Warm

All MightXFemale!Reader

"Just be more careful, okay? You won't always be able to push things like you're used to."

.:+:.

**Please note there is a Male Reader version of this oneshot in another part.... The only difference between this one and the other, is that the Reader is referred to as Male, instead of female. 

.:+:.

He staggered into the confines and the cover of the alleyway, clutching to his side and wheezing slightly as he stumbled along the wall, his free hand dragging across the rough brick. Trails of steam rose up and off of his shoulders as he stumbled further down the alley, his clothes loose and much, much too big around his skeletal form, his breathing ragged and hot, throbbing pain radiating from his core and outward over his entire body.

He had to get out of sight, get as far down this alley and away from the street and anyone there may be on it. It was almost a damn miracle he'd made it into this alley before he failed to keep his Muscle Form up.

His breath hitched in his throat and he tasted the metallic tang of blood in an instant, but he bit back at it, grumbling as he fought to crush the cough that threatened to come out.

Just a few more feet, move down this alley a little more and get that little bit away from the street. Just a little more and he could pause, catch his breath, and do so without risking being seen.

It wouldn't do to have anyone stumble upon their Symbol of Peace and find a man more bones than human, hardly keeping on his feet and ready to keel over..... He had been out and about and doing normal things, shopping, keeping to himself- but of course a Villain popped up and he couldn't stand still.

He stumbled a bit, catching himself as he leaned against the wall a bit more and this time he couldn't keep the cough at bay, and it was soon followed by more. Shallow, quick, raspy coughs that had crimson poking at the edge of his lips and he hissed as he wiped the back of his hand against the liquid. He bent over, his shoulder falling against the brick wall and shaking long after the coughing sputtered into nothing. His grip over his shirt and over the ugly, twisting scars carved into his body tightened as he grimaced, his eyes shutting tight against the wave of pain that ran it's course through every inch of him, making it impossible to breathe for a few moments.

Shit.... I pushed it too far

But how was he meant to anticipate that dealing with that one Villain would take the better part of three hours?

It was probably a good thing he wasn't done up in his Hero Costume right now... He couldn't imagine the reactions he would get if someone were to stumble upon him in it.

He swallowed hard against the copper tang ever persistent in his mouth and throat, willing his heart and his breathing to steady even as he forced himself a few more paces inward from the street.

Once he'd made it about halfway down the alley he stopped forcing himself to move. He stopped with his back pressed against the wall and ran his hand through his bangs while the other placed itself over his mouth, sweat dripping down his brow and knees trembling faintly.

Today was a bad day compared to most, usually Hero Work didn't hit this hard... But today-

BAM

He jumped at the sudden loud noise to his right, a door just beside him that had seconds before been shut and silent, now swung open rather violently with no warning. He stood stiff in his spot for a few seconds before he realized it swinging open all the way, and was about to slam against the wall it was hung to- only he was in the path of it.

All Might struggled to push himself off the wall and out of the way of the incoming door. He missed the edge of it by a fraction of a centimeter, the door whisking by his nose as he stumbled backward away from the wall and did his best to stay on his feet. The door itself slammed back against the brick with a loud metal clang, and that noise nearly drowned out the voice that followed soon after the door had been thrown open.

"Yeah, yeah I'm going, damn it!" A woman's voice snapped hotly,

"If I ever see your face around here again, I will end you! Do not ever come back!" Another voice snapped, older and a man.

"Wasn't planning on it!" The first snapped hotly, and the door slammed shut again in the next instant as the woman stomped forward, absolutely fuming. She threw a hand back dismissively, her (H/C) hair shrouding her face and casting a shadow over her eyes, not bothering to glance back at the door or aware of the still stumbling and very off balance All Might ahead of her. "Asshole!" She snapped at the closed door, still stalking forward and pale (E/C) eyes locked to the ground.

All Might grimaced, still trying to regain himself from moving so quickly to escape the swinging door. In the split few seconds of that, and the woman walking out into the alley toward him, they were on a collision course and neither he nor the woman had anytime to correct, and he knew it despite how much he struggled to stop and change it.

His shoulder collided with hers and they bounced off one another a bit, both of them knocked off balance, and rather roughly at that. All Might sucked in a sharp breath of air as the woman hissed, and his hand instinctively shot forward to try and grab hold of her arm and steady her- though it did little good. They both ended up spinning toward one another and losing traction, stumbling over their own feet and both ended up flat on the ground. Her arm got ripped from his grasp and he hit the ground in near the same instant she did, their bodies bouncing painfully against the cement and the wind driven from his lungs so very painfully. For a minute he just lay there, winded and stiff as a board as pain shot straight through every inch of him and so fiery it was hard to just think.

D.... Damn it...

The woman let out a small hiss, picking herself up off her back and sitting semi-crosslegged on the ground, her (H/C) hair falling in a mess around her shoulders and grumbling.

For a minute it was silence between them, and for a minute she sat there trying to regain herself. For a minute, All Might waited for the pain to subside and his lungs to decide to listen to him again, and for his thoughts to settle before he realized what happened and sat up, ignoring the agony that swept through his side when he did so, and the sheer effort that it took.

"I-i am so sorry, Ma'am...!" He stammered quickly, already struggling to adjust and get to his feet... But hell, his muscles didn't want to listen, and he didn't care, but that didn't mean they did what he wanted. He tried to stand up but his knees wouldn't hold him right then, so he just shifted across the cement closer to her and and sat on his heels. His hands came up and hovered, flustered now and not sure what he should do. Would she be mad if he tried to reach out? Was she hurt? They'd fallen pretty hard, but a quick glance over her person he didn't see any obvious injuries.... And beside that, most people didn't really take all that well to him when he was in his True Form anyway, especially women. Once she got a good look at him, she was just asking likely to shrink away from him in disgust as she was to snap his head off for running into her like that.

(Regardless if this was all less his fault than hers... She did stomp out that door in a hurry, but he wasn't going to blame her for the situation. If he hadn't been so worn out right then and barely standing, he would have easily moved out of the way and not run into her at all.... Damn that limit of his.)

