Chapter 8: The Doctor is In
Summary:
The scare of losing his Kacchan gives Izuku nightmares. He sits down with recovery girl and asks her to train him to heal.
Italics are dreams
Italic underline are thoughts
Izuku is cold, its dark, there is a wavering orange glow around a blond boy. Izuku knows this person is important to him but he can't figure out how right now. He smells blood in the air choking and thick with iron. He sees it pooling around this precious person in front of him. He tries to get up his legs are shaking. He tries to call out only hearing distressed growls and whimpers. He sees the blood inching closer to him; why can't he move? Why can't he help? He watches as the orange glow fades to nothing hearing a distant scream "KACCHAN"
Izuku jolts awake a scream caught in his lungs, he feels paralyzed, he can't breathe. All he can do is replay the sight of Kacchan's soul fading. He is terrified and in full paralyzing panic eyes frantically searching the room for any sign of the blonde boy. He sniffs the air no blood, no iron; just the calming smell of burnt sugar and crackling campfire. He relaxes a little and takes in his surroundings he feels a weight next to him. He looks down and notices the blonde boy curled to him. He shakily lets out the breath he was holding and moves to get out of bed knowing he won't be able to sleep. For months it has been the same nightmare repeatedly, he changes into some warmer clothes and quietly makes his way to the garden.
He has been trying to talk with his wolf by meditating; it feels hopeless. He gets up and goes to the training dummy Shanks uses and starts working on his hand to hand combat. He is trying to create his own fighting style one that utilizing his wolf's strength, agility, and speed. His hands are bleeding his flames working to heal the damage as he creates it. He punches and kicks till the fear goes away but once it does all that is left is hopeless desperation. He slides down to his knees eye water uncontrollably tears flowing down his cheeks in an unstoppable stream. Lost to his emotions he doesn't realize that he has started screaming.
Shanks hears some screaming coming from outside and gets out of bed and heads outside to investigate. He enters the garden and sees Izuku in mid breakdown, he approaches slowly and pulls the distressed boy into a firm hug. He waits until the boy stops screaming cries morphing into sniffles and asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Izuku shakes his head not knowing how to put it into words. Shanks nods his head and continues holding the distressed boy knowing he'll talk eventually. Izuku takes a few shaky breaths "I -Kacchan – There was so much blood. Then nothing." He tries to get his thought in order. Shanks in understanding just sits there and listens Izuku's mind is impressive but it is sometimes hard for the boy to organize the thoughts in moments of extreme distress. Izuku reorders his thoughts "I was so scared, I couldn't move, I couldn't save him. There was so much blood and I couldn't do anything. I let Kacchan die and all I could do was scream."
Shanks holds him tighter "You didn't let Katsuki die he survived because you knew something was wrong and got there in time. You got between him and his mother and protected him when he couldn't protect himself. He survived because you healed the damage. You did that you moved. Your dream wasn't real, you saved him he is in your bed every night cuddling you because he is safe."
Izuku hic-ups "Why wont these dreams go away what can I do to make sure this doesn't happen anymore to people I love. I'm so scared Fuji doesn't respond to me. Why can't I hear him? I know he's there."
"I have someone that wants to meet you, she said she will help you learn to heal."
"I don't want to be a healer."
"I know but what if something happens to your partner, Ace, Luffy, Katsuki, or other healers with you in battle. This person knows you do not want to be trapped into a hospital and she will not try to pressure you. I already told her the consequences that would happen if she forces you"
"I'll talk to her; can I go see her tomorrow?"
"I will call at a more appropriate hour, for now go to Katsuki, he is worried about you."
Izuku nods and wiggles out of Shanks grip "Thanks Shanks, I'll go see Kacchan"
Shanks smiles he tries to be a father figure to the boys, he recently found out that Izuku's Dad abandoned them when Izuku was diagnosed as quirkless. His dad was ashamed for spawning a quirkless child. Shanks stepped up and offered a support system to all the Boys. Ace and Luffy well that's obvious their Dads are not here one being a fugitive and the other dead. Katsuki's father died saving Katsuki from a fire was he was an infant. Since he got stranded here, he has gotten closer to Inko and the Boys, made friends in All Might and Nighteye. He even enjoys training the interns.
