Grief
His mind was buzzing as he stared at the door, watching the sunlight stream through a small crack. He was faintly aware of someone talking to him, what he was more focused on was the harsh tugs at his shirt. He hesitantly looked down to see Eri's teary face looking up at him. Her mouth was moving, but Izuku couldn't make out what she was saying.
A loud static roared in his ears before he blinked and forced himself to focus on the world around him. He took a shuddering breath as the sound began to filter in again. The few Moogles who woke up were already beginning to worry and voice their concerns to him and the older Moogles. Some were already panicking and crying, scared out of their minds. At that moment Eri's voice was the loudest of them all.
"-going to do? What's going to happen now?" Eri asked, clutching to him like a lifeline. No, not like right now, he is her lifeline. The only one left, the only one who…
He swallowed back the bile that crept up his throat; he couldn't fall apart. Not here, not right now. Not when Eri needed him, he could fall apart later. Right now, he had a job.
"I'm...we uh…" Izuku muttered, trying to focus on her question. What was going to happen now? He didn't know, there were too many possibilities, too many factors. He didn't know!
Focus!
"Right now...we uh…" He was slipping again.
Keep it together!
"Right now we should focus on getting everything situated." One of the older Moogles, Kogi if Izuku remembered right, leaped onto the couch. "For now we...hey shut up!" They shouted at them all. "For now let's focus on getting everything situated. We're all awake, let's get something to eat and we can discuss how we're going to move forward."
Izuku stared at the Moogle before numbly getting to his feet and walking to the kitchen. He still had Eri in his arms, he was scared to let her go. As if the moment he did she would slip away.
"What do you want to eat?" He asked her as he pulled down a box of cereal.
Eri stared at the box and shrugged, taking it from him so he could grab some bowls. Izuku felt his hands shaking as he placed them down and took the box from her. He almost laughed at the mess he caused trying to pour cereal into the bowls.
"Milk?" He asked.
Eri shook her head. That was okay, he didn't want milk either. He didn't want to eat or drink anything honestly, but he had to.
What would Master say if you stopped taking care of yourself?
Izuku nearly doubled over in pain at the thought, but he didn't. He couldn't, he had Eri in his arms and he didn't want to drop her. He choked on a sob as he set the bowls down on the table. Eri hesitantly let him go so she could sit in the chair beside him, he didn't say anything as she scooted her chair closer.
He half-listened to the chaos happening in the kitchen as the other Moogles made their simple breakfasts. Some of them sat on the counter while others left for the living room. Kogi made themselves breakfast and sat down at the table with a few of the other older Moogles.
Izuku could feel their eyes on him, expecting him to say or do something. What could he do? What should he say? He was trying his hardest not to gag on the dry cereal there wasn't much else he could be asked to do.
"Kupo?"
Izuku jumped and looked down to see Mogma staring up at him. The young Moogle climbed up a chair and sat on the table, something he would have been scolded for if Aqua were here. Nobody seemed to care for the rules at the moment
Maybe she's just late, maybe she'll just walk through that door at any second. She's human, it happens. Maybe there was a big fight with the Heartless.
Izuku glanced at the clock.
An hour late, she would never be an hour late. She always comes home the minute the sun is rising. She's not here, that would mean she was either caught or-
"Kupo!" Izuku looked up to see the Moogles watching him in concern. Eri looked scared as well, she had a hand on his sleeve. How long were they trying to get his attention?
"Izuku?" Eri asked, tightening her grip.
"I-I'm sorry, must have spaced out." Izuku said, forcing a calm tone into his voice and a smile on his face. "What did you say?"
You don't get to fall apart. You don't get to fall apart. Keep it together you've got a job to do.
"We asked if you have any thoughts on moving forward," Kogi said. "We don't exactly have a plan for this, since we never thought it'd happen."
Of course you don't, you shouldn't have a plan because something like this shouldn't happen.
Izuku's mouth was dry as he tried to form words. "I uh…"
Why me? Why me? Why are you asking me?
His mind was buzzing again as he tried to think. What did they need?
"Groceries." He blurted out. "Do we have money f-for food?" He asked.
"We have a pool of money made up of what we make when selling our wares. I'd say we have enough for two or three grocery runs. We always have some saved up." Kogi answered.
"What uh…" Izuku looked down at Eri before looking up. "T-the work Eri does, her homeschool. How should we…"
"We can help out with that. Actually, Kupo, speaking of school…" One of the Moogles pointed at the time. Izuku stared at the clock numbly and took a moment to read the time.
"Oh."
"You should get going Kupo, you don't wanna be late." Kogi stood up and walked across the table.
"I-I don't...I can stay." Izuku felt a small hand grab his shirt. "We have to get e-everything all settled down right?" He forced a smile on his face, at this point he didn't even want to go to school. He wouldn't, couldn't, he could not leave Eri on her own. Even with the Moogles, he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone. What if the second he left something happened? He couldn't save them, he couldn't help them.
He had to stay, he couldn't leave!
"We should try to keep a modicum of normal. We should try to keep things running smoothly, and that means doing everyday stuff Kupo." Kogi sat at the edge of the table. "I know it's hard, but we have to keep calm."
Izuku shot them a look before looking back at his food. He barely made a dent in it, he wasn't that hungry anyway.
Normal? Normal is gone! Normal without Master is…There is no normal. She's gone. She's gone and now I'm all alone. Eri and I are alone, how are we supposed to-
"Izuku you're setting the table on fire!" Eri tugged his shirt and he looked down to see that, indeed, he was starting a small fire.
"Crap!" He doused the flames with a small stream of water. They stared at the scorched spot where his hands were a moment ago.
"Uh…"
"Why don't you get ready Kupo?" Kogi patted his shoulder and hopped off the table. "I'll start getting the others organized."
Izuku absentmindedly nodded and slowly stood up, he glanced down at Eri before heading up the stairs. He almost tripped over himself as he made his way up the stairs. He gasped and gripped the wall for support, he clung onto it to keep his balance.
He took a moment to focus on the texture, the rough speckled bumps that could scratch him up if he wasn't careful. He ran his hands over the bumps before standing up straight and hurrying to his room. He slammed the door shut and changed as quickly as he could, throwing off his pajamas and slipping on his uniform. It was hard to button up his shirt and even harder to tie his tie.
He was certain he made it too tight, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He threw on his jacket and buttoned it up as best he could. He grabbed his backpack and shoved his books into it, and walked out of his room. Izuku walked down the stairs and wiped at his face, hoping the evidence he was crying was somewhat gone.
Izuku walked into the kitchen to see Eri staring at her Wayfinder, Aqua had given her one too. On the same day that she had given Izuku is. It was a bright red color that transitioned to a yellow near the center. Izuku placed his backpack down and sat beside her, taking out his own Wayfinder as well.
"Are you going to be okay while I go to school?" Izuku asked.
"I think so…" Eri frowned. "I wish you didn't have to go."
Izuku wrapped an arm around her and hugged her close. "I know. I wish I didn't have to go either. I-If you want I can stay."
Eri looked up at the suggestion, she stared at Izuku before shaking her head. "N-No. It's okay, I'm okay. I'll be okay, really. You should go, or you might get in trouble."
