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“Deku, status report.”
Shouta glances around at the destruction around him. The last of the survivors have been led out to safety and it’s about time they moved on to the next destroyed building. The villain attack isn’t the worst that Shouta’s seen. Hell, he and his students fought an attire war merely a year ago. But in such a, normally, densely populated area with some structures already partially collapsed from the war, it became very catastrophic very quickly. Shouta’s quirk would be useless against a villain with a dragon mutation so he opted for search and rescue, trusting the other heroes to handle the situation without him. And once the villain was finally apprehended, thanks to the combined efforts of Bakugou and Midoriya, the latter volunteered to help with recovery efforts along with a few of his other classmates.
“On the third floor heading down now, Eraser. ETA 60 seconds.”
“Make it 30 at most kid, this place is gonna come down any second.”
“Got it.”
Shouta waits in the lobby, eyes peeled for his student. Ceiling tiles fall around him. Glass shatters. He watches a rather concerning looking crack begin to slither along a support beam. He should go. The door is merely a few meters away. But he couldn’t bear to leave his kid behind, even if he wanted to. Midoriya is strong but he’s still just a kid. And with One for All beginning to fade away he only has his strength and a bit of speed left to get him through.
Shouta thinks back to Oboro as he watches the crack meet the ceiling and continue to spread. Flashes of blue, crazy hair turn into green curls surrounded by blood and broken bones. Lifeless green eyes stare back at him, the clouds above reflecting tauntingly as Oboro no doubt meets Midoriya with open arms in whatever comes after death. If Shouta leaves now, Midoriya's death would be on his hands, just like Oboro’s.
“SENSEI LOOK OUT!”
Flashes of green lightning. The sound of crumbling cement. And then, darkness.
–
Shouta groans as his senses begin to return to him. His head is pounding. He can feel something warm and wet coating his temple all the way down to his neck. He sits up slowly, his whole body screaming at him in the process. He breathes through the sudden nausea rising in his throat at the movement. Must be a nasty concussion. Great. Just what he needs. He cracks his eyes open and looks around. It’s dark, though a soft green glow illuminates the area enough to make out the shapes of jagged rubble all around him.
So the building collapsed after all. Wonderful. How the fuck is he not dead?
He turns his hazy eyes to the source of the glow. There, standing before him on shaky legs, is Midoriya Izuku. One for All sparks around him as he trembles under the weight of an entire downed building on his shoulders. Blood mattes his curls and cakes to the side of his head. There’s deep bruising along his jaw and on his side where the skin is visible through a hole ripped in his costume during the earlier fight. Most concerningly though is the long piece of metal rebar piercing through his left shoulder and bleeding rapidly.
“Fuck. Midoriya, what the hell are you doing?”
Midoriya lifts his head slowly, offering Shouta a wobbly, bloody smile. It does nothing to ease his rising anxiety.
“O-oh, Sensei. Good. I’m glad you’re awake. I-I thought you…well I-...I was afraid you were dead. So, this is a relief.”
“Glad I could ease your concerns, Problem Child. I’m afraid you’re doing nothing to ease mine though.”
“Heh. Sorry. I-I just…if I don’t do this w-we both die, s-so…”
He trails off then, spitting a bit of blood at his feet and lowering his head again with a groan. Shouta hates to admit that the kid is right. He’s the only one with the strength to keep them both from being crushed. But that strength won’t last forever and Midoriya is already clearly very hurt. It’s only a matter of time before the blood loss takes his consciousness. Or his trembling legs give out. Midoriya is stubborn as hell but he’s only human. And he’s still just a child. Even he has his limits.
“Ok. Alright. We need a game plan. How long has it been since I lost consciousness?”
“Um…about twenty minutes, give or take.”
Ok. not good but they can work with that. “And has that rebar been in your shoulder the whole time?”
“Rebar?”
Midoriya picks his head up again, turning to look at his shoulder. Shouta pushes through the dizziness to shuffle over and gently grip the kid's chin before his eyes can lock onto the wound. If he didn’t know it was there, there’s the likelihood of adrenaline keeping the pain at bay. The last thing either of them needs is for Midoriya to truly process the pain and panic. So he forces the kid to look at him, taking the opportunity to instead look over the bruising on his jaw and the apparent head wound still sluggishly pouring blood down his students freckled face.
“Don’t worry about it. You’re gonna be fine. Just focus on what you’re doing. Let me handle the rest.”
