Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting and DragonRiderSayomi

Sorry again for the wait, but I've been pretty busy lately, had another game jam, as well as working on around 7 commissions over the week, so time has been tight. -


Mojito737: I'd say pity everyone involved. XD This can't be a good time for any of them, and kinda feel sorry for them all, despite the fact that I'm the one doing all this to them... Ah well, it'll all work out in the end. ;D


The waiting was driving the blond insane; the sniffing of nearby patrons and the incessant tapping of his own fingers was grating at what was left of the hero's nerves. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. A couple of hours had already passed, and then some. Hizashi was overdue for a bit of news and his eyes kept darting over in the direction of the front desk, expecting someone to approach any second now. His teeth sank into his bottom lip as he attempted to control his emotions, but there was only so long one could sit there in relative silence before losing their mind.

Unable to bear the lack of information and being left to his own imagination any longer, the blond rose to his feet slowly and carefully stretched the ache from his back and legs. Every minor movement sent pins and needles through all of his limbs. Perhaps the nurse was right, going for a walk or something was a rather tempting idea.

But...it should be any minute now.

What if the doctor walked out while he was gone, or what if something horribly wrong took place while he was away. There were so many possible risks. And, even though he was too aware of the fact that his presence in no way affected any of that, it didn't matter. He couldn't bring himself to go anywhere without knowing.

Despite his body's urges and desperate needs to move and do something, he ignored its cries and pleas and sat himself right back down with a heavy sigh of exasperation. He just wished they would hurry the hell up and give him some sort of news. The amount of time it was taking...it was worrying. Were things going great, and that's why he hadn't heard a word? Or were things going in an unexpected direction and thus needing more of their attention?

Both his hands grasped his hair and pulled at his roots painfully until he felt a few strands pop and snap out of place. He pulled his palms away as a few yellow strands fluttered to the floor, but he barely even noticed any of it. The only thing that could yank him out of his clouded mind of despair was the subtle 'click clack' of approaching steps against the linoleum flooring.

Gradually, the hero turned his head to the side to meet the gaze of a man in white, a clipboard held tightly in his hands as he scanned it over. Occasionally his eyes would flick up to the visitors.

"Aizawa Shota?" he called out, his eyes flitting from one person to the next, looking for a reaction from any of them.

Instantly, Hizashi was on his feet and a mere few inches from the man, his stare directed right on him and unwavering. "How is he?" he asked on once, never giving the other a chance to speak or react to his closeness. His hands were in front of him, thumbs winding around one another nervously. "Please…" he muttered, unable to take it anymore; he no longer cared how he appeared to others or how desperate he seemed.

The doctor was reluctant as he looked back to his papers, his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed while he considered his words. It didn't bode well. "I think it's best if you follow me," he suggested, mouth in a tight line. His attention drifted over the room to silently gesture to the rest occupying it, and that was all it took for Hizashi to understand clearly what he was trying to get at. Right, this was a private matter.

Nodding in compliance, the blond waved hand for him to lead the way. It was strange, despite the calm aura encompassing the entire building, Hizashi felt a few beads of anxious sweat trail down the back of his neck. He swallowed down the lump in his throat that was nearly choking him by the point they arrived at the door to the office. His heart pounded in his ears, only making the tightness in his core all the more obvious to him.

The other man stepped to the side to allow Hizashi to enter first. He was reluctant, but he did as was asked and immediately found one of the chairs to sink into before his legs had the opportunity to give out on him. The hero allowed himself to be mostly consumed by the furniture, but his eyes never trailed from the other as he rounded his desk to take a seat in his own chair.

"...Must be serious if you're taking me in here…" the blond muttered, his worry shining through plainly. He barely dared to draw in breath for fear of throwing up on the spot from his apprehension. His fingers clutched and dug into the fabric of his pants as he stared at the doctor expectantly.

"Guess I should start with the good news," he said, removing his glasses and lifting his hands to pinch the bridge of his nose. He leaned against the surface of his desk in exhaustion. "Well, I think you'll be happy to hear that the surgery was a success," he informed, a small smile gracing his drawn features.

As relieving as that news was, the hero couldn't bring himself to relax. That was the good news, what else was there? If the man's hesitation was anything to go off of, Hizashi wasn't sure how to feel or what to think.

"And the bad news?" he asked, pressingly. His hands left his legs to instead grab at the arms of the chair in preparation to push himself up in a moment's notice.

That had the dark-haired man falter for a moment as his hands dropped to cross in front of him. He took a deep breath before going on. "Now, before I say anything, it's not as bad as it sounds, so there is no need to get too worked up over the matter. He will still be fine and will still make a full recovery. I just want to make that clear before I tell you this next part." While all this was being said, Hizashi was nodding along, urging the doctor to hurry the hell up and come out with it already. The suspense was killing him, and he swore this had to be considered some sort of cruel punishment.

