Chapter 6: Picking up the Pieces

Izuku's eyes fluttered open. He was back in his room, tucked into bed. How... How did I get here? The last I remember, I was watching some old show with Kacchan, Eijikun, and Momo. Now I'm… in bed? Izuku looked around and pondered how he could have possibly made it back to his room. After a few moments of consideration, he realized that he must have fallen asleep and that Eijikun or someone else must have brought him back upstairs. I need to remember to thank him when I see him next.

Izuku felt better, not great, but not terrible. Frankly, he wasn't sure that 'better' was the right term for it. Honestly, he wasn't even sure if he 'felt' at all. All he knew was that the pain that had been clouding his mind was still there like a dull headache. Not going away but not interfering with him enough for it to keep him from functioning completely.

Despite having slept, Izuku was tired. Extremely tired. He looked over at the clock. 8am…. Well, I must have gotten some sleep. I don't know how late I stayed up, but I'm guessing I only slept for around 4 hours. Izuku sighed and tried his best to pull himself up out of bed. This was going to be a long day. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

For several minutes, Izuku lay in bed trying to force himself to go back to sleep. In the most demoralizing realization of his life, Izuku couldn't even motivate himself enough to actually fall asleep. Izuku wondered if part of him felt like he deserved to be miserable. To be tired. Maybe he thought that he should suffer too. Why had he lived when so many others had died? Dosen't he deserve to suffer just as much as they?

Although the feeling of ants clawing away inside him hadn't really gone away either. Izuku did feel like he was able to deal with it a bit better though. Unfortunately, the effort it took him to control his anxiety only served to tire him out more. He felt like he was on autopilot. Simply floating about his morning routine without the feeling of agency in whatever he did. One moment he was in bed, the next he was in standing still in the shower letting the warm water wash over him. The next he realized he was dressed and sitting in his desk chair leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

The feeling was there. The feeling of ants stronger than before. Izuku needed to get up. He needed to move again. He figured he'd go for a walk again. That seemed to help calm him down a bit last night. Or, at least, it helped distract him.

Izuku stood up and slowly left his room. He trudged down the stairs and was greeted by a strange sensation when he entered the common room. The smell of…. Food? Not caring to investigate, Izuku continued to walk through the common room, past the kitchen, and towards the elevator.

"Oi! Nerd!" Izuku stopped moving, the sound of hurried footsteps filled the quiet room. He didn't move or turn around, but as the footsteps grew closer, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder and was quickly spun to face the familiar voice. Kacchan was standing there. A tall figure with messy blond hair, a bright blue shirt, and…. Wearing a cooking apron? Kacchan? This isn't exactly something I was expecting… Kacchan doesn't….

A few seconds passed and Izuku just stared blankly. Not exactly at Kacchan, though he was an oddly distracting sight for some reason, he sorta just stared at nothing in particular. Seconds passed before the hand shook him gently.

"Hey, I'm talking to ya you idiot. I said where are ya headed?" He did? I don't remember that… I must have spaced out or something.

"Um… I'm. well, I wasn't feeling that great, so I thought I'd go for a walk or something… I don't know." Izuku mumbled barely louder than a whisper. Kacchan stared at him, a scowl forming on his face.

"Like hell you are. You haven't eaten since the infirmary nerd. You're coming in here, sitting down, and eating some god damn food. Come on, I'm makin' breakfast." Kacchan grabbed him by the shoulder and firmly, but gently, dragged him into the kitchen pushing him into a seat at the table. Kacchan? Making breakfast? That... he doesn't… what? I'm so confused right now.

Izuku was dumbfounded. Was Kacchan trying to be…. Nice? Izuku couldn't believe it. The sheer confusion of the situation was almost enough to distract him from his feelings of anxiety completely. It did nothing to change his outward demeanor though. While inside he was pondering what all of these actions could mean, outwardly he simply sat and stared forward with a blank expression on his face. He becomes mesmerized simply watching his childhood friend cook. His fluid motions as he cut vegetables and stirred whatever was in the skillet distracted Izuku and briefly calmed his mind.

