The Hope Barely Found

Deals for Reals Life

"I'm sorry." It was all Aizawa could say, and that was pathetic. Be inwardly cursed himself for not fighting against the school harder. For not locking Izuku in his room or trying him to his bed. It had been a mistake to let him go.

Todoroki couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks as he stared at nothing in horror with wide eyes.

***

It'd been a few days since Eri's rescue, and after a horrid beating, Izuku had been isolated in his cell, tied to the bed and unable to see anything with a blindfold itchy on his eyes. He could periodically hear people coming in and out, switching out the IV tube in his arms that kept him alive and temporarily paralyzed. Izuku couldn't even scream as who he assumed was Toga stuck and twisted a knife in his leg. Everything was too fuzzy for him to focus, mind constantly spinning, constant headache pounding.

Izuku felt so tired. All he wanted to do was sleep. But the headphones tight around his ears would blast a loud horn sound or gunshot whenever his eyes started to close, jolting him awake. Izuku had no clue how they knew when he was falling asleep with his blindfold on. Sometimes a loud noise would happen when Izuku would start to zone off. He was going insane.

***

It'd been two weeks, going on three. Eri wasn't doing so well, spending all her free time in the front yard by the gate, just staring. Staring into the street, waiting for her brother to pop up though she knew it wouldn't happen. No- it would. And she'd be waiting for when he appeared.

Mirio stayed outside with her, carefully bringing her inside whenever she'd fall asleep, or bringing her food. Sometimes even just being there as she'd wail and cry, heart aching.

Inside, the kids weren't doing well either. Todoroki felt restless and barely acknowledged anyone. Katsuki got ticked off by the slightest slip, getting into a record amount of fights and spending every other moment in the gym. Todoroki could often be found sparring with him to the point Aizawa would be forced to separate them and send the exhausted boys to an early bed.

Shinso hadn't gotten a minute of sleep since the day, and it was starting to take its toll, shadows following him around. No matter how much pleasing Kaminari tried, Shinso refused to go to sleep without Izuku.

Aizawa got to the point where the worry was overwhelming. He had to do something.

"Tomorrow night," he announced at the next meeting, "We're having a gathering in the living room. We're upping precautions so we can keep an eye on you all, just for tomorrow night. Understand?"

"A sleepover," Momo murmured to Jiro, who nodded in agreement.

Aizawa pretended not to hear them.

Everyone pulled their small cots into the living room that evening, the couch's and table being pushed off to the side to make room for them all. Everyone had gathered and Kaminari took the chance to snuggle into Shinso, who gratefully accepted the contact.

It stayed quiet for only a moment as Aizawa drifted off into a deep sleep. He had purposely taken several sleeping pills thirty minutes prior. Give them some time to talk, maybe, hopefully, they'd be better in the morning. Too much time had passed.

The kids noticed the second he went unconscious. They were also aware that Aizawa had been the only staff on night shift that evening.

"So, now what?" Kirishima broke the silence.

No one spoke up instead letting the question hand in the air.

"I miss him." This time it was Uraraka, regret dripping in her voice. "I should've tried harder to get to him. Should've been stronge-,"

Katsuki cut her off with a whack to the back of her head. "Don't you dare!" He snarled. "What happened was not your fault! It's all that stupid fucking bird faces!"

The room fell back into silence until Uraraka cleared her throat with a gurgled sound. Everyone was horrified to see tears dripping down her face. "No. I've never been strong enough," Uraraka hissed. "If I was strong then why did my parents push me around? Why didn't I fight back when they hit me? Why didn't I do shit when they tossed me off the fucking roof? Because I'm weak and nothing can change that!"

"Your wrong." Katsuki's voice was quieter now. No one daring to interrupt the two. "If you're weak, what does that make me?" A sob escaped his mouth before he clamped it shut tightly. "My parents burned to death in front of me and I was helpless to stop it. My memories are gone and I couldn't even remember the damn nerd when he was right in front of me! You're not the only one who had doubts, round face. But you shut the fuck up and accept the fact that you are not weak. You are a survivor." He turned to glare at everyone in the room, forcing them to meet his gaze before turning away. "Every single one of you are!"

Tsuyu croaked up next after more moments of silence. "I'd almost been forcibly drowned. Wasn't allowed to say my opinion or a word about anything in life until here. Does that make me a survivor too? I haven't gone through as much as everything else, so I understand if it doesn't."