'Please be okay'
Like a mantra, Tsukauchi repeats that sentence in his mind as he speeds towards the USJ. He's probably broken a dozen speed limits and laws.
He doesn't care though. Not now. Not while a class full of teenagers are in danger. Not while Shadow- another kid, his mind adds- is risking his life for said class.
To think that, when Shadow called, Tsukauchi was thinking about how he was going to spend his lunch break.
He sees the USJ's dome from a distance and instantly knows that Shadow's been there.
There's a hole that goes through the middle of the dome. A fairly small, Shadow-sized hole. The glass surrounding it glimmers under the sunlight and Tsukauchi can't help but pray for everyone to be okay.
His prayers go unanswered that day.
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"He's hurt." Aizawa barely manages to cough out as soon as he sees Tsukauchi approach. "It's bad." Before he can say anything else, he's being carted away by paramedics, his mangled arm is still bleeding heavily. Although, other than the disintegrated elbow, the hero doesn't have any more injuries.
Tsukauchi's eyes widen and he freezes. It can't mean anything good if Aizawa is that worried.
Before he can think twice about it, he's already sprinting down the structure, trying to find the runaway vigilante.
The students said that Shadow fled the scene as soon as the villains were all taken care of. Depending on the information he got. Shadow was hurt, disoriented and bleeding heavily.
They said he was reacting to everything on instinct. As if he wasn't really present while making his escape.
Tsukauchi's stomach churns at the thought. Images of the kid, bleeding out somewhere. Injured and alone.
The blood trail he finds leads him to an outside fence. It doesn't help his worrying.
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Each step he takes is faster than the other. Something heavy settles on his shoulders. A weight crashing down on him, the bigger the blood trail gets.
Something stirs inside of him as he imagines himself finding the kid's body. A husk of the teen he once was.
He shakes his head, his jog turning into a full-on sprint as he finally reaches an alleyway.
Except, he doesn't find the body of an injured vigilante.
Instead, he finds it empty. The only evidence of any past encounter, is the small puddle of blood that's gathered near a dumpster.
He doesn't know if he should be relieved or even more worried.
In the end, he just hopes that the Shadow is okay.
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Consciousness comes to him in the form of a piercing headache.
The blackness in his eyes seems even darker, if that's possible.
He just barely registers that he's not in that alleyway anymore. Instead, on a quick inspection around him, he notices two things. One, it seems he's at the warehouse. Two, he's not alone.
He tries to get up but quickly regrets it. An agonizing jolt makes itself known in his ribs. Pain going through his whole body in waves.
It takes him a few moments to recover enough to be able to get a word out of his mouth.
"Hey Shinsou, thanks for the save." He tries to keep his voice light, despite the pain he's in.
Silence follows his words, although, he's sure Shinsou heard him, if the shift in the tension in his shoulders indicates anything.
"Can I have some aspirin please" He tries again. His attempt this time, is thankfully, answered.
"You sure you don't want an X-ray instead? Maybe a psych eval?" The teen hisses out in response. His voice gruff and tone angry.
In fact, he's never heard his friend this angry before.
"It's not like I wanted to get injured or anything..." Izuku can't help but mutter under his breath. His words are heard nonetheless.
"Are you that stupid or just crazy?" Before Izuku can even think of a response, the teen begins shouting. "You litteraly threw yourself at it! Do you want to die that badly! Is that it? Do you want to just throw your life away? For what? For me!?" The intensity in his words hit Izuku harder than the Nomu's punches. Shinsou's breath hitches like he's crying. It makes his heart clench and stomach curl in on itself. "Because if you're just going to kill yourself for me, I don't want it! I don't need this! Do you know how worried I was? How scared I was when I found you in that alley?! I thought you were DEAD! Do you even know what that's like?! To stand there and watch as someone you care about sacrifices themself?!" The teen seems to realize what he said after a second. The tension in his body breaks and he seems to slump in on himself. As if broken by a spell, the anger in his voice is gone. Replaced by a low murmur. "I- Izuku, I'm sorry- I didn't mean- y-your mom- I-I'm-"
"Nah, you're right. I wasn't thinking. I just- I couldn't watch someone I cared about get hurt. I couldn't let that happen. " The not again is left unsaid but is heard loud and clear. "I'm sorry too."
"Here, I'll bring you some aspirin, just don't move. Your injuries aren't healed yet." Shinsou gets up to bring the pills and just like that, they're back to an easy-going atmosphere. Neither of them keen on staying mad at each other. Especially after everything they've been through.
Shinsou gets back a few moments later with a glass of water and a couple of pills.
