Once Again From Better Days

It's Togata. Katsuki can tell from the split-second view he has of the caller ID before Izuku puts his cell phone to his ear. The call is brief, but Izuku's expression looks lighter by the end of it. There's even a hint of a smile when he turns to Katsuki.

"Nighteye's awake."

The hospital is closed and not accepting visitors, a fact which Katsuki has to remind Izuku of before he dashes out the door. Izuku slumps back on the bed. Katsuki can almost see the energy draining out of him.

"Sleep," Izuku mumbles, voice partially muffled by the pillow.

"What?"

Izuku raises his head slightly. "Sleep," he says more clearly. "We should sleep, then we can visit Nighteye in the morning."

Katsuki prods him in the side. "Scoot over then."

In the morning, Katsuki wakes to someone shaking his shoulders instead of the usual alarm. He wonders if something happened and sits up quickly, almost smashing his head into Izuku's chin in his haste. The room is bathed in sunlight. Peaceful. 

Katsuki glares at Izuku.

"Visitors are admitted after eight," Izuku says with a shrug.

Grumbling, Katsuki rolls out of bed. He takes one of Izuku's All Might shirts in retaliation for the abrupt end to his sleep, and a couple of minutes later, they're both dressed and ready to go. Inko, however, doesn't let them leave without breakfast, which delays them by another fifteen minutes. By the time they reach the front doors of the hospital, it's well after eight.

The staff lead them to Nighteye's room. When they arrive, they find Togata coming from the other end of the hallway. His hair isn't styled the way it normally is, and it looks almost odd hanging around his face. Togata's steps are missing their usual spring, but he manages to hitch a smile up onto his face when he sees them. He comes to a halt behind the other two, and they all stand staring at the door. All they know is Nighteye was awake, but no one has bothered to tell them anything other than that.

Togata is the first to move. He stretches an arm out to push the door. "Let's go," he says. His fingertips reach the surface of the door, but instead of pushing it open, they pass straight through. Upon realizing, Togata freezes, staring at the point where his skin disappears into the panel. The surprise on his face slowly morphs into a more genuine smile, and he sticks his head into Nighteye's room.

He greets Nighteye loudly, but through the door, it's somewhat muted. After a quiet response that Katsuki can't quite make out from the other side of the door, Togata pulls his head back and pushes the door open properly. Katsuki and Izuku follow him into the room. Nighteye shifts slightly as they walk in, a thin smile on his lips. He looks pale, and there's a half-full IV drip hanging at one side of the bed.

Togata bounds forward, gesticulating happily as he announces that his quirk isn't gone.

"I'm glad," Nighteye says, his voice quiet. "Mine is."

Togata's face falls.

"But I've had my time as a hero. I wasn't supposed to survive at all, so I'm thankful just to have my life." He glances around the room until his eyes settle on Katsuki. "It looks like you were right."

Katsuki feels Togata and Izuku turn to look at him as well. He wants to squirm under the weight of all three gazes, but he holds steady, keeping eye contact with Nighteye. "Don't you have something to say to Izuku?"

The pro hero inclines his head. "Midoriya–" Izuku startles, quickly turning from Katsuki to Nighteye. "–I think you are a...fine successor to All Might."

For a moment, Izuku is too shocked to respond. When he does, Katsuki can see tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he thanks Nighteye.

Togata brings a hand down on Izuku's shoulder. "I told you he'd warm up to the idea eventually."

When they leave Nighteye's room, Togata stays behind to talk to his mentor for a while longer. Izuku's eyes are dry again. They walk through the corridors, slowly making their way toward the exit. After turning a corner, they spot a very familiar tall blond man with his hair sticking up in a V-shape from his forehead.

"All Might!" Izuku calls.

The man spins around, looking oddly nervous. "Ah, young Midoriya, young Bakugou."

Katsuki spots a small girl peeking out from somewhere around All Might's kneecap. Izuku notices, too.

"Why is Eri with you?" He demands.

All Might clears his throat awkwardly. "I thought she might like to take a walk." Leaning closer and clearing his throat again, he whispers–"With her quirk, it's difficult to find an orphanage or a foster family to take her in, and UA has a lot of resources...what I mean is, well, there's no one to claim the kid, and with the wide variety of student and teacher quirks we could help her manage her power." After a moment of hesitation, he adds, "I'd like Aizawa's input, too, but of course he's… and he'd be a great help if she lost control of her quirk."

Izuku looks apprehensive. "I have a friend who might be able to help if she loses control, he's not in the hero course though."

"1-B has someone with a copycat quirk, he could copy her quirk and maybe get some insight on how it works," Katsuki says, grudgingly realizing how useful catshit's quirk is.

All Might smiles, straightening up. "All good things to think about," he says agreeably. "Now, we were on our way to see if there's ice cream in the cafeteria, weren't we?" He asks, turning to Eri.

She gives a very small nod in response.

And off they go.