Izuku scrambles away from the man, Shigaraki, but since he's stranded on top of a tall building, there's really nowhere he can go. His phone is tucked somewhere in his costume but he can't reach for it without being noticed. Izuku is certain Torino and the other heroes are searching for him but will they be able to get to him in time?
"Look what we have here, Kurogiri," Shigaraki rasps, inclining his head slightly to the man who was comprised of shifting shadows. Tsuyu had said that the League of Villains had a warp quirk among them, maybe this was him. "It looks like our Noumu brought back a little snack." Shigaraki snaps his fingers and the creature staggers over to him. The villain runs four fingers along the monster's misshapen wings.
"Shigaraki Tomura, we don't have time for this," the shadow man, Kurogiri, says in a disapproving tone but Shigaraki ignores him and continues to stroke the Noumu at his side.
"We have a few minutes, Kurogiri. You know these guys were human once, until we gave them a few extra quirks and took away most of their brain function." The creature blinks out of sequence as it continues to stare at Izuku. "Sometimes, not often, they remember things from their past. Who knows, maybe once upon a time, you two knew each other."
"Wha-what do you want?" Izuku stutters, tearing his eyes away from the Noumu and back towards Shigaraki. He was at least 70 stories up, his only hope at this point was to keep the villains talking long enough until someone came for him. He hopes that someone had been able to follow the creature's flight.
"You confuse me," Shigaraki says as he stalks forward. "And I don't like things that confuse me." Izuku's breath catches at the proximity of the villain. "Some people just don't know their place. All Might acts like he's an infallible god, Stain thought he was some sort of rogue hero and you, well, you're just a regular fish out of water, aren't you, quirkless boy?" Izuku has been slowly moving to the side when Shigaraki's hand shoots out and grabs him by his leg just above the ankle with the exception of his pointer finger.
"Did those little NPCs tell you about my quirk?" the man teases around the hand on his face.
"They uh," Izuku blanks because it's almost impossible to think past the thick static of panic thrumming between his ears. He swallows his fear and tries to work his voice around it. "T-they said you could disintegrate anything you touched." Izuku observes the pale, dry hand holding onto his leg and his mouth starts working without his input. "It either must be activated on will or, since you're being so careful with your free finger, I would assume that all of your fingers need to be touching an object to break it down."
"Clever, no wonder the heroes like you," the villain leans in closer, "Too bad for you, I don't." His pointer finger comes down on his leg briefly before lifting up again. Part of his boot around the area is eaten away in an instant and Izuku swallows the bile threatening to come back up his throat. There's nothing protecting him from disintegration next time.
"Everything about you is wrong. I watched you in the Sports Festival, facing all those whiney hero students and it frustrated me. Because you're just a nobody, you'd have more value as dust." The finger comes down again and Izuku screams in agonizing pain as the skin and muscle is broken down. Shigaraki removes his finger immediately after but Izuku can feel blood running down his leg. One more touch and he can probably kiss that foot goodbye.
"Hush, I'm still talking," Shigaraki scolds with a gleefully cruel lilt to his voice. "In a world of quirks, you're a nonentity. Yet you got the mindless masses to cheer you on and the idiots in charge probably told you that you could be a hero. Well what about me?" Shigaraki growls and the finger hovers threateningly over his half-decayed flesh and Izuku stares at it with cold dread.
"I did what no one else could, I broke through Yuuei's legendary security and challenged the heroes head on. I scared the snot out of those brats and made a creature as strong as All Might and no one even cares anymore. Everyone was too excited about the stupid quirkless hero." He slams his other hand on the rooftop and it cracks and crumbles beneath his fingers.
"You're wasting time," Kurogiri interrupts sternly. "The heroes had to have seen the boy be taken, they'll be here any moment."
"Even Stain talked about you," Shigaraki sneers, continuing on as of his partner hadn't spoken. "Said he admired your resolve to stand up to the system. As if a weakling like you actually made a point. All you did was use some cheat codes to get around the fact that that you shouldn't exist."
"Shigaraki Tomura," Kurokiri interrupts as he opens a portal, "we're leaving."
"Hmm alright," Shigaraki sighs as he tilts his head to the side. "Now what to do with you? I could just kill you and be done with it but Sensei thought you might be useful." He leans forward with excitement and Izuku can smell the decayed stench of the hands covering his face and body. "Hey kid, how would you like a quirk, or two, or ten? Then you'd finally be useful and help us take down the sickening hero system." Izuku stomach lurches as his eyes dart over to the Noumu still staring blankly at him. He would rather die.
