Hello! I have returned with yet another chapter! I can't thank you all enough for your support throughout this fic. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!

I do not own My Hero Academia.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Akane and Gima covered their ears as the roar echoed throughout the room. Shouta instinctively tried to curl in on himself and do the same, but his bindings only dug deeper into the flesh around his wrists and ankles and his ribs screamed in protest. The ringing in his ears quickly overshadowed the sting under his eye Gima's blade left behind. A hand fisted in his hair to yank his head up, and he couldn't stop a hiss from escaping him when Hizashi ran a thumb over the newly formed incision under his eye, smearing blood further across his cheek in the process.

"Without his eyes, he can't use his quirk!" The ringing in his ears hadn't quite subsided, but that certainly didn't mean he couldn't hear the blond's yelling. "We've got clients bidding on him if Yasunari doesn't decide to keep him. What good is he to anyone if he can't use erasure?"

Gima and Akane glanced to each other, their eyes widening. It took Akane a moment to muster up the courage to speak at all.

"I just…we thought he would talk before—"

"Get out!"

The two didn't need to be told twice. They hustled out of the cell, leaving Hizashi and Shouta alone, the former finally releasing his grip on the hero's hair.

A slap followed just a second later.

Shouta grunted as his head whipped to the side, blood dribbling down his torn bottom lip. He didn't even have the chance to right himself before a bruising grip on his chin forced him forward. Hizashi's face hovered mere centimeters above his own. His vision may have been slightly blurry, but there was no missing the gleam in the blond's eyes.

He looks desperate.

"Shouta, please," Hizashi swallowed before continuing, "you have to snap out of this fantasy. There's nothing you can do to protect your students. All Might won't be here to cover your ass this time. We'll get what we need, one way or another. I hate seeing you like this."

"Then…stop…."

The villain let out a humorless chuckle.

"I wish I had that option, but I'm afraid I don't."

"Bullshit!" Shouta spat, a mixture of blood and saliva speckling on Hizashi's face.

The blond closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. He inhaled deeply and the hand gripping the hero's chin shook. He slowly walked around behind the chair, both hands now resting on Shouta's shoulders. As he exhaled, he trailed his hands down the captive's arms, over the makeshift bandage and drying blood peeking out from beneath it. He took Shouta's left hand in an iron grip and reached into his own pocket.

"What…the hell?"

Shouta tried to close his hand into a fist, but Hizashi's grip held firm. Suddenly, cold metal clamped down on his thumb.

"You know how to make me stop."

With a quick flick of his wrist, Hizashi twisted the appendage, forcing the erasure hero to let out a grunt when he felt the bone snap. Not even missing a beat, the villain next clamped the pliers down on his thumbnail, and his heart plummeted when he realized what was coming next. Tears welled in his eyes as Hizashi slowly ripped the nail from its nailbed.

Then Hizashi stopped and took another deep breath.

Did he…did he change his mind?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Hizashi gave the pliers one final yank. Shouta cried out when he completely detached the nail. Blood poured from the wound and he could feel it trickling over the rest of his fingers and down the back of his hand. Dread pooled in his stomach when he felt the metal clamp down on his index finger and he realized the blond wasn't even close to being done.

All he could do was hope Hizashi made this quick.

*break*

Hitoshi and Kyouka were silent as they stalked toward the main campus. That wasn't unusual. What was unnerving to them both was that Izuku was just as quiet, but understandable given the circumstances. The trio had entered Class 1-B's dorm to find the blood hero only to hear from Tetsutetsu that the man was last seen running to the main campus.

Their footsteps echoed once they'd made it inside the building. None of the three had ever been in the building when it was so empty. Even Hitoshi while he was staying late to train with their homeroom teacher. There had always been a few staff members meandering throughout the building. If they didn't know better, they'd say no one was there.

Kyouka suddenly froze and motioned for her classmates to wait. Jamming her earphone jack into the closest wall, she closed her eyes and listened. Her brow furrowed. Moving further down the hallway, Izuku and Hitoshi right on her heels, she paused again. Her eyes widened and she put a finger to her lips. She led the two down the rest of the hall and around the corner.

The three could see Principal Nezu's door at the end of the hall.

The door was shut, so they quietly approached. The closer they got to their principal's office, the clearer they could hear the voice just beyond the door.

"Why the hell aren't we going in? Eraser can't—"

There was no doubt that was Blood King, but they could hear a calmer voice interrupt him. Kyouka wasted no time creeping up to the wall and inserting her headphone jack into the wall.

"He hasn't given the signal to raid yet. We might make the situation worse."

Nezu.

"But we can't just leave Eraser there. We need to get him out!"

