It is Thursday so here's another chapter! Y'all get to enjoy more of Deku being stupid and Todoroki putting up with his stubbornness. Thanks for your ongoing support and see you Monday!

The phone lines were back up.

Ochako almost cried in relief at the news. Now they could contact the nearest city to see when the jet would arrive and get more professionals out to rescue her friends. As of right now, she and her classmates were waiting in the main lobby room while Aizawa and All Might talked on the phone in another room. Aizawa had returned less than an hour ago but had left the other jeeps out to keep looking.

Meanwhile, all of Class 1-A was eager for more news and no one could hide it.

"What's taking them so long?" Kirishima demanded. He was pacing the floor with his hands shoved into his pockets. "They should be back by now."

"Mr. Aizawa just wants to be thorough," Iida said from where he sat on the couch across from him. "We have to be patient while he discusses the situation."

"Yeah, but could he be quicker about it?"

"I agree," Tsuyu croaked. "I'm worried too."

"Oh, shut up, waiting isn't that bad!" Bakugo exploded, and Tsuyu flinched away from next to his table.

"Bakugo, be nice, man," Kirishima said exasperatedly. "Everyone's nervous."

"That doesn't give them the freaking excuse to keep whining about it!" Bakugo snarled, still keeping his eye on the frog girl.

"Hang on, guys, I think they're coming back!" Ashido squealed (she had been poking her head to spy into the hallway where Aizawa and All Might were with a few Yemen police officers).

Excited chatter rang out from the class with various comments on what the verdict would be. However, their voices stopped whenever Aizawa and the others came out of the hallway and turned into the lobby room.

Ochako bit her lip and tried to make out what she could from their expressions from where she stood. Aizawa was unreadable as always and All Might seemed a bit relieved… meanwhile, the officers stood behind them with stone expressions.

Aizawa didn't hesitate to start speaking. "The helicopter will be here tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"

"I can't believe it, that's so soon!"

"Todoroki and Midoriya will be out of there in no time!"

There was no shortage of excitement from Class 1-A and the Yemen officers almost seemed alarmed by it.

"Calm down… quiet! There's more!" Aizawa snapped, and almost all at once the class turned silent.

"What is it, Mr. Aizawa?" Iida questioned. "Something bad?"

"I wouldn't call it that, but I don't want any exaggerated reactions over this decision," Aizawa grunted. "All Might and I have decided that, if we haven't found Midoriya and Todoroki within the next three days, then you're all going back home."

Absolute silence.

"W-what?" Ochako whispered. "But… you can't…"

"I can," Aizawa said. "There's no point in you all staying here if you're not learning anything."

"But I've learned plenty of stuff!" Kirishima insisted. "Like… the desert. It's both orange and red! It has to do with minerals or something, right?"

"He means about our quirks, you idiot," Bakugo hissed.

"Yes, as Bakugo pointed out, I mean your quirks." Aizawa closed his eyes. "The whole point of bringing you all out here was to test out your abilities in a non-constrained environment. But with two of your classmates missing, we simply don't have the time or the means to train you. And staying at this hotel for any longer is costly. I've made up my mind, and I expect you all to abide by my decision."

"Yes, sir," the class echoed sadly, save for Bakugo who didn't seem to care about staying at all.

"All right, kids, I know it's been a hard few days but I want to thank you all for staying as positive as you can," All Might told them with a gentle smile. "We do appreciate you cooperating and I promise you, we're doing everything in our power to find your classmates."

Ochako bit her lip. But… would their efforts be enough?

"Now, it's almost lunchtime so I suggest you all get ready," Aizawa said. "I'll be here planning for the rest of the day while the jeeps are out looking, so you can ask any of your questions then. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, Mr. Aizawa!" Iida shouted. "We'll do our best to live up to your expectations!"

"Good."

Ochako only sighed. It was good that the helicopter was coming- more than good, it was a miracle- but she hated the thought of leaving her friends before they had the chance to rescue them.

Silently, she said a prayer that they'd find Deku and Todoroki before the three days were up. If not, then she wasn't sure how much longer either of them could last.

Although it had been a while, Izuku still was upset over the skull he'd found. Who had it even belonged to? Was it a man or woman? Adult or child? Did they have a family? Had they been out here with another person as well, but they just hadn't found the other body?

He lowered his head, keeping his eyes on the ground as he trudged through the sand. He wished they had gotten a proper burial rather than being submerged by the sand over time.