"And?" he finally blurted out, unable to help himself.

"Well, your friend's appendix ruptured…" he started, letting that first statement linger in the air and gave it time to sink in. Hizashi could feel the color drain from his features, and he couldn't be sure he heard that right. Had he? He shook his head slightly in confusion and looked away to allow that bit to process. But, it was refusing to do so, it kept catching in the cogs of his churning mind.

Almost a minute had passed of the blond replaying his words over and over again internally. Each time they were repeated they sank in just a little bit more until finally they were making a bit of sense. Finally, he lifted his eyes to look back at the doctor and he nodded slightly for him to continue, knowing there was more to it.

"As you can imagine, that's not good for the body, that can lead to an array of other problems." If it weren't for the direness of the situation, Hizashi may have been a little more insulted by the tone of the other's voice. Though, this was tough news to swallow, it was most likely a tone he had settled on over the years to make moments like this easier for all. "The chance for infection is high. But, we already have him started on antibiotics, and we've taken a few precautions in advance. Just thought you should know should anything change over the next few days. Not to worry, a close eye will be kept on him. I assure you, he is in good hands."

'Not to worry,' Hizashi could have laughed at those words if he were able to form any kind of sound at all. That did the opposite, all his fears nearly tripled since walking into this room. His eyes were wide, and he hadn't realized he hadn't blinked in a good few minutes until the stinging in his eyes were too much to bear.

Straightening up, the doctor looked the hero straight in the eyes and offered the closest thing he could to a kind and reassuring smile. "As I said, things are looking up, and as of now, we see nothing that could cause any further complications." He waited only a few more seconds before getting to his feet and smoothing out his coat. Slowly, he stepped over to the door and pulled it open before giving a waving gesture for the blond to come along. "If you want, you can see him now. Everything is situated. It just may be a bit longer before he's awake and aware."

"Yeah," Hizashi sighed heavily, following suit. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. This was the only way to prevent them from fiddling with everything they came into contact with. He glanced from side to side, peeking into every room they passed by; each contained their own patients, all of which were dealing and suffering with their own ailments.

Damn, he hated this place.

"It's just up ahead," the brunet called back as he slowly came to a stop next to a closed door. Nodding his head once, he stepped to the side far enough for the blond to get by.

The man was reluctant, and rightfully so. Heart pounding frantically in his chest and mind buzzing with the possible things he would see upon walking in, the hero swallowed thickly and willed himself to finally reach for the handle. His grip trembled, beckoning him to tighten his grasp to still it as best he could.

Taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment, Hizashi pulled the door open and prepared himself for whatever it was he would come across, no matter how alarming it may be. But, as his eyes scanned the area, his shoulders relaxed marginally and he slowly emptied his lungs. Everything appeared fairly...normal. As normal as it could be considering.

"I'll leave you be...just try to be quiet if you can help it," the doctor muttered lowly. Not surprisingly, the other never looked back his way as he made his way farther inside one cautious step at a time. It was eerily silent, which only helped accentuate his own stuttered exhales. He barely made out the 'click' of the door being eased shut behind him; his eyes were too busy staring at the man laid out before him. Nothing appeared too out of the ordinary...well, if you didn't take the IV and surroundings into account. Shota was a bit on the pale side, and looked more exhausted than usual. But, other than that, he seemed fine enough.

He glanced around a bit before locating a nearby chair, and without hesitation, he grabbed a hold of it and dragged it next to the bed before slowly lowering himself into it. All the while, his gaze remained locked on those pallid features of the other.

"Well…" he breathed out, leaning back, "I guess it could have been worse." Though, as those words passed over his lips, he wasn't sure himself which he was telling that to.

Of course, to no surprise, he got no reply aside from the steady and rhythmic breathing of the dark-haired hero. Hizashi glanced at the clock...already it was nearing mid-afternoon. He knew he had been sitting there for a while, but this was a lot longer than he had expected. But, now he supposed it would have to be a little bit longer. He wasn't going to leave until he could hear from Shota himself that he was fine.

The blond made himself as comfortable as he could, getting prepared to sit there for as long as it took. Legs crossed, and arms crossed tightly over his chest, the hero leaned back and waited, waited for the first sign of the other waking.

Time was lost to him; it could have been minutes or hours; he wasn't sure when everything merged into one. Whatever amount of time that was, it was enough so to cause the man to jolt when his pocket buzzed to life, breaking the relative silence. Grumbling incoherently to himself, Hizashi fished it out and answered it without so much as checking the name out first.

