Shoto couldn't breathe. Or think for that matter either.
Funny how small, important functions like that abandon you when you've got a psychopath choking you with four fingers.
Shigaraki giggled something about All Might, how he was the cause of everthing, but Shoto was barely able to hear him. The blood rushed in his ears with an alarming sound, as if there was a tidal wave in his head.
Finally, after what felt like an hour of struggling against the insane villain, Shoto was suddenly thrown a lifeline of quiet.
"Hey. Let go of him." The familiar voice was calm, sounding almost uniterested. Shoto opened his eyes with a snap and focused on the newcomer, as did Shigaraki, who was suddenly quiet.
The newcomer wore simple black jeans and a blue t-shirt, with a black beanie covering his hair. He wore glasses which covered a pale face and shocking, yellow irises. He carried a red backpack and walked strangely, favoring his right side. The lower half of his mouth was covered by a cold mask and he wore a light layer of makeup, not that you could tell. All effectively hid his recognisable features and gave him a strange aura.
"You have no business here, Shigaraki."
Tomura laughed.
"So, the brat finally decides to show his face again after two months of nothing." Tomura leaned forward, pitting his elbow on his knee and resting his head in his hand casually. "You know, I was hoping I'd run into you, but when I met up with dear old half'n'half, I couldn't resist the chance." He grinned insanely, malice hiding underneath.
"Then your business is with me, not Shoto."
Shoto's eyes widened and his mouth parted as he realized just who was standing in front of himself again. Stain's Apprentice, once again, working to preserve his life.
Tomura laughed again and shoved Shoto aside. "True." His happy demeanor fell away as he stood and looked Izuku in the eyes. "I don't agree with this, but Master is insistent we have another talk. Just you and him." Tomura pulled out a slim piece of paper, waving it in the air. "It'd be dumb to refuse him."
Izuku took the paper, unfolding it and reading the location scribbled inside. "It would equally dumb to go back on what I have previously stated." He pocketed the paper, looking at an incredibly infuriated Shigaraki. "I'll come, but don't expect me to change."
"See you then."
As Tomura pushed past Izuku, he made sure to knock into the younger teen's right side. Though Shigraki didn't see it, he caused a great effect on Izuku. Shoto watched as the already place face grew several shades paler.
Shoto stood and faced the teen who had saved him twice now. Izuku looked back with tired, weary, but determined eyes. His iron will showed through, even in clearly trying times such as this one.
Therefore, it came as a complete shock to Shoto as Izuku started swaying where he stood and nearly fell on his face. Shoto dashed forward and grabbed his savior, pulling him over to the fountain and making him sit.
Izuku shamelessly fell over to the side and leaned on Shoto's shoulder, nearly blacking out from the pain he was in.
"Dumb - cut." He wheezed, holding onto his side gently.
Shoto carefully held Izuku off of himself and looked down at the teen's side. A hint red had started seeping through the shirt and jacket. Shoto bit his lip and started looking around for someplace he could take villain. Izuku shifted, gaining Shoto's attention, and pointed feebly to the side. There was a deserted hallway between two stores, the inside hidden from view.
Shoto, not wasting time, pulled Izuku to his feet and started helping him walk to the safe hole. He ignored the other boy's protests and gasps of pain. By some miracle, the dark hallway had one lone chair.
After gently pulling of the other boy's backpack, Shoto made Izuku sit once again, and it could have been the lack of lighting, but Shoto could have sworn that Izuku was deathly paler after the short walk. Shoto leaned his savior back to rest fully against the chair. He braced himself, and slowly pulled back the villain's shirt and jacket to look at his side. He nearly threw up at what he saw.
Izuku's side, after having two months of time which should have healed it, was a green and blue mess. New swelling had started up from where Shigaraki had pushed him and Shoto could only imagine the pain Izuku was in at the moment. The only good thing was the self applied stitches, but even those looked strained and old.
Shoto swore quietly, prompting a laugh from Izuku.
"Disgusting isn't it?"
"When-? How-?" Shoto couldn't find words at the moment.
"Hosu. Heal cloth - grew rancid - from your fire I think - need to keep cool - put one on - bad - cut wouldn't heal - now, this." Izuku spoke very brokenly, his own heavy breathing cutting his sentences short.
