01/04/2022
1/30/2022
02/01/2022
Sorry for the lengthy wait. It's been a busy month for me, but things are starting to settle, so hopefully I can finish the next chapter a lot sooner.
WARNING FOR POTENTIAL GRAPHIC DETAILS AND/OR VERY INTENSE SCENES - VARIES BY CHAPTER
Colored Red
2 of ?
Heart Medication
Smoke was rising from the corpse of the city, where car horns and sirens, wailing and screaming were significantly intertwining; the horrendous sounds were maximizing as the group moved closer to the nearest destruction zone that Gigantomachia trampled through. The altitude of the mountain slope nearly provided a bird's eye view of the entire city, but they could not reach it any faster. Collectively, the Heroes traveled in unorganized rhythm as they rushed to help any civilians.
Surrounding the forest team were other Pro Heroes, sidekicks, upper classmen, or students from other schools; whatever forces could be spared while the rest of the Pros fought to arrest the members of the Paranormal Liberation Front (or as many as they could). Amidst all the able bodies, Class 1-A were trying to stick together.
"Who did we lose?" Denki asked, subtly panting while resting his hand against the perforated bark of a tree. They were momentarily forced to stop, both to catch their breaths and wait for a few students that were trailing behind.
"We're waiting for Kirishima, Ashido, and Hagakure," Hanta replied as he faced the opposite direction to monitor how far away their classmates were.
The rest of them were dispersed amongst a section of forest, either standing, leaning on trees, or sitting on logs as the other heroes continued to pass them. All of them veined between irritable exhaustion and a riddling depression of denial at where they were, what had happened, and what lethalness awaited them.
Kyoka agitatedly paced with her hands shoved in her jacket pockets. When she paused and set a foot on a rotting timber, she heard Denki concernedly implement, "Oh, wait…where's Momo?" While rocking the log back and forth and smelling the strong aroma of pine, Kyoka glanced around at the mass of bare trees: It wasn't normal for Momo to wander off all alone.
As she knelt down to the forest floor, spearing one of her amps into the ground, she simultaneously heard Koji beam, "Come on! We're almost at the base of the mountain!"
He was having difficulty getting an animal to assess the distance, since all of them had fled at the sign of danger that was Gigantomachia.
"Just hang on a second, man!" Hanta remarked, glancing over his shoulder at Koji, who stood furthest down the slope with Mezo and Yuga.
Through the stampede of sound within the mountain, Kyoka was at least able to see through her ears, and located Momo standing in a part of the forest by herself. When Kyoka yanked her amp out of the dirt, she saw Eijiro, Mina, and Toru catching up – they lamely broke through the foliage and came to a halt.
Eijiro and Mina, especially, looked ascetically distraught, having just recently found Midnight's body – they all did; but, in addition, Mina had nearly been crushed in Gigantomachia's jaws as they struggled to eliminate him with an anesthetic. She had a few bandaged cuts, and was surely bruised, but refused to stay with the medics.
Tears clouding her eyes and faintly inhaling and exhaling, Mina rested her hands on her knees. Eijiro mindlessly ambled near Denki (who was resting his back against a tree with crossed arms and nervously rubbing the bottom of his shoe on the trunk). Apprehensively, Denki watched Eijiro, who had been in an on and off state of hysteria after hearing about Katsuki immediately after the incident with Midnight.
"Are you guys doing okay?" Hanta thoughtfully questioned, but neither of them responded.
Standing upright, Mina just sniffled, and rubbed one of her eyes with the back of her hand; Toru had locked elbows with her, to offer her comfort.
Eijiro slightly pivoted to the side, to somewhat face the others, but his gaze was dropped and shadowed by a frustrated scowl that was bleeding with fear and concern.
"Hey," Kyoka said as she re-approached her classmates. "I'm going to get Momo."
"Momo!?" Toru exclaimed in trepidation. "She's not here!?"
Glancing in Toru and Mina's direction, Hanta answered, "Well, we thought she was, but we just realized she wasn't with us anymore." To Kyoka, he asked, "Did you find her?"
"Yes," Kyoka replied.
"Alright, we'll wait for you," Hanta said.
Starting in Momo's direction, Kyoka heard Eijiro roughly say as she walked away, "I should've gone with Tokoyami..."
Hanta sighed with mild aggravation, "None of us could've known what was going on with the others! Tokoyami left with Hawks before we even knew anything!"
Denki, also exasperated, retorted, "You think you're the only one that's worried, Kirishima? Bakugo is my friend, too; and of course, I'm concerned about Todoroki and Midoriya as well, but we can't just leave everybody else behind."
"Yeah, I KNOW that!" Eijiro snapped.
"There's nothing we can do for the rest of our classmates while we're out here," Rikido spoke up.
" – please stop! fighting..." Mina quaintly asserted, on the verge of tears.
Their voices faded out as Kyoka entered into a denser part of the forest; she stepped over stones, and eyed moss hills that were thawing. Water pooled into trickling streams which were flanked by dead leaves, sticks, sprouting vegetation, and speckled with mushrooms. Whatever trees weren't pine, varied in the process of their blooms. It offered an escape from what was happening behind her; but, going forward was a lonesome and untouched woodland. All the adrenaline had made her rather warm, but she felt a sudden chill from the ending winter that was brisk against her bare cheeks; thankfully, her seasonal gear kept her quite comfortable.
Movement ahead of Kyoka froze her in her tracks, but she recognized by the color and the sway through the trees that it was Momo approaching.
Momo's right hand was at her side, holding onto her phone while her left arm was crossed over her chest and gripping her bicep. She stared at the harmonious scenery around her with an upset, lightheaded look until her eyes met Kyoka's when she finally stopped a yard from her. With a clenched jaw, and looking extremely anxious, Momo remained silent and wiped her brow. She was unable to say anything, and Kyoka was unsure of how to read the emotion, but she knew that it wasn't good… After a long moment of watching Momo's eyes gloss over red and her chin slightly quiver (rigidly avoiding eye-contact with Kyoka as she gathered herself), Kyoka faintly asked, "…what happened?"
Constricting her muscles and tightening her grip on her bicep, Momo dipped her head, and quietly said, "…Iida needs me to come to the hospital." A strange feeling started to well up as Kyoka unnervingly knew that this was bad; she was afraid to query when Momo's behavior was an inkling of its own. Instead, Kyoka was partially frowning and empathetically watching Momo, while reiterating in her mind what Momo had told them earlier about what happened to the rest of their classmates. "…and…and Bakugo?" she hesitantly asked, feeling uncertain of the answer. Momo couldn't speak and forcefully shook her head. Dreadfully, and suddenly feeling cold, Kyoka just stared at Momo in shock. "…he's dead…?" she asked with a small voice.
Momo shakily reached out and grabbed Kyoka's wrist. "…come here…," she unsteadily muttered, leading Kyoka through the deep forest until they rounded a large, very old tree; the trunk was thick enough to hide five people behind it. Kyoka felt her heart racing, knowing that if they were gone for too long their classmates would come searching for them. Momo faced Kyoka, who was still rather stunned with this terrible unconfirmed news until her friend continued in an emotional whisper, "Iida said that Bakugo's heart stopped before they got onto the helicopter…" Kyoka's eyes slowly widened as Momo painfully explained this to her, "They've been trying to resuscitate him…but he's been taken to surgery…so…so we don't…we don't know…"
Katsuki Bakugo flashed in Kyoka's mind.