Izuku scampers into the house and goes to his room. Katsuki is sitting up trying to cover up his worry but Izuku smiles knowing Katsuki worries the most out of all the boys. He hides it well but Izuku knows its there. "Hi Kacchan, sorry I woke up." Izuku says sheepishly.
"Whatever Nerd." Katsuki grumbles looking away from Izuku. Izuku can see a pout forming and he smiles "Just get back in bed. 'M cold." The pout has formed only Izuku sees this side of Katsuki. He hides his softer emotions behind his explosive personality; but when Katsuki and Izuku are alone he lets these softer emotions crack though.
"Of course, Kacchan" Izuku smiles and climbs back in bed. This time it's Izuku's face pressed against Katsuki's chest needing to hear the other boy's heartbeat. He fell back to sleep, Katsuki falling soon after. Holding on tight to the smaller boy.
Izuku didn't have another dream that night. When he woke up Katsuki was already up and getting ready for breakfast. Following the other boy Izuku heads down to breakfast. Shanks is sitting at the table his mom already left for work. Ace and Luffy watching T.V. some hero fight Izuku seen already. Giving his attention to Shanks he asks, "Did you call them yet?" Shanks nods "Yea she wants you there this morning so after your finished breakfast we will head out."
Izuku finishes has breakfast, Shanks and the other boys pile into the car. While in the car Izuku wraps his tails around Katsuki he has been even more clingy toward Katsuki since his near death. Izuku looks out the window he watches the car go past the buildings, other people he wonders where they are going. The car slows as a massive building with massive walls comes into view. Izuku recognizes this place and is filling with awe and excitement. Katsuki looks over and grins he likes it when Izuku is his normally nerdy self. Shanks stops the car at the back of the building. "Stay with me do not wonder off. We won't be here too long" getting nods or agreement he leads the group through the back and to Recovery Girl's office. Shanks knocks on the door.
"Come in," Recovery Girls answers. "Good morning Shanks, this must be Izuku, Ace, Luffy and Katsuki."
The boys all say hello and find somewhere to sit. Izuku looks at Recovery Girl and twiddles is fingers. "Shanks said you might be able to help me, if we can, may we talk in private." Izuku asks shyly.
"Yes, come on child" She leads him to an office attached to the medic room "Now what seems to be troubling you"
Izuku tells her the dreams he's been having; he tells her his fears that Katsuki died. Why couldn't he move? Why couldn't he save Katsuki in his dreams? He tells her about the blood he imagines is soaking his skin and it just WON'T COME OFF. He tells her about the late-night training, not being able to talk to his wolf. He tells her he can't sleep. "Can you help me?"
"It sounds like you are suffering from PTSD, there are meds you can take that will help. There are therapies you can take as well. Have you brought your fears up to Katsuki?"
"No, I haven't, I don't want to worry him with problems that shouldn't be there. I was thinking that I need to focus on something beside the what ifs. I want to start learning some medical."
"Oh? Have you decided to be a healer?"
Izuku narrows his eyes "Don't get me wrong, I am not a healer I am a fighter I will not be stuck in a hospital, or medic bay while my soulmate is out there fighting. I will save people I can while being on the front lines. I will not let Katsuki die. I am asking for your help to make sure what could have happened never does. I do not want to watch helplessly as my pack dies"
Recovery Girl puts her hands up in surrender "I just wanted to hear it from you. I understand the desire to be there to help. I can give you medical text read them if you don't want to be forced to heal at a hospital you will have to practice privately. Until you are strong enough to prove that you are more of an asset on the field rather than in a hospital." She hands him a few medical texts on anatomy, medicine making, and diagnostics.
Izuku nods "I'll talk to Shanks and see if he will allow me to heal during training like healing muscle strain and fatigue that could help in combat I can find out if my healing can heal exhaustion. I haven't tried healing fatigue beside Kacchan I have only healed cuts. That also wasn't my healing it was Fuji that was healing Kacchan." Izuku starts to mutter finally out of his own head.
Recovery Girl flicks him "Ok, stop nerding in my office and get out."
Izuku stops muttering, he apologizes and leaves the office. He meets up with Shanks and the others and shows them the books he can borrow. He tells Katsuki about how he has been having trouble thinking about Katsuki's near death almost a year ago. Katsuki looks angry at Izuku "Why did you keep this from me?"
