Chapter 14

The room was silent for a while, taking in the information that had spilled from Todoroki's mouth.

Izuku sat uncomfortably, fidgeting in his seat as he saw horrified expressions appear on his friends' faces. It was an ugly sight, and what made it even worse was the look on Todoroki's face. He seemed pained whenever he spoke of Mori, his face scrunching into a tight grimace.

There was something more to their "conversation" that Todoroki left out.

It was obvious from his wounds that he was tortured, but what else did Mori do to him? Todoroki seemed more high-strung than he usually had been, and he was also quieter and somber in his mannerisms.

It was making Izuku anxious.

"So… You're not our Todoroki?" Jirou asked, hand to her chin.

Todoroki shook his head, almost sadly. "No."

"And there are other worlds?" Kendo asked.

"Apparently," Todoroki said with a sigh.

Izuku winced as Todoroki's sentences started to shorten to one-word, clipped responses. Todoroki was looking more and more exhausted. He wondered if the pain medicine was wearing off.

"And Mori," a man stepped up—Aizawa, if Izuku heard correctly—with his arms folded across his chest, "who was once quirkless, can now command different quirks at will?"

Todoroki looked up at him grimly. "Yes."

Izuku glanced to Aizawa next, watching as the man narrowed his eyes and tightened his jaw.

"Well then. I suppose that will make things difficult," Aizawa said, mostly to himself. "We'll have to lay low. Gather more supplies, reinforce this building."

Todoroki snapped his head up at him, shifting in his seat.

"What?" he asked, his voice soft. "That's it?"

Aizawa looked at him, eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean, 'that's it?' Did you have some other plan to make this situation better?"

Todoroki swallowed. "Don't you think we should do something about this before it's too late?"

Aizawa lowered his brows over his eyes. It was almost like a taunt, daring Todoroki to keep running his mouth.

"I don't know if you grasp the idea of sound tactics very well, but just jumping in head first into a situation—especially as dangerous as this one—is foolish and naïve," Aizawa said.

Todoroki leaned forward a bit in his chair. "No, you don't understand," he said desperately. "We have to stop Mori now before he comes here and destroys everyone and everything."

"I understand the severity of the situation, Todoroki," Aizawa said.

"Do you?" Todoroki asked, his hands curling into fists. Izuku blinked at him, eyes wide and chest fluttering. He hadn't seen Todoroki get this angry before. "You were once a pro hero, right?"

Aizawa's eyes widened a bit at his statement, and Izuku felt his own jaw slacken. This man used to be a hero?

"So if you know this, then why aren't you doing everything in your power to stop him right now?" Todoroki asked. He leaned forward more and started to push himself up. Izuku reached out to him to get him to stop, but Todoroki swatted his hand away. "Why don't you want to help everyone? Isn't this what being a hero is? Protecting others from harm?!"

His chest was heaving by the time he was done, and once he spat out his last word, he hunched forward and grabbed his side. A pained gasp left his mouth and he started to wobble forward.

"Todoroki!" Izuku called as he rushed to get to him. He caught Todoroki by his shoulders before his knees could buckle. "Hey, are you all right?"

Todoroki hissed and gazed up at Izuku with squinted eyes. "Y-Yeah, 's just…"

He gripped his side again and let out a pained grunt, and Izuku wrapped an arm around his waist to hold up his weight.

"You're hurting again," Izuku said softly.

"I can h-handle it."

"You're shaking."

"Nothing I… haven't dealt with before."

Izuku sighed, long and tired. "You're so stubborn."

Todoroki let out a soft chuckle, but it was barely genuine. "You're one to talk."

Izuku pouted. "Hey!"

"Enough."

Izuku flinched at the sound of Aizawa's voice ringing in the room. He turned around to face him, still holding Todoroki up. Todoroki didn't straighten his back, but he did manage to look at Aizawa.

Aizawa folded his arms across his chest and sighed.

"I never said we would do nothing," Aizawa said, looking at Todoroki. He gestured to his slacken posture. "This is exactly why we shouldn't act right away. Too many of the people here are either injured or exhausted. There's no way we could fight in our condition."

