Chapter Text
It’s nighttime when he finally claws his way back to consciousness. Blinking groggily, he turns his head to see that Inko and Aizawa are still sitting by his bedside, but there’s a third person.
Recovery Girl.
As soon as their gazes meet, her beady eyes fill to the brim with tears and she reaches out to grip his hand tightly. The kiss that she plants firmly on his forehead has nothing to do with her quirk.
He asks about All Might. She huffs and tells him that he’s doing fine, that she left Sir Nighteye to watch over him. She’ll have to go back and check on him later, but it’s Izuku she’s worried about.
His wounds ache, but that’s to be expected. He’s mostly just hungry and still pretty tired, even though he apparently slept for eighteen hours, which surprises the hell out of him. Although, considering all that happened, it probably shouldn’t.
Recovery Girl has a nurse bring over a quick meal for him while Aizawa ducks into the hallway to call Detective Tsukauchi. And then the next thing he knows, he’s being debriefed on his time with the League of Villains. Principal Nedzu arrives with Tsukauchi and he, the detective, and Aizawa all sit in plastic chairs at the end of Izuku’s bed while Inko and Recovery Girl sit beside him. Izuku holds his mother’s hand, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
Of course, he knew this was coming. He knew he would have to talk about… everything. He just hopes he actually can…
A cold weight settles in his stomach, apprehension curdling deep.
Detective Tsukauchi leans forward and asks his first question. “Can you tell us what happened after you were taken?”
Izuku blinks.
A hot hand on the back of his neck dragging him through a portal. Being forced to the ground, bound, gagged. Shigaraki, Shigaraki, SHIGARAKI-
He squeezes his mother’s hand. His mouth opens, but only a thin whine comes out. It’s pathetic and embarrassing and he clamps his jaws shut immediately, cheeks burning.
Recovery Girl jumps to his defense. “His throat has gone through far too much trauma recently. He was supposed to be taking it easy and doing speech therapy after the mall incident, but he must’ve had to push his voice past its limit these past few days. Isn’t that right?” Izuku nods, head ducked. Recovery Girl tsks. “Well, it’ll do you no good to stress it out even further now by telling us a long story. Is there anything he can write with?”
Inko perks up and reaches into her purse. “Here.” She pulls out Izuku’s phone- slightly cracked, but miraculously still intact- and pushes it into his hands. His surprise must show on his face because she explains, “One of the firefighters found it by chance while putting out the fires in the forest and turned it in. When they discovered that it belonged to you, they gave it to me.”
He turns it on and discovers about a hundred missed messages and calls from practically everyone on his contacts list. Wincing, he ignores them all and clicks on his notes app. When it opens, he glances up at Detective Tsukauchi imploringly, as if to ask if this is alright. His throat really is killing him and his voice doesn’t sound too great, especially after fighting for his life and having a couple of panic attacks.
Realizing that he’s looking for permission, Tsukauchi startles and nods. “Oh, of course, of course! Whatever is easier for you, Midoriya-kun. If one of you could read as he types, though, that would be great.”
Recovery Girl agrees, and then it’s up to Izuku to start typing. What happened to him after he was taken?
His thumb hovers over the screen.
He answers. And at first, it’s not so bad. It’s a bit easier to tell the story when he doesn’t actually have to talk. He was warped away, bound, gagged, Shigaraki was there, said he was going to kill him when he was done with him. Inko soon starts sniffling beside him, and he can’t stop the way his fingers tremble when he begins describing his first encounter with All For One and how he stole his energy. Detective Tsukauchi is confused about the latter part and presses for details, and Izuku tries his best to explain, but the memories flash before his eyes and his chest begins to feel tight. He types and deletes sentences over and over again before dropping his phone on the bed and burying his face between his knees, struggling to take deep, shuddering breaths. There’s a hand on his shoulder and he knows it’s Aizawa’s. He leans into the grounding pressure as he slowly regains control of his breathing. When he lifts his head, the adults are gazing at him in concern. He flushes.
“I’m sorry,” Detective Tsukauchi apologizes, “I didn’t mean to press. We can do this another time if you’re not-”
Izuku waves his hand and shakes his head. Picking up his phone again, he types out his response, something a bit more vague but easier for him to get out. Aizawa is beside him now, so he reads, “He had a quirk that could force quirks. But I couldn’t heal him all at once, so I had time…”
It’s probably for the best that Aizawa is the one to read instead of Recovery Girl from then on. Izuku’s mentor begins to look increasingly distressed, along with the other adults, as he describes how the League tried to manipulate him to their side and how he tried to manipulate them right back by pretending to be swayed. When he gets to the part about how he forced his quirk past its own natural limits in order to have some control over All For One’s healing process, Recovery Girl, understandably, reacts with shock.
She tells him he can never do something like that again, that it was incredibly dangerous and stupid to do. His quirk prevents him from healing while he’s injured for a reason, he can’t just ignore his body’s self-preservation safeguards whenever he wants. And he knows that; it felt horrible to force his quirk like that, his whole body was telling him not to, and it drained him even faster than normal. He tells her this, and it seems to both appease her and make her more worried.
“Well, quirks have been known to occasionally react strangely in traumatic experiences,” she sighs, “You might not even be able to- to force your quirk like this again, and I don’t want you to try it.”
