Back Before Bedtime

Chapter 9

Recovery Girl exited the surgery room, throwing away the disposable gloves while pulling her mask down from her face. It was awful what happened out there, what everyone involved allowed to happen. The boy might have needed a good lesson, but what they allowed him to do to himself was beyond any legal punishment.

Waiting just outside in the standard nursing area, was of course Yagi and Nezu.

"So." The blond began to speak up. "How is he?"

"Sleeping now." Recovery Girl reported. "Though he'll have to stay sedated until I can use my quirk on him again just to have him stable."

"Good." Nezu nodded in approval of the woman's work. "Now, what can you tell us about your meeting with The Professor?"

Ignoring the question, Recovery Girl grabbed her personal cane to point at the two. "The only reason we should be talking about him is to figure out how we can get his help healing this boy!"

"I thought he was ok?" The deflated All Might asked in confusion.

"He's lucky to be alive!" The woman screamed. "That boy pushed his quirk so much he was clotting his own blood with pockets of explosive liquid, and igniting them! Half of his blood vessels are going to be scar tissue at this rate! That boy is going to need regular hospital visits and medication just so he doesn't die from sudden internal bleeding!"

"It is worrying." Nezu admitted, understanding how grave it is to have a student so injured yet to him this was a solution to another problem. "But, we do need to discuss The Professor about-"

"That boy can never use his quirk again! I doubt his hands will even work from half of the nerves in his arms being blown off! Not to mention speech therapy for a piece of his tongue being missing! Those don't grow back you know!"

At least Yagi seemed to get just how serious this was by his horrified expression, but he was still stupid enough to try and change the subject. "That sounds horrible, but The Professor-"

"THE ONLY REASON YOU SHOULD BRING UP THAT CHILD IS IF YOU GET HIS ASS OVER HERE TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT BOY'S HEART DOESN'T GIVE OUT FROM GETTING THE LEAST BIT EXCITED!"

"Shuzenji." Nezu approached softly. "There is much to be discussed, and I do want Bakugo to have the best medical aid possible. If you believe The Professor can provide assistance to this then we will attempt to contact and convince him, but we need to approach this very delicately."

"You didn't handle Bakugo's situation delicately." Recovery Girl huffed, going over to check on the other patient she had earlier. Uraraka was sleeping soundly in one of the beds, not a scar to even show.

She did not forget the wounds she saw the girl receive from the other boy, her life threatened in a match that should have been ended early. That didn't mean they could let him destroy himself to this degree.

This school was meant to allow children to learn in a safe environment, but if they were constantly allowed to be pushed to the brink of near death then she wanted no part in it. While these occurrences were rare, UA had grown too comfortable in her skills in healing injuries.

Age had been catching up to her, and she knew it was only a matter of time before her weary body would make a mistake.

That young boy though, already had tons of potential. The resources he cobbled together from scraps already threatened to overtake the best technology at I-island. As much as she wished to see what he could do with what UA could provide, she hated to imagine how far the school would push these kids with someone as skilled as The Professor around to fix their mistakes.

"Shuzenji." Yagi tenderly approached. "The girls informed us of several details, specifically about All for One."

She stiffened at the name, knowing full well how dangerous the man was.

"As far as we are aware." Nezu continued, taking advantage of the name drop. "The Professor is quirkless, kidnapped by the man, forced to create the creature defeated at USJ, made the three girls to escape and thwart his plans, and is now in hiding while trying to warn us of the danger."

That boy didn't have an intelligence quirk? It's not like anyone could just make up a story involving All for One without actually knowing the man. "Do we know if he was given a quirk?"

"We know very little and can confirm even less." The Principal admitted, a blow to his pride in solving the hardest puzzles. "But you are the only one who has seen him in person, and your testimony could very well decide whether or not we trust what The Professor has relayed through the girls."

"...I doubt someone so young in his living situation would be lying about this." Recovery Girl finally answered. "He was scared, hiding, and with his mother, and when someone's life was in danger he decided to risk his secrecy by having Uraraka and myself there."

"How young?" Yagi pressed.

"I'd guess about the same age as these two." She motioned towards the surgery room and the one laying in bed. "But he's pushing himself too hard, he needs help, most of all rest."

