章 2098: 28
Chapter Text
Aizawa groaned as his consciousness barely clung to him. His eyes hurt, his face hurt, everything hurt so goddamn much, but he couldn't stop. There were kids here. Sure, by law, they were adults but fuck the law. They were fresh out of high school and barely understood themselves, let alone the world. Too young to be in this situation and too inexperienced to get out of it. He needed to stop the villains. He needed to get up and do his damn job!
His arms were broken, and his body wasn't responding to his desperate commands. Slowly Aizawa forced his eyes open. It seemed to be the only thing he could do. He wishes he hadn't, though. The sight before him was what he was trying to avoid. His students were in the plaza along with the remaining villains.
Pony, Mashiro, and Rikido were rushing towards him. They were his favorites now, even if Mashio's tail was covered in bruises. Mina seemed to have the warper pinned while Eijiro kept watch nearby. They were on thin ice. Shoto was now permanently on his shit list as the boy was actively fighting the decay villain. He would have to chew him out later for not using the fire aspect of his quirk as the decay villain easily dusted all the ice meant to trap him.
Izuku was also on the shit list as the boy was actively trying to fight the monster that rendered Aizawa into a broken mess. He had to assume either Izuku's quirk was slowing that monster down or because the decay villain hadn't been able to issue orders, it wasn't able to act at full strength. Either way, it was still fast, and Izuku was barely able to dodge it, and each punch disrupted the flow of gas, making it hard for Izuku to get any near the creature's face.
The warp villain spoke up suddenly. "Tomura Shigaraki, we must finish this soon before the heroes arrive."
Tomura growled and jumped back. Shoto's ice had been slowing down, and now Tomura finally had enough breathing room to yell. "Nomu free Kurogiri!"
The monster moved like a blur. Mina barely had time to look up before she was shoved to the side. Eijiro crossed his arms as he hardened his body to the maximum he could hold. It wasn't enough, though.
Nomu's fist connected with Eijiro's crossed arms, and a horrifying cracking noise echoed through the USJ as Eijiro went flying towards the Flood Zone. Everyone let out a small breath as Dark Shadow caught Eijiro before his limp form could hit the water.
Kurogiri warped to Tomura's side as Nomu joined them. Tomura scratched his neck. "One kid down. Now how about the brat who was playing with Nomu. Why don't we see if you can handle him when he's actually trying. Nomu grab that brat Kurogiri take the ice brat. I'm tired of dealing with him."
Izuku swore and screamed as Nomu's massive hand wrapped around his chest and lifted him off the ground before he even could blink. Izuku grit his teeth as he felt his ribs bend under the pressure. Nomu was applying just enough pressure to hurt Izuku but not break his bones. Izuku's arm shook as he raised it and shoved his palm in front of the monster's beak, and blasted.
Mina rushed towards her boyfriend as Shoto skated around, avoiding Kurogiri and his portals. She was vaguely aware of Mashiro and Rikido carting Aizawa off towards the stairs while Fumikage and Dark Shadow dragged a limp and broken Eijiro towards them. Pony and Tsu were near the boys, but Mina was the only one rushing towards Izuku.
"Where are you going, girl?" Tomura's voice sent a chill down her spine as she turned her head and saw he had closed the gap. His hand stretched out and made contact with her back right between her shoulder blades. Mina gasped as pain shot through her body like electricity. She couldn't concentrate, so she couldn't make acid to get him off as he slammed her into the ground. The pain spread slowly over her back like liquid fire being poured on her bare skin. Tears pricked her eyes, and blackness crept into her vision.
Pony screamed in English. "Get the fuck off her asshat!"
Her horns fired and impaled themselves into Tomura's arms while throwing him into the Flood Zone. Kurogiri quickly abandoned his fight to rescue his charge as Tsu jumped over to Mina and winced, seeing the exposed muscle of her back. The frog girl gingerly picked Mina up and moved towards the others.
Tomura coughed and stumbled onto land before dusting Pony's horns. "Fucking brats. Nomu end that kid and then kill the cowgirl next."
