Deku's Secret Illness

Ch.4

So Aizawa did what he had to do. He hated bothering Midoriya after school hours, the boy was already so tired and he needed his rest, but he had no choice. This couldn't wait.
When Aizawa went to find him he wasn't there. It was well into the evening so he should have been there. Curfew was still a few hours away, but everyone else was settling down for the night after a shared meal. Midoriya should have been there, but he wasn't. He wasn't in his room either. So Aizawa waited for him in the common room. It 30 minutes til curfew when the door creaked open and Midoriya stumbled in on the verge of passing out.
"Problem child!"
"H-hi, Mr. Aizawa," Midoriya squeaked sheepishly.
One good look at the boy and Aizawa was beyond concerned. He was pale as a sheet with bruises and scrapes littering his arms and legs.
"Are you okay? What happened to you?"
"I'm fi-"
He didn't get the chance to finish as he collapsed, Aizawa just barely catching him before he hit the ground.
He carried Midoriya up to his room, the boy's body limp with exhaustion.
Midoriya's eyes fluttered open, his gaze meeting Aizawa's concerned expression, as Aizawa returned with a cup of water. The dim light in the room deepened the shadows on Midoriya's face, making his recent weight loss even more apparent. His one round cheeks had sunken in and the bags under his eyes deepened.

Midoriya spoke, his voice a fragile whisper, "Mr. Aizawa?"
"Yeah it's me, kid. How are you feeling, and don't say fine I know it's not true."Aizawa's tone was gruff but laced with genuine concern, tired eyes studying Midoriya's condition.

Midoriya sighed mostly in shame, but also in relief. He didn't have to pretend. That option had been taken away from him. He slouched against the bed, his body visibly drained. "Like shit."

"Understandable. Mind telling me what you were doing out so late?"Aizawa's voice softened, attempting to draw out the truth gently.

"Training." Midoriya cringed, preparing for another lecture from the man that had become like a father to him.

"On your own?" Aizawa probed further, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Midoriya hesitated, torn between protecting the man that was meant to be his mentor and telling the truth to the one adult left in his life he felt he could trust.
"No," He muttered.

"Everyone else is accounted for, who were you with?" Aizawa pressed on, gaze stern.

"All Might," Midoriya squeaked.
That was it. Aizawa was going to strangle the former symbol of peace.

"Why did he let you stay out so late?"Aizawa's voice carried a tinge of frustration, a clear disapproval of All Might's decisions. Which did little to alleviate Midoriya's fear that he had just betrayed his mentor.
But what was done was done. There was no going back now.

"He saw that I was falling behind and thought I was being lazy. He kept me after class and I guess we just lost track of time."
Midoriya gave a light awkward laugh that quickly devolved into a series of painful coughs.

"Here, I brought you some water. This should help."

Midoriya, weakened and visibly trembling, reached for the glass, but his hands betrayed him, shaking so much that he almost dropped it. In the end, Aizawa had to step in, holding the glass steady as Midoriya took a sip.
He hated seeing his student like this. He hated knowing that this was only going to get worse. That Midoriya wasn't going to get better.

Midoriya started to apologize, "Sorry. I think I'm catching a cold"

Aizawa's response was a stern reality check. "Kid, you've had that cough for the last month, and it's only getting worse. Want to try again?"

Midoriya hesitated, caught in the crossfire between the truth and the desire to shield those around him from the harsh reality. Desperation flickered in his eyes as he attempted to formulate a believable lie. He couldn't think of one that Aizawa wouldn't see straight through, Aizawa was too good . He sighed in defeat, shoulders slumping. "No, not really. I've got nothing."
There was no getting out of this one.

"That's what I thought. Look, I know about your condition you don't have to hide with me"
Aizawa declared, his tone softer now, a reassurance that pierced through the walls Midoriya had built around himself.

Midoriya felt betrayed. How did he know? Recovery girl was the only person he told, " but she promised-"

"She didn't tell me. I pieced it together on my own, my conversation with her just confirmed my suspicion. She wouldn't tell me anything, by the way. She kept her promise"

"Oh... so, you know what it is then"

"Quirk-induced Cellular Dystrophy, right?" Aizawa's confirmation hung in the air, the weight of the diagnosis echoing in the room.

"Damn it," Midoriya whispered. Aizawa really knew. He had failed.

"I don't know why you insist on hiding it, I could have helped you know,"Aizawa sighed.
Midoriya gave him a quizzical look. Aizawa wanted to help him? For some reason Midoriya didn't expect that. The thought never even occurred to him that Aizawa could do anything to help.

"You're not gonna expel me?" Midoriya asked hesitantly. He had resigned himself to it. He knew it was coming. He was honestly shocked Aizawa hadn't already mentioned his expulsion. He was so sure he would be kicked out the second his teacher found out he was dying.
"No," Aizawa replied firmly, shattering Midoriya's expectations once more.

"But I'm just taking up a spot. I'm not even gonna graduate," Midoriya continued.

"We don't know that. Your time might be limited, but you might have a few years still. Don't give up yet," Aizawa offered words of encouragement, his tone a mix of pragmatism and hope. It was more a desperate plea to the universe than reassurance, but he wouldn't let Midoriya know that.

"But I'm only getting worse there's no way I'll be able to keep up in the hero program"
Midoirya just couldn't believe it. He was a liability. Why was he allowed to stay? Sure he had nowhere else to go now that his mother was gone, but Aizawa didn't know that. As far as the school was concerned Izuku Midoirya was in the custody of a parent or guardian. No one knew that he was technically homeless. No one knew that without UA he would be left to die alone on the streets. He intended to keep it that way, but he couldn't let the school suffer on his behalf.

"We'll make it work, okay? You're not going anywhere," Aizawa reassured him.

"But-" Midoriya began to protest.

"This is your dream, right?"

"I mean yeah, being here, learning to be a hero, that's all I've ever wanted," Midoriya admitted.

"Then I'll make sure you get to live it as long as possible," Aizawa declared. He refused to let his problem child down. Sure it may be irrational to let him stay, but he just couldn't give up on him. Maybe it was selfish to want to keep midoriya around instead of letting the poor kid rest, but one look at Midoriya's eyes told him all he needed to know. Midoriya was staying.

"Why?"
Midoriya couldn't understand this kindness. It just didn't make sense. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Why was Aizawa being so nice?

"Because you're worth it, kid."