….
[U.A. High School]
[Next Morning]
The three of them stayed together through the night, and when morning came, they had no choice but to return to their routines.
Meanwhile, Dabi, who had spent the entire night at U.A., decided to visit his students. But first gathered updates on the situation across all locations, confirming that everyone was safe except for Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, and Shoto Todoroki.
After making sure Eri was settled and promising he would be back soon, he said his goodbyes and left.
As for Himiko Toga, he chose to put that matter on hold.
The situation around her was a mess, the kind that, if exposed, would trigger public outrage that U.A. might not be able to shield him from.
And he was certain the Hero Public Safety Commission would not miss a chance to move against him.
If they did, he almost welcomed it.
Because in his mind, it would be an opportunity to make one thing clear.
He was no longer someone they think they could control.
….
Dabi stood outside the hospital room where his three students were stationed, watching through the window as a very familiar, and very annoying, figure lectured them.
Kenji Tsuragamae, Chief of the Police Force, stood at the foot of the hospital beds with his arms crossed. His beagle-like features were set in an expression of stern disapproval.
"–vigilantism is a serious offense, woof." he was saying, his verbal tic punctuating every other sentence. "While your intentions may be considered admirable, you engaged in unauthorized hero activity without supervision or clearance, woof, and as minors still undergoing training, this represents a substantial breach of–"
Dabi pushed open the door.
"Chief Tsuragamae." he said, his voice carefully neutral. "I am confident my students understand the seriousness of their actions. So perhaps this discussion can continue once they are no longer recovering from injuries that nearly killed them."
Kenji turned to face him, and his expression shifted to something between exasperation and resignation.
"Ah… Blue Sun." he replied with a long sigh, ears twitching slightly. "Like teacher, like students, woof."
Dabi raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"The Water Hose incident, woof. You were only hours away from your graduation ceremony when you chose to engage an A-rank villain without authorization, woof. And fast forward to years, I am still dealing with the paperwork your student created."
"You've got a long memory, Chief." Dabi pointed out.
"Is that meant to be an insult?"
"That depends - do you want to take it that way?"
The three students had been watching this exchange with varying expressions. Midoriya looked guilty, Todoroki appeared contemplative while Bakugo just looked annoyed at being lectured while immobilized.
Dabi shifted his attention back to Kenji. "And for the record, this situation isn't comparable to mine. So let's not conflate the two, because my students were responding to an active kidnapping involving one of their own.
"Also, they alerted a licensed hero, me, before engaging. They maintained a defensive position to facilitate civilian evacuation instead of pursuing combat, and they prevented casualties that would have occurred if they had waited for official response protocols."
"All of which is why they're not being charged with vigilantism, woof." Kenji acknowledged. "But it doesn't change the fact that they put themselves in enormous danger, that nearly killed them, woof."
"I am aware." Dabi's tone made it clear that particular fact was currently his main concern. "Is there anything else, Chief? Because my students need rest, and I have a press conference to attend."
Kenji studied him for a long moment, then sighed again. "Just... try to instill some sense of self-preservation in them, woof. The hero world needs people willing to take risks, yes. But it also needs those people to survive long enough to actually become heroes, woof."
"Working on it."
"I am sure you are, woof." Kenji headed for the door, pausing beside Dabi. "For what it's worth, what they did was brave, woof."
He left and Dabi turned to face his students, and his expression was complicated.
"Before you say anything–" Bakugo started.
"I am not angry." Dabi interrupted. "Well, I am, but not for the reasons you think."
He walked closer to the beds. "The problem is that you three nearly died…"
"I am not going to tell you what you did was wrong." Dabi continued. "Because it wasn't. But I am going to make damn sure you're strong enough that next time, and there will be a next time, you can handle it without destroying yourselves in the process."
A knock at the door interrupted whatever response the students might have given.
The rest of Class 1-A poured in, carrying balloons, cards, flowers, and various get-well gifts.
"Midoriya!" Uraraka rushed to his bedside. "We heard what happened! Are you okay?"
"Bakugo, your hands!" Kirishima looked genuinely distressed. "Man, that's so unmanly! I mean, not unmanly that you got hurt, but, you know what I mean!"