"A single father trying to take care of the most powerful children while also hiding from the largest threat that he betrayed." The Principal went to the door, signaling All Might to follow. "I agree, at this rate he might burn out. We might be able to help each other, us providing safety and keeping unwanted parties from interacting with the girls, while he shares his knowledge of All for One's current status and assists in preparing us for his next move."

"I have his number." All Might informed her. "He seemed to want to reach out to me about this, so I will ask on behalf of you how we can further help young Bakugo through a speedy recovery."

Once the intelligent mammal left with All Might, Recovery Girl went back into the surgery room in order to check on Bakugo, leaving Uraraka alone to sleep with no more worries.

At least, they all thought she was asleep.

She felt bad about listening in on the conversation, but it seemed so important that there was no way she could interrupt or let them know she was awake! So, she just laid there with her eyes closed, listening and piecing as much together as she could.

Although she might have learned a lot, she felt like she was missing a ton of context. Like who was All for One? Was The Professor really her age?

She needed to bring this up with the others.

"RRRAAAAAHHH!" Sato ripped through the vines restraining him, muscles threatening to break through his shirt. His opponent was startled by his determination, attempting to sneak some of the plant-like hair along her head to grab onto his ankle from below.

The numbed mind of Sato only pushed through, snapping it once it made contact.

Any stealth approaches were too small to work against his rush, and any larger attacks were faced head on and ripped through.

He just kept pushing, more and more in his maddened state forcing her to back up and reinforce her attacks with more vigor. While the girl had a classmate with a quirk similar yet more versatile, he had raw strength in his.

In one last ditch attempt, she sent out a wave of vines too large to grab, too thick to get through immediately. With how they flowed, if he so much as touched it the momentum would send him flying out of the arena. He had no arial maneuverability, so there was no way for him to recover.

Sato's response to the attack, jump over it. It was a random impulse, but with his legs enhanced by the sugar he cleared it in time to have a clear opening to sprint forward.

She tried to recall her vines, to have them turn back around to capture the mindless titan.

Yet as soon as his foot hit the ground on landing, he sprung forward to clear the distance in an instant and tackle her to the ground. She was blessed to have natural cushioning around her head, but not enough to stay within the bounds of the tournament.

"Shiozaki is out of bounds!" Midnight announced, glad the matches were regaining a sensible momentum of excitement instead of panic and overly brutal moments. "Sato wins!"

Upon hearing the words, the boy backed off, screaming in victory over her.

How irreverent.

"Great job Sato." Tsu made sure to compliment the boy's victory, adding in a thumbs up. WIth the second round coming to an end, most of the students eliminated they had entered into the finals. Well, two of their classmates did.

Sato was an unexpected powerhouse, while he managed to keep chugging along they thought he wouldn't make it very far. He was proving them wrong, his simple quirk and simple tactics was fueled by a brimming determination they didn't know he had.

Hard to tell when he was so sleepy and sweaty by the time he got back to the stands.

"My man!" The ever manly Kirishima was already handing him a water bottle filled with electrolytes. "Way to represent!"

The boy didn't hesitate to crack it open, taking deep chugs before there was nothing left to drink. "Thanks."

Morebucks didn't care for the sweaty boy, merely tapping her foot impatiently as someone should have returned to the student seating section. "Ugh, where is that little bobble head?"

"Careful." The electric blond boy Kaminari warned. "I heard she doesn't like being called little."

Though Momo was partly concerned herself. "I hope she isn't in trouble somehow, her last battle ended with more blood than expected."

"Doubt it." The taped elbow teen Sero crossed his arms as they were finishing the clean up on the arena. "They already broke the rules to let her in. Plus it's not like she actually did anything. Bakugo was just blowing himself up."

"Serves him right!" The queen of pink Mina Ashido shouted. "He was way too cruel against Uraraka!"

Thinking on the girl again, Momo got out from her seat to go speak with her friend."Speaking of which, I'm going to check on her again to see if she's woken-"

"Check on who?" Ochaco Uraraka, returning with not a single hair out of place.

"Woah!" The tailed teen Ojiro was shocked at how she really did look completely fine. "Recovery Girl really is a miracle worker."

"No kidding!" Hagakure added as she leapt up, double checking that Ochaco wasn't a zombie. "You look great!"

Waving off the compliments and assurances that she was ok, she returned to her spot next to Tsu. "So, who's up next."

"Oh, you know. Just Buttercup and Todoroki."

