TRIGGER WARNING for panic attack(s). If you wanna skip the first one, it starts at 'Squeezing his eyes shut' and ends at 'His phone buzzes in his pocket'. The second one- because everyone's having a shit time in this chapter- starts at 'It's the middle of the night' and ends at 'It takes a while' (but the second one doesn't go into much description, so it's not as bad to read, but that's my opinion)

Izuku drifts in and out of consciousness for… he isn't sure how long, actually. All he knows is that awareness comes back slowly and in pieces. He'll wake up and stare at a blank ceiling for a few seconds before falling unconscious again. This happens a couple more times before he finally manages to stay awake for a bit longer.

Everything is dark when he opens his eyes again. He blinks slowly, sluggishly, feeling as if he isn't quite existing. It takes him a while before he figures that there might be more to this world than just a blank ceiling. He should probably look around, right? He isn't really aware of his head turning, but he does notice a blurry figure next to him. He slowly blinks a few times. It's his mother. She's sitting in a chair next to him and he's… on a bed? But not his bed. And this room… it's not his either.

He blinks again and suddenly Inko's face is right next to his. A few moments later, he realizes that she's crying- no, sobbing, actually. She's saying something and squeezing his hand tightly, but he can't really understand her. Everything feels garbled and muted. He's confused as to where he is and why his mother is crying so much, but overall he just feels really tired.

His brain longs for a nap and yeah, that sounds nice right now. So he falls back asleep.

When he wakes up again, everything's a bit clearer. The room isn't so dark anymore, so he can see that yes, indeed this is not his room. So he's not at home. Which means he's… somewhere else.

He tries to crane his neck, but that feels- not quite painful, but weird and pull-y, so he falls still. Instead, he does his best to look around with just his eyes. Inko is still there, talking to another woman. A familiar woman. In fact, there's two other people in his strange new room that look familiar too. The woman is talking to his mother, the man is frowning down at his phone, and the boy-

Izuku's eyes meet Kacchan's.

Oh.

Oh shi-

"Izuku!" As the memories come flooding back to him, Inko jumps out of her seat and darts to his side. Tears are already flying out of her eyes as she grips his hand tightly. "Izuku, Izuku, baby, it's okay, you're alright, you're okay now…"

Izuku tries to talk, tries to ask what happened, but as soon as he does his throat explodes with pain. Grimacing, he instinctively whimpers, but that only makes it worse. Inko hastily shushes him. "Shh, no, baby, no don't talk, don't talk. Masaru-san, can you get the doctor?"

The man nods and rushes out of the room. Meanwhile, Izuku struggles to wrap his mind around everything. Shigaraki tried to take him, put his hand on his neck, but Izuku was the one that pushed that last finger down. God, what was he thinking?! He's never regretted a decision more in his life. His throat feels like it's been shredded to ribbons, pain settling deep and heavy. He reaches up to feel it- of course it's covered in bandages- but his mother pulls his hand away.

"No, no, sweetheart, don't do that," Inko says shakily, "You… Your throat got hurt really bad, okay baby? Don't move."

Forcing back tears, Izuku gives the barest of nods. His neck protests, but even so he can tell that the pain is dulled. His eyes land on his forearms, where countless needles and tubes connect to him. There's something on his face too- an oxygen mask? It's kind of itchy, but with the way his labored breath wheezes through his uncomfortably swollen throat, he's grateful for its presence.

Uncle Masaru returns a minute later, Recovery Girl and another doctor walking in after him. Izuku's attention immediately goes to the older woman, and he nearly flinches when he sees the deep sorrow in her eyes as they land on him.

"Midoriya-kun, I'm glad you're awake," she says softly, walking up to his side, "I'm sure you're very confused right now. Do… Do you remember much of what happened?"

Izuku nods stiffly, carefully, making sure to not disturb his tender throat.

Her eyes widen slightly. "Shigaraki Tomura attacked you- is that true?"

Izuku hesitates. Technically, he's the one who disintegrated his own throat, but he can't exactly say that out loud. Still, he nods again.

Inko lets out a choked sob and Auntie Mitsuki rubs her shoulder. Kacchan says nothing, watching with a tense expression.

Recovery Girl takes a deep breath and sighs, "We were fairly certain, but he'd disappeared once the police and heroes reached the mall, so there was no confirmation." She reaches over and takes his hand in her own smaller ones. "I'll tell you what happened. You were already unconscious from blood loss when the paramedics arrived, but they got you to the hospital quickly enough to save you. You've been in and out of surgery for the past day and a half. The skin and muscles in your throat were severely disintegrated, although thankfully there was only minimal damage to your trachea and larynx, which is why it's hard for you to speak. The main problem we had was with the damage to your arteries and blood vessels. It seems that Shigaraki had a finger on your left external jugular vein…"

She falters, squeezing her eyes shut as she clings to his hand. Izuku swallows, tears stinging his eyes. He's never seen his mentor look so shaken before.

"Well," she sniffles, "You know how these things go. You've read that stupid anatomy book more times than I can count." Izuku's lip twitches and she hiccups, reaching up to wipe away a stray tear as she struggles to recompose herself. Taking a deep breath, she continues, "Anyway, you're going to have a scar and your voice might be a bit weak for a while, but you're expected to make a full recovery." She finally smiles, albeit shakily. "You're going to be okay, Midoriya-kun."

Izuku meets her watery gaze for a moment, then looks away. This is… a lot to take in. He… He was just supposed to go to the mall with his friends! He doesn't understand why-

No. No he understands why this happened. All For One is after him. He needs Izuku to heal him. The thought alone makes Izuku's chest tighten with fear.

The doctor that came with Recovery Girl comes up beside him. "Hello, Midoriya-kun," he says, "My name is Doctor Nishida Ko. I'll be overseeing your recovery process, along with Recovery Girl, of course. Now I don't want you to move your neck too much, so tap your finger once for yes and twice for no, okay?" Izuku almost nods, but then thinks again and taps his finger. Doctor Nishida smiles gently. "Good. Are you in any pain?"

The agony that Izuku had felt when he tried to talk has died down significantly, but there's still an intense ache deep in his throat. It feels like there's a heavy weight surrounding his entire neck, like his muscles are paralyzed and numb with pain. It's like his whole body is just telling him: 'don't use this'.