She had no idea why she felt so upset about it; they were never close friends when they first met, but steadily and more recently they had spent a lot of time working together, which developed into some type of friendship on its own. Katsuki played a huge factor in their concert and was the only other student that had some understanding of music, so he helped Kyoka with creating their music score; and though he seemed unenthusiastic about it, he still assisted her and helped teach the other students that were part of their band, like Momo, Fumikage, and Denki (though he'd often confuse them when he started improvising with the drumming). But every day they practiced together, and every day Kyoka got to know Katsuki a little bit better. It made her realize something about him: During their first days in class together, at the start of the year, the class had found Katsuki extremely ambitious and to the point of overkill; always trying to win at anything and everything without batting an eye to work with any of them… That perspective wore thin when Kyoka saw how much work Katsuki put in for the benefit of their concert, and it was work done with care and diligence. Katsuki put in heart and soul, and that made Kyoka realize that they weren't so different after all.
One night, far past Katsuki's bedtime (which was early), she found him playing on the drum set in her room even though the lesson had been over for hours. Katsuki never liked staying up late like most of the other students, including Kyoka, so she was surprised to find him there. She had offered for him to use the set whenever he'd like, but never expected for him to take it up.
The beats of the drum screened the sound of the door cracking open, so she found him in a relaxed but concentrated state. Sometimes, in a moment like that, she considered why he actually agreed to this…and she knew, deep down, under the surface that Katsuki hated how the rest of the student body viewed Class 1-A after all the attacks, especially after the kidnapping. Some part of her, after he had initially agreed to be their drummer (on the one condition that they were to hold nothing back), she realized there was a presence of guilt.
That night, when Kyoka opened the door further, Katsuki finally spotted her and paused. Gradually, he furrowed his brow. "What?" he asked in response to the way Kyoka was watching him.
"You know…" she shyly began, "You're pretty good at this. Why'd you never want to pursue music?"
"Same reason as you," he coolly replied.
But that sparked a different question.
"Then, what made you want to become a Hero?" Kyoka asked.
"…All Might, I guess," he mumbled while collecting the drumsticks in one hand.
"Yeah, but I meant like…why…?"
"Why are you asking?"
Kyoka shrugged, and timidly eyed Katsuki's growing irritation, but because he was tired, he only stood up and lazily sighed. He placed the drumsticks back where he found them, and as he started covering the drum set with the tarp, he answered in a questionable tone, "I wanted to catch villains."
"Okay…but for what?" She knew that "winning" couldn't have been a real answer. "I mean…I guess you've mentioned that y – " Kyoka was startled when Katsuki stopped in front of her with an unreadable poker face.
"This is why I don't stay up this late," he commented sarcastically, "I don't answer questions like this at 23:43 on a Wednesday night." Katsuki walked past her, finishing with, "See you in the morning."
She turned to Katsuki's receding back. "Good night…"
…
Kyoka now blinked at Momo with glistening eyes.
They both stared at each other, fearful with the reality that while they had been recovering in this forest, Katsuki was likely to be legally dead...
No. That wasn't right.
Kyoka kept trying to push the thought away, not wanting it to be true.
But it was sinking in…
Momo's phone started ringing, and their eyes darted to the name on the screen: Hanta. She took a deep breath, and answered as calmly as she could, "Sero..."
…
"Yes, I'm with Jiro. I apologize for wandering off, but…I got a call from Iida."
…
"…No, he needs me to come to the hospital…we're heading back your way now; we'll discuss it then."
The conversation promptly ended, leaving Kyoka and Momo staring at each other in silence again, until Momo asked, "Please, don't tell them about Bakugo."
"What?!" Kyoka gapped, shocked that Momo would want to lie to their classmates.
Yet, she could only imagine how Eijiro would react…and suddenly, her heart was pounding from the angst of having to face their classmates with this knowledge that they didn't know.
"Kyoka, if we tell them, they'll get distracted. What about all the innocent civilians down in the cities?" she inquired. "What if they're suffering down there?"
Looking hurt, Kyoka sadly replied, "…yeah, but…"
"All they need to know is that Bakugo was taken into surgery," Momo said, holding onto her phone tightly. "Please, Kyoka."
"…okay…" Kyoka reluctantly, but understandingly agreed. "But…you can't return to the medics' base all alone…I'll go with you." Having lost all concentration herself, Kyoka didn't know how plausible it would be for her to be searching for civilians when her mind had been completely highjacked by Katsuki.
After a long moment of Kyoka watching the consternation on Momo's face, Momo finally said, "…we should head back."
Kyoka had never seen Momo close to crying before, but she could tell that his was very difficult for her; to hear such news, and to take the responsibility to pass it on to the other students… Platonically, Kyoka stretched an arm across Momo's back. "It's going to be okay…" she half-heartedly muttered, even though she had no idea if they'd ever see Katsuki again.
That would not be alright.
Together, as they walked, Kyoka could not escape this loop in her mind about every time she had spoken with Katsuki or was his partner in a group assignment – then, his fierceness was there at the forefront, for every time he had gone out into the field. That insane, intense drive had always been condemned by Class 1-A, but it was also their biggest ace up the sleeve when it came to fighting real villains…like at the USJ incident, when Katsuki had managed to capture the Warp Villain all by himself.
But…the biggest moment that kept rebounding into Kyoka's mind was during the Joint Training Battle, when Katsuki had unconventionally leapt between Kyoka and their opponent from Class 1-B, in order to protect her…
He was absolutely amazing.
Their entire match was flawless because of Katsuki, and it was one of the greatest memories that she had of him; and Hanta, and Rikido.
That win was one of their proudest moments together, and the highlight of their year – in Kyoka's opinion.
Though she had only known him a little less than a year, the little things that Katsuki had done went a very long way… It made Kyoka realize that she really wanted him to be there when they returned home tonight… For Katsuki to be where he was…was unbelievable. It was unreal. There was no reason for those memories to be searing her mind. But they were. Kyoka couldn't stop them…she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Timidly, Kyoka and Momo returned to the crucially worried expressions of their classmates. Kyoka was beginning to feel winded, like she was already lying when Eijiro looked at them like he was about to receive the worst news of his life. "You're going to the hospital?!" he asked with a terrified voice, knowing that that wasn't a good sign.
"Is…did something happen?" Hanta cautiously asked.
Solemnly, and barely able to look them in the eyes, Momo softly informed, "…Bakugo is in surgery." The lingering students had gathered closer. "…but it…it's not good, so Iida has asked me to come to the hospital." She glanced up, seeing their stunned looks while Kyoka remained silent and nervously entwined her fingers.
"What?!" Denki replied, pushing himself away from the tree. "Right now, he's in there?"
Momo roughly gave a single nod.
"Do you know what happened to him?" Mezo asked.
"There's…damage to his chest, the abdomen, and his shoulder…Iida said it seemed that Bakugo had been run through…"
"He was stabbed!?" Mina exclaimed in alarm, letting go from Toru.
Exchanging a glance with Mina, Momo corrected in dismay, "…I think…it was a little more serious than that…like, he was impaled all the way through…"
"…holy shit," Hanta mumbled.
" – that's horrible!" Toru expressed with concern.
Momo grimaced and nodded, "…Iida is really upset."
As she eyed Eijiro, who was staring at the ground, rubbing his hair with a bewildered look, Mezo questioned Momo again, "Did Iida see it happen?"
