Toshinori didn't know what to think. He was watching the sports festival from the teachers viewing room. Pride bloomed in his chest as he witnessed the incredible performance his protégé was putting up. Not only, did he win all of the events until now, he also has qualified for the finals! Young Midoriya has not only kept his promise but he also exceeded his expectations.

However, when Present Mic announced his withdrawal due to family reasons, he couldn't help but worry. Midoriya never talked about his family. From what he gathered, the boy was living with his mother and his father was clearly out of the picture. He hoped that everything was alright. He will call him later to make sure.

Not long after, the sports festival came to an end. Young Bakugou was declared the winner, the boy was furious. Despite everyone's reassurance that he has indeed deserved first place since he made it to the finals. He wouldn't accept the win, opting to scream and thrash, when they made him go up to the podium. Leaving the teachers, no option but to tie him up to the stand. It was one hell of a show, to say the least.

As All Might walked out of the stadium, unnoticed in his skeleton form. His phone vibrated in his pocket. It wasn't his civilian phone either. The screen lit up in his hand, in bold letters he could read 'Detective Naomasa'

"Hello? Tsukauchi? What's the emergency, you never call me on this phone unless it's urgent." He asked worriedly.

"All Might... it's about Midoriya. We got a call from Present Mic some time ago. He said he had reasons to believe that Midoriya was in danger. We're sending a patrol now to his house and I'm going to go personally. Mic said Aizawa was already on his way there. I thought you should know. I'll keep you updated, though knowing you, you're probably on your way there right now." His voice was soft and low. Toshinori could tell that he was worried too.

"Wait, Tsukauchi. Why would he be in danger? What did Mic say?" He asked Urgently, barely hiding the panic in his voice.

"I can't say anything for sure yet Toshinori. He didn't go into details. However, given his tone on the phone, he seemed distressed. I have a bad feeling about this."

"I'm on my way." Like that, the line clicked shut. All Might had passed his time limit today, but he'd be damned if he let that stop him from being there for his successor when he needed him.

-----------------------------

Aizawa got into his car and drove as fast as he could. Yamada has already called the police. He just hoped they won't be too late. He hopes he won't be too late.

Shinsou has given him Midoriya's apartment's location. He pulled up in front of the house. His heart hammered in his chest as his mind went through the endless possible scenarios that he would have to face once he crossed the threshold.

Izuku could be okay, maybe they were overreacting. However, the look in both Shinsou and Todoroki's eyes as they told him what they had witnessed gave him proof enough. Not mentioning the scars Recovery girl had seen on the boy's body.

He went up the small set of stairs that led to the Midoriya's front door. To his surprise, the door was open, it was barely a crack. As if someone had left in a hurry.

He pushed it further cautiously and froze. No amount of thinking could have prepared him for what he saw when he entered. Right there, near the small kitchen laid a small figure. The body was surrounded by a pool of dark liquid. Blood, his mind gloomily provided. He would've thought the person was dead if not for the barely visible rise of the person's chest. He made quick work of calling for an ambulance. Quickly putting his phone away in order to aid the victim.

He approached the figure; his blood ran cold as he finally caught a glimpse of the boy's face. Midoriya. It was Midoriya. He rushed towards the boy, a spiral of curses spilling from his mouth. He was too late. No no no. This couldn't be happening.

He looked at the trembling form of his student. Trying to assess his current state. The amount of blood surrounding the boy made the bile in his throat rise. He was a pro-hero damn it. He shouldn't be this affected. So why was he! He needed to focus and calm down. His student's life rested in his hands.

He gently placed the boy's head on his knees, his skin was just so cold to the touch. It sent shivers running down his spine. The blood was most prominent near his torso so he gradually lifted his student's shirt up in order to assess the wound. To his horror, Izuku's chest was split, blood was oozing from a deep gash on his chest. The wound looked abnormal, no weapon could have caused it. Was it a result of his mother's quirk? The wound looked excruciatingly painful. Not to mention the countless other scars that adorned the boy's body. How could he have not known? He saw the signs; The flinching at every sudden movement and the stuttering. He'd seen the fear in his student's eye every time he was being addressed or interacted with. Recovery girl had even told him about the scars. Why didn't he do something earlier?