He taps his finger once. As the doctor moves to fiddle with his tubes- probably increasing the dosage of pain meds- Auntie Mitsuki speaks up. Her voice is soft (well, soft for Auntie Mitsuki) as she asks, "Hey, kiddo? I know you're probably really tired, but we need to know what happened back there. Everyone's just been kind of confused…"

Izuku looks at his mother, who startles and starts frantically digging through her purse. "Oh! Here, you can-" She fishes out his phone and pushes it into his hands.

He turns it on and blinks at the screen. Hundreds of messages and missed calls stare back at him. The first few dozen are from Kacchan and his classmates, but then they start coming from All Might and Recovery Girl and even his senpais. All worried, all begging him to respond. Guilt claws at his chest. He didn't mean to make everyone worry so much…

After some encouragement from his mother, he opens up his notes app and starts typing. He describes the series of events from the beginning, how everything was fine at first but Shigaraki managed to sneak up on him and put a hand on his neck, stealing him away from Kacchan and Kirishima while their backs were turned. How he ranted about the Hero Killer and decided that murdering All Might would be his conviction. It's hard to explain Shigaraki's reasoning for kidnapping him without mentioning All For One, but he just says that the villain wanted him for his quirk. And for some reason, maybe it's the drugs that are dulling his mind as well as his pain, but he doesn't panic as badly as he thought he would when describing all this. He knows it's strange to be so calm right now, he knows he should be freaking out, but the wave that rose within him during that encounter is a mere simmer now, muted by the soothing numbness filling his veins.

Doctor Nishida reads aloud everything he writes as he types it. Inko tried at first, but she quickly dissolved into tears as soon as she got to the part where Shigaraki put his hand on his neck. Everyone is shocked when they learn that Izuku was the one to cause his own injury.

"Midoriya-kun!" Recovery Girl exclaims, aghast, "Are you insane?! You know how fatal that could have been!"

A feeble flash of frustration twinges within him. "What was I supposed to do?" Doctor Nishida reads as Izuku types, "Let him take me? Let him kill innocent civilians?"

They get quiet after that. Izuku stifles a sigh, blinking tiredly. Now that he's not in pain anymore, he finds himself exhausted.

"It doesn't matter."

Everyone looks over at Kacchan as he finally speaks up. The blond's jaw is clenched as he glares at the ground with a tight expression. "It shouldn't have happened in the first place," he hisses through his teeth, "That fucker got you while you were with me." Izuku's heart leaps to his throat at the sight of his best friend's eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I'm gonna be strong enough for you. I promise."

'Oh, Kacchan', Izuku thinks miserably as he gazes at his friend. He can't imagine how horrible Kacchan must be feeling right now.

"Oi," Auntie Mitsuki growls half-heartedly, lightly cuffing her son's head, "Don't be an idiot. It's not your fault." Her words don't seem to soothe Kacchan at all.

Doctor Nishida touches Izuku's shoulder gently, getting his attention. "The police sent over a detective, his name is Tsukauchi Naomasa. Apparently you're familiar with him?" Izuku taps once. "That's good. If you could send Recovery Girl what you wrote, she can pass it on to him. He might want to question you further, but that can wait for later."

Izuku taps again in confirmation before copy-and-pasting his statement into his messaging app. Recovery Girl's phone buzzes a moment later. Despite his fatigue, he also makes sure to ask if everyone else is okay.

"They're fine," his mentor replies, "They all wanted to come see you, but they're restricting the number of visitors."

"Even though we did surgery," Doctor Nishida adds, "There wasn't much skin left for us to stitch, so you still basically have an open wound. My quirk essentially lets me put a liquid bandage over wounds, but it's very delicate when it comes to bigger injuries." He nods at the Bakugous. "Ideally, it would be family only, but your mother insisted that they be allowed in too."

Inko gives a wobbly smile and Auntie Mitsuki squeezes her hand comfortingly.

"I didn't want to risk using my quirk until you got more of your strength back," Recovery Girl says, "We'll see how you're doing tomorrow and maybe I'll use it then." Izuku taps once and gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile, if only to get the heavy expression off her face. It works, and she smiles back, patting his arm soothingly. "Well, you should get some rest now. I need to get back to the lobby to update Aizawa-san and Toshinori-san. They've been waiting around all day."

She bids goodbye to Inko and leaves the room along with Doctor Nishida. Uncle Masaru and Auntie Mitsuki start to wrangle a reluctant Kacchan outside too.

"He needs to sleep now, dumbass," Auntie Mitsuki growls, shoving her son's shoulder.

Kacchan snarls and shoves back, "I'm not leaving him!"

As the two bicker back and forth, Izuku feebly taps his mother's arm. She straightens up. "Mitsuki-san! Wait…"

The two blondes pause and look over. Izuku raises his arm slightly and makes a grabby motion with his hand. He wants to call out, but he can't, so instead he pleads for Kacchan with his eyes.

A second later, his friend is right by his side. "Zuku…"

Izuku grabs his hand. It's broad and calloused and a lot warmer than his, but Kacchan always seems to be warmer than him thanks to his quirk. It feels nice now, though. Izuku blinks up at his friend and smiles tiredly.

Kacchan stares down at him with an indescribable expression. Red eyes roam over his face, then trail down to his bandaged neck, then his forearms littered with a multitude of tubes. His whole body shudders as he inhales sharply and squeezes his eyes shut, brow furrowing. His hand clutches Izuku's tightly.

Exhaling shakily, he lets out a broken whisper of, "I'm sorry."

Even if Izuku could talk right now, he isn't sure he would know what to say. He doesn't know if anything he says could make Kacchan feel any better. But he rubs his thumb over the other boy's knuckles anyway, trying to get his attention. Red eyes open again and their gazes meet.

'It's okay,' Izuku tries to say with his eyes, 'It's okay, please don't cry…'

He should know by now that Kacchan is a terrible listener.

Tears splash onto their clasped hands. Kacchan shuts his eyes again, breath hitching, but the tears still come. Izuku just continues to rub his knuckles with his thumb, sadly watching as his best friend, the strongest, most determined person he knows, cries over him. Their parents watch silently, patiently waiting for Kacchan to finish grieving.

When they do finally leave, Izuku falls asleep with his friend's tears still on his skin.

Katsuki is numb the entire car ride back.

