The sound of the front door opening sets Reo back into motion. He pushes himself up from his desk, walking towards the front door where he finds his mother tiredly slipping off her shoes. "Mom?"

It's been several hours since his short talk with Inko and he feels like every second that passes brings him closer to imploding. Surgery... Surgery... Over and over again the implication of the word runs through his head. He had to have surgery.

Misaki looks up at him, lips pulled taunt. He doesn't think he's ever seen her look old until now. "How was school?" she asks, setting her shoes aside and walking towards the kitchen. She's halfway through filling up a glass of water before he finds he's able to speak again.

"What happened to Izuku?"

The line of her shoulders tenses.

"Let's sit down," she says instead, not quite looking at him as she takes a sip of her drink.

They take a seat in the living room, her in the arm chair, him on the edge of the couch. She stares at the glass in her hands for a long time, but Reo doesn't force her to say anything.

There's so many repercussions to Izuku being in the hospital, so many possible consequences. It was obvious he hadn't wanted to go, so the question of how he'd ended up in the hospital in the first place has been haunting him for the last few hours.

What if they found out. What if they know he's Piper. Th—

"Midoriya tried to kill himself," Misaki says very quietly. And really it's that simple, isn't it?

Reo's mouth parts to respond with something, anything, but there's nothing that comes out. He tries again, still there is nothing.

Reo knows thinks what the woman says isn't true. But, if it's a lie, it's a good one, good enough

where even Reo can't be sure of the truth. He'd last seen Midoriya stumbling off the train at his stop. He'd been on the way to the dojo, but what if he'd? Tsukauchi viciously shakes the thought off.

"I'm so sorry, Reo."

He wouldn't.

But there's always the question of 'what if'.

"You haven't eaten anything right?" Dr. Sui asks, flipping briefly through Izuku's chart. "I'm starving," is what Midoriya responds with instead.

She huffs a laugh, a small smile riding up her lips to match his. "We'll be putting you under anesthesia soon. You'll be out for several hours, depending on how severe some of your breaks are the operation could be shorter or longer than anticipated. But, there shouldn't be anything for either of you to worry about. As I've said before it's an operation I've successfully done many times before. If there aren't any questions we'll go ahead and get started." She glances between the two of them, checking for confirmation.

They both nod and the doctor motions for someone else nearby as Inko squeezes his hand. "You'll be okay," she murmurs, gently kissing his forehead before a nurse slips a mask over his nose and mouth.

"Breath deeply," he tells him. So Midoriya does.

There's nothing after that for a while.

The next time he wakes up, it's to Inko's wobbly smile. "Hi, baby," she murmurs softly, petting back his hair. "Welcome back."

He feels floaty, faraway. He lets his eyes flutter shut again. He's still so tired.

"Get some more rest," she whispers.

So he does.

Reo stares down blankly at his phone, not paying attention to whatever is being said in class. It's a message sent from Izuku's phone, though obviously not sent by the boy himself.

Something in his chest feels tight.

Izuwuku ⟩

Today 2:42 pm Sorry to bother you during school, but I wanted

you to know that the surgery went well! Izuku should be up for visitors tomorrow if you're still able to come.

Reo sighs shakily, tension he doesn't remember ever having flooding out of him.

He's fine. He's fine.

His hands shake as he shoves back the tears threatening to leak out with so many people around. His breakdown can wait till he's alone. That doesn't prevent his body trying its hardest to let it happen where he sits. He bites down on his tongue with his back teeth, forcing himself to focus, forcing himself to hold out for just a little longer.

He's fine. Why are you crying? He's fine.

He bites down harder on his tongue.

He's fine.

But there's always that pesky little 'what if'.

Izuwuku ⟩ Today 2:56 pm

Thank you for telling me, I'll be by tomorrow after school if he's still feeling up to it. Tell him I'm glad he's okay.

Dr. Sui is a great doctor, the best Midoriya could've asked for. She explains everything to them in terms they can understand and hides nothing. She's a good doctor, too good. "We'll be keeping you under observation for at least another week."

Under normal circumstances Midoriya knows he wouldn't be here for more than a few days. They'd make sure he's stable and then cart him back home as soon as possible with his hands full of painkillers. But even if he'd directly told the woman that he "didn't want to die", she couldn't just let him off.

To them he's alive solely because of luck, solely because he hadn't chosen a building tall enough. The words, "Take a swan dive off the roof," comes back to him.

He wonders what Bakugou would think about all of this.

