Y'all I literally took 3 plane trips yesterday and went back 6 hours in time to get to my vacation spot so I'm so tired right now ahhh, but here's the update. Enjoy and please review!

As soon as All Might pried his tired eyes open at the sound of his phone ringing, he knew that it was here. The helicopter. Finally.

Ever since they had gotten word of its coming, he'd been waiting, and now it was here. Somehow, he'd managed to fall asleep last night in his hotel room while Aizawa waited up for any news. Now, it seemed to only be a little before seven and he knew that they had to get a move on as quickly as possible.

There was no time to lose. Hopping out of bed and grabbing his now-silent phone, All Might returned to his muscle form and made his way towards the door. He didn't bother wasting time changing; the clothes he was already wearing would work fine.

It wasn't another minute before he had arrived at the downstairs lobby. Aizawa was waiting next to a few other town officials, looking even more tired than yesterday. "All Might. That was quick," he grunted. "Are you ready to go?"

All Might nodded firmly. "Of course. I don't want to keep young Midoriya and Todoroki waiting any longer."

"Then let's move. They've already got two pilots in the helicopter outside."

Aizawa began to move towards the door and All Might followed him. Sure enough, he could spot a helicopter resting in a bare, sandy field a few hundred feet away with its jet already roaring. Impressed, All Might nodded to himself. With this, they'd find their two students in no time.

"Aizawa, is there anyone else coming with us?" All Might called, having to raise his voice as they came closer to the loud roaring of the engine.

Aizawa didn't even turn to look at him. "Yes, one resident from town, 'Ekram.' He supposedly knows the desert fairly well and when a storm's coming soon."

"Anyone with a quirk that could help the search move faster?"

"No, no one stepped up with anything. It'll just be us."

They were so close to the helicopter now that they practically had to shout to communicate. All Might blinked, amazed at how big it looked. He just hoped it would hold out as they traveled across the expanse desert.

Turning around now, Aizawa motioned for All Might to board the helicopter by means of a rickety stairway that was leaning against it. All Might stepped in front of the teacher before approaching the stairs. It didn't look perfectly safe, but they couldn't waste any more time dawdling. It was time to move.

He began to climb the stairs and felt Aizawa's uneven footsteps following behind him. Before long, he'd reached the top and was stepping inside of the cockpit. Three men were already inside- one who was clearly the pilot, another who seemed to be the co-pilot, and the last one who was wearing a faded blue uniform that didn't match the others. That must be the man from town, All Might thought. Ekram.

The co-pilot handed him a pair of earmuffs and gratefully, he put them on. The engine truly was too loud. As he took his seat next to Ekram, he sighed, nerves finally settling in for what they were about to do.

The desert was a vast, empty place. Its harsh climate meant that virtually no life could survive. Midoriya and Todoroki could be anywhere inside of it and there was no telling how far they'd have to look before they found them. And with only one helicopter at their disposal… they could only pray that they would search in the right direction.

His eyes narrowed.

Young Midoriya, Todoroki… I will find you both. I swear it. At the thought of his successor, his heart hurt and he couldn't ignore the guilt he felt for letting this happen to him in the first place. If only he'd been there earlier for him-

No. There's nothing I could have done. Aizawa explained what happened and if I had been there and tried to make a move, somebody would have been shot.

He sighed and glanced out the hazy window. Certainly, it was going to be a long day.

Todoroki was dreaming.

He was back inside his father's house, and his body felt very small. Was he a child again? As he looked up, he saw his looming above with a very dark expression.

"Shoto, did you make this mess?" He shoved a meaty finger in the direction of broken glass on the ground, with milk spilled everywhere. "Answer me!"

Todoroki flinched, alarmed at how realistic it felt. Usually, when he dreamt about his father, he was confronting him about his abusive childhood, but he was never a child. Still, it always went down a different way- once he had even gone so far as to stab his father in the leg when he tried to walk away, before bringing in Midoriya to guilt-trip him into apologizing. But this time… it felt very different.

"Shoto…" Endeavor took a step closer to him. "I asked you a question."

"Y-yes, I did it!" Todoroki admitted, suddenly feeling very afraid. "I'm sorry!"

"You're sorry? Sorry doesn't clean it up!" Flames were roaring all across his father's body.

"I'll clean it up now…"

"You better! And make it quick, you have training in five minutes!"

Why was this happening? Todoroki gritted his teeth as he bent over and began to collect the broken glass into one pile. Why was he giving his father the satisfaction of being right? However, just as he was looking back up to face the man, a piece of glass cut against his skin and he hissed.

Endeavor only laughed. "Poor little Shoto. Can't do anything right."

"Shut… up…" Todoroki whispered as he slowly rose.

"What? Talking back to me? You don't have the right," Endeavor sneered. "You can't even keep one person alive."

Todoroki froze. Wait. What? "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"I'm talking about your pathetic little friend!" Endeavor snapped. "He's going to die and it's all your fault."

"No," Todoroki said. "He said his arm is fine. He wouldn't lie if it was really sick."

"You really believe that?"

Todoroki was beginning to get a sinking feeling in his stomach, but at the same time, he didn't want his father to be right, even if this was only a dream. "I will make sure he survives," he said with false certainty. "As will I."

