Eijirou and Izuku stayed until Mitsuki and Masaru returned with Dr Anzai. Eijirou kissed Katsuki's cheek again, promising to come back the next day. Izuku promised to make sure Hoshi was looked after in his absence and he said he would make sure Katsuki got notes from any classes he would miss.

After they had left, Dr Anzai introduced himself, Masaru acting as a translator. Katsuki was forced to recount the events of the day. He told the doctor about how the pain had started, that it had been accompanied by waves of sharp sound. That the sound had built and built until he couldn't take it anymore. That pain and blood were all he had know for what seemed like hours.

Aizawa had apparently told the doctor about what he saw happen, and Dr Anzai told him the sound waves were most likely due to Gang Orca's paralytic attack. The whale hero, had apparently, injured a hard of hearing person in the past, deafening them completely. The person had been a villain, so it hadn't made the headlines. But it was possible, at least that's what Katsuki was told.

The doctor then had asked Katsuki about the pain, determining that the boy could do with stronger painkillers. Katsuki had protested at first, claiming he could handle the pain, but when the doctor had pointed out that pain would put additional stress on his body and could damage him further, he agreed.

This all meant, that when Best Jeanist arrived to check on his protegee, Katsuki was as high as a fucking kite.

Tsunagu had been in a meeting with Edgeshot when he'd received the call. They had been discussing the possibility of searching the dark web for any sign of the missing children. It was a morbid train of thought, but if their bodies hadn't been found, the team had to consider the possibility of child trafficking.

Despite the topic of discussion, the conversation was relaxed. Cashmere slept on the top his desk, wearing his little sleeveless denim jacket, which acted as his own uniform whilst at the office.

Tsunagu had scowled when Thimble came through on the intercom, he'd specifically asked for no interruptions whilst he was meeting with the other Pro. As soon as he'd heard the little beep, he'd been mentally preparing to scold the younger man.

"Hakamata-san, Eraserhead is on line one. He said it's urgent, something about Bakugou." Thimble said.

Immediately, Tsunagu felt sick. His blood ran cold, and his palms were sweaty. He picked up the phone without any hesitation.

"Sorry, I have to take this." He said to Edgeshot, who nodded.

The phone call was a brief one, Aizawa recounting the story in the same way any pro would report an incident. Providing Tsunagu with all the relevant information and giving him the name of the hospital Katsuki was at.

Tsunagu stood ad he hung up the phone.

"I'm sorry, Shinya, I have to go." Tsunagu said, only to cut himself off with a yelp as a sharp stabbing pain spread throughout his chest. He gripped the desk to balance himself and Edgeshot stood to grab him.

"Tsunagu, are you okay?"

"I need… Bakugou, my student. He's in hospital, I need to get to him." Tsunagu said.

"Okay, can one of your sidekicks drive you?"

"I can drive." Tsunagu shook his head, rubbing his chest.

"I don't think you should." Edegshot said. "I think you're panicking, or you're in shock. You shouldn't drive."

"Erm. Flashback. He can drive." Tsunagu said. Cashmere had awoken at this point and he was up on his paws, meowing. Tsunagu placed a hand on his head, petting him lightly before standing to full height. Edgeshot hung about, his hands out, ready to steady Tsunagu if he fell. But he did not.

Tsunagu walked towards the door of his office, causing his sidekicks to look up at him. Edgeshot and Cashmere followed him.

"Junichi, I need you to drive me to the hospital." Tsunagu said, Flashback stood immediately.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's Bakugou. We need to go to Sacred Hope."

"Okay." Flashback nodded, "I guess it's lucky I came to work in my car this morning." He offered a reassuring smile before grabbing his keys and coat.

The journey to the hospital was quick, or at least it felt like that for Tsunagu. He was lost in his own head, imagining every single scenario, every possible outcome. His chest ached and his stomach churned with worry. His leg bounced up and down in the passenger seat as Flashback drove.

Once he got into the hospital he practically ran through the corridors, trying to find his protegee. Tsunagu eventually reached the waiting room, where Aizawa and Yamada were.

"Can I see him?" Tsunagu asked in lieu of a greeting.

"Yes. His parents know you're coming." Aizawa said tiredly.

"You should go home, get some sleep." Tsunagu said.

"We will." Yamada said. "We were just waiting for you."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tsunagu said.