"Are you sure?"
Eri sniffed and nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah. I'm sure, I'll be okay. You'll come back though right? You promise?"
"Of course! I'll come right back after school. I'll let you know when I get there, and you can call me whenever you want to. If you need me to, I'll come right back." Izuku promised.
"Even in the middle of the day?"
"Even in the middle of the day." He nodded. "I promise."
Eri wiped at her eyes and hugged Izuku tightly. "P-Please come back!"
"I will." Izuku hugged her and blinked back tears. "I will, I promise."
Eri hesitantly let him go and rubbed her eyes. She stood up and followed Izuku as he walked to the door, stopping when he stepped out.
"Be careful."
"I will." He patted her head and began to walk away. He forced himself to not look back, afraid he'd start to cry if he did. As he walked he pulled out his phone, he opened his messages and sent a 'Good morning' text to his mother. He couldn't help but notice it was pretty late, she would usually already have sent one by now.
He shut that idea down before it could even form, instead focusing on the ache in his chest.
-.-
"Woah there!"
Izuku was pulled from the static of his thoughts with a rough tug on his shirt. He yelped in surprise as he was thrown to the ground. He looked up in shock at where he was heading and saw he was about to walk into one of the large chasms in the ground.
"You okay there?"
He looked up to see a hand being offered to him by an older student. Izuku eyed his uniform, mentally noting it's one of UA's before taking his hand and standing up. He looked him up and down, swallowing the numbness before responding.
"W-What?"
The boy stared at him before giving a light laugh. "I asked if you were okay, you seemed pretty out of it and were about to walk right off the edge. Good thing I saw you in time."
"Yeah." Izuku mumbled. He looked around in confusion, he couldn't recognize the area. Not with the various missing buildings and divides in the ground. It felt like his world had become disgustingly warped.
How did I get here? I thought I was heading to school…
Someone snapped their fingers in his face and he was brought back to reality. He shook his head and looked at the boy who began talking.
"Are you sure you're okay? You keep spacing out there, did something happen?" He leaned down a bit to look Izuku in the eye.
"I-I'm okay!" Izuku waved his hands. "I just...I'm kind of lost." He mumbled. "Having a hard time finding my way around."
"I don't blame you, I would probably get a little turned around too if I didn't live close to UA." He pointed at Izuku's uniform. "That's where you're heading right?"
Izuku nodded and his fellow student smiled. "That's cool, good to see you're still willing to take the commute despite...everything. Say, what's your name anyway?" He pulled Izuku away from the dark divide and towards a safer part of the street.
"Izuku Midoriya."
"Nice to meet you Midoriya, the name's Mirio Togata, a 3rd year. What about you?" The blonde smiled down at Izuku, it was clear he was trying to stave off his own stress. It was fine, Izuku figured, he kept talking to Izuku and that kept him focused. He also seemed nice, which was something he could really use at the moment.
"This is my first year at UA." Izuku answered.
"Ah, I figured as much. You kinda have that look to you." Mirio smiled. "Who's your homeroom teacher?"
"Mr. Aizawa."
"Oh, I heard about him. I didn't have him my first year, but I heard he can be pretty rough. He's also a big fan of expelling students he doesn't see potential in, or so the rumor goes. I also heard that he expelled an entire class at one point."
"I wouldn't doubt it." Izuku sighed. "He threatened to expel last place yesterday at the Quirk Apprehension Test."
Mirio looked at him. "And did he?"
Izuku shuddered and shook his head. "No, he called it something like 'a logical ruse'."
Mirio bursted out laughing as they turned down the street, UA was just up ahead. "Man I probably would have fainted back then if I heard that. In fact I probably would have gotten last place and been expelled myself!"
Izuku hummed in response as they stepped through the gates, pulling out his phone and sending a text to Eri. She sent back a 'Thank you!' almost immediately. He took a moment to glance at his mother's messages, only to find that his message was still unread.
She might be busy. With all the holes in the ground there are probably a lot of injuries…
He wasn't supposed to panic, his mom always told him to think things through and when he did that the problem didn't seem so scary anymore.
But this is scary, I don't know what's going on! I don't know how to fix this, how do I fix this?
"Woah hey there Midoriya, you're looking kind of pale, and you're kind of on fire. Are you okay?"
"What?"
Izuku looked up and realized that he was indeed on fire. The fire magic surrounding him had small sporadic bursts, almost lashing out at whoever was nearby. He swallowed hard and put a cap on his magic power, he was at school, he didn't need to be falling apart like this!
Izuku took a deep breath and buried his magic, he didn't need it lashing out. He could get in trouble, or worse, hurt someone!
"I-I'm okay!" Izuku stammered. "I'm pr-pretty sure it's just nerves."
Mirio frowned. "Are you sure? I'm pretty sure Mr. Aizawa wouldn't mind you going to lay down in the infirmary if you need to."
Izuku swallowed back the vomit creeping up his throat. "I-I'm sure, I think may-maybe going to class might help." He turned away and focused on breathing in and out, forcing himself to calm down. "It's good to be able to focus on something right?" He offered a wobbly smile to the older student.
What he really wanted to do was run back the way he came, run all the way back home and back to Eri and the Moogles. Where he could stay, and where he knew he could keep them safe. That was his job now, instead he was at school pretending as if everything was fine!
"If you're sure." Mirio offered a smile back. "Just take it easy okay? This is all a pretty big event, of course it's going to leave us pretty shaken."
"...I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for helping me." Izuku nodded his thanks and hurried away. He felt his legs carry him through the building, slowly making his way up the stairs and through the halls. He couldn't help but notice how quiet and empty it seemed compared to the first day. Did everyone decide to not come for the day? Or did they-
Stop it!
Izuku froze in place and took another deep breath, he needed to stay calm. Or at least as calm as he could. He looked to the handrailing to see he had begun to ice it over. He pulled his hand away and wrapped his arms around himself before moving again. The less things he touched the less likely he was going to cause damage.
He stood in front of the large door with the 1-A placard above it, a hand hovered over the door to push it open. He noticed ice was beginning to coat his hand.
You're going to suffer from some serious backlash if you keep this up…
Izuku shook his head and moved to push the door open, only for someone to beat him to it. The door opened to reveal a tired-looking Aizawa staring down at him. He thought he heard a sigh of relief before he spoke.
"Midoriya, how long have you been standing here? Get inside." He stepped to the side and gestured for him to come in. Izuku stared at him before nodding and walking inside. Much to his surprise, and concern, the class was only half full. He immediately scanned the room for familiar faces. He felt some of the tension leave his chest when he caught sight of Uraraka and Iida, they looked just as happy to see him.
"Take your seat Midoriya, and then we're going to go over the recent events."
Izuku nodded quietly and moved towards his seat. Katsuki scowled at him as he went to sit down.
"Ha? You're still kicking nerd? I thought you would have bit it on the way here." He snarled. "If the other extras couldn't even make it here I guess that means they're a hell of a lot weaker than your ass."
Izuku flinched and shrank away, he didn't want to do this. Not today.
"Bakugo, that's enough." Aizawa scolded him. "You are not to talk about your classmates like that, not when a catastrophe on this scale has taken place. You by all means are lucky to be alive, sadly it seems not everyone was fortunate enough to share that luck."
