Vriddy writes

In the midst of panicking civilians in UA, Hawks and many others get hit by a de-aging quirk.

Keigo opens his eyes slowly. He hit his head and his forearm is bleeding. He sits up. There are many other kids around him, and the ground under their feet is all bumpy, jagged rocks jutting out here and there. Keigo's not the only one bleeding. There are adults approaching and he tries to make himself harder to see, curling behind one of the rocks.

"Shit," one of the adults say.

"On the plus side, that took the wind out of the panic and the riot that was about to start," a tired black-haired man says wryly. A kid starts crying, and the man sighs. "Guess I talked too fast."

Either in sympathy, confusion, or because they are also injured, more children start crying here and there, soon everywhere it seems like. Keigo's forearm hurts a lot and he's tempted to do the same, but for now he'd rather not attract attention. Instead, he sniffles really hard, trying to swallow back the snot and tears threatening to come out.

His efforts are for nothing. Healers spread around the groups and find him quickly. They look surprised at seeing his wings, even though they're quite a bit smaller today because... he doesn't remember. He must have used his feathers for something.

"I'm a paramedic," the man says as he disinfects Keigo's forehead. It stings, but not too badly. "I'm going to have to stitch that gash in your forearm. This is going to hurt a bit, but we're running short in painkillers at the moment. If it hurts too much, let me know and I'll bring you to someone else who can do it differently, all right? It's just been difficult to get supplies with the wa–with everything that's been going on lately."

The man smiles, but it's a bit wobbly. Keigo nods politely and swears to himself he won't say a word, no matter how much it hurts. He doesn't want to have to talk to any other strangers. His father is going to be furious enough as it is.

"The stitches will help with the bleeding, and to make sure the wound heals cleanly."

Again, Keigo nods politely because what is he supposed to say or do? This adult is bigger than him. At least it doesn't seem like he'll hit him as long as Keigo obeys, but even if Keigo asked politely, the man wouldn't leave him alone either.

"May I go home now?" he asks when the paramedic is done.

The stitches hurt. He wants to scratch them away, but the bleeding did stop and the man even cleaned his arm so Keigo doesn't want to ruin his work. He really wishes he had some of those painkillers that were mentioned though.

"That's not up to me," the man replies, "but I doubt you'll be able to leave for another while. Just sit tight and wait for instructions, okay? The people here will take good care of you."

The man is right, at least for the first part. A sort of perimeter is established and while people are friendly, they don't let anyone go beyond it. There's a food corner for him and everyone to eat if they're hungry, and the food is good but it's hard to enjoy it when he thinks about his dad. His father is going to be very, very upset with Keigo's absence. Then again, it's already late, so maybe by the time he gets home, his father will have already passed out drunk? And since they got the electricity back, his mom just watches TV and doesn't notice anything. It could work, Keigo tries to convince himself. It could work, but the anxiety gnaws at him like the stitches gnaw at his skin.

Keigo sits on the grass outside of the building that was assigned to him and the other people hurt from the earthquake, and tries to focus on nothing in particular. But the dark thoughts stay right there at the edges of his consciousness, the pain and worry like a suffocating fog surrounding him no matter how resolutely he tries to pretend it doesn't exist. The more he tries not to think about going home, the larger it looms over him.

His wings tingle. That brings his attention back to his surroundings. On the other side of their encampment, a little grey-haired girl that looks to be around his age looks scared as one of the paramedics tries to talk to her, crouching by her side. Her forearm is bleeding too, nearly in the same place as Keigo except that the gash is horizontal rather than vertical like him, and a bit smaller.

Keigo gets up and flutters in her direction, though his wings aren't very strong in their current state, so in the end it's easier to walk.

"Hello," he tells her.

She glances at him then back to the ground, and sniffles just as hard as Keigo did when he was trying to keep his tears in.

"I got the same thing," he offers, pushing his arm forward to show her his stitches.

She stares for a moment.

"Did it hurt?" she asks him eventually.

He doesn't want to lie. "A bit. But then it mostly stings. And it's nice to have it all clean."

The girl's lips wobble, then she nods and bravely puts her arm forward toward the paramedic.

"You're very brave, Eri," the man smiles, then works as gently and softly as his colleague did for Keigo.

"I'm Keigo," Keigo tells her. "And I also think you're very brave."

Her smile is shaky but she doesn't pull her arm away. For a moment, there's nothing to do except for the careful work of the paramedic. The dark clouds invade Keigo's mind again, troubling, overwhelming. Inescapable.

Suddenly, warm fingers squeeze his own.

He looks down, and Eri slipped her hand into his. At some point, the paramedic finished his work and is now patting her on the head. Then he picks up his kit and leaves to help another injured person.

"Why?" Keigo asks, indicating their hands with his chin and not sure what he's supposed to do.

"You looked sad," Eri explains quickly. Then, she sounds less sure. "I was told that people do that when they're sad?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know either," Eri admits. "Is it bad?"

Her hand is warm in his. This is a kind gesture, Keigo thinks. Just like when he came over to try to comfort her, now she is trying to comfort him back. Even though she doesn't have to, but Keigo didn't have to come either.

"No," Keigo decides. "No, actually. It's not bad."

His heart feels a little bit lighter. Eri smiles shyly at him, and Keigo tries to answer in kind although it doesn't feel very natural on his face. He's still scared to go home, but that won't be for another while. Maybe it's okay to just enjoy the moment, for now. Eri's kind. No adult here seems to wish them harm and there's food when he wants it. This is maybe one of the best places he's been to in a while, considered that way. Keigo looks around him again, and notices a big UA logo on one of the buildings. He'll have to remember that name.