Chapter Text
Ibara felt like something was wrong.
It it all started during some simple training. Ibara was sparring against her classmate Hiryu Rin. Everything seemed normal during the fight. It wasn’t until after the match was over that it was noticed that something was off.
“Good match Shiozaki.” Rin said breathing heavily. He held out a hand to help his classmate up, who was currently laying down on the floor exhausted.
“You did a wonderful job as well, Rin.”
Ibrara grabbed Rin’s hand and got up with a wince. She looked at where the sudden shot of pain came from, and saw a large bruise starting to form on her arm.
Rin seemed to notice it too because he was looking a bit concerned. “Crap! Did I hit you with too much force during our match? That looks like a pretty bad bruise.”
Ibara gave a small smile at her friend’s worry. “Do not fret Rin. We were sparring these things are bound to happen. Besides it is only one bruise.”
Turns out she was wrong.
When she changed out of her gym clothes into her regular ones she noticed that she obtained more than just one bruise. A lot of bruises littered her skin and there were even a good amount of shallow cuts.
Ibara certainly found this strange. It’s not like Rin had been going completely all out. It was just a simple sparring match between the two. While he did land some hits they shouldn’t have been forceful enough to cause so many cuts and bruises. She doesn’t usually bruise or bleed so easily either.
But it was just some minor cuts and bruises. There was no reason to make a big deal out of it. So Ibara payed no mind.
During dinner that night she didn’t feel hungry. Her appetite seemed to be nonexistent. So she just picked at her food. Ibara was lucky that her classmates didn’t seem to notice. If they did then they didn't show it.
Things got worse as the weeks went on. Her breathing seemed to always be short when training. Her body constantly felt weak. She was loosing a lot of weight without even trying.
Something was definitely wrong. But Ibara passed it off as a simple bug. She would be fine after a few days of rest. She just needed to take it easy. No reason to make her friends worry over nothing.
Ibara was sitting with her classmates in the cafeteria eating lunch. Well more like they were eating. Ibara still didn't feel very hungry.
Her friends seemed to be having a conversation about something, but Ibara couldn't bring herself to pay attention. She was focusing on something else.
She felt so hot. It was becoming unbearable. It was starting to feel like she was going to pass out if she didn't cool down. She needed to get out.
"I am going to go to class early. See you all in a bit," she said hoping that she didn't accidentally cut one of her classmates off.
Ibara got up and left before she could see her classmate's surprised faces.
Todoroki wouldn't call himself the most social or observant person. He was a bit closed off. He wasn't good at reading how people are feeling. He didn't understand a lot of normal things that most people did.
But for some reason his gaze had been drawn over to a girl from Class 1-B for a while. If he remembered correctly her name was Shiozaki. In most cases he probably wouldn't have remembered her name. Not in the cocky way that Bakugou did, Todoroki just wasn't the best at remembering people that he didn't talk to on a regular basis. But he remembered her.
Todoroki didn't know why he seemed to be gazing at her for the past few days. It was just a feeling he had. He figured that something was up based on the girl's behavior from the past few days. But he couldn't put his figure on what was going on.
It wasn't until today that he finally understood why he was staring, or what was happening.
Todoroki was eating his lunch when his gaze drifted over to Shiozaki again. Their tables weren't too far away from each other so he could see her clearly.
He noticed that Shiozaki was acting strange. She was picking at her food, and didn't look like she was going to eat it. As her classmates were having a conversation she didn't seem to even register that anyone was talking. She was just staring at her food blankly.
Eventually she got up, excused herself, and started to leave. Todoroki guessed that this wasn't something that Shiozaki usually did, judging by the surprised expressions on her classmate’s faces.
As she passed by Todoroki he noticed that there was a red flush on her cheeks. At was at that moment that Todoroki finally understood what was wrong.
Shiozaki was seriously ill and she was trying to hide it from her classmates to keep them from worrying.
At his realization Todoroki mental slapped himself. It should have been obvious, even from the small things he noticed. How little she ate, how pale she was, the sudden weakness, the very noticeable bruises all over her skin.
Now despite how antisocial he was, Todoroki wasn't going to let Shiozaki keep pushing herself while she was ill like this. Even though they barely knew each other it was only natural for Todoroki to be concerned for Shiozaki's well-being. So without a word Todoroki got up and went after her. It wasn't unusual for Todoroki to leave in the middle of a meal so no one questioned him. He just hoped that Shiozaki would listen to him when he tried to take her to Recovery Girl.
