Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku can’t believe it.

Out of everyone in the hero course only he and Shinsou have been invited to shadow Eraserhead on his nightly patrols.

Aizawa-sensei said it was only because he was given no choice in the matter and that at least the two of them were stealthy and knew when to be quiet and would never question direct orders, while also knowing not to wait around to be told what to do in the heat of the moment.
He’d then turned away to grumble something about babysitting and a bet and Present Mic.

But still. Izuku is on cloud nine.

“Isn’t this exciting Shinsou?” He beams at his newest classmate and bounces excitedly on his toes.

Purple eyes narrow as the other boy scoffs. “Sure. Exciting.” he rolls his eyes pointedly. “It’s only my first ever patrol and with the only teacher to ever see my potential, no pressure right? Fun!”

Izuku pauses at the sarcastic assault. Did he say something wrong?

“Deku.” Eraserhead calls over his shoulder. “Don’t use Full Cowl tonight. It’s too bright, draws too much attention… Stick to Blackwhip, alright?

“Looks like a flashy quirk isn’t always a good thing.” Shinsou snarks at him.

Izuku nods his head. “Yup! I hadn’t even thought of the implications the green sparks could have on an underground patrol. Sensei really thinks of everything huh Shinsou?”

The purple haired boy blinks at him as if confused at his reaction. “...yeah… sure...”

“We’re here.” Eraserhead says, one hand raised high to stop them in their tracks.

Izuku eyes the dark building and shifts his stance so he’s ready.

“Got a tip from one of my informants that this spot’s prime real estate for trigger deals. We’ll be scoping it out while it's empty and planting some bugs for when the action goes down in the next week or so. Stick close and don’t touch anything unless I tell you to.”

Izuku and Shinsou nod before pulling their mouth pieces on. Eraserhead nods back and motions to an open window on the second floor. He laces his fingers together and crouches so Shinsou- Persuasion when in the field- can step on it. They give each other a silent look and then Persuasion is flying high, catching the windowsill with one hand so he can slowly peek in to check that the coast is clear before pulling himself up the rest of the way.

Izuku internally gushes at how in sync they were. They must have practiced when Aizawa-sensei was getting him ready for the hero course. Wow so cool-
Focus Izuku!

Persuasion springs through the opening cleanly, feet not even making a sound as they hit the floor. He does something with one end of his capture scarf and then he’s flinging the other end at Izuku, snagging him around the waist and yanking him in harshly.

Izuku presses his lips together.
He wants to ask Shinsou what his problem is, why he didn’t bother warning him first, why he yanked so hard.
But this is a stealth mission and silence is key.
Maybe he’s just nervous?

He settles for giving the boy a questioning look as Eraserhead uses one end of his own scarf to hook into Persuasion’s and swing himself up.

Persuasion ignores it.

Eraserhead drops a bag of what look like small black dots into Izuku’s hand and motions at the room around them, specifically the corners and phones.

Izuku inclines his head to show he understands.

Their teacher gives another bag to Persuasion while pointing one finger upwards and then points at himself while jabbing a finger down. The two then head for the stairs together while Izuku gets to work.

The small black dots are actually a fascinating piece of technology and he’s kind of disappointed that he can’t study them more closely. As it stands, his job is remarkably easy. Float to the ceiling and then use blackwhip to pull himself around till all the corners have the small audio and visual recording device stuck to them.

As he places the last one he marvels at how it self sticks and then adjusts to match the color of the wall behind it. So cool-
Focus!

He drops back to the ground and removes the mouthpiece of the telephone receiver, slips a device inside and then replaces the intact phone back in the cradle.
Within minutes he’s done and realises they hadn’t covered what he should do now.

Wait here? But this was the only room they’d scouted, what if the other rooms are larger and take more time? He should go help!

He silently pads towards the stairs and then pauses. Persuasion is more likely to need help than a seasoned pro but… Shinsou’s been… not exactly mean but definitely not nice...
Is he stressed about making a good impression on his first ever internship type patrol?
That makes sense. This is kind of Izuku’s first patrol too, since the one in Hosu went sideways while he and Gran were still on the train. But it’s not like he can say that…

Still, going up to help Persuasion would probably undermine his capabilities and might make him look bad even though it’s obvious why Izuku would have finished faster; he was already in his room while the others were still heading to the stairs.

Izuku shakes his head. He’s wasting time and taking too long to decide. Just pick one!

With a silent huff he makes his way downstairs.

He enters a room that is just as dark as the one they first came through and he can barely make out the dark shape of Eraserhead creeping around the shadows.

