I've returned to the My Hero Academia fandom with a new fic! This will probably be the longest fic I've written to date, so I'm super excited to start this journey! In case there's any confusion, this fic will be canon-compliant up until the Kamino Ward Arc. On with the story!

I do not own My Hero Academia.

Present Day

What…what happened?

Shouta fought to bring himself further back into consciousness. Orange and yellow light flickered in the darkness behind Shouta's closed eyelids, and something crackled around him. His head throbbed, but he tried to open his eyes anyway. He clenched them shut instantly. His ribs ached, and his back burned. The crackling got louder. Wherever he was, it was getting warmer by the second. He took a deep breath.

Smoke immediately assaulted his senses.

He forced his eyes open and barely caught a glimpse of the hole in the ceiling above him before it was completely covered by smoke. A piece of wood that had been hanging on the edge of the hole fell and clattered right next to him. Ignoring his aching ribs, he pushed himself of the ground. He groaned. He spared a glance behind him to see broken pieces of wood exactly where his back had just been. The burning remained, so he had no doubts he had splinters in his back. He staggered to his feet but kept low. He covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve. Smoke poured in from the lone door in the room, and he could see the flames migrating even closer.

Shit!

He completely turned around and spotted a window against the back wall. He stepped over the broken pieces of wood. Once he reached the back wall, he crouched even lower and tore his sleeve off. He paused when he wrapped it around his hand, staring at his now bare arm.

Where did all these bruises and blood come from? How…are those burns? And what the hell, I don't own any gray shirts like this….

He shook himself out of it and covered his mouth and nose again, shelving those questions for later. He punched through the window before gripping the sides of it. The glass cut his hands, but he couldn't afford to waste any time. He maneuvered through the small opening and landed on the grass. His feet stung while he stumbled through the broken glass. His feet were stinging with every step, but he kept running. When he was far enough from the building, he stared at his bloody feet, one of which had a piece of glass sticking out of it.

Where are my boots?

Despite the aching in his body, he stooped down and picked the glass out of his foot. Sirens echoed in the distance. He turned around and kept backing away from the building. His head was still throbbing, but he tried to ignore it.

This looks an old industrial park. Based on the fact no one's out here right now, it's safe to say this building isn't in use….

Why was I out here?

He stopped when his feet hit the concrete. He could only stare while the second floor of the building collapsed. The fire raged even stronger. The sirens were getting louder. He looked down to his left. Red lights flashed in the distance. When he looked to his right, a pair of headlights was coming straight for him. The car didn't even stop before the back door flew open and someone threw themselves out of the car. He squinted as the figure got closer.

"Shouji?"

His student was decked out in his hero costume. His eyes were comically wide, almost taking up the space from his mask to his hairline.

"Aizawa-sensei?"

Did Shouji's voice just crack?

He vaguely heard the car shutting off and two more doors slamming shut.

"Is it him?"

Vlad?

"What…wh-what's going—"

He couldn't even finish his question when the throbbing in his head turned into a sharp, stabbing pain. His vision flashed white, and he screamed. He clutched his head and staggered back away from Mezou.

"Eraser!"

He blinked, and a blurry Sekijirou joined his student. The sirens got even louder, and his head hurt even worse. A hand grabbed his arm.

"Don't touch me!" he shrieked.

Black spots suddenly flooded his vision. He fell forward, barely aware of the arms wrapping around him before he lost consciousness.

*break*

Sekijirou caught Shouta when he collapsed, practically clutching Shouta against his chest. He looked to Neito. He fished his phone out of his pocket and tossed it to his student.

"Call Nedzu right now!" he ordered. "Tentacole, I need you with me!"

The firetrucks were quickly approaching. He shifted his grip on Shouta so his arms were under his back and knees. He turned his back, shielding Shouta from view. Mezou didn't need to be told to follow him to the car. Neito was only a few steps behind them.

"I told Nedzu. He's alerting the rest of the staff. He wants you to call again when we get him to a hospital."

Sekijirou nodded while Mezou opened the back door of the car. Mezou slipped into the car and helped him ease Shouta into the backseat.

"You two need to stay here and don't let anyone see him. We'll be lucky if the firemen didn't notice anything already."

"Yes, sir!"

Neito whipped off his jacket and passed it to Mezou who instantly draped it over Shouta. Mezou adjusted Shouta so his head was resting in his lap. He leaned forward, completely concealing his teacher. Sekijirou shot them both a thumbs up before he ran to meet with the quickly approaching firetrucks. He glanced back at the car. He could barely even make out Neito in the passenger seat. The first truck slowed to a stop. One of the firemen jumped out and rushed up to him while the rest were already unwinding the hoses from the truck.

"This entire area seems to be abandoned," Sekijirou said, flashing his hero license. "We haven't seen any civilians, but the building was already collapsing when I got here. I'm guessing whoever set the fire ran away."

The fireman before him didn't need any more. He turned to his men.

"Put it out!" he ordered.

Water spurted out of the hoses and onto raging fire. Once the firemen were occupied, Sekijirou slowly backed up away from them and toward the car. He never turned his back until his hand grazed the door handle.

"Hey! You still have to—"

He didn't look up to see who yelled at him. He jumped behind the wheel and started the car. He sped past the oncoming firetrucks before looking in the rearview mirror. His heart thundered in his chest when Mezou shifted and he caught a glimpse of Shouta.

"How is he?"

"He hasn't moved at all," Mezou said. "His breathing is steady, though."