Izuku thinks about how he accidentally healed Todoroki’s scar, but decides not to mention it. If what she said is true, then he can just blame that on the added emotions of that moment.
There isn’t much else to say after that. He talks about the press conference, about the fight, about his friends rescuing him- he tries to emphasize the lack of combat, but it kind of gets lost in the irritated tone that Aizawa reads it in-, and how they brought him to the police station.
Then Detective Tsukauchi asks about Ragdoll. Izuku blinks.
“What about Ragdoll?” He types. Aizawa glances at him, then at Tsukauchi.
The detective looks uneasy. “She was kidnapped as well.” Izuku’s breath hitches, his eyes widening in shock. “She was rescued, of course. During Kamino. But her quirk…” He hesitates. “It seems to have been… taken from her. By All For One, we believe. I was just wondering, during your time with him, did he ever say anything…?” He trails off.
Izuku slowly shakes his head, stunned. “No,” he rasps, aloud, “No, I didn’t even know she was there…”
Recovery Girl reaches over and takes his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Izuku can hardly believe his ears. Ragdoll was there the whole time? And All For One… that monster stole her quirk?
It’s too much for his worn-out brain to handle right now, but he swallows heavily and takes slight solace in the memory of All Might’s fist driving into All For One’s face.
Principal Nedzu straightens up then, bringing the attention to him. His mammalian face isn’t quite built for human emotions, but his black eyes glitter with sorrow.
“Well,” he starts softly, “Midoriya Izuku, the last time we spoke, I issued an apology to you. I hope you can forgive me for being repetitive. What I said during the press conference was not all for show. This has been UA’s greatest failure, and you have endured so much more suffering than you deserve.” He hops off his chair and bows low. “On behalf of UA and the heroes that serve as its staff, I sincerely apologize for all the pain that both you and your mother have endured.”
Izuku stares at him. Beside him, Aizawa and Recovery Girl follow suit, bowing their heads politely. Inko glances between them, pressing her lips together. The freckled boy shifts uncomfortably before typing something on his phone. He tugs at Aizawa’s sleeve and the man glances over, reads, then sighs. He keeps tugging until Aizawa finally caves a few seconds later with a huff.
“He says, ‘I don’t blame UA for this happening. Like Aizawa-sensei said during the conference, I’m the first healer-in-training UA has ever had, so experience is not on your side. Nobody could have foreseen any of this happening. If there was even the slightest warning that I could be in danger, I know you would have taken every precaution to keep me safe’.”
He gives Nedzu what he hopes is a reassuring smile, and the principal’s whiskers twitch.
“So much trust,” Nedzu murmurs, “I promise we will prove to you that we deserve it.”
Inko shifts in her seat. “Speaking of keeping him safe…” She glances at Detective Tsukauchi nervously. “What’s going to happen now…? I mean, I’m still a little confused with this- this All For One being after my baby, but- but if he’s gone now…”
Detective Tsukauchi looks at her and explains, “Yes, All For One is already incarcerated in Tartarus as we speak. The bad news is that the rest of the League got away. And while we don’t believe they’ll go after Midoriya-kun after such a big loss, we’re not going to be taking any chances, so we’ll be keeping up with the security details we organized after the mall incident, as well as increasing security overall around your house.”
Inko nods, processing. Izuku finds himself leaning against Aizawa a little for support. God, the mall incident. It feels like it happened ages ago, but it hasn’t even been three weeks.
Principal Nedzu mentions that UA is also thinking about adding a dorm system, the details of which still need to be worked out, in hopes of keeping all the students more safe. Izuku can tell that his mother is a bit apprehensive about it, but Nedzu reassures her that the teachers will come by the students’ houses to discuss the matter at length later.
Once everything is wrapped up, the principal and Detective Tsukauchi bid him goodbye and take their leave. Aizawa stays, which kind of confuses him, but he doesn’t question it, and Recovery Girl decides to use her quirk on Izuku to finish healing his injuries. She didn’t want to use it earlier because she didn’t know the circumstances of his unconsciousness and didn’t want to risk making it worse in case it was because of quirk exhaustion, which it was, mostly. Now seems as good a time as any, though, and when she heals him, he quickly grows tired and falls back asleep for the rest of the night.
The next day is slow and quiet, but it starts with a jolt. Izuku startles awake from a nightmare that he doesn’t remember, panting and sweating profusely. Inko, thankfully, is asleep in the chair next to him, so she doesn’t notice his panic and he has enough time to collect himself before she wakes up. A doctor comes to give him a once-over, but Recovery Girl’s quirk proved its value yet again. The sharp pain in his throat has been softened to its usual dull ache, but he’s told to try and give his voice a rest for a while. He’s discharged with a few more scars to add to his growing collection.
As per the previously agreed upon security measures, he needs a hero to escort him home, and he’s entirely unsurprised to see Aizawa leaning against the wall when they step out of his room. Warmth blooms in his chest. He’s really grateful that the man has remained by his side for so long during his hospital stay. Aizawa’s gaze briefly lingers on the new faint scar under his left eye before he nods at Inko and begins leading the way down the hall.
When they step off of the elevator, Kacchan is waiting in the lobby. He looks up, eyes locking on Izuku, and immediately jumps to his feet. Izuku blinks.
