Hello again! Big news... I just paid a precursor fee for a general contractor/architect to build a house for me (custom-made for my future disability needs). I'm terrified that I won't be able to afford it... that my plans will fall through and I'll be left homeless like I've been fearing I would be for years now. BUT. I'm going for it anyway. Deku didn't give up on his dream and I won't either!

PLUS ULTRA

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A Day in Your Life

Chapter 18

Kirishima opened his eyes to bright white light, his mother's familiar rose-scented hair bunched over his nose as she sobbed into his neck. Blearily, he looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

Aizawa was off to the side, cradling Eri on the ground as she panted and tried to keep her own eyes open. He could hear his old teacher telling her that she did the best she could—that she could sleep if she needed and that they'd talk about further training once she'd gotten rest.

"He's awake—honey, he's awake!" his father exclaimed, shaking his mother until her face hovered above his with relief and happiness. Her tears continued to pour, however, dripping onto his cheeks as she pet him.

Kirishima scrunched his eyebrows together, further confused by the sensation of her fingers carting against his scalp, a distinct lack of pull from where they should have been catching on his gelled hair. The last thing he remembered was talking to Todoroki about leaving Bakugo and Midoriya alone together, and then it was all a black blur.

"M-mom?" he questioned, the sound of his raspy voice unsettling to his still water-logged ears. "What...what happened?"

"Oh, honey!" She spewed, shaking her head before returning it to his shoulder, holding him in a tight yet gentle embrace.

The grip made him wince anyway though, a hiss sneaking up his parched throat. Had he been in a fight? Surely with his unbreakable mode, he hadn't been injured. And what about Todoroki? Where was he?

A sinking realization pooled in his sore abdomen. Even if he couldn't remember what had gone down, the white walls, antiseptic smell, and sobbing parents were enough to let him know something terrible had happened.

"M-mom?" he called again, this time more clearly. "Todoroki—Duality, is he..." The weight on top of him moved only for a shadow to cross his unsteady vision.

"Welcome back, Kirishima," Aizawa stated plainly, his arms full of a now fully unconscious Eri. "You and Todoroki were injured in a villain attack, but Eri was able to help you both. He is fine and will return home soon... but your procedure had to be stopped prematurely. Eri needs to be monitored and allowed to recuperate before she can use her power again. Rest for now and I'll explain later."

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Bakugo and Midoriya waited as patiently as they could while the doctors finished their examination the following morning, both eager to see Kirishima now that he was more or less alert. His parents had already been in to see him earlier and had gone home for a quick shower and breakfast, breathing easily for the first time since his admittance despite his remaining injuries, some of them still serious.

"As you know, there were some complications with Eri's treatment attempt. Kirishima is still very weak and injured, so keep your visit brief." The head doctor explained once they'd completed their work. "And make sure not to upset him. It will still take time before we know the full extent of any brain damage."

The two Pro's nodded that they understood and shuffled in, both smiling brightly at their very bald friend.

"Guess I can't call you shitty-hair for a while, huh?" Bakugo joked, snorting when Midoriya swatted his arm. "What? You knew I'd have to say something about it."

Kirishima, however, chuckled at the comment, holding his still-bruised ribs as they creaked from the movement. "I would say I still look better than you, but you're in Midoriya's body and he's cuter than both of us."

He reached out and accepted a hug from Midoriya, expecting to get a fist bump at most from Bakugo. To his surprise, the moment Midoriya let him go, Bakugo swooped down and scooped him up into his arms, nearly crushing his bones all over again.

"Fuck, Ei. Don't you ever do some stupid shit like that again!" Bakugo whispered desperately, only pulling back so that he could examine the hauntingly red scars zigzagging over the boys' pearly scalp. "I thought you were going to fucking croak."

Kirishima was so taken aback he remained quiet, staring up at his friend in worried awe. His parents and the doctors had given him some details about what had happened, but they'd been vague. He must have really been close to death though for Bakugo to be showing this level of emotion.

"I... uh..." he finally murmured, blinking at the unnerving realization. "I guess I was hurt pretty bad, huh?"

"Yeah, you were," Midoriya confirmed, glaring at Bakugo disapprovingly. "But there's no reason to be upset because everything is going to be okay now, right Kacchan?"

Bakugo winced slightly at his blunder but quickly recovered and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, everything's good now, Ei."

"I still don't remember what happened and no one will tell me," Kirishima stated sadly. "The doctors said that I had a serious head injury, so amnesia is normal and that I don't need to know the details, but… I do. I need to know what happened to me and Shoto."

He gazed pleadingly at his friends, silently begging them to defy the doctor's orders and tell him what they knew. Midoriya and Bakugo shared a glance before Midoriya sighed and nodded, gesturing for Bakugo to just get it over with.

"You were knocked into an unstable building and your quirk deactivated, the debris partially crushed you, but Icy-Hot managed to find you and pull you out before the shit collapsed entirely," Bakugo explained, settling down in a chair beside Midoriya. "Reports say that the ringleader attacked you both with lightning right after, and Icy-Hot covered you with his own body before cocooning you both in ice. He saved you, Ei."

Kirishima's mouth dropped open. He'd known Todoroki was a boss and had come to think of him as super manly, but this put him on a whole new level. "He... He really did that? Shielded me from lightning?"

