Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The late afternoon glow of the sweltering sun beats down on the city in the waning months of summer, painting the sky with hues of reds and oranges as it dips down towards the horizon. Weaving through the streets below, a young Izuku Midoriya sits in the back seat of his mother’s car, watching the city pass by in a blur. His mother is speaking, talking to Auntie Mitsuki on the phone, but her voice is muffled, a mere background noise idly brushing his ears. 

Mothers always talk a lot, and he has far more important things to be paying attention to- like deciding whether that cloud looks more like All Might or Endeavor! The biased, fanboy side of Izuku wants to say All Might, but the way the light of the sun is hitting the cloud is turning it orange, making it look like Endeavor’s Hellflame. Izuku is still gazing at the strangely-shaped cloud in contemplation when a delightful laugh slices through his thoughts, drawing his attention to the background noise that is no longer muffled. He glances away from the window at Inko.

Mothers always talk a lot, but he never minds when Inko talks to Auntie Mitsuki, because Auntie Mitsuki always makes her laugh more than anyone. A part of him thinks that Auntie Mitsuki probably does it because she likes to hear Inko’s laugh as much as he does. Sweet and soft, and somehow has a way of making you feel just a little bit happier to be alive, even if you’re already having the best day. Izuku’s glad that she has a best friend so eager to bring out that beautiful laugh, and it’s even better that said friend is the mother of his own best friend. 

They’re talking about him now. Gossiping, as mothers do, about their children right in front of them, as if Izuku can’t hear. 

“... I was just getting a little worried you know?” Inko is saying, “Well, you do know, you know how anxious I get, I-” She cuts off, and Auntie Mitsuki must’ve made a comment because she lets out a little snort before continuing, “Anyway, so I took him to the doctor today, just to be sure he, well, would be manifesting a quirk, and Doctor Tsubasa reassured me that everything was fine. He took some x-rays of his feet and found that he didn’t have an extra joint on his little toe. Apparently that’s some indicator of quirklessness… I know right? I didn’t even realize people could have a joint there.” 

She laughs, airy and cheerful, and it instantly brings a smile to Izuku’s face. He looks down at his feet and wiggles his toes inside his shoes before going back to staring out the window. 

Still, he idly listens to his mother as she continues to talk to Auntie Mitsuki. “So he basically told me that Izuku is just a late bloomer. It’s not often kids turn five without manifesting their quirks, so he says that Izuku will get his any day now.” 

Izuku can hear a muffled voice from the phone, but despite how loud his best friend’s mother is, he can’t make out what she is saying. However, a moment later, Inko answers his silent wonderings when she calls back to her son in a light voice, “Hey, Izuku, Mitsuki-san wants to know what quirk you’re hoping you’ll get.”

Izuku blinks. Of course, that’s something he’s thought about a lot. His eyes are drawn back to the cloud, which he has to admit, is an Endeavor-cloud. Perhaps the winds high above have shifted, but parts of the cloud are now streaking slightly, making it look even more flame-like in the light of the sun. The Endeavor-cloud stands strong and proud against the crimson sky, but Izuku feels nothing but apprehension curling in his stomach.

A couple of years ago, he might’ve wanted to be a fire-breather, like his father. It would no doubt be a cool quirk to have, and maybe he could even become a hero with it. He used to watch a bunch of videos about flame heroes like Endeavor since he was so convinced he’d inherit his father’s quirk. Now, however… Izuku’s not as inclined towards it as before. For as long as he can remember, it’s always been him and his mother. His father just… hasn’t been in the picture, so Izuku thinks it would be… odd, to get his quirk. It would be like getting a stranger’s quirk. Inko always seems a bit sad whenever he asks about him and making his mother sad is the last thing he wants to do, so perhaps it would be better for him to inherit her quirk. It might not be very strong, but that’s because Inko never wanted to become a hero. Izuku’s sure that if he got her quirk and he trained it hard it would become strong enough to help him become a great hero- like All Might! 

Turning his gaze away from the fiery cloud, Izuku grins brightly at his mother and chirps, “I wanna get mama’s quirk!” 

Inko smiles in response and it makes Izuku’s heart flutter happily. “Did you hear that?” She asks Auntie Mitsuki and then laughs at her response, “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, you know Katsuki-kun adores you too. He just doesn’t want to look like such a mama’s boy.” 

Izuku giggles, already having a pretty good idea of what Auntie Mitsuki said about her son, and turns back to the window. He looks away from the clouds and turns his attention to the sky dyed with crimson. Despite the ominous color, he doesn’t feel any sort of unease. Instead, he finds himself reminded of a certain red-eyed boy.

“Can I go hang out with Kacchan when we get home?” He asks abruptly. 

“Let me ask Mitsuki-san, dear,” Inko replies before doing just so. She must get an enthusiastic response, because she lets out another giggle that tickles Izuku’s ears like jingling bells before saying, “Alright, just give us a few minutes to change and we’ll be there soon.”

The two women bid goodbye and a minute later the Midoriyas are pulling into their driveway. Izuku immediately jumps out and starts towards Kacchan’s house, but Inko is quick to snatch him and shoo him into their own house to get changed. Once the two are ready, Izuku takes his mother’s hand and eagerly begins leading the way down the street towards the Bakugous’ residence. 

Their neighborhood is small and has only a handful of kids, including Tsubasa and Inaba, who both live a bit farther from Izuku than Kacchan does. But Izuku doesn’t mind the small size, and the lack of a large friend group has never bothered him. Why would he ever need anyone other than Kacchan? 

Speaking of…

The sky has darkened now, but Izuku finds the same shade from earlier in the pair of eyes that pop out from behind the window as they approach the Bakugous’ house. 

“Oi, Zuku!” Kacchan’s shout is muffled. “Hurry up, slow-poke!” 

“Kacchan, you little- get down from there!” 

“Go away, old hag!” 

Kacchan disappears from the window and shouting erupts from within the house. Izuku giggles and Inko lets out a fond sigh as they approach the door, no doubt steeling herself for a very loud night. She knocks and the door swings open, revealing Kacchan and a very irritated-looking Auntie Mitsuki behind him. Her expression smoothes out the second she sees Inko and she spreads her arms welcomingly. “Inko-san, come in, come in! Hey there, little Izukun!” 

Izuku blushes as she ruffles his hair and Kacchan groans in annoyance. The blond brushes past his mother and grabs him by the arm before beginning to drag him towards his room. Auntie Mistuki scowls at her son as they pass. 

“Oi, dinner’s gonna be ready in 20 minutes, you hear?” She snaps, “Don’t start making a mess!” 

“We won’t!” Izuku reassures her as he gets pulled along, but Auntie Mitsuki just smiles sweetly at him.

“Oh, Izukun, you know I don’t mean you.”

She sends a pointed glare at Kacchan, who just rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, fine. C’mon, Zuku.”

He takes the smaller boy to his room and shuts the door loudly. Turning to him, the blond demands, “Well? Tsubasa-kun said Auntie was taking you to see his grandpa about your quirk. What’d he say?”

Izuku ponders. The doctor visit this afternoon was a bit boring. Doctor Tsubasa said a lot of stuff and spoke more to his mother than to him, but Izuku dutifully recounts the gist of what he understood of the events that transpired, and when he’s finished Kacchan huffs and folds his arms. “Well, what’s taking so long?” He asks impatiently. 

Izuku gives a small, clueless shrug. “I dunno- but he said it’s gonna come any day now! I’m excited!” He clenches his fists and beams at his friend. “I can’t wait to be a hero like All Might!” 

Kacchan scowls. “Nuh uh, I’m gonna be like All Might!” He opens his palms and lets out a couple of explosions as if to prove his point. “I’m gonna be the best hero ever! Better than All Might, even!”

Izuku’s eyes widen. “Better than All Might?” He asks in awe, “No way!”

“Yes way! Just you wait!” Kacchan brushes past Izuku to a basket of toys leaning against his wall. “Once I get bigger, I’m gonna beat up all the villains in the world! No one will beat me! You’ll see!” 

Izuku gazes after his friend fondly. Kacchan is loud and abrasive, just like his quirk, but he’s also the most determined person Izuku knows. Nothing ever seems to scare him or make his confidence waver. He’s just amazing- even before his quirk manifested he was always amazing. His quirk just made him even cooler.

Not cooler than All Might, though.

Kacchan, his back still turned to Izuku, proceeds to turn the basket over and dump all of his toys on the ground. Izuku frowns. 

“Erm, Kacchan, your mom said not to make a mess,” he says uneasily. 

Kacchan scoffs. “Who cares what that old hag says? C’mon, I wanna play heroes!” He takes out an All Might action figure and pushes an Endeavor figure towards Izuku. “Here, you can be my sidekick.” 

A bit disgruntled but used to it by now- (the few times he’s insisted on being the main hero Kacchan had been irritated the entire time)- Izuku takes the toy and settles down next to him. Kacchan quickly starts setting up a narrative, using dramatic voices and his quirk for effects. As they play, their mothers’ muffled chatting coming from the kitchen, Izuku thinks back to their earlier discussion.

“I wonder what quirk I’ll get?” He ponders aloud. Kacchan stops swooping the All Might action figure through the air and gives him a look. “I hope I get mama’s quirk. Or maybe a mix of hers and dad’s, although I don’t know if that can happen…”

Kacchan stares at him for a few moments, then turns away with a dismissive snort. “Well, no matter what quirk you end up with, you’ll never be able to beat me!” 

As soon as he says that, Auntie Mitsuki’s voice calls from the kitchen, telling them that dinner is ready. Kacchan quickly scrambles to his feet and runs out the room. Izuku doesn’t follow for a few moments, instead sitting back and listening as the mother and son start snapping at each other. 

Kacchan’s words… leave an odd feeling in his chest. He wouldn’t say they hurt, because he knows better than to put so much personal offense behind the boy’s words. Kacchan is always rude and often speaks without thinking- that’s just the way he is, and he should be used to it by now. But still…

“Oi, nerd! Get over here, we’re eating sukiyaki!” 

Ignoring the odd ache in his heart, Izuku gets to his feet and dashes over to the kitchen

“Coming!” 

Now that they know with certainty that Izuku will be getting a quirk, all that is left to do is wait. 

And so they do. 

Every morning, Izuku wakes up, expecting to feel different, expecting for this to be the day his quirk will manifest. Every morning, he attempts to telekinetically pull objects towards himself or to breathe fire. And every morning, nothing seems to change. Nothing seems… different. 

At first, he doesn’t worry about it too much. One week since seeing Doctor Tsubasa goes by and life goes on as normal. But then one week turns into two, then into three, then into a month. By the end of October, just over two months since he turned five, Izuku still has yet to manifest his quirk and he’s beginning to get impatient.

Kacchan is too. Not only that, but he seems to also be getting… disappointed. Bored with Izuku. The greenette can see it in his eyes after each time he asks if his quirk manifested that day, after each time he replies negatively. He can see the… disinterest, the way he turns and chooses to spend more and more time with Tsubasa and Inaba, both of whom have already manifested their quirks. It leaves an unsettling feeling in his gut. 

He doesn’t understand. Why won’t his quirk come? It will come… won’t it? The doctor said it would, but people whisper things around him now. His teachers give him concerned, pitying glances when they think he’s not looking. His classmates are confused and mutter to each other behind his back.

Then one day, Inaba says it. 

“Maybe he just doesn’t have a quirk.”

Izuku freezes.

He, Kacchan, Tsubasa, and Izuku are exploring a nearby forest after school, one they’ve been to a few times before. The three boys still let Izuku tag along on their adventures, but lately he can tell it’s with some reluctance, so he hangs back. Still, despite being a few feet behind the trio, he hears Inaba’s suggestion loud and clear.

“That’s stupid, how could he not have a quirk?” Kacchan snaps, and a part of Izuku is relieved that his best friend is defending him, despite having disappointed him. 

But then Tsubasa pipes up, “My dad says it’s called being quirkless.”

And that word, that word. The one people have been whispering around him, acting like he can’t hear. Quirkless. As in, without a quirk? Him? No, it’s- it’s impossible! Sure he’s a little later than normal, but the doctor… the doctor...

“Some people just are just born without them,” Tsuabasa continues, oblivious to Izuku’s inner turmoil, “My great aunt doesn’t have one-” 

“I’m gonna have a quirk!” Izuku insists, interrupting him. The three glance over their shoulders at him and he falters. “I… I don’t have an extra toe joint,” he explains hesitantly, “Doctor Tsubasa-san said that all quirkless people have an extra toe joint but I don’t, so… so I’m just a late bloomer.” 

The trio share dubious glances before Kacchan tosses his head and scoffs, “Well, then hurry up already, Zuku! We’ve been waiting forever.”

Izuku smiles nervously and trots after them as they continue their exploration of the forest. 

He’ll get his quirk. Doctors are smart people, Inko says to listen to them. He just needs to be patient.

Soon enough, his presence fades into the background once again as Kacchan decides to start showing off his quirk now that there are no adults around. Tsubasa and Inaba encourage him to make bigger explosions, whooping with excitement each time they grow in size. Kacchan preens under all the attention, gloating over the power of his quirk as he braces himself for another explosion.

“Get ready, guys, this one is gonna be the biggest!” He hollers, holding his palms out.

Izuku smartly decides to take a step back and watches as his friend tenses up before unleashing an impressive explosion. His awe is short-lived, interrupted by a pained yelp from Kacchan.

“Kacchan!” He cries out, rushing to the blond who is clutching his wrists with gritted teeth. Tsubasa and Inaba are closer to him, but somehow Izuku reaches his side first. “What happened?” 

He takes Kacchan’s wrists in his hands and frowns at the sight of slightly burned skin on his wrists and palms. Kacchan pushes his discomfort away and glances at Tsubasa and Inaba. “Quit worrying, it’s nothing, guys!” He scoffs dismissively, “Just happens sometimes when I overuse my quirk.”

As he talks, Izuku keeps staring down at the boy’s injuries. The skin feels hot beneath his fingers, but there’s something else to it too. Something strange. Like there’s an odd… substance? Or perhaps a presence. He isn’t quite sure how to name it, but he can feel it lingering right underneath Kacchan’s skin. Without his awareness, he finds his eyes fluttering shut. As he focuses on that strange heat, he’s surprised to discover something similar swirling within him. He doesn’t even notice it until he feels it flowing out of him, through his hands and into Kacchan’s skin. It all happens so quickly and ends abruptly when Kacchan notices Izuku still holding onto him and yanks his wrists out of his hands. 

“Oi, what are you doing, idiot, I said I’m-” 

The blond stops mid-sentence, glancing down at his hands in surprise. His eyes widen. 

“It… it feels better…” He murmurs in shock. His head snaps up to Izuku, glaring. “What did you do?” 

Izuku is confused until he notices that the burns on Kacchan’s hands are completely gone, the skin unmarred. 

“Eh? What happened?” Inaba asks, stepping closer to observe Kacchan’s wrists, “Hey, your burns are gone!”

“Yeah, no shit, but how?!” Kacchan snaps, still glaring at Izuku. The other two boys turn to look at him.

“Did you do this, Midoriya-kun?” Tsubasa asks, tilting his head curiously. 

Izuku anxiously shifts his feet under the attention and wrings his hands. “Um, I- I don’t know,” he squeaks, “It- erm, I don’t know, it felt weird. I… I don’t know what happened…” 

Inaba blinks and his eyes widen. “Hey, maybe this is your quirk? Try it again!” 

Izuku turns to Kacchan, who is still glaring, and holds out his hands. Kacchan huffs and begrudgingly lets Izuku hold his wrists. Izuku tries to find that strange warm sensation again, but it seems to have vanished alongside Kacchan’s burns. He frowns.

“I don’t think I can do it now,” he says, “The feeling is gone. I don’t know how to get it back.”

“Well, what did it feel like?” Inaba asks, surprisingly patient, “Describe what happened.”

Izuku presses his lips together and tries to find the right words. “It was like… warm? Kacchan’s burns, I mean, but not his skin- it was like something underneath his skin. It wasn’t like regular warm either- erm, I don’t know how to describe it, but I could just feel it. Um… um, and then I felt the same thing in me? Except it was leaving. It was like flowing out of me into Kacchan and then his burns were gone…”

He trails off uncertainly. The feeling was so strange and alien that it kind of scares him, especially not knowing what it is.

They all turn when Tsubasa suddenly spreads his wings. “Hold on, I’ve got an idea,” he says before disappearing up into the trees. There’s a moment of silence, then the sound of leaves rustling and branches snapping. A bird shrieks, making Izuku flinch, before Tsubasa reappears. 

“Here,” he says, landing in front of them. He pushes a small bird into Izuku’s hands and says, “I broke its wing. See if that weird feeling comes back.”

“What?!” Izuku exclaims, “Tsubasa-kun, that’s so mean! Poor bird!” 

Tsubasa rolls his eyes but Izuku doesn’t notice, too busy focusing on the bird in his palms that is frozen in fear. As soon as his fingers brush over the bird’s wing, he feels the strange warmth again. This time, though, he can feel it swirling around the bird’s wing joint. The word ‘dislocated’ comes to mind- he sees it happening to heroes’ arms sometimes in movies. Closing his eyes, he tries to summon the warmth within him that he felt earlier, only to discover that it’s already flowing out of him. Now that it’s not as shocking anymore, he takes the time to really focus on the feeling and try to decipher what it is. 

“Ow!” He yelps, dropping the bird. It unfurls its wings and takes flight, fleeing back up into the trees. He frowns down at his finger where the bird pecked him, but there’s no blood. 

“Hey, it worked!” Inaba exclaims, “You healed it! You have a healing quirk!”

“Cool!” Tsubasa grins.

“What?” Kacchan barks, scowling, “That’s not possible, his parents don’t have healing quirks!” 

Inaba shrugs cluelessly. “I dunno, man, maybe it skipped a generation or two.”

“That’s really cool, though, Midoriya-kun!” Tsubasa says, “I’ve never seen one like that before! How does it work? What does it feel like?”

Taken aback by the sudden positive attention, Izuku flounders for a moment. “Uh… uh, erm, it felt like…” He wracks his brain, trying to find the right word to describe the feeling. “It felt like… energy! Yeah, like energy or something! It’s like I pushed my energy into the injury and it got better! Oh, oh, and I could also kind of tell what the injury was? Like… like I could feel Kacchan’s energy swirling around his burns and the bird’s around it’s wing, but with the bird I could tell that its wing wasn’t broken but dislocated. ‘Cause, um… it was like the energy was more focused around the joint? Like it was trying to fix it…”

It sounds confusing even to him, and one look at his friends’ faces tells him they think so too. But his confusion is being pushed aside by his excitement. This is his quirk! He finally got his quirk! 

“Oh my gosh, I have a quirk now!” He exclaims, jumping up and down, “I have a quirk, I have a quirk!” 

Inaba laughs, “Well, c’mon! Let’s see if you can heal more stuff!” With a mischievous grin, he reels his fist back and punches Tsubasa’s shoulder. 

“Ow! Jerk!” Tsubasa growls. Before he can pouce on Inaba, however, Izuku latches onto his arm and wow, he doesn’t even have to try to use his quirk, it just activates automatically as soon as he feels an injury!

“Whoa!” Tsubasa breathes, flexing his arm, “The pain went away so fast! Thanks, Midoriya-kun!” 

The praise has Izuku’s heart fluttering and he can’t help the grin that breaks out on his face. 

“Hey, I wanna try!” Inaba whines, “Punch me, punch me!” 

“Hey…” Kacchan says, but he gets ignored.

Tsubasa snickers and is more than happy to sock Inaba in the arm. The boy hisses but soon smiles when Izuku eagerly uses his quirk on him. 

“Man, you’re so lucky!” Inaba says, “That’s gonna be such a useful quirk!”

“Hey,” Kacchan repeats.

“Let’s go see what else you can heal,” Tsubasa says.

“Hey, idiots!” Kacchan finally snaps, “We’re not doing that!” Tsubasa and Inaba turn to him and whine but he merely snarls back at them. “I’m taking Zuku back to Auntie! This is weird shit and we’ve gotta figure out what’s going on before he gets hurt!”

“Eh, hurt? How would he get hurt?” Inaba tilts his head.

Kacchan gives him a ‘are you stupid?’ look. “All quirks have drawbacks, especially when they’re overused,” he says, flexing his wrists. Inaba opens his mouth to argue, then closes it and frowns thoughtfully.

Izuku’s a bit disappointed- he just got his quirk and now Kacchan wants him to stop using it?- but then notices something. He’s a bit tired, not terribly so, but more than he usually is at this time of the day. Perhaps the whole energy transfer thing drains his own energy? 

“I- I guess I am feeling a bit tired,” he admits. 

Kacchan arches his brow at Inaba as if to say ‘see?’ and the other boy just rolls his eyes. 

“Aw, fine, we’ll play with it more tomorrow,” Inaba says. 

“Yeah, you gotta show the class!” Tsubasa says. 

Izuku smiles. “I can’t wait!” Kacchan decides that it’s time to go and grabs him by the arm, dragging him back towards the street. “Thanks for helping me figure out my quirk, guys!” He calls back. 

“Yeah, no problem!” 

“Congrats!” 

Still beaming, Izuku turns back around and lets himself be dragged by Kacchan. He still can’t believe this is happening. He’s never been so confused and happy in his life! 

“Isn’t this great, Kacchan?” He says, “I finally have a quirk!”

Kacchan doesn’t look at him as he replies, “Yeah. Great.” His tone is low and he doesn’t sound too happy. Izuku’s enthusiasm wanes. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, confused.

“Nothing!” Kacchan retorts, “Let’s just… get you to Auntie. She’ll figure out what’s going on.” 

Izuku pouts. Thankfully, the walk back home is short so soon he’s swinging the front door open and crying out, “Mama, mama! I got my quirk!” 

“What?” Inko exclaims, rushing over from the kitchen, “Oh, sweetie, that’s wonderful!” She scoops Izuku up and presses numerous kisses onto his cheeks. He whines and tries to squirm away. Kacchan fidgets impatiently by the door. “Oh, my baby, I’m so happy for you!”

Finally managing to push her face away, Izuku says, “And you’ll never guess what it is!”

“Oh?” Inko asks, feigning confusion, “What is it?” 

“Healing,” Kacchan interrupts. She turns to the blond in surprise and he stares back up at her sullenly. “It’s some sort of healing quirk.”

“Huh?” Now Inko’s confusion is real. 

Izuku nudges her repeatedly and whines, “Mama, you never told me we had healing quirks in our family!” 

Inko is still glancing between the two boys, her mind clearly whirling. “We… don’t,” she says softly, his brow furrowing, “Honey, are you sure?”

“Yeah!” Izuku says enthusiastically. Inko blinks and glances at Kacchan, who is gazing at her with an unusually serious expression. 

“Katsuki-kun?” She questions with an uncertain tone. 

Sensing her hesitance, Kacchan huffs and stomps into the kitchen. He pulls out a small knife from the drawer, alarming Inko, but before she can stop him he purposefully slices the edge of his palm. 

“Katsuki-kun! What on earth are you doing?!”

“Zuku,” Kacchan says, holding his palm up to the smaller boy who is squirming out of his mother’s grasp, “Show her.” 

Izuku takes Kacchan’s hand in his and his quirk immediately flows.

“Now hold on, you can’t just- oh!” 

Inko’s eyes widen comically as the cut vanishes within seconds. For a few moments she just stares, even when Izuku beams up at her proudly. “See?”

She blinks slowly, a soft ‘oh’ escaping her lips. “Uh… um… o-okay…” She speaks haltingly, as if she’s still trying to wrap her brain around the situation. “Okay… okay! Uh, let’s… let’s…” She straightens up and looks down at Izuku, plastering on a nervous smile. “Why don’t we visit Doctor Tsubasa-san again, honey, okay?”

“Okay!” Izuku agrees cheerfully, bouncing from foot to foot. Kacchan is still frowning.

“Kacchan-kun, why don’t you head home? And… and maybe have you mother check out your hand?”

“But his hand’s fine, see?” Izuku says, “I healed it!” 

“I know, honey, but just in case,” Inko says, quickly grabbing her purse and keys and herding the kids to the door. “Come on, then.” 

Izuku bids Kacchan goodbye and Inko watches the boy until he has disappeared down the street before she puts her son into the car and drives off.

Doctor Tsubasa looks stunned when Inko tells him about Izuku’s strange new quirk, but he doesn’t look disbelieving. Instead, he calmly retrieves a scalpel and scrapes off a small amount of skin on his wrist before asking Izuku to demonstrate his ability. The boy happily obliges and the doctor watches with fascination as his own skin heals right before his eyes.

“Well!” He huffs good-naturedly, “That’s a healing quirk alright!” 

Inko’s eyes widen as Izuku squeals in excitement. “Really?” He asks, eyes sparkling.

“Yes, and a pretty powerful one if I’m not mistaken,” Doctor Tsubasa replies, much to the delight of the young boy. 

A healing quirk! He really has a healing quirk! And a powerful one! 

“But Tsubasa-san,” Inko says, smiling hesitantly at her son’s happiness, “I don’t understand. No one in my family or my husband’s family has a healing quirk, at least, none that we knew of…”

“And I wouldn’t expect them to,” Doctor Tsubasa explains, notably looking at both Inko and Izuku as he does so as opposed to only the former like he did during their earlier visit, “You see, healing quirks are exceptionally rare and one of the reasons for that is because they’re not hereditary, meaning that they aren’t passed down through genetics. Only a small amount of quirks spontaneously manifest in people without a prior genetic inclination for that quirk, and an even smaller amount of that small amount are healing quirks.” He smiles at Inko. “Your son has something truly special here, Midoriya-san.”

Inko inhales sharply and smiles again, this time more warmly. “Oh,” she breathes, tucking her son closer to her side, “That’s good then.” 

“Very good,” the doctor says, “In all my years as a medical professional, I’ve never seen a quirk like his before. Healing quirks usually work by manipulating some aspect of the patient’s body to help them heal faster. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Youthful Heroine Recovery Girl?” Both Inko and Izuku nod, the latter more vigorously. “Well, her quirk speeds up a person’s natural healing ability by drawing from their stamina. An old colleague of mine could manipulate blood, which was helpful in stopping bleeding. I’ve also heard of a handful of people with pain-stopping quirks. But this ‘energy transfer’ that your son has described… well, I’ve never seen anything like it. And the speed that his quirk healed at…!” He laughs incredulously and shakes his head. “It’s truly amazing. I’m envious even. Most doctors and nurses either have diagnosis-like quirks or more minor healing quirks. People with stronger healing quirks are so rare they’re usually snatched up by hero agencies as soon as possible.” 