"...You say that like they're not the strongest."

While Ochaco's comment held some truth, she didn't see the last fight either. "Trust me, it's not going to be a fair fight."

Standing just behind the entrance to the arena, Shoto Todoroki was doing his best to take steady breaths. Blocking his path was his own father, always getting in his way to spout endless criticisms.

The man's towering frame with steady flames running up his skin was intimidating to many. "You're going to fight the child next, and don't think you'll win with just-"

"I can." Shoto denied him the privilege of even finishing his sentence.

"And should you lose because you held back?" Endeavor questioned to see how stubborn his own son would be.

"I won't." Shoto again denied before hearing his name announced. Turning his back on him, he moved straight ahead to go and take care of yet another obstacle.

Though his father let him leave without another word, he would keep watching his son closely. This would be a good learning opportunity, for himself and his defiant offspring.

"HEY!" Buttercup shouted out from her side of the stage. "Can you walk any slower?"

Giving out a huff of annoyance, Shoto did nothing to increase his walking speed as he ascended up the stairs to the wide empty stage of conflict. Flexing his right hand, he was prepared to unleash the largest glacier he-

Buttercup yawned, like he wasn't even a challenge making him even more furious.

"Are you even taking this seriously?" The irritated boy asked.

"Not really. I mean, if I wanted to, I would absolutely crush you." She pointed out.

She was underestimating him, he knew she was strong but she was forgetting one simple fact.

"321GO!" Present Mic announced, Midnight following up with a crack of her whip.

The other half of the stadium exploded into ice, Shoto releasing a foggy breath as frost covered his skin. She was young so he'd forgive her ignorance, that without any leverage her strength was useless. Without enough time to melt his freezing trap, she would be counted as restrained and-

The flash of red from the center only lasted a moment, the pocket inside turning into vapor and building its pressure in an instant until it blew out. Buttercup, after shaking off the steaming water from herself, set her sights on Shoto. "My turn."

She waited for him?

*PEW*

The world spun around Shoto, until he flopped harshly on the grass outside the arena boundaries. He couldn't have reacted, he put everything into that attack and it wasn't enough. His ice wasn't enough, and with her heat vision she turned it into a bomb.

"Wow! Another win for our li-I mean our super strong super star! Hey Eraserhead, how do you feel about all your students getting trashed by a kid?"

"They're all kids."

"Ok yeah but there's a big difference between a fifteen year old and a five year old."

"Well Shoto Todoroki has earned a spot in our medal ceremony, but only one can take home to gold! Will it be Buttercup, or one of our other competitors?"

"Who knows."

"Oh yeah, oh yeah!" Buttercup rejoiced in yet another undisputed victory before flying back to where her sisters were at to leave the defeated boy alone.

The girl didn't even seem to register him as a threat, brushing off his attacks and dealing them harder and faster than he could. Shoto finally realized, his methods weren't good enough to be the best. Not with those girls around.

Would it have even mattered if he used everything he had?

The streak of green zipped up stairways, zooming past merchandise stands, whooshing over a guy selling hot dogs, going back to the hot dogs, being given free hot dogs so long as she let the guy take a photo of her taking a bite out of one in front of his booth, and finally flying back into the private viewing room that the furry Principal had closed off for the three special little girls.

Bubbles was bouncing up and down in excitement, Blossom sitting contently on the couch as the flat screen relayed several highlights of the battle so far.

Bubbles bounded to her sister, grabbing Buttercup's hands and making her bounce with her. "That was amazing!"

"I know I am!"

"Hey." Blossom called out, eyes still locked on the image of Shoto Todoroki. "You think he's related to that flame hero?"

Buttercup tried to remember as Bubbles was left to spin on her own. "What hero? You mean my toy?"

"Not the toy, the real one!" Blossom criticized.

Frustrated by being accused of making a stupid mistake, Buttercup defended herself. "That's what I meant!"

"Wait!" Bubbles zipped over to her sisters. "Does that mean we can see birdy man?"

Checking out the window, Blossom couldn't see the man at the moment. "He's here somewhere."

"When we're heroes-" Buttercup rolled her shoulder as only one fight remained. "-I bet they'll all be begging to be our sidekicks once I finish this."

"Now hold on." Blossom began to correct. "Winning the sports festival won't suddenly make us legalized heroes."