"Hello," he answered quietly, getting to his feet to move towards one of the far corners. The chances of him actually waking Shota up were low, but he didn't want to risk it. "Yeah," he breathed out, an edge of relief to that single word, then a pause. "Yeah, he's...he's fine. Still asleep, but fine." He glanced back at the still form while he spoke, as if looking away for just a moment would cause him to miss something.

He stood still while the other talked a bit more, all the while nodding and humming to himself in response. "Sure...I'll let you know when he's awake and when you can head over. Yeah...alright...bye, Nemuri."

He clicked the phone off and allowed his hand to fall to his side with a heavy exhale. Moving back to his seat, he paused when he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't too drastic, but it was enough to instantly catch his attention.

"Shota?" he called out, voice low and slightly cracked from lack of use and dryness in his throat.

He made a beeline to stand on the other side of the bed, his fingers gripping the edge of it as he leaned in a bit closer, wanting to make sure he could hear anything so much as uttered. "H-Hey, you with me?" he called out again, slowly and clearly, knowing how groggy and confused the man was likely to be upon just coming to.

With that, there was a slight and sluggish reaction. It wasn't much, but the man's expression did scrunch marginally, and a small groan of annoyance filtered out. It was hard to tell if it was due to pain, nausea, or something else. Whatever it was, it was clearly enough to cause some degree of distress. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for him at the moment. Without knowing what was bothering him, there wasn't anything he could do to offer some relief.

This went on for a few seconds more, drawn out time of Shota slowly becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. Which, as one could imagine, was not a pleasant one. Eventually, however, and about damn time at that, he cracked a single eye open which immediately fluttered a few times before slowly drifting over to look at the blond. There was a lack of familiarity in that stare, but it remained where it was, using Hizashi as a sort of anchor into the real world.

Then, a single word was uttered. And though he couldn't easily make it out, to the blond it sounded something like 'Zashi'. For a split moment, there was a flash of lucidity there in that gaze before it was shielded once again. A small spasm ran through Shota and his fingers grasped at the sheets.

"Shh, hey...it's alright," Hizashi promised, hands hoving in front of him. "I-I'll be right back, I'll go get someone, alright?"

There was no response. He was still reluctant about leaving, but on the other hand...he was clearly in some sort of discomfort. It would be fine, he would only be stepping away for a few moments. Turning to leave, he was stopped in his spot when a light and chilled touch grabbed around his wrist with surprising speed.

"Wait…" Shota murmured, for the first time, both eyes were open and staring right at Hizashi. Silently, he begged the man not to go anywhere, and he could have sworn there was something else mixed in that look, something uncharacteristic of the man. It took a few seconds of searching, but he believed he finally figured it out. ...It was fear. The man was afraid. But, looking at the room around him again, it was easy to understand why. After what happened, waking up in a hospital room, in pain and not knowing what the hell happened, it was no wonder.

"It's fine...I'm coming right back," the blond assured, but it clearly wasn't getting through to the other. Or, if it was, he didn't care. "I'm just going to go get a nurse, ok?"

Slowly, the other shook his head, eyes cast in a different direction now. "No," he muttered, free hand moving to slightly wrap around his abdomen. "No, it's fine, I don't need one." With the tightness of his voice and the agonized lining of his face, the blond begged to differ. But, if the man really didn't want it…

Yeah, but letting the man have his way was what got him in this situation to begin with… Taking a deep breath. Hizashi set the other hero with a stern look. "How sure are you?" he asked, making it quite clear he wasn't in the mood for any bullshit, not now, not after he was almost given a damn heart attack thanks to Shota's stubbornness.

With that question, the dark-haired hero appeared to be deep in though. "Well...I'm not dying, I can tell you that," he replied, voice void of humor. "I promise...if it gets worse...I'll let you know." To show his trust, the grasp around the blond's wrist gradually lightened enough for him to pull his hand back. And, though the temptation to retrieve a staff member anyway was beyond tempting, he fought the urge to do so.

"So," he opted for instead, taking his seat once again on the other side, "how are you feeling. And be honest with me. If I feel as though there is even the slightest lie, I'm getting someone. Understand?"

The movement was slight and almost unnoticed, but Shota nodded as he tried his best to relax back against the pillows, arm still draped around his middle. "Really, not the best," he half shrugged. He cut his eyes over to see the skepticism in the blond's eyes. "Alright, fine, like shit." And there it was, the drop in the facade as he now allowed the pain for fully drift through his words.

"I'm sorry."

Hizashi instantly perked up, eyebrows rose in question and jaw tightened. "What? Sorry for what?" he asked, scanning the other over, looking and searching for any unspoken indications.

