healed by Recovery Girl, you knew that Toshinori wasn't back at full strength any more than you were. In fact, he was likely even more exhausted than you. Taking a deep breath, you nodded.

"You're right," you said, "but I still don't want you to go."

"Then I won't," he answered, bending down to kiss your collar bone.

It was his turn to explore your scars, seeing them for the first time. You tried to remember the last time someone had seen you shirtless and realized it hadn't been since the surgery that caused your scars. There was a scar directly down the center of your chest, thick and lined on either side with dots from sutures. There was a long spike coming off of the side of that center line, following all the way around until it disappeared into the bedsheets.

"What happened?" He asked, tracing the scar on your sternum with gentle fingers. You felt goosebumps rising everywhere he touched, and your heart was racing, your blush so deep that your chest had even turned red.

"Tremor," you said quietly. "Remember when Recovery Girl started to talk about my rib cage?"

"What did he do?" There was a righteous fury in his eyes so intense that you had trouble maintaining eye contact.

"I didn't think he meant it, at the time," you said quietly, tracing the scar on Toshinori's chest so that you didn't have to see his anger, "but thinking back, I think  he did. It was right after... He blamed me, for his friends dying. That nineteen year old kid I told you about, he went straight for the nearest middle school. The teachers there tried to stop him, but they weren't fighters. As it turned out, Tremor's friends were teachers there. He didn't take their deaths well."

"So he attacked you," Toshinori wasn't tracing the lines of your scar any more, and you couldn't bring yourself to look at him. The anger rolled off of him in waves, and for the first time since you'd met him, you were a little bit afraid of the hero.

"Yeah. I mentioned that he took out four ribs and half of my lung. Well, these scars are what came from the surgery that followed. I can't heal bones, remember? The doctors had to make new ones for me, with a special three-dimensional printer somewhere in Australia. I was kept in a medical coma for three weeks while they put me back together. The only reason I could afford any of it was because heroes in America get special medical insurance. I'm still paying some of the medical debt off, actually."

Toshinori was actually trembling with anger now, and you were beginning to sweat. Knowing that his anger wasn't directed at you didn't seem to be enough, and you began to wish you hadn't let him take your shirt off in the first place. Propping yourself up on your elbows, you finally looked into his eyes. The anger there made you nervous, but there was hurt there, too.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, the anger draining out of him as he spoke. All that was left was guilt.

"What on earth are you apologizing for?" You asked, stunned by both his sudden apology and by how quickly the anger had disappeared.

"For not protecting you."

Before you could stop yourself, you were laughing. Pulling your elbows out from underneath you, you fell back into the bed behind you, head tilted back as you laughed. There were tears in your eyes by the time you got yourself under control once again, looking back up at him.

"Toshinori Yagi," you said, still smiling, "only you could apologize for something you couldn't possibly have helped with. Not only were you on the other side of the world.. Toshi', this was six years ago. We didn't even know each other yet." Reaching up, you wrapped a your right hand around the back of the neck and pulled him down until you could press your lips into his.

Chapter Text

Toshinori returned your kiss, then excused himself, admitting that he would be late to an important meeting if he stayed much longer. Hopping out of bed, you wished you'd woken sooner and had a chance to share a shower with him. Instead, you settled for buttoning his shirt back up for him before running your fingers through your own hair in an attempt to tame it. You didn't have anything to change into, and Toshinori had already eaten, so you straightened yourself up and let him lead you to the nearest restaurant with a takeaway menu for your breakfast. You followed Toshinori as far as the train station, grabbing him by the back of the head so that you could give him a kiss on the forehead goodbye as you got onto a different train. Your first stop was home - to check in with Inara, take a quick shower, and get a change of clothes. The next stop would be the hospital; though you didn't have any strength to heal either of them, you wanted to at least check in on Thirteen and Eraserhead.

Inara wasn't home. Checking your phone, you saw that she hadn't texted you since the day before, when she acknowledged the text from Toshinori about staying the night with him. Shooting her a quick message, you wrapped your cast in a plastic bag and climbed into the shower. After nearly thirty minutes of soaking under the warm water, you finally climbed out and got dressed. Inara still hadn't answered, but given that it was still only 9:30am and her day off, you decided not to panic and call just yet - it was possible she'd stayed the night somewhere else and was still in bed. Another possibility was that she'd stayed at the hospital, hovering over Aizawa or Thirteen.

When you got to the hospital, you found Hizashi asleep in the visitor's bed next to Aizawa - who was also asleep. Giving him a quick once-over with your quirk, and reading the clip board at the foot of his bed, you determined that he was just as well as could be expected and slipped out without waking either of the men. The fact that there hadn't been a vase of flowers or a stuffed animal anywhere in sight told you that Inara hadn't visited Aizawa, which was unsurprising given how hostile Hizashi had been the day before. Reminding yourself that Inara was a grown woman who didn't need you hovering over her, you turned toward Thirteen's room.

Unlike Aizawa, Thirteen was awake. They greeted you tiredly from their hospital bed and thanked you for your healing the day before. Once the general pleasantries were done, and you'd read Thirteen's medical report, you settled into the chair next to them, trying not to be obvious about how much your head hurt.

"I was set to teach class 1A again tomorrow," Thirteen said drowsily. "It was going to be a follow-up on the rescue training at USJ. I guess that won't happen now, though... We didn't actually give any rescue training, and the doctors are telling me to stay in bed tomorrow."

"The doctors are right about you staying in bed," you said, speaking quietly in case your coworker's headache was anything like your own. "But I haven't been ordered to bed rest, so I can teach your class tomorrow if you'd like. What kind of lesson did you have in mind?"

Thirteen actually had notes in their desk back at the school, and though you weren't a fan of going through others' desks, you agreed to pull the notes out when you got to work the following day. You spent another hour and a half with Thirteen, going over plans for the rescue lesson before Thirteen fell asleep once more. Sneaking out of the room as quietly as you could manage, you checked your phone again. Still nothing from Inara - so you sent Kayama a text, hoping she'd gone home with the hero the night before.

Kayama responded almost immediately, telling you that Inara had, in fact, spent the night at her house. Several dirty jokes and implications later, and you determined that Inara wasn't ready to face the world just yet, and that Kayama was the better person of the two of you to get your friend back on her feet. Your headache was still in full force, and your temper was short. Satisfied that your friend wasn't in any kind of trouble, you sent her a 'get well soon' text and started looking for something to eat for lunch.

Though you considered calling Toshinori again and spending the night once more, you talked yourself out of it. You'd recovered enough of your energy to hold off the worst of the nightmares. Or so you thought

You woke seven different times that night, spending several minutes after each nightmare trying to calm down before you could fall back to sleep. After waking up at 2am after watching Aizawa's brain turn to mush in a sick combination of Tremor's attack six years ago and the USJ attack so recently, you realized that sleep wasn't really an option. Climbing out of bed, you washed your face and drained a bottle of Pokari Sweat before poking your head into Inara's room. Her bed remained empty, so she must have spent another night with Kayama. So you changed into a pear of sweatpants and a tank top, and went for a run.

--

After your incredibly unpleasant night, you walked into class 1A to find Aizawa standing at the front of the class, covered in bandages and probably without taking any medication.

"You should be in bed," you both spoke at the same time as you glared at him from the doorway.

"You look terrible," Aizawa told you in that dry voice of his as you shut the door behind you.

"Look who's talking, mister mummy," you growled. "Why are you here?"

"The sports festival is coming up. The students need to begin preparations for it."

"Sports festival. You've got two broken arms and a broken face, and you came to work to tell a few students about a festival." You walked up to him, still glaring, and planted your good hand directly on the top of his head. Though it looked like you were chastising him, you were actually sending a rush of healing energy - what little you'd recovered the night before - directly into him. Some of the tension in his shoulders immediately eased, and he looked far less wobbly. You knew before you touched him that his brain wasn't mush, but after the nightmare earlier, you were relieved to see as much in person.

"You're one to talk," he muttered, pulling away from your hand. "You have a broken arm and you've completely drained your quirk. Why are you here, (L/N)?"

"I need the distraction," you spoke so quietly that even the front row of students couldn't have heard you. The night with Toshinori had allowed you a full six hours of sleep, but last night you hadn't even managed a full four. Aizawa considered that for a moment, before nodding slightly. Turning back to the rest of the class, you put a smile on your face.

"Well, I do know how big the U.A. sports festival is in Japan, so I do agree that you all need to prepare for it. That was my plan for today's class, actually." Turning back to Aizawa, you nudged him gently with a foot. "Do you mind if I take over your class, then, Eraserhead? You're more than welcome to interject, from the sidelines."

"I suppose," he grumbled, stepping to the side so that you could take the podium from him.

"Every quirk has its limit. I'm sure you've all heard that before - but how closely have you considered your own quirk's limit?" You looked around the room, ignoring that Aizawa had curled up on the floor in the corner with his obnoxious yellow sleeping bag. "Some of your quirks have obvious drawbacks - Midoriya's quirk permits extreme strength, but destroys his bones. Sato's quirk is useless unless he takes in enough sugar to power it. Today, I'm giving each of you an assignment: to list the weaknesses and limits of your quirks, and how best to work around those limits. Though each of you will be brainstorming for yourselves, you should also be asking the other students in the classroom. Just because you think your quirk is limitless doesn't mean someone else hasn't noticed a flaw. And if you and your classmates can't come up with anything, ask me. I've always had a nack for finding peoples' weaknesses." You grinned evilly at the group, and a couple of the students looked a little nervous. Suddenly, the girl with pink hair and horns - Ashido - raised her hand.

"What's your weakness, Silver?" She asked, leaning forward. "I saw that guy step on your arm at USJ, and you didn't even wince."

"But my arm still broke," you said, pointing at it. "And you'll notice that, even though I'm a healer, my arm is still broken. My weakness is bone. Recovery Girl, another healing-quirk user, is limited by the stamina in the body of whomever she's working on. I'm limited by the nutrients and chemicals already available in the body I'm working on, though I am able to take nutrients from my own body to heal the other person. Recovery Girl and I make a fairly good team, in that respect. I can provide her with the energy she needs to heal someone, and she can heal the bones that I would otherwise have to leave untouched."

"So that's how you would work around your limit?" The speaker was Tokoyami this time, and for a brief moment you wondered how his beak could create the sounds of normal speech. "You find others with healing quirks and combine their strengths with your weaknesses?"

"Yes, as every proper hero should. It's uncommon for heroes to work together without a hero-sidekick narrative, but it is possible. And often, the sidekick is filling in the gaps of that hero's weaknesses."

"All Might always works alone, though, so does that mean he doesn't have any weaknesses?" Asked the readheaded Kirishima.

"No, he does have weaknesses. Unfortunately, his quirk restricts the amount of help another hero or sidekick would be able to provide. Since he's able to create such powerful winds with his punches, All Might has to hold back when he fights to keep others from getting hurt in the process. And All Might did have a sidekick, once upon a time. Though I haven't read up on the details, it's my understanding that that sidekick made up for All Might's tendency to rush into a fight without thinking first - by thinking ahead for him."

"Endeavor doesn't have a sidekick," Todoroki spoke, and you wondered - not for the first time - where a burn scar could have come from in a family of fire-wielders. "But he does have weaknesses."

"Yes, Endeavor does have weaknesses. I can't say what they are for certain - I've never met him in person, actually - but I know that he has to have some. There are also situations where his fire wouldn't be useful in a fight, or might even make the fight worse. Endeavor's unwillingness to admit that he has weaknesses is, in a certain way, one of his weaknesses. It hasn't backfired on him yet - at least, not publicly - but it will some day."

The class moved on, occasionally asking questions but mostly working things out among themselves. Near the end of class, you started collecting their papers. Before class could let out, you raised your hand.

"I have two things I'd like to say before you all leave," you lowered your hand as they all turned in your direction. "The first is that Thirteen sends their regards. Originally, Thirteen was going to teach this class, but they have more sense than Eraserhead -" you shot him a glare in the corner, but he appeared to be asleep "-and stayed in bed today. The second is that I will be giving each of you an assignment based on the weaknesses you've provided me, which I will hand out at our next class together. If I feel you didn't actually name your weakness, out of pride or simply not considering every possibility, expect to be surprised when you get your assignment. Have a pleasant day."

As you walked out of class, Kayama approached you, smiling brightly. You smiled back at her, and for the second time that day spoke in unison with someone else:

"How's Inara doing?"

"Wait, I thought she was with you-" you dug around in your pocket, trying to find your phone without dropping your paperwork.

"She left a few minutes after I texted you yesterday morning," Kayama's phone was already in her hand, and she was typing away before you had even unlocked your phone. Inara still hadn't answered since the day before, so you hit the call button.

It went straight to voice mail, and you started cursing.

Chapter Text

"Please leave a message after the tone."

"Inara, if you're okay, I'm gonna knock you into your next life. If you're not okay, I'm gonna heal you and then knock you into your next life. Call me."

It took a lot of self-control not to storm out of U.A. right then, but you had your regular health-ed class with the business students that afternoon, so you couldn't just dip out. Instead, you looked up the firm she had an office out of and called their front desk. When the receptionist told you that Inara had 'called in sick' that morning, you asked them to tell her to call you if she showed up or called in again. While you were in the teacher's lounge waiting for your afternoon class to start, you sent a text to Toshinori, asking him to keep an eye out for your wayward friend while he was out in town. He finally called you as you were walking out of the school's front gate at the end of the day.

"I believe I've found your friend!" He said, in his All Might voice.

"Where's she at? I owe her a few bruises."

"Er... is that really necessary, (L/N)?" He asked you, sounding taken aback.

"Yes. Where's she at, Tosh'? Is she okay?"

"I haven't spoken with her directly," he admitted, "but I've met a few heroes that are visiting from America, and they tell me that she is at their hotel with another of their party." American heroes who knew Inara - that could be either a very good thing, or an extremely bad thing, depending on who it was.

"...Which heroes?"

"Heavenly Owl, Gray Savior, and Dragontooth," hearing Toshinori try to pronounce the American hero names would have been comical, if not for the situation. A mixture of relief and annoyance ran through you when you heard their names, and you let out a small sigh.

"Okay. Where exactly are you? If you need to go, that's okay, but please tell me how to get in touch with at least one of those three. Dragontooth, if possible." All three of the heroes annoyed you beyond belief, but Dragontooth was the best of them. You scribbled the address Toshinori gave you on your hand as you walked to the train station.

 --

Dragontooth recognized you first, immediately standing up and waving frantically from the table he and the others were at. All Might turned to look, that overdone smile of his in place. Before you got all the way to the table, he excused himself from the others and walked quickly towards you.

"I would stay," he said quietly, leaning down to whisper in your ear and putting his hand in front of his mouth as if someone would read his lips, "but I'm nearly out of time already, and I haven't even finished half of my usual patrol. Will you be okay with these...heroes?" You had to grin at his hesitation; these must be the first American heroes he'd had any real conversations with, for him to hesitate to call them heroes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for finding them, Tosh'. I'll call you later." You patted his shoulder, careful not to show too much familiarity in public, and watched him leave, still grinning. Judging by his reaction to your fellow American heroes, Toshinori must have assumed that all Americans were like you and Inara, and he'd just met three of the most obnoxious men you'd ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

"So what happened to your arm, Silver?" Dragontooth asked as soon as you were close enough to hear him. Surprisingly, he'd actually waited until you could hear his normal talking voice, instead of yelling across the cafe like he normally would. He was in his costume, which included scaled armor that changed color depending on the light. Not only was the armor obnoxious, but it actually gave you a headache if you looked at it for too long - and you'd had a headache for the last two days, so you tried not to look at his armor at all.

"I had a disagreement with a rock-man," you said shortly, speaking English since it wasn't likely any of them understood Japanese. "Listen, guys, I'd love to catch up, but I'm really worried about Inara. She hasn't called or texted me for a while now, and it isn't like her."

"She's coming back to America with us," Gray Savior said, glaring up at you over the top of his phone. Gray Savior wore long grey robes and a wide-brimmed pointed hat, looking very much like a wizard. His utility belt, however, didn't fit the rest of his outfit; it was like a bandolier, but instead of ammunition there were syringes. Unsanitary syringes, as far as you were concerned - an argument that you'd had with the man nearly every time the two of you had spoken. His quirk allowed him to convert his own blood into any medicine he understood the makeup of, so that he could give that medicine to his 'patients'. Three different malpractice lawsuits had been covered up by his expert public relations team - and those were just the ones you knew about.

"Is she?" You tried not to sound too skeptical about that. Inara had never been one to rush to a decision, and this was the first you'd heard of her considering going back to the states.

"She hasn't officially decided," Heavenly Owl said, looking over his shoulder at you. Given that you were almost directly behind him, he really should have turned his torso to look, too. Instead, he twisted his head around nearly all the way around to look. If you were honest with yourself, his tendency to rely on his owl-like physiology was the only real problem you had with the hero. He had to sit sideways in the high-backed chair the cafe had provided him so that his wings weren't squished against the chair any time he leaned back.

"Inara wants to improve her quirk," Dragontooth said cheerfully, "and she can't really do that with you, so she's going back to the states with us. Soothsayer is giving her lessons right now, in our hotel room!"

"Soothsayer. Giving lessons. To Inara." You couldn't even begin to believe what they were saying. Not only did Inara practically hate Soothsayer, but Soothsayer had always insisted that Inara's quirk had zero potential.

"Yes, Silver. If you hadn't talked Inara out of training with Soothsayer all those years ago, she would have been able to predict the fight you were in, and you could have been better prepared for it." Savior had a way of talking down to anyone he spoke to, and today was no exception.

"That isn't how Inara's quirk works, and all of us know it," you snapped, pinching the bridge of your nose as you spoke. How had Inara managed to find these three to start with?

"You don't know how her quirk works, since you won't let her learn to use it properly." Heavenly Owl spoke quietly, but the accusation was clear. Someone, at some point, had told these boys that you were the reason Inara hadn't improved her quirk over the years. Given your relationship with Soothsayer, you suspected her to be the problem. Grimacing, you sat in the fourth chair and glared at the three men.

"I'm not interested in arguing about this. Inara isn't the type of person to run to a different country overnight. Even when she had the premonition that led to us moving out here, it took three weeks to convince her to actually move. And she hasn't spoken with me once about going back to America." Gray Savior opened his mouth to argue with you, and you held your right hand up to stop him. "I'm not her mother. If Inara wants to go back to America with the four of you, she's welcome to. But she'd my best friend, and I want to make sure that she's making this decision for the right reasons."

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Savior said primly, going back to his phone. The fact that he wouldn't make eye contact told you that he was lying. The fool had never been able to look at you when he lied... which meant he was almost never looking at you.

"I don't believe you for one second," you said coldly. "Take me to Inara."

"She's in the middle of lessons with Soothsayer," Owl said. "You don't want to interrupt them, do you?"

"Yes, I really do."

"Guys, let's just take Silver to Inara already." You liked Dragontooth more by the second. He seemed to have matured ten years since you'd seen him last, no longer acting like a spoiled teenager. At some point, you were going to have to ask what happened to change him so much.

"It isn't Silver's business what Inara does!" Savior insisted. "If Inara wants to come back to the states with me- us, I mean - if she wants to come back to the states with us, Silver has no right to interfere with that!" You pretended not to notice his slip-up, letting it go. Gray Savior's crush on Inara had been painfully obvious from the day he'd met her.

"Dragontooth, let's go." You stood up, looking expectantly at Dragontooth. There was no point arguing with these children, but at least one of them was wiling to help.

"Y-yeah, okay. I'll catch up with you guys later." Dragontooth stood, as well, turning in the direction of the hotel you and Inara had stayed at your first night. You walked at his side, good hand shoved into your pocket.

"So what are you boys doing in Japan, anyway?"

"There's a TV show here that's doing a segment on American heroes!" Dragontooth said cheerfully. "They called me up and asked me to come over for an interview. I asked if they needed more than one hero to interview, and they said they wanted as many as possible, so I grabbed Heavenly Owl. You know how that goes, though - anywhere Owl goes, Savior follows. And Soothsayer showed up at my agency a day after the phone call and told me she'd seen herself in Japan, doing the interview with us. I couldn't really argue with that, since she can see the future and all."

"Oh, that's cool. What's the story? And why did they call you, specifically, or did they say?" Though you'd never really considered Dragontooth your friend, it was nice to speak to an American other than Inara after so long spent in Japan. Your life in America hadn't been perfect, but you were happy there.

"They want to know what it is that makes American heroes come to Japan, apparently. The journalist I was talking to was mostly talking about Captain Celebrity, but she mentioned you, too."

"I didn't realize Japan had noticed me coming over here," you admitted, genuinely surprised. You certainly hadn't announced your arrival - but then, you had caused a teashop to collapse, and that was probably all it really took for them to look you up.

"Yeah, they said you weren't really doing any hero work here, except for a couple of small fights and a few healing sessions with local heroes. But they called me because I made #10 in the American hero charts last year." He turned to look at you, puffing his chest up in pride.

"Number 10? That's great, Dragontooth! Congratulations." That must have been what made him more mature, then - it was hard to make rank in America, given how big the country was compared to Japan. Dragontooth's friendly personality, flashy outfit, and powerful quirk must have worked magic in America.

"I was super surprised when I found out, to be honest. I didn't really do anything different last year, except for a really public fight with a guy that could turn into dinosaurs. I guess that's what got me popularity, though, so I guess it was worth it in the end. He gave me a crazy scar on my arm, though, you should see it!"

"Maybe when we get back to the hotel," you said, catching his hand before he could start stripping of his armor in the middle of the street.

"You got some pretty crazy new scars, too," he said, gently touching the scar on your neck.

"Yeah, I had a bad day."

"Bad day? Silver, it looks like someone slit your throat."

"Well, that's what happened. I don't really want to talk about it, though."

"And your hand!" He grabbed your right hand now, pulling you to the side of the street so that he could inspect the scars from Recovery Girl's surgery.

"Yeah, I'm not too interested in talking about that, either." You let Dragontooth inspect your hand, waiting patiently until he'd seen every inch of it.

"Well, I'll ask Inara about it, then. She really is thinking about coming back to the states with us, you know. I guess something pretty bad happened, and she's really upset that she didn't see it coming. Is the bad thing that happened related to your broken arm?"

"Good afternoon, (L/N)," a familiar voice said behind you. You turned around to find Toshinori a few feet behind you, in an oversized white tee and cargo pants. He must have run out of time as All Might and come back to see how your meeting with the American heroes was going.

"Hello, Toshinori!" You said cheerfully, before stepping to the side to present Dragontooth, who was still holding your right hand. "This is Dragontooth, he's the number 10 hero in America."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Toshinori said, offering Dragontooth a small bow. He was eyeing your hand in Dragontooth's, so you pulled out of the hero's grip and shoved your hand in your pocket where it belonged.

"Toshinori and I work together," you explained to Dragontooth, "at the school I teach at these days. Tosh', Inara is apparently with one of Dragontooth's coworkers, in their hotel room. She's getting.. lessons, from a hero named Soothsayer. We're on our way to talk to her now, do you want to join us?"

Chapter Text

Dragontooth wrapped an arm around your shoulder as the three of you continued walking toward the hotel, regaling you with stories of his exploits in America. Toshinori walked on your other side, mostly quiet as he listened to the stories. When the three of you finally arrived at the door of his hotel room, Dragontooth unwrapped his arm from your shoulder and started digging around in his pocket for the key card. You stepped to the side to give him more room and slipped a hand into Toshinori's, trying not to look too nervous about the upcoming conversation.

You had forgotten how bad Soothsayer could be with incense when she meditated until Dragontooth opened the door and a cloud of sickly sweet smoke escaped. You grimaced and put a hand over your face, and Toshinori started coughing. It was like Soothsayer had set an entire bushel of incense on fire, and not a single stick in the cluster was the same scent as the one next to it. You sent a few embers of the silver energy you'd recovered during the day into Toshinori's hand until he stopped coughing, and he gave you a disapproving glare. You replied to his glare with a little grin and a wink that made him blush slightly. Taking a deep breath in preparation, you stepped into the room.

Soothsayer sat in the middle of the floor on a purple shag rug that you knew she'd brought with her from America. She wore a dozen or more thin shawls, in six different colors and carefully arranged to make her look as mystical as possible. She blinked up at the open door with sleepy green eyes and a smug little smile. Next to her was Inara, sitting awkwardly just to the side of the shag rug in an oversized t-shirt tucked haphazardly into her skinny jeans, micro braids pulled into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. Her favorite black boots were on the floor beside the door, with a pair of beat up red slippers next to them. Inara's eyes were closed tightly, and you could see the tension in her shoulders as she leaned slightly away, as if afraid you would start yelling straight away.

"Hey, Sis," you said quietly, still speaking English. One of Inara's eyes opened slightly, and she peeked nervously at you from her place on the floor. "Long time, no chat."

"Hey," she answered, looking guiltily up at you. Though you had threatened to hurt her when you saw her, she should have known you didn't mean it.

"Please close the door, friends," Soothsayer's voice was low and melodic, and you always wondered how much time she spent practicing it. You heard the door shut behind you as you walked forward and sank to the floor in front of Inara, ignoring Soothsayer.

"I heard you were thinking about going back to America," you said, sitting on your knees with your hands folded in front of you. "Where'd that come from?"

"Well, I thought I might be able to improve my quirk a bit more, in America." Inara said, staring down at her lap.

"You don't need to improve your quirk, Inara," you said seriously.

"What she needs is irrelevant, Silver. Inara wishes to improve her quirk, and so I will help her to improve her quirk. A true friend would not interfere with her wishes." Soothsayer was still speaking in that sing-song voice, and it took all of your self control not to glare at her now.

"I didn't say I would stop you from improving your quirk, Inara," you said, pretending it had been Inara speaking to you instead of Soothsayer. "And I won't stop you if you want to go back to America. I was just worried, you know? You didn't answer your phone, not even for Kayama."

"I was meditating," Inara said, a bit defensively. "Soothsayer says I can't let anything distract me when I'm meditating."

"That was six hours ago, Inara," you said, trying not to sound as annoyed as you were. "You could have called one of us back. Or texted us."

"She did not need the distraction. We have been hard at work improving Inara's quirk nonstop since she first came to me." Soothsayer clearly didn't approve of you ignoring her.

"This is a two person conversation, Soothsayer," you said coldly. Inara's eyes suddenly snapped up to meet yours, and there was a hint of anger in them.

"You don't need to be rude, you know," she said. You felt your eyebrow twitch.

"What I need is irrelevant," you said, feeling the corner of your lips turn up in a tiny grin. The anger in Inara's shoulders seemed to lessen, and you saw a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "I wish to be rude, you see, and a true friend wouldn't interfere with that wish."

"Excuse me?" Soothsayer's sing-song voice was gone, replaced by a slightly higher-pitched, clearly angry Southern American drawl.

"It's been a while, Soothsayer," you said, finally turning to speak to her. You couldn't stand the woman's fake persona, but you didn't mind speaking to her when she was actually being a human. "How have you been?"

"I saw you coming a mile out, you know," she snapped, shifting her weight so she could stand up. Inara was hunched over, trying not to laugh out loud at the sudden change in personality.

"I'm sure you did," you said drily, standing as well. "I was a little bit worried when I walked in that you'd been replaced with one of those quarter fortune machines come to life."

"You've always been so rude!" Soothsayer snapped, her Southern accent getting worse. "Y'all used to think my fortune teller voice was fun!"

"For a few minutes at a time, Audrey, but you keep that nonsense up for long enough and it'll annoy the most patient person in the world. And I've never been a patient person." You frowned down at her - she was incredibly short, and when the shawl around her head slipped, some of her strawberry blonde hair poked out.

"Nonsense? It isn't nonsense! I can see the future, I need to look the part!" Inara let out a snort of laughter, still sitting cross-legged in front of you. "Don't laugh, Inara! I'm serious - d'you really think people'll take me serious if I walk up lookin' like a southern hick?"

"Audrey," Inara managed between giggles, "we went to middle school together. We wouldn't take you seriously whether you looked the part or not."

"Since when do you have a Southern accent, Soothsayer?" Dragontooth asked from behind you. You turned to look at the men still standing by the door. Toshinori seemed utterly lost, looking between the three of you with a pained expression on his face.

"Are you saying she's kept this charade up every time the two of you have spoken?" You asked, dumbfounded. You'd never been much of an actor, but this seemed.. excessive, even for Audrey.

"Charade? (Y/N), it isn't a charade! It's who I am!"

"You grew up on a pig farm, Audrey!" Inara said, laughing outright now.

--

Dragontooth led your little cluster of people, a brown arm around Inara's shoulders instead of yours now, as the two of them caught up on everything that had happened since they'd spoken last, nearly six years ago. Walking next to them was Audrey, who had changed into a t-shirt and jeans, walking beside Inara and occasionally joining in on Dragontooth's stories. You walked next to Toshinori just behind them, your hands shoved in your pockets and listening to your friends with a little smile. It was good to see that Audrey was still capable of being a normal person, and you were really starting to like Dragontooth. You hadn't realized how lonely Inara had become lately until you saw her walking with Dragontooth, laughing about his latest story. You didn't want to lose Inara, certainly, but seeing her so happy made you wonder if maybe she should return to America. Or maybe you could convince Dragontooth to stay here in Japan.

The sound of shouting in the distance interrupted Dragontooth's story, and he leapt into action immediately, charging ahead. Toshinori, next to you, tensed as if he were about to charge forward as well. You grabbed him by the arm to keep him from running off, and leaned in so that you could whisper in his ear.

"There are two heroes here, and we're close enough to where Heavenly Owl and Gray Savior were that they're probably on their way, too. Let them take care of this, Tosh'." He looked like he was going to argue with you for a moment, before he let out a small sigh - that ended with a wet cough - and nodded.

"You're right," he agreed. "But I want to stay nearby, in case things get out of hand."