Todoroki's lips parted slightly. "Fight?"

Aizawa blinked once. "Of course," he said. "You really think I'm going to just stand by while he wipes out the entire city? Or country? You must be dumber than you look."

Todoroki snapped his mouth closed and winced, hanging his head. Izuku stared at him with a worried expression, his hand tightening around his waist.

"I am fully prepared to stop him, but none of us are in any way ready. Especially you," Aizawa said, gesturing towards Todoroki's broken body.

Todoroki lifted his head slightly and glared weakly, but it didn't seem to be directed at Aizawa. If anything, he seemed frustrated with himself.

"Once everyone is at full health, we will act. In the meantime, we will come up with a plan of action," Aizawa said. "I've got some contacts that I can find to help us out."

Izuku let out a breath of relief, his shoulders sagging a bit. He glanced to Todoroki, wondering if he also felt this relief, but his heart lurched at the sight. Todoroki's eyes struggled to stay open as he stared at Aizawa, and his body wobbled side to side.

"But I just…" Todoroki started to speak, his voice breathless, "I just… want to… want to…"

Suddenly, Todoroki slumped against Izuku, allowing all of his weight to rest on his shoulder.

"T-Todoroki!" Izuku gasped, holding him up.

Todoroki's head lolled into Izuku's neck, just as it did the day before when they escaped the horrible prison, and Izuku could feel Todoroki's hot forehead pressing against his skin.

"Todoroki?" Izuku called, lifting a hand and feeling his head. It was burning hot on both sides of his face. He glanced up at the people surrounding him, his face stricken as panic started to cloud his judgment. "H-He's burning up!"

Aizawa was by his side in an instant, his hand coming up to touch Todoroki's right cheek. Izuku noticed it was his cool side, but Aizawa still furrowed his brows.

"Fever. Probably from all of his wounds," Aizawa said. "Take him back to the infirmary. He probably shouldn't have been out this long."

Izuku nodded, his lip caught in between his teeth, and he carefully scooped Todoroki up in his arms just like before. He hurried out of the library, his mind reeling with every negative outcome that he could think of.

What if Todoroki was really sick? What if his wounds had festered? What if it gets worse?

What if he dies?

Izuku's breaths came in shallower as he hurried back down the hallway.

All he could see in his mind was Todoroki's head as it whipped to the side from the sheer force of the bullet that impacted his skull.

He remembered the sickening slap of his body hitting the cold pavement.

He remembered the blood that had pooled around his body when he went back for him, and the agonizing cry that ripped through his throat when he tried to shake him awake.

He remembered the moment he knew his friend was gone.

Izuku bit his tongue to hold back the sobs that threatened to choke him, and he sniffed when his eyes filled with stinging tears.

Focus, he told himself. He wouldn't let Todoroki die. Not again.

He burst into the infirmary, startling the short, old woman that was sitting at a desk. She glanced up at him and hurried over.

"H-He—" Izuku swallowed down the lump in his throat. "He's got a fever."

"Oh, my," she said, feeling Todoroki's face. "You're right about that. Well, get him to a bed. I'll look after him."

Izuku followed her to a bed and rested Todoroki down gently, making sure he looked comfortable enough on the old mattress.

"Nothing to worry about, dear," she said as she rounded Todoroki's bed. "His body is fighting a lot of wounds that still need to heal."

Izuku blinked at her, eyes wide. "Are you sure he doesn't have an i-infection or something? What if it's—"

"Now, now, stop your fretting," she said. "He simply needs a lot of rest. And time."

He knew that. He knew that wounds took time to heal, and he knew that Todoroki was probably going to be okay.

So why was he feeling so anxious?

"Why don't you make yourself familiar with the rest of the building? You'll do no good sitting in here worrying," she said, pulling out a cooling pad and resting it on Todoroki's forehead. She motioned with her hands for him to leave. "Go on. He'll be fine."

Izuku couldn't hold back a grimace, but he nodded and, albeit reluctantly, shuffled towards the door to the infirmary. He glanced back once more before he pulled the door open and stepped outside, closing his eyes and breathing out a tight sigh.

