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The bomb exploded, shattering windows and crumbling walls. Somewhere along the way, between getting over the initial shock and smashing as much falling debris headed towards civilians as possible, Midoriya lost consciousness as he pushed a young girl out of the way of a large chunk of rubble that ended up slamming into his head.
The pounding in his skull first brought Midoriya to awareness before he noticed the sharp pain in his chest with each shallow breath he took. He squinted into the blackness surrounding him, blinking away the grit coating his eyes.
He had gone into a store with some of his classmates and Aizawa-sensei. Are they all okay? Did they get out in time, or are they trapped under this somewhere, too? They were closer to the exit – he had gone back to grab a last-minute texted snack request from Aoyama back at the dorms.
“H-he-” rough coughing interrupts his attempt at calling out, his chest protesting at the treatment by seizing tight, stealing his breath, and forcing him to take small, slow puffs of air to calm his lungs and rising panic.
He looked around blindly, though he wasn’t sure whether that was because of his low oxygen, pounding headache, or the minuscule amount of light around him.
“Hello?” he asked again, voice low and raspy.
How long have I been unconscious, he wondered. Were rescue attempts in progress already, or were they waiting for more help and to ensure the rubble was stable? Should he try to move and make some noise, or would that make things worse?
Take stock of the situation and make the best-informed choice you can, he thought, trying his best to remember the lessons Aizawa-sensei taught them when they learned about building collapses. Most of the information was about rescuing, but surely it can be repurposed to help his current situation, right?
The thumping of his head with each beat of his heart doesn’t help his memory or reasoning.
Lying on his stomach, he closes his eyes and focuses on his body. Something is wrong with his chest, but if he keeps his breath shallow, it’s manageable. Possible bruised or cracked ribs, but unlikely to be completely broken. Head pounding near-constantly, and some sort of liquid was trailing down his head and onto his cheeks. Definitely a concussion, at best. Something presses into his legs. Wiggling slowly, he frowns. Legs are pinned, can’t move, stuck in this position until help arrives.
He could try to use One for All to move whatever is pinning down his legs, but that could collapse the small hole he’s found himself in, not to mention it could create a chain reaction that could kill others who are still alive in similar void spaces. Too risky. That’s off the table unless he can be sure the debris trapping him is separate from the greater rubble of the disaster.
“Full cowling,” he murmured to himself, warmth spreading across his limbs as green lightning sparked across his vision, dimly lighting up the space he was in. It was small. If he stretched his arms straight out in front of him as he lay on his belly, he would be touching some of the rubble, and there was more debris a few feet on either side of him. He glanced up, sighing as he saw large chunks of rock and rebar no more than five feet above him. Turning slowly, he finally looked behind him. Sure enough, a large iron bar from a support beam had pinned down his legs. They didn’t seem too injured, but he might be at risk if he wasn’t getting enough blood flowing through them.
“-hat li-t?” Midoriya heard somewhere off to his left. “Hello? Rescue teams, heroes, anyone? I see your light!”
“Can you hear me?” Midorya asked, trying to see beyond the mess to where the civilian lay.
“Yes, yes! I can hear you! Are you here to rescue me now?” the same female voice asked.
Young, Midoriya noted as he answered. “I’m a hero course student at UA, you’re going to be okay. I was in the explosion, too, and I’m trapped under the rubble. I can’t reach you without putting us in further danger – the whole thing could collapse if I tried. Heroes were already on-scene, I’m sure they’re working to get us out.” He pauses, waiting for the girl to come to terms that rescue hasn’t quite arrived yet. “My name is Midoriya Izuku. What’s yours?”
“K-Koharu,” she responds, somewhat unsteadily and a bit quieter than before.
“Koharu,” he repeats, letting his quirk fizzle out as he loses the energy to keep it up. “It’s nice to meet you. I need you to stay calm for me until the heroes get here. Can you tell me if you’re injured?”
“I can’t move. I’m stuck, but it hurts,” she replies.
Midoriya frowned at her shaky voice, shifting slightly and cursing at his own inability to move. “Can you tell me where it hurts, Koharu?”