"Of course, Tosh'," you tugged gently on one of his bangs, smiling, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

The commotion turned out to be a group of five villains, wearing masks and carrying bags that jingled as they ran. Clearly, they'd just finished robbing something, and chose to celebrate their success as they ran through the streets cheering. The fight was fairly quick, however, and you were finally able to see how Dragontooth had earned his place as the number 10 hero in America. The last you'd seen the man fight, he hadn't been able to transform more than one body part into that of a dragon, but now he was able to spew fire at the same time that a tail grew from his lower back, swinging to wipe out a villain that had tried to slip around behind him. Heavenly Owl and Gray Savior appeared partway through the fight, Owl dropping Savior directly on top of one of the villains before turning in flight to dive into another. Savior stuck one of his needles into the man he'd landed on before rolling off and charging the next guy. You wrinkled your nose at the needle, but chose not to say anything, keeping your arm hooked through Toshinori's as the two of you watched the fight. Inara appeared next to you, standing uncomfortably close on your opposite side from Toshinori, looking nervous.

"I didn't see it coming," she said quietly, looking crestfallen. "Even after all that meditating."

"Neither did Soothsayer," you said, pointing at the other woman, who had slipped into a nearby shop as if there weren't a fight going on outside.

"But why?"

"You didn't need to," you insisted. "They're all going to be fine, and this'll be over in no time." As if on cue, Dragontooth headbutted the last villain, having grown protective scales on his forehead. He straightened back up, putting his hands on his hips and looking around as if to make sure there was nothing left to do. Heavenly Owl and Gray Savior started gathering the villains up, dragging all of them into a pile on the side of the street. Inara let out a small sigh, looking relieved. Toshinori walked forward, and you followed, arm still linked in his. As you approached, you were disappointed to see a cut on his arm, knowing that there was nothing you'd be able to do about it. Gray Savior noticed the cut, as well, and turned to you, as if to see if you'd noticed the cut.

"Sorry, Dragontooth," you said, taking his arm in your hand. "I haven't got any energy left to heal this cut. I can clean it up for you, though. I saw a convenience store a block back that we could get first aid supplies at."

"Ah, that's alright, Silver," he said cheerfully. "I've actually got a first-aid kit back in my hotel room. And I took some lessons-"

"Why are you out of energy?" Savior asked, eyeing you suspiciously.

"I did a lot of healing recently," you explained, "and I haven't had enough time to fully recover from it."

"Oh!" he said, sounding excited. "I can fix that!" And before you could stop him, he'd stuck a needle in your arm.

"What the F-"

Chapter Text

A sensible person would have taken a deep breath and explained to Savior why what he'd done was wrong. A reasonable person might have walked away, to deal with the issues that this unwanted injection would cause, and deal with the rest later. A good person would have just let their best friend explain the problem to Savior. But you weren't feeling sensible, reasonable, or particularly good.

So you punched him in his smug little mouth instead. And kept punching, spewing curse words in multiple languages as you did.

Dragontooth pulled you off of Savior when the kid's nose started bleeding. You struggled against the man's grip, using every curse word your sailor of a father had taught you. You could see Toshinori coughing out of the corner of your eye, his face pale and startled by your sudden violence. Inara and Audrey were standing to the side, holding each other and laughing at the display. Heavenly Owl bent over his friend, trying to assess the damage as Dragontooth told you to calm down. When he put a hand over your mouth, you bit down, earning a yelp and a curse in a language you didn't recognize. Somehow, he managed to keep his hold on your waist, until Inara finally got herself under control and hit you in the face with her purse.

"You're embarrassing yourself," she said.

"Don't care," you said shortly, though you stopped struggling against Dragontooth's grip.

" 'Course you do. You even feel anythin' yet?" At some point, Audrey had braided her strawberry blonde hair into pigtails, one over each shoulder.

"I feel... irrational. What did you stick me with, Savior?"

"It's a variant of Trigger," he answered through the handkerchief Owl had given him to stop the flow of blood.

"It's a what? I don't think I hit you hard enough," you pulled against Dragontooth's arm again, scowling as Savior stepped behind Heavenly Owl, looking afraid. "Let go, Pavak, he needs a few more bruises."

"N-no! It's not that bad! I swear! Listen, I took the standard recipe and altered it a little bit. What I gave you is a super diluted version. It isn't as powerful, but it also isn't as addictive and the short-term side-effects are almost negligible. I don't see the problem - you should have enough power to heal Dragontooth's arm, now."

"Don't see the problem? Other than the obvious problem of shooting someone up with an illegal drug without getting their permission first?" You tugged against Dragontooth's arm again, feeling the silver in your core begin to grow so fast it made you dizzy. "Or how about the fact that you didn't check whether or not it'd react negatively to my quirk? Which it will!"

"Wh- how? Trigger enhances a quirk, it can't react negatively to one!" Savior's nose seemed to have stopped bleeding already. Too bad.

"You idiot! My quirk takes concentrated chemicals - like what's in a pill, or what's in one of your unsanitary syringes - and goes crazy with it. My quirk takes drugs and enhances them for twice the power, three times the duration, and seven times the addiction risk. I've been addicted to acetaminophen before, you nitwit!" Your heart was racing as it tried to process the ridiculous amount of power that had begun to course through your veins. The world didn't just have a silver tint to it any more - it was completely silver, living beings shaded with color depending on the health of each of their varying organs. Savior's broken nose was dark red, the bruise spreading from it in every direction a lazy sort of blue. Looking down, you could see the cut on Dragontooth's arm with incredible clarity.

The cut started healing before you even really thought about applying any of your quirk. When you realized no one was speaking, you looked up to see why - and saw that Savior's nose was fully healed, the bruising that had begun already halted and beginning to reverse. You looked toward Inara, seeing a shimmer of green on her thumb where she'd cut it chopping onions. Green was the color of infection, but before you could even ask how the cut got infected, it was cleaned and healed. Looking toward Heavenly Owl, you could see several bruises on his ribcage - you didn't know how or when he'd been injured, but the bruises were gone faster than you could process.

"I need to get away from here," your voice was hoarse, and you realized that you were afraid to look at Toshinori. If you looked at him, your silver would try to heal the damage to his side, dealt by an enemy you'd never asked about. And with how powerful you felt you'd become, you were afraid that your silver would try to recreate the organs that he was missing. That might seem like a good thing at first, but you knew that your quirk wouldn't account for the scarring or the rearrangement of his organs that had been required during his many surgeries to make up for those damaged and missing parts. Trying to put him back together when his innards weren't even in the right order any more could very well kill the man.

"What about-" Inara started, looking over your shoulder toward Toshinori. She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes turning gold. "Oh. Tosh', I need you to leave. Now. Uh, Heavenly Owl. Can you please take Toshinori away from here, right away?"

You closed your eyes, the rational part of your brain that told you that healing him would do more harm than good fighting with the irrational, Trigger-fueled part of your brain that insisted you could put him back together again in a matter of minutes. Knowing that you could do so much damage to Toshinori reminded you that you would do the same level of damage to anyone else who got close and had had some sort of surgery. Even as you considered the possibilities, trying desperately to keep your quirk under control, you felt the artificial bones in your ribcage start to burn. Groaning, you collapsed to the ground.

You sank into the silver of your quirk and got a proper look at what Trigger was doing to it. Your quirk, usually in the form of a small, controlled silver flame in your core, was now a raging inferno. You could see tongues of that fire reaching out all around you to every human in a twenty foot radius, including random strangers as they passed by. Toshinori was being picked up by Heavenly Owl, who lifted him in the air and took off at full speed, getting him out of your range before the fire of your quirk could consume the man's damaged organs.

Stopping your quirk from regrowing your four missing ribs was exhausting. There wasn't room in your chest for new ribs without first removing the artificial ones, and you weren't about to perform surgery in the middle of a crowded street. Time didn't really affect you when you were working with your silver, so you couldn't say for certain how long you spent trying to get that inferno under control. Thankfully, Savior's strain of Trigger had very few of the drug's associated side-effects, including the uncontrollable rage that normally came with a regular dose. Even so, you were barely able to keep your emotions under control while you worked. Your tongue might have turned black if it weren't for your quirk healing it faster than it was damaged, but you couldn't stop yourself from healing everything you came into contact with, so you focused on the important things and didn't keep track of the status of your tongue.

--

Thankfully, Inara didn't let the heroes take you to a hospital, you realized when you finally pulled away from your silver to see the world around you. She'd apparently had Dragontooth take you to his hotel room, putting you in a bed that smelled enough like incense for you to realize it must be Soothsayer's. The world was still tinted silver, despite your best efforts to shut yourself off from your quirk completely. No one else was in the room with you, but you could see three silhouettes through the wall to your left with your quirk, and you recognized one of them as Inara.

Sitting up, you looked around the room. A clock on the far wall told you that it was nearly midnight - you'd been at it for a while, and you were only just beginning to feel the effects of Savior's Trigger wearing off. Sitting on the table between the bed you were on and the bed you had to assume was Dragontooth's was a to-go box, filled with chicken-fried rice. A plastic fork was next to it, and you immediately started eating. You weren't certain how your body would react to coming down from Trigger, but there was already a whisper in the back of your mind telling you to get more of the stuff before it wore off completely.

The whisper got steadily louder in your brain as time passed, and your body started to feel... empty, after a while. You dreaded sleeping, worried that the nightmares you would almost certainly face could be worse than ever. Rather than deal with that particular reality, you walked out of the hotel room and knocked on the next door over. It took a moment, but Inara was the one to answer the door. She gave you a worried smile and stepped to the side so that you could come in.

Sitting on one of the beds was Dragontooth and Soothsayer - both in full uniform and giving you wary looks. Soothsayer looked less concerned than Dragontooth did, and you wondered if she'd seen any of this coming. Dragontooth eyed you from the bed, a finger running over the spot where he'd been injured earlier that day.

"Are you back under control?" He asked.

"Mostly," you said, sticking your hands in your pockets. Realizing that your arm didn't hurt at all, you looked down at the cast. Seeing that your arm, previously broken in three places, was now in one piece once more made you a little dizzy. The cast was still in place, but your arm was in perfect condition. Bones had always been your weakness, and this Trigger had allowed you to cure it all in no time. That was a dangerous line of thought, and you had to force yourself to look away.

"Your eyes are still silver," Inara said quietly.

"Yeah, I can't seem to turn that off yet," you muttered, noticing that her blood was a little bit short on iron. "Eat more broccoli."

"Uh. Not creepy at all," Soothsayer said, her voice slightly accented. It was odd to hear her Southern drawl when she was dressed up as a fortune teller.

"Well, you need more fish," you told her shortly.

"Please don't tell me what I need to eat more of," Dragontooth said in a pained voice. "I just need to know whether or not it's safe to let you back out into society or whatever. Inara said that your quirk was out of control, and that you'd start overhealing people if we didn't get you away from everyone. Also, she said to get rid of Savior so you couldn't ask him for more of that nonsense he shot you up with."

"Inara was right, about all of that. I have the silver under control again, so I won't accidentally overheal anyone. But I definitely don't need to see Savior again. In fact, I probably shouldn't see him again for several more weeks."

"Why not? He knows not to give you more of that Trigger." Dragontooth looked between you and Inara, clearly confused.

"I can be very persuasive, especially when it comes to feeding an addiction."

"It was one shot," Soothsayer insisted. "How could you get hooked off of one small dose?"

"It doesn't take much, trust me. I'm definitely dealing with some withdrawal, and there's a nasty voice in the back of my head telling me to go find that idiot."

"It's gonna be a rough couple of weeks, isn't it (Y/N)?" Inara asked, hands wringing.

"You don't have to stay," you said, suddenly remembering that she'd been considering going back to America. "I can take care of myself, I'm sure."

"No you can't," she said firmly. "And I don't want to leave, anyway. I have a girlfriend here, and she reminded me that she works at a school that's specifically designed to help students better master their quirks. Nemuri is going to help me improve my quirk, and she's promised to ask around for anyone else that can help, too."

"So you're going to play mother to an addict?" You teased.

"It wouldn't be the first time! Besides, who else is going to put coconut oil in my braids?"

"Nemuri?" you suggested.

"I get way too distracted when that woman starts playing with my hair," Inara said, blushing slightly. You grinned at her.

"Okay. So you'll keep me away from Trigger and anything associated to it, and I'll do your hair."

"Deal."

Chapter Text

You spent another hour with Dragontooth and Soothsayer, discussing what exactly had happened and deciding what to do about Savior. As far as you were concerned, he'd broken the law; however, Soothsayer insisted that he'd gotten a permit for his work on Trigger from the American government. His altered version was listed in America as a legal enhancement drug, to be used exclusively in hero battles. When you asked where he'd been sent to - obviously he wasn't in his hotel room - Inara refused to answer. Though you were more interested in smacking him around some more than you were in asking for another dose, you were grateful to Inara for keeping his location a secret nonetheless.

It took longer than you felt it should have to convince your American friends to keep Savior from future hero fights, or from working with any Japanese heroes. Knowing that you weren't thinking entirely rationally about the situation, you decided not to chase him down and beat the crap out of him, however much you wanted to. It was decided that all of you would meet the following day, after Inara got off of work, to go over the report you would be filing with the police about the entire incident. Heavenly Owl and Gray Savior would be filing their own report separately, in the morning. Once everything was decided, you and Inara gathered up your things and made your way back to your shared apartment.

You didn't even try to sleep that night. Even if you had tried, you doubted you'd have been able to pull it off. Though the drug had lasted for nearly three times longer than it normally would have, your withdrawal was on an accelerated timeline, with symptoms starting even as you got to the apartment with Inara.

The first thing that happened was vomiting. You immediately regretted eating an entire serving of chicken fried rice as you sat next to the toilet, groaning. The cold sweats started almost immediately afterward, but you couldn't go to get a blanket without risking making a mess in your bedroom. Your heart seemed to be pumping its way out of your chest as you sat shivering on the bathroom floor, wishing you'd been born quirkless. Though your body desperately wanted you to sleep, your mind simply wouldn't shut down, reviewing everything that had happened in the last several months in excruciating detail and listing everything you'd done wrong in that time. Every time you closed your eyes, either because the lids had become too heavy or because your eyes felt dried out, your mind filled with visions of everyone you didn't save. The most common was what you'd imagined Toshinori looked like at the time of his original injury, covered in blood and begging you to help him. You couldn't really be sure if the vomiting that followed was because of your withdrawal or because you were so disgusted in yourself.

By the time the worst of your symptoms had worn off and you felt safe leaving the bathroom, it was already 6 am. Gritting your teeth against day three of your unending headache, you rummaged in your closet for clean clothes and a towel. Having spent the entire night sweating, you took your second thirty-minute shower in a row, dropping your shampoo three times because your fingers simply wouldn't grip anything.

"You should call in sick," Inara said when she saw that you'd gotten dressed for work.

"I'm who they call when someone calls in sick," you reminded her, opening the refrigerator. Just the smell of the food inside made your stomach squirm, so you closed it again. Sitting down across from her, you looked at Inara's plate of scrambled eggs and tried not to make a face.

"Did they call you in to cover for someone?" She asked, pushing her plate until it was on the table in front of you. "Or are you just going in for the sake of making yourself more miserable?"

"I'm teaching a class during third period. Aren't you going to be late for work?" You shoved the plate back at her, shaking your head.

"You need to eat. And I'm sure they can find someone to cover your class today, if you explain what happened."

Standing up, you grabbed your suitcase and walked out the door, ignoring Inara's protests.

--

Your first stop at the school house was to Recovery Girl's office. After you explained to her what had happened and listed all of your symptoms, she drew some blood and took several x-rays of your rib cage and left arm before giving you a full physical exam. As you were buttoning up your shirt after the nurse had removed your cast, the office door opened. Aizawa glared at you through a slit between his bandages, looking as exhausted as you felt and more than a little annoyed. Behind him stood Present Mic, who was staring at the ground instead of at you.

"Hizashi has something to say to you," Aizawa said, stepping into the room so that his boyfriend could get through the door.

"No," you said shortly. "Hizashi has something to say to Inara. Invite her to dinner tonight and say what you need to." Since your silver was back at full power, you put your hand on top of Aizawa's head and sent in a rush of cooling energy. The sigh he let out was so soft that you almost didn't hear it. Hizashi grabbed your shoulder, trying to get your attention, but you pulled out of his grip and left the men behind with Recovery Girl.

Midnight was waiting for you outside. Her phone was in her hand, and there was a frown on her usually cheerful face. She held up the phone to show you a series of texts from Inara, begging to send you home instead of have you work that day.

"If you feel as bad as Inara thinks you do, you shouldn't be teaching," Midnight said.

"I'm going to be late to my first class," you answered, stepping past her.

"Your first class isn't until third period, and neither is mine. Let's talk." Kayama hooked her elbow through yours and practically dragged you to the teacher's lounge. "Why are you wearing sunglasses, anyway?"

"Headache," you'd forgotten you were wearing them, to be honest. You let Kayama set you down in the nearest chair and watched her settle into the one across from you.

"Inara hasn't told me the details because she says it isn't her place. But I know you overdid it the other day at USJ, and you've looked miserable since. And today you look even worse, however that works. You know, you're supposed to look better two nights later."

"I'll be sure to work on that," you grumbled, forcing yourself to drink some water.

"(L/N), you don't need to work today. Mic can cover your class, he owes you anyway, and you can come in tomorrow." Midnight patted your hand, and you could tell that her concern was sincere.

"Kayama," you spoke quietly, leaning forward. "I'm coming down from a drug that would have been addictive to anyone. And my quirk makes it seven times as addictive. If I don't have something to distract me, I'm going to make some seriously bad decisions. And if I'm not here, working, what am I supposed to do? Inara has to work today, so she can't keep me busy."

Kayama's eyes widened, and she leaned back for a moment to think about what you'd said. FInally, she let out a sigh and shook her head.

"You really shouldn't be teaching children, if it's some sort of addiction you're dealing with. I'm sorry, (L/N), but I think you need to find something else to distract you. At least until you finish the worst of this.. whatever it is. Does Recovery Girl know? Is that why you were in her office?"

"Yeah, she's aware." You let out a sigh of your own, also leaning back in your chair. As much as you hated to admit it, Kayama was right. The students didn't need to see one of their teachers with any of the symptoms of withdrawal, whether they knew that was what they were looking at or not. "She knows exactly what happened and how my quirk affected it. Listen, I think you're right. But I really, really don't know what to do. I can't just go home and... I dunno, read. I need to do something, you know? Something to occupy my mind. All I hear when I don't have anything else to do is 'trigger, trigger, trigger,' over and over again. It's going to be too much soon, if I don't do anything about it."

"Well... Why don't you do a hero patrol? I'm sure you can find someone who's willing to give up their patrol for a day. Your costume should be back from the cleaners' by now, since you sent it through U.A.'s system. What did you do with those chains of yours?"

"Inara took them home. I dunno if I should go running patrols on my own, though. It's been years, you know."

"Okay, so pair up with someone."

"Who?" You didn't like the evil look that had suddenly appeared on her face.

"Why not... Toshinori?" She asked, giving you a knowing smile that made heat rise in your cheeks.

"Several reasons," you said, refusing to look her in the eye. "For one, he only works for about an hour a day as a hero now, and that's only on days that he isn't teaching. For another, he's never done well with side-kicks. His quirk is too big and too showy for that; I would only be in his way."

"You don't have to actively fight," Kayama said, "you can always just be there to pick up the pieces after his fights. He does a lot of collateral damage, you know."

"Well, true. But I can't keep up with him when he's running around, either."

"Okay, fine. I still think you should do at least one patrol with him, but whatever. I think Cementoss is scheduled for a patrol today, not long after second period. You should ask him if you can join him. For now, you have a class to teach Hizashi, so that he can teach yours."

"Right," you muttered, digging around in your suitcase for your notes. Kayama had her phone out, sending a text to Hizashi to have him come to the lounge and take over your lesson.

"By the way, (F/N)," Kayama said, setting her phone down, "you really should call me Nemuri. I'm sleeping with your roommate, after all, so we really ought to be on a first-name basis."

"Uh. Right. You know, I really didn't need to hear that, Nemuri."

Chapter Text

"I know you did all you could for Shouta," Hizashi said quietly, staring at the table between the two of you. "I was... worried about him, and I over reacted. I'm sorry."

"I've heard similar accusations before, Hizashi," you said, trying not to sound annoyed. You didn't want to hear his apology, but he'd insisted. "I understand where you're coming from. Thank you for taking over my third-period class for me."

"It's the least I can do," he sounded relieved, as if he hadn't expected you to accept his apology. "I've asked Inara to dinner, too."

"Good. She needs to hear from you more than I do. She's lost a few friends over her quirk, and she's afraid that the same will happen with you. But you know better than that, right?"

"Of course!" He was starting to sound like himself, if a little bit defensive. "I'm a pro hero - I see peoples' quirks fail them all the time. I can't expect hers to be any different."

"Good. Now, here's what I have planned for my class today."

--

You stretched, standing by the main entrance to the building. You hadn't been able to find Cementoss to ask him about joining his patrol yet, but you knew you'd run into him eventually. For now, you needed a distraction. Hoping that some fresh air would help, you walked toward the school's main gate, trying to ignore the voice in your head that kept saying 'trigger' over and over again. If you didn't find something to do with yourself soon, you were going to go hunt Savior down and make a few poor decisions along the way.

There was a sudden thump behind you, and you turned to find All Might, standing with his fists on his hips and grinning down at you. He was in his costume, with a suitcase in one hand and his phone in the other. You tried to remember if he was teaching a lesson today, but your memory was fuzzy. Looking up at him through your sunglasses, you offered a small smile.

"Sorry for running you off like that yesterday," you said, taking a step closer. He was tall enough - and the sun was behind him - that he blocked out the worst of the light, giving your aching head a moment of respite from the glare.

"Not to worry! Inara insisted that it was entirely necessary. Are you feeling better?" He leaned down slightly, his face only a few inches from your own.

"Not really. Do you have a class to teach today?"

"I do not. Inara told me that you were considering going on a patrol, but that you wanted to bring another hero along with you." He showed you his phone, which was open to a messenger program with Inara's name at the top.

"Midnight must have told Inara," you muttered, leaning around All Might to glare at the school building.

"So you are?" He asked, leaning in some more. You turned your attention back to him, smiling sllightly.

"Yes. I was going to ask Cementoss to bring me on his next patrol. I need the distraction. What are you up to?"

"I have been asked to assist the police with a raid on a local smuggling ring. If you were considering going on a patrol anyway, would you be interested in joining me?"

"I don't want to be in your way," you said, startled he'd even offered. You'd always gotten the impression that Toshi' preferred to work alone.

"You could never be in my way!" He insisted.

"Uh, okay, then. Should I call a cab? Where are we meeting?"

Before you could say anything else, he'd swept you up in his arms and leapt into the air. You let out a small squeak of surprise and wrapped your arms around his neck, squeezing your eyes shut as the world shrank below you. Your sunglasses hit the ground where you'd been standing, likely smashing into a million pieces.

"Ah- maybe I should have asked you before picking you up like this?" All Might asked. You felt your stomach flutter as the two of you started falling back down.

"N-no, it's okay," you said, keeping your eyes shut. "I was just startled, that's all."

The longer you spent flying through the air with All Might, the less frightening it was. After the second leap, you opened your eyes and looked around. The two of you were halfway across town already, flying above several buildings that you would normally have considered skyscrapers. You'd always been afraid of heights, but your fear faded in All Might's gentle grip. You watched the buildings go by in silence, enjoying All Might's warmth and the wind in your hair. For a moment, the urge to find more trigger faded as you counted the cars below.

Your moment only lasted for...well, a moment, before the two of you came to a stop in front of the Musutafu police precinct. Outside stood a few other heroes you recognized from television, though you had to admit you couldn't place any of them. That is, until Dragontooth approached, grinning. As soon as All Might set you down, the American hero wrapped you up in a hug that actually lifted you off of your feet.

"I was worried you'd be bedridden or worse, (Y/N)!" He said excitedly, setting you back down. "But here you are! And with All Might, too!" He turned to All Might, offering his hand for a handshake. All Might hesitated, a tense set to his shoulders you hadn't seen before, but he accepted the handshake anyway. His smile didn't disappear, but it seemed less genuine.

"I've survived the night, at least, Pavak. I make no promises for the rest of the day," you smiled wryly at the American as he let go of All Might's hand, rubbing his own as if it had been squeezed too hard.

"Don't say things like that! We have a smugglers' ring to disrupt! And look at how many heroes are here to help! It'll be great, (Y/N). You should join my team! It'll be just like old times."

"Sorry, Pavak," you said, stepping closer to All Might. "I've already got a team, I think."

--

Dragontooth ended up on your 'team' anyway. He and All Might were chosen to be the ones to charge the base's main entrance, with you following directly behind to guard the door they came in through. You had missed the initial briefing, but you weren't too concerned, given how simple your assignment was: follow All Might, don't let anyone through the door other than officers and pro heroes, and be there to heal others when the fight was over.

Before today, you'd never seen All Might truly fight. The first time you'd seen him, he'd taken the fight outside. You'd passed out before you could see him tangle with Tremor the first time, and the second time you'd been fighting Tremor while he was fighting the teleporter. You'd been too busy healing Thirteen and Eraserhead to see him fight at USJ. But today, you saw the hero at full strength in his element.

He moved with a speed that was hard to track, but you could just barely follow each move. Every punch he landed was calculated, and you knew by instinct - and a little bit of the silver you had in your eyes - that some of them were softer punches than others. Though you knew he could punch a man into his next life, each hit that All Might landed served only to knock his enemies unconscious. In the time it took Dragontooth to wipe out four of the smugglers, All Might had cleared half of the room. The difference between Japan's number 1 hero and America's number 10 was almost embarrassing. You were so mesmerized by All Might's fighting that you almost didn't see the two villains who had snuck away from the main fight toward the door you were supposed to be guarding.

You hadn't had time between the school and the raid to grab your chains, so you were stuck with hand-to-hand combat. You also weren't in your usual uniform, which meant you needed to keep a close eye out for any knives. You didn't want a repeat of your last knife fight. Thankfully, the men that tried to rush you were too spooked by the presence of All Might to pay any attention to you. You slipped a foot between the legs of the first one, causing him to collapse face-first into a pile of boxes next to the exit. The villain that came with him was looking over his shoulder toward All Might and stumbled directly into his partner. You watched the second man fall to the ground with amusement. Before they had a chance to stand back up, you poked each of them in the head, sending a rush of energy into their brains to put them to sleep. When you straightened back up, you found yourself face-to-face with Dragontooth, who grinned and reached out to grab your shoulder.

"That was beautiful, (F/N)," he said cheerfully. "And here I was, rushing over to save you!"

"This is my post, not yours," you teased him, poking his rainbow armor, "get back to yours. Look at how much more All Might's been up to!"

"Hah, yeah, he's almost cleared the room without me. Guess I wasn't really needed today, after all."

"It was good of you to come, though," you said, leaning against the wall and looking around the room. He was right - All Might had just finished cleaning up the last of the villains and begun piling them up in the middle of the room. Behind you, the door opened and police started rushing in. When a pair of officers relieved you from your post at the door, you approached the steadily growing pile of villains in the center of the room.

The crowd of reporters outside of the raid by the time you'd finished checking over the heroes, villains, and police officers was large enough to be a bit alarming. You'd always managed to slip away from the reporters in America, but that was because you had avoided the big events and stayed away from well-recognized heroes. Of course, now you were surrounded by half a dozen heroes - including the number 10 hero in America... and the number 1 hero in Japan. All Might stayed close to you as you finished up working, and you realized when you glanced his way that he was running out of time. Without really thinking about it, you grabbed his hand and pushed in a rush of your own energy, mixing it with his. You couldn't be certain how much time you'd given him, but you hoped it was enough for him to finish the job.

"You didn't need to do that," he said quietly, leaning down so that no one else could hear him speak. You tried not to grin when he put a hand up next to his mouth like a character from a cartoon trying to hide his conversation.

"I wanted to, though," you said simply. "What are you doing after this?"

"I... hadn't decided yet."

"How about lunch?" You asked, smiling up at him.

His response to that was to pick you up and jump. Your squeal of surprise wasn't as loud this time, but you did wrap your arms around his neck immediately. The flight was a short one; All Might came to a stop after only the first jump, landing on top of a building and settin you down immediately. You put an arm up against the sudden puff of steam, grinning as Toshinori appeared before you, his uniform sagging comically off of one shoulder. Your grin faded, however, when you saw his frown.

"What's wrong, Tosh'?" You asked.

"How well do you know Dragontooth?" He wouldn't look you in the eye, staring off the edge of the roof instead. His hands were in front of him, index fingers pressed together nervously.

"He got his heroes' license at the same exam I did. We went on a few patrols together, when Tremor was doing his own thing. I always thought he was a little too impulsive and childish to be a good hero, but that changed when I met back up with him here. That kid has really grown up, and I can see why he's the number 10 in America now. I'm proud of him, really."

"Ah," Toshinori said, still frowning. It took you a moment to realize what the problem was.

"Do you.. did you think we were together? Tosh', he's married. Hang on, I'll show you a picture of his husband." You pulled your phone out of your pocket, opening up your search engine. It didn't take long to find a picture of Dragontooth with his husband; it had been plastered all over social media when he'd first announced his engagement. "I swear to you, he's not interested in me. He flirted a couple of times, but I told him no and he moved on. Pavak is the type of person who wants to be on a first-name basis with everyone - and who hugs anyone that will let him hug them."

"I... see," Toshinori said, staring down at the photo you'd handed him. In it, Pavak stood next to his husband, both of them dressed in colorful clothes and covered in henna tattoos. The adoration on Pavak's face as he looked at his husband was undeniable.

"Tosh'," you said, putting a finger under his chin so he would look up from the phone screen to you, "if his friendliness makes you uncomfortable, I can tell him to back off. I won't let him hug me any more, and I'll even ask him to call me (L/N)."

"N-no, that isn't necessary. Really! I just.. It doesn't matter."

