Izuku wakes up and gets the explanation for what happened. Ochako awakens and the two need one another. And Shouta talks to the vigilantes about their options.

Waking up in pain wasn't unusual for Izuku. But the fact he was lying on a bed was an immediate cause for concern. His head felt…fuzzy. Drugged? Or just concussed? Still unsure. Was he captured?! If so, Ochako could be in danger! Okay, he had to think this through. He forced himself to remain still and calm, keeping his eyes resolutely closed just in case his kidnappers were waiting for him to wake up. He'd need to wait for the right opportunity, else he might not be able to get to Ochako in time.

He needed to figure out where he was and quickly. First, he focused on his arms and legs…could he move them? Very carefully, he checked for restraints and could find no indication of any such things, although with the miniscule moves he did he wasn't sure it was a good test. Still, he didn't seem to be restrained which was…probably bad. It meant they didn't need to restrain him.

He was on a bed, or at least something similar to it. Not the most comfortable, and there was a weird papery feeling on his back. His clothing was very light, almost breezy. Seems like they took his suit. Though his eyes were closed, he could see the glare of lights through his eyelids. The smell made him curl his nose up, rather astringent…cleaning chemicals, maybe?

He tried moving slightly, just to get a better feel but holy shit that hurt! His abdomen felt like someone shoved a fucking knife in him! He had to bite his lip with every ounce of willpower to not make a noise or jerk, but it was a close one…good thing he kept quiet too, he could hear sounds. A voice? No, two voices, talking quietly, but too far away for him to decipher them. But one of them sounded familiar…

Dammit, if only he could remember what happened! Ochako and he had been out on another patrol, a quiet one where they only had to capture one stupid mugger, and then had been on the way home when…it was all dark after that. He couldn't remember anything. Were they captured then? Wait, the voices were getting louder, they were coming closer! Izuku had to quickly school himself into even breathing, acting like he was still asleep.

"You may as well quit pretending, Specter. Trust me, plenty of equipment in here can tell when you wake up," one of the two voices said, one that was very familiar.

Annoyed, he blinked open his eyes, reaching up to rub at them with one arm which he now noticed had an IV stuck in it. If his kidnappers were trying to drug him they must have already done so.

"You're not kidnapped, you reckless child, your girlfriend called for help," the voice admonished, making him realize he'd been muttering again…wait, that voice.

"R-Recovery Girl?" he managed to croak out, his throat feeling like sandpaper.

"That'd be me," she confirmed, now visible as a blur as she looked down at his prone body.

"What happened?" he asked, unsure how he got here.

"Hmm…what's the last thing you remember?"

Izuku paused for a moment to think. "We…we were coming back from patrol, and…that's it. Wait, Ochako? Where's Ochako? Is she okay? Where-"

"She's fine, Specter, she's just resting over there," Recovery Girl replied, pointing to Izuku's left. He twisted as best he could, his entire body aching, to see the gently slumbering visage of his Ochako, her hair frizzy and…her leg in a cast? What the hell happened? He blinked as he noticed the other presence in the room, a short teenage girl with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, dressed in a white lab coat like Recovery Girl was, bent over Ochako and examining her. At his curious gaze, she offered him a quick, hesitant smile, but continued what she was doing as Recovery Girl tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"That's my assistant, Himiko. She's been helping me with you two troublemakers," the nurse said in a wry tone. She shook her head and sighed. "Truth be told, I don't know the full story myself. It appears you and Zero were attacked."

"The warehouse you two were headed to blew up!" the girl, Himiko, interjected, making Izuku's eyes go wide. He had no time to process really, as Recovery Girl shot a warning look at Himiko before continuing.

"Yes, as she said. It appears you were knocked unconscious by the blast, and Zero carried you to a safe place where she called for Eraser. He brought you two back here."

"...oh," Izuku whispered. Their warehouse, their…their home? It was…gone? Another home lost, taken from him. And Ochako saved him, well, of course she did she was perfect and amazing, but how could he be so fucking pathetic he couldn't help her? No, no, he needed to figure out what was wrong with her and then himself and then they could get back to their mission, no time to think or process. Home base was gone, that was fine, he could work around it, they had stuff they could use. Calm, collected, logical. He took a deep, bracing breath, turning to look Recovery Girl straight in the eyes. "How badly is Ochako hurt?"

