Archive of Our Own ^beta

A study-trip to London was Yamada’s idea. Of course it was. He is, after all, the English teacher at UA. And, in all honesty, it wasn’t a bad idea. Obviously, it gave the students the opportunity to practice English in an English-speaking country, but it also was a perfect occasion to discuss quirk-laws and the role of heroes in Europe. 

So yeah, as much as Shouta wanted to accuse Yamada of having ulterior motives, he had to admit that it was actually a pretty sound idea. 

Still, he would have liked the idea even better if he didn't have to come along. But as 1-A's main teacher, skipping the trip wasn't an option. Same went for Vlad (as 1-B's homeroom teacher), and for Yamada himself (as the English teacher as well as the main instigator of the trip). And then, since they needed a fourth accompaniator, Yagi came, too, because why wouldn't he? 

They had been there for roughly 3 days (Shouta wasn't sure he should actually count the arrival day as "day one" since they had arrived late in the afternoon and hadn't had the time to do much beside getting to the hotel and settling in) and had just let the kids go to enjoy a few hours of free time in the Westminster area when the tall blond joined him on his bench. 

“Free at last, right?” 

Shouta shrugged. It was true that they wouldn't have to actually watch the students for the next three hours, but it was stressing him out even more to know they were roaming the city unsupervised. He had insisted multiple times on the fact that the provisional hero licences were not valid outside of Japan and that they therefore had no right to use their quirks, but he was still half expecting to be called to a police station to get one of the kids (probably Bakugou or Kaminari…or both ) out of trouble at any time. 

“I was just thinking about taking one of these sight-seeing tour buses,'' Yagi continued. “Care to join me?”

Of course, Yagi would come and suggest something like that. It was so like him to do so.

“Aren’t we supposed to stay in the area in case the kids have a problem?” he asked.

Yagi smiled sheepishly.

“Ah, yes, you’re right…But Vald and Mic are staying in the neighbourhood, and they can call us in case of a really big problem.”

Shouta considered it for a moment. He wasn’t particularly interested in seeing the sights, but leaving and letting Yamada to deal with the students did seem like a sweet revenge. Plus, it occurred to him that if he spent three hours just sitting on this bench all by himself, passers-by might mistake him for a hobo, which could lead to unpleasantly awkward situations (like people offering him food or money…or worse, calling the cops on him).

“Alright, let’s go then,” he said as he stood up.

Yagi seemed delighted by his answer, if a little surprised by the fact that he didn't have to insist more than that, and lead the way to a bus stop. Soon enough, a double-decker stopped before them and they hopped in. Yagi talked in English with the driver for a couple minutes and paid for both of them before heading to a narrow spiral staircase situated behind the driver's seat. 

"We'll have a better view from the top," he explained. Shouta didn't care much about where they would sit, since he was planning on napping anyway, so he obediently followed his colleague upstairs. 

They were currently the only people on the top deck and decided to sit at the back. Once they took place, Yagi handed Shouta a small plastic bag containing a set of earphones. 

"What's that for?" 

"Well…there are commentaries on the landmarks we'll pass by on the tour. That's actually one of the reasons I wanted to take one! I had students asking me questions about some of the buildings we've seen so far, but I don't know much about London, so I was unable to answer their questions. I hope that after the tour, I might be more useful."

"Don't you have a guide book?" 

Shouta was certain that he'd seen the blond go through a travel book about the United Kingdom during their flight. 

"I do but it's a bit outdated. I think this kind of tour might have more recent information." 

During their discussion, the bus had started riding again. Yagi pocketed the bag Shouta had just declined and opened his own before taking the earphones out and plugging it into the audio socket on the side of his seat. 

“You’ll have to tell me how much I owe you.”

“Hm?”

“For the ticket. I saw you pay.”

“Ah. Don’t worry about that, it’s on me.” 

And with that, Yagi put the earbuds on to listen to the commentaries, meaning that Shouta would be able to doze off until they reached the final stop…

…or so he thought…

It turned out that Yagi couldn’t help making his own comments on whatever he was hearing or seeing. Every time Shouta was about to drift into the sweet oblivion of sleep, Yagi pointed out a building of historical value, marvelled at the fact that some actor whose existence Shouta wasn’t even aware of was born in the neighbourhood, or wondered aloud about some events that had apparently “shaped the country”.

