attention
In his countless years of being a pro hero, Aizawa had seen many disasters. Blood splattered everywhere and countless bodies crushed against the rubble as desperate fingers twitched to escape. He had faced the fury of those barely holding onto life and lived through the freezing chill of holding a lifeless body as he reflected on those he lost. Yet seeing the mangled bodies of his students in the bus had left in his system but a paralyzing panic and an ancient instinct of calling out for help before realizing, shit - he was the help. He remembered when the bus swayed, he was about to doze off- it was nearing 3 am and his students were far away from consciousness. He remembers his blurry gaze shifting to the driver as he chocked and spluttered, clutching his chest before the bus flew off the edge of the cliff.
It had taken him an extra moment to even register what was going before the bus crashed into the forest floor. He had barely opened his eyes completely when the shock wave washed over him, pain shooting through every vein in his body as his survival instincts kicked in, covering his head and bracing his neck. He barely noticed the startled shrieks of students or the shattering of glass, his mind in a moment of pure blankness he hadn't had since his middle school days. This wasn't a villain attack nor was this a natural disaster, there was no moment to prepare. The worst type of disaster, a cruel joke by the unstoppable force called life- not even the greatest hero could prepare for the uncertainty life tended to fling at the most unsuspecting people.
Only at the 1 minute mark did Aizawa finally move, assessing the damage in front of him; he was pressed against one of the glass panes, shards poking into his skin and blood staining his capture cloth. Forcing his head up, he looked at the scattered bodies of his students, some with their chests barely moving and others groaning around painfully. His eyes reached Iida's, silently confirming the student was without any major injuries. Tokoyami's hands were clenching and unclenching and Bakugou bared his teeth, forcing an eye open. Todoroki was shifting around, trying to unlodge the shard of glass in his hip and Kirishima was groaning and scowling in pain. The only proof that Ayoma and Asui were even alive was the periodic movement of their chests. The sudden force of relief and panic hit Aizawa at the same momentum as the adralenin rush of almost dying did. He had to get everyone out of the bus, now.
Pushing his torso on his elbows, Aizawa ignored the stabbing pain in his ribs. His eyes immediately reached out towards a window above his head which had most of the glass pane removed. His knees creaked and protested as he forced himself to stand up, head wozy and cloudy from what was most likely a concussion or blunt trauma. His palms gripped one of the edges of the glass, causing him to let out a string of curse. He blinked slowly, forcing his eyes into focus and to look at the students who were still crumpled and pressed against one side of the bus as it remained turned on its side. He has gotten Ashido and Ojiro's attention, both of whom were pressed against one of the seats, their eyes pleading silently.
Heaving his body out of the bus was harder than he expected, being an underground hero who mainly relied on his physical strengthen clearly wasn't enough when trying to escape form a wreckage were ribs which were clearly cracked. If it weren't for the impending sense of doom haunting him, he would have rested against the bus for longer. Stumbling to his feet, he noticed Iida had followed his steps, currently heaving his upper body outside the bus. Almost in a mindless daze, Aizawa pulled the usual uptight student out, eyes raking his body to stop any major injuries. His clothes where covered in patches of blood like Aizawa but nothing too harmful, hopefully.
"Sensei, are you okay?"
Iida's voice barely registered in his mind as countless thoughts raced in his mind. His mouth working purely on autopilot. Rarely did incidents bring him into a state of shock anymore, but he was still a human before he was a hero at the end of the day.
"Yeah, are you?"
Iida could only nod before pointing inside the bus as his hand rested against the cold skeleton of the bus to support his aching body.
"From what I observed, most seem fairly conscious however I don't know what their mental states are right now. I think most are in shock and those who registered the crash are most likely in a state of panic and confusion right now. We need to get them out to check their conditions."
'And make sure they are alive' hung unsaid in the air.
As soft groaning filled the air, Aizawa's mind snapped back into his pro-hero thought process. If Uraraka was awake and fine, she could float herself and Momo out. From there Momo could produce something to cut open the exposed side of the bus and Aizawa and Iida could pull the students out in to safety.
The only flaw in the plan? Aizawa had no idea if the two pivitol elements in the plan were even alive or not. But before Aizawa could maneuver himself to look into the bus, the rear of the bus exploded.
Bakugou had inherited a lot of things from his mom from his messy ash blond air to his sharp tongue, and impatience was one of them. Aizawa was reminded of this fact when the rear side of the bus quite literally blasted off. The sheet of sweat collecting in the fiery teen's left hand had been enough to blow off the back of the bus as his right hand tried to hold his upper body steady (and ensure no classmates got killed in the process). The exhaustion from the sudden blast was clearly enough to make Bakugou finally succumb to his body's demands to rest as he feels darkness slip into his surroundings slowly. And as Aizawa gently climbs into the bus and lifts the boy up, he thanks his mother and her unconventional parenting.
Iida and Aizawa both carried out the students to the best of their efforts, some grunting in pain or rasping out questions. Their hands were stained by blood which wasn't there and the initial shock had faded away to let way for exhaustion and a sudden heaviness seeping into their bones.
"Iida, you can rest now."
Aizawa's dreary voice had almost startled the boy into dropping Uraraka from where she lay draped in his arms.
"What?"
Iida's voice lacked the usual level of respect and complexity in speech. At the end of the day Aizawa knew they were still students and he still needed to be the guiding figure. 15 students had been moved out and from what he checked, at least they all had steady pulses and were rhythmically breathing. Just 4 more and Aizawa could allow himself to rest too.
The driver was dead and the last of Aizawa's concern, he had to ensure the safety of his students first. The sun had already begun to rise, sunshine flooding in through the crevices of the trees shade and over the edge of the cliff they had fallen from. Sweat and dried blood covered his skin and the soft ache in his soul had him wishing of nothing but a soft bed, but Aizawa knew he would regret it later if he didn't finish the task on his hand.
A gentle breeze caressed him as if whispering, it was going to be fine. He was going to save his kids or die trying.