Still watching Eijiro, Momo answered, "…whatever happened, Iida found Bakugo afterwards…"
"…do you think he'll be okay?" Yuga asked.
Denki quietly said, "...at least, they were able to get him to the hospital."
Seriously, Momo took a breath and glanced back up at the others. "…I can't stay here and talk. I have to go…" she stated, unable to waste any more time.
"Of course!" Mezo replied, seeing Momo's urgency.
"You're going back up to the base?" Rikido asked. "It's not safe to go alone. There's still enemies out here."
"Jiro is going with me," Momo gestured to Kyoka, insinuating that her quirk would be able to get them back to the medics without trouble.
After considering the situation, Eijiro finally and aggressively blurted out, "I'm going!" – He looked desperate.
"Kirishima…" Momo tenderly addressed, respecting the rightful concern for his fallen friend.
" – YOU JUST EXPECT ME TO STAY OUT HERE LIKE LAST TIME!?" He yelled, furious, with terrible déjà vu from the events at Camp.
Mezo cautiously tried to soothe, "Kirishima…"
Kyoka nearly lost control of her emotions. Rigorously, she glanced away as a single tear trickled alongside her nose upon knowing the truth about Katsuki. Quietly, she ran her sleeve underneath her eye, trying to wipe it away.
A little fierier, Momo narrowed her eyes. A universal chill set amongst the group when she countered with, "What do you think Bakugo would say to that?" Eijiro stared at Momo, appalled that she just said that. A few jaws dropped in response to that same sentence. "Honestly, do you really think he'd be okay with all of us sitting on our hands in the hospital when there's work to be done here?" she strongly asserted, leaving Eijiro quite speechless because he knew how Katsuki would respond to that scenario. "What if somebody in that city is impaled…or burned? I know you're scared – I am too! – but that's no excuse to abandon the job that we signed on to do – Tokoyami is at the hospital… Iida is there. I'll be there. Jiro will be there. Please, just trust us to go on your behalf."
Internally struggling, Eijiro could not find the words…
He glanced over his shoulder, down the slope towards the city and back in the direction of the resort that they had come from.
"You know…he would think we were a bunch of losers," Minoru commented to Eijiro.
Eijiro scowled at Minoru. "I don't really care what Bakugo thinks! – what if he dies! while we're out here?!" he sharply remarked.
Kyoka uneasily breathed and dropped her gaze onto the ground; at the same time, Momo briefly glanced over her shoulder to check on Kyoka. What Eijiro said didn't help; it was a stab in the heart all on its own. Starkly, the group was left silent and frightened at the possibility of what Eijiro suggested. It caused guilt to quickly consume them.
Humbly, Momo turned her attention back to Eijiro and said, "…I'm not sure what'll happen…and…I won't stop you if you want to come, but you need to make a decision quickly."
Taking a moment to consider the options, Eijiro looked at Momo with grief, "…no…no, I need to go to the hospital!"
Momo shifted her eyes to the others. "The rest of you are staying here, then?" she hoped against their heinous looks, but they eventually agreed without argument.
"Just…keep us posted," Denki requested in melancholy.
"We will…we'll see you later," she bid farewell, "Stay safe."
They split up, proceeding in opposite directions as Momo, Kyoka, and Eijiro hastily bolted back up the mountain, but eighty kilometers away was Ochaco.
On the scaffolding of a partially collapsed building, she held onto a metal rod, seeing the horizon billowing with smoke. Helicopters clattered in the sky and sirens bellowed throughout the streets. The wind brushed her cheeks, carrying the overwhelming sound of panic and chaos from down below.
"Ochaco!"
The height of the building made Ochaco feel slightly dizzy upon looking at the long fall to the ground. Stuck on the side was Tsuyu, about two-thirds of the way of where Ochaco stood.
Honestly, if Ochaco had to compare the sight to anything, it reminded her of the broadcast of Kamino Ward.
"Come on! The building is clear!" Tsuyu shouted up at her apprehensively.
Earnestly, Ochaco floated her way down to the disturbed street. Tsuyu followed until they reunited with a group of Heroes and supervisors that were trying to organize the search and rescue. While instructions were being given, Ochaco and Tsuyu found Mashirao. "Nobody's answering their phones," he said anxiously since they had lost a majority of their group.
Shouto, Izuku, Katsuki, and Tenya were gone.
"Do you think something bad happened?" Tsuyu eerily suggested.
"I hope not…" Mashirao replied with a growing scowl. He crossed his arms. "I can't believe they just left like that! – like this is serious! And Bakugo and Midoriya choose to run off! Then we lose Todoroki and Iida…"
Though acknowledging Mashirao's anger, Ochaco murmured, "…I know it seemed rash, but maybe they had good reason for doing that…they only ran off after One For All was mentioned…"
Tsuyu glanced at Ochaco, theorizing, "What do you think that is? Some type of weap – "
"HEROES! – Everybody gather around!" a supervisor critically bellowed. Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Mashirao turned their attentions to the supervisor, who was standing on a makeshift platform so that everybody could see him. "We just received terrible news! The hospital has been destroyed by Shigaraki, and our enemies are still at large!"
Ghastly reactions of horror rippled amongst all the authorities that were gathered.
Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Mashirao were thunderstruck.
Their classmates were there.
"Please, stick together! We're conversing with city officials and the Heroes to determine the best course of action! However, we cannot abandon the citizens! We'll set up temporary bases in the destruction zone. Bring any civilians to the bases, so we may decide whether to send them to the hospital or direct them to shelters momentarily. If you're a student, please stay near any supervisor or Pro Hero!" the supervisor ordered, before compassionately adding, "I know we never expected this to happen, but these are the circumstances. I've already seen a few 'Heroes' walk away! We're not cowards! This city needs us! Stay strong, and don't be discouraged! – Now, go! Let's save this city!"
Whoever the spokesperson was, he had a mighty voice that gained a rally cry.
Part of Ochaco wanted to chase after Izuku and the rest of their classmates to be sure they were still alive, but she knew that would be rather childish of her to do. "Nobody answered?" she fearfully asked Mashirao.
Mashirao gravely shook his head.
"Ochaco…I really think we should stay here…" Tsuyu advised, skeptically. "In case you were thinking of ditching us, too…"
Briefly, Ochaco dropped her gaze. "…I know," she muttered.
"Let's keep working here, okay? …This…I'm really worried myself, but I think we should focus here and help as many people as possible," Mashirao encouraged, though it didn't erase the concern for their missing teammates. "We wouldn't even know where to start looking for the others…"
Coyly, Ochaco mumbled in agreement, "Yeah…okay…you're right."
Suddenly disturbed, Mashirao clenched his jaw. "…you think the others are okay?" He glanced at his phone screen and enlightened on all his missed outgoing calls.
The three of them exchanged uncertain looks until a sidekick approached them. "Uraraka!" the sidekick called. They looked towards the sidekick. "Let's keep working together, alright? My recon and your gravity. Does that sound good?" she inquired.
"Yes! I can do that," Ochaco replied.
"Alright, let's go," the sidekick beckoned for the students to follow her.
In a group, they went to each building one by one: The sidekick located any source of life while Uraraka lifted all the debris. Delicately, they assisted any injured that they came across. They were lucky to have avoided any casualties so far, but it wasn't the same for the other groups… Mashirao could see bodies being laid near the base tent, where they were respectfully covered in white sheets. As he surveyed whatever area he was in (and slightly dispersed from Ochaco and Tsuyu), Mashirao cautiously utilized the strength of his tail and the balance of his feet to maneuver on top of the wreckage of concrete slabs. "Can anybody hear me!" he shouted over the unnerving ghost of what once was a bustling downtown.