"Don't worry about it, just go and see him before visiting hours end." Aizawa said, resting his head against Yamada's shoulder. Tsunagu nodded, before turning to Flashback.

"Do you mind waiting? I'm sure you could come and see him if you want?"

"I'll wait here. I'll leave him to you." Flashback said. "Hello, by the way." He said to the other two heroes present. "I'm Abiko Junichi or Flashback, whichever you'd prefer."

Tsunagu left his sidekick talking to the other pros and made his way through yet another corridor until he found the room Katsuki was supposed to be in. He knocked the door and entered when he heard a voice call.

When he came in, he was surprised to see Katsuki sat up in his bed. He was covered in bandages, but he didn't seem to be in any pain. His eyes were glazed over, but he seemed to be smiling. Katsuki's parents were smiling too, his mother stifling giggles.

The man stood to greet Tsunagu, holding a hand out.

"Hello, I'm Bakugou Masaru, this is my wife Mitsuki. It's about time we met."

"Hakamata Tsunagu." He replied, taking the hand and shaking it. "I wish it had been under better circumstances." He glanced over to Katsuki who was on his phone.

"As do I." Masaru smiled sadly. "Can you sign? He can't hear anything."

"Aizawa told me. I can."

"He's having trouble focusing at the minute, because of the painkillers, so it's taking him a while to understand things." Mitsuki said. "But he's not really saying anything that makes sense anyway."

"How's he doing?"

"Okay. The doctors are looking for someone with an accelerated healing Quirk or a cell activation one to heal his burns and his cuts. I think Aizawa was going to speak to Recovery Girl." Mitsuki said.

"They don't 100% know about his ears, they're still too swollen. They have several theories; it could be damage to the middle or inner ear. He could have perforated his eardrums or damaged his vestibular nerves. They obviously have varying degrees of hearing loss and permanence. They don't know." Masaru added.

"Oh." Tsunagu said. "What caused it? An explosion?"

"They think Gang Orca's Quirk." Mitsuki sighed.

"Orca?" Tsunagu scowled at the thought that his friend could have hurt Katsuki. "You're sure?"

"It's the only answer that really makes sense." Masaru said.

Tsunagu's heart sank. He knew from person experience, that Orca's Quirk hurt when he used it to paralyse. He knew, all too well, the uncomfortable pressure in his own ears that occurred after being subjected to the other's Quirk. How could his friend be so irresponsible? He knew the risks of his Quirk; would he really use his full power against children?

It was at that point, that Katsuki appeared to notice him.

"Jeanist. Hey Jeanist." Katsuki mumbled. "Why are you so fucking tall? Like, yeah, there's taller heroes. But they're all muscly, you're skinny."

"Please, sit down." Masaru said, gesturing to the other seat. "He just rambles."

"Jeanist." Katsuki called again. "I can't be your sidekick. I failed my exam. Which is good, I guess. I didn't have a hero name. I was jus' gonna put Bakugou." He laughed. "How stupid is that?"

Tsunagu sat down in the offered chair and smiled sadly at the boy.

"I can't be a hero anymore. But maybe I could do something else. Fashion maybe. Oh I could be a chef. I like cooking."

"You'd be a great chef." Tsunagu said as he signed the words slowly. Katsuki squinted at his hands.

"Of course I would. I'm fucking awesome." Katsuki slurred. "Where's my fucking phone?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was holding the device in bandaged fingers. Mitsuki reached out, tapping the device in his hand. His eyes seemed to light up when saw the phone. "Oh, you found it." Mitsuki rolled her eyes.

"I gave birth to an idiot."

"Hey, he's on some strong stuff. Give him a break." Masaru snorted.

"My cat's better than yours." Katsuki spoke up again suddenly. "Mine has fur. She's cute. What kind of cat has to wear fucking clothes? It's stupid. Real cats don't need clothes."

"Leave him alone."

"Oh, you're the one with the hairless cat." Mitsuki said with a laugh. "He's spoken about it a couple of times."

"Oh, he hates him. Doesn't think he's a real cat. Especially when you see how big and fluffy Hoshi is." Tsunagu said. "But you know, my cat is mine. Katsuki doesn't have to like him."

"He didn't like that we got a chihuahua when he was younger." Masaru said. "We'd had an Akita previously, so a big dog he could play with. Then we had to have him put down and about a year later we decided to get another dog."