He saw her head twitch a little the minute he said anything, her eyes narrowing at the ground as she paused a little, but he didn't.

"I really am sorry ma'am, I wasn't trying to run into you like that..." He went on, still all flustered and polite and apologetic. He saw her draw her arms in toward her, her fingers trailing over the lower part of her arm where he'd grabbed on to her, and pretty tightly too. He swallowed a bit, suddenly worried he might have hurt her more by trying to hold on.

"It's fine." she mumbled before he had another chance to apologize, and her eyes still remained on the ground and not on him, almost like she was refusing to look at him at all. "... I wasn't watching where I was going, so this is as much my fault as anything. I shouldn't have stomped out without thinking."

"... Are you alright?" All Might murmured, "You fell pretty hard..."

"So did you." Was the soft reply he earned from her, "I'm fine though, what about you?" He hesitated without meaning to, swallowing at the question.

".... I... I'm alright.." He murmured, and she paused again at his reply, so much so he wished he sounded a bit more convincing. Because no, he wasn't alright, but it had little to do with being knocked to the ground just now. He could feel himself trembling, and he hoped she didn't notice it. And he could still feel the pain throbbing from his core and through him, worse now from the tumble- and he could certainly feel the sharp, hot prick of pain in his lungs that would sooner or later have him coughing again. He felt like no small amount of hell, but he was used to that, and used to hiding it, so he did.

.... Even if it's hard....

He shook his head a little and put on a small smile that was meant to be reassuring, his still hovering hands waving a bit. "You really don't need to worry about me, I am alright. And I'm happy you're okay too, though I still do apologize for all of this, ma'am.... Though, I hope you don't mind my asking, it sounded like you were having a pretty heated argument..." He told her quickly, and then quickly worked to change the subject away from himself. "... I'm sorry if I'm being nosy, I know it's none of my business, but... Is everything alright?" He asked, his head tilting toward the door that had slammed, though she still wasn't meeting his eyes to know he'd gestured toward it at all. Her head did that twitching thing again, her face pulling slightly and he stiffened at the change in expression, afraid he'd stepped over the line by asking at all.

It really wasn't his business and he knew it, but that Hero side of him immediately had him feeling the need to make sure everything was okay and she wasn't in some sort of trouble. That man seemed to have all but thrown her from the building, and he had definitely threatened her.... And of course he may have had valid reason to do so, she may very well be the offending party in this situation, or it could be the other way around- either way, he had to ask. He was the Symbol of Peace after all, keeping an eye on people and resolving trouble was his job.

When she failed to reply to him, and her expression only twisted a little more, he regretted asking at all and decided it might be better to just leave it be. He forced a small, nervous chuckle to try and lighten things a bit and kept up a smile that was more shaky than it was infallible, "A-ah, forget I even asked...! I'm not trying to intrude.... And I'm sorry again, for running into you ma'am..... I'll help you up, if you-?"

He cut off though, because her head tilted up and her eyes met his. For the first time she looked up at him, and he froze, his sunken blue eyes matched with her pale (E/C) ones, and he lost all train of thought as she stared at him, searching and yet.... Unseeing.... Like she wasn't really....?

"...ah...... Is everything... Alright....?" All Might breathed, still riveted as he searched her eyes for something, some flicker of recognition or focus, or even just light.... But no, he didn't see anything, and the more he looked, the more convinced he was that she wasn't looking at him at all. Or at least, not enough to actually be seeing him. She looked like she was trying to focus much, much too hard.

I.. Is she...?

"... Toshinori?" She asked slowly, cautiously almost, and his heart dropped in the matter of a single second.

He couldn't breathe, his blood ran cold and panic and shock raced through him like a flood. He sat there, paralyzed and his mind hardly able to function let alone grasp at the fact that his name had appeared on her- this absolute stranger's- lips. His name. His real name and a name so very, very few people in this world were ever allowed to know.... His name he couldn't have ever imagined he would hear from someone he had simply stumbled into in an alley in the back end of Japan's bustling city. And never uttered by a stranger when he looked like this, worn and tired and a skeleton of a man, unrecognizable to literally anyone who didn't already know him from so, so long ago.

His name

B-but.... How does she....?!

He didn't know what to do, he couldn't think of anything, his mind wasn't working, and his voice hardly did, but it did. And he started to stutter some half-formed nonsense before he could even control himself.

"I-i... I'm sorry....? D-do... I.... Are.... Who.....?" He sounded like a fool, but he just couldn't- what..?!

His mind didn't want to work but he needed it to. It wasn't a wild guess, right? No one could just guess his name like that, so how did she know? Did she know him? The real him, and not the Symbol of Peace? He didn't know, he didn't recognize her. And as much as he tried to think of who she might possibly be, nothing came, and his panic and unease got all the worse.

How could she know him, but he didn't recognize her? How could she look at him and see him as 'Toshinori'? Even if they did know one another before and he couldn't remember the encounter, he certainly would not have looked like this when they'd met. So how could she see him, this now frail and sickly looking man and recognize him? Someone who was by now nothing but a ghost of his former self?

How does she know my name, but I don't recognize her?

Was she... Was she a spy? An enemy? Someone working under All For One....?

He tensed even further at that thought, defensive now as he leaned away from her a bit, his hands pulling in toward him. She seemed to notice that he'd pulled back, her expression twisting further in question and thought. And still those pale (E/C) eyes of hers were searching intently, but still not focused all the way.

".... Look, I can't really see you enough to judge your expression, so you're gonna need to say something." She murmured softly, and he didn't reply, so she went on. ".... I'm gonna guess I might have freaked you out.... Sorry.... but is that you, Toshinori? It's been awhile since I've heard your voice, so it took me a minute....." Toshinori's eyes narrowed at her, wary.

".... Who are you?" He asked lowly, she blinked, looking slightly exasperated with the question, but only just. She took his question as an answer, even if he didn't outright confirm it. Her hands raised in a sudden gesture of surrender, and he blinked at it.

