Rest for the weary.


It was quiet when you opened your eyes. "Where am I?" You tried moving, but found it was impossible without every inch of your body aching. Turning your head as far as you could, you scanned the room. A figure sleeping on a chair in the corner caught your attention.

"Toshinori."

Your voice came out hoarse, weaker than you expected. Still, the tall blonde jumped awake in confusion. The relief on his face was heartwarming.

"Good to see you. Stay here, I'll get Chiyo." You managed to let out a short laugh.

"Where would I go?" Soon Recovery Girl was there, explaining your injuries.

"Your body is working again, but just barely." She spent most of your energy repairing any internal damage. Sepsis from toxins building up in the blood. The blood itself pooling out of the veins. Your shoulder was still in bad shape, and your shin wasn't much better off. They would be the last things to be healed. "There might be some long term damage. I don't know how long you were without oxygen." The old woman rubbed her eyes in worry. "You are lucky. You should be dead."

Toshinori came back in and gently asked how you were doing. "You have visitors, if you're up to it." Midnight rushed in, immediately apologizing. "I should have gotten there faster." Aizawa and Mic were there too, albeit much calmer.

"I'm still alive." You asked what happened after your fight.

The second Midnight received your message, she made her way to the station calling every number of nearby heroes. In the middle of the exam, Aizawa slipped away to get you. You were barely conscious when he arrived, unresponsive to their words. It was a miracle you made it out alive. Your friends looked uneasy about continuing.

"The villain you fought.. he didn't make it." The words rang in your ears.

Dead.

A part of you felt sick. This was different from not saving a person... you killed him. And you meant to do it. Did they understand you were desperate? Was the look in their eyes showing concern for you or for what they thought you might do in the future? An uneasy fear gripped you. You bit your lip, trying to keep yourself from panicking. Before the point of drawing blood, you remembered to ask about the man who got away. Their surprise meant he got away undetected.

"There was another villain?"

"He crumbled things just by touching them." All three of them were shocked, eyes glued to Aizawa. His jaw was set in a grimace. They explained how he was attacked by the same villain, along with a huge creature that injured him badly enough to need weeks of healing. Luckily that wasn't the case for you.

"He must have disappeared afterward. Maybe they were scouting for allies?"

"So it was all for nothing..." You let such a dangerous man go. Maybe it would have been better to kill him instead...

"No. I didn't want to kill anyone." It was an accident. "But if I hadn't been exhausted already..." Toshinori noticed your silence and tried to change the subject.

"You do get to go home soon, well, sort of. Isn't that great?"

Yes. How lucky. Once a day you would make the trip to Recovery Girl so she could heal your injuries a tiny bit at a time. Healing everything at once was more than enough to kill you.

"Your apartment is too far, so you'll be staying at the dorms."

"And we will be checking up on you, so you don't die on us on accident."

"Is that necessary?"

"You can barely move. If you get worse, we'll be there."

xXx

Present Mic was the one to escort you to the teacher's dorms. Opening the door, you saw a simply furnished area consisting of a living room, bedroom, and small toilet. Much like the student counterpart, there was a shared kitchen and bath on the first floor. There was a place set up for you on the low couch that sat up against the wall. Even with taking your time, the walk here sapped all your energy.

"This isn't your place is it?" It seemed too empty to be his, you would have guessed that he was more showy than that. But it was still clearly occupied.

"Nah, it's Shouta's." What you wanted to do was turn quickly toward the door, but gentle pressure from Mic was all it took to keep you still. "He's hardly here, it will be like your own place."

"And he's okay with it?" Mic gave you a strange look, which you returned with your own quizzical one. "Yes, he's fine with it." The lilt in his voice gave the impression there was no way it could be untrue. Honestly, you were too tired to argue. The bed was more than inviting to your tired body.

Before leaving, he assured that you would get some personal items soon. "The both of you are blaming yourselves too much. Just... rest." After waiting for his footsteps to disappear, you collapsed on your 'bed'. Everything seemed to hit you at once. You were alive. In Aizawa's home. And you were a murderer.

You had to be the only one in UA to have that title. You put yourself and others in danger with your quirk. It was everything that a hero shouldn't do, would never do. Mic was wrong; it was all you fault. With better health, you wouldn't have been pushed into a corner. Did they blame you? Did they think you were less of a hero for killing a man? Your shoulders heaved as small sobs gave way to big, heaving ones. The pain from your muscles tightening were well deserved. It was lucky that Aizawa didn't spend much time at home. You were crying and just couldn't stop.

All the emotion poured out until you were too exhausted and no more tears could fall. With no more energy you fell into a dreamless sleep.


I got a lot of lovely comments for the last chapter, thank you so much! I think I know where this crazy train is headed, but sorry if it seems so dark right now. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!