"That's not what Hawks said."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

A knocking at their door had the sisters halt their argument, Bubbles going over to answer the door. With a sweet voice and a bright smile, she expected that kind cute little animal man. Instead, she saw the shins of a large man wearing a bright pin striped yellow suit. Tracing the lines up, was a fellow blond with a smile known to all the world.

"Hello little one!" All Might held up a hand to greet her. "May I come in?"

"All Might!" All three shouted with glee as they flew over, quickly leading him inside. Allowing himself to be pushed by the gentle they had, he was glad they were still very open to him at the least.

"Please come in." Blossom motioned over to the couch. "Would you like a seat?"

"Why thank you!" The number one hero gratefully accepted, having to run around in his muscular form was tiring. "Now, there's something I'd like to-"

Bubbles flew over, holding out a bottle of water. "Would you like a drink?"

"Ah, thank you." He held it between his fingers, holding off taking a sip as he needed to address something. "There's actually a-"

"Hot dog?" Buttercup offered one of her own, that had a bite taken out of concealed by a napkin.

"While I'd love to I'm-" His legs were jerked up by Blossom, Bubbles slapping the table to be under his legs but overshot it to the point his feet were dangling off it. "Um, I appreciate this but-"

"I can get more toppings!" Buttercup shouted before flying out, returning with armfuls of packets of several flavors. "Here!"

"AHEM!" All Might's intention was to let out a fake cough to get them to be patient for a moment, but with the state of his old injuries he ended up breaking out into a coughing fit.

"Buttercup!" Blossom yelled at her more stubborn sister. "He could be allergic!"

"To hot dogs?! No way!"

"Yes way!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

Bubbles looked on with concern towards All Might, the man reaching to his chest to try and grab a handkerchief. But as a little girl seeing a man coughing madly with a bite of a hot dog missing, she made the logical assumption that he was choking. "Don't worry All Might, I'll save you!"

"Ugh." The man wiped his mouth as the coughing finally ended. Now perhaps he could start to-

"HIYA!" Bubbles punched the man in the gut with frightening strength, accidentally hitting the exact spot he guarded so closely. Steam erupted from his body as his hold on his form gave out, blood flooding into his mouth.

All the girls noticed, staring at what had become of the number one hero. It was a lanky, bony man with large teeth in a wide jaw, blood dripping between his teeth. His sunken eye sockets shadowed with his brow looked over to the stunned girls, hoping to salvage the situation.

"I can expla-bleugh."

So, in the face of something so terrifying taking over the strongest symbol Japan knew, the three girls did what any other five year old would do. "AAAAHHHHH!"

Welp, it's been a while since this story has been updated. This was originally supposed to be a one shot, and it got really popular so I continued writing. But things happened, and honestly I just didn't have any drive to work on this compared to other projects.

A lot has happened since the last chapter. Got a new career, new place to live, new wife, finished some of my top stories, started new stories, changed jobs, dealt with a few family crises, got a different job, and most recently got a dog.

Yep, life happens. Luckily though I just happened to be putting on classic PPG in the background working on stuff and I finally had enough drive to write this and put it out. You know, probably the biggest factor why I came back to this story is people discovering it and leaving their reviews for over a year.

So thanks, if I hadn't gotten review alerts and read so many kind words I probably wouldn't have even bothered coming back to this story.

God of crossovers: Bakugo is definitely going to suffer some consequences, the most impactful ones though will be the damage he has inflicted on himself.

Harleking31: Just picturing it is hilarious.

Monster King: I don't have any plans on turning him into a villain.

Cleston: His hands explode, when pushed too far he was guaranteed to lose at least one.

Shin: Yeah, I stopped reading at that point.

AnimeFan13579: I think for simplicity's sake I'm just going to focus on the basic power sets.

KatoGS123: Oh there was definitely more damage than that, but now I'm curious, what did you have in mind as a punishment?

Guest: I still haven't decided if I'm going to involve Melissa or not.

To other guest, I'm just sticking to the classic PPG.

brolyk445: Thank you very much! Honestly I was really tired trying to find a PPG story only to see all of them turn the girls to teenagers for romatic's sake, or keep them kids and still involve romance. Not only that but a lot of them just seem to write them way out of character.

I wanted something that focused on what made the PPG's so lovable, and it seems by several people's reactions I can call this a success.

thunrady: Today's the day!