He ripped a piece of cloth from his costume and pressed it on the boy's chest. Terror overtook him for a moment when the boy whimpered under his touch. Was he still conscious? Through all that?

"It's going to be okay kid." He didn't know if the reassurance was meant for Izuku or for his own panicked nerves.

"S- Sensei" Izuku wheezed as he tried to breathe. The attempt made him cough violently. Blood splattering on the ground. "I- I'm sorry- I- "Aizawa's heart clenched at the evident pain in his student's broken voice. This was bad. This was really bad. Where were the medics! They needed to get here now.

"Kid- Kid don't speak, save your strength. Help will be here soon. You're going to be okay." Dread filled his entire being as the boy suddenly fell limp in his arms. He suddenly was very aware of the boy's breathing, or in this case lack thereof.

He placed the boy down, trying to suppress the rapidly increasing panic that threatened to overtake him. He was glad for his medical training. He titled Midoriya's head back and began making chest compressions. He winced every time he touched the wound on the boy's torso. Never once in his life, he thought he'd be administering CPR on one of his own students.

Horrific thoughts crept to the back of his mind. Telling him that he was too late, that he had failed. He'd slowly lose hope at every second that passed and his student still didn't react to the treatment. Come on. Why isn't it working? "Come on Midoriya! Come one! Stay with me! Breathe!" He repeated urgently, begging the boy to somehow react to anything he was doing or saying. "Come on kid! Breathe! Izuku! Breathe! Your stronger than this, kid!" He pleaded desperately. This couldn't be happening. Why? Why was this happening to this sweet boy?

Finally, the boy woke up, he gasped and coughed. His whole body shuddered vehemently as he took in deep breaths of air. Aizawa couldn't help but hug the boy at that moment. He made sure not to move him too much, so it was a light hug but desperate all the same. He gently lifted the boy into his arms, making sure not to aggravate any of his wounds as he carried his student bridal style. He needed to get him to the hospital. The medics were sure to be on their way. Maybe if he met them outside, halfway. Izuku's breathing was getting shallow again, he was going into shock. They were wasting time.

Sirens were heard in the distance, as an ambulance emerged from the end of the road, followed by two cop cars. Medics rushed towards them carrying a stretcher. They quickly fussed around the two of them. They took the kid from his arms, he struggled at first. Forgetting what was happening, forgetting himself for a moment. His protective instincts were taking over but he was soon snapped out of his delirium by a firm hand on his shoulder.

He relented his hold on the boy, the medics quickly carting Izuku onto the ambulance.
He turned around to see that the hand on his shoulder belonged to none other than Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa.

"Eraserhead, we came as soon as we could. I'm sorry we're late." He apologized solemnly. "How did you know the boy was in trouble?"

"I've had my doubts about his home life for some time now. Recovery girl had reported seeing some alarming number of scars on the boy's body and finally today, I met with his mother and something wasn't right with her behavior. Our doubts were proved when Shinsou, a student from the general studies course, reported having witnessed the abuse. "He replied mechanically, giving the report as he usually would despite the raging emotions he was feeling.

"I see... well, you can go with the boy to the hospital, we'll take it from here. But first, did you see the mother at all?" The detective asked seriously.

"No. From what I could tell, Izuku was the only one in the house."

"Alright, either way, my men are already searching the house for anything that could help in the investigation."

--------------------------------

Izuku barely opens his eyes before he's squeezing them shut again, He tries it once more and somehow, it's more bearable now although the blinding light in the room makes his head hurt. He thinks he's in some kind of hospital room. The telling smell of antiseptics and the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor kind of gives it away. Not to mention the oxygen mask on his face. At first, he's confused but then the memories hit him all at once. His lungs feel constricted and a lump form in his throat as he tries to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall. He can hear the heart monitor beeping speed up slightly. His mother's harsh laughter stills ring in his ears. He remembers being torn apart from the inside out. He recalls wanting it all to just stop. To end.

He looks blankly at the white ceiling for a few moments, following the motion of the fan turning in circles above him. He remembers the pain. The pure and unadulterated agony he was experiencing.

