Work Text:
Yuuga was sure that Aizawa-sensei and the driver were regretting taking four teenagers at once. Yuuga, of course, was a perfect angel, and Tsuyu was rather quiet in general. Ashido and Iida more than made up for them.
Sensei sighed from the front. “Thank whatever that we’re almost there…”
Sure enough, the police station came into view. He fought back a twitch, holding onto his smile tightly. It was only an assignment. It was important for a hero to know how a police station worked. That was all. He was in the first group because he was student number one.
No one had any suspicions.
“Alright, I expect you four to behave as the future heroes you are. No running off, no funny business. This means you, Ashido.”
Ashido pouted while he and the others gave their affirmatives.
Yuuga shivered as he exited the car. He pulled his uniform jacket tighter.
The sooner this was over, the better…
An alarm blared from inside the station.
“Villain!” someone screamed. “Stop him!”
A man leapt through the opening door, stopping short when he saw them. Sensei braced himself in front of his students, hair and scarf already floating.
The man glanced over the group, before locking eyes with… Yuuga.
He smiled.
He raised his arm– what was he holding-?
Something invisible punched Yuuga in the shoulder.
There was a loud bang.
Those two events were probably related.
He stumbled back, hitting something solid– the car door? He slid to the ground, hitting the pavement hard.
“Aoyama!” someone screamed. His mind couldn’t figure out whose voice it was.
His head was light. His heart beat faster and faster.
His stomach roiled, almost the way it did before-
Before-
Merde .
“Get out! Get- move!” He held his breath, willing his body to stop .
Sensei, thank god, acted fast enough, pushing the other three out of the line of fire.
He gasped, and the world went white.
He slammed back into the car– did it push back a bit? –as his laser fired.
He watched the villain get thrown back into the police station.
…
It wasn’t stopping.
Why wasn’t it stopping?
He tried relaxing his stomach muscles- they stayed tense, his laser stayed active.
His stomach was sore.
The laser kept firing, only growing more intense.
“Aoyama,” Aizawa-sensei called, “You can stop now. The villain is handled.”
“I-I cannot, Sensei! I’m not doing this on purpose!”
Something on his stomach was hot. It was nice, at first, like a heating pad. Then it was burning .
Glass shattered close to him. The soreness turned sharp.
Yuuga groaned.
“Sensei, I don’t know what’s happening!”
His insides were rebelling against him, far past the usual ache and nausea.
If this didn’t stop soon-
And then it did.
Yuuga fell back to the ground, panting. He looked up. Aizawa-sensei and the others ran towards him. Sensei’s hair was blowing in the wind, eyes glowing red.
How embarrassing, that he could not stop of his own accord. He had not had an issue like that in a long time, not since he got his belt.
Yuuga put a hand to his stomach before jerking it away. Trop chaud! His hand was burned and- bleeding?!
“Aoyama, what was that?!” Ashido asked.
“Aoyama! It is incredibly inappropriate to use your quirk in such a manner, especially in front of a police station!” Iida scolded.
As if he had done it on purpose!
“I don’t think he meant to, kero,” Tsuyu said. “That was way stronger than usual.”
His stomach still churned. He dared not open his mouth for fear of what would emerge.
Aizawa-sensei blinked-
Yuuga screamed as the laser blasted through the pavement in front of him, the others yelping as they dodged.
“What the fuck?!” Ashido shrieked.
This was too much. His stomach burned.
And then it stopped.
“Aoyama,” Sensei said, “I need to check your shoulder.”
“B-but, my laser-”
“I know. I won’t take my eyes off of you.”
Sensei pulled out a small knife and moved to Yuuga’s side. He carefully cut away the blazer and dress shirt.
“Shit.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuga could see what looked like a bullet wound , except- there were black veins spider-webbing out from it.
There was a bullet. In his shoulder.
His head started buzzing.
“Iida, go into the police station and have them call the paramedics. Tell them it’s a code ‘T’, category ‘U’.They’ll know what that means.”
Iida nodded and sped towards the building.
“Aizawa-sensei, have I been poisoned?” Am I going to die?!”
“You’re not going to die. It seems that the bullet contained a dose of a drug called trigger.”
Ashido gasped. “Is that why his quirk is going all crazy?!”
“That's why it’s out of control, yes. The drug amplifies your quirk, making it stronger but more difficult to manage. It’ll stay that way until it’s out of your system. There’s not an antidote, but there is a medication that the paramedics have which will ease the effects. Obviously, I’ll be erasing your quirk until they get here.”
“But Sensei-” Tsuyu said, pale, “don’t you need to blink?”
“I’ll warn you when that happens. Brace yourself, blinking in three, two-”
Bracing did nothing against his stomach tearing itself apart.
Someone squeezed his hand.
The laser stopped. The agony didn’t.
He took in a shuddering breath. The blast had been shorter than the others, maybe, but it was just compounding on what damage had already been done.
If the paramedics did not arrive soon…
“Sensei, it hurts…”
“I know. Just hold on, help will be here soon.”