"Once you get some more rest, Recovery Girl is set to make a visit," Dr. Sui informs him, "She warned that it will take a few sessions to get you completely healed, but that she'll get you patched up in no time. If it takes longer than we expect to get you healed then it may require an extra meeting or two with her outside the hospital. After she visits tomorrow we'll be moving you into a new room where you'll be able to stay until you're discharged."

His mother squeezes his hand, smile wobbly. Her eyes tell him she's ready for them to move past this, to become stronger, together.

It only makes his guilt worse.

Time passes slowly in the hospital. Inko brings his hero notebook from home to help him pass the time, but for what seems to be the first time in his life he doesn't even know what to write in it. So, he turns to his phone, he's reluctant to do much at first. He stays away from social media, instead clearing out his email and scrolling through his cluttered camera roll and barely coherent notes app. He tries his best just to keep himself occupied, but eventually despite his initial reluctance it's not long before he finds himself searching the internet for news on Piper.

There hadn't been any new footage of the vigilante for obvious reasons, but that certainly didn't mean his name had disappeared from online spaces. Somehow, whether police had intended for the information to get out or not, the internet had found out about Piper's involvement at the USJ. And, without any clear insight from heroes or police, were taking the story wherever they thought it should go.

He doesn't know whether or not to be surprised at the outcome of his search.

Pied Piper Participates In USJ Attack

Vigilante Pied Piper, Hero or Villain?

Pied Piper Joins UA Raid!

Vigilante Pied Piper, Dead After USJ Incident?

Police Silent After Pied Piper's Disappearance

Where Is Pied Piper? Hunt for Piper Increases

Vigilante Labeled Villain After USJ Attack A Villain in Disguise? Pied Piper at UA

Vigilante Pied Piper Turned Villain! Where Is He Now? Pied Piper After the USJ

But the internet has more to offer him than the flashy headline titles that turn his stomach.

Cawe 2 @BCAsquard · 8h ago WTF???? PIPER DIED??????

Suz » ITS MY BIRTHDAY @HeroSiMP · 6h ago Wait what happened to Piper someone explain

Todoroki Stan @MulticoloredFlutist · 6h ago

Is it weird that I'm starting to stan Endeavor's kid??? Like he's not even a hero yet I just read

about him defending Piper and??? Idkakashjfasdlfkj rohan @dreaming4peace · 5h ago

My boy Piper did not get murked, unlike you i have faith in his ability to get out of literally any situation

Haha PP @vigilantpp · 3h ago

not piper showing up at the USJ and kicking villain ass, we do be stanning a king tho

仮名 @KanaHaki · 3h ago ENDEAVOR'S SON??? STICKING UP FOR PIPER?????? W H A T ? ? ? ? ?

Asahi @Pillagerpaath · 2h ago

Piper finally showing his true villainous colors after showing up at the USJ, we love to see it

Midoriya gnaws at the corner of his lip, hands shaking gently as he switches apps.

r/piedpiper · Posted by u/bteam365 two days ago Is Piper Actually Dead???

489 upvotes

So I know that Piper was at the USJ and all, yada yada whatever, but I read that interview with

Endeavor's son and??? As far as I know no one's so much as seen Piper recently and if he's as injured as that kid was saying he was... Im not really one to be pessimistic or anything but?? Im honestly scared for him

.

jackadaw 3.6k points · two days ago

honestly same, i hope he's alright

.

bbhaech 231 points · one day ago

I'm sure he's fine! He's probably got connections with some underground villain healer or something, even the bad guys have to get taken care of after all lmao

.

bigQ0 1k points · 20 hours ago

There's no way he managed to make it out of there alive, the hero commission could just be covering up his death or something

Everyone loves Piper, if he died because of a hero or something there would be a lot of fans out for blood but if they cover it up and Piper just 'goes missing' they'd never even have to take responsibility for anything

.

SpeeedRunner_ 421 points · 12 hours ago

Why would you say this, why would you put this thought in my head, the hero commission is SO shady if you look closely enough and this doesn't help their case with me AT ALL, but what you said makes perfect sense. At the end of the USJ battle there were a lot of heroes present and if Piper was as injured as people are implying then I see no chance of Piper just straight up escaping without some sort of help from a quirk. He was fully decked out in his usual gear and you expect me to believe that he managed to just slip away??? The HC has another thing coming if they think they can pull a fast one over on us like this. Piper has become more than just a vigilante, he's a generational ICON your popularity in the classroom can rise or fall based on your opinion of him alone. The people who support him aren't quiet about their love for him and they certainly wouldn't be quiet about his death if it got out he'd been killed by a hero. Logically your theory makes the most sense, it's happened before, the commission has a history of it, straying heroes, morally gray villains, civilians with out of control quirks. If Piper really is dead and if he really didn't get away then this is my new favorite theory as to why

tldr: I completely agree, the hero commission has a history of doing similar things in the past to cover their tracks

.