Katsuki glared at their teacher before huffing and looking away.
Aizawa waited for a moment before continuing. "As you all know last night a large scale disaster took place, leaving us with the mess we have today. I'm thankful for the students who were able to get here safely despite the chasms all over the city. For now we're going to be putting a few of our lessons on hold."
Izuku looked around to see everyone's eyes trained on their teacher. Some of them were shaking, while a few others were eerily still.
"I understand that a lot has taken place, but as your teacher and a faculty member of UA we're looking for ways to keep our students safe. Thankfully none of the chasms are on UA grounds, so we believe we may have a solution for the students." He let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes. "At the moment Cementoss, Power Loader, and a few others are working as fast as they can to set up emergency housing for the students to ensure your safety."
"Emergency housing?" Ochako asked. "But, wouldn't you have to get permission from our parents?"
"We're already sending out emails and a few faculty members for those who want to meet in person about this. By the end of the day we may be guiding students to their homes to retrieve their belongings."
Izuku sees a girl, he thinks her name is Tsuyu, raise her hand. "Mr. Aizawa, what if our parents don't agree to the emergency housing? What would happen then?"
"Then we'd have to respect their wishes and let the students return home. There's not much we can do there unfortunately. Unless the parent is unavailable or...has succumbed to the disaster. In that case UA would take custody of the student."
Izuku felt himself go cold at the announcement. Emergency Housing? There was no way he could work around that, if he got dragged into that then he couldn't go home. He couldn't take care of Eri, or the Moogles. He'd be abandoning them!
There was no doubt in his mind his mother would want him to go to the housing, if it meant his safety it didn't matter.
He couldn't do that, he couldn't leave them. He couldn't be dragged away, not when they needed him. He'd be letting his Master down, he's supposed to take care of them!
"Midoriya, control your Quirk." Aizawa raised his voice and snapped him from his thoughts. Izuku looked down to see ice covering his desk and creeping up his arms. He shuddered and lifted his hands from the desk.
"I-I'm sorry…" He mumbled.
"Tch, useless Deku."
"I understand this is a hard time Midoriya, but you have to keep a handle on your Quirk. That goes for the rest of you too."
"Yes sir!"
"Now, does anybody have any questions?" He asked, looking over the half-filled classroom. Everyone looked at each other before shaking their heads, allowing him to continue.
"Alright then, I suppose now we can get started."
-HoL-
"This is...even worse than what I expected it to be." Mirai muttered as he looked over the city.
"I don't think even you could have foreseen this level of destruction." Toshinori sighed.
The two stood on the roof of a nearby clinic, looking over the destruction of the city. It was one of the times Mirai was glad to return to his apartment for the night, instead of sleeping at his agency. Had he stayed, he would have been lost.
He had tried hurrying to the agency to get in contact with all his employees after he had woken up to see the large rifts in the ground. On his way over he found the unconscious body of Ingenium, his armor was wrecked and face stained with tears. Yet somehow the only signs of injury were the scrapes on his hands.
"Do you think he knows what happened?" Toshinori asked.
"I would assume so, I found him near one of the chasms. He seemed distressed for the brief moment he regained consciousness, he was incoherent but I believe he was looking for someone." Mirai answered. "Who does Ingenium usually patrol nights with?"
"I'm not sure to be honest, I don't think he has a partner come night time patrols. Then again I don't know the young man very well."
"I see."
The two stood in silence, listening to the blaring sirens and watching many heroes leap over the great rifts. Some of them had other heroes or civilians in tow, trying to get them to a safe place or the next area that needed their assistance.
Toshinori glanced at his old friend, turning his gaze back to the city when he saw him look over. He coughed into his fist before breaking the silence.
"Are the members of your agency alright? Have you been in contact with Young Togata?" He asked.
Mirai sighed. "Mirio is alright, he messaged me a short while ago. He asked if I was alright, then let me know he got to the school."
"That's a relief, and the others?"
"Unfortunately Bubble Girl and Centipeder haven't gotten back to me. I would rather not assume the worst but…"
"You can't help it." Toshinori finished.
Mirai nodded silently before pushing his glasses up out of habit. "All Might."
"Yes?"
"As your successor, and the only one I saw making it out of this alive. Do you think Mirio will find a way to set this right?"
Toshinori shot him a look of surprise before looking up at the cloudy sky. "I believe that's a lot of pressure to put on him, but I believe he may find a way. Though hopefully he won't be alone, this seems like a task far too great for one person."
Mirai hummed, and was about to respond when the door to the roof opened. The doctor of the clinic peeked out to see the two.
"Ahem, Ingenium is awake, and I would kindly ask that you two come down from the roof. We don't want any accidents occurring, our clinic is already slammed as it is." She huffed.
"Right, thank you." Toshinori walked forward as the doctor stepped inside. He paused for a moment to watch Mirai, he stared at the city for a while longer before following his idol. The two were quick to step into one of the clinic's private rooms where Ingenium was waiting. They opened the door to see him standing near a window, looking at the destruction of the city.
Mirai cleared his throat. "Ahem, Pro Hero Ingenium?"
The young man blinked out of his stupor and looked up to see his guests waiting at the door.
"Oh, hey. Come on in, though you're kinda already inside." He gave a weak laugh. A heavy silence settled over the room as the door closed. The three looked between each other, prompting the other to speak.
"Are-"
"You wanna know what happened, right? O-Oh, sorry." Ingenium had interrupted Toshinori.
"No, no, it's fine. I was just asking if you're alright. What you must have gone through last night must have been intense." Toshinori said.
"O-Oh...I'm alright. As much as I can be. Sorry but, who are you again?" He looked over the thin man.
"This is All Might's secretary, Mr. Yagi." Mirai answered. "All Might is busy at the moment, he's trying to help with disaster relief. We're trying to gather as much information as we can, so we can decide how to proceed."
Ingenium watched him before a sad look crossed his face. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It's...it's a lot."
"I understand it may be difficult to talk about." Toshinori walked over and sat in a chair beside him. "But we need to know what happened, or what may have happened. We're not sure how much you know."
"I know." He said. "I know what happened, or at least most of it. I think." He looked down at his bandaged hands. "Also, please just call me Iida. No need to use my hero name here."
"Alright then, Iida, could you please recount the events from last night?" Mirai walked over, he chose not to sit down.
Tensei tapped his hands against each other, deciding where to start.
"I had been on patrol last night, I usually only patrol a certain area but I left that area after I saw a certain someone rushing across rooftops. It was Guardian."
Tensei didn't miss the way the man's eyes narrowed. He knew what kind of reaction he was going to get.
"I followed her for a while until I caught up to her, she was in a hurry. She also has her own turf you know, and she hardly steps out of it unless a really big monster comes by. This time she was heading over to Sir Nighteye's agency." He glanced at the man to see a mixture of confusion and irritation on his face.
"She had a question for you actually, she seemed...really scared. Like she knew something bad was coming, and she was going to you to ask about it. She said she needed to know if there was some way to stop it, we were almost to your agency when…" He trailed off.
"When what?" Toshinori pressed.