"He wanted another big one. But I didn't." Mitsuki added. "He didn't even acknowledge her for months. Then one morning I couldn't find her. I was scared she'd got out or something. But I went up to Katsuki's room and he was cuddling her like a teddy bear in his sleep."

"Cute." Tsunagu smiled.

"I've got pictures somewhere."

"I'd love to see them some day." Tsunagu said. "He said he modelled a little when he was younger?"

"Yeah, he loved it." Masaru said. "Everyone's attention on him, being pampered and spoilt. He had such high energy, so we had to fill his days with things to do. Music lessons, martial art lessons, dance lessons. We'd go hiking every night, just so he could sleep. He'd be out playing with his friends for hours, but he'd come back home ready for an adventure."

"He's still high energy." Tsunagu said. "He's always training and pushing himself further."

"He does." Mitsuki said.

"Oi, Mom. Why am I wearing paper?" Katsuki asked, pulling at the papery gown the hospital had put him in. "It's fucking annoying. I have real fucking clothes, I don't want to wear this shit anymore."

"Stop swearing." Mitsuki signed at her son.

"I'll bring him some clothes when I come back in the morning." Masaru said. "We need to make a list of things he'll need."

"You're leaving?" Tsunagu asked.

"They'll only let one of us stay overnight." Masaru said. "We're going to take it in turns."

"Ah." Tsunagu said. "It goes without saying that he doesn't have to come to work. He can have as much time off as he needs. He doesn't have to come back if he doesn't want to, but they'll always be a place for him."

"Thank you, Hakamata." Mitsuki said. "I think he'll be back as soon as he can, physically. You know him, he'll be bouncing off the walls within a week." Hakamata laughed at the woman's words before it morphed into a cough.

He turned his head and coughed into the crook of his elbow. He struggled to breath in as the coughs wracked his body. His face felt hot and his chest burnt. Masaru frowned, getting up to pour Tsunagu a glass of water from the jug on Katsuki's bedside table.

"That's mine."

Katsuki watched the interaction with concern, blinking heavily as he tried to focus. Tsunagu took the glass of water and took a sip.

"Thank you." He said, clearing his throat.

"Are you okay?" Katsuki asked and Tsunagu nodded. "Good."

"Are you sure?" Mitsuki asked.

"Yeah, it's just a cold or something." He said. "Forgive me."

Katsuki had gone back to his phone. He snuggled into the cheap pillows and honest to god giggled, distracting all of the adults present. He was smiling at his phone as he typed out a message.

"Should he be texting high?" Tsunagu asked. Mitsuki shrugged.

"He got a hold of his phone and bit me when I tried to take it off him." She said before tapping Katsuki leg, making him look up. "Who are you talking to?" she signed.

"Eijirou." Katsuki said, cradling his phone to his chest. "He's so sweet, a nice, and hot. He's the best boyfriend ever. People say he's the sunshine of 1.A. But he's not the fucking sun. That's cliché and stupid. The sun goes down. He's like fucking Sirius, the brightest star. The best star."

"He should write poetry when he's high." Masaru said with a laugh.

"He loves me. He told me so." Katsuki said, his smile was wide and Mitsuki cooed at his expression. "And I love him."

"He's adorable." Tsunagu laughed.

"Our baby is in love, Mas." Mitsuki smiled.

"Good."

"Dad. Dad. Why's your hair so spikey?" Katsuki asked, looking between the people in the room. "Yours too Mom. It's longer, but still spikey." He suddenly gasped. "Is mine spikey? Do I even have hair? I can't feel it." Masaru snorted as Katsuki turned to Tsunagu. "You don't have spikey hair, yours just goes woosh." He moved his hand, as if drawing Tsunagu's sloping fringe in the air.

"Eijirou has spikey hair sometimes. But sometimes he doesn't. He puts it in ponytail or wears a bandana. Or has it down." Katsuki rambled, lying back on the pillows. "I don't know which is more beautiful. He's always beautiful."

"So pretty. Pretty, pretty, pretty. And he's mine." Katsuki sighed, completely unaware of his mother's giggles. "I miss him. Why isn't he here? He should be here. Will he come tomorrow?"

Eijirou smiled as his phone buzzed with another text. Katsuki had been texting him pretty much as soon as Eijirou had left the hospital. He was replies were getting more and more obscure and he had changed the topic several times. He'd gone off on a random tangent multiple time and to be completely honest, Eijirou was struggling to follow the conversation.