Izuku screamed as Nomu screamed and broke several of his ribs. The gas wasn't working. Izuku tried to pump more into Nomu's face, but the monster simply jerked his arms to the side, and Izuku felt something snap just before the monster sank its jagged teeth into his left shoulder.
The students were panicking and scrambling. Pony was getting ready to fire her horns as Shoto stumbled towards Nomu, the half and half boy's body covered in frost, and his movements were sluggish. Hanta and Minoru were running out of the woods towards their classmates as Rikido and Mashiro carried Aizawa up the stairs trying not to look back at their screaming classmate. Fumikage and Dark Shadow were in a similar position with Eijiro between them.
Everyone in the Central Plaza stopped as two beams fired. The first one was a short solid white beam that came out of the tree line and hit Kurogiri, stunning the villain. The second was a larger beam coming down from the top of the stairs. This laser was an angry red, and a scream ripped through the silence as Toru yelled. "Get off him now!"
The angry red beam carved through the top of Nomu's exposed brain, reducing a chunk of it to a bubbling mess. Nomu's jaw went slack as the monster fell to his knees. Pony and Hanta rushed forward and threw their weight into the monster to keep it from falling on Izuku as it dropped him.
Izuku hit the ground silently as his blood seeped from the bite wound. Nomu's body fell backward, and Tomura let out a guttural scream as he scratched his neck. He couldn't tell who to look at, who to scream at and curse out. All these fucking children were a nuisance, and apparently, one of them could just melt Nomu's brain.
The doors of the USJ exploded off their hinges as All Might stepped in. Tomura screamed again as the Symbol of Peace stepped up to assess the situation. By the time All Might's eyes landed on Tomura, the man was already flipping All Might the bird as he stumbled through Kurogiri's portal.
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Midnight was taking deep, slow breaths as the bus rushed toward the USJ. she had been in the middle of class when the PA system kicked in, and Nezu ordered all first-year teachers to get to the bus depot. As they rode towards the USJ, he broke down the message he received from All Might.
The Symbol of Peace ran into Tenya Iida on his way to the USJ. The boy was frantic and terrified as he explained how villains were attacking. All Might sent the message to Nezu before telling Tenya to get to UA. The boy had made it as the rest of the teachers were leaving. Recovery Girl currently had Tenya in her clinic as he had overheated his engines and burned his legs.
Nemuri was doing her best not to panic. Aizawa was a good fighter and would die before he let the students get hurt. Which worried her. Hirooki would also put down their life before letting a villain get their hands on a student, but unlike Aizawa, Hirooki didn't have combat experience. Something the two had talked a little about before. Hirooki had been scared of their quirk growing up and avoided combat, choosing to be a rescue hero instead of a combat-oriented one. Nemuri thought her partner needed to at least know quirkless combat skills just to be safe. Nemuri hoped that after today she could talk to her partner about it again.
Izuku came to mind, and Nemuri tried to shove the fear bubbling up in her chest away. Her son was strong and smart, but... she knew her son, and she knew he didn't always think of himself when he was being heroic.
The bus jerked to a stop, and the teachers rushed out into the parking lot of the USJ before moving towards the building. The first thing Nemuri saw caused a lump to form in her throat. Her partner Thirteen was out of their suit. Their back was a bloody mess of bandages. The only thing letting Nemuri know they were alive was the slow, steady breaths.
Vlad squeezed her shoulder as they moved past Thirteen letting an Ectoplasm clone check over Hirooki. Nemuri spotted Toru among the students near the entrance. As she moved towards the invisible girl, she noted the devastated looks of all the students as they all sat on the ground staring down the staircase. Midnight crouched by the invisible girl who flinched at her soft voice. "Toru."
Nemuri could feel the invisible girl shaking as she said. "I-I'm sorry... I-I hesitated a-and."
