Archive of Our Own

Don't you die on me
You haven't made your peace
Live life, breathe, breathe
Don't you die on me
You haven't made your peace
Live life, breathe, breathe

- Within Temptation, Dark Wings

Toshinori stood outside his coworker (and friend)'s hospital room, feet braced, hands on his hips, staring down at the HPSC agents that were determined to enter Aizawa's room despite not having clearance, despite being on his paperwork as being forbidden from entering his hospital room.

The dorm kids were inside, those who could find any excuse to be. There wasn't anything they could do, but they were determined not to let their dad out of their sight. The rest of the kids were in their rooms (he hoped) either getting treated or watching over their friends.

No one in the hospital would have thought to stop HPSC agents on their way to the hero wing.

Toshinori wasn't by nature a suspicious man. He liked to think the best of people. But years of a successful hero career, of being the 'Number One Hero', had taught him how to be.

And he was very suspicious of the HPSC agents' appearance here, so soon after the attack. When no one knew just what had happened yet save those who'd been there. Sure, there had been reporters on scene, but they wouldn't have been able to say much, given the students were still minors and Shouta-kun was Underground.

So how were they here so fast? And what could they possibly want with Shouta-kun, when he was unconscious and unlikely to wake for hours at the very least (he would wake up. Toshinori was sure of it. Shouta-kun was a stubborn man, with a heart larger than Toshinori had suspected, and he wouldn't leave them. Not like this. No, he would wake up, even if he had to give them all a bit of a scare first).

For now, Toshinori scowled down at the HPSC agent in charge, who stared back, lips pressed thin in anger, and wondered how it came to this.

---XXX---

Toshinori had woken that morning with a bad feeling. Hero premonition, they called it – a gut feeling that heroes that lasted in the field developed, letting them know something was going to go down.

Usually, there was some reason for it acting up, so since there didn't seem to be, Toshinori decided to be a little cautious but otherwise ignore it. Hero premonition and gut feelings weren't infallible, after all.

If they were, then the USJ would never have happened.

That was the plan until he got downstairs (bless Nezu's predecessor for having built these dorms, and Nezu for improving them. Even if it did mean that Shouta-kun found out about One For All less than a month into the school year and changed Young Midoriya's training. With everything that was happening, it was good to have so many of the kids already in the dorms and so many of their teachers here even before everything began to go wrong) and saw how many of the others looked on edge.

Hizashi-kun stood halfway through breakfast, slamming his hands down onto the table. “I can't take it. Everyone, you all feel it too, right? Everybody's got that premonition going on?”

There were murmurs of agreement from around the table.

“There's not much we can do about it,” Shouta-kun said flatly. “There's nothing different scheduled for today, not that we could cancel because of a gut feeling anyway. We'll just have to stay alert.”

Hizashi-kun groaned, flopping back down into his chair, and Toshinori privately agreed with him. While having advance notice was a good thing, this was too vague to do anything but make all of them anxious all day.

With any luck it was a fluke and it would go away.

If hadn't alerted them to the USJ, so why would they all feel anxious now?

---XXX---

It didn't go away.

The kids noticed their teachers were all off, of course. Shouta-kun emphasized noticing things to them all the time, and quite a few of them had lived with the teachers long enough to have learned Shouta-kun's tells.

So the hero kids, of 1-A and a few of 1-B at least, were on edge as well.

Enough that Shouta-kun gave them a quick rundown of Hero Premonition in their afternoon homeroom, to explain what had their teachers on edge.

Vlad-kun did the same in his, already warned by Shouta-kun that he would be informing his kids of what was going on, and if Vlad-kun didn't tell his students, Shouta-kun would tell those who lived with him in the dorms later.

Better if it came from Vlad-kun.

Toshinori was just grateful that his class was after afternoon homeroom that day, so the kids were a little less distracted. They were still distracted, it was true, worried over what had their teachers all worked up, but at least they knew now what the teachers knew.

Which was basically nothing, but still.

They were all on edge, waiting, but Shouta-kun maintained that it was better that they be on edge for that rather than on edge over what had their teachers upset.

It happened during the last hour of the day.

The teacher's phones all lit up with an alert, overriding the silent setting they had them on for class.

A Hero Alert, calling for any available heroes.

A school was under villain attack, and there were too many of them for the currently responding heroes to deal with.

A school close enough that the UA teachers were being called in.

Not all of them could respond, and not all of the students had their provisional licenses or were in costume. But those that had their licenses changed in a flash and ran for the buses already pulling up at the gates, ready to take them there.

---XXX---

The scene was still chaos when they arrived, with heroes rushing about, bringing civilians to the paramedics and trying to fight off the villains.

While the people responsible for all of this were fighting the first responding heroes, the majority of the heroes arriving to the scene were Eraserhead trained and so left the fighting to those heroes, confident they could handle it, while they prioritized the rescue efforts.

Not all – several of the heavy hitters split off from the group, splitting them between containment and rescue, and the teachers felt a little thrill of pride. Most of the time, students (and quite a few heroes who should have known better) prioritized the fight over the rescue.

There were a lot of villains, but this was a school, and so there were a lot of very tiny civilians that needed rescued.

The gas the one villain had blown out, a strange purple fog, was thickening still, and there were calls to evacuate the building – something that Eraserhead and the majority of his students began as soon as they hit the scene and noted the villains being kept from the civilians.

---XXX---

The villains had all been captured save one and they had, according to one of the school's teachers, gotten everyone out, but...Izuku froze, his hair whipping as he searched for his team, Danger Sense wailing. He could see all of his classmates, All Might (whose arrival had taken the fight out of the last of the villains), Midnight, Present Mic, Vlad King, but...where was Aizawa-sensei?

“Earphone Jack! Do you have Eraserhead's location?” he called over at Jirou. “I've got visuals on everyone else!”

She looked around herself, frowning, and plugged her jacks into the building's wall. Her eyes went wide a second later.

“He's still in there! I can hear two heartbeats! They're together, second floor, back classroom! They aren't moving, going too slow to be conscious!”