Shoto placed his right hand near the wound, cooling the hot area. With his other hand, he reached up and felt Izuku's forehead.
"And on top of everything else, you've got a low fever." Shoto ran his hand through his hair, thoroughly at a loss of what to do.
"Backpack." Izuku muttered tiredly.
"What?" Shoto was confused at the strange statement.
"What? I've been trying to get rid of this thing for two months now. You think that when it took turn for the worse that I wouldn't keep first aid on hand?" Izuku scoffed. "Honestly. I may have failed in taking care of myself, but I'm not stupid."
Shoto frowned at the sassy quip, but chose not to blow up over it as Izuku looked ready to pass out. Reaching into the bag he found that it was indeed full of medical supplies and energy bars, along with one bruised apple and a bottle of water. He pulled out a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and and a needle, when it suddenly hit him.
He was going to have to preform first aid that could gave very costly repercussions if he did it wrong. And on a villain no less.
Izuku saw his pause. "First time?" Shoto looked up at Izuku, worried. "I know the feeling. Master had me take care of myself the first time I got cut. This isn't the first time I've done stitches on myself, or others."
"That's all well and good for you," Shoto quipped in return "but I've never needed to apply first aid over something so severe before, let alone stitches."
"I trust you."
Shoto huffed. "That's the fever talking."
"Then do something about that. You have an ice quirk, do you not?"
And so, Shoto began to patch up a villain who still had a heart left. He first poured water on a cloth, cooling it and placing it on Izuku's forehead. Then, he had to cut the stitches. He continually fought down the urge to be sick as the blood soaked strings popped under the small knife. He slowly cleaned the wound, which continued to bleed lightly. Izuku nearly did pass out from pain when Shoto started cleaning with the rubbing alcohol, and had to take the cloth off of his forehead and bite down on it through his cold mask. Izuku stayed awake however, and, knowing more about first aid, continually instructed Shoto on what to do.
Finally, Shoto had to do the stitches. He gulped, needle and thread in hand.
"I trust you. You can do this."
Shoto's hands shook. He was not prepared at all for what he had to do.
"I don't think I can."
Izuku reached and laid a hand on Shoto's shaking ones.
"You have to, I'm afraid. Don't worry, I'll tell you what to do."
And so he did.
Shoto slowly, carefully stitched up the other teen. He made a few mistakes, but the end result looked significantly better than the original. The colors and swelling had receeded, and the stitches held the gash together more closely. The bleeding had stopped and Izuku's fever had reduced slightly.
Shoto felt as though he had been working for hours and felt exhausted when in truth, the work had taken about only ten minutes.
Izuku leaned back and sighed in relief as Shoto began bandaging his lower torso, and felt himself almost drifting off as he no longer needed to make sure his friend wasn't going to horribly mess up in patching his side. No one can mess up wrapping a cloth around something too badly after all.
"Not bad for you first time." He complimented dryly in an attempt to stay awake.
Shoto huffed. "Well, I did owe you for two months ago and, well, a few minutes ago."
Izuku laughed lightly. "Yeah. Guess we're even now."
Shoto laughed too, but it soon petered off and he hesitated in his work. Izuku looked down at him, raising an eyebrow but not saying anything.
"Why, did you save me?" Shoto looked Izuku in the eyes. It was evident that he had been wanting to ask that question for a while, but due to the tense situation, he hadn't had the chance.
Izuku leaned his head back again, thinking over the question.
"There are lots of reasons, I suppose. For starters, you and I are in the same boat."
Shoto was confused. "How?"
Izuku shrugged. "Well, we're both the next generation of what we believe in. That is also why, Master, promised to me that, if we come across any hero highschoolers, we will spare you until you graduate, giving you the max amount of time to change." His words slowed as he remembered the painful promise he had been ignoring.
A cold tingle of trepidation washed over Shoto as he finished wrapping. "What did you promise in return?"
Izuku shot a cold look to Shoto, warning him not to press that subject. "None of your concern." Izuku cast his gaze away as Shoto pulled his mouth into a line and nodded.
"I'll go get some food and water us both." He stood and wiped his hands mostly clean of any remaining blood.
