Everything went fuzzy after that.

Maybe he was worse than he thought he was.

He could hear what sounded like doctors and nurses talking over him as he was being wheeled down a corridor with bright lights above him. Eri was no longer with him; they must have separated them both for treatment.

"Is this the confidential case?"

"Yeah, they're bringing a few of them in, obviously everything's very hush hush but they won."

"That's good at least."

"So who is this?"

"Hitoshi Aizawa but if anyone outside of family asks you refer to them as Mindjack, understood?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"He walked to the ambulance of his own accord but his condition rapidly declined on the ride here. The left lung collapsed but the paramedics performed a needle aspiration and he's been stable since, the scans show that the tear is only small so it should heal itself in the next few days."

"Has he regained consciousness?"

"He's been going in and out."

"Have the family arrived?"

"His Father's also being treated for a stab wound, he's getting stitches. Apparently trying to get the guy to sit still long enough for them to do it has been fun; the guy's too worried about Hitoshi here. His other Father is also on his way."


Hitoshi came back to consciousness painfully.

There also appeared to be one hell of a commotion outside. It wasn't hard to overhear the conversation numerous people seemed to be having.

"Sir I need you to calm down and go back to the waiting room, either a doctor or a nurse will be out to give you an update shortly but for now you're in a restricted area."

"You don't understand, I'm not looking for an update, I already know what happened to him, and I know how bad his injury is, my husband was a part of that raid and I need to see him.

Hitoshi's eyes widened.

Eiichi.

"You're the family of Mirai Sasaki?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, come with me."

The sight of Overhaul…

Hitoshi's breathing heightened even at the memory.

Despite the agonising pain in his chest he disconnected the wires from himself and clumsily clambered down from the bed. Unsteady on his feet he slowly made his way across the room, grabbing the robe from the door and throwing it on against the cold before exiting into the corridor.

He was thankfully not stopped along the way which gave him time to piece together the situation with the hospital. The nurse had stated this wing to be restricted which could only mean they'd planned ahead to provide an area where they could be in their hero costumes without being seen by the public. Hitoshi was therefore certain Sir would be in one of the rooms if he just looked around and sure enough he was right.

Hitoshi snuck inside silently keeping back by the entrance and finding a use for the doorframe to keep himself upright.

Zuku was inside by the bed, as was All Might and Eiichi.

"There's nothing more we can do. To be honest, it's a miracle he's survived this long." He overheard the hushed voice of a doctor in the corridor.

"So do you really think he's been holding out to talk to those boys?" Came the familiar voice of Recovery Girl, her tone missing its usual sunny charm.

"Yes Ma'am, I do. You should prepare yourselves, I don't think he's going to live to see tomorrow."

Hitoshi felt sick at that moment, his eyes blown as he couldn't even process what he'd just heard.

Sir…

Sir was…

He slid down the doorframe to sit on floor beneath him.

"I'm so sorry." The number one hero began.

"Is that you All Might?" Sir's voice was raspy. "You feel like talking now that I'm on my deathbed?"

"I don't know what to say; I was wrong, I pushed you away and now…"

"Nighteye!" Zuku interrupted. "Hang in there; please, you have to live!"

"I've never heard you sound so penitent before All Might, but I didn't resent you for what happened between us. I mean that; all I wanted was for you to be happy, and if you've decided to fight fate then I-"

"You should be fighting it too; please… give me a chance to make up for what I've done." All Might begged, his tone breaking down.

"There's nothing to make up for, I wanted to change the future to keep you from being killed. I looked for ways to alter the fate I'd seen; I tried, but there was nothing I could do. And then today… Midoriya succeeded where I failed. I believe it might have to do with the energy contained in thoughts; the power of a vision so strong it leaves no room for doubt, and strives towards the desired future that wasn't just Midoriya; everyone there truly believed that what they were fighting for could come to pass. Maybe what we saw today was the result of that energy converging on Midoriya and being released. You've changed my thinking; you've shown me that the future isn't set in stone, and that's enough for me. I only have one regret left-"

"SIR!"

Hitoshi jumped at the scream.

Mirio-senpai rushed passed him into the room.

"Togata!"