The fuck is the nerd staring at me for? 's just breakfast. God, I feel like he's boring a hole in the back of my head with those damn sad green eyes. Katsuki was having an internal dilemma. He wanted nothing more than to tell the nerd to mind his own damn business and to look somewhere else. He couldn't though. His decision from the previous night weighed heavy on his mind. He would try. He really would try and be Deku's... God, he couldn't even think the word could he. This was so foreign to him. Breakfast, let's just start with breakfast and we can figure out the rest from there.

Katsuki continued to prepare the meal for everyone. It was a stir fry with eggs, chicken, onions, broccoli, garlic, carrots, and rice. Katsuki was about to add a metric shit ton of spice to it (or was it an imperial shit ton? He could never remember which was more) when he remembered that Deku absolutely hated spicy food. Confounded that he was about to do something remotely considerate for the nerd, he grabbed a plate and filled it with the pre-spice food. He set it aside and proceeded to add enough pepper and hot sauce to make the devil himself cry. He stirred the skillet vigorously making sure that every bite of food was equally covered in the demonic seasoning. Katsuki's eyes burned slightly from the spice laden steam that came out of the pan. Oh, yeah. That's how you know you did it right. If you're eyes ain't watering while ya cook, your mouth ain't gonna water while you eat. Katsuki pulled the spoon out of the stir fry and set it aside, he chuckled slightly surprised that the spoon hadn't melted from the heat. As he was plating the food, the other extras walked into the kitchen and froze, gaping at Katsuki.

"Bakugo… Are you…? Cooking?" Ponytail said rubbing her eyes as if to see whether she was awake or not.

"Yeah, what of it Ponytail? Do you want some or not?" Katsuki spat back as he carefully filled the other 3 bowls.

"Wait," Shitty Hair said. Good, he's up too, at least I won't have to go hunt down any of the damn extras. "not only are you cooking… but you made some for us?" Shitty hair sounded confused. Katsuki sighed and dropped the last spoonful of stir fry into a bowl before turning around. Shitty hair and pony tail looked about as well as they had last night. Pony tail still hadn't bothered to fix her hair and Shitty hair was in a torn white shirt and basketball shorts. They both looked like a freaking mess.

"Of course I'm fixing yall fucking food. I know damn well that neither of ya shitty extras has been eating right for the last two months. With the cafeteria closed god only knows what you two have been eating. Last thing I need is one of you getting fucking sick because you didn't eat healthy. Now sit." Katsuki pointed at the table where Deku sat still staring blankly at Katsuki. Katsuki shook his head and sighed.

"Nerd! Fucking look alive" Deku shook slightly and, for the first time in a while, seemed somewhat aware of his surroundings.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I spaced out again." He whispered. "Morning Eijikun, morning Momo." Deku looked down and stared at his hands clasped together in front of him on the table.

"Morning Izuzu," Shitty Hair said. "You doin ok?" Izuku gave no response. He seemed to have blanked out… again. Shitty hair looked back at Katsuki and then stared at Deku expectantly. When it became obvious that Deku wasn't going to respond, Pony Tail tried to alleviate the tension by striking up conversation with Shitty Hair.

"Thank you all for joining me last night. It was so much fun getting to watch a show with the three of you. It… It felt almost like old times for a minute…" She trailed off voice getting quieter, a tear forming at the corner of her eye.

"Oi, less talking more eating you fucking extras. Foods up." Katsuki yelled as he walked over to the table, two of the bowls in hand and the other two balanced carefully on his forearms. Pony tail quickly created a tissue out of her arm and wiped away her tears as Katsuki approached.

"You know, Bakugo, you don't have to call us extras…" Shitty hair looked around the table before continuing. "It's uh… not like there's that many of us… anymore."

