Pins and Needles | Todoroki Shoto | S/H

A Whisper of Goodnight and Goodbye

・・・　・・・　・・・

     The doctor swivels on his chair, a tablet in hand.
     "I examined your whole body, but other than your arm, there seems to be nothing out of the ordinary."  He says.
     "Thank you so much,"  Midoriya says.
     "But how did your arm end up like-"
     "More importantly, where's everyone else?"  He asks hurriedly.  He was really worried about all of them.  
     He turns and looks back at the sound of the curtain opening.  Aizawa steps through.  Midoriya quickly questions his own injuries, thankful that the teacher looked fine.  He apparently got 10 stitches.  Then, he ushers Midoriya to follow him into the hallway.  
     "Sorry I couldn't be with you when it counted."  He says.  
     "It's alright.  Anyway, how's everyone else?"  Aizawa sighs.
     "Kirishima has bruises and lacerations on his whole body, but he'll live.  Amajiki cracked a bone in his face, but none of his injuries will leave a scar.  Fatgum has broken bones in a few places, but he seems fine.  Luckily, the blade that stabbed Rock Lock didn't hit any vital organs, so his wound won't develop into anything serious.  They said if he'd moved that knife even a centimeter in any direction, he might be dead now."  
     "I'm so glad...  Um, what about Eri-chan?"  Midoriya says softly.
     "She's still feverish and sleeping.  She's being quarantined right now."  
     "Quarantined...  So I can't even see her?"  
     "Apparently, it was decided based on the information we got from you about her.  She can't control her quirk that rewinds people.  If something activates it again, I'm the only one that can stop her.  You were able to touch her by continually destroying your whole body, right?"  
     "Yes."  Midoriya nods as the elevator doors ding and begin opening.  
     "There aren't many people who could do that,"  Aizawa states.  "Even if there was someone who could, if that girl's quirk became powerful enough to surpass that..."  They step on, mechanical engineering creaking as the doors roll closed.  
     "Yeah, if you hadn't erased Eri-chan's quirk, I don't know what would've happened."  They stop on the second level of the basement and step off.
     "Since it didn't work on the buildings or the ground, but only on people, training to teach her control isn't something we can approach lightly.  Thinking about her emotional state on top of the unknowns, right now, it would be most logical to keep her quarantined.  For her sake as well."  He pauses and draws in a deep breath, making Midoriya stop just beside him.  "In other words, we cannot depend on her quirk.  All we can do is accept it."  

     The doors slide open, revealing a couple of people gathered in the small room.  All Might was amongst them.  
     "I called them... because..."  Bubble Girl starts.  Her voice was shaky and weak, and she raised a hand to cover her trembling lips as tears dripped from her eyes.  "Sir was always talking about All Might..."  Centipeder offers her a handkerchief.
     A doctor steps into the room, a somber expression on his face.  "There's nothing else that can be done...  Honestly, it's mysterious how he's even still alive."    
     "There's nothing I can do with my healing at this point."  Recovery Girl states.  
     "Unfortunately, I don't think he will live to see tomorrow."

     Shoto looks up at the door as it creaks open.  In an instant, he felt his heart sink.  He stands to greet them with the rest of the class.  They expressed their worries for the four, and how they were glad they okay.  For the four... the four... the four...  
     His phone buzzes and he slips away, beginning up the stairs as he answers the call.  
     "I've called all surrounding hospitals as you requested,"  Kaimoto states.  "and... she's not been registered at any of them."  
     "What do you mean?"  He snaps.  Then he breathes out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes.  "I'm sorry.  What do you mean by that?"  
     "I asked for her, and they all said they hadn't had a patient by that name.  The only one who even had her record had last seen her when she was born."  His lips tremored as his breath tried to push past something welling in his throat.  
     "Okay.  Um, thank you, I guess.  I...  Goodbye, Kaimoto-san."  
     "Ah, um, goodbye."  