A pause, silence stretching as he waited for an answer. He almost asked if she was still there, still conscious, when she responded. “My arm. There’s a big rock on my arm, it’s keeping me stuck here, and it hurts.”
“All right, thank you for telling me. Did you hit your head or lose consciousness at all?”
“N-no. No, I’ve been awake this whole time, listening for anyone who might be coming to help. I saw a green light through some cracks and thought that might be help arriving…”
“I know it’s not much help, but I’ll be here with you the whole time, okay? Do you know how long I might have been unconscious? That might give me an idea of how long we still have to wait,” Midoriya said. I wish I could help her more, he thought. But as I am, I’m useless. I can’t move without risking her life, mine, and anyone else who could be stuck in the rubble still.
“It’s been at least an hour.”
Midoriya frowned. It likely wasn’t good that he had been unconscious for that long. He wanted everyone to get help as soon as possible, and he likely needed to be checked out by professionals soon, too.
“There’s a good chance help will be here soon, then. We weren’t too far from the edge of the building, and they’ve had plenty of time to set up command and triage. They’ve turned off utilities at this point and likely managed to address any immediate hazards on the outside since the explosion was fairly localized-”
“Does that mean they’re coming soon?” Koharu asks, voice higher than before.
“Oh… yes!” Midoriya said. “I’m sorry, I started muttering and got carried away. They should be well on their way into the rescue phase, so help should be here soon. Plus, I know Aizawa-sensei knows about where I was, so I know he’ll be focused on getting here since he knows someone is definitely in this area.”
“That’s good. But… it’s been an hour already. What if… what if I don’t make it until the heroes come? My arm… it really hurts. What if I lose too much blood? Or what if they save me, but it’s too late for my arm and I end up-”
“Koharu. Koharu!” Midoriya said, snapping her out of her own panic just as the girl started to sob along with her words. She cried loudly, and Midoriya’s heart seized with hers. “Koharu, I can’t come to you, and you can’t come to me, so there’s only so much I can do, and I’m sorry. But I promise help is coming, and it will be okay. Once this is over, I’ll be sure to visit you so that I can actually put a face to your voice, and you can do the same, okay?”
Her crying slowed as he spoke, becoming intermittent sobs and sudden deep breaths.
“That’s it, Koharu. Just relax. Please don’t cry. I’ll make sure you get out of here. I’m going to start tapping against some of this metal so that heroes with sound quirks can find us faster and easier, okay?” Midoriya reached out while he spoke, wincing and pulling a small, hand-sized piece of rebar to him. He tapped it in a steady beat against the longest metal debris he could reach. A loud, clanging sound echoed in the air around them as he continued speaking. “I know it may sound a little scary, but it’s actually helping us. This sound is bringing the heroes straight to us, okay?”
“That’s… actually kind of comforting,” Koharu said, barely louder than the clanging. “Midoriya?” she asked, waiting for his reply before continuing, “Could you tell me a story while we wait, or just talk to me? I’ve just been listening to nothing for so long now…”
“Of course,” Midoriya said, keeping up his rhythm with the metal as he pushed his tired brain to think of something entertaining enough to keep both of their attention as they waited for rescue. “Some of my friends are outside looking for us, and one of my teachers from UA, too. Do you like heroes? I could tell you about them and their quirks – you could even meet them when we get out of here.”
“Really?” Koharu asked, surprise and delight mixing in her voice.
So, Midoriya spoke about his classmates. He started with the ones who had joined him on his trip to the store: Aizawa-sensei, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, and Ashido. Once he explained what they looked like, their personalities, their quirks, and their hero costumes, he moved on to the rest of his classmates, answering Koharu’s questions when she wanted to know if Kaminari’s hair was always frizzy or how pink Ashido really was. His head pounded worse as time went on, and he forced himself to push through and ignore the growing desire to fade into unconsciousness once again.
He had gotten through about a third of their class when he heard shifting in the debris around them and froze. “Koharu, don’t move. I heard something, and I need to figure out whether it’s the rubble shifting or if help has arrived, okay?”
“R-right,” she replied.
