Aftermath And Recovery

"Yuno, wake up!" Aizawa desperately shook Yuno in his arms, even as he was being watched by two dangerous villains. Not to mention the confused students standing around him.

Tsu eventually approached the group, her hands dangling in the air in front of her as she hunched over. She bent down to Aizawa and Yuno's level, and she seemed to be the only level-headed one as of now. She examined Yuno like she was a doctor, no one could tell what she was thinking as she blinked. It was like she was an expert on people fainting and she knew what to do.

Todoroki approached Shigaraki, the ice never melting as his gait kept a steady rhythm. He held a hand in front of the villain, a stern look on his face. He spoke with a low voice, "what did you do?"

Shigaraki answered bluntly, oddly cooperative. "I didn't do anything. He did that himself."

And as if Todoroki was going to believe that. Frost began to cloud Shigaraki's vision, Todoroki was going to give the same treatment as he did with all the villains.

"I'm being serious," Shigaraki said, his hand twitching. "I didn't touch the brat, but it's not like anyone believes me."

Todoroki stared at Shigaraki, suspicion sitting heavy in his eyes as he studied the villain. Before Todoroki could even think of freezing Shigaraki entirely, a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned around to find Aizawa beside him, no longer holding Yuno in his arms. When Todoroki found where Yuno was, the small boy was being carried by Kirishima, piggy-back style. He watched as Midoryia helped put Yuno on Kirishima's back. Yuno's head drooped on the red head's shoulder, his arms and legs hung around Kirishima's torso as he breathed in somewhat labored breaths. Kirishima had a look of concern etched onto his face, same with Midoryia, and Todoroki lowered his hand, nodded at Aizawa, then left to go help the two. He spoke to Tsu, asking if he was alright, and she answered with a nod.

Aizawa turned to Shigaraki as his students left, carrying Yuno with them and getting to safety. Shigaraki was a sight to behold, with his glare and twisted face of anger. He lifted a hand, thought about attacking, and decided to keep still, because Aizawa would have erased his Quirk if he tried.

"Cheater…" Shigaraki only raised his hand to scratch his neck. "You cheated! How could a brat defeat our Nomu? He's exactly the same as All Might! You cheaters!"

Shigaraki kept yelling, furious curses being blurted out into the world. Aizawa couldn't help but sigh in relief, the wave of villains finally stopped coming, Kurogiri was being held down by Bakugo, and thanks to Todoroki and the rest, Shigaraki is frozen to the ground. Although, there was something unsettling at the fact that the Nomu was dead, there must've been some reason why they brought such an odd villain with them.

Never mind that. Aizawa needed to take care of these villains. "I guess, you're going to Tartarus." Aizawa refers to the prison meant for dangerous villains.

Like it's engrained into his memory, Aizawa activates his Quirk and reaches to grab Shigaraki to restrain him. Shigaraki only stares daggers into Aizawa as he makes sure to pat him down before allowing him to walk himself.

Aizawa was in the middle of walking around Shigaraki when he heard Bakugo shout in his usual anger, except he sounded like he was surprised. Aizawa turned to Kurogiri to find he was still underneath Bakugo, but the student was trying to avoid being sucked into the warp gate.

"You should pay attention to your own surroundings, Eraser." Shigaraki said.

Aizawa immediately paid his attention back to Shigaraki, and as soon as he turned, purple mist engulfed him and obscured his vision. Aizawa raised his hands to cover his head, his hair blew back as the fog wizzed around like wind. And just how it was there in the blink of an eye, the fog dissipated and spread apart. Shigaraki was nowhere to be found when he looked back, the ice on the ground cracked, it was clear that someone had broken out of it.

Aizawa scanned the rest of the area, no villain, no bodies laying unconscious on the ground. It was as if the villains had never attacked, not even the dead Nomu's body was on the ground, the only thing being the puddle of blood soaking into the dirt. Aizawa hoped that his students were fine, that the villains had left them as well.

"What the hell just happened?" Bakugo asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't know," Aizawa answered, something akin to that of fear settling in his stomach. "But I'd like to go back to the campus, where it's safe."

