The doctor's had suggested he stay the night thanks to the concussion Hitoshi had gave him which meant he had hourly intervals of being woken up to check he wasn't dead to look forward to.
Principal Nezu had been in earlier to ask him about the events which had unfolded at the house.
"Tell us exactly what happened?"
"We've been sharing a bed ever since we got taken by the League but we had a fight so I didn't go over one night, the next night I couldn't sleep and felt bad for leaving Toshi on his own so I left my dorm and headed over to Shouza and Hizashi's place. I heard Hitoshi scream from the balcony and used my quirk to blast myself up there. Then he just started swinging, he looked right through me so my best guess is he was seeing someone from the League instead, probably Shigaraki. Then Shouza came out and Toshi only got worse, he went from being angry to just being downright terrified, that's when he tried to jump, I managed to catch him then Shouza helped me pull him back over. After that Midnight-sensei arrived and used her quirk on him."
He hoped that Shouza and Hizashi weren't going to get in trouble for anything that happened. It was strange, one second Toshi was fine and then the next he was like a wild animal, scared and defensive against predators.
He hadn't seen his cousin since they'd been admitted and he doubted they were gonna' let him anytime soon.
Mom had appeared during visiting hours and furious wouldn't be a strong enough word to describe how angry she was. He'd never heard her shout so loud before.
The door slid open to reveal Hizashi, sans Shouza.
"How are you doing?"
He shrugged.
"I'll survive. Is Toshi okay?"
The voice hero exhaled deeply.
"The doctors are a little concerned about him."
"Why?"
"That wasn't just a little outburst, he could have killed you, and he nearly knocked Shouta out."
"I've been punched multiple times by All Might; Purple Hair's weak wrists ain't nothing."
"Kacchan…" Hizashi sighed.
"What? It's true! Toshi's a fucking teddy bear, he's soft as shit, yeah he kinda' lost it a little tonight but I think he thought we were someone else, he kept shouting about not letting us take him."
Hizashi looked up at him knowingly and Kacchan knew exactly what he was trying to infer.
He shook his head.
"Don't."
"Kacchan…"
"You know damn well that he didn't! He was so fucking scared of whatever he was seeing that he considered jumping to get away from them, he's not suicidal."
The voice hero looked down, fiddling with his fingers.
"We don't know that for sure."
Kacchan growled.
"All of this is my fault… we had a fight over something and then I didn't go over there to sleep like we usually do, he probably thought I'd given up on him or something knowing Toshi, but he wouldn't do that to any of us, not after everything he's been through."
Kacchan looked at his uncle and offered a soft smile.
"Toshi is strong." He paused, taking a breath. "Back at the facility, he would purposely rile up the League members so that they'd pick on him rather than me, the idiot refused to let them touch me, aside from a few cuts and bruises here and there. He's a survivor and he's proud of that, even if he doesn't realise he is."
"Thank you." Hizashi spoke up, his voice quiet.
Kacchan furrowed an eyebrow.
"What for?"
"Saving him, I-…" He shook his head. "I think his body would be in a morgue rather than a hospital bed if you hadn't of caught him."
The voice hero's hand shook as it came to cover his mouth, a sob escaping his lips a few seconds later before he broke down crying.
"I'm sorry." He apologised. "I'm the adult; I'm supposed to be stronger than this for you."
Kacchan smiled.
"There's no shame in being scared, isn't that what you told Toshi?"
He saw a small smile appear in the corner of his uncle's mouth.
"Yeah, I did."
"So maybe you should listen to your own wisdom."
The door slid open once again this time revealing Shouza looking tired and beat up.
"How's Tosh?" Hizashi asked, reaching a hand out behind him to guide his husband to the seat next to him.
Shouza let out a deep sigh as he scrubbed a hand down his face.
"They're keeping him sedated for now, the doctors can't be sure that he's not just going to do the same again once he wakes up." He turned to his husband and took his hand offering it a gentle squeeze. "Don't go and see him tonight, okay?"
Hizashi furrowed an eyebrow.
"You won't want to see him like that."