The bus kept making frequent stops to pick up new passengers. At some point, a group of tourists joined them on the top deck and took their seats a few aisle in front of them. Fifteen minute or so later, Yagi finally stopped talking. Shouta thought that he was probably being considerate of the other group, and took the opportunity to close his eyes and try napping again.

This prevented him from noticing the way the older man was holding very straight and massaging his chest.

He did however hear it when a small cough escaped his fellow teacher. It sounded  as if he was trying to clear his throat, and Shouta, thinking that maybe all the talking had made his mouth dry, decided to ignore it.

But the cough persisted, interrupted by the sound of Yagi taking in big gulps of air, or rather trying to , as his breathing didn’t sound quite right.

Shouta opened his eyes and gave a worried look to his colleague.

“Are you alright?”

As if on cue, Yagi suddenly lurched forward and broke in a fit of breathless, hacking cough. He then straightened up again and tried to take a deep breath, but only managed a painful sounding wheeze.

This was definitely worse than a simple dry throat.

At this point, Shouta was halfway out of his seat, one of his hands hovering over his coworker’s shoulder, unsure of what to do.

“What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

In lieu of responding, Yagi doubled over and started coughing again. It didn’t sound at all like the wet barks Shouta was used to from him, but more like some kind of broken train-whistle.

The coughing quickly subsided, but was replaced by more wheezing. It was obvious that Yagi was struggling to get enough air in his lung. He reached blindly with his left hand and grasped the front of Shouta’s shirt, his right hand still clutching his own chest.

Medical emergencies weren't really Shouta's area of expertise. He did get a basic first-aid class when he was a student, but that was about it. It sounded to him like Yagi was choking on something, but could that be it? He didn’t think that the blond had been eating anything during the tour, but truth be told, he had been trying to sleep the whole time, so he could’ve missed something…

He was considering trying the Heimlich manoeuvre, just to be sure, when the smell hit him.

Smoke. Tobacco smoke.

He turned his head to the group of tourists sitting at the front of the bus. Four of them were smoking, and the breeze was carrying big puffs of smoke right to their duo. How did he not notice it sooner!? This had to be it! Smoke was an irritant, and it could trigger…

“A…Asthma? Is it…Are you having an asthma attack?”

Yagi didn’t answer, didn’t even seem to have heard him at all. He was still leaning forward, gasping for air. The gasps were too fast, and Shouta could practically see his carotid pulsating on his neck. He was clearly in a state of panic, and this wasn’t helping steadying his breathing.

Shouta took Yagi by the shoulders and forced him to sit upright, pressing his back to the back of the seat. He then manoeuvered to stand in front of the man, ending up in a very uncomfortable position between his breathless colleague and the row of seats in front of them. He removed the one earbud that was still in Yagi’s right ear -the other one probably fell off during his first bout of coughing-, and tried to catch his eyes and get his attention.

“Try to calm down okay. We need to get you away from the smoke. Do you think you can walk?”

Yagi made a jerking motion with his head. Shouta wasn’t sure what it was supposed to mean, but it wasn’t as if they could just stay there, so he took Yagi by the armpits and made him stand, dragging him into the aisle between the rows of seats. The blond apparently tried to cooperate as much as he could, but only managed a couple wobbly steps before tripping on his own feet and ending up on his hands and knees. More wheezy coughs escaped him.

Shouta heard laughter coming from the group of tourists. This enraged him more than it probably should have. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were laughing at Yagi, probably thinking him drunk, when they actually were responsible for his suffering. His rage gave him the adrenaline boost he needed to lift the taller man up and carry him out of the bus, which thankfully was just coming to a halt. He had no idea how he managed to go down the spiral stairs while holding Yagi, and couldn’t remember if he had asked the driver to stop the bus, or if it was sheer luck that they had just reached a planned stop. The whole thing was a blur, and the only thing he vividly remembered was shouting a stern “NO SMOKING” in his hesitant English to the group of tourists when he passed them.

Shouta hoped that being away from the smoke would make his colleague’s breathing easier, but it was still laboured and showed no sign of improvement. Shouta made him sit as straight as possible again, hoping that it would help open his airways. 

“Ok, we’re away from the smoke now. Try to take deep breaths. As deep as possible, come on!”