He isn't given much of a choice as Shigaraki stands up and begins to drag Izuku by his bleeding leg towards the portal. He's too scared to struggle, not when that pointer finger is so dangerously close to his skin. But he knows that if he lets the two men take him away then all hope really will be lost. With trembling, half numb fingers, Izuku reaches into the second pocket on his belt for one of Hatsume's little gifts.
If Izuku wasn't half out of his mind with terror, he'd almost laugh at the irony that Shigaraki had been too consumed with his uselessness to bother checking the quirkless boy over for regular weapons.
Driven by adrenaline and the firm knowledge that he would rather die here than meet whatever fate is on the other side of that portal, Izuku stabs a small shuriken into the hand holding onto him. Shigaraki yells as the metal imbeds in the skin between his thumb and pointer finger.
Izuku wrenches his foot free at the same time and, thankfully, the villain is too busy growling at the pain to pay him any mind. Izuku tries to get to his feet but the combination of fear and his damaged leg makes him stumble. He lands on his bad wrist and hisses in pain as he struggles to get up again.
Shigaraki races forward, pulling out the shuriken and raising it with the intention of stabbing him. Izuku rolls away from the sloppy attack. He then pulls out some small bombs that mimic Kacchan's quirk and throws them at the villains. Kurogiri, who had been stepping forward, retreats back from the explosions. Shigaraki growls in pain, swiping away at the smoke but Izuku can see there are burns on his hands and arms.
"I'll kill you," Shigaraki whispers in a frenzied hush as the shuriken disintegrates in his hand. "You're nobody, nothing but trash, I'll kill you." Izuku sees the warp man approaching him out of the corner of his eye and he holds up a few more bombs threateningly. He only has four bombs left, not nearly enough to effectively fight back. Fortunately, the villains don't seem to realize this as they hang back, seemingly wary of getting close again. How long will his bluff last? Evidently not very long.
"Kurogiri!" Shigaraki snarls as he lashes with one of his hands. Izuku frowns, he's not even close to an arms length away so how does Shigaraki expect to... a swirling portal opens in front of him and soon Shigaraki's hand is just centimeters from his face. Izuku reels back on instinct but his brain screeches to a sudden, terrifying halt when he's realizes that he's just stepped back onto empty air. His arms pinwheel in an attempt to maintain balance but he's already starting to fall.
No, he can't-
"I gotcha kid!" Gran Torino shouts, popping from the side of building, grabbing Izuku by the arm and pushing him back onto solid ground. Shigaraki pulls his hand back before Torino can break it. The hero lands on the roof and gives Izuku a rakish grin. "Sorry for the wait, I needed to get a lift." There's the sound of furiously flapping wings and Izuku can see the Noumu battling the dragon hero, Ryukyu.
"Interrupted by heroes again," Shigaraki whines angrily as he limps over to Shigaraki. "This isn't over, I'm going to kill that quirkless brat. The next time I see him, he's dead, do you-" Kurogiri grabs Shigaraki by the shoulder and drags him inside the portal as Gran Torino rushes them.
"That warp quirk really is a bother," Torino grunts in frustration. The Noumu screeches as it fights and seems to be losing against Ryukyu. Izuku jolts as Torino's hand lands on his shoulder. "Hell of an internship you had, first the Hero Killer now the League of Villains. You're made of tough stuff, Midoriya Izuku. Don't worry, you can relax now. We'll take it from here."
Izuku nods numbly and, as the shock and panic and pain catches up to him, promptly falls unconscious.
XxX
"What the hell happened?" Toshinori hisses as quietly as he can given the setting. "You promised me you'd bring him back in one piece and look at him! There's three boys in the goddamn hospital!" His old mentor gives Toshinori an annoyed look as he stretches out his shoulders.
"Like I could predict All For One's brat would unleash a bunch of Noumus onto the city or that the Hero Killer would target students. Hell, we weren't even supposed to be in Hosu at all," Torino says dismissively as he gestures to the hospital room where two of the three boys are lying. "Besides, look at him, he's fine." Toshinori peeks through the small window where, truthfully, neither of the boys look fine.
