Their Hero Academia – Chapter 51: Aftermath Part 1
"…greater Tokyo area and surrounding wards still reeling from the Villain attack that occurred earlier this morning. A representative from Hero Public Safety Commission identified the attackers as Nomu, monsters last seen more than twenty years ago, used by the original League of Villains. When asked about whether or not this indicated a new League of Villains was suspected, the representative said the matter was still under investigation.
Though Pro Heroes responded quickly—in many cases, were already on scene at the time of the attacks—damage is still expected to be in the billions of yen, if not greater. Rebuilding efforts are already underway, with several firms specializing in reconstruction following Villain attacks already under contract.
Thanks to the fast action of the Pro Heroes and by Deku in particular, civilian casualties were kept to a minimum, with no reported deaths. Various injuries were taken to multiple hospitals and are all expected to be discharged within the next few days.
Unfortunately, multiple Pro Heroes are now being reported as injured. While many sustained only minor injuries and were treated in the field or discharged after emergency medicine, others were not so lucky. Lemillion, Chargebolt, Grape Juice, Can't Stop Twinkling, Tentacole, Tailman, and Phantom Thief were all admitted with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to be discharged sometime today. Suneater, Nejire-Chan, Kestrel, Cellophane, Uravity, and others sustained more serious injuries and are being kept for observation.
The only Hero casualty was the Number Ninety-Seven Hero, Road Rocket, who gave his life to protect a group of school children.
We also have received reports that the Number Four Hero, Ground Zero, was critically injured and is currently undergoing emergency surgery…"
Shota is three years old and he's just gotten his Quirk. He laughed at something funny that Mommy said to him,and he shattered a window. He doesn't know exactly what happened, just that in that moment, he was completely and utterly terrified. Why did his Quirk have to be so scary? Mommy and Daddy didn't have scary Quirks! Well, there were some people that would think that Daddy's Quirk was scary, but those people were usually bad guys.
Shota is normally quiet, but now he doesn't even want to talk. If he does talk, he whispers, and usually to only his parents, Toshi, or Shinji. How was he supposed to be a hero like Daddy if he was so afraid of his Quirk?
Shota stared up at the ceiling from his hospital bed. He didn't have any broken bones or anything, but the hospital staff wanted to keep him over night because they were worried about his mental state. He'd been crying so hard when he came into the hospital with Uncle Deku and Ground Zero, he had started hyperventilating.
He was still having a hard time just processing what had happened. His internship had been so much fun! Under Ground Zero, he was learning a lot, he really learned a lot, and got a lot of one-on-one time with him (Ground Zero had started paying a lot more attention to him and asking his opinion after he'd helped crack that case). Ground Zero had even let him stay at his house instead of sleeping at the Agency, which meant that he got to hang out with Red Riot, too! Their son Tai was adorable, too. Yeah, Red Riot had been letting Monoma from Class 1-B, who was his Intern stay at the house too, but he wasn't that bad. And it was funny when their dog, a growly Pomeranian named Lord Explosion, had chased Monoma around.
And then, just like that, everything had gone horribly wrong. Ground Zero had talked about them going for ice cream at Herotopia Ice Cream that just opened. He'd told Shota that he was proud of him and that he'd come so far in just a week. Ground Zero had been tough on him, too, so Shota knew that coming from him, it was high praise.
Then the Nomu had come almost out of nowhere. They had fought it, and then…
Shota shook his head, trying to get the image of Ground Zero bleeding on the ground in front of him, his leg lying detached from his knee on the street. In that moment, Shota had never felt so terrified in his entire life. Ground Zero had been bleeding in front of him, trying to tell him it was okay, even though Shota knew that it wasn't. He knew that it was all his fault. Ground Zero had lost his leg because Shota decided that he had to play hero and try and fight the Nomu. Sure, he had been afraid that the Nomu would kill Ground Zero, but what else was he supposed to do?! He couldn't just stand there.
Except he was useless when he tried to save Ground Zero. All of his knowledge of first aid, gone. All he could do was blubber about how it was his fault. What kind of hero did that? What kind of hero just broke down crying like that? Even when Uncle Izuku showed up, he couldn't do anything. All he could do was cry and tell Uncle Izuku that it was all his fault and how horrible he felt. And Uncle Izuku couldn't just leave him there. No, instead, he'd held onto his back as he went with him to the hospital.