It reminds him of the night he was rescued, when Kacchan just stopped and stared at him, longing to hug him but hesitant because he didn’t want to hurt him. Well, Izuku isn’t injured anymore, so what are they waiting for? Kacchan seems to realize the same thing at the same time, because they both start towards each other and meet halfway. Izuku wraps his arms around his shoulders and buries his face into the crook of his neck. Kacchan practically crushes him to his chest, having no qualms about hugging him as tightly as he wants now that he doesn’t have to worry about hurting him. He inhales deeply while Izuku nuzzles closer.
“I’m alright,” he mumbles against the blond’s skin.
“I fucking know,” Kacchan’s growl rumbles in chest, “I told you you would be.”
Izuku smiles and presses his cheek against his neck. Kacchan is so warm in his arms, it feels like it’s been ages since he’s felt his familiar heat.
“Have you been waiting here long?” He asks quietly.
Kacchan makes a negative noise. “Auntie’s been keepin’ me updated. Said you’d be getting discharged this morning so I took the train over. The old hag wanted to be here too but she got swamped at work.” He huffs, then pauses and lowers his voice. “None of the other dumbasses were told which hospital you were taken to, otherwise I’m sure they’d be here too.” He shrugs. “So. You know.”
Izuku tries to hum but the sound gets lost in his mangled throat, so he just nods instead. He feels a little guilty for it, but he’s kind of glad that none of his other classmates showed up. It was a nice surprise after the mall incident, but right now he thinks it would be a little overwhelming. He’s far from over everything that happened, and there’s a lingering tiredness that still hasn’t left his bones quite yet. Honestly, he kind of just wants to go home and cuddle with Kacchan for the rest of the day, and he gets the feeling that’s what Kacchan wants to do too.
The ride home is quiet. He and Kacchan sit in companionable silence, each gazing out their own window as the city passes by. It feels a bit surreal to be going home after all this time. How long has it been? Six days? No, a week.
He walks towards his house in a daze, but before he reaches his porch, a hand on his head stops him. Glancing over his shoulder, he sees Aizawa retract his hand and reach into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. When Izuku tilts his head questioningly, the man says, “It’s from Kota. He wanted me to give it to you.”
Izuku stares at the piece of paper. Kota. Why would he…?
“Run! Get out of here!”
“L-Leave him alone!”
“He saved a boy from being murdered by not one, but two villains.”
Izuku’s breath quickens at the voices in his mind and he struggles to swallow past the tightness in his throat. Forcing away the memories, he takes the letter from Aizawa with a small nod, but doesn’t open it. He’ll read it later- when he can handle it.
Aizawa’s gaze roams over him one last time before he finally bids them goodbye and leaves them to return to their house. Izuku nearly bursts into tears when Sushi cannonballs into his chest as soon as he steps past the door. The large feline purrs and nuzzles him furiously, not even bothering to pause and give Kacchan his customary stink-eye. Izuku buries his face into his fur and carries him into the living room, then stops.
What does he do with himself now? Does he just… go back to normal? That seems… wrong, somehow. But it shouldn’t, right? Wouldn’t the strong thing to do would be to keep moving on? Not like nothing happened, but…
He sighs, scratching behind Sushi’s ears in thought. What would he have even normally done before... all this? It’s not like he had much free time for hobbies, and obviously he’s not going to be going on runs or sparring anytime soon. But if he checked his phone or turned on the TV, all he would see is the media talking about All Might’s fight against All For One, or him and his rescue.
Thankfully, Kacchan makes the decision for him, and for once Izuku is glad to let him. The blond shoos a disgruntled Sushi out of his arms before dragging him over to the couch. He pushes him down by the shoulder, plops down next to him, and then pulls him closer to his side. Izuku quickly gets the message and turns towards him, wrapping his arms around his torso and tucking his head under his chin. Not one to be left out, Sushi jumps up onto the couch beside him and curls up at his back.
Inko says nothing of the scene, but smiles softly as she disappears off into her own bedroom to give them some privacy. Neither Izuku nor Kacchan speak as they lay together on the couch. Izuku sighs, sinking into the warmth of his best friend’s body. Everything about it is so familiar to him. The strong, steady heartbeat pounding against his chest. The hard muscle beneath his fingertips. When he inhales through his unbroken nose, he can smell Kacchan’s burnt sugar scent.
Arms slide up his back, squeezing a fraction tighter. Bringing him impossibly closer. Kacchan holds him in a firm embrace, powerful arms shielding him from the world in a silent promise of protection. And Izuku knows that, at least for now, he doesn’t have to worry about anything. He doesn’t have to worry about going back to normal. He doesn’t have to worry about villains that might catch him in reality or in his sleep. He can just… appreciate the fact that he survived. That he’s okay, and that he’s here now, with Kacchan.
Sighing, he presses his lips against the blond’s skin and closes his eyes. Kacchan’s hand twitches, and he buries his nose in the crook of Izuku’s shoulder, letting out a shuddering exhale, as if chasing away an unwanted thought. Izuku nuzzles him.
Maybe Kacchan needs this just as much as he does?
Zuku is in his arms again. He’s warm and soft and breathes gently against his chest as he holds him. Katsuki should be happy. This is what he wanted, isn’t it?