Neito turned around in the front seat. Sekijirou could see his eyebrows knitting together out of the corner of his eye.

"Where are we taking him?" he asked.

"We need to get him back to campus, but those burns on his arm look serious. Besides, after all this time, he needs an actual doctor to look over him. Who knows what the hell…."

Sekijirou trailed off, his lips quirked into a grim line. He glanced in the rearview mirror again.

What the hell happened to you, Aizawa?

"We're taking him to the closest hospital to UA. Don't tell any of your classmates what happened until Nedzu decides what to do, but we're getting him back to campus as soon as we can."

*break*

Voices chattered around Shouta as he started to wake up. They got clearer with every second.

"You've talked to the rest of the students?"

Is…is that Nemuri?

"Yes. Everyone's work studies are on hold for now. They didn't question me at all."

Nedzu?

Someone snorted.

"That's a first. We need to warn Thirteen, though. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them tried to sneak off campus." Hizashi's voice came from beside him. He felt someone grab his hand. "Although, they're smart kids. They've probably figured out your reasons already. All things considered, they might listen to you until we get more information. I don't think they'd do anything to drag the media back to campus."

Shouta opened his eyes and groaned, clenching them shut again and turning his head away from the blinding light. The voices instantly stopped. He could sense someone hovering over him.

"Are you with us, Shouta?" He opened his eyes to see Hizashi's relieved smile just above him. He tried to sit up, but his entire body ached. He groaned again. "Here."

Hizashi fiddled with something to the side of his bed. A whirring sound cut through the silence of the room while his bed adjusted so he was sitting up. He was met with four more sets of eyes gazing right at him. Hizashi sat down in the chair just to the right of his bed. To his left, Nemuri, Sekijirou and Nedzu sat on the couch. Nemuri had bags under her eyes so dark Shouta could see them all the way from his bed. He turned back to Hizashi and to see his was in a similar state. His eyebrows rose when he spotted Naomasa leaning against the wall across the room. His normally shaven face was covered in dark stubble. Considering his eyes were only half-open, Shouta would've guessed he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in weeks. Naomasa rubbed his eyes, straightened up, and offered a small grin.

"It's good to see you, Eraserhead," he said, breaking the silence in the room.

What's that supposed to mean? I just saw you…it was only a couple days ago—

But he wouldn't look like that after a couple days….

In his peripheral vision, Nemuri shifted. Shouta turned his head back to her. She opened her mouth but closed it a second later. She brought up a hand to cover her mouth. She clenched her eyes shut, and a tear rolled down her cheek. Nedzu leaned in and whispered something in her ear before he finally met Shouta's gaze.

"I have to agree with Detective Tsukauchi. It's really good to see you, Aizawa. How are you feeling?"

He swallowed and winced. He couldn't recall a time his throat had ever been so dry. Before he could open his mouth, Hizashi put a cup of water in his hands. He nodded before taking a sip. He downed the rest of the glass within seconds.

"I'll get you some more." Hizashi took the cup and disappeared behind a door along the right wall. Shouta could only guess it was a bathroom. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard the water running. Hizashi returned and held out the cup which Shouta drained just as fast as the first. Hizashi cracked a grin. "You might want to pace yourself. It's been a couple days—"

"What?"

Shouta dropped the glass, but Hizashi was quick to catch it before it could shatter on the floor. His hand fell limp back on his lap. He barely registered the ache in his throat.

I've been here a couple days already?

"How are you feeling?" Nedzu asked again.

"I'm fine."

The words scratched his throat, but he tried to ignore it. Nemuri snorted and opened her eyes. She finally got off the couch and sat on the edge of his bed.

"It's nice to see you're still you."

Her voice cracked a bit at the end. Shouta stared at her.

Of course "I'm still me." Why would she say that? What's going on?

"Are you in any pain?" Nedzu clarified.

Shouta shook his head and looked down at his lap. He stared at the bandages covering his arms. He rubbed the back of his neck, pausing when he felt more bandages along his shoulder. He peeked down the front of the light grey shirt he'd been given to find his entire chest and stomach wrapped.

What the hell happened?

"I'll go find his doctor," Sekijirou said, immediately standing up and leaving the room.

"Do you remember how you got to the hospital?" Shouta's head whipped toward Naomasa. He was pulling out a notebook and pen out of his pocket. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you must be exhausted, but we need to know what you remember."

Shouta looked back down to his lap.

"I remember running out of a burning building…then Shouji and Vlad were there…wait, how's Shouji—"

"He's fine," Nedzu assured with a grin. "He and Monoma have been doing their work study with Kan. From what I hear, he's doing very well!"

Shouta relaxed back against the bed, then bolted right back up. He winced at the movement, and Hizashi pushed him gently back down.

Shouji never told me he was doing a work study with Vlad….

"Is that all?" Naomasa coaxed.

Shouta nodded.

"I…I think I passed out right after I saw them."

"Before that, what's the last thing you remember?" Hizashi asked.

Shouta blinked, wracking his brain for an answer.

Nemuri slung an arm around his shoulders as they walked through the campus gates. The last rays of sunlight were quickly disappearing. The streetlights flickered on around them.

"It's been a while since we've done this, hasn't it, Eraserhead?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Hizashi asked again, snapping Shouta out of his thoughts.

"I went out on patrol with Nemuri."

The blood drained from Hizashi's face. His eyebrows furrowed. Nemuri took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"That was four months ago, Shouta."