̶U̶n̶ Scathed

-2-

All the student heroes jump their feet when I step through the portal, a few activating their quirks. But the moment they react, their teacher glares at them and they sit back down.

The league streams through the portal, forming a protective circle around me and Shigaraki.

Shigaraki is in the same place as before, and I easily pick him up. I am surprised by how light he is. His spikey hair has smoothed out into sporadic tufts, framing his pale face and giving him an almost angelic feel. His light skin highlights the bruises that cover his face and arms. Cuts cover his exposed skin, some shallow and long, others short and deep. Most frightening are the cuts that have green and yellow hues around then, indicating that they are infected. He needs medical help, and now.

Adjusting my grip on the defeated villain, I undo the fabric on his hands and allow them to swing at his sides.

"Let's go." the villains all walk back into the portal, leaving me and Tomura alone in the center of the room. Protectively holding Shigaraki closer to my chest, I make eye contact with every student, pro, and guard in the room, addressing them one by one.

"You will pay." Three words are all I need to have pro and student heroes alike uneasily sharing looks across the room. Walking up to the pro hero table, I place two grenade shaped gauntlets on the table, nodding at Bakugo as I pass.

The subtle reminder of our victory sets everyone on edge, and they openly glare now. Ignoring the harsh looks, I step through the portal.

On the other side, Mr. Compress and Magne hold back the crowd of people trying to get a look at Shigaraki as I carefully lay him down on a couch. Kurogiri rushes forwards with a first aid kit and a jug of water and begins to dress his wounds, gently cleaning and stitching each one. As I help cut the bandages, we finish his face and exposed arms in no time at all. Sharing a dark look, we rip off his shirt.

His chest is covered in burns, cuts, and grip marks. His skin is like a map, with winding rivers of painful incisions and mountain ranges of swollen bruises. It hurts to look at and must hurt even worse to experience. As Kurogiri works on his chest, I focus on his hands. All of his fingernails are ripped out, and deep impressions of handcuffs encircle his wrists. I wince with every touch of the cloth as I begin to clean the place where his fingernails used to be, gently lifting out piece after piece of dirt.

After a while, it becomes apparent that he needs professional help, and now. The problem is, the closest person with a healing quirk is recovery girl at the school. Whispering my plan to Kurogiri, he nods and then opens a gate.

Me and Shigaraki jump through, landing in what must be the hospital wing of the school. Cots line both walls, but thankfully none of them are occupied. This plan is probably my craziest one yet, but he'll die if we don't do anything. Scanning the room, I locate recovery girl just as she reaches to sound an alarm.

"Wait!" I shout, dropping Shigaraki on a nearby table as I lunge at her. She easily steps out of the way, but misses the alarm and falls to the ground.

I stand up, chest heaving as I watch Recovery Girl slowly get to her feet.

"I need your help- My friend- the heroes- they-"

She shakes her head.

"I already know. They had me there so that I could heal him after every session. While I don't agree with your cause, I disagree even more so with needlessly torturing people. I will help your friend."

This comes as a shock to me. Nevertheless, I bring Shigaraki over to her. The little old woman climbed onto a stool and began examining him, prodding at his wounds.