After the rather eventful interview, Keigo and I are back on patrol the next day.

I am worried.

Ever since the fight against Shiggy, Keigo has been getting exhausted more and more, as each day passes. The only thing he wants to eat is his favorite meal of fried chicken and that too sometimes just a few bites before he gives up due to the constant nausea he has. I know that ever since the day, Keigo hasn’t been able to get his T-shots and the change his body is going through is quite visible due to the way his mood changes, as his body starts to conform to the female cycle again. But are the changes supposed to be that drastic, that he literally can’t even keep his food in?

Even now, we stop in an alley as he empties his stomach into a trashcan. I’m very concerned for my boyfriend’s health at this point, and as I support him, I feel how frail his body seems to be.

“Baby Bird, are you okay?” I make him sit down for a while, checking his forehead.

“Mmmmm….I’ll be fine Touya, just a little sick.” He answers back in a low voice and proceeds to grab me and hug and settle into me, as if the warmth from my body soothes him.

One more thing that adds to my concern as I hold him, is that his belly seems to be larger, but the rest of the body seems to have lost its mass. Is Keigo so starved that he is at the point of being fully malnourished? The way his body is, is quite similar to how I remember the kids and adults on the streets suffering through starvation looked like. I make up my mind to take him to the old pudgy woman who healed me to check him out as soon as we can go back to U.A. the next time, and get her to diagnose what’s wrong with him.

But, that soon gets pushed back as what transpires next, consumes the both of us and our attention.

It isn’t a few hours later that we find out that Shouto’s class had gone on a manhunt, in search of the little greenie who had escaped us. We make our way to the location, Keigo somehow still able to fly in his nauseous condition, with me on a motorcycle on the ground below. It is still dangerous to be out, as AFO is still out and about, and we are immediately ordered to escort the kids back to U.A.

The crowd that has taken refuge in the fortress that is U.A High, are not that keen on letting the green bean stay. My heart sort of clenches at the amount of hate the child is getting and only a few people seem to see the dirty, tired and overworked state he is in. I and a few other heroes push through the crowd to let him through towards the 1A dorms, and the Pinky Float girl then proceeds to shout at the crowd, who then let him through as well as she is done. Kaito makes his way to us as we get to the dorm building and immediately hugs Keigo and I. I smile as I see the heroes in training mingle about and rest, especially the greenie, finally all cleaned up, who falls asleep on a couch in the common room that Keigo and I are in right now with Kaito, conversing with Shouto, his friends and All Might about the next step that has to be taken.

The next day however, disaster strikes.

Greenie and the Invisible chick find out who the traitor is.

We are all right now gathered in the room where the kid, Aoyama and his parents are tied up. All Might, Endewhore, Keigo and I are keeping the rest of 1A away from the Twinkle kid, as Tsukauchi questions the family. An uneasy feeling fills me as Tsukauchi keeps questioning them and they spill how AFO basically gave the kid his quirk and in turn, used the family to spy on U.A. As I hold Shouto back, I can see how distraught the students are; the kid managed to make some really meaningful bonds with them. It’s clear the kid wants nothing more of his situation, saying that he regrets everything he has done and that he is a villain for it.

In some way, I sympathize with him. He reminds me of my previous vengeful self, for whom the wrong path had been the right way to go. I can see the genuine need in his eyes for redemption. I look at my love, my child and the members of my family present in the room with me. If a twisted guy like me, who chose to be a villain, can be redeemed, then a child forced into the situation should be given a chance even more openly than I was.

Eraser, who’s on a video call with us, his bandaged right eye and his prosthetic leg both showing on the screen then decides to talk.

“Before I can tell you what I am planning,” he says, “Tsukauchi, I believe there’s someone else who needs to clarify why he didn’t tell us who the traitor is.”

Tsukauchi and Aizawa both look towards me.

Fuck. They think I knew and are suspicious.

I am escorted into another room, Keigo, Endebitch and Tsukauchi are the ones with me. All Might, Jeanist and 1A are left to guard the Aoyama family as Tsukauchi interrogates me. Aizawa is on video call on Keigo’s phone.

“Okay listen.” I say before anyone asks me anything. “I didn’t know that the kid was the traitor, okay?”

Eraserhead asks, “Tsukauchi?”

The detective nods back, “He’s saying the truth.”

Aizawa still isn’t satisfied as he asks again, this time the question fired at me, “So this whole time you were with the League and you didn’t get to know even once who the traitor was?”

I sigh and answer back, “Nope.” I look at him within Keigo’s screen, “Not even once did Shigaraki ever let out who the student was. I only remember him telling us once that ‘the master has some of his spies in place wherever we need them to be’.”

Keigo looks at me worried as Eraser’s eye is still narrowed on me. I can understand why the man is still distrustful, a student under his care was just outed and the guy who was the closest to the organization that the child was coordinating with had kept this information away from them. Even though said guy didn’t actually know who the student was. I am not even mad at the man. If I’d been in his place, I’d be paranoid about it too. Tsukauchi catches onto the vibe and goes on to assure Eraser.

“Aizawa-san,” he sighs. “All that Phoenix is telling us now is the truth. We can trust him.”

It takes a few moments of silence, before Eraser nods and we then go back to the room where the others are.

Eraserhead, the hero, then goes on to explain his plan. It is so ingenious that even I am impressed. Once everyone’s roles are assigned, I drag Keigo towards an empty classroom.

“Okay I know something’s been wrong with you and I am worried Baby Bird.” I shoot off, not letting him say anything. “Promise, just promise me, I know you don’t want me to be worried, but please get yourself checked out by Recovery Girl. Please for my sake?”

He smiles and nods, “I will.” he promises back and we both kiss each other, knowing that we won’t get the chance again for some time.

It is a couple days later that I’m deployed without Keigo, who stays behind with Kaito, defending U.A with the students from class 1B. I accompany the Broccoli boy, Shouto and the rest of 1A as they make their way to the next location that will act as their base. An air of uncertainty hangs around us as we approach the final leg of Eraser’s plan.

“Kai.” I remember telling my son. “Keep your Mom safe for me, okay?”

Kaito nods back and lets me go after a hug.

As I sit on my perch, looking out at the scenery around the new base, the only thing I can think about, is how right now it is the calm before the storm.

Our main fight starts soon and I vow, then and there, that everyone would come back home, safe and sound.