Young Iida has half his face bandaged along with both of his arms with the left arm strapped in a sling. He's stiff in his sleep, clearly unable to escape the pain and fear even in his dreams. Young Todoroki is currently getting exploratory surgery. Doctors didn't think the stab wound he'd received had damaged anything internally but better safe than sorry. If all goes well, the young man is expected to make a full recovery and be back to normal activities in a matter of weeks.
Young Midoriya is staring at the wall, half asleep and looking a hell of a lot older than he had on Friday.
"Your boy did real good, Toshinori," Torino adds with a proud smile. "The Hero Killer is in critical condition and Shigaraki was sporting a few new injuries when I caught up to them. I'm telling you, he'll be a hell of a vessel."
"He is a child," Toshinori hisses through gritted teeth as he punches the wall. He's in his true form so it doesn't make much of an impact. Young Midoriya turns towards the noise with a blank, lifeless expression. It hurts just to look at him. "He is 15 years old and it was your responsibility to watch out for him. Because of you, that young man may be permanently injured and will be traumatized for sure so don't you dare lie to me about this."
"You're right, I shouldn't joke about it, not when we almost didn't get there in time," Torino admits softly after a few moments, turning his eyes down. "I knew the kid was reckless but I didn't realize he was as bad as you were. If I'd have known, I never would have let him out of my sight. That's on me, I'm sorry." Toshinori thinks that may be the first time his teacher has apologized to him since Nana's death. He rubs at his eyes, what an awful night this is turning into.
"Out of my way, those are my students in there." Toshinori turns to see Aizawa stalking in with a thunderous look on his face. The hospital staff wisely let him pass as the younger hero glares into the hospital room as if he had the ability to erase misery instead of quirks.
"Young Todoroki is still in surgery but the prognosis looks good so far, as for Young Iida and Young Midoriya," Toshinori begins, once more looking at the boy watching them with dull eyes. "They're as safe as they can be at the moment."
"What's the world coming to that I can't leave students alone on an internship?" Aizawa growls. "You can't imagine what I had to go through to get here. Without even hearing the whole story, half of the staff was up in arms about Midoriya being injured in a fight. No one's saying a thing about Todoroki or Iida though, the hypocrisy of it all is sickening. No wonder Midoriya is always so frustrated."
"He's only been enrolled a week and they're already talking of removing him; as if they would have done any better in his situation." Aizawa continues with pure venom in his voice.
"They can't throw him out!" Torino says, half jumping out of his chair. "Midoriya saved those boys' lives! Not to mention was able to fight back against the worst of the League of Villains. What part of that is incapable to those morons?"
"You were the deciding vote for Midoriya's transfer, Yagi," Aizawa says, not breaking eye contact with his student in the room. "I'm going to need your help if we're going to keep him in 1-A or else he'll be dropped back in Gen Ed without a second thought."
"Only if he wants to stay in Heroics, of course," Toshinori says hesitantly, turning towards his younger colleague. "He's been through a lot today, I wouldn't blame him for wanting to transfer out."
"Nonsense, Midoriya's a fighter. Kid's got more spirit than he knows what to do with. Once he's healed up, he'll be begging for more training, just you watch," Torino says confidently. Toshinori hums, watching the listless way Young Midoriya turns away from them. He wishes he could be as certain of his mentor of the boy's intentions.
XxX
Izuku wakes to the sound of Iida and Todoroki talking quietly from their shared hospital room. He blinks himself awake and pushes himself up in the bed, turning towards his classmates. While a part of him wants to just fall back asleep, Todoroki had still been in surgery last he'd heard and Izuku had to know how his friend was doing. He had to know the consequences of his weakness.
"Ah Midoriya," Iida says apologetically. "I'm sorry if we woke you; we were trying to be quiet."
"You didn't," Izuku lies, pointedly keeping his eyes off Iida's bandages. "Todoroki, how are you doing? How did your surgery go?"
"Fine, the wound wasn't half as bad as my old man was making it out to be. There shouldn't be any long-term damage," Todoroki says with an eyeroll. "More importantly, Iida was just telling me you got kidnapped by a Noumu after I was taken to the hospital."
"Yeah," Izuku breathes out, easily able to draw Shigaraki's hand covered face to his mind. He'll be seeing it for a long, long time in his nightmares. "It brought me to a tall building a few blocks away. Shigaraki and his partner, the man with the warp quirk, were there. Nothing really happened," he explains. "Shigaraki said some things I already knew, nearly amputated my foot with his quirk and tried to drag me back to their lair. Gran Torino and Ryukyu had to come save me but the two of them managed to escape. I think the heroes managed to capture the Noumu though, I'm not certain, I passed out not long after I was rescued."