Toru buried her face into Nemuri's chest as a sob racked the invisible girl's body. The sudden noise made the other students flinch. "What are you talking about-"
Nemuri's voice died, and her world cracked as she saw Aizawa bleeding and broken, followed by Eijiro. Her eyes drifted down farther, and her breathing stopped. Laying next to each other was Mina with her back muscles exposed and cracked and Izuku on his back with his shoulder bleeding and chest rising unevenly. Nemuri didn't even feel the tears. She stayed silent and held Toru as the girl apologized for hesitating over and over again. This couldn't be real. It had to be a quirk or a nightmare. Something had to be fake because this much was too much. Nemuri didn't know what to do. Her years of training just disappeared, and her mind went blank as she stared at her son and his girlfriend looking like-
A paw touched her arm, and Nemuri flinched her eyes, locking onto Nezu's. Her boss patted her arm, and he said, "Midnight, please escort the students up here outside. The authorities will be here soon, and we have many who need help."
Nemuri nodded slowly. "Y-yes, sir... I understand."
Things moved in slow motion, and yet it all felt detached and like she was watching a movie on fast forward. The police and ambulances arrived quickly. Those in critical condition were rushed to the hospital while the others were treated for minor injuries and interviewed by the police. In total, eighty-seven villains were captured, Nomu's corpse was carted off, and the descriptions of the two that got away were given.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. Class 1-A was taken to their dorms, where several teachers remained to keep an eye on them. Hizashi put a hand on Nemuri's shoulder and let out a shaky breath. "Come on. I texted Emi. She's headed to the hospital. I doubt any of us can get in, but it's better than sitting around here, right?"
Nemuri nodded silently and followed her friend, who informed Nezu where they were going before leaving. The Dean of UA nodded understandingly and allowed them to go as he finished the clean-up with the remaining pros and police.
____________________________________________________________________
Hirooki groaned as they opened their eyes, only to slam them shut again. The lights were too bright, and the ceiling was too white. Their back itched, and their throat was dry as can be, but they were alive, so they assumed they had won.
"Hirooki... are you awake?" a voice asked. It sounded too soft... too fragile to be their partners, but as Hirooki cracked their eyes open again, they were met with the sight of Nemuri in her hero costume sitting by their bed. Her eyes shimmered with tears barely held back, and she looked one step away from breaking.
Hirooki reached over and grabbed her hand gently. "Y-yeah. I'm awake."
Nemuri squeezed their hand as they shook, and tears streaked down Nemuri's cheeks. "G-good. I'm sorry we couldn't get to you quicker."
"S'okay... I think I need some combat training, though. Kinda embarrassed myself in front of the students. Know any teachers?"
Nemuri sniffed. "Y-yeah. She's a hardass, though. It'll take some serious effort to get on her good side."
Hirooki tried not to wince as they laughed. "I'll do my best then... How is everyone else?"
Nemuri flinched and tightened her grip on their hand. "It's not good... but everyone is gonna live."
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Hizashi rubbed his eyes before standing. "I'm gonna go get some coffee and walk around. Do you want anything?"
Emi shook her head. "I'm fine. Someone's gotta make sure he doesn't go on a rampage when he wakes up blindfolded."
Hizashi hummed and left. He was glad his best friend was alive, at least.
Emi sighed and looked at Shota's bandaged face as he breathed steadily. "You know I won't forgive you if you're prettier than me when they take those bandages off."
Shota didn't respond, and Emi kicked her feet out and stretched. "You know I was in the middle of grading papers at Ketsubetsu when I got word. I hope someone put them up for me. I don't need my students seeing them on my desk... I wonder how Hitoshi is doing. You never update me on your kid, and I think that's a pretty stingy thing to do."
Emi looked at his sleeping form and said. "You know it's rude to let the lady do all the talking. You gotta show that you're interested in what I'm saying, or I'll think you don't like me... not that I can really tell when you do talk to me. Though Nemuri does have a point. I kinda panic around you and tell stupid jokes. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but also, I just do it, so you don't take me seriously. Guess I'm scared of what would happen if you did."