"It had been quiet all night, way too quiet, neither of us noticed until it was too late. We ended up stopping when we saw a horde of small shadows appearing and all heading in one direction. That's when we saw it." He paused, taking a moment to remember the amalgamation of shadows, all bound together in a dense core of malice and darkness.
"I...I don't know what to call it, but it was like a tornado of shadows! They were all surrounding a core of them all packed together. That thing caused so much destruction, just one. It destroyed buildings, sucked them into darkness, even some of her strongest moves barely slowed it down." He felt his heart rate rise as he thought about it.
"That thing was a monster, and we barely beat it. It took everything we had and then some, we thought it was the only one at first. Maybe it was just some once off occurrence, and then we saw more." He looked up at the two men to see their horrified expressions. "Hundreds of them falling out of the sky a-and ready to destroy everything, I thought we were done for. Turns out Guardian had one more ace up her sleeve. I don't know if she had been storing up all that energy, or that's what she had left but...she took them all out."
"Excuse me?" Mirai raised an eyebrow.
"She took them all out in one go with this wave of bright light...one minute they were there and then the next they were just gone." He looked to the side as he replayed the next scenes in his mind.
"Do you know where Guardian is?" Toshinori asked. "I assume after that she left you in favor of searching for Sir Nighteye?"
He shook his head. "N-No! She wouldn't do that, she...she didn't leave me there because she went to go looking for you, she…" Tears burned his eyes as he kept his gaze trained to the floor.
"She was going to fall into one of those giant holes in the ground, and I went to catch her."
Toshinori's eyes widened.
Tensei continued. "I caught her, but I was also hanging onto a pole. I was trying to pull us back up to safety and she told me to let go. I didn't, I couldn't but then she...she let go."
"What?" The two asked in unison
"She let go because...she said it wouldn't do any good for both of us to f-fall…" He grit his teeth. "I-I didn't let go but she did, she fell down there and I couldn't reach her! I just needed a little more time, that's all I needed. I could have gotten us both out of there, I just needed time!'
Mirai and Toshinori exchanged glances, letting the young man weep. He was frustrated and sad, having lost what they believe was a friend.
"So she's gone?" Toshinori asked.
Tensei nodded. "I couldn't save her...I'm sorry."
Mirai muttered something under his breath that earned a glare from the other man.
"I understand that this must have been hard to recount." The blonde stood up. "I apologize for the distress we caused, and thank you for telling us all this. It'll really help." He put a hand on his shoulder. "I promise we'll do everything we can."
Tensei looked up at him and nodded. "R-Right, glad I could help."
"Mr. Yagi, we should start heading out."
Toshinori sighed and nodded. "Right. Thank you for your time, Ingenium."
He laughed. "Thought I told you to call me Iida."
Toshinori nodded before following Mirai out of the room. They were quiet as they walked out of the clinic, thanking the doctor as they left. It wasn't until they were a good distance away, and sure that they were alone when they began speaking again.
"Guardian is gone." Toshinori muttered, taking in the realization.
"Yes, she is. I believe that may have put us all in a very vulnerable position, I'm afraid we don't have much time."
He nodded. "She's gone, and she left everything behind…"
Mirai glanced at him and nodded. "Indeed, why?"
Toshinori went quiet, thinking about everything he knew, everything he found out about her. "If she's gone...then those two are…" He paled.
"What? All Might what are you talking about?" Nighteye asked.
"I have to go." Toshinori answered curtly. "I'll talk to you later Nighteye, but I have to go!" He began to rush forward. "I'll explain it later, I promise!"
He didn't wait for a response as he slipped into a dark alley and transformed into his muscle form, quick to leap out and begin to make his way across the city.
Young Midoriya...Guardian's daughter, without her here they're alone. Those two may have only had Guardian, leaving them without any kind of caretaker. I can't leave them on their own!
-.-
"Midoriya, are you alright?"
Izuku looked up to see Iida and Uraraka standing at his desk, he stared at them blankly, trying to remember what they just asked him.
"What?"
"We asked if you're alright, you seem a little out of it today. Is everything okay?" Uraraka pulled a chair over and sat beside him.
"I-I'm okay, just a little shaken up…" He mumbled. "This is all p-pretty chaotic you know?"
She nodded in understanding as Iida spoke up.
"There's no need to fear Midoriya, the faculty are taking steps to ensure that we'll be safe. They are moving rather quickly, but that's to be expected of such a prestigious school. They must always be one step ahead."
"Exactly, we're gonna be fine." Uraraka smiled. "I know what's happening is pretty scary, but we're gonna get through this."
Iida nodded in agreement, and Izuku sighed.
"Yeah. I-I'm sorry, I'm just a little...nervous I guess. Sorry if I'm worrying you." He muttered.
"Tch, of course the loser is scared, useless Deku." Katsuki stood up from his seat as the bell for lunch rang.
"Bakugo, that is no way to treat your classmate!" Iida scolded him. "You should be more kind and considerate, this is a very trying time. Everybody is frightened to some degree, many lives have been lost and even more are injured."
"Then they're all just a bunch of weaklings." He sneered. "Why don't you go back to babying the nerd like Round Face over there if you're not gonna accept that."
"Bakugo, that's mean!" Uraraka scowled. "And what is your problem with him? Izuku hasn't done anything to you!"
Katsuki glared at her before huffing and shaking his head. "He's useless Deku, that's why. Of course a powerless freak like him is gonna be scared."
Izuku shot a glance towards Katsuki, he opened his mouth to protest, but the sound of a small explosion made him shut his mouth. The bully grinned and walked out of the classroom, muttering something about him knowing his place.
"Ugh, sometimes he just makes my blood boil!" Uraraka huffed. "Anyway, why don't we grab lunch too? You look a little pale and I think eating might help."
"Y-Yeah, sure." Izuku mumbled.
"Midoriya, the desk!"
Izuku looked down and lifted his hands, stopping the ice from spreading. He made a noise of frustration before gripping the sleeves of his outfit. He felt his magic writhing inside of him, trying to respond to the overwhelming emotions he can barely keep a lid on.
He muttered out an apology and grabbed his backpack before following them out of the classroom. He let them take the lead and guide him towards the cafeteria as he tried to stay somewhat aware.
He hadn't paid any attention to the lesson, his notebook was barren with a few measly scribbles. He wanted to berate himself, tell himself he should know better and should have paid attention, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Even if he had been able to focus on the lesson for just a moment, his thoughts would have turned back to Eri and the Moogles.
He didn't like the idea of the dorms, not when they needed him. He would hope that his mother would say no, but that was unlikely. If it was going to keep him safe she'd be all for it, then again there was the issue with getting in contact with her. He pulled out his phone and glanced at his messages, the text to his mom was still unread.
The hospital must be slammed, makes sense. She probably doesn't have time to look at her phone…
Izuku frowned to himself and checked for any messages from Eri, there was nothing. He shot her a quick text to ask if she was okay and how she was doing. She'd probably respond in a minute or two, unless she was taking a nap.
How am I gonna fix this? I need to stay with Eri and the Moogles, but I don't think UA or my mom are going to give me a choice?