And when they'd gotten to the hospital...that had been even worse. All of those doctors running around, trying to handle everyone coming in. And it was Shota's fault that they were even there in the first place. He'd never seen Uncle Izuku look so upset.
That was his fault, too. Everything that was going on with Ground Zero right now was his fault. No one could convince him otherwise. But was really the worst feeling was when he locked eyes with Kirishima-Bakugo. In that moment, Shota felt extremely guilty, and wished that the ground right there would just swallow him whole.
She'd had already gone through this once when they were younger with Red Riot when he'd nearly been beaten to death by Strongarm, and now she might lose her dad, too? And Tai. The sweet, smiling, upbeat little boy who had given him a hug just that morning and told him he loved him. If they lost Ground Zero right now, it would be entirely Shota's fault for tearing their family apart.
How could he be a Hero after this? How could he possibly save people if he couldn't even save Ground Zero? He was a sham. Everything that he'd excitedly talked about to Toshi and his friends, everything that he had told his parents that he was going to accomplish, how could he possibly do that now if his Internship was going to be that much of a disaster? What if he got someone else hurt like this again? Shota was the reason that Ground Zero's career as a Hero was likely over, what if something like this happened to someone else he was working with? Did he really want to be responsible again for ending another Hero's career?
His friends would tell him that everything would be okay, that things like this were bound to happen in his Hero career. But Shota couldn't help but shake the feeling that he'd failed. Completely and utterly. Even when his parents had come int o try and reassure him, all he could do was just think of how he failed.
Shota sunk back into the pillows in his hospital bed, letting the covers engulf his face. Could he stay here? Because he felt like he didn't want to move at all.
Katsumi was angry. She was also terrified. She honestly wasn't sure which one is better to be right now. But she was going to go with angry. Angry was better than the feeling of dread that had festering in the pit of her stomach.
She and Shinji had gotten Aunt Ochaco to the hospital as fast as they could, where the doctors had insisted that they check over her injuries as well. Katsumi tried shrugging them off but Shinji stood in front of her and wouldn't let her move. She let them check her out, but booked it as soon as they said they didn't have to keep her. And even if they said they'd keep her, they would have probably had to restrain her to get her to stay. And she'd have decked Windbag if he'd tried.
The doctors were all running around like chickens with their heads caught off. Katsumi's stomach churned, reminded of the feeling of when she five years old, running into the hospital with Dad, after he'd gotten the call that Papa had been beaten within an inch of his life. She felt so dizzy. She looked around, trying to see if she could spot at least one of her classmates. Hell, she'd even settle for Mineta or Monoma right now. She just needed to see that someone was okay.
And then she saw it, that familiar sight. It was Uncle Deku. But something about him was... different. He didn't look like himself. One thing about Uncle Deku is even when things look like the worst, he's always smiling.
Uncle Deku wasn't smiling this time. Which was very wrong. In times of crisis, Uncle Deku was always smiling, trying to make people feel safer. In fact, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. Which, granted, Uncle Deku cried a LOT, but these seemed different. These weren't his usual overjoyed, could barely contain himself tears. These looked like he failed. Katsumi had never seen her godfather with such a face. In looking closer, it looked like he was holding someone in his arms, and they were bleeding heavily, staining his white cape. And on his other side, Loud Kid was with him, his face tearstained, snot running down his face, his eyes bloodshot, his hands and arms covered with blood.
Why was Loud Kid with him? He was supposed to be with...
Dad.
No no no no no no.
Katsumi pushed through the room to the hallway, where Uncle Deku was shouting for a doctor.
"Uncle Deku?" Fear rang through her voice, and Katsumi couldn't even hide it. She didn't want to look at who he was holding.
Uncle Deku didn't seem to notice her at first, until Loud Kid gasped, and grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her, an agonized look on his face. She could see him trying to cover up who was in his arms. "Katsumi!"
But he couldn't cover up the gauntlets. She'd know them anywhere.
Katsumi gulped. No. Not Dad. That was so much blood. Oh God. Did Papa know yet? What about Tai? How would they tell him?
And then, she saw the spot from his knee where the bloody stump was. Katsumi could feel her heart beating louder than anything else around her, a solid hollow thumping in her chest. His leg...where was his leg? This wasn't happening, was it?
"Dad?" Tears welled in her eyes, as she tried stepping forward. It was getting hot in here. Her head was spinning faster by the second.