"It does matter," you said, stepping a little bit closer to him. "You're the only person I want, Toshinori Yagi. All Might. And if there is anything I can possibly do to make sure you know that, I will."

Chapter Text

Toshinori wasn't set to eat again for another hour, so he walked with you to the train station and the two of you went your separate ways. Though you'd been hoping to spend more time with Toshi', you were somewhat relieved that he hadn't actually taken you up on your offer of lunch; your stomach still did cartwheels just smelling food. 

"Silver! Excuse me, Silver?" You heard your hero name and paused, looking around the crowded station until you found its source. A woman approached you, a phone in one hand and a suitcase in the other. Though you didn't watch much television any more, you recognized her as one of the hosts of an early morning talk show Inara liked. Turning toward her, you gave her your best customer service smile, wishing she hadn't recognized you.

"Good morning, Ma'am," you said politely, bowing slightly. She returned your bow, then  held out her phone. On the screen, you could see a recording application running.

"Good morning, Silver. I'm Ito Yui, with Big Hero News on channel 7. Do you have time to answer a few quick questions?"

"I suppose," you said, scratching your head. Telling her you were busy elsewhere would only lead to her following you around and asking questions anyway. "Let's go somewhere quieter, though. It's a bit crowded in here."

"Of course. There's a coffee shop just down the street," she offered, still holding her phone out to you.

"I'm not a big fan of coffee shops," you admitted. "How about the park, one block south of the station? If that isn't too far."

"No, not at all! Is your distaste for coffee shops because of your run-in with the American Pro Hero Tremor, which resulted in the collapse of a coffee shop and three hospitalizations, including your own?" She walked next to you now, talking as you led her out of the train station and turned south. Your headache had been getting better, until she asked you that particular question. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you let out a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, let's go with that," you muttered.

"You were seen just yesterday with another group of American heroes, including the number 10 hero from America, Dragontooth. Were you surprised to see them in Japan?"

"I was, but it was good to see them anyway. Especially Dragontooth, he's a good man. And I've known Soothsayer since we were in middle school, though we lost touch for a few years." You turned into the park, leading the way to a bench placed underneath a tree. Gesturing for her to sit down, you let Ms. Ito get settled before sitting down next to her, as well.

"Witnesses say that you were very friendly with Dragontooth. Are the two of you in a relationship?" She crossed one of her legs over the other and leaned toward you. How many times were you going to be asked about your relationship with Dragontooth?

"No," you said shortly. "Dragontooth is more like a little brother to me. Besides, he's happily married, and would never consider cheating on his husband."

"Okay. What about your relationship with All Might?" There was definitely an evil glint in the reporter's eyes.

"What about it? I've healed All Might a few times, we both work at U.A., and I just finished a small police-led raid on a smuggler's den with him." You'd never thought to ask Toshinori whether he was okay with your relationship getting to the media, so you weren't really sure how to answer the implication that you were dating him.

"Yes, we know about your recent raid. One of my associates snapped this picture shortly after it," she pulled her phone away, opening a messenger application and showing you the picture. In it, you held All Might's hand, staring up at the hero with a little smile on your face. All Might smiled back, leaning just a little bit closer to you than was strictly professional. Overall, you had to admit that the picture was... adorable. You kind of wanted it for yourself, to be honest.

"That's a good picture. My quirk requires physical contact for me to heal others, and I was lending All Might some of my strength at the time." You hoped that would be enough, but with the loving look on your face in the photo, you weren't sure. You needed to talk to Toshinori - and soon.

"All Might wasn't injured. Why would he need your strength?" Ms. Ito reopened the recording application, leaning in even closer. You narrowed your eyes at her, trying to come up with a believable response.

"Habit, I think," you finally said, hoping your hesitation wasn't completely obvious. "I always used to work with Tremor, before he became a villain. Tremor always needed a little boost after a fight, so when All Might approached me, I gave him that boost." You weren't exactly lying; Tremor had almost always needed some healing after a fight, and you really did give All Might your energy without thinking about it.

"Okay," she said, sounding a little bit disappointed. She leaned away from you again, and you relaxed. "Let's get back to the arrival of the American heroes. Are you aware of why they're in Japan?"

"They told me," you said, "but I doubt it's my place to discuss it."

"They're doing an interview with Big Hero News about American heroes and why they choose to come to Japan. We'll be discussing cultural differences, pay changes, and insurance requirements during our interview. I've also asked Captain Celebrity to join us, and several Japanese pro heroes will be attending the interview, as well. I'd like to formally invite you to the interview. I'm certain our viewers would love to hear your opinions on the matter."

"Oh. Uh, can I have some time to think about it? I didn't do interviews in America, so I'm not sure I want to do one here. Besides, I'm not really a full-time professional hero any more. I mostly just teach at U.A., and heal those injuries I run into."

"But you fought Tremor twice, and publicly. You've been seen multiple times in public with chains similar to those you used in your hero work in America, and I even have a very good photo of you in what appears to be a pro hero costume. We also have witnesses claiming that you fought in the USJ incident, as one of the teachers in the building when everything happened. Based on that evidence, you are working as a pro hero once again."

"Well," you said, trying not to panic, "I... never really thought of it like that. I really don't intend to become a full-time hero again. I'm basically retired - I just want to teach the next generation of heroes and leave it at that."

--

By the time you got away from the interview - relatively unscathed and with Ito's business card in your back pocket - it was time to meet Inara and the others at the police station to file your report. While you were on the train, you sent a text to Toshinori.

I was hunted down by a reporter from Big Hero News. She had a picture of us holding hands, from right after today's raid. I told her it was because my quirk requires physical contact, but I don't know if that's going to be good enough.

Are you worried they think we're in a relationship?

That's what she implied. Are you comfortable with our relationship being public, or should I keep avoiding the question?

Are you okay with it being public?

That was a hard question to answer, and you spent a good minute staring at your phone while you tried to figure it out. There would be more reporters than just Ito following you around if you confirmed a relationship with All Might. And the more time you spent in front of a camera, the more likely it would be for one of your old enemies from America to see you and track you down. That was assuming that any of them were as dedicated as Tremor had been, to follow you to the other side of the world for revenge. At least you wouldn't have to worry about Toshinori being in danger; he could take care of himself, and then some. Realizing that the reporters were your only real objection - and that you were fairly good at ignoring people you didn't want to talk to - you finally sent your response to Toshinori.

Yes. You?

You would be in danger, from my enemies.

I can defend myself.

Not against All for One.

I don't know who that is.

We should talk, in person. If we're going to make our relationship public, there are some things you need to know.

Okay. When and where?

Toshinori wasn't available for the rest of the day, and you had lessons to teach the day after, so the two of you settled on dinner the night after next. You made your report with Soothsayer, Dragontooth and Inara at the police station, then went home to get your paperwork together for the next day's lesson.

--

"Good Morning, class," you said, standing at the podium in front of class 1A. They responded in unison, and you couldn't help but smile. "Today, I'm going to give each of you a rescue scenario, based on the essays you gave me during our last lesson. I've designed each scenario to be especially troublesome for your quirk; in most cases, the normal use of your quirk will result in serious injury to yourself or the civilians you're supposed to be defending. At the end of class, I'll be picking up your essays, which will be a clear description of what you would do in the scenario to minimize damage to yourself, your surroundings, and the victims you're saving. If you have any questions, please let me know. I also expect you to discuss this among yourselves, particularly if you're having trouble coming up with a solution."

"Teacher," Iida said, standing up and bowing stiffly. "If this were a real-time scenario, it is unlikely we would be able to consult others on how best to proceed. It seems to me that we would develop better critical thinking skills if we were to work on this project by ourselves."

"That may be true," you agreed as you handed Bakugou his assignment. "But don't you think it would be better for you to have a solution to this problem before the problem even arises? I'm not here to teach you critical thinking skills, Mr. Iida. I'm here to teach you how to work around the weaknesses of your quirk. If you run into this scenario during your time as a hero, you won't have to think critically about the solution; you'll already have it. A good hero is one who has considered every possibility, every strength and every weakness, before they even get into a fight."

"I see!" He said, bowing again. "Please forgive me for the interruption! I shouldn't have questioned you, Teacher!"

"Questioning your elders and superiors - as long as you do it respectfully - is what allows society to advance. If we all accept what our leadership tells us without thinking about it, our society will stall and lay stagnant."

"Such wise words!" Iida said excitedly. "Truly an example of why U.A. is the leading school in Japan!"

"Mm. Sit down, Iida," you said, handing him his paper.

You leaned against the podium at the front of the class while they worked, listening to their chatter as they tried to find the right answers. When your mind went inevitably to Savior's Trigger, you pinched yourself and walked out from behind the podium, walking between desks to offer advice or tell the students not to talk so loudly. It wasn't quite enough of a distraction, and by the time class was over and you had everyone's essays, your hands were trembling. Making your way to the teacher's lounge, you started grading immediately, hoping it would help keep your mind off of your new addiction.

Chapter Text

You suggested that the dinner be at your apartment, since Toshinori wouldn't be able to order off of most restaurant menus. You cooked a small chicken with mild seasoning, a side of plain mashed potatoes with a little dish of butter, and steamed green beans. For desert, you bought a small watermelon and used a round spoon to make melon balls. Green tea - decaffeinated - would be the drink of the night. Setting everything out on the dinner table, you checked the time - early, as usual. You had a bad habit of overdoing things when you were nervous, and this was the first official date you were going to have with Toshinori, so you wanted it to be perfect. Though you should have been expecting the knock at your apartment door, you still jumped when it came. Rushing toward the door, you had to stop and collect yourself before opening it, trying not to show your nerves to Toshi'.

When you opened the door to find him holding a bouquet of sunflowers, big enough that part of his face was hidden behind it, you melted a little bit. Taking the flowers, you invited Toshinori in. As soon as he'd stepped over the threshold, you stood on your toes to kiss him right on the lips. He blushed, but when you pulled away he grabbed you by the waist and pulled you in for a much longer, deeper kiss. The bouquet came dangerously close to crashing to the floor, but you somehow managed to keep a good hold on it. 

You stepped into the kitchen to get something to put the bouquet in - you and Inara didn't own a vase, but you had a very convenient pitcher - while Toshi' stepped into the dining room to sit down. When you got back to the dining room, however, he was still standing over the table, looking somewhat dumbfounded.

"Is something wrong?" You asked, worried he was allergic to chicken or worse.

"I don't... I'm not used to... food looking so tasty."

"W-what?"

"My dietary restrictions make it hard to find food that actually looks enjoyable. And what you've put out looks... delicious. Thank you, (Y/N)." You weren't entirely sure how to answer that. You had looked up what Toshi' was allowed to eat, since he didn't have a stomach. The list of foods he could handle was short, but manageable. Now that you thought about it, though, he likely didn't have enough time to put together proper meals, given his work as both a hero and a mentor.

"Well," you said, taking his arm and leading him to his chair, "I guess I'll have to cook for you more often, then."

The two of you ate in a comfortable silence, though you ate considerably more than Toshinori did. Overall, you felt you'd done an acceptable job; the chicken was only a tiny bit dry, and you felt the mashed potatoes could have been a tiny bit thicker. But Toshinori seemed to be enjoying it, so you couldn't complain. When you finished eating, you leaned back in your chair and looked across the table at Toshinori. He sat hunched over, looking down at the hands in his lap. After another moment of silence, you gently nudged his leg with your foot underneath the table. He finally looked up, your least-favorite frown in place.

"You said we needed to talk," you reminded him quietly.

"Yes," he answered, looking back down.

"It's that bad?" You asked, sitting up and leaning forward.

"It's... complicated."

"We have all night," you murmured, resting your chin on one hand. "I'll pack up dinner while you think."

"I should start.. by telling you about All for One." He finally said, looking up.

"Okay," you gave him an encouraging smile.

"All for One is a quirk that, as far as we know, has only manifested in one person. The man who was born with this quirk used it to become the most powerful, deadly villain in Japanese history. He ruled the country from the darkness, making alliances with some villains and simply crushing the rest. Every villain knew of him, though few ever met him. His quirk allows him to take other peoples' quirks, or even transfer one person's quirk into someone else.

His younger brother was weak, and quirkless. In an attempt to make his brother do as he was told - or maybe as an act of pity, I don't know - All for One gave his brother a quirk. As it turned out, however, his brother did have a quirk. His quirk is known as One for All. It's a quirk that can be passed from one person to the next, building on that person's quirk and their experiences before being passed on to the next person. I am the eighth holder of One for All. Well, I was."

"You passed it on to Midoriya?" You asked.

"Yes. That is why I've been paying special attention to Midoriya. I saw in him the potential to be the next pillar of hope for Japan."

"I've seen it, too. He's a good kid."

"He is a wonderful young man. But I was talking about All for One." Toshinori took a deep breath, staring at the grain of the table now. "I became All Might, and All for One recognized my quirk. At first, we danced around one another - I would fight his minions, he would send some more. But finally, about five years ago, it came to a full confrontation. I fought All for One in a fight that I requested be kept quiet. I defeated him, and...this... happened." He lifted his shirt, glaring down at the spiderweb scar on his side.

"You won," you said quietly, "and you took that much damage. I can't imagine how much damage All for One must have taken."

"I thought I killed him. I was trying to kill him. I didn't realize until you told me about that boy you saved from Tremor, but I was trying to kill All for One when we fought. I'm... no better than Tremor, in the end."

"Of course you are," you said immediately. "Tosh', Tremor was wrong because he tried to kill a kid that was defenseless and had already given up. You were defending yourself - and the rest of Japan - when you fought All for One. It isn't the same at all."

"it's... well, I didn't kill him, anyway. At least, I don't think I do. That attack on USJ... I think All for One was behind it, somehow. He must have taken someone's healing quirk, or an immortality quirk. He's still alive, and that means that you're in danger. All for One won't hesitate to hurt the people I care about, if it means hurting me in the process."

"Well, if he's anywhere near as injured as you are, he isn't much of a threat any more," you said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

"He's the most dangerous person in the world," Toshinori said firmly.

"Well," you sighed and sat back in your chair, "I'll just have to be careful, then. Tosh', I work at a school full of heroes, and my best friend can see the future - sort of. I'm not going to let this All for One ruin what we have."

"I don't want you to get hurt," he said, staring at you with those lightning blue eyes. You smiled at him.

"I'm a pro hero, after all, Tosh'," you reminded him. "Risks are part of the job."

"You're willing to risk being attacked by the most dangerous man in the world-"

"For you? Without hesitation," It was your turn to stare at your hands as you prepared yourself to make your own confession. "I need to tell you why I came to Japan in the first place."

"Okay," he said. You saw him lean forward out of the corner of your eye, and forced yourself to take a deep breath.

"Inara had a premonition. She said that someone was going to need my healing, and that it was one of the biggest premonitions she'd ever had. She's predicted an earthquake before, so that's pretty big. Anyway. We came to Japan, because that's where we narrowed the premonition's origins to. And the same day we landed here, we met you."

"I remember. You tried to fight a crocodile-man, and I got the privilege to see you heal someone for the first time."

"...Yes. If you call that a privilege. As you were leaving, Inara had another premonition. Well, it was a continuation of the first. Apparently, whatever this big event is... you're directly involved. I cam here because you're going to get hurt. Badly."

"...I've been hurt before-"

"Not like this. This is.. earthshattering, apparently. Tosh', whatever happens. I need you to know that I'm going to do everything - anything - to keep you alive and safe."

"...Thank you," he said quietly.

Chapter Text

"I'm Ito Yui, with Big Hero News. Today's special: American Professional Heroes. What's it like working in America? How are American heroes treated differently than Japanese heroes? And why are some American heroes moving to Japan? Stay tuned to find out!"

You watched the little 'on air' light behind the cameras flick off, trying to straighten out your jacket. Someone had put makeup on you - something about minimizing the glare of the camera lights - and it took every ounce of your willpower not to rub your face.

"Quit fidgeting, Silver!" Dragontooth said loudly, throwing an arm around your shoulders. "It's just a group interview! You don't even really have to say anything - just smile and nod sometimes!"

"Pavak," you said in a pained voice, "you're used to this nonsense. I haven't done an interview since I was in middle school and the school paper was taking a poll on peoples' quirks."

"Sounds like an interesting poll," Soothsayer said in her dreamy voice. She smelled like incense and wore more shawls than you cared to count. You glared at her.

"You were the one doing the interview, Audrey," you growled. She smiled slightly, and for a moment you saw your friend underneath that ridiculous costume.

"You look well, Silver," someone said behind you. Stiffening, you turned to look. Dragontooth tried to keep an arm around your shoulders, but you slipped out of his grip. Standing behind you, looking nearly as gray as his silly hat, stood Gray Savior. You glared at him for a long, quiet moment, trying to decide if you should punch him or just ignore him. You decided on something halfway between, and grabbed his arm. Dragging him into one of the hallways at the back of the TV studio, you gathered up the front of his robes and pressed him against the wall. Leaning in until your face was mere inches from his, you called on your quirk to turn your eyes silver and put on that trademark silver eyeshadow.

"If I hear of you sticking anyone else with a needle full of Trigger - your concoction or otherwise - without their permission, I will ruin you. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes. I... I promise. Silver, I didn't know - really, I didn't. I'm so sorry."

"Apologize to someone else," you snapped, letting go of his robes. "I'm not interested in your groveling." Turning away, you walked back to Dragontooth. He gave you a nervous look, then saw an unharmed - if pale - Gray Savior following shortly behind.

"Please get in line!" One of the set organizers said, oblivious to the sudden tension in the room. "In order of how you'll be called out! Dragontooth first, of course!"

You translated for your fellow Americans, helping them get into line as their names were called out. Yours was the last to be called, and you got into line behind Heavenly Owl. Looking at how many chairs were set out in the interview room, you were mildly confused to see that there was one extra.

"Excuse me," you muttered to the set organizer, looking at her clipboard and hoping it would give you a clue to who the last person would be. "Are we missing someone?"

"Our guest star! He's not here yet, and he won't be here for the whole interview. Don't worry, you know him! It's going to be wonderful!"

--

"...and what brings you to Japan, Silver? You've been staying out of the limelight, but it's clear that you intend to work as a hero here! You've even gotten yourself a new costume!"

"Ms. Yui-"

"Please, call me Ito!"

"...Ito. My best friend isn't a professional hero, but her quirk allows her to sense emergencies and tell who would be best suited to respond to those emergencies. A few weeks before I arrived in Japan, she had a premonition that led her to believe my healing would be needed here. After some careful consideration, we decided to move out to Japan, so that I could offer my quirk here."

"And it's a good thing you came, too! After the events of USJ, I can say with honesty that we were all relieved to hear that there was a professional healer of your unique skillset there. What exactly happened at USJ, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Ah, well, the school put out its official comment on the matter, and it covered the issue very well. I don't have anything to add to the official U.A. statement, so if you don't mind asking something else...?" There was a fleeting look of disappointment on the reporter's face, which she managed to wipe away with another of her smiles. You were beginning to wonder if anyone had seen the woman give a true smile, or if she was always faking it as if a camera were nearby.

"Well, I can't argue with that! So I'll have to change the subject a little bit... Please, tell us about your personal life here in Japan! Do you enjoy the culture, compared to American culture?" Before you could answer, she'd asked another question: "Do you enjoy your job? You're a teacher at U.A., it must be stressful to teach the next generation of heroes. Have you found yourself a boyfriend or girlfriend?" She finally stopped speaking, clearly hoping you would only answer the last question. You narrowed your eyes at her slightly, annoyed. The others - save Soothsayer - had been asked about villains they fought and other heroes they'd met. You and Soothsayer, however, had now been asked, almost immediately, about your personal lives.

"I spent several years in Japan when I was younger," you said, opting to answer the first two questions, at least, "and I think I fell in love with Japanese culture then. Particularly the food - there's nothing like fresh-made ramen!" You smiled at her, and she nodded, encouraging you to continue. You were about to begin when she held up a hand, putting a finger to her ear.

"Please forgive me, Silver! I've just received news - our special guest has arrived! I have to ask our watchers to have patience, though - it's time for a commercial break. Please stay tuned: you'll love today's guest speaker! I promise!"

Looking off the edge of the set, you saw All Might. He was in full uniform, his bangs sticking straight up and that patented grin on his face. Watching him squat down so that a very flustered set hand could pin an adorably tiny microphone to his chest, you grinned. Without really thinking about whether or not it would be alright to do, you got up and walked over to your favorite oversized hero.

"Didn't expect to see you here," you said, taking advantage of his squat to pat the top of his head. He smiled up at you, the tiniest blush on his cheeks. Standing up, he leaned down next to your ear, putting his hand up next to his mouth and making you grin again.

"I didn't want to miss the big announcement," he whispered. It was your turn to blush, and you poked him in the chest.

"We agreed I'd only say something if I was directly asked! And I haven't been!" His grin spread, and you could have sworn he sparkled as he gave you a thumbs-up.

"Please, Silver, you need to get back to your seat!" The original set hand - set manager, it seemed - said, grabbing you by the shoulders and spinning you around. You let her straighten out your jacket and readjust the way your chains settled on your shoulder before obediently returning to your seat, still blushing slightly.

"...And welcome back! I hope you're as excited as I am, viewers! Today's special guest on Big Hero News? None other than All Might himself!" Ito was actually blushing, a look of pure excitement on her face. You watched All Might enter, flexing and announcing himself in standard All Might fashion. When he settled into the chair next to you, you had to put a hand over your mouth to cover a grin. The chair was way, way too small for him.

"It's an honor to have you here, All Might! You've been doing fewer and fewer interviews lately, and we were surprised - and pleased, of course! - to hear that you would be joining us today."

"It's my pleasure to be here!" He said, giving the reporter his full attention. You leaned back and watched the big man work his magic, answering questions without hesitation or stuttering. He told a joke that had half of the room giggling - your American friends' laughter delayed by the translator, but genuine. Mostly, you were just glad that they'd stopped aiming the camera directly at you.

During the next commercial break, each of you was handed a bottle of water. Toshinori, probably without really thinking about it, opened yours for you before handing it over. You drank the water and glanced down at his side. In maintaining your appearance as Silver, you'd been keeping your quirk activated throughout the interview. You knew you'd have a headache afterward, but given that you'd had a headache of some sort for what felt like the last three weeks, it didn't really matter. Nothing was unusual about his scar, but you could see the energy in his core running low. He must have done one or two heroic things before coming to the interview, and you could tell he'd be running out of time soon.

Toshinori was talking to Heavenly Owl, who sat on your other side, and didn't seem to notice your scrutiny. After a moment, you reached up and patted him on the cheek, sending in a burst of your silver as you did. Toshinori stopped mid-sentence and grabbed your hand, turning his smile on you now. You grinned up at him - just in time to hear Ms. Yui announce the end of the commercial break. You considered letting go of Toshi's hand now that you were on live TV, but decided against it. The damage was already done - and the two of you had decided not to hide your relationship, after all.

Ms. Yui stared at you and All Might in stunned silence for what felt like a lifetime. The entire set was silent, actually, save the beeping and whirring of machinery. You felt a blush slowly rise on your cheeks - and let out a relieved sigh when your phone started buzzing. Clearing your throat - and still blushing furiously - you dragged your phone out of your pocket.

"Is it really appropriate to be answering your phone during a live interview...?" Heavenly Owl asked as you accepted the call, putting the phone to your ear. Toshinori answered, though you weren't listening.

"What is it, Inara?"

"Listen, I know you're in the middle of embarrassing yourself on national television -" you turned to glare at the nearest camera, hoping she was watching from the other end "-but someone is gonna need your help in about fifteen minutes, so you're gonna have to do this another time." Inara even sounded a little bit apologetic about it, and you let out a small sigh, standing up. Your hand slipped out of Toshinori's as you stood, and he stood as well.

"Are any of the other heroes that are with me now going to be needed?"

"No. Whoever it is doesn't need you to help fight, either, so you'll just be healing today. Keep those chains, though, you know how much Toshi' and I worry."

"Who's the person needing my healing? If they don't need me to help fight, I have to assume it's a professional hero." You started to detach the microphone from your chest, grimacing as you remembered the wire running over your shoulder and down your back beneath your blue coat.

"Would you like me to join you, Silver?" All Might asked, looking concerned.

"No, it's alright To- uh, All Might," you assured him, tugging awkwardly at the wire where it snaked beneath your collar. "Looks like I won't be doing any fighting today, anyway."

"Yeah," Inara was saying, "it's a pro hero. Pretty powerful one, too. I'd say one of the top 5 in Japan, even."

"One of the top 5? Well, All Might's right here. The only other one of the top heroes I know of off the top of my head is Endeavor, at number 2. Or maybe - Best Jeanist? I think he's number 4?"

"Oh, it's Endeavor. He's not gonna like you healing him, by the way. And make sure Toshi' doesn't join you, or Endeavor will straight-up refuse your healing. Weird, I've never seen multiple outcomes like that before."

"All Might," you said, giving up on undoing the wire yourself and tugging at the top button of your costume. "Can you help me get this da- uh, silly, microphone off? Inara, what direction am I going?" All Might took over the buttons on your shirt as you got the details out of Inara. The rest of the set watched in silence, though Ms. Yui was narrating in the background as if the camera weren't pointed directly at you and your big boyfriend.

Once the microphone had been removed, All Might helped you back into your jacket. You hung up on Inara, having run out of questions to ask her. Standing on your toes and putting a hand on the back of his head, you pulled him down until you could plant a kiss on his forehead. Realizing you'd just done that in front of a camera - and that the 'on air' light was still lit, which meant half of Japan was watching - you felt your face burn worse than ever.

"Take care, All Might," you said, trying to ignore the cameras. Seeing the worry in his glittering blue eyes grounded you a little bit, and you smiled. "Don't worry, Inara says I'll be alright. Finish the interview for me?" You handed over another burst of healing energy before turning toward the nearest exit and walking off the stage.

Chapter Text

Endeavor wasn’t hard to find. Four blocks away from the TV station you’d been interviewing at, and you saw a burst of flame in the sky. Looking in its direction, you could see Endeavor fighting someone - or some thing - that could fly. Since Inara had told you to travel five blocks, you moved on, stopping on the sidewalk of the fifth road.

He crashed to the ground only a few seconds after you arrived, with the beast on top of him. Whatever it was, it had wings with black, greasy-looking feathers and a beak that was actually lined with teeth. You watched as the fiery hero punched the creature repeatedly in the head, scowling as he did. His head, chin, and shoulders were on fire, but you could see bright turquoise eyes beneath the flames.

After a punch that really should have knocked the creature out, it managed to get both wings out of Endeavor’s grip, and the two of them took off once again. Watching from a distance, you winced as Endeavor suddenly blasted the thing directly in the face with blue flames. It squealed in pain, and then went limp. Endeavor and his prize crashed to the ground with a thud that made you wince. As he rolled out from underneath the monster, you activated your quirk and looked him over.

Three cracked ribs, several extremely painful-looking bruises, quite a few scratches and bite marks - and internal bleeding. The crash had busted the man’s poor spleen right open. When he stood, pain washed over his face for just a fraction of a second, before he covered it up with a scowl. He gripped his side as he glared down at the creature, and you saw the flames on his costume dim ever so slightly.

“Endeavor,” you called, stepping off of the sidewalk to approach the man. He turned his glare on you, and you could see that his eyes were slightly unfocused. “My name is Silver-”

“I’m aware of who you are,” he snapped, “what do you want?”

“You’re pretty seriously injured,” you said, trying to keep from snapping back with equal ferocity. “If you’d like, I can fix you up right now. Except for the cracked ribs, I’m afraid - those will have to heal on their own.”

“I don’t need your healing,” he growled, turning away. Glaring at him, you counted to ten before responding.

“Yes, you do. Please let me help you, Endeavor.” You took another step forward, hoping he wouldn’t argue with you in the middle of the street. He turned his scowl back on you, and you saw a drop of sweat on his forehead.

“I have my own doctors,” he insisted.

“Your doctors will need to perform surgery, Endeavor. Unless one of them has a healing quirk like mine, they’re going to have to put you under and cut you open. You’ll be out of comission for two weeks or more, depending on whether or not there are complications during surgery.” You paused, offering your hand for a shake. “Or, you could let me heal you right now, and go right back to catching villains on fire.”

He thought about it for what seemed like forever, leaving you to stand awkwardly with your hand outstretched. Finally, he let out a huff of annoyance and took your hand. Before he could protest, you closed the gap between the two of you and grabbed his arm with your other hand. Needing skin-to-skin contact could be annoying when the person you were trying to heal made himself entirely unapproachable. As soon as you touched one of his many bite marks, however, you were good to go.

Sinking into the silver world your quirk created, you shifted your attention to Endeavor’s injuries. The claw, and tooth marks on his arms and shoulders were so easy to heal that you barely skimmed the top of your energy pool. You dealt with the bruises next, washing over them with your silver. Finally, you turned your attention to his burst spleen. Putting the pieces back together took a lot longer than the rest of his healing had, and redirecting the blood he’d lost into his stomach took nearly the same amount of time. Finally satisfied, you returned to your own mind and let go of his arm.

He was glaring down at you with a mixture of pure fury and absolute confusion. Clearly, part of him wanted to thank you for your work - and just as clearly, part of him hated you, seemingly for the crime of existing. You’d never done anything that you knew of to earn this man’s wrath, but you could feel his hatred as he locked eyes with you.

“There you are,” you said, trying not to sound as intimidated as you were, “everything in one piece again. As I mentioned, your ribs will have to heal on their own. My quirk doesn’t deal much with bones.”

“...Your help is… appreciated,” he grated out through gritted teeth. Confused, you took another step back and shoved your hands into your pockets.

“I do suggest that you try to incorporate more vitamin C and copper into your diet. I imagine your quirk has something to do with why you’re running low on both, since those are generally the vitamins recommended after a severe burn. You’ll also likely have a stomach ache for the next seven hours or so. If it persists into the morning, please give myself or a trusted doctor a call.”