Izuku met Shinsou's eyes, already pulling his mask up over his mouth. “That thing gas proof?”

“Is yours?” Shinsou shot back.

Both nodded, and then shot into the building, ignoring the cries for them to wait.

The visibility was low inside the building. The lights were still on, but the gas was thick, thick enough it was like trying to run through fog.

With their masks firmly over their faces, Izuku and Shinsou pounded through the gas, towards the classroom Jirou had identified, without worrying they would encounter any more villains or pausing to search for other victims.

Jirou would have announced if she heard anyone besides the two left inside the building.

And they couldn't stop to think about why the teachers would say everyone was outside, except to hope it was a mistake.

They couldn't think why their teacher was still here and unconscious. It wasn't like him, with all his experience, to be overcome by gas like this.

The classroom door stood open from the evacuation, and the two burst inside.

It was difficult to see, but the gas was slowly starting to disperse, the villain outside having apparently been stopped from making more and with windows and doors around the building open.

It had dispersed just enough to make out the black lump of their teacher lying on the floor near an open closet door. It looked as though he'd ripped the door from the hinges, a broken lock dangling from the hasp set into the door frame.

Eraserhead was curled up on the floor, they would guess around the source of the second heartbeat that Jirou had heard.

He didn't move as they ran over to him, despite the two of them making no effort to mask their foot falls.

They could see what he was curled around once they were on top of him – a child, pressed against his chest and surrounded by his arms, also unconscious.

It didn't take much to put together what had happened – for some reason, the child had been locked in the closet, and left there. And no other hero had helped them.

Shinsou managed to get the child out of Eraserhead's arms, and they exchanged glances at the sight of the child's footwear – red Primordial brand sneakers.

They could think about that later. For now, Izuku worked to get Eraserhead (who was a lot heavier than he looked, all muscle on that lean frame, hidden by the baggy costume) into a fireman's carry.

Their exit was slower than their entrance, but they moved as fast as they could with their passengers. If the gas had knocked them out, then they needed to get the two of them out of it as fast as they could.

Izuku cried out as soon as they were clear of the building, getting the class and All Might's attention.

“We think the kid's Quirkless,” he said in a hurry as he passed his teacher over to All Might. “Some hospitals aren't...they won't help if they know but he needs help...and, and Aizawa-sensei isn't waking up, we don't know how much of that gas he and the kid got, please hurry!”

All Might's eyes darkened. “I'll take care of it, Midoriya-shonen,” he said, and Izuku nodded rapidly, following behind his mentor closely as he and Shinsou headed for the paramedics.

Aizawa-sensei was frighteningly limp in All Might's hold, flashing Izuku's mind back to the USJ and how close they'd come to losing him then, before Izuku told him about his Quirk, before he began to bond with them all, before he became the teacher they all needed.

“We have a Pro Hero and a child in need of aid,” All Might boomed. “Both are apparently unconscious from the gas Quirk, does anyone have information on it yet?”

“Not yet,” a paramedic said as they rushed All Might and Shinsou and their burdens. They were laid down gently on the gurneys as the paramedics rushed around, and Izuku saw a couple of the paramedics baulk when they saw the bright red Primordial sneakers.

“We're lucky the child has no Quirk, that should make treating them easier!” All Might said. “But I am very worried about them, they were in the gas for far too long. Make sure they get a room near my friend, I know we'll both be concerned once Eraserhead wakes up!”

At least one paramedic was grinning to themselves, and Izuku got the feeling they were like Aizawa-sensei – mad at the world that would treat others as lesser and extra angry at their coworkers who were supposed to treat everyone regardless but who acted disgracefully.

Quirkism was unacceptable everywhere, but certain areas managed to make themselves into cesspools of it.

Izuku stayed long enough to see Aizawa-sensei loaded into the back of the ambulance, to see the child loaded into another, before flinging himself into the fight against the gas-Quirk villain, who was the only one who hadn't been taken down yet.

They needed information on that gas Quirk, and they needed it now.

---XXX---

That had been hours ago, and neither child nor hero had woken yet.

Several of the other heroes, who'd only gotten a little of the gas, and the other civilians who were in the same situation, had seemed fine at first – only for them to begin collapsing, most of them about an hour later, depending on how much of the gas they'd breathed in.

The gas Quirk user was being irritatingly stubborn about talking about his Quirk, and Nezu was tearing through the Quirk Registry to try and find him, knowing very well that he could have been mis-registered or have had his Quirk changed since it had been listed.

Recovery Girl was checking on the people affected alongside the doctors who worked here, but so far, there was little they could do.

Toshinori had peeked in on Shouta-kun before he'd had to take up a position guarding the door.

He had looked disturbingly small and vulnerable in the hospital bed, still asleep and with an IV in his arm, an oxygen mask over his face. As if he were asleep, but couldn't be woken.

Which wasn't that far from the truth, he supposed. If only it were that benign.

They still didn't know what that gas might be doing to Shouta-kun, to the other heroes, to the civilians. Shouta-kun and the child he'd rescued had gotten the worst of it...Shouta-kun worse than the child, as the child had been able to bury their face in Shouta-kun's jumpsuit and block out some of the gas.

About the only thing they were sure about so far was that it wasn't instantly poisonous, but that didn't mean it couldn't have some sort of long term effects on the people who'd breathed it in.

The dorm kids had shown up soon after, and Toshinori had beat a graceful retreat to give them time to worry over their dad, though they'd fussed a bit over him as well, touching his arms as he left and getting small hugs and hair ruffles in return.

Toshinori hadn't intended to set up guard duty outside of Shouta-kun's room. They were in a hospital, he'd assumed they would be safe.

Until he'd seen the HPSC agent and their backup coming his way.

People assumed he was fine with the HPSC. It was true that they didn't interfere much in his day to day – All Might was too powerful, had too much influence for the HPSC to try to control him, though they tried. But it was a tense stand off between them, given they had nothing to hold over Toshinori's head, and he had many powerful friends, was the powerful friend for other people, so they stood in a stalemate.

That didn't mean he was fine with them. There was something off about them. Something that said to Toshinori's finely tuned Hero instincts to keep them away from people he cared about.