When he opened his eyes again, he blinked at the familiar figure leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Kacchan?" Izuku asked.

Kacchan was looking at him seriously, arms folded across his chest. There wasn't a trace of mockery or agitation in his body or expression—only a bit of sadness and understanding.

"Let's talk."

Before he knew it, Izuku found himself sitting numbly in the center courtyard of the school property, watching a few ants crawl around the tall blades of grass.

The sun was starting to set, but Izuku could only tell by the sharp, orange hues that hung in the sky. The school's walls were too tall to see anything else—not even the city skyline was visible.

He sighed and slumped on the cool, stone bench, trying to distract his mind from anything pertaining to Todoroki. Miss Shuuzenji even said that he would be fine, so why should he even worry? There was nothing to worry about.

Right?

Soon enough, his thoughts were interrupted by a door flinging open, and Izuku whipped his head around to see Kacchan making his way over with two apples in one hand and a small paring knife in the other. Izuku blinked at him as he sat down on the bench, not offering either apple to Izuku.

"Apples?" Izuku asked.

Kacchan's brows furrowed. "What kind of question is that? Are you blind?"

Izuku sighed and rolled his eyes. "Not that. I mean… where did you get those?"

Kacchan placed one apple on his lap and picked up the other, using the knife to expertly peel it within seconds.

"Kitchen," was his answer.

"They have fresh fruit there?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah. What of it?" Kacchan asked, starting to cut the apple into slices.

Izuku tapped his jaw. "I just wonder where they got it from. I know there must be some apple supplies in the government cargo facilities, but they would've had to search everywhere, and what about transport? It wouldn't be logical to—"

His sentence was cut off when Kacchan shoved an apple slice into his mouth. Izuku practically choked, but it was worth it.

The apple tasted like heaven.

"Maybe you should stop trying to think so much and look around, moron," Kacchan said, shoving a slice into his mouth as well.

Izuku blinked at him and swallowed, his eyes scanning the courtyard of the school. His eyes widened when he saw a tree in the corner, red apples hanging in the higher branches.

Kacchan plopped another slice into his mouth and then handed one over to Izuku without a word—not even a degrading "I told you so," which Izuku wasn't sure if he was thankful for or uneasy about.

Izuku took the slice, feeling a bit red in the cheeks from embarrassment. Of course he always resorted to opening his mouth first in a panic.

"So," Kacchan started, fairly casually. "Want to tell me why you're acting like a freakin' lunatic?"

Izuku paused in his chewing, eyes wide as he glanced over to his friend, who stared back with mild annoyance in his eyes. He forced down the half-eaten apple, wincing as sharper edges poked his throat, and then he looked down at his lap sadly.

Kacchan paused in his slicing, sending him a harsh glare.

"Well?!" he asked, getting impatient.

"H-Huh?!" Izuku squeaked, fidgeting in his seat. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Kacchan rolled his eyes. "Then how do you explain your freakouts? You panic at every turn and have mood swings like a freakin' teenage girl!"

Izuku frowned at him. "I do not—"

"And now you're babying the Clone!" Kacchan said.

"Babying?"

"Hovering, attached at the hip, whatever the hell you want to call it," Kacchan said flippantly, angrily popping another apple slice in his mouth. "What the hell is up with that, huh?!"

Izuku's hands curled into fists in his lap. "We're not attached at the hip."

"And what about you just jumping off the deep end and running head first into danger?" Kacchan said, and Izuku could feel his eyes sting with tears. "You used to be level-headed about these things!"

Izuku's throat started to close up, limbs shaking. He didn't want to talk about this. He never wanted to talk about this ever again, especially with Kacchan. Even though Kacchan had been there through his darkest moments, he never spoke about it with him. He just used all of his negative emotions towards doing patrols, beating up cops, and stealing food.

He never wanted to talk. Talking meant making all of those emotions real.

But Kacchan was pushing him near the edge.

"You're acting like the same brooding idiot you used to be! Keeping all this pent-up shit to yourself," Kacchan said, frustrated.

Izuku felt his patience snap.

"You're acting as if you want to get your ass kille—"

"I can't get it out of my head!"