Endeavor glared some more, and you began to sweat. Maybe you should have asked Toshinori to join you for this, after all. You wished you knew why the fiery menace disliked you so much, but if you were honest with yourself, you were afraid to ask. The sight of the police cars rounding the corner was almost a relief, and you turned to leave.

“You teach my son,” Endeavor said before you could take more than three steps. You turned back to him, offering your best customer-service smile.

“I do.”

“He’s going to beat All Might, one day,” Endeavor promised. For the first time, you truly saw the resemblance between Endeavor and his son Shoto. The determination in Endeavor’s eyes matched the look in Shoto’s eyes any time he heard his father mentioned.

“Good,” you said firmly. Clearly, Endeavor thought you were going to disagree, or defend All Might in some way. Your quick, simple response startled him, and some of the anger in his face faded slightly. “I look forward to seeing him do that.”

“You’re his-”

“I love All Might, Endeavor. But I want the next generation to be better than us. Better than him. Your son shows a lot of promise, and I hope to see him at the top one day - nearly as much as you hope to see him up there.”

“I..see,” he said, though he looked even more confused than before.

“If you don’t need anything else, I should probably go and apologize for leaving in the middle of an interview. Like I said, Endeavor, the school can get you in touch with me if you have any issues.” You bowed to him, and left.

--

The consequences of making your relationship to All Might public were swift and painful. You found yourself followed regularly both by reporters and by the general populace. Random people on the street would recognize you and approach to ask questions - some innocent (“What’s All Might’s favorite color? I bet my friend it’s blue. Is it blue?”), and some questions that were vulgar enough to make you blush furiously.

Just as it had been when All Might was first announced as working for U.A., there was a crowd of reporters standing outside of the school when you arrived the morning following your interview. This time, though, it was you they wanted to speak to - exclusively, it seemed. You seriously considered swinging your chains in a circle around yourself to keep them at bay, but decided not to, in the end. Some reporters had no good sense, and you didn’t actually want to hurt one, just because they were too determined to speak to you to dodge a weighted chain.

Wading through the sea of reporters, you kept your face blank and your mouth shut. Your personal life was none of their concern, and you had no intention of sharing it. In fact, you were going to ask Present Mic where to find a good pair of sound-cancelling headphones - to make ignoring these people easier.

The celebrity life was not something you were looking forward to, and you decided that your best bet was to ignore the problem until it went away. At least, you hoped it would go away.

Chapter Text

You might have forgotten about the Sports Festival if there hadn’t been so many preparations for it beforehand. Cementoss asked you to cover his regularly scheduled patrol of the U.A. campus so that he could assist with building one of the stadiums, and you accepted with relief. The urge to find trigger or a similar substitute were getting louder by the day. Though your body had recovered from the drug’s physical effects, your silver seemed to have taken on its very own personality - one centered around how much better you were at healing with that cursed drug in your system.

The headphones Present Mic had presented to you were silver, bulky, and each ear was shaped like a dragon’s head. The eyes of the ‘dragons’ glowed various colors as you listened to music, which only served to make the things more embarrassing. But you learned to love them, nonetheless: you’d never experienced a sound-cancelling headphone as high quality as these. Before long, you were wearing them every day, hanging them around your neck when you weren’t actively listening.

The day of the Festival finally arrived, and you wandered through the stands as Mic introduced the students below. Your headphones were around your neck, as usual, and you kept your eyes on the crowd more than on the competition. Though you didn’t really expect an attack during the Festival - there were far too many pro heroes here to make it a realistic goal for any villain - you weren’t about to take the chance. Scanning the crowds from the bottom tier of the stands, you saw Toshinori sitting among the other teachers, an oversized black suit on. He was staring intently at one of the big screens around the edge of the stadium - when you looked, you saw that the cameras were scanning over class 1A. Your oversized hero was clearly invested in today’s excitement.

Though you wanted desperately to talk to Toshinori - he always seemed to be able to distract you from the constant murmur of ‘trigger’ in the back of your head - you knew better. He wanted to see his young apprentice give his all in this tournament, and you couldn’t blame him. Though there wasn’t anything quite as big in America as the U.A. Sports Festival, you knew the importance of the festival here in Japan. The students had a chance to prove themselves, and though few people brought it up, it wasn’t just professional heroes judging the next generation at the festival. Villains all over Japan - probably all over the world - were watching the U.A. Sports Festival, scouting out the future competition. And if Tremor and his girlfriend were anything to judge by, a few of the villains might even be scouting out future partners. It clearly wasn’t that hard for a good hero to turn toward villainy.

You didn’t pay any serious attention to the first round until it had nearly ended. Leaning against a wall at the bottom of the stands, you watched as Midoriya went sailing through the air on a scrap of metal from one of the entrance exam’s robots. He managed to pass everyone in that moment, without even using his quirk. Turning back in the direction of the teachers’ chairs, you could just barely make out Toshinori sitting next to Thirteen. Your favorite blonde was clapping, a look of absolute joy on his face. No matter what kind of hero Midoriya turned out to be, you had to like the kid. It was hard not to like him, even when he wasn’t putting that smile on your Toshinori’s face. Smiling to yourself, you turned to the nearest stairs and made your way down to the main stadium.

You wandered through the crowd of students as they discussed the next task, offering to heal the cuts and bruises each of them had earned during the first task. Bakugou, surrounded by a small crowd of fellow classmates from 1A, was rubbing his left arm as he talked. You wove through the crowd in his general direction, healing here and there as you went. With your silver activated, you could see the strain he’d put on his arm already. Though he would never let anyone know it, the boy had overused his quirk. If he kept going without a bit of healing, you knew he would cause serious damage.

“Bakugou,” you greeted him. “Well done on the first challenge.”

“What do you want, Background Character?” He snapped. Realizing he wasn’t going to agree to a healing - too stubborn for his own good - you grinned down at him and put a hand on the top of his head.

“Just checking in, Boom-boy,” you teased, sending a shimmer of silver through your fingertips. He scowled, but didn’t pull away. A tiny blush appeared on his cheeks, and your grin spread. “Good luck, kiddo.”

--

Once you’d made your rounds through the students, you turned your attention to the announcers’ box. Even from this distance, you could make out the mummy that was Shouta Aizawa. Knowing that healing others was your best distraction from the addiction Savior had cursed you with, you made your way to the nearest staircase.

You listened to music as you climbed the many, many flights it took to get from the bottom of the stadium to the top. Being completely oblivious to the world outside was both a blessing and a curse - you didn’t have to hear the crowds cheering, but your music wasn’t quite enough of a distraction on the lonely staircase to keep your mind off of trigger. Savior’s greasy face kept washing in front of your face, making you scowl as you climbed. You needed something to do, you realized. As you climbed the seventh flight, you decided you would start volunteering in local emergency rooms, like you’d done when you were younger. Using up all of your quirk every night would make you grumpy and lead to a near-permanent headache, but at least you would feel properly useful again. Patrols with your fellow teachers just wasn’t enough any more.

Aizawa didn’t really need any healing, but you stayed up in the commentator’s booth for a while, anyway, watching the tournament below.

Cavalry Battles weren’t really a thing in America, for whatever reason. You watched as the students stumbled around, posed on one anothers’ shoulders and frantic to steal one anothers’ headbands. As you watched, you thought about your own time in high school. You’d always been in good shape, but watching the students below, it was clear that you never would have made it in a course like this one. It wasn’t just their use of quirks or their physical prowess that you wouldn’t have been able to match - it was their tenacity. Listening to Present Mic running commentary on the fight below, you remembered how uninterested in competition you’d been in your youth. Even now, working among such competitive teachers and students, you had to admit that you felt no inclination to be better than any of them.

Seeing a few of the students land serious hits on one another, you let out a small sigh and turned back toward the staircase. You were going to be needed for little healing sessions after this round, as well. And at the top of your list was, once again, Bakugou. You were beginning to wonder how the boy had gotten this far without your healing before now. He was too competitive for his own good, you decided. If he kept overdoing things, he would end up in Recovery Girl’s office as often as Midoriya was.

By the time you reached the bottom of the stairs, there was less than a minute left of the second round. Leaning against the wall at one of the entrances to the main stadium, you watched a boy with purple hair riding along on top of a few dazed-looking students, stealing headbands from anyone and everyone who wasn’t looking. You remembered the boy from one of the General Studies classes, though you couldn’t place which one it was. Much like Aizawa, the boy looked perpetually tired, his hair an absolute mess and deep shadows beneath his eyes. For the first time since you’d seen him in class, you saw a look of excitement on the boy’s face. Shinsou, you remembered, as he snatched a headband from a group of class 1B students.

--

You weren't needed for much after the second round, so you spent a minute or two chatting with Midnight and Cementoss before making your way back upstairs. Halfway up, however, you rounded the corner to find yourself face-to-face with Endeavor. At the top of the stairs was All Might, apparently trying to chat the fiery man up.

With the look of absolute fury on the man’s face, you could understand how he’d made himself into the number 2 hero in Japan - if you were a villain and saw that face coming toward you, you’d give up immediately. His skill in a fight was, in your opinion, irrelevant. The man could make a villain wet himself with that scowl alone. Moving to the other side of the staircase from him, you tried to ignore him.

Suddenly, All Might was standing at the bottom of the stairs, grinning up at Endeavor, which put you in between the two men, whether your man had meant it that way or not. Clearing your throat, you squished yourself against the wall and listened as All Might asked Endeavor for advice in training the next generation.

“You think I’d tell you anything?” Endeavor snapped. Some of your fear was replaced with annoyance - All Might was being polite, and Endeavor seemed to be bent on being the exact opposite. “Always with that happy-go-lucky attitude. Pisses me off.”

“S-sorry,” Toshinori mutterd as Endeavor brushed past him. You glared at the back of the flaming idiot’s head.

“Know this, then,” he growled, the fury in his voice making your heart beat faster, “I’ll mold him into a hero that surpasses you. That’s the only reason I created that kid.” As he spoke, the scar on Shoto Todoroki’s eyes flashed in your vision. Cold fury filled you as you watched the fierball walk away. Turning on your heel, all fear of the overgrown child named Endeavor gone, you stalked after him. Toshinori put a hand on your shoulder, but you brushed past him, stomping down the stairs afer Endeavor. He noticed you one flight later, turning that glare on you.

“What do you want?” He snapped. “I’m just trying to use the restroom.”

“Where did his scar come from?”

“What?” His flames actually grew, but you were past the point of worrying about this monster’s temper tantrums.

“A family full of fire-wielders. A child with half-cold, half-heat powers. And the side that’s dedicated to heat - the side that should be able to resist extreme heat - has a burn scar. What happened, Todoroki?”

“That’s none of your business!” He growled, standing inches from you. You glared up at him, unfazed by the heat rolling off of him.

“That boy is under my care,” you snapped. “His home life is absolutely my business.”

“(F/N),” you heard Toshinori above you, worry in his voice.

“You learn your place, Silver,” Endeavor spat, “and mind your own business.”

“I know my place, Endeavor.” You answered, crossing your arms in front of you. “Understand that no amount of scowling is going to make me afraid of you. And don’t expect my help next time you get hurt - not until you have the balls to tell me what happened to your son’s eye.”

“I don’t need help from some third-rate foreign hero, anyway,” he growled.

“A third-rate hero who’s saved your life once already, Endeavor,” you replied, leaning forward. Your face was reddening from the heat, and sweat rolled down your back, but you didn’t care. “Keep that in mind, boy .”

Chapter Text

Fury wasn't quite the right word for how you were feeling after your chat with Endeavor. Watching him stomp off, you counted to ten and tried to calm down before Toshinori could see just how angry his competition had made you. You weren't entirely certain how Toshinori would take your anger with Endeavor, your only previous experience with boyfriends being Tremor. Tremor would have hunted Endeavor down and started a fight - Sports Festival or not. And, though you would have loved to see the smug look wiped off of Endeavor's face by Toshinori's fist, you knew it didn't fit his personality. Running a hand through your hair, you plastered a neutral expression on your face and turned to Toshinori, who had caught the last bit of your argument.

"Is...Everything okay?" Toshi' asked, a wrinkle between his eyebrows. You reached up and patted him on his cheek, forcing a tiny smile to your lips.

"Yes, Love. Everything is fine. Are you going to go to participate in those games downstairs?" You stepped up a few more stairs, until you were eye-to-eye with your oversized hero. Not having to crane your neck to look at him was nice, but you decided you liked him towering over you just a little bit better.

"No," he said, "I've been asked to present the medals at the end of the Festival, so I need to keep my strength until then. Are you?" You took two steps back down so you could rest your forehead against his chest. His heat was different from Endeavor's, a comforting warmth that helped your nerves settle.

"Midnight asked me to. She needs a break from the referee work, and I need something to do besides yell at students' parents." You looked back up at Toshinori, grinning slightly. Some of the tension in his shoulders faded as he realized you really were okay. He leaned down for a kiss, and you obliged, giving him just a shimmer of your silver as you did. He didn't need it, but he'd helped you calm down, so it only seemed right that you lend him a little strength.

--

The interim between round 2 and round 3 of the Festival was filled with games and sports events for the students. Though the one-on-one battles were the best way for the students to portray their quirks and hero attributes for potential job offers, you realized that even these events gave them a chance to show their stuff. The Business classes wandered through the stands and stadium alike, offering food and drinks to anyone with a wallet. Support students displayed whichever inventions they weren't permitted to use during the first two rounds during the games, clearly hoping that an agency or two would take notice. General Studies and Hero Class students alike used their quirks at full strength in an attempt to draw attention to themselves from the pro heroes in the stands. As you wandered through the stadium, offering healing in some places and gentle scolding in others, you were stunned by just how dedicated to their careers these students were.

All of the girls from class 1A were wearing cheering outfits to match the ones the American cheerleaders wore. You might have been confused by their costumes if it weren't for the look Jiro gave Mineta. The small boy was watching the girls as they cheered, completely oblivious to the events going on around him. Clearly, he had played some nefarious role in their costumes. Deciding not to interfere - the girls looked like they were having fun, at least - you moved on. A race involving giant bouncy balls was too much to really keep up with, so you turned toward the pole-vaulting event, amazed by how high some of the students were able to jump.

Midnight returned a few minutes before the third round was about to begin, giving you a brief hug before taking her place on the referee's podium. As the last events ended, you watched Cementoss finish building an impressive platform in the middle of the stadium for the students to fight on. Looking at one of the screens nearby and listening to Present Mic, you realized that the first match would be between Midoriya and Shinsou. Realizing you would be in the way if you stayed in the main stadium, you made your way back to the stands. As you passed Shinsou on your way inside, you gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. He had a look of determination in his eyes that reminded you of Midoriya. The boys would likely make good friends, if Shinsou got transferred to the Hero Course like he wanted.

--

Watching the fights from the background wasn't enough to keep your mind occupied, so you started wandering around the stands once more, looking for signs of unrest or anger. Endeavor stood against a wall behind the stands, and you made a point of completely ignoring him as you passed him by. The fact that he'd made a beard out of fire helped take away from his intimidating appearance, though you doubted that was why he'd done it.

Each fight below was impressive, even if you didn't give your full attention to them. The amount of ice Todoroki was able to summon in his first match was unbelievably impressive. Uraraka's determination against Bakugou, despite the fact that his quirk was considerably better for fighting than her own, was something to cherish. The embarrassment that was Iida's first match was erased from everyone's mind in his second match as he blew the girl from class 1B with vines for hair out of the water.

You hunted Bakugou down after his match with Uraraka, knowing that he would be too stubborn to go to Recovery Girl and have his arms checked. You'd seen the amount of explosive force he'd thrown with his last attack and didn't need your quirk to see how much damage it had done to his arm. He was sitting in one of the waiting rooms, massaging the arm in question when you found him.

"There's no shame in asking Recovery Girl to check on you after a fight, Bakugou," you said as you sat down in the chair across from him. He glared at you for a moment, still massaging his arm.

"Why waste Recovery Girl's time when I know you're going to bother me whether I ask you to or not?" He snapped. You grinned slightly.

"That temper of yours is going to get you in trouble some day, you know that?" You put your hands palm-up on the table between you. "No arguing today, kiddo."

"Don't call me that," he snapped. Despite his accusation that you were annoying him, he presented his hands nonetheless. You washed your silver over the torn muscles and aching bones in his arms, taking your time as you worked. He glared down at his arms as little designs like explosions appeared on his skin in silver

"Is it like that with everyone?" He asked, some of the fire leaving him as you let go of his hands.

"The designs? No, they're different for everyone." You leaned back in your chair, putting your own hands in your lap. "It usually reflects a person's quirk, but I've seen the design have nothing to do with a quirk before. Yours suits your quirk, though." The door to the room opened, and you both turned to see who it was. Standing in the doorway, grinning at his friend, was Kirishima. You offered the boy a small wave before standing up. "Best of luck on your next matches, boys."

Each fight was better than the last, and when Midoriya went against Todoroki, you were too caught up in the fight to care that Endeavor had stalked down the stairs to stand next to you as you leaned against the balcony wall.

You hated to see how much damage Midoriya was dealing to his own body during the fight, but you had to admit that it was impressive. Whatever he was yelling at young Todoroki seemed to be working, too; you saw the ice/fire boy slow down as the fight wore on. He hesitated multiple times, and if Midoriya hadn't dealt so much damage to himself he might have won just from that.

Instead, the little idiot egged Todoroki on enough to draw out the boy's fire. When you saw Cementoss build walls between the boys and Midnight reach for her arm, you realized just how far out of hand the fight had gotten. The following explosion knocked you off-balance, and you nearly fell over just from the resulting blast of wind. Endeavor, next to you, shouted something that sounded almost like encouragement. Your ears were too busy ringing from the explosion to make out the details, but you had serious doubts that he was being the 'doting father' that Present Mic described him as.

--

You expected there to be injuries during the final match. Bakugou was too stubborn and angry for anything less. Before you could get to the entrance to the stadium to stand by for healing, Iida approached you. The look on his face made you stop dead in your tracks, giving him your full attention. It took him a moment before he could speak, and you waited patiently for him to get his thoughts in order, stunned to find such a talkative boy at a loss for words.

"My... my brother. Ingenium. He's been injured. I... I'm not sure what to do. I know he's in good hands at the hospital, but it would be a... a relief, if you could - your quirk, I mean-" Iida stopped, staring down at the ground. His shoulders were shaking and you knew he was on the edge of falling apart. Closing the distance between you and the boy, you put a hand on each of his shoulders.

"Of course, Iida. Take a minute to settle yourself; everything is going to be okay." You gave his shoulders a tiny squeeze and watched as he forced himself to take a deep breath. He stopped shaking, and you patted him on the cheek. Sending in a little bit of your silver for comfort, you were relieved to see some of the tension leave his shoulders.

"Thank you, Teacher. I should tell Midoriya and Uraraka where I'm going, so that they don't worry."

"Go ahead. I'll make some phone calls and meet you back here." You watched him walk away, pulling out your phone. Inara would survive with just a text from you - she'd lived with you long enough to be used to your not coming home at night. You called the principal next, explaining the situation and requesting a few days from work to dedicate to the elder Iida brother. Nedzu agreed instantly, asking only that you give him an update if you were going to be more than two days away from the school house. Toshinori had a similar reaction, wishing you luck and offering to help with anything he could while you were away.

The train to Hosu arrived at the station almost exactly as you and Iida did. It was nearly empty, and oddly quiet. You chose a seat across the aisle from Iida, aware that you preferred extra space when you were unhappy and hoping he felt the same. As the train left the station, you pulled out your phone and started researching the infamous 'Hero Killer'.

Chapter Text

The 'Hero Killer' made your skin crawl. You looked at the statistics of his attacks, and some suspected but unconfirmed attacks, and tried not to show your fear of him in front of Iida. Thankfully, almost all of the injuries he dealt were in the form of cuts - clearly, the man liked his blades. Which meant you actually had a chance of being useful when you got to the hospital with Iida. Starting a new search, you looked up the hospital Iida's brother had been sent to and pulled out their phone number. Getting into his surgery room wouldn't be easy, though your hero license and quirk would smooth the way considerably.

You were still on the phone with the hospital when the train came to a stop in the Hosu station. When Iida started to walk too fast, you put a hand on his shoulder to keep him nearby. He seemed to know where he was going, but you hadn't been to Hosu before and weren't interested in getting lost. You could feel the boy's anxiety just standing near him, and gave his shoulder a little squeeze of encouragement. When he turned to look at you, worry furrowing his brow, you gave him your most encouraging smile.

You finally had all of the necessary permissions as the two of you entered the front doors of the hospital. Iida got the room number for his brother and you told him to go on ahead. Watching him run through the halls - the same boy who fussed at the other students for talking before class even started - you tugged nervously at the sleeve of your costume, desperate to help him but unsure how much you'd be able to do. When the door to the elevator closed behind Iida, you turned back to the front desk.

Once business was taken care of, your temporary hospital ID clipped to the front of your costume, you made your way to the room Tenseii Iida had been sent to after his latest surgery. Standing outside was a woman that you assumed to be Mrs. Iida, looking on worriedly from the doorway. You saw through the window of the room that Tenya Iida had rushed in without a mask.

Mrs. Iida recognized you immediately, bowing deeply as she thanked you for coming to help her son. She also apologized - apparently, asking you to help Tenseii had been young Tenya's idea, and he hadn't run it past his parents first. You assured her that it wasn't a problem before excusing yourself and slipping into the room. The disposable masks were in a little bin by the door, and you picked up two. Putting your own on, you walked up behind Tenya and touched his shoulder as gently as you could. He didn't seem to notice, his attention completely taken by his older brother. The pain in Tenseii's eyes was enough to break your heart, and you couldn't imagine what kind of look young Tenya must have been giving him. When the hero Ingenium noticed you, you gave him a solemn nod and chose not to say anything. He needed his brother right now, and his brother needed him. He seemed to understand the meaning of your nod, and turned his attention back to Tenya.

You reached around Tenya's neck and carefully put the disposable mask in place. He didn't offer to help - both of his hands were wrapped around his brother's hand - but he didn't pull away, either. Once the mask was in place, you patted him on the shoulder one more time and stepped away. As was standard practice in most hospitals, a clip board with Tenseii's medical information was hanging at the foot of his hospital bed. Picking it up, you stepped into the corner and started reading.

You had just finished reading through Tenseii's medical record when his lead doctor walked in, Mrs. Iida behind him. He introduced himself and spoke quietly to the three Iidas, as you stood in the background and listened. As you'd seen in his record, Tenseii wasn't quite stable yet. The damage to his internal organs, along with how much blood he'd lost before his sidekicks found him, had been largely repaired. But a large-scale surgery like the one he'd been through was extremely taxing on the body. There was always a chance of backpedaling in his healing process, and the doctor warned the Iidas of the symptoms.

The greatest problem was his spine. The damage to his spinal column was extensive, and Tenseii admitted that he couldn't feel his legs. The  younger Iida turned to you then, a pleading look in his eyes. You let out a small sigh and gave a tiny shake of your head. Mrs. Iida turned to you, as well, and the doctor stepped to the side. It seemed he'd been told about you, and he looked at you solemnly from the sidelines.

"I'm limited by my own knowledge of the spinal column, and my knowledge is limited by humanity's knowledge. The spinal column is an incredibly complex organ, and it doesn't heal easily." Mrs. Iida's eyes filled with tears, and Tenya looked down, shoulders shaking. You turned to Ingenium, who was considerably more calm than his family. "But. I can significantly decrease your recovery time as far as your other injuries are concerned. I won't use my quirk on you so shortly after your surgery, but by tomorrow morning you will be strong enough to take a session. Without the other injuries to distract it, your body will focus on restoring your spinal column to the best of its ability.

"I'll begin researching the spinal column, to make my own level of knowledge as in-depth as humanly possible. Once your other injuries have healed, we can begin rehabilitation. I'm not going to tell you that I can make you walk again, Mr. Iida. And I won't tell you that what's to come will be easy in any way.. But I swear to do everything in my power to put you back on your feet as quickly as possible."

"I cannot thank you enough, Silver," Tenseii said. "Not just for helping me, but for helping my brother. He'll be a great hero some day, and it's a relief to know that he'll have you on his side." You smiled, looking toward Tenya. He was still staring at the ground, his shoulders tense.

"Tenya has true potential," you said quietly. He finally looked up, eyebrows furrowed in a mixture of guilt and confusion. Unsure of what that meant, you kept talking. "He'll make a great hero some day, and I look forward to seeing it."

You spent the night on the bench outside of Tenseii's hospital room, on standby in case his body rejected his earlier surgery. There was one scare in the middle of the night, but the nurses took care of him before you could even react. As soon as he'd been fed the next morning, you kicked his family out and began his first healing session.

The only positive thing about Ingenium's injury was that it provided the perfect distraction for you from trigger. Knowing that no amount of extra power given by the drug would heal Tenseii any faster made it considerably easier to ignore the murmur of your quirk asking for more. His spinal injury also gave you something new to focus on when you weren't doing anything else; you spent hours at a time poring over your phone, laptop or notepad as you learned everything there was to know about the spinal column.

Once Tenseii was stabilized properly, and moved to a less-intensive part of the hospital, you built a schedule with him and his mother for regular visits. Your first several visits would be dedicated to healing the rest of his injuries; once those were taken care of, you would begin physical therapy with him. Tenseii's primary doctor, a polite man named Asas, worked with you to develop a nutrition and medication plan for the hero, promising to contact you directly if there were any complications outside of your visits. After your second healing session with Tenseii, you gave the man Inara's number. Though he had the determination to make it through his injuries, you felt it was best for him to have some professional support. Inara agreed to meet with him every Saturday.

--

When the students requested their internships, you were unsurprised to see Tenya Iida's top choice was an agency based in Hosu. You walked with Aizawa and his students to the station, scheduled for an afternoon visit with Tenseii. You kept your distance from the students as they said farewell, hoping that whatever Midoriya said to Iida got through to him. The boy was too quiet, lately. The first day you'd taught 1A since Stain's attack, you'd come in to find Bakugou's feet on the desk in front of him. And Iida, sitting quietly nearby and staring into space.

The train ride with Tenya was just as quiet this time as it had been the first; once again, you sat across the aisle from the boy, giving him space to think but remaining within view in case he wanted company. He sat quietly in his seat, staring out at the buildings your train passed by. You worked on your laptop, glancing up occasionally to see whether the boy had left his daydream behind.

When the train came to a stop, Iida jumped straight up and left immediately. You watched him from a distance as he approached the pro hero he would be following, worried. There was nothing you could do, though, and you were about to be late to your session with Tenseii. Pulling your silly headphones over your ears, you turned toward the hospital and started walking.

Tenseii was asleep when you arrived, so you settled down in a chair with his latest medical charts and looked him over with your quirk. The worst of his injuries were healed now, and you'd even managed to convince Dr. Asas to let him eat solid foods the night before. By any standards, Tenseii's recovery so far was nothing short of a miracle. You weren't one to brag, but you'd done well so far.

Of course, the hard part had yet to come. He woke as you were shifting in your chair, and you took your headphones off as he looked your way.

"Good morning, Mr. Iida," you kept your voice at a normal pitch and tempo, refusing to treat this hero as if he were fragile. "Ready for your first physical therapy session?"

Chapter Text

It was during your evening walk from the hospital to the train station in Hosu when the Nomus attacked. At first, you didn't notice; your headphones were on, playing music at full volume while you scrolled through a seventy-five page essay about spine injuries. Someone smashed into your shoulder as they ran by, and you pulled your headphone off to fuss at them before recognizing the panic on their face. Looking back in the direction they'd come from, you saw a giant white-skinned creature with its brains sticking out of the top of its head. You ran forward, hearing someone ask where the heroes were - right here, apparently - and tugged the chain from your shoulder.

Before you could get any momentum going with your chain, a tiny man in yellow and white appeared, flying feet-first into the side of the creature's head. Afraid to look at it with your quirk, you decided not to activate it - for now. The monster turned toward you, and you realized there were civilians behind you. Tensing for the coming fight, you tried to decide where to aim your first swing. Before you could do anything, however, a burst of flame appeared, consuming its body entirely. Endeavor had arrived. You ignored him, turning to make sure the civilians had gotten away unharmed. The man stood in front of who you assumed was his girlfriend, staring at Endeavor and asking why he was here. The other two heroes were having some sort of discussion behind you, but acknowledging it would require acknowledging Endeavor. Were you being petty? Certainly. Were you going to stop being petty? Probably not.

There was another burst of flame, this time coming from the monster you'd turned your back on. Thankfully, you and the civilians were far enough back that all you felt was a wash of heat running up your back. Turning back around, you heard Endeavor analyzing it's quirk. You started the spin of your chains back up again, just in time for the monster to blow up like a balloon and jump toward Endeavor. You realized how completely outclassed you were when the old man in yellow and white jumped with blinding speed, smashing the monster into the road face-first. Both men turned toward the sound of explosions and fighting in the distance as you looked around for potential injuries. Thankfully, no one in the area appeared to be hurt. Turning toward the men and their fallen enemy, you started wrapping your chain up as you approached.

"...Go now to the address I'll give you," Endeavor was saying, "I, Endeavor, will be sufficient support to those over there by myself." Despite the raw, unfiltered pride oozing from the flaming hero's lips, you knew he was right. Inara had dragged you into the living room on multiple occasions to watch Endeavor's fights; flaming beard aside, the man's power was no joking matter.

"What's at the address?" You asked, trying not to sound as hostile as you felt. He turned his glare on you, now.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, "but I can take care of that over there, so go now."

"I'm not much use in a fight, anyway," you grumbled, clipping your chains back into place. "But I'm good for picking up the pieces afterward. Sorry, Matchsticks, but I go where I know I'm needed. And I know there are injuries that way." You pointed over your shoulder toward the sound of fighting. Ignoring the flare of fire when he heard your nickname for him, you turned around and started running toward the fight.