The school had high security, that meant trying to escape wouldn't do him any good. The thought of telling someone, getting help, crossed his mind. He quickly pushed that thought away. Eri would be taken away, the Moogles would be stranded, Izuku would be in trouble for working with a vigilante.
There was no winning, but he was going to make it work. He had to. He didn't have any other choice.
Izuku grunted as he bumped into Iida.
"Midoriya, pay attention." Iida looked over his shoulder. "You should watch where you're going, it's good that you bumped into me instead of a wall."
"R-Right! Sorry…" Izuku pocketed his phone and followed them into the lunchroom. He numbly listened to Iida and Uraraka chat as he grabbed a tray of food. He couldn't remember what ordered, but he'd try to eat it anyway.
His Master wouldn't want him to skip meals.
He gripped the tray tightly, feeling a few sparks shock his hands. He gasped and forced his power down, he did not need to be using one of the most dangerous elements at his disposal. He had to get it together! It felt difficult though, with the rising pressure in his chest that left him with little to no breath. It felt like his throat was clogged and he could barely breathe, the air he took in never reached his lungs.
It'll pass, it'll pass. Just focus on something else, you're fine. Don't fall apart.
"Right Izuku?"
"What?" He looked up to see his friends giving him worried glances.
"Did you space out again?" Uraraka asked. "I said that everything is gonna be fine, the heroes are gonna figure this out."
Izuku stared at her, he could see it. She was stressed too, trying to cling onto something, anything that could bring slight shaking of her shoulders, how tightly she was gripping her tray. Just like the rest of them, she wanted to hope that everything would be okay.
Izuku nodded as they sat down. "Y-Yeah, the heroes are doing their best to keep everything contained. They're trained to act quickly so I'm sure everything is being handled." He said before taking a bite of his rice. He realized that's all he got, that was fine. He didn't think he could handle anything too heavy.
Iida nodded. "I'm glad that you both hold such confidence in the heroes." He looked out the window. "I'm sure my brother is out there as well, offering any aid he can."
Izuku nodded, taking another bite.
"You know, with all this stuff that's happening I'm sure they're evening getting the help of Guardian. There's no way this isn't tied to those monsters."
At the mention of her name Izuku began to choke on his food.
Izuku coughed and tried to clear his throat. He gratefully took a glass of water Uraraka handed him and took a drink. Sighing once he was okay again, he let out a few small coughs while his friends fretted over him.
"Midoriya are you alright?" Iida asked.
"I-I'm fine." He coughed. "It happens, it's fine."
"Are you sure?" Uraraka moved over to sit beside him. "Izuku, you've been really off today. Are you sure you're okay?"
Izuku flinched when he felt her hand rest on his shoulder, and Iida's on his back. It was so nice and welcoming, warm and kind. Even though he knew they meant no harm, they only wanted to help- he couldn't help but feel like he was in danger. If they knew about him and Master Aqua would they be so quick to comfort him? If they knew she was gone would they still be confident in everything being okay? If they knew she trained him, would they end up depending on him fixing everything? Would they even be his friends anymore? Since she wasn't there would he have to go out and do her job? Could he even do that? Would he even survive?
He didn't know, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. He wanted to see his Master, hear her tell him that he was overthinking things. That it was going to be okay.
But it's not going to be okay!
Izuku grit his teeth as hot tears began to build in his eyes, blurring his vision. He let out a choked sob and stood up, grasping at his chest as the ache grew worse.
"I-I'll be right back." He whispered.
"What?"
Before they could question it further, Izuku shoved past Iida and ran out of the cafeteria. He sprinted down the hall, keeping his head down until he crashed into someone. He heard a few words of concern, but brushed them off before running again. Izuku ran until he was sure he found an empty hallway. From there he barreled into the nearest bathroom and threw himself in a stall, slamming the door shut and locking it.
He leaned against the door before slowly sinking to the floor and beginning to sob. He tried to keep himself quiet, but couldn't help the loud gasps and pitiful cries. He tugged at his hair as he listened to his cries echo off the bathroom walls.
He took in one shaky breath after another, his chest painfully tight. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe, he was dying!
Izuku clawed at his tie and struggled to take it off. He was sure he was only making it tighter with his struggles, as he felt his throat close up more. There was a loud bang as he threw himself against the stall and continued his fight. An intense chill raced through his body as pulled on his tie, and scratched at his neck, spreading through the entire room.
He continued to scratch and pull at his neck, hard ice coating his neck and further cutting off his air. He tried to switch to fire, only to have pain racing through him at the attempt.
He gasped when he heard the door to the bathroom slam open, and heard someone running in. He held his breath and tried to quiet the sobs and make himself smaller, he didn't want to be found. He wasn't supposed to be falling apart, yet here he was. Unable to keep it together for a day.
"Hello? First year are you in here?"
He looked up at the familiar voice, his panic pausing for a moment.
"You ran off kind of suddenly, are you sure you're okay? If you need help you can let someone know, I can get Mr. Aizawa if you can't deactivate your Quirk." He offered.
Izuku continued his fight with his tie as he heard footsteps approach the stall he was in. He didn't see the face that poked through the door to see him struggling. Forced to take shallow breaths as he slowly suffocated.
There was a moment of silence before Izuku resumed his struggles, not hearing the click of the stall unlocking. He didn't realize someone was with him until a pair of hands removed his own hands from his throat.
"Hey, stop that, you're hurting yourself!" A soft but stern voice cut through his thoughts. "Your tie is too tight, right? You're only making it worse, here." He felt him undo the tie, and it felt a little easier to breathe. Izuku took in what he thought were deep breaths, but were still quick and shallow.
Izuku heard the third year, Togata, that's right his name was Togata, speaking but couldn't make out many of the words. He was looking down at him, clearly trying to get his attention. Izuku tried his best to focus on his words, to calm down.
"...get you to the infirmary. You might give yourself frostbite."
Izuku made a confused noise before taking a look around the room, shocked to see that it was covered in ice. A few spikes poked out from the walls, there was a sink that had water frozen while it had been running. He looked down at himself and felt the thick frost that covered his body, his hands and face had the worst of it.
He nearly fell over once he felt how much magic energy he had used in his episode. Togata kept him from falling, he glanced over and saw his arms were covered in ice too.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry…" Izuku apologized as Togata guided him over to the door.
"What, this? It's fine, I've gotten a lot worse from training exercises, so don't worry about that. What about you, you a little better now?"
Izuku refused to look him in the eye when he answered, instead staring at his hands. "T-the backlash is pr-pretty severe...I didn't know I was using it." He shivered.
The third year nodded and began to take him down the hall, glad the first year wasn't questioning where they were going yet "That's fine, like I said no big deal. You're gonna be alright, we just need to get you warmed up."
"I-I can warm myself up." Izuku looked up. He held out his hands and produced a weak flame, hissing at the pain as his hands began to thaw.
"I wouldn't do that, you using the ice aspect of your powers seemed to take a lot out of you." Togata put his hands down. "Plus I don't think you need to be setting the hallways on fire for fifteen minutes of flame." He grinned.
Izuku paused before giving him a look, he didn't know whether to feel insulted or ashamed of the joke. Even Togata stopped before starting to laugh. "Sorry! That was a pretty bad pun huh? Eh, I'll do better next time."