Izuku sighs internally. This was a stupid idea. He can’t call out to his teacher because this is a silent mission and if he moves to try and get his attention, Eraserhead will rightfully assume he’s a villain and probably attack first - check student’s identity later.

He turns to quietly head back upstairs when something red and flashing registers in the corner of his eye.

He bends down to get a closer look.

0011
0010
0009
0008
0007

His eyes widen in horror and he’s clapping a hand onto his earpiece even as he leaps to tackle Aizawa-sensei.

“BOMB! IN THE BASEMENT! SHINSOU YOU HAVE TO GET-”

His next words are lost in the roar of detonation and Izuku instantly fires up one-for-all and flicks his fingers. The controlled blast of air is enough to keep the blaze away from the corner he’s pressing his teacher into but he’s too late to stop the initial explosion from collapsing the pillar it’d been placed on.

With one last drowned out shout, the first and second floors of the building come crumbling down on top of them.

Chapter Text

Shouta groans and coughs, coming awake all at once. He runs through his mental checklist for situational awareness when waking in a foriegn place.

Where?
He is sprawled out on a hard surface, what feels like bits of rock digging into his back. Somewhere dark, dusty, and cold...

Can you move?
There’s something heavy pressing down on his legs and he can’t budge it no matter how hard he strains.

What do you hear?
There’s heavy breathing from somewhere above him and faint sounds of what he thinks is Shinsou coming from his earpiece but… his ears are ringing and he can’t make out anything specific. Head injury?

What do you see?
His eyes open then and he gasps, promptly choking on the dust he just inhaled.
“P-Problem Child???” he hacks.

Midoriya’s teeth are clenched, sparks from his active quirk lighting up the small pocket of space around them. Or, around Aizawa that is. Midoriya is crouched over him, clearly straining with the weight on his back. His fists are pressed into the ground on either side of Shouta and his arm muscles are visibly tensed at the load he’s holding up.

“I c-c-” he struggles to speak, sweat rolling down the sides of his face and hitting the ground beside Shouta’s head. “c-can’t r-reach my comms. C-C-Can y-you a-an-nswer Shhhhin-”
He cuts off, eyes closing briefly as his arms tremble violently. The sparks of Midoriya’s strength quirk flare a bit brighter and Midoriya slowly opens his eyes again. “Sh-in-sou.” he grits out. “A-a-ask if I- if he- if my w-warning was… en-nough…”

Shouta’s head is pounding and he finds it hard to focus on the brightness of Midoriya’s form without spots appearing in his eyes. “Problem Child” he finally says once the facts have sufficiently aligned “Why are you-?”

There’s a clattering from above them and more dust falls but Midoriya smiles even as tears stream down his face. “I-It’s ok-kay… Y-You’re m-more important S-Sensei... E-Eri and the c-class n-need-” His breathing grows more labored as he strains to talk around the literal building pressing down on him.

Shouta tries to shush him, both because of the way he’s wasting his strength and also because of the horrifying statements leaving the boy’s mouth.

Midoriya doesn’t seem to hear him and Shouta is forced to pry one of his hands free from the loose rubble pinning it so he can press a finger to the boy’s lips.

His vision swims and he misses, narrowly avoiding poking his student in the eye, but Midoriya shuts up and that’s all that matters.

It takes him a couple of tries to find his ear and then to get his hand to said ear, realize the tinny voice has been coming from his other ear, and finally palm the small comm link free; by which time Midoriya’s quirk has gone brighter another level. At this rate it’ll be like looking at the sun soon.
Shouta really hopes it doesn’t come to that.

He raises the volume as high as it goes and holds down the talk button.

“Sorry to cut you off Persuasion but we’re on a time limit. Deku has the building on him and I’m not sure how much longer he can hold it. Are you free?”

There’s a brief silence before

“What??? The fuck does that mean??? Is he okay? Where are you??”

“Are you free?” Shouta repeats firmly.

“I, yeah. Yeah I’m free. I jumped out the window but my shoulders a bit messed up from the jolt when I landed. I’ve already called for help.”

“Good.” Shouta breathes. “That's good. I need you to call them back and tell them the informant might have set us up. They need to arrest her before she skips town or we’ll never-”

Midoriya groans, his head bowing slightly, arms shaking more violently than before. His quirk flares again and in the new lighting Shouta can see blood dripping from the boy’s nose and mouth.

“What was that?” Shinsou snaps frantically.