"Not fucking funny shitty hair," Katsuki spat back, Izuku seemed to recede further into himself at the statement. "Read the fucking room next time." Katsuki placed the bowls in front of each of them before placing the last one in front of Deku. Shitty Hair seemed to cringe slightly at the realization of what he said and plastered an apologetic look on his face as the rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Eat up nerd, it's not spicy or nothin" Katsuki mumbled as he sat and begun to eat his own food. Deku made no movement but just stared at the bowl of stir fry like a dazed fish. Shitty Hair and Pony tail begun to eat but, to Katsuki's amusement, were soon gasping for water.

"Oi! You got something against my cooking?" Katsuki said with a smirk? The damn extras can't handle a little spice.

"No, no not at all. Actually, it's quite delicious." Pony tail said as her face turned beat red, tears and sweat beginning to appear on he face.

"Yeah Bakubro, It's really good… but man, did you have to make it so dang spicy?" Shitty hair said poring himself a large glass of milk from the pitcher on the table.

"I dunno what yall are goin on about. This is perfectly seasoned." Katsuki begun to heat his own food. Damn, that's good. They ate in silence for a few moments, only the sounds of Shitty Hair and Ponytail sniffing filled the room as they did battle with Katsuki's cooking. After a few moments, Katsuki realized that Deku still wasn't eating. He just stared blankly at his food, mouth open slightly.

"Deku! God damnit. Eat your fucking food! I told ya, I didn't put any spice in it. I'm not trying to poison ya or nothin." Katsuki stared back at Deku who still made no response.

"Please try and eat something Midoriya?" Pony tail asked as she created a box of tissues and placed them between herself and Shitty Hair.

"It's actually really good!" Shitty hair said, grabbing several tissues and blowing his nose violently.

"The fuck do you mean by 'actually'?" Katsuki stared back at Shitty Hair with a scowl. Damn, am I gonna have to force feed the fucking nerd myself? God knows he's not in the mental state to care for himself right now. Ugghhh. Katsuki was starting to get pissed that Deku wasn't fucking eating. But it also gave him an Idea. He let a bit of his anger show.

"Fucking fine," He stood up from the table with a loud screech from his chair. "If you hate my cooking so fucking much, I'll throw it out." He took the plate from in front of Deku. "Was just tryin to do something nice for fuckin once…" he mumbled quietly as he turned around. He barely made it one step before he felt an oddly soft hand on his arm. Deku had reached out and grabbed him.

Katsuki turned around and set the plate back in front of the nerd who slowly begun to eat without looking up from his food or saying a word. Katsuki wasn't exactly proud of himself for how he'd gotten Deku to eat. He'd definitely manipulated him. But what else could he have done? The nerd wasn't fucking taking care of himself. Katsuki sat back down at the table and rubbed at his temples with a sigh. He watched Deku eat, he wanted to make sure the damn nerd ate at least half of what he was given. He was gonna cram it down his fucking throat if he had to. After Deku had gotten through nearly half of his food, the nerd spoke up for the first time in a while.

"Eijikun… uh.. thanks for helping me get back into bed last night." Deku quietly said as he looked intently at his food.

"Uh, not entirely sure what you're talkin about man… but you're welcome? I guess?" Shitty hair looked at the nerd and then at Katsuki, confusion plastered on his face.

"Oh, um, last night. I'm pretty sure I… I fell asleep on the c-couch. S-someone must have h-helped me into bed since I woke up in m-my room…" Deku quietly stuttered, seeming to begin to recede back into whatever mental space he'd been living in during breakfast.

"That wasn't fucking Shitty Hair." Katsuki said as he took another bite of food. Deku looked up from his food for the first time since they had sat down. He looked genuinely confused. His head tilted slightly to the left causing his mop of hair to block his eyes slightly.

"It… It wasn't? Then who?"

"Who the fuck do ya think? Damn, use your brain for once ya fuckin nerd. If not, can I at least rent out your damn headspace to a tenant who fucking will? 'S not like I was just gonna leave your ass down there to shiver on the couch. I'm not that cruel… anymore." Katsuki said that last part almost imperceptivity quiet compared to the rest of his statement. He looked away from the nerd who was now making what he interpreted as a "I can't believe you would do something like that for me" look but came off as a puppy dog pout. Katsuki didn't need to look at that right now. Well… Maybe…. No, not right now.

