Dad For One

Chapter 34 - Shimura

Izuku felt groggy as he woke up again. He didn't know where he was or how the fight with the doctor ended, but he did know he was in pain. Guess that's what he gets for using so many quirks in such a short time... That and he felt warm somehow... It wasn't a nice comforting warmth though, no, more like a suffocating sticky heat that was clamping onto him. He slowly blinked, finding it hard to open his eyes, the air seemingly denser than he remembered.

Come to think of it, breathing didn't come all that natural to him right now. That was the moment he felt something stuck in his throat, making him twitch and making him very aware of the many other things attached to him. He panicked, his eyes shooting open as his body suddenly refused to breathe. His vision was blurry and everything seemed to be covered with a yellowish green tint. There were tubes floating around him, wires connected to his body.

Izuku realized soon enough that he was stuck in a glass tank of some sort, a strange warm liquid suspending him in place. At least, it was trying to suspend him as his body quivered and trembled, desperately trying to breathe through the device that was attached to his mouth. The pain only increased the longer he struggled and it felt like his lungs were on fire. Fuck! He clenched his eyes shut, trying to even out his breathing, to calm down.

"Ah, you're awake I see... Don't try to move too much, you'll only hurt yourself more"

Izuku's eyes snapped open again, coming face to face with the doctor. The image was blurry through the thick liquid, but he could still make out his main features. If this man was here, that meant... That meant the Nomu won the fight, didn't it..? He accomplished his goal... He managed to kidnap Izuku... A cold dread set in at the thought, at the realization that his friends weren't able to prevent it, that All Might-

...Did he lose though? Maybe it had all been on purpose..? Maybe All Might simply handed him over. That was way more likely than the number one hero losing. Yeah, All Might never lost, so this must be on purpose. Izuku wouldn't put it past him to send a boy off to his own death if that meant getting rid of All For One. Or maybe they implanted a tracker so they'd be able to find the doctor's lair? Not caring about Izuku's trauma or well-being at all, just like all the other so-called pro heroes...

Well no, Aizawa sensei definitely cared, he knew that much. He wouldn't let any of this happen if he had a say in it...
"Gone all quiet huh? There's no need to be worried! I assure you! Everything is going exactly according to plan! I'll only need a few more samples of you" the doctor grinned as Izuku watched him walk over to some kind of control panel. It was a large dashboard with several buttons and screens, showing stats and numbers that held no meaning to the green head.

"Now this is only going to hurt for a few minutes" the doctor told him before pressing one of the buttons, instantly putting Izuku into excruciating pain. If he could scream, he would, but no sound came out of his mouth. His body started shuddering again, shocking and trembling as the pain washed over him in waves. If he could cry, he would, but the liquid seemed to prevent that from happening. So he silently screamed and begged, praying for it to end.

Izuku had never been a religious person by any means, but he could pray to things other than a god up in the sky. He could pray to his friends and family, to his father, to Kacchan, Shoto, Hitoshi, anyone that was willing to hear him, to save him. And in the corner of his eye, he could see it. The shadowy figure of his father, the fraction of his mind that was left behind inside All For One. Please... Please just save him!

"We're coming, Izuku. Please hold out a little longer. I promise I'll save you"

Please... Please just hurry... Izuku didn't know how much longer he could take this before he totally snapped!