".... I'm sure I don't look even remotely like I used to, so fair question..... And if you've forgotten me, that's probably fair too..... I doubt I make much a dent in the life of the No. 1 Hero......." she mumbled, almost to herself as he kept her in a wary stare. Her eyes dropped closed, seeming to give up on trying to focus on him at all, and her posture sagged a little at the same time. One of her hands moved, falling lightly on her chest while the other brushed her bangs from her face and her eyes rather uselessly.

"It's (F/N), Toshi." She told him softly, and for the second time his heart dropped as the name rang suddenly, almost hauntingly familiar on his ears. His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped slightly,

N-no way...?!

".... From school...." she went on as he sat there in shocked silence. ".... In the Support Department.........." She added slowly, still waiting on some reply. His mind was whirling though, thoughts and memories flooding back at the simple sound of a name he hadn't thought of in so, so long... In decades!

T-that..... she....?!

.:+:.

".... (F/N)-chan~!" The tall, bright-eyed blonde boy hummed, his smile slightly crooked and a bit apologetic as he slid himself around the corner to the workshop, hand up in a greeting. His call earned the (E/C) of a girl sitting alone at a table with a multitude of small tools and rolls of tape around her, littered among a pile of papers and small boxes that held first-aid supplies. She was dressed in the very recognizable UA school uniform just as he was, with her hair tied back and a pen tucked behind her ear for note-taking as she continued to work away.

She was young, but not so much- they were both in their middle years of UA now and had been getting to know one another more and more as time dragged by. Now they were quite familiar with one another, even if they were from different Departments. Toshinori was popular all around though, he was cheerful and charismatic (if a bit clumsy.... Like all the time), and there was hardly a time where he wasn't smiling and didn't have people fawning over him.

Popular, but maybe not regarded as the person who would become the greatest Hero... Not yet.

As for the girl? Well-

Her attention landed on him as he sheepishly stood in the doorway, waving toward her and his hands and knuckles littered with bruises and scrapes. All of which could be found on everything inch of bare skin on his arms and his cheeks.

She frowned at him and his smile grew a bit more nervous, he laughed but it wasn't as light-hearted as he intended it to sound.

"Ah, good afternoon! You're hard at work I see~!" He hummed, she shook her head at him with an exasperated sigh.

"Get over here." she ordered, he sweatdropped at the curtness of her voice but complied anyway. He moved in through the door and across to where she was sitting as her eyes left him and instead focused on her hands as she pulled one of the open first-aid kits closer to herself. "Did the nurse send you to me again?" She asked as he sat down in a chair just beside her. Toshinori smiled slightly,

"Yeah....." He mumbled, the girl nodded.

"She's tired of dealing with you all the time, you know. That's why she sends you to me." The girl murmured, he chuckled a bit.

"Ah, is she really? I couldn't tell...." he hummed and the girl shook her head at him.

"Well I'd be pretty tired of having to patch you up every other day, if I was her." The girl murmured, her hands working away as she picked out bandages and disinfectant from the box in front of her. "A few more visits like these, I might get tired of you too, Toshinori."

Despite how crass her voice sounded, nothing about her expression gave any hint to true displeasure. In fact he saw the way her bright (E/C) eyes shone as she talked, mirth and teasing swimming in her gaze as she shot him a quick glance.

He grinned, his hands clapping together in front of him softly. "You know I do really appreciate you fixing me up, (F/N)." He told her brightly, she let out a small breath.

"You'd better." She hummed, he smiled a bit more at the answer. She finished setting her supplies out and turned in her chair to face him directly, her hands moving up to brush his bangs back from his face and pull his head down toward her, lowering him to her level (he was always so much taller than her... And most people really) and looking over the damage that had been done. He smiled despite how quickly she'd pulled him down, and simply sat there as still as he could while she looked him over, and her lips pursed after awhile.

Her hands pulled back from holding either side of his face as she let out a small sigh, turning her attention on his arms and hands. She held on to him firmly, yet surprisingly gently as she scanned the scrapes and cuts and bruises, and worked to decide what needed be looked after most.

"You are a mess." She commented after a few minutes, "What did you do today? Get into a fight with a wood shredder?"

"Ah, I was actually sparring with Tomako-kun.... And Genji-kun..... And Fukige-chan....." Toshinori replied, she grimaced at that.

"All at once?"

".... Yes....." He murmured slowly, she growled under her breath.

"Idiot.... You work too hard, you know that?" She muttered, "And you certainly push things too far, you're gonna kill yourself if you don't quit." He seemed to wilt a little at the chastising, but smiled softly at her anyway.

"Maybe, but I am aiming to be a Symbol of Peace, so I have to work hard." He replied, "Besides, as long as I have friends like you around to help, I'm sure I'll manage to live for a good long while, hehe..."

She flicked him on the arm with the back of her hand, shaking her head in exasperation. "You're lucky I like you, otherwise I wouldn't be healing your dumbass all the time like this." She muttered, he chuckled at it. Her hands moved, taking light hold of his right arm and grasping gently around a rather nasty looking cut trailing up from his elbow. She didn't seem to care about his blood that stained her hands as she did so, and he bit back the wince in the bottom of his throat. He watched her as her eyes dropped closed, quiet for a moment as her hands around his arm began to glow a pale, gorgeous golden color and he felt the pain quickly receding as his skin knit back together with absolute ease.

This sight was no surprise to him, because it had become a regular occurrence that year at UA. His first two years at UA had been nothing less than tough, and he had never been anything like the No. 1 Hero the world depended on back in those days. He worked hard and gave it his all, but he was young and inexperienced, and fit- but still gangly. He tripped over his own feet more often than not and he was always getting hurt and beat up in both Hero work in class, and outside of it under the tutelage of Nana and Gran Torino. And it didn't matter how many times he was told to be careful or how hard he tried to be, he was never without some injury, and usually it was more than a few... Not that it would ever stop him.

His teachers seemed exasperated with him and he knew it- and despite what he'd said, he had been pretty sure the school nurse had reached her limit of dealing with his inevitable bumps and bruises. And while most of his injuries were numerous, they were rarely ever serious, so the nurse had started shouldering more responsibility on him to take care of his own injuries, as well as bringing her into the picture.... (F/N).

