Hello earthlings! Sorry I haven't updated in a looong time, and I hope you enjoy! I own nothing except a dysfunctional computer.

Izuku slammed the hilt of his blade into Stain's head, knocking him away from his friend. During the few seconds when Stain was stunned and getting back to his feet, the boy took stock of the situation.

Another person- probably a Hero- lying a few feet away in a pool of blood. Iida, with a stab wound on his shoulder that was bleeding heavily, lying still like he'd been paralyzed. That seemed likely, given the few reports the Heroes had on blood sorcery and what it could do.

Stain obviously knew how to use his swords, plus if he got ahold of Izuku's blood it'd all be over. And Izuku had his Sword, and its apparently limited strength. That kind of maybe could be a fair fight, especially if Iida or the other Hero snapped out of their trance. But if they didn't…

No. Izuku would protect his friend. Iida was one of the first friends he'd ever made, since Kacchan. They'd fought together, looked out for each other, or tried to, at least. But Izuku had failed. He hadn't been able to stop his friend from going after the villain, and they were all in danger because of it. The king should be able to see that his subjects were in danger, and be able to stop them from doing something like this. Izuku hadn't even noticed what one of his best friends was going through. In a way it was all his fault, but he wouldn't let himself think about that. All that mattered was fixing his mistake. It didn't matter if no one else was fighting with him. He'd be strong enough on his own.

"Don't worry, Iida," he said, turning over his shoulder to smile at the other boy. "I'll protect you!"

"Are you…" Stain hissed, staring at Izuku with something like curiosity. "Is that the Ruling Sword?"

"No! It's… it's a replica!"

"Yes! Yes, I feel it! The real king has come at last! Finally, a real Hero!"

"Um…" Was… what was happening? Stain didn't look upset. He just looked genuinely excited.

"What's your name, my lord?"

"Um… Midoriya?"

"Good. Good! You will help me purge the wicked Heroes from the kingdom!"

"Wha- I'm not purging anyone!" Izuku settled further into his battle stance- sword a little ways in front of him, legs bent in case he had to move quickly, eyes firmly on the opponent. The way All Might had trained him. "I'm not the king, and I won't kill any Heroes! The kingdom would be in trouble without them!"

"When I was seven years old, my father killed a woman who had broken into our house with our sorcery. Because of that, the Heroes decided that he was a villain, even though he was a good person. They killed my father, for defending his family, just because they were scared of what his sorcery could do. If they knew I'd had the same sorcery, they would have killed me too." Stain cocked his head sideways, like he genuinely cared about what Izuku would say. "Is that the kind of Hero that you look up to? The kind that does such good for this kingdom?"

Izuku flinched. "I… I didn't… that's horrible."

"Even for your enemy, you feel sympathy? That is why you are the true Hero! Someone like you must understand that the Heroes should all be eradicated. Only those who truly deserve to be called Heroes will be spared!" Stain's voice was raspy, almost like the monster from a play Izuku had seen as a kid. He waved his blade at Izuku. "Move out of the way, Hero. Help me kill these false Heroes, and in return I will kill Endeavor and put you back on the throne where you belong!"

"I'm not the king!" Maybe hiding the fact that he had the Sword shouldn't be Izuku's main concern right then. "And my friend is a true Hero! He' works hard and helps everyone in need and is willing to risk his life to help others-"

"Helping others? Instead of protecting the other Hero, he goes straight for me because of personal reasons. Does that sound heroic?"

"Midoriya…" Iida whispered, so quietly Izuku could barely hear him. "He's right. I made… I made a mistake. Take the other Hero and run."

"No."

"You have to!"

"No." Izuku had thought about running, for a second, but he knew he couldn't carry both Iida and the other Hero at once, and by the time he got one of them to safety, Stain would have killed the other. He refused to leave anyone to die. Iida was one of his best friends, yes, but the other Hero didn't deserve what was happening either. Izuku would save everyone. That was what a Hero did.

Stain looked weirdly disappointed. "Why? Isn't it better to save one person than to lose two?"

"No! I will save everyone!"

Without any other warning, Stain sprang forward, with one of his blades aimed straight for Izuku's chest. The boy quickly parried it, but before he could riposte the other was coming straight for him. Izuku had to stick to defensive moves. Stain wasn't giving him enough time to attack, or at least try to push him away from Iida. It was hard, fighting someone who was just focused on attacking. Izuku had to fight while at the same time defending himself and two other people. But those people had to be his priority.