Izuku gasps at the words ‘hero agencies’ and clutches his mother’s arm excitedly. Inko brushes her hand through his hair but her smile wavers slightly. 

“So… Izuku’s quirk,” she starts, “Everything’s alright, then? It-It’s so unfamiliar and rare that I can’t help but worry…”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Doctor Tsubasa says, “All quirks have drawbacks, as I’m sure you know. From what Izuku has told me and from what I’ve seen, it seems like his quirk relies on him passing his own energy to someone else. He mentioned being tired after using it a lot, so I assume that limited amount of energy to give and if he overuses his quirk he’ll exhaust himself. So-” He turns to fix Izuku with a kind but firm look, “Let’s not use your quirk to heal every single scrape and bruise your friends might get, okay?”

Izuku smiles and nods. “Okay!” 

“Good.” Doctor Tsubasa nods and pats his head. “Well, aside from that, you should have no worries.” He smiles when he says that, but for some reason his smile seems to falter after a moment. Izuku doesn’t notice, already getting up as the doctor’s tone of voice suggests the appointment is about to finish, but Inko notices it immediately. 

She stands up when the doctor does and begins walking with her son to the door. Before she leaves, however, Doctor Tsubasa stops her with his arm. He hesitates, then smiles down at Izuku.

“Hey, Midoriya-kun, why don’t you play with the toys in the waiting room for a little bit?” He suggests, his voice light, “I just need to talk to your mother about some paperwork for a few minutes.”

Izuku simply shrugs. “Okay!” 

They wait for him to leave, then shut the door behind him. He skips down the hall into the waiting room, humming in contemplation. Doctor Tsubasa said a lot of things with a lot of big words, but Izuku thinks he understood most of it. Excitement bubbles in his chest. His quirk is super rare and he can help people with it! Can this day get any better? 

When he re-enters the waiting room, he spies a basket of toys in the far corner. There are already a couple of kids playing, but he figures he can join them. Before he might have hesitated, but he has a quirk now- why should he? The two kids smile at him and let him join their game, and when the topic of quirks inevitably comes up he cheerfully proclaims that he has a healing quirk. Their eyes widen and they ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’, causing pride to fill his chest. Having a quirk to be proud of is something new and amazing for him. God, he’s so happy his quirk manifested!

They play for a few minutes while talking about their powers- Oki-kun can make plants grow when she spits on dirt and Yamabe-kun can turn hard objects soft. Then they both get called in for their appointments and Izuku is only alone for a minute before his mother returns. 

He beams at her, but for some reason she looks troubled. “Mama?” He questions, but she merely plasters on a fake smile and tells him that it’s time to go. The anxious look on her face doesn’t disappear on the drive home and when he tries to distract her with conversation her replies are short and tense. 

Izuku doesn’t understand. The doctor just told them great news and his quirk is even better than he expected- why isn’t she happy?

She also takes them straight to Kacchan’s house instead of their own home. Uncle Masaru is surprised when he answers the door but welcomes them in anyways. 

“Zuku!” Kacchan shouts as a greeting. He stomps over and demands, “What did the doctor say?” 

Auntie Mitsuki ruffles her son’s hair and ignores his indignant squawking. “The little brat told us what happened today.” She props her hand on her hip. “So is it true? Does Izukun have a healing quirk?”

“Y-yeah, apparently,” Inko replies, rubbing the back of her neck, “It’s super rare but healing quirks just manifest spontaneously, so they’re not passed down from the parents. Izuku can kind of… pass his energy to other people? And I guess that heals them…” 

“Wow,” Auntie Mitsuki says, flashing a grin at Izuku, “Nice one, kiddo!”

“Yeah,” Uncle Masaru agrees, but then trails off when he looks at Inko. He must see something in her expression because he turns to the two young boys and says, “Hey, how ‘bout you guys go play in Katsuki’s room?”

“Hm?” Izuku looks up. “Oh, okay.”

Kacchan scoffs and starts pulling him towards his room, but instead of going inside he stops at the end of the hallway. Turning to Izuku, he presses a finger to his lips and crouches down. 

“Kacchan?” Izuku whispers, “What are we doing?”

“Shh!” Kacchan hisses back, “Idiot! They sent us away because they wanna talk about stuff behind our backs!”

Izuku blinks and then tilts his head in confusion. “Then… shouldn’t we leave?”

Kacchan scowls and covers the other boy’s mouth with his hand, leaning closer to the entrance of the hallway so he can hear better. 

“Inko-san?” Uncle Masaru asks quietly, “Is everything okay?” 

There’s a few moments of silence, then a soft sniffle. 

“Inko-san!” Auntie Mitsuki cries out a little too loudly, causing her husband to shush her, “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing, nothing!” Inko replies hastily, but her voice breaks, “I mean, nothing’s wrong with Izuku. I… I’m happy for him, really. It’s just…” Her voice trails off and she sniffles a couple more times, trying not to hiccup. 

Hearing his mother struggle not to cry makes Izuku want to go out and comfort her, but Kacchan holds him still. 

Uncle Masaru’s voice speaks up, “Why don’t we sit down and you can tell us what happened?” 

Inko must nod because there’s the sound of footsteps and then chairs scraping against the floor. Izuku hears his mother inhale shakily before beginning to speak.

“It’s just… something the doctor wanted to warn me about before we left…”

“I don’t mean to scare you with what I’m about to tell you, Midoriya-san,” Doctor Tsubasa says as he closes the door behind him, “But considering the situation, I just feel I have to give you a heads up. Please, take a seat.” 

Inko does, and the doctor sits in a stool across from her. 

Clasping his hands in front of him, he says, “I just need to… emphasize how rare your son’s quirk is. And how powerful it could potentially become. He’s only five years old and yet he was able to completely heal a dislocated bird’s wing. I have no doubt his quirk will only strengthen with age, but…” He trails off for a moment, then asks, “How much do you know about Recovery Girl?”

Inko blinks in surprise, then admits, “Not much really. I just know she works at UA.”

Doctor Tsubasa nods. “She is also considered to have one of the most powerful healing quirks in Japan, if not the most powerful. She doesn’t do this as often anymore, but she used to travel all across Japan and sometimes the world to heal people with her quirk. She’s also the only reason UA can train their students the way they do- without her I’m sure the school would have to face numerous lawsuits from parents whose children come home from school injured everyday. And since healing quirks are so rare, hero agencies never seem to have enough healers and they often travel between agencies to help out where they are needed…” He pauses, opens his mouth, then closes it. Finally, he settles on, “Basically what I’m trying to say is… Izuku will be highly sought after once people become more aware of his quirk.” 

“Oh!” Inko says, “That’s… that’s wonderful! Izuku has always loved heroes- he wants to be one too, although I suppose with his new quirk things might happen a bit differently… But I’m sure he’d be thrilled to work with them!” She smiles, but it fades away quickly at the look on the doctor’s face. “What is it?” 

“It’s just…” He sighs, then meets her gaze head on and says, “Healers are not only sought after by heroes. It’s not unheard of for villains to seek out healers and try to kidnap them, especially organized crime groups. See, they can’t go to the hospital if they get hurt in a fight, so healers are valuable to them too. Hero agencies usually keep their healers close and protected at all costs, especially in the most recent decade, but… Well, I’m sure you heard of the incident with the healer at Endeavor’s agency, yes?”

“Huh? No, I haven’t,” Inko replies, clutching her purse anxiously. 

“Oh, well I suppose it’s been a while. Probably only a couple of years before Izuku was born, actually. Well, there was a bit of drama going on with Endeavor’s hero agency because his healer was stolen by villains. Endeavor managed to rescue him a couple of days later, of course, but it was quite the scandal. People criticized Endeavor rather harshly, but it ended up with hero agencies significantly increasing the protection around their healers, so overall there was a good outcome.”

Inko nods and looks down at her shoes, biting her lip as her anxiety rises. Doctor Tsubasa notices and places his hand over hers.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to scare you with this, I just need you to be aware,” he says soothingly, “Izuku’s quirk is wonderful, but you just need to keep a close eye on him. Right now he’s at his most vulnerable because he’s young and cannot defend himself. Maybe just make sure he always has a friend with him when he walks home from school.”

At this point, Inko is fighting off tears. “Oh, God,” she hiccups, “I don’t- I don’t know, I- I never thought about this- I never even considered…” She sniffles and lets out a wavering sigh. “Izuku loves heroes and I’m sure he’ll want to use his quirk to help them, but… Should I not let him? Should I just-”

“No, no actually,” Doctor Tsubasa interrupts, “His love for heroes is a good thing! If he wants to become a hero healer then he absolutely should!”

“But you just said-”

“His quirk will get attention no matter where he goes,” he says, “But if he ends up working with heroes then he’ll have their protection. That’s why I said most doctors and nurses have minor healing quirks- because people with powerful ones often catch the attention of heroes, who will in turn protect them from any villains who also have their eye on them.”

“Oh! Okay,” Inko says, nodding rapidly. She takes a deep breath and nods once more, her mind racing. “Okay… this… this is a lot, but…” She exhales sharply and laughs shakily, “Heh, and I was worried he’d breathe fire…”

The doctor chuckles sympathetically before sobering up. He pats her hand and smiles at her reassuringly. 

“Don’t ever forget- Izuku’s quirk is a good thing. He just needs to be a bit more careful than most children.” 

Inko sniffles and wipes her watery eyes. Uncle Masaru hands her a tissue that she gratefully accepts and dries off her tears. 

“Wow,” Auntie Mitsuki says, her voice unusually soft, “... long day, huh?”

Inko lets out a wet laugh.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I probably look like such a mess,” she apologizes profusely, “It’s just… the thought of some villain snatching up my poor baby…”

“Hey, hey, that’s not gonna happen,” Auntie Mitsuki reassures, “We’re not gonna let that happen. I’ll make sure our little brat stays by his side at all times.”

“Huh?” Inko says, “Oh, no, I don’t want to impose-”

“Nonsense!” Auntie Mitsuki insists, “They’re already best friends, it wouldn’t be any trouble.”

“And perhaps,” Uncle Masaru suggests, “When Izukun is a bit older he can take some self-defense classes.” 

“Oh!” Inko perks up a bit. “That’s-That’s a good idea. Maybe he…”

As the parents continue to discuss things quietly, Izuku and Kacchan listen from the hallway. 

Izuku is struggling to understand what’s going on. His mother sounded so sad that he kept wanting to run to her side and comfort her, but Kacchan kept grabbing him and holding him back. They tried to keep their tussing as quiet as possible, but Izuku still missed some of what was said. He kept hearing the words ‘healer’, ‘Izuku’s quirk’, ‘danger’, and ‘heroes’, and combining that with what little else he heard, his mind comes to the realization that he’s been wondering about ever since his quirk manifested. 

“I can become a hero!” He says to Kacchan excitedly. Unfortunately, he also said it a bit too loudly and conversation in the other room stops.

“Shh!” Kacchan hisses, but it’s too late.

“Boys!” Auntie Mitsuki barks, “Come out here!”

Glaring at Izuku, Kacchan huffs and begrudgingly walks out of the hallway, the smaller boy on his heels. Auntie Mitsuki frowns at them as they approach the table where the adults are sitting. 

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop,” she scolds.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Izuku begins to say, only to be interrupted by Kacchan.

“What’s going on here?” He snaps, “Why would someone wanna take Zuku? His quirk isn’t that cool.”

“What? Yeah it is!” Izuku protests, but shrinks away when his friend glares at him. “I… I can be a hero with it.” 

Kacchan snorts, “What? No way! You’re just gonna become a doctor or some shit.” 

“Oi! Don’t say shit like that, brat!” Auntie Mitsuki snaps but her son merely rolls his eyes.

Dismayed, Izuku glances from Kacchan to the adults and cries, “But I don’t wanna be a doctor, I wanna be a hero!” 

“And you can be a hero,” Inko says, causing Izuku to beam, “Well, sort of. I was just talking about it with Doctor Tsubasa-san. You can be a hero healer.”

The children share the same confused expression and both tilt their heads nearly simultaneously. 

“A what?”

“Haah?”

“A hero healer,” Uncle Masaru explains, “All hero agencies have them. They’re people with really good healing quirks that heal heroes when they get hurt while fighting villains.”

“Oh.” Izuku blinks thoughtfully. He’d never really thought about something like that before. Of course heroes need healers, it makes sense that they would. They don’t just magically get better after all. But him? A healer? He isn’t sure…

Kacchan sniffs and tosses his head. “Well, when I’m a hero I won’t need one!” He says braggingly, “I’ll be so strong I’ll never get hurt!” He flashes his quirk to prove his point, but shrieks furiously when Auntie Mitsuki gives him a little slap on the back of the head. 

“Of course you’re gonna get hurt, you little shit!” She snaps, “All heroes get hurt one way or another! Didn’t you just say Izukun healed you when you overused your quirk?” 

Kacchan grumbles angrily and looks like he wants to argue back, but Uncle Masaru eases the tension by saying, “Even All Might’s agency has healers.” Kacchan and Izuku perk up at this, so the man smiles and adds, “Every hero needs a healer and, according to Doctor Tsubasa-san, they’re apparently in high demand.”

“Yeah, so you better keep little Izukun close or another hero will snatch him up!” Auntie Mitsuki teases. 

Kacchan’s eyes widen and dart from his mother to his friend before they narrow. “What the hell? No way!” He growls, “If you’re gonna be anyone’s healer, you’re gonna be mine!” He grabs onto Izuku’s arm and the smaller boy giggles.

Everyone has been looking at him with bright and hopeful eyes ever since he manifested his quirk just a few hours ago. Tsubasa and Inaba were actually pretty nice to him- usually they either ignore him or tease him as they follow Kacchan around. And Doctor Tsubasa… he seemed really impressed with his quirk. And Auntie Mitsuki, Uncle Masaru, and Inko are all really enthusiastic about this whole healer thing, but…

But…

“But I won’t really be a hero, will I?” He asks, his voice downtrodden. The adults turn to him in surprise. “I… I thought maybe if I got mama or papa’s quirk I could, but…” He looks down at his hands. He can still remember the feeling of his energy being passed to the bird’s wing. He clenches them. Looking up at his mother, he struggles to keep the tears out of his eyes as he says, “I can’t beat up villains with a quirk like this! I can’t protect people, so… so how could I really be a hero?” 

Kacchan is gazing at him with an odd expression, like he can’t quite decide how he feels about the situation. Izuku sniffles and rubs his nose with the back of his hand as Auntie Mitsuki kneels down in front of him.

“Hey, healers are important too, you know!” She says, knocking his forehead lightly with her knuckle, “Don’t dismiss yourself so easily! Yeah, it’s a bit of a change of plans for you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be a hero. Hell, you’re literally gonna be the hero of heroes. So chin up, kiddo!”  

Izuku blinks at her with wide eyes. The hero of heroes? That… does sound kind of cool...

“And,” Inko says, joining Auntie Mitsuki, “You won’t be giving your poor mother anxiety about you putting yourself in danger everyday.”

Auntie Mitsuki barks out a laugh and Uncle Masaru smiles. 

“Then why’d you sound so upset?” Kacchan asks, bringing attention back to him, “We heard Auntie crying!”

The three adults share glances between them, obviously silently communicating. It clearly frustrates Kacchan, but soon his father sighs softly and explains.

“We’re just worried about people… taking advantage of Izukun,” he says, “Do you know what that means?”

Izuku frowns. “Um…”

“I heard Auntie say that bad people wanna take Zuku!” Kacchan declares.

Auntie Mitsuki huffs, grumbling something about eavesdropping under her breath. Uncle Masaru puts a hand on her shoulder, but the next moment she straightens up and fixes Kacchan with a hard look.

“Well, you won’t let that happen, now will you?” She snaps. 

Kacchan scowls. “Hah?”

“If some fucker comes along and decides to snatch Izukun because he wants to force him to use his quirk, what are you gonna do?” Auntie Mitsuki asks. Uncle Masaru tries to warn her not to be so blatant about it so to not scare the kids, but her fiery question gets the reaction she wanted

“I’ll beat ‘em up, of course!” Kacchan jumps up, flaring his quirk, “I’ll beat up any fucker who tries to take him!”

“That’s right!” Auntie Mitsuki nods approvingly, then roughly ruffles her son’s hair.

Kacchan grumpily shoves her hand away and scoffs, “Pshh! That’s what you were so worried about?” His gaze lands on Inko, who is looking at him with watery eyes and a smile, and he blushes. He glances away with a huff and grabs onto Izuku’s arm again. “Yeah, I’ll keep him safe,” he grunts, feigning nonchalance. 

The adults seem pleased, but Izuku tilts his head in thought. “I would’ve healed them if they asked,” he says innocently. 

Inko shakes her head and takes his hands into hers. “No. No, baby, I’m sorry, but you can’t just use your quirk on anyone who asks you to, especially not strangers. There are some bad people out there that might want to take you so they can use your quirk.”

Izuku doesn’t look like he quite understands- ‘But wouldn’t they not take him if he just heals them?’- but Kacchan scowls and bares his teeth. His grip on Izuku’s arm tightens.

“I won’t let that happen!”

“Good!” Auntie Mitsuki gives a single, satisfied nod.

“Thank you, Katsuki-kun,” Inko says much more gently. She smiles at him and lightly scratches his hair, but he doesn’t push her hand away. Instead, he merely blushes and averts his gaze, pulling Izuku back towards his room.

“C’mon, Zuku, let’s go play video games or something,” he grumbles, “You’re staying for dinner, right?”

Inko startles, suddenly noticing how late it is, and jumps to her feet. “Oh my goodness, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stay so long, I don’t mean to impose, I-”

Auntie Mitsuki laughs and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, shut up! You know you’re always welcome!”

“Oh, well at least let me help with dinner!”

“Nope! You’re gonna sit down and drink a big glass of wine and get this tension out of your shoulders!”

As Inko continues to babble, Uncle Masaru follows the two women into the kitchen, shaking his head with a soft smile on his face. Kacchan rolls his eyes and pushes Izuku into his room.

“Ugh, grown-ups.” 

Katsuki isn’t really sure how to feel about all this. Zuku’s new quirk is weird. It’s weird it manifested so late, it’s weird that it’s so different from his parents’ quirks, and it’s weird that it’s a healing quirk of all things. Katsuki doesn’t like surprises, and he most certainly did not appreciate this one either. He thought Zuku would get one of his parents’ quirks like everyone else- he thought he’d manifest his mother’s weak-ass telekinetic quirk or maybe his father’s fire-breathing quirk. Something weak compared to his explosion quirk, but something that could at least provide some entertainment for them. Playing with a healing quirk might be a bit hard though, and it doesn’t seem like it’d be very fun anyway. 

The grown-ups are being so weird about Zuku’s quirk too, making it seem like it’s so special, and that annoys Katsuki- but it seems to scare Auntie Inko. Even as a five year-old, Katsuki could see the genuine fear in her eyes as she told her son why he couldn’t use his quirk on strangers. 

Katsuki likes Auntie Inko. She’s pretty and kind, all smooth curves and round softness, so different from his own mother’s roughness and harsh edges. Her hugs are the only ones’ that Katsuki never pushes away because they feel like being wrapped in a warm blanket fresh from the laundry, and she has doe-like eyes that crinkle when she smiles. 

Zuku has those eyes too, along with all of his mother’s softness. He’s timid and gentle and cries easily and so unlike Katsuki in so many ways- but maybe that’s what makes him the best playmate, not that he would ever admit it. He’s always the first one to run up to a dog in the street and pet it, and he’s always the first to run away from something fun and dangerous instead of towards it. He’s small and weak- and so Katsuki supposes, if he thinks about it, that perhaps this new quirk is actually quite fitting for him then. It’s not flashy or strong, and neither is he. Honestly, Katsuki can’t even imagine someone as meek as Zuku with anything better than some lame healing quirk. Figures he’d need someone as strong as Katsuki to keep him safe. It makes sense. 

A feeling of importance fills Katsuki’s chest, and his gaze roams over Zuku as the smaller boy kneels beside their hero toys scattered on the ground. 

Even though Zuku’s new quirk isn’t nearly as cool as his, Katsuki can at least see its usefulness. Overusing his quirk always makes his wrists ache terribly, but Zuku made the pain go away almost as soon as he touched him. And even though he still stands by what he said earlier- he’ll be so strong, he’ll never get hurt- he sure as hell isn’t going to let some other hero snatch up Zuku! His mother said that every hero needs a healer, and Katsuki was Zuku’s friend first, so Zuku is his healer! He’ll beat up anyone- hero or bad guy- that tries to take him for his quirk! 

“Kacchan, are we going to play?” Zuku turns and asks, blinking at him with his large, innocent eyes. 

Katsuki jerks out of his thoughts. “Of course we are, nerd!” He snaps roughly, making Zuku startle. He steps over to him.

Maybe this won’t be such a bad thing, Zuku’s new quirk. Being Zuku’s protector. It’ll make Auntie Inko happy, he’ll get to have Zuku as his healer, and he gets to be the hero in all this. 

As he plops down next to Zuku, the smaller boy wordlessly hands him the All Might toy with a bright smile. Katsuki feels something in his chest stir and he takes it. 

Yeah, he’ll protect him alright. 

Chapter Text

The next day at school, Izuku does something he’s wanted to do for ages: He shows off his quirk. 

Tsubasa and Inaba are more than willing to help. Tsubasa somehow got a scrape on his knee after Kacchan and Izuku left yesterday, so he bounces up to Izuku as soon as he arrives at school and shows him. If Izuku didn’t know any better, he’d say the winged boy almost seemed proud of his scrape. 

So, once they’ve gathered the attention of all of their classmates and a couple of their teachers, Izuku reaches out to heal his scrape. He’s nervous at first, almost worried that the previous day had been a dream and he didn’t really have a quirk, but like before his quirk seems to activate the second he touches the injury. His peers watch with awe-filled eyes as it fades away into unblemished skin within seconds.

“Wow!” One girl exclaims, “That’s so cool, Midoriya-kun!” 

“Definitely worth the wait!” Another laughs.

“Oh, geez, what a godsend that quirk is!” One of the teachers whines good-naturedly, “These kids are always rough housing and getting hurt.” 

Izuku beams at the praise. Next to him, Kacchan puffs up his chest with pride. 

“And guess what?” He declares, “When I’m a hero, Zuku’s gonna be my healer!”

More ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ from the crowd of children. One of the teachers looks amused.

“A hero healer, huh?” She says, “Well, you’ve certainly got the quirk for it! How did you say it works again?”

Izuku explains his theory of energy transfer and she hums contemplatively, “I’ve never heard of a quirk like this before. And I bet it will only get stronger as you get older.” She winks and pats his curls. “It’s always good to see young people with healing quirks. Lord knows there’s not enough of them!” 

“Doctor Tsubasa-san said it’s ‘cause healing quirks aren’t hera- heredi- um, herd-”

“Hereditary?” His teacher asks and he nods. 

The other teacher raises his eyebrows. “Really? I didn’t know that.” 

Izuku opens his mouth to say more, but Kacchan drags him back to the group of kids before he can. They swarm around him, asking him questions about his quirk and how it feels and why it was so late. Izuku answers as best as he can, but soon Kacchan starts to fidget impatiently beside him. After a few more minutes, he clearly gets bored that the attention isn’t on him and shoos the other kids away. 

Izuku doesn’t mind too much, though. All of this attention is new and overwhelming- he’s used to just fading into the background and staying by Kacchan’s side. 

Thankfully, the rest of the school day goes by fairly normally, aside from a couple of kids coming up to him during lunch asking him to heal their scrapes and bruises. Then he briefly gains another small audience while he uses his quirk. He doesn’t really know how to respond to praise other than awkwardly smiling and scratching the back of his head, so he doesn’t linger very long and the group usually disperses soon after. 

Kacchan can’t seem to decide whether he wants to boast about having Izuku as his healer or be grumpy that the attention isn’t on him anymore.

Inaba tries to reassure him. “Don’t worry, it’s just ‘cause it’s a new quirk. I’m sure the hype will die down after a couple of days.” 

Kacchan merely grumbles inaudibly but Izuku lets out a sigh of relief. “I hope so!” He says exasperatedly, “I don’t know if I like all this attention. I feel so awkward.” 

Kacchan snorts but seems appeased by his response. At the end of the day, the four of them walk home together, Tsubasa and Inaba splitting off a couple of streets before theirs. Kacchan insists on walking Izuku to his door, which is a bit strange and unnecessary, but Izuku doesn’t protest much. When his mother comes back from home soon after, she seems extremely relieved when she sees him, but her expression smoothes out a moment later and she announces she’s making katsudon for dinner. The prospect of his favorite dish erases immediately takes Izuku’s mind off of any oddities he may have perceived, and he later chatters happily to his mother about his first day at school with a quirk as they eat dinner. 

Before going to bed, he decides to take out a new notebook and start researching everything he can about hero healers. Just like with his hero notebooks, he begins filling pages with information about individual healers, although he quickly discovers that there’s a lot more information about Recovery Girl available than there is for any other healer. His eyes roam over article after article about the healer traveling to other countries to heal people, to heal heroes, to save people that others couldn’t save in ways that no one else could. 

By the time Inko peeks into his room, Izuku is fast asleep in front of his computer with Recovery Girl’s biography displayed on the monitor screen. She ends up carrying him to bed, and from that night on, Izuku’s admiration for Recovery Girl only continues to grow. 

The second day of school goes just about the same as the first, but the third day is a bit more interesting. It seems that word has spread all over the school about Izuku’s quirk. He finds himself being approached not only by classmates but by upperclassmen too, asking him to heal papercuts and bruises and even a twisted ankle. Izuku happily obliges, but as the weeks go by more and more students approach him with their injuries. He never realized how many scrapes and bruises children got until he was faced with them. They’re usually the same students too, ones that like to rough-house or play sports. 

