Central Hospital – Room 214B
9:12 A.M., the day after the Sports Festival.
The room where Izuku should be was quite, replaced by a figure standing still, holding hospital gowns in contemplation.
It was Nezu. The being that lost his fort.
With U. A gone, Nezu has taken everyone to the nearest hospital, Musutafu central hospital.
However, one thing about Nezu should always be clear.
He sucks at giving up.
Nezu will rebuild U. A.
Stronger, bigger, safer and better.
He'll bring better staffing, better security and buy more surrounding land.
In fact, Nezu has decided to create an entire university.
The university of U. A.
Nezu liked the sound of that.
A knock on the door caught his attention and from it entered Iida Tenya.
A person he expected to see as this was the hospital where his brother was moved into for extensive limb surgery.
"Sensei..." Iida, disheveled and clearly lacking sleep, opened the door and entered quietly.
His gaze lingered on the gowns Nezu was holding in his paws. "Is Midoriya well?"
"..."
Nezu sighed.
"He's well... He had to be taken to have his injuries looked at for further recovery, the doctors are positive we can get him in top shape soon." Nezu lied with a straight face.
A white lie is a good lie.
It still is a lie though.
But sometimes, people need to lie to each other to protect each other.
A contradiction that makes no sense but works on humans.
Why? Because people are emotional beings and should be lied to.
For a nation to thrive and succeed, one must tell the masses that the world is flourishing with safety and resources.
Even if it is a lie, people can make it a reality through time and effort.
That, in itself, is a mercy.
"I see...!" Iida's eyes had a glow to them, a feeling of hope returning to them.
However, his joy died when he realized that he was far away during it all.
Throughout the entire attack last night, Iida wasn't there. He was here, tending to his brother.
All night long.
He only realized that U. A was attacked in the morning when he got out of the room.
Shock after shock gave birth to an overstimulated mind that began seeking for solace.
"... You should rest, young man," Nezu walked to the door. "Everything is okay, don't worry about your classmates, everyone's fine." He walked out after speaking in a fake cheerful tone.
Nezu only hoped that Izuku's plan could work... Whatever it was.
Tenya stood still for a while, listening to the calm ticking of the watch.
It was soothing for his exhausted mind.
Controlled, expected, harmless.
No action, just a boring tick that would dull anyone to sleep.
Eventually, his weary eyes turned to a paper on the bed frame. Patient tag for his friend, Izuku Midoriya.
"... Hmm?"
He stared at the IV rack. At the monitor, idling with a blank screen.
And then, his gaze dropped to the chart hanging off the foot of the bed.
> Both arms amputated below the elbow. Third degree burns and blood loss. Severe muscle and joint trauma.
Recovery administered. Internal bleeding stabilized. Limbs irrecoverable.<
Slowly, his eyes arose until shock took place.
The paper rustled in his shaky grip.
"…Midoriya…"
His voice cracked, and he hated how weak it sounded.
He sat down on the edge of the bed. His knees bent. Shoulders hunched. There were no cameras watching. No classmates nearby. No image to uphold.
He really wished for sleep.
He let it all out in a low whisper.
"I wasn't there."
He clenched his fists—whole, uninjured, useless.
"I'm... Powerless."
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, in entered his classmates.
They had talked earlier when they visited his brother.
"Hey..." Iida hid the paper.
The hallway echoed with hesitant footsteps. A group of teens shuffled toward the door, bouquets clutched awkwardly, plastic bags rustling with snack packs, cards, and get-well letters that had been scribbled half a dozen times.
Kirishima carried a massive bouquet of red roses, thorns already poking through the wrapping. Kaminari held an unwrapped box of chocolates, three already missing. Yaoyorozu had prepared a proper fruit basket, wrapped and bowed.
But it was Uraraka who led the group.
She walked silently, eyes forward, one hand clutching a single white rose so tightly her knuckles were pale.
She had been quiet the whole way. No jokes. No small talk. No fake smile.
When they reached the door snd entered, it was Iida who turned, sitting on the bed. His expression was unreadable for a moment—until he looked at Uraraka.
"He's not here," Iida said softly. "They moved him this morning."
Uraraka blinked. "W-What? Already? Why?"
"They said it was for disinfectant work. Some kind of deep scan treatment after surgery." Iida avoided eye contact.
"...Surgery?" Yaoyorozu asked, brows knitting in concern.
"Nezu told me earlier," Iida continued. "He said Izuku is stable. Just recovering elsewhere." he discreetly clenched his fist.
"Why not tell us?" Tokoyami muttered, his eyes shadowed.
"He probably didn't want us to worry," Jirou added. "Too late for that."
"I just wanted to say thank you…" Ashido murmured, holding up a glittery get-well card.
Sero placed a small paper crane on the windowsill.
