The five seconds after Izuku's reckless interference with All Might and Sensei's battle are some of the longest seconds of the ten-year-old's life.
The only thing he can hear as he scuttles back out of the range of fire is the roar of blood in his ears, and the violent thumping of his own heart.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees All Might wind up for a Texas Smash, his movements so slow it's as if he's moving through molasses.
And Sensei, still facing away from him, starts to turn back around, movements just as excruciatingly slow as All Might's.
His eyes are still on Izuku, piercing right through to the very centre of his being, when All Might's Smash arrives, and suddenly…it's over.
There's the sickening crunch of a skull shattering like an eggshell, a sound that Izuku just knows will haunt him for the rest of his life, and suddenly, time kicks back to full speed.
Sensei is dead before he's even had a chance to process what's happened, his body crumpling to the floor on top of Izuku, and pinning the child to the ground.
Izuku panics as the taste of iron fills his mouth, and finds himself choking on the stench of rust that suddenly assaults his nostrils. He sobs, struggling for a few minutes before he's finally able to push the dead weight off him and sit up.
As he struggles slowly to his feet, it feels like his head is stuffed full of cotton, the edges of his vision swimming with darkness. He feels almost numb, and when his eyes land on All Might's prone form on the ground a few feet away, having collapsed from exhaustion and blood loss, it takes a moment for Izuku to process what he's seeing.
"A-All Might?" he stutters, voice quiet as he stumbles towards the man. He drops to the ground next to his idol, panicking as he wonders what he's supposed to do here.
Another sob wracks his entire body, and he raises a clenched hand to wipe his tears away. Dimly, an idea comes into his mind, a memory from a time long gone-
("Stupid Deku, crying isn't going to solve anything. You have to press hard on the cut to make it stop bleeding, everyone knows that-")
-he starts clumsily trying to pull his t-shirt off. Wadding the material up, he presses it gingerly to what looks like the worst of All Might's injuries – a deep, nasty-looking gash in his side.
He bites his lip, trying not to cry as the cloth soaks through almost immediately, coating his hands in red, but he doesn't take his hand away, because he doesn't know what else to do.
His vision is already blurry when he feels a huge hand come to rest on his head, startling him. Looking up, he sees a wide smile, and deep blue eyes staring at him.
"Don't cry, my boy," says All Might, his voice soft and breathy. "Everything will be fine now. Why?"
Izuku hiccupps, trying to get the words out. "B-because you're here," he stutters, lips pulling into a wobbly smile.
All Might's smile widens a fraction.
"That's…right…" he says, voice trailing off.
Izuku feels his heart stop.
"A-All Might?" he asks, leaning forward in panic. "All M-!"
He's cut off by a sudden crash from behind him, and the thunder of footsteps.
Izuku jumps to his feet and moves to stand protectively in front of All Might – there's no way he's going to let anyone hurt All Might.
But when he turns around, instead of seeing Agakuro or any of Sensei's other allies like he'd half-expected, Izuku's eyes land first on a tall, imposing man with broad shoulders and a torso wrapped in thick muscles, flames trailing behind him like a cape.
Flame Hero Endeavor.
His eyes sweep the abandoned warehouse they're in with practiced efficiency, and just as they land on Izuku, more heroes burst onto the scene behind him.
His eyes widen in alarm, and he barks out an order to his companions that Izuku can't hear properly, and next thing the child knows, there are two unfamiliar women and a man running towards him.
They're all wearing crisp white uniforms with red crosses on them, and as they approach, the man kneels down in front of Izuku while the women pass right by him to drop to the floor next to Izuku.
"Are you alright, kid?" the man asks. "Where are you hurt?"
"Hurt?" asks Izuku, still having trouble processing what's going on. "I-I'm not hurt," he insists after a moment. His hands are cold and clammy, and his head still feels a bit dizzy, but he isn't hurt.
The man nods shortly to himself, then reaches out to cup Izuku's face in both palms, using the thumb of his right hand to pull down Izuku's bottom eyelid.
"What's your name, kid?" the man asks as he vontinues to check Izuku over.
It takes Izuku a moment to understand what he's saying – he's a little distracted listening to the two women working behind him, speaking in rapid fire medical terms that Izuku can't even hope to understand.
"…Midoriya Izuku," he finally answers once he's got his head wrapped around the question, and he can see the man's eyes widen in shock and disbelief.
"Is that right?" he asks, a little faintly. "Izuku-kun, can you tell me what your parents' names are?"
"I don't have a dad," replies Izuku quietly, "But my mom's name is Midoriya Inko."
The man sucks in a shocked breath.
He's quiet for a long moment, staring at Izuku with something akin to awe, before turning back to his colleagues.
Most of the heroes have dispersed throughout the building by now, taking in the damage and probably looking for more villains. A few of them are standing over Sensei's body, discussing something in heated tones.
The doctor manages to catch one of their eyes, and gestures the man over.
After a few more words are exchanged, the man breaks away from his group and starts approaching them. He's wearing a black jacket and pants, black fingerless gloves, and a collar on his neck styled after an old-fashioned stereo.
Izuku realizes with a start that it's Present Mic.
"What's wrong?" asks Mic as soon as he's within hearing distance. "Is All Might going to be okay?"
"All Might will be fine," replies the doctor. "But I need to help the other two with him, so I need you to take care of this child for me, okay? He's not injured, but it looks like he might be going into shock."
"Sure," replied the young hero. "Is that all?"
"No," replied the doctor. "I also need you to call the police. Tell them that we've found Midoriya Izuku."
Present Mic startles when he hears this, and his wide eyes immediately fly to Izuku.
"Midoriya Izuku-kun?" he asks, kneeling down so that he's at eye level with the child.
"Yes?" asks Izuku, head tilted to the side questioningly.
A smile spreads across the man's face, and his eyes go a little misty.
His voice is breathless when he says, "A lot of people have been looking for you for a very long time."