Emi sat in silence while staring up at the ceiling. "I wish I had gone to UA. it'd have been nice to see young adult Aizawa." Emi let out a small chuckle that lacked any real joy. "though you probably wouldn't have liked the old Emi. you'd have definitely liked her less than the newer, hotter Emi that you met..."
Emi's eyes fell to the floor as she said. "I know I hated her."
A rustling of cloth pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked over as Aizawa started to struggle and gasp for breath. Emi reached over quickly, putting a hand on his shoulder as she said. "Wow, wow, wow. Hey, calm down, Aizawa, it's me, Joke. You're ok; you're in the hospital. They bandaged your face."
Aizawa slowly stopped struggling and spoke his voice horse and parched. "Joke?"
"That's what they all call me. I'd prefer if you called me Emi, though."
"Fukukado," Aizawa said simply before accepting the straw that poked his lip.
Emi sighed as she let him drink. "Wow, I haven't heard that name in forever. Guess your head is still on straight."
Aizawa released the straw and said. "What about my students?"
"I'll get Hizashi; he knows," Emi said as she stood to leave.
"Thank you." Emi smiled at his simple thanks and told him to wait while she tracked down the DJ.
___________________________________________________________________
Nemuri sighed as she sat between Izuku and Mina's beds. Eijiro was in the third bed by the window. Typically they would have been put in separate rooms, but Nezu pulled some strings claiming it would be easier to keep an eye on the students if they were together.
It had been a day since the USJ attack, and none of the teens were awake yet. It made sense considering the severity of their injuries. The door clicked, and Nemuri looked up, seeing the floating clothes of Mina and Izuku's girlfriend. Nemuri's eyes narrowed as she spied the limp blonde hair of All Might in his skinny form.
Toru closed the door and walked over silently. Nemuri gave her best smile as the invisible girl sat next to her. "How are you, Toru?"
The girl didn't respond right away. Nemuri placed a hand on her shoulder and asked. "Has your family contacted you?"
Toru nodded. "I talked to them last night for a couple hours... Where's Mina's family?"
"I talked to them last night. They're out of town, but they're coming back. They'll be here tomorrow."
Toru hummed. "I texted Hitoshi. He wants to come, but Shinketsu is on lockdown, so he can't."
Nemuri hummed. "Better safe than sorry. We don't know if the villains have more targets than just UA."
A silence consumed the room, and Nemuri sighed internally. She knew Toru wouldn't want to talk, but. "Toru, what did you mean at the USJ? You were sobbing about how you hesitated and how sorry you were."
Toru flinched and fidgeted in her seat. "I-I. You know how my lasers work. I-I've gotten a handle on my upper limits, and I don't hurt myself unless I push it too far, b-but... I- the lower levels are hard to maintain. M-my lasers aren't like Aoyama's. Mine are lethal at the lowest level I can manage. T-that thing that hurt Izuku. I don't know if it was a person or not, and I hesitated then it bit Izuku."
Nemuri watched Toru shake as a sob clawed its way up her throat. "I-Izuku is hurt so badly because I hesitated and was scared. I-I'm sorry!"
Nemuri pulled the invisible girl into a hug and rubbed her back gently. "It's ok, Toru. You're a first-year student; you should never have gotten into this situation. This is a failing on our part as teachers, not yours as students."
She glared at the door. "Your teachers failed you, and we will take responsibility. You did the best you could, and Izuku is alive. He will recover, and the three of you will be back to being all lovey-dovey in no time."
Nemuri let Toru sob and calm down before standing. "I'll let you have some time with them alone. There's someone I need to talk to anyways."
Toru nodded. "O-Ok. Thank you, Nemuri."
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Toshinori flinched a bit as the door opened suddenly, and he was met with Nemuri's glare. "Ah, Ms.Midnight-"
Nemuri shut the door. "No, I'm not your peer at school or your junior as a hero right now. I'm Nemuri Kayama. I'm gonna talk to you as a parent right now, Mr.Yagi, and you're gonna listen."