—————

The pro heroes had arrived just after the villains left, to everyone's surprise and Iida's disappointment. He took it as a sign of him being too slow and failing his duty as class rep. The others just took it as a sign of safety and relief that he even got to the main campus at all. It was figured out that the villains had only attacked the facility and not the rest of campus, which was most likely because there would be too much to handle if they did so.

Aizawa knew that it was odd, as he thought. He also happened to know that Loader is such a worry wart. Ever since the teacher got here, he's been worrying over Yuno whom was still being carried by Kirishima. Of course, the rest of the class was worried since he was the most injured out of all of them. Kirishima had placed Yuno down in the bus, and the brunette's head lulled to the side.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kirishima asked as he placed his hands on his waist. Recovery Girl was checking over Yuno as Kirishima asked.

"Hmm," Recovery Girl's eyes scanned Yuno, she could see blood soaking parts of his shirt and his bandages hung loose around his arms. Her suspicions were confirmed when she gripped the hem of his shirt and lifted it up to his collar. Many cuts were found along his torso, some of his skin was dangling as if he had ripped his flesh himself. "I'll have to bring him to the infirmity to heal. For now, the bare minimum will do."

Kirishima brows furrowed as his face twisted, he watched as Recovery Girl kissed Yuno's cheek, her lips outstretched to reach. The way the flesh sewed itself back to together was disturbing, Kirishima felt himself gag at the sight and he turned away for a few moments.

"I'll have to give him medicine to recirculate his blood. He's lost much of it." Recovery Girl said as she let Yuno's shirt roll down his stomach, giving it a good pat after the fabric settled in place.

"Can I ask a question?" Kirishima turned back to face Recovery Girl after gagging, to which she nodded and placed both hands on her cane. "What were those on his stomach? He had those cuts all over him when me and Bakugo got there."

Recovery Girl frowned, a sad curl of her lips downward. Her fingers tapped a repetitive rhythm on her cane as she watched Yuno's chest rise and fall with labored breaths, his brows furrowed like he was pain.

"Well, I suppose I could say it's his Quirk that did that." Recovery Girl answered, placing a hand on Yuno's thigh. His leg muscles flexed under the touch. "Another way to put it is overuse. He cannot control his own blood when it's in his body, so, the more he uses his Quirk, the less control he has. He describes it as if it had its own mind, I just think he's overthinking. But yes, this comes from his Quirk, his blood wil stab through his own flesh and slowly rip it away. It also happens because of how much blood he carries in his body."

Kirishima listened intently, ingraining the info into his brain. There could be time that he and Yuno see each other again, maybe he'd ask if he wanted to train together sometime, so he needed the necessary details if he wanted to do that.

"Recovery Girl," Snipe entered the bus, calling out to the shorter hero. "We're ready to load the students. We've given Eraser first aid, so he'll be mostly all right. And, I'm not sure if you'd be willing, but Loader practically begged Nezu to have you tag along with the class. Just in case, Y'know."

Snipe nodded his head toward Yuno. Recovery Girl agreed, so she set her cane against the seat at the very front of the bus. Snipe took a few moments to check on Yuno himself, he was truly worried for the boy. He had to admit, the teen's actions were reckless even for someone as strong as Yuno. He couldn't help but scoff softly as he kneeled down on one knee in front of Yuno, he held one of the boy's hands, rubbing a blue vein that went down the top of his hand. Snipe didn't like how cold Yuno's limp fingers felt, but it wasn't like it was uncommon for him. Yuno was always either very warm or very cold, due to his doubled amount of blood; if he happened to lose too much blood, he'd be cold, but if he didn't use his Quirk occasionally, then he'd grow warm and unbearably hot. It's like even the human anatomy was against Yuno, because blood regulates and carries heat throughout the body, and it seemed like Yuno's blood did everything but what it's supposed to do.

