Chapter 13

It seems the last time he stocked in his items, he was still missing a bunch of stuff. In his defense, that time wasn't truly grocery shopping, merely a last minute run for the essentials (coffee and jelly pouches). So he returns to the grocery store, now with a list in hand and a basket that has yet to be filled with listed items.

It's a slow day, so slow that he intentionally left his capture weapon at him, feeling like he has no need to carry it around. Usually when he's on a grocery run he usually goes quite early in the morning so as to not waste time, but right now it's entering the afternoon.

It's a slow day, after all. And he feels like it.

Da- Nedzu would be so proud of him right now, for taking a break.

"Aizawa!"

He looks away from the aisle in front of him and towards the source of the familiar voice. The Rabbit Hero is waving a hand cheerfully at him as she walks over. She has the usual wide grin on her face and there is a hop in her steps (no pun intended).

The coincidence of crossing paths with her occurs way too often to be merely coincidental. It's almost pre-planned and pre-written.

"Usagiyama. Or should I say Miruko, seeing that you're on duty," he says as he gives her costume a single look before looking back up at her as she stops right in front of him.

"I'm on a break right now so call me whatever you want," Mir- uh… Usagiyama replies while waving a hand dismissively. "Now what about you, huh? What you doin' under the sun? You ain't even wearin' that scarf of yours!" She asks him, a hand waving wildly gesturing generally towards him.

"Just grocery shopping." He answers with a little shrug of his shoulders. "I feel no need to bring it with me today." Usagiyama lets out a hum before she quickly looks very interested.

"Mind if I tag along?" she asks. He stares at the excited smile on her lips and the glitter in her eyes, her ears are even twitching in excitement at the idea of joining him.

It reminds him of the last time they went grocery shopping together.

"If you want to." Her smile gets impossibly wider and the creases at the corners of her eyes are even more pronounced.

"Great!" She shouts excitedly a little too loudly. "So, what can I help you with?"

"Tea."

"I thought you already had tea?"

"Need more."

"…Ok."

"It'll be on the aisle over."

"Alrighty!"

As Usagiyama turns around, he looks back at the cooking oil he was about to grab earlier. He doesn't grab it. Instead, he looks back to the side just enough to see Usagiyama disappearing to another aisle. She sounds happy doing the chores for him, and didn't even hesitate to follow his instructions. Then, he turns back to the aisle and reaches for the next item on the list.

Then, the hair on the back of his neck rises.

Immediately, he freezes.

His body tenses, prepared, fight or flight battle over each other.

In a split second, he feels two things.

First is his gut wrenching, a telltale sign that he is in danger. His gut feeling is the instinct he trusts the most.

The second is the intense heat that explodes from the lower right of his back.

Instantly, familiar with the feeling, he knows he's been stabbed in the back.

"Caught you, Eraserhead," he hears the whisper behind him.

He wants to turn around, to kick them away to give him a safe space, but for some reason his movement is sluggish, slow. There is a sudden gust of wind and whoever that had stabbed him quickly disappears. Then, Usagiyama appears in his sight.

"Aizawa!"

Her face is full of worry.

He wants to say he is fine. He's an Underground Hero. He had suffered far worse injuries; a knife stab is nothing. But no words can escape his lips. His limbs feel heavy as lead. Everything begins to swirl. His consciousness starts waning.

Then, he loses his balance but Usagiyama quickly catches him.

"AIZAWA!"

.

"…ulance! Stay with me, Aizawa. Stay wi…"

.

"-uko, you are more needed to be-"

"Don't you fuckin' dare separate him away from me, now get me in the fuc…"

.

There seems to be a light shining into his eyes, and his mind seems to be comprehensible enough to give his head a familiar dull thud from the light.

His eyelids twitch before he manages to pry them open, introducing more of the light into his vision and intensifying the headache. Once his eyes adjust to the light and sees the ceiling patterns, he releases a quiet but long sigh.

He's back in the hospital much sooner than he expects. His back is aching but he thinks it's all good seeing how they laid him on his back. He'll survive.

It's so ironic that on the day where he did take it slow is the day he got ambushed. It just emphasizes why he is on high alert all the time. He could use this excuse to justify his paranoia to anyone who doubts him but it'll only double their worry.

He tries to move when he feels something in his left hand. He looks over, seeing what is impeding his movement.

It's another hand, holding onto his, one that belongs to Usagiyama.

Said hand isn't wearing any gloves.

She's sleeping in the chair next to his bed, while sprawling the top half of her body on the space next to his body on the bed. She's still wearing her Hero uniform, meaning she had been staying with him the whole time and not once gone home to change.

He releases another sigh, a little louder this time.

He's putting her on the list of "those who care a little too much for his liking" people right below Hizashi and Nemuri and on par with Taishiro.