The entire class were sat in the common room, they'd returned on the coach with Midnight whilst Aizawa and Yamada stayed at the hospital. The TV was on but no one was really paying attention to it. There was a somewhat awkward silence, they were all to aware of a certain someone's absence. Which was ridiculous in a way. Because if Katsuki had come back with them, he'd most likely been in bed by now.

Eijirou was cuddled up with Mina. She didn't feel right, she wasn't the person he wanted to cuddle with. But she was a good friend. She was sat on his feet, leaning against his side. Hoshi was sat on his lap, she seemed sad, but that was to be expected.

Kouda had told her what had happened, he had told her he wouldn't be back for a while. She, of course, hadn't understood all that well, she wanted him to come home. But when Kouda had told her he couldn't, she had attached herself to Kirishima. Seeming to bond over the loss of their favourite person.

"Is anyone else getting high messages off of Bakugou?" Kaminari asked, shattering the silence.

"Yes." Shouto replied, not looking up from his phone.

"Mhm, Kacchan's being really sweet." Izuku laughed. "He's going to be so mad when he looks at these"

"Wait, he's being nice to you?" Kaminari asked. "Aw man, he's being mean to me."

"He is?" Shouto asked. "We're just talking about cats."

"I mean, not as mean as he usually is, I guess." Kaminari shrugged. "What about you Kiri?"

"We're talking about everything." Eijirou laughed. "He just asked me why the colour yellow is so fucking loud. How am I supposed to answer that? What does it even mean?"

"I'm sending him pictures of cats and he's rating them." Shouto said. "So far they've all been ten out of ten."

"He's talking about our childhood to me." Izuku said.

"Damn, I wish I got high Baku texts." Mina pouted.

"He just told me he's gonna rip my dick off from the inside, so I'm not sure you would." Kaminari said. Eijirou rolled his eyes.

From Eijirou x:

Leave Kaminari alone

From Katsuki 3:

Why?

He's yellow.

From Eijirou x:

He's blue now. He's sad.

From Katsuki 3:

Blue is stupid.

Red is awesome.

From Eijirou x:

What's red?

From Katsuki 3:

Passion.

From Eijirou x:

That's a good colour.

From Katsuki 3:

Orange is better.

From Eijirou x:

What's orange?

From Katsuki 3:

It's a fruit

From Eijirou x:

Oh, do you like fruit?

From Katsuki 3:

I like pineapple. It fights back.

From Eijirou x:

It does?

From Katsuki 3:

Yeah.

Eijirou snorted.

"Guys, it's official. Pineapple is the most violent of the fruits."

"Makes sense, you could do some serious damage with a pineapple." Sero nodded.

"They be spikey bois." Mina laughed.

"I'm pretty sure if you threw one hard enough, you could break a window." Midoriya said.

"Or a skull." Shouto said.

"Okay, what the fuck?" Kaminari laughed. "I expect that from us, but from Shouto?"

"Someone's got to maintain Bakugou's hostility." Shouto shrugged.

"This is an inappropriate conversation." Iida frowned. "We should not be discussing how to kill people with fruit."

"Hey, blame Bakugou. He started it." Kaminari said, pointing at Eijirou's phone.

"Leave my boyfriend alone. He's high as fuck, if he wants to talk about violent fruit he can." Eijirou said. "He's had a tough day, man, he could have died."

"If you hadn't pulled his hands away from his head, he probably would have." Shinsou said quietly. The whole class fell silent again. This time contemplating the fact that they could have lost someone.

"Kirishima." Jirou started. "How the fuck aren't you hurt?"

"From what Shinsou said, you were holding his hands, kero." Tsuyu said.

"Yeah, and I got some burns even though I was further away." Shinsou agreed.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking." Eijirou said. "My body just moved. I hardened as much as I could. Harder than I thought I could go."

"Wow." Satou said softly.

"Yeah man, I could just tell it was going to be a big one. You know how, when he charges an explosion, sometimes it whistles?" The class nodded. "Well it was whistling, but so loud, and high pitched. His hands were glowing white. I knew I had to absorb as much of the blast as I could. I knew I could do it with his normal ones. He's only ever been able to beat me in a fight by waiting until I'm too tired to use my Quirk. I hoped it wouldn't hurt."

