(Shoto X OC X Katsuki) The Rebirth Of A Criminal

A Cry For Help

Chapter 14

Atsuko stared at the monster falling from above, it was about to crush her, she moved but it’s shadow would follow her every move. She didn’t have enough strength to run anymore.

She closed her eyes as she concentrated the last of her energy on protecting herself with her fragile arms. Than out of nowhere the shadow had evaporated, the threat she was facing had suddenly disappeared. She opened her eyes and looked above her head, the brainless wasn’t there, it had been thrown far away. Where? she could not see, but it was surely out of her reach.

Atsuko collapsed to the ground, she could barely stand on her feet before but now, even her knees gave out. Maybe fear had paralyzed her again, she laid on the ground incapable of moving her lower half. She tried to stand by pushing on her arms and immediately cried out in pain, as she had forgotten for a few seconds the state in which her arm had been left.

“It’s better you stay still,”

Atsuko lifted her head, “All Might!” she whimpered, “thank you,”

He lowered himself to the ground and picked her up and without even realizing it, almost as if she had been teleported, All Might was suddenly also holding M. Aizawa. “I should have been here sooner,” All Might sighed, “I’m sorry you all had to go through this,” All Might’s eyes landed on Tomura for only an instant and again the sensation of being teleported.

Now Atsuko was on the ground again, sitting beside her was Midoriya, All Might had taken the students out of the water.

“I’m counting on you four to take care of M. Aizawa, he’s fainted, carry him to the door, find your classmates,”

It was difficult to stand again but Atsuko managed, Midoriya and Mineta carried M. Aizawa and the four were off, leaving All Might to face the Brainless.

The punches echoed in the USJ and clouds of dust flew into the air along with the cemented floor. Atsuko frowned at Midoriya’s expression, she hadn’t infiltrated his consciousness because she didn’t need to, she knew what he was thinking because she thought the same thing.

“Asui, would you carry M. Aizawa?” He was going to do it, Atsuko thought to herself, there was no stopping him, so as Asui and Midoriya switched she grabbed his arm with her remaining good one. “Remember what I said, control your force,” She hushed lightly so only he would hear, than she let go and he was off.

Discretely walking back up to the top of the staircase was the hardest part, but the three students and their teacher safely made it. Everyone else there were also in bad shape, exhausted from fighting, Thirteen was in just as bad of a state as M. Aizawa was.

Now all that they could do was wait, which ended up being cut short for Atsuko, she ended up fainting only minutes after sitting on the ground. She had been fighting with no energy for so long at that point that there was no other solution for her body but to finally give in. The last thing she heard was the sound of an explosion, most likely and hopefully All Might hitting the Brainless.

She had no notion of time or of her location, every inch of her body screamed in pain and exhaustion. She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings, all she saw at first was white but eventually colors started to appear, her hearing return and so did her senses.

She was able to see that she was laying in a bed in a rather familiar room, she tried to sit up in order to better analyze the room but she was pushed back down, “oh dear, oh dear you outta stay still,”

“Recovery Girl?” Atsuko managed to mumble,

“Yes dear it’s me, you’re in the infirmary, you’re in pretty bad shape but I can take care of you so there was no need to send you to the hospital,”

“The others!” she screamed which caused an extreme amount of pain in her chest,

“Calm down you have a broken rib, most of them are fine,” Recovery Girl reassured, “other than you, among the students only Midoriya needs healing, he’ll be here any second now to see me along with All Might, they both need my assistance,”

“And the teachers?”

“At the hospital,” a masculine voice answered as they entered the infirmary threw the door, it was All Might and Midoriya, he had broken one of his arms again, though for Atsuko it was the first time she saw him in such a state. The same could be said for All Might, he was barely standing straight as he held onto his chest were he appeared to have an open wound.

“What happened?” She asked, but how could they explain, she knew they couldn’t, “Forget about it,” she decided to add, “all that matters now is that it’s over and that everyone is safe,”

All Might smiled at her as he sat down on a chair nearby, “you were very brave Atsuko,” She scoffed at his comment, she didn’t deserve the compliment, she hadn’t been strong enough, “A lot of pro heroes would have hesitated to do what you did without a second thought,”

“A lot of heroes would have done a lot better than I did, I was useless,”

“That’s not true, far from true, you’re efforts and sacrifices gained your classmates and teacher time, you protected them at all cost, you allowed yourself to be hurt beyond belief for them. That is the attitude of a true Hero,”

Atsuko raised her eyes from her white bed sheets and looked towards her teacher, she didn’t say anything but her black eyes cried out in a silent desperation.

It was the first time her eyes had ever shown so much emotion, they always seemed so distant, almost as if they were never seeing what was in front of them, maybe they couldn’t or they didn’t want to, but today it was clear that her eyes saw her teacher standing in front of her.

It seemed like it was the first time in years that Atsuko had actually seen the person standing before her and not just sense their presence. She looked towards All Might craving for reassurance and security, she had forgotten the last time she had felt the need for something.

“Atsuko, after today you should never question who you are, you are kind, giving and altruistic, these are qualities of a true hero, don’t doubt yourself. You are made to be a Hero,”

She hadn’t left her teachers gaze, desperation slowly left her eyes and as she heard his words that calmed her insecurities, she couldn’t control it, tears rolled down her cheeks as her heart felt confused and safe at the same time.

It was all so overwhelming, she was experiencing things she had forgotten, it hurt but she didn’t know why or whether it was good or bad pain.

“Don’t cry,” Midoriya pulled her into a hug, it felt warm and soothing, she raised her right arm and tighten the hug as the feeling of a need returned, the need of affection.

“I wanted-” she tried to speak but her throat seemed heavy and tight not allowing her words to pass through quite as well as she had wished, “I wanted to hug you when I saw you in the USJ, I felt so guilty and reassured seeing you and the others, I wish I could have, I wish I had done more,”

“You did enough and that’s all that matters,” Midoriya patted her lightly on the top of the head as he smiled at her, “All Might’s right you know, you are a great Hero,”