     "How many times do I need to tell you pests to go away?"  Shigaraki grumbles.  The League watched the two men with sneered lips and sour expressions.  
     "We have a bargaining chip."  One states.  A third pushed a wheelchair in through the door.  They all recognized the girl seated on it, eyes covered and teeth bared.  Her biceps were held to the bars of the char, another strap holding her down by the waist and two more on her ankles.  Her fingers were wrapped in tape and bandages.  
     "(Y-Y/N)..."  Sako murmurs to himself.  
     "If you don't want her, we'll kill her, so you better make sure you know what answer you really want."  The first man states.  
     "Seriously, she's creepy."  The second mutters as he looks away.  The third, who had pushed her in, quickly pinches him.  
     "We don't want her.  Take her back."
     "Shigaraki!"  Sako says harshly.  He rushes forward, grabbing onto her hand with the one arm he had, but she yanks them away.
     "Don't touch me, filth."  She growls.  
     "(Y-Y/N), it's me.  It's Ani."  
     "Ani?"  She whispers.  "What... what are you doing here?  Ani?"  Her hand taps the armrest desperately before she finds his hand again, gripping onto it.  
     "I told you, we don't want her,"  Shigaraki says.  He turns on his heel, waving the men off.  "Kill her if you want.  I don't care."  
     "Shigaraki!"  Sako shouts at him.  "You can't!  You know her!"
     "And?"
     Sako watched slack-jawed as he continued walking away.  She squeezed his hand again, sighing lightly.
     "I'm disappointed in you.  Is Nee-san a part of this, too?"  She asks quietly.  "Actually, don't answer that.  I don't want to know."
     "No, no, she's not.  She's not.  I promise."  
     "I can't believe you chose to be a villain, Ani.  What happened to the man that married my sister?  He never would've been this.  I have to fight you now, Ani.  And look, I can't even do that.  I'm in shackles.  I'm stuck."  
     "I-I'm so sorry, (Y/N)."  He looks up at the men, giving her hand a comforting squeeze.  "I'll do anything.  Please.  Anything you want."  
     "We don't want you, we want Shigaraki to join the yakuza.  It's simple.  If you can do that, we'll let you have this... thing."  Sako's blood boiled at the words.  "I didn't use to work for the Hassaikai, but after Nighteye died, I knew I had to join.  I actually quite liked him.  He didn't have to die when this rat of a little girl could've.  She's practically a traitor.  She doesn't even seem to want to be a hero, and I've heard a rumor she advocates for Stain's ideology herself.  What kind of hero is that?"  
     (Y/N) takes in a sharp breath as he presses a knife to her throat.  Strangely, the smell of winter and smoke filled her nose, a scent she easily recognized.  While it might have been clinging to her clothes, she'd been with these men for about 5 days...  
     The knife presses a bit harder, her skin searing.  She wondered if it was her primal fear of death that made her pick up every little thing, even the smell of home on her hero costume.
     "Your weakness killed that man, so there's really no point for you to live anymore, is there?"  The man laughs.  "Go on, I'll let you say something to him."  She could hear Sako crying as his hand was yanked from hers.  She imagined they were holding him back, to not stop it.  
     "Sorry, Ani."  She whimpers.  "I hope you get out of this life as soon as you can.  If you let this happen to Nee-san, I'll-"
     "That's enough.  Say bye-bye."  

     It was a sticky feeling: blood dribbling down her slit throat.  She'd never thought about what it was like to listen to air rushing out of her open neck like it was escaping a balloon.  She'd never thought about how the blood was warm, but the air made her feel cold as liquid soaked her clothes.  She never thought about how much it would hurt, so much so that even the thought of trying to lift her head from being slumped back gave her pain.  
     She wondered if it would be suffocation or the blood loss that would knock her out first.  Or if it would be the migraine that had been swishing her in and out of consciousness the past supposed 5 days.  
    It felt so slow.  Listening to the small spits of blood as pressure shot it.  Listening to Sako screaming at them.  Listening to Shigaraki calling from the other room for him to be quiet.  Listening to her own heartbeat slow down and her ears begin to ring until she could listen to nothing.  
     She had to wonder, as her ears popped and her eyes finally closed and peace finally overthrew the pain, was this euphoria?  Was this death?