"Well…" Endeavor gave a sick smile. "Good luck with that."

In a start, the world around him went black and he felt his senses returning to him. Hard sand pressed against his back and he suddenly became aware of dust clogging his throat and nose. Coughing slightly, his eyes snapped open and they gradually focused on the hazy blue sky above him. It was… morning?

Something was wrong.

In fact, every part of mind screamed at him to get up.

He turned his head to the side to see if Izuku was already up, and his eyes widened when he realized that the spot beside him was vacant. Only Izuku's untidy blanket proved he had been there in the first place. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and scanned the area around him. There was nothing but open blue sky and sand.

Now, his fears were confirmed. It wasn't just his imagination- something was truly wrong.

He stood himself up from the sand and stretched slightly, shaking what little sand he could off his body. As he did, his eyes roamed around the area to see if he could find his friend. He hadn't wandered off, had he? In such a large desert, it would be easy to become lost…

He slowly turned around, taking in every bit of his surroundings as he did. There was nothing. Just shimmering orange sand and-

There!

His eyes locked around a small figure hunched over on the sand, about twenty yards away. Although it was hard to see what it was, at the sign of green hair he knew it was his friend.

"Midoriya," he said aloud. Confusion replaced his fear and he frowned. What was he doing all the way out there?

He began to walk toward the other boy as his thoughts started to flow. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep. While watching out for the wolf last night, he'd felt very tired but didn't know he'd actually given into sleep's lull. It couldn't be after eight yet, but still, he regretted not getting an earlier move on. However, now that was the least of his concerns. Right now, he was only focused on finding out why Izuku had left their campsite and what he was doing so far out.

As he approached the other boy, his eyebrows lifted when he noticed he seemed to be hunched over in pain. Was it his arm? But why had he left their camp because of it?

A few moments later, he finally arrived behind his friend.

"Midoriya. I've been looking for you…" Todoroki cut himself off as Izuku suddenly gagged onto the ground, spitting out what looked to be a little water and not much else. As Todoroki looked closer, it seemed that whatever had been in his stomach before was already on the ground.

Izuku panted heavily for a long moment before he was finally able to manage to turn his head and look at Todoroki. Todoroki stiffened at the sight of him.

His face was drawn pale despite the toll the sun had taken on him these last days, and dark bags were smeared under his eyes. He looked more than exhausted, and his once bright green hair was dulled down to a nearly unrecognizable shade. Every cut seemed to be flaring bright on his face and dried dirt and sand were smeared across his face. He didn't just look bad. He looked horrible.

Todoroki's eyes widened as he stepped closer. "Midoriya, are you... ill?"

"I'm-I'm fine," Izuku said raspily, but the tone of his voice said differently.

Todoroki lowered himself next to his friend and tightened his jaw. "You are sick, aren't you?"

Izuku didn't answer, hanging his head as he swiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

"Is it your arm?" Todoroki noticed that the other boy stiffened at this. That meant that he already had his answer. Faintly, his dream crossed his mind and fear rose in his chest at the thought of letting Izuku's arm kill him as his father had implied. "Let me look at it. We need to treat it."

"With what, Todoroki?" Izuku finally said, his voice weak and scratchy. He coughed a few times before he shook his head. "We don't have anything that could help. Besides, it's-it's not that bad."

"Midoriya." Todoroki stared at him. "We at least need to clean it."

Izuku's eyes welled a little and he looked away. "I… I don't want you to see it." He hesitated. "Please."

Todorki's eyes widened. It couldn't be that bad, could it? But based on his terrible appearance…

"I can handle it," he told him. "Midoriya, you promised me you'd let me help when things got bad. And now that time is here. I know you want to handle things on your own but can't you see that you can't anymore?"

"Todoroki-" Izuku's eyes darted away. "I don't… There's nothing you can do."

"Stop saying that!" Todoroki exclaimed. "We may not have supplies but I do have my ice and I can prevent infection from spreading. I'm only going to ask this one more time, so…" He held out his hand. "Can I see your arm?"

Izuku looked away.

Todoroki remained staring.

An entire minute passed before any more was spoken. And, to Todoroki's great surprise, that word was, "Okay." Izuku winced after saying this and turned back to look up at his friend. "Just please don't say anything about it. I am going to get out of here no matter what it looks like."

Todoroki let out a breath of relief, but his gratitude was short-lived when he remembered that Izuku's arm could very well be life-threatening.

What if, even when they were saved, the doctors had to cut it off?

Todoroki swallowed. No. That couldn't happen. It wouldn't. With all of the quirks that hospitals had, it was impossible…

If we even reach a hospital.

Oh, shut up, he thought back. I'll make sure we get back in time.

"All right, let's take off the sling," he said. "Then we can clean it off easier."

"Sure…" Izuku began to fumble with getting the sling off but it proved to be a challenge with only one hand. Quickly, Todoroki came to his aid and helped him slip his arm out of it before lifting it off his neck. Once it was gone, Izuku breathed out in relief. "Wow, I feel a lot lighter now, thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. We still haven't seen your arm."

