As with any profession, being a hero teacher at UA came with pestering downsides. Aizawa was experiencing first hand the annoying downside of being a teacher in the spotlight.
"Eraserhead! What was the cause of the UA explosion last night?!"
"Is it true that one of the students was arrested?!"
"Who was the mysterious person seen at the scene of the crime?!"
"How can parents trust UA with multiple attacks happening here?!"
"Where were the heroes?! Where was All Might?!"
The veteran hero sighed in annoyance at the press conference he was forced to attend by Principal Nezu who was at police HQ at the time.
"This is all I'm going to say on the matter. The explosion last night was caused by a small self-contained explosive device. Every member of the security staff was safe and uninjured thanks to an anonymous hero that was on the scene. Thanks to the police and bomb squad unit, planted explosives in the basement were found, disarmed, and removed. The school has been combed through and deemed safe by the police department as well as the UA heroes on staff. We are questioning the suspect at large to determine the scale of our future security at UA and as of right now, school will resume tomorrow."
Aizawa took a breath and looked directly in the camera for the nationwide news; everyone arrived on the scene as soon as the police gave the 'ok'.
"To the parents who are concerned about the safety of your children...just know that their safety is our absolute priority and all of our staff members are trained specifically to protect your children. There is always a trained hero with your children at all times, ensuring their safety. Any questions regarding future procedures and other concerns can be addressed to Principal Nezu's office."
The press tried desperately to get Aizawa to answer more questions but the hero was just anxious to go back to the hospital to check on you. He felt a rock hard lump in his gut consisting of guilt and worry when it came to thinking about you. The doctors proved you had a concussion...and you have still yet to wake up.
You sacrificed everything to protect the people at UA...and if that didn't make you just as much of a hero as All Might, he didn't know what did.
~~
Katsuki sat in front of the TV with his parents early in the morning when UA announced school was closed from the day. Their eyes were all glued on the TV, Katsuki's eyes wide in nervousness as the news station played footage from Aizawa's interview.
"...the security staff was safe and uninjured thanks to an anonymous hero that was on the scene..."
"Mom...did you see (y/n) this morning?" Katsuki asked slowly. Mitsuki looked upwards, trying to recall if she saw your face this morning or last night.
"I don't think so...that's weird." Masaru, Katsuki's father, looked at his son in concern.
"I don't think I saw her either. You don't think she was there was she?" Katsuki felt sick suddenly. If you were missing, then you most certainly went to UA to check on the incident from the night before. If everything was alright, then you would have returned home...back to Katsuki.
But you were nowhere to be found.
"I need to go." Katsuki stood up to go put on a sweatshirt, remembering that it was still chilly outside and knowing you'd yell at him otherwise. Masaru placed a palm on his son's chest to stop him, a concerned expression on his elder face.
"Be careful. If there are problems at UA then they might be targeting students. Be strong and protect her like the hero you are." Katsuki's father took a very simplistic and uninvolved approach to parenting such a proud and bold boy like Katsuki. Although, when Katsuki's father did step up to say something, Katsuki always took the message to heart. A man of little words only uses the ones that matter.
"Yeah. Got it. I'll be back."
Katsuki had no idea where to go. You clearly weren't at the school because police were there and he knew you were a mercenary. Maybe your dorm?
Katsuki dialed your number on his phone but only an empty and eerie dial tone played...as if your phone didn't exist.
"What the...fuck?" Katsuki started to jog towards the school dorms, heading towards your room. Once he got closer to UA, then he began to run. Police, media, concerned citizens, the place was just as populated as last time something happened. All these people...but where were you?!
Katsuki breathlessly pounded on your dorm room door just to hear an echoing silence behind the wood.
"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! (Y/n) where the fuck are you?!"
"Oh? You're looking for her too huh? My guess is she's at Musutafu Hospital after those injuries last night." Katsuki turned around to see a large muscular blond that towered over him. His presence reminded Katsuki of All Might.
"Who the fuck are you and what are you talking about?" The blond smiled brightly, a glowing sunshine aura around him.
"I'm Mirio! I was the one who found Miss (Y/n) yesterday. Hey if she wakes up when you see her, can you tell her I'm sorry I saw her in her underwear?"
Katsuki launched himself at the man, grabbing his collar with lightning reflexes to bring Mirio to be face to face with him.
"What. The. Fuck. Did you just fucking say to me?!" Mirio seemed completely relaxed in the face of Katsuki, something the latter was not expecting.
"Hey man! I saw the nice lady get hurt and had to put some clothes on her! Didn't want to bring a half-naked girl to the ambulance!"
Katsuki felt some of his blood vessels pop.
His eyes went white in anger and he was ready to blow up Mirio in his hands when the youthful teen felt his quirk being erased.