"You probably saved more lives than just Bakugou's." Shouji said. "We all saw the crater he made." The class nodded.

"Fuck man." Kaminari sighed. "You're a real hero, Eijirou."

"Thanks, bro. But I just wanted to help Katsuki. He was in so much pain. I wanted to take some of it away."

"We're all going to go visit him tomorrow, right?" Satou asked. "I could bake him a cake?"

"We could ask Aizawa-sensei if we could leave early." Iida suggested.

"We should do something to cheer him up." Sero said. "He probably hates being in there, I would."

"Yeah, Kacchan has always hated hospitals. He might be happy and high now, but by tomorrow he's going to be ready to kill someone." Midoriya said.

"What can we do though?" Uraraka sighed.

"Could we take him Hoshi?" Shouto asked.

"I don't know. I don't think hospitals let cats in." Iida said.

"We could sneak her in!"

"Dark Shadow, cease your criminal activity immediately. As much as I embrace the darkness of unlawful behaviour, I do not support violating such clear rules." Tokoyami scowled. "Forgive him. As night falls, his attitude becomes inappropriate."

"No, he has a good idea." Kaminari said. "There's 19 of us, is anyone going to notice a cat?"

"We could always try?" Mina suggested. "If we get caught we feign ignorance."

"Midoriya can start crying and we could run." Sero nodded.

"I don't think flooding the hospital is good idea." Iida shook his head.

"Hey, I don't cry that much." Midoriya pouted. "But I can cry on command."

"Okay so, cat and cake, is there anything else we could get him?" Eijirou asked.

"A pineapple?" Ojiro suggested. "Apparently, he likes them."

"Kacchan likes most food to be honest." Midoriya laughed. "It's the only time he was ever calm when we were growing up."

"And when he was asleep, of course?" Kaminari asked.

"No, he used to be a very aggressive sleeper. We used to have sleepovers and he'd kick me in his sleep. It got to the point where we couldn't share a bed anymore because I'd end up covered in bruises."

"Makes sense, Blasty's always aggressive." Mina laughed.

"He cuddles in his sleep now." Eijirou countered. "He's peaceful."

"You'd be in so much trouble if he heard you say that." Jirou said.

"Oh, so much trouble." Eijirou laughed. "But all I have to is kiss him and I'm forgiven."

"Eeww." Kaminari whined. "I don't need to think about my bro's kissing."

"You've seen them kissing." Sero pointed out.

"Kirishima didn't lock his door!"

"You didn't knock." Eijirou laughed.

"I'm scarred for life." Kaminari whined.

Eijirou snorted. They hadn't been doing much when Kaminari had walked in on them. They'd actually been watching stuff on Eijirou's laptop, cuddling. The moment in which Kaminari had barged in had been the exact moment Katsuki had looked up to kiss him. The screech that came out of Kaminari's mouth was hilarious, and after the electric boy had run away Katsuki and Eijirou had spent the next ten minutes laughing.

From Katsuki 3:

I love you

I just wanted to say it again.

From Eijirou x:

I love you too, Baby.

"What are you smiling about, Kiri?" Sero asked.

"Soft Baku being cute."

"Spill!" Uraraka said, the way she said it, Eijirou knew she was trying to bring back the relaxed mood of before. Of before they realised death was a lot closer than they thought.

"Nope. It's private." He said with a smirk, playing along.

"Mina, steal his phone." Hagakure shouted.

"I'll just go upstairs if you try." Eijirou scowled.

"I'm comfy. I don't want to move." Mina said, siding with her friend.

From Katsuki 3:

Eiji

Tell me about sharks.

Eijirou felt his heart feel like it was about to explode. Could he love this boy anymore?

Tsunagu spent half an hour with the Bakugou's before leaving. Katsuki had become sleepy and apparently a sleepy Katsuki was whinny. Or at least when he was high. Tsunagu rolled his left shoulder as he walked, massaging the joint.

The pain he'd been feeling in his chest had steadily gotten worse and he couldn't wait to go home, snuggle with his cat and lie down. He'd have to go back to the office to get Cashmere, but maybe he could convince Flashback to drive him home. Maybe he'd take some painkillers, they wouldn't be as strong as Katsuki's but they'd do the job.