They finished the rest of their breakfast in silence. Deku didn't make to say anything else after the realization that Katsuki had actually done something nice for him not once but twice within the last 24 hours. Katsuki was just as confused by it as the nerd was. This was uncharted territory for the both of them.

After they finished eating, Katsuki and Ponytail did the dishes while Shitty Hair tried and failed to converse with Deku. The nerd just wasn't in this plain of existence right now. Who the fuck knows where he was. They had just finished washing the last dish when they heard a ding from the elevator in the common room. Katsuki looked towards the door but couldn't see who it was. Shitty hair evidently could because he looked up and started to talk to them.

"Good morning Sensei! You're looking…. Well...?" Shitty hair trailed off as the form of their homeroom teacher entered the kitchen.

"Ah, good, you are all awake. That makes this easier. I have a few announcements to make." Aizawa stood in the middle of the kitchen dressed in his usual black jumpsuit, his face buried to the nose in his capture weapon. "Your next year's classes begin in a little over a month. You're going to be second years so our expectations from you are only going to go up. Slacking off will not be an option."

"After taking out the evil emperor and his army of clones how bad could a little school be?" Shitty hair said with a forced laugh. Katsuki glared at him with a scowl.

"Be that as it may, you will be tested in ways that you haven't yet. We will push you bodies again to their limits and force them past that. Society needs, now more than ever, heroes who are hardened and well trained. We need heroes ready to combat the unstoppable tide of evil that has arisen in recent years. Starting tomorrow I want to see each of you in the gym. You're going to be running drills with me and Present Mic. You'll also begin sparing with one another again in forms ranging from 1v1 to 1v3 in order to retrain your skills. Two months is a long time to be idle. We can't afford for you all to get rusty." Aizawa looked at each of them as he spoke, however, Katsuki noticed that his gaze returned to Deku more often than anyone else. What else is the fucker here for? He wouldn't have come all this way just to tell us this.

"Midoriya," Ah, there it is. Izuku looked up at his teacher who had just addressed him.

"Look, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but…" He sighed and ran a hand through his greasy black hair. "I just got word from a friend down in the Mustafu city demolition office. They informed me that the apartment building that you and your mother rented has been condemned by the city." He waited for some form of a response from Deku. Realizing that the greenette wasn't going to speak, he continued.

"He said that the building is structurally sound enough for people to enter at the moment. I know this is probably one of the last things you want on your mind right now Midoriya, but would you like to go with myself and Mic to get you and your mother's things out of the apartment before they demolish the building? Mic will bring one of the school vans and we can store your belongings in one of the spare dorm rooms for the time being."

Shit, I hadn't even thought about something like that happening. The nerds gotta be taking this pretty hard. Katsuki glanced over to Deku and felt a twinge in his chest when he saw the nerd fighting back tears as he silently stared at their teacher. Deku nodded and Aizawa seemed to interpret that as a yes.

"Ok, give us a few minutes and well get going."

"Wait, could we come to help? And... well… maybe while were in town could we stop by the hospital?" Shitty Hair twiddled his thumbs from the table.

"Indeed, I would like to go as well if that is ok?" Ponytail nodded from her seat.

Aizawa let out a sigh and rubbed his temples. "Fine, yes. We can stop by the hospital while were in town." He turned to Katsuki. "And you?" shit.

"I uh… Fuck. Fine, I guess I'll go too damnit." He cursed halfheartedly. He didn't really care too much about seeing the extras at the hospital. He didn't see the point. They hadn't improved and seeing them in that state was just going to make everyone else feel terrible. The thought of Deku standing in the hospital room crying over the comatose bodies of his friends pulled at his heart in ways that it shouldn't. fuck. He decided he'd go if only to try and stave away that potentiality.