"My word, are you okay?" Iida demands frantically.
"Yeah," Izuku says again, rolling his foot underneath the blankets as best he could. The sting has mostly been dulled by painkillers and gauze. Someone on staff had been able to heal most of the damage but he's told there will probably be some scarring, loss of sensation and he'll need physical therapy to rebuild his strength but it most likely wouldn't affect his mobility. He can't even bring himself to feel relieved. "What about you, Iida?"
"Well it's thanks to you two that I'm able to be here at all," Iida says with a small smile that causes guilt to temporarily break through Izuku's numbness. "My rotator cuff and left hand was badly damaged by Stain's katana, it will take time and possibly surgery to regain full use of my arm. The cut to my face can't really be healed. Apparently some facial nerves were severed so I'll probably have some difficulties moving the left side of my face."
Izuku feels like he's going to be sick; he looks between Todoroki and Iida, two classmates, friends, who'd suffered because of him.
"But it's funny, in a way I'm almost glad," Iida continues on softly. "Every time I look in the mirror, I will see my mistakes. I was so angry about what happened to my brother, I let it overcome my good sense. I sought out a known killer and didn't even tell anyone where I was going in the midst of a crisis. By all rights I should be dead."
He holds Izuku's gaze, "and then you showed up. You and Todoroki fought bravely and honorably when I did not deserve it. You've both given me a high standard to reach. I can only hope to one day repay the two of you, you have shown me what a true hero ought to be." Iida bows as best he can in the bed and Izuku hates him a little bit for it.
"Don't thank me, Iida," Izuku says quietly, turning away. "I wasn't fast enough to prevent you from being hurt or to save Native. If someone else had been there, someone with a quirk, maybe things would have turned out better."
"You can't know that," Todoroki says softly.
Izuku is prevented from responding by a knock on the door where Gran Torino enters along with another taller hero, Iida's sponsor, Manual, he thinks.
"Bout time you woke up, thought you'd sleep the morning away," Torino says with a stern look. "I've got a lot to say to you kid, to all you reckless brats, but that would be his job." A man with a dog's head dressed in a suit walks in. "This is Tsuragamae Kenji, Hosu's chief of police." Iida stands up but Torino gives him a little wave off when Izuku starts to do the same. Todoroki doesn't even bother trying.
"You must be the boys who took down the Hero Killer, woof," Chief Tsuragamae says. Izuku blinks, did he just-? "Currently the man known as Stain is in critical condition. He suffered burns, broken bones including several fractures to his face and skull, mostly likely caused by Midoriya's final assault. There was some cranial bleeding, possibly from bone shards, he's in a coma and doctors are unsure if he'll ever regain consciousness." Izuku chokes back a sob and squeezes his eyes shut. Had he really done that?
"When quirks first developed, the police went to great measures to control the developing superpowers in the population. Eventually, the profession of hero was created to fill the gap, woof. Suddenly, it was officially accepted to use dangerous quirks, this system has only worked because of the rules and ethics guiding these heroes."
The policeman stares them down. "The fact that such young, uncertified individuals could cause such harm with their quirks is a marked violation of the rules, woof. Your supervisors Endeavor, Manual and Gran Torino along with young Todoroki and Iida will have to be punished." Izuku looks up a mix of anger and exasperation when he notices his name has been omitted.
"And what of Midoriya?" Todoroki asks icily. "As you said, he's the one who did the most damage to the Hero Killer."
"Midoriya is something of a special case, being quirkless, he's exempt from the laws governing quirk use. Most of the charges filed against him are rendered moot and anything that remains can be explained by justifiable self-defense. You and Young Iida, however, can not be excused so easily." Izuku lets himself sink back into his bed; he closes his eyes and fights the frustration clawing in his chest. He doesn't care if it's rude, he just... can't, right now.
"We had to do something! Native died because we didn't get there fast enough and Iida would have died too if Midoriya hadn't intervened!" Todoroki shouts, looking ready to hop out of bed. "It's offensive that you would dismiss Midoriya's involvement like that and it's offensive that you think we would stand by and let someone be killed right in front of us just because of the rules!"