Kyouka looked to her two classmates and motioned them closer.

"I think Aizawa-sensei's in trouble…." she whispered, but trailed off when she heard Nezu speak up again.

"I don't like this any more than you do, Kan, but we don't have much choice in the matter right now. You know Aizawa wouldn't want us to risk losing those kids. You two need to stay here with Yagi and round up the students. It shouldn't be too difficult because I believe all but three of them are in the dorms."

Panic flared through her when she heard heavy footsteps approaching the door. The three students didn't have a chance to react before the door to Nezu's office flung open.

Cementoss stood before them, but he didn't look angry, much to their surprise.

"We need to get you all back to the dorms," he said simply.

They didn't even get a look of who else might be in the office before the three were being ushered back down the hallway with Kan following just behind them. Hitoshi looked over his shoulder at the two teachers.

"Where's Aizawa-sensei?"

"He'll be fine," Cementoss answered, but all three students could hear the uncertainty in his tone.

"Does he need help?" Izuku asked.

He turned back to Nezu's office, but the blood hero quickly spun him around and kept pushing him forward.

"No."

"It sounded like he's in trouble. Maybe we could—"

"No!" Kan moved in front of Izuku and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Midoriya stay in the dorms and do as we ask. That goes for all of you." He looked to both Kyouka and Hitoshi. "Please, just follow instructions and make sure your classmates follow them too. We can't risk anything happening to you all. Don't let Eraser suffer for nothing!"

He was met with silence and a wide-eyed stare from the three students. He soon mirrored their expression and clamped his mouth shut once he realized what he'd just said. He turned and led them back to Heights Alliance, and they followed him without a word.

*break*

He trudged down the hall to kitchen, stopping when he saw the light on. He blinked before continuing on to his destination. A mess of red hair on the table instantly caught his attention.

"Kirishima?"

He looked down to his phone his eyebrows raising as he noticed the time. His student didn't stir from his position on the table. He walked over and put a hand on the kid's back. Eijirou sat straight up the moment he made contact, a piece of paper sticking to his face. Now that the kid was up, he could see an open book on the table with a couple of crumpled pages from where he'd been resting his head. Eijirou rubbed his eyes before looking up to his teacher.

"Aizawa-sensei?"

"Shouldn't you be in your room?"

Eijirou laughed and scratched the back of his neck.

"I suppose I should. I couldn't focus so I came down here and hoped that would help me study. I guess it didn't help…."

"Why are you up studying so late?"

The kid looked down to the table and slowly closed the book.

"I…I just…." he stammered, racking his brain for an answer. "I'm just sick of being at the bottom of the class. No good hero is at the bottom of their—"

"That doesn't matter." His student's brow furrowed as he met his gaze. "I'm not trying to tell you that you shouldn't do your best or that academics don't matter, but there's more to being a hero than getting perfect grades in a math or English class. You need to get plenty of sleep, especially since you've got training tomorrow."

"But if I don't study then I'll just keep failing and then I'll keep having to take more extra lessons like at the training camp and I'll never be a good hero if I'm stuck in extra lessons and—"

"Kirishima!" His sharp tone snapped the boy out of his rambling. He didn't speak again until Eijirou met his gaze. "Do you understand why I gave the five of you extra lessons at the training camp?"

Eijirou bit his lip for a brief moment before answering.

"Because we failed the final?"

"Because I saw mistakes. Mistakes that could have been fatal if the villain hadn't been one of your instructors. You're not the first student to take extra lessons from me, and you certainly won't be the last. I have no doubt that you'll be a great hero." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "However, I don't want to see a news broadcast announcing that Red Riot was injured or killed because of a mistake his teacher could have corrected during his training."

He didn't miss the way Eijirou's shoulder relaxed under his grip or the corners of his lips quirking into a small smile.

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei."

"Now go get some sleep. Your class has a long day tomorrow."

A gravelly groan cut through the silence that previously filled the room when Hizashi ripped off Shouta's tenth fingernail. The erasure hero was surprised he still had his voice. There was a small plop when the traitor dropped the detached nail into the blood red puddle surrounding his chair. His mouth opened in a silent cry when Hizashi squeezed his hand, more blood oozing from the open wounds and broken bones scraping against each other.

And then the room started to spin.

How much blood have I lost?

Between the cuts on his arm, the slashes on his chest and stomach, and his still bleeding nailbeds, he couldn't even begin to guess. He closed his eyes and let his head fall toward his chest. His eyes fluttered open just a second later when he heard the bang of his cell door opening, grimacing when his headache intensified. Managing to lift his chin just a few centimeters off the bloody mess that was his chest, he was met with the sight of Yasunari storming toward him with a crow bar in hand.