Kacchan’s mood steadily sours as the number of kids to approach Izuku rises. He tries to tell the students to suck it up, especially with those with smaller injuries, but Izuku can’t find it within himself to turn someone away when they’re asking for help. This results in him sometimes going home extremely tired from using his quirk so much. Kacchan always yells at him when this happens, but Izuku takes it as a learning opportunity. 

His quirk is called Healing Energy- that’s what they decide when Inko takes him to get it registered. The next day he asks his mother for a new notebook and begins filling it with notes about his own quirk, rather than those of heroes. At school there are plenty of opportunities for him to practice with his quirk, so he learns a few things as time passes. 

The first thing he discovers is that his quirk doesn’t work at all if he’s injured or sick. A week after his quirk manifests, he accidentally trips down the stairs and twists his ankle. He doesn’t think too much of it until he discovers that he can’t use his quirk when someone asks him to at lunch. He panics, wondering what happened, and it only clicks in his mind the day after when his ankle is feeling better that it probably had something to do with that. To test this, he has Tsubasa punch him in the arm (much to Kacchan’s displeasure) and tries to heal a scrape, to no avail. So there’s that. 

The second thing he discovers is that skin-to-skin contact is needed to heal. This, he does not discover by accident but because he is genuinely curious. He supposes it should have been a bit obvious.

The third thing he learns about his quirk is that it works best when he’s well fed and well rested. This kind of relates to the whole ‘it won’t work if he’s injured or sick’, except it’s just something he notices over time. Like if he doesn't sleep so well the previous night or skips breakfast before school then his quirk is more sluggish and he tires out a lot faster. 

The fourth thing he discovers is that he cannot do anything to help illnesses. He tries futilely to pour his energy into Tsubasa when the winged boy gets a cold during the winter to no avail. Kacchan eventually drags him away to prevent him from getting sick. 

The fifth thing he learns is that when he heals someone, he brings them to their absolute best. He discovers this with Kacchan one day during winter break. They’re off in the forest again, just the two of them this time, and Kacchan is trying to push the outer limits of his quirk and make bigger explosions. Whenever he overuses his quirk, Izuku heals him and he seems to be extra energized afterwards, making even bigger explosions than before. Izuku wonders if he has an effect on other people’s quirks, but he figures that if he brings them to their full health then it’s only natural that their quirks would be working at their best. 

He can also sort of sense injuries too, which he knew about with the bird’s dislocated wing, but it’s especially helpful during the first few weeks after his quirk manifests. Kacchan isn’t too good at asking for help, even when he knows Izuku can provide it, so sometimes he’ll lean against his friend’s side and feel with his quirk if he has any injuries (and with a rowdy boy like Kacchan there’s almost always some sort of injury). But Kacchan doesn’t like to bring it up, so Izuku will just grab his hand as they walk home and let his energy flow. Kacchan never comments on the sudden energy he feels and instead ruffles Izuku’s curls into a rat’s nest, much to the greenette’s displeasure. 

Just when he thinks he’s learned all he can about his quirk, he discovers something new. It’s exciting and quickly comes to love his new power, scribbling down everything he learns into his quirk notebook. He doesn’t even mind too much when he goes home tired from healing because it’s evidence of his hard work. Inko, however, does mind. 

“Please, Izuku, you need to learn how to say no,” she says one night during dinner, “I know you want to help everyone, but it’s not good for you to be draining yourself so often. You need energy too.”

Izuku shoves some rice into his mouth (he always seems to be hungry after a long day of healing) and protests, “But it’s good quirk practice! Besides, Kacchan always uses his quirk. Like, everyday.”

“Izuku,” Inko says with a firm tone, so Izuku sighs in defeat.

“Okay, okay…” 

The next day after school, Izuku is waiting just outside the main building, watching kids as they walk home or get picked up by their parents. Kacchan got detention for getting in a fight with another student, which isn’t uncommon even though Izuku has made his disapproval very clear, so he has to wait for him to be done. Kacchan had insisted that he wait for him, even though Tsubasa and Inaba offered to walk him home, but whatever. He should be done soon…

“Oi, Midoriya-kun!” 

The boy glances up to see a couple of fourth graders approaching him. He recognizes them- Akamine and Furuya. They treat Izuku well enough, but from what he’s heard they’re a couple of troublemakers. They always come to him with their scrapes and bruises from whatever tussle they got into. Normally, he’d heal them without any complaint, but after what his mother told him…

“Hey, I’ve got a couple of scrapes, you mind healing them?” Akamine asks as soon as they reach him.

“Sorry, not today guys,” Izuku says apologetically. 

Akamine looks briefly surprised. “Aww, c’mon, they sting a lot and they’re really nasty,” he whines, “Look!” He pulls up his sleeve to reveal scrapes and bruises that do look a bit uncomfortable, but are really not that bad. They’d heal in a week on their own. 

“Yeah, and I got punched in the face,” Furuya states bluntly, turning his head to show Izuku the bruise blooming on his cheek.

The boy sighs, not even bothering to ask how he got it. 

“I’m sorry guys, but I’ve kind of been using my quirk a lot for the past few days and I’m trying to take a break,” he explains patiently. 

“Yeah, but this won’t take that much energy,” Akamine insists, “C’mon, man, do us a favor.”

Izuku shrinks under the pressure, but a ball of irritation forms in his chest. It’s his quirk, he shouldn’t be pressured to use it if he doesn’t want to!

“Actually, I do you guys a lot of favors,” he says, slowly backing away from them, “Pretty much every week, really. So I think this one time you can-”

Furuya suddenly reaches out and grabs his upper arm, pulling him back over to them. He grins down at him, but it doesn’t look friendly at all. Izuku suddenly notices how tall these older boys are, how much bigger they are than him. Even amongst boys his own age, Izuku is pretty short, so these guys practically loom over him.

He gulps.

“Aww, c’mon, Midoriya-kun!” Furuya sneers, “Don’t be like that…”

He grabs Izuku’s hand and puts it on his bruised cheek. To Izuku’s dismay, he feels his energy begin to leave him through his fingertips and he struggles to pull away.

Another thing he’s noticed about his quirk is that it automatically activates when he touches an injury. He hardly ever has to think about turning it on, but it’s only now that he realizes he has no idea how to turn it off. He panics when Furuya refuses to let go of his hand and Akamine starts reaching for his other arm.

“Hey, stop it!” He snaps, “I said no! I said no!” 

“You wanna be a healer, don’t you?” Akamine jeers, grabbing his forearm and pulling him closer, “What kind of healer refuses to heal?”

He starts to bring Izuku’s hand towards his bruised arm, but no matter how hard Izuku pulls, he can’t break out of his grip.

 “Stop it!” He cries out, his eyes welling with tears, “Let me go! Leave me alone!” 

He yelps as Furuya squeezes his arm hard and he thrashes futilely, panic making his heartbeat rabbit. The two boys are so much stronger than him- he’s never felt so helpless before. He hates it, he feels like he’s going to be sick, he doesn’t understand why they’re doing this because he said no!

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?!?”

Izuku nearly cries with relief at the sound of Kacchan’s voice. Akamine and Furuya both pause as they look up at the blond boy rushing out the building towards them. Izuku has never seen his friend look so angry, but the two upperclassmen don’t seem intimidated. 

“You fuckers!” Kacchan shrieks, “Get your hands off him!”

Izuku tries to pull away again, but Furuya doesn’t let up. 

“Or what?” He laughs.

Akamine snickers, “Yeah, what are you gonna do about it, first-grader?” 

In response, Kacchan lets out a battle cry and crashes into them with explosions dancing on his palms. As soon as their grip on him is broken, Izuku turns around and flees. His heartbeat is pounding in his ears, but he can still hear the cacophony of explosions and yells behind him. For a second he feels a flash of worry for his friend, but he knows that he would only get in the way if he went to go help him. So, he takes cover behind the nearest tree and waits for it to be over.

For all their talk, Akamine and Furuya don’t last long in this fight. 

“Oi, oi, get off me, you’re freaking crazy!” Akamine shrieks. There’s the sound of scuffling feet and Izuku hesitantly peeks out from behind the tree.

Kacchan stands with his back to him, facing down Akamine and Furuya who are covered in multiple burns and bruises. They stare at the blond with wide eyes that are somehow both angry and terrified at the same time.

“We’re gonna tell Yo-san!” Furuya snaps, “You’ll pay for this tomorrow!” 

Kacchan merely raises his fist threateningly in response. The upperclassmen both tense up before gritting their teeth and fleeing.

“You’re gonna regret this!” Furuya shrieks before he disappears. 

There’s a moment of silence. Then, Kacchan wipes his nose on his arm and turns around, clearly looking for Izuku.

Tears blur his vision as Izuku jumps out of his hiding spot and runs over to him. “Kacchan!” He cries out, “Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you- oof!”

He collides with Kacchan and wraps him into a tight hug. He’s too busy sobbing into his friend’s shoulder to realize that his quirk isn’t naturally responding to the cuts and bruises that litter his skin.

“I-I was so-so scared!” He hiccups, “They-They kept pulling on me an-and forcing me to use my quirk even though I told them no!” 

“Hey, hey, what are you even saying?” Kacchan growls without heat, pushing him off, “I can barely hear you when you’re-”

He pauses, staring down at Izuku’s forearms. Izuku looks down too and sees that his sleeves have pushed up slightly, revealing angry red bruises forming from where Furuya and Akamine grabbed him. 

“O-Oh,” Izuku sniffles, trying to wipe away his tears.

Kacchan is eerily still for a few moments, then almost quite literally explodes. “I’LL KILL THEM!” He screeches, whirling around as if to look for the two older boys. 

“Kacchan!” Izuku yelps, pulling him back, “It-It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt that bad. Although, I-I don’t think I can really heal you…”

He takes Kacchan’s hand in his and tries to pour his energy, but nothing happens. Kacchan’s eye twitches.

Izuku lets his head hang. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you fucking apologizing for?!” Kacchan snaps, “I’m the one who’s supposed to-” He cuts himself off, his teeth grinding audibly as he glares at the ground. 

They’re both quiet for a few moments, Kacchan silently seething while Izuku tries to get his tears under control. He sees the other boy glancing at his bruises and is surprised to find not only anger in his eyes but… guilt? 

Izuku blinks.

“You… you were really cool back there, Kacchan,” he says softly, “I can’t believe you took on two fourth-graders and won.” 

Kacchan straightens up and lifts his chin. “The best hero always wins. No matter what, they always come out on top!” Despite his words, his voice lacks the usual enthusiasm it usually has when he says something like that.

Izuku sniffles once more before smiling. “You’re already my hero.” Kacchan’s eyes widen slightly and Izuku lets out a wet chuckle. “You are. You saved me, didn’t you?”

Kacchan stares at him for a few moments before his lip twitches up into a half-grin. “Yeah, I did. I saved you.” Izuku smiles back at him and the boy full on grins, puffing his chest up. “Well, c’mon then, Zuku. Let’s get going!” 

Helplessness is a feeling that Izuku soon grows to hate. 

Inko panics when she finds out what happened later that day. She puts ice packs on Izuku and Kacchan’s bruises and then calls the school. Surprisingly, Kacchan doesn’t get in trouble for fighting again. The administration is extremely apologetic, although a part of Izuku wonders if they would have been as concerned if he were another student. He knows most of the teachers tend to like him since he’s polite, doesn’t cause trouble, and helps prevent kids from going home with whatever minor injuries they acquired that day. Furuya and Akamine get a harsh scolding and are suspended for a couple of days.

Still, the ‘incident’ remains fresh in his mind for the next couple of weeks. He stays a bit closer to Kacchan than before and even Tsubasa and Inaba become more protective. He still heals people once his bruises are gone, but he learns to limit himself and say no to smaller injuries like paper cuts. Most people are understanding, but Kacchan is quick to chase off anyone who’s persistent. He almost looks like he enjoys it too, but Izuku tries not to pay too much attention to that. 

Things are fine for a while. They all start to relax more as time passes. Kacchan and Izuku still basically spend all day together, but they’re not as attached to the hip anymore. Like now, for example.

They’re back in the forest once more with Tsubasa and Inaba. Kacchan has just turned seven and decides that he wants to claim the entire forest as his territory. They usually only go a little ways in, but Kacchan knocks down the perimeter fence with an explosion and leads the way. So now they’re exploring deeper than they’ve ever gone before. Izuku is trailing a few feet behind the others, glancing around at the scenery. He’s a little nervous, if only because they might get in trouble if they’re caught, but he finds the trees and plants to be very pretty. It’s the beginning of May so everything is in full bloom.

“Hey, check out that river!” Kacchan shouts, pointing at a shallow creek with a fallen log over it, “Let’s go cross it!” 

“Yeah!” Tsubasa and Inaba cheer. Izuku just smiles and trails after them. 

The log is a bit slippery from moss, but is large enough for the boys to cross confidently. Kacchan’s high-pitched voice echoes amongst the trees as he chants some song he’s made up for his future hero agency, fearlessly leading his posse across the log. It’s amusing until the blond’s foot slips and he falls off the log into the river.

“Kacchan!” Izuku cries, already scrambling off the log and making his way down the riverbank. 

“Hey, are you okay, man?” Inaba calls down. 

As soon as Izuku steps into the river, Kacchan re-emerges from the water and shakes his head. He looks unharmed, but Izuku still worries.

“Are you alright, Kacchan?” He asks, finally reaching him.

“Don’t worry, Midoriya-kun!” Tsubasa says, “You know Bakugou-kun. He’s tough!”

Izuku grabs onto Kacchan’s hands and starts feeling for injuries with his quirk, but the blond rolls his eyes and pushes him away. “I’m fine, I’m fine, relax!” He complains, “You think I’m gonna get hurt from falling into a little river?” 

The greenette pouts, “You could’ve hit your head…”

“C’mon, guys, get back up here!” Inaba says.

“Sure!”

As Kacchan starts back towards the shore, clearly intending to cross the log once more, Izuku pauses, tilting his head. He heard something, just then. It sounded like a meow, but what would a cat be doing in the middle of a forest?

He’s about to brush it off, but then he hears it again. This time, he looks around and pinpoints the source of the sound. 

“Zuku, come on, hurry up!” Kacchan calls out. He’s already climbing back up the shore.

The cat meows again. It sounds distressed. Izuku’s heart clenches and he knows he has to do something about it. 

So, he turns away from Kacchan and begins climbing up the opposite shore.

“Hey, where are you going?” His friend questions, “Zuku- hey, stop! Wait up!” He starts wading back through the river but Izuku doesn’t wait for him. He’s already at the top of the slope. “Come back here!”

“I heard something,” Izuku replies, “I wanna check it out.”

“Wait up! Hey- I said wait for me!”

“Midoriya-kun, what’s up?” 

Tsubasa and Inaba reach him first since they were already halfway through the log, but Kacchan is catching up. He looks irritated and stomps over to him, dripping wet. 

Before he can start yelling, Izuku says, “I think I heard a cat.”

“A cat?” Inaba raises a brow.

“It sounded like it was in trouble.” Izuku points to the direction where the sound came from. “I think it’s coming from there. I wanna check it out.” 

Kacchan scowls. “Idiot! What the hell would a cat be doing here-”

“Oh, hey, there is something there!” Tsubasa says. 

The four of them look over to see where he’s pointing. A flash of silver peeks out from the distant shrubbery. Tsubasa and Inaba glance at Kacchan, but Izuku is already making his way over. Kacchan growls and trots after him. 

As they get closer, they realize that the flash of silver is really a wired fence. It looks old and is full of cobwebs, but that’s nothing compared to what’s on the other side. It’s strange, seeing a place so barren and devoid of life in the middle of the blooming forest. The ground is dry and dusty and there’s only a few scraggly-looking trees. In the middle of the large “yard” is a rickety old shed, looking as if no one had been in it for years. 

“What the hell is this place?” Kacchan frowns. 

“Do you think anyone lives here?” Inaba asks, “I think I can see a house over in that shadowy area, but it looks old.”

“It’s kind of creepy,” Tsubasa admits.

As he says that, Izuku hears the same ‘meow’ once more. It’s a lot louder now and it seems like it’s coming from the shed. He perks up.

“Did you hear that?” He asks excitedly, “That was the cat! It’s here!”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Me neither.”

“But it’s here,” he insists, pressing his face closer to the fence, “I think it’s coming from that shed!”

The other boys are silent, sharing dubious glances between them. Then Kacchan scoffs and turns around. “Whatever, this is lame. Let’s keep exploring.” 

“Yeah,” Inaba agrees, following him.

“What?” Izuku asks, dismayed. His friends are already walking away. “But- But we have to save it!”

Kacchan is starting to get irritated again. “There’s no cat there, Zuku! Now, come on.” 

Tsubasa glances back to where he’s still standing and gives him a pitying look. “If someone does live there we could get in trouble for being on their property,” he points out, “Let’s not cut our adventure short.” 

Izuku watches them walk away, his anxiety growing with every step they take. He glances to and fro, wondering what to do. He’s not crazy, he did hear a cat! He knows it’s in that dirty old shed- he just knows it! Why didn’t they hear it too? Why don’t they believe him?

The boy looks back at the strange yard and frowns. The shed doesn’t look that far away… And he wouldn’t be cutting their adventure short, not if he’s fast. Just a few seconds, in and out, that’s all he needs! There’s a weak spot on the side of the fence too…

He hesitates.

The cat meows again, weaker this time, and his mind is made for him.

“Hey, Zuku! You coming or wha-” Kacchan hears metal clanging and glances over his shoulder just in time to see Izuku slipping through a weak spot in the fence. “ZUKU!” He shrieks, spinning around and running back, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?”

Tsubasa and Inaba panic too and run after him. He slams into the fence and tries to force his way through the same spot Izuku got through, but he’s bigger than the other boy and it’s not as easy for him to slip through. “ZUKU!”

“Midoriya-kun, come back!”

“Is he crazy?!?”

Meanwhile, Izuku is still dashing across the yard as fast as he can. He can hear his friends yelling behind him, but for once he doesn’t care. He’s almost halfway to the shed when a sudden volley of deep barks stops him in his tracks. He looks up to see a large dog charging across the yard towards him, snarling furiously. It must’ve been snoozing in the shadows of one of the trees because Izuku is certain he otherwise would’ve seen it- the dog is massive and is charging right at him and it looks really mad and oh God what does he do what does he do-

He can hear his friends telling him to run, but he can’t help it- he freezes in fear, staring with wide eyes at the snarling dog. Panic rises in his chest and he finds his mind thinking back to the incident with the two upperclassmen, the horrible feeling of helplessness returning with a vengeance. What was he thinking? He’s not like Kacchan or Tsubasa or even Inaba- he can’t defend himself! He can’t even run away! What was he thinking running in here like that? 

The dog is only a few feet away from him before he manages to react, and even then he only has time to stumble back a couple of steps before the dog is upon him. Teeth flash before his eyes and he screams-

Suddenly, the dog lets out a yelp just as two hands wrap around Izuku’s arms and he’s lifted into the air. Wings flap on either side of him and he gasps, looking down to see Kacchan aiming his explosions at the dog. He snarls even more ferociously than the mutt and keeps swiping at him, making the biggest explosions Izuku has ever seen him make.

The dog flinches and whirls around, quickly running away with its tail between its legs. Kacchan’s explosions don’t stop until the dog disappears back to where it came from, and only then does he relax. Tsubasa returns a shaky Izuku back to the ground as Inaba catches up. 

“Midoriya-kun, are you okay?” He asks worriedly, putting a hand on Izuku’s shoulder to steady him when he wobbles. “That dog almost got you!” 

Izuku struggles to catch his breath as he trembles uncontrollably. The overwhelming relief has him feeling faint, as if he just healed a bunch of people all at once, but he swallows hard and nods. 

“I-I’m okay,” he gasps, “I-I just-”

His words are cut off when Kacchan suddenly stomps over to him and gives him a hard smack on the back of his head. He yelps, more out of shock than pain, and stares at his friend with wide eyes.

“Hey!” Tsubasa yells, but Kacchan ignores him, his red, furious eyes locked on Izuku’s. 

“What the fuck were you thinking?!? ” He roars, grabbing the front of Izuku’s shirt and pulling him close so he can snarl in his face, “What the hell is wrong with you?!? Do you have a fucking death wish?!? You listen to me, idiot! If I tell you not to go somewhere, don’t go there! And if I tell you to run, you run! Never freeze like that! Do you hear me?!?” He roughly shakes Izuku, who cries out and nods rapidly. “What if that dog had gotten to you before I did? You can’t even throw a fucking punch- you would have died, Izuku! And I-”

The blond cuts himself off, struggling to find his words as he seethes. “You- I just- you fucking- GAH! FUCK YOU!” 

Before Izuku knows it, Kacchan has his arms wrapped tightly around him and is growling obscenities into his hair. “Stupid… stupid fucking idiot… moron… you little fucking-”

Izuku blinks in surprise, the fear dying down a bit. Kacchan is hardly ever the one to initiate hugs. It’s a bit uncomfortable- he’s squeezing a bit too hard and Izuku’s chin is trapped against his shoulder, but he can feel just how fast his friend’s heart is beating against his chest. His eyes widen slightly.

Oh.

He scared him. He scared Kacchan. He almost doesn’t believe it at first; he never thought Kacchan could be afraid of anything . But the evidence is here, in the heartbeat he can feel thumping against his chest, in the arms wrapped tightly around him as if they’ll never let go.

Izuku nearly cried after the dog almost attacked him, but now his eyes are watering for an entirely different reason.

“Ka… Kacchan,” he croaks, his voice muffled against the boy’s shoulder, “I… I’m sor-”

“Hey, guys,” Tsubasa interrupts nervously, “If there’s a dog here then that probably means there’s people too. We should go.” 

Kacchan pulls away and wipes his nose with a sniffle, but before he can say anything a high and very audible ‘meow’ reaches their ears. 

Izuku freezes. He’d completely forgotten about the cat.

Inaba perks up. “Oh! I heard that!” 

“Me too,” Tsubasa says a bit uneasily. His eyes glance towards the house in the distance.

Kacchan meets Izuku’s gaze and he must have a pleading look on his face because the blond grits his teeth before letting out a huff. 

“Well, we’ve come this fucking far,” he bites out. Then, he fixes Izuku with a hard glare and leans close. “But you better fucking listen to me this time! I’m going first and you’re gonna stay behind me.” 

Izuku swallows, but he’s not going to argue with Kacchan when he has an expression like that on his face, so he simply nods. Kacchan turns and leads the way as the four boys hurry the rest of the way to the shed. The blond cautiously opens the door before peeking his head inside. Izuku and the others wait with baited breath, watching him anxiously, but then he steps inside and waves for them to follow. Tsubasa goes first and Inaba brings up the rear, keeping Izuku between them. 

The inside of the shed is even more ragged and dirty than the outside. A heavy layer of dust covers everything and lingers in the air, causing Tsubasa to sneeze.

“Well?” Kacchan asks, “Where’s the cat?”

“I dunno.” Izuku frowns, glancing around, then begins calling out, “Kitty! Kitty, where are you?”

“Idiot, it’s not gonna come just because you-”

“Mrrrow?" 

“Of course.” Inaba snickers at Kacchan’s deadpan expression, but the explosive boy just shoulders him roughly before moving towards the source of the noise. Izuku follows at his heels and peeks over his shoulder when he stops in front of a dusty, broken table. Kacchan squats down and Izuku does the same, his eyes landing on a lump of fur leaning against the wall.

He gasps, but it turns into a coughing fit when the dusty air hits his lungs. Kacchan rolls his eyes at him as the other two boys join them.

“It’s a kitten,” Kacchan says, “I think.”

“Are you sure?” Inaba asks skeptically, “It kind of just looks like a giant, furry-”

The lump of fur lets out a loud meow.

“-Oh, nope, nevermind, that’s a cat.” 

Kacchan snickers and Tsubasa puts a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “Hey, you were right, Midoriya-kun! Good job!” 

“Don’t encourage him,” Kacchan snaps, “It was still the stupidest thing he’s ever done.”

Once his coughing is under control, Izuku starts crawling underneath the table. As he gets closer, two pale yellow eyes appear from the mass of fur and stare at him. Even though the kitten is fairly small, Izuku still finds himself intimidated by that gaze. 

“Be careful, Midoriya-kun,” Inaba says, “It might be mean.”

Izuku cautiously reaches out with a hand to let the kitten sniff him. It does, and the boy smiles when its whiskers tickle his fingers. He gets the feeling that the kitten isn’t too impressed with him, but he takes the chance and gently touches its belly, brushing aside its long fur. 

He immediately gasps. 

“He’s hurt!” Izuku says, then frowns down at the wound, “It looks like it got bitten by something.”

Inaba tilts his head. “Hey, maybe it’s that dog? Maybe it chased the cat into here and trapped it!”

“Maybe, but let’s hurry up,” Kacchan says, “I don’t want to risk getting caught by whoever owns that dog.” 

Izuku nods and turns back to the kitten, pressing his fingers to its skin and letting his energy flow. The dog bite is the most serious wound he’s ever healed, but it isn’t very big since it’s on a cat, so it doesn’t take too much energy to heal. The kitten relaxes beneath his fingers and blinks up at him, letting out a curious meow. 

“Come on out, little kitten,” he coos, “Don’t worry, we’re nice. We’re gonna take you somewhere safe.” 

The kitten continues to stare at him, not making any move to get up. Thankfully, he doesn’t make much of a fuss when Izuku just picks him up, tucking him into his arms as he clambers out from underneath the table.

“Oh my gosh,” he whispers, “He’s so cute!” 

“It’s dirty.” Kacchan wrinkles his nose. 

“Well, yeah, ‘cause he’s been living in here for who knows how long,” Izuku says, readjusting his grip, “Let’s get him out of here.” 

The four turn to leave, but freeze when they hear pawsteps right outside the shed. The dog is back, snuffling at the door and bumping it with its head. Izuku tenses up, but Kacchan strides forward and yanks the door open, snarling as he lets out a bunch of explosions. The dog immediately yelps and runs away again and Kacchan puffs up his chest, looking smug.

“Come on, then!” 

They make sure the coast is clear before running back over to the fence. Turns out Kacchan had blown a bigger hole in it in order to get through, so they slip through it easily and make their way back to familiar territory. They stop by the river to wash some of the dirt off the kitten, and to their surprise he actually seems to appreciate it.