He knew Shouta-kun and Hizashi-kun didn't trust the Commission. He knew the Commission near on hated Nezu, though they tried to hide it. He knew, now, from listening in on the other heroes, that the other UA teachers also distrusted the Commission.

And they weren't the only ones.

So when he saw the agents making their way towards Shouta-kun's room, Toshinori planted himself in front of the door, keeping himself in his muscle form – he still had time left, he could handle this – and waited.

He also slipped his phone out of his pocket, sending off a quick text into the UA Teachers Group Chat.

All Might All Right: At the hospital. HPSC is here. Have a bad feeling.

Read a Book, People: What do they want?

All Might All Right: Don't know. Standing guard in front of Shouta-kun's door. They're definitely heading this way. Not going to let them.

GoTheFUCKtoSleep: Keep it up big guy. Keep them far from Shouta! I'll be free soon to come help.

GiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: This is most worrying! They should not know where any heroes are so far. All Might, be cautious. They have tried many times before to get their hands on Shouta-kun.

All Might All Right: That is VERY concerning, Nezu-san.

GiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: Do what you have to do to keep them away from Shouta-kun. I will be sending you backup.

Toshinori frowned down at his phone in worry even as the UA Teacher Group chat continued to ping, the other teachers that hadn't been at the scene checking in and arranging to go check on those who had to keep the HPSC agents away from them and to update the Pro Hero Group chat – or, at least, the unofficial official one, the one that the heroes they didn't trust (heroes like Endeavor) weren't in, that they knew no HPSC agents were in, that they used to chat with each other began going off.

Nezu unofficially calling for backup, Toshinori guessed. The heroes in that group chat were no fans of the HPSC, but they were of Shouta-kun.

The HPSC agent stopped short, looking up at Toshinori, and he was suddenly reminded of another hospital room, another HPSC agent.

He'd saved a little girl, whose Quirk Awakening had been rather violent and traumatic. A very powerful Quirk – or at least, it would be, once she understood how to control it. But right at that moment, she had been a frightened little girl in a too-big hospital bed.

He'd seen the HPSC agents hovering around her room and gotten a bad feeling. A sense that if he took his eyes off the child, they would sweep her away, and he wasn't sure what they would do to her.

Nothing obvious. But...he had a suspicion. Hawks had come out of nowhere, had no schooling at a Hero school, everything he had came through the Commission.

So, though he hated using his status, Toshinori had thrown it around a little, made it clear he was curious and invested in what happened to the little girl – just as he had earlier, with the child Shouta-kun had rescued – and seen that she got a good foster family that intended to adopt her, that would love her and keep her safe...and far away from the HPSC.

But what they could want with Shouta-kun in particular, Toshinori couldn't fathom. Shouta-kun was much too old for any sort of training program the HPSC might have hidden away, and while he might not have been well known among the public, there would be questions asked if he suddenly disappeared.

Yes, most would assume it was a villain's doing, but they would still want answers. They would want to avenge him. Toshinori had done some digging before joining the UA staff, and while Shouta-kun didn't hold himself in high regard, and many people didn't realize it, he was the one they all counted on. He led missions, and he backed up missions. He was always there when they needed him, just as necessary as All Might. The Underground was interested in him as well, though Toshinori didn't know more than that when it came to the Underground, and it was mostly from passing comments.

And he was Nezu's favorite, his unofficial vice principal. Nezu would tear Japan apart to find out what happened if Shouta-kun disappeared.

Toshinori didn't know if the HPSC didn't know that, or if they didn't care. They were arrogant enough to not care.

Nezu wasn't being forthcoming about what they might want, but Toshinori didn't want to bother him about it now. Not when it could wait.

He just hoped that the backup got here quickly. Shouta-kun was in enough danger, with who knew what in his lungs and the oxygen mask a necessity (Toshinori had kept it away from Midoriya-shonen, but he hadn't like the way Shouta-kun's breathing had sounded as he rushed his friend to the ambulance, too strained and shallow) to deal with the HPSC's nonsense.

The agent glared up at Toshinori, who settled himself into a stance he'd often used when he had to stay in one place for a long time and plastered his trademark grin across his face. “Hello there!” he greeted, boisterous enough to be aggravating while keeping quiet, keeping in mind that this was a hospital and his friend was unconscious just a few feet away. “Can I help you?”

The agent's lips thinned with annoyance. “We're Eraserhead's emergency contacts,” he said.

Toshinori snorted out a laugh. “A good joke, friend! But I've seen Eraserhead's emergency contacts and know them by sight!”

“All Pro Heroes have an emergency contact in the HPSC,” the agent said, condescending and superior. “I am Eraserhead's. If they cannot reach his other contacts, then they call us. Now move. Please.”

The please was said with enough disdain Toshinori wondered if it had hurt. Also, he could see multiple inaccuracies with that statement.

The other heroes might not check their emergency contact forms except when they had to re-sign and update them, but given Toshinori's health, he knew very well what was on his emergency contact medical forms.

And there was nothing about an HPSC agent coming if they couldn't reach anyone else on there. In fact, Toshinori knew he'd specified that Nezu and Recovery Girl be notified – and that the HPSC be kept far away from him.

And, given his relationship with them, he highly doubted Shouta-kun didn't have those two as emergency contacts, along with his husband and Midnight.

Midnight had been at the scene, and so had Present Mic, and both were being checked over – they were fine, just not available just yet, with minor injuries. Midnight, at least, knew what was happening, and was trusting him. Nezu might have been busy at the moment, as was Recovery Girl, but they were options three and four.

The two of them stared each other down, neither willing to move.

“Eraserhead needs to rest,” Toshinori said again. “This is an emergency ward. His emergency contacts have been notified. You need to leave.”

The agent bristled, and Toshinori briefly wondered what kind of repercussions he was going to see them try and bring against him for this. It wouldn't be anything obvious, that he was certain of, but they wouldn't take this lying down.

The question for the moment was whether or not they would back down or if they would continue with whatever plan they had in mind.