He stares unseeingly out the window at the dark streets passing by, his cheeks sticky with dried tears. Neither of his parents say a single word, casting concerned glances his way every few minutes. He keeps his eyes locked on some invisible horizon, focusing on the way the city blurs in order to ignore the deep crack in his chest that lies thinly veiled by the delicate numbness that has settled over it. He focuses on the numbness and doesn't let himself stray any further, doesn't let himself touch that deep, agonizing crack, because if he does he'll-

He'll-

Katsuki blinks, and then they're pulling up in his driveway in front of his house. He immediately gets out of the car and marches right up to the doorstep, fishing his own key out of his pocket to let himself in and ignoring his mother's sharp bark behind him. As soon as he's inside, he goes straight to his room, slams the door behind him, and- and- and-

The silence that presses down on him is stifling. His room stares back at him, quiet and still and dark. He hasn't turned on his lights yet. The only thing illuminating his room is the glow-in-the-dark stars he and Zuku painted and stuck up on his ceiling when they were kids.

The crack in his chest grows bigger, and Katsuki finds he suddenly can't quite breathe well.

He turns on the light.

Zuku is alright, he tells himself. Zuku is okay. Zuku is going to be okay, that's what Recovery Girl said. He saw him with his own eyes, he's awake, he's alive, he's breathing-

'He's in pain,' a louder voice says. Even though he tried not to show it, Katsuki could see in his eyes that he was in so much pain and it's all his fault.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Katsuki brings his clenched fist up to his mouth and grits his teeth so hard it hurts. His eyes burn and his throat is so tight it feels like he can't breathe and it makes him want to simultaneously scream and wreck everything in his room until he feels better, and break down sobbing uncontrollably like a little bitch. He gasps, but there's not enough air and- fuck that, he tries again. He gasps again, over and over, chest heaving wildly, but his lungs feel too tight and his head is spinning and fuck why isn't there any air in his room?! His heartbeat is rabbiting and he's drenched in cold sweat like he just ran a mile except that doesn't make sense, he hasn't done anything, he- fuck- he needs to do something-

With a jolt, Katsuki lurches forward and takes a couple of stumbling steps before abruptly stopping in the middle of his room. Stop- What the fuck is he doing? Where is he even going? God- fuck, why can't he breathe?

Panting heavily, Katsuki clutches at his chest as his mind spins, growing dizzier and dizzier by the second. Just then, something catches his eye. There, on its usual spot on his desk- a book. A cookbook, the one made up entirely of the spiciest recipes known to man, the one Zuku gave him for his thirteenth birthday because he knew he would love it, because he knew he would spend the next few weeks trying out every single recipe and perfecting the ones he liked best before forcing Zuku to try them even though he hates spicy food, but he'd smile through the burning pain in his mouth anyway because all he wanted to do was make Katsuki happy.

Katsuki's breath hitches and he stumbles back a step, looking up. His eyes land on an old All Might poster taped above his desk. Zuku has the same one too above his own desk. He knows that. They'd bought a matching set together at a nearby fair when they were nine. His throat tightens.

His room seems to close in around him. How the hell did he not notice this before? Katsuki jerks back, whips around, and flinches when he spots one of Zuku's sweaters lying on top of his dresser. He must've forgotten it at some point- the two boys are at each others' houses so often, leaving clothes is no big deal, Katsuki's pretty sure this sweater has even been here for some time now, but- fuck.

A small, desperate noise escapes the back of his throat as he stumbles backwards, head spinning and on the brink of hyperventilation. As he stands trembling in the middle of his own room, all he can see is Zuku.

He feels like he's dying.

With a final, wheezing gasp, he collapses to his knees, quivering uncontrollably as he struggles to fill his lungs with oxygen. Panic and confusion swirls in his brain and his chest is burning, but so are his eyes. The lack of air has nothing to do with the sudden blurriness in his vision, and another high-pitched, broken noise escapes his lips as fat, wet tears drip onto the carpet below him. He brings a hand to his mouth, desperately trying to muffle the pathetic cries, but all he does is make it even harder for him to breathe. Dizzy and weak, he lets himself slump forward until his forehead touches the ground. Curled in on himself, he just focuses on struggling to breathe, his loud gasping and muffled sobs filling the heavy silence in the room.

His phone buzzes in his pocket.

Both the noise and the sensation are jarring, causing Katsuki to flinch hard. Breath hitching, he blinks and fumbles around in his pocket for a moment before taking his phone out.

(Kirishima 7:35PM)-Hey bro… I just wanted to check in, see if ur doing ok. U haven't really said anything since… u know. Just letting u know I'm here to talk, if u ever need. And I'm also texting to ask if there are any updates on Midoriya-kun? I figured if anyone were to know, it'd be u.

Katsuki stares at the screen, still breathing heavily. His phone trembles slightly in his hand.

Shitty Hair. Katsuki hasn't spoken to him or any of the others since the accident. They haven't been told where the hospital is- Principal Nedzu and the heroes have been strict about security around the place since Zuku is too unstable to be moved to a private hospital. Katsuki's lucky he's even allowed to visit him. He doubts anyone has bothered to give them much information on Zuku's condition. They must be going out of their mind with worry.

He should tell them.

Something clicks in his mind, and before he even realizes it, he's opening up class 1-A's group chat. He never uses it, he's only in it because Zuku gave Four-Eyes his number when the bastard felt the need to make the stupid group chat, and he keeps it on silent practically all of the time, but he opens it up now because something in his brain acknowledges it simply as something to do. His fingers tremble violently as he types out a quick message, just letting everyone know that Zuku's fine, that he's awake, and that Recovery Girl said he's going to make a full recovery. He doesn't bother going into too much detail, and just typing out a short message is difficult enough with the way his hands are shaking, but after the third time of deleting and re-typing the last sentence he manages to send it out. Almost immediately, he begins getting a flood of messages from his classmates, some exclaiming in joy, some asking for more details, but he barely reads them. Instead, he turns off his phone and lets out a shaky breath, biting his lip as he lets his forehead fall to the ground once more.

His breathing is still laboured, his chest is still too tight, but it's a hair's breadth better than it was before. He's afraid- 'afraid!', a harsh, bitter voice barks in the back of his head- that if he looks up, if he sees Zuku's stars above him, if he sees Zuku all around him again, that it will be bad again. That he'll break a lot worse than before. Because he's weak, he's pathetic, he's curled up on the floor of his room crying like a fucking baby because he can't handle the fact that his best friend got hurt and his all his fucking fault oh God it's all his fucking fault how the hell is he supposed to handle that-?

His phone buzzes again. Katsuki flinches again.