Toshi gulped a bit and nodded before he followed Nemuri down the hall in silence. Once they were away from the student's room, Nemuri said. "You knew Izuku and his girlfriends before UA. you were their personal trainer."
Toshi cleared his throat. "I- Um, yes I did. Though I don't show any favoritism."
"Of course not; if Aizawa thought you did, he would have ripped you a new one. Do they know Toshinori Yagi and All Might are the same person?"
"Yes, they do," Toshi said simply.
Nemuri nodded. "I see. Why'd you tell them?"
"Because I did not want to keep it a secret, and I believe they are all going to become incredible heroes who will make the world a better place. Especially Young Hagakure, who I believe could become the next number one. I trained them so they would be the best they could be."
Nemuri looked up at him, and Toshi flinched at the hard look in her eyes. "Then why weren't you at the USJ? If you want to push them to be the best they can be, why weren't you there to help them? Why'd you waste all your time doing things that any other hero could have and would have handled?"
Toshi looked away as he clenched his fist. "I am a hero I cannot and will not ignore-"
"You're a pro All Might. You should know how to prioritize and delegate. Not every crime needs a powerhouse to solve it. You're the number one hero of Japan, but you're also a teacher. You took on the job, which means you took on the responsibility to teach and protect these kids. You did neither of those. You went and did other hero's jobs for them."
Nemuri huffed and clenched her fist. "I know there was no way for us to know about the attack or predict it, but still. You should have prioritized these kids you say you care about and want to teach. Stop trying to do everything on your own because you can't anymore. You told us before the year started that you only had a few hours in your hero form. Yet you act like you can keep it up forever and do things like you used to. You can't, and you need to realize that before something like this happens again."
Toshi clenched his fist and stared at the wall as he took in her words. She was a mother who was rightfully angry at him. If he hadn't stopped and done all those heroics on the way to school, he would have been at the USJ, and he would have been able to help Thirteen and Aizawa with the villains. "I understand that I messed up, and I apologize for failing you as a hero and as a teacher."
Nemuri shook. "Don't apologize to me. Say you're sorry to your students when they wake up. Do that, and I'll forgive you."
Toshinori bowed his head as Nemuri left. "I'll be sure to apologize to them once they're awake."
_____________________________________________________________________
Everything hurt was the first thought that Izuku had as his eyes fluttered open and he stared up at the sterile white hospital ceiling. Izuku groaned as he sat up, only for a hand to gently push him down. Toru spoke. "Stay laying down."
"Hm Toru... can I get some water?"
Toru chuckled and held a straw up to his lips. "Here... I'm glad you're awake."
Izuku drank some water before sighing. "Thanks... glad I'm alive. How is everyone else?"
Toru sniffled. "Mina's in the hospital too. That decay guy got her back. She'll be ok. She's in the bed next to you, asleep. Other than you two Kirishima's in here asleep as well. His ribs and arms were broken. Aizawa and Thirteen are also in the hospital, but your mom said they would be fine."
Izuku looked around the room, spotting Eijiro by the window and Mina behind Toru. "Did they get all the villains?"
"No. A couple got away... I'm sorry, Izuku. I hesitated, and you got hurt."
Izuku reached out and grabbed her trembling hand. "It's ok. You saved me in the end; that's all that matters."
Izuku felt Toru's lips press against the back of his hand. "I love you."
Izuku smiled. "Love you too."
"Aww, that's sweet. I love you guys a lot as well." Toru and Izuku looked over to see Mina smiling at them.
Toru moved her hand over and held Mina's outstretched hand. "Mina, how are you feeling?"
"My back hurts a lot. Hope the scar isn't too bad. I just bought a new swimsuit I wanted to show off to you guys." Mina said, flashing her biggest smile.
Izuku smiled softly as he said. "It's ok, Mina. you'll always be the most beautiful person to both of us."
Toru nodded and said. "Yeah. scars are sexy anyway, so you'll both look even hotter to me now."
Mina's cheeks flushed lilac, and she cleared her throat. "I uh need some water."
