Worth Fighting For (Toshinori Yagi x Reader)

Chapter 1

Art Credit: nagi_030

A short grunt of a cough awoke Toshinori as his eyes focused on the ceiling above him.

Letting out a groan, the retired hero pressed the back of his head further into the pillow, glancing to his left to see the taunting sight of his clock, just a few hours away from his destined wake up time.

"3:25 in the damn morning..." he rasped out, raking back long locks of blonde from his face before turning away from the illuminated clock in an attempt to fall back asleep.

Waking up suddenly in the night like this was unfortunately normal for the retired hero and UA instructor.

After essentially obliterating most of his organs and losing half his lung, not to mention a stomach, Toshinori found he would often wake himself up from harsh coughing fits. On good occasions, they would maybe last about five or ten minutes before he could slip back into slumber. Other times it could take the entire morning, and even then he would still be choking back the urge to cough. These fits would commonly radiate to his sensitive side where his life changing wound rested.

Sometimes it would feel like burning, or a throb after the convulsions of his abdomen muscle irritated the long scarred tissue of his injury.

As a man with many medical issues, he had medications to combat the pain as well as ointments and cream. A person viewing his medicine cabinet would assume it belonged to a wrinkled senior citizen and not a middle-aged blonde man.

After the coughing subsided Toshinori finally regained a sort of proper breath. Shutting his cerulean orbs and focusing on maintaining his breathing, he found himself again in dreamland in no time, dreading when his clock would scream at him once more.

Then, there was sand.

Sand.

He felt a warm gritty mass under him with the calming sound of crashing waves nearby his person. Toshinori realized he was unable to open his eyes, but couldn't help but smile softly as he gently slipped his calloused fingers into the fine-grained floor he laid on. He realized too his feet were bare as he was able to slip those under a thick blanket of sand as well.

He felt calm here. Free.

The sun shined brightly above him, warming his sunken cheeks and light skin. Breathing in through his nose, Toshinori found the wonderful and familiar salt water scent he had always loved.

Sometimes he jokingly wondered if he was born with a quirk it probably would've had something to do with water and the sea.

His mind began to wander in the safety of his dreams. He thought of his job and his coworkers, his students, his successor young Midoriya. Lastly, he thought of his own mentor Nana Shimura. Always thinking of her left him feeling bitter sweet. Having wanting more for the hero he looked up to, he was thankful for the moments he had with her while she was alive.

Too short in his opinion.

He could hear the waves grow louder but his eyes continued to stay shut. When a long wave reached so far to touch his toes the man sucked back a surprised breath, unconsciously pulling his legs back. Everything in this dream felt so real to him.

The smell, the sounds, the feeling.

All he needed next was to see this paradise. Clamping his jaw shut, the retired hero attempted to peel his eyes open. It was difficult and confusing at first for him, but slowly Toshinori began to feel his lashes flutter.

His heart thrummed happily in his chest, excited to see what his mind had fabricated for him.

When his eyes finally shot open all he saw was his dull ceiling, mixed with the blaring sound of his alarm clock. Letting out a dissatisfied sigh, the man threw his legs over the side of the bed to stand tall and stretch, beginning his day. Turning off the alarm Toshinori rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned, letting his eyes slip shut while he stood.