But his phone doesn't buzz just once. It's long and repetitive, and it takes Katsuki's mind a moment to catch up and realize that someone is calling him. Frowning, he grabs his phone and stares in bewilderment at the screen.

IcyHot is calling him.

What the fuck?

Since when does he have IcyHot's number? Oh- well, the group chat, he supposes that makes sense, but since when does IcyHot ever call him? They're not exactly friends- far from it.

Confusion has momentarily sliced through his panic, dulling it ever so slightly and making just enough room for an inkling of curiosity. Without pausing for much thought, Katsuki presses the answer button and lifts the phone to his ear.

"Hey," IcyHot says immediately.

"Hey," Katsuki grunts back warily, voice rough and thick from his crying. He resists the urge to clear his throat.

"Are you okay?" IcyHot asks.

Katsuki's face twists into a scowl. What the hell is he asking that for?

"The fuck do you mean am I okay?" He barks harshly.

There's a brief pause, then IcyHot says, "I just thought… after everything that's happened you might… not be."

There's something in his voice that Katsuki can't quite decipher. The confusion grows. Todoroki's voice is hardly ever anything but monotonous. The last time he heard otherwise was back when…

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What is it all for? Who is it all for?"

"ZUKU!"

Katsuki grits his teeth. Right. That happened.

He doesn't respond.

Silence fills the room, pressing down on his ears, only interrupted by his still-ragged breathing. He can faintly hear IcyHot breathing through the phone, but the other boy doesn't say anything. Defensiveness has his hackles raising, but frustration makes his throat tighten. What the hell does this fucker want? He poured out his insecurities like a fucking idiot for the other to hear and now he's come to- what, rub salt in the wound now that Katsuki's failed yet again, now that Zuku- Zuku-

"Zuku's fine," he bites out.

"I didn't ask about Midoriya," IcyHot responds.

Impatient, Katsuki snaps, "The fuck do you want, IcyHot?!"

"This isn't on you, Bakugou," IcyHot replies immediately, "None of this is your fault."

Katsuki lets out an incredulous, harsh bark of laughter that's completely devoid of humor. He can't believe what he's hearing! "Not my fault? Not my fault? That motherfucker, that villain, got him while he was with me! It is entirely my fault!" He shouts, ignoring the way the edges of his eyes prick.

"Do you blame Kirishima?" IcyHot asks quietly.

"What?"

"Kirishima was also there when it happened," the other boy says, "Do you blame him for Midoriya's injuries too?"

"What the fuck?" Katsuki splutters, taken aback, "No- fuck you, Shitty Hair's not-" He growls in frustration, giving his head a rough shake. "I told you before, you fucker, I'm his protector. I've been watching out for him for over ten fucking years, I should've known better, I should've been keeping an eye on him, I should've-"

"There are things you could've done that could've lead to even worse outcomes," IcyHot interrupts in an even tone, "Shigaraki infiltrated Japan's most prestigious hero school and attacked an entire class in broad daylight, do you really think a couple of hero students would have dissuaded him from trying to kidnap Midoriya?"

"I would've blown his ass to bits-" Katsuki growls, but IcyHot is right on his heels with a rebuttal.

"-And Midoriya still could have gotten hurt in the process," he says, then Katsuki hears a soft, almost frustrated sigh through the phone, "Look, what I'm saying is- we can't focus on what we did in the past, we just have to focus on what we can do better in the future."

"You have that written down or some shit?" Katsuki snips. It's a lame retort and they both know it.

IcyHot doesn't even acknowledge that he said anything and continues on, "So stop doing this to yourself. Midoriya wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this. You know he wouldn't." His voice sounds firm and oddly chastising. It's so strange to hear it coming from him of all people, and it makes something stir in Katsuki's chest. "You know who he probably is blaming, just like everyone else is? Shigaraki, the one who actually hurt him. So stop making yourself the villain here because feeling guilty won't get you anywhere, and Midoriya needs all of us, especially you, to be strong for him right now. I watch you strive to do that for him every single goddamn day, so don't you dare stop now. Alright?"

Katsuki's throat is even tighter than it was before, and the deep ache in his chest is back with a vengeance. For some stupid reason his eyes are stinging again and he doesn't know why but he blames it on IcyHot anyway. They accidentally land on Zuku's sweater lying on his dresser and he sucks in a ragged breath, then reaches up to slap his hand over his mouth so IcyHot won't hear.

"Bakugou?" IcyHot's voice questions through the phone.

Irritation sparks in his heart and he grits his teeth. Fuck this. Fuck this. What the hell is he doing? Fucking crying like a little bitch, being so fucking pathetic that IcyHot of all people feels the need to call him to cheer him up? Fuck that! When the hell did he become so pathetic? IcyHot's right- and fuck isnt that the worst thing ever- Katsuki doesn't have time to mope around in a pit of self-pity, he needs to get off his ass and be strong for Zuku, now more than ever!

Straightening up, Katsuki angrily wipes away the drying tears around his eyes. "Fuck you, who said I was stopping?" He snaps, mentally cursing when his voice cracks, "I'm fucking fine!"

"Good," IcyHot says, "That's all I wanted to hear."

Katsuki scoffs, "Great."

A long silence stretches between them. Since IcyHot has clearly finished saying what he wanted to say, Katsuki is about to hang up without bidding him goodbye- because they're not friends- but IcyHot's voice stops him before he can hit the end call button.

"And Bakugou?"

Katsuki grunts.

"How is Midoriya? Really? You… didn't give much detail…"

That makes Katsuki pause. He knows Zuku has some sort of little crush on IcyHot, and considering some of the signs he's seen, he knows it goes both ways. He hasn't really given it much thought aside from finding mild amusement at how they act like blushing schoolgirls around each other since they're both oblivious idiots that have equal levels of stupidity. Of course it's not something that he takes too seriously because he knows Zuku, and he knows that Zuku is soft and friendly and easily flattered, so of course he would be distracted by something as stupid as a crush.

But as he listens to IcyHot's voice, something about it makes him wonder if maybe, just maybe, it runs a little bit deeper than a crush on his end.

His lips press into a thin line.

"Zuku's fine," he says flatly, then hangs up.

Letting his hand drop to his side, he takes a deep breath and then exhales. It's long and still shaky, but his chest doesn't feel so tight anymore, and his head isn't spinning. Whatever the hell happened, whatever indescribable panic that was in his head is gone now, leaving only dry tears on his cheeks and a deep weariness in his bones.