"Why can't any of you get him to talk? We're running out of time."

Shouta saw him lift the crow bar before….

Crack.

His vision flashed white as agony exploded from his left shin. His ears rang due to whatever was echoing throughout the cell, only to register a few moments later that it was his own voice clawing its way out of his throat.

"What are…doing...can't interrogate..."

He could barely make out what Hizashi was saying as his scream died down. Chest heaving as he tried to regulate his breathing, he opened his eyes. Black spots danced across his vision. His head hung back down toward his chest and his eyes started to flutter shut. Someone lightly slapped his cheek.

"Eraser…hear me…."

He had no choice but to let dark spots completely cloud his vision.

The door to 1-A's classroom slowly opened, Hitoshi peering in. He'd been training the general studies student for a while now. It was amusing that the kid was nervous after all this time.

He certainly didn't need to be.

Hitoshi was visibly worn out, understandable given the amount of pressure he'd been putting on himself during the joint training that ended just a couple hours ago. He motioned for his mentee to enter the classroom and nodded to the closest desk, a smirk forming when he saw Hitoshi's brow furrowed. The boy slowly approached him and sat down at the desk.

"Is there a reason we're meeting in here for train…."

Hitoshi trailed off when he raised the file in his hand and dropped it in front of the kid. He watched as Hitoshi hesitantly opened the file, a genuine smile pulling at his lips when he saw the contents inside. He wasn't even sure his student knew he was smiling.

"I've already signed everything. Nezu just needs your signature on a couple documents and the transfer will be official."

Hitoshi carefully scanned through each document, his eyes widening when he got to the bottom of the first page.

"You put me in your class, sensei?"

"No." Hitoshi glanced up from the papers to see his teacher grinning at him. "You've earned a spot in my class, and I'm proud to now be your homeroom teacher as well as your mentor."

Bang.

Someone slammed open the door to the cell. Shouta groaned, the throbbing in his leg increasing his desire to dive headfirst back into unconsciousness. He tried to open his eyes, but it felt as though weights were holding his eyelids down.

"Is this really him?"

Footsteps rapidly approached his chair, their owner lifting his head up. He grimaced and a white flash cut through the darkness. For the first time since his capture, he was grateful for the restraints. At least they kept him relatively still while whoever was touching him didn't seem to care if they jostled him.

"Do you really have so little faith in me?"

At the sound of Yasunari's voice, Shouta made another attempt to open his eyes, this one slightly more successful than the first. His vision was blurry, but the man before him slowly became clearer. He was young, not any older than himself if Shouta had to guess. His grin widened when the erasure hero met his gaze. Yasunari laughed and approached the two, clapping a hand on the man's shoulder.

"It's nice to see you're finally awake, Eraser. You sure took your time waking up. Don't get too attached, Harada. I haven't decided if I'm going to sell him yet."

Harada smirked, finally letting go of Shouta's head and causing it to drop back down to his chest.

"You might want to reconsider. Eraser's in rough condition, but he'll do if you don't get the rest of my order tonight."

The rest of the order...he has to be one of the clients….

"I'll get your order, don't worry," Yasunari assured with his infuriatingly confident grin.

"That's what you said three days ago."

Peeking through the strands of his hair, he saw the ring leader's smile falter for the briefest moment. It returned the instant the cell door opened yet again. His stomach dropped when he saw Hizashi enter. He swiftly approached Yasunari and pulled him aside. He automatically turned to follow them only to have his vision blur at the attempt. He clenched his eyes shut before forcing himself to blink, willing his vision to clear back up. Mutters drifted over to his ears, but he couldn't even begin to comprehend what the two could potentially be discussing. It wasn't until Yasunari spoke up that he could finally hear.

"Keep at him, Yamada."

The cell door creaked shut. Yet again, a set of footsteps rounded the captive hero. Shouta expected to be yanked up by his hair. He expected harsh fingers digging into the wound on his shoulder or prodding his broken ribs.

What he didn't expect was to have a pair of gentle hands brush his hair to the side nor the prick in his neck that soon followed.

The tension left his body and a medicated heaviness slowly crept over its place.

What…the…hell….

"Wh…what 're y—"

"Shhh…."

Hizashi quickly shushed his feeble attempt to speak. Shouta's eyes drooped shut and he couldn't have reopened them if he tried. He felt the blond adjust his head so it was resting against the man's stomach, admittedly taking the strain off of his neck. He felt himself rapidly fading, the fingers carding through his hair lulling him further into the darkness.

"You and Tensei were part of the raid, right?"