"The rules exist for a reason, young man," Chief Tsuragamae says sternly. "They exist to protect people like your friend and the general population from dangerous quirks, from people like you. Do you think just because things turned out fine this time you can justify your actions?"
"We're going to be heroes, that's our job!" Todoroki argues back, Iida is trying to calm him down but Izuku doesn't feel inclined to stop his friend. He'd probably be backing Todoroki up if he didn't feel so empty.
"You boys are still so young, woof," the Chief says with a shake of his head. Todoroki looks like he's actually about to fight the man when he continues. "At any rate, that's the official opinion of the police. If any of this were to be made public, you boys would be both punished and applauded in the same breath. However, if the truth is shifted a bit and it's Endeavor who takes credit for the capture then this whole ordeal would end here."
"Unfortunately this means you will not be able to be rewarded for your brave actions. However, I believe that by sacrificing this victory now, you will be able to become greater heroes without the burden of past offenses to hold you back." He says, addressing Todoroki and Iida. Todoroki still looks angry but nods his head.
Chief Tsuragamae turns to Izuku, giving him a thumbs up. "The same goes for you I'm afraid, while you are not legally bound in the same way, we think it's better if this whole incident remains under wraps. That, however, does not invalidate the good work you did. We were all very impressed by your showing in the Sports Festival and we want to help you succeed anyway we can."
"Go forward and know that the entire Hosu police department is rooting for all of you. You'll grow into fine heroes yet." They wrap up soon after that, Izuku manages to squeeze out a dull apology while Todoroki and Iida get chewed out a little more. Chief Tsuragamae even bows before he leaves, like Izuku had actually been worthy of acknowledgement instead of some weakling deserving of a handout.
Izuku can feel Gran Torino looking at him as he, Manual and Chief Tsuragamae exit the room. He grips the sheets on his bed and forces his eyes away.
He'd seen Aizawa-sensei and Yagi-san glaring at him through the glass last night, probably talking about how badly he'd messed up. Todoroki and Iida had suffered because of Izuku's weakness and he wasn't even important enough to receive proper punishment, his actions being waved aside like a precocious child.
Izuku stares at the blank ceiling of the hospital as the room becomes silent and wonders about his future.
XxX
Midoriya has been awfully quiet since he woke up, Shouto observes as he keeps a discreet eye on his classmate. Iida has been in and out of their room for consultations but Midoriya has been silent unless directly spoken to. Shouto hasn't known the other boy for very long but he knows this isn't like him. He wants to say something but, even if he knew what was bothering his friend, Shouto is the last person to go to for things like that.
"How're your other injuries doing, Midoriya?" Shouto asks uncomfortably when the silence becomes too unbearable. Iida looks up from the paperwork he'd been reading through. "The ones you sustained from the Hero Killer."
"Fine," Midoriya answers dully as he continues to stare at the wall. "He didn't hurt me that bad. The worst I got was a sprained wrist and some cuts."
"Aizawa-sensei may be able to help with the injury to your leg," Iida adds on gently. "His elbow was partially disintegrated by Shigaraki at USJ. I'm sure he'll have some tips on how to regain your strength."
"Why bother?" Midoriya responds emotionlessly and Shouto pushes himself up to get a better look at him but Midoriya is still turned away from them.
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," Iida says as he gives Shouto a concerned look.
"I'm just," Midoriya rolls onto his back and looks up at the ceiling. "I'm tired of pretending to be something I'm not. I'm sure you guys are too." He looks down and plays with the bandages on his forearms. "I've got a lot of thinking to do but I'm wondering if it might better if I just transferred back to Gen Ed."
"What? You can't do that!" Iida says with alarm. Shouto bites his lip, unsure what to make of this development.
"Why not?" Midoriya asks with annoyance dripping from his voice. "I'm only wasting everyone's time in Heroics. We all know this whole thing has been a joke anyway, might as well end it on my own terms."
"Did Shigaraki say something to you to make you think this?" Shouto asks cautiously.
"Just the normal stuff; reminders that I'm worthless and that the heroes will get tired of me eventually," Midoriya looks over at Shouto. "I've been hearing that stuff all my life, I've grown used to tuning it out but you know what's worse? The condensation and the coddling, people treating me like I'm helpless. I thought the insults and jibes were as bad as it got but... I just can't stand not being taken seriously anymore."
