Cereals Always Good With Honey

"Hey 'Zuku..."

Hisashi? Where had he heard that name before?

The doctor had walked out long ago, taking the nurses with him. Izuku watched his IV.

drip...drip...drip

And heard the subtle beep of the heart monitor connected to him. The clock ticked subtly in the background and Izuku felt dirty. Very dirty. Like dog blood was on his hands again, and he was elbow-deep in animal guts, and people were telling him to work faster, take the valuable parts and throw the rest away lest they be thrown away.

"Izuku." Startled out of his state of haze, he weakly gripped his sheets before hearing multiple footsteps on the tile of the floor. Green eyes flitted over the three men standing in the hospital doorway, taking in sleep-deprived, worry-ridden faces, anxious hands, and nervous eyes. Immediately Izuku felt the sorrow crash down on him, felt his face contort into something he was sure was ugly, with furrowed brows, a clenched nose, and dilated green pupils that leaked with tears, a sob climbed its way out of his throat as he blubbered out incoherent apologies and thank yous.

Aizawa and Hizashi ran to provide the greenette with affection—mostly Hisashi—one running a hand through his hair and the other hugging him around his shoulder affectionately, telling him that everything was going to be okay, that they'd paid for the hospital bill and he didn't have to worry about anything as they'd taken care of the shop while he was out.

Bakugo, hands in pockets and a lost expression on his face pursed his lips, knuckles clenched. He was only here to check on Izuku, to make sure he was okay after everything he had done. The promise he'd broken was like shattered glass under his feet, too many pieces broken for him to put back together again. He stood from the doorway and watched Izuku hiccup into his covers as Mic and Eraser comforted the boy, watched what he would've done so long ago, back when he and Izuku were toddlers, how he'd wrap his hands around the boy's shoulders in a hug despite inadvertently putting him down. He'd vowed to protect the boy only to become the one he had to protect Izuku from.

He clenched his fist in his sweatpants pockets and wondered how a diagnosis of Izuku being quirkless led to spider lilies, name-calling, and bloodied fists. How it felt to have Izuku's blood on his knuckles again after so much time, to look at the already swollen face before Aizawa had dragged him away from the scene and got him to calm down and tell the man what happened. But he couldn't. At such a loss for words that only his fists could describe the inevitable. Aizawa had clicked his tongue in realization, and guilt flooded Katsuki's senses as he watched Yamada carry Izuku out bridal style, body limp, a worried face plastered on the blonde's face. Aizawa grunted, chewing on a toothpick on the side of his face.

"You didn't use your quirk though, correct?" Absent-mindedly, Bakugo nodded, his mind already somewhere else.

When he got home the guilt hadn't receded, and he couldn't eat despite leaving the cafe with the notion that Aizawa would update him if anything happened. His dad gave him a few worried looks throughout dinner but ultimately everything stayed silent, and when he retreated to his room and slammed his door, nobody in his household questioned a thing.

Tears flowed in rivulets down his face, grateful that his room was soundproof. He put his hand in his hair and pulled, his nose pushed into his arm as he groaned out his sadness and regret. He had utterly failed Izuku, again. His motives were unbeknownst to even him. So frustrated and scared, thinking "Who did this?" When the answer was revealed to be him at the end of the day, he hospitalized Izuku, who made him bleed, coping seemed so out of his reach.

And as he stands here now, watching Izuku with a teary-eyed smile, the question becomes apparent, who, out of the two of them, really deserved to become a hero? His stomach lurched at the thought of answering the question despite already knowing it. Izuku was so much calmer and kind, with delicate features and a look that screamed, "I'm so innocent you could step on my toes and I'd apologize."