"Katsumi," Uncl Deku began. He started to say more, but she didn't focus on it. She just focused on her Dad, stepping closer to him still.
It wasn't real. She refused to believe it was real.
"Daddy?" Her eyesight started to blur in front of her, the room spinning, and she could see the ground rushing to meet her.
The last thing Katsumi felt was a sudden gust of wind and her entire world went black.
It was a bad dream. That's what it had to be. None of this was real. She was going to wake up and everything would be okay.
Except, when she sat up, Katsumi wasn't in her bed in the spare bedroom at Uncle Deku and Aunt Ochaco's house, where Aunt Ochaco had insisted she stay instead of the Agency. No, she was still in the hospital. Papa was sitting by her bed, Tai in his lap. Her little brother's normally smiling face was flushed with tears, and he was clinging to Papa for dear life. Shinji stood in the corner, a worried but relieved look on his face. Uncle Deku wasstanding behind Papa, his hand on his shoulder. Aunt Ochaco was there, too, better than what she'd seen her earlier, bandages wrapped around her head.
"What...what happened?" Her voice sounded groggy and horse, like she'd been yelling.
Papa reached out, holding her hand. "You passed out, sweetie. Shinji was nice enough to catch you."
She passed out. Why did she pass out? What could have caused her to-
She sat up with a start. "Dad!"
Papa looked down at his lap. Tai started crying again.
"Papa." She locked eyes with him. "Is Dad...is he..."
"No," Papa said, squeezing her hand. "He's in surgery. He's lost a lot of blood, but the doctors said he should pull through."
Thank goodness. Then Katsumi remembered why she passed out.
"Papa, I saw his leg."
Wrong words. Tai howled, burying his face in Papa's shirt. Everyone else looked down. No. She hadn't dreamed it up.
Papa sighed, passing the still crying Tai to Uncle Deku. "Would you mind taking Tai out and giving us some privacy? Katsumi and I have lot to talk about."
Uncle Deku nodded, taking Tai, who continued crying into his shirt. Uncle Deku, Aunt Ochaco, Shinji, and Tai all filed out of the room. Papa looked at her, taking her hand.
"Katsumi, about your Dad..."
Consciousness returned slowly to Katsuki, dragging him up through the depths of darkness. He's been injured often enough and had enough surgeries to know he must have been operated on. Damn Nomu must have hit him harder than he thought. Broke something, maybe? Or could have been internal injuries. Those things punched like a fucking truck.
Who the hell had brought those nightmares back to life? As soon as he was out of here, he was going to have to get Deku and IcyHot and Tintin and put a stop this bullshit right now. Trying to restart crap like that when he was on the job, who did those morons think they were…
He looked up and to his right, looking over the IVs they had him on. Damn good painkillers and antibiotics. Consistent with the beating he'd taken. He shifted uncomfortably on his pillow; probably taken a blow to the head too.
Looking around the room, he saw no signs of Shitty Hair or Katsumi. He trusted Round Face to have kept his daughter safe during all of this, but if that Idiot Husband of his had gotten himself hurt doing something reckless, they were going to have words. Loud words. Words like "you idiot" and "How could you be so reckless?" and "What the hell were you thinking?"
His lips twitched in a smile. Yelling did always put him in a good mood.
The door to the room opened and a doctor entered. Black hair that looked like he'd skipped a haircut and pure black eyes. Aoyama's husband. Shit. What was his name? He'd been Katsuki's personal surgeon for years. His Quirk protected him and others against any accidental explosions while he was under anesthesia or having emergency procedures done. Shima. Right. Haru Shima.
Katsuki liked him. Well, as much as he liked anyone, anyway. Shima was always straight with him, didn't pussyfoot around. Didn't get into yelling matches with him, but was firm and direct about what kind of care he needed every time he got hurt. And he had more patience than just about anyone Katsuki had ever seen. Anyone who put up with Aoyama enough to marry him would have to.
"You're awake," Shima said. Same damn thing doctors always said when they came to check on him. Always with the damn obvious stuff. "Good. Right about when I figured you would be."
"How's," Katsuki began.
"Your husband's fine," Shima said, anticipating the question. "One of the Heroes out there without any injuries."
He shook his head. He remembered screams. A face framed by purple hair twisted up in terror. "Not him. Loud Kid. Shota."
For all his reputation as being destructive and wild in his fighting style, Katsuiki had a keen eye for detail. Shima's lips started to twitch downward when he asked the question. Was the kid okay? He'd told Sleepy he was going to look out for him… Next to him, the heart rate monitor started beeping faster.