"Laceration to the shoulder and a very broken leg," Recovery Girl replied matter-of-factly. "You have a concussion and were impaled by a piece of rebar through your abdomen. We're having an expert in bone growth come here for Zero, and we'll have a specialist to make sure you didn't get any infections from the injury through your intestines."

"I'll be fine, no need for that, just make sure Och-" Izuku wanted to try and wave off anyone coming for him, he'd be fine, but was treated to the most terrifyingly blank expression he'd ever seen on Recovery Girl's face, and every one of his finely tuned danger instincts told him to shut the fuck up for now…so he did.

"Now, you'll be here for a while because you don't have the stamina for me to use my Quirk on you," Recovery Girl mentioned, turning around to busy herself at a table in the corner.

"Why not?" he dared to ask, wondering what would happen if she used it. Did it just fail?

"My Quirk uses the patient's stamina to heal them. It's more like it forcibly speeds up your natural healing process. So if your stamina is too low compared to your injury, it could kill you. I didn't spend all this time stabilizing you or your girlfriend to kill you just because you're impatient," she replied in a deadpan tone.

"...then how long are we here for?" Izuku asked, narrowing his eyes.

"However long it takes."

"And if I wanted to leave now?"

"I won't stop you. Problem is you have bigger issues than me," she replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Recovery Girl shrugged. "You'll have to talk to Aizawa about that. He can explain it better."

Izuku perked up, glancing about. "Eraser's here?"

"He's been waiting in the hall since you came in," the blonde girl (Himiko, Izuku's mind supplied) chimed in.

"And how long's that?"

Recovery Girl waggled her hand in the air. "Seven hours, give or take."

Izuku's eyes went wide. "W-what? B-but…what? Why would he?"

Recovery Girl glanced at Izuku with an arched eyebrow. "Is it so hard to believe he was worried about the two of you?"

Izuku paused, taken aback slightly. Eraser had said he was worried before, and…well, Izuku guessed he hadn't been lying, but like…he had a husband. Students to look out for. And Eri, of course. It wasn't like him sitting outside Recovery Girl's office would have accomplished anything. She'd probably call him for whatever he had to explain when they were up to talking. So…so why? There was no reason for that, he barely knew them?

A sound from Ochako's bed interrupted his thoughts, him looking over to see her blinking bleary eyes open, mouth wide in a jaw-cracking yawn. Her head rolled over to look in his direction, and he couldn't help the surge of affection and love that filled his chest, a smile unwillingly crossing his face at the sight of her beautiful eyes looking at him. She gave him a tired smile back, the bleariness clearing a moment later as her eyes went wide.

"Deku! Deku, are you okay?" she asked, scrabbling at her cot to try and sit upright. Himiko looked up to the ceiling, her expression so incredibly done that Izuku was expecting her to just blow up before she gently tried to get Ochako to stay laying back.

"I'm okay Mochi, I'm okay," he tried to reassure her, making his own aborted attempt to sit up but the sudden surge of pain in his abdomen made him think twice.

Recovery Girl sighed. "Could you two stop trying to make your injuries worse? You're both fine, you'll live, now stay in your beds already!"

"B-but, I-I need, Deku, I-" Ochako began to sputter, her eyes tearing up.

Izuku knew what was going on, because he felt it too. They couldn't not want to hold each other, not after what happened. He could see her, hear her, but he needed to smell her, to touch her, to bask in her presence to be sure this wasn't some awful nightmare that was tricking him into believing she was okay when she wasn't. He had to get to her!

"Chiyo, maybe we just…push their beds together?" Himiko offered quietly, looking at the two still struggling to reach one another.

"Heavens save me from teenagers," Recovery Girl groaned, the word 'teenagers' sounding like a curse, tapping her cane on the floor. "Fine. We'll move you together, but you both swear to me you stay in your own beds and stop trying to get out of them until I tell you it's okay!"

Ochako nodded frantically, Izuku quickly promising, because if this got them in arms reach they'd do whatever it took. Himiko took a quick glance at the duo and nodded, flicking off the brake from Ochako's bed and wheeling it closer to his, pulling her IV along with it. As soon as they were close enough, Izuku's hand snatched up Ochako's, the two entangling their fingers together and squeezing tight.

A knot in Izuku's chest he hadn't realized was there loosened at the familiar feel of her finger pads, her pinky finger elevated just enough to avoid activating her Quirk. Ochako was there, with him. She was okay. She'd be okay. Whatever happened, they could make it through this.

