Ultra Responsibility (My Hero Academia X Spider-Man Reader)

Issue 31 - Breaking News Part 1

Peni hadn't realised how loud hospitals were until she had a reason to hate every sound.

The fluorescent buzz. The squeak of nurses' shoes. The soft, constant chorus of machines that made everything feel less like healing and more like waiting.

She made it to the ward with her hood up and her hands jammed into her pockets, heart thumping like it was trying to file an escape request. A uniformed guard stood in front of the corridor that led to the higher-security rooms, posture stiff, expression already bored of being bothered.

"No visitors," he said, not even looking at her properly. "Orders."

Peni opened her mouth to argue, because that was basically her default setting, when a tired voice slid in from behind the guard.

"It's fine."

Aizawa stepped into view like he'd been carved out of exhaustion itself. Hair a mess, scarf hanging loose, eyes half-lidded but sharp in the way a knife could be sharp even when it was old.

The guard straightened immediately. "Sir."

"She's a student," Aizawa said, flatly. "Let her through."

Peni blinked. "Aizawa-sensei?"

Aizawa glanced at her like he was measuring how much trouble she could cause per minute. "You're his lab partner. It makes sense you'd want to see him."

Peni shifted her weight. "Am I... allowed?"

"Yes." Aizawa's hands stayed in his pockets. His voice lowered, like the walls had ears and he didn't want to give them anything interesting. "Don't mention this to anyone. Last thing I need is paperwork."

He started walking away before she could respond properly, but Peni's brain caught up just fast enough to snag on something.

"Sensei?" she asked, hesitant.

Aizawa paused, turning his head a fraction.

Peni didn't say it out loud, not fully. The question sat behind her teeth anyway. Why you? Why was the teacher whose whole thing was cancelling quirks stationed outside a room with a boy who didn't have one?

Aizawa's gaze lingered on her, unreadable.

"Just go see your friend," he said, and left.

The guard opened the door with a grumble, like he was doing Peni a favour she didn't deserve. She slipped past before anyone could change their mind.

The room itself was too clean. Too white. The kind of white that didn't feel peaceful, just... empty.

Otto lay asleep, head turned slightly to the side. His hair was mussed, his face pale under the hospital lights. Bandages wrapped his shoulder and rib area, and there were faint bruises blooming under the edges like ink stains.

But it was the metal that made Peni's stomach twist.

The remnants of the arms were still there.

Not the sleek, controlled engineering she'd watched him obsess over, refine, polish. These were broken, jagged, warped like they'd been torn apart and then forced back into place by brute force. Metal ribs welded into a harness that hugged his back too tightly, as if the invention had decided Otto was part of it now.

Chains held the remains to the wall. Otto's wrists were cuffed to the bed frame like he was a criminal instead of a classmate.

Peni stood in the doorway for a second too long, hands clenched, throat tight. Her eyes drifted to the small table by the bed.