"Don't give up; please, keep fighting! Don't die on me!"

"Mirio, I failed you, this is my fault… if only I'd been there-"

"DON'T SAY THAT!"

Hitoshi buried his head in his arms.

"You were always there, teaching me and showing me how to be strong! Everything I am now is because of you, don't you see? I'm not ready! Please don't leave me…"

The sound of Mirio-senpai's tears were all he could hear for the next few seconds before Sir spoke up once again.

"You'll be okay; you're going to become the finest hero the world's ever seen, that's one part of the future that shouldn't be changed."

Hitoshi was so caught up in Sir's words that he didn't hear the footsteps approach.

"Master Shinsou."

He looked up to see the number one hero looking deeply concerned in front of him with the rest of the room having turned to notice him too.

"Hitoshi, come here."

All Might helped him to his feet and over to the bed.

Sir gave him a smile behind the oxygen mask as he reached out to take hold of his hand offering it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm so sorry… this was all my fault."

"How is that?"

"That bullet was heading for me but I couldn't see it in time. You always told me that I needed to work on my blind side and I didn't listen. If I'd been faster I could have taken it like I was supposed to and then Mirio-senpai wouldn't have lost his quirk…" His voice shook. "He would have been able to help Zuku fight Overhaul and you would never have gotten hurt. You wouldn't be-."

"Hitoshi."

Hitoshi silenced, swallowing back a sob as he shook, holding the railing of the bed. The number one hero's presence behind him moved closer as an extra support.

"There was nothing more any of you could have done; you, Midoriya, and Mirio gave it everything you had and more to achieve what seemed impossible. I gave you the task of saving Eri because you told me once about how your dream was to be there for children like yourself who are trapped in unthinkable situations by the true monsters of this world. You did that today, you were that person and you rescued a young girl from her captivity at the hands of one of the country's darkest groups."

Sir's hand came to rest on his cheek.

"I treated you poorly when you first came to the agency and I'm sorry for that. You are an incredible hero and I never want you to let anyone tell you otherwise."

Sir paused, looking between his three interns, the hero he'd worked alongside for so many years, and his husband he loved more than anything. "Work hard and be sure to smile. After all, without joy and laughter to balance the sorrow, this world cannot hope to have a bright… future."

Everything seemed to freeze after that, he knew the sound ringing through his ears and exactly what it meant but he couldn't… he couldn't even put a thought together. He knew Mirio was screaming, and his cousin was sobbing beside him, but he retreated back a step, softly colliding with the number one hero who'd been keeping him on his feet through Sir's words, All Might's arms coming to wrap around him as he just felt blank.

It was a haze where time itself had collapsed, an inaudible wave of nothing.

Was he crying? He didn't know.

He was sure Recovery Girl was fussing over him but those arms never faltered in their hold.

No.

He was intruding.

Everyone in the room was more entitled to their grief than he was. He was just some crappy intern, All Might deserved to be able to worry about himself rather than having to focus on him.

So he kept going, the arms tried to pull him back but he didn't let them.

He wrapped an arm around his chest. It was surprising how watching someone die made you forget about a pain so strong it barely allowed you to stand.

Sir was smiling when he-

He gagged as he made a grab for the wall of the corridor, forcing down bile.

His hand slipped and he tipped, heading straight for a collision with the tile floor.

And then he wasn't.

"Woah, woah, woah. I've got you. I've got you, Toshi."

"Dad…" He cried out, tone pathetic and tiny and practically a whimper.

"I'm never letting you fall again, okay?"

Hitoshi threw himself against him.

Papa looked distraught as he arrived behind Shouta.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was helpless to stop them as the weight of it all came crashing down.

"You're okay… you're okay, Tosh." Papa's soft voice cooed, his hands coming to rest on his cheeks before a kiss was pressed to the crown of his head. "Dad and Papa are here, it's okay."

"I'm so sorry… I'm really sorry." He sobbed.

"Shhh, shhh, shhh…" Papa softly hushed. "Just breathe, it's okay, everything's going to be okay, Toshi."

Dad's arms only seemed to tighten around him as he pulled him even closer against his chest, his own body shaking in emotion.

Papa wrapped his arms around them both.

"We're going to be okay."