Stain was good. Really good. But not superhumanly good, and that gave Izuku just enough of an advantage to make the fight evenly matched. Or at least it was, until Stain pulled away from Izuku for a few seconds.

"You don't fight like a regular elf. Is it because you have the Sword?" When Izuku didn't answer, Stain kept going, uncaring. "You are the perfect Hero… I wish you could have agreed with me." And he raised his sword and, before Izuku could do anything to stop him, threw it. But not at Izuku.

At Iida.

The boy sprang into action, moving before he could think over it to knock the blade away from his friend, but before he could do anything more than that, Stain was next to him, sticking his other sword into Izuku's leg, yanking it out, and licking at the blood.

Powerless, Izuku fell down, suddenly unable to move. He tried to force his limbs to work, his eyes to blink, anything, but it wasn't working. The Sword fell out of his hands and ended up a few feet away. As Izuku lay on the ground, the masked killer leaned over him, raising his blade above his head. Somehow, he looked almost regretful. Stain would kill him, and then Iida, and then the random person who Izuku couldn't save, because he was weak, because he wasn't good enough, because-

A wall of fire came out of nowhere, forcing Stain to back up. Izuku was able to move his eyes enough to see Shoto Todoroki standing at the entrance to the alley, his entire left side on fire and looking more angry than Izuku had ever seen him. He strode forward and stood in front of Izuku and Iida, protecting them from Stain.

"Nobody," he growled, "hurts my friends."

It was kind of awe-inspiring. The prince was nearly completely on fire, or at least it looked like he was. On his right side, ice was creeping up his arm, almost reaching his neck. Yes, Izuku had actually fought Todoroki before, but he was only just then realizing that the boy was really, really, really powerful.

Stain hissed. Literally hissed, like a snake. "You're the prince, right? The heir to Endeavor, the false king? How can you fight for him? How do you stand it?"

"I don't fight for him. I fight for my friends and my kingdom. My father, however, is not important."

"Isn't he here in Hosu City? Why are you here, and not with him."

"Because I don't like him." Todoroki nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off of the villain. "I hate my father. He is an awful king and a terrible parent. But I'm not him. I can be better than he ever was."

"You can't beat the way you were raised."

"I can."

"Todoroki," Iida choked out, Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could see him struggling to move. "Take Midoriya and run! Get help!"

"I'm not going to leave you."

"But I… I'm the reason all of this is happening!"

"And?" Todoroki snapped. "That doesn't mean you just give up! You made a mistake, whatever, you don't just get to stop trying! You owe it to me, to Midoriya, to whoever that is over there- you owe it to all of us, and yourself, to not just roll over and let yourself die!"

Iida was crying. Izuku could hear him and wanted to reach out, to comfort his friend, but he couldn't. He couldn't move. But he was starting to be able to at least feel his legs again. And, if he concentrated really hard, he was able to twitch his fingers. Somehow, his face had been completely unaffected after only the first few seconds, which was really weird, but was probably just a part of Stain's sorcery. Whatever the villain had done, it felt like it was wearing off a lot faster for Izuku than it was for Iida.

Stain sprang forward, swiping at Todoroki and opening a cut on his cheek before the boy could react. Thankfully, though, he was able to knock the sword with his blood on it away and jump out of reach before Stain could lick his cut, sending out another blast of fire as he did. The villain stumbled a few feet away, ending up in a crouch against the wall a few feet to Midoriya's left. "You are a good fighter," Stain said, nodding towards his lost sword. "But that doesn't make you a real Hero. You came to defend your friends. That makes you more of a Hero than your father, but you're still Endevor's son. You will never, ever, be a true Hero!"

"That's not-" Izuku started from his position on the ground, but Todoroki raised a hand to stop him.

The prince shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the villain. Who they were all apparently having a full-on conversation with. "Maybe you're right. But I'm not just going to stop trying. I'm not my father. My sorcery isn't his. And I will not let him hold me back anymore."

Izuku needed to move. Yes, Todoroki was doing well, but he still needed to help. It was his fault, his weakness, that Todoroki had even had to get involved at all, and he needed to help his friend, but he still couldn't move. Even if the paralysis wore off, he wasn't sure he'd be able to really fight even then, given how bad his leg felt. But he needed to help.