Sighing, he rubs his face with his fingers until the stickiness is gone and looks up. Zuku is still everywhere around him, but instead of his chest tightening until he can't breathe, his heart just aches with longing. His eyes fall on Zuku's sweater once more.

Fuck it.

The sweater is too small for him to wear, but that doesn't stop him from grabbing it anyways, slapping the lights off, and marching over to his bed. Under the faint glow of Zuku's stars, Katsuki lies under his covers with the sweater clutched against his chest, breathing in his friend's faint scent and falling asleep with the memory of being curled up with a warm body in his embrace.

Izuku manages to sleep through the night thanks to the drugs, but when he wakes up, the light in his room is dim. It must be early morning, then. Inko is still asleep, looking rather uncomfortable in her chair. Izuku can't see a clock without turning his head, but thankfully his phone is still on his bed. When he turns it on, the time reads 5:53AM.

He sighs and lets his hand fall, instead choosing to stare up at the ceiling. The pain medications must be starting to wear off because his head isn't so foggy anymore, but his throat is aching terribly. He doesn't dare try and speak again. For a while, he tries to go back to sleep, but when that proves to be a fruitless endeavor, he goes back to his phone.

Class 1-A has a group chat. That's the one with the most unread messages, so he checks it first. A lot of the earlier messages are just his classmates' confusion and panic, especially when the mall got evacuated, but the more recent ones are well-wishes to him. Kacchan apparently updated them all on his condition after he left yesterday, so that at least seems to have eased the worst of their panic. He types out a quick thank you, not expecting a response since it's so early in the morning, before checking his other messages. Mirio, Tamaki, Nejire, Shinsou, even Haru- Izuku isn't sure how they found out, but he makes sure to send them all a message letting them know that he's okay.

His eyes land on All Might's name. He hesitates. The man probably isn't even awake, but if he is…

(Midoriya 6:15AM)-Hi

Izuku doesn't expect a response so quickly.

(Toshinori 6:17AM)-Young Midoriya! What are you doing awake so early? You should be resting!

(Midoriya 6:18AM)-So should u.

The three-dotted bubble appears for a few seconds, then vanishes. After a long moment, it reappears.

(Toshinori 6:20AM)-I haven't slept too well these past few nights.

(Toshinori 6:21AM)-Chiyo-san told us what happened yesterday What you said…

Izuku swallows, instantly regretting it when his throat protests.

(Midoriya 6:22AM)-All Might?

(Toshinori 6:22AM)-Yes, Young Midoriya?

(Midoriya 6:22AM)-Shigaraki's sensei is All For One.

(Toshinori 6:23AM)-I know.

Nothing comes after that. The typing bubble appears and disappears a few times, but still nothing. Izuku stares blankly up at the ceiling again. He feels… he feels… he doesn't know. Lost. Confused. But mostly scared. Yeah, he's really scared.

(Midoriya 6:27AM)-What happens now?

(Toshinori 6:28AM)-We're going to have a meeting today.

(Toshinori 6:29AM)-Me, Tsukauchi-kun, Nedzu-san, and Chiyo-san. We're all going to meet with you and your mother to discuss things further.

(Midoriya 6:30AM)-Oh.

(Midoriya 6:30AM)-I'm glad I get to see u.

(Toshinori 6:32AM)-I've already visited, actually. I met your mother too. She's very kind. I haven't been able to stay for very long, though. You were rushed to the nearest hospital after the attack, but you were too unstable to move to a more secure location, so we've been having pro heroes patrolling constantly.

(Midoriya 6:32AM)-Really?

(Toshinori 6:34AM)-Yup. Aizawa-kun and Present Mic were here not long ago. Vlad King is probably patrolling in the hallway right outside your room. The heroes in the area are on high alert. I think I even saw Hawks flying around.

(Midoriya 6:34AM)-No way.

(Toshinori 6:35AM)-Yes way.

(Midoriya 6:35AM)-Ur lying.

(Toshinori 6:35AM)-I am a man of my word.

(Midoriya 6:36AM)-But his hero agency is in Kyushu- that's so far away!

(Toshinori 6:36AM)-He is very fast.

Izuku lets out a soundless, airy laugh. It's more of a huff than anything. Regardless, he smiles down at his phone fondly. He's pretty sure All Might is just messing with him to make him feel better. Still, all these heroes patrolling the hospital just to keep him safe? He feels both flattered and guilty.

(Midoriya 6:37AM)-Where r u, then?

(Toshinori 6:37AM)-I'm keeping an eye on the lobby.

(Toshinori 6:38AM)-Your friend Bakugou keeps popping up out of nowhere, both with and without his mother. I have told him many times that visiting hours are limited, and yet he still appears seemingly out of thin air.

(Toshinori 6:38AM)- He is very persistent. You have good friends.

(Midoriya 6:38AM)-I miss them.

(Toshinori 6:39AM)-You'll see them soon.

(Toshinori 6:39AM)-You should go back to sleep now, though. We'll be meeting you at noon.

Izuku's a bit disheartened, but reluctantly agrees. There's still no new messages in the class group chat, so he spends the next few minutes scrolling through his social media. Surprisingly, he's one of the top stories. With the popularity the League of Villains got after USJ and Hosu, plus Izuku's very public introduction as UA's new healer-in-training during the Sports Festival, not to mention the numerous witnesses there were to the attack, he supposes he shouldn't be so surprised that the incident at the mall made the news. There's an outcry of shock and concern for not only him, but other healers too.

Izuku sighs and puts down his phone. He doesn't want to think about public or social repercussions from this. For once, he's happy to leave that to the heroes.

He doesn't expect to, but he ends up sleeping for a few more hours. Inko is the one to wake him up, gently telling him that he needs to try eating some breakfast. That is an ordeal of its own. The nurses give him more pain meds, but his throat still protests painfully whenever he swallows. It's a struggle just to keep himself from choking. His esophagus wasn't damaged at all, but it's like the muscles in his throat are just refusing to cooperate with him. After managing a few sips of his breakfast smoothie- and if liquid hurts this much, he can't imagine what eating solid food will be like- he stops. Inko looks like she wants to protest, but the nurse tells her to let him take it slow.