He's trying to make a joke? Now?
"Anyway, I was surprised to run into you again first-year, it was Midoriya right?"
Izuku nodded.
"Well, I was surprised to run into you, especially considering you should probably be in the cafeteria. You didn't answer me when you crashed into me in the halls, and that made me really worried. Also considering you left a trail of ice where you ran." He hummed. "Wasn't too hard to find you."
Izuku blushed and covered his face. "I am s-so sorry!"
"It's fine, as a third year I can promise you there have been way worse outcomes with Quirk Accidents. I would say this is more of a minor one." He looked over to Izuku, hoping to have made him feel somewhat better. Only to see the same ashamed expression from before.
Togata frowned and looked forward, keeping a hand on Izuku's back to help guide him. "You know. I think I should have taken you to the infirmary when we got here. Laying down might have been a good idea, and considering it's quiet in there that probably would have helped."
"N-No!" Izuku shook his head. "It's fine! Really! I-I was just thinking and then my thought got out of hand and…"
Izuku didn't have to look at his guide to know he was frowning.
"If you need to talk to someone Midoriya, Hound Dog is a pretty good counselor. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to listen. What we're going through is admittedly pretty scary, but it doesn't mean we have to bottle up all our worries you know?"
Except you do when you're connected to a criminal…
"Hm?"
Crap I said that outloud!
"N-Nothing!" Izuku waved his arms around. "Just ignore me! I can get to the infirmary from here, don't worry!" He tried to dash forward, only to feel the world tilt as what little air was in his lungs was taken away. He saw the floor race up to meet him, only for him to stop midfall. Izuku looked up to see Togata had caught him.
"Easy now, I don't think you're in much shape to be running off." He smiled. "It might be better to take it nice and slow."
Izuku grumbled in agreement and righted himself.
They continued in silence, Izuku put a little distance between himself and Togata. He had to admit he was nice, and he was glad he stepped in to stop his panic attack. Regardless, he couldn't help but feel wary of him.
Okay, now you're being ridiculous.
He scratched at his face, he knew that. But he was distrustful of everyone, especially now when he was teetering on the edge. Should he slip up, or raise any suspicion, it's Eri and the Moogles who are at stake; and it's his Master he's let down.
She'd know you're trying your best.
His best wasn't good enough! He was pathetic! One day without her and he was already falling apart, he already caused property damage because he couldn't keep himself together.
He gripped his sleeve, feeling heat beginning to build up. He was going to ruin his uniform if he didn't stop.
"According to the Prime Minister, this event is, unfortunately, not limited to Japan but is indeed a global event."
Izuku stopped in his tracks and looked to the source of the noise. They were in front of a teacher's lounge, the door mostly open. Some of the faculty were gathered around the television, watching with bated breath.
"According to the reports this morning, there are over an estimate of 100,000 casualties and even more injuries within this prefecture alone."
A map of the Prefecture appeared on the screen. Izuku's eyes widened when he saw a certain part highlighted in red. A zone that had disappeared. He refused to believe it.
"Midoriya…" Togata tried to pull him away, but Izuku was rooted in place.
"There is a struggle to treat all injured citizens with the severe lack of medical supplies and designated treatment areas."
"The hospitals are slammed…" Izuku muttered. "The hospitals are slammed." He gripped the hem of his jacket, eyes trained on the screen. "That's why she's not answering...
"This morning many areas were swallowed up by these strange chasms, the areas are not limited to housing but to places of business as well. Unfortunately for the injured…"
"Don't say it, don't say it." He clenched his phone tightly in one hand.
"This morning the Mustafu City Hospital disappeared as well, leaving many without medical assistance, and raising the casualty rates even higher."
Izuku watched as they pulled up a picture of where the hospital should have been, but instead all that was left was a dark crater. It switched to camera footage shot from a helicopter, then changed again to amateur footage of the site. Again and again it changed to show the exact same thing. A desolate area with no chance of any survivors.
This can't be happening. This can't be happening!
Hot tears began to pour down his face, feeling like scorching lava on his icy skin. His hands shook violently and he dropped the phone, making a loud clatter. He couldn't hear the words of the TV anymore as something in him broke.
"Midoriya!"
The teachers looked up to see one of Aizawa's students beginning to catch fire. Steam rolled off him in waves, melting the thick ice coating him. Behind him was a third year they all recognized, trying to pull him out of his breakdown. Small flames surrounded him as he sank to his knees, harsh sobs wracking his body as he struggled to hold back his cries.
Togata drew his hands back when the heat became too intense. He looked on in dismay, as he could only watch the kid spiral out of control.
"Aizawa!" One of them yelled.
"On it."
The man stepped towards Izuku and activated his Quirk, eyes flashing red as his hair began to float. Much to his surprise the flames didn't die out but instead continued to build and rage harder. Aizawa stared at Izuku before deactivating his Quirk and trying again. Still no result.
"Aizawa!"
"My Quirk isn't working on him!" Aizawa shouted. "Midoriya, you need to calm down." He stepped forward hesitantly, watching the flames rising.
"What do you mean your Quirk isn't working on him?" Cementoss stood up, ready to contain him if needed. "Where's Midnight," he asked. "We need to sedate the boy."
"She's probably in the cafeteria." Snipe muttered as he pulled out his phone.
"I mean my Quirk isn't working on him!" He glared at Cementoss as he dared another step closer. "Midoriya, I know you can hear me. You need to calm down before you hurt someone." He raised his voice.
"Midnight is on her way." Snipe confirmed.
"Good."
Mirio watched as the homeroom teacher tried to calm his student. Much to his shock, the cancelling Quirk did nothing to help. He frowned to himself and moved forward, ignoring the shouts from the other teachers.
He couldn't help but feel responsible, he knew his classmate wasn't doing well in the first place. Instead of telling someone or taking him to the infirmary he just let him go.
Mirio grit his teeth as he partially activated Permeation, if he could avoid burning he would. He reached a hand forward and placed it on Izuku's back. He had most of his arm activated, save for his hand.
"Hey, Midoriya." He raised his voice. "It's okay, you're okay."
"Togata get away from him, you're going to hurt yourself!"
Mirio ignored them with a sigh, he braced himself as he pulled Izuku back and wrapped his arms around him. The flames faltered for a moment. Mirio was actually grateful for the ice on his arms now.
"I don't know what you saw on there that's shaken you up pretty badly, but you're gonna be okay." He grit his teeth as he felt the fire burn his arms and chest. "If you calm down we can talk this out, and we can help you. We want to help."
He smiled as he felt the temperature go down, the flames were getting smaller. Izuku was still sobbing, he had reached up to grab Mirio's arm at some point.
"It's working." Aizawa muttered.
"I know it feels like the world is ending, but it's not. You're gonna be okay and we're going to get through this. But you need to calm down first, okay?"
Izuku's hand clenched tighter in response, he was starting to come back.
Mirio sighed in relief as the rest of the flames began to disappear. Their uniforms could be in better shape, but it wasn't a big deal. Not to Mirio at least.
Aizawa stared at them before hurting forward and kneeling in front of them.