“Ok.” The simple response is nothing more than a quiet whisper but the weight of the trust it holds is enough to keep Shouta going.
He will not let this kid die down here.
He digs through his belt in search of gauze, cursing softly when he comes up empty. He must have used the last of it on a civilian before the building came down. At least it’s just the two of them stuck down here. Shouta doesn’t think he has the patience to handle a panicking civilian while his kid bleeds out holding up the crumbled remains of a four story office building.
“Midoriya, do you keep medical supplies in your belt?”
The kid nods slightly, gritting his teeth through some pain. “M-my right side. The pouch on my hip.”
Shouta is quick to reach for the pouch in question. There’s no time to worry about boundaries. He can apologize later. For now, he just leans around the kid to get a better view and digs into his belt without a second thought, producing a thick roll of gauze and some anti-septic wipes. It’s not much, but it’ll have to do. He starts first by cleaning away some of the blood and dirt from his students face. It looks like the new wound overlaps with the freshly healed scar of the head wound that left Midoriya’s hair half shaved and ripped away some of the kid's signature freckles. Hell, his hair hasn’t even fully grown back yet.
He carefully wraps Midoriya's head with the gauze, making sure it’s tight enough to stem the blood flow but not too tight to be painful. There isn’t much he can do for the bruising right now and really, it’s the least of his worries. He hopes nothing is broken but the kid’s broken enough bones in the last two years that he doubts Midoriya would even notice if there was. He turns his attention back to the wound on Midoriya's shoulder with a grimace.
It looks like the rebar entered through his back and pierced the other side just under the kids collarbone. Midoriya's torn suit is soaked in blood. There’s a high chance of infection and maybe even nerve damage, considering the kid still isn’t showing any signs of feeling the pain. It looks like the end of the rebar is embedded in the ground at Midoriya's feet, keeping him pinned at his post of being a living support beam. For now, he’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t move. But removing the kid from the rubble will be more difficult if they can’t cut through the rebar.
Shouta decides not to dwell on it for now. The best he can do is try to slow the bleeding. Without gauze, he pulls his capture weapon from his shoulders and cautiously wraps it around the wound, taking care not to jostle the metal sticking through. Midoriya hardly reacts, keeping his head lowered and breathing quietly through the strain. Nerve damage is looking more and more likely. Shouta briefly wonders how the kid hasn’t lost his arm function entirely but he’s quick to dismiss the thought. The kid is stubborn. If Bakugou was able to fight All for One with a useless arm, Midoriya can hold up a building with one.
Shouta can not wait for these kids to graduate so he can finally resign.
“Alright, next step. Do you have your phone with you?” Shouta asks. His had died partway through evacuation.
“My left pocket.”
Shouta eyes the pocket in question. His whole left side is covered in blood. He can only hope that the phone was spared. He reaches forward and carefully pulls the kids phone out, wiping off the bit of blood on its screen and clicking it on. He’s immediately met with a picture of Midoriya’s smiling face leaning closer to a scowling Bakugou, though the blonds expression is softer than Shouta would expect. The growth between those two has been monumental. But Shouta can think about how proud he is of them later.
“Password?”
“Uh…1520.”
Shouta types in the numbers quickly, silently rejoicing when the phone opens to that same picture on the kids homescreen. Despite Midoriya's chaotic personality, his phone is just as organized as most things in his life tend to be. He easily finds the phone app and dials Hizashi’s number from memory, knowing the police call lines are likely too busy.
He watches Midoriya as he listens to the phone ring. He looks pale, though it’s hard to tell if it’s from blood loss or bad lighting. He’s breathing heavily, though shallow. His whole body trembles in a mix between pain and exertion. One for All seems to be the only stable part of him right now, the lightning crackling off of him in controlled bursts. The dull lighting Midoriya's quirk provides pulses in the limited space around them. Despite the situation, it’s almost comforting. Shouta never thought he’d find comfort in a student, let alone one as stress inducing as Midoriya Izuku. But it’s hard not to be eased by the familiarity. He just wishes it didn’t come at the cost of his kids' wellbeing.
“Present Mic. Bit busy right now, ya dig. Maybe call back la-”
“Hizashi do not hang up.”
“Shouta? Where are you? Are you ok? Have you seen Midoriya? We lost y’alls signal about a half hour ago.”
“We’re in the four story office building on Third.”