"I'll tell Mic. Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes." Without waiting for a response, Aizawa turned and returned to the elevator. Once he had left, the extras left to get dressed to leave. Deku stayed sitting at the table looking like someone stole his cookie. The damn nerds not going to get ready to leave? I'm trying here, but I'm not gonna dress the damn nerd. I'm not his fucking moth… ok, best to not say that out loud. That won't go over well right now. Fuck, at least he has his shoes on…. Deciding that he didn't need to chide the nerd, Katsuki took off the cooking apron and left for his room to get dressed himself.

By the time that Katsuki had returned from cleaning himself up a bit, Aizawa and Present Mic were standing in the common room waiting on them.

"Oi, where are the others?" Katsuki looked around noticing he was the only other one present.

"Hey little listener," Mic said oddly quieter than usual. "You're the first one to tune in today. Hold tight and well get this show on the road momentarily." Katsuki stared blankly as Mic made finger guns at him. God, he was too tired to deal with this today. Once the others made their way to the common room, Deku finally left the kitchen and they all made their way to the UA van that was parked outside of their dorms.

It took them about half an hour to drive across town from UA to the rundown apartment complex that Deku and his mom had called home. It felt surreal. Katsuki hadn't been here since he was a little kid. The last time he was here was the day he ended his friendship with the nerd. The day he blew up at his friend and told him that he didn't want to be friends with a quirkless loser. Katsuki had never felt bad about that day. He felt like it was necessary. That the nerd was going to hold him back from taking his spot at number one. Not only that, but staying friends with Katsuki would have been dangerous. If he became number one, villains everywhere would have been trying to figure out his weakness. If they found out he was best friends with a quirkless guy who couldn't defend himself…. It wouldn't have ended well that's for sure. That was the original reason Katsuki had ended things. He didn't want Deku to get hurt.

He wasn't sure when it had morphed from trying to protect the nerd to actively hating him. That had just happened over time. Katsuki had figured it had to do with how the damn kids love for him never seemed to waver even after he kicked him to the curb like a worn-out bento box. Deku was always glued to his hip whether he wanted him there or not. He guessed that's where it started. And from there in morphed into Katsuki actively bullying him to try and get Deku to hate him. To get him to hate Katsuki the way he deserved to be hated for everything that he had done.

Katsuki got out of the van and looked at the stone complex he had once known as well as his own home. The monolithic building looked abandoned. Well, he guessed it was now. Windows were broken, the stone cracked in places near the foundation stretching up to the top floors. No wonder this place had been condemned. It looked like a bomb went off nearby. The fuck happened here? Katsuki looked around the rest of the neighborhood. None of the other apartments and houses seemed to have fared any better. All the buildings in sight were taped off and abandoned as well.

As prepared as he thought he was to enter the home of his childhood friend, Katsuki was woefully wrong. The scene that greeted them even caused the normally exuberant present mic to stand dumbfounded. The apartment door was broken down and the entire place was a wreck. The furniture was broken and scattered around the apartment, dishes lay shattered on the floor. Drywall lay in piles on the floor where it had fallen from holes in the roof. The place looked like it had been looted by a tsunami.

Deku let out an audible cry as he stepped through the front door. He stifled his cries with a loud sniff as he walked deeper into the apartment. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he started to sift through the crumbled remains of his former life. Shit, is there even anything here worth salvaging? We probably only needed a grocery bag not the whole fucking van. God, this is depressing. Katsuki decided to stick close to the nerd as he walked through the house. Not that the he wanted to help the nerd…. Well… maybe. He just wanted to make sure nothing else happened damn it. The kid had been through enough already.

They started in the entry way and canvased each room thoroughly searching for anything they could salvage. The found practically nothing. A book here, a dish there. Ponytail found Auntie's sewing kit which was still intact. Shitty hair managed to find some of the blankets that Deku's grandmother had made years ago. Fuck, there really wasn't much left at all. However bad the rest of the apartment was, Deku's room was worse somehow.