“Heh, he is kind of cute I guess,” Inaba admits, scratching behind the kitten’s ear gently. The feline sneezes on him in return.

“He’s adorable!” Izuku squeals, “I wanna keep him!”

Kacchan rolls his eyes.

Izuku uses his shirt to dry off the kitten and now that he’s clean the boy can see that his long fur is a mottled mix of blacks and greys, with more of the latter covering his neck and chest. His paws are pretty big too, which makes Izuku wonder what breed he is. 

They continue trekking through the forest, the kitten sitting comfortably in Izuku’s arms, and by the time they reach their neighborhood the sun is starting to set. Inko must be wondering where he is, so he and Kacchan bid goodbye to Tsubasa and Inaba before heading over to his place. 

The soft scraping of their feet against the sidewalk is the only sound that fills the air as they walk beside each other. Izuku casts a sideways glance at Kacchan. The blond’s hands are shoved deep in his pockets, jaw set and shoulders hunched as he glowers at the sidewalk beneath his feet. Somehow Izuku can tell that the scowl on his face right now is different than his normal one. 

“Hey, Kacchan?”

Kacchan grunts. 

“Maybe let’s not tell mom about the thing with the dog?” Izuku suggests sheepishly. 

Kacchan lifts his head to glare at him silently for a moment. Then, he grumbles, “Only ‘cause I’m too tired to deal with her freaking out right now.”

Izuku lets out a sigh of relief, but his friend’s not done.

“But don’t you ever do something that stupid ever again!” He snaps.

“I won’t,” Izuku promises.

“I mean it,” Kacchan warns, “That… You… You…” He lets out a frustrated growl and practically spits out, “You fucking scared the shit out of me back there, dumbass! I don’t know if you’ve realized, but you might as well be quirkless when it comes to fighting! So you leave that shit to me, alright?”

He huffs and turns away sharply, as if to end the conversation, but something stops Izuku from letting him do so. A flicker of irritation and frustration blooms in his chest and he can’t help himself from snapping, “I’m not helpless!”

His voice is loud, surprising both him and Kacchan, who stops and turns to face him. Izuku clenches his jaw and readjusts his hold on the kitten. “I… I’m not helpless,” he repeats, quieter this time, “I… I hate that feeling. I-I don’t want to be helpless. But… But b-back with Furuya-san and Akamine-san…” His eyes prick and he squeezes them shut as Kacchan stares at him. “Th-They… They were just so much stronger than me and they kept grabbing me and-and I hated it and I hated that I couldn’t do anything to stop it and- and- and now this thing with the dog?!” 

The kitten in his arms shifts and rubs his face against Izuku’s chest as he clearly becomes more and more distressed. 

“I just…” He struggles to find his words. “I just always thought I’d get a quirk like mom or dad’s, you know? Something I could become a hero with, something I could… be strong with. And- and what I have now is great but… but…” He sniffles and rubs his eyes on his sleeve, although there’s no point in trying to stop the tears from flowing. Head drooping, he mumbles miserably, “I just… Kacchan, I love my quirk, but I just wish it wasn’t so useless…”

His tears drip into the kitten’s fur as he sniffles pitifully. Kacchan is silent for a moment, then-

“That’s fucking bullshit, Zuku!”

Izuku looks up in surprise, his vision blurry from tears. “Huh?” He croaks.

Kacchan’s jaw clenches and his nostrils flare as he huffs. “I said that’s fucking bullshit!” He snaps, “Your quirk isn’t fucking useless and you know it! It… It’s fucking cool, alright? And rare as shit! You healed a dog bite in like two seconds. Yeah, it might be kind of useless in a fight, but that’s why you’ve got me! I’ll gladly kick anyone’s ass for you, just name ‘em!”

Izuku chuckles wetly and wipes his eyes on his shoulder sleeve. That’s probably the nicest thing Kacchan has ever said about his quirk, even though he sounded pissed off the entire time. He smiles sadly at his friend and says, “I know… I know I can rely on you, Kacchan. Of course I know that. I just… I just wish I could rely on myself too, you know? I mean, don’t tell me it doesn’t get annoying following me around all the time…”

“Well, too fucking bad ‘cause I’m telling you that,” Kacchan growls, “Trust me, I’d much rather hang out with you than those damn extras that keep tagging along with us.”

“Kacchan!” He scolds lightly. 

Kacchan snorts and gives him a contemplative look. Sniffing, he glances away and feigns nonchalance. “As for relying on yourself… well, I suppose I can show you some moves.”

Izuku frowns. “Moves?”

“Yeah, you know.” The blond gestures vaguely with his hand. “Teach you how to fight. I don’t want my future healer to be completely useless in a battle.” He arches a brow and gives him a sharp look. “Not that you will be fighting, but just in case.” 

Izuku stares at him for a few seconds as the words process, then tilts his head. “Kacchan, do you even know how to fight?” 

Kacchan glares.

“I-I mean, like, without your quirk,” Izuku stammers, “Professionally, you know?”

“Who cares if it’s professional? What only matters is that it works,” Kacchan snorts. “So it’s decided.”

Izuku blinks. “Eh?” 

“We’ll start tomorrow after school.”

“Eh?!?”

Without another word, Kacchan turns around and continues walking down the street. “C’mon, Zu. I can’t wait to see Auntie’s face when you bring home that fleabag!” 

Izuku glances down at the kitten, who is gazing after Kacchan rather judgmentally. He sighs and follows, wondering just what he got himself into. 

As he leads the way back towards Zuku’s house, Katsuki hears his friend continue walking behind him. There’s a brief shifting of fabric, and then a soft coo. He doesn’t need to glance over his shoulder to know that Zuku must be fawning over that ugly-ass cat. That ugly-ass cat that he almost got his fucking face ripped off for. 

Katsuki’s fists curl. 

His mind replays the encounter with the dog over and over again. The irritation and anger he’d felt when he’d seen Zuku slip through that fence even though he told him not to, how in a split-second it morphed into cold, heart-stopping fear as soon as he’d heard the volley of barks, as soon as he had seen the massive dog charging towards his best friend, his healer, his Zuku-

He’d never felt fear like that before. It was such pure, utter terror in its most unadulterated form, terror because what if he didn’t make it in time what if he wasn’t fast enough what if he wasn’t strong enough Zuku was going to get hurt Zuku was going to get KILLED-

Like a horse kicked with a spiked heel, the fear had spurred him into action, giving him the strength and speed he needed to cross that field in a matter of seconds. The icy daggers in his heart melted into a burning fury that he’d aimed at the mutt for daring to attack what’s his , then at Zuku for being naive enough to do something so infuriatingly moronic in the first place, and now…

Now he aims it at himself, glaring at the ground as he quietly seethes. 

That was by far the stupidest thing Zuku has ever done, but Zuku is stupid and soft and Katsuki knows this because he knows everything about Zuku and he should have known he would have gone after that fucking cat. He loves animals, and he hardly ever says no to healing people, and Katsuki was an absolute idiot for thinking his friend would just forget about an animal being potentially hurt just because Katsuki told him to. Although the thought of Zuku ignoring his orders, of not listening to him and nearly getting himself killed for it, leaves a bitter taste in the back of his throat. 

He grits his teeth.

That was way too close. And Zuku is right, of course, even though Katsuki reassured him, his quirk really is fucking useless when it comes to fighting, there’s no denying that. So of course he can’t have a healer that can’t fight, that’s an easy fix, he can teach him, but he also can’t have a healer that won’t listen to him- that might prove to be a bit more difficult, depending on just how stupid Zuku is insisting on being, but maybe this incident will scare him straight and he’ll think twice before disobeying Katsuki again. 

“Aren’t you the cutest little thing?” Zuku coos in a sickeningly sweet voice behind him, “Huh? Aren’t you?” 

Irritation claws at his heart and his scowl deepens.

But of course it won’t be that easy. Because Zuku is timid and gentle and cries easily and so unlike Katsuki in so many ways- but that’s alright, because where Zuku is weak, Katsuki will be strong. He can be more than strong enough for both of them. 

Remnants of the fear still lingers in his chest, however, like the stubborn stench of smoke that refuses the air even after the raging wildfire has long gone. His mind unwittingly flashes back to the incident- clanking metal, quick footsteps, vicious snarls, Zuku’s scream- and his hands twitch, sparks threatening to pop. His chest feels tight, and he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It comes out shaky. 

That causes him to become even more angry with himself. Why the hell is he shaken? It was just a stupid dog- and he beat it anyways! What’s he so scared about? He did his damn job and he did it well! He protected Zuku from the dog, just like he protected him from those two upperclassmen assholes because he’s the strongest! That mutt didn’t even touch him! 

He blames it on the fact it was such a close call, and that a dog is much more dangerous than two elementary school bullies. Even if he did teach him how to fight, Zuku couldn’t have done anything against that thing, not without a combative quirk. He really is so weak…

Which means that Katsuki needs to be better. Stronger. He can’t make a mistake like that again. 

Zuku hates feeling helpless? Fine. Katsuki can help him gain a little self-confidence. 

And in the meantime, Katsuki will continue to work to become even stronger, faster, better, to protect him from any form of danger that comes their way. 

“Kacchan?” 

Zuku’s voice cuts through his thoughts and he abruptly stops. The freckled boy is standing in the middle of the walkway up to his house, gazing at him in confusion. Katsuki had been so lost in his own mind that he had unknowingly started to walk past his house. 

Zuku tilts his head. “Aren’t you coming?”

Katsuki’s eyes drop down to the kitten in his arms. Snapping jaws flash in his mind and his heart gives a little jolt. He clenches his fists. 

And fear?

“Of fucking course I’m coming!” He snaps, marching towards Zuku and roughly shouldering past him. 

Fear can go fuck itself!

Chapter Text

His mother is… surprised, to say the least, when he comes home late with a kitten in his arms. He explains that he found him in the forest, not mentioning the dog or the probably illegal trespassing. Inko listens with a look on her face saying ‘I know where this is going’, but smiles when he tells her how he healed the kitten’s wounds. Finally, he gets to asking if they can keep him and she hesitates. 

“Please, mom!” He begs, “I’m almost seven! I can take care of a cat! I promise I’ll feed him and clean his litter box and brush his fur and…” He goes on and on about all the things he’ll do and to his delight he sees her expression start to soften. He gives her his best puppy dog eyes and she sighs heavily.

There’s a moment of silence.

Then, she admits, “He is awfully cute.” And Izuku knows that he has won.

Kacchan is stunned. Then, he huffily grumbles, “Of course.” The only thing he tells him before he goes home is to not name it something stupid.

So, of course, Izuku decides to name the kitten Sushi, after the dinner he has that night. 

Kacchan thinks it’s stupid, but Kacchan is a biased party because he never liked the cat to begin with in the first place. And it becomes pretty clear early on that Sushi doesn’t like him either.

They take Sushi to the vet during the weekend and learn that he’s a mix of Maine Coon and some other breed, so he’s going to grow pretty big. Izuku thought, based on his current size, that perhaps Sushi was around four or five months old, but apparently he’s only two months. Inko’s eyes widen when she hears this and she suddenly looks rather apprehensive. 

Thankfully, though, Sushi settles into their life fairly easily. He’s fun to play with and the Midoriyas are more than happy to spoil him. He enjoys laying on Izuku’s desk while he does homework and claws at his pencil when he decides he needs a break. He gets along with Inko well enough, but it’s clear that Izuku is his favorite. Not that the boy is complaining.

But man it’s almost comical how much Sushi hates Kacchan. He doesn’t puff up his fur and hiss, no no, he’s much more elegant than that. Whenever the blond comes over, Sushi will plop himself right in Izuku’s lap and just glare at him judgmentally. And it is glaring, there’s no other way to describe it. Inko thinks it hilarious how expressive the cat is. He can communicate exactly what he’s thinking just by looking at you. And he’s never thinking anything good about Kacchan, but the feeling is mutual.

Izuku nearly pisses himself laughing when he walks into his room one day to find Kacchan and Sushi having a glaring contest. 

“You think you’re fucking better than me, huh?” Kacchan growls, “Think staring at me will freak me out? You’re just a stupid-looking furball that batted your eyes into a new family, but I’ve known Zuku for a helluva lot longer than you have, so back off fleabag!”

Behind him, Izuku is silently wheezing with laughter. He tries not to draw attention to himself, but he can’t help the snort that escapes him. Kacchan whirls around with wide eyes and Izuku just loses it. He bursts out with laughter as Kacchan sputters indignantly and shrieks, “How fucking long have you been there?!?”

Izuku’s laughing so hard he can’t even breathe, let alone respond.

His laughter angers Kacchan even more. “Oh, piss off!” He screeches, “That cat’s got a fucking attitude and you know it! Fuck knows why you keep him around!”

From the other room, Inko gently scolds Kacchan for cursing. 

Despite his mirth, Izuku notices the blush on his friend’s cheeks and tries to control his laughter, but he ends up just wheezing even harder. It doesn’t help that Sushi is still sitting regally on his dresser, giving Kacchan a smug look. 

Eventually, Kacchan just grabs Izuku and drags him outside for another ‘fighting lesson’, which Izuku soon learns is really just an excuse to beat him up.

Kacchan has been staying true to his word and makes them train nearly everyday after school, although Izuku isn’t sure if ‘train’ is the right word. Just as he expected, Kacchan doesn’t really know much about actual fighting, just about rough housing. He never really hurts Izuku, but he’s a rowdy boy and he’s got the muscles and dirty moves to prove it. The first couple of lessons are okay, but eventually their training sessions just turn into ‘Kacchan wrestles with Izuku for an hour and always wins’. 

Izuku doesn’t know what he expects from him. It’s no secret that he’s not as big or strong as Kacchan- or most of the other boys in his class, for that regard. Not that he’s by any means a runt, he’s just… on the shorter side. Always has been.

Although, he supposes that these training sessions do count as him getting exercise, which is never a bad thing. Still, he’s getting tired of Kacchan repeatedly pinning him to the ground or grappling with him and telling him to escape. How can he escape if he’s not even learning any real fighting moves? 

Needless to say, their lessons soon start to involve a lot more of Kacchan chasing Izuku around and trying to catch him than any actual fighting moves. They have to make sure Sushi stays inside or go somewhere else to train because on more than one occasion the cat has appeared and attacked Kacchan’s legs while he chases Izuku. 

Kacchan adds it to the list of reasons why he hates Sushi, but Izuku finds it endearing. 

“He’s just being protective of me, Kacchan!” Izuku says as he pries the cat off of his friend. “It’s his way of showing he loves me!”

Kacchan’s gaze lands on Sushi, who is glaring daggers at him from his spot in Izuku’s arms. The blond bares his teeth and the cat hisses in response. 

“It’s his way of being a little shit.” 

Izuku pouts. 

Over the next three years, Sushi continues to grow both in size and personality. He reigns over the Midoriya household absolutely, watching over his humans with sharp eyes, often from atop the kitchen fridge. Izuku has woken up multiple times during the night to find those pale yellow eyes gazing at him from amidst the darkness. It’s… a little creepy, he’s not gonna lie, but he loves the feline enough to just accept it. 

What is a bit harder to accept is the strange habit that Sushi develops only a month after living with them. He starts popping up in random places where he’s not supposed to be, like in the neighborhood, on top of other people’s cars or roofs, and even at Izuku’s school a few times. The Midoriyas don’t understand how he does it- all their windows and doors are locked when Inko leaves for work, and they don’t have a cat flap, so how?

It’s a bit nerve-racking at first, but they take solace in knowing that at least Sushi isn’t the only outdoor cat out there. Inko suspects he likes to roam around outside because he was probably born as a stray. So, more often than not, Kacchan and Izuku will find themselves joined by the fluffy cat on their way back home from school or whenever they’re playing with the other kids in the neighborhood. 

Like now, for example.

Kacchan and Izuku are both ten years old and are going to the arcade by themselves for the first time. Well, actually they’re supposed to meet up with a few other kids from school there, but Auntie Mitsuki manages to convince Inko that if the boys are old enough to walk to school by themselves then they’re old enough to walk to the arcade while the two mothers have a ‘ladies day’. 

That still doesn’t stop Inko from fretting over her son before they leave, though.

“Okay, okay, you have enough money for tokens, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And- and your phone is charged?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Not on silent?”

“No.”

“Oh, make sure you-”

“Mom!” Izuku whines, “I’ll be fine! Kacchan’s coming with me and we’re gonna be hanging out with other kids the entire time!”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” she apologizes, pressing a worried kiss onto her son’s forehead, “Be safe and have fun, alright?”

“I will!” Izuku beams at her before leaving the house, quickly jogging up to Kacchan who is waiting for him on the sidewalk. The blond ruffles his hair as he approaches and Izuku giggles, playfully pushing him away. 

They start setting off towards the arcade, but as soon as they reach the end of the block Kacchan says, “We’re being followed, dumbass.”

Izuku blinks and glances around. “By who? I don’t see any- oh!” 

When he glances over his shoulder, he sees Sushi gazing up at him from the ground. Once again, he must’ve followed them from the house. 

Izuku turns around and coos, “Don’t worry, Sushi boy! I’ll be back in a few hours, so go on back home!”

Sushi stares.

“Go on, go home!” Izuku insists, but the cat doesn’t move. He just keeps staring with unblinking yellow eyes. The boy pouts, “C’mon, Sush, don’t make me take you back myself.”

“You really gotta train that cat better, Zu,” Kacchan grumbles, giving said feline his customary stink-eye.  

“He listens to me sometimes!” Izuku protests, but it only makes his friend snicker. Sighing in defeat, he straightens up and says, “Let’s just keep going. He’ll head on home eventually.” 

They continue walking, and to Izuku’s relief he doesn’t hear the soft pitter-pattering of Sushi’s paws following them. Soon, they leave their neighborhood and enter the city. The arcade is only a couple of blocks away from this point, not too long of a walk. Still, Izuku feels very grown up-like strutting through the streets without an adult by his side. When he glances over his shoulder, Sushi is nowhere in sight, and he lets out a sigh of relief. He hopes the cat actually goes home instead of just wandering around the neighborhood, but that might be asking too much.

For some reason, however, he still gets the feeling that someone is watching him. The hair on the back of his neck prickles and his eyes dart around, but he doesn’t spot anything suspicious. 

Then, a familiar pink-haired boy standing by the arcade at the end of the street spots them and waves them over with a friendly smile. 

“Izukun! Katsuki-kun! Over here!” 

Pushing the strange feeling out of his mind, Izuku instead plasters a smile on his face and jogs ahead of Kacchan to greet their friend. 

“Hey, Haru-kun!”

“Izukuuun!” Izuku squeaks as Haru pulls him in to give him a noogie. “You guys took forever to get here! Everyone’s already inside!”

Izuku squirms out of his grasp and pouts when he has to fix his curls. Haru just grins and snickers. The other boy had joined their friend group a few months ago when he transferred into their school. He’s pretty cool and extremely friendly, so of course that means that Kacchan thinks he’s annoying. But Izuku doesn’t care, he likes hanging out with Haru, and he also brought a couple of other friends into their group that Tsubasa and Inaba quickly befriend. Plus, he has a super neat quirk called Face Shift- basically he can shape-shift, just only with his face. Kacchan thinks it’s useless, but Izuku thinks his friend is just jealous, especially since Haru can spend hours making Izuku laugh by giving himself a duck bill or turning his hair different colors. 

Haru greets Kacchan, getting only a grunt of acknowledgement in response, and leads them into the arcade. There are no overhead lights but they can still see just fine because all the games and booths are lit up with neon lights. It’s loud and a little overwhelming, but Haru just laughs and ushers them along to where their group of friends is waiting. 

The next few hours are probably the most fun Izuku has ever had. Their group goes around playing nearly every single game they see. Kacchan challenges practically everyone to beat him in whatever racing games he can find and he wins most of the time. Izuku tries to beat him and loses which- while unfortunate- is never a surprise when it comes to Kacchan anymore, but Haru cheers him up by giving himself a lizard tongue and flicking it into his ear. Izuku squeals and runs away, Haru giving chase and pursuing him for a couple of minutes until Kacchan gets annoyed and drags Izuku off to play air hockey. 

Turns out, he’s pretty good at it. His explosive friend’s face is priceless when Izuku beats him the first time and only gets more and more comical when Izuku continues to beat him two more times. Tsubasa and Haru watch from the sidelines, the latter whooping and cheering for Izuku, which only drives Kacchan to fight even harder until he finally wins. Still, at the end Haru comes up to Izuku and congratulates him. 

“Dang, Izukun, you’re really good at air hockey!” He says, grinning. 

Izuku laughs and scratches the back of his head. “Thanks! I never thought I’d be- I’ve never really played it before today.” 

“Ah, so you’re a natural!” Haru puts an arm around him and pointedly ignores the withering glare Kacchan sends him. “Well, I think you deserve a prize, then! C’mon, let’s check out the claw machines.” 

They wander over to the tall box of prizes and Izuku quickly spies a stuffed, marshmallow-shaped All Might toy. He moves to put a couple of tokens in the slot, but Haru stops him. 

“Allow me,” he says smoothly, already grabbing onto the joystick. 

Izuku blinks. “Are you sure?” 

“Please.” Haru winks. “It’s my treat. Which one do you want?” 

He presses the start button and proceeds to expertly move the claw around, picking his way through the toys until he reaches the All Might stuffie that Izuku points out. Izuku watches with bated breath as the claw lowers and clasps onto it, bringing it over to the drop box and releasing it without a hitch. Haru grabs the toy and hands it to Izuku with a bit of dramatics, which causes him to giggle as he accepts the gift graciously. Then the taller boy straightens up and beams at him- and something about it makes Izuku’s heart feel a little funny. His cheeks grow warm and he quickly finds himself hiding his burning face behind the plushie. 

“Thanks!” He squeaks, voice muffled. 

They all leave soon after that to get lunch somewhere (Kacchan still refuses to eat arcade food after that one bout of food poisoning during Tsubasa’s eighth birthday party) and as they walk out of the building Kacchan spots some TVs in a shop’s window broadcasting a villain fight. Further investigation leads to the realization that it’s an All Might villain fight, so naturally this sidetracks them for a while. 

“Watch him here, watch him here,” Kacchan says, “I bet he’s gonna- Bam! See, I told you he’d do that!” He pumps his fists, his eyes practically sparkling as he watches the screen. “Man, it doesn’t get any cooler than All Might!” 

“There’s still that other one creeping up on him, though,” Haru comments, just as invested as the blond is, “Do you think he’ll- ha! Did you see that? Guy didn’t even stand a chance!” 

Izuku watches with rapt attention too, albeit behind the group of boys. He’d like to get close but he knows how excited they can get when they watch one of All Might’s fights and he doesn’t want to accidentally get in the way of any flying hands. But man, All Might is never not cool! Izuku wishes he’d brought his hero journal with him, despite the fact that All Might already has almost an entire notebook dedicated to just him. 

A flash of grey in the corner of his eye distracts him and his head whips around. Was that Sushi? No, no, it couldn’t be. He couldn’t have possibly followed him all the way to the arcade! 

Just to ease his mind though, Izuku quietly sneaks away from the group to follow the flash of grey. It disappeared into a nearby alleyway, but when he reaches it the cat is nowhere in sight. The alley is dark and full of trash cans and empty crates that lean against the walls. Izuku wrinkles his nose.

“Sushi?” He calls out, but the cat still doesn’t appear. Letting out a sigh of relief, he’s about to turn back and rejoin the group when one of the trash bags suddenly rustles. An empty bottle clatters to the ground. 

“Sushi!” Izuku exclaims, walking into the alley, “Where are you? Come on out, boy!” 

Silence meets him. The bag rustles again. Izuku frowns. 

“Are you stuck, buddy?” He asks, jogging over to it, “Don’t worry, I’ll-”

As soon as he gets close, a man suddenly lunges out from behind the trash bags and pounces on him. He immediately screams and scrambles backwards, but the man grabs him and uses his weight to force him to the ground. A hand covers his mouth, muffling his yelp of pain as his back hits the gravel beneath him. Panic floods his system and he thrashes around wildly, trying to escape, but the man must have some sort of vine quirk because the moment there’s thick black vines wrapping around his body, pinning his arms to his sides and locking his legs together. He wails, but black vines quickly wrap around his mouth, gagging him. 

The man lets out a huff of laughter as he keeps him pinned to the ground, sneering down at him as he continues to struggle. 

“Don’t make this difficult, kid,” he growls. Two vines come up to cover Izuku’s eyes, blinding him, and the terror within him escalates as his world is plunged into darkness. The man chuckles in his ear, “It’ll be better for both of us if you just play nice. Do something funny and I'll make you regret it.”

Tears well up in Izuku’s eyes as he hears a second pair of heavy footsteps approach them. 

“Hey!” Another voice says, “Did you get ‘im?”

“‘Course I did!” His attacker replies. 

Hands grab at Izuku and he feels himself being pulled to his feet. His legs are still bound together so he can’t walk, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the man as he drags him down the alley. 

“Good,” the second voice says, “You sure he’s the right one? There were a bunch of kids in that group-”

“Of course I got the right one!” The first voice snaps. Izuku continues to struggle against his grasp, letting out muffled screams, until the man gives his head a hard slap. “Oi, you brat! I told you to behave!” To his partner, he says, “Don’t worry, he’s the one. I’ve been watching this kid for the past three weeks, I’ve seen how his quirk works. Trust me, he’ll definitely be worth a pretty penny.” 

Izuku’s heart skips a beat at this. They want to sell him? For his quirk? How could this be happening to him?! 

In the back of his mind, he recalls what his mother told him the day his quirk manifested. ‘Baby, I’m sorry, but you can’t just use your quirk on anyone who asks you to, especially not strangers. There are some bad people out there that might want to take you so they can use your quirk.’

So this is what she was afraid of. This is why she always has Kacchan following him around. He had never truly understood, he thought that she was just being overprotective or perhaps was worried about people being mean to him like Furuya and Akamine but God this is so much worse than Furuya and Akamine and this time Kacchan’s not here to save him! 

