This Time

Chapter 43

Maybe it was stress, maybe it was residual fatigue from having my quirk drained and still attempting to fight with it. Whatever the cause was though, I was sick as a dog for the next few days after the fight with the Yakuza and Overhaul.

Ankoku of course was immediately calling me after the news aired, and especially when later that same day the reports that the captured villain had been attacked began to circulate as well. Perhaps I let the fact I felt less-than-stellar get to me a little too much though, and maybe I was a tad too snippy with my friend. After snapping that, as an aspiring hero I couldn't just divulge sensitive information to a man who dealt in black market secrets, he didn't attempt to call me again. Even Toshinori raised his brow as I tossed the cell phone aside and huffed in irritation.

"Pot, kettle, black," he muttered. "Pretty sure you got a lot of information from the number one hero that he shouldn't have divulged to a vigilante, ex-criminal," he commented not unkindly. Despite his soft tone, I still scowled at him before flopping over on the couch to face the other way.

Toshinori, in fact, was actually dealing with everything... shockingly well - scarily well, even. The walls were back for now. The first day after we got back home he was very quiet and withdrawn, and I more or less left him alone to process. I stayed close enough that he knew I was there if he needed me, but otherwise I wanted to give him space to mourn if he needed. That night I was surprised when he wanted to make love, and it was immediately apparent he was looking for comfort over anything else. Surprisingly, he fell asleep before I did, with his face pressed against the side of my neck and arms holding me tightly as if even in unconsciousness he was afraid to let me go. His nightmares woke us both up sometime not long after two in the morning, and neither one of us really slept much after that.

Despite the lack of sleep (which, honestly for him was probably about normal) he seemed more or less back to his usual self the next day, if not slightly more quiet than was average for him. In juxtaposition, I was feeling even crummier the following day, and - sweet as ever - Toshinori did whatever he could to help. On the third day, with slightly worried eyes, he brought up the idea of going back to the hospital to visit the students.

"Maybe you should come with me? Have the doctors check you out while we're there?" he suggested as I brushed my teeth to rid the taste of bile after vomiting.

"Nah. They did a full work up on me, blood draws and all that jazz," I dismissed the idea, spitting toothpaste into the sink. "If they find anything in my labs, they'll call. It's probably just fatigue, you know."

He sighed. "I'll stay home with you then."

Shaking my head, I forced a smile. "No, you probably should go check on everyone."

"Aizawa's still there," he countered.

I rolled my eyes. "If you were going to argue the point, why suggest it in the first place?" I asked, knowing very well why. I wasn't going to let him off the hook, though. "I'm fine, Toshi. Just recovering still."

"It doesn't normally take you this long to recover though," he grimaced.

"I also don't normally have my vitality stolen from me either," I reminded him. "Seriously, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," I assured the blonde man who still had his sharp, cyan gaze trained on me in concern. "Go on, go check on the kids."

The fever set in almost immediately after Toshinori left. Go figure. Curled up on the couch under a blanket and shivering despite my self-made inferno, I began to wonder if maybe - maybe - he'd been right... Maybe I should see a doctor. Had Recovery Girl been back on campus, I would have just gone to her, but unfortunately for me she was still assisting at the hospital as well. When the cramps started, I began to think about calling Toshi to come home.