Whispers were picking up around them as people began to notice what was happening, began to notice the standoff between All Might and the men in dark suits.

Heroes were beginning to poke their heads out of their various rooms as well, and Toshinori hoped the kids wouldn't find out what was going on. They needed to rest and not get caught up in whatever grudge the HPSC seemed to have with Shouta-kun.

A nurse, one of the battleaxe types that Toshinori knew so well (and called 'battleaxe' in respect and more than a touch of fear), began marching towards them. They weren't as common here as they were in America or England, but he was grateful to see one now.

“What is going on over here?” she demanded, her tone hard and no-nonsense even with her volume low out of deference to the many victims of today's attack trying to rest around them.

“These men are insisting on entering Eraserhead's room,” Toshinori said before the agents could speak. “They say they're his emergency contacts, but I know his emergency contacts, and they aren't them. Could you check, please?”

If she were true to type, then deference (and cups of hot, strong tea or coffee) were the way to go now.

Her eyes narrowed, first at Toshinori, as if she could see what he was doing, before focusing on the agents. And the glare was much stronger towards them.

“This is a hospital,” she said firmly. “The people here need to rest. You are causing a disturbance and need to leave.”

The agent gritted his teeth. “We are Eraserhead's emergency contacts,” he insisted again.

The nurse nodded, obviously not believing a word of it. “Sure you are. Let's just go down to the desk and check on that. And get you out of my hospital.”

The agent began to protest, and she turned to Toshinori. “All Might, if you would?”

He hesitated, and Best Jeanist slipped in behind him.

Toshinori startled a touch – he hadn't realized Jeanist was even in the hospital. “I'll stand guard for you,” he offered easily.

Toshinori nodded back – it was true that he had worried about someone else trying to sneak into Shouta-kun's room while he was gone – and reached out to pick up the protesting agent by his biceps.

The guards with the agent tensed, hands hovering over weaponry, but hesitated. This was a hospital, with lots of witnesses and heroes, and it was All Might.

They might get away with it under other circumstances, but these...

The agent jerked away, hurrying to start walking before he could be seen being carried away by All Might.

All Might followed the agent closely towards the nurse's station, where the battleaxe was already flipping through Eraserhead's file.

“Well, what do you know. There's no one here from the Hero Public Safety Commission,” she said, sounding extremely done with everything.

Mood, Toshinori thought.

She nodded to the side, where security was waiting, and All Might handed the agent off to them.

Toshinori bowed gratefully to the nurse, who waved him off before getting back to work. Toshinori made sure to note to send a gift basket of tea and coffee to the nurses of this wing as he hurried back towards Shouta-kun's room.

Jeanist was standing in front of the room, and it looked as though nothing had changed. He nodded at Toshinori as the man hurried up, keeping himself from running through the halls only barely.

“Nezu contacted me,” he said when Toshinori was close enough to hear him. “I was closest. Do you know what's happening?”

Toshinori shook his head. “I was last on the scene of the attack,” he said. “I got there just as two of Eraserhead's students pulled him and the child he was saving out of the school. Deku and Psyren. They said it looked like the child had been locked into a closet and he'd broken the door down to get the child out, and we think they're Quirkless. Eraserhead and the child were both unconscious from the gas, and neither's woken up yet.”

Jeanist grew solemn. “That's really bad,” he said simply. “Has anyone checked to be sure the child is being properly cared for?”

“I was on my way when the agents showed up,” Toshinori said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I told them I was invested in the child, so they should be, but...”

“I'll go check, you stay,” Jeanist offered, patting Toshinori's broad shoulder. “I don't like this.”

“Me either. They claimed they were Eraserhead's emergency contact, but there's at least four others in line for that spot, and they're already notified. The HPSC weren't on the paperwork at all...and I know Eraserhead has said before about keeping them away from him. I think that's actually on his paperwork, actually.”

Best Jeanist's visible eye grew more troubled. “I see.”

Before they could say more, the door to Shouta-kun's room flew open.

Shinsou stood in the doorway, his hands gripping the frame tight. “We need a nurse! Somebody! They aren't coming for the button, but Dad's not breathing right, something's wrong, something's really wrong!”

Even from here, Toshinori could hear Shouta-kun's labored breathing, the way he was gasping for breath, sounding as though he couldn't get enough air, harsh and desperate and ragged.

“Keep pressing the button for the nurse,” Jeanist ordered. “They'll...”

Come racing up the hallway with a doctor and Recovery Girl in tow, and Shinsou, Jeanest, and Toshinori dodged out of the way.

Inside the room, the kids that had been clustered around Shouta-kun's bed trying to help flung themselves out of the way, some needing pulled along by their more situationally aware friends, as they were too focused on Shouta-kun to realize help had arrived.

Shouta-kun was still unconscious, and Toshinori had no idea what any of them could do to help in this situation.

“Do we have any word yet on that damn Quirk?” the doctor who'd run in demanded, his hands glowing as he pressed them to Shouta-kun's chest.

“Not yet,” the same nurse who had helped Toshinori just minutes ago replied, her own hands moving rapidly as she did things with machines, checking the oxygen mask strapped to Shouta-kun's face. “Increasing the oxygen flow.”

Toshinori had never felt so helpless as he did now, unable to do anything as his friend gasped for breath just feet away, though the distance may as well have been miles.

Even at the USJ, he hadn't had to stand there and wait. There had been villains to fight, the students to protect, keeping him from worrying over his friend – then only coworker – until much later.

Finally, what felt like hours later but was only five minutes at the most, Shouta-kun's breathing began to level out until he was breathing regularly again. Still more shallowly than any of them liked, if the expression on the doctor's face was anything to go by, but he was getting air.

“We need information about that Quirk,” he said sharply. “We can't treat him properly until we find out what it's doing.”

“Nezu of UA and the police are working on it,” Toshinori said, trying not to show how worried he was. He was All Might, he couldn't show weakness. “How is he?”

“Well, he'd be a lot better if we knew what we were dealing with,” Recovery Girl said irritably. “The rest barely got any of the gas, so they're all doing fine, should be ready to go home soon, if we can find out if there's any long term effects. How'd he end up in the thick of it?”