"He's fine. You saved his life." Shima went on. "He was pretty shaken up when Deku brought you both here, so they admitted him for observation."
"Good," he said. He'd been brought in by Deku? Shit. Deku was never going to let him live that down. No, actually, Deku would probably never bring it up. Instead of lording it over him like a normal person, he'd be polite about it, never mention it. He'd come to visit, all genuinely concerned. You couldn't even be angry about it!
His heart rate settled. Still a pretty good buzz from the drugs though. Or he was just getting old. He normally would have thrown himself from the bed and would have had to sedated. The number of times he'd nearly popped stiches over the years was significant.
"What about Katsumi?"
At that, Shima did almost smile. "Your daughter's quite the budding Hero. She brought Ochaco in, with help from that Shiketsu boy. She did mention he saved her life. They admitted her for observation, just so she could get some rest."
…what the hell was Shinji doing there? Katsuki honestly wished he could say he was surprised, but Yoarashi's boy was just as nuts as he was. Still, if he'd saved Katsumi, then perhaps he ought to simply be grateful. And proud of his little girl too. Maybe he could lord that one over Deku. Deku saves him, Katsumi saves Round Face, one of those had to at least cancel the other out.
"Great," he said. He slapped the railing of the bed. He was wearing gloves, he noticed. The kind they usually fit him with when he was hospitalized. They helped his hands not to sweat. "So how bad did I get hit? When am I getting out of here?"
"You did take a significant blow to the head," Shima said. "You had a concussion, though we were able to relieve the swelling."
"Hard head comes in handy, huh?" he asked, letting just a little irritation creep into his voice. Shima was hesitating. Why?
"Unfortunately, there were other injuries. I'm afraid…"
Katsuki cut him off. "Afraid of what?" He said it so fiercely that Shima actually took a step back.
He followed the doctor's eyes down his body, to the white sheet covering him.
A sheet that didn't have quite enough lumps under it.
Consciousness returned to Katsuki again. Why had he lost it this time? Ah, right. He'd threatened to blow Shima's fucking head off after calling him a butcher. He'd been angry enough to even explode his way through the gloves that were supposed to prevent that. He remembered the heart rate monitor going crazy, his explosions stopping just short of touching Shima, stopped by that damn Quirk of his… And then the quack given him a damn sedative!
He became aware he wasn't the only person in the room. Shima again. Eri. Throw in that annoying kid, Katsuma, and it'd be the whole damn parade of medical people in his life. And Shitty Hair, who looked like five kilometers of bad road. Great. His Idiot Husband had probably been crying. He did that. A lot.
"Bakubabe!" Shitty Hair said, rushing over to his side. He grabbed one of Katsuki's hands in his, squeezing it tightly. "I was so worried about you," he said. "Everything was so nuts after Deku smashed his way through everything, and then I finally got the call about you and…"
With every word, he'd been leaning in closer. Katsuki shoved his face away. "Okay, okay, we get it, you were worried about me. Stop blubbering. I'm alive."
Or most of him was, anyway. He looked down at his legs. Leg. So he hadn't imagined that. "…Fuck."
Wait, Eri was here. That weird Quirk of hers that had fixed All Might. For a second, hope flared up within him.
"I had Eri look at your chart," Shima began.
"I'm sorry," Eri said, shaking her head. Her horn was smaller, he noticed. "I was at a different hospital when you were brought in. Spent the whole morning treating different injuries. It'll be a day or two before I've stored up enough power to heal anyone. By which point we'll be long past where I could Rewind you."
"Those people hurt worse than me?" he asked. The small bit of hope that had flared within him died just as quickly as it had arisen. He hadn't really expected it to be true anyway. No, he lived in the real world, where people got hurt and stayed hurt.
"I can't give details… but yes."
"Fine then," he said. It snapped out, really. But he meant it. He wasn't some crybaby who needed her to patch up all his scrapes like Deku or that Sidekick of his. It was better if somebody who really needed it got her help.
Katsuki fixed Shima with a look. "You get Glasses' wife on the phone then? Get me fitted for some robot leg?"
Shitty Hair and Shima exchanged a worried look. "Katsuki," Shitty Hair started. That wasn't a good sign. Shitty Hair almost never used his real name, unless something was really serious.
Fuck.