HitMunP 12 points · 17 hours ago

If he is it's what he deserves

.

SansOfTyme 3.6k points · 2 hours ago

If Piper's dead I WILL CRY, idc where I am I'll just straight up burst into immediate tears

The night is long and lonely. Despite being as tired as he is it's hard for Izuku to even fall asleep. The hospital is quiet, but loud. The sounds he's unused to keep him up, tensing at every foreign noise.

He stares at the ceiling restlessly, counting the pockmarked ceiling tiles like dark stars just to keep his mind preoccupied. He doesn't think of Piper, of Aizawa, of Eri, of Reo, of one Midoriya Inko laying in her own bed just as restless as he.

He doesn't think of the voice in his head. No matter how loud its howling gets he does not think of it.

He does not think of Overhaul, of The League, of one Bakugou Katsuki dreaming of his heroic rise to number one.

He does not think of any of them in his small, moonlit hospital room. His nails do not bite dangerous into his palms and his teeth do not bite harshly down on his tongue. Midoriya Izuku only ever stares at the ceiling tiles counting false stars.

This is the truth.

Lie.

Midoriya doesn't remember falling asleep, but the fact that he opens his eyes to daylight tells him all that he needs to know. A nurse comes in to ask how he's feeling and he gives them a vague answer about feeling fine. He expects Inko to have long been at work by now, but to his dismay she arrives not even an hour later with none other than Ji-Woo in tow.

His instructor doesn't look or act any different than usual and somehow this fact manages to put him at ease. Both Inko and a majority of the hospital staff, not including Dr. Sui, had been tiptoeing around him since his story had come out. He couldn't fault any of them, they couldn't know he was a liar, couldn't know that their tiptoeing set him on edge. They couldn't know that treating him like glass only makes him feel like he'd been flung back into his darker elementary school days. They couldn't know and he certainly wouldn't be the one to tell them.

That's why Ji-Woo's normalcy feels all the more like a gift from God. "How're you feeling, kid? Surgery do you any good?"

Midoriya huffs a laugh, "I wouldn't know. I've been on some pretty nasty pain meds since I got here. Doesn't feel much different, just achy in different places than before." He smiles gently, testing the feel of it back on his lips. It feels almost foreign, completely mismatched compared to the state of his head.

He smiles despite feeling useless sitting in this bed, waiting for others to help him when it should be the other way around.

"That's good to hear."

Inko gives his hand a squeeze as she tells him good morning, asking how he'd slept.

He lies of course.

He's always lying about simple things like these.

His mother sets a bag of spare clothes on the nearby chair before taking a short leave to get both her and Ji-Woo a bit of coffee.

"Sorry about before," Izuku murmurs in her absence, "I didn't scare the new kids too much, did I?"

Ji-Woo lets out a tired sigh, "That's not an issue, Midoriya. You shouldn't be worrying about something like that right now."

"They dropped out, didn't they."

There's a short spell of silence before the woman gives in, "Two of them did. But, I shouldn't have made you teach them, you only came in in that state because you'd made me a promise, didn't you?" A long, suffering sigh escapes her, "I should've stopped you the moment you walked in. Maybe it wouldn't have been as bad as it did."

Maybe, he replies silently to himself. But there's no telling if that doctor of Giran's could've done a surgery like the one I needed. Maybe... he repeats, maybe this was for the best.

"It's not your fault," Izuku murmurs, closing his eyes tiredly. "It's not yours either, Midoriya."

The words are nice to hear, perhaps in another situation they might even be comforting. But as it is the teen doesn't so much as believe it for even a moment.

His mother comes back soon after, two cups of coffee and Izuku's apparent breakfast balanced on a cafeteria tray. They talk a bit about school as he eats, chattering about his classes and teachers and his new almost-friends that he was starting to make. Inko smiles sweetly the whole time but it's obvious that she's not entirely there.

(Finding out your kid tried to kill himself can do that to you.)

