A/N: A while himbo and broccoli have appeared!
From here on out it's Mirio's POV.
C/W: Near drowning, blood/injury.
One of the many lessons his late mentor, Sir Nighteye, had taught Mirio was to always learn from your experiences. That until it happened, one never truly knew how they will react to a situation.
This was one of the many lessons Mirio took to heart, and often preached to the interns he worked with.
And why wouldn't he? It was one of the most important things to they could do as heroes.
That's why, he knew from his own experience that quiet days were always the worst. Like rapids under calm waters, quiet days lured the new and inexperienced into a false sense of security with the promise of an easy time, only to rip them out of their comfort zone and drag them down into a swirling maelstrom of chaos.
Or at least, something like that. Mirio had never been good at metaphors.
So that's why when Bubblegirl had contacted him while on patrol with the intern and 3rd year student, Deku, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. The blue skinned hero had temporarily taken over the Nighteye agency alongside Centipeder, allowing the sidekicks, who would have otherwise lost their jobs, to continue working. For how long they planned to do this, Mirio didn't know.
Bubblegirl had sent them through the basic details about the unfolding event and the names of the suspected gang and villains involved, before informing them that they had already been assigned to rescue/civilian evacuation.
Hero talk for light duties.
Mirio had initially felt a little disappointed at their assigned roles, however that feeling had been quickly squashed as they made their way to the assigned area.
Surprisingly, it hadn't taken the two heroes very long to round up and evacuate the civilians. Despite the rude interruption, most of them had been willing to comply, with some being a little more so then others. Mirio was sure he had felt the slight touch of a hand on his backside, only to turn around and be met with a trio of giggling elderly women. He had given them a friendly smile before ushering them along.
With their assigned location evacuated, they had been making their way to the agreed meeting place, when Mirio's phone chimed with an alert. The message was from one of Fatgum's interns and Deku's classmate, Creati, calling for non-urgent back up to come to her location. The location in question was only a ten minute walk from where they were, so they agreed to check it out.
As they walked, Mirio had begun to feel uneasy, something about the whole situation felt off. There was an uncomfortable tightness in his chest he just couldn't seem to shake. To combat this, he'd made small talk with Deku about their next day-trip with Eri. They ended up deciding to take Tamaki's suggestion, to take her to a butterfly sanctuary (so long as they brought the manifest hero along with them, or Mirio's new bed would be the couch).
Upon arriving, they had decided to wait outside the abandoned aquarium for further instructions. However Mirio's uneasy feeling had grown.
Tamaki had mentioned that morning, while they were eating breakfast, that Fatgum had assigned both Creati and Red Riot to him to take out on patrol. Mirio knew he shouldn't be worried, both Tamaki and the interns were incredibly strong and could work reasonably well together. But he also knew his boyfriend could be somewhat stubborn, especially about calling for help when it came to dealing with situations, preferring to do things as planned and perfect, with little room for error.
For Creati to have put out the call meant that the sidekick and the two interns had probably become separated somehow.
After voicing his concerns to Deku, the green haired hero had agreed that they should probably head inside and check things out.
The door hadn't been a problem for them. Mirio had simply phased through it and unlocked it for the intern. They navigated the dark and mostly vandalised halls before coming into an open room that had several large cylindrical display tanks within it. The centermost one had been lit up, bathing the room in an eerie blue-green hue. Around the tank were three individuals who Mirio assumed to be the reason for the call out. The assumed villains turned to face them as they entered the room. From beside him, Mirio heard Deku gasp, his green eyes going wide in horror.
At first, the blonde couldn't see what the deal was, from the angle he was on, the room was rather empty. It wasn't until he took a few steps forward, and the glowing tank's contents became visible to him, did he realise that the calm waters of his quiet day had turned to rapids.
Mirio's blood turned to ice as every muscle in his body froze. His lungs seemingly forgot how to breathe.
The figure in the tank looked beautiful, almost angelic, held down by a single rope around his waist. His white and gold-trim cloak billowed out behind him almost like wings. Toned, yet slender arms clad in black skin-tight clothing stood out against his cloak's white backdrop. His gold coloured cuffs and shoulder guards were still in place, but most of the purple pouches that had normally lined his vest were stripped away. Dark hair floated freely from under his cowl, hiding his elf-like ears and framing his pale face.
The dark lifeless eyes of Amajiki Tamaki had stared straight back at Mirio, unfocused and glazed.
Mirio may have still have been rather new to hero work, however he had unfortunately had to deal with more than his fair share of situations. He had learnt rather quickly, thanks to the guidance of Sir Nighteye, how to keep a level head when these moments arose.
But this was a first.