“Oh. Ok.” And for a second Shouta hears a heavy sigh of relief before it’s followed by a sharp intake of breath. “Wait. Do you mean the same office building on Third that just collapsed?”
“That’s the one, yes. Midoriya is holding the building up.”
“MIDORIYA IS WHAT?!”
Shouta pulls the phone away from his ear with a hiss. The quirk fueled screech sends pain piercing right through his still aching skull. Even Midoriya, dazed and distracted as he is, lifts his head up with furrowed brows to blink at the borrowed phone in his teacher's hand. He mouths a small, questioning ‘Present Mic?’ as if the question really needs answering. Still, Shouta offers a small nod as he brings the phone back to his ear.
“Please mind your volume, Zashi. We both have concussions. Look, Midoriya is not doing well. He’s holding on the best he can right now and he’s doing great but it won’t last forever. I need you to get a rescue team put together and get us out of here before he passes out from blood loss or something. Get Uravity, Rock Lock and Cementoss to help if you can.”
“Right. Yeah of course. You got an estimate on how much time we have?”
Shouta looks back up at his student. One for All hasn’t wavered yet. But Midoriya is running on fumes. They have time, but not much of it.
“Maybe an hour, tops. Probably less. Kid’s still going strong but I’m pretty sure he’s running on pure spite and sheer stubbornness at this point.”
“Gotcha. We’ll go as fast as we can. Call back if anything changes. For now, preserve that phone battery. And Shouta?”
“Yeah.”
“I love you.”
Shouta glances up at Midoriya. His head is still hung low, body still shaking. He’s not paying a lick of attention. “I love you too.”
The call ends there and Shouta pockets Midoriya’s phone. He shifts into a sitting position nearby, trying to give the kid space without straying too far. He’s exhausted. His head still aches and he could really use a nap. Instead he just allows himself a moment to breathe. If he’s exhausted he can only imagine how Midoriya must feel right now. Four stories of concrete rubble on his shoulders all just to keep Shouta alive. Because if Shouta knows his kid he knows Midoriya is not taking his own life into consideration right now.
Problem Child.
He wishes he could say that he doesn’t understand. Once upon a time he didn’t. He couldn’t fathom how a kid so bright with such a strong quirk could neglect himself so wholeheartedly. He couldn’t figure out why the kid flinched away from his friends or hunched his shoulders at the slightest hint of aggression. Midoriya Izuku was once an enigma to Shouta. The one student whose mere existence kept him up at night with questions that always went unanswered.
But then he found out about One for All. Learned about Midoriya’s previous quirkless status, a reality he lived for nearly fifteen years and is actively preparing to return to sooner than anyone would like. And suddenly it all made sense. The lack of quirk control. The self-sacrifice. The clear signs of abuse. It all boils down to one simple pinkie toe joint and an idiot blond hero with a dying legacy.
He sighs softly and shakes his head of the thoughts. He needs to focus on the present. There’s no point in dwelling, not when he knows his kid is in therapy and making progress by the day. Midoriya will be just fine, as long as he survives this. And Shouta will be damned if his kid doesn’t survive. He couldn’t save Oboro. He refuses to fail Midoriya in the same way.
“So. You and Bakugou seem to have gotten close.”
Midoriya tilts his head slightly to level him with a quizzical, if slightly pained, look. “Just trying to keep you awake, kid. Humour me.”
Izuku grunts and shifts slightly, readjusting his entire body to better support the weight on his shoulders. “Um, y-yeah. You could say that.”
“Oh? I sense a story.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Well, unfortunately, we have time and it’s not like I’m goin anywhere.”
“Uh, r-right. Well, long story short we’re sorta…dating.”
Shouta allows a bit of his surprise to show. Anyone with a brain could guess that Bakugou is gay but Shouta had no idea Midoriya was in the community as well. If he’s being honest, he thought the kid would end up with Uraraka some day. And given how toxic the relationship between Bakugou and Midoriya was when they first came under Shouta’s care, he never would have guessed that they’d be anything more than friends.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Nobody knows. Not yet at least. We’re uh trying to t-take our time, ya know. It’s still pretty new and n-neither of us is ready for the attention.”
“I see. Well, your secret is safe with me kid.” Midoriya offers a small, strained but grateful smile.
“So what’s the long story?”
“Well, y-you know how we were at the beginning of f-first year? All the arguing and stuff?”