He wails again and thrashes around, slamming his head into his captor’s chest. The man lets out an ‘oof’ and his grip slackens, just a little bit, but it’s enough for Izuku to wiggle free. Desperation fills his chest as he tries to make his escape, but it’s a pathetic attempt. He’s only able to turn and hop forwards once, his limbs still bound, before his second captor is upon him. 

Hands grab at him and pull him backwards, dragging him even further down the alleyway. They’re soon joined by another pair of hands, these ones rougher and no doubt leaving bruises.

“Little brat!” He doesn’t even know which one is speaking now, all he’s aware of is the sudden explosion of pain in his head as one of the men strikes him. “Fucking behave or I’ll make this hell for you!” 

“Just get him in the bag!” The other voice snaps, “It’ll be easier to bring him in then!”

Dazed, Izuku feels himself being pushed forward as something is pulled over his head. Fabric? No, no, he heard the man say ‘bag’- they’re putting him in a bag!

The fabric jolts and the next thing he knows his feet are being swept off the ground. He falls onto his side, but his body doesn’t hit the ground. Instead, the fabric wraps tighter around him as he gets carried in the bag, his captors’ legs hitting him occasionally. 

“Come on, now,” one of the men grunts, “The car’s out back.”

Izuku feels like he’s going to be sick. The helpless feeling is worse, so much worse now. He’s so pathetic, he can’t even do anything, he can’t even fight- why did he ever think he could stand a chance on his own? He was right when he told Kacchan that his quirk was useless! It was stupid of him to ever think otherwise. 

He wishes his friend was with him now. He’ll no doubt be wondering where Izuku went- oh God his mother’s never going to find out what happened to him, he’ll never see her or Kacchan or any of his friends again-

“Hissss!” 

“What the fu- AGH!” One of the men suddenly shouts. 

Izuku is abruptly dropped to the ground and he grunts, wondering what’s going on. He can hear hissing and spitting and one of his captors is yelling, but- no, wait, he’s heard that hiss before. He hears it every time Kacchan comes over to his house, but it can’t be-

“Uussshi?” He cries, his voice muffled by the black vines. 

“What the fuck is wrong with this fucking cat?” The man shrieks, “Get it off, get it off-”

“You know, they say cats are excellent judges of character,” an entirely new voice suddenly says. Feet hit the ground with a loud thud and the vines around Izuku disappear. He blinks at the darkness of the bag, confused and terrified.

He doesn’t know what’s happening, but he thinks the new person is fighting his captors, if the sounds of punching and grunting are anything to go by. Something sharp pokes at his arm and he flinches, feeling a heavy but all too familiar weight settle on top of him. Tears leak out of his eyes.

“S-Sushi-hi?” He hiccups. 

A loud meow in his ear is the response he gets and he winces as the cat starts trying to claw the bag open. It’s enough to spur him into action and try to get out on his own, but his movements are slow and awkward. His head is still throbbing in pain from when one of the men struck him and he feels extremely nauseous when he pushes himself onto his hands and knees. There’s not much space in the bag and the fabric presses against his face as he straightens up, trying to figure out where the opening is. He kicks and pushes everywhere he can, but it must be tied shut because nothing budges. 

“Sushi,” he cries, trembling with fear, “I’m stuck, I’m stuck, I can’t-”

“Hang on, kid,” the new voice says and suddenly there’s hands pulling at the bag from the outside. “I’ve almost… Got you!”

Light pierces his eyes and he winces, blinking rapidly. As soon as he’s freed from the bag, Sushi climbs onto his lap and nuzzles his face, purring loudly. He lets out a wet chuckle of relief, wrapping his arms around the feline, before he blearily looks up. 

A black-haired man with a scarf around his neck is crouched in front of him, staring at him with thinly veiled worry. It’s obvious that he’s the one who saved him, but Izuku is dazed and shaken from the attack, so when the man reaches towards him he can’t help but flinch away. 

The man notices and immediately retracts his hand, instead reaching into his pocket to pull out a plastic card.

“I’m an underground hero,” the man says, showing him the card, “My name’s Eraserhead. It’s alright, I won’t hurt you, I just want to see where you’re injured.”

Izuku blinks at him slowly, still clutching his cat to his chest. 

An underground hero. A pro hero. He knows… he’d normally be freaking out right now, either asking the hero a million questions or begging him for his autograph. Probably both. But all he can do is let his eyes slide past the man to the far wall, where his two kidnappers are leaning against each other unconscious. They seem to be tied up in some sort of grey cloth. He looks to his right to see a car parked only a few feet away, its trunk wide open. The bag is on the ground next to him. 

Then, he looks back at Eraserhead and promptly bursts into tears. 

He cries harder than he’s ever cried in his life, tears and snot dripping down his face as relief crashes into him. He hugs Sushi tight and just sobs into his fur, his dissipating fear and adrenaline leaving him trembling violently. Eraserhead waits patiently for him to cry himself out, putting a large hand on his shoulder in an awkward attempt at comfort. 

Izuku was nearly taken. He was nearly kidnapped. For his quirk. For what he gave out of generosity, people just wanted to take, to steal without any regard for him and oh God it’s so much worse than any middle school bullies, those men were watching him, if Eraserhead- if he hadn’t been there-

Izuku is suddenly all too aware that the car is still only a few feet away. His stomach flips and he sobs even harder. 

Eventually, probably a solid five minutes later, Izuku finally manages to lift his head up from Sushi’s now thoroughly soaked fur and croaks brokenly, “Th-Thank you…”

“No problem,” Eraserhead says, blinking down at him, “What’s your name, kid?”

“Mi-Midoriya Izuku,” he replies, slightly slurred.

“Did you hit your head?” When Izuku nods shakily, the hero takes out a small flashlight from his utility belt and shines it into his eyes. “Hm, you have a mild concussion. Are you hurting anywhere else?”

Izuku nods again and Eraserhead proceeds to check him head to toe, speaking softly to him the entire time. Aside from the concussion, he just has a bunch of scrapes and bruises, most of them from the vines, which, Eraserhead explains, disappeared because he used his quirk to erase the first man’s quirk. 

“Tha-That’s cool,” Izuku murmurs, giving him a weary smile. 

“Thanks,” Eraserhead huffs, “I’m gonna call the police to take these guys in. Do you have any idea why they targeted you?” 

“Uh- erm, yeah,” Izuku replies, sniffling. His voice is small and shaky as he says, “My-My quirk. Um, they wanted me for my quirk. It’s a- It’s a healing quirk and-and they said they wanted to sell me, I think.” He squeezes his eyes shut at the memory and hugs Sushi tighter. When he opens them again, Eraserhead’s jaw is clenched.

“Right,” he grunts, “Well, sit tight, kid.”

Eraserhead keeps a comforting hand on his shoulder as he fishes out his phone and calls the police. As he reports what happened, Izuku fumbles around with his own phone and is relieved to see that it isn’t damaged. The light hurts his eyes but he notices the numerous text messages and missed calls that have popped up on his screen. His fingers are trembling too hard to type out a proper message, but he manages to send his location to Kacchan before his phone slips from his hands.

“You shouldn’t use your phone when you have a concussion,” Eraserhead says. The hero sits down heavily next to him and leans against the wall. He raises an eyebrow at Sushi, who doesn’t seem to mind his presence too much. “Is that your cat?”

Izuku nods. “Mm hmm. His name is Sushi.” 

That seems to amuse the pro hero, who lets out a snort.

“He’s not supposed to be out here,” Izuku adds, mostly because he doesn’t want to sit in silence, “He usually only stays in our neighborhood, but he wouldn’t listen to me when I told him to go home.”

“Yeah, cats aren’t exactly obedient,” Eraserhead replies. He glances at the entrance of the alleyway, which Izuku didn’t realize was so far away. The villains must’ve dragged him farther than he thought. He’s near the opposite end of the alley that opens up to a barren parking lot, hence the car. 

The car that he almost got trapped in. The car that almost took him away from his life forever. 

Izuku sniffles again and tightens his grip on Sushi. 

“Where are your parents?” The underground hero asks, pulling him out of his thoughts, “Are they nearby?”

“No, no, I was with-”

“ZUKU!” 

Eraserhead tenses up as Kacchan appears at the entrance of the alley, panting heavily. His crimson eyes land on the man and he bares his teeth, charging forward.

“Who the hell are you?” He snarls, explosions popping in his palms, “Get away from him!” 

“Kacchan, wait!” Izuku cries. 

Eraserhead stands up and intercepts the blond before he can reach them. His scarf flares around him and his eyes flash red, causing the explosions to disappear. Kacchan only manages to look down at his hands in surprise before the scarf wraps around him, binding him tightly. 

“What the hell?” Kacchan screeches, thrashing around, “Get off me! I’ll kill you!”

“Kacchan!” Izuku yells more insistently. The loud noises are killing his head, but he ignores it for now. “Stop! He’s a pro hero!”

“You know this kid?” Eraserhead asks, sounding a bit unimpressed. Izuku confirms and he sighs, loosening his grip slightly. “Relax, kid, I’m not gonna hurt your friend here. He was just attacked by a couple of villains and I took them down.” 

He turns slightly so Kacchan can see the unconscious men still tied together. Kacchan’s eyes narrow before he squirms out of his scarf. 

“Zuku!” He runs over to Izuku and kneels down in front of him, grabbing his shoulders lightly, “Are you alright? What the hell happened? And what the fuck is Sushi doing here?” 

Sushi, who is still curled up against Izuku’s chest, hisses and tries to swipe at Kacchan, but the boy dodges. 

“I… I…” Izuku stutters, “They…”

The pain in his head is making it hard for him to talk and he kind of just wants to take a nap, but he forces his eyes to stay open. Thankfully, Eraserhead explains for him.

“Those guys were trying to kidnap him and sell him off,” he states bluntly. Kacchan’s eyes widen and he whips his head to look at him. Eraserhead continues, “Healing quirks are rare and considered valuable, so-”

“I know that!” Kacchan snaps. Eraserhead’s eye twitches but Kacchan just turns back to Izuku, hands flexing like he doesn’t know what to do with them. “Shit, Zuku, are you…” His eyes roam over him, from his bruised arms and face to his glazed eyes. His jaw clenches. “Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit-”

“If you could call his parents that would be helpful,” Eraserhead interrupts. Kacchan surprisingly does so without much fuss. 

Izuku cringes at the police sirens as they get closer. His head feels like it’s about to explode and he’s even more tired now. He can hear Kacchan on the phone with his mother, who is no doubt freaking out. Eraserhead helps him to his feet and leads him to one of the police cars, ushering Kacchan in as well before turning to help some officers put the two villains into another car. 

“He’s not coming with us?” Kacchan asks as the officer in front starts driving away.

“Heroes don’t usually accompany victims to the police station, kid,” the officer replies, “He has to stay behind to give his report and then he’ll probably just continue his patrol.” 

“Right. I knew that,” Kacchan grumbles under his breath. He glances at Izuku, who is idly petting Sushi with drooping eyelids as he leans against his shoulder. “Hey, stay awake!” 

Izuku whines but obliges. The drive to the police station is fairly quick and soon Izuku is being examined by a nurse, who confirms that he has a mild concussion. Kacchan has to hold Sushi the whole time, which neither of them are happy about. He shifts in his seat impatiently while she cleans and bandages Izuku’s scrapes, telling him to take it easy for the next few days to give his brain time to heal. Thankfully, it’s summer break, so at least he won’t have to take time off of school. Then, a police officer comes in and asks him a bunch of questions, helping him file a report which he writes down on his clipboard. Kacchan stays silent the entire time, only occasionally growling at a particular detail or grumbling when Sushi digs his claws into his lap. 

Once the report is complete, the officer hands it off to someone else before waiting with them for their parents to arrive. Ten minutes later, Inko bursts in with Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru at her heels. She’s already a blubbering mess, but when she sees Izuku’s bruised face she cries even harder. 

“Oh, my baby!” She sobs, hugging him tightly, “My baby, my poor baby!” 

“Glad to see you’re okay, kiddo,” Auntie Mitsuki says, then turns to Kacchan with a scowl on her face, “And where the hell were you?!?”

“Hey, I thought he was with me the whole time!” Kacchan snaps, “I didn’t even realize they’d taken him until-”

“Guys, please,” the officer interrupts, raising her hands, “Lower your voices. Midoriya-kun has a concussion and yelling isn’t going to make him feel better.” 

Inko whimpers and buries her face into her son’s hair. Sushi, who made the mistake of climbing back into Izuku’s lap while they were waiting, meows in distress as he’s squished between them. 

“Sushi?” Inko hiccups, pulling away slightly, “Wh-What’re you doing here?”

Izuku smiles tiredly and snuggles him closer. “He tried to fight off the bad guys,” he says, a hint of pride in his voice. 

Inko looks confused.

Uncle Masaru turns to the police officer and asks, “Please, can you tell us exactly what happened? We only got a vague idea from Katsuki. Did someone really try to kidnap Izuku?” 

The officer nods and repeats what was reported by both Izuku and Eraserhead. Inko looks like she’s about to faint when she hears that the villains wanted to sell Izuku for his quirk. Auntie Mitsuki growls and Uncle Masaru tenses up, casting a worried look toward the boy. When the officer is done, she informs Inko of Izuku’s injuries and tells her that he will need to take it easy for the next few days and get lots of rest. Inko nods hastily and thanks the officer before helping her son into the car. She was still with Auntie Mitsuki when she got the call from Kacchan, so the woman drove her and Uncle Masaru to the station in her car. It’s a bit of a squeeze with five people and a cat, but they make it back home with relative ease. 

When they get out of the car, Kacchan, who was silent the entire ride, asks Inko if he and Izuku can have a sleepover. 

“Oh, of- of course!” Inko says, “I’ll put the futon in Izuku’s room. Just remember that he needs a lot of rest- and no video games. They’re bad for his concussion.”

“It’s fine,” Kacchan replies, “I just want to…” He trails off, eyeing Izuku before glancing away with gritted teeth. Inko smiles understandingly and nods. 

“Do you mind if Masaru and I come over for a bit?” Auntie Mitsuki asks, “I can help you cook dinner. And... you look like you could use some company.” 

“Thank you,” Inko sighs.

So they all enter the Midoriya household, Inko helping Izuku to the couch like he’s made of glass. Kacchan and Sushi settle in beside him while the adults move to the kitchen. There’s not much to do since he’s not allowed to watch TV, but he’s too tired to do that anyway so he just lets his head drop onto his friend’s shoulder. After a moment, Kacchan wraps his arm around Izuku and pulls him closer, resting his chin on top of his curls. 

Izuku lets out a soft sigh, closing his eyes and listening to his friend breathe. He can hear the adults in the kitchen and Inko’s muffled cries. His mother is obviously trying to keep her voice low as she speaks with Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru in hushed tones, but her sniffling and occasional whimpers are as clear as day. 

His heart aches for her- he knows how badly this must’ve shaken her. But right now, he’s too tired to even consider consoling her. 

So, with his head on Kacchan’s shoulder and his cat curled up against him, Izuku drifts off to sleep. 

“If some fucker comes along and decides to snatch Izukun because he wants to force him to use his quirk, what are you gonna do?” 

“I’ll beat ‘em up, of course! I’ll beat up any fucker who tries to take him!”

Katsuki is Zuku’s protector. He knows this. It’s been this way for over half their lives now, and not once has he complained about it. The role comes as naturally to him as the explosions in his palms do. 

“Those guys were trying to kidnap him and sell him off.”

His arm tightens around Zuku’s sleeping form. 

But this time- someone else had to save him. Someone else had to be his protector. Someone else had to do Katsuki’s damn job for him. 

And fuck, if they hadn’t, Zuku would be- 

Auntie Inko’s soft cries from the kitchen reach his ears, interrupting his thoughts. He can hear his mother’s voice, gentler than he’s ever heard, trying to soothe her as she struggles to muffle her sobs. His chest suddenly feels too tight. He knows that if he looks down he’ll see the numerous scrapes and bruises from the villains littering Zuku’s skin. 

“And where the hell were you?!?”

And where the hell were you?!?

AND WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!?

Zuku lets out a soft whimper. Katsuki immediately loosens his hold around him, having unconsciously tightened his arm into a vice-grip. Zuku relaxes against him once more, but the burning, self-loathing anger remains. 

There’s something else to it, though. He’s used to anger, there’s not a day that passes in which he doesn’t get angry at one thing or another. But this is… this is different. This is what he felt back when he saw the bruises those two upperclassmen assholes left on Zuku, or what he felt when he saw that dog going to attack him, except it’s worse, because he didn’t win. He didn’t fight. 

He didn’t protect him. 

This is Katsuki’s first taste of failure. And he doesn’t like it one bit. 

Chapter Text

After that, the danger that Izuku’s quirk puts him in becomes more real. 

Inko sits him down a few days later and tells him everything Doctor Tsubasa warned her about the day his quirk manifested. She hadn’t wanted to fully tell him when he was younger because she didn’t want him to worry, or worse, think his quirk was a bad thing. But now it’s clear that in order for him to be safe, for him to really take his safety seriously, she needs to tell him everything. 

So she begins by explaining how Doctor Tsubasa said his quirk is very strong and will only get stronger as he grows up, which is a wonderful thing, but it means they have to take some precautions. She goes on to say that because healing quirks are so rare, especially powerful ones like Izuku’s, that it’s not unheard of for healers to be sought after by both heroes and villains. The latter because they can’t go to the hospital after a fight, so healers are especially valuable to them. In fact, healers getting captured by villains isn’t something that might happen but something that can and has . She hesitates to mention the incident with Endeavor’s healer, not wanting to scare her son, but eventually she tells him. He deserves to know everything now. 

Izuku listens with a blank look on his face, gazing down at his lap the entire time. He stays silent when Inko finishes and it makes the woman fidget nervously. 

Finally, she takes his hands into hers and has him meet her gaze. Her eyes are watery but her gaze is firm. 

“Baby,” she starts, then clears her throat, “Izuku, I… I don’t want to scare you. I never wanted to scare you by telling you this, I just…”

“It’s okay, mom,” he says, “I understand. I just… it’s a little weird, you know? I mean, I’m just… me. It’s weird to think that I’m… desirable to people I don’t even know- and just for my quirk? It’s just- It’s just weird.” He scratches the back of his head. “And I always thought that Kacchan was a bit paranoid and overprotective, but now… I guess it makes sense. Oof, and I bet he’s gonna be a lot worse after this.” He lets out a huff of laughter, but there isn’t much humor in it. 

Inko gives him a sad smile and squeezes his hands. “I know. I know it’s probably going to be annoying and tiresome being attached to his hip all the time, but… I need you to take it a bit more seriously. Katsuki-kun is your protector. He knows that, and I need you to know it as well.”

Izuku presses his lips together and nods once.

“And- And it won’t just be him,” Inko adds, “Doctor Tsubasa-san said that a lot of hero agencies upped the security around their healers after the incident with Endeavor’s agency. So, just know that Katsuki-kun isn’t going to be the only overprotective hero you’re going to have to deal with when you get older.” She laughs.

Izuku rolls his eyes but smiles a bit. 

“I’m excited for you to become a healer,” his mother says, “But you haven’t joined the world of heroes yet. And until you do, you need to be careful. So…” She takes a deep breath before continuing, “I’ve talked about it with Mitsuki-san and Masaru-san, and I think it would be a good idea to enroll you in self-defense classes.”

Izuku perks up. “Really?”

“I know, I know it might be a lot on top of school and I know you like to hang out with your friends, but-”

“No, no, Mom, I’d love to!” Izuku insists, leaning forward. Finally he’ll be able to fend for himself if he needs to!

Inko blinks in surprise. “Really?” He nods rapidly and she smiles. “Oh, good! Katsuki-kun would be going with you, of course- it’ll be good for him too! Maybe give him an outlet for that explosive energy.” 

“Yeah!” Izuku agrees eagerly, “When do we start?”

“Oh, next week,” Inko says, giving him a firm look, “If even. You’re still recovering from your concussion, sweetie.”

Izuku sighs heavily and groans, “Mooom, I told you I’m feeling a lot better! My head only hurts a little bit now…”

“And you’ll start next week when your head doesn’t hurt at all.” Inko’s voice has a tone of finality and Izuku knows there’s no budging on this. 

“Fine,” he grunts. 

So he now has self-defense classes to look forward to while he recovers. This whole week has been kind of awful for Izuku. First he nearly gets kidnapped and now he has to do absolutely nothing for an entire week. He can’t even play video games or watch movies! The nurse told Inko that electronics are bad for someone recovering from a concussion so now his screen time is severely limited. It doesn’t help that he’s been having nightmares just about every night too.

During the first night when Kacchan had come over for a sleepover, Izuku thought perhaps he’d be too tired from his ordeal to have a nightmare. But no, at 2AM he woke up thrashing and screaming, scrambling backwards in his bed to escape his non-existent kidnappers. Kacchan had jumped from his futon and been at his side in an instant, pulling him into a tight hug when he whimpered and cried. He seemed upset too- angry, mostly- and had nudged Izuku aside so he could crawl into bed beside him. Izuku clung to his arm and fell asleep again, only for Kacchan to wake him up from another nightmare at 5AM. 

So, needless to say, he’s both exhausted and bored out of his mind. And on top of all this, he has to somehow tell Haru that he lost the All Might stuffie he won for him. He didn’t realize until the next day that he had lost the gift during his ordeal and instantly felt bad. Haru would probably be forgiving if he knew the truth, but Kacchan had explained their sudden absence by texting the group that Izuku felt sick so he took him home. Izuku is grateful for that; as much as he likes his friends, he knows that news of Izuku’s near-kidnapping would spread like a wildfire across school if any of them got wind of it. So now he has to think of what to tell Haru.

Or maybe he can just take a nap and hope that the boy doesn’t mention it when they go back to school. Yeah, that sounds better.

At least, during his very long week of rest, he’s able to spend some quality time with his hero journals. He adds a couple of pages for Eraserhead, who he hadn’t known about until the hero rescued him. He was only able to thoroughly freak out the next day. He had met a pro hero! An underground one! And talked to him! Like, actually talked to him, not just sputtered awkwardly and begged for his autograph. Izuku’s almost glad he had a concussion then so at least he was too dazed to embarrass himself. 

Still, Eraserhead was so cool! Izuku diligently writes down what little he learned about him from their encounter and spends the short amount of time he’s allowed on the computer researching more about him. Not much is known about the underground hero, which isn’t very surprising, but Izuku is at least able to find out about his quirk and fighting techniques. The latter part he thinks is very cool- he basically fights quirkless! 

He rambles about his findings to Kacchan, who comes to his house everyday that week to keep him company. The blond doesn’t seem too interested but listens anyway because, like Izuku, there’s not much for him to do. He doesn’t want to play video games if Izuku can’t play with him and they can’t go ‘train’ in the backyard either because Inko wants him to rest. So they’re both bored. 

They talk about anything and everything, from what they ate for dinner to their futures at UA. Because of course they’re going to UA. Nothing could make them happier than going to All Might’s alma mater, even if Izuku will probably have to apply for General Studies. He wonders if he’ll meet Recovery Girl if he gets in, and that leads to him pulling out his healer journal. Kacchan is kind enough to use Izuku’s phone and computer for him and reads outloud whatever Izuku wants him to research. They spend an entire afternoon updating Izuku’s healer journal, the greenette scribbling down information while the blond reads with a disinterested tone. Still, that eventually gets boring.

Izuku is grateful for his friend’s presence but feels bad that he’s sacrificing a week out of his summer break just to sit around with him and do nothing. Surely there are other fun things he would rather be doing, but when he mentions it Kacchan just nudges him with his foot and tells him to not be stupid. 

Sushi, at least, is enjoying his constant presence. Inko gave the cat a very stern talking-to for following Izuku into the city, which was very amusing to watch, but now Sushi is living his best life since Izuku has time to spoil him. He and Kacchan discover that the feline, for some reason, really likes water. Izuku hasn’t used the bathtub in years, mostly because he just prefers the efficiency of showering, but since he has nothing else to do he’s started taking long soaks in the hot water. And without fail Sushi always somehow gets into the bathroom, even if he closes the door, and proceeds to jump in with him. 

Kacchan calls Sushi a freak and the cat merely hisses at him in response. 

After what feels like ages, Izuku’s week of rest is finally over and he’s feeling more restless than ever. He has to practically beg his mom to let him and Kacchan walk a couple of blocks away to get ice cream from a small corner shop. He doesn’t blame her for her incessant worrying, but it does get a bit annoying, especially when he notices Kacchan glancing around suspiciously every few seconds as they walk. He hopes this paranoia won’t last too long.

Maybe if he gets really good at self-defense they won’t worry so much. At least, that’s what he’s hoping for as he walks into the martial arts gym with Kacchan for their first class. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, but he relaxes slightly when the teacher greets them with a wide smile and mentions that all the other students are beginners too. 

Kimura-sensei is super nice, even though she looks really intimidating. Her skin is made up of hard, purple-tinted scales that are tough like crocodile skin and her eyes are yellow with slitted pupils. Despite this, she has a soft voice and a bubbly personality, but it becomes clear she also doesn’t take any bullshit when Kacchan makes a snide comment after she says that the first couple of lessons will be just learning how to properly throw punches and kicks. The blond blinks in surprise when her entire personality changes and she throws a fiery retort at him that makes the rest of the class snicker. He clearly takes her a bit more seriously after that.

The self-defense classes are fun but a lot harder than Izuku thought they would be. Once school starts back up again, Izuku finds himself restraining himself from using his quirk just so that he has enough energy to get through his after school lessons. They’re only on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but Kimura makes it very clear she expects them to keep practicing at home. 

So, after a few months of now- real training, Izuku and Kacchan start going on runs together. The lessons are physically demanding for both of them, so they figure that running might help them build muscle and become stronger. Izuku likes it, especially when he discovers that he’s a faster runner than Kacchan, which pisses his friend off. Their ‘casual jogging’ often turns into full-on sprinting as they race each other. It’s super fun, even if it does leave their legs shaking with exhaustion afterwards. 

Izuku soon starts having to put his hair into a small ponytail when he exercises. When Kacchan questions why he’s growing out his hair, Izuku replies that he just feels like it. He doesn’t mention that he thought it would be cool to grow his hair out like Eraserhead’s- that would no doubt lead to endless teasing. He’s not sure how long he’s going to grow it or if he’s even going to keep it this way, but he’ll see how it goes. 