The door to the nurses office opened, Chiyo exiting and giving Shouta a glimpse of Himiko's blonde ponytail in the back speaking to what he assumed was one of the vigilantes, before Chiyo closed the door behind her. He quickly stood up and made his way over to her, trying not to loom over his colleague as she let out a deep sigh.

"Well, Shouta, you certainly picked a lively bunch to decide to try and rescue," Chiyo deadpanned.

He offered a shrug with a grimace. "Sorry if they are causing you a lot of headaches."

"Everyone in this school does. They are just a special brand of headache," she sighed. "Either way, the important thing is both are conscious. The specialists won't be here for another hour, so now's your best chance to try and talk to them."

Shouta's shoulders slumped. "Right." He straightened them up, standing up to his full height and placed a flat expression on his face. With a nod to Chiyo, he opened the door and stepped inside, seeing the pale, far too pale faces of Zero and Specter, laying on some of Chiyo's cots, the two cots shoved up against each other allowed the two vigilantes to hold their hands. On one hand, that was adorable, on the other hand, the fact they browbeat Chiyo into this told him how much they must have fussed.

"Ah, you need the room?" Himiko asked as he entered, glancing up from where she was fiddling with one of the computers in the corner. Before he could respond, she offered a jaunty wave to him and the two in the bed, before exiting, leaving the two vigilantes and one underground hero alone.

He took a breath to prepare himself, but he was cut off by Specter clearing his throat, drawing his attention to the green-haired teenager before him. "I…Eraser, Mochi told me what you did for us. Um…thanks," Specter muttered, the pink on his cheeks from embarrassment incredibly highlighted by how pale his face was.

He was a bit taken aback by the gratefulness in the teenager's voice, but then he saw the look the boy gave Zero…and the teary eyed look she was giving him. Apparently them being in the nurse's office hadn't quite erased the fear Zero had felt, even with Specter clearly awake. Well…the plan was to use that after all…

He nodded. "You're welcome," deciding to move on to avoid embarrassing the teenager any further, he continued on. "We still haven't determined who attacked you. They didn't leave any clues. But they used military grade weaponry to bomb that warehouse. Meaning they got it off the black market. You pissed off someone big."

"Y-yeah," Specter muttered. He shook his head. "It's fine. We'll figure it out and stop them before they-"

"Stop," Shouta commanded, holding up a hand. "The police want to take you two into protective custody, and-"

"Hell fucking no!" Zero snarled, her eyes narrowed to slits as she tried to sit up and nearly collapsed from the pain, wincing as she fell back onto her bed.

Shouta sighed. "Can I finish what I have to say first before you go off?"

"We're not going into custody, Eraser," Specter replied in a low, dangerous voice. "We know what that means. They'd separate us and shove us into the foster system or something like that once it was over. Fuck no."

"And what if I said you had no choice in the matter?" Shouta asked quietly.

The room was silent for a moment, before Specter replied just as quietly, steel in his voice. "We'd get out. So unless they are gonna throw us in Tartarus, we'd get out."

"And if they tried to imprison you?"

Specter met his eyes with a steady gaze, Zero's eyes a mirrored look. A dark, dangerous one that Shouta knew meant they'd rather die than be separated…which he had already assumed but wanted to confirm. He sighed. "Well then, it's a good thing we have alternatives."

"Like what?" Zero growled, still clearly on edge.

Shouta gestured to them both. "Look…you two are going to need a while to recover. Chiyo is estimating you'll be in these beds for at least a few more days, and it'll be longer before she can fix your leg Zero. At least a couple weeks before you're on your feet. So you'll need somewhere to stay, where you're safe and can get the care you need. So-"

"You want us to stay at UA? With all these hero kids?" Specter's voice was dripping with derision at the idea.

"That, or…you could stay with one of the teachers here. We're all heroes. You…you could stay with me, and Hizashi. Which would also let you see Eri. She's been asking about you, you know," he offered, watching the two of them. It was almost funny to him…the helmets their vigilante costumes had had made them nearly impossible to read, but without them it was clear they had never figured out their own tells. He could practically see the wheels turning in both of their heads, could practically hear their thoughts with how their faces twisted.