Kacchan snapped his mouth shut at Izuku's outburst, reeling back with eyes wide.

Izuku's entire body shook—with either rage or pain, he wasn't sure which—and he hugged himself, trying to block out those images.

But he found that he couldn't.

"I was doing better. I was supposed to be healing, but—"

Izuku took in a shuddering breath, his hands squeezing his arms so tightly that the blood nearly cut off. He tried to regulate his breathing to gather his thoughts so he could continue.

"E-Ever since this… other version of Todoroki just appeared into this word, I…" Izuku's breath shook. "…All… All I can think about is… how our Todoroki died."

Kacchan was eerily quiet—probably too shell-shocked to say a word.

Izuku continued after a few harsh breaths.

"I j-just see him, dying over and over again. In my dreams, whenever I close my eyes, when I… whenever I look at him, I…" Izuku felt tears spill over, and he hugged his body tighter, hunching over and making himself small. "I'm terrified that I'm going to be the reason this Todoroki dies, too."

Kacchan let out a choked sound. "What the hell? You're not still blaming—"

"Of course I am!" Izuku yelled, leaning up to look at his friend. "Who else is to blame for him getting arrested? Getting shot?"

Kacchan's face twisted into a combination of a glare and a grimace. "Now you know that wasn't your fault."

"Then whose was it?!"

Izuku could feel himself start to spiral, all of these emotions starting to flood from within—feelings that he had been holding back for years ever since Todoroki's death. But the dam had already cracked wide open, and the floodwaters could no longer be held back.

"There's no one else to blame for all of it! I'm the one that got him hurt! He pulled me out of the way and took the bullet!" Izuku yelled. He squeezed his eyes shut and dug his nails into his palms. "It wasn't supposed to be him! It was supposed to be me!"

Suddenly, two hands gripped the collar of his shirt and yanked him up off of the ground.

Izuku gasped, his wet eyes snapping open to see Kacchan glaring down at him with a vicious look on his face.

"Don't you dare ever say that shit to me again," Kacchan threatened, "or I swear, I will kill you myself."

Izuku blinked at him, tears still falling down his cheeks. "K-Kacchan?"

Izuku reached up to grab Kacchan's hands to try to get him to let go, but Kacchan's hands had a firm grip on him.

"You really think his death was your fault?" Kacchan asked. "How self-centered can you be, you moron?!"

He glanced down at Izuku, his glare falling slightly.

"Sure, Todoroki's death was awful and unfair. And you were a hell of a lot closer to the bastard than I was," Kacchan said. "But I'll be damned if any of it was your fault."

Izuku sniffled loudly, his voice catching in his throat as he choked out Kacchan's name.

"Don't you think Todoroki would agree with me?" Kacchan asked.

Izuku hesitated, barely breathing. "W-What?"

"If Todoroki, the Todoroki from our world, was here," Kacchan emphasized, shaking Izuku slightly, "don't you think he would agree with me?"

Izuku felt his heart crumbling. He could see Todoroki's usually stoic face turned into a small smile as his bloodied lips muttered a soft, "I'm sorry" before he was so dishonorably shot in the head. If anything, Todoroki probably blamed himself.

Maybe Todoroki knew Izuku would take his death hard. Maybe that's what his stupid apology was for that night.

Izuku wished he could ask him for sure.

But… he will never know now.

"Yes," Izuku whimpered, letting his head hang. "He would a-agree with you, Kacchan."

Kacchan remained still and quiet, his hands loosening on his collar. Izuku slumped a bit, letting his head rest on Kacchan's chest. Kacchan released his collar and dropped his hands by his sides.

"He could never blame m-me for what happened… and if h-he were here, he would scold me for ever blaming myself," Izuku said.

He took in a deep breath, vision blurring as his eyes filled with more tears. They overflowed quickly and fell to the grass beneath their feet.

"But I can't bear this… this guilt I feel," Izuku said, crying out a painful sob. "I don't want to keep thinking about it, but it hurts, Kacchan. Everything hurts—"

Suddenly, Kacchan hauled Izuku forward, wrapping him up in a crushing hug. Izuku grew still, too stunned to move. His lungs still shuddered with sobs but the rest of him went still as stone against Kacchan's chest.