The first time he'd ever met her had been the first year, and the first time the nurse ordered him off to the Support Department in search of someone named '(F/N) (L/N)'. He'd had little clue where he was going or even who he was looking for, the nurse gave him little specifics (or a reason why she'd trust another student to handle him instead of herself....). He'd actually stopped in the hallway looking like a lost puppy for a few good minutes before someone offered up any help. A girl, with bright (E/C) eyes and (H/C) hair who had spotted him standing there from a classroom, banged up and bruised to no end.

When he told her the name of the person he was in search of, she paused for a few seconds before a look of understanding passed over her face, and she asked only one question;

'Did the nurse send you?'

.... Following that she'd ushered him into a side room and sat him down, ignoring his questioning looks as she sifted through a cabinet and began fishing medical supplies out. He'd been sitting there stiff as a board as she moved around for some time, before he finally managed to work himself up into asking what she was doing, and she huffed at him.

'What the nurse sent you to me to do.'

It became instantly clear why the nurse had sent him to (F/N) that very first day, and it was a simple answer. Her Quirk;

Heal and Take

The first part of it being she was able to heal minor and non-serious injuries such as cuts, bruises, scrapes and sprains, and even broken fingers and toes. He'd even seen her mend a broken wrist and arm once, and only just the once. She couldn't really heal anything more serious than any of the afore mentioned, and he was fairly sure that trying to do so just didn't wield any helpful results.

And the second part of it, 'Take', allowed her to transfer more serious injuries from someone else and to herself. Which in a sense would 'heal' that other person, since they would no longer have the injury- but (F/N) would have it instead. A risky thing to do, since (F/N) couldn't heal any of her own injuries, in any capacity. And the transfer of an injury wasn't something he had ever seen her do, or thought he ever would, it was just too risky.

(And of course she had a limit to how many times she could use her Quirk all at once, it was physically exhausting for her to use it at all. Use it too much, she'd end up passing out or worse... But that's usually how Quirks were in general, they all had limits.)

It was an incredible and useful Quirk though, and he found himself rather impressed by it, and told her as such, right away.

Though of course as soon as he said that she'd just stared at him in sheer silence for a few long minutes, and after the first two he'd thought he might have offended her or something. Before he could apologize or anything else though, she looked away from him and muttered a small 'thanks' and left it at that.

.... He actually still wasn't sure why she had paused, come to think of it.

Anyway.... after that very first encounter, they became a pair of unlikely friends who had little tie to one another outside of having Toshinori sent to (F/N) whenever the nurse couldn't find the patience to handle him herself. And it was the start of a friendship that would likely never have formed if not for his unintended talent for annoying the school nurse.

It was slow going at first, and they hadn't much leisure time to spend in one another's company. They were in all different classes and had mostly different schedules, but despite that they found some time to get to know one another better, and eventually very well. He found himself pleasantly surprised by (F/N) on several occasions, and especially so since anyone's first impression of (F/N) (and certainly his) was that she was a rather prickly personality, and it was a little hard to really get along with her without annoying her, or seeming to. She came off as cold and stony, and she didn't seem to like anyone, let alone being sociable.

Despite that, (F/N) was a generally friendly person, though not near as friendly as Toshinori was. While 'prickly' was perhaps an accurate description for some of her behavior, all that stern and somewhat harsh demeanor she gave off was really just a way to hide how kind she actually was. He wasn't sure why she hid that part of her at all, but he saw it the more time he spent with her. She chastised people, but there was nothing truly biting behind her words. She insulted someone or called them a name, but it was never mean, she was only teasing. As much as she talked about putting people in their place and ordering them around, or even threatening them, she never did anything. In fact, most of the time she did that absolute opposite of what she threatened to do.

As much as she complained or seemed annoyed with something he did, she never really was annoyed. When she scolded him for getting banged up or pushing things too far, that was usually just a cover for her concern. She smacked him many, many times..... but there was never any weight behind the hits, she wasn't intending harm. They were playful and even affectionate.

And as much as she told him she would get tired of constantly having to patch him up, he was completely certain she would never simply toss him aside. If the time came where she didn't have to help him, or wasn't asked to- he was sure she would do it anyway.

She really was kind, and she really did care. She cared about people and their pain and their hurt. She cared about everyone in some way even if she didn't really know them.... and she cared about him too, eventually.

It would be a lie to say he hadn't grown to care about her in return... How could he not?

She was helping him, she was taking care of him and she did it without thinking or even expecting anything in return. And he never had to ask, not after that first time. If she saw he was hurt she just jumped into healing him or helping clean and wrap his wounds without question. And it wasn't just him, she did it with other people too. She'd just offhandedly walk up to someone who scraped a knee or cut a finger and get rid of the wound in a few seconds time, say little to nothing, and then move on again like it never happened.

And when she was with him, using her Quirk or just helping him with bandages and band-aids? Her hands were so soft, her touches so light and fleeting it was as if she was hardly there. The way her fingers worked away and how quickly and deftly she would get the work done, and all of it with causing little to no pain or discomfort at all. It was almost mesmerizing to watch her work. He could probably do it for hours and never get bored- the way she healed people and injuries and always with so gentleness and calm.....

..... He honestly had missed it, after he had left and gone to America, but not for very long before he'd.... forgotten. About her, about all of it-

"..... And you do need to keep in mind, not everything can be healed by me or Recovery Girl or anyone else. If you get hurt really bad, you are on your own Toshinori." She murmured after a minute, the glow around her hands dying out as she shifted them away from his arm. He met her eyes as she opened them again, and he saw the seriousness in her expression right away, and the worry that she otherwise kept hidden from the world. Toshinori blinked at her, silent for a moment as he saw the way that (F/N)'s eyes were searching him, maybe trying to see if he was taking what she said to heart or not..... But the searching look lasted only a second longer and she sighed silently.

"Just be more careful, okay? You won't always be able to push things like you're used to."

.:+:.

The woman sitting on the ground in front of him sighed slightly, her hand falling from pushing her hair out of her face and instead rubbing the back of her neck. "... The nurse was always sending you to me....... You went off to America and never called me again.... Ring any bells.....?" She asked quietly, he jumped a little, sweatdropping as nervousness, embarrassment, shock and guilt hit him in the next instant, and they hit hard.