"While there are many Heroes out there operating with prosthetics," Shima said, "your situation is… a bit unique. Between the stresses your Quirk places on your entire skeletal system, along with the fact that all your sweat, not just the sweat from your palms, contains trace amounts of your explosive agent… I'm afraid there isn't a prosthetic that currently exists or is in development that can handle your Quirk. We can fit you with an everyday model, but…"
The words entered his ears, but didn't quite make it as far as his brain. "So, what're you saying?"
"I'm," Shima began, but Shitty Hair interrupted him.
"Katsuki," Shitty Hair said, a tear trailing down his face, "he's saying that your Hero career's probably over."
No. No, it couldn't be. It couldn't be true. He wasn't the Number One Hero yet. He still had to beat out IcyHot and Tintin and Deku! Still had to show all of them that he was the best there ever was or ever would be! To go out at being Number Four? What the hell kind of loser talk was that?!
"Get out."
"Katsuki…" Shitty Hair started.
"I said get out! All of you! Get out!" Explosions popped and crackled from his hands, setting off the smoke detectors.
Katsumi's lungs were raw from screaming. She'd blown up several things and set off the smoke alarms. She still couldn't believe what her Papa had told her.
Her Dad, the Number Four Hero (though ALWAYS Number One to her and Tai, no matter what the official rankings said), and probably the toughest person she knew, had lost his leg in a fight with one of the Nomus. His Hero career, even if he managed to get a cybernetic leg, was likely over. Just like that.
It wasn't fair! Her Dad didn't deserve this. Sure, he'd been a jerk in his younger days, but he was open and honest about all the work and therapy he'd gone through to become a Hero, husband, and father that his family could be proud of. He deserved to go back out in the field, and be the best Hero in the world. Which to Katsumi, he always was.
She'd yelled at Doc Clock when she'd come to check on her. Her Quirk could be spent healing her Dad. After all, she'd healed other heroes from horrible injuries in the past, so why couldn't she Rewind Dad?
When Doc Clock tried to explain herself (Something about expending too much power, the injury having been too long ago now, trauma from Rewinding back to the injury… She'd really stopped listening after "I can't."), Katsumi had yelled at her. She called her selfish. And then, with every ounce of venom she could muster, she'd shouted that she hated her. Papa had yelled at her for that one. Yelling at someone like that wasn't very Womanly. And no, Katsumi knew she didn't really hate Eri. But she was angry and not thinking.
Papa left her alone when she asked, despite not wanting her to. Good. She didn't want him to see her crying like this.
In retrospective, yelling everyone out of the room might not have been the best idea. He can't get out of the bed on his own, he needs a damn bedpan to go to the damn bathroom. He hasn't felt this helpless in years. Not since Shitty Hair… since Eijiro…
Not since he nearly lost him. Not since he wasn't sure if his husband was ever going to wake up again. At least he didn't do that to him. No, all he's done if left him with a useless, broken husband.
Anyone with brain cells would have stayed out of the room. Fortunately for him, Shitty Hair didn't have many of those. But he did have many heart cells. The door opened and he saw Eijiro walk in.
"How're you feeling?" he asked.
Katsuki just glared at him.
"Okay, dumb question. But are you in any pain? I can get them to give you some more painkillers or…"
He shook his head. "Nah. They got me on the good shit."
"That's something," Shitty Hair replied. He pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and took Katsuki's hand. Katsuki didn't pull it away. He's not… great about demonstrations of affection, even in private like this. But it maked his husband happy. So he could put up with it.
"You been to see Katsumi?" he asked instead.
Eijiro nodded. "She's worried about you," he said. "But she's fine. She saw you, Katsuki. When Izuku brought you in."
Fuck.
"…Nice to know we're both contributing to her childhood trauma."
A small, sharp-toothed grin briefly flashed across Eijiro's face. "There's my husband."
"Tai know?"
Eijiro sucked in a breath. "…Yeah. I had to tell him. Izuku's watching him now."
Fuck.
Katsuki didn't say anything. The silence settled over the room like a shroud. He could see the wheels turning behind Shitty Hair's eyes, the urge to say something, anything, building slowly, but surely. His Idiot Husband never did know when to shut up. Always trying to say something cheerful or reassuring. Biggest damn cheerleader in his life.
"We're going to get through this," Shitty Hair said. "I know we will."
It was meant to be reassuring. For most people, it probably would have been. For Katsuki, it just made him angry. Getting through things was for regular people. He got past things. He beat things.