"Are you here Midoriya?" He asked. "Can you hear me?"
A strained whimper escaped Izuku in response.
He sighed and looked up as Midnight ran over. "I got the call, what happened?"
Aizawa sighed as he looked up at her. "Midoriya was having a panic attack, but Togata already handled it. Despite us telling him to stay away."
Mirio smiled before looking at Izuku. "You think you can walk Midoriya?" He asked, giving him a light shake. When he didn't get a response he shook him again. "Midoriya?"
Aizawa shook his head, "He's passed out, but it looks like he'll be fine. Come on, let's get to the infirmary."
He took the unconscious Izuku from his arms and walked down the hall at a fast pace. He glanced down at his student and sighed.
"You and I need to have a talk."
-.-
"Young Togata, may I have a word with you?"
"Hm?" The young man turned around from his group of friends. His arms were wrapped in bandages from earlier in the day, he insisted to not be healed completely by Recovery Girl in favor of attending the rest of his classes.
All Might approached the group in his civilian attire.
Nejire looked up in surprise.
"Woah, All Might? When did you get here?"
"Just right now!" He laughed. "Apologies I couldn't be here earlier, I was helping with disaster relief. Now, Young Togata, mind stepping into one of the Teacher's Lounges with me?"
"Oh, of course sir!" He started walking forward, the turned to wave at the others. "See you guys later!"
"Bye Mirio, see you later…" Amajiki waved back.
"See you in a little bit!" Nejire waved excitedly before resuming her conversation with
Amajiki. Taking wild guesses about what All Might could possibly want with their friend.
All Might and Mirio hurried to an empty lounge and shut the door before All Might deflated with a puff of smoke. Mirio gave him a look of concern as his second mentor coughed up some blood.
"Woah, sir are you okay?" Mirio asked, watching him sit on a couch and take a deep breath. "Did you already use up your time for the day?"
"N-No, I'm fine. Just a little tired, I've been working with Nighteye since the morning. We've been trying to figure what happened, and so far it isn't looking good." He looked up with a frown, concern etched onto his features.
"We've found out a few things, and so far it only serves to make the situation worse."
Mirio twitched, opening his mouth to ask when All Might gestured for him to sit down. He paused before doing so, unsure where this was going.
"Young Togata, mind if I ask how much you know about Guardian?"
"Huh? Guardian, the vigilante?" Mirio put a hand on his chin. "I know that Sir really doesn't like her, and that she usually comes out at night to fight the monsters...the monsters that probably caused this. That's all I can really say about her, I appreciate what she does and that she's made the streets safer. Why?" Mirio gasped and leaned forward. "Is Sir going to be working on her with this? I can only imagine how upset that might be making him."
All Might stared at him before shaking his head. "N-No, no we won't be working with her on this case." He ran a hand through his hair. "Even if we wanted to, I'm afraid we can't contact her."
Mirio's heart sank, there was no way…
"Unfortunately, we found out that she was among the victims that disappeared last night. Though before she fell into one of the chasms, she took out as many of the monsters she could. She's brought us some time, time that we're running out of…"
Mirio grit his teeth, keeping a smile on his face. The grim reminder that's been playing in his mind echoing again and again. He was going to be the only survivor. It was going to be up to him to somehow fix this.
He was going to lose his family, his friends. The weight of the world was resting on his shoulders.
"Sir, if I may, why are you telling me this?" Mirio asked.
All Might paused, taking a moment to look at his successor. The tension in his shoulders, the fake smile that hid overwhelming fear behind it. He knew that look all too well.
"Well, for one I want to keep you in the loop. You deserve to know these things, especially since…."
"Yeah." Mirio nodded. "I know."
"I also wanted to tell you, because I have a favor to ask of you."
"Sir?"
"There's someone I want you to keep an eye on. A fellow student, you probably haven't met him. He's alone right now, and I'm afraid that something might go wrong if he's left alone for too long."
Mirio raised an eyebrow. "You want me to keep an eye on someone? Who?"
All Might sighed and scratched at his face. "There's a young man, named Izuku Midoriya. There's a-"
"Wait Midoriya?"
All Might looked up. "Do you know him?"
"Yes sir! I met him earlier today, I stopped him from falling in one of the pits. He seemed pretty off, in all honesty I should have kept an eye on him. He kind of lost it earlier and froze the bathroom, then set the hallway on fire. He wasn't doing too good, but I'm hoping he's okay now. He ended up passing out…"
All Might watched him before sighing. "So you've already met him."
Mirio nodded. "Yeah, he seems like a good person. Why would you want me to keep an eye on him? Is there something wrong with him?" Mirio paused, letting the gears in his mind turn. "Does it...does it have anything to do with Guardian disappearing?"
His mentor stiffened up before coughing into his hand. "I'd...call it...paying back a favor."
"I'm sorry?"
All Might stared at the ground before getting to his feet and turning away.
"Guardian has done a lot for people, she's saved us again and again. She's also helped me a few times. The least I can do is...is help her."
Mirio stared at All Might, opening and closing his mouth before shaking his head.
"You just want me to keep an eye on him? That's it?"
"Please. Please make sure he doesn't do anything reckless, at least within these walls." He slowly turned towards Mirio.
Mirio watched him. "Okay, yeah. Sure, I'd call Midoriya my friend. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Thank you…"
"Just one more thing All Might sir, is uh...is Midoriya somehow related to Guardian?" He asked.
All Might didn't answer him, instead he looked away. That was all the answer he needed.
-HoL-
Izuku groaned as he slowly came to, he felt exhausted and overheated. He slowly opened his eyes to see a white ceiling. The smell of antiseptic invaded his senses and made him flinch. He never really liked the smell.
"Oh, are you awake now dear?"
Izuku looked to the side to see Recovery Girl standing at his bedside.
"What?" He asked, groaning as he sat up. "What happened?" He asked.
"You lost control of your Quirk earlier, but one of the students was able to calm you down." She handed him a water bottle and sat in a chair.
Izuku stared at her, processing her words before everything slammed back into him.
"Oh...Oh! Oh no, I-I didn't hurt anyone did I?" He asked. "I didn't mean for that to happen, I'm sorry! I thought I could-"
"It's alright dear, only one person was injured but that was minor. The young man was allowed to leave a little while ago."
Izuku tried to remember who had grabbed him, he somewhat recognized his voice, but it had sounded muffled and warped. He wrapped his arms around himself as he tried to remember. For a moment he felt safe, just a moment.
But that safety was gone now, and he was back with cruel reality. His Master was gone and...so was his mom.
He felt tears burn his eyes as he thought about it.
His mom was gone, swallowed up by the darkness. Along with hundreds of thousands of others, he was alone. He was all alone, there was nobody there who could help him now! Not without getting himself in trouble.
Izuku took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. "Excuse me ma'am, but what time is it?" He asked.
"School just ended."
"What?" Izuku shouted. "I've been out for hours? No, oh no, I gotta go!" He threw his legs over the bed and stood up. He wobbled for a moment before hurrying towards the door. He figured his backpack was somewhere safe, he could get it later. What was most important now was getting out of there.
"Now hold on young man!" Recovery Girl protested and tried to stop him. "You can't leave just yet, Eraser Head needs to talk to you."
