Kimura Katashi was in the middle of a patrol when he got the news. His phone buzzed obnoxiously in the pocket of his hero uniform and he fished it out impatiently, eyebrows furrowing at the caller ID.

The hero ward of the Musutafu General Hospital was calling.

Katashi's mind immediately flashed to his son's face as he pressed 'ACCEPT', holding the phone to his ear with concern. He couldn't have gotten injured on the fifth day of school, even if the heroics lessons were being taught by All Might. That would make absolutely zero sense, especially with Recovery Girl constantly on standby for the heroics course.

And even if there had been a rather risky situation...

Kazue wasn't weak. Far from it. Even if the boy had little to no motivation for actually trying to do his best, there was no denying that he was more heroic than any of the interns Aerogale had ever taken under his wing in the past. If anyone was in danger or even being looked at the wrong way, his son would step up and knock whoever it was down a few pegs, mutter something about it being a pain in the ass, and leave.

He was just like his mother.

"Hello, this is the Musutafu General Hospital. Have we reached Kimura Katashi-san?"

"You have," the man replied courteously, eyes carefully scanning the streets as he continued to walk. "This is he."

The woman on the other end seemed to hesitate for a second before continuing. "It's concerning your son. He's in surgery right now."

Katashi's footsteps faltered at her words. His blood ran cold, unwanted memories trying to push their way into the forefront of his mind. "Alright," he stated, expertly keeping his voice level. "Thank you."

He hung up without saying goodbye, dialing another number and waiting impatiently for the younger man to answer.

"Kimur-"

"Iwata. Take over my shift," Katashi instructed hurriedly, not even bothering with honorifics. "It's urgent."

A bit of fumbling sounded over the line, followed by what sounded like muffled curses. "Sir, I really would, but I'm in class right now and my professor is giving me the Look," the sidekick replied in a hushed tone.

Number Seven grimaced, figuring there was no positives from withholding information. "Kazue's gotten himself into the hospital."

Iwata didn't miss a beat. "Be right there," he responded, worry laced into his tone.

"You'd better," was all that Katashi could say in finality, hanging up just as a sleek black car screeched to a stop beside the curb. His lips curled up into a trace of a smile despite the situation as he slid into the back seat.

"Musutafu General Hospital, here we come," the woman at the wheel stated dryly, pulling back into traffic.

"We need to have a chat about you tapping my phone," the hero commented with an arched eyebrow, fingers drumming impatiently on his thighs.

Fueki glanced back over her shoulder, lifting it with a half-shrug. "Hey, I just heard that the brat was in the hospital," she replied in her usual indifferent tone, although her voice was a little tighter than usual.

Katashi clicked his tongue, turning his head to look out the tinted window as the city rolled past. "I'll let it slide this time. You can take one off your debt."

"Nah," Fueki sighed as she was forced to let a jaywalking pedestrian cross the street. "This one's on me."

~-~-~-~

~

Kazue wasn't really sure when he'd actually woken up. All he knew was that he was in a hospital bed, his right arm was completely encased in what felt like a cast, and his entire head was swathed in bandages.

Oh, and everything hurt like hell itself was trying to claw its way out of his insides. That, too.

A soft yet completely silent groan escaped his lips as the memories of what had happened at the USJ crashed down in his mind like waves during a storm. Was everyone okay? How was Aizawa? Shit, he didn't die after Kazue passed out, did he? What happened to Thirteen? The brunet vaguely remembered the Warp Gate returning before everything completely faded after the out-of-body experience

The bandages covering his ears were gently moved to the side, familiar devices making themselves known as they were put in. "How do you feel?" the voice of his father asked from the bedside, surprisingly soft.

Kazue grunted in annoyance, finding that even the simple sound made his throat throb with pain. Ah, right, Decay's mutation's hand was so big that its finger partially wrapped around his neck, too. Another pain in the ass.

He lifted the arm that wasn't encased by plaster to make an attempt to sign with a single hand. His movements were sluggish and more than a few times he uncharacteristically messed up and had to start over so it'd make sense. 'Like shit. What happened to everyone else?'