But fear still lingers at the edge of his mind, the knowledge that Zuku could once again be ripped from his grasp refusing to allow him to relax completely. He lets out a shaky breath and tilts his head back against the couch, looking up at the ceiling as a hint of dismay creeps in on him.
What the fuck is he supposed to do now? How the hell is he supposed to- to move on? He got Zuku back, he saved him, but how could he call himself his protector after everything that’s happened? Just look at him, he’s covered in scars now and every one of them is his fault-
IcyHot’s voice very suddenly and rudely interrupts his thoughts, “Stop making yourself the villain here because feeling guilty won’t get you anywhere, and Midoriya needs all of us, especially you, to be strong for him right now.”
Katsuki scowls. Fucker. Get out of his brain! He gives his head a shake.
The movement catches Zuku’s attention, who shifts in his embrace. His nose brushes against the column of his throat as he quietly mumbles, “What’re you thinking?” His voice is soft and weak, barely above a whisper. Katsuki’s brow twitches.
“Aren’t you supposed to not be talking?” Auntie had mentioned something about that when she texted him. The disgruntled puff of air Zuku lets out is enough of an answer. Katsuki rests his chin on top of his head and rubs it against his curls, brows knitted in contemplation.
IcyHot, as much as he hates to mentally admit it, is right. He’s played this self-doubting game with himself over and over again and he always comes to the same conclusion; just work hard until he is strong enough, until he can make sure without a doubt that Zuku will never have to worry about getting another scar. But then there’s that fear, that stubborn fear that refuses to go away, that makes him wonder if… he’ll ever be strong enough.
Discomfort churns in his gut. He can tell Zuku is still waiting patiently for a response even though his eyes are closed as his head rests against his chest. His gaze lands on the new scar on his cheek, and trails down to his marred throat. He swallows.
He has to be.
In the end, there’s no other conclusion to come to.
Finally, after a long pause, the blond lets out a sigh. Voice low, he says, “I know I’ve already promised this before… And it probably doesn’t mean shit to you at this point, after everything that’s happened, but… I’m gonna be strong enough for you.”
Zuku goes still. He’s not moving in the first place, but Katsuki can feel the way his muscles tense up ever so slightly, not readying for a fight, just not relaxed anymore. It was clearly the wrong thing to say, which confuses Katsuki because he just wanted to provide some sort of comfort or reassurance to him.
Zuku is silent for a few moments, then says, “Not for me.” And that just confuses Katsuki even more. But Zuku continues, “It’s good that you wanna get strong, but you should do it for the right reasons.”
Katsuki frowns. “The right reasons?”
Zuku wiggles in his arms until he can push himself up and face him. Green eyes meet red. “Why do you want to be a hero?” He rasps.
Katsuki is puzzled by the question, but opens his mouth to reply anyway. ‘Because he wants to win’ dances on his tongue. Because he wants to be like All Might. When he was a kid, the answer would have come easy. But… it doesn’t seem that simple anymore. He closes his mouth. Zuku already knows this. Why is he asking?
Something tugs at his chest when he thinks of his usual answer, something that rubs him the wrong way. He still wants to win. He still wants to be like All Might. And he still envisions a future where he’s the best pro hero in the world and Zuku’s the best healer in the world and they’re by each other’s sides forever. But there’s something a bit deeper than that. This fear that’s inside of him, the one that Zuku causes- no, not the one that Zuku causes. The one he makes him realize. The fear that… that he’s not strong enough.
He hates it. He hates it with every inch of his being.
He wants to be a hero like All Might because he wants to be strong enough. To do everything- to win, to save, to protect. Unquestionably, without a doubt in anyone’s mind, including his own, that he’s going to succeed. He wants to be strong so that Zuku never has to be afraid anymore.
He wants to be strong so that he’s not afraid anymore.
So where does that leave him?
Zuku is still waiting for an answer.
“I want to be a hero because…”
‘Because I want to win’ doesn’t sound quite right anymore. There are a lot of things he wants, and winning is one of them, but… There was something he felt, back in Kamino. Even though he wanted to fight, even though he didn’t fight, he still felt- strong . Invincible. Because they got Zuku, they outsmarted the villains, snatched him right out from under their noses, and they didn’t even step onto the battlefield! They won, they saved him, and Katsuki can’t tell the difference between the two or which comes first, but all he knows is nothing felt better than having him back in his arms that night.
And it wasn’t just him- he could see it in the shine in IcyHot’s eyes, in Shitty Hair and Glasses’ ugly sobbing as they hugged Zuku- this was their success, their triumph. Winning fights felt good, but saving someone- that was a different kind of victory, and it was the best feeling in the world. And he thinks… he wouldn’t mind doing that for the rest of his life. Chasing that feeling again and again, being a savior, a protector… maybe for more than just Zuku. He’d be the one to win and bring people home.
When the words leave his mouth, they sound right.
“I want to save people.”
The soft smile that grows on Zuku’s face tells him that he made the right decision. “You saved me,” he whispers.
Katsuki swallows. Once again, his gaze finds the new scar under his left eye before dipping down to his marred throat. He knows that beneath Zuku’s shirt and pants he’ll find even more scars.