Off.
On.
Iida never returned.
Off.
On.
“It’s okay, Yuuga, we’re with you.” Tsuyu said.
No one had ever called him Yuuga as a friend.
Ashido squeezed his hand harder.
Off. On.
He couldn’t stop his sobs. The hiccups made his stomach hurt worse, and the blasts went in random directions.
Off On. Off.
After one of the hiccups, he felt something wet on his chin.
Ashido gripped his hand so hard it felt like it would break. Tsuyu’s hand was on his shoulder, steady despite his trembling.
He wasn’t making it out of this, was he?
His head fell back against the car, but he tried his best to look at his teacher.
“Aizawa-sensei…” His mouth tasted like metal.
“What is it, Aoyama?”
“Sensei- I need to tell you- it was my fault, Sensei. I’m sorry.”
“What? What was your fault?”
“The villains-” He broke into a coughing fit.
He couldn’t feel his stomach anymore.
“It wasn’t your fault, Aoyama. The villain targeted you, you had no control over it.”
“S-sensei, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry-” He coughed again.
Under the buzzing in his brain, there was a faint sound of sirens.
“It wasn’t your fault, Aoyama. You’re just a student. The only blame lies with the villain, got it?”
“Yes, Sensei…”
It wasn’t true, but it was nice to hear.
Off.
Yuuga’s body relaxed. His eyes slipped shut.
Off.
- - -
Yuuga woke up to a mix of scents, strong and sharp and flowery and soft, like antiseptic and Maman’s perfume.
Maman…
He blinked his eyes open to a ceiling painted with a leafy canopy. He went to sit up-\
Agh!
His poor stomach!
“Yuuga! Lie back down!” Maman said.
“Maman?”
He looked to the side. Maman and Papa sat in chairs at the side of his… hospital bed. There was a table next to them, filled with colorful cards. The walls looked like a forest scene.
A pediatric ward.
“I’ll get a nurse,” Papa said, and he left.
“Maman, what-”
“You were attacked by a nasty villain, mon trésor . You’re in the hospital.”
She raised the head of the bed for him.
Right. The Villain. His quirk .
“I’m okay?”
Maman pursed her lips, tears forming in her eyes. “ Non . You- you had to have surgery. That quirk nearly- it was not good. You don’t need to hear the details while you are recovering.”
Papa came back in with a nurse and- Aizawa-sensei?
Maman tensed.
“I came to see how he was doing, I hope you don’t mind,” Sensei said. “I’m glad you’re awake.”
“Aizawa-san-” Papa began.
“I wanted to offer my sincerest apologies. Your son was attacked by villains once already, only weeks ago. It is entirely unacceptable for it to have happened again.” He bowed deeply. “It is my duty as both a Pro Hero and his teacher to protect him. I can offer no excuse.”
“No-” Yuuga said, surprising himself and everyone else. “You did what you could! If you were not there, I may not even be here!”
“Yuuga-”
“Sensei’s quirk saved me, it let me rest at least a little bit. He stayed with me the whole time.”
“In that case,” Papa said, “I think we owe you our gratitude.”
“You don’t. I did what any hero would’ve done.”
“Not any hero,” Maman murmured, only audible to the two of them. “Thank you, Aizawa-san, for protecting our son. If that’s all…?”
“I just wanted to say one more thing. Aoyama, you’re completely excused from returning to the police station. I will provide you with the relevant information.”
“Thank you, Sensei,” Yuuga said. A weight lifted off of his shoulders.
Aizawa-sensei took his leave.
Maman and Papa sat at his bedside.
“There is one more thing,” Papa said nervously. “Your uncle wished to speak to you when you woke.”
Yuuga’s blood became ice.
“He did? Did he say why…?”
“We didn’t ask. Would you like us to call him for you?”
Yuuga swallowed the lump in his throat. “It is best not to keep him waiting,” he said.
Maman dialed and gave the phone to Yuuga.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
“Yuuga,” Uncle said, “I’m glad you’re awake.”
“Yes sir,” Yuuga said. “You wanted to speak to me?”
“Yes. I wanted to offer my sincere apology.”
What?
“You see, that criminal was one of mine. My informant at the police station told me that your teacher and an officer had… caught on to you. Not you, but the concept of a traitor. They had planned to question the entire class under the guise of an assignment. Naturally, this was unacceptable.”
Yuuga couldn’t breathe. He had almost been caught?!
“I sent in a… distraction. He was not told of your identity, only directed to attack one of the students. He chose you. That particular criminal has been… dealt with, for endangering you. I apologize for your being injured so gravely.”
“I- thank you, sir.”
“I also wish to offer you a ‘get well’ gift. I am granting you use of my own personal doctor. He’s a pediatrician and a quirk specialist, and hopefully he can take care of this little issue for you like we should have done years ago.”
His doctor? The one that made-?!
“Th-thank you, sir. I am honored.”
“He should be there any moment. Good luck with your recovery.”
The phone went silent.
There was a sharp knock on the door.
Fin .