"Bakugo. Mirio. Stop drawing attention to yourselves." The two blonds looked to see Aizawa standing a short distance away in the outer dorm hall, his hair up and out of his face as well as fresh business apparel on his lanky frame. This only egged Katsuki on further.
"This creep was making pervy moves on (Y/n) and you're telling me to calm down?!" Aizawa's glowing red eyes narrowed sharply.
"Yes. I am. Mirio saved her life last night and helped to save her identity by putting her in civilian clothes instead of her hero garb. It's thanks to him that she wasn't handcuffed to her cot this morning. So keep your mouth shut and both of you come with me if you want to see her in the hospital." Eraserhead's words cut deep into Katsuki's pride and anger.
He wasn't there to protect you.
He wasn't there to save you.
He wasn't there.
...but this random third year was.
Katsuki felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he stared at the huge and muscular heroic frame of the eighteen-year-old in front of him.
After all, how could he ever become the number one hero if he couldn't even protect the woman he loves?
~~
Katsuki always hated hospitals.
The fluorescent white lights, the constant beeping of machinery, the distant chatter of nurses and staff...Even the smell of floor cleaner seemed so much more dreary in the hospital. Yet he found himself in the hospital more often than not just to take care of you.
You fought Stain, the hero killer, just a few days ago. You fought the UA traitor last night. You've saved your class twice within a week from people that could have killed them. Without even being a hero, you have done incredible heroic acts without any recognition for it. How could Katsuki measure up to that? He felt the rock in his gut continue to grow as guilt and animosity towards himself grew like a cancer.
How could you ever want to be with a guy that wasn't there when you needed him?
Eraserhead guided the two UA students to your hospital room door, the bench outside occupied by a large form All Might.
"Ah Young Bakugo and Young Mirio. It's good to see you." All Might spoke pleasantly. He heard from Aizawa in the early hours of the morning what happened to you, and also the heroic behavior of Mirio when he came to the rescue. All Might felt similar to Bakugo in the moment of the phone call: useless.
Aizawa took the initiative to talk to All Might.
"How is she? I made sure to bring the idiots along."
"Hey!" Katsuki growled. Mirio simply smiled and that smile was pissing him off even more.
This annoying smiley fuck is almost as bad as fucking Deku.
"She's mostly the same. They are trying to get her to wake up right now actually, hence why I'm not in the room." Katsuki came forward towards the bulky hero in concern.
"Can someone fucking explain what happened?! What happened to her?!" A simple looking man in a white button-down shirt and professional black slacks came from the hospital room, seeing the crowd collected for you.
"I think I could help clear the air a bit."
"Tsukauchi!" All Might called out.
"Hey man." He greeted. The detective continued while looking at the four men outside of your room.
"She's not in good shape but she's awake." Everyone released a held breath. "Doctors said she has a concussion and should be on bed rest for a little while. She also has several lacerations from shattered glass that was embedded into her sides. She was conscious and aware enough to give me full details on the events that transpired. She even offered to provide a level of intelligence support on the League of Villains we are severely lacking on in exchange for her freedom and the ability for her to participate in the traitor interrogation."
"You aren't going to arrest her are you?!" Katsuki exclaimed. All Might placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to cool him off.
"Young Bakugo please don't worry. Tsukauchi is a friend and is fully aware of who (y/n) is." The detective smiled at Bakugo when the red-eyed boy seemingly began to calm down.
"He's right. I have been tasked on this case for a while and have been alerted by All Might about (y/n)'s presence and position in the school since it was discovered. If anything, we are working on the same team and she is simply using skills and talents I just don't have." Mirio leaned forward with an excited smile on his bright face.
"Ooh this sounds interesting! What is her position? Why is she special! I wanna know more!" Katsuki had enough of this guy already. He almost preferred Deku's presence instead. Mirio seemed entranced by you and the scalding rage Katsuki felt when he realized that just kept burning brighter.
"Just shut the fuck up Tintin and let the detective fucking talk." Mirio turned his happy expression towards the fuming Katsuki.
"Oo looks like someone's a grumpy boy today." All Might had to use an iron grip to keep Katsuki in place along with Eraserhead's ability to stunt quirks.
Mirio knew exactly what he was doing and was having fun with it. It wasn't right of Katsuki to be so defensive and protective of every guy who looked your way, but his heart was in the right place. Mirio openly admitted to seeing you in a vulnerable state despite having good intentions. That made Katsuki loathe him on the spot. He was jealous that Mirio was there for you when he should have been and he was pissed that the happy-go-lucky guy knew it too.
Tsukauchi decided it was best to cut in.
"Uh...well...back to what I was saying...yeah this is what happened last night apparently..."
~~
You were sitting up in your hospital bed, bandages wrapped around your forehead, arms, torso, and some select part of your legs. It wasn't as severe as it could have been. Your injuries scaled between a moderate concussion to a bruised rib and some lacerations of the skin from being blasted through a school window.