Too late, Izuku realized what had been happening during the fight.

Somehow, Stain had gotten to the other side of Todoroki and was standing only a few feet from Izuku. Todoroki seemed to realize that at the same time because he started running forward, but Stain was faster, and before the prince could do anything about it the villain was standing above Izuku, raising his sword above his head, just like he'd done a few moments ago, but Todoroki couldn't help him a second time-

And Stain's sword was stopped by Iida's.

The young knight still looked a little unsteady, but he was able to knock away the villain's sword and push him a few feet backwards, giving Izuku room. Stain sighed, looking annoyed. "My sorcery wore off. Usually it lasts longer for young people."

"A long time ago, my brother gave me an enchanted crystal that can help to negate the effects of sorcery. I've carried it with me ever since." Iida pointed his blade at Stain. Todoroki was on the other side of the villain. "You ended my brother's career, his livelihood, but not his life. I'm still going to fight you, but not for that reason. I'm going to fight you because I made a mistake and put people I care about in danger. Now I'm going to make it right." And, in total synchronization, the boys lunged forward.

It was honestly really amazing to watch. Iida and Todoroki moved in complete tandem, like they shared one mind. As soon as Iida had moved just enough, Todoroki produced a wall of ice that slammed Stain backwards. While Stain was distracted, Iida swung his blade, only barely missing the villain, who was clearly starting to tire. Izuku was so proud of his friends. They were working like a team, both using their full ability to try and beat a powerful opponent, and it looked like they were almost winning. But then Izuku saw Iida stagger, saw his blade miss a nearly open target, saw the blood pooling in the place where his friend had been paralyzed a minute ago, and realized that he really, really needed to join the fight, before whatever miracle that kept Iida standing failed

C'mon, Izuku pleaded silently, twitching his fingers in the direction of the Sword. Please. Help me.

For a second, he saw the figures again, or at least he thought he did, but they vanished before he could figure out whether they were really there or just some weird hallucination. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the Sword and only the Sword.

The Sword flew into his hands, like he'd summoned it. Like magic. And suddenly, Izuku could move. He wrapped his fingers around the hilt and slowly pushed himself to his feet. It hurt. And was tiring. And Izuku had to focus hard because as soon as he stopped paying complete attention to the Sword, the paralysis started to come back. But he could stand up. He could move. That meant that he could fight.

Stain jumped out of the way of another of Todoroki's fire blasts but before he could recover, Izuku lunged at him, striking out with his Sword. It nicked the side of the villain's arm and, as the boy jumped back, Stain stared at him, shocked. "You… how? Even if you had the same kind of anti-sorcery gem as the knight, it still should have lasted longer!"

"Um…"

"I knew it! You are the Hero, and the true King! But why do you lie?"

"He doesn't have to tell you anything." Iida came up to stand beside Izuku, glaring at Stain. Behind them, Todoroki appeared to be summoning up more boys only had to look at each other to know the plan.

Without any warning, Iida and Izuku charged forward, both going as fast as they could. Which wasn't as fast as they could have gone, given Izuku's leg and Iida's blood loss, but they reached the tired man, slipping past his slowed defenses and driving their blades straight into his shoulders. As Stain shrieked in pain, the two boys shoved him backwards, pulled their swords out, and got out of the way of Todoroki's fire blast. That time, Stain wasn't fast enough to avoid it.

The villain collapsed, apparently unconscious. But not dead. Izuku could see him breathing. The boys stared at each other for a few seconds before Izuku cheered half-heartedly, raising one arm. "We did it."

"Yeah. We did."

"What… what do we do now?"

Izuku looked towards the unconscious Hero, who was only just starting to move a little. "Um… I guess we should…"

"Hey!" someone shouted. "What the hell?"

A huge man with a red beard and a crown was standing at the entrance to the alleyway, with a few knights and Heroes behind him. And he looked pissed. His eyes widened as they took in the scene. "Shoto? What… are you the Iida boy? And the halfling? What… wait, is that Stain?"

Gran Torino ran up, huffing and puffing and looking around carefully as he took in the scene. He didn't look even a little surprised or upset to see that three of his charges had snuck off during a city-wide emergency and apparently defeated a notorious villain. "Oh. So this is where you boys ran off to."