But he’s here. He’s here in Katsuki’s arms, and for a few terrifying, awful days, he didn’t know if he would ever be able to feel this again. So for right now, this is enough. For right now, he can forget about the lingering fear and just be happy.
“Yeah,” he whispers, pulling Zuku back down to his chest and tucking him under his chin. He allows himself the smallest of smiles as he presses his lips against his curls. “I guess I did.”
Eventually, Izuku manages to separate himself from Kacchan long enough to scurry off into the bathroom and take a shower. The doctors had done their best to wipe all the blood, sweat, and ash off of him in the hospital, but it’s the first proper shower he’s been able to take since he was kidnapped. His hair is a mess; he spends a good amount of time struggling to wash and untangle the knots, scrubbing his dirty scalp, trying to separate his long curls without breaking too many strands. He lathers his skin and the water turns a gross dark color as it swirls down the drain. His fingers tentatively roam over new scars that he’ll become more familiar with as time passes.
When he steps out of the shower, he feels significantly lighter, almost like he washed away the remnants of Kamino, at least from his body. He catches his reflection in the mirror and stares at the scar under his eye for a few moments.
Todoroki’s voice echoes in his head, “It takes a while, and it’s not easy at first, but soon it just becomes… part of your body, I guess. And the memories… become memories. You’ll never forget about it, and you won’t get better quickly, but one day… you’ll be able to look at your scar and… be okay.”
Funny how as soon as he healed Todoroki’s scar, he got one of his own. The hazy memory of heterochromatic eyes and warm lips pressed against his has Izuku’s face heating up. He shakes his head and looks down. His phone sits on the counter of the sink and, after a moment of deliberation, he picks it up.
Staying away from his social media apps, he starts scrolling past his unread messages. A lot of them are from his friends, but some are from people he hasn’t talked to in ages, like Tsubasa and Inaba. The messages vary from reacting in disbelief to the initial news, then when he obviously didn’t reply, they turn into well-wishes, which greatly increase in number after he’s rescued. Izuku’s chest aches when he sees a particularly thoughtful message from Haru. He’ll have to be sure to catch up with his old friend when he gets the chance. No doubt the poor boy was going out of his mind with worry. The rest of the messages are from his classmates, mostly just promises to visit him soon and wishing him a quick recovery.
There’s a single message from All Might.
(Toshinori 12:36PM) -I know you just got out of the hospital today, but can we meet up somewhere? It might be difficult with how closely you’re being watched, but I need to see you, my boy. There’s so much I need to say, and we shouldn’t talk about it over the phone.
Izuku’s heart leaps to his throat. The thought of seeing All Might again, after all this time, after everything that’s happened-
But how will they meet up, though? Izuku can’t leave his house alone, neither Inko nor Kacchan nor the police would let him. Obviously, this is going to need to be a private conversation too, so it’s not like he can bring anyone with him to wherever he’s going to meet All Might. What if he came over instead? No, that would be suspicious to Inko, especially if he’s still healing from his wounds from his fight against All For One. Even if he came as Toshinori, it would still be weird if he showed up out of the blue, injured and wanting to talk to Izuku privately. Inko probably wouldn’t let him, no matter how much she (apparently) likes him. So how to meet up with him? They’ll have to be sneaky about it…
Izuku opens up their chat.
(Midoriya 2:02PM) -How injured r u?
Despite having been the one to text him, All Might seems surprised that he actually responded, albeit over two hours later.
(Toshinori 2:02PM) -!! Young Midoriya! How are you? Are you alright?
(Midoriya 2:02PM) -Are you? How injured r u?
The typing bubble appears, then disappears as All Might deletes whatever he writes.
(Toshinori 2:03PM) -A little but not a lot.
Izuku snorts. Uh huh.
(Toshinori 2:03PM) -How injured are you?
(Midoriya 2:03PM) -A little but not a lot.
(Toshinori 2:03PM) -Very funny.
Izuku can practically hear the man’s dry tone as he reads the message. It makes his lip twitch upwards.
(Toshinori 2:03PM) -Can I call you?
(Midoriya 2:04PM) -No, I’m hiding in my bathroom.
(Toshinori 2:04PM) -Oh.
(Toshinori 2:04PM) -Any particular reason?
(Midoriya 2:04PM) -Idk Kacchan will probably try and take my phone away cuz he’s an overprotective butt and he doesn’t want me looking at the news. But we’ve gotta make a plan if we wanna meet up!
(Toshinori 2:05PM) -Any ideas?
(Midoriya 2:05PM) -I think I’ve got one, but we need to be super sneaky. Stealth mode.
(Toshinori 2:05PM) -I shall become one with the night.
Izuku giggles to himself.
(Midoriya 2:05PM) -Tokoyami-kun is rubbing off on u.
(Midoriya 2:05PM) -Can u hold ur muscle form?
(Toshinori 2:06PM) -Yes.
(Midoriya 2:06PM) -Then come to my backyard tonight QUIETLY. Whatever hero that’s watching me will see that it’s u and won’t sound the alarm.
(Toshinori 2:06PM) -Won’t they still think that it’s weird that I’m there?
Izuku blinks and pauses.
(Midoriya 2:06PM) -U know what, they can mind their own business.
(Toshinori 2:07PM) -Ok.