Kacchan took a breath.
"I want to see him."
Shouza shook his head.
"You're going nowhere with that head injury."
"It's just a concussion."
His older brother's furious gaze shot daggers into him seconds later making him regret his choice of words.
"Okay, sorry, I know how serious concussions are, I just… I don't want him to be on his own. We can't sleep without the other being there; it helps keep away the nightmares. What if he gets scared again and he's alone?"
"That's another reason they chose to keep him sedated, Toshi needs to rest, he's been running on empty it seems, apparently he's practically anorexic too, damn kid…" Shouza rubbed the back of his neck.
"Hey, Shouza?..." Kacchan spoke up nervously.
"Yeah?"
"Would it be okay if…" He paused. "If I stayed off a little bit longer?"
"We always said these few days would be a test to see if you were up to it." Shouza explained softly. "You go back whenever you feel ready to do so."
"And… can I stay with you guys rather than the dorm?"
Both his brother and uncle smiled.
"Of course you can."
"Thank you."
Two Days Later
The sun was just beginning to light the family room they had been assigned when there was a knock at the door revealing the doctor who had been treating his cousin.
"Come in." Hizashi invited.
"Hitoshi is awake and looking a little better, he's definitely got more colour to him and he seems calmer, we'll run the psych eval later on today if he's up to it and get the results from that."
"Psych eval?" Shouta asked in concern.
"To be honest I'm surprised no one has done one before now considering his history of abuse, but yes, we won't know what the best course of treatment will be for him until we understand exactly what he's experiencing."
"Is he allowed someone with him when he takes it?" Kacchan spoke up.
The doctor nodded.
"Of course."
He turned to his brother and uncle.
"Could I go with him?"
They nodded.
"I'm sure Hitoshi would really appreciate that." Hizashi replied with a soft smile.
"I honestly do believe that this was just a one-off incident which can be linked to Hitoshi's lack of sleep and high fever. He's been telling me all about how he's training to be a hero, he certainly seems dedicated."
Kacchan smirked.
What a nerd.
"But anyway, yes, I'll come and collect you a little later and we'll start going through the evaluation, that all sound okay?"
He nodded.
After the doctor left, Kacchan took a nervous breath.
"I… I need to tell you something."
Hizashi furrowed an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"Has Toshi ever said anything to you about someone called Touya?"
They both shook their heads.
"Well, I met him back at the facility and Toshi introduced me. They grew up there together, Touya is a lot older than Toshi but by the sounds of it he took care of him in there. Anyway, that night in Kamino, Touya helped us get free, he snook us out the facility and cut our ties just before the fight between All Might and All for One went down. Well when he was doing that he must have left Toshi a note in the pocket of his gym uniform. Toshi's been texting it and talking to him but a couple of nights ago he found out that Touya is a Todoroki."
That caught the interest of the two pros.
"Toshi wanted to tell them and I didn't think just springing it on them was a good idea, then we had an argument and I didn't go round. Knowing Toshi he's probably already told them by now so maybe Endeavour is already working on something to try and save Touya but…" Kacchan paused. "I think I caused all this. If we hadn't of had that argument then he wouldn't've had trouble sleeping, or skipped meals, then he never would've gotten sick and nearly jumped off the fucking balcony."
He growled, clenching his fist in anger at himself.
"I'm sorry."
Shouta sighed before walking over and sitting down next to him. He gently took his hands and offered them a squeeze.
"None of this is your fault, okay? It's not Hitoshi's fault either, you two have been through something horrible and to expect you to just go straight back to normal was always a ridiculous concept. You both just need some time to relax and do normal crappy teen stuff like play video games and watch terrible TV shows." He teased.
Kacchan rolled his eyes, nudging his brother in the ribs.
"We all know you're the one with the trashy taste."
"Wow… thanks Kacchan." He mocked offence.
Hizashi laughed.
"But honestly, don't think you need to rush back to UA, the hero licensing exam has been postponed anyway after Kamino so just take the time to do jack shit basically, it will do the pair of you good."
Kacchan nodded with a smile.
"Well, if you insist."