"Because I was scared, I didn't want to burden you with something that didn't really happen. I'm sorry Kacchan if I have another one, I'll let you know."
"You mean you will wake me up if you have another one. I will not let my Soul mate go through this alone. Nerd."
"Of course, Kacchan, Thank you"
"TSK whatever, let's go" Katsuki blushes with a glare (its not as terrifying as it usually is, it is actually adorable) sticking one hand in his pocket and holding the other out so Izuku and wrap a tail around it. They leave the building and pile into the car again. Shanks brings them home. Izuku goes to his room to start working on learning the human anatomy from the books he borrowed.
****** Time skip 6 months******
The nightmare are not as bad as they were before, now when he has a bad one he wakes up Katsuki and they talk and fall asleep with Izuku tucked in and secured against Katsuki's chest, During the last 6 months the boys have upped their training, they are on par with most U.A. students according to Shota.
Shota has been coming around a lot in between missions for Izuku to try and heal his fatigue. Sometimes Shota comes to training in bad shape and Izuku gets to practice graver wounds then the scrapes and bruises he heals from Kacchan, Luffy and Ace. They have started working on Armament Haki and Ace has learned to control his Conquerors Haki now when he uses it with his fire there is a little white lightning that crackles out from him. Izuku feels like he is still missing something in his fighting style. He is missing something to make it flow unpredictably. He has been working with Katsuki to get his thoughts on it, while also making a fighting style they both know, can use, and support each other. Katsuki is a combat genius he can read movements and counter while feinting. Izuku and Katsuki are evenly matched what Katsuki has in brute strength Izuku makes up for it with multiple quick jabs aimed directly at vitals and pressure points. Learning the human anatomy for the last 6 months has helped him tie spars with Katsuki more often than not. Shanks has commented that they will be an unstoppable force when they become pros. When they do team training, they win almost all the time. Ace and Luffy have been working on their own unique fighting style Izuku can tell it is going to be strong they call it Fire Fist.
Shanks has been training the new sidekicks at Might Tower, for the first two weeks he doesn't let them out on patrols, he prefers kicking their asses into shape. The number of preventable casualties has dropped significantly. That means more experienced people are around to take the interns on their first few patrols to let them gain experience that training alone can not fulfill. All Might and Shanks have been working on finding All for One, they narrowed it down to a few possible locations. They have Shota and Nighteye scoping the areas looking for any signs. Shota is a master at sneaking in controlled places unnoticed getting information and getting out before anyone is aware there was a threat in the first place. By the time they realize what is missing Shota is already long gone without any trace to him being there at all. All Might took to Armament Haki like he was born for it, Shanks is impressed at the dedication the heroes have, to protecting the citizens, he has seen what these heroes go through every day to keep villainy controlled. All Might, Shanks, Shota, and Nighteye have gone through multiple plans having Nighteye use future sight to find the ones with the least number of casualties. They all have All Might being bait and drawing out AFO, some of them result in All Might 's death, others show him completely out of commission but alive, more show grave injuries that will take years to heal, very few show minor injuries and quite a bit of healing and recovery time afterward. None of the results show absolute success. There is a cost to pay for down fall of AFO. They have their plan; they just need to find him.
Shanks relentlessly trains with his team, He doesn't like killing, he hasn't intentionally gone into a confrontation trying to kill someone. His very nature is to solve things non- violently when ever possible. Receiving a file for AFO it is hard to believe that the villain has been around for at least 100 years. It is possible that this is due to a quirk of some kind. This man has killed so many people stripping people of their quirks and killing them in the process. He is also guilty of human experiments by trying to combine useful quirks within someone to make super soldiers. He has crammed 4 or 5 quirks into a single person usually resulting in the persons death. This man is truly horrific. He goes home that night a heavy heart no man should ever have to carry.