"I should have listened to you…" he whispered, the shame was crystal clear in his expression. "I'm sorry...you were right, I should have- I should have done someth-" he took a sharp inhale when he turned to face the other man. The moment the hiss escaped, Hizashi was on his feet, hands ready to to push Shota back down should he attempt to get up.

"I'm fine…"

For some reason, the blond was finding that harder to believe by the second. He was no expert, but he was pretty sure that wasn't exactly a painless procedure. "Just, please, take it easy will you? You literally just had surgery, and I'm pretty sure no one wants you messing things up by moving around too much."

Hizashi instantly became aware of his mistake. "Surgery?" Shota asked breathlessly as he moved back to his original position, the strain on his throbbing side won the battle. His fingers were now clutching over the spot that seemed to be particularly bad. Before the other hero could explain or say anything, Shota was pulling the covers back and trying to work his way to peer under the gown. It took some effort, but soon enough he managed to take a gander at the white gauze that covered and hid the incision.

"Yeah…" he replied, lowering himself back down. "But...it was a minor one, a common one," he assured. "The doctor said that everything will be fine. And as long as everything goes smooth, you'll be good to go in no time."

"Oh...right," Shota mumbled flatly. He gently moved everything back into place and allowed his hand to lightly rest over the top of the cover. "That explains the pain," he added, obviously trying to lighten the mood which had suddenly thickened into something close to suffocating. "How long do I have to stay here?"

Hizashi shrugged; that he wasn't sure about. "If I had to guess...two, maybe three days?" he assumed. "Shota...your appendix ruptured, I think it's fair to say they want to keep an eye on things to be sure." There was no response. But, glancing up, he could make out the guilt in the man's eyes. "You know this isn't your fault, right? There was no avoiding this, and there was no way to see this coming. It happened so quickly…" he trailed off as his own gaze fell to the tiled floor.

"There was nothing we could have done."

"Who are you trying to convince?" Shota asked, reading the other like an open book.

Hizashi just shook his head and raised it again. "Hey, Nemuri is worried about you, and I'm sure others are as well. She called earlier, but you were asleep at the time. Want me to call her back, or do you not want anyone here right now? Other than me, I mean, because I refuse to go anywhere." That seemed to be his final statement, one of which the underground hero didn't appear to be too amused about.

"...Maye later," he sighed. Honestly, he was still exhausted and just wanted to go back to sleep. Which he would have done with ease if it weren't for the incessant dull throbbing that didn't want to let up. It wasn't too bad, just what one would expect after being cut into and having an organ ripped out. But, it was enough so to prevent him from getting any real rest. That and the nausea left from the anesthesia wasn't helping matters either.

Sensing this, though it was harder not to see the suffering etched into his face, Hizashi got right back to his feet. At this point he wasn't even sure why he was bothering to sit down at all. "Ok, I know what you said, but I'm getting a nurse anyway. They need to do their checking anyway. And, as much as you hate it, I don't want anymore risks...so, just wait here, and please, for the love of everything, don't do anything stupid."

He watched the other for a short time, making certain he listened and took the advice before making his way back to the door. "I'll be right back."

Shota offered a small dismissive wave and kept a close eye on the door, which was left open, until the blond was fully out of view. Once alone, the man let out a tight breath as the hand draped over him twitched slightly with the urge to grasp at the wound. Still, it wasn't too terribly painful, but that didn't mean it wasn't distressing. His other hand lifted to drape over his eyes.

"What did you get yourself into?" he mouthed to himself. To think, that 'bug', one of which he only noticed a little over a day ago, lead to needing surgery and this… It was nothing, it was supposed to have been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. And to think...that had to happen in front of his class. He had almost forgotten about that, but the memory was there. They were foggy and clouded from the fear and panic at the time, but they were most certainly and unfortunately still there, teasing and nagging him.

Shit, what would they think of this? He was supposed to be a role model, and there he was dying on the floor right in front of all of them. Not only that, but it was humiliating. His breath caught in his chest as a spasm of pain rolled through him from the unexpected tightening of his muscles. He needed to calm down and relax before he ended up causing more damage to himself.

Besides...they were strong kids...compared to what they've been through, this really wasn't that bad. Or, he hoped so anyway. It was likely they knew nothing, left in the dark to wonder what was going on. Though he despised the idea of too many people being in his business, at the same time, he could understand what it must be like for them. He'd have to tell Hizashi to inform them later...as soon as possible. Still, no matter what he did or how much he tried to get his mind off it, he could not, for the life of him, rid himself of the memories of his students' scared and panicked was something he was sure he'd never be able to forget.