"I can talk to him later, I-I'm sorry but I really need to go!" He shouted over his shoulder. He threw open the door and tried to run out, only to crash into none other than his homeroom teacher.
"Midoriya…"
Izuku gasped and looked up, backing away as the teacher walked in. He couldn't help but shrink under Aizawa's gaze as the man looked him up and down.
"About time you're awake Problem Child."
Problem Child?!
"Hi Mr. Aizawa…" He mumbled. "I-I'm...I'm sorry for any trouble I might have caused. I didn't mean to, honest! M-My powers just...a-and I tried to-" He flinched as a few sparks of lightning appeared. He clenched his fists and made it stop.
Aizawa raised a hand to stop him, he waited for a moment before letting out a long sigh. He watched Izuku, seeing how he fidgeted and curled in on himself. He was scared, he was trying to hide.
"You're not in trouble Midoriya." He grumbled. "But the apology is appreciated. That isn't quite what I wanted to talk about."
Izuku peeked up.
"I have a few concerns about your Quirk."
Oh crap!
"Y-Yes sir?"
"While you were breaking down I attempted to use my Quirk on you, so we could calm you down. Unfortunately, it turns out my Erasure doesn't work on your powers."
Izuku paled and looked down, his mind racing. How was he going to lie himself out of this one? Could he? Should he just come clean?
No! Then you run the risk of losing Eri and the Moogles!
"I-I uh…" Izuku swallowed hard. "I'm n-not sure why either."
He huffed and ran a hand through his hair, still glaring at Izuku. "That's something that we can discuss later. I have a running theory but that's not important right now. What is important is your reaction to what was on the news. On the television, what happened there?"
Izuku went pale and looked down. "I uh...it's…" He fumbled with his hands. "O-Overwhelming, I guess. Just...it's scary you know. We're running out of options if something goes wrong, and it seems like everything is going wrong. T-There's no way to fix it, it'll probably never get fixed and I have no idea what's gonna happen from here. I don't know how to fix it, or if anybody can fix it, I mean how do we handle something like this when it's probably been building for a few years and-
"Midoriya!" Aizawa cut him off as soon as he started turning blue. "It's fine, I understand. This is overwhelming and frightening, especially to someone as young as yourself. But panicking isn't going to get us anywhere, I'm assuming that the hospital was a breaking point in something that's been building for a while."
Izuku tugged at his hair. "I-I'm sorry sir…"
Aizawa sighed and rubbed his eyes. "We have counselors, Midoriya, and this is a catastrophe that's affected us in many ways. You shouldn't be expected to keep all this to yourself, that's irrational, and leads to what happened earlier today. If you need help you come to the teachers understand? And listen to me when I say this, you're a child, it's not your job to fix this. You're not a hero Midoriya, so don't think there's anything you can do for this. Put that thought out of your head, right now."
Izuku hesitantly looked up before nodding. "Y-Yes sir…"
His teacher sighed and pointed at a bag sitting on a chair nearby. "Your friends dropped this off after they found out. I recommend you hurry home, we can finish discussing this later."
Izuku grabbed his bag. "Finish?"
"It's about your Quirk not reacting to mine, like I said we can finish the discussion later. Go home before it gets dark out."
Izuku stared at him, waiting for something else to be said. When Aizawa nodded Izuku hurried out of the room and towards the exits.
Recovery Girl waited until he was out of earshot before looking up at Shouta.
"He's lying."
"I know."
"What are you going to do?"
"I have his address, and we haven't gotten any response from his mother via email. So I should probably stop by."
Recovery Girl stared at him before sighing. "Please don't do anything reckless."
-.-
He made it home hours ago, once he came home that was when the real work began. Eri's homework needed grading, some of the Moogles had a few problems. He had to change a couple of lightbulbs and fixed a door.
Then there was the worry of dinner, Izuku had no idea what to make for everyone or if they even had enough. Izuku had been willing to skip dinner if it meant everyone else could eat, it wouldn't have been a problem. He hadn't been feeling too hungry anyway.
Then someone, he has no idea who, but someone banged on the metal they kept in front of the entrance to the building.
It scared the daylights out of everyone, and out of fear Izuku had yelled at everyone to get upstairs. If it was Heartless then only he could deal with them, even though his magic might not have been enough…
He hesitantly made his way over to their makeshift door and pushed the metal out of the way, ready to attack if necessary. Much to his surprise the area was empty, there was nothing there save for a bunch of bags full of takeout food. He had to make a few trips before covering the entrance back up and giving the all clear.
There had been a note attached to one of the bags. Hurriedly scribbled on there it read-
'Someone's looking out for you'
In all honesty it scared him half to death, knowing that someone knew where they were and most likely who he was.
Even as he ate dinner, there was more than enough for everyone, the thought still bothered him. Someone knew, but for the time being it looked like they were willing to keep quiet about it. His question, who knew, and why?
Izuku stared at the ceiling as he thought about it, trying to make sense of it. He felt his leg twitch, itching to move around, but he kept himself still. He had already checked six times now, the door was barricaded, everyone was asleep, everyone was fine.
One person isn't fine.
Izuku grimaced and turned on his side, hugging a pillow for some kind of comfort. He mentally scolded himself as he felt tears sting his eyes.
He didn't need to be crying right now, that was the last thing everyone needed. He should be figuring out who knew about them, and what they may want.
Izuku sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, he had to focus. He paused for a moment when he realized he almost set the pillow on fire. He took a deep breath and went back to thinking, pushing his sadness down. He could deal with those feelings later.
He tried to go back to thinking about who could have known, the person who's apparently looking out for them.
Maybe it's Ingenium, they were always quick to partner up. All Might? No, he wants to catch her too, how would he even know about us? Eraserhead?! He couldn't cancel out my magic...does it suspect it? Oh no, I messed up!
Before he could spiral into a new kind of panic the door to his room opened, and he sat up in surprise. There in the doorway was Eri, crying quietly as she made her way over to him.
Izuku relaxed and got up, meeting her halfway and kneeling down to her height. He tucked her in hours ago, but it looked like she hadn't gotten any rest.
"Eri? Is everything okay?"
"I-I can't...I can't sleep." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm trying but…"
Izuku nodded and picked her up, hugging her close. "It's okay, I'm having trouble sleeping too." He mumbled.
Eri stared at him before nodding and resting her head on his shoulder. She felt safe again, she missed Aqua and she knew Izuku was trying his best. She only wished she could tell him Aqua would be proud that he's trying his best, Eri knew she'd feel that way, but she couldn't say something like that without bursting into tears.
So for now, she'd settle for hugging him, and hoping he felt every ounce of love and thankfulness she had towards him. Hoping that could somehow ease the burden.
"I miss her…" Eri murmured, looking up at the glow in the dark stickers adorning Izuku's room. Some of them were of heroes, others were of stars varying in size.
"I miss her too." Izuku nodded as he wrapped the blanket around them. "I miss her a lot."
Eri welcomed the warmth and yawned. Feeling safe once again.
"Izuku?" She mumbled.
"Yeah?
"Thank you."
"Of course."
"Izuku?"
"Yeah Eri?"
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight Eri."