As Toru helped Mina drink, Eijiro laid as still as he could in his bed and pretended to be asleep. He should probably let them know he was awake, but honestly, it got harder to announce his presence as time went on, and they deserved some time to talk and whatnot. It would be super awkward and unmanly to interrupt them.
____________________________________________________________________
Himiko stopped walking as she saw the news. She had been prepping for the job yesterday, so she didn't see the news until now. The USJ was attacked, and several students and teachers were in the hospital, but they would all make full recoveries, and UA was doubling down on revamping their security to make sure it never happened again.
"Suki. Come on, we don't got all day. Mr.Kin needs these documents in his office before lunch." a tall blonde woman with green eyes said as they stopped a few paces in front of Himiko.
Himiko pushed her blue hair out of her onyx eyes. "Sorry, Mita. I just saw the news about UA."
Mita propped her hand on her hip as she sighed. "Seriously, Suki? You're just now seeing that? It was all over the place yesterday. You're so disconnected."
Himiko laughed as the two women started walking again and entered the office building. "Yeah, I know. Now come on which floor was Mr. Kin's office on again?"
Mita rolled her eyes. "Thirtieth floor. He's got that huge window with a balcony overlooking the city. Pretty showy if you ask me. The guy isn't even on the board of directors, but he has an office that nice. Smells kinda fishy, doesn't it?"
Himiko looked at her as they rode the elevator up, and she tightened her grip on the briefcase she was holding. "Oh, you think he's doing something dirty?"
Mita looked around like someone could possibly pop out of the elevator as they rode it. "Maybe he's got dirt on the leadership or something."
Himiko rubbed her chin. "Maybe."
She winced as Mita swatted her arm and inadvertently hit a bruise. "I'm kidding. The dude's a cheese ball. He probably just works super hard."
Himiko hummed as the elevator dinged, and they excited. The two women walked a straight path to Mr. Kin's office and entered. Mita looked around. "Hm, he's not here. Guess we'll just leave these on the desk and go."
As they opened the briefcases and placed the documents down, Mita wandered over to one of the walls. "Wow, he's got... a lot of alcohol in here. How much do you think he drinks while he's on the job?"
Himiko slipped her palm under the edge of the desk and pressed a listening device to it. "Probably enough to make the day bearable."
"Hm, do you think he'd notice if we took some?"
Himiko rolled her eyes as she walked over and tapped Mita's shoulder. "Come on, let's get out of here; there's a cafe down the street I wanna try out."
Notes:
some days I struggle with chapter names. Hospital seemed fitting since that's where most of it takes place. Kinda tired also been watching Dr. Stone. it's a good anime.
unrelated I've been thinking of a few different Izuku Midoriyas and stories (that I won't be starting any time soon). one an Izuku Midoriya who's heavily mutated. like kinda looks like a demon. he's friends with Mina. they met at a Mutation quirk support group and the story would have more quirk discrimination in it.
the other is an Izumi Midoriya with a quirk that increased how quickly she processes information and reacts to it. she's super into fighting and has learned a bunch of MMA to help her become a hero. she gets a little battle crazy sometimes.
the final one is actually an older brother Izuku and a younger sister Izumi. same dad different moms. both have a cat mutation quirk so they've got tails, eyes, and ears as well as retractable claws and all the reflexes and senses of a cat. here's the interesting part though. Izuku is living a normal life and is a second year at UA he inters with Aizawa. Izumi on the other hand in the product of infidelity.
her dad doesn't know she exists and her mother abandoned her to try and save her family life. Izumi lives as a homeless girl/villain who mugs people for their money and blood so she can keep her girlfriend Himiko sane. the two get picked up by the pussycats (Don't know how yet) and then end up in UA's young villain reformation program where they live and work alongside hero students to become better people and possibly heroes. the two girls known to the media as the Ally Cats take an interest in a cute girl from the country named Ochako and set about seeing if she'd be interested in them like they're interested in her while also balancing hero student stuff.
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