Even he had his moments, as rare as they were. Moments when his emotions overtook his rational thinking, causing the blonde to act on impulse.
It had once cost him his quirk.
He didn't remember much of the ensuing fight, only the feeling of adrenaline surging through his body as he launched himself at the three villains.
It was a blur.
Even on his worst days, Mirio was known to be an excellent fighter, both with and without using his quirk. However, this time, his head had been clouded by grief and rage, causing him to lose the precious focus he needed to control his quirk.
Once, using his quirk had become almost like second nature to him, but now, the newly restored quirk required a lot more concentration.
Hits that should have phased through him, had struck and punches that should have hit. phased through. Had it not been for Deku darting in and shoving him out of harms way, some of the hits he would have received may have been fatal.
In the end, Paralay had managed to slap him on the back, sending a wave of white hot pain to rush up his spine and down his legs, causing them to buckle out from under him. She had then jabbed Deku in the neck. The boy's body had tensed abruptly before falling into a boneless heap beside Mirio, leading to their current position.
Mirio managed to push himself up onto his elbows, glaring up at the three villains before him. Beside him, Deku was on his side, his head facing Mirio and the tank behind him. The green haired hero was left unable to speak, nor move any part of his body except his eyes by the white haired woman's quirk. Mirio did his best to pull himself closer to the young hero's body, to at least try and protect him when the time came. Deku stared past him, green eyes flicking back and forth between the villains and the tank. Mirio's mind raced as questions filled his head.
Where were the other interns? Where they safe? How did they lure the heroes here? How had they managed to take down Tamaki?
But Mirio knew he wasn't going to get those answers. He couldn't even open his mouth to speak, he knew he would surely choke.
He wasn't even aware of the hot tears that now streaked down his face. So instead, he forced himself to keep his focus on the approaching trio.
(Little did Mirio realise, that beside him, Deku's eyes had gone wide as he watch the supposably lifeless body of the manifest hero twitch and move ever so slightly. With his vocal cords paralysed, he couldn't make a sound as he watched Suneater's hand ball into a fist.)
In front of them, the villains were looking rather worse for wear after their fight. Paralay's nose had been broken, causing blood to stain the lower half of her face and the front of her clothes. There was a wild light in her eyes as she grinned down at them. Beside her, Ingrain was pouting, clutching his right arm after having received a rather strong kick to it by Deku. Further back, Spearhead rubbed his jaw and flexed his arms.
"What's wrong, little hero-" the white haired woman had begun, her teeth now painted red with her own blood. However she wasn't able to finish her attempt at gloating, as the sound of footsteps running at a frantic pace echoed from down the hall behind the fallen heroes.
Mirio turned just in time to see Red Riot burst into the room, his hardening quirk rippling across his body. The red head paused for a brief moment to assess the situation, before pivoting on the balls of his feet and hurling a large square shaped object at the villains. The object soared through the air and straight into Ingrain's bulky chest, knocking the villain to the ground. From beside Red Riot, Creati entered the room as well, a sharp looking sword in her right hand while her other was bound in a self-made brace.
Her eyes widen briefly as she spotted Mirio and Deku on the floor. She gives them a slight nod before looking back up at the villains.
"It's over, the relay point has been disabled and more heroes are on their way."
Paralay visibly bristled as her face twisted with rage. She looked akin to that of a cornered animal, crazed and desperate. She took a step towards Deku's prone form. Mirio grabs the hero to pull him back away-
A dull thunk echoed throughout the room, making everyone (minus Ingrain) go still.
Mirio chanced a glance back at the two interns at the door.
THUNK
This time the noise was accompanied by the sounds of glass cracking. He saw Red Riot's face morph into a large shark-like grin, his stance relaxing slightly, while Creati just smirked. Looking back around the room, Mirio spied the source of the noise.
Cracks make there way across the centermost tank as Tamaki, now pressed up against the glass, pulled back his right arm, the hand now morphed into a large pointed crab claw. Pausing, he appeared as though he was gasping for air, his eyes ablaze with determination. In a swift motion, Tamaki brought the point of the claw down onto the weakened glass for a third time.
For a split second, the glass held.
Then suddenly it shattered, sending a torrent of water racing out towards them, drenching the two grounded heroes (Mirio less so due to the fact he was able to prop himself up; Deku wasn't so lucky). Mirio watched as Paralay was swept up by the water, only to be stopped by Red Riot's fist hitting her jaw with an audible crunch as he stepped forward to "catch" her, her body instantly going limp. As soon as the blow landed, a wave of pins and needles washed over his back and legs.
The sound of coughing brought Mirio's attention back to the scene before him. Tamaki, now free of the tank and somehow standing in the middle of the room, was doubled over, struggling to draw breath as he coughed violently.