Shouta ignores him, dropping the com to pat at Midoriya’s face. A drop of blood lands in his eye and it stings but he ignores that too, focusing on getting the boy’s attention.

Or, trying to anyway.

Midoriya is smiling now in a resigned sort of way. “Y-you h-h-have it now.” he chokes. “All Might w-will…” he starts coughing, jerking in place as his arms struggle to hold him up. There’s the sound of something wet hitting the floor but Shouta continues tapping his student’s face.

“Midoriya listen to me. You don’t have to-”

“THEY’RE HERE! SENSEI, DO YOU KNOW WHICH PART OF THE BASEMENT YOU WERE IN??”

Shouta fumbles for the earpiece one handed. “Furthest corner from the stai-”

“Sh-in-so… I n-n-eed y-you to y-y-use y-your q-q-quirk on m-me.”

“What now?”

“N-N-Neeed… c-c-can’t… guh… gonnn p-passss out.”

Shouta’s head jerks at that and as Midoriya raises his quirk level one more time he can finally see what the boy looks like. Glazed eyes are fixed on a far off point somewhere to Shouta’s left and his pale face is bone white. Blood continues to drip from his nose and mouth, and now Shouta can see trails down his neck as well; though if they’re from Midoriya’s ear or an injury on the back of his head is anyone’s guess.

“It won’t work!” Shinsou’s voice is frantic. “You’re in too much pain for it to-”

“T’will.” Midoriya slurs, whole body trembling. “T-T-Tested i-i-it... l-l-lasttt... wweeekkk...”

“You son of a bitch.” Shinsou hisses. “That’s why you volunteered to be my sparring partner that day?”

“Y-Y-You w-w-wouldn’t a-a-agree o-o-otherw-”

“Just stop talking.” Shinsou cuts him off tiredly and Shouta can picture him running a hand down his face as he sighs.

“Tell him to let go.” Shouta croaks from a suddenly dry throat.

“...and what’s gonna happen to you if I do that?”

Shouta glares at his student even though he knows he can’t see him.
Maybe if he focuses hard enough Shinsou will feel it anyway.

“I’ll be fine.” he snaps. “He’s wasting energy and power by hovering over me so I don’t feel any of the pressure! Tell him to lay down, now!”

It’s quiet for a beat. Then

“Sorry Sensei.” Shinsou’s voice is solemn and Shouta can hear how it cracks at the end. “But if I let you get hurt now then everything he’s done so far will be for nothing. I won’t do that to him.” and then a near silent murmur “I can’t do that to him…”

“Goddammit Shinsou! Shinsou you tell him right now-!”

There’s a fuzz of static that Shouta knows is Shinsou’s comlink turning off.

He curses loudly while the rubble around them starts to shift as the heroes get to work digging them out.

Shouta slowly lifts his free hand and reaches for Midoriya’s neck to track his pulse.

He is going to have a long talk with his students after this.

Both of them.

Chapter Text

The night had honestly started well.
Sure Hitoshi would have preferred not to have the Golden Child of Class 1A along for the ride but it was still a huge deal to be accompanying his hero on actual hero work. And he’d been doing a great job planting his share of surveillance devices before…

“BOMB! IN THE BASEMENT! SHINSOU YOU HAVE TO GET-”

Sitting on a hard chair in a hallway of the hospital, arm in a temporary sling one of the paramedics had done on site before he’d brushed them away impatiently; he’s honestly not sure what had compelled him to take the warning at face value and immediately jump out the window. He’s glad he did of course it’s just interesting to him with the scope of hindsight that he hadn’t even entertained ignoring it or scoffing back. Maybe it’s because Midoriya wasn’t one to break protocol lightly and the shout had not only shattered the silence they’d been going for but had also used his name as opposed to his hero moniker? Or maybe it was the raw panic and concern the other boy’s voice had been dripping with that had galvanized him into action.

He sighs, ducking his chin lower into the capture scarf still looped around his shoulders. He’s feeling remarkably irritable for someone who doesn’t give a shit.

Someone drops into the chair beside him with a deep sigh and Hitoshi knows who it is even without looking. He can’t help but remain silent though, unsure if he’s fully prepared for the news he’s about to hear concerning-

“Midoriya is fine.”

Aizawa-sensei’s voice is beyond tired, drained of both emotion and energy and Hitoshi’s head snaps up so he can search his teacher’s eyes for the truth.

There’s a single bandage wrapped around Sensei’s head and he’s gripping a cup of what Hitoshi is shocked to realize is water between both hands. One of his eyes looks pink and vaguely irritated as if Aizawa has been rubbing at it and he grimaces as he takes a sip from his cup.