A sudden knocking on the door of the bathroom startles Izuku so badly he nearly drops his phone.
“Oi, Zuku!” Kacchan calls, “You fucking alright in there? You’re taking ages!”
Shoving his phone in his pocket, Izuku grabs his clothes and darts out the door, giving Kacchan an innocent smile. The blond merely arches a brow before turning away with a huff. “C’mon, Auntie and I made katsudon for lunch and it tastes fucking amazing, so you better eat it all.”
“Okay!”
It’s hard to contain his excitement for the rest of the day. He hasn’t seen All Might in over a week- that brief moment in Kamino didn’t count- and he misses the man dearly. Kacchan seems to be a little suspicious now that he’s visibly perked up, but he makes no comment. They spend the rest of the day relaxing and watching TV- not the news- and Izuku tries not to appear too eager when the time comes for his friend to leave.
There’s just one problem: Kacchan insists on staying overnight. One look at the blond’s face and Izuku can tell that he’s not budging on this. And… okay, he knows that Kacchan needs to recover, in his own way, as much as he does from Kamino. But damn does it throw a wrench in his plans.
So that finds Izuku lying in his bed waiting for Kacchan, who is lying on a futon on the floor, to fall asleep. Sushi is curled up against his chest and Izuku uses his cat’s fluffy body to hide the bright light of his phone as he texts All Might to inform him of the situation. Thankfully, Kacchan has always been terrible at staying up late and it doesn’t take long before his breathing evens out and turns into loud snores. Izuku lets out a quiet sigh of relief.
(Midoriya 9:47PM) -He’s down!
(Toshinori 9:47PM) -I’m on my way.
Izuku turns off his phone, shrouding himself in darkness. Now comes the slightly trickier part. Even injured, All Might should be here pretty quickly. All Izuku has to do is get to the backyard without waking anyone- although really most importantly Kacchan- up.
Pulling back his covers, the freckled boy slowly slides off his bed. As soon as his feet touch the ground, a loud meow has him nearly leaping out of his skin. Shit! Sushi!
The cat’s pale yellow eyes glow in the dark when he glances over his shoulder. His grey-and-black fur blends in with the shadows, so he kind of just looks like a blob of darkness lying on his bed. Sushi doesn’t meow again, but he blinks and tilts his head ever so slightly as if to ask, ‘What are you doing?’. Izuku presses a finger to his lips and mouths the word ‘stay’. Sushi stares blankly.
Okay, whatever, at least he’s not meowing. Izuku turns back around and focuses on not stepping on Kacchan’s futon, which is pressed right up against his bed. ‘It would be really nice to have Sushi’s night vision right now’, he thinks to himself.
He carefully starts edging around Kacchan’s futon as quietly as he can, cringing when the floor suddenly creaks under his foot. Kacchan snorts, mumbles something that sounds like ‘die’ under his breath, and rolls onto his side. Izuku’s lip twitches and he tiptoes the rest of the way over to the door.
It’s easy to make his way through the rest of the house after that, and soon he’s peeking out his sliding back door. There’s no movement outside. All Might is fast, he should have been here by now. Izuku hopes he’s not too injured.
Speaking of, they’re probably going to end up hugging if Izuku has anything to say about it, and he doesn’t want his quirk automatically activating, so he makes sure to bite the inside of his lip, just a little bit. And lo and behold, not two seconds later, the large, shadowy figure of All Might silently drops down into his backyard in a surprisingly stealthy manner.
Joy bubbles up inside him like a sparkling apple cider and he grins, sliding open the door and dashing across the yard towards All Might. The number one hero meets him halfway and scoops him up in his arms, startling a squeak out of him as he’s lifted into the air. He giggles and clings to All Might as he spins him around once before lowering to his knees, the man’s face buried in the crook of his neck as his large hand cradles the back of his head. His soul buzzes with bright giddiness, and he’s so high on the relief and happiness that All Might is here that he doesn’t realize that he’s actually saying something right now.
“My boy,” All Might gasps, tight and hoarse, “My boy-”
Izuku freezes, all elated feelings dying faster than a fire getting doused in a bucket of water.
“Oh my boy, I thought I’d lost you.” All Might’s voice quivers, his muscled arms tightening ever so slightly, pressing him closer to his chest. Izuku feels his breath shudder against his neck as he says, “I am so sorry, I am so so sorry, I promised he would never lay a hand on you and he-”
“Shh, shh, no, no, All Might,” Izuku hastily shushes him, startling out of his shock when All Might quickly starts to get louder and louder. His heart aches seeing the man so distressed. “Please, no, it’s not your fault,” he tries to reassure, “All For One-”
He’s interrupted when All Might suddenly erupts into a fit of loud, wet coughs that make Izuku hiss both at the volume and at how painful they sound. All Might turns his chin into his fist, but when the coughs finally subside, Izuku doesn’t miss the dark blood staining his skin.
“All Might-” He starts.
The man wipes away the blood as if nothing happened, swallowing thickly. “Tsukauchi-kun told me what happened,” he rasps, “What you told him- what he did and-” His voice breaks and he inhales sharply, chest shuddering.
“All Might-” Izuku feels something in his own chest crack.