Yuno groaned at the touch of Snipe's hand holding his fingers. His digits twitched and pulled away from the grip, like it stung to make physical contact. Snipe let go of the other's hand, and Yuno's hand fell loose on the cushion of the seat.

"Let's have Todoroki sit near him," Snipe suggested. "The kid's got a heat Quirk, right? Have him next to Tsumuyuki so his tempature doesn't drop too low. And have Aoni near, just in case he wakes up."

Kirishima thought that was an oddly specific pair to put near Yuno; having Todoroki there made enough sense, but Kisu might just mess with him while he's sleeping.

Nonetheless, Kirishima didn't question the teachers and just left the bus, giving them some privacy because he already knew they were talking about Yuno and Aizawa. Outside of the bus, multiple cars had arrived, police cars. Red and blue lights kept flashing as officers were scrambling around, searching for anymore villains around, conversing with each other for details. The class was also still outside, a man in a tan cloak and a black hat standing in front of them. He was pointing at them while holding a piece of paper, carefully studying the students with each glance he gave them.

"15, 16, 17, 18…" he faltered, looking up at the class, then back down at the paper. "Shouldn't there be one more kid…?"

"Make that 19!" Kirishima voiced, a laugh following right after as he joined his classmates.

"Ah, there you are." The man said. "I'm detective Tsukauchi by the way," he tipped his hat with his fingers to Kirishima. "Now then, it seems everyone except for Tsumuyuki and Midoryia are unharmed. Aside from scrapes and cuts, there's no massive damage. Let's get you guys back to the main campus. We'll question you later."

Tsukauchi was about to turn away to talk to another officer before Tsu jumped forward. Her froggy voice was the same as always as she spoke. "Detective, what about the teachers? And Tsumuyuki and Midoryia? Are they okay too?"

Tsukauchi glanced at the nurses checking over Aizawa, they examined his elbow which was still completely destroyed. His tendons and muscles were visible while the skin was cracked. The nurses brought him over to the ambulance and had him sit in the back while a driver sat in front of the wheel. A few more nurses lifted a cot into the back with Aizawa, Thirteen laying on the white cushion face down.

"Well, Eraser will be alright as long as his injury doesn't get infected." Tsukauchi answered a moment later. "Thirteen is also going to be okay, no permanent damage, so she'll be able to continue her usual work once she's recovered."

"And, our classmates?" Iida asked for further details. "Tsumuyuki and Midoryia are going to fine, correct?"

"Tsumuyu- Oh, yes! Those two will be alright." Tsukauchi gave a reassuring smile. "Midoryia's going to just fine, the nurses have splinted his fingers and he'll be just fine. Tsumuyuki suffered a bit more damage, and aside from fatigue, he'll be quite alright."

The class let out sighs of relief at the answer, everyone would be okay. Soon enough, the class was loaded onto the bus with the exception of Midoryia who had sneaked by to head back with the teachers. As Snipe and Recovery Girl had planned, Todoroki was placed next to Yuno so his right side was accessible while Kisu sat on the left side. Yuno's head was drooping on Todoroki's shoulder, breath coming out heavy as his chest rose and fell repeatedly.

"Why do I have to sit here again?" Todoroki asked as the bus began to start up and drive. "I prefer not to use my right side. I don't like using it."

Recovery Girl sighed, her frown becoming more prominent. "Because Tsumuyuki is quite cold, and we need someone to warm him. We don't have blankets or anything to keep him warm enough."

At the mention of blankets, Kaminari perked up. He shrugged his black jacket off his shoulders and held it up, a smile plastered to his face. "You can use this, and it absorbs heat, right? It'll keep him warm!"

"Hey, you're actually pretty smart." Jiro nudged Kaminari with her elbow. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"See? I'm not that dumb! I can use my brain when I really want to."

Kisu took the jacket and laid it across Yuno's torso. It was warm, just like Kaminari had said, thanks to the heat that built up while the blond was wearing it. Honestly, Kisu thought it was helpful of Kaminari, but he just gave Todoroki an excuse to not help like he was originally told to. She couldn't exactly pin why, but it was like he held a grudge against something or someone for having a fire part to his Quirk.