“Hard to forget, kid. I lost track of how many times I had to restrain Bakugou before he could hurt you.”
“Heh. Y-yeah. Thanks for that, by the way.”
Shouta waves him off lazily. “No big deal kid. Anyway, continue.”
“R-right. Well, we grew up together. We went to the same pre-school and just kinda never stopped being in the same class. When we were little we were practically i-inseparable. But… b-but then I got diagnosed q-quirkless.”
Shouta nods in understanding. “So he started bullying you?”
“More like he s-started abusing me, honestly. He wasn’t the first but he was the worst. T-though I think a part of w-why it um hurt so much is because I-I thought he would never hurt me, ya know. He w-was my best friend. And then suddenly he was calling me Deku and pushing me around on the playground like I meant nothing to him.”
“And yet, you stayed?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because…b-because I love him. I think I’ve always loved him. And you also have to understand, he was never taught any better. Everyone in his life encouraged the bad behavior and fed his ego until we got to UA and you refused to turn a blind eye to it. And at first I had just accepted the fact that we’d never be anything more than rivals. But then he started changing. Suddenly we were friends again and that’s all I ever wanted. It was easy for me to forgive him.”
Midoriya takes in a ragged breath, followed by a low groan. By now the sparks of One for All are becoming more sporadic. Shouta checks the time on the kids phone. It’s been nearly an hour now since the initial building collapse, only about twenty minutes since his call with Hizashi. There’s no messages. No missed phone calls. No updates. Shouta wonders how much longer it’ll be now.
“Ok. So then the whole dating thing. How’d that happen?”
Midoriya lets out a soft huff. “Never pegged you as the type to gossip, Sensei.”
“It’s not gossip, Midoriya. That would imply that I plan to tell anyone. I’m just curious.”
Midoriya grunts softly into his chest. His knees wobble slightly but he just shifts his feet slowly, spreading his legs a little more and bending his knees slightly to better hold the weight above them. If Shouta weren’t so terrified for his kid right now he would be amazed by the control. Even now, in pain and bleeding, Midoriya is so focused on getting them both through this. Not for the first time Shouta mourns the loss of this boy as a future hero.
“Izuku. You um…y-you can call me Izuku. If you want. I think being stuck together under a collapsed building warrants first name privileges.”
Shouta chuckles softly and offers a small nod. “Sure, Izuku. You can call me Shouta then. Just not in class.”
Izuku smiles, no teeth but somehow more genuine than any other smile he’s offered since this whole mess started. “Yes sir.”
“So, you and Bakugou?”
“R-right. Well, after the war, when we were both in the hospital still, he visited me in my room. He overheard me telling AllMight that I had to give up One for All. that all I could feel now is the embers and it’d likely be gone by graduation. He broke down crying in the middle of the hospital room. He told me that he’d find a way for me to still be a hero. He promised we’d be competing for the rest of our lives. And for the first time since we were four I actually believed him.”
He pauses to rub his sweaty brow on his shoulder. The rubble shifts with the movement, drawing a small gasp of pain from the boy as he quickly readjusts. Once the rubble is stable again he takes a deep breath and continues.
“After that, once we were back in the dorms and he was a little less drugged out of his mind, we talked. We finally opened up to each other about everything that happened when we were growing up. He asked me why I never hated him. Why I insisted on giving him so many chances. And I didn’t wanna lie. I told him that at first I didn’t really know what compelled me to keep following him around all the time but eventually I realized it was because I just couldn’t live without him. I told him that I wanted the rest of our lives, like he promised, but not just as competitors. I told him I wanted to be by his side forever, in whatever way he’d let me. And then he just sorta kissed me and I guess the rest is history.”
Shouta offers a small hum of acknowledgement and leans back against a piece of concrete. “Well, that's oddly sweet. Good for you, kid. I’m happy for you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Izuku smiles again, something soft and grateful, and shuts his eyes. “That means a lot, Shouta. T-thank you.”
“I’m nothin special, kid. Just a teacher trying to make a difference for the next generations.”
“And that’s everything to us, Sensei. I don’t think you understand how much we need you. You’re more than just a teacher to us. You’re our hero.”
Shouta looks away. He’s not so sure he deserves the praise, least of all from Midoriya. He’s failed these kids so much. All he ever wanted was for them to be children. Heroes-in-training, yes. But not soldiers. Not war heroes. It’s because of Shouta’s shortcomings, as well as the shortcomings of other heroes, that these kids are plagued by nightmares each night and require enough therapy to last a lifetime. Hell, Midoriya is standing here holding a building on his shoulders while Shouta sits here and does nothing.