Toshinori obediently repeated again what he'd been told, gesturing for Shinsou, who'd been one of the two to rescue Shouta-kun, to give what he knew.

Recovery Girl sighed and shook her head once they were finished. “How like him. We're going to have to look into why that child was locked in the closet. We may have another school for Nezu to destroy.”

“Deku thinks the child may be Quirkless – they had the shoes for it,” All Might said quietly. “That would explain it far too well.”

Toshinori was only partially an idiot. After Shouta-kun found out about One For All then he'd been furious with how Toshinori had treated Midoriya-shonen on that rooftop.

Rather than yelling, he had given Toshinori the most disappointed look Toshinori had ever had to face – as if he'd disappointed someone who'd thought they couldn't be disappointed with a world that had set out to hurt them anymore – and a lecture. The next morning, there had been an email in his inbox from the younger teacher, with links to all sorts of articles.

All of them about what the Quirkless faced in this day and age, with a note that these sorts of things were supposed to be covered in the teacher's courses Toshinori was supposed to take before setting foot into a classroom at UA but had skipped thanks to his status as the number one hero.

Toshinori had felt sick by the time he'd finished reading, and had emailed his coworker back, begging for more information and guidance.

Thankfully, Shouta-kun seemed to think holding grudges (not forgetting, forgetting was also illogical, let the people who'd hurt you hurt you again) to be illogical, so long as the person involved was willing to properly apologize and make amends.

And he was a good teacher, under the gruff exterior. Toshinori and Midoriya-shonen were both benefiting from that.

But it meant that now, Toshinori had a much clearer picture of what it meant to be Quirkless. It was much different from how it had been when he was young, and he'd forgotten what it was like, too caught up in what was now, in having a powerful Quirk he had to learn to use and defeating All For One and in being a Symbol of Peace.

It also meant that he had a fairly good idea of why the child had been in the closet, if it had indeed been locked when Shouta-kun had found them, and why no one else had saved the child.

It wasn't a good picture.

“We need more information, and we won't get more about just what happened until Eraserhead wakes up,” Toshinori said, fighting the urge to pace. He was afraid for Shouta-kun, and there was nothing he could do.

It wasn't a situation he could handle easily, emotion wise. There weren't many he was close to, so he didn't have much practice – not that it would have helped.

“What can we do?” he asked Recovery Girl, not realizing just how lost and frightened he sounded.

Recovery Girl took a deep breath, and he was reminded sharply that Shouta-kun was one of her favorites, as well. Her Problem Child. “We have someone with both Eraserhead and the child – does anyone have a name for them yet – at all times. So that if one of them has another attack, they can signal for help immediately.”

“Their name is Azuma Misao,” the nurse from earlier said. “Their parents have been contacted and are on the way. They've been confirmed Quirkless.”

“Some of the students can take over that duty for both of them,” Toshinori said. “It'll help them feel like they're doing something, it will help keep them from spiraling.”

“If you think they can be trusted with it,” the nurse said.

“They're hero students, they'd better be able to handle it,” Recovery Girl said, her face stern enough to make chills run down even Toshinori's back. She turned that look to him, and he had to fight not to fidget in place. “You, start making calls, see what you can dig up. Nezu will let us know when he finds something, you see if they've gotten anything from the villains yet.”

Toshinori nodded rapidly, taking the out for what it was. He only had so much time in his hero form, and he was going to run out of it at this rate, and it wouldn't be somewhere he could afford to run out of time.

He didn't like to leave Shouta-kun undefended, in case the agents returned, and turned to Best Jeanist, who was already nodding. “I'll set up a roster in the group chat,” he said easily, leaning against the wall by the door.

The teens already had their phones out, obviously setting up their own roster.

Toshinori bowed slightly before hurrying off.

He shut the door of a small room behind him, letting go of his Quirk and opening up his phone. He had a lot of calls to make.

---XXX---

Present Mic and Midnight were standing by Shouta-kun's door by the time Toshinori returned, having made even more calls than he'd thought he'd have to.

Present Mic was visibly drooping, with Midnight's arm around his shoulders. It had to have been a hard year for the man, Toshinori thought sympathetically. Everything might have been happening to Class 1-A primarily, but the man's husband was their homeroom teacher, which meant that everything that had to do with the class involved him.

Toshinori knew that being underground could be more dangerous than being limelight, but even so, Shouta-kun had been in more danger this year than ever before.

Toshinori still blamed himself for not being there soon enough at the USJ. There was a lot he couldn't have prevented, but still, if he'd gotten there sooner, than maybe he could have spared the man at least some injury.

Well, he had gotten several lectures about priorities and the amount of heroes in Mustafu, but like with so many other things, since Toshinori had taken the lectures to heart, he'd been forgiven for being late, even if he hadn't forgiven himself.

“Nezu's got a lead on the Quirk,” he reported once the two had seen him. “The villain in question is refusing to answer any questions about it. It was apparently meant to be some sort of terror attack, but the villains keep contradicting each other, so the story of just what and why isn't clear yet.”

Present Mic groaned softly, burying his face in his hands.

“He's had two attacks while you were gone,” Midnight said gently. “We're all pretty on edge.”

“It's terrifying,” Toshinori agreed. “The villain doesn't want to talk since apparently, having his gas be used against whoever was still in the building was the main point, and telling us what's happening would mean we could reverse it. I'd go down and demand answers myself, but Tsukauchi thinks that would make them happy and they'd still refuse, since they could prove somehow that meant even I was helpless in the face of their Quirks.”

“The kids aren't taking this well,” Midnight said, still quiet as if afraid of being overheard. “They're scared they're going to lose him. We all are. He's strong, we have to keep believing in Shouta,” she added, mostly to Present Mic. “He's the most stubborn, determined man I've ever met.”

Present Mic barked out a short laugh. “He sure is. Never would have made it into the hero course if he wasn't. He got taller and just filled up with more spite to make up for it.” He sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. “Doesn't make watching him fight for breath any easier.”

A solemn silence fell over the three heroes then, uncertain and frightened.