"He was alive!" Mirio's mind sung as the tightness in his chest finally seemed to let up and loosen.
However, that relief that was short lived as the grey armed villain stepped forward and raised his right arm. His hand turned to a point, shot out and impaled the still gasping Tamaki through his left shoulder. Both Mirio and Red Riot let out a yell.
Tamaki grunted upon impact and staggered back slightly. He attempted to move away from the villain, only to be held in place by the spear. Slowly, he looked up, seemingly confused and daze.
Mirio tried to get up, to race to Tamaki's side and protect the now vulnerable hero, but the muscles in his back and legs were still waking up, cramping painfully and leaving him unable to move.
He watched helplessly as Spearhead raised his other arm to strike- but Tamaki reacted faster.
Without hesitation, the manifest hero swung his right leg up, foot morphing into chicken talons as he grabbed the villain's head. At the same time his right hand, turned crab claw had come up and gripped the spike that was piercing his shoulder. The muscles in his arm flexed before there was a loud CRACK.
The villain's arm retracted back, minus the spear point. Now free, Tamaki let himself fall back, using the momentum to drag the villain down with him and slamming Spearhead's head into the wet floor.
For a moment, the room was quiet. No one quite sure what to do next.
Creati was the first to break the strange mood, rushing forward and slapping a pair of quirk-nullifying cuffs onto Spearhead. Red Riot quickly followed her lead, restraining Paralay and Ingrain. From beside him, Mirio heard Deku splutter and groan as he slowly pushed himself up and sat back. His usual mop of green hair now weighed down with water and hung over his eyes.
"It's over, right?" He asked quietly, but Mirio didn't answer him, his eyes are trained on the dark haired man on the floor.
Tamaki let out a strange wheezing noise, before slowly retracting and dismissing his manifestations. There was a pool of blood beginning to form under his wounded shoulder.
From somewhere deep in the back of Mirio's mind, images and memories that had been painstakingly pushed down began to stir.…
Mirio's was vaguely aware of Creati talking to him and the other interns as he pulled himself to his feet. He closed the distance between him and the dark haired man, falling to his knees beside him.
"Hey Tama," he began softly, carefully reaching forward and adjusting his cowl and cloak. He may have been partly drenched in water, but Mirio's mouth had never felt so dry. "I'm glad to see you're okay? Bad day at the office, huh?" he managed to force out, attempting to lighten the mood in the process.
Tamaki, for his part, appeared to be more focused on just trying to breathe, his breath coming out as shallow pants. There was unsettling gurgling sound to his breathing that put Mirio on edge. The dark haired man stared blankly back up at Mirio, dark eyes meeting large blue ones.
Mirio continued, forcing a small smile onto his face.
"What were you doing in there anyway? Are you not happy with our bathtub at home?" he babbled, his voice starting to crack.
Tamaki just stared at him. There was no widening of eyes. No sudden look of realisation or acknowledgement.
There was no look of recognition.
Mirio's stomach plummeted and suddenly it was becoming all too hard to breathe again.
Tamaki's face was pale and chalky, void of almost all colour except the blue that dusted his lips.
Pulling off his glove, Mirio slowly reached out and pressed his middle and forefinger against the pulse point on Tamaki's neck. He could feel the manifest hero's heartbeat pounding beneath his skin.
It was fast.
"Too fast" Mirio thinks to himself, frowning. "He's cold too."
The dark haired man's eyes began to roll back, and Mirio panicked, quickly scooping him up into his arms and holding him close.
"Hey, no, you can't sleep yet, Tama. Come on, you have to wake up," he cried shakily.
This was bad. What could he do? What should he do?
His mind was racing trying to remember every scrap of first aid and medical training he had ever received. He shouldn't let him sleep until they can get him to a doctor- no that was for a concussion. Or was it hypothermia-
"Togata."
Mirio's head snapped up and he came face to face with Creati. The intern was crouched beside them and was offering him a small smile. "The ambulance is on its way. We have to meet them outside. Help me stabilise Suneater's shoulder."
All Mirio could do was nod back at her.
Walking out the front of the abandoned aquarium, Mirio and the other heroes had been greeted by red flashing lights belonging to the police and ambulance vehicles that had just started to arrive on the scene.
Carrying the limp body of his boyfriend out to the waiting ambulance was arguably one of the hardest things Mirio had done so far in his life.
Before moving him, they had removed Tamaki's soaked cloak and vest, as well as his intact shoulder guard, before Deku, with shaky hands, had done his best to bind his shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Tamaki would need surgery for sure.
Mirio just prayed that the spear point that was still lodged in there, hadn't nicked an artery.