Everything, everything was destroyed. Every all might poster was torn to shreds, every figure broken. Every book, toy, or belonging that the nerd had was gone. Katsuki realized that someone had intentionally come in here and done this. Intentionally ransacked Deku's home and destroyed all of their belongings. It angered him. It pissed him off so much that he didn't realize that he was standing there setting off explosions filling the room slowly with smoke. He came to his senses when he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard the sound of Deku coughing. The nerd was fucking trying to calm him down. He wasn't the one who needed help right now damnit! Katsuki regained his composure and set about the room looking for anything that wasn't completely destroyed. It didn't take too long before he found something. An old beat up All Might figure that looked oddly familiar.

"Oi, Deku." He called holding the worn figure in an outstretched hand. The nerd's eyes widened as he rushed forward, nearly tripping over a pile of broken figurines.

"I… I can't believe you found it. I… Thank you!" Deku stuttered staring at Katsuki and then at the figure clutched in his hands and then back at Katsuki. Before he could protest, the nerd grabbed him in a firm hug and started crying into his shoulder, his shirt slowly getting wet from Deku's tears. Fuck fuck fuck…. What do I do… I... damnit, it was just a figure? I didn't mean to make the nerd cry or anything. Katsuki stood there nervously. He didn't hug the nerd back but he didn't try and break out of hive vice like grip either.

"Stop it with the water works would ya? Sorry, I wasn't trying to make you cry or nothin'." Deku pulled back and stared at him with his watering green eyes.

"I'm not crying because you upset me Kacchan. I'm just so happy you found my most treasured possession… I thought it was gone forever." Most treasured… what now? It's just some ratty… Shit… He remembered the damn thing. He had given it to Deku for his birthday the year before he had ended things with him. Katsuki tried to figure out some way to respond to the damn nerd that didn't show that he recognized it or knew what he meant. He didn't have to wait too long. A few seconds later Aizawa entered the room and Katsuki quickly pushed himself off the nerd like he was poisonous. Deku looked a little hurt at the action, but hid it quickly as their teacher begun to speak.

"Midoriya, are you almost finished here?" Aizawa sounded… excited? Katsuki was instantly creeped out. He had never heard his teacher sound anything but bored and dejected. Right now, he could give Mic a run for his money.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I don't think we're going to find anything else. I'm just really happy that we found this." He holds up the worn figurine. "Why? Is everything ok?" Aizawa motioned to the phone in his hand.

"I just got a call from the hospital. Kaminari just woke up." He looked at Deku and then back at their homeroom teacher. Holy Shit. Katsuki was suddenly glad that he had decided to tag along after all.

Katsuki held on for dear life as the van hurtled through the vacant streets of Mustafu. Present Mic must have broken at least a thousand traffic laws as they raced from the apartments to Mustafu General Hospital a few blocks away. Katsuki, Shitty Hair, Ponytail, and Deku all clung onto their seats for dear life as their professor made a drive which should have taken fifteen minutes in just under eight. Only Aizawa seemed unaffected by the reckless driving. Fuck this shit. Next time, I'm flying myself. I never want to get in a fucking car again.

Despite the terrifying drive, Deku seemed to perk up for the first time in days. Rather than just staring at his hands the whole time like he had during the drive to his home, he was looking around at the scenery. He looked out the window as they approached the hospital, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Katsuki realized that it comforted him and he hoped it never left his friends face again.

The whole group was in oddly high spirits as they walked up the steps into the hospital. Even Katsuki was surprised with himself. Hell, he had missed dunce face too so why shouldn't he be? Their spirits faltered slightly when the entered the hospital. It was absolutely packed. Tents and canopies had been set up outside to make way for more patients, all of whom seemed to be suffering from the same condition. They were all unconscious.

"We're here to see Denki Kaminari" Aizawa told the tired looking receptionist. She glanced up from her work and smiled slightly.

"Morning Shota, ah yes. The young man who just woke up." She typed at her computer for a second. "I'm afraid you all will have to wait for half an hour or so. The doctors want to run some tests before he's cleared to have visitors." She smiled and gestured towards where the waiting room was.