"Yeah, Shoto was still on top of you when reinforcements arrived, and neither of you was breathing," Midoriya added, his face solemn yet proud. "You know, you were the first thing he asked about after Eri healed him. He was so worried about you that he even snuck out of his hospital room a couple of times to sit with you. The doctors and Fuyumi were so mad!"

Dumbstruck, Kirishima simply stared at his friends, unable to believe what he was hearing. It sounded like Todoroki was exhausted but relatively unharmed at that point during their battle. Todoroki must have known how likely it was that Kirishima would die if he'd really been partially crushed by a building. But he still chose what should have been certain death for himself on the slim chance that it meant Kirishima might survive.

His red eyes finally settled on Bakugo, taking in the suppressed but clearly visible admiration he now had for a man that Kirishima knew he'd previously despised. Todoroki must really have done all this for Bakugo to have such an expression.

"Wow..." he finally breathed, a false chuckle forcing its way past his lips. "Guess I owe him a drink, huh?"

"Tsk," Bakugo grunted. "Get in line, Ei. And while we're at it we've got to get Eri a candy apple or some shit since she's not old enough for alcohol. Little unicorn has more training to do but she did a damn good job trying to help you two."

Midoriya beamed, grinning in a way that Kirishima could only describe as lovingly at the Pro beside him. The last eight years of palpable tension between the two heroes finally made sense—they loved each other. Kirishima felt his nervousness over Todoroki melt at the realization, excitement pooling in his chest that they'd had a breakthrough while he was unconscious.

"AH? What's with that doofy look?" Bakugo questioned, quirking an eyebrow at Kirishima's sudden shift in demeanor.

Smirking to himself, Kirishima simply shrugged. "Just happy that everything seems to be working out, that's all..."

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Eri stared out the window of her hospital room, watching the people on the sidewalk rush to their destinations to get out of the rain. Though her body was recovering much more quickly this time, her confidence had been thoroughly depleted.

Working on Kirishima was much harder than she'd expected even without having to focus on one part of the body at a time. The machines Recovery Girl had requested had done little to help as she didn't have the medical knowledge to know what she was looking at. Attempting to focus on the state of the cells—really feeling the changes she was making without virtually any true sight awareness—made it nearly impossible to temper the speed of her rewind.

Had she been trying to only heal parts of Kirishima, she had no doubt that she'd have totally lost control, maybe even to the point that Aizawa wouldn't have been able to stop her quickly enough. It made her wonder if she should risk trying a second session with Kirishima even if he and his parents agreed to it.

She'd come so close to hurting one of the people who saved her from Chisaki. If her dad hadn't stepped in when he did…

Eri flickered her eyes up to the weeping clouds, refusing to finish the thought of what could have happened. Moments like these made her feel like it was just yesterday that she'd been in Overhaul's clutches. She'd been locked away for so long, hidden from the sky. Seeing the rain reminded her that she was free; she wasn't a lab rat to be tested on anymore.

But not even the serenity of water splashing against the glass could repel the guilt she still carried in her heart. How many people had Overhaul killed because of her actions? It wasn't her fault... That's what her therapist said—what everyone said. She was not to blame for the actions of a psychopath. She couldn't be held accountable for what happened to her father or anyone else she'd accidentally harmed before being taught to control her quirk.

But Chisaki's words echoed in her ears anyway. "You're a cursed child. Everyone around you dies."

She felt tears bubble hotly before scalding down her cheeks. It wasn't true... She knew that. She knew it. He was only saying those things to hurt and control her. She wasn't bad or evil. She wasn't...

"Eri?"

The girl tucked her head down as she sniffled back her fears so that Aizawa wouldn't worry. It was in vain, of course, her father always knew when she was having a hard time. He came over and pulled her into a hug, not needing to ask what had caused her distress.

It made her heart hurt even more to have him so unconditionally love and support her. He'd said that she could do it; he'd believed in her, and she'd failed. If Aizawa hadn't forcefully stopped her quirk when he did, she'd have hurt or killed Kirishima and fulfilled all the terrible things Chisaki had said.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry…" She whimpered, giving in to her need for comfort. Aizawa only squeezed her more tightly and shook his head against hers, silently letting her know that she had nothing to apologize for even if she didn't believe it.

The two stayed that way for some time, Aizawa letting Eri cry for as long as she needed to. His own stomach was in knots from the near catastrophe, so he couldn't even imagine how his little girl must be feeling. In hindsight, he'd allowed himself to become just as overconfident as everyone else, even going so far as to suggest healing Kirishima sectionally. If the boys' parents had agreed to Aizawa's proposal, well, they likely wouldn't have even had a body to bury.

But that wasn't Eri's fault. None of this was. And yet, nothing Aizawa could say would convince Eri of the truth. Her tiny hands gripped at his scarf like a lifeline, fists shaking as she choked on the fear she held about herself… her quirk. She was in no state of mind to attempt another training session on anyone, that much was obvious.

It didn't matter that Kirishima was alive and considerably better off than he would have been without her intervention. All that mattered to Eri was the momentary slip of her control and the devastating repercussions had Aizawa not reacted so quickly.

Aizawa was in his forties now, with an impressive record from his time as a Pro. He'd successfully taught students of all kinds, each with unique quirks and personalities… He'd even transitioned into the role of parenthood with minimal hiccups all things considered. But this was beyond his expertise. Eri needed help that not even someone as seasoned and diversified as him could provide, and she needed it now.

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Thank you for reading! Please, let me know what you think about the chapter/story :)