AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another Aizawa story after my muse insisted on screaming in my ear at the volume of a five-alarm fire. Set just after Season 1, Episode 13.

He disintegrated my elbow...
He's snapping my bones like they're twigs...
Open your eyes, Shota...
I can't let him kill Asui.
The pain... it's too much...
Open your eyes, damn it...
I can't...
OPEN YOUR EYES-

I gasp and come awake, but everything is dark. Pain echoes up and down my body, coming in waves.

That thing... what did it do to me? Am I blind? Am I paralyzed now?

Slowly, I move my toes, and feel my leg muscles respond. And if the pain is anything to go by, my arms and hands still respond, too.

But my eyes… why can't I open my eyes? Or are they open and I just can't see?

I swallow hard and tamp down the panic, forcing myself to relax. I can feel the bandages now across my lashes. They must have bandaged my face. But what about my eyes? Is that light I can see behind my eyelids? Or is it just wishful thinking?

Calm down. Think rationally.

Antiseptic smell. Soft beeping. Footsteps across linoleum.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding as I realize I'm in the hospital.

Footsteps, then the creak of a chair.

"Shota."

I know that voice.

"Nemuri." God, it takes so much effort to push the words out when everything hurts.

I feel her stroking my hair. You wouldn't think she'd have such a gentle touch, given her public persona as Midnight.

"You look like hell, so I won't ask you how you're feeling. Do you need anything? Should I call one of the doctors?"

I very slightly shake my head, just to reassure myself that I can.

"The... the students. Are they-"

"They're all fine, and safe back at the main campus. Minor scrapes for most of them, except for Midoriya, who jumped in to help All Might when things got ugly. Guess he still hasn't gotten the hang of that Quirk of his."

Those villains... they'd attacked the USJ just to get at All Might. Was he-?

"Is All Might-"

"He's okay, though..."

Her voice trails off, and I'm almost glad I can't see her expression.

"What happened?"

"He pushed himself too hard. His power... I'm not sure how long he'll be able to use it now. But he saved you, and Thirteen, and all the students until we were able to get there."

I squeeze my eyes closed behind the bandages, but it doesn't stop the tears.

"Damn it... I should have been able to do more."

I feel her rest her hand on my shoulder.

"What more could you have done, Shota? You took down how many of those villains by yourself? Even under circumstances that so heavily favored them, you fought with everything you had."

"And it STILL wasn't enough, damn it."

She sighs, and for a while, she sits in silence beside me, with only the beeps of my monitoring equipment making any sound.

I'm so tired, but I can feel the nightmare just at the edge of my mind. Remembered pain... remembered fear... remembered helplessness.

Eventually, I hear her stand. "I should go, you need to rest."

"Thanks for coming by," I rasp, but the tremor in my voice gives me away.

"What is it?"

No... I can't tell her... it's weakness...

BLOOD PAIN SHATTERING FEAR BREAKING HELPLESS SOMEBODY SAVE ME

A shudder runs through me, and not even the gasp of pain can hide the fear.

Another sound, quiet.

Fabric being torn. Then... sweetness.

I know this scent. Nemuri's Quirk.

One breath, and everything is already beginning to fade away.

And before I go under, I hear her voice from far away.

"Pleasant dreams, Shota."

I try to say thanks, but all I can manage is a fatuous sigh.

The last thing I hear is her chuckle.