But there’s no sense of loss, no dejection, simply a slight hunch to his shoulders that Hitoshi has noticed him get whenever one of his students gets injured in training.

A tightness in Hitoshi’s chest loosens minutely. He doesn’t doubt that Midoriya is injured- hell he’d seen enough of it himself when they’d finally managed to dig him out- but the situation is recoverable not critical and Hitoshi finds himself surprised at how relieved he feels.

So relieved that he doesn’t even protest when Aizawa steers him into a room to finally have his shoulder looked at.

“It’s not as bad as it could have been,'' the doctor assures, using some kind of quirk to manipulate the pulled muscles back before resetting the shoulder. He checks the muscles one more time to be sure none of them are pinched before wrapping the injury and replacing it in a clean sling. “Nurse Temi is on duty and her quirk expediates healing during sleep so just let us know when he’s ready for that.'' This last is said to Aizawa who grunts in acknowledgment before gesturing for Hitoshi to follow him.

“Sensei?”

“I know you.” He mumbles gruffly. “And you won’t be able to sleep till you've seen him for yourself, right?”

Hitoshi glares weakly even as a flush works its way up his neck. “I just want to ask him something.” The excuse sounds feeble even to him and he grasps at a subject change. “Who were you on the phone with before? I thought it was just UA but you were yelling so…”

Now it’s Aizawa’s turn to glare weakly. “What did you hear?”

“Nothing much!” Hitoshi has to settle with only holding one hand up in surrender. The other hurts just at the thought of moving it even if it would help project an air of innocence. “It was just you calling someone an idiot and threatening them with a more detailed lecture once you aren’t falling on your face.”
It’s a testament to how much pain Hitoshi had been in that he hadn't even laughed at hearing that.

Aizawa-sensei sighs and rubs absently at his irritated eye. “I was just calling a buffoon out for keeping secrets. Secrets that are none of your business.” He adds, finally dropping his hand.

Hitoshi flashes him an innocent smile like he hasn’t been trying to guess what it could be.

Aizawa comes to a sudden stop and for a moment Hitoshi thinks he’s about to be called on his bullshit or that Aizawa will finally address the insubordination of Hitoshi ignoring him in favor of letting Midoriya keep him safe.
But no Aizawa has a hand on a door and he’s making an interesting face.

“Be prepared before we go in” He says and oh! that must be his ‘trying to be comforting’ face! Hitoshi quickly averts his eyes before it can invade his nightmares. “Midoriya strained practically every muscle in his body. He’s expected to recover in time with the specialized care of the quirks on staff but for the moment he is immobile on a mattress of memory foam and can speak only very slowly, though the level of clarity and ability vary depending on how recently he’s been given something for his pain.”

“Okay.” Hitoshi nods, already taking a step forward.

Aizawa holds up a hand. “He burst some vessels in his eyes and he had a nosebleed for a while so don’t stare at his face no matter how white or red it is.”

Hitoshi can’t help rolling his eyes and scoffing. “I’m not an asshole.”

Aizawa raises an eyebrow and Hitoshi scowls. “Okay fine, but I’m not that kind of asshole.”

“Just had to be sure.” His teacher grins and then the door is open and Hitoshi sees what the warning was for.

Midoriya is sunk deep into the mattress the way only someone not holding up any of their own weight can be. He’s completely flat and staring at the ceiling and Hitoshi can see his eyelashes fluttering in a way that means he isn’t sleeping but the boy doesn’t turn to look at them.
It takes Hitoshi a second to realize it’s because he can’t move his head.

“Zzzaaa-”

The sound starts agonizingly slow and so soft as to be almost inaudible and Aizawa quickly strides forward to cut off the butchering of his name with a “Yes Problem Child. I’m here.”

“Shhhin-“

“I’m here too.” Hitoshi manages, taking a single step and then coming no closer. He’ll have to focus more to hear Midoriya from over here but he’s suddenly struck by the realization that the boy in the bed might not have been so bad off if he’d listened to Aizawa and made him rest instead of helping him hold up the building. His eyes shoot to his teacher almost of their own accord and he doesn’t know what face he’s making but it must look as stricken as he feels because Aizawa sighs and signs a ‘not your fault’ and ‘we will talk about this later’ out of Midoriya’s line of sight.

A nurse comes in and does something near Midoriya’s iv line. Hitoshi assumes he’s administering pain meds but considering he’s doing his damndest to be looking anywhere that isn’t his injured friend - rival- classmate he can’t honestly be sure.