Izuku nodded in agreement and shifted into a more comfortable position, closing his eyes. "Just a plain sandwich and ice water if you don't mind."
Shoto turned back to Izuku, meaning to ask what all he wanted, but the boy had already passed out. Izuku didn't look peaceful or happy when he slept anymore. He looked tired, sick, and sad. He had often woken himself up by thrashing around in his sleep these last two months. He would wake, then immediately rush to the bathroom and be violently sick.
Shoto turned away, feeling sad for a reason he couldn't pin down.
He took advantage of the quiet and time by himself to think over the hectic scene he had just gone through. All he wanted was a day of peace to relax with his friends to celebrate the end of their first year in UA. Instead, he had been found and used by a psychopath, been saved by a villain turned his savior two times over, and had just spent the past ten minutes playing nurse to said villain.
Not exactly what he had planned.
It wasn't even twelve yet, but the lines for food and lunch were long, and it took Shoto twenty minutes to finally have their lunch handed to him. It took another five at least to find the hall again.
Izuku was shifting in his sleep fitfully, muttering incoherently. "Hey. Wake up i got the food." Shoto set the bags and drink down on the hall floor, and started tapping the sides of the chair loudly. He knew he shouldn't touch Izuku, but he had to do something as his words didn't seem to have any effect on waking the restless teen up.
He tapped louder, giving one last "Hey!" He backed up quickly as Izuku shot to his feet and lowered to a fighting position, still half asleep. Shoto scrambled backwards, failing to find his own feet underneath himself. "Woah, hey it's me!"
Izuku started, lowering his arms and softening his scowl. "Oh." He stepped over and offered Shoto a hand. "I'm sorry."
Shoto took the offered hand with a sigh, clambering to his feet gratefully. "It's fine. It's my own fault. You wouldn't wake up so I was tapping your chair."
Izuku somehow managed a smile. "Good thing you didn't try to shake me awake. Who knows what could have happened."
Shoto nodded, being rather protective of keeping all of his fingers and arms.
Izuku didn't eat his sandwich, keeping it wrapped in its bag, but instead slipped the straw of his ice water underneath his mask and drank quietly. Shoto looked at him strangely. "Aren't you going to eat?" He had already gotten through half of his own sandwich.
Izuku raised an eyebrow and pointed to his mask. "I don't wear this simply because I have an infection you know."
Shoto lowered his gaze.
They ate in silence.
"So." Izuku set his half finished cup of water on the floor, looking down at Shoto. "Tell me about your dear old dad."
Shoto looked up to him quickly. "I'm sorry?"
Izuku rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Your father. I haven't forgotten what all I said that night. And beyond that, there is always a reason why a father abuses his own son, who won't fight back." Izuku looked at his friend with a steady gaze. "You asked me questions and got answers. Seems only fair I do the same."
Shoto swallowed. "You'll make me give you information on my father, so you can do gods know what to him?" He set down the last of his sandwich pensively. "I'd imagine you could find out everything you need on your own."
Though his mask hid it, Shoto could tell that The Apprentice was smiling. "Oh I can, but I'd rather hear it from you. First person sources are the most reliable after all."
Shoto breathed heavily as Stain's Apprentice held him in his unbreakable gaze. Tension filled the air.
A soft clicking was what saved Shoto. The two teens whipped their heads to the entrance, eyes widening as a small metallic automaton scuttled into the hall. Izuku leapt to his feet, but Shoto just let out a shaky, but relieved, laugh.
"Oh, it's just Aithusa." He held out his hand as Izuku started.
"I'm sorry?"
The small Aithusa hopped onto Shoto's extended hand, curling up and chirping inquisitively. Clasped in her front paws was a small, rolled up note, simply saying 'hurry up where ever you are, and maybe try answering your phone.' written by Kirishima. Shoto read the note, ignoring the shocked teen in front of him.
Izuku had, in all honesty, completely forgotten about his little creation. He couldnt believe that he had forgotten about the little dear, and slowly bent his hand near her to sniff from where she sat on Shoto's knee.