"Well, both of the teachers that were there also were hospitalized," Katashi summarized, the concern he had for any fellow hero seeping through the attempt at keeping his voice smooth. "I've heard Thirteen's injuries weren't that bad and have already been treated by Recovery Girl. Eraser Head, however... I believe his room is right next door."

Kazue nodded, tension he hadn't even noticed in his shoulders dissipating. 'And the students?'

"I have no idea," his father confessed apologetically. "The nurses weren't gossiping about students, only the pros."

At that, the brunet had to restrain a small laugh as to not murder his throat. They'd all be fine. He wasn't dead, and neither were Aizawa or Thirteen. His classmates' Quirks mostly outclassed the villains Kazue had seen come out of the Warp Gate, and they were pretty much all in groups when everyone was scattered. 'Okay.'

The room was quiet for a long moment, the silence almost stifling as Kazue mentally cursed his injury that prevented him from speaking out loud. Not that he particularly felt like talking at the moment, rather just lay back and think of how things could have gone differently if-

No.

The past was the past, and there was no use beating himself up over not figuring out his Quirk sooner. After all, from what limited of a read he could get on himself, Kazue knew that the power itself was hindering his progress. It was something that would only grow over time, not suddenly appear in an instant without training.

It was idiotic and naïve to think otherwise.

~-~-~-~

Only an hour had passed before Kazue gained more visitors to his hospital room. His father abruptly woke up from his position in the bedside chair, straightening his posture to perfection in an instant. "Hello, Detective," Katashi greeted smoothly with a slight incline of his head, but the brunet in the bed could tell he was a bit confused as to the man's presence.

"Dreynen, always a pleasure," Tsukauchi returned the gesture professionally. "If you don't mind, I'm here to talk with your son... privately."

Kazue let out a small sigh from the bed, lifting his hand once more. His throat didn't quite hurt as much as it had earlier, but it still rendered him unable to speak for the time being. 'Unless you know sign language, Tsukauchi-san, I suggest Otou-san stays.'

A corner of his father's lips quirked up in amusement at the response, relaying his words to the detective while simultaneously sending a questioning look to Kazue. Most likely as to why the man wanted to speak with him, specifically.

Tsukauchi hesitated, then relented. "Alright. It's concerning the creature brought to the USJ by Shigaraki Tomura, as well as the villain himself and the one called Kurogiri. All Might's reported that the Nōmu had multiple Quirks like regeneration and shock absorption, but we don't really know many specifics beyond that."

Katashi's eyes darkened at the mention of the villains, but he was prepared to relay any words signed at a moment's notice.

'Super Regeneration and Shock absorption was all it had,' Kazue replied, clenching his jaw before realizing that it hurt like hell to do so. 'The rest...the strength and speed... appeared to be biologically augmented without the use of a Quirk. As for the one you call Kurogiri... I'm assuming that's the one with the Warp Gate Quirk. I didn't get a chance to go quite that deep into his abilities, but...I was able to tell that it wasn't his original Quirk. More of a mixture of several that I was unable to identify with my limited time.'

The room was silent save for the teen placing his hand back down, both adults in shock at what had just been said. There had been no record—or, at least, none that Kazue had heard of—where such inhuman abilities were present without some sort of Quirk involved. 

As for Kurogiri... he'd only seen something similar in All Might, but only after straining his own ability to its limit and giving himself a severe migraine. Even then, it seemed as though the creation of a power that could be passed on was accidental. The Nōmu had been crudely made, with the Quirks in its body separate and functioning independently. But Kurogiri... much more care had been taken to create Warp Gate.

Now came forth the question: Who could have done such a thing in the case of Nōmu without any natural power, and were there more of the creatures out there? In the case that there were, and they could be provided with Quirks from the one pulling all the strings... Kami-sama help them all.

~-~-~-~

Kazue spent the rest of the night in the hospital, and made it to sundown of the next day before he'd had enough. He hated hospitals already enough after visiting several heroes that would never work again, but actually having to stay in one as a patient?

A pain in the ass.

"I'm sorry, Kimura-san, but we can't just let you leave the hospital like that!" the nurse exclaimed, blocking his path down the hall for the upteenth time.

Kazue sighed under the bandages that covered his face, clearing his throat with a slight bit of difficulty. "Look, I'm fine, alright?"