Yuno let out a strangled sound, his lips slightly agape and his brows pinched together. He fidgeted under the fabric across his chest, his hands seeming to search for something in his sleep.

"Hold his hand," Kisu said while pushing Yuno's bangs out of his face to press her knuckles against his forehead.

"Are you insane?" Todoroki's brows furrowed at the ridiculous suggestion.

"Trust me," Kisu rolled her eyes. "You do realize I've know him for a really long time, right? Don't ask why, just do it. Unless you want him to wake up in a frenzy and everyone starts staring at him and then he never wants to see your faces again."

A wave of disturbance washed over the class, worried and somewhat surprised. They gave Todoroki eyes full of please, don't do that. Todoroki can only sigh as he caves in and, albeit, hesitantly, holds Yuno's hand. He didn't do much, and there's no change in the brunette's expression.

I wonder if he dreams, Todoroki thought. He looks like he's dreaming right now. He looks hurt and scared.

Todoroki looks up to Kisu, expecting another solution to the problem. Kisu face palms and drags her fingers down her cheeks.

"Give it a squeeze or something," Kisu says, only to receive a tilt of the head in response. She threw her hands into the hair, exasperated. "Oh my god! Do you not know how to comfort someone? Squeeze his hand with yours."

"Why am I stuck in this position?" Todoroki asked with a neutral face, but his eyes were full of annoyance. "He's warm now, can he lean on you? Why don't you hold his hand?"

"Well, now I'm just not going to move him. You can deal with it now that you've started complaining."

"But I'm not useful in this position."

"And? Just sit there since you clearly don't have anything better to do but whine."

"I don't whine."

"You sure? You sound like it, maybe I can kick it out of you."

Yeah, this was going to be a long, very long, bus ride.

—————

He hated it, hated how the blood made him scream. Hated how it made him panic and sent him somewhere else, sent him somewhere that wasn't the present. He hates how the smell of iron stimulated the feeling of thick fluid coating his fingers. If he had brought his hands to his face, he would've marked himself with someone else's blood.

It made him remember the way he would come so close to bleeding out, his body almost an empty corpse, only for his eyes to open again to see those sharp eyes staring right at him. One pair was a deep sea blue while the other was a dark crimson red, and they looked like two halves of him.

He hated how the way the blood pooled reminded him of his sister, laying limp on the ground, arms and legs spread out and coated in what had to be her own blood. An adult picked her up, placing her on a bed to let her sleep peacefully, covering her eyes in the process.

"S̵̖̋h̶͔̀e̶͍̕'̴͔̉l̵̰̿l̷̰̍ ̵̟͆b̴͕̈́e̵̛̯ ̵̻͐o̶̫͝k̴̘̊a̸͇̚y̸̰̚."

The female adult in the room spoke to him with distortion, making it impossible hear. When he compared the woman to his sister, they looked almost identical with the exception the eyes being different colors.

Colors, all he could see was red. It was horrible, the way it felt like spiders were crawling under his skin and he resisted the urge to tear at his flesh. They would definitely punish him if he looked away or tried to scratch at himself.

"I̵̥̹͚̽'̶̢̯̰̐m̷͎͝ ̴̝͇̞̇̏͠t̸̛͉̊a̶͕͈̒̑ͅl̸̥̪̖̽̀̑ḵ̵̱̕i̵̳̐ṉ̶̱̏g̸̥̮̹̏̀ ̷͈̓̒̿ť̸͍o̵̪̰͛ ̶͎̳͎̀̾y̸̘̰͍͂ǫ̶̻͒̏ủ̴̡̈́͘͜ͅ."

The boy brought his hands to his ears, it hurt, and he was assumed to be ignoring the man now speaking to him. Large and strong hands gripped his shoulder and squeezed, too hard, it hurt. He was then pulled to the pool of blood, his sister's blood. He was forced to kneel and take in the morbid smell of metal, it filled his senses and all there was next was red, all red.