“Midoriya's with Azuma-chan,” Midnight said after a minute. “He thought they might feel better if they woke up with someone who got what it was like to be Quirkless, you know? I know he had a really hard time choosing, he didn't want to leave Shouta's side. The dorm kids have been taking turns. I don't think any of them have left yet – they're all crashing in the other kids' rooms.”

“I thought everyone else was uninjured save some scrapes and bruises?” Toshinori questioned.

“There were some injuries from the fight, and usually they'd kick the kids out, but it's a slow night, so they're letting them hang around for now. It's easier than taking them back and forth from UA. Safer, too.”

Toshinori gave a small hum of understanding, leaning on the wall next to the other two heroes. “Did they tell you about the HPSC agents?”

One head whipped up to look at him, confused and alarmed, while Midnight squeezed Mic tighter, and Toshinori hurried to tell them what had happened. “Nezu said something about them trying before, multiple times, to get to Shouta-kun?” he finished, concerned.

“Not really sure,” Mic said, looking as though he was just about at the end of his rope. Toshinori could relate – he'd like the world to leave Shouta-kun alone for awhile, too. “Nezu would know more. I know they sent a lot of internship offers when we were in second and third year, but he turned them all down. He was Nezu's personal student by then, we both were, so most of them had to go through Nezu. The ones he got, I think they sent directly to our Homeroom teacher. So yeah. Not sure what's up with that.”

He slumped harder against the wall, looking absolutely done with the world. “Why now? Why can't they just leave us alone? Doesn't Shou-chan have enough on his plate already?”

“He does,” Midnight said, adding bitterly, “Not that he'd agree. He's always taking on everyone else's work. Convinced he has to be useful.” She eyed Toshinori for a moment, adding, “Not that our company is any better about that. You two go on in – you can save time and watch over him.”

---XXX---

The group chat for pro heroes – at least, the unofficial one – was still buzzing when Toshinori opened it, his Quirk released and settled into a chair in Shouta-kun's room.

Hizashi-kun – not Present Mic, not in here, not like this – had taken the chair closest to Shouta-kun after they'd urged to the students to go and try to rest. He'd taken up Shouta-kun's free hand, pressing it to his cheek and resting against the bed, watching Shouta-kun as though he would disappear if Hizashi-kun didn't keep his eyes or a hand on him.

We're All Mad Here

All Might – All Might All Right

Best Jeanist – Denim Man

Cementoss – Read a Book, People

Fat Gum – Gummy Bear

Hawks – Chicken Little

Nezu – TheGiantRatWhoMakesAllTheRules

Snipe - Bullseye

Thirteen – Space Ace

Mandalay – Little Kitty Big Claws

Ectoplasm – Multiplication Man

Ms. Joke – For the Lutz

Denim Man: Does anyone have any updates on the terror attack earlier?

Little Kitty Big Claws: they've attacked at three other places so far, nothing like the gas at the first place though. No fatalities so far but lots of injuries, but it looks like we've got them all in custody now

Space Ace: how's senpai doing? Did he wake up yet?

All Might All Right: Not yet. I take it the other attacks are why we don't have more information yet?

TheGiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: Unfortunately, yes. None of them are forthcoming with information, but we're starting to put together just who they are and why they're attacking.

Gummy Bear: What could they possibly justify it with?

TheGiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: Prejudice, obviously. Each place has had at least one Quirkless person employed/attending, or mutation Quirks. Not all of them have been accepting places, mind you, but they've had someone there.

Bullseye: Boy howdy what a day to be reminded why I don't like a lot of folks

Read a Book, People: That's not very fair Snipe

Bullseye: Ain't talkin' 'bout fair, just mad. My kouhai's in the hospital fightin' for his life 'cuz of them bein' bigots, I'm allowed ta be mad

Read a Book, People: ...fair enough

Space Ace: All Might? You're with Senpai, right? How's he doing?

All Might All Right: So far he's had three attacks – couldn't seem to breathe. He was struggling for breath and it was VERY upsetting. Like he just couldn't get any air. So far the doctors are managing to get him breathing again, but we really need to know what's going on. The child's not doing much better

Chicken Little: Child?

All Might All Right: Shouta-kun was taken out by the gas when rescuing a child. So far, it appears that the child had been locked in a closet and left behind. We haven't had time to investigate yet.

Bullseye: BOY HOWDY DO I HATE SOME FOLKS

All Might All Right: The child is Quirkless, which is why we suspect they were locked in, and we have yet to find out who knew the child was in there

Bullseye: BOY. HOWDY.

All Might All Right: Also, some agents from the HPSC were here. They tried to claim they were Shouta-kun's emergency contacts. They've been kicked out of the hospital.

Little Kitty Big Claws: Aren't those Yamada, Kayama, Nezu, and Shuzenji?

All Might All Right: Yes. Yes they are.

All Might All Right: In fact, his file says not to let the HPSC anywhere near him while he's incapacitated.

Gummy Bear: Well that's not worrying AT ALL

Gummy Bear: ...Hawks, you good?

Chicken Little: Oh yeah fine haha nothing wrong here

Denim Man: ...moving right along then

Denim Man: we can talk more about that worrying tidbit later.

TheGiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: Good news! The story is being straightened out, but more importantly, I've managed to find our Quirk user, and I have information now about his Quirk! It was well hidden, but I've pierced it together from the scraps I could find. I'm sending it over to the doctors as we 'speak'.

All Might All Right: Thank goodness, I don't know if our hearts could take watching Shouta-kun suffer like that anymore. The kids aren't handling it well at all.

Read a Book, People: Can't say I'm surprised. They're all really attached. I heard some of 'em calling him 'Dadzawa'.

Bullseye: They ain't the only ones attached

Toshinori lowered his phone, ignoring how the chat kept going. “Nezu's got a lead on the Quirk, he's sending it to the doctors now.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Hizashi-kun breathed, still holding Shouta-kun's hand in both of his, pressed against his forehead. “I'm going to go grey before my time.”

“At least it won't show in the blond,” Toshinori pointed out. “We'll really see it when this class starts to turn Shouta-kun grey.”