“You’re not the failure you think you are, Sensei.”
Shouta turns back to the kid, eyes narrowing slightly at the knowing look in the kid's tired eyes. “Excuse me?”
Midoriya chuckles softly before breaking off into a bloody cough. “You think you’re nothing special because you couldn’t keep us from being attacked by villains or fighting in the war. But if it weren’t for you we all would’ve died at the USJ. If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have been prepared for the war. If it wasn’t for you I probably wouldn’t be here right now to have this argument with you. You may not think you’re much of a hero to us but, respectfully, your opinion of yourself can fuck right off.”
Shouta’s eyebrows shoot right up to his hairline in surprise. He opens his mouth to respond. To continue arguing and maybe even chastise the boy for cursing at him. But before he can even gather his thoughts the rubble suddenly shifts. Midoriya lets out a shrill scream, the lightning of his quirk increasing as it becomes brighter and more sporadic. His whole body shakes with effort as the shifting weight on his shoulders forces him to his knees. A loud sob rips out of him as the rebar shifts in his shoulder and Shouta would be happy with the knowledge that Midoriya’s nerves aren’t completely destroyed if it weren’t for the fact that the rubble begins to force him into a crouched position and his student is screaming bloody murder.
“Sensei! S-sensei, what’s happening? It hurts. I-I can’t.”
“Yes you can Midoriya. I promise you can. I believe in you. Just take deep breaths. You got this kid.” Shouta reassures as he pulls Midoriya's phone from his pocket. Before he can even open it, a call lights up the screen and he answers.
“Hizashi, tell me this is you.”
“What? What’s going on?”
“The rubble is shifting. The kid’s barely holding on, Zashi.”
“Ok. Ok. Yes. It's us. Uraraka is working on zeroing the gravity on the rubble but they have to move through what's on top first. They should be with you in about 60 seconds, give or take.”
A sense of deja vu settles over Shouta as he responds. “Make it 30.”
He hangs up without another word and pockets the phone before shuffling awkwardly on his knees until he’s at Midoriya’s feet. He reaches up and carefully rests his hands on either side of the kid's neck. Teary green eyes flash up to his own, a heartbreaking sense of desperation painting his features. In a rare moment of softness, Shouta gently wipes the kid's tears in what he hopes is a comforting gesture.
“They’re almost to us, kid. I need you to hold out for just a minute longer.”
Izuku shakes his head, eyes squeezing shut as he shakes. “I-I can’t. I can’t, Sensei. I can’t.”
“Izuku look at me. Yes you can. You are Midoriya Izuku. My student. My kid. You saved the world, Izuku. You’ve given your heart and soul countless times for the sake of everyone around you. You are the single greatest hero I know. You can do this, Izuku. You can do this.”
Izuku’s lip wobbles slightly but the desperation quickly fades to the determination Shouta is so used to seeing in the kids eyes. “You should step back, Sensei.”
“I’m not going anywhere, kid. You won’t hurt me. We’re in this together.”
Izuku offers a shaky nod. For a brief second he rests his forehead against Shouta’s shoulder, taking in a few deep, ragged breaths. And then he lifts his head up to the broken ceiling above them. One for All flares in a storm of green around them, electricity crackling along Shouta's skin in tiny stinging kisses. It’s beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Slowly, Izuku rises. His fingertips turn bloody where they dig deeper and deeper in the concrete under them. The rebar shifts in his shoulder. The rubble rises. And Izuku screams through it all, this time less pain and more angry determination. He doesn’t stop until he’s standing tall once more, shaky but determined to last. A victorious grin paints his face.
“I’m doing it, Shouta.”
“Yeah, Boro. You’re doing it.”
If Izuku catches the slip, he doesn’t mention it. Shouta stays right where he is, keeping a grounding touch on his kid at all times. Tears continue to stream down Izuku’s cheeks. Bits of rubble break away and fall around them. More rubble shifts above. They’re getting closer now. Shouta tries to count the seconds, keep track of exactly how long his student holds on, but then Izuku’s expression starts to shift into quiet panic and his body starts to give under the strain once more as the lightning around them begins to dull and flicker.
“No no no. Not now. Please? Please? Not yet. Not now.”