--

Endeavor beat you there, of course. Your quirk didn't give you super speed or flight or anything else, after all. When you finally made it to the battleground, it was just in time to watch Endeavor blast blue flames directly in the face of a big, black-skinned man wearing only jeans. He collapsed, Endeavor said something about carbonized flesh, and another villain appeared overhead. You watched as Endeavor chased after the new creature, impressed by the big man's obvious skill. He hadn't earned second place in Japan for his personality, certainly, but he'd earned the standing nonetheless.

Most of the heroes in the square ran off in the direction Endeavor had ordered them to, looking worn out but largely uninjured. You stuck around to help those they left behind; two unconscious men and a bleeding woman. You went to the woman first, activating your quirk and getting to work.

She was watching you work, eyes clouded with pain and blood loss, when something caught her attention behind you. She didn't have time to warn you of the attack, choosing instead to shove you to the side. The woman you were healing was the only reason you survived, and you were going to have to thank her later. Right now, though, you had something to deal with: another creature, brain exposed, had appeared out of nowhere to stick a crystallized arm in your side. The pain sent a shudder through your entire body, and you cried out when it pulled its arm back once more.

One of the other heroes, who you'd noticed limping and clutching his side earlier, body-slammed the newest monster before it could stab you again. Activating your quirk, you cut off the pain and sent a burst of energy into your head to keep the darkness that had clouded your vision at bay. Putting a hand on your side, you turned to look at the monster. Though you'd certainly taken damage, it wasn't overly serious. Whatever crystallization quirk this one had, it wasn't particularly effective. With the hand that wasn't on your bloodied side, you pulled the chain from its strap on your shoulder. As the hero that had tackled it was thrown, you started spinning the weight of your chain, looking your enemy over with your quirk.

It was vile. Whatever energy had given this creature multiple quirks had caused its brain to swell, and you realized that the top of its skull had almost certainly been removed for exactly that reason. Though the enlarged brain was teeming with energy signals, you couldn't make any sense of them; this brain was beyond even your repair, you realized. It seemed no mortal body or brain was meant to contain multiple quirks.

And multiple quirks it had. As quickly as it had appeared, the monster disappeared. You tried to follow its movements, but it was faster even than Toshinori had been in that fight at USJ. The hero that had tackled it was crushed into the ground, and you winced as you watched several ribs and a hip crack under the pressure. He was unconscious almost on impact, and the creature turned back to you. Spinning your chain in front of you like a shield didn't do anything to stop it as it slammed into you, picking you up like a ragdoll and towing you toward the nearest building.

You'd never admit it to anyone, but in that moment, you panicked. Years ago, you'd sworn never to use your quirk against another being; you had turned it entirely toward healing, forgoing the violent potential of a quirk that could affect the bodies of others in favor of chains that could bust skulls and subdue enemies. That promise was broken as you went hurtling through the air, gripped by a creature that could move faster than anything you'd ever seen. A single touch with your quirk, and it crashed to the ground, taking you with it as it collapsed, unconscious.

How you managed to get as far away from the creature as you did was a mystery; you dragged yourself from underneath it and crawled as far as you could before losing your dinner all over the ground. Looking directly at the monster had turned your stomach, but touching its warped and senseless brain with your silver made your skin crawl.

--

You finished patching the injuries of those heroes that were present, and tidied up your own while you were at it. By the time you were done putting everyone back together again, the excitement of the fight had been replaced with a new excitement; apparently, at some point during the day's event, Endeavor had managed to find and subdue the hero killer Stain. You watched the news on your phone as you waited in the back of an ambulance for more injured people to be sent your way. Somewhere in the distance, you heard someone cheer. What caught your attention, however, wasn't the morbid appearance of the hero killer that the newsman was focusing on: it was the crowd of three children in the background of the video clip.

Iida. Midoriya. Todoroki.

Those little idiots had gotten themselves mixed up in the arrest of a literal murderer. Worst of all, you could see injuries on all three of them. That you could see blood on their clothes despite the fact that they were in the background and your phone screen was tiny, meant that their injuries were at least moderate. Scowling, you stood and turned to the driver of the ambulance.

"I need to get to whatever hospital is closest," you said firmly, "can you please give me directions?"

--

They'd all three been placed in the same hospital room, and the receptionist gave you directions the moment she saw the anger in your eyes and the temporary hospital badge on your chest. Your wound was nearly fully healed, but the cloth around it was still slick with blood, and your hand stayed pressed to it out of habit as you stomped through the hospital hallways. You didn't really notice the people moving out of your way as you went, too angry - and worried - about the boys to care. As you turned down the first hallway the receptionist had told you about, you felt your phone ring.

"Hello?"

"(Y/N)! Are you injured? Is Midoriya okay?" Toshinori sounded somewhat panicked, regret clear in his voice. "I wasn't anywhere nearby or I would have-"

"We're fine, Toshi'. You need to talk to your boy, though. He keeps running off like this, and he's going to get himself seriously hurt. Listen, I need to go. I have a scolding to deliver."

"R-right," he said, startled by the ferocity in your voice.

"Love you," you said, softening your voice so he'd know he wasn't the one you were mad at.

"Love you, too," he answered. You hung up - just in time for your phone to go off again. Grimacing, you picked it up before the first buzz had finished.

"Silver," you answered shortly. It was Iida's mother - you'd given her your number when you'd first introduced yourself.

"It's my son, Doctor," she started.

"Tenya? I'm on my way to see him now," it was much easier to keep the bite out of your voice with this woman - she didn't know you as well as Toshi, and might take your anger personally.

"Oh. Thank you so much, Doctor," she said, relief clear in her voice, "you're a blessing, truly."

"I do what I can. I need to go, Ma'am."

"Right, of course. Thank you again, for everything."

"Not a problem." You turned another corner, some of your anger fading. Before you got the phone back in your pocket, it buzzed for the third time. Cursing, you looked at the caller ID - unknown. Gritting your teeth, you answered anyway.

"Silver."

"This is Endeavor. My son was injured. He's at-"

"Oh, I know where your son is, Matchsticks. Don't worry, I'm on my way to him now." You sighed, slowing your angry march to a slow walk as you pinched the bridge of your nose. You could practically feel the heat of Endeavor's fury on the other end of the line. "Sorry, that was rude. I'm going to take care of your son, Endeavor, so please don't worry about him. He'll be fine."

"You need to work on your manners," the other man snapped. Before you could respond, the line went dead. Glaring at your phone, you turned the damned thing off before it could start buzzing again. You were going to have to find whoever had given Endeavor of all people your phone number and strangle them.

Finally, you approached the room the boys were in. A few nurses were still there, checking on the children's bandages and making sure they all had water to drink. The receptionist had told you they'd be kept overnight in case Stain's quirk had more to it than they thought. When the nurses saw you, they exchanged glances with one another before fleeing. Your hair was a mess from your short flight with the mystery creature; your eyes were still silvered so you didn't have to feel the pain of your half-healed side; a side that was still coated in sticky blood, the hole where you'd been stabbed showing pale skin beneath it. You stepped to the side to let them go and realized just how terrifying you had to look as you crossed your arms and glared at the three students. Good.

Chapter Text

"You are students. Students! Not vigilantes. Not heroes. Students. I expected better of you three!" You glared at each of them in turn. Iida stared at the ground, looking cresfallen. Todoroki looked to the side, a tiny blush of shame on his cheeks. Midoriya looked absolutely horrified - but then, he always looked slightly worried.

"I- my brother-" Iida started. You silenced him with a glare.

"Your brother is a professional hero, Iida. He knew what he was risking when he got his license, and he knew what he was risking when he went into a dark alley after Stain! Tenseii's injuries are lamentable, but they're part of the job. It's a job he took on willingly, because he's a damn good man. I got hurt today, too, but do I expect my boyfriend to hunt the monster who did it down for me? Absolutely not! You three are students, and you haven't accepted this risk yet. You don't even fully understand it! Students!"

"Teacher, we-" Midoriya stuttered, falling silent when you turned your glare from Iida to him. He was wringing his hands together, and though you didn't say it aloud you were happy to see he hadn't broken anything this time.

"Listen. I'm not here as your teacher today. I'm here as a professional hero, who just got the news that three fourteen year old boys tried to take on a known - and extremely dangerous - murderer by themselves. I don't know details. I don't care about details. I care about three idiot fourteen year old students that showed up to a sword fight with half-baked quirks and a sense of self-importance beyond their years."

"I had to avenge him! Tenseii-" Iida tried again, determined to get his point across. You stalked forward, putting your face inches from his and speaking in a low, deadly tone.

"Knew what he was doing! Took the risk!" You straightened, looking between the three boys again. "Signed up for his injuries, as terrible as they are! Tenseii has a million things to worry about, and now he has to worry about you, too! Turning into a vigilante! Tenya, you know better!"

"I... Yes, Teacher. I do. I'm... I'm sorry for making you worry." You put a hand on his head, putting your quirk to use. Though your voice stayed harsh, you kept your touch soft. The boys had messed up, but they were alive - and words were enough punishment. As you healed him, you turned to the others.

"And you two! What were you even doing in the city? Neither of your internships were here... Wait, Endeavor was here. What was he doing here?"

"...Looking for the Hero Killer," Todoroki answered.

"Of course. Bastard. Brought you in and put you in harm's way-"

"I ran off on my own, actually," he admitted. You ran your fingers through your hair, exasperated.

"...And here I was, ready to blame your father. I'm disappointed, Todoroki." He bowed his head, looking properly ashamed. You let go of Iida's head and tangled your fingers in his two-toned hair instead. "Midoriya? Your internship was half a county away."

"We were passing by on the train when a Nomu attacked-" he started, refusing to make eye contact.

"And you got separated?"

"He told me to stay on the train..."

"Midoriya. Seriously?" You were massaging the bridge of your nose again. Were you this much trouble at their age? You couldn't remember.

"I wanted to make sure Gran Torino was okay, and then I saw Iida's sponsor looking for him..." Midoriya's eyebrows were screwed up, his eyes wide. Though he'd messed up, you could see the sincerity in his face. This boy really had run off to help his mentor, and his friend. How could you stay mad at him for that? And Todoroki seemed to have run off to save the other two, as well - the only one that had really, truly messed up was Iida, and you couldn't really blame him for his anger, either.

"Ugh. You children." You sighed, moving your healing hand to the top of Midoriya's head. "Listen, I'm going to tell you all a story. Sit down."

The boys obeyed, each sitting on their own hospital bed. They all looked exhausted, and you knew someone would be by to scold them again in the morning. But they needed to hear this, particularly Iida. You didn't like talking about Richard Smalls, but if it helped keep these three out of future trouble, it would be worth it. Pulling a chair from the corner of the room, you set it in front of the three boys and sat down.

"Several years ago, I was asleep in my apartment when the building collapsed. I was buried under the building for about six hours before the newest hero of the area found me." You had a scar from that night, just below your right kneecap. It wasn't important to the story, but you found yourself running a finger over the spot anyway. "His name was Tremor, and in less than a week he became my closest friend. Tremor was everything you would expect from a hero: friendly, selfless, kind. He could fight, too, but that's another story. Tremor convinced me to become a hero, and I started training with him.

"He was chasing the head of a local gang called the Workers' Party. They were ruthless - killing anyone that stood in their way, robbing banks and homes alike, taking extortion money from anyone in the area." You shuddered, remembering the mountain of obituaries Richard used to keep on his work desk. "Tremor was absolutely determined to get the head man, convinced that taking him out would wipe out the rest of the gang.

"We finally found him. And Tremor did what you were trying to do, Iida. He 'avenged' " -you made air quotes with your fingers- "everyone that that man had hurt. He tried to kill him. Names aren't important. I didn't think the man needed to die, so I healed him. Tremor didn't take that well - we started arguing, and he got away. That's when Tremor really lost it. He swore revenge, and ran off.

"Long story short, the head of the Workers' Party is dead now. Tremor got his revenge. But he didn't stop there.

"You see, it didn't work out the way Tremor thought it would. The Workers' Party didn't collapse into chaos when their leader died - they just elected a new leader, and kept right on killing." You sat back in your chair, leaning your head back until you were staring at the ceiling. You let out a small sigh before continuing. "I'm a firm believer that once someone's tasted blood, they get... hooked on it. Like a drug addiction. Tremor took out the leader of the Workers' Party, and then he took out the Workers' Party. All of 'em. His kill count was higher than the Party's, in the end. He came for me last. Tremor said that some of the blood was on my hands. He marked me as a villain, and started hunting me. I had to move once, in America. I came to Japan for a completely different reason, but Tremor followed me here, anyway.

"You see this scar? And the ones on the back of my hand?" You put the fingers of your right hand against the scar on your neck, drawing attention to what you could never fully heal. "These are from Tremor. He's in prison now - All Might and I got him. I nearly died when his partner slashed my throat. If I didn't have a healing quirk, you never would have met me. Probably wouldn't have even heard of me.

"Tremor started out as a good man. A good hero, with all of the right intentions. But he turned to vengeance and he lost his mind. So I want you boys to memorize this scar." You straightened back up, looking from one boy's face to the next. "And the next time you find yourselves thinking about revenge, for any reason... I want you to remember this scar. And I want you to imagine it on the necks of your friends. Because that's what happens when you go for revenge. There's a line in the sand, and it's easy to see when you start looking for revenge, but it gets... blurry, the longer you go. Until it's completely gone, and you're hunting down your own friends."

You let the boys sit in shocked silence for a long time, finally taking your hand away from the scar on your neck. Iida's fingers were on his own throat, as if feeling the scar there himself. Todoroki stared at the ground, deep in thought. Midoriya's eyes had glazed over, his eyebrows screwed up in a concerned frown. Finally, you sighed, shaking your head.

"I got three phone calls between getting to the hospital and getting to this room. Iida, you owe your mother and your brother an apology. I want you to go to them, first thing in the morning, and apologize in person. Midoriya, call your mother and tell her you're okay. She likely knows already, but I can't call her and tell her myself because I don't have her number. All Might asked about you, but I told him I'd take care of you. Todoroki, your father called. I don't like him, but I guess he has his moments. Please let him know you're okay." You ran your fingers through your hair again, wondering if the hospital had showers and spare scrubs for its workers. If not, you were going to have to call Inara and ask her to bring you your overnight bag. One of the heroes at the earlier fight was in critical condition, and you'd agreed to stay behind in case he needed emergency healing. Remembering you'd turned off your phone, you dug in your pocket and got it out.

"Teacher," Midoriya started tentatively. You raised an eyebrow at him as your phone buzzed to life. "Are... are you okay?" You stared at him for a moment, confused. He glanced down at your stomach, and you remembered the bloody hole there.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Midoriya." You smiled at him before looking back at your phone. Leaning back in your chair, you let out another sigh as you sorted through a few follow-up texts from Toshinori, one from Inara, and a request from Aizawa to check on his errant students. When you finally finished replying to everything, you looked up to find the three boys looking at you expectantly. You realized you were still sitting in a random chair you'd placed in the middle of the room.

You returned the chair to its corner of the room and turned to leave. Stopping in the door, you rubbed the tip of your nose, thinking. After a moment, you turned back to the boys.

"All fussing aside, you boys did well. You saved a professional hero who would otherwise have been killed. You were directly responsible for the arrest of a serial killer, and you did all of it with only minor injuries. Midoriya, I'm particularly proud of you - you didn't break your bones like usual. Your improved control of your quirk is impressive. Todoroki, I'm glad you're willing to acknowledge that your father is the best person to teach you how to control your fire. I don't like him, and I've gotten the impression you don't like him, either... But he may be the only person in Japan that can help you understand your flame. Iida, I noticed some minor damage to your engines when I healed you just now, so I know you had to have used your quirk to its full potential. I've seen similar scarring on your brother's engines." You looked at each of the boys, noticing shadows under their eyes. They would fall asleep as soon as they laid down, you knew. You offered them each a small smile. "You did well, boys. Just... Don't ever do it again."

"Yes, Teacher," they said in unison. You looked each of them over with your quirk one more time, straightening out your battered jacket, before leaving them to find a shower and change of clothes.

Chapter Text

"I'm gonna need a bucket," you announced, looking through the window at the green-skinned creature you were about to evaluate.

"I'm sorry?" Detective Tsukauchi seemed startled, looking at you with a mixture of worry and confusion.

"Last time I touched one of these creatures, I threw up. A lot. So, unless you want me to toss my cookies all over the interrogation room floor...?" You raised an eyebrow at him, ignoring the concerned frown on Toshinori's face where he stood just behind the dectective.

"Sansa, please get Silver a bucket." The other officer nodded, leaving the room. You watched him go, wondering if the cat-man could purr.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Toshinori wore an oversized white t-shirt tucked into baggy green pants. He was hunched over even more than usual, and you were touched by how worried he looked. You offered him your most encouraging smile, patting his shoulder. You didn't know if Tsukauchi knew Toshinori was All Might, so you had to resist the urge to give your oversized hero a kiss on the cheek.

"If it can help the investigation in any way, I want to help." You turned back to the creature in the room, frowning at it. Though it didn't seem to understand what was going on, it looked rather... miserable. "Besides, if we can figure out how they're squeezing multiple quirks into a single person, we may be able to reverse the process."

"We already know it's All for One using his quirk," Toshinori said, standing so close to you that your shoulders brushed.

"I mean to find a more...scientific answer than 'using his quirk', Toshi'." You leaned into him, wishing he could go in with you when you faced the creature. When the door opened behind you, you straightened back up. "Every quirk can be evaluated with science and medicine, and I intend to evaluate this one."

"As long as you're sure..." His bright blue eyes glittered as he looked down at you, frowning.

"I am. Thank you for worrying about me, Toshi'." As officer Sansa stepped out of the interrogation room, you stepped in. The bucket was on the floor, lined with a trash bag for easy cleanup, next to a single chair facing the creature. You had a clipboard and notepad under your arm as you sank into the chair.

You took a deep breath before activating your quirk, staring at the green-skinned monster strapped to a chair in front of you. They'd tried to give it a shirt and pants, but its limbs were too long, making it look almost comical in undersized clothes. It was drooling as you looked at it, its four eyes rolling in various directions. Someone had put a muzzle on it like an errant dog, and you almost felt bad for it. The creature gave off a low growl as one of its eyes locked onto you, making you shudder. Finally, you activated your quirk and looked it over. You took notes in English, since you were fairly good at shorthand in your mother language. The detectives could have a copy of your notes if they wanted them, but you'd need to translate them first.

You avoided looking at its brain for as long as you could, remembering how badly you'd reacted to touching the other Nomu's brain with your silver. When you finally did look up at that swollen brain, you gagged and reached for the bucket, looking away as your eyes watered. This one's brain was just as badly damaged as the other one's, and the idea of touching it with your silver made your stomach churn. When you finally got up the nerve to touch the creature with your quirk, you had to send a bit of energy to suppress your gag reflex. This creature was making every inch of your skin crawl, and it was incredibly unpleasant. Forcing yourself to take another deep breath, you wrapped your brain up in silver and sank into its skin.

There was a strangeness to its DNA that you couldn't put your finger on. Your quirk wasn't precise enough to decrypt DNA, but it could sense the changes to it. Not for the first time in your life, you wished your quirk was more powerful than it was. A split second of weakness showed you a flash of Savior's trigger-filled needle before you forced yourself back to task. Each muscle fiber in the Nomu had scarring, as if the muscle-enhancing quirk it had caused damage when used. Looking over the damage, you determined that the muscle-enhancement quirk had not been the host's original quirk. Turning your attention to its tongue, you could tell that its webbed tongue wasn't the original quirk, either; it had similar scarring on it, as if the body had tried to reject its quirk before being forced to accept it. Refusing to go near its brain, you checked on the creature's internal organs. They all seemed relatively fine, though there was some general damage, likely from previous fights. When you tried to put a little bit of your silver into a bruise on the creature's liver, it didn't seem to do anything. Focusing on the liver, you tried again: it was as if your quirk were simply sliding off of the damaged area. You got the distinct impression that the liver simply couldn't handle your power. You tried again with the scarring on its muscles; again, your silver slid off of the tissue, as if repelled by some unknown force. It took three more tries for you to realize what was wrong: this creature's body didn't have room for your healing. It was so oversaturated with power that it couldn't handle the little shimmer of energy you were trying to give it to help restore the previous damage.

Finally, you turned your attention to the brain. Steeling yourself, you slipped in from the brain stem, exploring every neurological path and flicker of energy in the brain. Once again, it felt like your quirk was simply sliding over the surface. Like trying to pour water on top of half-cured concrete, your silver had a tiny effect, but not enough to count. Each twitch and turn of the brain as it tried to process your presence made you feel worse. Even if your quirk could affect this creature, you wouldn't have been able to repair so much damage. Unable to handle any more of the warped energy in this creature, you withdrew. Before you could retreat all the way, though, you noticed another oddity in the brain processes. Investigating, you found a direct connection between the part of the brain that processed thought and the part that processed words. The implication of that connection felt so wrong that you shot back into your own body, shutting your quirk off completely. Turning immediately to the bucket, you lost what felt like all of the last week's meals.

When you finished throwing up, you turned to your notepad and got to writing. The Nomu continued to growl and drool in front of you, but you couldn't bring yourself to look back up at it. Details were fuzzy as you wrote them down, but you knew that once your stomach had settled you'd be able to sort them out. The page and a half of short-hand you wrote about the creature would turn into at least three, possibly four, pages of information when you translated it to longhand English. Grimacing, you stood and turned away from the creature, ignoring the feeling of being watched as you walked out of the room and shut the door behind you. Toshinori and Detective Tsukauchi were waiting for you: Toshi' had a large cup of what smelled like freshly-brewed coffee in his hands. As soon as you set your clipboard down, the blonde handed you the cup. You took it with a small smile, too tired and disgusted by what you'd just seen to bring yourself to talk. There was a long silence as you collected yourself, Toshinori towering over you with a concerned look and Detective Tsukauchi watching from a bit further away, clearly aware that you needed a minute to calm down before you would be ready to answer questions.

"There's hardly anything left in that creature that's human." You said before taking a large mouthful of coffee. Hopefully, the strong flavor would wash out the taste of vomit.

"What do you mean?" Detective Tsukauchi's eyebrows were screwed up in confusion. He struck you as an honest, hardworking man: you could tell why Toshinori liked him so much.

"Even if we did figure out how to remove the extra quirks and leave only the original, I don't think it would save him. His brain has been completely destroyed by the process. See how swollen it is? That's permanent damage, like scarring - but worse." You shuddered, thinking about the damage you'd seen with your quirk.

"Well, that's more than we knew before. I suppose the brain damage has something to do with why he doesn't answer to anyone?" Toshinori rubbed his chin with a few fingers, looking thoughtfully at the creature in the room behind you.

"The brain damage is certainly why he can't speak. But there's something... odd. It's like someone created a connection between his hearing and his inhibitions. I think he can be controlled by a single individual, as long as he recognizes their voice."

"That could be incredibly dangerous," Toshi' noted.

"Or incredibly useful," Tsukauchi muttered, leaning forward and squinting at it. You looked at him out of the corner of your eye, trying to decide if there was malice there or just curiosity. "Do you think it's possible to, I don't know. Reprogram? That part of his brain? Maybe get him to answer to one of us, instead of whoever created him?"

"Possibly, though I think it was someone's quirk that created the connection. Without that quirk, or at least a clear understanding of it, it would be incredibly hard to reprogram him." You looked directly at Tsukauchi now, still uncertain of his intentions. He noticed you looking and turned to face you, a wrinkle between his brows. "Besides, doesn't that seem unethical to you? He may act like an animal, and his brain has been destroyed beyond repair, but he's still human. At least, somewhat human. No one should be able to control him like that."

"That's true. It was only an idea, of course." He seemed to be honest about that, at least. Curiosity, you decided. "What about his quirks?"

"They're, uh, complimentary. Whoever chose to put these quirks together knew exactly what they were doing. The quirks work with one another to make him more powerful and minimize the overall damage to his body."

"What do you mean?" Toshinori asked, looking away from the creature to you.

"Hmm. Let me figure out the best way to explain this." You ran your finger along the scar on your neck, thinking. "Some quirks work against one another: Kamui Woods and Endeavor would make a terrible team, because Endeavor's fire would burn Kamui and the wood he's able to produce. If you were able to combine quirks into a single person, and you put those two together, you'd likely kill the host. But if you put an ice quirk with Endeavor - like his son, Shoto - you get the perfect combination of a quirk that overheats its user and a quirk that cools its user down. They're complimentary quirks. Similarly, whoever put this creature together chose the quirks based on what would work well together. They're not the perfect combination like Shoto Todoroki, but they work well enough."

"Such as the ability to take in and reciprocate attacks combining with the increased strength and durability of the Nomu?" Tsukauchi asked, turning back to look at the green-skinned thing.

"Exactly. This guy can take a punch, then send it back - but with twice the strength of the original punch because he already has super strength." You leaned against the wall, staring off into space so you wouldn't have to look at the Nomu any more. "I imagine the other Nomu have similarly complimentary quirks. The fact that they go together likely helped to determine how many quirks could be squished into one being, as well. They increased his strength, then added a quirk that directly involves a muscle - his tongue. They gave him extra durability, then gave him the ability to reciprocate the damage he received. There's no room left in his body for more power. Even my own healing energy had nowhere to go. It's like they got three puzzles that were cut in the same design and put them together. The picture is messed up, disgusting; but everything is in one piece."

"Can you pull the puzzle pieces apart, though?" Tsukauchi asked.

"No, I'm afraid not." You remembered the altered nerves, the strange mixture of DNA that seemed to have been changed on the molecular level. "I think the only thing that can take this one apart and put him back together again is the one who ripped him up to start with. And like I said - even if All for One did take his extra quirks away, I'm fairly certain that this man's as good as brain dead. He isn't who he was when he started this, that's for certain."

"So there's no way we can get him to talk about what happened or where he came from?" Tsukauchi sounded disappointed, and Toshinori's frown had deepened. You let out a small sigh.

"The normal pathways a brain takes to process... I dunno what you'd call it, maybe 'sentience'... those processes have been burnt to a crisp. He's barely more than an animal at this point. It's unfortunate, but I think you should just tell his family he's dead. It would hurt less than seeing him like this would hurt."

"Thank you for your help, Silver." Tsukauchi said, sincerity in his voice. You didn't feel like you'd done anything to help.

"Not a problem, Detective. I'll write a formal report with all of my medical findings and get it to you in a day or two." Maybe another doctor could read over your notes and come up with something else. "Maybe find a doctor who specializes in quirks and how they affect the body, and have them read it over. I'd be happy to discuss it with them, too, if they feel my notes aren't enough."

"I'll ask around and see if we can find someone." Detective Tsukauchi scribbled in his notebook, presumably writing down everything you'd said as he walked out of the room. You heard the door shut behind the officer as your view of the far wall was obstructed by a white t-shirt.

"Are you okay?" He looked down at you, worry plain on his face.

"Not really," you admitted, suppressing a shudder as you thought of the creature again. Toshinori put his hands on your shoulders and you leaned forward, taking in some of his warmth. He smelled like canned peaches.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I could really go for a hug right now, to be perfectly honest," you mumbled.

Immediately, he wrapped you up in his arms. You nuzzled your forehead against his chest, breathing him in. His hands wrapped around your back, squeezing you to him until your body lined up with his. How the two of you fit together so perfectly when he was so stupidly tall was a mystery, but you couldn't complain. You slid your own arms around his lower back, feeling muscle and bone beneath his shirt as you did. You stood in his arm for several minutes, listening to his heartbeat and wishing you could stay like that for the rest of your life.

Chapter Text

"It's fairly rude to touch someone without their permission." You tried to keep your tone neutral, but you couldn't keep the scowl from your face as you turned to the reporter that had taken your headphones off. Glaring up at her, you tapped your phone screen to pause your music. The bullet train she'd cornered you on slowed to a stop, and you considered getting off. She would just follow you, though.

"You've been ignoring every reporter that approached you since your relationship with All Might was announced," she said, putting her hands on her hips. You chose to respond with a raised eyebrow and nothing else. "And now there's a news story that's almost as big as that one, and you still won't answer my questions? You're the one being rude."

"I'm a very private person, Miss...?"

"Ito!" She must have gotten a haircut. Or maybe this was Ms. Ito's sister...?

"Miss Ito," you said drily, "I prefer to keep to myself, and away from the media. I respect that you need to get ratings and all, but there are plenty of pro heroes that like being interviewed for you to pester."

"None of them have had a close personal relationship with an escaped prisoner!"

"Excuse me?"

"Richard Smalls, better known as the professional American hero Tremor? You were good friends with him while you were in the United States, weren't you?"

"Tremor is in prison," you said shortly, reaching to put your headphones back on.

"Not any more. You're telling me you didn't hear? Tremor escaped prison two nights ago. It's rumored that he intended to join the League of Villains... Silver?"

"This is my stop," you barely registered what you were saying as you shoved past the woman, weaving through the crowd on the train toward the nearest set of doors. As the doors opened, she tugged on your sleeve. You ignored her, pulling your headphones over your ears once more. As you brought your hand back down from your ears, your thumb brushed against the thick scar on your neck. The grocery bag in your hand felt so much heavier than normal. Why did news about him always come when you were grocery shopping, anyway?

Tremor was free.

--

"What about the girl? Tish? Is she out, too?"

"No, Smalls was the only escapee. I assure you, the police are doing everything in their power to find him..."

"He's notoriously slippery, Detective. Have you spoken with the guards that worked with him? Or his fellow prisoners? Does the rumor that he intends to join the League of Villains hold any merit? Is he-"

"Please, Doctor, I can only answer so many questions at a time. We have spoken with his guards and his fellow prisoners. I'm afraid it is very likely that he intends to join the League. Apparently, it was the only thing he's been talking about for the last two weeks. Before that, he would speak constantly about killing either you or All Might." Detective Naomasa sounded exhausted on the phone, but you were too worried about Tremor to care.

"Fuck. Okay. Uh... How is that investigation going? Are there any leads on the location of the League - and is there anything I can do to help with the investigation?"

"You've already done more than most with your medical assessment of the Nomus," his voice was muffled as he spoke, as if he were running his hand over his face. "If there's anything else you can do for us, I assure you I'll contact you. And if we find anything else out about Tremor, you'll be the first to know."