Before Izuku could say anything, he heard Todoroki gasp. He looked up to see a huge winged Nomu, which then swooped down and grabbed him before taking off again. Because of course it did.

For a few seconds, Izuku struggled, but then the Sword fell out of his hands and he knew it was over. The fight with Stain plus the tiring last few days had completely drained him. Plus he'd been in shock for a few seconds, and by the time he'd snapped out of it he was already too high up to safely jump away. Was the Nomu going to eat him, or was it just taking him back to Shigraki? Either way, he'd failed All Might. He'd failed the kingdom. He'd never get to be king and make the kingdom better because he was so, so weak-

Something jumped onto the Nomu's back. The monster screeched, trying to keep in the air, but whatever it was was apparently heavy. And also they sounded like they were stabbing it. That was probably a big part of the reason why it started struggling and went into a somewhat controlled fall. Izuku tried to look up and see who had jumped, but because he was in the Nomu's talons and under it he couldn't see its top. When they were about ten feet above the ground, its talons' grip loosened and Izuku was able to twist away and land safely. He looked up as the Nomu crash-landed a few feet from him, and saw the figure posed on its back.

It was Stain. Stain, who Izuku had literally just got done fighting, had just saved him. The villain was repeatedly stabbing the Nomu, likely just to make sure that it was dead. On the other side of the monster, Izuku could see Iida and Todoroki sprinting towards them. But he could only look at Stain.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why did-"

"You are the true Hero. You are the future king. You are the only hope that Uyay has." Stain looked at Izuku. His eyes seemed to glow red underneath his mask, and he was perfectly silhouetted against the moon, which also seemed to glow red, likely because of all of the smoke from the earlier attacks. In his logical brain Izuku realized that, but somewhere, in his tired mind, it felt like Stain had somehow done all of it himself. "You have the Ruling Sword. You will drive out the virus of the false Heroes. Because they are all false. All liars and thieves, who will do anything for power. You know this, don't you? They are selfish and cruel. They are not Heroes! They don't understand that I am the real Hero. The only real Hero. I am willing to do whatever I have to do for Uyay, even if I am the only one.

"But you… you are also a real Hero. You were chosen by the Sword. You and I, we're not different. We are both true heroes, destined to remove the stain on society set by those false heroes, and we will do it by any means! I will destroy whatever monsters I have to destroy to protect my kingdom!" Stain looked insane. He was nearly shrieking now, shaking back and forth with pure rage. "We are the same, my king! King Endeavor is close. So close… I will end him! I will end him now, and finally the worst of the virus will be eradicated so the true king can take over and Uyay will be saved!"

Stain took one step away from the Nomu… and paused. Even in the darkness, Izuku could see the bloodstains spreading across Stain's ragged brown shirt. The man staggered and fell to his knees. For a second, he turned around to look at Izuku, and the boy flinched. There was something familiar in Stain's eyes, beneath the layers of insanity and rage. A desire to protect the things he loved.

"Destroy the virus, my king…"

And Stain the Hero Killer collapsed to the ground and lay in a puddle of his own blood.

Izuku could do nothing but stare until his friends reached him. Todoroki pulled him to his feet, but he fell down again only seconds after. Iida had collapsed too, and had already slipped into unconsciousness. As the Heroes and the knights and the king surrounded them and Todoroki yelled something and Izuku began to drift off, all he could think about was how he and Stain had the same desperate need to protect and to save the things that mattered.

"Stain just killed the Nomu we sent to find the elfling."

Tomura cussed, whipping around to glare at Kurogiri. "How?"

"Just saw it, over on the other side of town. It took off into the air, and Stain jumped onto its back and brought it down."

"Goddammit."

"Master Shigaraki, what do you suggest we do now?"

The boy sighed, looking out over Hosu. From their perch on one of the tallest buildings, they could see nearly all of the city. The Heroes had been able to mostly control the Nomus, nearly all of which had been destroyed. Which was ok. It had only been a test run, so obviously Tomura had not released all of the ones he had access to. But still, Master would be pissed. Whatever.

There was really no point in sticking around any more. Tomura had wanted to prove a point to Stain, and he'd probably made that point, even though Stain saving the elfling was a little… strange. It didn't matter. He was done. Two Heroes had been killed by his Nomus, or so he thought he'd seen. It was time for them to go.