C-crap....! N-no way....?!

I-it's been almost 20 years....!!

"..... Again, I sort of need you to say something to be able to judge what you're feeling....." She murmured almost dryly, her eyes dropping closed as she seemed to stop trying to focus on him. Toshinori's hands stalled in mid-air, and he blinked at her several times over as he struggled to comprehend what she was saying, and what it meant.

".... (F/N)....? (F/N) (L/N)......?" He stammered slightly, she nodded to the sound of her own name, and for a brief moment the edge of her lips pulled in a faint smile, but then it was gone.

"... Took you long enough." She commented, he swallowed, and grimaced when he tasted the metallic tang of blood on his tongue getting stronger. (F/N) wilted a bit, her elbows leaning on her knees as she bent over and settled her cheeks in her hands. "Small world, huh? Never imagined I'd run into you again... least of all in some back alley in the middle of nowhere..." She hummed, "..... You good there, Toshinori....? Or should I be calling you 'All Might' instead....?" She asked softly, seemingly not at all perturbed by his lack of a response, or aware of how much he was shaking as he just stared at her.

It's been.... 20 years... And she's.... Here.....?

How.... How can she sit there and not seem bothered.....? I'm.... I'm nothing like I used to be, I've wasted away and yet she.... She.....

What had she said?

".... Look, I can't really see you enough to judge your expression, so you're gonna need to say something."

And when he looked into her eyes, the way she... the way there wasn't any flicker of recognition or focus, or even just light....? The way he felt she wasn't actually seeing him when she looked at him? Or why she looked like she was trying to focus much, much too hard....?

Her.... Her eyes... They're not the same.... The color has faded.....

His hands were reaching forward and toward (F/N) without him realizing it, trembling slightly as his core knotted so very tightly.

... Don't tell me... She....?

His hands met her cheeks, softly and almost fearful of touching her and (F/N) stiffened ever so slightly at the unexpected contact, before she sighed and leaned into it a bit. His fingers brushed the spare few bangs hiding her face and her eyes and pushed them away, his own eyes widening as he sucked in a small, sharp breath of air because.... Because he saw nothing..!

They were so pale, her eyes... They had always been so full of color and light and now..... N..now.....

"... F-(F/N)....?" He hated how much his voice wavered when he said her name again, and she seemed to grimace, just faintly.

"Hmm?" She hummed softly,

"... C... Can you not... See me....?" He asked, breathlessly almost. Because really, how could she not? She'd never been-

She smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was calm, and it was somber as she reached her hands up to gently curl her fingers around his wrists, holding on to him as softly as he was holding on to her, and his face fell even further as she shook her head, just a little.

"..... Not really..... You're kind of a tall, dark, blurry shadow to me." She explained softly, "That's pretty much the same for everyone else, and objects..... But technically, no. I can't see you." she told him softly, smiling sadly. "Not anymore." She added, and he swallowed, hard.

...b...but.... How....?

He meant to ask. There was a lot of things he meant to ask, and planned to. What happened? What did she mean? How could she have lost her ability to see that much? What had she even been doing these long years? Was she-?

All thought got cut off in the next instant, the same instant his breath hitched in his chest in a sudden flash of sheer, fiery agony.

All Might hunched, his hands snapping away from (F/N) and out of her hands as he grabbed his side, trying desperately not to make any sound as he doubled over. A strangled cough made it passed his lips as he tried to bite back at it, but doing so made the pain even worse and left him powerless to stop the next cough at all.... or the next, and the next, and before long he was racked by coughs that shook him violently, and grew more and more wheezy as crimson fell down his chin and into his hand, and lap.

(F/N) flinched at the sound of the first cough, her hands hovering slightly as his wrists pulled away so quickly. She saw his tall and blurred figure suddenly shorten, and the coughs getting quicker and more tearing as he seemed to sputter and struggle for any proper air- and couldn't seem to get it. Her head tilted slightly, her expression twisting in shock and concern that quickly got worse as her hands found his shoulders and back and she felt how badly he was shaking underneath her touch.

"Toshinori....?" (F/N) murmured quickly, her pale (E/C) eyes searching and yet unseeing, but she could hear him, and feel him, and immediately she knew this wasn't right. No-

This is bad

But she didn't know what

She could hear how wheezy his coughing was, and she immediately heard that change to something wetter. She sucked in a calming breath and froze when the metallic tang of blood flooded her nose, and her hand instinctively moved to grab hold of his arm and steady him.

Is he... Coughing up blood....?

She stiffened, one hand hovering near his elbow and the other in front and under him a bit, and suddenly her arm was hit with something liquid and warm and thick. She needn't be able to see it to know she was right, but it did make her stomach flip.

"Toshinori, if you can answer me then tell me what the hell is happening to you." She ordered sharply, though honestly she didn't expect any reply as he continued to wheeze and sputter under her hands. She'd be really surprised if he could manage some response, and she didn't wait very long for him to try and struggle one out, asking was little more than habit, and she was already moving.

She grimaced and moved one hand to glide over his shoulder and down his back, surprise running rampant through her as she felt how gaunt and thin he was underneath her touch, and how much his spine seemed to stick out under his skin. His ribs were the same way as her other hand moved to press gently against his chest, she could count every single rib bone with absolute ease and her throat tightened a little. His arms had felt thin when she grabbed on to him before, but this was.... He felt like he'd lost about a hundred pounds, or maybe even more.

What the hell....?

She cast the thoughts away and moved closer, her hands remaining where she'd placed them and her shoulder pressed in against his own and the side of his neck. She rest her chin on his back as he bent over her a bit, still coughing and trying his best to catch what crimson was spilling into his hand and slowly starting to drizzle through his fingers. Had he been uncomfortable with the sudden closeness, or did not want it, he didn't do anything to let her know, and he certainly didn't seem like he tried to pull away. Her eyes dropped closed as she grimaced at the way he shuddered and panted underneath her, the coughing slowing, but only a little.