"Thanks Alice, is it ok if we stop in Mina Ashido's room while we wait?" Alice seemed to get a forlorn look in her eyes. After a moment she nodded and lead them back into the hospital. They took a few winding turns before they reached a room that said "Ashido, Mina" on the door's placard in small black letters. Katsuki grabbed Deku by the arm. Deku looked back at him surprised.

"Hey, um… Nerd," Katsuki stammered. "Uh, are you sure you want to go in there? It's… She's… probably not in the best shape right now…" Deku nodded with a determined look on his face. Resigning himself to the fact that he probably couldn't have kept the nerd out of the room even if he wanted to, he turned and stepped into the room.

Katsuki knew that Mina couldn't have been in good shape having been unconscious for two months. He knew that muscle atrophy must have been taking its toll by now. He knew that at this point, every coma patient must have been banging on deaths door at this point. It was one thing to know it. It was something completely different to see it.

Mina was lying in a bed at the center of the room. Tubes ran from a whirring machine down her throat. Her sunken chest rising and falling with each whoosh from the machine. A rhythmic beat from the monitor set a tone for the room. Her once vibrant pink skin now looked a sickly grey, her eyelids closed over sunken eyes. Her pink hair reached her shoulders shrouding most of her face. Katsuki thought she looked like a skeleton.

No sooner had they entered the room than Shitty hair had thrown himself at her bedside and started crying. Pony tail walked up to the bedside and placed her hand on Shitty Hair's shoulder seeming to try and console him. Fuck, it was a gut-wrenching sight. A few seconds went by and Deku fucking grabbed his hand. The fuck? Katsuki glanced at the nerd but made no move to pull his hand away. Deku just stood there fighting back tears as he stared at their unconscious friend. Katsuki decided that if this is what it would take to keep the nerd calm he could deal with it. Fuck, he hated physical contact though.

A few moments later a doctor walked into the room. He walked past everyone silently, grabbed Mina's chart and read it in silence for a few moments. Everyone stood with bated breath wondering if the bastard would say something. Finally, after several agonizing seconds he did.

"I gather yall are from UA?" Ponytail nodded.

"Yes sir," She said, "we were going to stop by and visit our friends when… well, when we heard that one of them had woken up we rushed here immediately." The doctor nodded slowly.

"Ah yes. The blond-haired boy with the black stripe. He should be back in his room by now. We just finished running some brain scans on the poor lad." He shifted his attention back to Mina. "we don't know why he was different, but here he is. Awake. And they all…. Your friend is the first person to wake up in two months."

"Yer kidding," Katsuki said. "No one. None. Not a single other fucker has woken up at all?" The doctor shook his head.

"No, young man. They're all just… just slowly slipping away as their bodies shut down due to their… condition? There's something…. Different about this. It's not a normal coma. It's like their life force is slowly being eaten away. If… If they don't regain consciousness soon… Well…. The body just isn't meant to go this long without brain function." Both shitty hair and pony tail started crying again, Deku clung to his hand tighter. Katsuki didn't pull away.

They stood in the room for several more minutes. Silence only broken by the occasional sob from different individuals. Fucking Aizawa himself even started to tear up at one point before he wiped it away and turned to address the group.

"If everyone is ready, we can go and check on Kaminari now." Aizawa started for the door not waiting for a response. God, was he always like this? Katsuki nodded letting go of Deku's hand. The nerd looked dejected at the loss of contact but nodded as well. Once the others begun to get up, they turned and left to follow their teacher.

It didn't take them long to get to the room labeled Kaminari. It was on the same floor, a few hallways away. Several doctors stood outside his room chatting quietly with each other. When they approached, the doctor in front nodded to Aizawa and opened the room gesturing for them to proceed inside. Aizawa entered and Katsuki followed suit.