"I know that, dumbass," Kacchan said. "I know."

Izuku sniffed, feeling his heart clench in his chest. It ached, and the pain was almost too great for him to handle.

"Kacchan, I—"

"But that doesn't mean you have to do this by yourself," Kacchan said, his voice gruff yet soft. "I know I'm… the worst at this, but," Kacchan paused to take a quick breath, "I can help."

Izuku hiccupped once. Twice.

And then he let himself fall apart.

"Damn it," Izuku whispered through tears.

He buried his face into Kacchan's chest and gripped the front of his shirt. Kacchan, with tentative hands, patted his back and sighed. He allowed Izuku to cry and wail as much as he needed to, which was a lot more than Izuku had originally thought.

After a while, Izuku's cries reduced to soft sniffles and slight hiccups.

"Oi, don't ruin my shirt, moron!" Kacchan said when Izuku sniffed harshly.

Izuku chuckled wetly and wiped his face, letting his forehead rest against Kacchan's shoulder.

"Yeah. Thanks, Kacchan," Izuku said, sniffling again.

Kacchan rolled his eyes and lightly shoved him away.

"What the hell did I say about my shirt?!"

After Izuku had calmed down and they had both gotten something else to eat to fill their empty bellies, Izuku and Kacchan and headed back down to the infirmary to check on Todoroki. It had been a good while since his collapse, so he had to have been at least a little recovered by now. Kacchan reluctantly followed, casual frown on his face

As they got closer to the infirmary, they could hear distressed voices coming from inside. The calm sea that Kacchan helped to create in Izuku's chest vanished in an instant and he ran the rest of the way to the infirmary, bursting through the doors. Kacchan was quick to follow, stopping in the doorway behind Izuku.

In front of them stood Aizawa and Miss Shuuzenji, both fussing over Todoroki's bed. The boy in question was quivering and Izuku could see blood smeared on his face.

"Todoroki!" Izuku called in horror, rushing to his side.

Upon closer inspection, Izuku could see that the blood on Todoroki's face was coming from his nose.

A nosebleed? Izuku thought. Hasn't this happened before?

"What's going on?" Izuku asked, looking between Aizawa and Miss Shuuzenji.

Miss Shuuzenji gathered up some towels and shook her head.

"He was sleeping calmly for a while, but a few minutes ago, his fever spiked and his nose started bleeding," she explained. She hopped up on a chair next to Todoroki's bedside. "Here, help me get him on his side."

Izuku nodded and hurried to pull Todoroki's shoulder up from the bed, having him lay on his uninjured side. The blood immediately started to drain down his face and onto the sheets below. Kacchan scoffed and reached forward to hold Todoroki's knees.

Miss Shuuzenji placed towels on the pillow underneath Todoroki's cheek to catch the blood. She tutted, putting a hand to her chin.

"Well, this should help prevent him from choking on his blood," she said. "But I don't know what's causing the convulsions."

Kacchan scoffed. "He's done this weird shit before."

Aizawa and Miss Shuuzenji snapped their gazes towards him, eyes wide.

"He has?" Miss Shuuzenji asked.

Izuku nodded. "He was talking to us one moment and then his nose started bleeding. He passed out soon afterward."

"I see," Miss Shuuzenji said, scratching her chin. "Does he have an ailment that we were not aware of?"

Izuku paused, putting a hand to his chin while his other hand stayed on Todoroki's hip.

"Maybe it has to do with his existence in this world," Izuku said softly.

"He said he was hit by a quirk in his world, right?" Aizawa spoke up, his arms folded across his chest.

Izuku glanced up at him. "Right. A villain in his world sent him here, he thinks."

Aizawa's brows furrowed slightly as he looked down at Todoroki's shaking form.

"Then perhaps the quirk is starting to wear off," Aizawa said.

Izuku's eyes widened. "Wear off?"

"What're you saying here, Night Stalker?" Kacchan quipped.

Aizawa's eye twitched. "I'm saying that he might not have much time left here."