"...... This is gonna feel odd to start." (F/N) murmured, though she wasn't sure how well he heard her. She let out a long, low breath and her attention fell away from the sound of his breathing and instead focused on where her hands were, the world fading away slowly as she mentally moved inward and looked for the pain, and the hurt.... Whatever it was that was causing this.

Bright, red hot.... Fiery agony.... And exhaustion that felt like a million pounds over.... Shit

There was so much. Much more than she anticipated and she cringed at it, her lips pulling and quickly stifling the wince coming up her throat. She felt it in her bones, radiating through her from the contact of her hands and spreading into everything... She felt such an ache unlike anything she had ever experienced ignite in her stomach, throbbing and terrible.

What... What in the hell happened to you, Toshinori....?

She ignored that though, her attention was instead on the gritty, tearing sensation centered around his lungs (and subsequently her own, via her Quirk) just under her hands. That was were the most pain was coming, the hot, fiery agony that grew five times worse the longer the coughing raged, and the more blood that was falling into his lap and speckling against her thigh. She could imagine a mental image of what it was that this specific pain came from, and she knew it was the most pressing in a multitude of things she felt and yet did not anticipate- not in a million years.

.... I've not felt injuries like this in.... Ever.

She sucked in a sharp breath of air and held it, her concentration falling on her hands entirely.

"Sorry, Toshi." She murmured softly, aware that his free hand had moved to grab hold of her shoulder to steady himself further. She let that breath she held out slowly, the sound of the world fading further into the background as her hands on his chest and back began to glow a soft, warm golden color.

This time she felt him recoil against the contact, and he took in a sharp, shuddering breath in sheer surprise as he felt something warm and prickling suddenly flare up where her hands were. And it wasn't the same soothing warmth he had grown used to back in school.... This was warm, yes, but it wasn't as smooth, or constant... It was prickling, and tingling- almost like some sort of electricity, or current that passed through her and into him, moving passed the surface and digging deeper.

He stiffened underneath the sensation, the pain in his lungs suddenly tripling in the course of a single second and he couldn't breathe for it (not that he was having much luck with that in the first place...). He instinctively tried to pull back from her, but she didn't give him a chance and her hands that had been so gentle on his back and chest were in reality so, so steely.

What was she doing? This didn't feel right, not like how he remembered-

His eyes snapped open and his heart dropped, panic racing through him as the questions running rampant through his head slammed to a halt on one possibility, and one he didn't want. His hand moved from trying to cover his mouth and found her shoulder, staining her jacket instantly with red as he tried to push her away from him with shaking arms.

"F.... (F/N)... Don't....!" He rasped quickly, only to cut off again in a strangled gasp.

She couldn't be, could she-?!

Don't tell me she's trying to transfer my injuries over to herself...!

(F/N)'s chin came up off his shoulder as he tried to pull back again, but she still didn't let him go, nor did the glow around her hands fade. She shook her head a bit and pulled him back toward her that little bit he'd managed to put between them, and the action of doing so was much more curt and forceful than he expected. Their shoulders connected again as she pressed closer, her hands shifting a little to almost be hugging him completely and he felt the panic in his soul getting worse.

She couldn't Take his Injuries, not all of them, and least of all even one! They were too-

"Shut up and calm down, I'm not doing what you think I am." She muttered lowly, and she let out a sigh, and he stalled, panting and wheezing and eyes searching for her face he couldn't see tucked behind his shoulder. His whirling thoughts and panicked mind struggled to come to terms with the order, especially as the pain that seemed tripled from her Quirk started to... Fade.

His eyes widened as he felt the tingling sensation die away too as the pain receded, the warmth becoming that gentle, constant energy that filled his chest and crept slowly outward in the most pleasant, calming way imaginable. He could feel it deep inside of him, working away, mending what was broken, even just a little bit.... And slowly the pain faded into a dull throbbing he was used to, and his breathing slowed and evened out with it. Moments ticked by into a few minutes and silence fell over the both of them again, (F/N)'s hands remaining where they were and the glow continued to burn. He swallowed, hard. And though he could still taste metal in his throat, he wasn't hacking it up in the terrifying quantity he had been but minutes before.

"... I told you it would feel odd to start with, dumbass." She muttered softly, though her voice wasn't as scathing as she had intended it to be. She let out a sigh and her forehead fell on his shoulder, her hands falling slightly as the glow started to fade from around them, and she curled her fingers around the loose and bunched up fabric. ".... I'm sorry I can't do a lot, but hopefully this enough to stop you coughing your lungs out for now....... there's just too much, Toshi." He swallowed at that, his eyes flashing as he felt himself wilt a little. He could feel her breath on his neck, warm and quiet as her grip around his shirt tightened, just a little.

So she was just trying to Heal him, what little she could, and only enough to mend what hemorrhage there was in his lung that had him coughing up blood at all..... he doubted she got rid of it all the way, her Quirk had always had limits and he was sure he was well passed them, but that hardly mattered. Whatever she did, how much or how little it was, it helped, and more than he might have expected.

His posture relaxed slightly as his blood-ridden hands slowly found her hips, no longer trying to push them apart and his panic fading fast. He just grimaced, letting himself sink slightly into the close contact they had adopted between them and feeling oddly glad for it just then, even despite the less than ideal situation.

"...... it's alright." Toshinori murmured softly, "You needn't apologize for anything, (F/N). I'm grateful for your help...." He told her quietly, sighing slightly himself. "This.... ah.... isn't how I would have imagined or liked a reunion between the two of us to go..." He admitted, and she huffed slightly.

".... I don't know, this seems pretty par for the course." She replied without skipping a beat, her tone weary yet sarcastic all at once. ".... you dropping in unexpectedly, needing to be patched up...... grant you your injuries were usually less.... terrible.... but the pattern is the same...." He grimaced again, but she did have a point.

"...... right...." He mumbled, his eyes dropping closed for a moment as a small section of silence passed between the both of them, and then she shifted. She pulled away from him and lift her head up from his shoulder, he looked up to catch her eyes but she had closed hers and didn't bother to open them again.