He was trying to sound reassuring, but couldn’t even fool himself and sounded stupid to his own ears. Yagi couldn’t take deep breaths, and that was exactly the problem! It wasn’t just erratic breathing caused by a state of panic that would settle once Yagi calmed down. It was a physical reaction, the lining of the airways becoming swollen, literally blocking the air from the lung! It couldn’t be treated with just kind words and breathing exercises, it needed real treatment, some kind of medication…

He tried to catch the other man’s eyes again and was pleased when they actually focused on him.

“Do you have a rescue inhaler on you?”

If he really was asthmatic, he was bound to have one, wasn’t he?

Yagi opened his mouth, presumably to answer, but didn’t manage a single word before another coughing fit plagued him. The force of it would have made him bend in half if it weren’t for Shouta’s strong grip on his shoulders.

“I’m just…I’m gonna check, ok?” Shouta warned, before going through Yagi’s coat and trousers’ pockets, praying that he would find something useful. If not, he’d have to call 119 or something…

Except, he couldn’t remember what the emergency number even was in England. And would they be able to understand him? His English was shady at best, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to explain the situation, but he doubted that the person who’d pick up would understand Japanese.

The only things he found were Yagis’ phone and wallet, as well as the earphone bag he had turned down earlier. Nothing useful. 

He was considering hailing someone, anyone passing by to try and get them to call a hospital when Yagi squeezed his hand to get his attention. He had not given up on answering the previous question and, between wheezes, managed a few words.

“B…Bag…”

Bag? Was his inhaler in his bag? But he didn’t have a bag! Oh shit! Had he left the bag on the bus in his haste to get them out of there? He didn’t remember Yagi having a bag when they boarded the bus, but he couldn’t be sure…If the bag was still on the bus, it was as good as lost. Shouta cursed himself for not thinking of checking their seats before disembarking. 

“...L…left…Mic…”, Yagi continued.

Shouta was a bit confused, but, if he understood correctly, Yagi was trying to say that he had left his bag to Hizashi before he came to him and suggested the tour.

Hoping that he was right, he took out his own phone to call Mic, who picked up almost immediately. He kept his eyes glued to Yagi, wary of any changes in his behaviour.

“HEY! SHOUTA! Whassup?”

“Do you have All Might’s bag?” Shouta went straight to the point, there was no time to lose.

“Uh…Yeah. He gave it to me when…”

“I need it!” Shouta cut him.

“Oooookay…Why? I mean, it’s his bag, it probably has personal stuff in there. Not saying you would steal anything or what but…I should ask him first if…”

“He’s with me! He needs it. He’s having…some kind of attack. Asthma I think. He can’t breathe. There should be an inhaler or something in his bag. I… We need it. NOW!”

“Ok. Chillax. We’ll bring it. Tell me where you are.”

“I…”

He had no idea.

“I don’t know…” he admitted.

“Ok, just…describe your surroundings. What do you see?”

Shouta stood up at his full height and took his eyes away from Yagi to look around. He did not however let go of the hand he had grabbed earlier, and even gave a gentle squeeze to reassure the blond that he was not going anywhere. Even though his ears were no longer in close proximity to Yagi’s face, he could still hear the horrible sound of his increasingly strained wheezes.

“I’m near a bridge. There’s a big lion statue. Ah, and I can see the clock tower on the other side of the bridge…Big Ben?”

“Ok, you are really close, that’s good. We’ll be there soon.”

After the phone call, he sat next to Yagi and assured him that the bag, with the inhaler, was en route. He then tried to coax him into breathing evenly again, putting his hand on the other man’s stomach and encouraging him to breathe in unison with him. He was making a big show of each of his inhales and exhales, and was pleased to notice that Yagi did try to mimic his rhythm, even if not really effectively. He seemed more calm, though, probably due to the fact that he knew help was on its way, and that his suffering would stop soon.

It only took about a minute for the bag to be delivered, but it was one of the longest minutes of Shouta’s life. It was Iida playing delivery-boy, and even though he used his quirk to get to them, Shouta didn’t plan on scolding him (quite the contrary, in fact: he would have been angry at the teen if he had not used his quirk).

Shouta threw the bag open, nearly breaking the zipper, and started rummaging for the inhaler, getting frustrated when he didn’t find it right away because Yagi had apparently thought that it would be a good idea to stuff what looked like half of the contents of his suitcase into his day bag. He finally found it, tucked between a set of spare clothes ( Did he expect that he would fall into the Thames? ) and a checked plastic box labelled “4-in-1 travel games” (still wrapped in the plastic film it was probably sold in).