"...Thank you, Detective. I apologize if I was being... pushy."

"I understand completely. Doctor, before you go, there's one more thing you should be aware of."

"Yes?"

"Tremor spent equal time talking about killing you and All Might. But you two weren't the only ones on his list."

"Inara."

"Yes. It seems he felt your friend was involved in his arrest in some way or another. Doctor, I think all three of you are at risk. I'm not concerned about All Might - he can take care of himself - but you aren't a combat-oriented hero, and Doctor Currier isn't trained for hero work at all. Do you have someone the two of you could stay with? All Might himself, maybe?"

"That's... Uh, that's a good idea. I'll look into it, Detective. Thank you for all of your help."

"You're quite welcome. If there's anything I can do, please let me know."

"Will do," you muttered before hanging up. Running your fingers through your hair, you opened your contacts list. As you did, the pale scars on the back of your right hand caught your attention. Tremor's face flashed in front of your eyes, and a shudder ran through your body.

"...Teacher?" Someone had been calling for you, but you had been so lost in thought you didn't hear them. Looking up, you found Pony Tsunotori standing in the doorway of the teacher's lounge, wringing her hands. Forcing a pleasant smile onto your face, you gestured at the chair across from you.

"What can I help you with, kid?" You asked in English. She looked somewhat relieved to be spoken to in her mother language, and you had to admit that it was a nice change of pace.

"The exams are coming up," she said as she sat down in the chair, big eyes aimed at the hands she kept wringing in her lap. "And I'm worried that I won't do well."

"You have very good grades," you reminded her, resting your cheek on a balled fist. "What has you concerned?"

"It's the language difference," she admitted, worry plain on her face. "I've spent so much time studying with the other students, but I still feel like I'm behind the curve. I just... I'm smart in English. I'm just... Not smart in Japanese."

"Oh. Your Japanese is considerably better than it was when you first got here, though."

"But I still have trouble in class. Present Mic talks so fast, I even have trouble in English!"

"That's alright," you said, reaching across the table to pat her shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with a language barrier, particularly at your age. What can I do to help?"

"Can you help me study? I thought, since you're American too..."

"Of course," you said, smiling. "My schedule is very busy lately, but I think I can make room for an hour or so after classes to help you go over your notes, if you want. Just... please don't ask for my help with Japanese history. Shameful as it may be, I know almost nothing about this country's history."

"Oh, no, that's okay. Itsuka helps me with my history classes. Are you sure it's okay, though? An hour of your time every day - I don't want to take up all of your time..."

"Kid, I came here to teach the next generation. What kind of teacher isn't willing to help someone study?"

"Thank you," she said, shoulders relaxing in obvious relief.

--

"Thanks to reporters following you to and from the train station, half of the country knows where we live," Inara looked as panicked as you felt, pacing from one end of the living room to the other. "What're we gonna do, (F/N)? We can't stay here, but they're just gonna follow you again if we move..."

"We need protection," you muttered, sitting back on the couch and running your fingers through your hair for what felt like the eighth time that day. "Maybe I should join an agency... One of the ones that has barracks for its heroes? I'm sure I could get you a room, if I asked nicely..." As you spoke, Inara's phone started singing, Lana Del Ray's voice echoing through the apartment.

"Nemuri, did you hear?" She stopped pacing, her phone plastered to her ear. "No, I don't know what to do. Nem, I know he knows where we live! It's not... And he's after me, too, this time! Yes! He found out my quirk was how Toshi' knew to go to (F/N) in the first place! I don't know. I don't... Okay. Yeah, okay. I'll see you in a few."

"What's up?" You asked as Inara turned to you.

"Nem' wants to meet up with us. She says she's bringing half the teachers at the school house, too. They're gonna help us figure out what to do."

"I'll get my coat," you said, standing. Some of the tension left the room as the two of you got ready to leave. Having professional heroes as your friends could be a great help when your ex-boyfriend became a murderous lunatic.

--

"I can take that ass on in a fight," you growled, glaring at the glass of wine Nemuri had placed in front of you. "I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about Inara."

"My quirk usually warns me when I'm in danger..." she said nervously. She was already on her second glass of wine, and that one was nearly empty already.

"But it's never clear about what the danger is or how to avoid it, is it?" Nemuri asked, fingers tapping on the table. She looked more thoughtful than she did worried, but you knew she was concerned.

"Yeah, I can never figure out what's going on. I just feel... anxious." Inara swallowed the rest of her wine, looking toward the bottle as she did. You reached over and grabbed it before she could pour herself a third cup.

"I was thinking about joining an agency," you said, setting the wine down just out of your friend's reach. "Then I could ask them to protect her."

"But then you'd be stuck with regular patrols, on top of the work you already do. You have enough to worry about without adding a full-time job on top of it all!" Inara was braiding and rebraiding a chunk of hair as she spoke, glaring at the wine bottle you'd taken.

"I'll be alright," you muttered, "and it would just be long enough to catch the prick."

"Most agencies have you sign on for a certain amount of time," Aizawa said, looking exhausted as ever. Your fingers itched to give him a little healing energy - get rid of the reddening in his eyes, at least - but you knew he wouldn't agree to it. "Besides, Tremor managed to disappear overnight. There isn't a solid lead on his whereabouts, so there's no telling how long it'll be before we can catch him."

"Why don't you move in with All Might?" Yamada didn't know how to sit like a normal person. His feet were on Aizawa's lap and he'd balanced his chair on its back two legs, his wine glass held loosely in his hand as he looked between you and Inara.

"He doesn't have a spare bedroom," you said, scratching the side of your nose. "I don't mind sleeping in his bed-" Nemuri snickered "-but I doubt Inara would be comfortable on his couch."

"Inara could move in with me," Nemuri said suddenly. You blinked, startled by the offer. Inara, braid in hand, froze as a blush slowly crept up her cheeks.

"That's... a big offer," you said quietly. "Maybe you and Inara should discuss it privately?"

"You moving in with All Might would be a big deal, too," Aizawa reminded you, "so maybe you should give him a call."

"We've... discussed it before," you admitted, blushing slightly. "I just wasn't going to decide until I knew Inara had somewhere to go."

"Thanks, (F/N)," Inara said, looking down at her lap, "but you should have brought it up sooner. Nemuri and I were talking about moving in with each other, too."

"You're joking," Yamada said, his chair slamming back down to all four legs as he suddenly took his feet out of Aizawa's lap. "You've both been holding off on moving in with your lovers... Because you didn't want to ditch each other?" You felt the blush on your cheeks deepen as you directed a glare at the loud blonde.

"...I guess we did," Inara finally said, giggling.

"You're helpless," Aizawa said, rolling his eyes. "Both of you."

Chapter Text

"I thought I was helping you with your Japanese, Pony," you muttered to the girl at your elbow, looking at the gaggle of students in her homeroom.

"I mentioned that I was staying after class to study..." she replied, blushing slightly and offering you an apologetic look.

"It even got outside of class 1B," you noted, eyeing the cluster of 1A students. They were all separating themselves, as if afraid to mingle. You let out a sigh and walked in to stand at the teacher's podium.

"I'm really sorry, Silver," Pony said again, looking around the room. One of her classmates was waving her over. You gave her a little smile before clearing your throat and making the internal switch from English to Japanese.

"Mr. Principal has given permission for me to hold an after-school study session. I wasn't expecting so many students to show up, but I'm proud of you all for admitting you might need help. I do, however, have one warning for you all about this class: Pony Tsunotori asked me in person to help her with her studying. So, if she needs individual help at the same time as one of you, I'm going to her. When I'm not working with you directly, I expect you to work in small groups. You all know your strengths and weaknesses, so try to pair up with one another accordingly. Also, don't ask me for help with Japanese History."

"Teacher!" Monoma had his usual superior smile in place, a hint of crazy in his eyes.  You rested your chin on your hand, leaning onto the podium. You knew exactly what he was going to say, so you just raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "Isn't it funny, Teacher, how many members of class 1A there are? Isn't it strange, for the class that's supposed to be the best class to show up to an after school study session? Is it possible they aren't as good as they claim to be??"

"Kid, I don't know or care which class is 'better' than the other. Grades don't define a hero. Grab a seat, Monoma, and please focus on your math. Miss Yaoyorozu is particularly good at math, if you're looking for someone to study with." Why the girl was in an after-school study session was a mystery, but you could put a brain like hers to use.

"Silver," a dry voice sounded from the doorway, and you turned to find Aizawa standing in the entrance. A boy with purple hair stood behind him, and you offered Shinso a smile. "Got a minute?"

"Sure, Aizawa," you said, stepping outside of the classroom to join the boys in the hallway. "What's up?"

"Shinsou is training to transfer to the hero course," Aizawa said, gesturing lazily to the boy. He offered a small bow, the shadows under his eyes as dark as ever. You grinned at him.

"Good on you, kid," you said, bowing slightly in return. "Need some help studying? I have a whole classroom inside, apparently."

"Actually," Aizawa said, glancing into the classroom, "I was hoping you could help us with Shinsou's physical training."

"Oh? I... Aren't you a better pick for that, Aizawa? Not that I'm refusing!" You rubbed the back of your head, brow furrowed. "But I'm more of a rescue-type hero, after all."

"I need to train with more than one person," the boy's voice was monotone, but he spoke clearly, "or I'll only learn how to defend against one fighting style."

"Variety is good for training," you had to admit.

"Exactly," Aizawa had his hands shoved in his pockets, and for a wild second you thought he might be Shinsou's father. He wasn't, of course, but the similarities were undeniable. You tapped the side of your nose, thinking.

"Well, with the work I already do, and this new after-school study group I'm apparently leading... My time is limited, I'll admit. But I can find time to help you train, Shinsou, if that's what you want."

"...Yes, please, Teacher," he said, making eye contact for what seemed to be the first time since you'd met him. There was an eagerness there you hadn't expected, and you found yourself grinning again.

"Anything for an aspiring hero," you said cheerfully.

"Thank you," Aizawa said simply. "Please let me know when you'll be available next. Let's go, Shinsou."

At this rate, you weren't going to have to move in with Toshinori - you would be spending all of your time either in the schoolhouse or consulting with the Iida family. Massaging a surprisingly sore neck, you turned back toward the classroom full of hero hopefuls.

--

"Are you sure about this?" You stood in the doorway to Toshinori's apartment, a bag over your shoulder as you frowned up at him. "If you're not comfortable, if it feels like we're moving too fast -"

"Not at all!" He insisted, putting his massive hands on your shoulders. You leaned into him without thinking about it, appreciating the gentle squeeze he gave your sore shoulders. "I brought it up the first time, after all. And it'll make me more comfortable, knowing you're nearby. I've been having trouble sleeping, thinking about that Tremor appearing at your apartment door."

"He's not that stupid, I don't think," You said, leaning forward further until your forehead rested against Toshi's chest. "He knows I'd knock him senseless if he showed up at my front door."

"I still don't like that you've been living alone," Toshi's voice was soft, but firm. You could feel the tension in him as you leaned against him, his worry for you so obvious you could almost taste it in the air. It was flattering, really, knowing that the man with the weight of all of Japan on his shoulders had taken the time to worry about little old you. Inara had moved in with Nemuri the day after Tremor's escape had been announced. With Toshinori's hero work schedule and your own increasingly busy schedule, you hadn't been able to start packing for nearly a week. Ultimately, you'd been forced to cancel a session with Tenseii Iida, explaining your situation. Toshinori had talked himself into taking a day off from being All Might, and arrived at nearly daybreak to help you pack. Thankfully, you weren't the type to have a lot to pack - clothes, mostly, and a large bag of medical supplies.

"Well, I won't be living alone much longer," you finally said, smiling into his oversized shirt. Some of the tension left his shoulders, and he gave yours another squeeze. Straightening back up, you shifted the bag on your shoulder and stepped the rest of the way over Toshinori's apartment threshold. He stepped out of your way, tugging at the bag on your shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, you let him take the weight, following him to the bedroom.

Toshinori's apartment was huge, scattered with various All Might products and equipped with the largest bathroom you'd ever seen. The living room had a couch that even Aizawa could fall asleep on, and a television that could probably light up a small neighborhood. The bedroom contained not one but two full-sized dressers, one of which he'd emptied specifically for your use. The bed was American-style and king-sized. You'd joked with Inara about the three of you fitting in Toshinori's bed without having to touch one another at all. She'd rolled her eyes, insisting that you wouldn't be able to not cuddle with your oversized hero.

His kitchen was the only part of his apartment that you couldn't call 'luxurious': it was huge, but barren. After the first night you'd spent with the man, you'd gone into his kitchen in the hope of cooking a breakfast before he woke. Instead, you'd opened the refrigerator to find it nearly empty, except for a half-carved chicken and a few hard-boiled eggs. His cabinets were bare of cooking supplies, other than a can opener and a couple of knives. The poor man had an entire cabinet dedicated to canned fruit, and nothing else. No wonder he'd been so surprised by the meal you'd cooked him on your first true date. Naturally, when you and Inara had sat down to discuss who would take what from the apartment, you'd asked for all of the cooking supplies. Not that you had much, either - but at least the cabinets would have a saucepan or two instead of cobwebs.

As Toshinori set your bag down, you stared at the bed. There were a million things left to do, and your day was only half over. But damn if that bed didn't look inviting. You felt like you hadn't slept since the attack in Hosu - and by the shadows under your Toshi's eyes, neither had he. Maybe you could convince him to lay down for just a few minutes. There was no reason to rush the unpacking, after all. The sound of Toshi' clearing his throat brought you back to reality, and you turned to grin at him.

"Just remembering how soft your bed is," you said cheerfully. He blushed slightly, a fist in front of his mouth. His eyes wandered away from yours and toward the bed, then back to yours. You felt your grin widen slightly. "Care to reminisce?"

"We should... get you unpacked..." he tried to protest. In response, you took a step closer to his bed, putting more distance between yourself and the newly emptied dresser.

"We have all day, and I don't have much to unpack," you shrugged. He hesitated some more, before stepping forward. His long legs closed the gap between you in a fraction of a second, and before you could react he had an arm around your waist. You  leaned into him, nuzzling your nose against his chest as he wrapped his other arm around your shoulders. Toshinori let out a small sigh and rested his cheek on the top of your head. You returned the hug, cherishing his warmth and listening to the steady beat of his heart.

"All day," he said quietly, "and all night." It was your turn to blush.

--

Your already tight schedule was restricted even more when you realized you had to lose the reporters before you could go home. Silver and All Might's relationship was public: letting the press see you come home to a thin, gangly man that was listed as All Might's personal secretary would cause more rumors than you cared to think about. Or, worse - someone might start to suspect that Toshinori and All Might were the same person, something he wasn't yet ready to announce. So the two of you left his apartment at a different time each morning, and took different routes to get home. You had less trouble each day with reporters as the announcement of Tremor's escape lost its momentum in favor of the latest string of villain attacks.

Living with Toshinori was going to take some getting used to, you had to admit. The man's sleeping schedule was a mess - and, to your great displeasure, so was his eating schedule. For a man with diet restrictions as stringent as his were, skipping meals was a dangerous risk to take. And skip meals he did - on a fairly regular basis. Part of it was that he didn't prepare meals in advance, but most of it was that he was just too eager to run off as All Might. You started making his meals for him, grabbing him by whichever limb you could reach first before he could rush out of the front door in the morning to cram a bag of food into his hands.

Cooking, as it turned out, was surprisingly relaxing. You found yourself looking forward to the end of the day, when you could wander into the oversized kitchen and get to work on whatever meal you felt like cooking that night. Soon, your search history became an equal blend of recipes and medical journals. You found dozens of meals that suited Toshinori's restricted diet without sacrificing good flavor and dedicated at least an hour a day to perfecting them. Toshinori, unable to find time to help cook, volunteered to go to the grocery store for you, instead. Remembering the weird alignment of your visits to grocery stores and the bad news that was Tremor, you accepted his offer. No matter how long the list was, Toshinori would follow it to the letter, taking time between his work as All MIght and his time spent at U.A. to get whatever you needed from the store. The day after his first visit to the grocery store, a local magazine published a picture of All Might, in full uniform and bent nearly in half, counting out coins at the store counter. The woman at the register looked completely unfazed by the hero's presence, but you could see the tiny blush on her cheeks.

Nearly an entire day was spent preparing for the week you would be gone for summer training camp. Toshinori arrived halfway through, helping peel carrots as he discussed the newest change to the school's regular program. Apparently, Principal Nedzu had chosen not to use robots for this year's end-of-term exam. Aizawa had been the leader in the argument - insisting that the use of robots didn't actually have any real-world application. Remembering a few short fights with an American villain that could animate robots, you shrugged. It had always been your opinion that combat shouldn't be the only practical thing the students were judged on, but maybe you could make that argument next year.

Though Toshinori often woke up to coughing fits or nightmares, he admitted that he was sleeping better now that you'd moved in. You were sleeping better, as well, though you didn't admit it outright. Your nightmares didn't wake you as often as Toshi's did, but when you did wake up it was a wonderful thing to find yourself curled up against him, the sound of his deep, steady breathing lulling you back to sleep in no time at all. After particularly bad dreams, you would press your ear against his chest and count his heartbeats until you fell back to sleep. One night, you woke to find his head in your chest, and realized when he mumbled a number in his sleep that he had been doing the same thing.

Chapter Text

"Silver," someone called from the doorway. You mumbled a generic response, not really paying attention. The general studies student whose test you were grading seemed to think that dunking someone suffering from heat stroke directly into a cold bath was an appropriate response, and you were beginning to wonder how he'd passed any of your previous exams. "Silver, if you have a moment." A shadow appeared over your desk and you finally looked up, tearing your mind away from the exam.

"Of course, Vlad, sorry for ignoring you. What can I do for you?" Vlad King, homeroom teacher for class 1B and surprisingly good with dogs, was standing over your desk, arms crossed.

"We just finished discussing how the final exams for the hero classes will be conducted," he said, taking a chair from nearby and pulling it up across from you. "Aizawa made a good point, and we're not using robots this time."

"I'd heard about that," you yawned, stretching in your chair. "I hear he had all of his class's teams picked out, including which of the teachers would fight them. Did you decide on who would do what for your class, yet?"

"I did...mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Aizawa assumed all of the teachers would be willing to participate in a two-on-one end-of-term exam, but I don't want to make the same assumption. I'm asking all of the teachers I've planned out, instead of just expecting them to show up."

"That's kind of you." Not that any of the teachers would have refused, really. "Do you need to talk to All Might? He has today off, but unless he's on a patrol he'll answer the phone if I call him for you. And I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help you with your exam."

"Actually, I don't want All Might to fight any of my students."

"Really? You're always secretly competing with Eraser's class 1A, and he's using All Might. Why wouldn't you want your students to face off against the Number 1? If they win, it'll look pretty good for them."

"The class 1A exams and the class 1B exams are on the same day," Vlad said, running a thumb along his jawline absently. "And 1A is going before 1B. With his limited fighting time, and how often he tends to go on patrol before school hours, I don't want to rely on All Might being able to fight when class 1B's turn comes around."

"Oh. That's... probably smart. So what do you need from me?"

"I need you to fight two of my students," he replied bluntly. You stared at him for a moment, stunned.

"I'm... not a combat-type hero, though," you protested.

"I've seen you training, Silver. Don't sell yourself short. Besides, I won't be putting you against my strongest students or anything like that. I wanted to pit you against Monoma and Juzo. Juzo is fairly strong in a fight, certainly, but he'd have to work around Monoma's personality, so he'll be at a disadvantage."

"Uh, okay. I have to assume you're specifically putting me against Monoma. Any reason for that?"

"He needs to get used to the idea of a fight against an opponent whose quirk he can't - or shouldn't - steal."

"If you're trying to put him against someone whose quirk won't be useful to him in a fight, wouldn't the better option be Eraserhead? Aizawa's quirk would sort of...neutralize Monoma's."

"I have a different pair who both need to learn how to function without their quirks, and making Aizawa fight three times in one day is unfair."

"Well, you have all the answers today, don't you?"

"I thought you might give me some resistance," he said, bottom fangs glinting slightly as he grinned. "So I thought of all of your possible arguments beforehand."

"That's a sneaky thing for a hero to do," you chided, returning his grin. "But since you've thought of counters for all of my protests, I guess I have no choice but to agree. Just make sure Monoma knows not to try and heal anyone with my quirk. It's harder to control then I let on."

"I suspected it might be. I'll talk to him before the exam starts, then." Vlad stood, picking the chair up once more. "I owe you a drink for this, Silver."

"Careful, Vlad," you teased as he put the chair back where it belonged, "I might just take you up on that offer." He grinned again from the doorway and disappeared with a wave.

--

You had your chain hanging limply from one hand, swinging it in a lazy circle with the other as you waited for the boys to approach. You hadn't activated your quirk yet: seeing them highlighted with silver through the foliage would take away their chance at sneaking up on you. The teachers had told the students they wouldn't be holding back, but you weren't about to go all-out on a couple of first-years. Not that you would make it easy for them, of course.

Somewhere ahead of you and to the left, you heard a branch snap.

Your chain wrapped around the tree branch above you with a satisfying thump, just as the ground under your feet started to soften. Hopping wasn't an option, given the increasingly soft ground, so you started climbing. You'd chosen a tree with a low-hanging branch for a reason: before the ground softened enough to stop you, you were already at the branch, pulling yourself up until you could sit on it. Your arms protested the weights you'd been given, making the climb more exhausting than you'd expected. With a grimace, you detangled your chain and started it spinning, looking down as one of the boys appeared from the bushes.

Juzo ran for the tree you were hiding in, clearly aiming to melt it from beneath you. Unfortunately for him, Monoma was still going full-force at the ground beneath you, probably trying to make the tree sink in instead of letting Juzo take care of it. The puddle of putty-like earth forced Juzo to run twice the distance, exposed the entire time. You took advantage, throwing the weighted end of your chain at his feet.

Juzo dodged the first swing of your chain, but not the second. Using a single chain was considered a disadvantage by most, but you'd ordered one so long that you could use both ends as if they weren't connected in the middle. Few people expected you to be able to follow one ranged attack with another in quick succession, and Juzo was no exception. He crashed to the ground, your chain wrapped neatly around an ankle. With a grunt, you started reeling him in as your tree began to sink.

Monoma gave up on the tree when he saw your response to Juzo trying to melt your chain: you whacked him in the side of the head, knocking him out and pulling him up into the branches with you. As you tied Juzo's hands behind his back with the zip-ties you kept in your jacket, his partner charged your nest.

"You should have gone for the gate," you told him, putting Juzo's back against the tree trunk Monoma was now trying to melt. "You don't have the experience or power level Juzo has, Monoma."

"I'll get extra points for capturing you and rescuing him!" He insisted as you started spinning your chain. You sighed, hooking your knees around the branch and swinging down until you were hanging by your legs. The weights at your ankle put extra stress on your knees as you dangled, but they offset your weight enough to allow more movement than you could normally manage in this position. Monoma yelped as your chain smacked into the bark a few inches away from his hand. A warning shot: you wanted the little idiot to run for the gate, not attack the poor tree.

With reflexes that surprised you, Monoma snatched your chain before it could swing away again, focusing his borrowed quirk on it now. He had to be running out of time, and you could see the sweat trickling down his temple from your position in the tree branch. Giving him a moment to decide what to do with the chain in his hand, you started the other end spinning again.

This little miscreant is destroying my chain, you thought, scowling as the metal began to melt in Monoma's hand. With a yank, you pulled the half-melted chain from his grip, wincing as a link split like dried putty. Monoma had the weight and a few half-melted links in his hand, staring at them in confusion.

"Always understand a quirk before you try to use it, Kid," you chided, throwing the chain that was already spinning in a vicious arc toward the boy's outstretched hands. Before he could react, you had his wrists tied up neatly. You pulled with all of your strength - considerably less than normal, with heavy bracelets on each wrist - and Monoma was knocked off his feet.

Just as you started to relax, having successfully captured both of the boys, you heard bells and whistles coming from the gate. Releasing your grip on the tree branch, you dropped to the ground, falling into a crouch to minimize the shock of impact to your ankles and knees. Looking at the gate, you saw Juzo standing just outside of it, a hand on the side of his head and half-melted zip-ties in one hand.

The little sneak had only pretended to be unconscious.

--

"A member of your team successfully escaped the 'villain'," Vlad King was saying, arms crossed as he glared down at his students, "so well done, Juzo. You successfully snuck up on Silver, used your head when you got captured, and put your quirk to good use on the zip-ties to escape while the 'villain' was distracted."

"Thank you, Teacher," Juzo said, bowing to Vlad politely.

"Monoma," the big man said, turning to the other student. Monoma stood, hands on his hips and looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"We did well, didn't we, Teacher? I wonder if class 1A had little trouble as we did passing their end-of-term exam?"

"Monoma," Vlad said again, darkly. If you were on the receiving end of that voice, you probably would have started sweating. Monoma, however, remained blissfully unaware of his teacher's obvious annoyance as he continued to rant about class 1A.

"Kid," you interrupted him by smacking him lightly in the back of his head. He stopped talking, a startled look on his face. "Listen to your teacher."

"You didn't pass." Vlad said shortly. You winced at the bluntness of the other hero's words, looking once more at Monoma. The boy's eyebrow twitched, and for the first time since the school year had started, he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I... what?" He asked weakly.

"You didn't pass," Vlad said again, "because you nearly blew it for your team. First, you gave your position away by clumsily stepping on a twig. You've had more than enough stealth training to dodge a simple twig, Monoma. And then, instead of trusting that Juzo could take care of Silver and using the opening to run for the gate, you tried to sink the tree by yourself. Juzo has a better understanding and control of his quirk, so you should have let him melt the tree and stop Silver. Instead, you tried to sink it. And then! When Silver was distracted, subduing Juzo, what did you do? Did you take the opportunity to run for the gate, successfully passing the examination? No! You let yourself think you could take on Silver - an experienced hero - by yourself, with a borrowed quirk!"

"You need to control that ego of yours," you didn't speak as harshly as Vlad did, but you weren't about to let the kid go free. "You let it get ahead of you, and your team suffers. Also, Juzo, don't think you got full points. You were in the perfect position to knock me out of that tree when you got your zip-ties off. If you had, then you and Monoma could have both run for the gate. You left a teammate behind."

"...I understand, Teacher. It won't happen again." Juzo looked properly ashamed,staring at the ground with shoulders slumped.

"You two did a good job, overall," Vlad said at last, with a heavy sigh. "You've both shown great improvement with the use and application of your quirks, and I am proud. Just... stop getting ahead of yourselves. It's unbecoming of heroes."

--

"Power Loader," you groaned, sprawled out on the floor with your arms thrown out dramatically, "why did you let your students make such good weights for this test?"

"It was part of their end-of-term score," he said, a note of apology in his voice.

"My arms are jelly," you whined, rolling onto your stomach and forcing yourself to sit up. Your legs were even protesting, though you hadn't used them nearly as much.

"Why don't you heal yourself?" Hound Dog asked from his desk near the door.

"I'd never develop any muscle or endurance if I used my quirk every time I was sore," you said, pulling one noodly arm up in a lazy stretch. "Aren't you guys aching by now?"

"I am rather sore," Ectoplasm admitted, rubbing his shoulder. The door slammed open to reveal Midnight, flanked by a grinning Present Mic and red-eyed Eraserhead.

"Sore? I feel fine!" Present Mic announced at full volume, making Eraserhead wince. You rolled your eyes, switching your stretch to the other arm.

"That's because you hardly moved during your fight with 1A," Eraserhead said drily. His boyfriend scowled at him as Midnight giggled.

"Wait! I know just the thing!" The R-rated heroine announced, actually bouncing in place with sudden excitement.

"Not karaoke," Eraserhead groaned.

"Karaoke!" She announced, grinning hugely. Ectoplasm perked up immediately, and you suspected Power Loader was grinning beneath his helmet.

"Celebrating a successful term?" Hound Dog asked, scratching the side of his nose.

"Exactly!" Midnight and Present Mic said in unison.

"Why am I surrounded by such loud people?" Eraserhead asked in a pained voice.

"When and where are we meeting?" You asked, gripping a nearby desk to pull yourself to your feet and reaching for your phone. Toshinori had used up all of his time as All Might for the day, just as Vlad King had predicted. Maybe you'd be able to convince him to join you at the karaoke bar if you told him all of the teachers were going. He needed to get out more, spend some time with other people outside of hero work.

"How about... in two hours, at that karaoke bar we went to two weeks ago?" Midnight was already pulling out her phone, either to text Inara or to call the karaoke bar and reserve a few tables.

"Sounds like a plan," you said, opening the messaging app on your phone. "Only, I didn't go two weeks ago. Text me the address?"

Chapter Text

You climbed onto the bus, looking around for an empty seat and finding the only one to be next to the ever-grumpy Bakugo. Aizawa was already in his seat at the front of the bus, offering you a polite nod in greeting. You gave him a small wave, still lost in thought, and trudged to the seat next to Bakugo. The boy glared at you when you sat down, and you responded to his glare by ruffling his spiky blond hair. He scowled even more, pushing your hand away and glaring out of the window. You grinned as you pulled a notebook out of your bag.

The details of the ride were lost to you as you read through your notes, reviewing all of the elder Iida brother’s progress since his initial injury. You sketched new notes into the back of the book as you went, occasionally staring at a blank page as you sorted through your memory for the next step in his recovery.

It was during one of these long, unmoving pauses that Bakugo finally spoke, leaning over your notes. You might have been annoyed at him for reading your notes - Iida’s condition was none of his business - but for the first time in a long time, Bakugo didn’t look even remotely annoyed.

“How do gripping exercises in his hands help him with his walking?”

“There are laws against me sharing the medical conditions of others,” you reminded him, jotting down your last thought before sticking the pen in your shirt pocket.