".... would you like to explain to me what the hell happened to you?" She asked next, and he stiffened at the question. "I needn't see you to know something isn't right, the coughing and the blood aside.... You're skinny as hell, Toshi... and you're hurt..... really badly...." She mumbled, her hands around his shirt shifted slightly, pulling at it almost as she seemed to bite the inside of her cheek. "... I can only feel a general portion of what it is that is wrong with you, but that was enough. I don't think I've ever felt anything like that, not once." His eyes fell from her, his hands fidgeting as he pulled away from holding on to her, slowly.

".... it's..... complicated..." He mumbled uncertainly, and he hated how hesitant the words were on his tongue. But why wouldn't they be? It was nothing but a closely guarded secret who he was and what had happened to him to reduce him into this wasted away, skeletal figure. The world was utterly unaware that their Symbol of Peace could only suffer through three measly hours of Hero work a day, and through all of it.... He was scarcely more than a deadman walking.

Few knew at all that battle that had earned him such injuries that had made him this way, and he had done his utmost to keep it that way. He had those trusted few, and many of them who had known him for so long as the only ones that even knew all of it- and many of them only knew a fraction.... And although she was one of those he had known from so long ago, and become friends with, he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her any of it. It wasn't he didn't trust her, he just.... it had been so long. She could be a completely different person now. After so long people do change, and he wasn't sure it was worth it to place the weight of the truth on her shoulders.

".... I'd bet." (F/N) murmured when the silence of his hesitation stretched on a bit too long to be comfortable. One of her hands moved up from holding on to his shirt and she patted his shoulder once, smiling slightly as she opened her eyes and his matched with the pale (E/C) he wasn't used to. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, it's fine Toshinori. That's your business....." She assured him, clearly aware he was hesitant to answer the question. He nodded a little, smiling faintly in appreciation.

"Thank you." He murmured softly, she nodded a bit, her smile fading slightly as her hand fell into her lap.

".... are you alright, though?" She asked next, he nodded again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, "Honestly this is.... sort of normal for me, I just pushed things a bit too far today... but I am alright, especially after your help." He assured, she tilted her head at that but didn't question it.

"I warned you about pushing things..." She said under her breath, almost too low for him to hear it, but he did and grimaced a bit. "..... alright, if you're sure...."

"I am." He told her with a small nod, she didn't seem that convinced but she did leave it alone.

"Well.... If you're up for it, we probably ought to go before that asshole comes back to check I've left..." She murmured, changing the subject now, and he was honestly quite grateful for it. He nodded in agreement with the idea, clearing his throat slightly to clear it that last little bit. (F/N) shifted, pushing herself back from him and rocking back onto the balls of her feet from having been sitting on her heels. She paused there for a minute, her hands on her knees and sighing, Toshinori started to move and adjust to get on his feet too..... though honestly his body was shaking still, and he swallowed back at it, not exactly looking forward to forcing himself back on to his feet. He bit back at the sharp stab of pain that ran through him as he moved, radiating upward from his side and his hand instinctively moved to hold it.

(F/N) blinked, her eyes narrowing at him and aware the blurred shadow that was Toshinori had hunched a little, though she wasn't sure why. She bit the inside of both cheeks, her eyes searching and straining and fruitlessly at that, before she shook her head a little and one hand reached around to dig in her jacket pocket.

"Here, Toshi." She murmured, pulling a small rag from her pocket and handing it toward him, he blinked in surprise. She sighed when he failed to take it right away, ".... I'm assuming you look like a mess, so take it." He frowned a bit. She was right of course, dark crimson stained his hands and his arms, and dotted his (white) shirt in more places than one, and he likely had some on his face despite his efforts to wipe it away. He'd likely get no small amount of stares should he try to leave this alley and walk on the street.....

He grabbed the cloth, his eyes moving from it to look her over and swallowing against the stain of scarlet smeared across the arm of her jacket from when he'd grabbed her shoulder, and the other drops of red littered on her person here and there. He looked like a complete mess but she was a mess too- less so- but a mess still. His fault of course, and he felt embarrassment hit him out of nowhere.

".... Ah, (F/N).... I got blood all over your jacket... I'm sorry about that, but.... Ah..." He started uncertainly, "..... People will probably notice that too, and not just me...."

"... Hmm... Well it wouldn't be the first time I had blood all over me." She hummed rather nonchalantly, shrugging slightly. "... and don't worry about it, Toshi... I honestly don't care about the mess or anything..." She added softly, he faltered a little at the reply, before slowly using the cloth she had provided to wipe off the sticky liquid from his skin. He glanced up briefly as her shoulders rolled back a bit and she pulled the jacket off, before slowly working to turn it inside out.... as to keep the blood out of sight, he assumed.

".... help any?" She asked after awhile of letting him work, her jacket hung over her knee and watching him in silence. He paused, nodding slightly in reply, before realizing it did no good-

"O-oh, uhm yes.... for the most part." He answered quickly, "I can't do much about my clothes, but hopefully no one will really notice... but thank you for this, (F/N)." He murmured, she nodded a bit.

"Of course." She hummed, her hands moving upward with her jacket in them. She tossed it toward him and he fumbled to catch it, dropping the cloth she had given him in his lap in the meanwhile and blinking rapidly in confusion. "It'll probably be a bit snug on you, but better than walking on the streets looking like you just came out of a horror movie, hmm?" She told him, and he glanced down at it for a few long moments as his mind seemed to work sluggishly slow.

".... thank you..... (F/N)....." He managed to say after a few seconds, and she nodded once more, though he didn't see it. Her eyes dropped closed, her head tilting slightly one way in his direction and listening carefully to the sound of his breathing, and every movement he made, even slight ones. She elected to give him a few more moments, before she pushed herself up onto her feet with a long sigh, her hands on her hips and quiet as he glanced up at her.

"..... did you have somewhere you needed to be, Toshi?" (F/N) asked after a pause,

"Ah.... I should probably be heading back to UA...." He replied, his eyes darting from her and toward the end of the alley and the sky. It was getting late, he was supposed to have been back in time to see Principal Nezu about a meeting...... he might have already missed it, if he was being honest....

Shit...