Izuku doesn't waste time in dawning the medicine down. His stomach growls and he can feel the heat reaching his face.
"Ah, figures you'd be hungry. You've been asleep for three days, after all." Shinsou chuckles lowly. "I'm going to go buy some stuff from the store 'round the corner. You need to get some supplies here dude."
Once again, he's left alone.
After what seems like an eternity, but couldn't be more than five minutes, he decides to try his luck and try to reach for the cup of water across the table.
However, as soon as he gets up, a striking pain erupts in his head. His entire world spins around him and darkens as he tries to make sense of his surroundings somehow.
Everything is louder, more pronounced. As if the word's sensations have all been intensified and put on full range. He feels the bandages around his wounded ribs scrape against his skin. The feeling amplified and agonizingly painful. Every shift of the fabric feels like he's being dragged across a rough concrete floor.
His ears ring with a booming sound. It thumbs against his head rhythmically. He vaguely registers that he's hearing his own heartbeat as if on stereo.
His hands shake and he unceremoniously drops the cup onto the floor. He braces himself for the inevitable cacophony of shattering glass. The tormenting shriek that follows. Yet, it never comes.
Instead, he finds himself in complete silence. As if he's been plunged into the water headfirst and his mind feels like it's filled with cotton.
He tries to speak but he can't hear a word. His throat aches after a while from the screaming.
His world is dark and oh so scary.
For once in his life, he's brought back to that fateful day at the hospital. The very first time he found his world plunged into absolute darkness. Before he used his powers. Before he was able to 'see' again.
Now, completely blind, and deaf to the world, he feel his life shatter all over again.
He realizes with a jolt, that he's never felt so alone, so scared before in his life.
Not even when he was lying there, near the dumpster in that alleyway. Bleeding and dying.
He curls in on himself, trying to find some comfort in the isolation, the total nothingness he's been subjected to.
His relief comes in the form of blissful unconsciousness.
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Shinsou expects to find a lot of things when he gets back. Mainly Izuku, being the reckless and doing something stupid again. Although, what he doesn't expect is to find the teen folded in on himself, as if to protect himself from the world around him.
He's sleeping- unconscious? - However, Shinsou can see him shake. Tremors running through his body.
Carefully, he places a hand on the boy, steadying him and grounding him. After a few gentle shakes, the boy, thankfully, wakes up again.
"Hey, you okay? What's wrong?" He tries to make his voice sound as calm as possible. He internally cheers when Izuku seems to come out of his shell.
"I-'m fi-"However, his relief is short-lived, when Izuku freezes mid-sentence. A surprised expression overtaking his features. "I- I can hear you?" It's said in a questioning tone despite the obvious reply.
"Why are- Weren't you able to hear before?" Familiar worry and fear gnaw at his stomach once again. Red flags flaring in his mind as he regrets not bringing the greenette to the Hospital when he had the chance.
"Shinsou, I think something's wrong."
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"What do you mean your powers are gone?" The panic in Shinsou's voice would be comical if Izuku wasn't occupied with his own racing thoughts at the moment.
"I can't see like I used to, it's gone. Everything is black... I- I'm blind Shinsou. Fully."
"They can't be gone just like that!" Izuku heard rustling, he guessed that Shinsou was pacing. "Maybe it's because of the hit you took to your head? Maybe you just need time to recover?" The desperation in his friend's voice was palpable even without his powers.
"I- I hope so..." They stayed quiet for a few minutes. Both of them trying to wrap their minds around this new development. While Shinsou was worried about his friend's health. 'The fact that he might have some serious brain damage.' Izuku was thinking more along the lines of how he was going to proceed with his nightly activities.
"You can't be serious?" Shinsou exclaims in exasperation.
"What? I didn't say anything!"
"You didn't have to! I know that look! It's your 'when am I going to go on patrol' look!" The teen is pacing now, his movements scream disapproval. "You are not going to go out there until you get better! Who knows what this could mean for your health! What if you have internal bleeding? You could have brain damage for all we know!" His words leave no place for dispute and Izuku knows better than to try and argue.
"Okay! I get it! Promise I won't go on patrol until I have my powers back." This seems to placate the teen, if only slightly. "Although..." He can hear his friend groaning. "I'm going to have to go to work. Food doesn't appear magically you know."
"Okay, but don't overwork yourself. And if you feel that anything is wrong you call me. Deal?"
"Deal."
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It's three days later that he's able to get up without doubling over in pain. His ribs ache but the medicine Shinsou brought him makes the pain bearable.
The walk to the coffee shop is hell. He barely manages to get there without bumping into too many people and walking into too many lamp posts. However, he does make it there in the end.