Midoriya listened for another moment before taking as deep a breath as he dared and shouting, “Hello! We’re here! Is there anyone out there?”
Biting his lip, Midoriya waited for a reply. Another moment passed, and then a voice floated down to them, “-doriya?”
Midoriya nearly burst into tears, but held them in as he shouted again. “Aizawa-sensei! There’s a young girl, Koharu, nearby. Her arm is pinned, and she’s lost a lot of blood. Please help her!”
He could hear sounds – talking amongst the rescuers, but he couldn’t make out any words – before Aizawa responded. “We’ve located you both and have a team headed towards Koharu.”
“Oh, I see you! I’m here!” Koharu shouts. “I’m behind over here!”
“We see you,” another unknown voice responds to her. Hero, Midoriya’s mind supplies as it grows fuzzier and fuzzier.
Koharu’s safe. She’s going to be rescued. Midoriya’s eyes fluttered, and he battled to keep them from slipping all the way closed now that he knew she was safe.
“Midoriya.” Aizawa’s voice sounded close. Closer than it should be if he was over helping Koharu. “Midoriya, open your eyes, kid.”
Confusion and immediate obedience forced his eyes open once more. He blinked at the sudden light that filled his small space, focusing his gaze on the small lantern that was shoved through a small opening before his teacher squeezed through carefully, his eyes taking in the small space before staying on his student.
“Koharu?” Midoriya asked dazedly, wondering why his teacher was here instead of helping the civilian.
“There’s a team helping her now. I’m here to secure you for transport for when the other team can make it down.” Crouching and shuffling through the small space to be in front of Midoriya, Aizawa quickly checked him over as he asked, “What can you tell me about your condition?”
“M-my legs are trapped, and I can’t really feel them anymore,” he admitted, watching his teacher’s gaze snap along his back to his legs. “My chest hurts, but it’s unlikely that I’ve broken a rib. My head… was hit by some sort of debris during the initial explosion. I was unconscious for a while. Koharu said about an hour, and I’ve been conscious for about the last half hour.”
Aizawa hummed, quickly pressing his fingers along Midoriya’s neck and back before pulling at his eyelids and looking in his eyes and feeling along his head.
“They’ll be here soon to get you out, and you’ll be on your way to the hospital to be checked out. While concerning, nothing seems too serious. All the same, you need to stay awake until you’re finished being checked out.”
“Yes, sensei,” he responded automatically.
Aizawa kept him talking after that, as much as he could. The pain and discomfort grew, and the bliss from unconsciousness was becoming increasingly alluring.
Finally, finally, sound came from beyond the little hole his teacher had squeezed through, and Aizawa went to talk with the rescue team about getting him about. Distantly, he heard him going over the situation and his condition, but without the grounding presence by his side, he let himself slip away.
The next time Midoriya woke, his mind was fuzzy from familiar pain medications, and a constant beeping let him know he’d made it to the hospital. He opened his eyes, greeting with a familiar room and his teacher, sitting gruffly in the chair beside his bed. His eyes were closed, but Midoriya knew better than to assume he was actually sleeping.
Sure enough, a moment later: “Midoriya.” Aizawa lifted his eyes and leaned forward, laying his elbows on his knees. “How are you feeling?”
He sighed, taking stock of his body. Hesitantly, he flexed his feet one at a time, pleased they responded to him. “Uh… a bit out of it, Sensei. But fine.”
Aizawa leaned forward, pressing the call button for the nurse.
“How’s Koharu? The girl who was down there with me?”
Aizawa hummed. “She’s fine. Didn’t lose consciousness, no major injuries. She’s still being observed in another room, but she should be leaving soon.” A pause. “She did stop by to see you earlier. Wanted to meet the person who gave her hope and kept her calm.”
Midoriya sighed in relief, tension flooding out of him. “I’ll have to see if I can go visit her, then.”
The nurse bustled in, greeting the bleary-eyed Midoriya while Aizawa stood to leave.
“I’ll be outside if you need me.”
Midoriya nodded as the nurse began to check over some of his bandages.
“And, kid?” Aizawa stopped, looking back at his student who stared at him, confusion tinting his expression. “Good job.”