"Let's go back to the hideout. I want a break."

"As you wish, Master Shigaraki."

The two stepped through the swirling black portal, leaving behind an empty rooftop.

Somehow Stain survived. Which was good, because Izuku didn't know how he'd live with the guilt of being a big part in the reason why someone died, even if that someone was an enemy. He would be shipped off to a high-security prison after he recovered from his wounds.

As for Izuku, he was still in the hospital. His leg had been partially immobilized, making it hard to move further than from one side of the room to the other. Iida, who had likely more serious injuries than Izuku had, was in the same room as him. And Todoroki, even though he was barely injured at all, had just insisted on not leaving his friends. None of them were allowed visitors for the first day.

On the second day, two of the city guards, Endeavor, and Gran Torino walked into the room and made themselves comfortable in various spots. For a few awkward seconds, the groups just stared at each other. Then Gran Torino laughed.

"Those two girls… they're very persistent. Been bothering me to let them visit you boys once an hour for the past day and a half. Strange."

"What… what did you tell them?"

"That you three had been in the wrong place, wrong time when the Nomu attacked. It's true, for some of you."

"Let's cut to the chase," one of the guards cut in. He had a low voice and looked like a dog. One of the animal-spirits from up north, likely. Or a demon, but Izuku was pretty sure that demons still weren't allowed in City Guards. "You are Shoto Todoroki, Tenya Iida, and Izuku Midoriya, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, tell me everything that happened."

"Um…" Izuku looked at his friends, concerned. They… were technically liable to be arrested. Since they weren't technically Heroes, attacking Stain somewhat unprovoked could get them in a lot of legal trouble. Plus, they'd left their Hero chaperone during a known villain attack, which was also usually frowned upon with Hero students. "I guess…"

"It was my fault," Iida blurted out. "I… I decided I was going to track down Stain on my own. Stupid, I know, but… I was angry.. I found him, and fought him, but I prioritized defeating him over helping the other Hero there, and then he was about to kill me. Luckily, Midoriya and Todoroki showed up just in time and saved all of us. Is the other Hero ok?"

"He's fine, but that's not really the priority right now. Why exactly did you go after Stain?"

"I wanted to avenge my brother. Stain had attacked and hurt him a few months ago. My anger and hurt caused me to act rashly, putting both my life and the lives of my comrades in danger, and I deeply apologize both to them and to the other Hero who was put in even more danger because of my actions."

"I understand, Iida. While you definitely should not have gone after Stain, you're a child who made a mistake. It is my opinion that you've been punished enough, though there are some… other slight issues."

"Like what?"

"Essentially, well… we can't exactly let people find out that you were the ones to bring down Stain. Then others may want you to be punished, and King Endeavor will have to comply. It is easier for everyone if you just don't tell anyone about your fight with Stain and we'll have the official report be that Endeavor is the one who captured him."

"What the hell?" Todoroki jumped to his feet, glaring down his father. "He did nothing! We were the ones who did all of the work and almost died, it's not fair for him to get all the credit!"

"Shoto!" Endeavor snapped. "Be reasonable!"

"No! You're trying to-"

"I'm trying to maintain order! How do you think the citizens of Uyay will feel if they know that one of the worst villains of the age, one who has been purposefully attacking Heroes, was brought down by a group of children? They could lose all faith in our system, and then there will be panic and people will start to join villainous groups, or even start a full-on revolt! Sometimes being a Hero means making personal sacrifices, like letting others claim your victory. After all, it doesn't matter who defeats the villain, just that-"

"And when have you ever let anyone 'claim your victory?'"

"That's enough! Shoto, we will discuss this later. Don't think I've forgotten about you running off on Gran Torino during the attack. You need to learn to listen to your elders and stay in your place!" The king stormed out of the room, leaving the two City Guards looking slightly embarrassed.

"Um…" the dog-headed one said slowly. "Are… are you ok with the plan?"

Izuku looked at Iida, who shrugged. "Sure." Obviously the glory didn't really matter to him. He'd defeated Stain, and that was what mattered. Endeavor could tell people whatever he wanted.

Both of the Guards looked relieved. The human one even smiled. "Thank you. Good work, boys. You're going to go far in life. I hope you all learned something from this, though." And they left, looking very grateful to be getting away from Todoroki.