“Izuku. Hey, look at me kid. What’s going on?”
“One for All. I-it’s too much. I-I-I’ve had to maintain it at its full capacity this whole time but I-I’m not supposed to do that, Sensei. Not if I want it to last.”
“So what you’re saying is-”
“The ember. It’s dying.”
Izuku looks at him then, eyes wide and terrified. And for the first time in nearly a year, since vigilante escapades and war, Izuku looks like nothing more than a scared child. Gone is the boy that saved the world. Here, in the dimming light of a dying quirk, Midoriya Izuku is nothing but the lowly quirkless boy looking for his place in the world. And not for the first time Shouta wonders why the universe always has to be so cruel to his kid.
All at once the lightning fades, plunging them into darkness. Izuku lets out a soft whimper of fear and as the rubble starts to crumble around them, Shouta can only wrap his arms around the kid and provide what little comfort he can. He failed. Again. And this time it’ll be his own student who dies because of his shortcomings. He wonders what will happen now. Will Hizashi be just as broken finding their bodies as Shouta was when he found Oboro? Will Bakugou revert back to his anger? Will Midoriya Inko be able to survive the grief of losing her only child?
A sniffle against his neck draws him from his thoughts. Shouta cards a hand through Izuku’s damp curls. It’s dark, so much so that Shouta has to strain his eyes to see the kid curled up against his chest. He can feel Izuku trembling against him. Feel the warmth of a young body against his own. They’re not dead. Shouta refuses to let himself breathe just yet.
“Shoutai? W-what happened?”
“I don’t know, kid. Just don’t move, ok. The structure could still be unstable.”
Izuku nods against him. Shouta keeps him close, head turning to see if he can find some indicator of what’s keeping them alive right now. And that’s when he sees it. Through a sudden gap in the rubble. The shifting of light, artificial like a flashlight. Voices can be heard, muffled but audible. Shouta lets out a stuttered breath and rests a reassuring hand on the back of Izuku's head.
“HELLO!”
The lights shift again. And then, clearer than before, “SHOUTA!”
“ZASHI! WE’RE CLOSE.”
“I KNOW. WE GOT YOU. URAVITY AND ROCK LOCK HAVE THE RUBBLE STABLIZED. CEMENTOSS IS ABOUT TO SHIFT IT FOR YOU. JUST SIT TIGHT.”
It’s then that cement pillars break through the ground to lift the rubble above them. The rebar in Izuku’s shoulder shifts with it, pulling a strangled scream from the boy that gets muffled by Shouta’s neck. He shushes Izuku soothingly, carding his hand through those tangled curls once more. And then the rubble lifts away entirely, revealing more lights and voices as Hizashi’s smiling face comes into view.
“Hey there, handsome. Let’s get you two outta here, yeah?”
“Zashi, I can’t leave him. He needs medical assistance. Now.”
Hizashi glances at Izuku's trembling form, still held securely in his husband's arms. His eyes catch on the rebar, a grimace marring his pretty features at the sight of it. He offers a single nod and races off in search of someone who can cut the kid free. Shouta turns his attention back to Izuku, gently prying the kid's face from his neck and cupping his cheek tenderly, careful of the bruising. Izuku looks up at him tiredly. Somehow, Izuku still finds the strength to smile at him.
“Is it over?”
“Yeah, kid. It’s over. You did it. I’m damn proud of you. Just stay with me a little longer, ok? We’re gonna get outta here soon. I promise.”
“O-ok. I…I-I saved you?”
Shouta lets out a short, shaky breath and offers a single nod. “Yeah, Izuku. You saved me. You saved both of us. You did good.”
“T-that’s good. Shouta?”
“Hmm?”
“Can we maybe just go out for ice cream or something next time? I-I don’t wanna do this again. Zero out of ten experience.”
Shouta can’t help but chuckle softly as he rests his chin on Izuku’s sweaty curls. “Yeah kid. After this I’ll take you out for ice cream whenever you want. Just don’t go telling your classmates, kay?”
“M’kay.”
It’s quiet then, as they wait. Izuku breathes deeply against him as he focuses on trying to stay awake. Hizashi returns quickly with a couple of paramedics who are quick to jump down into their little cove with them, one armed with a small electric saw. They instruct Shouta to hold Izuku still as they cut through the rebar. Shouta thinks his kids' screams might just haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. By the time it’s over Izuku is limp in his arms, the pain taking his consciousness with the lack of near death adrenaline coursing through him. Shouta reluctantly releases his grip on the boy to be treated, following the trio out of the building's remains and almost immediately being pulled into a tight hug.