It didn't take long for Todoroki to find Shiozaki. She wasn't very far from the cafeteria, but far enough away that most likely no one would bump into her during their meal. She was leaning up against the wall, breathing heavily. A few beads of sweat rolled down her face from what Todoroki assumed was fever. She didn't seem to notice him approaching her.
This was worse than he thought.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked. He knew he couldn't just outright say 'Hey I can tell that you are sick. I'm going to take you to Recovery Girl.'
Ibara let out a startled yelp. She obviously didn't expect anyone to be around.
"Y-Yes I am fine. You are Todoroki right?" she asked as she tried to stand up straight so that she wasn't leaning against the wall. It sounded obvious that she knew something was wrong.
Todoroki nodded in response. "Yes and you are Shiozaki right?"
Ibara just nodded. She didn't seem to want to engage in the conversation.
But Todoroki wasn't going to let her sneak her way out of this. "Are you sure that you are okay? You seem a little out of sorts."
Ibara looked a little frustrated. “I appreciate the concern Todoroki. But as I said before I am fine.” She started to walk away once she finished.
But Todoroki followed behind her. “Look I know that you do not want anyone to worry about you. But I really think you should let me take you to see Recovery Girl.”
“I said that I am fi-“
Ibara’s agitated yell was cut off when a sudden wave of dizziness swept over her. She stumbled a bit before all the strength left her body. Then everything went black.
Luckily a pair of arms were there to catch her when she fell.
Ibara opened her eyes slowly. She quickly shut her eyes again from the sudden exposure to light with a groan. Her body still felt hot, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as before.
“Shiozaki, are you awake?”
Reluctantly Ibara opened her eyes again, even slower than the first time. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. Once they did she blinked a few times. She looked over to the side a bit to see Recovery Girl looking straight at her.
“Yes?”
“You really shouldn’t have been walking around with a fever you know. You could have gotten hurt. You’re lucky Todoroki was with you when you fainted,” she scolded.
“I am very sorry Recovery Girl. It was not my intention to cause trouble,” Ibara said. She started to try to sit up. “How long have I been-“ Her sentence was cut of with a wince from the pain in her joints.
“Lay back down dearie your body needs to rest.” Recovery Girl said gently and Ibara complied. But Recovery Girl did adjust the bed so that she was able to be in a sitting up position. “You’ve been out for a few hours now. Classes for today ended a while ago.”
So much for keeping this discreet, Ibara thought. She was about to ask more questions before she was stopped by a knock on the door.
“Recovery Girl can I come in? It’s Todoroki.”
“Come on in. You came back from dinner at the right time. Shiozaki just woke up,” she responded.
Todoroki walked in without another word. He walked over to Shiozaki and stood their awkwardly. In fact both teens just stared at each other awkwardly for a minute before one of them finally spoke.
“I am sorry for making you uncomfortable earlier. I know that your condition was none of my business.” Todoroki said.
Ibara was already surprised that Todoroki came to see her at all. They barely even knew each other. But now she was even more surprised. An apology was the last thing that she expected to hear.
“You have nothing to apologize for Todoroki. Things would have been worse if you were not there when I fainted. I should be the one apologizing. I lied to you, and yelled at you. You were just worried for my well-being, just like anyone else would have been. I must thank you for that”
“It was what anyone would have done.”
There was a silence between the two again, but it was a comfortable one this time.
Eventually that silence was broken. “Now Shiozaki, Todoroki told me about some symptoms that he noticed that you have been dealing with for the past few days. But I also want you to tell me what you have been experiencing,” Recovery Girl said.
Ibara nodded. “For the past few weeks I have been feeling weak and fatigued. I have gained a number of cuts and bruises, even though I do not usually get them so easily. Admittedly I have not been eating a lot. My appetite seems to have disappeared. I have been loosing a concerning amount of weight without even trying. There has been a lot of pain in my joints and bones as well. I have also been having a lot of dizzy spells. Finally, as you already know, I have a fever and fainted,” she explained.
Recovery Girl had a very concerned look on her face. “Shiozaki I am going to give you a blood test, and do a bone marrow biopsy. I need to make sure that you have what it sounds like you have.”
“Is something wrong?” Todoroki asked looking slightly concerned as well.
“I can not say that for sure right now. Shiozaki could have contracted something bad. But it could also just be a really bad bug due to over working.”