Then All Might’s hand is cupping the back of Izuku’s head, bringing it forward to press their foreheads together. “My boy, I am so, so sorry,” he says, eyes brimming with tears, voice heavy with guilt, “You have gone through so much more suffering than you deserve. He…” His breath hitches and he squeezes his eyes shut briefly before saying, “He has... destroyed so many things precious to me, and when I heard he had taken you…”
Izuku’s eyes widen, then start to burn furiously. He immediately buries his face in All Might’s chest, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe past the hard lump that has firmly lodged in his throat. Precious. He’s precious to All Might. The number one hero. The idea is outrageous enough to make Izuku want to both laugh and blush uncontrollably.
But then All Might is holding him like he is so precious, strong arms that have held up buildings squeezing him just tightly enough to make him feel cocooned but not hard enough to hurt, large hands that have defeated hundred of villains cradling him gently against his chest, thick legs that have carried him faster than bullet trains tucked beneath him to serve as a cushion.
And Izuku thinks of long text conversations, of a corny sense of humor, of hollow cheeks filling out, of a hand ruffling his hair, of after school meetings, of neverending gentle encouragement. He thinks of being kidnapped in the League of Villains, and how the thought of All Might was one of the things that kept him going, kept him strong.
And Izuku realizes that All Might is precious to him too.
A shy smile tugs at his lips and he nuzzles into the man’s chest, warmth spreading to the tips of his fingers. He takes a quivering breath and tries to force back his tears, but a few manage to escape and get All Might’s shirt wet, much to his embarrassment. His face burns, but then he hears a loud sniffle come from behind his head. At least he’s not the only one overcome with emotion right now. Taking that as permission, Izuku burrows his face into All Might’s shirt and bursts into tears.
For a good few minutes, they simply cling to one another, breathing each other in and reaffirming to themselves that everything is alright now, they won, they’re okay. Then All Might starts coughing again, and Izuku thinks he might have to reconsider that last part. He pulls away and frowns in concern.
Now that he’s getting a better look at him, he can see that All Might is pretty heavily bandaged. His arms and legs are wrapped in various places, and Izuku can see bandages peeking out from under the collar of his shirt- no doubt for his old wound on his torso that All For One aggravated. There don’t seem to be any breaks (Recovery Girl probably took care of those already), but Izuku really doesn’t like the sound of that coughing. He grimaces, watching as All Might, turned away from him and coughing into his fist, finally catches his breath.
After a pause, he asks quietly, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, don’t you dare start fussing,” All Might scoffs, startling him. The blond fixes him with a stern look. “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about that stunt you tried to pull back at the bar.” Izuku blinks. “Chiyo-san told me all about that new trick you discovered with your quirk when she came back to check on me.”
Oh. Izuku shrinks when All Might’s expression turns a mix between disappointed and exasperated. “Forcing your energy? Really?”
Izuku wrings his hands, averting his gaze. “You needed as much strength as you could get,” he tries to explain, “All For One was coming… he didn’t know you weren’t fully healed…”
“It was incredibly dangerous, though,” All Might says firmly, “And it is not something I want you to do for my sake. You should have known better.”
Frustration burns Izuku’s chest. “It-It’s not-” He stammers, “You- You don’t understand-” He cuts himself off, pressing his lips together and inhaling through his nose. All Might’s eyes are on him, but he can’t meet his gaze, so he keeps his head ducked as he mumbles, “I just couldn’t stand the thought that… if you two fought, and he killed you, then… then it would be all my fault. Because I healed him. Because I made him strong again…”
All Might goes still.
“Young Midoriya…” He breathes, “No, that- no.” His large hands move to cup Izuku’s face, tilting it up so that he’s forced to meet All Might’s gaze. His piercing blue eyes are firm, and his voice is steadfast as he says, “Don’t think like that. All For One’s actions were his fault and his fault only. He forced you to heal him. You had no say in the matter. Even if I had lost, it would not have been your fault.” Izuku swallows. He must still look unconvinced, because All Might then lowers his voice, like he’s telling him a secret, and whispers, “But you know what? I won because of you. Because you, Midoriya Izuku…” He smiles, and it’s so different from any other smile he’s seen on the man, the way it lights his eyes in a warm laughing glow, “My clever little healer, outwitted even the villains and found out All For One’s weaknesses. Because you, Midoriya Izuku, stumbled across a skeleton of a man a little over a year ago and regrew his stomach and have never stopped giving to him since. Because you, Midoriya Izuku, are a stronger man than I’ll ever be.” All Might’s eyes soften. “Do you see? I won because of you.”
Izuku stares at him. And obviously bursts into tears again because- fuck, what else can he do after hearing that?
All Might tucks him against his broad chest while he cries, using the man’s shirt to muffle his wheeze sobs. Izuku doesn’t even know how to begin to process All Might’s words, so he decides to just not. He feels his back being rubbed between his shoulder blades, and All Might chuckles. Izuku’s ear is pressed against his chest, and when he chuckles, he can hear the way it sounds raspy and wet with blood. His heart clenches, and he silently renews his vow to heal him as soon as possible.
After a few minutes, his tears finally subside and he pulls away, leaning back in All Might’s lap. The blond reaches out and daintily fixes a couple of his curls, making Izuku let out a tired giggle. All Might’s eyes crinkle before he sobers up slightly. His hand slides down from Izuku’s hair, thumb brushing over the new scar under his eye.