Things are kind of quiet for around half an hour after that. Now that his classmates are awake, they practically spam him with condolences and apologies for not being there for him. He brushes them off, not wanting to sound dismissive but not wanting to cause any more worry on his behalf. If he's being entirely honest, he kind of downplays his injuries, carefully not mentioning anything about his current inability to speak. A few of his friends try calling him, including Todoroki, but he makes up some excuse about not being allowed to talk on his phone. He just does his best to reassure them all through their group chat, promising to be back on his feet in no time.

Doctor Nishida and Recovery Girl soon return to check up on him. They check his vitals, change his bandages- which hurts- and ask how he's feeling. Fine, he supposes, but still pretty tired. That's normal, they tell him, just his body focusing on healing itself.

"I would like to keep you here for another night just to monitor you," Doctor Nishida says to both Izuku and his mother, "But we've done all we can through surgery. Now all there's left to do is rest until you're completely healed. Recovery Girl." He looks at the older woman. "He seems to have enough strength now for you to use your quirk."

Recovery Girl nods. "I agree. However, once I use it, he'll no doubt be sleeping for the rest of the day, and there's a couple of things we need to discuss beforehand."

"Ah, yes," Doctor Nishida says, "I'll leave you to that then."

He bids Izuku goodbye and walks out of the room. There's some brief muttering outside in the hallway, then Detective Tsukauchi, Principal Nedzu, and All Might (in his normal form) enter. Inko immediately straightens up and Izuku tries to as well, but he ends up needing Recovery Girl's help and a few extra pillows to sit him up in the bed.

Izuku isn't sure what to expect. Principal Nedzu will probably start by politely apologizing to his mother, who will probably be confused about All Might's presence, who will probably focus more on Izuku than on the matter at hand. But none of that happens. Inko actually already seems to be familiar with the three other adults- which he guesses makes sense. Principal Nedzu probably spoke with his mother during his day-and-a-half of unconsciousness. Detective Tsukauchi too, seeing as Izuku is a victim of a villain attack. All Might he isn't too sure about, but Inko doesn't look at him too oddly, so she's probably still under the guise that he's one of Recovery Girl's colleagues.

So they get right into discussing the future. Since it's now clear that the League of Villains is after him, the obvious solution would be to implement some sort of protection plan. Tsukauchi begins by suggesting that there be 24/7 protection around their home enforced by both police and local heroes, as well as an updated security system in their house. A bolt of panic hits Izuku at this, and for a moment he's scared that this means he won't be able to go to UA anymore, but Nedzu quickly eases his fears. The principal already had a couple of underground heroes loosely keeping an eye on him on his way home after All Might told him about Shigaraki's interest, but now he'll be having more secure protection. Whenever he's travelling between UA and home, a couple of heroes, which may include his teachers, will be shadowing him.

"Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about someone attacking him then," All Might says, "I never see him leave the school alone, and I have no doubt that he'll have a large group of friends wanting to walk him home after school once he's recovered."

It seems to reassure Inko a bit. However, this also means that, for the sake of his safety, they advise him not to leave his house or UA for any reasons other than travelling. Which means no more shopping trips, no more long runs in the park- not that he's had much time for those lately anyway. Still, his sudden lack of freedom leaves a bitter taste in the back of his mouth. He's a fifteen year-old boy! He should be able to go hang out at the mall with his friends without having to worry about being kidnapped or turned to dust by villains!

If the adults take any notice of his displeasure, they don't mention it. All they're focused on is how they're going to keep him safe- which he's grateful for, of course. But he can't help but think back to some of his earlier anxieties, the ones that whisper in the back of his mind that they're only doing this because of his quirk. All Might is only nice to him because he needs his quirk. Shigaraki tried to take him for his quirk. The heroes are only protecting him now because of his quirk. That just because he was born with the power to heal, that that turns him into something desirable, something that needs to be protected, but it has nothing to actually do with him and who he is as a person.

Everything's just too overwhelming right now. The adults are still talking, still working out the logistics, but Izuku has long since stopped paying attention. It's hard to do so when his mind is starting to get foggy again from the pain meds. He's tired and upset and he doesn't want to think about this anymore, he just wants to go back to sleep. Preferably forever, although he feels bad for thinking that the second after he thinks it.

Finally, Recovery Girl notices his fatigue.

"If that's all," she says, interrupting Principal Nedzu, "Then I think it's time we left Midoriya-kun alone to rest."

Tsukauchi's eyes widen, straightening up. "Right! Of course! My apologies, Midoriya-kun. You're probably really tired still. I'll get out of your hair now." He nods at Inko. "Principal Nedzu-san and I will work on getting this set up as quickly as possible. There shouldn't be any problems, but I'll call you just in case. You have my number, right?"

As they stand up to leave, Principal Nedzu waddles over to the side of Izuku's bed. A furry paw slides over his hand.

"I didn't get the chance to earlier, but I'd like to formally apologize for what has happened to you, Midoriya-kun," the principal says, voice soft, "I know this may all seem very overwhelming and frightening, and you've gone through so much more suffering than any student of UA ever should, but you have been incredibly brave."

Izuku blinks tiredly. Brave? He doesn't feel very brave.

"And even though you're training to be a healer," Nedzu continues, "You acted as a true hero that day. I'm very proud of you."

The confusion must show on his face because Tsukauchi steps forward too.

"What he's trying to say is you did the right thing," he says, "You stayed calm and didn't panic in the face of a villain. You were smart enough to analyze the situation and keep Shigaraki talking, even though your instincts were probably telling you to either run or fight. Of course, that fact that you got so severely injured is terrible and you should never have been put into a situation like that, but compared to what could have happened? The Kiyashi Ward was packed that day. If Shigaraki had gone on a rampage, I can't imagine how many casualties there would have been."

Izuku stares wide-eyed at the detective as he gently places a hand on his leg, gazing at him earnestly. "You knowingly sacrificed yourself to save others." He smiles. "I'd say that makes you a hero in my eyes, at least."

"Mine too," All Might says and Principal Nedzu agrees.

Izuku slowly glances between them, his sluggish mind struggling to process. Him? A hero? He wasn't trying to be one. He was just desperately trying to think of a way to get out of that horrible situation without him or anyone else dying. It didn't feel heroic at all. It was terrifying.

He wants to tell them that, but he can't, so instead he just nods mutely.

They smile and leave after bidding him and his mother goodbye. Izuku kind of wishes he could have talked to All Might a bit more and preferably in private, but that would be kind of difficult with the way Inko is constantly hovering over him, so he supposes he'll have to settle for texting for now.