Once Mashirao was high enough to get a clear view of the ravine that Gigantomachia had created, right in the heart of the city, he stood in front of a quaint café and an apartment complex. Chunks from the complex had buried the pathway between them; the pile of debris was so high that Mashirao was nearly at the authentic Asian roof of the one-story café. He gazed across the trench as if it were a dried riverbed. It was swarmed with first responders, authorities, and Heroes searching for both survivors and casualties.
When he peered down, that's when he saw a bloodied hand cradled by the rubble. Startled at the sight, Mashirao speedily leapt down and found a young woman in her twenties trapped underneath pieces of debris. She indolently rolled her dull eyes up at him. There were dried tears in her eyes, and blood had made its way down her face from a bad laceration on her scalp. "Hey!" Mashirao urgently barked and fleetly knelt before her.
The woman gave a breathless terse, "…you..finally came…" before resting her chin back on the ground.
Mashirao stared. What the woman said struck a nerve, as if he were too late...
"Hey! – stay with me!" Mashirao coaxed, squeezing her hand. "Can you talk to me? Please! Can you feel space underneath the rock?"
He was scared at the possibility that the woman was fatally wounded.
Though she was nearly incapacitated, the woman laboriously conveyed, "…I…I think…but I'm stuck…"
"Hang on, I'll help you out of here!" he said as screams erupted – a thunderous crack engulfed the area.
"WATCH OUT!"
Mashirao snapped a look over his shoulder. Part of a building on the opposite side of the trench broke off. It was like watching a glacier collapse into the sea, but there was no water to catch the concrete. Mashirao's vision was obscured by the barricade of debris, so he did not see the rubble hit the ground. He could hear much commotion as the Heroes tried to add resistance to the falling rock, but it still produced a cloud of dust.
Alarmed, Mashirao leapt over to the ridge of the debris to verify if Ochaco and Tsuyu got caught in the accident. He didn't make it – "No!...no…please..don't leave me…" the woman weakly pleaded, and Mashirao eyed her dismally.
"I'm not leaving! I need to call my friend over – she can help you!" Mashirao reassured, and quickly breached the peak of the debris. "URARAKA!" he yelled, seeing her in the distance. She immediately looked towards him. "We need help!"
Ochaco, looking scared, started running towards him with Tsuyu and the sidekick.
"What is it!?" Ochaco asked eagerly.
"There's a woman trapped here!" Mashirao said, pointing behind him as Ochaco floated up; the sidekick was pulled along, but Tsuyu easily hopped up the rubble.
They gathered around the injured woman, and Ochaco swiftly and carefully lifted the rock off of her.
"Can you move?" the sidekick asked the civilian.
Torpidly, the woman mumbled, "…I think so…"
"Take it easy…" the sidekick instructed as she gently helped the woman onto her knees.
"Do you know if anybody else was here?" Mashirao questioned with deep concern.
The woman looked up at them, and with tears in her eyes, sadly said, "…I only saw a boy go towards the courtyard…I told him not to – but he was scared!" she took a breath, "…then everything came down…"
The four of them stared at her.
"What courtyard!?" Tsuyu slowly asked.
Feebly, the woman tried to give a direction with her finger but fell short. "Behind this café," she said before she lethargically lowered herself back to the ground.
Ochaco distantly gasped, "Hang on!"
"Get her out of here!" Mashirao acutely and unintentionally ordered. "I'm going after the kid!"
As Mashirao darted over the rubble, he heard Ochaco nervously call after him, "Ojiro – wait!" but he didn't stop. Cautiously avoiding getting injured by the sharp rock, Mashirao masterfully slip through a shallow alleyway that was completely buried. On the other side, Mashirao found the ruins of the courtyard…
Wisely, Mashirao glanced up to see a tranquil blue sky, but underneath it were ruined, unstable buildings surrounding a traditional Japanese garden.
At the center of winding streams and bridges was a gazebo that had miraculously survived the shower of rock, except for a corner of the roof which was broken off. The debris had concealed most of the pathways, leaving Mashirao unable to see the entire garden at once. "Hello…?!" Mashirao articulated, hearing his voice echo off the deserted structures. He heard pellets crumbling from above and hit the ground at random.
Carefully, Mashirao stepped onto the pathway and was prepared to escape if need be.
The first thing he found was a dead koi fish, laying near part of the stream that got damned up from the rubble. There were a few other fish and birds that laid bloodied and unmoving… Uncomfortably, Mashirao continued forward and was feeling increasingly anxious as he scanned the piles of rubble. He only took a few steps when he saw a butterfly koi fish out of the water, but it was alive.
Feeling rather bad for the creature, Mashirao walked over and stared down at it. After a moment of considering its struggle, he kneeled down on the grass. "Ojiro!" Ochaco's voice rang out over the edgy silence.
"…I'm down here," he softly replied, though his eyes remained on the koi fish as it silently gasped for oxygen.
Gently, Mashirao cupped his hands on either side of the red and white fish.
Off to his left-hand side, he heard Ochaco's footsteps as she rushed over to him. "…oh…" Ochaco said, stopping behind Mashirao when she saw him scooping up the fish; he set it back into part of the stream that was still intact. For a moment, they both watched the stunned fish start moving again, but it gingerly swam in the same spot as it rested near the pebbles at the bottom.
Mashirao pulled his hands out of the water and looked skyward. "…I don't like it here…" he uttered to Ochaco without turning her way. Instead, Mashirao glanced over his right-hand shoulder towards the gazebo.
"Let's search quickly, then," Ochaco said in a mutually hush manner.
Feeling a strong sense of danger, Mashirao hastily got to his feet. "I'll take the left of the garden. You take the right," he said, extremely on guard.
Distracted by the death around them, Ochaco dolefully muttered, "…this is really sad…"
"…yeah, it is…" he agreed.
Exchanging a last uncertain look, Mashirao and Ochaco went their separate ways. Keenly, Mashirao made his way through the cleared spaces, searching for any human bodies and suspiciously watched for any Villain that might appear, but discovered none that he could see. He had no idea if there were people underneath the carnage; there would need to be a thorough search of the courtyard once Mashirao and Ochaco reported their findings. However, once he reached the end of the garden and found trails leading out to the next block, Mashirao finally turned and made his way over to the gazebo where he stopped at the red stairs.
He stared.
At the other entrance, he saw the ashy blond hair of a child lying on his side, horizontal to the stairs and with his back facing Mashirao.
Ochaco was already there, kneeling in front of him, and her strenuous expression said it all...
Prudently walking across the gazebo, Mashirao saw that the child could not be older than five years. As he stood at the boy's back, he studied Ochaco and then shifted his eyes to smeared blood on the boy's chest and in his hand. Other than that, he appeared uninjured. "He's gone...," Ochaco roughly confirmed against Mashirao's hopes that the boy was simply unconscious.
"…what happened?" Mashirao rhetorically questioned. "Are you sure he's…"
"Yeah, I checked," Ochaco candidly said. "I found him like this. Honestly, I looked to see his cause of death, but…I didn't find any major wounds despite the blood, so I don't know…"
"What do you mean?" Mashirao speculated with confusion. "There's no wounds on him?"