Pikachu's room looked eerily similar to Pinky's room. White walls, off white tile. Dated fixtures and a cream-colored bed. The only difference between the two rooms was the figure in the bed. Their friend sat up slightly on the reclining bed. He looked bad. Really bad. Similar to Pinky, Pikachu's face was sunken and thin, his hair long and gangly. His once muscled form now reminded him of the twig that All Might became after he lost his power. The atrophy had not been kind to his friend. The only difference between Pinky and Pikachu right now was that his mustard yellow eyes were open. Damn, Pikachu looked bad.

"Hey Dunce face," Katsuki called out, his friend turned to him with a wide grin.

"Bak-u-go" Pikachu said, forcing out each syllable like it was a challenge for him.

"Yeah, you fucker, I'm here." Damn, he's not doing well at all. Why is he talking so weird?

"Denki, are… are you doing ok?" Deku spoke softly beside him, the blond nodded in response still smiling.

"I. ok." He nodded vigorously. Again, it sounded like every word was a challenge.

"Um… I'm sorry to ask this, and I don't mean to be rude… but why are you speaking like that?" Pony tail muttered, seeming to talk herself out of the question as she asked it.

"Quirk. Hurt. Brain," the blond stated, his smile faltering slightly.

"Yes, he's suffered major brain damage." A deep voice came from behind as one of the doctors from the hallway entered the room. "Nearest we figure, his coma was due to massive quirk overuse. Not whatever it is that was affecting the others." Denki nodded at this.

"Quirk. Hurt. Brain." He repeated again with a nod.

"Is…" Deku began, "Is he going to get better?" The doctor stared at Pikachu and patted the smiling blond on his shoulder.

"We think so. It will just take time. His body is more resistant to electricity than any other we've ever seen. Even among other electric types. Frankly, that's the only reason we can figure that he's even still alive. The amount of electricity needed to do this… it would have… should have killed him. We're honestly not sure how he's still alive. You're friend's a fighter. That's for sure…. And a strong one at that." The doctor smiled at the group before excusing himself saying that he needed to check on some other patients.

"I. Get. Better!" Pikachu said a tear trickling down his cheek.

"Denki, I'm… I'm just so happy to see that you're all right." Shitty hair sobbed as he wrapped Dunce Face in a hug. Pony tail and Deku joined in shortly after. Katsuki was sickened by the display of emotion but couldn't help himself from smiling. He was glad the loser was ok. Even if he couldn't, wouldn't show it. He was glad. He walked forward and placed his hand on his friend's head, ruffling the blonds long, messy hair.

After a few minutes, everyone pulled away and they tried their best to converse with Denki. It was hard given his state but they were able to piece it together without too much trouble. Denki slowly explained that the last he remembered he was separated from the others and surrounded by Shigaraki's…. He said that he released a massive wave of electricity to incapacitate them. He figured that he had pushed himself so far past his limit in that moment that he must have blacked out. Evidently causing massive damage to himself in the process.

It took almost an hour to relay all of this information. No one rushed him. They all sat quietly and let him take his time to speak each word as he was able. Sometimes several minutes passed before he was able to say the next word. But they all waited patiently for their friend.

By the time that he had finished, he suddenly became very agitated. He started thrashing around frantically pulling at his hair and looking at the others in the room. He started making sounds like he was trying to force himself to say something. Anything. Katsuki figured that he was definitively trying to relay something to the group and was becoming increasingly agitated with his own inability to convey his thoughts. Finally, after several seconds of this, he blurted out two words.

"Todo… Dabi…" Everyone's breath hitched at the words.

Denki repeated them again and again and again. Each time more frantic and insisting than the last. He looked from person to person as if desperate to confirm that he had gotten his message across. Whatever it was. Katsuki tried to piece it together the best he could but Deku spoke up first.

"Todo… do you mean Todoroki?" The blond nodded vigorously, a cry escaping his mouth, happy that he had been understood.

"Todoroki… Denki, I hate to break it to you, but he's missing. We have no idea where he is." Ponytail said, the blond nodded again.

"No." He stammered out.

"He's not missing?" Deku asked. The blond nodded in response. Deku's eyes widened in realization of what Pikachu was trying to say.

"Dabi… Does Dabi have Todoroki?"

The blond nodded.