"How?" he demanded. "How the fuckare we gonna do that?"
"I don't know! But we'll figure it out. Together." Dammit. Shitty Hair was so damn sincere. He really meant it.
A broken failure like him didn't deserve it.
Katsuiki hadn't cried many times in his life. When he'd had the breakdown after the Licensing Exam. When he'd gotten married. When his children were born. When he thought he was going to lose Shitty Hair.
Now.
"This was all I ever wanted to do, Shitty Hair. From the time I was four years old. If I ain't a Hero anymore… then what the hell am I?"
Eijiro squeezed his hand. "My husband. Our children's father. A friend. An inspiration to millions of kids. You fought hard, Bakubabe. Manliest man I've ever known. And you're going to need every bit of that Manliness to get through this.
"But I'm not going anywhere. The kids, your friends, none of us are going anywhere. You've had the backs of so many people, for so many years. Now it's our turn to have yours."
"When the hell did you start making sense?" Katsuki demanded. Still… Shitty Hair… may… have… had… a point. Moping? Feeling sorry for his shitty self?
No.
That wasn't who he was. Wasn't what he believed in.
Once upon a time, Katsuki had believed himself to be the center of the world. Unbeatable, unstoppable, a protagonist in a world full of extras meant to highlight how awesome his story was.
A lot of fights and a lot of therapy had changed that.
If he could overcome the shithead he used to be, he could overcome this. He could overcome anything.
"You let me in there to see my son or I'll have your intestines for a scarf! I'm not scared of you! LET ME IN!"
Eijiro had the decency to look guilty. "I, ah, may have called your parents."
"Dammit, Shitty Hair…"
Katsumi didn't want to see anyone. Several people had tried, and she'd pushed them all away. Even Izzy. Granted, she was a lot nicer to Izzy, but she didn't want her to see her like this.
Katsumi laid on the side of her bed, staring out her window that looked at the hospital window. Observation, they said, since she'd gone through an exhausting day and fainted. She was angry, sad, and scared all at once. She hated it. She almost didn't hear the door open at first.
"Go away, Papa," she said, not bothering to turn over.
"It's not Papa."
Her eyes, widened, and she turned over, sitting up in bed. Dad was in front of her, in a wheelchair, having been wheeled in by a nurse.
"Give us a second, okay?" He asked the nurse, who left the room, telling him she'd be right outside, and not to stay too long. She didn't sound too happy with him. Dad was a poor patient in the best of times, and these were far from that.
"Dad..." He looked beat up, but mostly the same. Still tough. How could he do that after everything he went through? "Shouldn't you be resting?"
"Resting? How the hell am I supposed to rest when my daughter's in the hospital?" He said, managing a small smile at her.
"Yeah, but, Dad, you..." Katsumi trailed off, looking at his leg.
Dad sighed. "I know. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Firecracker." He probably hadn't called her that since she was ten, when she declared she was too old for silly nicknames. But right now, it was comforting.
"I just..." she began, tears swelling in her eyes. "Aren't you angry?"
"Am I angry? Of course I am. When I woke up, the first thing I did was scream and blow something up." His tone was still calm. "I had to be sedated." He looked at her, a small smile like he expected her to laugh.
Katsumi managed a small chuckle. "But you've worked so hard and you lost everything."
"I don't think I did. I still have you. I didn't lose you or Tai, or Papa. Loud Kid is okay. I had to tell him it's not his fault two hundred times, but he's breathing. A leg is a small price to pay for knowing that I kept people safe."
Katsumi nodded, choking back tears. "What're you going to do?"
"I'll figure it out. But for now, I'm going to make sure my family is safe." He leaned forward in his chair, pulling her down to his, locking her in a tight embrace. Katsumi relaxed in his arms, feeling safe for the first time that day.
"I love you, Firecracker."
"I love you, too, Daddy."
Shota didn't know how much time had passed. He was pretty sure that he had fallen asleep at some point, but everything since he showed up at the hospital with Uncle Izuku had felt like a giant blur. The doctors and nurses had drifted in and out, asking him if he needed anything. Every time he opened his mouth, his tone was monotone and emotionless. None of his usual enthusiasm when he was usually addressed.