"Ǫ̵̇̿̾p̶̧͖̈́̎́͜ḝ̷̋̃ň̸̠̰͌̂͜ ̴̘̀͐y̷̟̙͈͂o̵̝̽͒͗ụ̶̪̍͛ŗ̸͍̘͘ ̴̻̗͛̊ͅe̷̦̘̳̔y̴͉̏e̷̪̎̾͝s̴̻̟̃͑."

He refused, shaking his head and digging his nails into the sides of his head. He couldn't, not when it was his sister's blood. This wasn't what he wanted, he didn't want to manipulate something came from his sister's body, not when it belonged to his precious Y̶̡̭̎̂u̵̢̹̍m̴̺̍ḛ̸̟̀̎.

He gasped, and brought his hands up to protect his head. He was going to be punished, they were going to hurt him, lock him in a closet and he would never see her ever again. Tears ran down his cheeks and he couldn't feel a palm slap his cheek. It was going to bruise, he didn't need to see it to know. They'd take his sister away from her because he wasn't listening, that's the price to pay for not obeying.

"Ì̴̤n̷̞͒s̶̙̔ö̷̟́l̸͈͝e̷͖͋n̴̺̚t̸̖̂ ̷̞̽ŕ̶̝a̴̳͋t̶͈͑ ̶͝ͅ."

The same calloused hand wrapped around his forearm, it could break like a twig under the grasp. He felt something prick at his skin, like needles digging into his every nerve and he felt his throat scratch as he let out a harsh scream. He looks down at his skin, it was black and spreading up his arm at an almost rapid speed. The black reached to to his throat and he felt himself suffocating and pull away from the hand holding him.

"Y̷̫̐͋u̴̟̿͌n̵͈̰̽͠ȏ̶̱̩ͅ!"

A girl's voice, his sister's voice. It took a great effort to turn his head and focus on the girl. She was completely healed and alive. Alive and reaching out to him desperately, the woman behind her holding her down against the bed.

'I can't, it hurts.'

"H̸̢̹̜͎͌͑e̵̪͊l̵͉͗͜͝p̴̩̊ ̶͎̓m̸̩͉̪̀͊̀̈́é̶̮̘͙̟̑!"

'I can't breath!'

"T̸̰̍̽h̶͈͎̏ẻ̶̟y̶̗̐̽͜'̶̙̦̎r̵̤̄̃e̴̺̭͋ ̶̘̕ḩ̸͊ư̵̞̖r̷͖̽t̸̲͑͝ì̷̤̤̀n̷̗͆g̶̘̯̑ ̶̳̲͆m̶̟͒e̶̙̮̔!"

'Don't hurt her, I'm begging you!"

Stop.

"I'm sorry."

I can't anymore. You have to help me.

"You will grow strong, and you will listen."

It's not working, it never will. You're monsters.

Hands covered his eyes, his body limp in the arms of his sister. Where did the adults go? Did they finally leave them alone? It didn't matter, his skin was infected with the black goo that belonged to his father, and it wouldn't come off his skin. Something akin to spikes kept digging into his skin, and he could feel some sort of liquid seeping into his skin. His sister held him close, crying into his chest as his eyes became glassy with the cold feeling of death.

His vision slowly began to deteriorate, fading to black as all he could hear were the sniffles of his sister, small and salty droplets rolled down his skin and soaked his shirt. And even if he felt the pain of his nerves exploding, he mustered up the strength to wipe the tears from his sister's cheek. She held his hand, squeezing it and pressing into his palm.

He realized just how small they were, how young hey were and dealing with this. Would he wake up? Would he be able to see his sister again? They can't be separated, he has to protect her. She'll get hurt, and then she won't be able to wander free when he finally gets her to escape this damned hellhole.

His eyes slipped closed, and the last thing he saw was his sister being pulled away from him. He couldn't reach to grab her, and she screamed at the man, kicking at him and trying to escape his grasp. He threw her out of the room, then slammed the door closed. Where did he put his sister? The man walked up to him, grabbing the scruff of his shirt and tossing him aside.