“This might seem a bit redundant,” he says quietly, “But... how are you doing?”
Izuku hesitates, considering his response. He wants to say he’s fine, but… Well, he’s not. But he’s not exactly doing as awfully as he thought he’d be doing, he supposes. He’s been doing a pretty good job of just… not constantly thinking of everything that happened, even though All For One and the League loom at the edges of his mind like an oncoming storm. It’s strange, he feels kind of numb almost, like he’s trying so hard to go back to normal, but it just feels weird to do so. He wonders when normal will feel normal again.
“I… don’t really know yet?” It comes out sounding more like a question. He winces, but All Might gives him a reassuring smile.
“That’s alright.”
Izuku smiles back and asks, “How about you?”
Something passes across All Might’s face. His eyes darken, and his smile disappears. For a brief, terrible second, he looks incredibly sad. It’s over as soon as it started, but even afterwards he still looks very troubled.
“I don’t really know yet,” he whispers.
Izuku blinks, confused and worried. All Might won, didn’t he? Why is he upset? Is there something else he’s concerned about? Did something happen? Should he be concerned too?!? What-
‘Not helping’, he tells himself sternly, forcing his anxiety down. If All Might wants him to know something, he’ll come and confide in him in his own time. But for now…
Izuku gently touches All Might’s hand. “That’s alright,” he reassures. All Might’s lips curl and Izuku’s heart warms. After a moment, he adds, “And Nighteye?”
All Might pauses and tilts his head, glancing away with a slight grimace. “Nighteye… is throwing a bit of a fit that I’m coming out here instead of resting.”
Izuku winces. “Sorry.”
All Might shakes his head. “Don’t be. He was just as worried about you as I was.”
“Did you two work together to find me?” Izuku asks, then blinks, a realization hitting him, “Wait a minute. Did he use his quirk on you? Did you know you would beat All For One?!?”
“No!” All Might answers immediately, “No. He did not use his quirk on me. I didn’t even suggest it- I mean- we- things are getting better between us, of course, but- that would have been hard for him…” Izuku flushes and nods, feeling a bit stupid for suggesting it in the first place. All Might continues, “Apparently, though, he used it on you to see your future. And he saw a future where I was completely healed.”
Izuku perks up. Sir Nighteye hadn’t told him anything about that! Actually, he hadn’t really told him any details about his future, but from his reaction Izuku had assumed it at least was a good one. “Really? When?”
All Might gives him a deliberate look. “I will not tell you when because I know you and I know you would rush towards it relentlessly if you knew.” Izuku pouts. “However, he apparently did not tell you this either. And so, when you were taken by All For One, he was concerned that you would assume that everything would be fine because he had implied that, since you are an anomaly, his previous prediction of my death could not come to fruition, and therefore you would not take the situation as seriously.”
Izuku’s mind skids to a halt. Wait, what? Sir Nighteye’s prediction… Oh right, that was supposed to be this year, or the next- or it could have already passed, because Izuku is an anomaly, apparently. Maybe? Actually, Sir Nighteye didn’t really give him an answer there. He just looked into Izuku’s future and then gave him a hug- which, yeah, looking back now, that seems a little vague.
Izuku tries to think back to that day, to the specifics of the conversation. It feels like it was ages ago. Sir Nighteye was telling him about his prediction of All Might’s death, but then he didn’t foresee Izuku healing him so he wanted to know if Izuku was some sort of anomaly and… and Izuku asked if he had changed anything. Right? Yeah. He asked if he had changed anything in the future Sir Nighteye saw for All Might, so Sir Nighteye then looked into his future. And then saw a future where All Might is completely healed. Except he didn’t tell Izuku and just hugged him instead, which totally sent the wrong message. So now he’s thinking that Izuku is thinking that he thinks that he changed Sir Nighteye’s prediction of All Might’s death and that he isn’t fated to be killed by a terrible villain this year or the next because he’s an anomaly and therefore had nothing to worry about while being captured by the League of Villains-
“All Might.”
His brain hurts.
“That was literally the furthest thing from my mind at the time.”
All Might lets out a bark of laughter that Izuku hastily shushes him for. He puts a hand over his mouth, still grinning.
“Well,” he says, eyes twinkling, “Nighteye really can get wrapped up in his head sometimes.”
Izuku’s shoulders sag as he gives a weary smile. “Eh,” he huffs tiredly and shrugs, “I know what that’s like.”
His tone is a bit too knowing, a bit too world-weary for a boy his age, and All Might’s hand comes to rest on his head for a couple of moments. He has to leave soon after that, wishing him a goodnight’s sleep and ordering him to take it easy for the rest of the week before disappearing in a single leap. Izuku sneaks back into his room without a problem, immensely grateful to see Kacchan in the same position he left him in, and collapses on his bed. The late hour and his emotional talk with All Might has left him utterly exhausted, so he curls up under his covers with Sushi and quickly falls asleep.
And at 4AM, he wakes up, thrashing and fighting to get away from unseen villains, strangled screams tearing from his throat all the while. Kacchan snaps him out of it and holds him tightly while he sniffles and gasps until he cries himself to sleep once more.
Apparently, his nightmares don’t care how tired he is.