Gran Torino sighed, standing up from his chair. "Ah, well. Good times, good times. Now, you are due to be back in school in three days. A sorcerer healer's coming in tomorrow to try and speed up the process, but, well, you've likely already heard the news, Iida."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Well, I really should punish all of you severely, but I'll just say you've passed your exam. You mostly took instructions well, you did your best to learn from me, et cetera, et cetera, and you fought a villain and came out alive. I'd say you passed. The girls took their test yesterday and did very well, so I guess you all are going home with passing scores. Yay. Come by after you get released from the hospital to get your stuff and to all have one more training session. Oh, and you're not s'posed to tell anyone about the Stain thing. And you need to learn to listen to instructions better. That'll be the reason you don't get full marks." The old man nodded at them and walked out of the room. After a few seconds, Todoroki walked back to his bed.

"I hate him."

"Gran Torino?"

"No, my father. He just came in and stole all of our-"

"He was right about not wanting to break the public's trust in Heroes."

"You think he cares about that? He just wants to make himself look better! That's all he's ever wanted! I don't care if we get the credit for taking down Stain, I just don't want him to have it!"

"Maybe this is for the best," Iida said quietly. "It'll be better for our parents if they don't hear about this. Besides, I can't honestly accept any of the credit. You two are the brave, heroic ones. I'm a child who made a mistake."

Iida was crying suddenly, and Izuku didn't know what to do. So he walked over and hugged his friend tightly. It was a little awkward, given the fact that he was trying to avoid both of their bandaged areas, but he managed. "You made a mistake, yes, but you're fine. All of us are fine. You were trying to do the right thing, and you did end up doing something good. You're fine."

"What did Gran Torino mean?" Todoroki asked suddenly, coming over to stand next to Iida's bed. The other boys separated so that they could look at him. "He said something about you getting some kind of news."

"Oh. It's not a problem for either of you."

"I know it's not, but it sounded like a problem for you, and I want to know about it. Because I think that we're fr… we're classmates."

Izuku caught his hesitation and frowned, confused. "Of course we're friends too!"

"Right!"

Todoroki looked shocked for a second, then smiled softly. "Right. Friends. I've never had those before."

"Well, now you do." Izuku smiled too. Of course he was friends with Todoroki! There was no reason why they wouldn't be, after all they'd been through together and the hours they'd spent just hanging out. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to befriend the son of the man he was destined to overthrow, but Izuku would cross that bridge later.

"You still haven't answered me, Iida."

"The healers here just think that there will be… permanent nerve damage in my arm, resulting from the stab wound Stain inflicted. It means that it will be much harder for me to move my left arm. They also believe that there is no magic that can heal it, meaning that it will either heal on its own or it won't heal at all"

"Oh." Izuku looked at his friend's face, which was barely even trying to hide how deeply the news was affecting him. "Iida…"

"It's no issue. I'll get around it, and figure out a way to still be a Hero. Besides, I might deserve this. I made a mistake, and this is the price I pay for it. It'll remind me to be a true hero, always, and prioritize others' needs over my own selfishness. I owe you both an apology."

"For what?"

"I put you in danger through my reckless actions. It was foolish of me, and I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to us. I would do it again if I had to. You're my friend, and that's what friends do."

Iida shook his head. "I don't deserve it…"

"You do!" Izuku smiled. Of course Iida deserved it! So he made a mistake because he was angry. That was a perfectly normal thing to do. He wanted to make up for it after, and that was all that mattered. Iida was Izuku's friend. He deserved kindness.

"I agree with Midoriya," Todoroki added, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed. "We made our own choice. You didn't force us to do anything."

"Thank you," Iida whispered, rocking back and forth slightly. "Thank you both. I am… I am sorry, I am not the best at emotions."

"That's ok. I'm sorry about your arm."

"Like I said, I'll find a way around it."

It was obvious that Iida still believed that he deserved to be injured, which was obviously wrong, but Izuku didn't know how to prove it to him. So he just hugged his friend tightly, and his friend hugged back. Todoroki sat on the edge of the bed, not really touching either of them but still reassuringly there, and they stayed there. Together.

Leave a review with questions, plot suggestions, constructive criticism, and/or words of encouragement! Later, potaters!