Ẁ̷̢̱̲͇̮̠̄̈̊̅͒͒̔̚̕͜͝ĕ̶̢̘̬̗̲̟̍̚ą̵͕̻̪̺̣̫̗͊̓̃̕k̶̳̱̞͔͖̒͆̇͋́̑̆̇̓͌ͅ

~~~~~~~~

Yuno gasps as he jerks upright, his eyes flying open as he let out a strangled cry. His heart thumped into his chest at a rapid pace. Where was he? The room was white and gray and bland, just like that god damn place. He raised a hand to thread through his hair, curling his finger and pulling at his roots. He's not safe, he doesn't know where he is and everything is muddled. He can't hear through the ringing in his ears, can't see through his eyes; his hands need to stay busy even if he can't see anything but white.

His hands wander across his bandages, which he now registers that some parts have blood soaked into them. They wrap around his chest and they restrict his chest from rising with each breath, it's too tight. He picks at the white bandages in his arms for only a few seconds before his fingers reach's up to rub his cheek. He pulls away just as fast as he touches them, convinced he's just coated his skin in blood.

The door slides open with a shuffle and then a small thud against the frame. Yuno could hardly tell if it was something dropping or the actual thud of the door that makes his vision clear somewhat. His hands don't stop wandering, trying to hold something to stay present, to make sure he's not there. He's not in that house, he's in the infirmary, somewhere, somewhere in Japan. He's vulnerable, can't think, his fingers numb and he can't feel anything, something could hurt him, something will hurt him.

"-yuki. C'mon, it's alright…on me, okay?" The words are muffled, but he hears them. There's yellow in front of him and bright red farther away. He can briefly feel hands on his skin, pressing down and trapping him, he's going to be punished.

Yuno shoves the person away, a yelp escaping the blond as he fell back. Yuno pulls his blankets off, they're only a burden in the presence of his attacker. He throws his legs off the bed and turns to face the two in the room, holding his hands up like he's going to bounce and scratch at them. Only when both his feet are planted on the ground does Yuno feel the pain in his body, it felt as if he was covered in bruises, and his knees buckled under him, threatening to give up any second.

"Don't come closer!" Yuno can only shout, because he fears that if he doesn't, no one will hear him under the ringing. Or maybe it's just him who hears it. "Don't- don't hurt me, please. I- I'll be good, I promise."

"What are you talking about?"

Yuno recognized the voice, it was a students voice. Gentle fingers found their way to Yuno's arms, holding them with such tenderness that Yuno didn't know what to do. This gentleness, and the bright yellow hair, this could only be Kaminari. And in the back, Yuno's vision seemed to focus if he strained hard enough and forced himself to calm down, standing behind Kaminari was Kirishima.

"Stop," Yuno tried to pull his arms away, protect himself from the hands that could hurt him. Kaminari didn't let go. "You're going to hurt me. Let go, it hurts."

"Let go of him, he's asking." Kirishima stepped forward to pull Kaminari away. Yuno scrambled away, curling in on himself as soon as he was free. "Hey, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you. I don't know why you would think that."

Kaminari watched as Yuno's eyes shook like earthquakes. He wasn't there, he realized, Yuno was somewhere completely different, and he didn't know why. Kaminari not only saw the way his eyes shook, but with only bandages covering Yuno, he could see all the scars.

"Here," Kaminari held a hand against Yuno's chest, then held his hand to pull him up. Yuno resisted, trying to escape despite being too weak to push himself away. Wrapping his arms around his shoulders, Kaminari pulled Yuno into a hug, warmth engulfing the brunette and putting him into a state of shock.

Yuno's breath caught in his throat, his eyes wide with surprise, stunned out of his mind by the sudden action. His bottom lip quivered, and he hesitated to wrap his own arms around Kaminari. He caved in, accepting the hug and nuzzling his face into Kaminari's shoulder, hiding from vulnerability.

Kaminari could feel the way Yuno's breath began to even out against his chest. His fingers dipped into the other's flesh as he rubbed up and down, it made him want to gag at the thought of what may have caused it to be like that.