Hizashi-kun snorted. “He says he's going to dye it the same green as Midoriya's costume so everyone knows just which class is responsible for it.” Hizashi paused, amusement gone as he added, “...if he lives long enough to see them graduate.”

“He will,” Toshinori said, and it felt like a promise, a vow, despite him technically not having the power to see it through anymore. It didn't matter.

There was a knock on the door, and Toshinori hurried to bulk up, managing it just before the doctor from earlier came in with several nurses.

“You got Nezu-san's message?” Toshinori asked, standing to greet them.

“Thank goodness we did, I hate to think what might have happened if it had taken much longer,” the doctor said, and Hizashi's head shot up.

“What do you mean?” he demanded, voice shaking, only just keeping his Quirk under control.

“Don't worry, Mic-san, we've got time now that we know what's going on – or at least, we should, so far as they didn't use Trigger or had some kind of Quirk Awakening. He would have continued to have those episodes of being unable to get adequate air, filling up his lungs with the gas, and they would have lasted longer and longer, until he essentially drowned on land. It's a very cruel Quirk, the way it's being used, though I can't think how it could be well used. It doesn't matter.

“What does matter is that we know how to treat him now. I'll have to ask you two to move aside or leave the room while we get started. We're going to get him stable, then we have several Quirk users who'll be here soon. We can fix this by combining their Quirks to clear all of the gas from his lungs. They're working on Azuma-kun now – smaller lungs mean they're in more danger.

“But we think that there should be no long term side effects. We'll have to double check once we've finished the treatment, and of course he's going to need to rest – actually rest – afterward in order to heal, but we're much more hopeful now.”

Toshinori had to admit to his own relief. This was the sort of thing All Might couldn't fix, and helplessness had never sat well with him.

He cleared out, nodding to Hizashi-kun on the way. He leaned against the wall outside Shouta-kun's room with Midnight, trusting that if something went wrong or it turned out that those weren't the people they pretended to be, they'd hear before anything could go really wrong.

Toshinori turned back to his phone as Midnight kept an eye on the hallways around them.

We're All Mad Here

All Might All Right: the doctor is here. They've figured out how to treat Shouta-kun and the child. They're doing the child first – tiny lungs means they're more vulnerable and need it first. They're hopeful that Shouta-kun can make a full recovery so long as he gets some rest afterward, which is obviously the hardest part. :)

Space Ace: Oh thank goodness!

Gummy Bear: I don't know how many more scares I can take this year :(

Bullseye: I'll help ya'll keep my kouhai resting for real this time – couldn't stop him after That Time We Should Have Brought Chapstick To The USJ, but we can this time!

TheGiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: Plus Ultra ;)

Bullseye: Don't Like That

Multiplication Man: No more emojis please Nezu

TheGiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: I'm not sure :) what you mean :)

For the Lutz: #Fear

TheGiantRatWhoMakesTheRules: I need to go prepare paperwork and set a few things into motion to ensure that Shouta-kun actually does rest this time, if anyone has anything to volunteer than please let me know

A rush of agreements and offers flooded the chat, most of them grateful that Shouta-kun would be okay and offering support to get him to actually rest while he healed.

Toshinori leaned harder against the wall with a relieved sigh. He hadn't been able to help stop Shouta-kun before, either, but this time...

He turned to Midnight and filled her in, on the treatment and on what everyone was planning.

She sighed. “I just hope Nezu really can make him rest this time,” she said. “I really thought he would after the USJ, but he kept saying how the kids needed to see him...I don't think seeing him like that really reassured them all that much.”

Her eyes lit up, and she smirked. “We can point out what a bad example he's setting – goodness knows those kids are imitating him and you with their insisting they're fine, we don't want them ending up like us now do we?”

Toshinori hunched in on himself, chuckling uneasily. “Of...of course not, Midnight, you're right, I'm sure it will work...it's certainly working on me,” he mumbled the last, but Midnight's laugh said she'd heard him.

The specialists arrived and entered Shouta-kun's room.

It took a few minutes before awful sounds began to emerge, difficult to hear through the door but all too clear still.

It sounded as if Shouta-kun were drowning, as if his lungs were full and he was trying to cough it all out but couldn't, as if he were choking and dying just beyond the door.

It was a terrible hacking noise, painful and raw, with gasps for air, harsh and strangled, in between, and it took every bit of Toshinori's will power not to go running in, as if there were anything he could do to help.

Midnight seemed to be having an even worse time holding herself back, grabbing onto Toshinori's arm tight enough he thought she would draw blood any second despite his skin having repelled bullets before. She was trembling faintly, and a quick glance down said that she was crying silently as the sounds continued, horrific and gut-wrenching.

Toshinori wrapped his free arm around Midnight and wished there was more he could do. At least the students weren't here to hear this.

(In the next hallway, Jirou had her headphone jack plugged into the wall, listening in to Aizawa-sensei's room. Her other jack was plugged into a small, portable speaker, letting them all listen in. Class 1-A was gathered here, along with the dorm kids. As far as anyone else knew, it was just for comfort, but they were keeping a close ear on their dad.

They were trying to be quiet, in case they needed to hear something, in case their noise might alert someone to the fact that something was wrong, but more than one of them was quietly sobbing at the sounds their teacher was making in the other room, clutching at each other and unable to do anything about his pain but bear witness.)

Finally, the terrible noises began to stop, replaced by the strained gasping for air with occasional burst of hacking and coughing, wet and painful.

Until those, too, evened out. The gasps continued for longer, until that, too, began to even out, grow quieter.

There was a long, long pause, while Toshinori and Nemuri-kun clutched each other and waited.

They couldn't have said how long the procedure took, only that it felt like hours. And it felt like hours longer until the specialists emerged, with the regular doctors and nurses in tow.

“You can go in and check on him now,” the doctor said, not unkindly. “I'm sure that didn't sound very good from here. It wasn't from in there, either. I've already given his husband the orders for his care, but to repeat myself – he's to rest. His lungs have had a hard time of it today, and they need to heal. He needs to recover stamina before Recovery Girl can help him, so again, rest. And good food. We're keeping him on the oxygen mask for the next couple of days, just in case. We'll have a better idea once he wakes up.”