For added stability, they had used Mirio's own cape to tie his wounded arm to his side, to prevent it from moving, then they wrapped the manifest hero up in a silver thermal blanket provided by Creati. The whole time, Mirio had stayed quiet, helping when needed.
It wasn't that he didn't know what to do, he had done his fair share of field first aid.
It was just, this time it was different.
Internally, his mind was at war, simultaneously racing and telling him what to do and how to do it, while also going blank every time he caught a glimpse of Tamaki's face or uniform. So he just stayed quiet and did what he was told.
Red Riot, who had also been mostly silent, held the door open for them as they walked out.
Despite his smaller size, with each step Mirio, found it more and more difficult to hold Tamaki up. He felt like Atlas, carrying the world in his arms.
His world.
He was only a few steps out the door before the paramedics had rushed him, taking the unconscious hero from his grasp and carefully laying him down on a stretcher. He still looked pale and his breathing was rapid and shallow.
Creati turned and grasped Red Riot's arm while nudging Mirio's with her wounded hand. She gave them a small determined smile.
"He will be okay. I will text you through where we're going and any updates." She informed them before following the paramedics and getting into the ambulance with Tamaki.
As much as he had wanted so desperately to be the one who accompanied the manifest hero to the hospital, both Deku and Creati had unwillingly become Mirio's voice of reason. The only other hero other than Tamaki who had been hurt during their ordeal had been Creati, her wrist wounded while fighting off the villains guarding the relay point controls (a pair of twins to be exact). It had most likely been fractured. She also knew details about Tamaki's condition that neither Mirio nor Deku could have known, such as roughly how long he had been underwater.
Finally, the fact that they now had five villains in their custody, and Mirio was the only hero with the most experience on the scene.
Yes, the police were now taking care of the situation, but there were still statements to be made, plus the fact that all three interns were underage.
Leaving them alone on a crime scene was a sure-fire way to get reprimanded.
Mirio caught one last glimpse of his boyfriend, along with Creati, in the back of the ambulance before the doors slammed shut and the vehicle began to pull away.
"He will be fine," he told himself, tearing his eyes away from the now empty car park.
He had a job to do.
The sun had just started getting low in the sky by the time Mirio was given the all clear to take the interns and leave. There were a number of local pro heroes milling around the area, having come back and completed a sweep of the surrounding buildings, checking for any more potential threats. The residents had also started returning to their homes, though many stopped to look at the now taped off crime scene. They were quickly ushered away by the police.
Standing to the side of the scene, Mirio was leaning back on one of the police cars with Deku. A few meters away, an officer was quickly scribbling down notes as Red Riot answered his questions.
"Ah, well, I kind of panicked a bit when Creati told me her buzzer was going off, so I grabbed the nearest thing, carried it with me, then threw it at the first villain I saw. I didn't realise it was the generator for the relay point," Red Riot told him sheepishly. The sturdy hero was still holding the gear they had stripped off Tamaki, his white knuckled grip on the items never seeming to waver.
Mirio couldn't help but feel for the young hero.
Despite his loud nature, Red Riot and Tamaki had grown close over their years working for Fatgum, to the point where the red head would sometime refer to Tamaki as "the brother he never had". Often, when media footage of the two of them at work appeared online, one could sometimes see the heroes supporting each other. Red Riot yelling encouragement, while Tamaki opted to flash the occasional thumbs up at the intern. It was no secret to Mirio that the sturdy hero still lacked some confidence in himself, as Tamaki had come to him many a time asking for advice on how to talk to the young hero.
Red Riot walked over to them, his shoulders slumping slightly.
"I have to go back to Fat's agency. Gotta call him first and fill him in on the details." He paused, eyes flashing up to meet Mirio's, "You, uh, should probably take these."
He holds out Tamaki's discarded items to Mirio.
Mirio gave him a weak smile. "No, take them with you. They can be cleaned properly at the agency and have any necessary repairs there made to them."
The red head nodded but wouldn't meet his gaze, something clearly weighing on his mind.
Mirio was the first to speak.
"It's going to be fine, Kirishima. Tama's strong, and it's not like he hasn't been through worse."
"But I should have done more. I'm meant to protect those around me. I should have suggested we wait for back up, or something. I could have taken his place!"
This time it was Deku who responded. "Suneater wouldn't have agreed to go through with the plan if he wasn't confident that he could handle it. It's like what you told me, you didn't know what would be waiting for you, and Suneater's quirk allows him to adapt to situation faster."
The red head nodded, glancing up at the two heroes before him.
"I just wish things could have gone differently."
Mirio let out a weak chuckle. "Don't we all."