Recovery Girl helps him lie back and get settled more comfortably, since using her quirk will no doubt make him fall asleep. For a few moments, though, she simply gazes at him with a solemn expression. He blinks curiously.

Finally, she sighs and leans over. "I know it was the right thing to do," she murmurs as she kisses his forehead, "But please don't make self-sacrifice a habit of yours. My old heart can't take it."

He only has time to feel a flash of guilt before he falls unconscious once more.

It's the middle of the night when the wave finally comes crashing down on him.

Despite being nearly three days late, the panic and fear that overwhelms and threatens to drown him is no less fresh. At least this time, thanks to Tamaki, he knows that this is a panic attack. Unlike last time, however, this panic attack is nearly completely silent.

It's not to say that he doesn't sob uncontrollably, because he most certainly does, but his sobs are noiseless, nothing more than breathless pants and wheezes that tear their way out of his lungs as tears pour down his face. He whimpers and cries but there's no sound to it, just the raspy wheezing of air rapidly filling and expelling from his lungs. It feels… incomplete, unsatisfying to cry without sound.

At least there's still a chest for him to sob into. He isn't even sure whose it is- too broad to be his mother's, but there's no way Tamaki could be here with him. It doesn't matter, though. The physical comfort of being pressed against a body, of having a strong arm wrapped tightly around his back, is enough of an anchor for him to focus on, something that he can follow back to the real world.

It takes a while, but eventually he manages to stop choking on perfectly good oxygen. Sniffling, he keeps his face buried into whoever's shoulder he's crying on and struggles to calm his racing heart. A hand gently scratches the back of his head.

"Midoriya-kun?" A low, familiar voice rumbles.

Blinking in surprise, Izuku pulls away. The room is dark, but there's a dim light coming from an old lamp on his nightstand, illuminating the face of Aizawa. The man is sitting on his bed in front of him, gazing at him with thinly-veiled concern in his eyes.

"You alright, kid?" Aizawa asks quietly.

Izuku sniffles again and nods rapidly, suddenly feeling extremely embarrassed. He can't believe he just cried all over his teacher!

As if reading his thoughts, Aizawa shakes his head. "It's fine, kid, relax. You're allowed to cry, especially considering what happened." He reaches over and grabs a tissue for him from the nightstand. Izuku takes it gratefully, feeling a little self-conscious blowing his nose right in front of his teacher. He shoots a curious glance at the empty chair Inko was sitting in.

"I managed to convince her to go home and get some sleep," Aizawa says in way of explanation. He puts a hand on Izuku's chest, gently pushing. "You should lie back down. Don't strain yourself."

Izuku obediently settles back into the pillows, even though he doesn't feel that tired. For once he doesn't feel groggy at all and the fuzziness is gone from his mind. He then notices the lack of IV or any other tubes in his arms. No more pain meds. That's probably why he finally panicked now. He was having a nightmare, he remembers. He didn't have any while he was drugged up to his gills, since he was more unconscious rather than asleep, but he had one tonight. He isn't quite sure what it was about, but when he tries to recall it, all he gets is a flash of a terrifying grin and blood-red eyes before he violently shoves those thoughts away. He doesn't need to remember to know who his nightmare was about.

Without the pain meds, he's more aware of the horrible ache in his throat. His crying must've aggravated it, because even swallowing sends a spike of discomfort through his muscles. He misses the numbness. Why did they stop giving him-?

Wait a minute.

His eyes widen.

Recovery Girl used her quirk on him! She healed him, but- but- why can't he talk?

He reaches up to feel his neck, carefully poking at tender but ultimately pain-free muscles. Aizawa immediately pulls his hand away. "Don't-"

Why? Why?! Why not- Why can't he-

Izuku bolts into a sitting position again, desperately trying to ask Aizawa what's wrong, but all that escapes his lips is a raspy wheeze. Aizawa claps his large hand over his mouth, forcing him to stop.

"No! No, kid, don't talk. Stop," Aizawa says in a firm tone, "You're going to hurt yourself."

Izuku clutches at the man's wrists, tears stinging his eyes. He doesn't understand! He should be okay now, right? Why isn't he better? Is this going to be permanent?!

"Midoriya-kun! Calm down!" Aizawa orders, his voice loud and cutting in the thick silence of the night. "It's going to take a while before your voice is back to normal. The doctors said there's scarring on part of your vocal chords, but they said that with speech therapy you're going to get better, okay? You'll be fine."

Izuku's scrambled mind struggles to process Aizawa's words. His throat feels numb and heavy and paralyzed and it scares him. He clings to Aizawa's wrist like a lifeline, sniffling and gasping quietly as the tears return.

Aizawa appears frustrated for a moment, then turns and starts looking for something at the end of his bed. His hand pulls away from Izuku's mouth, leaving the boy's fingers grasping for empty air. Thankfully, Aizawa returns a few seconds later, pushing something into his hands.

"Here," he says, gesturing to the medical folder, "You understand this stuff a lot better than I do." He opens the folder and points at a couple of pictures. "See? It's an x-ray of your throat."

No it's not. It's obviously an image from a laryngoscopy. The fact that Aizawa even thought it was an x-ray is so absurd that it startles a wet snort out of Izuku.

Aizawa briefly looks bewildered by his reaction, then glances back down at the folder. "They took it after Recovery Girl used her quirk so they could see how much scarring there is. Er, they said it's only on the, uh, front part?" It comes out sounding like a question. Aizawa looks so uncharacteristically out of his depth here that it makes Izuku momentarily forget his panic, instead letting out a little amused wheeze.

He looks down at the folder through teary eyes. Just like when he was saving Kendou, or when he was analyzing which veins and arteries Shigaraki's quirk would affect and how long he would have before he bled out- it's always easier to think of these things from a medical perspective. It's logical, there's no scary emotions here, just straight facts. His rattled mind slowly eases out as he reads his file.

Unsurprisingly, most of the muscles along the column of his throat where Shigaraki's fingers were resting were severely damaged, as well as where his thumb lay. Thanks to the reparative surgery, however, that's mostly just scar tissue at this point. Actually, it seems like his whole throat is made up of scar tissue now. There was minor damage to his trachea and larynx, which is no doubt why he had so much trouble speaking and breathing after the attack. When he looks at the pictures from his laryngoscopy, he can see the severe scarring on one side of his vocal chords. Key word: one.