When Shanks arrives at home, the first person he sees is Inko, their relationship has grown into something bordering on romantic. They share responsibility of the boys; Shanks helps with the bills. Sometimes when Shanks comes home with his spirit almost broken, they would cuddle on the couch and talk softly to each other. They have only shared a couple of kisses, both times were when they were both tipsy and the loneliness was too hard to bear. When Shanks was a pirate, he never though he could have a domestic life. He misses his old life, his crew, he sometimes dreams about the adventures they had on the seas, so he regales the boys and Inko stories of bravery, friendship, victory and defeat, adventure, and most importantly what it means to live completely free to honor and remember the crew he will never see again. The boys are drawn into the stories as if they were actually sailing the high seas looking for treasure with their friends, Shanks even finds them playing Pirates when there are not training or studying, it outs a smile on his face as he watches the boys fight about who will be the captain. Usually the argument turns into a battle royal with the winner claiming the role of Captain for the day. With how hard the boys have been training they are nearly as powerful as he was when he first set out on Roger's crew; sometimes this make him said his reasons for being strong then was to survive, being the only survivor of his home land, no family to support him he didn't have a choice. Sometimes he feels guilty for training them so young; but then he remembers the threat of All for One and suddenly he is glad that if he dies in this up coming fight the boys will be able to protect themselves and each other. At the end of the day that's what really matters.
He approaches Inko heavy hearted, he asks her if she wants to join him for a drink while pouring himself one. He is not the type to burden someone with his problems, but sometimes the thoughts get a little too loud. He pours her one as she nods her head, knowing whatever is bothering the man will be out in the open soon enough. Inko pats his shoulder and gives him a hug from behind they do this sometimes too; they never labeled it just too adults seeking comfort in each other. "Do you want to talk about it?" she whispers into his back. He nods grabs the bottle of sake and lets himself be dragged to the couch. He sits down and she curls into him offering him her comfort.
"I have a lot on my mind right now, the man we are trying to locate is a horribly terrible person" He doesn't say too much just enough. "I hate to say this, but I need to ask Izuku for his help" Inko gasps "You don't mean to involve a child in what could possibly be a war do you?!" all the protective fury that make a mother truly terrifying visible in her eyes and heard in the growl like tone she is using.
Shanks frowns "No he will be safe he won't see any fighting at all, let me explain everything I can before you kill me. Please?" Inko nods expression not changing but doesn't say anything else. Shanks continues "Out of all the visions we saw of this battle there were none that had us come out unscathed, some included our deaths, but most of them results in victory and no deaths, only major injuries. Recover Girl will be there as the only pro healer that is on the case. I fear it will not be enough, I have thought of every possible scenario that we do not need Izuku but none of them are beneficial. What would happen to the world if All Might dies or is crippled for life and can't stop villains anymore?"
Inko's face loses some of the protective fury but still doesn't say anything. Shanks continues "Inko I promise nothing will happen to Izuku he will be guarded at Might Tower during the mission and he will be on standby just in case his healing is required. I swear on my life that I will not let anything happen to the boy, Shota, Nighteye, and Recovery Girl will be the only people that know he is there. All Might and I might need to be healed at the same time, or maybe only one of us there are too many unknown factors of injuries to leave it just to Recovery Girl. If I have too, I would gladly sacrifice myself for All Might's survival; but that outcome would hurt the boys. I am lost and I don't know what choice to make."
"It will be his choice, knowing him his answer will already be yes. That boy has no survival instincts what's so ever, he would throw his life away if someone else could live another day. I love my boy, but I understand the profession he is going into will not be a safe one. I consent if you promise me that both of you will come back alive."
"I will do my best to survive, but I can promise you Izuku will be safe"
"I'll have to live with that"
"Thank you, Inko. I'll talk to him in the morning. The mission is not for a couple of months, that gives us time to perfect this plan and make sure both me and all might survive. Izuku has the power over souls they only I will not be able to come home is if my soul crosses over." He puts his forehead against hers, raises his hand to wipe away the tears glistening in her eyes. For a few moments they stay like that, Shanks thinks she beautiful when she worries about him and the boys. Her eyes start to close, and she tilts her chin up slightly, he leans in and their lips touch in a soft kiss there is no heat, but the feelings and silent promises are sealed with that kiss. They break away its late and depart to their own beds. Shanks heart is a little lighter now that he told someone his thoughts. He slowly succumbs to the darkness with a small smile on his face. That last thought that goes through his head 'I promise I will do everything in my power to make it home to you, Inko.'