"None of that is true, we all hold a great deal of respect for you," Iida adds on emphatically but Shouto frowns because, well, he has a point. As expected, Midoriya gives Iida a look.
"I'm respected? Really? Is that why everyone walks around me on eggshells as if I'll break? The police and teachers are constantly holding back and making exceptions for the poor, quirkless kid but I'm sure that's because they admire how far I've come given my unfortunate condition. I know you guys mean well but even you don't really believe in me," he turns an accusing eye on Shouto.
"I know you purposely lost our match in the Sports Festival. I beat you up pretty good but I saw you fighting Stain yesterday, there was no way I could've beaten you if you had actually tried. And you came running when I sent you that message about the Hero Killer. It was because you didn't think I could handle it on my own, right?" Shouto frowns. He can't deny the first claim but did Midoriya really expect Shouto to let him fight the Hero Killer all on his own? There's a difference between kindness and common sense.
"It's not like that," Iida says quietly but Shouto imagines he's going over all the time he's dismissed Midoriya.
"Guys, look, it's not your fault, it's just the way things are," Midoriya says with a soft sigh. "And who know? maybe they're right. If I'd had a quirk, you guys wouldn't have been hurt and Native would still be alive," Midoriya squeezes his eyes shut. He looks like he might cry but he seems to collect himself almost to Shouto's dismay.
A crying Midoriya is a familiar one; this boy is nothing like the hero he's grown to admire so much.
"It was my fault this all happened," Iida tries again, "without you I would be dead. You can't blame yourself for my mistakes. You did the best you could given the awful circumstances. You're a hero, Midoriya, you've more than earned your spot and you deserve to continue your training with the rest of our class."
"I don't really know what to think anymore, Iida," Midoriya says tiredly. "Just stop, okay, I don't want to argue this anymore," he says, holding a hand up when Iida looks ready to protest again.
"I haven't decided yet but it's not the worst thing that could happen. I still want to help people. My 1-C homeroom teacher does a lot of important work with hero support. I might be able to do some good there where people aren't constantly judging me. I could live with that," Midoriya continues.
"You know Aizawa-sensei pushed really hard for your transfer," Shouto adds. "He might not let you go so easily."
"Sensei was here with Yagi-san last night while you were in surgery. I couldn't hear what was being said but he looked angrier than I've ever seen him. Eraserhead has a reputation for expelling students at a moment's notice. He could've finally realized that he'd made a mistake, it happens."
Iida looks like he wants to protest more but instead looks moodily down at his sheets. Shouto is upset too but in a different way because, looking back, it was so obvious to see the lead up to this.
Before everything else, Midoriya had always been quirkless. He'd thought it was a kindness but the damage it's caused is plain to see. No one deserved to be a hero more than Midoriya and yet here he sits, confidence shattered, because no one had bothered to look deeper than his surface disadvantages.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to dump all this on you guys. You need to focus on getting better. They think I'll be out of here by tomorrow morning so I'll be out of your hair. I'd be happy to help with your recovery if you need anything." Midoriya says, turning away from them again with a despondent slump.
"Oh no, we wouldn't want to burden you..." Iida begins but Shouto shakes his head at him. That's the very last thing Midoriya needs to hear right now. "However, the offer is appreciated and we might take you up on that," Iida recovers quickly.
"No matter what you choose to do, Midoriya, you'll always be our friend. Even if we don't agree with your decisions, you've still become important to us and we want you to find success and happiness. No matter what you say, you've inspired me to be a better hero and you won't be forgotten if you choose to pursue other paths," Iida continues softly.
"Of course," Shouto adds on awkwardly, not sure what else to say.
"Thanks guys," Midoriya sniffs quietly, "I appreciate it. Look I uh I'm feeling kind of tired, I'm going to go to sleep for a bit," he continues before pulling the covers up more closely and curling up into a ball.
Iida looks down at his clenched hand with a pained expression and Shouto just feels lost. So much has gone wrong the past few days, too many things have been strained and broken. They both look over at their friend, the silence in the room suffocating, and he wonders if this is something any of them will ever recover from.
One conflict resolves and another one begins. Izuku's been through a lot of crap in the past day or so and that does things to you, it wears on you, makes you question if it's all been worth it. Izuku's been a pretty good sport about the unequal treatment but until now but we all have a breaking point. Poor thing. I hope you enjoyed this rather dismal installment and follow me to the next chapter.