Yuno's legs were finally giving up on him now the adrenaline was gone, his knees went limp and he almost collapsed on top of Kaminari. Thankfully, the blond guided Yuno back to the bed before he could fall, he held Kaminari's hand the entire time, squeezing it so another person wouldn't leave him.

"You good now?" Kaminari asked, rubbing circles into Yuno's chest. The other eased into the touch, his eyes closed as he focused on the contact.

"Mhm," Yuno breathed in deeply, his answer sounding breathy and pained. He opened his eyes, glazed over and tired. "Sorry you had to see that. I tend to get fidgety when I sleep."

"That didn't look 'fidgety.'" Kirishima said, sitting down on the bed with the other two. "What was that actually?"

Yuno let out a soft laugh. "I'm not sure how I feel about telling something so personal to someone I just met today."

Kirishima turned away. "Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry."

"You have no reason to apologize." Yuno's head dropped in what the juniors could only describe as shame. Kaminari didn't like the way he swayed even while sitting down. "I highly doubt you signed up to walk in here and see your upperclassman having an episode. I promise, you won't have to see it often. All I ask is that you don't speak of this with anyone."

"Woah, hold on tiger," Kaminari said, his voice turning chirpy again. "Relax, we're not mad or anything. You don't have to think we'll make fun of you or anything. We're not jerks."

"You…" Yuno squinted at the blond. He felt the need to to ask him to repeat his words, but all that came out was, "what?"

Kaminari stifled a laugh at the simple question. "Nevermind, we just came to check on you. Kirishima was going to come see you 'cause he was really worried, and Kisu sent me in her place since she had to go home."

"Kisu…Did she say what for? I wanted to- I haven't been able to talk with her much today." Yuno brought a hand to press against his temple, thinking too hard for his own good.

Kaminari laid his palm across Yuno's forehead, feeling for his tempature. Cold, it shouldn't have been that chilly in the room, maybe it was because Yuno was in the middle of recovering. Yuno closed his eyes again, leaning into the touch that felt so warm against his skin. Maybe he was just lonely, but it felt nice to have someone to talk to other than Kisu.

"Better?" Kaminari asked, a teasing smile finding its way onto his face.

"Mm," Yuno answered, only voicing his agreement with a single sound. "Feels warm. Kind of dizzy still. Isn't class still going?"

Kirishima chimed in at the question. "Actually, we were given the rest of the day off. We have the option to stay on campus until school hours end, but we're allowed to go home if we don't want to."

That made Yuno question, why would these two want to stay on campus if they were given the day off. Kirishima seemed to have read his mind, he explained with as best a chirpy attitude he could.

"We wanted to get a good feel of the grounds, Y'know? Since we're going to be here for the next three years, may as well get to know it. Bakugo was with us until Kisu had to go and she asked us to check on you. He didn't really want to come but we expected that."

Ah, they were exploring. Yuno wondered what they found, how they felt in UA. Did they feel safe? And if they did, was it because it was a hero school? No doubt, UA probably has one of the best security systems in all of Japan, even then, villains still managed to get into the USJ.

Wait, the villains!

"What happened to Aizawa?" Yuno was suddenly so full of energy, it made his vision dance and black dots muddled his sight.

"Slow your roll there," Kaminari said, holding Yuno up as he shook away the vertigo. "Mr Aizawa is fine, so is Thirteen. Everyone was okay, well, except for you. By the way, you've got some big guts for approaching a scary looking villain like you did."

"What?" Yuno squinted at Kaminari. "Scary looking villain" wasn't specific, and Yuno had to think for a moment before he understood what that meant. "Oh, that thing. Does that even count a a villain? Either way, what does that have to do with having guts?"

Kaminari rubbed the back of his head, giggling sheepishly while his ears turned red in embarrassment. "Eh, to be honest, I would've pissed myself right then and there if that weird thing even looked at me. I was still scared even with my classmates helping me."