The last thing he felt was solitude. His mother had left him there, in the dark, in a pool of his own blood. He just felt so cold and so scared but then he wasn't alone anymore. He remembers someone there, next to him. Talking to him, telling him that everything will be alright. That person somehow seemed to chase the darkness away. A light in the void.

When he did Izuku wasn't as scared anymore.

Soft breathing next to him alerts him of another presence in the room, the even breathing tells him that the individual is asleep. He tries to get up to get a better look but a white-hot pain erupts from his chest. He wheezes and falls back on his back. The action only increases the pain, a small moan escapes his lips. The commotion seems to startle the person awake. He doesn't pay it much attention though, too busy trying to ride out the pain.

He hears shifting next to him and then a gruff voice speaks out.

"Izuku? Oh, thank god. Are- are you awake?" The voice is low and hesitant, somehow it feels familiar. It's the same voice that helped him through the darkness.

Dark black eyes look at him from above. His vision is too blurry to distinguish the person yet, but he can see the slight crease in their eyebrows. Are they worried about him?

His eyes finally focus on the figure and to his surprise, it's none other than his teacher. It's the first time he's seen him so distraught. The dark circles on his eyes are more prominent and his clothes are disheveled. He seems tired, not his usual fatigue but this seems to be bone-deep exhaustion like he's been worn out for days.

"Aizawa- "He tries to speak but it comes out as a low grumble, barely distinguishable with the oxygen mask on his face. He lifts his hand up to remove it but is interrupted by his teacher's hand settling on his own.

"Hey, kid- don't- I'll call the doctor- "His teacher barely finishes his sentence before a tall man in a white lab coat steps into the room, two young women following him close behind.

"I see you're finally awake. You gave us quite a scare young man." The man says with a smile. "My name is Shurui Ishi, call me doctor Shurui." He speaks gently, his tone is soft as if he knows about the headache Izuku is currently suffering from. "How are you feeling Midoriya?"

Izuku wordlessly gestures to the oxygen mask on his face and the doctor seems to realize what he meant.

"Oh, my bad. You can remove it now if you want." He informs curtly. Izuku goes through the motions of pulling the string from behind his ears but the pain makes it difficult to complete the task. Aizawa notices his hesitance and immediately helps him up and takes the mask off.

"T- thank you s- sensei." His voice is rough from under-use but Aizawa nods at him. Message received.

"You've been out for three days. That wound you sustained was tricky to heal, we had to bring in Recovery girl to speed up the healing process."

"Th- Three days..." He whispers to himself but it looks like the others heard him because the doctor elaborates even more.

"Aizawa-san found you. You had lost too much blood and your heart had given up multiple times on your way to the hospital. Luckily, we were able to reanimate you in time. I must say, young man, you are quite a fighter." Izuku is silent for a moment, trying to let the information sink in.
The doctor says a few more things about his recovery but It all goes on deaf ears. At some point, he left, but Izuku was too engulfed in his own thoughts to notice it.

The heart monitor beeps faster, the sound rises with his panic. There's static in his ears again, he thinks he hears his mother's laugh again, taunting him. fighter? Him? He'd done absolutely nothing to stop her. He just stood there! Pathetic.

He regrets taking the oxygen mask off now because he feels like he's suffocating.
He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to tune it out. To just make it all stop.

Two hands squeeze his shoulders. The grip is firm, just strong enough to anchor him back to reality.

"Izuku look at me. You need to breathe. Follow my lead." It's the softest he's ever heard his teacher speak. Somehow, he opens his eyes again and follows the rhythmic breathing of his teacher. Slowly but surely gaining back some semblance of calmness. "Good, you did good kid." Aizawa sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He gets up from his crouching position in front of him and pushes him back gently onto the bed again. "You need to rest. You've been through enough." His world slowly fades to black, too emotionally and physically exhausted to argue.

-------------------------------

Dread filled Toshinori's stomach as he finally arrived at Midoriya's neighborhood. Police cars and yellow tape were stationed outside one of the houses. He immediately recognized it as young Midoriya's apartment. He steps through the tape quickly gesturing to Tsukauchi to let him pass. In his skeleton form, he couldn't show his hero badge.