"Exactly!" Ochaco replied, glancing up at him. "There's blood on him, but I don't see any bodily injury." She eyed the boy again. "Unless something else happened…like blunt force trauma, maybe…" she trailed off, looking grim.
Mashirao sympathetically knelt on one knee. After observing the boy, Mashirao gazed at Ochaco with heartache. "We should get him out of here…" he said.
Serving a few glances at the material around them, Ochaco meticulously murmured. "I…I know that it's not safe, but…could we at least cover him…?"
Frowning at the grievous situation himself, Mashirao noted, "I'll see what I can find, but if not…then we'll have to move him, either way; we can't leave him here." Of course, he cared about being respectful like Ochaco, but it was dangerous where they were. If a building collapsed…it would not be promising for any of them.
"Yes, I agree."
"Okay, just wait here for a moment. Keep an eye out for falling rock!"
Mashirao hastily disappeared, leaving Ochaco alone with the boy.
She stared down at him with soft yet wondering eyes.
There was a strange, haunting feeling docking on her soul…something about this boy made her think of Katsuki…this boy looked exactly like him, if he were younger. In the back of her mind, she kept telling herself that they would reunite with Shouto, Izuku, Tenya, and Katsuki; and that everybody was going to be just fine…they always were…
But a crippling doubt made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
When Mashirao returned, he carried a brown throw. Delicately, Ochaco used her quirk to gently cushion the boy into her arms like a sleeping child, cradled within the blanket. After she released her quirk, Ochaco forlornly carried the boy through the desolate garden that sat in the depressing shade of the buildings.
A skeletal breeze funneled between the architecture and glided over the babbling of the brook.
Ochaco's sullen gaze rested on the boy, hoping he'd open his eyes. But he was cold…
The sky was far gloomier as Ochaco and Mashirao returned to the trench. Thunder rumbled in the distance… Under the tent of a base camp, the medics took the boy from Ochaco, and afterwards, she sat with Tsuyu and Mashirao, as they were instructed to take a break.
Near some stacked wooden supply crates, the trio kept to themselves. Tsuyu and Ochaco both sat on the ground, their backs resting against the crates. On top of the crate Ochaco sat against, Mashirao adjacently rested, with his back against a separate stacked crate.
Ochaco hugged her folded knees, her gaze settled on the dirt. "Ojiro…?" she gradually asked.
"Hm?"
"Don't you think that boy…looked like Bakugo?" she muttered.
Mashirao was resting his forearms on his bent knees. "I can't say that it didn't cross my mind," he said, glancing down from the crate he sat on and at the back of Ochaco's head. "But that wasn't Bakugo…I'm sure he's alright, and the others as well. They probably got caught up in some pretty nasty stuff themselves," he suggested, though he was barely confident in his own words.
Who was Mashirao kidding? – The hospital had been destroyed. None of their classmates were answering their phones...
"I don't know, Ojiro…I have a really strange feeling," Ochaco drearily replied. "…like a really bad feeling…"
It was starting to drizzle outside of the tent.
"It's definitely not unlike any of them not to call, expect Bakugo maybe…" Tsuyu pointed out with concern. "But Iida, Todoroki, or Midoriya should've contacted us by now…and you saw what Dabi did…they had to have gotten into a fight with the League!"
Unable to wait any longer, Ochaco put her phone against her ear as she called Tenya.
He didn't answer.
"Guys…" Mashirao suddenly said, looking at his phone in surprise. "It's Tokoyami."
"…huh?"
Ochaco and Tsuyu turned their heads towards Mashirao, sounding just as confused as he was.
"Tokoyami?" Tsuyu piqued.
Out of all of their classmates that would've called them, they least expected Fumikage. He was supposed to be with the raid group in the forest.
"Tokoyami?" Mashirao answered. Carefully, he listened to his friend until his eyes suddenly widened. "…oh, no…that's – he's what!?" he questioned in alarm before shooting an unsettled look at Ochaco. "Why didn't anybody call us?" he asked, astounded.
"What happened!?" Ochaco asked, seeing the critical expression on Mashirao's face, but he turned the other way, shifted to a cross-legged position, and started biting his thumbnail in angst.
…
"…I see…well, thank you for calling us…and letting us know…that's…that's really terrible…are his parents there?" Mashirao responded heavily. "…but everyone else is doing okay…? Physically?"
…
"…and Iida…? Is he…?"
…
"Well…just let them know we're thinking about them, and we'll come see everyone as soon as we can…"
…
"Yeah, we're still out here." Mashirao swiftly glanced at Ochaco and Tsuyu. "It's just Uraraka, Tsu, and I. Everybody left us in a hurry, and then we heard about the hospital, so we had no idea…and Iida wasn't answering his phone."
Tsuyu urgently asked, "Ojiro! What happened? Is Iida okay?"
"Tokoyami, hang on – " Mashirao pulled the phone away from his ear, and addressed Tsuyu and Ochaco apprehensively, "Mr. Aizawa, Endeavor…and Bakugo are in surgery!"
An incredulous expression befell Ochaco, at the dark irony of their discussion.
The three of them stared at each other momentarily until Mashirao spoke into the phone, "Tokoyami…let me put you on speaker." Mashirao switched the mode and continued to hold the phone in his lap. "Alright…"
A female supervisor suddenly stepped around the crates to view the students that had isolated themselves in a corner. "If you students are ready, we could really use your help again!" the supervisor said, hoping they would oblige.
Mashirao, Ochaco, and Tsuyu glanced over at the supervisor. They were slow to answer, so instead, Fumikage said, "If you guys are needed, then we can talk later. I just wanted to let you know what was going on. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon."
Quickly, Ochaco asked, "What about Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki?"
"Todoroki and Midoriya are doing okay. They're being treated currently, and Iida has been waiting down in the surgical ward the entire time. Did Ojiro tell you about Bakugo?"
"Yeah, he did," Tsuyu bleakly replied. Her finger rested at the base of her chin as she contemplated, "…are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm doing okay," Fumikage answered. "I had no signal down where Iida is, so I had to come back up to the main hospital. They…you should know that there were serious complications with Bakugo due to his quirk. He had to be taken to a special ward underneath the hospital…and Iida…it was really rough for him to see all of that..."
"…I'm sure," Ochaco murmured. Tenderly, she snapped her attention to the supervisor. "I'm so sorry! We just heard that our classmates were taken to the hospital!"
"I'm terribly sorry to hear that…" the supervisor offered her condolences.
"I'll let you guys go," Fumikage said.
"No, it's okay!" Ochaco replied to Fumikage.
Tsuyu quickly added, "Yes, thank you for calling us…"
"We'll see you later, then," Mashirao lightly said, "and…please, let us know if anything changes with Bakugo…or Mr. Aizawa, or Endeavor."
"I will," Fumikage promised, before ending the call with, "Stay safe."
Mashirao stared down at Ochaco with uneasiness, and she stared back at him as if they were thinking the exact same thing. "…that was really strange…" Mashirao muttered. " – that we were just talking about him, and…" he abruptly stopped, suddenly looking uncomfortable.
Tsuyu got to her feet and approached Mashirao and Ochaco, watching both of them with consternation. They were all silent at this odd revelation, until Tsuyu finally said, "We should keep going…."
"…yeah…you're right…" Ochaco replied, slowly looking towards Tsuyu.
"The faster we work, the quicker we'll get to the hospital," she said.