Uraraka slowly walked into the room.
It was far too quiet.
The bed was untouched, folded with robotic precision. The faint scent of antiseptic hung in the air, cold and unforgiving. A patient tag lay folded on the side table.
MIDORIYA IZUKU.
Uraraka's feet carried her forward without thought.
She looked at the hospital gown left behind.
A rose slipped from her fingers onto the sheets.
"I didn't get to tell him…" she whispered. "That he didn't have to fight so hard alone…"
Kirishima stepped beside her. "He wouldn't have let anyone else do it. You know that."
"But he lost both his hands," she said, her voice trembling now. "Both of them…"
"But he's alive. Everyone is alive thanks to him. He did it," Tsuyu said gently from behind, "for us."
Uraraka bit her lip. "He always pushes himself like that. Always thinks he has to bleed for everyone else. First, it's the cafeteria breakout, then, at U. S. J. then he trained us for 2 whole weeks before saving us again last night. He always... Saves us."
"..."
Bakugo remained quiet.
He knew what happened last night.
Izuku had fought with 5 of the High-end Nomus by himself, then he took on the symbol of peace alongside an injured All Might.
Bakugo can only imagine how hard it was.
It took the awakening of his Quirk to defeat 1 high-end Nimu yet Izuku dealt with 5 of them at once, then All for One.
No wonder he blew his arms out.
Shinso scrunched his eyebrows in frustration, his jaw biting down as he turned his gaze.
Aoyama Yuga looked down, his eyes lifeless.
He did this. He caused this.
Because of him, the symbol of peace is critically injured. His classmate became a cripple on death's door.
He told him about his mother's location. He told him where his classmates were.
It was all his fault.
Uraraka turned to Iida. "Where is he really?"
Iida met her eyes—and for a brief moment, something flickered. Doubt. Hesitation. A crack in the surface of Nezu's convenient explanation.
"I… don't know anymore," he said quietly.
There was a long silence.
Then, Yaoyorozu stepped forward, placing her fruit basket on the bedside table.
One by one, they all did the same. Trinkets. Notes. Flowers. Every gesture loud in its silence.
At last, Uraraka reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a folded photo.
It was from the stands of the Sports Festival—Izuku smiling nervously as he waved to her, raising a thumb up like a champ. She had taken it herself. Not with a phone—just a small, disposable camera she'd bought on a whim.
She laid it beside the gown, next to the rose.
"I'll be waiting," she whispered. "So come back soon. Dummy."
She turned, joining her classmates in the doorway.
Behind them, the quiet room felt just a little warmer. The single white rose on the pillow swayed gently under the breeze of the air vent.
===
"Four hours. I have four hours left to save the symbol of peace," he muttered behind a bush, outside of Overhaul's hideout.
Izuku crouched low in the bushes, his breathing steady. His arms—what remained of them—throbbed, the pain a dull reminder of what he had lost. He ignored it.
Down below, two guards stood near the side entrance of Overhaul's hideout. Neither seemed particularly alert.
The taller one, a man with slicked-back brown hair, leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed. "Hey, Kazu, you ever get the feeling that we're in a really bad profession?"
The shorter, bulkier one with a buzz cut—Kazu—huffed. "What? The hell are you talking about?"
"I mean, think about it," the taller one continued. "Our boss literally explodes people. The guy he works with? Literally calls himself the demon king. And our coworkers? A bunch of creeps in bird masks. Tell me this job doesn't have a high mortality rate."
Kazu scratched his chin. "I dunno. Pays well. And it's not like I'm gonna get exploded."
"You're way too confident about that."
"I make sure to bow real low when Chisaki walks by. That's, like, the main rule." Kazu stretched, groaning. "Can you suggest a better job in this economy? I ain't the bad guy here, I'm just trying to survive."
"..."
"You know I can't get a job anywhere else... My kind is not that liked." the reptilian man sighed.
"... Right. Sorry."
"Anyway, hold my post. I gotta take a leak."
The taller guard sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Try not to fall in or something."
Kazu disappeared behind the treeline.
Izuku moved.
In an instant, he stepped from the shadows and struck the remaining guard at the base of the neck. The man barely had time to gasp before crumpling. Izuku caught him and dragged him into the bushes.
With a slow breath, he touched his face and activated his ability. His body shifted—bones rearranging, muscles morphing, skin stretching. Within moments, he had taken on the man's appearance.
That just left the original.
Izuku quickly stole his clothes as well.
"My arms... They're back..."
However, they were weak. Like a cheap knockoff.
He worked quickly, using his teeth and tentacles to strip the unconscious guard down to his underclothes. Then, he tied the man to a tree with torn strips of his uniform, securing the knots with his teeth. The final touch—a gag fashioned from the man's own undershirt, stuffed into his mouth and tied tight.