“Whatever. If you don’t want to answer-” he glared out of the window, eyebrows pinched together and bottom lip sticking out in a pout. You grinned, closing your notebook and turning in your seat to give him your full attention.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t answer the question,” you reminded him. He grunted, refusing to turn back your way. The tops of his ears turned ever so slightly pink. “It’s important for someone with a spinal injury to practice simple motor functions, even if the exercises don’t focus on the affected areas. My patient needs to practice giving his body orders, to help him remember what it feels like for this body to answer those orders. If he doesn’t have that reminder, he might stop expecting it - making his recovery even more taxing.”

“Oh,” Bakugo muttered, the frown fading slightly. There was another long silence, and you looked around the bus to see the other students, all excited and chattering amongst themselves. Even Koda, who seemed to be deep in some sort of discussion with Tokoyami. Suddenly, Bakugo spoke again. “Where did you get that scar, anyway?”

“Which scar?” You asked, showing him the back of your right hand.

“The one on your neck,” he growled. “It… looks pretty bad.”

“Ah, it wasn’t as bad as you’d think. That story actually starts with the ones on my hand, though.” You traced the scars; long, thin lines along each bone in your hand, as if tracing out your own anatomy. You sighed lightly, remembering your fight in a busy street. “A guy I used to work with - he was a hero in America with me - hunted me down in Japan and attacked. He got my hand here pretty well - he creates shockwaves with his fists, and I caught his fist. I knew better, but I was a little… distracted.” You decided not to mention the collapsing building, or the various shards of glass sticking out of you at the time.

“That was the tea shop, right? Your first real fight after getting to Japan.” Bakugo was looking at your hand now, too, and you pulled the other away so he could get a better look.

“I didn’t realize you followed all that,” you admitted, somewhat flattered. The boy’s love for All Might wasn’t as loud as Midoriya’s but it was still obvious. To know he followed your exploits, despite your being a minor hero from another country, was more than you’d expected from him.

“It was the biggest thing to happen that week,” he grunted, turning once more to the window. His ears were getting darker, and you had to bite back a smile. This kid didn’t know how to express himself, but he could be read like a book if you only spoke the language.

“Well, I’m glad I was…entertaining,” you drawled. “Anyway, Tremor got away that time. All Might saved me.”

“Is that when you started-” his blush was deeper now, and you wondered if it was your relationship with All Might that had gotten Bakugo’s attention in the first place.

“No. All Might and I had… something, the next day, but it wasn’t a relationship. Not yet. But I still haven’t answered your original question. Tremor came back, not long after my hand finally healed. By then, I was training with my chains again. I didn’t have my new costume yet, but I had my weapons. That’s probably the only reason he didn’t kill me, really.

“Tremor had gotten himself a girlfriend, somewhere along the way. She’s a teleporter, named Tish. I’m not sure what prison she’s in, but I’m glad she’s locked up. She’s the one that gave me the scar on my neck. One really big knife, a lot of blood… My quirk saved me, in the end. I would have died right then if I didn’t have this particular quirk.”

“She cut your throat?”

“Yeah,” you pulled your collar further away from your neck, leaning your head back so he could get a closer look at the silvered mark running just underneath your jawline. “That’s why the collar on this jacket is so high. To protect me from another attack like that. All Might showed up again, and we put them both in jail. Happily ever after.” You grinned, letting go of your collar.

“Except, I heard Tremor escaped again,” Bakugo said, a wrinkle between his eyebrows once more.

“Yeah, he has. That’s alright, though. I’m surrounded by heroes and heroes-in-training.” You nudged his shoulder. “I’m sure all of you heroes can keep me safe.”

“…Right,” he finally said, blushing some more. You grinned again, opening your notebook again. “..Teacher…”

“Yes, Bakugo?” You closed the notebook, patiently turning toward the boy once more.

“You said Tremor used to be a hero. Did he… did he have anger problems?”

“Yeah, he did,” you paused, beginning to realize what Bakugo was truly asking. Scratching the side of your nose, you thought back to the Tremor you’d once known. “He was also a bit obsessive, over the people he considered his enemies… American laws allow heroes to use more violence than Japanese laws allow, but Tremor was still cited and fined for going too far. He didn’t just knock his enemies out - he put them in the hospital. Regularly.” You sighed.

“Am I…” Bakugo was almost whispering now, glaring out of the window and refusing to look your way. You waited patiently for him to form the words, almost certain you knew what he was going to ask. “Do I... remind you of him?”

“Not at all,” you said firmly. Bakugo glared out of the window, ears burning. He didn’t seem to believe you, so you grabbed him gently by the chin and forced him to look at you. “Bakugo Katsuki, you are not Tremor. You lose your temper, but you keep your control. The worst injury I’ve seen you deal was against Midoriya, during your first lesson with All Might, and I’m almost certain it was because you expected the boy to dodge. You destroy buildings, threaten your friends with violence, and you make more noise than most of the people I work with. But you are not a villain, or a villain in the making.” You let go of his chin, pretending not to notice that his entire face was red now. The other students on the bus were being too loud to have noticed your little pep talk with the boy, thankfully.

“I know that!” He finally snapped, trying to look like his usual angry self. You bit back laughter, rolling your eyes.

“Tremor warped the expectations of a hero to match his personality. You’re not doing it quickly, and you’ll never be exactly the same as the other heroes here in Japan - but you’re changing, Bakugo, and it’s for the better. I’ve seen you blustering and furious and still making decisions that lead to success. When Tremor lost his tmeper, he lost the fight. When you lose your temper, you win it. Don’t compare yourself to a failure, Kid.”

“I wasn’t!” He insisted, little explosions appearing in his fist. “I was just making sure you weren’t!” He kept going, ranting angrily about his eventual rise to the top of the world of heroes, standing above even All Might. You listened patiently, amused. When he’d finally settled down again, glaring once more out of the window with pink ears, you leaned in so he would be the only one that heard what you said next.

“You’re welcome, Kid. Can’t wait to see you standing at the top.”

As you leaned back in your chair, pretending not to notice the boy’s flaming face, you felt the bus slow to a stop. Looking toward the front, you found Aizawa’s eyes on your own and offered him a slight nod. He’d warned you that there would be something odd happening during the trip, but you hadn’t asked for details. Where the camp would be held was a closely-guarded secret, and you had agreed not to ask for details. You’d even turned the GPS off on your phone - showing it to the principal before climbing onto the bus.

It was essential that no one know where the children were. The League of Villains was still out there - and you had suspicions that Tremor had recently joined their numbers.

—

Watching the children fall down the side of the cliff Pixie-Bob had created, you couldn’t decide if you should be amused or worried. Normally, throwing children off of a cliff was an action you’d expect out of villains - but, then, these were heroes in training. They needed to learn how to fend for themselves in the woods - against giant, earthen creatures, apparently. You leaned against the bus, not really paying attention to what Aizawa and the two Wild, Wild Pussycats were saying.

Their name in itself was amusing enough. You weren’t certain that the group understood the double meaning of the word ‘pussy’, but you were absolutely certain that at least a part of their fanbase did. The real surprise was how well Aizawa seemed to get along with them - the two women seemed way too chipper and loud for the quiet man’s taste. Then again, he was in a very happy relationship with one of the loudest men on the planet.

As you climbed back onto the bus, sitting alone just behind Mandalay, you pulled out a different notebook from before. Your notebook about Iida Tenseii was neat and in chronological order, but this one was a scattered mess, random sticky notes poking out in all directions. Your notes on the students at U.A., to include their strengths, weaknesses, and general personality information.

You’d started the notebook when you’d first arrived at USJ, mostly to keep track of which students would need more help in your classes, and which students had what quirks. After the attack at USJ, you’d burned the original and rewritten it in a combination of English and Japanese, using the Cyrillic alphabet. Putting it in a strange code may have been excessive, but you couldn’t risk the League of Villains finding it and knowing the students’ secrets.

Flipping through, you found the section of the notebook you’d set aside specifically for Bakugo. As the bus started once more, you re-read your notes on the boy. You had, at first, compared him to Tremor. But, as time had gone by, you’d corrected yourself. He wasn’t a villain, or a villain in the making - but he definitely needed some anger management classes. You scribbled a new note at the end before closing the book once more and stuffing it into your bag.

Chapter Text

Toshinori let out a grateful sigh as he sank into the warmth of a fresh bath. The sore muscles that had been screaming at him all week settled down into a faint whine, soothed by the heat of the water. The crinkling sound of bubbles popping as he sank lower into the water made his eyelids heavy.

Silver was at the training camp, keeping an eye on Midoriya for Toshi. He hadn’t been able to join the camp for this year’s training for multiple reasons, the largest being his inability to keep the All Might form for more than forty-five minutes. Toshi trusted Eraserhead and Vlad King to take care of the students, but knowing that Silver would be there to heal young Midoriya if he did something rash again took a weight off of Toshi’s shoulders he hadn’t realized was there.

Toshinori’s eyes drifted closed as he breathed in the honey scent of the bubble bath. Silver smelled like honey and green tea, warm and soft and nothing but kindness. Sitting here now, in the warmth of the bath with his eyes closed, Toshi could almost imagine Silver sitting next to him. They’d almost certainly be poring over their notes, either studying spinal columns or grading student assignments. When Silver was focused, they bit their bottom lip, a tiny crease appearing between their eyebrows as they squinted ever so slightly at the paper. Toshinori had no doubt that Silver would need reading glasses within the next few years; secretly, he looked forward to the day they got them. He was quite certain that Silver would only look more delicious wearing glasses, candle light reflecting off of the lenses and making their eyes shine all the brighter.

His mind on Silver, Toshi reopened his eyes. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but most of the bubbles were gone and the bath wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been. He must have been dreaming, then. Looking toward the counter where he’d left his phone, he considered reaching for it to check the time. That sounded like entirely too much work, so he rolled his shoulders and wiggled his butt to a more comfortable position. Eventually, he would have to get out of the bath. For now, though, he didn’t want to go anywhere.

He looked back toward the counter, this time eyeing the little box on the sink next to his phone. It was small and nondescript, black felt with a small silver hinge. Not for the first time, he wondered if he should have gotten something fancier. Something that better portrayed how he felt about Silver.

No, Silver wasn’t a fancy type of person. They preferred simple button-ups and black slacks. Silver wore an oversized t-shirt around the house and little else, their hair always a scattered mess and one shoulder peeking out of the collar. The nicest Toshinori had ever seen Silver was during a meeting with the police, and the only change to their usual button-up/slack combination had been a simple grey tie. Silver wouldn’t be impressed by a fancy box.

When he finally climbed out of the bathtub nearly thirty minutes later, Toshinori picked up the little box and carried it into the bedroom. He’d been thinking for weeks about how to do this. He wasn’t sure he was brave enough to ask Silver outright, but maybe he could slip it in and make it a surprise? He could always put it in Silver’s jacket pocket… But no, it was too hot outside for Silver to be wearing their jacket. And he didn’t want to wait until the weather cooled down.

Opening the bedroom closet, Toshi looked at the small assortment of button-up shirts and simple slacks on Silver’s ‘side’ of the closet. They were all simple colors, some more worn than others. Toshi had never seen Silver go clothes shopping, though he had seen them sewing a replacement button onto one of their shirts. Once, he’d offered to go with Silver to buy some new clothes, reminding them that he was rolling in money from his work as All Might. Silver had refused, insisting that there was no need to replace perfectly functional clothes. Toshinori was convinced that Silver had spent so much of their life being frugal that they simply didn’t know how to spend money any more.

The most worn shirt in the bunch was a cream color, one of its buttons slightly crooked where SIlver had reattached it. It didn’t have a pocket on the front. Still trying to figure out what to do, Toshi turned toward the slacks, neatly folded over their hangers and organized by colors ranging from dark grey to navy blue to black. As he reached for the nearest pair of slacks, his phone started ringing. Grimacing, Toshi closed the closet door and went back to the bathroom, where he’d left his phone.

“Yagi,” he answered, a bit more annoyance in his voice than he’d intended.

“There’s been another villain attack.”

--

“There’s no All Might to save you now,” Tremor’s voice was venomous. You ignored the frantic beating of your heart as his words sank in: he was right, you had no one here to protect you. No Toshinori - no Eraserhead, no Vlad King, and none of the other heroes. No one knew you were here, on the top of a cliff and fighting a man that could destroy you with a touch.

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat and failed, flinging your chain in Tremor’s direction. He dodged it easily, taking a step forward as he did. You continued to throw swing after swing at the fallen hero, and each time he would dodge it with seeming ease, slowly but surely inching closer and closer to you. The man behind him was saying something, but you ignored him. He sounded childish, like an announcer at a circus ring. He wasn’t worth your attention. Tremor took another step closer, and you took a step back.

Your heel had no earth beneath it when you tried to set it down. He’d successfully cornered you at the edge of the cliff, inching forward until he would be close enough to land a solid blow on your body.

“I’ve been practicing,” he drawled, the grin on his face inhuman. You grimaced, stepping forward and reeling your chain in. It had an adjustable range: you could still take him.

This time, when you aimed for his head, he caught the weighted end of your chain in an upturned fist. You could feel the echoes of the vibration he sent into your chain from your end of it, and you watched in horror as the link holding the weight to the end of your chain snapped cleanly off.

“I haven’t just been practicing dodging your attacks,” he was getting closer, within arm’s reach. You stepped to the side, hoping to slip past him and run to more solid ground. He side-stepped back in front of you. You threw the other end of your chain now, swinging wildly as you started to panic. He caught it easily. “I’ve also been practicing breaking small things with my vibrations.” The other weight snapped off, and he took another step forward.

The fist fight was short-lived, and his sudden ability to keep his mouth shut and his mind focused on the task at hand made him twice as dangerous as he’d been the last time you’d fought him. Three times as dangerous.

He landed a fist in your stomach within a minute of breaking your chain.

--

“Where’s Silver at?” Eraserhead asked as he dragged his students into the room.

“Went for a walk,” the blood hero responded shortly. “I told them not to go too far, but they should be alright.”

“Silver told me earlier that they don’t have phone signal this far away from town. You sure they’ll be alright on their own?”

“We came to the middle of nowhere for a reason, Eraserhead. Silver will be fine.”

--

There was no pain, because you’d shut down the pain receptors in your brain. You didn’t collapse straight away in agony; didn’t wince or pull away from the fist in your gut. The sensation in your midsection was indescribable, strange, and fundamentally… wrong .

There was no pain. But every other alarm system in your body and brain started ringing at full volume. Your world exploded in a rush of color and wrongness that made your skin crawl and your quirk take a mind of its own. You felt your silver reaching for your consciousness, pulling you in to force your attention toward the mass of jelly that used to be your internal organs. You started to answer the call, sinking into the silver world and trying not to panic at the damage such a strike must have done.

No.

There was something you were supposed to be doing. Someone you were supposed to be fighting. You blinked, pulling away from the silver and forcing yourself back into reality - back to a world of green grass and the smell of burning trees. Your eyes were aimed at a hand that had planted itself in your stomach, trembling with a power that could kill.

Power that would kill.

Power that had killed.

You followed the hand to the wrist, seeing every hair and counting every freckle. The wrist turned into a black and green sleeve, and you could count the threads that made it as you followed the green line up past the forearm. The elbow. The upper arm. The shoulder turned into the collar bone, turned into a neck reddened with physical exertion. There was scruff on a square jaw, under a nose that had been broken in the past. You found yourself looking into two black, empty holes that were supposed to be eyes. There was no sanity there. No humanity. Tremor’s eyes - Richard’s eyes - were vacuums of madness, and as you looked into them you remembered the children behind and below you. Children you were in charge of training, healing - protecting. Children Tremor would kill without hesitation.

Your body shouldn’t have been able to respond to your orders: the alarms screaming in your mind were trying to shut every muscle down. The call of your silver to withdraw, to turn your focus to the death his hand had dealt should have been too strong to resist. But you’d seen these children laughing, fighting, crying. They were children you loved, children you’d come to think of as your own. Children you were willing to die for.

And if you were willing to die for them, shouldn’t you be willing to kill , too?

The chains had slipped from numb fingers, but you didn’t need them any more. Shifting your stance, you slapped Tremor’s hand away from your stomach and pressed your palm into his forehead. He didn’t have time to react before you were reaching into his body with your quirk.

--

The first time you’d used your quirk had been on the playground in kindergarten. The playground bully had pushed a girl off of the jungle gym, crowning himself ‘king’ and laughing when she started crying.

So you’d shoved him. Unfortunately, you’d shoved a little bit too hard; he’d fallen to the side, trying to catch  himself on the bar of the jungle gym and snapping his wrist. Panicking, you reached for him.

Father could heal; he’d told you that your mother had a mutation quirk. So, either you were quirkless… or you could heal, too. So you did what Father said he did when he was healing people: you looked at the broken bone, not with your eyes but with your mind.

You’d stolen half of the boy’s life energy before you’d realized what you’d done. Your father had taken you out of school for two weeks afterward, teaching you how to reach for your own energy before you even started looking at other injuries.

The playground bully didn’t bully any more. The girl who had been shoved wouldn’t look at you; most of the children didn’t speak to you unless they were ordered to by the teacher.

They considered you a villain, and you couldn’t blame them. You’d nearly taken the boy’s life, all because he’d shoved a little girl. Even when your father transferred to another Navy posting, bringing you to a new school house full of students who didn’t know anything about you or your quirk, you’d always thought about the looks the others had given you. The same look you gave to villains you saw on television. The same horror that you saw in those children’s eyes was in your own eyes when you looked at violent thugs, at murderers.

You’d learned to fear your quirk that day.

--

The flame in Tremor’s belly was strong, fueled by a diet you’d written for him and an exercise routine he’d stuck to since childhood. Tremor wasn’t young, and he wasn’t particularly powerful, but he was in perfect health.

You took that health, the flame shrinking and forming a little ball of power that you could manipulate more easily. You pulled it up through his chest, passing by a heart that suddenly wasn’t beating at a regular pace; slipping past lungs that twitched and struggled. You pulled the flame up and into the hand you had placed on Tremor’s forehead, ignoring the inky blackness of death that was spreading from the base of his head and into his brain.

As the bundle of life energy you’d stolen from Tremor touched your own silver flame, it took on your color. Your core energy spread, growing and strengthening. As Tremor sank to the ground, dying as his knees hit the grass, you felt the overwhelming energy of two lives inside you. You turned toward the man in the top hat, who had stood behind Tremor during the fight and made stupid, childish comments. You could feel the fear behind his mask. The horror of a man who had just witnessed the evil a healing quirk could deal. You took a step forward-

And the control you’d had over your silver disappeared. It reached into your mind with burning tendrils, screaming emergency over and over again. You sank to your knees, trying desperately to stay awake and in control. To take out this other threat before he could harm your children.

It was a fight you lost.

--

“Which do you want first? The good news, or the bad news?” Mr. Compress hovered near Dabi, looking faintly nervous.

“I don’t care. Good news, I guess.” Dabi was watching the flames he’d set to the trees, waiting for the moment to strike.

“I have Silver.” Compress held up a little marble, presumably containing the American hero.

“And the bad news?”

“Silver might be dead. Also, Tremor is down and not getting up any time soon. I left him there, but I can go back for him.”

“Leave Tremor, Shigaraki mentioned that he didn’t like him, anyway. We’ll deal with the rest later. Go catch up with the others.”

Chapter Text

What kind of a hero couldn’t protect his own students? His own lover?

Toshinori stared at the table in front of him, only partially registering what the other teachers were saying.

He’d failed. Failed to stop Tremor’s girlfriend from cutting Silver’s neck open. Failed to put Tremor so deep in a prison that he couldn’t get out and hurt Silver again. Failed to protect Aizawa and Thirteen at USJ. Failed to train Midoriya to use his quirk without hurting himself. Failed to take the ‘League of Villains’ seriously. Failed to keep his students, his peers, the love of his life safe from the villains.

“A call! Is here! A call! Is here!” Toshinori’s phone made everyone in the room jump. He apologized, voice empty, and excused himself from the room.

What a failure. What a weakling.

“Sorry. What’s up… Tsukauchi?”

--

When your eyes finally fluttered open, you found yourself staring at a concrete floor. Safe to say, then, that you weren’t still in the woods with Eraserhead and Vlad King. The hard back of the chair you were sitting in told you that you hadn’t been moved to a hospital, either.

There were a couple of possibilities that came from that realization, one far more likely than the other:

Option 1: The police had found you, collapsed on top of a very dead Tremor, and arrested you for murder. Not likely, given your history with him. Besides, the police would have taken you to a hospital. Handcuffed you to the hospital bed, maybe, but they would have at least given you that much. No, the other option was far more likely:

Option 2: You’d been captured by the others Tremor had been working with. You glared at the grass-stained knee of your pants, trying to think through the haze. Your wrists were bound to the chair, your ankles tied in place with a material you didn’t recognize.

What were you supposed to do now? Why hadn’t they just killed you? The talkative one had mentioned taking one of the students. One of the others had said something to the effect of ‘we don’t care about the adults’. If they didn’t care about the teachers, then they should have left you to burn in the woods. Or simply killed you to keep you from interrupting them again.

Instead, you found yourself strapped to a chair in a room that smelled like a mixture of factory and hospital. Finally, taking a deep breath through your nose to steady yourself, you looked up and around.

“Comfortable?” You looked up - and up, and up - at the man who had spoken, towering over you in a black suit and a hideous mask. His voice was muffled by it, sounding faintly robotic.

His mask didn’t have eyes, only shadowy caves where the eyes should be.

“Not going to speak?” He asked, sounding faintly amused. You kept your mouth shut, wondering what was in the water in this country that made all the men so damned tall . “I have every reason to kill you right now, you know. Do you really want to take that risk?”

He couldn’t see you with his eyes, but you had to assume he could see you with his quirk, or that he had someone nearby telling him how you responded to him. Forcing a look of boredom on your face, you looked away from his mask and around the room.

“Now now, Silver. No need to act bored with me. I can sense your heartbeat, after all.” His voice made your skin crawl. You were afraid to look directly at him, or into one of the tanks nearby, with your quirk. Ignoring him still seemed to be the better option, so you kept quiet, glaring at anything but him.

“You’re either a fool, or considerably smarter than you look. I had assumed the first, given your relationship with All Might, but perhaps I’ve misread you?” He leaned down, and you wrinkled your nose against the smell of hospital that lingered around him. He even smelled like he was dying.

“Do you know why I haven’t killed you, little Silver?” His voice was barely above a whisper now, rasping out through his mask with a deadly promise in it. You shuddered, finally dropping the disinterested act and opening your mouth. Anything to get that overwhelming evil away from you.

“You want my quirk,” you answered.

“I want your quirk,” he confirmed, sounding pleased as he straightened back up. “I doubt you realize exactly what that means, however.”

“You’re All for One,” you snapped, trying to sound annoyed instead of scared out of your mind. “I know precisely what you mean when you say you want my quirk.”

“Oh? You know about me. Good…I don’t have to explain myself, then. In that case, your next question-”

“Why haven’t you already taken it?” You asked, twitching an arm as if to pull out of your restraints. You knew it was futile, but there was no harm in trying . “You want me to ask that, right?”

“Well, you are the smart one, aren’t you? Do you know why I haven’t taken your quirk, then?”

“You know better than to take a quirk you don’t understand?” You offered, glaring at one of the buttons on his suit. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at that mask again.

“You’re a treasure , Silver.” You’d described Midoriya in exactly the same way. You’d have to apologize to the boy for that. “I’m beginning to see why All Might likes you so much. You must do all of his thinking for him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It doesn’t take a genius to read scum like you.”

“Careful, little Silver. Killing you couldn’t even be considered an effort for me.”

“I can’t heal you - or tell you about my quirk - if I’m dead. Find a better threat.”

He leaned down again, mask so close to your face that you had no choice but to look into the shadowy caves of it’s eyes. Remembering that Toshinori had said he thought the man dead, you wondered briefly what kind of injury this creature had survived.

“I can make you hurt in ways you’d never imagined,” All for One whispered. You felt your heart beat even faster, blood draining from your face in true terror. You swallowed once, twice, before you could make yourself speak again.

“I’d like to see you try,” you didn’t sound nearly as brave as you’d hoped. But the attempt was there, at least. Maybe you could kill yourself before he dealt too much pain. That’d be alright, you supposed. His laughter made you want to puke, but thankfully he straightened back up again.

“I like you, Silver. There’s no need to go to such lengths, of course. I can always just take your quirk and take care of the rest on my own.”

“If you take my quirk without understanding it first, you’ll be dead before you can finish the process.” You were bluffing, hoping that your already increased heart rate would throw off any sense he had that told him when you were lying.

“Will I?” He sounded amused again, adjusting the mask slightly with pale hands. “I highly doubt that, little Silver. Instead, I’m going to give you a few options, and I’ll even leave you to think about those possibilities for a little while. I have something else to take care of, after all.”

“I don’t want anything you have to offer,” you growled, a trail of sweat dripping down your neck.

“Oh, I think you do . So here are your options, little Silver. One: you can become my personal doctor, and heal the injury dealt by your precious All Might.” You shook your head. Even if you could heal him - and you wouldn’t be able to, if the injury was years old like Toshinori’s was - you wouldn’t have done it. Anything but help this particular monster.

“Two: I’ll take your quirk and heal myself.” He sounded so sure about it that you actually felt yourself laughing. Maybe the laughter was hysterics setting in, but he paused to listen nonetheless.

“ Heal yourself ? You disgusting idiot. You couldn’t control my quirk if you tried. It took me years to get this good with it-”

“I’m considerably better at understanding quirks than you are, child ,” he snapped. For the first time, you heard true annoyance in his voice. The laughter died in your throat, and your mouth slammed shut. Fear made your heart pound in your ears, and you only realized your eyes were closed in a full-body flinch when he put his fingers on your chin and forced you to look at him once more. “I can control your quirk, and I will control your quirk. You can either face the pain of my taking it from you now, or you can heal me and hold off that inevitability . Your decision, little Silver. I have other business to take care of.” And with that, he walked away. You should have been relieved to see him go, but you couldn’t think through the crushing fear his voice had left in your head.

The sound of his loafers faded into the distance until all you could hear was the steady drip drip of a leaky faucet. You looked again at the restraints on  your wrists, still uncertain what to do about them. You needed to do something. All for One was going to come back, and you never wanted to hear that voice again.

--

“Quite the distinguished lineup here. Thanks for coming.” Naomasa smiled slightly, looking at the small army of professional heroes in front of him. All of them had an aura of anger, but none so strong as All Might's. “Let's get this strategy meeting started.”

--

“Let's get down to business,” it came from a speaker nearby, a muffled voice that made your skin crawl, “wannabe hero Bakugou.” You stiffened, disbelieving.

Had they captured a student? More than one? How many had been injured or killed in the woods, while you laid on the floor fixing yourself? If you'd taken Tremor out sooner, could you have prevented any of this?

“Won't you join me?” The voice continued. You shuddered, wishing you could reach Bakugou. The chances of these speakers being two-way were slim. Most likely, All for One had set the speakers up specifically to mess with your head. This could all be fake-

“You can shove your offer and go to hell!” Bakugou's voice was unmistakable. They'd caught him, and you were strapped to a chair in a random basement.

You struggled, bruising your wrists and ankles against their restraints. Your stomach, still sore and recovering from the damage Tremor had dealt, protested every twitch of your muscles. The worst had been healed, but your inner organs would never be the same. It wouldn't be smart to fight again, weak as you were… but you weren't about to leave Bakugou to fend for himself.

“One for All, you sick bastard!” You yelled, hoping he could hear you. Certain he could. This was all part of it, after all. Part of breaking you until you would do what he wanted. What a stupid man, if he truly believed you'd ever cooperate. “Let Bakugou go! He's just a kid, you fuck !”

“S-silver?” The voice was weak, exhausted. You stopped struggling against your bindings, looking around for the source. “Is… are you okay? Did he h-hurt you, too?”

You found the source of the voice; naked on the floor, her long turquoise hair a greasy mess, was Ragdoll. One of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, her yellow eyes haunted. She only looked half-conscious, her eyes glazed over as if she couldn't quite focus.

“Ragdoll,” you said quietly. “Are you okay? He - how did he hurt you?”

“I can't sense anyone. M-my quirk, I th-think…” She burst into tears, shaking all over.

“Ragdoll, it's okay. It'll.. It'll be okay.” Could she tell you were lying? “My name is (F/N), what's yours? We didn't really talk, before.”

“Tomoko,” she mumbled, sounding ever so slightly calmer.

“Tomoko,” you said, forcing yourself to sound calm. “I need your help. We need to get out of here, okay? But I'm tied up. Can you stand?”

“I… I don't know,” she whispered. Her hands moved, tucking under her body as she tried to push herself up. The struggle was slow, and painful to watch. Bakugou and whoever was talking to him faded to the background as you focused all of your attention on Ragdoll. Finally, she pulled herself to her knees, panting.

“Okay,” you said, soothing. “It's okay if you can't stand yet. Tomoko, please try to get to me. You can crawl - I won't tell anyone.” She was already crawling, her face screwed up in concentration. Apparently, knowing she was needed was all the motivation she needed. Her hand latched onto yours, and you risked activating your quirk to look her over.

There were no real injuries; some faded bruises, a few scrapes. Something in her core energy looked wrong, but you couldn't place it. Her quirk, you had to assume - taken by All for One.

Just as Ragdoll pulled the last restraint off of you and you tugged your overcoat off to wrap it around her bare shoulders, the speakers overhead burst with a voice that made you want to cheer.

“There's no escape for you, League of Villains. Why, you ask?” Your heart soared - Toshi would save Bakugou, and everything would be okay again. “ For we are here !”

Chapter Text

Silver wasn’t there. Bakugou was there - unharmed, from the looks of it. The sight of the boy took a weight off of Toshinori’s shoulders, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Silver. If they weren’t with Shigaraki, then where would they be? The only member of the League that wasn’t in the room was the secret member, the one he’d suspected was pulling the strings from the beginning.

What was All for One doing to SIlver?