Ochaco got to her feet, and as Mashirao swung his legs to get off of the crate, he murmured, "You think he'll be okay?" Mashirao questioned as he considered the boy that they found.
Ochaco simply crossed her arms but didn't speak.
"It's Bakugo… I'm sure he'll be fine," Tsuyu sanctified, but there was uncertainty in her tone.
Though ill-suited, the trio finally reassembled with the supervisor, and the evening went on.
Shouto was unbeknownst to any of these events.
At sunset, he finally opened his eyes to a quiet hospital room.
Once he had come to his senses, Shouto groggily sat up. He roughly winced, barely able to move his muscles without some sort of moderate nerve pain flaring up. At least, he was free of any oxygen mask; and compared to how he had felt earlier, he was far more comfortable.
As he sluggishly took in his surroundings, Shouto saw that the door to his room was closed. The blinds of the windows were slit, allowing the golden beams of the sun to break through the solemn darkness. It created a cozy and gentle glow across the generic hospital room.
Not a soul was there, except Fumikage, who sat cross-legged on a sofa with his arms folded and eyes shut; he wore a casual, hospital labeled, zip-up sweatshirt that was black. Its hood was cast over his head.
Too injured to motivate himself out of bed, Shouto managed to adjust the bed with a remote and rested his back against the pillow. He eyed Fumikage, wondering if he was actually asleep in that position, but he hoarsely called anyway, "…Tokoyami."
Cracking open his eye, and slowly rousing himself, Fumikage lifted his head and looked at Shouto. At first, he didn't say anything, and just held a mutual gaze with Shouto. "…I apologize," he finally said, "I'm really tired."
"No, it's okay," Shouto returned, recognizing Fumikage's fogginess. Longingly, and with questions, Shouto gave the door to the room a side-long glare. "…uh…" he was at a loss for words as his mind constantly drifted and could barely focus on a single thought after everything that had happened that day. "What time is it?" he asked, realizing a lot more had probably occurred while he was unconscious.
"It's…" Fumikage checked his phone while pulling the hood of his sweatshirt down, "19:25."
"Were…is Shigaraki still at large?"
"Unfortunately," Fumikage answered before growing tentative, "And it gets worse…there was a prison break at Tartarus!"
Eyes widening, Shouto quickly asked, "How long ago!?"
"About an hour or so now… All students in the field were ordered to retreat back to safety while the Pros remain out on the streets. So, we're waiting for the rest of our classmates to get here before we're all escorted back to the dorms."
"Where are the others?" Shouto pressed eagerly, suddenly feeling anxious at the news that the League of Villains were still out there with enemies of the Paranormal Liberation Front – and now Tartarus.
Shouto thought of Touya with such disgust that he felt sick to his stomach…
"Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Ojiro, Kirishima, Uraraka, and Asui have joined us here. We're just waiting for the rest of the forest team to arrive…" Fumikage informed as he relaxed from his tense form. Shifting his weight around, he transitioned to sitting with his back against the arm of the sofa so he could see Shouto without straining his neck. Leisurely, he stretched his legs out in front of him. "They wanted to check on you and see how you were doing, but the medical staff didn't want us overwhelming you, so they were only allowing one person in at a time. Honestly, I'm not sure where everyone is at the moment. I've sort of been here most of the time while Iida's been downstairs." Fumikage paused for a moment before continuing, "And Midoriya is alright…though he hasn't regained consciousness yet. There are strains on his ligaments, so he'll probably be really sore, but aside from that he's going to be okay. His mother is with him now, so nobody else has been to see him." Seriously, Fumikage vaguely dipped his beak and conveyed, "A few students have been lingering here, but most of them have gone downstairs with Iida…"
Remaining silent for a moment after hearing his friend out, Shouto figured what "downstairs" meant, but was unable to detect if that was good or bad. "…and what about Bakugo?" Shouto asked in dismay, already feeling a stage of denial waging on him.
"He's been in surgery for about three and a half hours now," Fumikage said, and was glad to see some relief cross Shouto's face.
Shouto rested his head back against the pillow with his palm against his forehead. "Oh my God," he muttered, taking a sepulchral breath as the entire event blurredly played in his mind. So much had happened that the order of events was scraped thin, only leaving the most vivid memories. "…he's alive?" he quietly queried, staring off at the opposite wall of the room.
Sympathetically, Fumikage said, "Iida told me about what happened on the helicopter…"
"I can't believe it…" Shouto said with a nearly broken voice, "Do you know how long that helicopter flight was…?" he stated rhetorically, not even knowing that answer himself...but it was long enough. Fumikage frowned in response to Shouto's words. "He was just…lying there."
"I'm sure if it had been any longer, he would've died… They had to do some serious medical procedures to keep him alive, but they managed to get a stable heartbeat back." Fumikage poised, "…want to hear the crazy thing, though?"
"Huh?"
As Shouto lowered his arm back at his side, Fumikage explained, "Apparently, Nitroglycerin isn't just used as dynamite… It's heart medication." Fumikage seemed unsure whether to ironically laugh out of relief or not.
"…what?"
"I guess Nitroglycerin is used to treat heart pain, and helps improve blood flow… That's what one of the nurses told us, when they let us know they had a heartbeat again," Fumikage said. "Nitroglycerin in a medical dosage is unharmful, but they realized that Bakugo constantly lives with this medical dosage in his bloodstream, and it later becomes more potent when he sweats. They figured it might've actually helped him survive as long as he did…"
Shouto stared at Fumikage as he casually comprehended this information. "That…is pretty coincidental," he agreed after spacey consideration.
Settling down on the sofa, Fumikage contently said, "Yeah…who would've thought…?" More frankly and with a narrowing eye, he added, "But, really…the nurse said the surgeon thought it was a complete miracle that they were able to save him… I mean, they told us to keep in mind at how bad the damage is and that there are still life-threatening complications that occurred…and him being under anesthesia in that condition is a lot of stress on his body…so though they were able to reverse the cardiac arrest, they wanted us to know that Bakugo is still in grave danger…" he finished with a grim look.
"What about Recovery Girl? Can't she…"
Fumikage quickly shook his head, and sorrowfully said, "…She visited Bakugo when she first arrived, Todoroki…" Shouto watched Fumikage intently. "Recovery Girl said there was nothing she could do until the surgeons repaired the major damage… It sounds like Bakugo got hit in a very unlucky spot…but I guess it was luckier than what it could've been…"
"What does that mean?" Shouto asked.
"If the damage had occurred a few centimeters over, it would've caused damage to Bakugo's spine and the aorta." Blankly, Fumikage confirmed, "It would've killed him instantly."
Shouto stared at Fumikage.
"…but it didn't," he mumbled to himself.
"No, it didn't. Bakugo is alive," Fumikage stated. "…do you…even know what happened to him?"
Dropping his gaze, Shouto's mind still aimlessly wandering, he uttered, "Oh, yeah…Shigaraki has some type of quirk where…I'm not really sure what it is, but he…got Bakugo with it."
"Shigaraki did it?" Fumikage repeated in surprise.
"Yeah, Shigaraki impaled him…" Shouto stared in thought. "It was…" he trailed off, grisly as he was reminded of the terrible scene, where Izuku and Katsuki were in close proximity with Shigaraki; and the horror that ricocheted between Izuku and Shouto at the blood splatter.
It took their breaths away…
In the blink of an eye. Like lightening. Shigaraki's black claws pierced Katsuki; and lastly, brutally retracted from his body.