"Then I'll walk you there, and make sure you're alright." (F/N) announced, and he jumped a little at the suggestion that was less a suggestion and more an affirmation. His attention snapped back around toward her, eyes wide.

"Y-you don't need to walk with me if you have other things to get to, (F/N).... I'd hate to pull you away from your plans or anything....!" He started quickly, "I really am alright, I'm just a bit...a bit worn out, but I can make it back to the school alright on my own...! I wouldn't want to be a bother for you, (F/N)... not more than I already have been-"

".... Toshinori, you're not a bother." (F/N) cut him off gently, and he jumped a little in surprise. ".... and honestly, both you and I know that 'a bit worn out' is underselling it.... by a lot." She added quietly, and he stiffened at the fact being pointed out so blatantly..... but of course she knew how he was feeling, even if he wouldn't admit it. "It's probably not wise to let you walk off on your own right now, so like it or not, I'm seeing you off to wherever you're going." (F/N) told him firmly, he smiled wearily at her. "And besides, I have literally nothing else to do, so I might as well." She added, her hand moving from her hip and extending out toward him in order to help him up. Her pale (E/C) eyes met his, and she gave him a small, utterly gentle smile of the likes he hadn't seen in so, so long. "Come on, let me give you a hand." She hummed, "In the meantime we can catch up a bit, alright?"

Toshinori found himself staring, his attention landing on that hand that she held out toward him, and the same hand that had of two that had helped and healed him too many times to count...... the hands of a girl, and now a woman, he never imagined he would see again. And the same woman who had been apart from his life for decades now, and now she was back and she could no longer... see..... and he didn't know why, but he wanted to.

He had so many questions, many more than he thought he could and many more than he felt he could manage in his already whirling mind. He felt like hell and it was his fault for that, and she knew he wasn't feeling well too. There was no way of hiding that from her, sight or not. The minute she used her Quirk she would have known just how deeply the hurt and the exhaustion went, better than anyone else ever would. He supposed it shouldn't have been any surprise she was so firm on making sure he was alright after what... scare, he probably gave her, but even then the concern had him reeling slightly too. It was like she hadn't changed, not really at all.

And (F/N) probably had so many questions too, surely she did- even without seeing him she knew something was wrong and she had already questioned it... and he hadn't complied on answering, and she accepted that so easily. He appreciated that she didn't press him more than she might ever know.... but at the same time he wasn't sure how fair it would be to ask her things, and not be receptive to her own inquiries.

What was he meant to ask her, and how much could he ask without answering things for her? Would it be alright to ask anything? Like what had happened to her and what had caused her eyes to fail? What she had been doing all these years after leaving UA behind? Or even what she'd been doing here, in this alley and practically thrown out of a building?

It wouldn't be fair if he wasn't willing to talk about what happened to himself, and knowing he felt that way, he was hesitant to 'catch up' at all. He honestly wouldn't even know where to start in terms of a conversation.....

There are so few people in the world that even know me.... the real me, not just 'All Might'...... I'm not even used to the idea of being around anyone who doesn't simply know me as the Symbol of Peace. How am I supposed to act around someone who knew me, as I used to be....?

.... someone who knows me.... but who doesn't know anything else.... not about what happened with All for One, or my Quirk fading, or the fact that I go around hiding myself from the world..... There's no way I can avoid that part of the story now anyway, not after this... and I can't avoid telling her about my injuries for very long, despite her promise not to press it.......

His posture wilted a little, his attention still on her extended hand and swallowing back at the lump that had formed in his throat. He'd spent so long being so reserved and cut off from everyone, living with secrets and dodging around, and guarding the truth with everything he had. He just wasn't capable of being open with other people, spare one or two persons in all the many he was acquainted with.... and he wasn't sure he was capable of being open, or even any semblance of comfortable around (F/N) now. And.... and it wasn't that he didn't want to be comfortable with her, and talking with her.... he.... he didn't know, so he hesitated, over and over and he hesitated to take that hand.

The hand from a woman who had helped countless people including himself, and the same one who had popped back into his life in so little time, and in the most unexpected way possible.... and maybe someone he needed just then, and maybe not just for her Quirk.

Maybe.... maybe he needed someone who just..... didn't know, any of it. And someone who knew 'Toshinori' before they knew the Symbol of Peace....? Someone he called friend once upon a time, and someone he might be able to call that again...?

His eyes fell toward her jacket in his grasp, his free hand slowly trailing up toward where she'd put her hand on his chest and his fingers clutching to his shirt softly. He could still feel a lingering sensation of that warmth born from her Quirk, the relief that came with it.... and the lingering feel of where her breath had washed against his neck. And feeling that brought back the memory of the way her hands had always held so softly to him back in school, a gentleness and a caring touch that she still had, even after all this time...... physical contact that he had honestly avoided and become unaccustomed to, and even unwelcome of through all these years and everything that had gone on.

And yet.... I didn't dislike... any of that..... it was comfortable, despite the situation.

His lips twitched upward at the edges, just the smallest bit.

Maybe....

"........ Toshinori, you're leaving me standing here like an idiot." (F/N) cut into his thoughts with ease, sounding exasperated and annoyed.... but only just.

"Come on dumbass, I can't see your facial expression remember? Ya gotta tell me what's going through that pretty little blonde head of yours." She sighed, he glanced up at her and that faint smile got a little stronger. "And while you're at it, give me your damn hand already." He let out a small breath, his sunken blue eyes glittering in amusement. He shifted, pushing himself onto his knees and hanging her jacket over his arm, while the other reached forward and met hers.

Their fingers intertwined, her other hand leaving her hip and she set it on top of his hand and held to him firmly. Her own lips twitched upward in a smile for half a second, and he saw her pale (E/C) eyes glitter in the low-light of the alley and the shadow of the buildings getting sharper as the day drew closer to an end.

"Finally." She quipped, he chuckled under his breath, and he felt her begin to tug and pull him up, slow, gentle... warm.

"... Thank you, (F/N)."

.:+:.
.:+:.

There is a male version of the story in another part, if you would like!

Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you!

...TBH, this is an idea and a character I thought about turning into a little fic, but I already have so many ongoing stories I simply couldn't XD