“God, Shou, I was so fucking scared.”
“I know, Zashi. I’m so sorry.”
Hizashi shakes his head where it’s pressed into Shouta’s shoulder. They stand like that for several minutes, amongst the chaos of heroes and first responders. Shouta finally allows himself to breathe, the relief of survival washing over him like a tidal wave as he practically goes boneless in his husband's arms. Hizashi pulls back only enough to cup Shouta’s cheeks and wipe some blood away with his thumb. It does nothing to help but Shouta leans into the touch anyway.
“Come on, Shou. Let's get you looked at and then we can go see the little listener, yeah?”
Shouta can only nod as he allows Hizashi to lead him by the hand over to a waiting ambulance. Now that the worst is over and he’s sure his student is safe and in good hands, his exhaustion crashes down on him in full force. His eyes slip shut as he’s strapped onto a gurney. The doors close. The hand in his rubs soothingly over Shouta’s stripped knuckles. It’s over. They’re both safe. And tomorrow the clouds will reflect in those emerald eyes, not in a welcome to whatever comes next but in a silent celebration of a life worth living.
–
Izuku wakes up feeling groggy and hollow. There’s a chill in his chest he’s long since forgotten about. The warmth of One for All is gone. His quirk is gone. Izuku doesn’t remember when he lost it. He thought he still had time. He was being so careful. He promised to make it last until graduation. In seemingly just the course of a single night the embers have died and with them, his dream of being a hero. Izuku bites his lip as a couple of slow tears streak his cheeks.
“Hey kid. You awake? What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
Izuku cracks his eyes open, wincing as they adjust to the bright lights of a sterile hospital room. He turns toward the voice beside him to find Aizawa with a thick bandage around his head. “What happened?”
“What do you remember?”
Izuku tries to think. The last thing he remembers is the villain attack downtown. A villain with a dragon mutation had decided to target an area still structurally unstable from the war. Damaged buildings awaiting either reconstruction or demolition. The only civilians on the scene were pedestrians, construction workers, and volunteers. Izuku and a few of his classmates had volunteered to help with search and rescue after the villain was apprehended. Izuku had not so subtly been requested by his teacher to aid him with a few office buildings, the man wanting to keep a close eye on his problem child.
“We were evacuating civilians. The building we were in was unstable. Did it collapse?”
“It did. You caught it. You held the building up for almost an hour and half using One for All before we were finally rescued.”
Izuku turns his head to stare up at the ceiling. So that’s how he lost his quirk. He must have pushed his percentage to 100%, there’s no other way he would have been able to pull something like that off. As devastating as it is to have lost his dream, he can’t bring himself to regret it. They both would have died if he hadn’t done what he did. He knew this day would come and while he isn’t quite ready for it, maybe it’s time he let go.
“One for All is gone.”
“I know.”
Izuku nods. “Am I expelled?”
“Why the hell would you be expelled, Izuku?”
Izuku sniffles and turns back toward his teacher. “I’m quirkless now, Shouta. I can’t be a hero anymore.”
“Says who?”
“Everyone? All my life I-”
“I don’t care.”
Izuku blinks in surprise at the conviction in his teacher's tone. Aizawa leans forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees and hands clasped together between his legs. He locks eyes with Izuku and his firm expression softens in a way Izuku isn’t quite used to yet but he thinks is oddly fitting for the man. He reaches out and rests a hand on Izuku’s gently. He can hardly feel it. Though, now that he’s paying attention, he can hardly feel that arm at all.
“Izuku. I want you to listen to me very carefully, ok?”
Izuku offers a tiny nod. “You do not need a quirk to be a hero. I really could not care less what the rest of the world thinks. You are already more of a hero than just about any Pro I know, including myself. And yes, you had One for All for most of it. But you’re not a hero because of power or skill or the number of villains you’ve apprehended. You are a hero because you have a heart of gold and a soul so kind that it helps bleed hope into the people who need it most. You’re a hero because you would put your life on the line time and time again just to see the rest of the world prosper. That is your superpower. And you do not need a quirk for that.”