Shota didn't even feel sad anymore. He just kinda felt...numb. Was this how someone was supposed to feel after experiencing something so terrible? Should he still just be constantly crying? Shota wasn't sure if he could even cry anymore. The doctors had told him that he was likely dehydrated from crying, something Shota didn't even think was remotely possible. Would he ever even feel happy again? His friends expected him to be the one who was always smiling, and Shota was pretty sure that the only person who smiled more that he did was Uncle Izuku. And even Uncle Izuku liked to joke that Shota gave him a bad name with how much smiling he did.
They'd wheeled Ground Zero in at one point. He'd told Shota it wasn't his fault, that the loss of a leg was better than being dead. He'd even thanked him for saving his life. Ground Zero had said he didn't want Shota blaming himself. Shota had nodded and said thank you in a quiet voice.
He didn't believe any of it.
"Hey kid," a familiar voice came from the side of his bed.
Shota turned over. He didn't even hear the door open, or his Uncle Shota come in. He'd never seen his godfather look so tired. Well, he always looked tired, even more tired than Dad, but this was a different kind of tired. Uncle Shota looked like he had been kicked down.
Shota pulled the covers of his bed up to his face. He didn't like letting people see him like this, especially not his parents and Uncle Shota.
"Hi, Uncle Shota."
"I'm not going to ask how you're feeling," his godfather said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in originally. "I know you've been through a lot, and you're feeling pretty defeated right now. Like you failed."
Shota sat up a little bit. Uncle Shota just always had this ability to know what he was feeling. He told Shota that it was "godfather's intution."
"You do?"
He nodded. "I know Ground Zero's told you this, but it's not your fault. It might feel like that, but it's not."
Shota stared up at the ceiling. "Ground Zero can't be a Hero anymore. That's my fault. I did that. He was trying to save me and…"
His godfather placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to tell you something very important, I've known Ground Zero since he was your age. And I know him well enough that losing his leg isn't going to stop him from being a Hero. A Hero is all that Katsuki Bakugo has ever wanted to be. And I know that he's stubborn enough to keep trying, even if he did just lose a limb. If he can't go out in the field, he'll try something else, something that keeps him doing good."
Uncle Shota locked eyes with him.
"And I know Ground Zero well enough to know that seeing you beating yourself up and blaming yourself would make him very angry."
Shota knew that he was just trying to help. His godfather always looked out for him, even with him joining his class, and trying to not show a bias for him.
"I don't think I'm meant to be a Hero, Uncle Shota."
"Why? You've always wanted to be a Hero."
"Yeah but….maybe I'm not supposed to be."
Uncle Shota touched underneath his chin, so his eyes were locked into his.
"You listen to me, Shota Shinso. You were meant to be a Hero. If anyone in this class was meant to be a Hero, it was you. More than anyone else. More than Midoriya, more than Kirishima-Bakugo, anyone. I know they want it, you all want to be Heroes. But Shota, you were meant to be a Hero. And if you give up, you're going to go your whole life wondering what would happen if you stayed."
Shota sighed. His godfather was right. He always knew him so well. He did want to be a Hero. More than anything in the world. He wanted to save people like Uncle Izuku, and do good like Mom and Dad. "Okay...I'll stay. I just...I feel like I failed. Am I ever going to smile again?"
Uncle Shota nodded. "You will. It might take some time, but you will. Failures like this are going to happen. Unfortunately, as much I want to keep you sheltered and safe, the job had drawbacks. Knowing that you might face something like that is something that you're going to come across. Not all the time, but there's going to be days like what just happened."
Shota nodded, feeling tears well up in his eyes again.
Uncle Shota gave him a small smile. "That being said, you're going to go to therapy sessions with Hound Dog before I can clear you for active Hero classes today, okay? I know it can be tough, but I can go with you for the first couple of sessions, okay?"
Shota nodded.
"I know today was rough, but I'm proud of you."
Shota smiled, managing some words. "Thank you, Uncle Shota."
"I love you. Now get some rest."
"Very good, Shota!" Uncle Shota is helping him with his Quirk now. Having his godfather near him makes it a little less scary, as he knows that Uncle Shota can erase his Quirk if he gets too bad.
Shota is grinning from ear to ear. "Did you see that Uncle Shota?! Did you see that?! I used my Quirk and I didn't break anything this time!"
Uncle Shota smiled. "I did. I'm very proud of you!"
Shota smiles, wrapping his arms around his godfather's legs. "That was so cool! Do you really think I could be a Hero someday just like you, Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Izuku?"
His godfather smiles down at him, ruffling his hair. "I do."