He just wanted to go home and relax in his own bed, not lay stiff in a room that smelled like nothing but cleaning products. Was that too much to ask?

The woman took a single glance over his shoulder and deadpanned in despair. "Aizawa-san, not you, too!"

The brunet stifled a snort and disguised it as a cough, turning halfway around to scan the extent of his homeroom teacher's injuries. Like him, Aizawa had his face completely covered in bandages. However, both arms were covered in casts, rather than just one. "Did you use your feet to open the door?" Kazue asked, picturing the image in his mind.

"Yes," the man answered simply in a dead tone, his shoulders hunched with exhaustion as he realized that the nurse wasn't going to let him leave easily.

Relatable. Kazue also felt like dying.

On the other hand, the woman striding up behind the nurse felt the exact opposite, her hand inching towards one of the many spots she kept knives in her person. Meaning, she felt like making someone else die.

"Fueki-san," Kazue stated flatly. "No weapons in hospitals."

She rolled her eyes, steering the nurse out of the way with two hands on her shoulders. "By that definition, I'm trespassing," Fueki smirked, smacking him promptly on the back.

Stars exploded across his vision instantly and his legs wobbled. "What the fuck?!" he wheezed in outrage, leaning on the wall with his bruised side rather than his broken side for support. "I got crushed half to death by a bird mutation that had two overpowered Quirks. Be nice."

"You wanna get outta here or not, brat?" the former illegal fighter asked and ruffled his hair to make it more of a mess than it already was, glancing over his shoulder. "I can drive Pencil Top wherever he wants to go, too."

Kazue snorted, feeling just a tad bit light-headed from remaining standing for so long. "Obviously. Hospitals aren't exactly my favorite place in the world. Sensei?"

The man sighed tiredly. "That's fine with me," Aizawa muttered, the brunet sweatdropping at the fact that he'd so blatantly originally planned to just walk. If Kazue was getting all light-headed and his arm and skull were throbbing, then how much pain was he in?

"Alright, c'mon, then," Fueki shrugged, starting off down the hall past the nurse that'd only taken a single dirty look to be scared out of her wits. "The car's waiting."

~-~-~-~

Kazue didn't even notice he'd fallen asleep until a car door was slamming shut, eyes staring blearily out from under the bandages to see Fueki opening the back door on the side Aizawa was also sleeping on.

"This is your place? Looks like shit," she observed, looking up at the run-down apartment building.

The hero stirred, sitting up slightly and turning his head to see that it was, in fact, where he lived. It was safe to say his face would be one of concern under the bandages.

Kazue snorted. "Fueki-san, you could've just asked where Sensei lived instead of... I can't say cyberstalking if there's nothing really to trace. Do I want to know?"

The woman waved her hand carelessly, leaning against the side of the car. "I got connections, brat," she answered vaguely, gesturing towards the apartment complex.

Aizawa slid out of the car, inclining his head slightly to the Kimura family's driver in thanks before turning to presumably look at Kazue. "Will you be at school tomorrow?"

"Probably," Kazue sighed, slouching down a little further in his seat. As much as he liked having plenty of time to himself and needed to catch up on some sleep, being cooped up at home was going to be a pain in the ass. Especially since his father was strict as hell when it came to anyone at the agency being injured. They were to stay home, and he'd break every bone in their body if they so much as thought of coming to work.

He never said that rule applied to school. Besides, that way Kazue could make sure his fellow classmates were alright and get the full story of what had happened. The teen hated not knowing things.

"Stay home, kid," Aizawa muttered, voice barely loud enough to be heard as he slowly trudged away towards the building. "There's no point in you going. Get some rest."

Kazue could only deadpan as he watched the man enter the building by using his foot to open the door. He could understand why the hero was saying what he was saying, but why even ask if the teen was going to be at school if he was just going to say that? For someone who seemed to also operate by logic, Aizawa was one of the most confusing people he'd ever met.

Imagine how awkward it would look for Aizawa to open a door with his foot 💀

And yes, Kazue is mentally referring to him by his surname now rather than his hero name. PrOgrEsS, considering he only really does that for heroes he likes/respects/kinda knows them as a person rather than just a hero (like Iwata Haruma/Tecton, and can we get an F for Aerogale?)

Questions/comments?