His teacher pauses, taking in a soft breath before nodding to himself once and continuing. “I had a friend, when I was about your age. He was a lot like you. Knuckleheaded and stubborn as hell. Reckless. He had a smile that could light up a room and a habit of collecting damaged hero hopefuls. In our second year at UA we fought a villain much like the one from this attack. He was helping to evacuate some kids from a nursery school when the building collapsed. He sacrificed himself to save those kids. He was a hero in everything but profession. And sometimes, when I look at you, I see him. I see his clouds reflected in your eyes and I know that you’re gonna be ok. You’ve got him looking after you.”
“W-what was his name?” Izuku asks, voice choked with the threat of tears.
“Oboro.”
‘Yeah, Boro. You’re doing it.’
Tears stream down Izuku’s cheeks and he squeezes his eyes shut. All his life all he’s ever wanted to hear were those words. All his life he just wanted someone, anyone to believe in him. He was turned away every time. When his mother hugged him and apologized in a dark room. When ‘Izuchan’ became ‘Deku’. When his hero advised him to be more ‘realistic’. For a while, Izuku’s only hope was a borrowed quirk and a soul crushing legacy. Now though, his hope comes in the form of a tired underground hero, a man who believes in him wholeheartedly. His hope comes from the long gone legacy of a hero who was never meant to be.
“Besides, all of that aside, if I remember correctly you made a promise. Yeah? For the rest of your lives?”
“Damn fuckin straight.”
Izuku smiles shakily through the tears and pries his open. This time, his gaze settles on soft blond spikes and ruby red eyes. At first, Katsuki looks angry where he stands in the doorway with his signature scowl and a bag slung over his good shoulder. But then his expression softens into something more vulnerable. He crosses the room, offering their teacher a silent nod in greeting, and sits on Izuku’s other side.
“Auntie went home to shower and get some sleep. She’ll be back in the morning. I brought you some clothes.”
“Thanks Kachaan.”
Katsuki grunts as he drops the bag at his feet. “Is it really gone?”
Izuku bites his lip, glancing at their teacher before offering a single nod. “Yeah. I can’t feel the ember anymore. Are…a-are you mad?”
“Tch. No. M’not happy about it but we knew it’d happen eventually. I’m just happy you’re alive, nerd. Only motherfucker that’s allowed to kill you is me and that includes your damn self.”
“Wha- You wouldn’t kill me?”
“No? Cause every time you snore in my ear in the middle of the night I really wanna press a pillow to your face until you stop thrashing.”
“Mean to me!”
From his other side, Aizawa chuckles softly. Izuku turns toward his teacher as he pulls his hand away and stands up with a stretch. He gently cards his fingers through Izuku’s curls only once before pulling away once more. And it’s then that Izuku really sees how tired his sensei is. He remembers pleading with his teacher to wake up when the building first came down and a piece of rubble struck his head. He remembers being so relieved when Aizawa finally let out a low groan. He remembers how his teacher took care of him, fought through his own fatigue to keep Izuku awake and calm. He thinks the man deserves to rest now.
“I’ll come back tomorrow, kid. Don’t go holding any more buildings on your shoulders while I’m gone, yeah?”
Izuku giggles and nods in agreement. “Wasn’t planning on it. Goodnight, Shouta.”
“Goodnight, Izuku. Goodnight, Bakugou.”
Izuku watches his teacher walk toward the door. He almost wants to reach out. To ask the man to stay. But he could never be so selfish. Still, he calls out one last time.
“Sensei?” Aizawa stops with a hand on the door knob and turns with a raised brow.
“Um. When you come back, can you bring Yamada-sensei? I wanna thank him.”
Aizawa offers a tiny, barely there smile and a nod. “Sure, kid. I’m sure he’d love to come see you.”
“And um, maybe you could also bring that ice cream that we talked about? I-I like strawberry.”
And this time, the answering smile is more genuine. “Sure kid. Whatever you want.”
As his teacher leaves and the tears finally dry, Izuku thinks about the life he’s about to leave behind. The version of him that the world knows, their savior, the ninth holder of One for All, AllMights successor, died under that rubble. But somehow, he’s more than that now. He‘s had his time as the next Symbol of Peace. But maybe now that symbol can rest. Maybe now he can walk his own path. Provide a new symbol. One that offers hope to those who need it most. One that proves the true essence of a hero. Heart.
For now though, Izuku takes a moment to appreciate the clouds gliding along the sky through his hospital window. They look as beautiful as a boy with a blinding smile and a knack for picking up strays.