And… if that same thing happened to him and Todoroki, then…

Squeezing his eyes shut, he did his best to block out the horrid image of him being buried by the desert in his mind. If that happened, nobody would ever find him. He'd be out here, forever, until his bones finally rotted away.

A sharp pain in his arm brought him back to focus and he looked back up. Somehow, he'd dropped in speed and was quite a few feet away from Todoroki who was walking ahead.

He sighed; he was in need of another break but didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to be… useless.

As he tried to return to his thoughts, he found that it soon became harder and harder to focus on anything but the pain growing in his arm and head. His mind felt muddled from his fever and his arm hardly enjoyed the heat. I just want to get out of this sun, he inwardly cried.

He brought his hand up to his face and wiped away the grit collecting on it. It was just getting so hot out… he wanted to take off his jacket but he almost felt too weak to even try. Besides, he didn't want to get burned by the sun and it was easier to wear it than carrying it around.

When he blinked next, the world around him suddenly grew very fuzzy and his legs trembled as they took the next step forward. What… was going on? Why did everything feel so sluggish? His fingers pinched his brow. Get it together. You have to keep going.

However, his body didn't seem to understand his perfectly valid point for walking and continued to sway. Before long, he realized how bad it was getting and fast. This was not good. In fact, it was the exact opposite of good. He'd promised Todoroki he'd stay out of trouble and here he was, with a messed up arm and a fever. Perfect.

He shook his head, trying to break through his haze but it didn't do him any good.

Would the sun just stop shining?

The sound of his footsteps drilled into his brain. He felt every impact, heard every sound, tasted every wave of dust brought up by the wind. Slowly, he looked back up ahead where Todoroki was walking.

Huh. Funny, it looked like his friend was just a mirage from the sand.

His feet stumbled over each other and he had to fight to keep upright. He wanted to rub his aching forehead but he simply didn't have the strength. His arm was killing him, his head pounded like a hammer, and his mouth was so parched it felt like it was about to crack and bleed.

I need water, he finally realized. That must have been why he felt so bad. If he was genuinely sick, then he would have to keep hydrated and he hadn't drank anything for a while. Todoroki had the water bottles up ahead, so he just had to ask him.

He opened his mouth to call for his friend to stop but nothing but a hoarse croak came out. What? Why couldn't he speak? His lips formed the words, yet his body didn't obey.

"T-To… Tod…." His voice was barely above a whisper and it scared him. He should've realized how bad off he was earlier. Why wait until now for water? He should've thought ahead and taken advantage of Todoroki's quirk to make him some more.

He shifted his arm in its sling and looked back up, prepared to try one more attempt. "T-Todo… ro-roki…!" he said. The words were louder this time- he just hoped they were loud enough. However, after waiting another moment he saw that Todoroki still didn't turn around.

He struggled to call again, but this time his voice was back to a whisper. His head swam and it was hard to focus on what he was doing anymore. Gosh, he just wanted something to drink.

In an abrupt surprise, his feet caught over each other and suddenly he was no longer able to keep himself standing. With one last grunt, he tumbled to the sand and crumpled in its soft blanket. He barely felt the pain in his arm anymore. The warmth around him felt good, safe, and overall inviting. He didn't want to move.

Faintly, he wondered if anyone besides his mother and All Might would miss him. Probably Uraraka and Iida, perhaps Todoroki, but not many others. Even though he had made friends since he'd gotten into U.A., it wasn't like they were close enough to really care if he died or not. The blackness was pulling him and he gladly went with it. It felt like he was in a tunnel. A warm, safe tunnel that kept him safe from pain and weariness. He didn't want to leave.

He didn't know how much time had passed before someone suddenly shouted, "Midoriya!" Something warm and wet splashed down onto his face and he gasped, eyes flying open.

He was on his back now. His vision was blurry as he looked up and he saw someone's head hovering over his. It was a mixture of smeared red, white, and beige, but his vision was so bad he couldn't make out what it was.

"Slowly, now… here."

Tod...oroki?

Something hard pressed against his lips and shortly afterward he recognized it as the mouth of a water bottle. Desperately, he fumbled to gulp down as much as he could, but Todoroki was quick to stop him.

"Not so fast!" he told him and his hand pulled away from the bottle. "Take a few sips and wait… the water isn't going anywhere."