Ibara looked shaken and a little afraid. “O-Okay. I can do that.”
Recovery Girl noddedand walked away to gra the needed materials.
Todoroki definitely felt more than a little out of place. “I should probably go. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright.” He tried to leave but he was surprised when Ibara grabbed his wrist.
Her looked at her and noticed that she was shaking. “C-Can you stay here, please? I hate to cause you even more trouble, but I would feel better that I was not alone for this,” she said quietly with a small tremble in her voice.
Todoroki didn’t understand why Ibara would want him of all people to be with her. “Wouldn’t it be better to have someone you are closer to here with you?” he asked.
”I do not want to give my friends a need to worry. I want to know what is wrong before I think about getting anyone else involved.” Ibara explained. “Besides you are a nice person to have around.”
Todoroki’s eyes widened in surprise. But he grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. “So I am guessing that you are not the biggest fan of needles,” he stated.
Ibara shook her head. “No. I am not a fan. While I do not have a horrible fear of needles, being stabbed by them still is not a pleasant experience.”
“Then why are you shaking?” Todoroki asked.
Ibara looked at him with an expression that clearly showed fear. “Because I am afraid of the results.”
Before Todoroki had a chance to respond Recovery Girl walked over with a few needles. “Now Shiozaki, this is going to hurt. For the bone marrow biopsy, if you are too nervous you can have sedation medication. Will you need that?”
Ibara looked over to Todoroki. “I would hate to make you uncomfortable. But can I hold your hand? It’s just that having physical contact with someone helps me feel at ease.” It was a good thing that her face was already flushed due to fever or else Todoroki would have noticed how flustered she was.
“Alright.” Todoroki somehow managed to keep his neutral expression as he intertwined his hand with hers.
Ibara gave a sigh of relief as she looked back at Recovery Girl. “There is no need for me to take sedation medication Ma’am.”
Recovery nodded and got the area for her blood to be drawn ready. Ibara looked away from the needles. “Alright now the needle will be in, in 3, 2, 1.”
The needle pierced through her skin and Ibara let in a sharp enhale as she squeezed Todoroki’s hand. While Ibara has definitely felt worse pain, it still hurt. Luckily it seemed to be over quickly.
“Okay, now it’s time for the bone marrow biopsy. This one is going to hurt a lot more. So be prepared for that.” Recovery girl said as a new needle was right above a different area of skin. “3, 2, 1.”
Without thinking Ibara put her face in Todoroki’s shoulder and let out a muffled scream. She put his hand in a death grip. Todoroki on the other hand was blushing lightly. He gave Ibara a firm squeeze of his hand in response, as a way to tell her that he was here.
By the time that Recovery Girl was done, tears were in Ibara’s eyes and a few had fallen. She also seemed to realize the position she was in and quickly pulled away. “I am so sorry!”
“It’s fine. It helped you deal with the pain, and it wasn’t very uncomfortable,” Todoroki said.
Once Recovery Girl was done setting the samples up to be tested, she looked back over to the two teenagers.
“Shiozaki, you are going to have to say over night, and you will not be going to class tomorrow. It’s just a precaution. I should have to results ready by tomorrow,” Recovery girl said.
“Thank you....Recovery Girl,” Ibara said drowsily. Todoroki had forgotten how drained she must of felt due to her illness.
“I should probably get going now. I’ll let you rest Shiozaki.” Todoroki was about to leave but Ibara stopped him once again. This time with one of her vines.
“Hey, if any of my classmates ask what is wrong with me, can you say that I caught something small and that I’m resting? I don’t want to cause unnecessary worry.”
“If I pass by any of your classmates I’ll make sure to tell them. Anything else?”
Ibara looked away for a moment shyly. “Can you see the results with me tomorrow? I know that it is a lot to ask for me to take away time that you could be spending doing more important things. But if there is bad news I do not want to be alone. Plus you have a right to know after I fainted on you today,” she said hesitantly looking at Todoroki.
“I’ll be there.”
“Thank you.....very... much.” Ibara’s grip went weak as weakness took over her body again. But this time it wasn’t as sudden or painful. It was more of a peaceful feeling that lulled her to sleep.
A small smile formed on Todoroki’s face. It was nice to see her sleeping peacefully. When she was unconscious earlier Todoroki was by her side out of concern. The entire time Ibara seemed to be in an uncomfortable and in pain state.
He left the room, praying that tomorrow didn’t bring bad news.