A/N: Hey y'all, sorry about that unreadable update! Not really sure what happened from point A to point B. Thanks for letting me know, I never would've caught it. Let's try this again! Enjoy!

Izuku awoke several hours later, again to the sound of knuckles on his door. His eyes peeled open slowly, then closed. He was so drowsy the room spun, and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. Consciousness faded softly until it was again interrupted with a knock. Izuku pulled his pillow over his head in frustration.

"G-go away, please..!" He yelled. Satisfied with the silence, he relaxed to try and let sleep take him again.

"Kid...it's me."

Izuku tore the covers off his body and lept towards the door. He fumbled to unlock it and ripped it open. Immediately, he collapsed into the arms of Toshinori Yagi and began to cry. Toshinori grinned awkwardly and waddled the two of them into the room for privacy, closing the door behind them. He knelt to the floor and let Izuku drain his built up emotions on him.

"I heard you weren't doing well," he said when Izuku had calmed a bit. "Aizawa marked you absent today, which was a red flag to begin with. But then young Bakugo came and told me you were struggling." A gentle hand petted messy green hair. "I came as soon as I could. What's been going on, kid?"

"A-All Might…" Izuku stammered. "F-four days ago, I was walking home from m-my mom's apartment...There was this boy in th-the alley, he needed help…but there was this v-villain ...the P-" he winced, as if the name hurt him to say. "...the Puppeteer…" Toshinori nodded to show he was listening. Izuku wiped his nose on his sleeve. "H-His quirk ... muscle control… so long as h-he kept a hand on me, I-I couldn't move…"

Toshinori felt a pit growing in his stomach. He didn't like where the story was going. Still, he urged: "Go on, Midoriya."

"H-He...he t-touched me… he s-said he was my biggest fan… H-He put his hand d-down my-... And there was n-nothing I could do..!"

Rage bubbled inside the elder. He had to keep his composure while comforting the boy, but in him was a storm. His fists clenched and Izuku continued.

"H-He almost took me away...f-for good...I m-managed to break free...but h-he disappeared...he's still o-out there...it's giving me nightmares...and wh-when I do fall asleep, I never want to wake up…"

Toshinori felt Izuku's hold get tighter. He was guilt-stricken that something so cruel, dark and destroying happened to the boy he sought to protect. Before he could plan a course of action against the villain, he had to comfort Izuku and help him get healthy again.

"Kid, I'm so sorry…" he began. "I wish I could take that pain away...I promise you, I'll make this right. I'm glad you told me. I know you're really down right now, but we gotta get you back on your feet. You can't be in fear of him forever. It's only going to hold you back." He felt Izuku nod against him.

"H-he made me so...afraid...I don't want to be a-afraid anymore."

"Look at me, Midoriya," Toshinori said, gently but firmly. When Izuku didn't move, he held the boy's chin and lifted his head until their eyes met. "Now I promised to protect you, and I don't plan to break that promise. If you need someone to walk you to class, I'll be there. If you need me to check on you every day, I'll do it. It'll be hard for a while; mental strength is tougher to build than physical, and you know how hard you worked to get here in the first place. But eventually, you won't be afraid anymore. Together, we'll take that fear he put in you, and we'll put it back in him."

The tears started flowing uncontrollably down Izuku's cheeks. He gritted his teeth to keep from bawling, and when he spoke his voice cracked.

"T-thank you, All Might…" Izuku said sincerely. "Just t-talking to you...i-it makes me feel like ...like everything's gonna be okay…"

"It will be, Midoriya. It will be." Toshinori smiled. Izuku's lips quivered as he tried to do the same. They shared another tight hug on the floor of Izuku's dorm. It lasted several minutes.

"Now…" Toshinori continued, "what do you say we get something to eat? You're starting to look thin like me!"

Izuku chuckled and brushed away tears. "Y-yeah, okay."