Almost deliriously, Izuku nodded and he didn't have to wait another second before the water was back at his lips. This time, he was careful to only take a few sips with Todoroki coaching him along.

"Is that enough?" Todoroki asked him once he had downed the whole water bottle over a few minutes. "Or should I make some more?"

"That's… good," Izuku whispered, wearily staring up at his friend. "T-thanks…" And he was grateful. The water he'd drank wasn't especially cold, but it was liquid and he'd never tasted anything sweeter.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Todoroki let the water bottle fall to the ground and ran a hand through his matted hair. "Midoriya… what happened this time? Is it your arm?" His tone gentled. "Are you all right?"

"I just... didn't have enough w-water," Izuku managed out. "Can you help me sit up?"

Todoroki nodded, and his hands guided Izuku's shoulders upward while he grunted. He was already sore from the fall he'd taken and he knew he'd be feeling it even more tomorrow.

"You all right?" Todoroki asked him.

Izuku swallowed, still dazed. "I… d-don't know."

"Did you hurt your arm again when you fell?" Todoroki seemed even more worried than before.

Izuku slowly shook his head. "No," he breathed. "I think it's fine. I just needed something to drink… and m-maybe eat."

Todoroki rubbed his temple. "Dang it, we should have saved the granola bars for later. We don't have anything left."

"It's fine," Izuku said quickly. "We can just hunt something tonight!"

"I don't know if your body can wait that long. Your blood sugar levels are probably so low right now that your body couldn't take it with the combined pressure of your injured arm."

"I'm not even hungry," Izuku protested.

"Midoriya…"

"The heat took away my appetite! I can wait until tonight, believe me." Yet, could he? He honestly didn't know. His body felt so weak right now that even the thought of standing up made him want to curl up into a ball and never move again. However, he wasn't about to tell Todoroki that.

"Well, we're still not moving any time soon," Todoroki told him. "Not until you've recovered."

For once, Izuku didn't argue. He knew that he needed a break and only nodded in return.

"Do you need anything? Maybe you should try to lie down and close your eyes for a while," Todoroki suggested.

"N-no thanks, I'm good just sitting here," Izuku stammered. "Uh, I-I just… maybe we could just talk since I can't walk yet."

Todoroki's eyebrows lifted. "Talk? What about?"

"I-I don't know. Anything!" Izuku swallowed. "But it's fine if you don't want to. I just wanted to wake my head up."

"Your head?" Todoroki pursed his lips. "Don't tell me it's hurting too."

"Then I won't."

"Midoriya! Why didn't you say something sooner?" He furrowed his brow. "What's wrong? Did you hit it?"

"No, nothing like that! It's just…" Izuku squinted. "Fuzzy."

Todoroki cocked his head. "Fuzzy."

"Yeah, it's like-" Izuku didn't want to admit that it was because of his fever but what else could he even say? "I don't know if I'm sick or not, but… it's just hard to concentrate on anything right now."

Todoroki leaned back. "So you admit you have a fever?"

Izuku stayed quiet for a minute before he shrugged. "I don't know."

Todoroki pinched his nose as if all of this were giving him a headache. "You have to tell me these things, Midoriya! How am I supposed to help you if you won't let me know what's going on?"

"I-I didn't know either!" Izuku told him. "I just thought I was thirsty."

"You were a lot more than thirsty, Midoriya," Todoroki said quietly as he turned back to look at him. "Now, the only thing that's going to bring the fever down is rest, water, and a cold compress. So lay down while I make some ice to put on your head."

"What?! Todoroki, I'm not laying down, I'm fine!"

"Tell me, would you rather have your fever get worse or endure half an hour of rest?" However, he didn't wait for an answer before he started to make ice from his right arm. "Are you going to lay down yet?"

Unhappy but knowing he didn't have much of a choice, Izuku slowly lowered himself back onto the ground and waited. It was embarrassing to have Todoroki baby him like this. It was just a small fever, and how much could some ice really do?

Without warning, something very cold suddenly pressed against his forehead and he yelped, almost sitting back up. "Todoroki, what are you-"

"Calm down, Midoriya, it's just ice."

"It's pretty cold…!"

"The colder it is, the more effective."

"It doesn't work like that!"

"Just keep still and let it do its work."

"Ah, okay!" Izuku closed his eyes and did his best to keep his mind off the freezing block of ice on his head.

This was going to be a long "rest".