Ji-Woo doesn't stay long, but it's long enough to keep his mind occupied. Inko on the other hand hardly leaves his side. If he's being honest he enjoys the company, it's been awhile since either of them have really sat down and enjoyed one another's presence.

It's so easy to forget your hardships when someone smiles at you as brightly as Inko does at him. But, it's even easier to remember them when that smile falls even a fraction.

"Look what you've done to her, you've mangled her heart so horribly, You, the singularity of all her worries."

There are many truths that Midoriya has denied in order to keep himself sane. This is not one of them. This is a truth that he holds close to him, one that he refuses to deny.

"I love you, Mom."

The woman looks up from the magazine she'd been reading. She looks a little surprised at the sudden statement, but smiles at him nonetheless. "I love you too, sweety."

"I love you," he croaks again, grief crawling up his throat. He bows his head. "I love you so much."

He's angry at himself for the tears that leak from his eyes. He has no right to be upset. He'd done this to himself, he'd done this even knowing it would hurt the people he cared about most.

The chair she's in creaks as she stands, wrapping him in a tight hug. She speaks firmly, as if able to read his thoughts, "There's nothing for you to apologize for, Izuku."

But in reality there's so many things he has to apologize for, so many things where he must beg for both her forgiveness and the forgiveness of others. How many people has he forsaken just to end up where he is now, lying in a hospital bed, weak, useless, crying for the sake of the people he's hurt.

"Tsukauchi-kun's supposed to be coming to see you after school, but only if you're feeling up for it," Inko says softly after he's calmed down.

If he's being honest he's not up for it. He doesn't think he'll ever be 'up for it', not after all the lies he'd told. Reo knows many things, but he hadn't inherited his uncle's quirk. He trusts Izuku too easily.

No, I lie to him too easily.

Midoriya plasters on a fake smile. "Sounds good!" He lies to everyone too easily.

True to his word Reo knocks at his room door less than an hour after school lets out. He doesn't look any different than usual and Izuku can almost pretend there's nothing wrong when his friend walks with no hint of distress on his face.

Almost.

"Midoriya." The teen smiles at him so easily. "How are you feeling?"

Izuku takes the words like a physical blow. His last name on Reo's tongue rings against his ears like blasphemy. The boy stares at his friend with wide eyes, sun sinking further into his chest. It dips lower and lower into the vast ocean beneath it, falling like the last great sunset and paining his insides a vibrant vermillion.

Midoriya doesn't know how to respond.

"It's good to see you again Tsukauchi-kun," Inko says brightly in his stead, happy to see the two friends reunited. "How was school?"

After a few minutes of small talk that leaves Izuku more shaken and breathless, Inko steps out of the room. "I just need to make a quick call, I'll be back soon," she says with a smile, leaving the two boys alone.

As soon as she's set foot out of the room Reo's smile falls, lips settling into a thin line. He sits quietly in the chair next to his bed, taking his mother's place. He doesn't say anything, doesn't do anything, doesn't even look at Midoriya. But, eventually he speaks, voice low in the small hospital room. "My mom told me you were in the hospital for an attempted suicide."

Midoriya tenses immediately, already fearing the direction of the conversation.

"I found an article that told me about Piper's real injuries... but even then I still questioned what my mother'd said. Even knowing the truth I wondered whether or not you'd actually tried to kill yourself."

Midoriya can feel himself breaking into a cold sweat, the machine tracking his heart rate spiking higher. Neither of them so much as spare it a glance. "It was a lie, I... I wouldn't. I just needed a —"

"Was it really a lie though?" Reo hisses softly, cutting him off. He's trying to reign in his anger, trying to keep his voice down in a place with so many spying ears. "After what you did? Is it really a lie?"

"What?" Izuku asks, startled by the question.

"It doesn't seem like a lie, not to me. Not because I believe you wanted to kill yourself, but because no matter your intentions you almost did." He takes a moment to compose himself, but he doesn't know how much it helps. "You lied to me, Midoriya. You were this hurt and you lied to me about it," he bites out. "You had to have surgery. This could've killed you. I know I joked about not coming to me if you punctured a lung, but I never thought that–" Reo chokes out, stopping himself before he can say anymore.

"The police knew the extent of Piper's injuries," Midoriya tries explaining desperately, leaning forward from his spot on the bed. "If one of their previous suspects had shown up at the hospital so soon after the attack it- it would've been game over for me," he insists.