Izuku snapped into a frenzy upon witnessing it.
And when all of them finally hit the ground, neither Izuku nor Katsuki were moving.
At least, Shouto could hear subtle breaths from Izuku, but Katsuki was completely limp. Shouto was frozen when he saw the blood pooling beneath Katsuki; in which he then tried managing the blood loss by himself, until Tenya arrived to help. All he could think about in that moment, was them losing Katsuki right there on that battlefield; amidst all of the chaos and stress that surrounded them. Tenya and Shouto barely said a word to each other; they could only exchange scared looks as they worked together to control the bleeding with gauzes and pressure the best they could. Katsuki weakly resided in a deep state of shock, and inhaled quivering breaths as he barely came to before quickly losing consciousness again.
"…he was bleeding so bad," Shouto muttered dishearteningly, his eyes looking cold from the aftershock. "I caught them after it happened…then, Iida arrived shortly after…" Gazing at Fumikage coherently, Shouto stated, "Bakugo saved Midoriya's life." Fumikage listened deeply. "Shigaraki kept trying to reach Midoriya…and Bakugo came and pushed him out of the way..." When Shouto considered the current damage Izuku had taken during the fight, a hit like that could've very well killed him…but… "Iida was monitoring them, and then…" Out of frustration, Shouto covered his face with both hands, unable to form his brother's name on his tongue.
Blue fire was terrorizing his mind.
"…a lot happened," Fumikage murmured, dipping his head. "I've heard the rest of it from Iida…" he said, signifying that Shouto didn't have to proceed any further. Momentarily, he eyed Shouto. "I'm sorry this happened to your family…"
Shouto set his hands down and gazed at Fumikage. "Do you know what happened to my dad?" he asked, quite shaken by the face of his murderous brother, who attempted to burn Shouto alive in front of his father. "I think Shigaraki had injured him pretty badly, too."
"Your dad is in surgery…but I heard the damage wasn't as severe, so it sounded like things were going okay for him," he replied. "…I think they either called your brother or your sister; hopefully, they'll be here soon… I'm sure they're really worried about you…"
With his family suddenly on his mind, Shouto tiredly glanced down at his hands and finally noticed that they were a lot less scorched than they were before. Instead, his skin had the tint of a healing sunburn (but the healing process varied based on how bad the initial burn was), leaving wound dressings only patched on certain parts on his arms and a few small ones on the side of his face. "After Recovery Girl saw Bakugo, she went to all the burn victims to help accelerate all the healing…are you at least feeling better?" Fumikage thoughtfully asked.
"It's…certainly not as bad as before…" Shouto mindlessly said before he gripped the railing of the hospital bed with both hands.
Incredulously, Fumikage blinked at Shouto. "What are you doing?!" The railing that Shouto had grabbed ran parallel to the door that he wistfully eyed; but he winced from a pinching pain in his hand.
Fumikage fleetly got up and went to the opposite railing of Shouto. "Just stay here! You'll just make things worse!" he angrily barked at Shouto.
After considering the I.V. in the back of his left hand, Shouto carefully relaxed it for relief. "I need to go see the others…" Shouto said, glancing across the way again at the door.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Fumikage chided. "There's nothing we can do! except wait…and you resting will get you up a lot quicker than stumbling through the hospital like this! The rest of us are already stressed as it is!" Making no effort to actually forcefully stop Shouto, and only using his words, Fumikage didn't need to push any further: Shouto suddenly paused; his head hung. He was ready to swing out of bed but did not proceed. Instead – he turned very white.
Fumikage said nothing as Shouto woozily stared at the crack beneath the door, where a shadow appeared. The door slid open on its track. With a very beat expression, Momo entered halfway but paused when she saw Shouto as he was. Fumikage stood at the foot of the bed and watched her. "What's going on?" she asked.
"He's being stupid," Fumikage said with a deadpan look.
Momo didn't even acknowledge Shouto. First and foremost, as she held the side of the door, she sadly said to Fumikage, "…the others have arrived."
Frowning, Fumikage stared at Momo with trepidation.
Mirroring his reaction, Momo inched into the room. "…we have to go," she murmured, quietly sliding the door shut behind her without turning to face it. Fumikage steadily glanced towards Shouto as Momo approached him. "What are you doing?"
Nearly out breath, Shouto said, "I…well…"
"He wanted to go see the others," Fumikage explained.
"…are you sure that's a good idea?" Momo politely questioned Shouto as Fumikage came to stand beside her. "I know that medication can't make you feel right, even if it helps with the pain…" she said empathetically.
With a single pant, Shouto agreed, "…I guess…it doesn't…" Gingerly, he carefully inched himself back.
Momo exhaustively said, "…heh…yeah…remember when I got that concussion that night at camp…?" Gently, she was holding the tubing of Shouto's I.V. He didn't take notice, but she was watching to be sure he didn't accidentally tug on it as he moved.
"Is everyone gathering in the lobby?" Fumikage asked Momo.
One of Momo's hands rested on the bed railing as she slightly glanced over her shoulder at Fumikage. "Well…I think they wanted to come see Shouto before we left, but that'll have to wait…"
"Mm," Fumikage agreed with a single nod. "And what about Iida?"
Momo shook her head and Fumikage's apprehensive look became even more grave. "There…was a very heated argument over the phone with his parents. They do not want him to stay…" she stated mellowly. "But, Bakugo's parents are down there…and Midoriya's mother went to visit them briefly…and All Might is staying…he won't be there alone."
"Okay," Fumikage said contently, but it didn't ease the unusual guilty feeling that gnawed in his chest, and he was sure it was worse for Tenya.
Momo glanced down at Shouto. He rested on his side with closed eyes. "…Shouto?" she said with importance. Opening his eye, Shouto focused up at her but did not speak. "Your family has arrived. I saw them in the lobby on the way up here…they'll be here shortly."
"…thank you…" Shouto mumbled.
"Of course," Momo replied soothingly. She set the I.V tubing down. "Just get lots of rest, okay?"
"We'll try to come back tomorrow, if we are able to," Fumikage said.
"…stay safe…"
"You as well…"
"Good night," Fumikage said to Shouto before gathering his cloak and following Momo out into the hallway.
Dispersed in the corridor and waiting were their classmates, but they didn't press about seeing Shouto. Approaching was the Todoroki family, with Eijiro leading them. "He's in here," Eijiro said, before nobly stepping out to the side with Fumikage and Momo.
"Thank you," Shouto's sister, Fuyumi, said with a little bow of gratitude.
"Is Shouto awake?" his mother asked, specifically looking at Momo, though she had no reason to.
"He's very tired, but he responded to us when we questioned him, so I think so," Momo said with a look of indication towards Shouto's closed door.
The Todoroki family said nothing else as they proceeded into Shouto's room and shut the door behind them.
When Momo glanced down the hallway, she suddenly found herself having a moment of déjà vu. The only other time it was this quiet was after that night at camp…after Katsuki's kidnapping. The furthest down the hallway was Tenya, impatiently facing away from them and leaning his shoulder against the right-hand wall with his arms crossed. Mezo was standing next to him, near his backside…and next to Mezo, sitting in a chair was Minoru, followed by Yuga who sat on the floor. His back was against the wall and knees folded against his chest. Standing beside him was Tsuyu. Mashirao was last, the closest to Momo, Fumikage, and Eijiro on the right-hand side; his back was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed.