That Nomu, it slowly came back to him. The feeling of the Nomu's heart exploding, like he crushed it in his own hand. The way the crimson liquid pooled underneath the villain, and iron smell filling all his senses. A knot pulling tighter and tighter until it finally snapped in two and the body burst, flesh being torn away under the pressure. Just like in his dream, the way his sister's blood covered her body and her eyes glazed over, limp on the ground. His skin itched at the blood that wouldn't come off, no matter how much he rubbed and no matter how much it burned to tear his skin. He could feel his own heart thumping against his chest like a caged animal, rapid and fast, and his chest became tight with fear.

"Tsumuyuki," Kaminari called out, pulling Yuno's hand into his so he'd stop scratching at his skin. He'd wreck the bandages if he kept scratching. "Don't do that. You're going to hurt yourself. Why would you want that?"

Yuno gulped down the lump in his throat, the words catching in his throat as he breathed in an almost strangled gasp. He breath stuttered before he could speak, "it keeps me grounded."

"Grounded?" Kaminari squeezed Yuno's hand lightly, barely noticeable. "Causing yourself pain helps you? Won't it come back to bite you later on?"

"I don't do it often. It's not like it'll kill me either, it doesn't happen often. I won't do it anymore, it's fine. You won't have to see me doing it anymore."

"Hang on." Yuno knew he had started rambling when Kaminari interrupted him. He watched the blond tap Kirishima's arm and ask for something with his hand. Kirishima had raised a brow, then perked up and reached into his pocket for something. He pulled out a small packet of something and placed it into Kaminari's hand. Briefly letting go of Yuno's hand, Kaminari used a few fingers to pull the plastic apart, making a little hole to reach into. He placed it in Yuno's palm and smiled. "Eat those, they taste really good."

Yuno peered into the hole, a bit confused, so he flipped the bag over to dump out whatever was inside. Small gummies landed into his hand, they were in the shape of bears reaching for a hug. Yuno looked back up at Kamimari, unamused by the suggestion.

"Just try them. It helps me focus while I'm doing schoolwork. Maybe it'll help you too."

Yuno's brows raised slightly. "I'm not particularly fond of sweets."

Kaminari sighed, then covered his face with both hand, as if he were a mime. He laughed under his hands quietly before uncovering his face and spreading his fingers. Large sparkly eyes pleaded at Yuno, watery tears threatening to fall as Kaminari begged like a puppy. Yuno deadpanned at the expression. Surely, this wasn't what Kaminari thought to be pleading, right?

No matter, Yuno gave in anyway. "Okay, fine. I'll eat them, just stop looking at me like that."

"And he wins again!" Kaminari pumped a fist into the air, the facade falling off completely as soon as Yuno agreed.

Yuno popped the gummies in his hand into his mouth, starting his work at chewing them. They weren't exactly soft, but they weren't stale or hard either. It took some work to break the gummies down in his mouth, but the taste made it worth the labor. One of the bears tasted of a sweet strawberry while another was reminiscent to that of a grape. It was like an explosion of a fruity dessert.

"Good?" Kaminari asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Mm," Yuno swallowed, the sweet taste covering the entire of his mouth. "I suppose so. I enjoyed it, I don't remember the last time I had candy."

"C'mon, everyone loves a sweet once in a while," Kirishima nudged Kaminari with his elbow. "Unless you're this sugar-filled crazy head. He's always got some sort of candy on him."

Yuno can tell, he definitely looks to be a person who loves his sweets. "Well, then. Maybe I'll come to you for a snack sometime. Maybe I'll find a way to repay you."

"There's no need for that!" Kaminari was quick to answer. "Think of it as a, uh, a thank you gift for protecting us today! You're the best upperclassman I've ever met."

Something about that sentence struck a nerve in Yuno. He didn't understand the feeling in his stomach, pooling and twisting. Kaminari and Kirishima were smiling at him, appreciative and joyful, it was like an entirely new world to Yuno. It was odd, how a simple candy could make turn a person's world upside down, in a good way. A soft smile tugged at Yuno's lips, content as he looked down at the leftover gummies in his hands.

I think, I might like this year.