They nodded to him in gratefulness and hurried into Shouta-kun's room.

He looked paler now than he had the last time Toshinori had been in the room, and Hizashi-kun was wiping his face clean, looking as though he'd been crying himself. Nemuri-kun hurried over, touching Hizashi-kun's hand and taking the bowl, taking him and the bowl to the bathroom.

The sounds from a moment later said that she was refilling the bowl and getting Hizashi-kun to wash his face.

Toshinori took a moment to look over Shouta-kun.

The oxygen mask was back in place over his mouth and nose, fogging with his labored breathing. His hair looked sweaty, as did the hospital gown he was wearing. His arms were lying on top of the thin hospital blanket, IV in his left arm and various monitors hooked up to his arm and chest.

“We're supposed to listen and if his breathing doesn't get easier in the next half hour, then we call for the nurse,” Hizashi-kun said as he and Nemuri-kun emerged from the bathroom, making their way back to Shouta-kun's beside. “Fuck, I never want to hear him like that again.”

Nemuri-kun wrapped her arms around Hizashi-kun, and Toshinori hesitated only a moment before he came over and laid a hand on Hizashi-kun's back, releasing his muscle form as he did. He was pulled into the hug a moment later.

“I still don't understand all of it,” Hizashi-kun said quietly. “It was like the gas was filling up his lungs, but they're almost burned right now. It'll heal with a little time, so long as he doesn't ask too much of them. If he tries to go back to work or patrolling too soon, then they'll scar up, and he won't be able to breathe well enough to...”

He picked up Shouta-kun's hand between his again, raising it to rest his forehead against it.

“Everyone in the group chat is coming up with ideas for how to keep him resting,” Nemuri-kun said gently. “And they're investigating that terrorist group. They're all pretty mad about the attacks, and they're madder that Shouta's hurt.”

Hizashi-kun snorted softly. “Shouta never does seem to understand how many people care about him,” he said simply.

Toshinori's phone began to ring, reminding him that he'd been ignoring its buzzing for some time now. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, wincing.

“Sorry, I have to take this,” he said. “Can I...?”

“Yeah, doubt you've got much time left today big guy,” Hizashi-kun said. “Just try not to wake Shouta up.”

Toshinori nodded fervently. He decidedly did not want to wake Shouta up, not when he was still having that much trouble breathing. Let him sleep through the worst of it, regain energy so Recovery Girl could help him.

Toshinori moved to the far side of the room and answered his phone as quietly as possible, immersing himself into the happenings outside the hospital.

---XXX---

It took twenty nine excruciating minutes for Shouta-kun's breathing to go back to something closer to normal, still raspy but acceptable.

And three days for him to wake.

---XXX---

Toshinori knocked the day after Shouta-kun woke but went unheard over the sound of the argument happening in Shouta-kun's room.

He walked in to find Shouta-kun trying to sit up, while Recovery Girl told him sternly to lie back down.

Toshinori rushed to the bed, gently pushing Shouta-kun back down. He was glared at for the audacity, but didn't stop until Shouta-kun stopped himself.

He replaced the oxygen mask over Shouta-kun's mouth and nose, speaking as he did. “Shouta-kun, please. The doctor said that if you take off the mask or try to do things too soon, your lungs will scar up. If that happens, you won't be able to breathe properly ever again, and you'll have to retire. You'll be like me, coughing up blood all the time. Please, stay down. I've set a bad enough example for the students, we need you to set a better one.”

Shouta-kun went to respond and was cut off by a bout of coughing.

Recovery Girl waited until he stopped before she spoke. “Toshinori's right. For once in your life, stay put and rest.” She paused before sighing and patting Shouta-kun's hand. “I know you feel useless and all sorts of terrible things about yourself when you're just lying around, but right now, it's what everyone needs you to do.”

Shouta-kun gave them both a glare, but it was weak as a kitten's, and he was obviously exhausted, wanting to rest but refusing to allow himself.

“You aren't helping anyone by running yourself into an early grave,” Chiyo-san scolded, but much gentler than usual, and she pulled the covers back into place, smoothing them down as though she were tucking Shouta-kun in. “There's a lot of people that would be hurt to have you gone now, remember? You have to stay alive and well for their sakes, and that includes staying in bed and getting proper rest.”

“Just...the...the kid?” Shouta-kun managed, the words raspy and painful, between shallow breaths.

“Healing, much like you,” Chiyo-san said reassuringly. “They'll make a full recovery – possibly better than you, since they're listening to the doctors and their parents and sleeping and resting.”

Shouta-kun gave a faint ghost of a smile, and Toshinori tried not to startle. The expression made Shouta-kun look strangely young, and in the bed, he seemed somehow vulnerable, very unlike the capable, fearsome hero Toshinori knew he could be.

“You can tell Tsukauchi about what happened once you've rested,” Chiyo-san continued. “But for now – this time, you're going to let yourself heal before you go back to work, understand? The kids will come to you, so stay in bed.”

“...yes, Mom,” Shouta-kun replied, already more than halfway back to sleep, fully asleep in seconds.

Chiyo-san gave Toshinori a quick glare, as if daring the hero to comment on what Shouta-kun had called her. Toshinori held up his hands, quickly zipping his mouth shut, though he couldn't stop the smile that stretched his face – a real smile, not the one he gave the cameras.

It appeared Shouta-kun wasn't just Nezu-san's favorite.

Good. The way this year was going, Shouta-kun needed as many people in his corner as he could get.

And he had them. All of them.

They would get through this and come out the other side stronger, together.

The kids would invade the room soon, bringing presents and well wishes and demands that their teacher stay in bed when he woke again.

And he could claim he wasn't their dad as much as he wanted, could claim he wasn't going soft for these kids over and over again, but he'd crumble in the face of their combined kitten eyes.

This time, like it or not, he would rest. For once in his life, he would stop, and he would rest, and he would properly heal.

He had more people than he was prepared for ready and willing to make sure of it.