He feels almost dizzy with relief. In the back of his mind, he wonders if the damage to his larynx came from Shigaraki's pointer finger. The placement seems right, now that he thinks about it. If that finger had been any higher…

No, don't think about that. This… this can be fixed. He just needs what Aizawa told him, time and speech therapy. Right now, one side of his vocal chords doesn't have the strength to properly rub against the other side which is why he can't make a sound, but that can be fixed. Muscles can be trained, and scar tissue can fade over time.

He'll… he'll be okay…

Sniffling, he looks up and gives Aizawa a wobbly smile. The man lets out a sigh of relief.

"See, I knew you would understand this stuff better than I did," he huffs, shifting over so he can sit beside him. He arches a brow, eyeing the file quizzically. "What the hell is a sternocleidomastoid muscle anyway?" He stumbles over the long word clumsily, and probably on purpose, but it makes Izuku smile anyway.

He lets out a long, shaky exhale just to stabilize the rest of his nerves before grabbing his phone from the nightstand. He types out his response, "It's the big muscle that helps your head turn." Reaching up, he turns Aizawa's chin with a finger, then taps said muscle on his neck. Aizawa grunts and Izuku points back at one of the pictures in the folder, typing, "The external jugular vein lays on top of it, so mine got partially destroyed, but my sternocleidomastoid muscle protected my internal jugular vein as well as my carotid artery from being damaged."

"Oh," Aizawa bluntly says after he reads. "That would have been bad."

Izuku nods- and that doesn't hurt so much anymore thanks to his mentor's quirk- and turns back to the page with the pictures from his laryngoscopy. "Also, that's not an x-ray, that's a laryngoscopy." He looks up at Aizawa, who blinks slowly in return. "They put a camera in my throat."

"Oh," Aizawa says again, "Fun."

It's clear that he doesn't really understand the medical mumbo jumbo in the folder, so Izuku takes pity on him and sets it down on the nightstand. Aizawa watches him silently for a moment. He hasn't moved from where he's sitting next to Izuku. This bed is really only made for one person, so he's kind of taking up a lot of space. Thankfully, though, Izuku is on the smaller side, so he's able to squeeze next to the man as he settles back down against his pillows.

Neither of them say anything for a few minutes. A silence that's neither comfortable nor uncomfortable fills the air, only interrupted by the occasional noise from the hallway. Izuku isn't quite sure what to do with himself. If he wasn't so tired, he might be more flustered about being pressed so close to his teacher and personal hero. But now he just… waits for something to happen.

Aizawa's arm shifts. Izuku doesn't realize what's happening until it wraps around him and pulls him closer to the man's side. Confused, he glances up, but Aizawa isn't looking at him. His mouth is pressed in a flat line.

"I suppose there isn't much of a point in me asking how you are." The greenette can feel his low voice rumbling in his chest next to his ear. He blinks, processes, then slowly shakes his head.

He isn't sure how he would reply if Aizawa did ask that question. It's not like he can say that he's fine. The panic attack he just had would say otherwise. Besides, just because he's going to be fine doesn't mean that he's fine right now.

Izuku sniffles and, after a moment, hesitantly snuggles a bit deeper into Aizawa's side. A villain put him in a hospital. He doesn't have to be fine.

Another long pause.

Then,

"I know you probably don't want to hear this," Aizawa grunts, "But I'm going to say it anyway. I'm sorry."

Izuku frowns. Then wiggles his arm free and types in his phone, "I don't understand why people keep apologizing. It's no one's fault but Shigaraki's."

Aizawa reads, is silent for a moment, then huffs, "All heroes have a guilt complex. It's basically part of the job description."

Izuku slowly turns his head up, ignoring the uncomfortable pulling sensation in his neck, and gives Aizawa a very unimpressed look.

"Don't look at me like that, brat."

A hand on his face pushes his head back down.

Aizawa heaves a heavy sigh, and Izuku's head moves with his chest. "I'm just saying," he continues, "I'm sorry that this happened to you. And I'm sorry that I wasn't there to protect you."

Izuku wishes he could make a grumbly noise. "Not your job."

"It is my job," Aizawa says, firmly enough to make Izuku hesitate. "It is. Both as a hero and your teacher, I should have been able to keep you safe."

"But we were outside of school."

"Doesn't matter."

"Isn't it illogical to feel guilty about something you had no control over?"

"Remember what I just said about heroes and guilt complexes, kid?"

Izuku rolls his eyes and huffs, cheek squished against Aizawa's chest. After another pause, he types, "I'm sorry. "

"For what?" Aizawa asks.

"For making everyone worry. They were really freaking out. I feel bad." He clicks on the messaging app and scrolls up in the group chat, showing him the panicked messages from his classmates a couple of days ago. Aizawa pushes his phone down.

"Kid, quit worrying about everyone else for once," he grunts, then adds, "Isn't it illogical to feel guilty about something you had no control over?"

Izuku wrinkles his nose childishly.

They talk for a little bit longer after that, just simple, idle conversation in the dark of the night. With his exhaustion from his panic attack and Aizawa's warmth pressed beside him, Izuku feels himself growing more and more sleepy by the minute. At one point, a large hand finds his hair and starts gently scratching. Izuku's eyes immediately flutter shut.

He's out like a light within the minute.

When Izuku wakes up again, he isn't sure what time it is. But he can hear the hushed voices of his mother and Aizawa speaking softly.

"... thinking about discharging him."

"That's good."

"I know he'll be happy. But I don't want him going back to school too soon."

"Don't worry about it. He can take the rest of the semester off. Not much happens in the last week anyway."

"..."

"There is something else we need to discuss… I don't know if he mentioned it to you yet, but-"

"The summer camp."

"... Yes."

"..."

"... I know things are kind of… uncertain, right now, but… I think he'll be safest if he comes with us. It'll be in a secure location and he'll be surrounded by pro heroes and heroes-in-training. We can have him take it easy…"

"..."

"... Midoriya-san?"

"... Izuku… I've-I've always been afraid of this happening to him. Of villains ta-taking him. This isn't even the first time one's tried…"

"..."

"... You… You've already saved his life once before, you know?… I don't even know if you remember-"

"I do. Of course I do."

"... I almost lost my baby that day. But you… you saved him. You brought him back to me. So… I trust you."

"... Ma'am-"

"So you- You keep him safe, you hear me? You promise me that you'll protect him!"

"I will. I promise."

For some reason, Izuku feels something in his chest clench.