Izuku's jaw dropped slightly, brows upturning sadly.

Not much time left? Did that mean that Todoroki was going to disappear from this world soon?

And he would never see Todoroki ever again?

Izuku frowned, his hand gripping Todoroki's shoulder. He didn't want that. He didn't want Todoroki to disappear from his life again. It was too painful the first time.

He didn't think he could bear it a second time.

"I-Izuku?"

Izuku jumped at hearing his name coming from Todoroki's mouth. When he glanced down at him he was met with hooded eyes and a glazed over expression.

"Todoroki," Izuku said, so soft that no one could hear.

"Izuku… did you get her?" Todoroki asked.

Izuku blinked at him. "What?"

"The… villain. Did you… capture her?" Todoroki wheezed. He turned his head up to Aizawa. "Aizawa-sensei… you're here, too."

Aizawa quirked a brow, staying silent, but Kacchan vocalized a loud, "Sensei?!"

Izuku gently laid Todoroki on his back, adjusting the pillow and towels away from his face. Luckily his nose stopped bleeding, but his eyes were still glazed with confusion. It was obvious Todoroki didn't quite know where he was.

"A-Are we in the hospital? Did you get injured?" Todoroki asked, reaching up to weakly grab onto Izuku's arm. "I-Izuku… why aren't you saying anything?"

Izuku felt his heart wrench like a wet rag. It was almost too painful to see him so lost. Was this it? Was he fading back into his world? How would this even work, anyway?

"Todoroki…" Izuku started, tugging off Todoroki's hand and laying it on the bed. "You're at the school. You were arrested, remember?"

Todorok's face twisted slightly and cocked his head. His movements sluggish as he glanced around the room.

"Arrested?" Todoroki mumbled.

"He's lost it," Kacchan said, folding his arms across his chest. "Poor Clone Bastard's brain-dead."

"Kacchan," Izuku scolded.

"Clone…" Todoroki muttered, lifting a hand to touch his face. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then glanced around, his hand rubbing his cheek. He locked eyes with Izuku, and as if the light had turned on, clarity shined on his face. "Oh. This… This is the school. The… other world."

Izuku let out a sigh of relief and hung his head. Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite time.

He hadn't realized how attached he had gotten.

The very thought was frightening.

"Right," Izuku said. "We're still at the school. Do you remember what happened?"

Todoroki looked around the room again, squeezed his eyes shut, and then sighed.

"Mori," he answered.

There. Izuku could finally relax.

"He was probably confusing the two worlds together," Aizawa said. He glanced to Todoroki, eyeing him carefully. "Has that happened before?"

Todoroki still looked a little out of it but he seemed like he understood his question. He cleared his throat softly and gave a curt nod.

"Yes," he answered.

"I see. Well, we will keep an eye on that," Miss Shuuzenji said. "But for now, just rest. You still have a nasty fever."

"Another fever?" Todoroki said, almost in a complaining tone. He sighed and rubbed his face. "I've never had so many fevers in all my life."

Izuku smiled softly at the return to somewhat normalcy. He kept his hand on Todoroki's shoulder to make sure he could still feel his warmth. If he were to disappear now, he would try everything in his power to snatch him back.

Kacchan huffed out an annoyed breath and craned his head towards the door of the infirmary.

"Well, the Clone is fine. So I'm outta here," he said.

Izuku waved him off, and even Todoroki lifted a hand to wave weakly at him as he walked out, the blonde gently shutting the door behind him.

Aizawa also took in a deep breath and nodded to Todoroki.

"I'll see if I can get in contact with more friends of mine so we can formulate a plan," Aizawa said. He put a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Don't worry. We'll nail this guy."

Todoroki paused, his lip twitching, and he nodded. "Thank you."

Aizawa nodded in response. "Get some rest, kid."

He took his hand from Todoroki's shoulder and headed out of the infirmary, also closing the door behind him softly.

Once the room fell into relative silence, Miss Shuuzenji smiled and patted Todoroki's arm.

"I'll be back in a little bit to check on you," she said. She looked to Izuku next. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, dear."