As Shoto finished reading the note, he was shocked to see the murderous, violent, and hurt teen before him, giggling and loving on little Aithusa. She ran and twisted inbetween his fingers, crawling along his arm and nipping at his ear. He handled her with amazing grace and skill, remembering every part of her delicate and nimble body. He extended her wings, measuring them , and she blew fire happily, chirriping away melodicly.
Shoto simply assumed that the little thing had taken an interest in the teen, unaware of the happy reunion taking place before him.
"Um."
Izuku looked up, having almost forgotten his friend sitting before him, too wrapped up in his creation. "What? Can't one inventor admire another's work?"
Shoto scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'm not sure how my friend would react. He's a bit protective of Aithusa when it comes to others handling her."
Izuku watched lovingly as Aithusa ran in loops on his palm, trying to catch her own tail. "Oh, I would never hurt her."
Shoto hummed, deciding to trust the other teen this once. Plus, she was distracting him from the subject of Shoto's father. He finished his food, then stood.
"Well, my friends are waiting for me. I have to go."
Izuku nodded, placing Aithusa on his shoulder, and stood as well after placing his food bag in his backpack.
The two walked to the food court, making small talk. The subject of Shoto's father had been shoved completely from his mind as Aithusa ran along her creator's shoulders, dipping into his pockets and popping her head back out. Soon Shoto was able to turn the subject back onto Izuku, asking him questions and continually getting at least half answers.
As they neared the food court, Shoto asked something that had been bothering him.
"What are you going to do next?" He asked slowly.
The change in the happy teen's demeanor was surprising. He grew dark, one hand frozen from where he had been tickling Aithusa's nose.
"I don't know." His voice was grim. "I feel, useless! He's gone and there was nothing I could do, nothing I can do!" He scratched his chin through the cold mask and glared out at the happy throng of people.
"Not everyone can last forever." Shoto said quietly. "Not even All Might, I'd wager."
Izuku suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, causing Shoto to turn around and look at him inquisitvely. Izuku's eyes widened.
"All Might..."
Shoto felt a cold tingle run down his spine once again, as Stain's Apprentice looked out dazedly. Worry began clawing it's way up Shoto's throat. What had he done now?
Izuku suddenly snapped out of it as Aithusa, demanding the attention of her creator back, nipped his ear. Izuku jumped, looking down at the small thing and laughing genuinely.
"Oh I'm sorry, did I take my eyes off you for a single second?" Aithusa yapped in response.
Izuku looked back up to Shoto, a new sparkle in the eyes of the former. "Well, I shall let you get back to your friends now." Aithusa hopped moodily back onto Shoto's shoulder at Izuku's prompt, the teen giving Shoto a two finger salute. "I shall see you around Shoto."
And then, he was gone. Shoto stared as he seemingly just melted into the crowd without a trace.
- across Japan -
Izuku stepped into his living room, still smiling widely. Before he knew it, he was laughing.
All this time, for these two months, he had been feeling useless, purposeless, for nothing. He looked to the fridge, grinning at the picture of All Might they kept there.
Izuku needed to prove to the world, and to himself, that he wasn't just a little kid running along behind a murderer. He was someone to be feared. Someone, who was ready to bring their tidal wave of change to the world.
He only had one obstacle now, and then society would be putty in his hands.
Shoto was right after all.
Even All Might, couldn't stay forever.
A/N
BEHOLD! Bk1 finished, longest chapter AGAIN (3200 WORDS), and it's done on my b-day! If this isn't a good omen I don't know what is.
How'd y'all like that? Ready for bk2? Like I said, I've already started writing the first chapter, but it may take me a while to post it, so here's a promise. If I can't get to the library/read the manga in any other way in a week, I'll post the first chapter and we'll get started.
Also, Darcry, my friend. I brought Aithusa back just for you, and to cure writers block. The big reveal goes down in bk2, not telling you when or how, but I like it. However, I am considering taking your reveal suggestions and making little oneshots with them in my oneshot comp which I haven't been writing in.
Anyway, thank you all SOOO much for all of the love and support you guys have been giving me! I have been really challenging myself a lot in this fic and I'm glad you all have been enjoying this so much.
You guys mean a lot to me, and, as always, I'll see you later Lovies. IN BOOK 2!
SO LONG!