Midoriya lets out a deep sigh almost seeming to sink fuller into the bed. “How long-?” He manages to ask, much clearer than before but just as quietly.

“Not very.” Aizawa answers looking absolutely done with life. “After you decided to martyr yourself for the greater good,” Midoriya’s mouth twists, looking thoroughly chastised but Aizawa continues unblinking. “Shinsou kept your quirk running while the rescue teams dug us out. You’d lost a fair bit of blood from all the…” The hero gestures to his face with an unreadable look. “leaking…”

Hitoshi’s head swivels to stare almost without his consent. All Aizawa had mentioned was a nosebleed but that wouldn’t warrant the face he’s making.

Midoriya’s mouth twists again as he stumbles over an apology and Hitoshi can’t help but feel the boy would be cringing or ducking his head if he could only move.

“...but all in all you weren’t out very long. A couple hours at most. It’s only-“ He lifts his head to check his watch and freezes, only just noticing that it’s been irreparably smashed in the falling debris and is only hanging on his wrist by a thread. “fuck.” He mumbles.

Hitoshi resists the urge to snicker. That would be beyond inappropriate right now.

“Shin?” Midoriya calls and now it’s Hitoshi’s turn to whisper a fuck because he’s trying to keep his distance because he’s shit at keeping his mouth shut and the last thing he needs is to crack jokes on Midoriya’s appearance once he can finally see him.

He scrambles for something to say to distract from the fact that he’s still hovering nearer the door and winds up blurting out the question that’s been on his mind. “How did you know my quirk would work?”

Midoriya’s throat bobs in a way Hitoshi knows means he’s compulsively swallowing. “It’s usually harder for you to get someone over phones or comms. But I figured if there was no resistance from my side it would work. I was asking for it and fully embraced it so…” his words started out strong yet soft but by the end he’s pausing to rest almost between each word. “Tested it. During. Our sparr.”

“Wait what? I. I thought you tested the pain thing?!? How did you-? I only used it on you the one time that day!” Hitoshi has gravitated closer during his rant and quickly averts his gaze before he can take in more than Midoriya’s bloodshot eyes and bone white face.

“Didn’t need to. Test that.”

This time it’s Aizawa that interjects, moving like he’s going to put a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder before deciding against it. “Shinsou’s control is broken when someone is knocked hard enough. You yourself broke fingers to snap yourself out of it. How can you say his quirk works when you’re in pain?”

Hitoshi leans forward curiously despite himself. Whatever guess Midoriya had made must be true since his crazy plan had worked. He’s waiting for something groundbreaking but all Midoriya says is “the sports festival.”

“The sports festival.” He repeats unimpressed.

Midoriya smiles. “Yeah. You brainwashed me again. After the battle. And I remember. Thinking that.” He falls silent but it’s less because he’s done talking and more because he’s clearly getting tired.

It’s okay though because Aizawa seems to have put the pieces together. “And your fingers were already broken at that point. Meaning the quirk’s hold isn’t jolted by existing pain.”

“Yeah.” Midoriya mumbles sleepily. “If he’d made me move my hand then the fresh pain would’ve probably… but just the…”

His eyes slip closed and then slowly open again. “Rescue hero. Useful. Keep injured civilians from… panicking… moving…”

He falls silent as his eyes close again, this time remaining still for a minute before they suddenly snap open again. “Sorry. I was-”

“It’s fine Midoriya.” Aizawa interjects softly, looking like he’s going to pat the boy again before scowling at himself. “Shinsou needs to return to his room now anyway.”

Hitoshi thinks of giving a token protest but quickly dismisses it. What would be the point? Midoriya’s clearly fighting sleep and like he’d said earlier, he’s an asshole but not that kind of asshole.

A nurse knocks on the door and when she pokes her head in, Hitoshi can see her nametag reads Temi so he knows she’s here for him. Just the thought of experiencing a healing sleep quirk has his own eyes drooping as the weight of everything that’s happened tonight finally sinks in.

“We’ll be talking about this.” Aizawa says sternly, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Later. When we’re all back at UA.”

Hitoshi nods slowly feeling utterly drained and Aizawa waves him off. “You go on ahead Shinsou. I’ve gotta give something to Midoriya.”

Hitoshi’s head nods again practically on autopilot and he shuffles towards where Nurse Temi is waiting for him at the door. He turns back for a second as the door is slid shut and rubs his eyes tiredly.

He must be more out of it than he’d thought.

He could have sworn he just saw Aizawa give Midoriya one of his hairs.