As time goes by and the two boys get older, Inko gradually becomes more relaxed. She still worries about Izuku, but at least he doesn’t have to text her every ten minutes when he’s somewhere that isn’t school or home. She listens with a smile on her face when Izuku comes home and tries to show her the moves he learned during self-defense class that day, and he knows that his growing strength is definitely helping to ease her mind. 

Kacchan clearly enjoys the classes too. A bit too much, actually. It’s not super concerning at first because he’s usually too sore and tired to do much outside of class, but once they start learning how to actually fight… things start to take a bit of a downwards spiral. 

Izuku first notices it when Kacchan eagerly jumps up to volunteer when Kimura says she needs someone to act as an attacker so she can show them a particular defense move. Kacchan gets knocked to the ground, of course, but Izuku finds it a bit odd how excited he gets whenever they do one-on-one fighting. He’s always willing to take the offensive role, and it only starts to become a bit of a problem when Kimura starts actually teaching them how to attack, deeming it important to learn both defensive and offensive skills.

Then one day Izuku walks onto the schoolyard with his lunch in hand just in time to see Kacchan using one of the new offensive moves on a fellow classmate. And that’s when things take a turn for the worse.

It’s not that Izuku’s unused to Kacchan getting into fights- he’s healed his friend more times than he can count after he gets into a scuffle. The problem now is that Kacchan is no longer just showing off his quirk or rough housing- he’s got real fighting experience and is practicing those moves on random school kids. 

It horrifies Izuku and he immediately tries to put an end to it, but Kacchan doesn’t seem too pleased with him. 

“Come on, Kacchan, you’ve gotta admit it’s kind of unfair,” Izuku protests one day as they’re walking home, “You know a lot more about fighting than they do and one day you’re gonna get someone really hurt.”

“So?” Kacchan rolls his eyes. “I’ve got you around, so why does it matter if they get hurt?”

Taken aback, Izuku scowls. “I’m not going to heal people just so you can beat them up again.” 

Kacchan just grumbles in response.

After a moment, he snaps, “And who cares if it’s unfair? Fights are hardly ever fair, and those kids know what they’re getting into when they’re challenging me.”

Izuku would hardly call it ‘challenging’. Kacchan is usually the one to seek out fights. 

Sighing, he changes tactics and instead suggests, “Listen, why don’t we start sparring after school? It’ll be good to burn off any extra energy you have and I’m sure Kimura-sensei will be glad to see that we’ve gotten some more practice in.”

Kacchan doesn’t look impressed. “Well, yeah, but…” He turns his head away and grumbles unintelligibly under his breath.

Smiling a bit, Izuku nudges his shoulder and says, “Come oooonn. It’ll be fun!”

“Yeah, but I can’t-” Kacchan cuts himself off and Izuku tilts his head curiously. The blond lets out a ragged sigh and gestures vaguely with his hand. “I mean, I can’t hurt you so what’s the point?”

Izuku blinks in surprise. His stomach churns uncomfortably. Something about what he said doesn’t sit right with him.

Clearing his throat, he asks warily, “Er… do you… want to hurt people?” 

Kacchan glances at him but doesn’t respond. Izuku swallows. His friend’s violent streak has always been a bit annoying but has generally never really been a cause for concern. But now…

“Well, if you say it like that it sounds bad,” Kacchan finally huffs. 

“It is bad,” Izuku says immediately, then hesitates, “Kacchan… I don’t think you should want to hurt people.” 

The other boy is quiet for a moment, then suddenly snorts and bumps his shoulder. “Oh, relax, Zuku!” He sneers, “You’re overreacting. I just like to mess around and rough-house a bit.” Izuku must not look very convinced, because he adds, “But fine, yeah, whatever, let’s spar if it’ll make you feel better.”

It does, but only a little bit. They spar in their self-defense class sometimes so doing it after school isn’t really anything new. It seems to slightly satisfy Kacchan’s violent tendencies, but the boy is still much too harsh to the other kids at school for Izuku’s liking. 

It starts with Haru.

Kacchan has never really liked Haru, and Izuku has never really understood why. Haru is kind and friendly and can always make Izuku laugh until his cheeks hurt, but for some reason when they turn twelve Kacchan decides to start... picking on him. It’s just little things at first, rude comments about his quirk or making fun of something he did. Izuku does his best to ease the tension with a light smile and a changing of subjects, but soon it’s not enough. As they get older, the occasional teasing becomes constant, turning meaner and crueler everyday. Even when Haru eventually stops hanging out with them, Kacchan still seeks him out to pester him. And where Kacchan leads, Tsubasa and Inaba follow.

It’s really sad to watch, actually. To see Haru’s former friends turn against him and relentlessly torment him. Izuku tries to soothe him in between class periods or right after lunch, but when Kacchan finds out he gets pissed and does everything he can to stop Izuku from speaking with Haru.  

The situation leaves a very bad taste in Izuku’s mouth. He just feels so sorry for Haru; he hates seeing the familiar helpless look in his eyes when Kacchan starts hounding him. It frustrates him- and it angers him too. But no matter what he says, no matter how much he protests this harsh treatment, Kacchan doesn’t let up. In fact, he starts harassing other students too, but Haru is his favorite victim.

It all comes to a head during the first month of their third year of junior high. 

Kacchan and Izuku are both fourteen years old, the former almost fifteen, and puberty is hitting hard. Hormones are high and Kacchan’s violent streak is returning with a vengeance. 

Over the years, both he and his quirk have grown dramatically. Self-defense classes on top of regular exercise has led to Kacchan developing a good few pounds of muscle. Izuku hasn’t bulked up as much as his friend has, but he’s lean and defined and, most importantly, he’s still faster than him, so there’s that. Aside from Kacchan’s increase in muscle and height, he hasn’t changed much appearance-wise. Neither has Izuku, although his hair is a lot longer now, falling a few inches below his shoulders. In contrast, his quirk hasn’t grown much, although Kacchan’s definitely has.

The boy’s explosions are so powerful they can be heard from the other side of school. But what’s worse is that he’s become unafraid to use them against other people.

Izuku tries to convince himself that it’s just hormones, that hormones are the reason why Kacchan’s become more aggressive and pushy with him lately, why he goes as far as to physically drag him away from people he doesn’t want him to talk to. That hormones are why he continues to start fights with other kids, even when no one is crazy enough to want to get into a fight with him anymore so he just ends up pouncing on innocent victims. That hormones are why he teases and sneers at his own friends.

But there’s no way hormones can explain why Kacchan treats Haru the way he does. It drives Izuku crazy, especially since Haru has never done anything to wrong him. In fact, he actively avoids Kacchan because he knows what’ll happen if the blond catches him.

So when Kacchan starts attacking Haru after school one day during the second week of their third year, Izuku tries once again to stop him.

“Kacchan!” Izuku cries out, running towards the two boys rolling around in the dirt, “Kacchan, stop it! Please!”

He almost reaches them when he’s suddenly stopped by a large red wing. 

“Hey, Midoriya-kun,” Tsubasa says, grinning at him. Behind him, Izuku can see Haru desperately snapping at Kacchan with his face turned into a dog’s snout. “Oh, don’t worry about Bakugou-kun,” Tsubasa continues, “He’s just teaching Haru a lesson.”

“He’s hurting him!” Izuku protests, flinching when he hears an explosion followed by a yelp of pain. “Stop it! Kacchan, stop it!” 

He tries to run towards them again, but Tsubasa’s wing stops him once more, this time blocking his view too. The larger boy steps closer. 

“Come on now, Midoriya-kun,” Tsubasa says. He starts slowly flapping his wings towards Izuku, forcing him to step backwards or get hit. 

“Hey- Tsubasa-kun!” Frustrated, Izuku tries to step around, but Tsubasa’s wings have grown with him and are much larger than they used to be. Izuku grunts as a wing hits his chest, gentle enough to not hurt him but hard enough to push him back.

“Relax, Midoriya-kun, this is just hero stuff,” Tsubasa says dismissively, using his wings to herd the smaller boy away, “Don’t concern yourself with this. Bakugou-kun will walk you home soon enough.”

To Izuku’s disbelief, the boy is smiling at him like nothing is wrong, like he doesn’t even realize that what Kacchan is doing is horrible. He can still hear the angry yells and explosions from his childhood friend behind Tsubasa, as well as Haru’s grunts and yelps of pain. It makes Izuku’s eyes sting with frustrated tears and a hard ball form in his throat. A feeling of helplessness rises within him, but it only angers him even more, spurring him into action.

With a hard shove, he pushes past Tsubasa’s wing with his shoulder and dashes over to the two boys. Kacchan has Haru pinned to the ground and raises his fist once more, sparks dancing across his skin.

“Kacchan, no!”

Izuku lunges forward and wraps his arms around Kacchan’s chest, stumbling backwards as he drags him off of Haru. Kacchan sputters and thrashes wildly, but it buys Haru enough time to scramble out from underneath the blond and stagger to his feet. Izuku watches as Haru, burned and bruised with a bleeding nose, casts him a grateful look and runs away before Kacchan manages to break out of his hold.

“Zuku, what the fuck?!?” Kacchan shrieks, twisting away from him and whirling around, “What’s your fucking problem?!?”

“You!” Izuku shouts, clenching his fists as he glares angrily, “Kacchan, you could’ve killed him!”

Kacchan rolls his eyes and scoffs, “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Zuku! I was just roughing him up a bit.”

“No, you weren’t! You were hurting him!” Izuku protests, “What did he ever do to you anyway?!?” 

“He was pissing me off,” Kacchan states, as if that explains everything, “What the hell are you even doing here? I thought I’ve told you a million times to stay out of the way when I fight.”

“Er, yeah, sorry,” Tsubasa says, scratching the back of his head as he walks over to them, “He got past me.”

Kacchan arches an eyebrow and snorts, “How pathetic are you to let a guy with a healing quirk get past you?”

Izuku frowns, his heart still thudding with adrenaline. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He snaps.

“It means-” Kacchan swings his head back to fix him with a hard look, poking him in the chest with a finger. “That you’ve got no business getting involved with fights! You’re gonna be a healer, not a hero- so quit acting like you’re anything more than a guy with a healing quirk!”

Izuku’s eyes widen and he stumbles back a step, as if struck by a physical blow. A flash of… something passes over Kacchan’s face before it regains its usual cocky expression. Izuku swallows and grits his teeth, glaring hard.

“Well, anyway, we gonna head to the arcade or what?” Tsubasa asks, “Inaba-kun should be here soon.” 

“Yeah,” Kacchan huffs, still eyeing Izuku, “Sure, whatever.” He pauses before clearing his throat impatiently, turning his face to show his bruised cheek where Haru must’ve landed a hit on him. He doesn’t say anything, but the expectation is clear.

Izuku almost laughs out loud. Kacchan seriously expects him to heal his injuries after saying something like that to him? Bullshit! Izuku usually tries not to curse much but right now he wants to scream obscenities at his childhood friend. 

But instead he just takes another step back. “I, er, need to get something first,” he says, voice hollow, “I forgot something in the locker room.”

“I’ll come with you-” Kacchan starts to say.

“No, no,” Izuku interrupts, already turning away, “I’ll be right back.” 

Without waiting for a response, he turns and dashes over to where he saw Haru disappear. He spots the boy sitting against the wall next to the water fountain, hissing as he dabs at his burns with a wet tissue. 

“Haru-kun,” Izuku whispers. Haru flinches but relaxes slightly when he realizes it’s him. He gives the greenette a weary smile that Izuku cannot return. He slowly walks over to where the boy is sitting, gasping softly when he sees the extent of the wounds littering his body. Burns, scrapes, bruises- 

God, Kacchan brutalized him. 

“I… I’m sorry,” he croaks, falling to his knees in front of Haru, “I’m so sorry, I should've stopped him sooner, I- I don’t even- I don’t understand why he treats you this way, I-”

“Izukun, Izukun, it’s okay,” Haru says and Izuku lets out a single wet laugh at the old nickname. “This isn’t your fault,” Haru continues, “I… I guess Bakugou-kun found out I was thinking of applying to UA.”

“You are?” Izuku blinks in surprise.

“I was,” Haru corrects, then winces, “Now I’m thinking maybe it’s best if I don’t. I only mentioned it to a couple of people, but Bakugou-kun must’ve found out anyway and, well…” He gestures to himself. “He’s pretty adamant about you and him being the only ones from this school to get into UA.” 

Izuku grits his teeth. “I… I didn’t know you wanted to be a hero,” he admits.

“Oh, no.” Haru shakes his head. “I was going for General Studies.”

Izuku can’t believe his ears. If Kacchan beat up Haru because he wanted to get into the hero course- well, it wouldn’t have made it okay, but at least it would have made sense. Kacchan’s always been the competitive type. But to beat up Haru just because he wants to get into the same school as him? 

God, what the hell has Kacchan turned into? Izuku’s never been so pissed off before in his life.

Taking a deep breath through his nose in an attempt to calm himself, Izuku reaches forward and places a hand on one of the burns on Haru’s arm. His quirk activates automatically in response to direct contact with the wound and Haru sighs. Izuku focuses on the energy flowing out of him, healing burn after burn until-

“Hey!”

Izuku lets out a choked yelp as he’s suddenly yanked backwards by the scruff of his shirt. Kacchan brushes past him and looms over Haru, who is quickly scrambling to his feet.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Kacchan snarls, eyes narrowing when he notices Haru’s lack of injuries, “Think you can fucking use my healer’s quirk without my permission?!? I’ll kick your ass even harder this time!”

“Kacchan, no!” Izuku shouts, jumping in front of him and pressing a hand to his chest to stop him. “Leave him alone!” 

“Get the fuck out of my way, dumbass!” Kacchan snaps, trying to shoulder him aside but Izuku won’t let him.

“No!” 

“I need to teach this fucker another lesson! He needs to learn his fucking place!” Then, Kacchan glares daggers at Izuku and adds venomously, “And maybe you do too!” 

SLAP!

Kacchan stumbles back a couple of steps, lifting a hand to his stinging cheek in shock. His eyes are wide as he stares at Izuku, stunned. 

Behind him, Izuku can hear Haru’s fading footsteps as he takes the chance to run away. He’s breathing heavily and glaring at Kacchan, but he’s also shaken. He’s never struck Kacchan before in his life and the fact that he did so shocked both of them.

However, Kacchan quickly recovers and peels his lips back in a snarl. He lunges forward, grabs Izuku, and slams his back against the wall. Izuku yelps at the impact but Kacchan is in his face before he can do anything.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? ” He hisses, his red eyes burning with fury.

Normally Izuku would shrink back and try to ease his friend’s anger, but now he’s too pissed to even consider it. He gets right back in Kacchan’s face and spits, “You are a bully, Kacchan!” 

He tries to squirm free but Kacchan has a firm grasp on his biceps. Chest heaving with every ragged breath, Izuku shouts, “You are mean, Kacchan! You are so mean and cruel and I don’t understand why! You treat everyone around you so horribly! What is wrong with you?!?”

“What’s wrong with me?!?” Kacchan barks, “What’s wrong with you?!? How many times have I told you not to talk to that fucker? But instead of listening to me, you go behind my back and choose to heal him over me?”

“It’s my quirk, Kacchan, and I’ll use it however I damn well please!” Izuku growls back at him.

“No you fucking won’t!” Kacchan shouts, shaking him, “Not if I fucking tell you not to!”

Fed up, Izuku tries again to break free of his hold, but Kacchan merely readjusts his grip and shoves him back against the wall. They struggle against each other for a few moments before Izuku hisses, “God, you are so controlling, Kacchan! You can’t just push me around however you like and expect me to be okay with it! You can’t expect me to stand back and watch you hurt people that don’t deserve it! How can you expect to be a good hero if you can’t even be a decent human being? If you keep this shit up, then you can forget about me ever becoming your healer! I will never stay by your side if all you do is hurt people!” 

Kacchan freezes at this, his red eyes wide and glaring. His whole body is trembling with rage and his grip on Izuku’s arms is punishing. Izuku struggles to swallow past the hard lump in his throat as he glares at the blond with watery eyes. Kacchan is quiet for a few long moments. Then, still holding Izuku’s gaze, he leans closer and hisses in a low voice, “I’m not going to let you mess everything up, you little shit. I’m going to become the best damn hero this world has ever seen, and you’re going to become the best damn healer.” His voice quivers with fury as his hands flex their grip. “And you are going to be mine.” 

Izuku stares at him, feeling like he’s about to throw up. Without a word, Kacchan suddenly grabs Izuku’s hand and lifts it to his face. The greenette only realizes what he’s doing when he feels his quirk activate in response to the bruise on his cheek. 

Disgusted, Izuku tries to pull his hand away. “Stop it!”

Kacchan just tightens his grip and glares at him. 

“Let me go, Kacchan!” Izuku spits, pulling harder, “Let me go you- you ass, let me go!”

“Hey, guys, are we going or-”

The two freeze as Inaba stares at them. His eyes lock on Kacchan’s hands grabbing Izuku and for a moment the latter feels a spark of hope in his chest. But no, Inaba won’t stand up to Kacchan, not even for him.

“Er… Is everything alright?”

Before Kacchan can respond, Izuku headbutts him in the nose. As soon as his grip slackens, Izuku shoulders past him and dashes away. 

“Zuku!” He hears Kacchan call out, “Oi, where the fuck do you think you’re going?!? Zuku!”

“Leave me alone!” He shrieks, not sparing a glance behind him. 

Footsteps pound against gravel as Kacchan gives chase, but luckily Izuku has always been faster than the blond. He dashes past the school gates and rounds the corner sharply, spewing apologies as he nearly rams into multiple passerbys. He runs harder than he’s ever run before, tears flying in the wind as desperation claws at his chest. 

God, he feels like he can’t breathe! He feels stuck, so utterly trapped, he feels- he feels- he feels-

-like he’s about to pass out.

Izuku stumbles to a stop and presses his hand against a building, chest heaving as he gasps for air. Kacchan stopped chasing him a few blocks back, but even so, his eyes dart around anxiously. People give him curious looks as they walk by him. After a few minutes, he finally catches his breath and straightens up.

A quick glance around reveals that he doesn’t really know where he is, but he finds himself not caring much. All he can think about is Kacchan.  

“That asshole,” Izuku hisses, his voice breaking. The sidewalk is blurry beneath him. Wiping away tears, he starts walking down the street and muttering under his breath.

How could Kacchan say something like that? The look in his eyes terrified him- genuinely terrified him. He felt like a mouse caught in a cat’s claws. He’d always known that Kacchan was overprotective of him, especially around people like Haru. He’d just always thought it was because Haru could make him laugh and it made Kacchan jealous, since he’d always had Izuku’s attention since they were kids. But no, now Kacchan is being downright possessive. Like anyone who could take Izuku’s attention away from him is some sort of challenger or threat to him. 

Izuku sniffles and wipes his nose, recalling Kacchan’s words on the day his quirk manifested. It was after Auntie Mitsuki had teased her son that he’d better keep Izuku close or another hero would snatch him up because healers are in such high demand. 

“What the hell? No way! If you’re gonna be anyone’s healer, you’re gonna be mine!” 

Then when they were discussing Izuku’s safety later…

“I’ll beat up any fucker who tries to take him!”

Then at school… 

“And guess what? When I’m a hero, Zuku’s gonna be my healer!”

“Mine, mine, mine,” Izuku grumbles under his breath. He’d never realized how much the word bothered him until now. “I’m not yours, you jerk.” He scowls. “I’m my own freaking person, you can’t just hog me to yourself…”

It’s like all this time he’s always done what Kacchan wanted. Like he’s just a piece in Kacchan’s master plan for his life and he’s just expected to go along with it. Like it doesn’t even matter what he wants. Maybe he doesn’t want to join his hero agency when he gets older? Maybe he wants to be like Recovery Girl and go around the world helping where he’s needed? Or maybe he just wants to have the freedom to figure it out because God forbid he doesn’t know exactly how his life is going to pan out at fourteen years old. He just wants to… do things and make decisions without Kacchan hanging over his shoulder. 

And fuck he forced him to use his quirk! It was like Furuya and Akamine all over again!

He startles out of his thoughts when he bumps into someone. 

“Oh! Sorry, sir!” He apologizes, jumping back. 

Thankfully, the man waves him off. “Don’t worry about it, kid,” he says, “You seeing this?” He jerks his chin forward and Izuku follows his gaze.

There’s a few TVs in a shop window all simultaneously playing the news, which is broadcasting a villain fight. It looks like some sort of sludge monster is rampaging in the Tatooine Shopping District only a few blocks away. Izuku perks up when he sees the hero Death Arms arrive on scene and quickly takes one of his hero journals to write notes in, pushing his anger out of his mind for the moment.

The man beside him gives him an amused glance and asks, “Are you a fanboy?”

“Oh!” Izuku startles, then shrinks in on himself sheepishly. “Um, I guess so, I just really like analyzing quirks and stuff…” He trails off awkwardly, not quite knowing the proper response. Normally Kacchan would have saved him from answering by either doing it for him or snapping at the stranger to mind his own business.

Thankfully, the man just smiles. “No need to be ashamed!” He says, “There are plenty of worse hobbies to have- oh, wouldja look at that.”

Izuku looks back at the screen in time to see the villain swatting Death Arms away before attacking his sidekicks. It seems that the sludge villain has taken a woman with a fire quirk hostage and is somehow utilizing her quirk to wreak havoc. Other heroes show up, but it’s clear their own powers aren’t suited to deal with this situation. 

Izuku feels bad, both for the woman and the heroes. He knows how awful it is to feel like you’re powerless in a certain situation. 

The struggle goes on for a lot longer than he would have thought it would. The heroes dodge attacks but make no attempt to go on the offense. The woman is unconscious now, hanging limply in the villain’s grasp as it continues to use her quirk. It’s a rather ugly situation to watch, and the man next to Izuku expresses his disappointment in the heroes. 

Izuku wants to say something in their defense, but before he can a flash of white darts in to attack. A moment later he realizes that it’s All Might, seemingly in his civilian clothes. The sludge villain grabs onto the number one hero with its sticky tendrils, but, unlike Death Arms, he’s able to pull himself free. Then, he grabs the woman with one hand and with the other he blasts the villain away with a Detroit Smash. 

Izuku’s jaw drops in awe and people around him stop too, looking up at the sky where a large wind tornado spirals upward. A few moments later it dissipates, followed by dark clouds rolling in and drizzling rain. 

“Wow!” The man beside him barks, “He changed the weather with just one punch! That’s All Might for you!” 

Izuku giggles and looks back at the screen where All Might is standing amongst the wreckage of the attack. He raises his fist as the crowd goes wild, then gently scoops up the unconscious woman and brings her to paramedics waiting nearby. While they check her over, he talks to reporters and the other heroes gather up the scattered pieces of sludge. 

Satisfied, Izuku is about to turn and keep walking when a sharp gasp from a reporter catches his attention. The camera focuses on a paramedic who solemnly declares that the woman is dead, apparently having suffocated while in the sludge villain’s grasp. Shocked gasps ripple through the crowd as the camera then focuses on All Might, who looks devastated. 

The next few minutes are filled with him apologizing repeatedly and expressing his regret, but for some reason he seems a bit restless. Izuku’s not the only one that notices, and when All Might abruptly apologizes and says that he must leave, one reporter criticizes him harshly, saying, “You came too late and now you’re just going to leave?!?”.

Izuku winces. He’s sure All Might has his reasons, and he does apologize repeatedly before quickly taking his leave, but his departial doesn’t look good to the press. 

“Hmph,” the man beside him tsks, shaking his head, “Not a good day for the heroes.” 

Izuku swallows and then sighs. Even if it didn’t end so well, it was still cool to see All Might.

Unfortunately, thanks to the number one hero it’s now drizzling and he doesn’t have an umbrella. 

“I guess I should go home then,” he murmurs to himself, then winces. He hopes he doesn’t run into Kacchan. He’d like to avoid that confrontation for as long as possible…

He checks his phone, which is still set on silent since he was in school, and wrinkles his nose at the numerous text messages and missed calls from Kacchan. The last one was sent five minutes ago. Thankfully, it seems he hasn’t said anything to Inko, or otherwise Izuku would have over a hundred missed messages.

Ignoring the blond’s texts, Izuku pockets his phone and starts walking again. He figures he can find his way home if he can just find a familiar landmark. Of course he could also probably just search up a map, but it’s kind of exciting being out on his own. A bit nerve-racking since he’s lost his protection, but exciting nonetheless. It’s like he’s exploring, and the best part is that he decides what turns to take instead of just following Kacchan around.  

It doesn’t take very long for him to find a familiar street. It’s fairly empty at this time of day so he relaxes slightly, enjoying the setting sun beaming on him as he walks down the street. The drizzle has faded away by now, leaving everything slightly damp. Izuku is in the midst of pulling his hair up into a ponytail when the sound of harsh coughing startles him.

Pausing, he glances around before following the source of the noise. It leads him towards an alleyway, which makes him a bit nervous- he’s always avoided alleys since that day- but they’re in a relatively nice neighborhood so he cautiously continues walking until he can peek his head around the corner.

A tall skeleton of a man is leaning heavily against the wall. His eyes are closed and he seems to gasp for breath. Izuku frowns. He doesn’t like the sound of that. Every inhale and exhale is slightly gurgly, like there’s something wet in his lungs that he can’t get out. And he looks awfully skinny, especially in those clothes that are obviously much too large for him.

There’s also something… weirdly familiar about him, so Izuku doesn’t feel particularly unsafe as he slowly steps into the alley.

“Er, excuse me, sir?”

The skeletal man startles, his eyes flying open. Izuku startles too and raises his hands placating.

“I-I’m sorry,” he apologizes, “I didn’t mean to surprise you, it’s just… are you alright?”

The man swallows thickly and nods. “Mm hmm.”

Izuku frowns and steps a bit closer. “Are you sure?” He asks, keeping his voice light and friendly, “You don’t look so good. Do you need help, or is there someone I can call for you?”

“No, no,” the man finally speaks, his voice sounding raspy, “I’m fine, really, it’s just an old-”

Just then, Izuku notices the blood in his hand and his eyes widen.

“Oh my gosh!” He gasps, rushing over to his side, “You- You’re hurt!”