On the left-hand side, closest to them was Ochaco, who was in a similar position as Tenya, but facing them. Kyoka was standing next to her. Toru and Mina were both sitting on the ground, and huddling beside them in a quiet conversation were Denki and Hanta. Lastly, were Koji and Rikido who sat on the floor.
A few heads turned their way during the interaction with the Todoroki family, but that was it. The mood was dead and grim. Nobody spoke a word; it was not needed or wanted.
Striding down the hallway, almost phantom-like, was Ectoplasm. He surveyed his students compassionately. "Let's go home, kids," he encouraged comfortingly.
Behind Momo, Fumikage, and Eijiro, they heard a door slid open and shut. They looked, and Ochaco quickly pushed herself off of the wall when All Might emerged from Izuku's room. All Might stopped before all of them with an acute expression. "Is Deku alright, sir?" Ochaco softly questioned him.
"He's asleep," he reassured, "but, I reckon it's time you students get some rest yourselves. I will keep you posted whenever I hear news about Bakugo. As well as Aizawa." Everybody was silent. "Iida…" A few gazes turned to Tenya, but Tenya could barely glance over his shoulder at All Might. All Might continued anyway, "Keep in mind what I told you earlier…" To all of them, he asserted, "Alright, gather your things."
They did so, and finally began their exit of the hospital.
Momo moseyed herself next to Tenya, whose anger was painted all over his face. She momentarily placed a comforting hand behind his shoulder until they continued their descent, bypassing the route to D Ward on their way to the main lobby.
Outside were two buses.
Vlad King was already directing the students of Class 1-B onto the second bus, and Class 1-A followed suit onto the first bus.
Night quickly approached as the buses pulled out of the hospital lot; and Class 1-A found it to be the quietest bus ride they had ever taken.
Nobody spoke. Not a word.
Helicopters still soared over the city, and cop lights flashed throughout the streets. The press was already at U.A.'s front gates when they arrived, but the staff tamed them long enough in order to get the students safely inside.
They were glad of that.
There was something calming about walking in the brisk night, letting the fresh air fill Momo's lungs as Class 1-A and Class 1-B traveled together down the deserted pathway towards Heights Alliance. Most of the walk was in silence as they listened to the sounds of the night breeze, which carried a wafting scent of rain in the atmosphere. At one point, though Class 1-B had heard the gist of what happened to Class 1-A's missing students, Yosetsu Awase sensitively comprised, "Sorry to hear about Todoroki and Midoriya…and Bakugo and Mr. Aizawa…aren't those two still in surgery?"
It was Mina, who walked near the back of their group, that weakly replied, "…could we…maybe…not talk about this right now…?" Her voice was straining as she tried to prevent herself from tearing up again.
"Sure," Yosetsu said, "I…" He glanced at Mina as they continued walking. "I'm sorry."
Softly, Mina said, "I know you're just trying to be kind, which I appreciate, but…I think we really need some time to process everything that happened today."
Yosetsu dipped his head. "…yeah…" he sorrowfully agreed.
Suddenly aggravated, Mina snapped her eyes to the front of Class 1-B where Neito strolled next to Itsuka. "…Monoma. Please, don't say anything," she sharply asked, and an arduous mood swamped both groups.
"I didn't even say anything," Neito replied innocently without even looking back at Mina.
"Yeah, but you usually like to slander Bakugo," Mina remarked with frustration, "and frankly, I really don't want to hear it right now."
The rest of the students had been staying out of the conversation, but a few students from 1-A were starting to tense up. With a scowl, Hanta said to Neito, "Just listen to Ashido, Monoma. There's no need to make things worse."
"Don't go starting a fight you'll regret," Eijiro warned Neito.
"What?" Neito smirked. "Is Bakugo rubbing off on you?"
Fleetly, Tenya, who was walking in the front with Momo, snapped an angry look towards Neito, but he didn't notice. However, before anyone could speak up, Itsuka quickly said, "Monoma, that's enough!"
"Don't be rude," Tetsutetsu agreed before complimenting, "I'm sure Bakugo gave the villains a run for their money. That guy is terrifying when he fights. I think we can all agree on that."
"Then you'd think he'd get less targeted, honestly," Neito mocked as they neared the intersection that led to Class 1-A's dorm. "It was that exact reason Shigaraki wanted him from the get-go. He would draw less attention to himself if he actually behaved like a Hero verse being an asshole to everyone."
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Eijiro lunged at Neito with Hanta and Mashirao quickly grabbing his arm to stop him. Tenya himself edged closer in near assault, but Fumikage smoothly stepped between them.
Lividly, Denki shouted at Neito, "You don't even know what you're talking about! – you don't live with him!"
Fumikage faced Neito, holding up his palm. Several searing glares from 1-A penetrated Neito, and a few students stepped forward out of spite. Even Mina, as benevolent as she was, was ready to go off on Neito, but she held her tongue. Class 1-B respectfully did not intervene as Fumikage justly rebuked, "Bakugo might have a sharp tongue, but if you had paid close attention, you would've known that Bakugo is extremely loyal." Resting his hand at his side, Fumikage continued, "It may be true that Shigaraki wanted Bakugo to join their ranks, but he fearlessly refused even if the League were prepared to kill him." Fumikage watched Neito with a crisp eye. "The only reason Bakugo is where he is right now is because he was protecting a classmate from Shigaraki. In addition, while he suffered from his injuries, he single-handedly wiped out a cluster of Near High End Nomus when the Heroes were overwhelmed." Strongly and defensively, Fumikage expressed, "It certainly was not in vain, nor did it befall from any rashness. I think he knew exactly what he was doing. You have no right to stand there and say he isn't Hero enough."
There was a moment of silence.
Bleakly, Neito replied, "All I'm saying is that this cat and mouse came is a little strange. Once, sure. Twice: That's a little on the nose, don't you think? I wouldn't doubt if Bakugo probably knows something about this One For All crap. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's noticed how many times he's been targeted. Heck, he was attacked before High School even started!"
Fumikage's eyes were narrowed, and he strictly said, "I don't feel comfortable talking about this when Bakugo isn't here. Please, be on your way. It's been a long day."
Tetsutetsu growled, "Are you happy now?!" He clasped a hand on Neito's shoulder. "Sorry about this guy!" he said while roughly yanking Neito by the sleeve. "Let's go, guys!"
Class 1-B slowly followed after Tetsutetsu, with a few students apologizing on Neito's behalf.
"We'll see you tomorrow. I hope everything goes well with Bakugo," Itsuka sympathetically said to Momo before departing as well.
Eijiro steeped, "I'm so angry! I can't believe he had the nerve!"
"You're not the only one he was pissing off," Fumikage glowered while keeping an eye on Neito.
"Let's just go inside guys…" Toru muttered with little energy. "He's not worth it."
Taking Toru's advice, Class 1-A finally turned down the pathway, facing the warm and welcoming image of the dorm, but it wasn't the same…They entered the dark, empty dorm with three students less…and without another word, they each wandered off on their own accord.
Phew...I was editing this for three days. I am going to go get some rest myself!
What I said about Nitroglycerin is true :) It is used as medication for patients. In fact, a few times in the past I would process prescription refill requests for Nitroglycerin.
I decided to implement this, because it added a really cool aspect to Bakugo's quirk.
Anyway, see ya next time :)
By the way, this story's title and chapter titles are subject to change - I am having a dilemma.