In case you're coming from a follower alert, Chapter 16 and 17 were posted together, so go back and read it if you haven't already! :)

Chapter Seventeen: Forgiveness

Shouta awoke to darkness, and tried not to panic.

Where was he? How long had he been unconscious? Where was Koharu?

He could feel bandages wound over his face and across the majority of his body. He remembered everything in a throbbing, painful detail. He attempted to sit up, only to be blocked by a firm hand pressing him back against the mattress. Trying to fight back with constricted arms only led to more flailing than actual fighting.

"Hey, hey— it's okay." That was Hizashi's voice, softer than usual, which meant that that was Hizashi's hand pressing him to the mattress. Shouta's struggles only marginally ceased at the revelation. "You're in a hospital. Koharu's completely uninjured. She's asleep five feet to your left in a chair."

Oh. The fight drained out of him all at once. The relief nearly left him woozy.

"What happened?" His voice was muffled through the bandages over his mouth.

Hizashi's hand left his chest. Shouta listened to the sound of a chair scraping across the floor as he presumably sat down. "One of your students alerted Midnight that there was a break-in at U.S.J.. All Might arrived first, and the rest of the faculty provided backup. Thirteen was injured and is now in recovery down the hall. Other than that, no one was seriously hurt except that one kid in your class that can't control his Quirk. Recovery Girl took care of him and All Might just fine in the nurse's office."

"Were all the villains captured?"

"Unfortunately not," responded Hizashi with an unhappy grunt. "Two of them escaped, and apparently they were the ones that really mattered. We found that 'Nomu' thing, though. All Might punched him through the ceiling."

"Ah. He's the one who did me in."

Hizashi stifled a laugh. He must have been trying to be conscientious of the sleeping teenager in the room. "Yeah, man. I can see that. You look like a low-budget mummy."

Better than being dead went unsaid, but they both heard it.

"Fuck off," Shouta said without heat. "You're the reason Koharu doesn't respect me, you know?"

"I can't help it if she likes me better!"

A low rustling met his ears, and both men froze. Shouta strained to hear more, but there was only silence. He let it stretch only until he was sure his voice wouldn't wobble when he spoke; there were too many questions on his mind to let them all go unanswered. "Does Koharu ever remind you of... him?"

Hizashi exhaled a long breath. There was only one person he could mean, and they both knew who it was. The silence stretched again. "Sometimes," Hizashi admitted into the darkness of the room. His voice sounded different, like he wasn't facing Shouta anymore.

"Though mostly, she reminds me of you."

"She could have gotten killed today because she's trying to be like me," he said, and resolutely ignored the moisture gathering under his lashes.

"Yeah," Hizashi agreed. "She could have. But she didn't."

"What if All Might had been a minute later? What would have happened then? What if he had been too late?"

Was it getting hotter in the room? The bandages around him felt like they were made of burning metal.

"He wasn't, Shouta. Don't get so worked up!"

"He could have been. So easily, he could have been!" A building had been dropped onto his chest. His every breath was a struggle, weight crushing down weak lungs that wheezed and wheezed. "He— he could have been too late, and she'd have been dead because of what an incompetant idiot he was— and I— and—"

When had he stopped talking about All Might?

"I— I can't do this, Hizashi, I can't let her die—"

The bed dipped next to him, a literal weight was dropped onto his chest. The smell of ash and dust and strawberry shampoo hit his nose.

Koharu, Koharu, oh thank fuck she's alive and she's here and she's breathing and thank god he wasn't too late—

The little weight let out a groan and snuggled firmly into his side. Every inch of pain was worth it as Shouta felt Koharu's breath puff against his collar. "Bast'rds too loud," she grumbled.

Shouta's laugh was just on the edge of hysterical, and certainly too loud. She jolted upright.

"Shouta!"

Her voice was as grating as ever. He cherished it completely.

"Don't move around so much, Koharu," chided Hizashi from their side. Shouta felt the bed shake with Koharu's effort to stop moving despite her doubtlessly boundless energy.

"Why am I up here in the first place?!"

"Because daddy's on the edge of a panic attack, dear," betrayed Hizashi.

Shouta nearly choked on his tongue. "Don't— don't call me daddy, you gross fucker."

"Hizashi, you're not helping!" He could almost see the stern pout on her face. He longed to open his eyes, to see for himself what made her smell like fire. "Shouta should be resting, and I shouldn't be up here. Help me down ri—"

"Stay." He could feel their eyes on him. The plea had burst from him before he had known it, and now he couldn't take it back. "Sorry, I..."

Koharu's weight was back, shaking so heavily that she could only be crying. All he could smell was the smoke on her skin, his mind filling in the blanks of what could have caused it. What pain she must have been in. How scared she must have been. Shouta suddenly felt as helpless as he had a decade ago, when he had first brought Koharu into his home.

His hands were shaking. Nothing had changed since then. They were just as broken as they had been on that first day. Shouta was an absolute shit brother.

"I'm so proud of you, Eraserhead," Koharu said then. "Thank you for coming home safe." She rubbed her snotty face all over his shirt. Hizashi picked up his arm and laid it over Koharu's back, loudly sniffling himself. The warmth blooming in his chest completely overtook the pain in his body.

He trusted that they wouldn't tell anyone when he started to cry along with them.

chapter end

And thus ends Season One! I thought it only fitting to begin and end the season with Shouta crying, 'cause I'm a fun person like that. We are wrapping it up at ~34,000 words. Next up will be the Sports Festival Arc, which I'm soooo freaking excited about! We've only seen hints of Koharu's fighting style so far, which was absolutely on purpose because c'mon, you know Koharu loves the drama of it all... how far do you expect she'll get in the tournament?

Aqua Salmon: Welcome back! The motivation to write has been high lately, and that's thanks in part to my lovely reviewers :) thank you for your review!

jessylane318: Welcome back! I'm really glad you like my original parts. I was feeling a bit nervous about Koharu's interaction with Shigaraki, but I like how it turned out. I'm really looking forward to answering your questions in Season Two :D thank you so much for your review!

Otakugirl1996: Welcome back! Thank you for your review!

oLainao: Welcome back! Did you just write fanfiction for my fanfiction?! That's seriously so cool! You are my new favourite person in the world (don't tell my mom). Thank you so much!

Teletraan: Welcome back! I hope that you'll post your stories one day! I've discovered that it can be a lot of fun sharing your creations with others. Thanks for your review!

M: Welcome back! I'm glad you enjoyed Koharu's decision making :) thank you for your review!