The man looks down at his hand, as if he just noticed the blood. “Oh, no, no, this is nothing, really!” He gives what Izuku assumes is a grim attempt at a smile. “I just-”

Then the man suddenly chokes and blood spews out of his mouth- and right onto Izuku’s face. Izuku recoils in disgust and takes a couple of steps back, but the stranger immediately starts fretting over him. 

“Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!” He sputters apologies, blood still dribbling down his chin, “Here, here, I can help, let me just-”

Izuku tenses when the man places his large hands on his shoulders to steady him and immediately reaches up to grab them. But as soon as his fingers make contact with the skin on the man’s wrists, his quirk activates, letting him feel the energy flowing through the man. He goes still.

“Holy shit…” He can’t help but whisper, his eyes wide as he stares at the man’s chest.

Usually, when a person is injured their energy will swirl around the points of their injuries as the body attempts to heal naturally. But this man… Not only does he have a huge mass of swirling energy on his left flank, there are some areas where the energy is just missing. Where his left lung and stomach should be… there’s no energy at all. It’s as if the organs aren’t there.

It’s a horrible wound to feel and it causes tears to prick at Izuku’s eyes. Finally managing to tear his gaze away from the man’s chest, he stares up into his eyes and whispers breathlessly, “You… you’re really hurt, aren’t you?”

The man pauses in his fretting and looks down at him, a confused expression on his face. 

“I… What are you talking about?” He asks. He gently tries to pull his hands away but Izuku doesn’t let him, tightening his grip on the man’s wrists. “Young man, what are you doing? I feel… odd…”

Izuku’s quirk activated as soon as he touched the man’s skin, immediately reacting to his wounds. But Izuku has never healed an injury this severe before- he can’t control his energy as it flows out of him rapidly, trying to reach the wounds as fast as possible, trying to fill what’s missing. He feels like his energy is being drained out of him and he wobbles on his feet, the man’s hands pressing down on his shoulders to steady him. 

“Kid? Kid, are you alright?”

Izuku can’t respond. The man keeps talking, keeps asking- something- but it all washes over his ears like a wave. He can barely think. All he knows is that he can’t stop the energy from leaving him and it’s terrifying. He’s never tried to stop the flow before, but it’s also never taken this long to heal someone before. Usually the minor injuries he heals vanish almost instantly, but his energy has rapidly flowing out of him for nearly a minute now. 

Black dots dance across his vision and his knees buckle. 

“Kid!” The stranger cries, struggling to hold him upright. He ends up pressed against his side, the side with that horrible wound and his quirk sings, reaching out for the wound that he can practically feel through the man’s shirt and-

The last thing Izuku sees are worried blue eyes peering down at him before his world turns black.

“Kid! Damn it, kid, what the hell?!?” Toshinori leans over the boy as he gently lays him onto the ground. The boy remains unconscious, leaving Toshinori to wonder what the hell is going on. 

“Shit!” He curses to himself, ready to pull out his phone and call an ambulance. For some reason, though, he pauses.

Ever since the boy grabbed his wrists, he’s been feeling… strange. He immediately figured it was the boy’s quirk and made to move away, but the boy didn’t want to let him go and… well, whatever he was doing, it didn’t feel bad. Gran Torino would probably scold him and say something about quirks being deceiving, but the kid didn’t seem like the type to have malicious intentions. If anything, it looked like he activated his quirk by accident. 

Either way, Toshinori let the curious warm feeling flow into him and now he feels… energized. Which is strange because only a minute ago he felt like he was about to cough up his only lung. And not only does he feel energized, but he feels like he could stay in his muscled form for another three hours if he wanted to. 

Toshinori looks down at the boy, wondering what exactly his quirk is. Well, whatever it is, it clearly affected the boy rather negatively. So, he puffs up into his muscled form, surprised that it doesn’t hurt as much as he thought it would, and scoops the kid into his arms, backpack and all. Then he takes off into the sky, aiming for the nearest hospital.

He makes sure to clean his blood off of the kid’s face before he lands. When the paramedics ask what happened, he makes up a quick lie and says that he just found the boy alone and unconscious in an alley. They believe him without question, of course, and he leaves after that.

Normally he would probably go back to his apartment at this time of day, but since he’s feeling so great he decides that it wouldn’t hurt to stay out longer. There’s something that he wanted to do tomorrow, but now…

He finds the family of the woman who was killed by the sludge villain a mere couple hours before and personally apologizes to them, bowing low to the ground. He doesn’t quite know how well they take it- the woman’s death is so fresh and there’s a good chance they blame him for it, because he sure does- but in the end they thank him, especially when he insists on paying for her funeral. After getting their information and sending it over to his agency, he gives his condolences once more before leaving.

It’s a pity he wasn’t able to reach the woman in time to save her. He'd felt like such an idiot when he realized that the bottle he'd trapped the sludge villain in earlier had fallen out of his pocket while jumping through the sky, then he'd ended up wasting even more of his precious time searching for the villain again. Thankfully, he'd had just enough energy to defeat the bastard again when he saw the ruckus downtown, but by then it had been too late. Staying to talk to the press had been awful, he’d just been barely holding his hero form, and then leaving right after the woman’s death was announced? That looked bad, really bad, even for the number one hero, and he knows his agency will probably have to deal with some bad press in the coming days. 

But for now, he pours himself into his work for the next couple of hours, taking down villain after villain until he decides to retire for the night. He still has some energy left, but he doesn’t want to risk ending up in a situation like he’d been in earlier when he’d gotten too tired to hold his hero form and deflated in an alleyway, so he heads back to his apartment. 

He’s just about to get into the shower when it happens.

A low rumbling noise erupts from his abdomen.

He startles so badly he nearly slips and clutches the edge of the shower to steady himself. Eyes wide, he looks down at his torso in surprise.

Is it just him, or is his scar just slightly smaller than it used to be?

Jaw slackening, he raises his head and gazes at himself in the mirror above his sink. No, no he’s spent hours staring at this scar in disgust before and it’s definitely looking less horrible than it usually does, if only slightly.

The low rumbling sound returns and with it a stab of pain. Toshinori chokes. The feeling is so alien and yet so familiar- but he hasn’t felt it in five years! There’s no way he could possibly-? No, no, there’s no way, what happened, what-

The boy.

As soon as his eyes widen in realization, his stomach growls again.

His stomach. 

The one that he lost to All For One five years ago, the one that most certainly wasn’t there this morning-

Completely forgetting about the shower, Toshinori scrambles for his phone and dials a number.

“Come on, come on… Chiyo-san! We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

Izuku wakes up in complete darkness. 

His brain feels light and foggy, and it takes him a few moments to process that he is, in fact, awake. When it finally registers, he abruptly jolts into a sitting position and immediately regrets it when a wave of nausea makes his stomach roll. Struggling not to gag, he lets out a small groan, the sound thin and miserable coming from his incredibly dry throat. He swallows thickly and glances around, spotting a glass of water sitting on an unfamiliar nightstand next to his unfamiliar bed. 

When he moves to reach for it, the world seems to shift beneath him and the nausea returns with a vengeance as he’s slammed with a wave of dizziness. Choking back a whine, he manages to wrap his trembling fingers around the glass and brings it back towards himself- not without spilling some water on the sheets. He hastily gulps it down until his stomach churns with dissatisfaction, then shakily wipes his mouth and glances around again. 

It looks like he’s in some sort of hospital room. His mother is fast asleep in a chair next to his bed and there’s a needle in his forearm connected to an IV. As his eyes land on her, his vision swims and he lets his body lean back against his pillows, wishing for the dreadful wave of dizziness to stop.

What the hell is going on? He’s never felt so nauseous and light-headed before in his life. What happened to him? 

A flash of blond, a horrible empty chasm of energy, his quirk flowing, his quirk singing-

‘Oh.’ Izuku blinks. ‘That man.’

He remembers the skeletal man from earlier. How he tried to heal that horrible wound of his. How his quirk wouldn’t turn off. He must’ve drained his own energy so much that he passed out. That would explain why he’s currently in a hospital- the man probably called an ambulance. 

He relaxes slightly. That man had been strange- and his injury was even stranger. He wonders how he got so hurt in the first place. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought the man had been missing a couple of organs, what with the way his energy has been absent in some places. 

Even though he passed out, Izuku hopes he managed to heal him at least a little bit. Coughing up blood must not be fun.

His hand trembles violently when he moves to set the now-empty glass back on the nightstand, but he somehow manages to do it quietly. He also spots his phone next to a digital clock that says 3AM. Grabbing it, he turns it on and, after grimacing against the harsh light that makes his head spin even worse for a solid minute, checks to see what he missed.

The first thing he notices is the date. At first, he thinks it must be wrong, but then he sees all the texts from Kacchan he ignored after he ran away and they’re all from two days ago. He’s been unconscious for two days! 

Shocked, his head whips towards his mother- an action he regrets as it triggers both dizziness and nausea to rebound- who is still fast asleep. He can’t see very well in the low light, but he can tell that she’s looking a lot more ragged and exhausted than she usually does. Guilt stabs at his heart. It feels like all he does is worry her…

Sighing, he averts his eyes and sinks back into his pillows. It’s probably best to let her get as much sleep as she can. He doesn’t feel so bad if he doesn’t move around too much, so he turns back to his phone. Still ignoring Kacchan’s texts, he instead checks his social media feed. He follows plenty of All Might fan accounts and most of them are still talking about the Sludge Villain incident from earlier. Apparently All Might paid a visit to the deceased woman’s family later that day and personally apologized. Izuku smiles a bit, continuing to scroll. Another post catches his attention, this time from one of the All Might spotting accounts he follows.

He clicks on it and his eyes widen into saucers. Only half an hour after the Sludge incident, All Might was spotted carrying a young teenage boy into a hospital. And that boy is him. 

He stares at the picture in shock. It’s angled so his face isn’t quite visible, but there’s no doubt about it. That’s his hair, that’s his clothes, that’s his backpack! Holy shit! All Might took him to the hospital! The number one hero saved him!

Heart leaping into his throat, he struggles not to squeal out loud and wake up his mother. This is so crazy! He met his hero! Well, sort of- damn, he wishes he had been conscious!

In the back of his mind, he wonders why the skeletal man didn’t just call an ambulance for him. He figures that All Might must’ve come across them right after he passed out… but something about that doesn’t sit right…

He looks down at the picture again, noticing that All Might was still wearing the same clothes from the Sludge incident. He thinks of the skeletal man and how he seemed so weirdly familiar. He thinks of the clothes that hung off his skinny frame and realizes that they looked exactly like All Might’s clothes. That’s… that’s… a strange coincidence, but it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe Izuku thought he seemed familiar because his clothes were so similar to All Might’s, who he’d seen on the TV earlier that day. But… there’s just something about the way his clothes were just so obviously big for him… as if they were meant for someone much larger than him…

His eyes widen. No way. No freaking way. There’s… there’s no way… no way All Might could be so skinny, so injured… 

But maybe that’s why he had to leave the Sludge incident so suddenly... 

“Izuku?”

Izuku startles out of his thoughts, glancing over at his mother who is blinking at him blearily. As soon as their eyes meet, she perks up and lunges at him, throwing her arms around his shoulders and immediately bursting into tears. 

“Izuku!” She wails, “You’re okay! You’re okay!” 

Izuku grunts, feeling slightly suffocated, and pats her back comfortingly. As soon as she calms down enough to pull away, she cries, “What happened, Izuku, what happened?” 

“Huh?” He tilts his head, bewildered, “I could ask you the same thing!”

“Oh!” She gasps, straightening up, “Oh, right- right, of course! This must be very confusing for you.” She lets out a wet giggle, although Izuku isn’t really sure why, and wipes her own tears away. “You- You passed out from quirk exhaustion, sweetie. The doctors said your vitals were low so your body went into a comatose state in order to regain your strength. And guess what? They said that All Might was the one to bring you in! Apparently he found you alone and unconscious in an alley so he brought you to the hospital.”

Izuku’s eyes widen for an entirely different reason, but Inko misreads his reaction and giggles, “I know right? I was surprised too. I guess I’ll have to join one of your All Might fan clubs after this!”

Inko continues to ramble on about what he’s missed over the past couple of days, but Izuku isn’t paying attention. He’s too busy freaking out as his mind makes connections against his will. All Might found him alone. Alone, as in, without the skeletal man that he used his quirk on. He briefly wonders if the skeletal man perhaps just left him there and ran off after he passed out, but for some reason Izuku doesn’t think he’d be the type of person to do that, even though he hardly knows him. But… if that man was All Might, then he would’ve just taken Izuku to the hospital himself…

It’s really too much for his mind to handle right now. He doesn’t even know what he’d do if he found out this is true, that All Might really is… like that. Even though he’s awake now, he’s still extremely tired and nauseous and his mind is so boggled and confused that he decides to just forget about it for now. 

“Izuku.” The boy looks up at his mother as she asks, “What we don’t know is what made you lose so much energy in the first place.”

She looks so nervous and Izuku knows he can’t tell her about the not-All Might man that he met, so instead he just quickly comes up with a lie. “I- uh, I…” He stammers, “Er, I came across a dog that had been hit by a car and I tried to heal him with my quirk. But, um, it was really hurt and I guess I used too much energy. I tried to stop when I felt like I was going to pass out, but for some reason I couldn’t make my quirk stop. I couldn’t even move, it was… weird.” He finishes lamely and winces. Well, at least the last part isn’t a lie. He’s still pretty disturbed about that too, but he’ll think about it later when the more pressing matters are settled. 

Inko relaxes in her chair and smiles, reaching out to hold onto his hand. 

“That’s good,” she sighs, then corrects herself, “I mean, not good- you definitely should never try something like that again, but… I’m just glad it was something that you did and not the fault of some villain.”

Izuku blinks and shakes his head rapidly, then regrets it when a wave of dizziness hits him. “No, no, it was just me…” He says, but has to pause and press a hand to his head when the dizziness lasts a few seconds.

Inko frowns. “Izuku? Sweetie, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he replies, “I just got a little light-headed.” When she continues to look worried, he decides to change the subject. “So, uh, what did you do while I was asleep?”

“Oh, Mitsuki-san and Masaru-san have been keeping me company for the past couple of days… so has Katsuki-kun…” She trails off and Izuku sighs. “He said that you ran off after you two got into an argument… and that’s why you were alone when you overused your quirk.”

Izuku nods once, not saying anything. Inko is obviously curious and gazes at him expectantly. When he still remains silent, she adds, “He didn’t really tell us what the fight was about. He just said that you got upset…”

Izuku shrinks under his mother’s gaze as she continues to gaze at him, waiting patiently. Eventually, he looks down at his sheets and mumbles, “He was being a jerk.” 

Inko waits for more, but that’s all he’s going to say. He’s still pissed at Kacchan, but he knows that if he tells Inko about it then she’ll just give him a lecture about why he should forgive him. 

He’s not going to forgive him that easily. Not this time. 

Thankfully, after a few moments of silence Inko just sighs and leans back into her chair. 

“You look tired, honey,” she says, “Get some more sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

She curls back up into her chair and Izuku reluctantly sinks into his pillows once more. He’s grateful that she’s not pressuring him to talk about it. And even with his mind still whirling from everything that happened- the fight, the not-All Might, the quirk exhaustion- he still finds himself falling asleep within minutes after his head hits the pillows. 

When he wakes up again, it’s light outside. A quick glance at the clock tells him it’s 8AM and his mother is already up and about. She goes to call a doctor as soon as he wakes up and they check him over fairly quickly, taking his vitals while telling him how his quirk exhaustion affected him. He still feels terribly weak- although the nap did help a bit- so they want to monitor him for the rest of the day just to be safe, but they expect that he’ll be able to go home by dusk. 

He’s in the middle of eating an extremely healthy breakfast when the Bakugous burst into his room. 

“Izukun!” Auntie Mitsuki cries and the next thing he knows he’s being squeezed tightly by the woman. “Damnit kid, you scared the shit out of us!” 

“Sorry!” He squeaks, squirming in discomfort. 

Uncle Masaru gently pulls his wife away before expressing his relief to Izuku in a much more mellow manner. Izuku smiles and they chat with him and Inko for a bit, mostly about Izuku’s condition and what this will mean for the future. Meanwhile, Izuku pointedly ignores glancing over at Kacchan, who remains by the doorway, sulking with his hands shoved unnecessarily deep into his pockets. Izuku can see that his nose is clearly bruised from when he headbutted him, but he doesn’t feel bad about it in the slightest. 

Uncle Masaru, of course, is the first to notice the tension between them and mutters something to his wife. Auntie Mitsuki immediately straightens up and grabs Kacchan by the arm, dragging him fully into the room while he shrieks indignantly. 

“I don’t know what the fuck you did to piss off Izukun enough to make him run away, but you’re gonna fucking fix it right now!” Auntie Mitsuki shoves Kacchan towards Izuku and he just barely catches himself on the railing beside his bed. “Talk about it, dumbass!” She snaps as she proceeds to usher Uncle Masaru and Inko out of the room, “And if I hear you fucking yelling I’m gonna come in here and kick your ass!” 

The door slams shut with a loud bang, leaving the two boys alone. Kacchan grimaces and glances at Izuku, but the latter is stubbornly avoiding his gaze. He simply turns his head the other way and closes his eyes. 

There’s no way in hell that he’s going to be the first to apologize. Not this time. Not when it’s obviously Kacchan’s fault for being such a jerk. 

However, it seems that Kacchan doesn’t want to be the first to speak either. He just grits his teeth and glares at the ground, silently seething. Neither of them make a sound for nearly two minutes. As the silence continues, Izuku feels his irritation grow and grow. 

Well, since Kacchan clearly doesn’t plan on saying anything for once in his life, then Izuku’s sure as hell going to make sure what he has to say is heard.

“I’m gonna go first,” he bites out and Kacchan’s head snaps up, “And you’re going to freaking listen. You’re not going to interrupt me or talk over me or anything- none of that crap, alright?” 

Kacchan stares at him, then clenches his jaw and glances away in response.

“Good,” Izuku says. He takes a deep breath before he starts, “I didn’t like all that shit that you said about me. How you think I’m just some guy with a healing quirk and that I need to learn my place.” Kacchan’s gaze is on him again and Izuku glares at him. “You don’t get to decide what my place is, Kacchan. I’m my own person, and I’m going to decide what my place is. I’m going to be more than just a guy with a healing quirk, and I’m going to be more than just your healer. I don’t care if that pisses you off. We’ve always ever done things your way, you know? Ever since my quirk manifested, it’s like you’ve already decided everything for me. You’ve decided that I’m going to work in your hero agency, that I’m going to be your healer, and-and- you think that you can just decide when I can and can’t use my quirk?!? My own damn quirk?!?” His voice starts to rise with his anger, so he stops and takes another deep breath. When he speaks again, his voice is calm but no less firm, “Have you ever considered what I wanted? Because I’ve never even thought I could consider that until now. I’ve been so wrapped up just being a little piece in your master plan for your own life that I never considered that I could want something different. So, I’m going to decide stuff for myself now. I don’t know exactly where I’m going to end up in the future, but whatever it is, you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Kacchan had been fidgeting impatiently ever since he started talking, but now he steps forward and snaps, “Listen here you little-”

“I’m not fucking done!” Izuku interrupts him, “You don’t get to say your part until I’ve said mine!” Kacchan glares at him with fiery red eyes, grinding his teeth audibly, but he says nothing. Izuku tries again, “Now… In regards to Haru-kun…”

“That little fucker deserved it!” Kacchan explodes, “He deserved every bit of-”

“OI!” Auntie Mitsuki’s voice shouts through the door, “DON’T MAKE ME FUCKING COME IN THERE, BRAT!” 

Kacchan snarls wordlessly at the door but falls silent. 

Izuku immediately continues. “He did not deserve to be treated that way,” he says firmly, “Especially not by someone who’s aiming to be a hero!” Kacchan flinches ever so slightly. “How do you think things will go in UA, Kacchan? You think they’ll just let shit like that fly? Heroes aren’t supposed to want to hurt people, Kacchan! And dammit, I’m allowed to have friends other than you! Haru-kun is nice to me and makes me laugh and smile- if you really cared about me you would be happy about that! But no, you just get jealous because God forbid you don’t get to- to hog me to yourself. And it’s not just him- ever since junior high started you’ve just been downright mean to people and I don’t get it! Does it make you feel better to push other people down? Does it make you feel big and strong when you beat them up? Well, let me tell you something, Kacchan- all it does is make you look pathetic! And I meant what I said back there, too! I will never stay by your side if all you do is hurt people!” 

Kacchan stares at him with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly. After a few moments of him struggling uselessly to find his words, he grits his teeth and glares. 

“So, what are you fucking saying then?” He growls, “You… what? You don’t wanna be friends anymore? Is that it?”

Izuku groans, “No, Kacchan, I just-” He sighs heavily and rubs his face tiredly. “I just need some space. You… you’re just so controlling, Kacchan. And possessive. And… and what we have isn’t healthy. We’re never going to grow if we’re attached to the hip all the time. I just… I want to be able to figure things out by myself and figure out what I want to do with my life without having to work our friendship into my plans as well. If we’re true friends then we won’t even have to work to stay in each other’s lives, we’ll just naturally always be there for each other. We need some space, Kacchan…”

Kacchan is quiet for a long time after that. He opens his mouth, looking like he wants to go on a rant of his own, but then he closes it. He glares at Izuku for a while, then at the ground. His fists clench and unclench repeatedly as he thinks, displaying his anger. 

Finally, he tosses his head and scoffs, “Whatever.” Izuku must look disappointed, because he adds, “I mean, yeah, whatever. I still gotta walk you to school and shit but… whatever, you follow around whoever the fuck you want to when we’re in school. See if I care.” He swallows, scowling as he shoves his hands back into his pockets. “And I’ll stop beating people up. For you,” He grumbles. 

It’s not enough.

“No, not for me,” Izuku presses, “I want you to stop hurting people because you know it’s wrong.” 

Kacchan rolls his eyes and huffs, “Sure, whatever. The kids at school are weak-ass losers anyway.”

It’s… not perfect. It wasn’t even an apology, really. Izuku still has a bad taste in his mouth when Kacchan leaves the room, but it’s… something. The beginnings of progress. Now Izuku just has to wait and see if Kacchan will keep his word. And if he does… well… they’ll go from there.

Shoulders feeling slightly lighter, Izuku spends the rest of the morning in bed. A doctor comes in later to check on him and has him walk around a bit to see if he’s steady. Despite the light-headedness and nausea returning with the movement, he somehow is able to walk on his own, but his legs tremble with the effort and he ends up leaning against the wall for support after just a minute. His mother, of course, is extremely concerned, but the doctor says his body is still trying to rebuild its energy after it was depleted so suddenly and to expect some weakness for the next few days. 

He’s having lunch when he’s told that some people are here to see him. 

He sighs, glancing down at his half-eaten sandwich. What’s with people interrupting him when he eats? First the Bakugous and now… wait, who’s here?

Inko frowns and glances at him questioningly, but he shrugs, just as clueless as she is. His mother gets up and goes to speak with the doctor in hushed voices. Izuku can’t hear what they’re saying, but he tenses up when Inko gasps. She nods frantically and goes to stand beside Izuku while the doctor goes to open the door. 

“Mom, what’s going-?”

Izuku’s jaw drops when the door swings open and Recovery Girl walks into his room. Like, the Recovery Girl. She’s in his room. He’s in the same room as Recovery Girl! 

He doesn’t think he can get any more surprised, but then not-All Might walks in right after her. His eyes must be as wide as dinner plates and he must be catching flies with how low his jaw is hanging, but he can’t bring himself to react in any other way aside from utter shock. 

Recovery Girl smiles at him and he nearly dies. As she moves to sit on a chair next to his bed, she greets, “Hello, Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku lets out a strangled noise. She knows his name! 

The healer chuckles at his reaction and it’s enough to make him snap his jaw closed. He blushes furiously and stammers out in a high-pitched voice, “He-Hello! Recovery Girl! You’re- you’re Recovery Girl! Hi!” 

This time when she laughs, so does not-All Might. Izuku turns to him apprehensively. If he’s here, then… that must mean something, right? Why would a random stranger come to see him unless he was…? But… could he really be All Might? Could the number one hero really be this scrawny? 

Izuku is dying to ask a million questions like ‘who are you’ and ‘what the hell is going on’. Not-All Might is watching him intently, as if he’s trying to read his thoughts. Izuku gulps and glances back at Recovery Girl, who he now notices is watching him just as intently as not-All Might.

“Er…” He doesn’t know what to say.

“Thank you for showing us the way, Sugawara-san,” Recovery Girl says. It takes Izuku a moment to realize she’s talking to his doctor. “Do you mind if I talked to Midoriya-kun privately for a moment?” 

The doctor nods and quickly leaves. It isn’t until Recovery Girl turns to Inko expectantly that she realizes she means her too. 

“Oh!” Inko jumps in surprise, “Um, are you sure?” She glances between her son and the two adults nervously, her gaze lingering on not-All Might. Obviously she isn’t too keen on leaving her only son with strangers.

“Mom,” Izuku stresses, “Come on, it’s Recovery Girl.” He emphasizes her name as if just that will convince his mother that she’s trustworthy. 

It’s enough for Inko. 

“Right, right, of course.” Inko hurriedly gathers her coat and purse and steps out of the room. “My apologies. Take as much time as you need.”

The door shuts behind her and Izuku turns to the two adults. Not-All Might opens his mouth to speak, but before he can, Izuku’s restraint breaks.

“Are you All Might?!?” He blurts out. 

The man blinks in surprise. 

Slapping his hands over his mouth, Izuku mentally curses himself before stammering, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, it’s such a weird and random question but when I thought about it it made sense because your clothes were the same as his when he was fighting the sludge villain and when he brought me to the hospital but they said he found me alone but you were there-”

“Young Midoriya-”

  “-and I thought maybe you’d ditched me but then I kept thinking and wondering about your injury and how All Might had to leave so suddenly when he fought the slime villain-”

“Young Midoriya-”

“-but it’s crazy right I mean there’s no way All Might can look like you- not- not that you look bad or anything but you-you just look very different and-”

Not-All Might sighs heavily and suddenly… inflates? There’s no other way to describe it, but the next thing Izuku knows there’s a very big and very real All Might standing before him. 