Izuku winced, averting his eyes. "Just… like I said before, it looks worse than it actually is."

"Whatever it looks like, I can handle it. Now, let's see your arm."

Izuku sighed. "Okay… here." Gently, he held out his left arm and Todoroki helped him pry away the dirty grey fabric from his skin. It was still stained with dry, brown blood. The more he lifted it up, the tighter Todoroki's chest grew and he found himself holding his breath. Finally, he pulled away the last of the fabric and both of the boys went silent as they looked at it.

Izuku looked down. "It's not-"

"Don't."

Todoroki couldn't pry his eyes away from the sight of Izuku's arm. Red and swollen, it looked like an ugly rash had exploded throughout the skin. There was evidence of dried blood still flaked around and the whole arm looked hot to the touch- not to mention how oddly twisted the bone looked underneath. It was definitely infected.

Swallowing, he carefully felt along the injured limb until Izuku cried out halfway up to his elbow.

"S-sorry," Izuku whispered, his face drawn pale. "It doesn't hurt that bad."

"No, it's good that we know where the break is," Todoroki told him. "That way, we have a better idea of how we can treat the infection." He bit his lip, an idea coming to his mind. "I know you might not like this, but I think I may need to use my flames on you."

Izuku's eyes widened. "What?"

"I won't burn you if that's what you're worried about. I just need to kill the infection. I know you have a fever that's working at it, but that might not be enough." The more he thought about his friend, the more worried Todoroki became. He wasn't sure how much longer Izuku could last like this. He was amazed he'd been able to walk as much as he had already.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you think is best," Izuku agreed. When Todoroki didn't respond, he squinted. "Todoroki?"

"Oh… I was just going over the procedure in my head." Todoroki sighed. "All right, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"I'll warn you now, it will hurt some," he cautioned. "I can control my flames well, but not perfectly. It'll be hard to target the infection and not burn the actual skin. Are you sure you still want to do this?"

After a pause of thinking, Izuku nodded. "I can't risk it getting any worse. I need to do it."

"Okay." Todoroki inhaled, raising his left palm. Before long, he felt warmth growing inside of it and knew that his power was ready. He lowered his hand over where the arm was broken and pressed against it. Izuku hissed at the heat, while Todoroki did his best to keep his quirk under control.

"H-how long do you have t-to do it?" Izuku stammered.

"A good minute or two. I have to raise your body temperature so much that it starts to kill off the bacteria. How are you doing?"

"Uh… all right." Izuku cracked a reassuring smile. "Really. I can take it."

Still not convinced, Todoroki lowered his head and stared at his left hand. It was a little difficult to keep his temperatures under control- it was much easier to do it with his right side, which he'd trained with more- and making sure he was reaching underneath the skin and not burning Izuku's actual arm was another challenge entirely.

"Just a little longer," he said again.

Izuku sucked in a breath, nodding.

There was only silence as the next minute passed, and as soon as it was over Todoroki drew his hand away. Izuku recoiled and looked like he was trying to hold back from crying out again.

"It's going to hurt for a bit," Todoroki said regretfully. "I'm sorry."

"N-no!" Izuku said through gritted teeth. "It's… it's all fine. I just hope this is enough to kill it."

Todoroki frowned. "In the meantime, I think we should get you something to eat- and drink. You were only just throwing up…"

Izuku looked slightly embarrassed and lowered his head, hair falling over his forehead. "I… I don't think I can keep anything down right now."

"You at least need to drink some water to keep hydrated. Here." Standing up, Todoroki offered him a hand. "Let's go back to our backpacks and get your water bottle. You're going to need something to make you last through the day." He was still disturbed over what Izuku's arm looked like. He didn't even know if he could even keep walking throughout the day.

Tentatively, Izuku took Todoroki's hand and let himself be pulled off the ground. "I-I guess." He looked down at his feet. "I'm just sorry you have to do everything around here. When I woke up and felt sick, I thought that I'd only cause more trouble if you found out. The wolf attack only just happened last night, after all. We didn't need anything else to worry about."

Todoroki's brow lifted. "Midoriya, you can't help but give me more of a load of things to do and I don't mind. As I said earlier, that's just how it worked out."

"Yeah, I-I know that." Izuku shrugged, carefully holding his arm as he stood there. "If I feel sick again, I'll let you know."

"Well, I hope you will." Todoroki bent over and collected Izuku's black sling from the ground before standing back up. They'd redress and clean it back at camp. "All right, let's head back now. We can treat the rest of your injuries there."

"Wait, what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you need to check your head, don't you?" Izuku pointed out. "It was really bleeding when we first got here…"

Todoroki reached for his head and was a little surprised when he felt the messy bandage still there. He was surprised that its fabric had lasted as long as it had. "Oh, it's fine, Midoriya. It doesn't hurt nearly as much anymore."

Izuku still looked unconvinced. "Well, you need to eat and drink something too!"

"I appreciate your concern, but you don't need to baby me," Todoroki quipped, but a second later he realized that was exactly what he was doing to Izuku. Shaking his head, he began to walk back in the direction of camp. "We can talk about this later. Let's focus on you for now."

With no other choice, Izuku followed him back across the sand.