You Can't Lose Me || Shinso x Reader

Chapter 14: Cruelty Behind The Mask

Warnings: hospital setting, 

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Shinso's POV

Three hours. The police force sent me home to "recover from shock" and I have only managed to sleep for three hours. I first woke up at around 2:00 AM, but now it's 4:00 AM and the ceiling is no longer interesting to stare at.

When my phone buzzes on my nightstand, I gratefully accept the distraction and roll over to open the text message. It was sent from Aizawa's contact number, but Mr. Yamada was the one who wrote it. As I skim through the paragraph of side notes and tangents, I learn that Aizawa is awake now and will be allowed to go home in an hour or two. There is no way I'm letting him leave with talking to him.

I look down, realizing that I had passed out on my bed in my hero costume – again. It's still covered in dust, dirt, and blood; situations like these are why I own a second hero costume. I change into some actual clothing, clean my face, throw my backup costume into a backpack and the first into the wash, and drive off to the hospital on my motorcycle. 

I wear my helmet, of course, but on quiet nights, I like to drive through the countryside with it off so that the wind can brush its fingers through my hair. It reminds me of being a kid and riding around my neighborhood, and of when (y/n) would ride with me. The ghost of her arms still wrap themselves around me, holding me close to her. 

The sterile white hallways are an unsettlingly familiar sight, and the longer I wander through them, the faster my heart beats in my chest. It isn't until I walk through the door to find Aizawa lying down in his cot, however, that my anxieties finally break through my exterior.

As Yamada invites me in, I can't stop my vision from going in and out of focus, nor a hole from opening in my chest. The upper half of Aizawa's face is covered in bandages; it's almost impossible to tell whether he is asleep or awake, dead or alive. When he turns his head in my direction, I cover my mouth with my hand trying to keep my breathing under control.

My hand does nothing to stop the string of apologies and worries that fall from my mouth in rapid succession. Yamada gives me a look of empathy, but Aizawa's face isn't visible enough to reveal an expression.

"Shinso," he says calmly. 

My voice catches in my throat and several moments pass while I take deep breaths before he continues.

"I'm okay, you're okay, and none of the civilians were hurt. This is good; you have no need to fret over this," Aizawa states with a rare softness.

"But I could've helped you. I could've kept this from happening. I need to be better," I stumble over my words.

"You did fantastically; there was nothing more you could have done. This isn't the end of the world."

"But you can't use your quirk anymore. You can't keep being a hero. It may not be the end of my world, but it's the end of yours which is worse."

"Shinso," he says more sternly to keep my attention, "remember how I said I wanted to tell you something?" 

I nod before realizing he can't see me.

"Yeah? What about it?" I ask, almost nervous for the answer.

"I'm retiring." He pauses for a moment, allowing me to process his words. "Hizashi already knows about this. I've gotten older, and the strain on me and my quirk from back when you were in school was finally catching up with me. I was already partially blind before this happened, and doctors predicted that I was going to go fully blind in few more years. This event only means that the process was sped up a bit."

I rub the nape of my neck, trying to work through this new information. My eyes travel to Yamada who gives me a confirming nod – his ringed hand grips Aizawa's tightly. It's not my fault. It's not my fault. I'm okay. I can survive this.

"So, you've already had time to process this?" Both of them nod. "Okay then. What now?"

"The hero commission has allowed me some time off to help Shota adjust, and I heard that you weren't hurt, so you can return to your normal life. Know that you can visit us anytime you wish," Yamada explains. 

I take a deep breath. The tension in my shoulders finally relaxes.

"What happened after I was injured? The rest of the fight didn't seem to last very long," Aizawa asks.

"Uh, well, after I left the alley you were in, I barely made it fifteen seconds before the villain had me frozen in the air like you were. Thankfully, Deku happened to arrive at the perfect moment and grabbed me before doing whatever super move he has to send a strong wind forward. That stopped the tornado thing circling the villain and ..."

My voice cuts off as her face flashes through my mind again. Her face. (y/n)'s face. Should I tell him what I saw? No, I didn't see anything nor anyone of note. I have no idea who that was and there is nothing else to it.

"... and it blew off the villains mask. I have no idea who it was, and if the investigation team had found anything, they would have told me. After their face was revealed, they disappeared in a flash of lightning and a flood of clouds that fell from the sky," I finish.

"At least that's something. If it helps at all, I did try using my quirk when they had me frozen, but it did absolutely nothing. When I did so, they said something along the lines of, 'Finally, fate has brought us together – he is so very kind. Had he not done so, you would have become quite the nuisance. Allow me to fix that.'

"It was unnecessarily dramatic, but their talk of "fate" seems like a cover. If my quirk didn't work on them, then their solution of taking it away permanently is pointless – unless it did and there's something else afoot. I'm almost certain that this must have been a targeted attack. Another villain attack the moment I set foot in the city, it's not likely this was a coincidental meeting." Aizawa ponders aloud. 

He's still acting like a hero in this state – it's admirable.

"Well," I start, thinking over his input, "the Revived collapsed long before their sand ran out. And when I left the container of debris we built, I caught the last bit of what the villain said to you, meaning that your quirk use coincided with the Revived's premature death. Uh, not death, they're already dead. Defeat then? Never mind that. Maybe your quirk did work, but it only affected one piece of the chaos."

"Then Shota would be right; his quirk was their target," Yamada concludes. "And they keep talking about the coming of some better world without heroes. Why would they be picking off heroes one by one?"

"To prepare for a final battle. Ensure their victory. Whoever is behind this is smart and knows how to play the long game." Aizawa states as if it were fact.

The room becomes silent. A trail of ice crawls up my spine as I consider the possibilities of what they have in mind. If they wanted Aizawa out of the way, they could have just killed him, but they didn't. They took away his power and left him alive to suffer; it's not just a logical solution to a problem, it's cruelty. That's something (y/n) was never capable of being, which means that it's impossible for her to be the one behind that mask. I was right!

At that moment, a nurse walks into the room and informs Yamada that Aizawa can now check out of the hospital. I wish them both the best of luck and they wish me the same. With that I leave the hospital and drive to the police station.

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A/N: The puzzle pieces are finally starting to come together. Shinso is still waist deep in denial, but he'll figure it out, eventually. At least he has Aizawa who is insanely good at his job, both on and off the battlefield. And because this is my false reality, I hope you noticed that I headcannoned Aizawa and Yamada's romantic relationship. 

Word Count: 1418