When he got back to the waiting room, Aizawa and Yamada were still there, talking to Flashback. Next to them Gang Orca sat on a too small chair. Anger flowed through Tsunagu's veins when he saw him. Despite their long-standing friendship, he couldn't help but feel furious. He clenched his fists at his sides.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Tsunagu." The Orca stood up. "I looked over the footage, of the exam. Bakugou's pain… his reactions came the second of my attacks. I came to inform the hospital that I believe I am the reason he's hurt."

"Of course you fucking are." Tsunagu snapped, making Aizawa and Yamada jump. Flashback frowned "What were you thinking, Kuugo? Using your Quirk on children? At full power? It's a miracle no one else was hurt. You know how dangerous it is."

"I know, I know. The commission. They said I was to fight them properly. That they couldn't have anyone barely passing. That they needed proof that the contestants were capable."

"So you thought you'd paralyse them?"

"The paralysis is only temporary. I was doing what I was told, Tsunagu. I'm sorry for what happened. But the other students didn't have a problem."

"None of the other students were wearing hearing aids."

"He'd have to deal with things like that in the field."

"He's had them for two months. He's never been in a proper combat situation with them. He hasn't had chance to consider that."

"It sounds like you're making excuses for Bakugou's incompetence and lack of forward planning."

"Excuses? Incompetence? Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? Who the fuck do you think you're talking about?" Tsunagu seethed. Both Aizawa and Yamada were on their feet. Flashback had his hand on Tsunagu's shoulder. Hospital staff were staring. "When have I ever made excuses for someone? When have I ever lied?"

"Never to my knowledge, but there's a first time for everything." Kuugo replied.

"You don't know half of what he's been through. You don't know anything about him. He has worked so hard to change, to become a better person, and you just came along and shit on it all."

"I can't make special allowances, just because he was kidnapped." Kuugo shook his head. "I'm sorry for what happened to him. I hope he recovers."

"Special allowances? You hurt my fucking kid, Kuugo. You didn't put anyone else in the hospital, just him. Katsuki gets knocked back, again and again. But he still get's up and fights even harder. Now you might have taken that away from him forever, but all you can say is a half-hearted apology?" Tsunagu was shouting now, there was no mistaking his tone for anything but fury. Flashback was holding him back. He wouldn't have lashed out at his old friend, but Flashback wanted to try and diffuse the situation by getting Tsunagu to walk away.

"I never wanted to hurt anyone. I'm a hero too, Tsunagu. I am sorry, truly. But I can't go back and undo it." Kuugo said. To his merit, the Orca did look genuinely sorry.

"He had so much potential. And now he might not even be able to hear his parents saying his name again." Tsunagu snapped.

"It was an accident. I never meant for anyone to get seriously hurt."

"Well Katsuki did." Tsunagu said. "He could have died, Kuugo. You could have killed him."

"He's okay though." Aizawa interrupted. "He'll pull through. I'm sure of it."

"He better." Tsunagu said. "Because if he doesn't, Kuugo, I swear, I will never talk to you again."

"Tsunagu…" Kuugo started, but he didn't know what to say. The two Pro heroes stared at each other as Flashback let go of Tsunagu's shoulder. Aizawa and Yamada stood awkwardly to the side.

Tsunagu began to cough again as pain once again shot through his chest. He hunched over as he coughed. Flashback was automatically back by his side, a hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly. Tsunagu struggled to breath in between coughed. His face grew red and his legs shook.

"Hakamata, are you okay?" Aizawa asked. Tsunagu shook his head as he continued to cough.

"Come sit down." Flashback said, leading his towards a chair. Tsunagu sat down, still coughing into his hand. A nurse was hovering nearby and Gang Orca watched.

"What's his name?" the nurse asked. Which Tsunagu distantly thought was strange, he wasn't in his hero costume, but he was at least recognisable.

There was a flurry of movement around him, as the nurse tried to ask him questions, but he was unable to respond. Each cough added to his pain, sending shockwaves throughout his body. Oxygen was hard to come by as his vision began to blur.

Someone pulled his hand away from his mouth as an oxygen mask was slipped over his head. Tsunagu struggled briefly against the mask but Flashback was there to try and calm him. Tsunagu's breathing eased and his coughing petered away as the oxygen helped somewhat.

However, when Tsunagu looked down at his hand, his heart sank when he saw his palm was coated in a thick layer of blood.