He chose to capitalize on the fact they hadn't immediately shot him down and kept going. "Cards on the table. Nobody here wants to fight you or try to capture you, but there was a literal bombing near a residential area. It's a massive deal. The media's all over it already. You don't want your identities broadcast, obviously, and we don't want that either. Add onto the fact you both need to recover and you're both in danger right now, and yes, I know," he cut them off before they could protest, "I know you can take care of yourselves. I know. But still, there is nothing wrong with accepting a helping hand from an ally. I've not done anything to make you consider me an enemy, have I?"

"...well, no, ye didn', 'course not. I wouldna called ye if I didn' trust ye," Zero muttered, her accent coming across thick.

"You called me for help. You trusted me to help you. So why don't you trust me to keep helping you?" he said quietly.

"Eraser, it's…it's not about that," Specter murmured, looking away from him.

"Then what is it?" he asked, digging at their reasoning.

"Look, we got ourselves into this. We don't want to drag you into it too. We don't want to drag anyone else into it. They blew up our warehouse, Eraser. That means if we stay around you it puts you in danger too! That's why I can't stay with Kacchan either!" Specter replied, his voice steadily losing composure as he went, fist clenched at his side.

"And it's better if it's only the two of you in danger?" Shouta asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Of course it is!" Zero shot back.

"So you want him in danger?" Shouta replied, arching his eyebrow at Zero and watching her jaw drop. He didn't give her a chance to reply, turning instead to Specter and gesturing at Zero. "And you like seeing her in danger?"

"Well no/Of course not!" The two vigilantes shot back in unison, their voices cutting into one another as they both tried to sit up and hurt themselves again. Idly Shouta was pretty sure Chiyo would be reading them the riot act shortly, but dismissed that for now. He watched as both teenagers gave the other a calculating look, and there.

Right before either teen could start making the case the other one should stay with Shouta, he jumped in. "No one knows you came here. And no one knows where I live. You felt safe dropping Eri off with me, didn't you? I have more enemies than the two of you combined…you know what my career's been like. Yet my home is secure. UA is even more secure. After the USJ, the security here is far better. No more warpers getting into our campus and cutting off communication. Whatever you choose, you'll be safe here. You'll both be safe here."

"...to be fair you don't really have to worry about the warper anyways," Specter muttered, looking up at the ceiling.

Shouta blinked. "...why?"

"We…mighta taken down the League?" Zero replied with a sheepish grin and shrug.

Shouta blinked again, every thought he'd previously had liquifying and falling out of his ears in a torrent, leaving him to stare blankly at the two.

"Wait, you should know that, it's Nezu who took them in once we got em?" Specter said, scratching his neck and looking at Shouta in confusion.

Shouta felt like he was blinking way too much and yet his eyes still felt dry, as if he's been using his Quirk for an hour straight. He shook his head. "Okay. Nope. We'll address that later. I will talk to Nezu about it much, much later. We need to figure out what you two are going to do." He took in a deep, bracing breath, modulating his tone to be as soft and reassuring as possible. "Look…all I'm asking is you give us a chance. I know…I know you want to be out there, looking for your attackers. I know you can't give up your quest. I know. But you're hurt, and you've lost your base, and your resources. You have to rebuild. You can start from nothing and work up, sure. I believe you can. I know you can. But why make it harder on yourselves? On one another? You already did that once. I'm an ally. I'm a friend. Let me help you. You trusted me with Eri. And I know it's a big ask, but I'm here. I'm offering a hand. Nothing wrong with accepting a hand from a friend. So please…let me help you."

The two looked at him with an unknown emotion swirling in their eyes. After a moment, Specter turned to Zero and met her gaze, offering him a half-nod to which he turned back to Shouta. "...can you give us a few minutes to talk?"

"Sure. I'll be just outside the door. Call for me when you have your answer?" At the nod from the two, he did as they asked, opening the door and stepping out into the hallway, seeing both Himiko sitting on the same chair he had been. He explained the request, the blonde letting out a yawn as she nodded at him, and he leaned against the doorframe to await their response. He was tempted to listen in, but chose to respect their privacy and waited.

It was not long, maybe five minutes, before he heard Zero's voice call for him to enter the room. He slipped back inside, stepping over the foot of their cots where the two of them had firm, tight grips on the others hands (Zero's pinky slightly offset for some reason, that was interesting), and a flat expression on their face. He saw Zero's hand twitch, squeezing Specter's, as the green-haired teen looked up at him.

"...okay. We'll go with you."