He looked up from his stack of essays to the abnormally quiet blond. The two had been in the teacher's lounge for over an hour and his friend hadn't said anything since he came in and settled down. Come to think of it, Hizashi hadn't been himself since the staff meeting the day before. He'd been absorbed in whatever assignment he was grading. Hizashi didn't even glance up from the papers.

"Yeah."

Hizashi's lips quirked into a frown.

"Do you think it's Yasunari?"

His expression soon mirrored his friend.

"I sincerely hope it's not."

"Is that why you're picking up extra patrols?" Hizashi was finally looking at him now, giving him a sheepish smile. "I happened to catch the tail end of your conversation with Nemuri this morning."

He sighed and nodded.

"I…I don't want it to be him, but if it is, we have to catch him as soon as possible and find those students. We can't let him start up his ring again."

It was Hizashi's turn to nod. He looked back to his essays, grading the last few before putting the papers aside and curling up in his sleeping bag.

"Trying to catch a quick nap before patrol tonight?"

He could hear the amused smile in his friend's voice. He grunted and burrowed further into the sleeping bag, eyes drooping closed. There was a beat of silence before Hizashi spoke again.

"Be careful, Shouta. I don't know what's going on but…just please be careful."

His brow furrowed. In their line of work, they always were worried about each other to a degree, but he couldn't recall the last time Hizashi had outwardly expressed it. He could feel the blond's eyes on him and knew the man was anxious.

"I will, Hizashi."

"I'm sorry."

Shouta fought through the haze clouding his mind. The faint yells he heard helped bring him back in to reality. Then he heard footsteps.

A lot of them.

Is someone… running…and are…those gunshots? What the…hell?

Someone was shuffling around him, and he could have sworn he felt something lightly drop into his hair. Whoever it was, their breathing hitched.

"I'm so sorry, Sho'."

Hizashi.

He groaned as he forced himself further back into consciousness.

"Son of a bitch…you're awake…."

Gentle arms embraced him from behind. He felt Hizashi's chin on top of his head.

Don't touch…me….

He could feel his arms hanging down by his side instead of being cuffed behind the chair.

"I thought that sedative would keep you out longer," Hizashi's voice was quiet and right next to his ear. "You have to be in so much pain…I'm so sorry. It'll all be over soon. I promise."

Don't touch me.

Summoning what little strength he had, he tried to push the arms around him away.

"Shouta, settle down! You'll irritate your injuries!" Hizashi instinctively grabbed his wrists to try and keep him still, causing a pained hiss to escape the erasure hero when he gripped the mutilated skin. "Shit, Sho', I'm sorry! Please stay still!"

"Don't…touch me…." he mumbled, not letting up on his weak struggles.

Someone opened the cell door.

"Get Midnight in here!" Hizashi desperately pleaded.

Shouta froze.

Midnight…she's in on…this too?

He managed to open his eyes.

I have…to get out….

He suddenly twisted out of Hizashi's hold, fire shooting up from his leg and consuming his entire being as he fell off the chair. He couldn't hold back the scream the followed soon after. The blond dove to the ground, barely catching the hero before his beaten body could completely hit the ground.

"Let me…go…."

"Shouta, I'm so—"

The cell door burst open yet again.

"Mic, we've got everyone out, now what…." Nemuri rushed into the cell, but stopped dead in her tracks once she laid eyes on the two. Her hands flew to her mouth as she stared at the massive red puddle covering the ground. Hesitantly, she took a step closer, getting a better view of the unnatural angle at which Shouta's leg was bent and the wounds visible through the tattered remains of the jumpsuit. "Oh, Shouta…."

"Let me go!" the erasure hero grit out, still determined to get out of the blond's hold even in his injured state.

"Put him out!" Hizashi begged.

Nemuri didn't hesitate to kneel next Shouta and rip off the sleeve of her costume. Carefully, she pulled him away from the blond and held him against her, enveloping him in her mist.

"You're safe now, Shouta," she whispered to him. "It's okay. You're safe."

He fought to keep his eyes opened, but his physical struggles had ceased.

My students….

Nemuri briefly met his gaze, and he watched her eyes widen in understanding. Much against his wishes, his eyes fluttered shut, but he felt Nemuri lean in close and tuck a piece of hair behind his ear.

"Your students are fine. They're safe. All Might, Cementoss, and Blood King are with them back at the dorms. They're safe."

They're…safe….

"We need…him to a...carry him…."

Shouta didn't have a choice other than to welcome the quickly oncoming darkness with open arms.

And there it is! I was wanting to get this out a lot sooner than I did…but that's life. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This one might have left you with more questions than answers, but hopefully all y'all's questions and concerns will be resolved in the next chapter! Until then!