"Thank you, ma'am," Izuku said, bowing his head a little to her. He watched her leave and then released another breath, turning his gaze back down to Todoroki. "You okay?"

Todoroki blinked a few times and then tilted his head. "I feel like… I should be asking you that."

Izuku quirked a brow. "What are you talking about?"

Todoroki lifted a shaking hand towards his face. "Your eyes," he said. "They're red. Have you been crying?"

Izuku lightly pressed against the swollen skin underneath his green eyes and winced at the small pressure. He must've burst a blood vessel from crying so hard.

"Ah. It's… It's nothing," Izuku said. "Just talking with Kacchan."

Todoroki's brows fell in slight annoyance. "What did he do?"

Izuku waved his hand, smiling nervously. "No, no. He didn't do anything to me, I promise."

Todoroki looked unconvinced but the crease in between his brows smoothed out, and he let the topic go. He shifted in the bed, putting his hands firmly by his sides as he tried to push himself up.

"Ah!" Izuku moved to help him, putting pillows behind his back. "You really should—"

"Rest?" Todoroki interrupted with a light chuckle. "That's all I've been doing."

Izuku didn't say anything. Instead, he moved to sit in the chair next to Todoroki's bed. He sighed and slumped his shoulders, feeling the exhaustion start to take over.

"If anything, you look like you could use the rest," Todoroki said, resting his head against the fluffy pillow behind him.

"Do I look that bad?" Izuku asked with a small grin.

"Yes."

"Gee, thanks."

Todoroki smiled. It was small, but it was there. After all he had been through in the past day or so, Izuku was surprised he could even make a face like that.

Although, the Todoroki from this world also smiled as he…

"Here."

Izuku blinked back into focus as Todoroki shifted on his bed. He patted the space next to him, and Izuku felt himself flush.

"Th-There are other beds I could use," Izuku insisted.

"I'm cold," Todoroki excused.

"You have a fire quirk."

Todoroki shrugged, and Izuku sighed. The bed was super tempting, and he could feel his body shutting down at just the thought of letting his eyes close for a while.

"Fine," Izuku relented, standing to his feet. "But only for a little while."

Todoroki said nothing as Izuku climbed in next to him, their shoulders bumping together gently. Izuku rested his head back against the pillows and sighed, his body practically sinking into the cushions.

"Feeling a bit better?" Todoroki asked.

"Yeah," Izuku said with a sigh. "I didn't realize how tired I was."

"You look like a zombie."

"You're just full of compliments today," Izuku said with a smile, and Todoroki shrugged in response.

Izuku rested his hands on his stomach and stared up at the ceiling, allowing the adrenaline from earlier to finally drain from his system. They were quiet for a moment, just taking in the stillness of the empty room, and that's when it finally hit him.

They had succeeded in their rescue mission. They had come out of the prison alive. Battered and bruised, but alive. And all of their friends were returned to them, safe and sound.

Izuku sighed heavily at the thought. It was the first time in months that he felt so at peace. Even though Mori was probably now angry beyond measure, his body could finally rest.

"Can you tell me why were you crying?" Todoroki asked.

Izuku opened his eyes, not even realizing when he had shut them, and turned his head towards him.

"That obvious?" he asked.

Todoroki paused, his eyes also getting tired. "Not really, just…" He took a deep breath. "Izuku—the one from my world—cries all the time. So I know what it looks like on his face."

Izuku scratched his cheek, feeling them burn with embarrassment. So even in other worlds, he was a giant crybaby? How mortifying.

"I can't help it sometimes," Izuku said. "I've tried not to cry so much in front of others. I know it can be annoying."

"It's not a bad thing. People are allowed to cry," Todoroki said. "I've told him that multiple times now. I guess it would only be right to tell you the same."

Izuku cracked a small smile and shifted a little closer, allowing his head to loll against Todoroki's shoulder.

"So… why were you crying?" Todoroki asked again.

"You're not going to drop it, are you?"

"No," Todoroki said.

Izuku hesitated, sighing softly. He gathered up his thoughts and bit his lip, staring up at the ceiling.

"Say," Izuku started, his voice calm. "Can I tell you about the Todoroki from my world?"