But Reo shakes his head violently. "No," he hisses, "Game over would be you rolling over in your sleep with a broken rib and punching a hole through your lung with no one any wiser. Game over is your mother waking up the next morning and finding you dead. That's game over," the teen chokes out, blinking away angry tears. "We could've come up with an excuse. You could've let me help you. You could've trusted me," Reo spits. "But you didn't. And now you're in the hospital anyway so I guess God doesn't want you dead just yet because that's the only reason you're still alive."

His words leave Midoriya speechless, monitor beeping wildly in time with his heart. Reo glances at it only briefly before pushing himself up.

"I should go," he murmurs. "Tell your mom I said bye."

Izuku doesn't know what he can say to make the other boy stay. Maybe there's nothing, maybe there is, either way Midoriya can't come up with anything in time before he's watching Reo slip out of the room.

"Hello? Yes, my name is Midoriya Inko. I'm calling in regard to my son, Midoriya Izuku. I'd like to talk with his homeroom teacher if that's possible."

Midoriya feels numb watching Recovery Girl hobble into his dreary hospital room just a few hours after Reo's short visit. It only takes one glance at him for the woman to see through his exhaustion.

"This'll take longer than I thought," Chiyo sighs. Inko shifts nervously beside him, waiting for clarification that never comes.

Dr. Sui steps into the room behind her. "Shuzenji-san's quirk exchanges vitality for healing, the less vitality a patient has the more sessions needed so she doesn't end up straining them too heavily."

His mother nods along almost reluctantly before the hero makes her way towards the bed, using a small stool to stand on in order to reach him. "Seems you've done quite a number on yourself," she sighs. "You'll be very tired after this, so just try to get as much sleep as you can before I see you again."

She plants a gentle kiss on his cheek. It's a weird feeling being healed like this. He's had experience with healing quirks in the past, childhood bullies had frequently left him subjected to them. But this is nothing like any of the other healing quirks that've been used on him. His side tingles violently, almost uncomfortably, but it's over within seconds and he feels like the life has been sucked out of him. Midoriya droops forward a bit, drained and somehow more exhausted than before. It's a new type of exhaustion, different from the late night vigilante work he's used to.

Sleep comes easy to him like this.

Tsukauchi reaches absentmindedly for his phone as he works, picking up without checking the caller ID.

"Musutafu Police, Quirk Crimes Division, Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa speaking." "Nao? Thank God you picked up finally," Misaki sighs over the speaker.

The detective tenses, looking away from his report to double check the caller. "Misaki, did something happen?"

He can hear the sound of her pacing in the background. "I'm supposed to leave tomorrow for a conference in Tokyo," she explains, "I'll only be gone for two days but I need you to stay with Reo."

Naomasas feels himself relax, going back to proofreading over his report on Piper as he speaks. "And you sounded so serious when I picked up. He's seventeen now, Misaki," the detective chuckles, adding notes along the margin of the paper as he goes. "He knows how to take care of himself."

"I-No listen," she insists. "Reo's friend, the Midoriya boy? He tried to commit suicide, Nao," she tells him quietly, voice dropping to a whisper to keep, who he assumes is Reo, from listening in.

The detective freezes at the words, pen hovering over the page. "Suicide?" he asks in disbelief. "Is he alright?"

There's a deep sigh on the other end of the line. "Physically he'll be fine, but that doesn't change the fact that he tried, you know? I'm a nurse, not a psychologist there's no telling what's going on in that poor kid's head. Reo's taking it pretty hard. He went to see him this afternoon, but it's obvious he didn't stay very long," Misaki murmurs. "That's why I want someone to stay with him. I know you're busy with everything happening on the news so I tried calling Makoto but she wouldn't answer the phone. I can just skip the conference if you can't."

Naomasa sets the pen aside, leaning back in his seat as he thinks back to his last meeting with the

Midoriya boy. "I can, I won't be able to be around the whole time, but I can be there."

"Thank you," Misaki sighs. There's a beat of silence. "You know... I walked in on Midoriya crying in Reo's room one time," she murmurs, "I don't think Midoriya noticed I was there, but Reo must've been trying to help him through it all this time, right? I'm worried about him, Nao."

Tsukauchi rubs at his forehead, fighting back an oncoming headache. "He'll be okay. He's a strong kid."

"Midoriya's his only real friend."

"I'll take care of Reo," Naomasa reassures her, "You said the kid would be okay, it's just a matter of time before they're back to how they usually are."

"I don't know if normal is good enough anymore," she whispers quietly, "Normal is what led us here."