“There it is. There. Do you…need help?” he asked.

The answer came from his student.

“I think you should check that there’s nothing obstructing the mouthpiece and then shake it a few times, sir.”

Shouta was a bit ashamed of having to rely on a teenager to go through this whole situation, but did as Iida suggested. He then handed the device to Yagi, who was thankfully able to handle it by himself.

After a couple of puffs and a few minutes, Yagi was able to breathe again, and so was Shouta.

In the meantime, Hizashi, as well as a couple of students (namely Midoriya and Uraraka), had arrived and were nervously observing the pair of teachers.

“Is…Is he gonna be okay?” Midoriya asked.

Yagi himself gave him a thumbs-up and a weak “I’ll be fine”.

Seeing as Yagi was just recovering from the attack, and Shouta was apparently a bit out of it, still dazed by the whole situation, Mic decided that he would have to be the responsible teacher.

“Right right. Seems like we managed to avoid the worst case scenario.” 

He turned to the students.

“I think you three should go back to the other side of the river. Let Vlad know that everything’s fine now.”

He then pointed at Shouta and Yagi.

“And you two have had enough emotions for today. I’m calling a cab to get you back to the hotel.”

The children left, and Mic stayed with them while they waited for the taxi.

The ride was uneventful. Yagi was mostly silent, probably too exhausted to speak, and Shouta’s attention was fixed on his colleague’s breathing, ready to react should it become uneven again. He had Yagi’s bag on his knees, and the inhaler in his hand.

It’s only when they were back at the hotel and they each headed to their own room that he parted with it, returning it to Yagi, because it would make no sense for him to keep it.

“Is it really alright to leave you on your own?”

“I’ll be fine. There shouldn’t be anything triggering in my room. And I have my inhaler now,” Yagi answers with a weak, tired smile.

“Why didn’t you have it?” Shouta asked coldly.

“I just…” Yagi said, with a small chuckle, “forgot to take it out of my bag. It really is a stupid mistake.”

How can he brush it off like that? How can he laugh about it when he nearly choked to death not even an hour prior?

“I knew you weren’t the brightest of the pack when it comes to personal care, but this is some brand new level of stupidity!” 

All the worry he had been feeling during the episode had turned into unadulterated anger. He’d slap the guy if he didn’t think it might just kill him right now.

“Listen I…I know that it looks really irresponsible but…I honestly don’t have attacks that often, and I usually react to very specific triggers. Very hot weather is one of them, but it wasn’t nearly hot enough today for it to be a problem. And, yes, smoke is another, but those buses are supposed to be no-smoking, so I didn’t think I’d get exposed…”

“I don’t care what you thought would or wouldn’t happen!” Shouta snapped. “The fact is that you did have an attack and that you nearly died ! What would have happened if I hadn’t been with you? You can’t just go around assuming things will be alright, you have to expect the worst and be ready for it! At all times!”

Yagi said nothing, keeping his head low and fidgeting with the inhaler. Shouta took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Getting his frustration out on the guy wouldn’t help the situation. He had to find a way to make sure this wouldn't happen again.

“Do you have a spare?”

“Another inhaler? In my suitcase…”

“I want to have it.”

“Uh?”

“I don’t want to have to ask you if you do have your inhaler with you ten times a day, as if you were some kind of unruly child, but I also want to make sure to be able to help you should this happen again, without having to go through your pockets or empty half of your bag. The logical thing to do is for me to take the spare inhaler. If you don’t mind.”

“It…does sound sensible.”

Yagi hovered around his door, apparently unsure of what to do.

“Should I…give it to you now or…”

“Yes. I don’t trust you to remember it by tomorrow morning.”

The older man disappeared in his room and reappeared after a couple minutes, a bright red inhaler in hand. Shouta took it from him.

“Thanks. Get to your room now. Rest. See you at dinner.”

“Yes. See you in the evening.” Yagi says, with a small smile.

Right before re-entering his room, the smile grew brighter as he added an earnest “Thank you for today”.

Shouta had no idea if it was about the attack, or simply for accompanying him for the tour.

“Don’t mention it.” he said after a few moments of hesitation, but Yagi had already closed the door to his room behind him by the time the words left his mouth, so he probably didn’t hear it.

Shouta secured the inhaler in his pants pocket and headed to his own room, where he spent the rest of the afternoon reading about asthma triggers, and how to use the medical device his colleague entrusted him with.