It mustn't be very comfortable in the position she is in, especially with that chair that he suspects is designed to kill the cells in your ass.

Suddenly, he hears Usagiyama suck in her breath, signaling her waking up from her slumber. Then, she lets it out with a big sigh. She slowly pulls herself upright before she tilts her head up to look at him.

Her tired ruby red eyes are staring at him. Her eyelids are droopy from her rest and a few locks of her hair are partially covering her face. Her eyes narrow slightly and brows furrow, as if trying to decipher what she is seeing. He watches as it sinks in and her eyes gain color before they open wide awake. She looks like she's almost bolt out from her seat to tackle him but manages to hold herself back.

"Usagiyama," he greets casually despite being the one on the bed. She doesn't reply back, and continues to stare at him with those wide eyes of hers. He realizes she is squeezing his hand very tightly. Then, she releases a deep sigh and her body slackens, tensions leaving her system, mirroring the first time he was hospitalized after meeting her.

"Is this a regular occurrence?" she suddenly asks, voice low, instead of replying. "Is this what Present Mic and Midnight face every day?"

'Every day? That's just rude.'

"I'm a Hero as well, Usagiyama," he reasons, stating the obvious. She lets out a snort before breaking eye contact, looking down at the bedsheet he is laying on. That makes him realize he is in the hospital gown (there goes his favorite sweatpants).

"Of course." Her whisper is barely audible, and she doesn't sound surprised by his answer. She looks unhappy, to be honest. He looks away from her and towards their linked hands. She's no longer squeezing his hand, merely holding it in a loose grip.

"You finally got your wish." He makes his point by squeezing her hand. She releases a mirthless huff and squeezes back.

"Yeah."

The room falls silent. For once, there is no monitor that would beep according to his heartbeat. This kind of silence is what he wanted but he is in the wrong environment.

"What happened?" he finally asks. He notices Usagiyama stills at the question. It takes her quite a while to answer his question. Then, she gives his hand another, tighter squeeze.

"Do you remember the time when I told you some Villain was going after you?" she asks, not looking up at him.

"Yeah?"

"That was him."

Ah.

"…I see."

"He's known to coat his weapons with poisons. Most of his victims didn't survive. The fact that you're awake is a miracle itself."

He gives her hand a squeeze out of reassurance, as it is the only thing he can do right now. That explained why she was so shaken, back then.

"What happened to him now?"

"He escaped."

"…And that's why you're still here."

"Yeah." Her head bows more. "Don't want to risk it again."

"…Hm."

"Present Mic and Midnight came by not too long ago. I filled them in on what happened when they were here."

"Where are they now?"

"They're on a manhunt for the Villain. I think Fatgum is joinin' in as well because I heard Mic speak to him on the phone when they were on their way out."

That would explain why they're not here. Usually they would wait day and night for him to wake up. He can count with one hand the time when he woke up alone (not counting his early years before he became a teacher of UA). For them to leave, it must've been a serious issue that he hopes it's not just because of him alone.

That also means they trust Usagiyama enough to leave her with him.

Out of nowhere, Usagiyama suddenly holds his hand with both of hers, and he can feel them shaking as she squeezes it. She still has her head bowed down, now her white hair is blocking his view from her face. At first, he thinks she is hiding her expression from him, refusing him from seeing her looking scared.

That is until she looks up.

"Please, please, be more careful?" she pleads with a quiet voice. "When I saw him there with you, it scared the livin' fuck out of me. And when you fell with your eyes wide open and didn't respond with anythin', I couldn't think straight and didn't act like a Hero as I should be. And if that made me scared and lost my rationality, what about the others when they heard somethin' worse? What did they feel when you got ambushed a long while ago?"

He sucks in his breath because that look on her face… That is the most foreign look she ever has. He knows she is feeling it but…

It looks so wrong.

She looks so wrong to be so scared.

Not of him, but for him. Her eyes are very wide, glassy as well. Her lips are quivering and he can tell she is biting them to stop. Either that or it is to stop herself from releasing a sob. She looks really close to letting a tear slip but she manages to hold it in.

And he is seeing it all uninterrupted.

Rumi Usagiyama, Pro Hero Miruko, the number ten Hero on the billboard, is showing him her vulnerable side. It's almost the same as when she confessed to him a long time ago, when she opened her heart and poured it out for him, but it is different. It reminds that she is serious with her feelings about him.

The amount of trust she has in him…

He feels idiotic for dismissing her fear and worry for him awhile ago.

"…I'll try," he can only answer. It's a promise, and he can see that she is not satisfied with his answer, judging by how her ears drooped. Despite that, it brings a smile to her face.

She accepts it nonetheless, fully knowing it is the best he can do right now.