Chapter Text
Chiyo glanced back at the boy sitting on the bed, heaving breaths and holding back sobs as he cradled a burnt hand. Sometimes she cursed her patient-nurse confidentiality, as she couldn’t tell Aizawa, Inko, or anyone about her young man’s issue with Bakugou.
It seemed that every time the two were together, Midoriya ended up hurt while the exploding teen stormed away, literally smoking. She knew Aizawa knew. She was mostly sure that even the other teachers knew, and that was made evident by their attempts to keep the boys separated. But they couldn’t monitor the situation during lunch or breaks, and that was when Bakugou would strike.
Chiyo was no fool. Despite Midoriya protesting when she asked him about it, she knew the signs of an abusive friendship when she saw it. Even with Bakugou’s hostility, Midoriya still tried to keep their friendship alive. The timid boy radiated the vibes of someone tired of their actions, but thought they knew they couldn’t stop. Maybe it was because Bakugou was a bully, or it was because of something much, much deeper rooted. Whenever Bakugou showed some sort of sign, Midoriya would subtly either lead people away from him or edge in between the two so he was the first to be hit. That proved that he knew Bakugou’s tells, and knew what led to explosive anger. Whenever it got particularly bad and Midoriya was alone with him, he would run, and almost every time he ran to one place. 1-A’s classroom was the one constant, no matter where they were he’d inevitably make his way to his homeroom. It may be the fact that it had plenty of escape options, or places to hide. Something about the classroom made it feel safe to him.
But, the time came where Chiyo finally had to confront him.
“Midoriya, here’s an ice pack for your burn.” He took it and with murmured thanks, pushed it onto his hand. Sighing at the relief, she watched as tension in his shoulders drained away with the pain.
She sighed, knowing what she had to do. This was starting to go too far, and she was dangerously close to cutting a couple corners in the confidentiality laws. Picking up the phone and starting to dial a number, she addressed Midoriya.
“I need to call your mother. Can you stay the-” She was cut off by a yelp and shuffling on the bed.
“R-Recovery Girl, please don’t-!” He tried to push himself to his knees but got tangled in the sheets, crashing off the side of the bed.
“Young man!” She hopped off her wheelie chair and scuttled over to him, helping him pull himself up and off the floor. He rubbed his nose, hiding what she suspected was blood dripping down his lip.
“Recovery Girl, y-you can’t call my- um, you can’t call my mom! S-she doesn’t b- she doesn’t need that stress right now! P-please don’t!” Chiyo pursed her lips, for a whole other reason than to heal.
She had a tough decision to make.
Sighing, she sat back down in her chair. Her left hand hovered over the phone, before gently pressing the ‘End Call’ button. Midoriya’s eyes shone with utter, sincere gratitude before he rushed out of the office with a rushed ‘thank you, Recovery Girl! I have to go!’.
Chiyo watched his back rush down the hall, feeling something twist and strangle in her gut. Something was wrong with Midoriya.
And she had every intention of finding out what.