Tsukauchi finally notices him and beckons him over with a quick hand motion. He walks toward him, his fear increasing with every step.

"What happened Naomasa? Where's Midoriya?" He asks urgently, panic quickly overtaking him.

"Calm down Toshinori, he's okay now. The medics took him and we somehow managed to save him in time. He was badly hurt, we still don't have the details but it looks like it was some kind of quirk. It says here that his mother's quirk is a weak form of Telekinesis. We'll have to talk to Midoriya about that once he wakes up and recovers." The detective informs professionally. Toshinori doesn't need emotional right now. He needs the truth. He's glad Tsukauchi isn't looking to sugar coat it.

"You think his mother did this?" He asks in disbelief, his brows furrowing at the mere thought of such things.

"We have a witness who can testify to seeing the abuse first hand and Recovery girl has seen the boy's scars. However, in the light of tonight's events, we believe Midoriya might finally talk about it." Naomosa replies seriously, his tone firm and resolute.

"How could I have not seen this. I've been training him for months; how could I have not realized this. There were so many signs. God!" He laments himself, guilt clawing at his very being. He was a failure.

"Toshinori, don't beat yourself up for this. The boy was hiding it, it wasn't your fault. You can't save everyone." He states solemnly.

"I've seen him come to training with bruises and black eyes Tsukauchi but I never pushed him to talk. I could have- I should have done something!" His hand goes through his hair in frustration. He feels so useless. What kind of hero doesn't notice his own successor's suffering?

"Look Toshi, I don't want to make this worse but there's something you need to see. It will help in the long run with the boy's recovery." Tsukauchi interrupts his degrading train of thought. He's right, he needs to focus on Izuku right now. Not his own failures but how he could help the boy instead. He wasn't there for him then but he will sure as hell be there for him now.

He nods at his old friend and silently follows him into the house. As soon as he walks in, he notices the mess in the household. It's like a small tornado erupted in here, bringing chaos and disorder to everything in its path.

The second thing he notices makes his stomach turn as bile rises in his throat. There's so much blood. It's disturbing, to say the least. A voice in his head screams at him to go check on his student, to see if he's okay. His protective instincts taking over and shouting at him to go find him. However, the more rational part of him knows he has to do this. In order to help young Midoriya, they need to have some idea of what he's been through. So, he powers through his urges and makes his way down the stairs behind Tsukauchi.

The man leads him to the basement, it's dark and dirty and so far, an ordinary basement. Except it isn't. There, in the corner of the room is a wall, it looks like one of those tool holders. Hooks hang on either side of a closet. Each hook has something, a tool hanging of it. There's a whip that hangs on the first one, the second has a short cold steal hunting knife and Toshinori doesn't have the heart to look at the rest of the items. They all have different uses but all of them have something in common. They all cause immense pain and his guts churn at the mere thought of Izuku going through such agony.

It doesn't end there. Tsukauchi leads him to a refrigerator on the other side of the dusty room. It looks like an average old refrigerator. Like the ones people store away in case they need additional space. However, there's a lock on it and as soon as the detective open the lock Toshinori's heart almost stops. Inside the old fridge are claw marks, like someone was trying to claw there way from the inside out. At first, there are small ones, the distance between the nail marks are small. As if a toddler made them but they seem to grow ever so slowly. A testament of years of being locked in there.

He feels like he's going to throw up. Because not only the thought of a child having to suffer through this at the hands of their own mother makes his blood boil. But it's Izuku. the kindest and most caring person he knows! This teenager, this kid has been subjected to such abuse for years.

"I know this is a lot to take in but we still have something to discuss. Midoriya's mother hasn't been found yet. It's like she disappeared. A good portion of her clothes is missing too. We have reasons to believe that she fled after realizing the extent of the damage she did to her son." He talks and the more he spoke the more anger builds up in Toshinori's heart. "We'll have to talk to Midoriya. We need to know everything if we want to find her. it's going to be hard on him Toshinori. He's going to need you and his teachers now more than ever."