He checked his work. Secure. Hidden. Silent.
Izuku turned and walked out of the trees just as Kazu returned, fastening his belt.
"Man," Kazu grumbled, "I swear I heard something in the bushes. You see anything?"
Izuku, now wearing the guard's face, just stared. "…No."
Kazu frowned. "You okay, man? You look stiff."
"I need to tell Chisaki something," Izuku said, voice flat. "You stay here."
Kazu squinted. "What? About what?"
"Above your clearance. Do you want him to notice you snooping on his private business?"
That shut him up. Kazu puffed out his chest. "Oh. Right. Well, uh… yeah. Go do your thing."
Izuku nodded and turned toward the hideout.
Three steps in, he stopped.
'Wait… where is Chisaki?'
Slowly, he turned back. "…Where's he again?"
Kazu gave him a look. "…Are you serious?"
Izuku's face didn't change. "You know how forgetful I am, help me out."
Kazu sighed, rubbing his temples. "Second left, through the double doors. Did you hit your head or something?"
Izuku just walked away.
Kazu shook his head. "I swear, this job attracts weirdos..."
He paused, a rising an eyebrow. "Wait... Since when did Kobu call Chisaki by name? Wasn't it always 'boss'?"
He shook his head, dismissing the thought. " Oh well, I'm not paid enough to care... "
---
Izuku walked into the hideout with measured steps, every movement controlled. He could feel his missing hands, the phantom sensation of fingers curling into fists that no longer existed. No distractions. He had a mission.
The hallways were dimly lit, the air thick with the sterile scent of disinfectant. It smelled more like a hospital hallway than normal building.
Footsteps echoed faintly from different directions. He needed to move fast.
A thug turned the corner ahead, momentarily off the view of the cameras.
He has 3 seconds to do this.
Izuku acted instantly. He stepped forward, driving a knee into the man's stomach. Before he could cry out, Izuku slammed him into the wall, pressing his forehead against the man's skin. His quirk activated. Flesh shifted.
Moments later, Izuku wore his form.
The real guard? Stripped to his underwear and stuffed into a janitor's closet.
He moved deeper inside, repeating the process.
Another patrol. Taken down. Their body folded into a locker.
A passing grunt. Silenced, knocked out, crammed under a desk.
Each new disguise brought him closer to his goal, and his silent invasion left a trail of unconscious men shoved into increasingly ridiculous hiding spots.
At last, he reached his target: the security room.
"Hey," he greeted out routinely.
A shorter woman replied routinely, eyes on the screen. "Hey. Did you bring it?"
"... Bring what?"
"My morning expresso that I told you about! Don't tell me you forgot?" she spoke in an irritated tone.
"Right, right. I'll get it next time I get out."
"Guh! You're unbelievable." The woman rolled her eyes. "Sasaki, is there a secret meeting going on?"
"I wasn't told so, why ask?" Izuku approached the woman sitting on the chair from behind.
"Well... It's weird how empty the hallways are, usually everyone is walking everywhe—GUHCK!!" The woman didn't get to finish talking before Izuku struck her nape with a tendril, knocking her out cold.
Izuku locked the door and turned to the monitors.
Sick old man strapped to a bed.
A man playing a poker game.
Another one browsing social media.
His sharp eyes scanned the multiple camera feeds until—
There.
A small, pale girl. White hair. Red eyes. Playing with a teddy bear.
Eri.
Izuku exhaled slowly. He turned and left the room, taking the form of another goon along the way.
Navigating the hideout, he reached her holding cell. The guards were dealt with rather easily, he took another form.
He pushed the door open. Eri flinched, her tiny frame curling up.
Izuku softened his voice. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."
She didn't respond, only staring at him with wide, uncertain eyes.
Why is the mean guard being nice? The child couldn't understand.
"S-stay... Away..." she clutched her teddy bear, fear coloring her eyes as she retreated to a corner.
"..."
Izuku regretted not doing this earlier. He regretted not saving her.
In fact, he only came to save her because he needed her.
Shishido wasn't a hero. He only saved those he cared about.
Tapping into his Quirks, he activated his Quirk, SleepingGas.
An oderless, invisible gas shot out in large quantities around the room.
No time for explanations.
He knelt, touching her forehead gently. His ability worked in pulling her into unconsciousness without pain. She slumped forward.
Lifting her carefully, Izuku turned and retraced his steps, heart hammering.
He was almost at the exit when he felt it.
A presence.
He stopped.
Overhaul stood at the end of the hall.
Izuku's grip on Eri tightened, more tendrils coating her body.
Silence.
Then Overhaul spoke.
"Shiki... No, he'd never look at me like that…You're not one of mine."
Chisaki walked forward, taking off his gloves.
"... No."
'OFA 60%!'
The air cracked with charged intentions.
"I am not."