You woke up to a detective questioning you, a face you recognized from newspapers and articles about All Might and his past endeavors. It took him a little while to gain your trust but eventually, the deals you made helped you relax.
The sound of yelling after Tsukauchi left the room made your heart thump with utter joy and relief.
Katsuki is here.
The fact you recognized him by his yelling made you chuckle silently, an amusing testament to his ever irritated temper. To think you started to fall in love with someone like that seemed just as irrational...
...but sometimes reality can be just as crazy as fantasy.
The door opened to reveal your bright scarlet-eyed boyfriend who seemed to release all tension he had at the sight of you.
"(Y/n)." Sometimes just hearing your name spoken from his raspy low-tone voice was more than enough to get your cheeks flushed.
"Kacchan you came to see me!" The room then started to fill up with All Might, Eraserhead, the detective, as well as a teenage boy you've never met before.
"...And you brought friends...?" Katsuki quickly crossed the room to sit in the chair next to your bedside.
"I...I wasn't there." Katsuki clenched his fist in aggravation towards himself.
"How would you have known I was going to sneak off? I was hired to protect everyone. Including you Katsuki. This is simply just the repercussions of my work." You tried to cheer him up but something in his eyes cut into your heart.
"It's not that...it's just...I promised you I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. And yet I failed to be there when you needed me." You reached a hand over to cover Katsuki's fist so you could slowly smooth out his grip until he was holding your semi-bandaged hand.
"Katsuki...don't blame yourself for this. This isn't your fault." Eraserhead decided to chime in.
"She's right Bakugo. As every student in this school is, she struggles with learning how to become a hero. If you're there every time a villain shows up, how will she ever step forward as an individual successful hero? She'd never gain the opportunity to learn how it feels to be a true hero." Katsuki completely understood exactly what Eraserhead was saying. His pride was telling him to protect you, that you were the person he always had to be the hero for and save. But what about you? All this endless hard work you put in to protect him and all his fellow students would be worth nothing if he just came in to do it himself.
The reality of this situation was that you were simply not a damsel in distress. You were strong, intelligent, and fast. Not to mention, you were more than capable of taking care of yourself and protecting other people as you worked.
You were more than capable of being a hero.
Silence came over the room for half a beat before you decided to speak up.
"Sooo...uh who are you? Er- not to be rude or anything." You asked the strange muscular boy in the room. He gave off a warm and inviting presence just like All Might.
"I wish I could have introduced myself sooner! My name is Mirio Togata and I am a third-year at UA as well as the top student! I was there to take you to the ambulance last night!"
"Oh! Thanks! You probably saved my life!" Katsuki was back to his angry self.
"Except this creep is forgetting to tell you that he dressed you before he took you to the ambulance!" Your face became redder than a lobster as you boiled over in embarrassment.
"Um...what?..." Mirio put up his hands and sheepishly scratched the back of his golden blond hair.
"Okay well like I saw you phase through your door all injured to hell and back and when I knocked on the door you didn't answer! So then I phased through the door to see you in a puddle of your own blood, in your underwear and unconscious! So I just thought to put you in clothes and take you to the ambulance myself!"
You and Katsuki froze at the same time. You decided to speak first.
"W-wait so you're telling me you can phase through objects too?"
"Yeah! I think we have the same quir-"
A knock on the hospital door ended the conversation right then and there. Eraserhead perked up and headed towards the door with a bored look on his face.
"Oh, (y/n), I have a surprise for you." You were perplexed, looking to All Might and Katsuki for answers but both of them seemed unaware. The door to your room opened to show six uniformed security guards all with tired expressions on their faces.
"(Y/n), these are the six men whose lives you saved last night." Eraserhead told you.
Those words alone sent a chill down your spine with butterflies erupting in your chest.
"Thanks to you, I was able to go home to my wife and newborn daughter without so much as a scratch." One officer said.
"Yeah, if you weren't there, I never would have been able to help my parents afford their first vacation."
"Without you, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to raise my twin boys...thank you."
Suddenly all of the officers bowed at a ninety-degree angle, a sign of deep respect and gratitude. Eraserhead, All Might, and the detective all followed suit. Your eyes were wide and you felt the breath in your lungs hitch as if all oxygen was lost. Katsuki looked at the glittering shine in your eyes, feeling embarrassed for saying he should have been the one to fight the traitor.
This was the moment Aizawa talked about. This was everything you've been working for.
"Thank you (y/n). You saved every one of us and served this community with honor." A security guard spoke.
You tried to swallow the growing lump in your throat to prevent tears from welling in your eyes, but your mentor, All Might, had other ideas.
The pro-hero and shining symbol of peace was bowing before you in respect and gratitude.
"You, Young (y/n)...you just became a true hero."
Nothing could stop the everlasting stream of tears that billowed down your cheeks.