"I don't know what you mean, Shitty Hair." Bakugo growled.
Todoroki was receiving similar attention from his classmates, with Yaoyorozu looking particularly worried and Iida delivering a characteristic lecture about following proper procedures.
Koda stood slightly apart from the group, looking guilty and miserable despite the well-wishes his classmates had given him.
"Koda." Dabi addressed him directly. "Come here for a moment."
The boy approached nervously.
"You handled yourself well under pressure." Dabi continued. "Using your Quirk to call for help, relaying precise location data through your birds, and trusting your classmates to act on it… that's exactly what effective crisis response looks like."
"B-but if I hadn't been captured–" Koda started.
"Those Nomu would have been deployed without any warning, and the casualties would have been far worse." Dabi's expression softened slightly. "So don't overthink this and start blaming yourself, because what happened wasn't your fault… Do you understand me?"
Koda nodded, looking slightly less miserable.
The door opened again, and this time Aizawa entered, looking even more exhausted than usual.
"Visiting hours are nearly over." he announced. "Wrap things up and say your goodbyes."
The students began to file out, still chattering about the attack and recovery and everything else.
But Aizawa remained, along with Dabi.
Once the room was clear except for the three injured students, Aizawa spoke.
"As the end of the term approaches, you will all be sitting for exams, including written tests that cover everything you have learned over the semester."
"When exactly–" Midoriya started, already tense despite the bandages.
"After you are discharged and cleared for light activity, which, according to the reports, will take roughly three weeks." Aizawa cut in without pause.
"Three weeks?!" Bakugo's voice rose. "You expect me to stay stuck in this hospital for that long?"
"You don't have a choice." Aizawa replied evenly, unmoved. "Your hands require proper recovery time, even with assistance, and you're not risking permanent damage because you're impatient."
He let that settle for a beat before continuing. "And that's only part of it, because there will also be a practical component to the exam."
The three of them exchanged looks, the shift in tone drawing their focus.
"What kind of practical exam are we talking about?" Todoroki asked, his voice calm but intent.
"You will be briefed when the time comes, so for now your only priority is recovery." Aizawa replied, cutting off any further questions before they could form.
He paused at the door, his expression unreadable for a moment. "For what it's worth, the three of you held the line when it mattered, and that's not something I take lightly…
"It takes real heroism to do what you did, but if you ever put yourselves in that level of danger again without exhausting every other option first… I will personally ensure your next year at U.A. is something you will regret on a daily basis."
"Yes, sensei." all three answered in unison.
Aizawa gave a small, almost imperceptible nod before turning away, and without another word, both he and Dabi stepped out, leaving the room to settle in their absence.
….
After staying three days in the hospital, they had been moved from the ICU to a general ward during that time.
It was late at night.
Bakugo was fast asleep, and so was Todoroki.
However, even though Midoriya did seem like he was sleeping, his body was sweating, as if he was running a marathon.
His face was tight, his breathing uneven, his fingers twitching against the hospital sheets.
The discomfort was visible even from across the room: small movements, micro-flinches, the look of someone whose body was asleep but whose mind was somewhere else entirely.
….
Izuku Midoriya was somewhere else.
The space had no floor, ceiling, or walls, just a vast, formless darkness stretching in every direction, less like emptiness and more like being inside something.
A dense green mist covered him from the chest down, clinging like water and obscuring everything below, while the same substance pressed over his mouth, stealing his voice.
Beside him, a woman stood.
She was beautiful - clear and sharply defined, more so than anything else in that space, as if proximity here was measured by something other than distance.
Beyond her, others stood in a line stretching into the dark. Their forms faded the farther they went, features blurring and dissolving until the last was nothing but a faint silhouette of golden light, the outline of a man barely holding shape.
Midoriya's chest tightened, he had experienced something similar before.
During the sports festival, when Shinso's brainwashing quirk had caught him and pulled him under.
These were the same people.
But unlike before, he was the one who entered their space.
'Are they the vestiges of One For All?' that was the only conclusion Midoriya had reached.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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