“Where is he? Shigaraki!” Toshinori yelled, the All Might smile disappearing. Where was One for All? Where was Silver??

“I HATE YOU!!” The white-haired boy yelled, a look of absolute madness in his eyes. Behind him, there was an explosion - black muck, spraying everywhere. There were creatures crawling out of the muck, and Toshinori realized his group of heroes had just become outnumbered by Nomu. The room exploded in the chaos of Nomu’s shrieks and confused heroes’ yelling.

“Don’t you dare let them go, Kamui woods!” All Might yelled, certain he could hold off the Nomu long enough for the younger hero to take the villains away. Next to him, he heard Bakugou make a strange noise.

Turning to look, horror washed over Toshinori. The boy was coughing up the same black liquid - it was engulfing him - the villains were coughing it up too.

“Bakugou, my boy! No!” He was completely wrapped in it, his body disappearing in the muck.

“What the hell is this stinky stuff??” The boy asked. Toshi wrapped his arms around his body - and then his body wasn’t there. The boy was gone - the villains, too. Someone had teleported them away.

“No!”

--

“I don’t get it!” Inara snapped suddenly, making Nemuri jump.

“Inara, hun, calm down-” she started, only to be interrupted again.

“Calm down? How did I not see it? What happened to my quirk, anyway?” Inara fell into her chair, head in her hands.

“There’s nothing you could have done-” Nem tried again, to be interrupted again.

“Nothing! Nothing ? Nem, I’m the reason we came to Japan in the first place! Tremor found (F/N) because we moved out of the country, or that kid Mike wouldn’t have found us. But did I see Tremor coming? No! None of this would have happened if I’d just kept my stupid mouth shut! ”

“You sent All Might to fight Tremor both times-”

“But only after (F/N) got hurt! I never sent him fast enough - and he’s too fast to blame it on him! I didn’t see Tremor coming. Is he immune to my quirk? I didn’t see him escaping that prison, either! I didn’t see him coming for (F/N) in the woods!”

“We don’t even know if Tremor is the reason Silver got captured, Ina. Please, calm down.” Nemuri sat down next to her girlfriend, wrapping a soothing arm around her shoulders. Inara was shaking, near tears. Nemuri hated seeing her like this.

“He’s comatose ! The doctors at the hospital can’t find anything physically wrong with him, except that he won’t wake up. I’ve seen that once before - when (F/N)’s father was arrested. He healed that guy, but (F/N) told me all the symptoms. Even told me how he did it, because the Silver quirk is the only quirk we know of that can do it!”

“That doesn’t mean Tremor is the reason Silver was captured!” Nemuri let Inara’s shoulders go as the other woman stood up abruptly.

“Of course it does! (F/N) swore to never use the silver quirk like that! Promised me and their father, hell - they promised the school principal ! Tremor is the only one who could have drawn such an extreme response from (F/N). And even then, they wouldn’t have gone that far unless it meant life or death. They could be dying, Nem! Could be dead !”

“Ina, love, please, listen! We have it under control - we’re going to get Silver and that boy Bakugou back! All Might’s on it right now.” Nemuri reached out, grabbing Inara’s hand to pull her back into her seat.

“I didn’t see that, either! I didn’t-” Inara stopped, mid-sentence. A look of dawning realization came over her face.

“Ina?” Nemuri could have sworn she saw a tiny glimmer of gold in Inara’s eyes.

“All Might is on it…” she muttered, tapping her chin with a long finger.

“...Love?”

“I did see it.” Inara whispered.

“You saw- you did see what?” Nemuri asked, confused by the sudden change in demeanor. Her love was usually so easy to read and predict - these sudden mood swings were making Nem worry about Inara more than she was worrying about Silver.

“Tremor. All Might. U.A. Tremor again.” She was pacing, a braid between her teeth as she muttered. “USJ. (F/N) and Toshinori. That idiot Gray Savior.”

“Ina, you’re not making any sense.” Nemuri protested.

“I saw it , Nem. I saw IIda. I knew Tremor would escape. I saw all of it. Knew it was all coming.”

“What are you saying?”

“I saw it all , and at the same time... I didn’t . Nem, when we came to Japan, it was because I had a vision. The biggest one I’ve ever had - earthshattering. I knew it would change lives all over the world, but all I knew about it was that (F/N) had to be there. This is it . This is the Event.”

“ What is?”

“It all led up to this, don’t you see? It started when I dragged (F/N) to Japan. Then Tremor following us here. It got them back to using those chains. (F/N) starting as a teacher at U.A., giving them a reason to put the Silver uniform back on. Even USJ was part of it. They had to get to know each other better, had to start somewhere .”

“ They who? Silver and All Might?”

“After USJ, that was the first time Toshinori and (F/N) spent the night together. Then there was that  dumb ass  Gray Savior and his trigger, to remind (F/N) what their quirk could really do . That boy Iida, getting hurt - to dig (F/N) deeper into the medical world. They were withdrawing, you know. Liked teaching at U.A. so much that they weren’t paying attention to their medical studies any more.”

“Ina, you’re not making any sense.” Nemuri stood, putting her hands on Inara’s shoulders, trying to draw some sense out of her.

“All Might is going to find Silver, Nem. I know that now.” There was definitely a gold glitter in the back of Inara’s eyes.

“Of course he is - I told you, everything is going to be okay.”

“He has to find Silver. Because Silver has to heal him. Has to save him. That’s what my vision all those months ago was, Nem. It was Silver, half-dead from Tremor, saving All Might, half-dead from… I don’t know who, really. The League of Villains, I guess. That’s why I don’t have anyone to call right now - because the person I would be calling - Silver - already knows .”

“ Half-dead ? Are you sure? He’s All Might, Love, he’s practically untouchable-”

“My quirk is never wrong, Nem. Never . Silver needs All Might. And Toshinori needs (F/N).”

--

You’d been counting on a rescue squad to arrive, but the sudden destruction of the building was rather unexpected. The giant foot of Mt. Lady crashed down from above a few yards away from where you and Ragdoll were huddled together, shocking Ragdoll enough to make her collapse. You were still too weak to support her, so all you could do was slow her fall to the floor. When you looked up, you saw the small army of heroes that had arrived to help you. All Might wasn’t one of them.

“You all need to get out of here,” you said, struggling to make yourself heard over the noise as they continued their destruction of the factory. The only one near enough to hear you was Tiger, but his attention was focused entirely on his teammate Ragdoll.

“Nomu storage hangar…” you could barely hear Best Jeanist, his voice muffled by a literal jean mask. “...Captured and secured.”

“No,” you growled, climbing weakly to your feet. Tiger had taken Ragdoll from you, staring down at her with something like horror on his face. “It isn’t either of those, Jeanist.” He still didn’t hear you, talking now to Mt. Lady. She’d said the fight was too easy. She was right.

“Ragdoll! Come on! Talk to me!” Tiger snapped, holding her close. Your jacket had slipped from one of her shoulders, so you reached over and pulled it back on.

“She’s in shock,” you said quietly. “She’ll need medical attention, but she isn’t in any immediate danger.”

“But look at her!” He finally acknowledged you. You sighed, running your fingers through your hair.

“We need to get out of here-”

“She’s… What did they do to you, Ragdoll?!” Tiger asked, distraught. You resisted the urge to smack the big man, exhausted and out of patience. Why wasn’t anyone listening?

“Sorry, Tiger, but I’ve had my eye on her quirk for quite a while…” His voice made you jump. You grabbed Tiger by the front of his dress, trying to pull him away. “It was just too good… I had to have it.”

“Please, we need to get out of here-” you tried again, but Gang Orca stepped between you and the shadows One for All’s voice were coming from.

“Stop. Not another step.” The hero turned to you, looking at you with his strange eyes. “Is he with the League?”

“Sort of. Listen, he’s extremely dangerous - we can’t take him-”

“Someone, get a light over here…” Tiger said, turning toward the police officers that were nearby.

“Ever since I was reduced to this… I haven’t been able to stock up as many as before…” You grabbed Orca by his shirt front, weakly tugging at both of the men to get them to leave. Best Jeanest looked at you, concern in the eye you could see over his jean mask. He shifted slightly, and you knew he was reaching for his quirk.

“You can’t take him-” you started, but he’d already responded.

“Jeanist! What if he’s just a civilian…?” Mt. Lady asked, looking shocked. Jeanist must have used his quirk on All for One. You shook your head, still tugging at the other men.

“Silver doesn’t seem to think he’s just a civilian. Use your head; a moment’s hesitation could allow the enemy to turn the tables on us. We mustn’t allow a villain to pull any tricks.”

You opened your mouth to say something else, and the world went dark.

Chapter Text

“You’re in the way.” You sat up, rubble sliding off of you in a clatter. The voice of All for One sounded distant and muffled, as if someone had put cotton in your ears.

“This is the same as six years ago!” Gran Torino’s voice was barely audible over the buzzing in your head. Groaning, you looked around for the source. “Toshinori, calm down! You were so caught up in his challenge that you let him escape! And then he made a hole in your stomach! Tha’ts what’s hopeless about you! Don’t exchange words with him!”

“Yes, sir…” There they were, landing nearby as Gran Torino continued to berate your All Might.

“His fighting style and Quirk seem completely different from last time! You won’t be able to get a good hit in head on! You’ll have to be tricky. Can you still move? Go beyond your limit! It’s do-or-die time!” You wanted to fuss at Torino for encouraging All Might to go past his limit, but your voice didn’t seem to be working.

“Yes, sir!” All Might seemed to be gaining strength from Gran Torino’s harsh words.

“I’m a little conflicted…”  All for One’s voice was a cocky drawl, making your already hurting stomach churn. “The trust in heroes that Tomura steadily chipped away at… I wonder if it’s okay for me to land the decisive blow… But you know, All Might, as much as you hate me, I hate you in the same way. I killed your master, but you took away the things I built up too, right? That’s why I want you to die the ugliest and most gruesome death possible!”

“A big one’s coming!” Gran Torino stood next to All Might, tiny in comparison. “Dodge it and counterattack!”

“Is it enough to just dodge?” All for One asked, amusement in his voice. You realized with dawning horror that you were directly in the line of fire. If Toshi dodged, you would be obliterated.

So be it.

“Take him out, Toshi,” you said as loudly as you could. You knew he would ignore you, but it needed to be said “The destruction of that thing is more important than I am.”

“How rude, Silver. And I thought we were going to get along. All Might… I will steal away the things you protected until now.”

All for One’s arm had swelled up, the cloth of his jacket struggling to keep its integrity. You heard Gran Torino cry out, trying to get to Toshinori - but it was too late, the trigger had already been pulled. Another explosion of noise and wind, and Gran Torino was blasted away. You, still half-hidden under the rubble, remained untouched. Looking up. You found Toshinori in front of you.

“First, your self-respect you kept even with your injury. Show the world your pathetic form, ‘Symbol of Peace.’ Hollow cheeks and sunken eyes!” All for One taunted Toshinori, pointing out his weakened state. You kicked a piece of rubble off of your leg, ignoring the gash. Toshinori’s muscle form was gone - he was at his limit. “What a pathetic ‘top hero!’ Don’t be embarrassed! That’s your true form - the real you - isn’t it? I see…”

“You sorry sack of shit,” you somehow managed to raise your voice, channeling your anger to make yourself louder. “You don’t know a hero when you see one, do you?” Toshi’s back straightened ever so slightly.

“Even if my body rots and grows weak…” Toshi clenched his fist in front of him, straightening some more. You pulled yourself from the rubble, leaning weakly against it. “Even if you try to expose that form… My heart will remain that of the Symbol of Peace! It is not something that you can steal even a single piece of!”

“Wonderful. I give up. I’d forgotten what a stubborn and naughty child you were.” You couldn’t see All for One’s face - or maybe he didn’t have a face - but you could hear the smirk in his voice. “Then perhaps this will not hinder your heart at all either: you know, Shigaraki Tomura is Nana Shimura’s grandson!”

Toshinori froze. The strength that had returned to his posture faded, his arm falling to his side. Horror, you realized. Toshi felt responsible for every ounce of harm that had been dealt to Tomura. You loved the size of his heart, but sometimes it really got in the way. Grimacing, you took a step forward. All for One kept up his monologue.

“I kept thinking about what you would hate the most. I created chances for you and Tomura to meet. You defeated him, right? You smiled so proudly when you won, not knowing a thing.”

“Lies…” You heard the disbelief, the pain in Toshinori’s voice. You were almost close enough to give him a boost, but your leg betrayed you, giving out under you. Scowling, you started to crawl.

“It’s the truth. You realize it, don’t you? That it’s something I would do. Oh, that’s strange, All Might. Where’s your smile?”

“You… bastard…”

“Stop letting him talk, Toshi,” you growled. He didn’t seem to hear you.

“This really is fun! Maybe I was able to steal a piece, huh?” All for One was going to die. You were going to kill him in whatever gruesome way you could manage.

“What have I done…?!”

“You’ve been a pillar, Toshi. You’ve lived and fought and nearly died for the people of this world. Toshinori Yagi, you are a hero. Start acting like one, and save me!” You were finally in range, slipping your fingers through his. A burst of energy, and he looked down at you with glittering blue eyes. The torment that had been there faded, and his shoulders straightened once more.

“Of course, Love. Yeah, there’s a lot… A hero has a lot to protect, All for One. That’s why I won’t lose!” You let him go, retreating further back. You hadn’t given him enough to count for anything, but at least it was something. You were starting to get dizzy - too much of your quirk had been used, and you were still injured.

“All your might.. That was the last of it, wasn’t it, All Might? A wounded hero is the most frightening. I see the image of your face as you come after me with your guts strewn around in my dreams sometimes even now.” The world faded, his voice getting quieter. You hoped Toshi didn’t turn to look at you over his shoulder; he might lose his resolve if he saw you passed out.

An explosion of fire made you jump, pulling you back into the waking world. Endeavor had arrived, on fire and as furious as ever.

“What, bastard?” With any other hero, you might have thought he was calling All for One a bastard. You knew Endeavor better than that, though. “What is that form of yours, All Might?!”

“What an asshole,” you grumbled, trying to sit up once more.

“Looks like we made it in time somehow…” He looked like a ninja with a ridiculous haircut - Edgeshot, you remembered vaguely.

“Oh? Even though they were all mid-rangers.. I didn’t think you’d be able to suppress them so soon. As expected from the man who climbed his way to the number two spot.” Only Endeavor would get compliments from a villain like All for One.

“All Might… what is with that pitiful back?” Endeavor sounded truly confused. You could almost count his shitty words as encouragement. It would have worked with Bakugou, at least. You rolled your eyes.

“If you just came to cheer him on, then be quiet and watch like a good audience!” All for One ordered, turning to attack the newcomers.

“Quiet, you destroyer! We have come to help! That is our job!” You couldn’t see Edgeshot, but you could hear him.

Kamui Woods, who you’d healed once or twice after skirmishes near your home, appeared above you. His arm reached out like a tree branch, strangely flexible as it wrapped around Mt. Lady’s waist.

“You did your best, Mt. Lady,” Woods said to the other hero as he lifted her.

“Kamui Woods…” Toshinori looked between the group of heroes, confusion and awe on his face.

“All Might,” Tiger was approaching from a different direction, his arm reaching out for you. You took it, bracing yourself as you stood. Ragdoll was still wrapped up in her partner’s arm, your jacket in place. “This is all we can do… If we can help ease your burden even a little…!”

“Tiger!” Toshi didn’t seem able to form whole sentences at the moment. You straightened, walking up to him and tugging gently on one of his bangs.

“I trust you’ll take care of that scumbag, Love.” You couldn’t give him any more strength, or you would die - and he’d never forgive himself for that. But maybe you could offer a few words of encouragement. “Everyone is praying for your victory. Remember: no matter what you look like, you are still everyone’s favorite oversized hero.” Tiger’s arm wrapped around your waist as you stepped away from Toshinori, smiling. All for One wouldn’t tolerate this much longer, you knew.

“How annoying,” the villain said, as if he’d heard your thoughts. He raised a hand, flicking at the ground. A shockwave sent everyone but Toshinori flying. You held eye contact for as long as you could, willing him to know that you would be alright.

You were too far away to hear the rest of the fight. Tiger kept you close, seemingly worried that you would rush in and get in the way again. You knew better, but you had to give him credit for trying.

“United States of… SMASH !”

Were you supposed to cheer for that, or laugh?

Chapter Text

“Doctor (L/N), I truly feel that you should at least spend the night in observation.” You paused, patiently waiting for the doctor to finish his protest before replying.

“Thank you for the recommendation, Doctor, but there’s very little you can do at this point.” Pulling your other leg out from beneath the hospital bed’s covers, you stretched an arm across your chest. “I’ll schedule follow-up appointments and find a nutritionist. This hospital is already overflowing with patients. There’s no reason for me to take a bed from someone who needs it more.”

“...Very well,” he muttered, though  he still looked anxious. As you stood, he gestured toward a large paper bag in the corner of the room. “Your friend, Doctor Currier, stopped by while you were sleeping. She left a change of clothes for you.”

“Thank you,” you said, walking stiffly over to the bag. Your left foot was asleep. “Do you know where she is now?”

“I believe she said she was going to speak with some of the victims. She mentioned her previous experience with victims of natural disasters.”

“Yes,” you said, amused, “that sounds like Inara. She’s probably too busy comforting people to remember to give them her business card, too.”

As you were pulling your slacks on, a little red box fell out of your pocket. You almost laughed at the coincidence, wondering if Inara realized what she was doing when she’d grabbed this particular pair of slacks from your closet. Stuffing the box back into your pocket, you made your way out of the hospital room.

“Doc!” A familiar voice called out behind you. Turning, you found Tenseii Iida, rolling through the hospital hall in his wheelchair. Following from a respectable distance was his mother, who exchanged friendly nods with you. “Where are you going?”

“I need to go talk to someone,” you said, offering him a small smile. “What are you doing here? Is Tenya in the hospital?”

“No! No, I saw you on TV during the attack and came to see if you were alright. Tenya said you were one of the people who went missing after the attack in the woods, so he was worried.” Tenseii rolled next to you, talking cheerfully. Briefly, you regretted that you’d never known this hero before his fight with Stain.

“Well, I’m glad he hasn’t been admitted to the hospital, at least. Is he hurt at all?”

“No, he’s alright. Are you hurt?” Tenseii stopped rolling the wheels, though he continued to roll forward as he looked up at you. The concern in his eyes was touching, and you found yourself smiling again.

“Yes,” you admitted, choosing not to sugar coat anything, “but I’ll recover. How are you feeling?”

“As well as can be expected,” there was a tiny bitterness in his voice, and you glanced behind you to see if his mother had noticed. Tenseii was very good at staying positive around his family, but you’d told him several times not to keep the act up when talking to you. Mrs. Iida was too far away to hear her son. “Tenya is with my father downstairs. Can you believe he went and tried to save his classmate?”

“You must be proud.”

“And worried!” Tenseii realized he’d slowed nearly to a stop and started moving again, grunting slightly as he started the wheelchair moving again. “He shouldn’t be running into a fight like that, still a student as he is.”

“I agree.” You’d stopped with Tenseii, but you started moving again as soon as he did. “Be sure to tell him off for me.”

“I will. He did the right thing, though.” Tenseii’s eyes lit up with admiration, and you smiled again. This man could light up a room, injured or otherwise. “Saving someone who needed his help. That’s the sort of thing all heroes should aspire to.”

“I agree,” you muttered, slowing to a stop in front of the hospital elevators. “Tenseii, I really appreciate you coming to visit, but I need to get going. I want to check in on All Might, and I’m sure the police have limited the number of people that are allowed to visit him right now.”

“Of course, I understand!” Tenseii said cheerfully, glancing back at his mother. She was catching up now, shadows under her eyes. She must have spent the night worrying about both of her sons. After a moment, Tenseii spoke again, a serious look on his face. “Hey, Silver… Tell All Might I was rooting for him, all right? He looked pretty… rough , at the end of that fight.”

“He’ll be grateful for your support, I’m sure,” you chose not to comment on how ‘rough’ Toshi’ had looked. The extent of his emaciation and current injuries were for him to discuss, not you. The elevator dinged, and you stepped to the side to let someone else out. “Take care of yourself, Tenseii. I’ll see you in a few days for our next session.”

“See ya then,” he said, cheerful once more. Mrs. Iida placed her hands on the handles of his wheelchair, aiming him at the open elevator. Tenseii spoke over his shoulder as she wheeled him in. “And tell Doctor Currier I said hi! She was busy with someone in the waiting room, so I couldn’t get her attention.”

“I’ll pass it on,” you promised, nodding once more to Mrs. Iida.

--

“I need to find him.” You slid the door closed as Toshinori spoke, a look of determination on his face. Sitting next to his bed were Gran Torino and Detective Naomasa. “I need to find Shigaraki and..”

“No,” Gran Torino said firmly. You sank into the chair on Toshi’s opposite side, content to be ignored for the moment. “What would you do once you found him? You don’t see the bastard as a villain anymore, not really. You’d waver. His lineage doesn’t matter. The man’s a criminal.”

“I’m with Gran Torino,” you murmured, putting an elbow on the bed next to Toshi and resting your chin on your palm. He turned to look at you, looking faintly distraught. You offered your most encouraging smile. “It’s time you focused on healing, Toshi.”

“From here on out, the ones who’ll be searching for Shigaraki will be me and Tsukauchi here,” Gran Torino said, nodding to you. You winked at the little old man, enjoying the brief look of confusion it caused. “So you go do the things you’ve still gotta do over at U.A. After all, the ‘Symbol of Peace’ may be no more… But All Might’s still around.”

“All Might and Toshinori,” you murmured, eyes half-lidded. You’d taken a few hours to sleep in the hospital bed, but you were still exhausted. Detective Naomasa and Gran Torino both stood, turning toward the door. You stood, planting a soft kiss on Toshi’s cheek before following them out.

“Are you alright, Silver?” Detective Naomasa asked, looking you over with concern. “Sansa told me you were sleeping in one of the hospital beds.”

“Yes, I needed some sleep after all of… that.” You cleared your throat, glancing around. The police had cleared this particular hall, keeping the media from bothering All Might in the hospital. “I’ll be alright, Detective. Thank you for your concern.”

“You better not run off and get yourself killed, kid,” Gran Torino ordered. “I was wary of you at first, but you’re doing more for Toshinori than I think you realize.”

“He’s doing more for me than he realizes, too.” You scratched the side of your nose, staring off into the distance for a moment. That was probably the most approval you would ever get from this particular hero, who seemed to almost stand in as Toshinori’s father. Pausing, you rummaged in your pocket and showed the little man your small red box. “Don’t worry, Gran Torino. I’m sticking around.”

“Is this…?”

“Yes,” you said, blushing slightly. “You two are the most important people in his life. I wanted to make sure… Are you… Is this…?”

“Hrmph,” Gran Torino grunted, snapping the little box closed again and handing it back. “Just get it over with, kid.”

“That’s fantastic!” Detective Naomasa said, looking genuinely happy for you. “I wish you the best!”

“Your aproval means more than you know,” you told them both, blushing some more. “I think Toshi’ and I are both going to have to retire now, though.”

“Toshinori retiring, I can understand,” Naomasa said, looking confused. “But why you? You look as healthy as ever.”

“I know it doesn’t look it right now, but I took more damage from Tremor than I’ve been letting on.” You patted your stomach, grimacing slightly.

“Didn’t take as much damage as you dealt, though,” Gran Torino grunted, almost looking amused. “He’s still in a coma, isn’t he?”

“And not likely to wake any time soon,” you admitted, looking away again. You didn’t like what you’d done to him, but he’d earned it. “Take care of yourselves, guys. I need to go ask a very important question.”

“Take care, Silver,” Torino said. “And remind me not to piss you off any time soon.” You grinned.

“Heh. Don’t worry - it takes a lot to make me do to people what I did to Dick.”

“Dick?” Naomasa asked, looking confused. “I thought his name was Richard.”

“It’s a nickname,” you explained, still grinning. “My favorite thing to call him, after all. Dick Smalls.”

“...I don’t get it.” Naomasa muttered, looking between you and a suddenly laughing Gran Torino.

“That’s alright,” you said cheerfully, patting the confused officer on the shoulder. “I do, and that’s what counts.”

“...Right. Until next time, Silver.”

“Until next time, Detective.” You watched the two walk away, still smiling.

After another minute or so of hesitation, you took a deep breath and walked back into the hospital room. Toshinori sat on the hospital bed, staring at his bandaged hands. You slid the door closed, looking him over from head to toe. His blonde hair was a frizzy mess; his long, thin body was wrapped in more bandages than it was clothing, and his eyes were as deeply set in his too-thin face as ever. But you could see the glitter of incredibly blue eyes in the shadow, and there was a determined set in his shoulders that you knew would never go away. You folded the little

“Toshi, I have a very serious question to ask you-” you started, but he interrupted you, looking up suddenly. For some reason, he was blushing slightly.

“I also have a very serious question to ask!” He said firmly, reaching with a bandaged left hand toward a bag on the end table next to his hospital bed. As he pulled a small velvet box out of the bag, you found yourself laughing.

“...You can’t be serious,” you said, giggling. He slid off of the bed, sinking to one knee in front of you. You were grinning like an idiot, now.

“(F/N) (L/N)...” he started, but this time you interrupted him.

“Toshi’, get back in bed,” you ordered, still giggling. “You’re supposed to be recovering.”

“No!” He insisted, to your great amusement. “I want to do this the right way!”

“You’re a sap,” you said, putting a hand on each of his cheeks and turning his face up to yours. “A silly, loud, ridiculous… sap.”

“(F/N)!” He chided, blushing hard enough that you could feel the heat in your palms. “This is a serious moment!”

“I know!” You said, caught somewhere between exasperation and outright laughter. “I know it is! I can’t believe we did this!”

“We…?” He asked, confused. You pulled your little red box out of a pocket and sank down onto one knee in front of your love.

“Toshinori Yagi…” you started, watching the dawning realization on his face. He couldn’t possibly blush any more, and neither could you. Behind you, the door to the room opened, and someone gasped.

“Wait, my camera isn’t ready!” Inara said loudly, and you could hear her rummaging through her pockets.

“Shit!” Toshinori said, a look of embarrassed horror on his face. You laughed outright now, tugging lightly on one of his bangs.

“Hurry up and say yes before she can get her camera out!” You ordered.

“Yes!” He said instantly, locking those blue eyes onto yours. “Do you…?”

“Yes, Toshinori. Absolutely.” You scooted forward, planting a small kiss on his lips. “I love you, you know that?”

“Damn, I didn’t get any of it on camera!” Inara sounded genuinely disappointed behind you. You grinned, burying your head in Toshinori’s neck.

“Good!” The two of you said in unison.

--

You sat on the edge of the beach’s sign, pretending to be absorbed in your phone’s screen as you coughed lightly into one closed fist. You wanted to talk to Bakugo, but you needed to make sure Toshinori was okay, first. You looked over the top of your phone toward where he stood in the sand. He was staring out at the ocean, shoulders slumped and clearly deep in thought. You wanted to approach him, to wrap as much of him as you could reach up in your arms and tell him that everything would be okay. But you knew better.

He needed this - time alone, to look at the ocean and think. And, more importantly, he needed time with Midoriya. Toshinori hadn’t said anything to you about the boy, other than to tell you he needed to speak with him, but you knew there was something up. Toshi’s eyes had been haunted, the hope you were so used to hearing in his voice faded. Without asking, you knew that the only reason he’d survived the fight with One for All was because Toshi felt he had unfinished business. And that unfinished business was with his successor - the next All Might, a boy who called himself Deku.

Footsteps sounded behind you, and you looked back down at your phone’s screen, waiting for the boy to walk past.

“Silver,” he said politely, slowing to a stop in front of you. You looked up over the edge of the phone’s screen again, finding Midoriya’s face where Toshinori’s profile had been.

“Deku,” you answered quietly. He blushed slightly, looking down at the bandages around his arms.

“I’m…I’m glad you’re okay,” he muttered. “You are okay, aren’t you?”

“No, Deku,” you said, forcing a small smile on your face. You reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not okay. But I will be. Now go and talk to All Might, please. He tells me he has something to say to you.” You pulled your hand away from the boy’s shoulder, putting your fist against your mouth as you coughed again. His eyes were wide, eyebrows screwed up in a look of concern. There was a hint of recognition in his face, and you knew he was comparing your cough to Toshinori’s. You offered him another little smile, keeping your lips closed so he wouldn’t see the blood in your teeth.

“Go on, Kid,” you ordered softly.

“Y-yes, Teacher,” he stuttered, turning back toward Toshinori. You coughed again as he started to run toward your man, and when you finally stopped, you looked at your blood-speckled hand.

Coughing like Toshinori, indeed . There wasn’t an ounce of regret in you as you remembered your injuries and why you’d gotten them. Anything for your students. And everything for the beam of sunlight that was Toshinoriy Yagi’s presence in your life. You sighed, setting your phone down in your lap and looking toward the man who had changed your life in so many wonderful ways.

He sat in the sand, knees up and on either side of Midoriya, who was almost certainly crying into his shoulder. Toshinori was too far away for you to see his face, but you thought he might be crying, too. The setting sun put the man and his boy in contrast, and you let out a small sigh as you saw them. It was the most beautiful thing you’d seen since you arrived in Japan, those two comforting each other.

After a few minutes of the boys comforting one another, they finally stood and turned back toward you. Toshinori walked with an arm around Midoriya’s shoulders, and you slid off of the sign as they approached. Scratching the side of your nose, you caught a glint of silver and glanced down at the ring on your finger, smiling slightly. Midoriya seemed to notice the glint as you did; his eyes widened in shock.

The boy turned toward Toshinori’s hand, hanging loosely over his shoulder, and his eyes got even wider as he saw the silver band you’d placed there. Midoriya stopped moving, his face bright red and his eyes unbelievably wide. You almost laughed as Toshinori stopped, looking at the boy in confusion.

“Is- is that…?!” Midoriya stuttered.