He's grown so used to living with the help of his powers that the sudden loss leaves an emptiness in his mind. The world is dark and empty and he hates it with his entire being.
He walks into the shop, his walking stick is basically an extension to his hand by now. He doesn't put it away like usual. Instead, he uses it to get to the counter safely. The vague memory of the shop's layout does help him though.
He hears someone walk up to the counter behind him. He doesn't know who it is until they speak up. He ignores the unnerving vulnerability he's feeling without his abilities.
"Midoriya." Eleanor's voice is even, measured. "Where have you been? Do you honestly think you can disappear on me for weeks and just get back to work like nothing happened?" Ah, there it is. He forgot about that. Although, in his defense, his day job wasn't his priority while he was dying.
He thinks she says something about responsibility, but whatever she said next is a blur in his memory. His mind too focused on one particular word that stood out during her speech. "You're fired." She says with a hint of anger, her composure never swaying throughout her speech. "-finish your shift today and then you're done."
Oh.
Fired.
This was bad.
The rest of his shift goes by in a blur. His mind going a mile a minute with his current predicament. He needs his job. He needs the money to survive. If it weren't for Ryu's warehouse, he'd be homeless right now. Not to mention, his need for support items and food.
Food.
He checked his supplies before going out today. He's almost out. He was relying on his weekly salary to be able to get by.
This was really bad.
He's making what he thinks is an iced coffee when the mug accidentally slips between his fingers. It crashes onto the ground with a resounding clang. Shards of glass shatter on the floor with a cacophony of chimes. He doesn't register the flash of pain he gets when the scorching liquid makes contact with his hands. The stinging in his fingers when he accidentally cuts them on the broken shards.
He's too lost in thought to actually realize what he's doing. The coffee shop has gone strangely quiet, some murmurs going through the room.
A hand on his shoulder surprises him. He barely manages to suppress a flinch when the unknown figure tries to usher him away. Tentative hands guiding him away from the fallen pieces.
Izuku takes a couple of steps back. His body unconsciously reacting to the unknown entity. Flight instincts taking over. Although he doesn't get far before he's bumping into another person. His stomach drops when he hears who it is.
"Enough Midoriya. Just get out of here." Eleanor's voice is cold. He thinks it's a great contrast to the kind women who gave him this job all these months ago. He supposes he can't really blame her though. He hasn't been the greatest employee.
She hands him his discarded walking stick and he doesn't linger a moment longer before bolting out of there.
He thinks he hears someone calling out to him but he can't be sure. He doesn't have it in him to care.
It's been a long time since he's felt this useless. Weak.
He walks in no particular direction. A vague whisper in his mind warns him about getting lost. He doesn't pay it any mind though.
His feet hit the asphalt in tandem with his walking stick. The clicking is grounding. He wills his mind to focus on the familiar sound. Trying his best to clear his thoughts. He doesn't need panic right now. He needs to get another job. He needs to find some kind of solution.
He bumps into someone on the sidewalk and his mind takes him somewhere he hasn't been in a while.
It happens again and this time he can't help but dwell on the memories.
He remembers his first few weeks at the orphanage. He remembers his uncontrollable powers. The unbearable sensory overloads he used to go through. The blackouts that would follow afterward. The days of complete blindness when he couldn't get his senses under control. He recalls the too loud nights when his hearing acted up.
He thinks of Denji's attempts at humor. The days he'd get cornered in the boy's locker room.
One particular event stands out more than the rest though.
That day he decided to work harder than ever to control his powers.
He remembers the promise he made himself that day. The promise to never feel so vulnerable and helpless ever again.
Denji and his lackeys had snuck up behind him in the locker room. They'd kept quiet and waited. They watched as Izuku got ready for his shower.
His powers weren't cooperating with him back then. He'd just gone through a particularly bad sensory overload. The result was an even longer blackout. He was completely blind that day.
He remembers thinking he was alone. He also remembers the sudden noises that would go through the lockers. Metal creaking from every direction.
The fear that shot through him with every clang was the most prominent in his memories. Every unknown sound making his hair stand on end.
He remembers himself calling out for them to stop. To just leave him alone.
The only response he'd get was louder noises from unexpected directions.
The next thing he remembers is cowering into the room's corner. His hands buried in his hair, fingers digging into his skull. As he cried out for them to just STOP. Laughter was their response. Cruel and loud.
That's how the head of the house found him that night. Curled up, on the cold tiles of the locker room floor.
He got a month of cleaning duties for skipping dinner.
He's broken out of his spiral down memory lane by the sounds of screeching tires and people shouting.
He figures he's breaking that promise right about now.