Izuku chokes.

Recovery Girl, seeming very disgruntled but not at all surprised, glares at All Might and says, “Thanks for the warning, you drama queen.”

All Might grins briefly before shrinking back down into the skinny stranger that he’d met a couple of days ago. “Well...” He shrugs sheepishly, sitting down into another chair with a huff. “He basically figured it out anyway.” To Izuku, he asks, “You’re a clever one, aren’t you?”

The noises that are coming out of Izuku’s mouth don’t even sound human anymore.

This can’t be real. There’s… there’s no way that All Might is in his room right now. In this form. Even though Izuku was thinking about it, he didn’t really expect his theory to ever be confirmed. But now…

“I…” He gawks. “I… I don’t…”

‘I don’t understand’ is what he wants to say. But then All Might’s words sink in and he hesitates, taking a moment to try and focus his racing mind. 

“Your… your injury…” He stammers, looking up at the number one hero, “It… makes you like this?” 

All Might nods seriously. “You know how guys at the pool are always sucking in and flexing and try to hold their buff? I'm like that.” His words completely contradict his grave attitude. 

Izuku sputters and Recovery Girl rolls her eyes. 

“Oh, come on. You owe this poor boy an explanation, especially before…”

She trails off and Izuku frowns. Before what?

“Right, sorry,” All Might apologizes, then looks at Izuku, “I hope I don’t have to tell you how important it is that you don’t tell this to anyone.” 

“Right!” Izuku yelps, spine nearly snapping as he straightens up immediately. “Of course! All Might saves everyone and wins the day with a fearless smile! If people knew about your injury…”

All Might nods again. “Good, so you understand then.”

“I-" Izuku blanks. "Er… not-not really…”

He’s completely unprepared for the gruesome injury the number one hero reveals when he lifts up his shirt. It’s an ugly, gnarled scar that spreads all across his left torso and Izuku instantly knows that this is the injury he felt when he used his quirk on the man.

“I got this from an enemy’s attack five years ago,” All Might explains with a grimace, “Believe it or not, before I met you it looked a lot worse.”

“Worse?!?” Izuku squeaks in disbelief. It already looks so horrible.

“Half of my respiratory organs were destroyed,” All Might goes on, “and I lost my whole stomach. I’ve become emaciated from repeated surgeries and the aftereffects.”

“That’s terrible,” Izuku whispers. As All Might lowers his shirt, he asks, “You said five years ago… so was it your fight with Toxic Chainsaw?” 

“Heh, you know your stuff kid.” Izuku blushes. “But no, a punk like that couldn’t defeat me. I asked that this fight not be made public to the world.” All Might gives a pale imitation of his signature smile. It’s more of a grimace. “I will save people with a smile! The Symbol of Peace cannot be daunted by evil. However, deep down I was very afraid. My body has been steadily failing me over the past five years, and no matter how many healers I saw, none of them could fix what that villain had done to me.”

Izuku is quiet as All Might leans forward in his chair, his gaze intense. 

“So imagine my surprise when a fourteen year-old boy stumbles upon me hacking my lung out in the middle of an alley and proceeds to not only give me enough energy to maintain my muscle form for hours afterwards, but to also regrow my entire stomach.”

Izuku… doesn’t quite process that right away.

“Huh?” He squeaks. “Huh?!? I- I what?!?"

All Might tilts his head. “You didn’t know?”

“No!” Izuku is beyond shocked. “No, no way! I, er, I had never tried healing such a large wound before. And- and I’ve never really had quirk exhaustion before…” 

He trails off anxiously, pulling at the edge of his shirt. A whole stomach...

All Might turns to share a glance with Recovery Girl. The woman straightens up a bit and asks, “Midoriya-kun, do you mind telling us how your quirk works?”

“Oh! Right! Of course!” This is far from the first time Izuku has had to explain his quirk to someone, so the explanation comes easy to him. “It’s called Healing Energy. Basically as soon as I touch someone’s skin my quirk will activate and, depending on whether or not they’re injured, release a flow of my own energy into their body to heal their wounds. I can also sense a person’s own natural energy and it helps me tell where and what their injuries are, although it’s not super specific. It also doesn’t work with illnesses or when I myself am injured. And, um, something I noticed when I was healing All Might… I can’t seem to be able to stop my quirk once it’s activated. I mean, I had never really tried to before since I only ever healed minor injuries… So, I think that’s why I passed out. Be-Because your injury required more energy than I had to give…”

All Might and Recovery Girl are staring at him with mixed expressions of curiosity and solemnity. Shrinking a bit under the attention, Izuku scratches the back of his head nervously. 

“Er, I guess I don’t really have that much control over my quirk, really! It kind of just does its thing,” he laughs awkwardly. 

“Yes…” Recovery Girl says, frowning, “That was really quite a dangerous thing for you to do, Midoriya-kun. Frankly, I’ve never heard of a healing quirk powerful enough to regrow lost limbs or organs. Usually that’s only the case for some self-healing or self-regeneration quirks. And the fact that your quirk is fueled by your own energy… Well, it was a very reckless thing to do without proper training, however it sounds like you didn’t quite know to what extent your quirk would go to heal.”

“R-Right.” Izuku nods. 

“Do you want to be a healer?” All Might asks suddenly. 

Izuku looks at him in surprise. “Huh?”

“A healer. Surely you must’ve heard of them.” He nods and the man asks, “Well?”

A small, bashful smile creeps onto his lips as he looks down at his lap. “I’ve wanted to be a healer ever since my quirk manifested,” he admits. 

All Might smiles. “Well, I think you’ll be a fantastic healer, Young Midoriya.”

Izuku nearly passes out. 

All Might laughs as he starts sputtering. “I’m serious, kid!” He barks, “I’ve seen just about every single one of the most powerful healers out there and none of them were able to do what you have done for me. Young Midoriya…” All Might leans closer and puts a large hand on his shoulder, his gaze firm. “I ate a cheeseburger yesterday.”

It’s such an odd and out-of-place statement that Izuku can’t help the disbelieving laugh that escapes his lips. “What?”  

Recovery Girl rolls her eyes. “And since he’s barely been eating for the past five years, he threw up the entire thing twenty minutes later.”

“It was worth it,” All Might says resolutely. “And it happened thanks to you .”

Flustered, Izuku ducks his head. “I… I didn’t even know I could do something like that,” he says, “I knew my quirk was powerful, but…” 

“You quirk is powerful,” Recovery Girl says, “I knew that as soon as All Might told me about you. And I’m glad to hear that you want to become a healer, because now I can make my offer without much trouble.”

Izuku blinks. “Offer?”

“I want you to come to UA so that I can personally train you,” Recovery Girl says and Izuku’s heart stops. 

“You-You what?!?”

“It’s one of the reasons we came here today, actually,” All Might says, “Well, one because I wanted to thank you, and two because we figured it would be a good opportunity for everyone involved. You’re in your third year of junior high, right?” Izuku nods. “Then I can get you into the hero course through recommendations.”

Izuku can hardly process all this. “Wha- The hero course? But my quirk- it’s not combative.”

“Yes, but healers are, in fact, considered heroes,” Recovery Girl explains, “There are a lot of different ways you can serve as a healer. Some are combat medics, meaning they’re often on the scene with heroes ready to provide medical aid. Others are part of rescue teams that save civilians in events like natural disasters. No matter what you choose to do, you’re going to need to learn how to fight and be able to handle yourself in dangerous situations.”

Izuku listens with rapt attention. He’d never even considered all those other skills he’d need to know. He’s just been relying on his quirk so much…

“But still,” he asks, “The hero course? Would I really be able to get through it with a non-combative quirk?” 

“Most of the classes in the day of a student in the hero course consists of general education classes, which you will take along with your classmates. As for the hero classes, you would participate unless the lesson involves the students directly using their quirk for combat or particular situations. Which might seem like all of them, but don’t worry. A lot of the classes also focus on basic fighting skills and preparing the students for a variety of different situations and scenarios. And whenever you aren’t participating in a class, you’ll be on standby in case someone gets hurt- which, in the hero course, is often.”

Recovery Girl huffs at this before continuing, “I know perhaps this wasn’t what you were expecting out of your high school experience, but in the hero course you’ll be presented with more opportunities to heal bigger injuries and train your quirk.” 

Once she’s finished, the two pro heroes gaze at him expectantly. Izuku blinks rapidly, trying to process the sudden onslaught of information. This… this is better than anything he could have asked for. He’s getting the chance to train with Recovery Girl? To get into UA through recommendations? It’s too good to be true- he’s still not entirely convinced that this isn’t all just a dream. 

But… there’s just something he still doesn’t quite understand.

“I… Thank you,” he says breathlessly, “Thank you so much, this is such a wonderful opportunity. But… I don’t understand… this is so much you’re offering to me and I just… Why are you helping me?” 

They stare at him as if they’re confused by his question. 

Looking down at his lap, he wrings his hands as he continues in a soft voice, “My mother told me when I was younger that people would want me for my quirk… That both heroes and villains would seek me out. And… and I just remember thinking that was so weird. That I’m desirable to people I don’t even know. And I just can’t help but wonder…”

All Might stops him before he can continue. He leans forward and places a hand over Izuku’s, stopping them. 

“Young Midoriya,” he says, his blue eyes piercing, “Would you have healed me even if you knew the effect it would have on you? Would you have sacrificed yourself for my sake?”

Izuku frowns, confused. “Yes, of course.”

All Might smiles and leans back, seemingly satisfied. “Well, then, there’s your answer.”

“Huh?”

“The very core of being a healer- no, of being a hero, is having the will to sacrifice oneself for another,” All Might says, “Young Midoriya, you would be a great healer even if you were quirkless.” 

Izuku inhales sharply, his wide eyes filling with tears. He quickly averts his gaze, but he can’t help letting a couple of tears escape and roll down his cheeks. He clutches at the warm feeling blooming in his chest as the corner of his lips twitch up into a smile.

He didn’t realize how badly he needed to hear those words until now. 

“Thank you,” he whispers. 

All Might dips his head.

“You know, there are so few healers in the world- we need to stick together,” Recovery Girl says gently, “And I know you can become a healer that will save countless lives. It would be an honor if you would allow me to train you. Also…” She smiles and laughs a little. “I’m getting on in years, and with so many injured kids at UA it would be nice to have an apprentice around to help me out.”

Izuku giggles and nods. “Of course. I’d love to.” He turns to All Might. “And I would be more than happy to heal the rest of your injuries as soon as I am capable.”

“As soon as you’ve trained your quirk,” Recovery Girl says pointedly, “You’re going to need a much better grasp over that power of yours before you can even consider healing someone like All Might again. I don’t want you to go into another coma from quirk exhaustion.” 

Izuku frowns a bit. “Right.” Looking up at All Might, he says with some worry, “I don’t know how long that will take, but…”

All Might interrupts him with a laugh. “Young Midoriya,” he says warmly, putting a hand on his shoulder, “You’ve already given me more than I ever thought I would have had. Don’t worry, I can wait. I’ll be more than content to watch you grow into a fine young healer.” 

Smiling, Izuku glances between the two before taking a deep breath. No turning back now. 

“I accept.” 

Chapter Text

Inko is overjoyed when Recovery Girl talks to her about training Izuku. The boy doesn’t think he’s ever seen his mother agree to something so quickly before in her life. She sputters and thanks Recovery Girl repeatedly until Izuku whines for her to stop. The healer tells them that she’ll come over during the weekend to hash out the details, but she needs to talk to Principal Nedzu first. 

“You’re going to be a bit of a special case,” she says, “but I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. He might actually want to personally meet you.”

Izuku nearly faints. First All Might, then Recovery Girl, and now Principal Nedzu?

“Seriously?!?”

Recovery Girl laughs, “Of course. It’s not everyday UA gets a new apprentice healer.” 

Before they leave, both she and All Might give him their personal phone numbers so they can keep in contact with him. Izuku nearly faints again, especially when All Might tells him to write Toshinori Yagi in his contacts. His real name! Izuku knows All Might’s real name! The number one hero explains that he doesn’t want anyone to accidentally see All Might’s name pop up on Izuku’s phone. He also gives Izuku permission to refer to him as Toshinori when they’re with other people.

“I… both mentally and physically cannot do that,” Izuku says, causing All Might to let out a bark of laughter, “But I’ll try.” 

Needless to say, when Izuku gets home that night, he’s very emotionally, mentally, and physically worn out. Sushi greets him happily and he lets out a sigh of relief as he hugs his cat. He can’t believe how much happened in one day. Thankfully it’s a Friday, so he doesn’t have to worry about school tomorrow. Inko is still squealing in excitement about the news.

“Oh, my baby, I’m so proud of you!” She cries, hugging him tightly, “It’s like you got scouted!” 

Izuku laughs and squirms out of her grasp. 

The next day is rather calm. Much to his relief, the majority of his nausea has subsided by now, but he’s still rather weak and tires quickly with movement, so he spends most of the day either napping or lying on the couch with Sushi. He uses his phone to google ‘healer training’, but he doesn’t find much information aside from the regular training medical students go through to treat patients through traditional quirkless means. Since healers are so rare it’s not like there’s a specific school for them, so Izuku puts his phone away and figures he’ll just leave it to Recovery Girl. Maybe he’ll ask what her training experience was like. Most of her biographies only focus on the work she did as an adult. 

On Sunday, Recovery Girl texts him asking if she can come over and he immediately says yes, cancelling his usual self-defense class without a thought. Not that Inko would even let him go in his condition- although by Sunday he’s at least able to stand up without his legs trembling, so that’s an improvement.

He makes a mental note to never let himself succumb to quirk exhaustion ever again.

To his surprise, when Recovery Girl arrives, she’s not alone. His heart leaps to his throat as none other than Principal Nedzu trots in after her. 

Before Izuku can choke out a greeting, the furry white creature hops up to him and takes his hand. “Midoriya-kun,” he chirps, “So very nice to meet you! I’ve been hearing a lot about you lately!” 

“Eh?!?” Izuku’s mind can’t focus on anything aside from the fact that the Principal Nedzu is shaking his hand. 

“Of course he has,” Recovery Girl says, “We’ve been busy discussing your future at UA. May we come in?”

Izuku nods hastily and steps aside, letting them walk past him. Into his house. Oh God, Principal Nedzu and Recovery Girl are in his house! 

Inko does her best not to fret over their guests too much, but hurriedly sets out some tea on the coffee table in front of them as they take a seat on the couch. She makes to excuse herself, but Nedzu insists that she stay, saying, “As his mother, this involves you just as much as it involves Midoriya-kun.” 

So, Izuku and his mother end up sitting next to each other, both trying not to show just how nervous they are, right across from the healer and the principal. Sushi is squirming in his lap, clearly wanting to go over and sniff their new guests. The cat is staring at Nedzu with an intensity that makes Izuku nervous, so he tightens his hold on him.

Thankfully, Recovery Girl wastes no time getting right down to business.

They discuss how he’ll be accomplishing his training, seeing as his particular situation is a bit different from other students’. They want him to be able to get the general education he needs, as well as to be able to train as both a hero and a healer. Therefore, they’ve decided that it would be best if Izuku were to meet with Recovery Girl after regular classes have finished, since he can’t sacrifice one of his classes during the school day in order to meet with her. That way he’ll be able to accommodate all three facets of his particular education into his schedule. 

“I realize that this will probably be very difficult and time-consuming for you,” Recovery Girl says, “And I know we’re asking you to give us more of your day than we are for other students. However, as a healer, you’re going to have to expect to be working a little bit harder than your peers. You’re going to be learning what the hero course students are learning in addition to what I will be teaching you.”

“Of course!” Izuku nods determinedly. “I’ll work hard!”

“Good,” Recovery Girl says, “Because I would like to get started as soon as possible.”

He blinks in surprise, but she simply turns to the bag she brought with her and takes out a massive book. She plops it onto the coffee table with a loud bang and Izuku’s eyes widen at the thickness of it. 

“Human Anatomy and Physiology,” she says, “This book has everything you need to know about the human body and then some. I’ve had it for decades and it’s one of my most reliable resources.” She looks at him. “I want you to have read it three times front-to-back by the time you get to UA.” 

Izuku stares at the heavy book in front of him. God, there must be at least a thousand pages.

Inko pats his back sympathetically. 

“In addition to this,” Recovery Girl says, “I don’t want you to rely on your quirk anymore to heal people.” 

That makes Izuku look up at her. 

“You’re not actually supposed to be allowed to use your quirk in public,” she says, “And unlicensed healing quirks can only be used under the supervision of a medical professional.”

Izuku glances at his mother in confusion. “Have I been breaking the law?” He blurts, “I always heal my friends…” 

Recovery Girl gives him an amused smile. “Well, it’s a very lax rule, but your excuse can be that you were just young and unaware.” 

Izuku feels very stupid. Of course quirks aren’t allowed to be used in public! He knew that. Why didn’t he think it didn’t apply to him too? 

“Right.”

“So, for now, let’s just focus on learning everything you can about human anatomy and once you’re in UA we’ll start working with your quirk,” she says and Izuku nods. 

“Of course,” Principal Nedzu pipes up, “You actually have to get into UA first.” 

Izuku jumps. “Right! Of course! Er…” He turns to Recovery Girl. “You said something about… recommendations earlier, right?” He’s hesitant just in case she changed her mind- they’ve already offered him so much, it seems rude to expect more- but the older woman simply nods. 

“Yes, Toshinori-san has offered to be your sponsor,” she says. 

“Toshinori-san?” Inko asks, frowning in confusion, “Who’s that?”

“My colleague,” Recovery Girl replies easily, saving Izuku from having to lie to his mother, “He’s the blond man that was with me on Friday.”

“Oh!” Inko still looks a bit confused, but she doesn’t ask any more questions. 

“Wait a minute,” Izuku says, “If I’m going to be your… er, apprentice, then why don’t you recommend me?” 

Principal Nedzu answers this time. “Ah, that is because Recovery Girl is a member of UA’s staff, and no one who is a member of our staff is allowed to sponsor a student in the event that they might give them an unfair advantage by telling them what the recommendation test will entail beforehand. It’s an old rule, but one with merit, so we still abide by it.” 

“Oh,” Izuku says, “That makes sense, I guess.” 

“Also, Toshinori-san will be working at UA come next spring, but he’s still allowed to sponsor you since he won’t have any prior experience with the recommendation test by the time it comes,” Recovery Girl says.

Izuku’s eyes widen. All Might is going to be a teacher at UA? That’s incredible! Is he going to be teaching a heroics class? Is Izuku going to be taught by All Might?

“As for the actual recommendation test,” Recovery Girl goes on, “Your main focus should be on passing the written portion. There is a physical portion as well, but the judges will be made aware of your situation so you won’t be expected to do an exemplary job. Just do the best you can and maybe consider doing some sort of athletic training in the months beforehand to help you succeed.”

Izuku nods. “I’ve been taking self-defense classes since I was ten,” he says, “And I run with my friend a lot…” He trails off when Kacchan comes to his mind.

Principal Nedzu and Recovery Girl seem pleased. 

“That’s very good,” the healer says, “Well then, all I can tell you now is to study hard and stay focused. I’ll be anticipating your arrival at UA.” 

“Thank you!” Izuku grins, standing up when the adults do. They bid their goodbyes and leave shortly after. Izuku shuts the door behind them before leaning his back against it, clutching his chest.

“Holy shit,” he exclaims breathlessly. Inko giggles and swats his arm. “I can’t believe this is actually happening to me.” 

“I can,” Inko says, “You’re going to be a wonderful healer, baby.” She kisses his forehead gently before glancing at the book on the table. “And you have a lot of homework to do.”

Izuku groans and she walks away giggling. 

Later that night, while his mother is making dinner, Izuku finds himself lying on the couch with the medical book in hand. He tries to balance it on his stomach, but it’s so heavy that he has to put a pillow between it and his stomach in order for the position to work. He’s just cracked it open when his phone buzzes on the coffee table.

The screen shows a text from Toshinori Yagi. Izuku is confused for a moment before realizing. 

All Might! He just got a text from the number one hero himself!

When All Might had given him his number, Izuku assumed it would only be for emergencies only, or to discuss logistics when the time for the recommendation test comes. He never thought he’d be getting a text two days after he’d met the man.

He quickly grabs his phone and unlocks it.

(Toshinori 7:15PM) -How did your talk with the mouse go?

Mouse? What- oh, he must be talking about Principal Nedzu.

Smiling a bit, Izuku types his response. 

(Midoriya 7:15PM) - It went well I think!

Then, after a moment of consideration, he adds.

(Midoriya 7:15PM) -R u sure he’s a mouse? I thought he looked more like a bear  

He sets his phone down and cracks the book open once more. However, a minute later, he gets a response.

(Toshinori 7:16PM) - Eh, mouse, bear, who knows? Your guess is as good as mine.

(Toshinori 7:17PM) -Anyway, I wanted to ask whether or not he told you that I’m going to be working at UA next year. 

(Midoriya 7:19PM) -Recovery Girl mentioned it! That must be super exciting! R u going to teach the hero course?

(Toshinori 7:20PM) -Yes, although I find myself rather apprehensive. I’ve never been a teacher before. 

(Midoriya 7:21PM) -I’m sure you’ll do great! ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

(Toshinori 7:21PM) -What does that mean?

Izuku slaps a hand over his face, blushing furiously. Why did he add that emoji? 

(Midoriya 7:22PM) -It means that ur super strong and that you’ve got this!

For some reason, Izuku gets the sense that All Might is probably laughing at him.

(Toshinori 7:24PM) -Ah, forgive me. I am getting old.

(Midoriya 7:25PM) -All Might, ur not old!!! 

(Toshinori 7:25PM) - I believe the proper response is lol. 

Izuku snorts.

“Izuku, honey? Dinner is ready!” Inko calls from the kitchen. 

“Coming!”

Still smiling, Izuku pushes his book aside and gets up. He barely pays attention to his mother as he eats, typing out messages and giggling at the responses he gets. God, it feels so weird to be texting All Might. He’s a lot funnier than he thought he’d be. But it’s a surprisingly dry type of humor that Izuku wouldn’t have expected from someone like him. The boy is sent into peals of laughter when All Might reacts in dramatic horror to the picture of the anatomy book he got from Recovery Girl. 

Inko keeps glancing at him throughout the night, clearly wondering who he’s texting but not wanting to pry. She just smiles at the sparkle in his eyes as he grins down at his phone and leaves him to it. 

Izuku ends up texting back and forth with All Might for the next couple of hours. The book goes unread and Sushi sits on his chest as he lies in bed, idly petting his cat with one hand and typing with the other. Eventually he has to bid goodbye because he has to wake up early for school the next day, and he’s so giddy with happiness that he doesn’t even have time to realize that he’ll have to see Kacchan again tomorrow before he falls asleep. 

School is… tense the next day. Not because of the classes- Izuku’s never really had much trouble when it comes to grades. It’s tense because of Kacchan.

They walked to school together in total silence. Kacchan kept a whole foot of space between them and didn’t say a word, not even the occasional growl or scoff. Izuku knows his mother told Auntie Mitsuki about Recovery Girl taking him under her wing, so Kacchan must know too, but he doesn’t say anything about it. 

Well, that’s fine. If Kacchan wants to give him the cold shoulder, Izuku will give it right back. 

So Izuku ignores the blond during class and sits with Haru during lunch. The boy is surprised and glances nervously at Kacchan, but Izuku tells him not to worry about him. And if Tsubasa and Inaba are wondering why he’s not sitting with them anymore, they don’t ask about it. 

That’s how pretty much the entire week goes. Izuku has never gone so long without speaking to Kacchan before in his life. Inko cancelled his self-defense classes for the whole week because, despite how much he might deny it, he’s still not quite feeling one-hundred percent back to normal. He doesn’t feel awful, there’s just a lingering tiredness, like he’s slowly regaining his strength, but Inko refuses to budge. So that means Kacchan has to walk him home right after school on days when they would usually go train, but Izuku doesn’t know if he goes to his own lessons right after. He doesn’t ask. He doesn’t talk to him. 

It’s both refreshing and exhausting. The former because he’s finally able to rekindle his friendship with Haru and spend time with other people without Kacchan hanging on his shoulder. The latter because, well… it’s hard to stay angry for so long. Izuku’s never really been one to hold grudges, so this is kind of new for him. He’s not sure how long the whole silent-treatment thing is supposed to last. When can things go back to normal? How will he know whether or not Kacchan has learned his lesson if he doesn’t talk to him?

But Izuku doesn’t want to be the first to reach out. So instead he watches him. Keeps an eye out for the nasty behavior that he hates so much. And, to his surprise, he sees nothing. 

Kacchan is still far from polite, but for some reason he seems to be… holding his tongue. There are plenty of opportunities where he would normally lash out with fury, but instead he just growls and turns the other way. It’s almost as if he’s… sulking.

It’s odd- practically a complete 180 for his behavior. And Izuku isn’t the only one that notices. 

“Damn, Izukun, what’d you do to him?” Haru asks him one day during lunch. He eyes the blond from across the cafeteria and arches a brow.

Izuku sighs. It’s been two weeks since he’s last spoken to Kacchan. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss him. 

He munches on some noodles and mumbles, “I just… I dunno, told him off.” 

Haru snorts, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you neutered him.” Izuku sputters and the boy snickers. “Hey, I won’t judge! It worked when I got a dog that needed to calm down.” 

“Kacchan’s not a dog!” Izuku says, but he can’t help giggling a little. 

“Sure…”

Izuku flicks a piece of broccoli at him. 

Later when he’s walking home from school with Kacchan, the silence seems to press down on him harder than before. He fidgets uncomfortably, glancing at the blond. Kacchan makes no effort to seem like he even notices Izuku’s presence. 

Sighing loudly, Izuku asks, “Do you wanna go get ice cream?” 

Kacchan stops and glances at him. His face is confused for a moment, as if he isn’t sure if Izuku was even talking to him. Then, his expression closes off and he shrugs indifferently. 

There’s a small ice cream shop near their neighborhood, so they make their way over there. Kacchan wordlessly pays for them both before they continue walking back home. Izuku is content to lick at his mint-and-chip ice cream cone in silence while Kacchan near-assaults his rocky road cone. They finish before they reach the former’s house, but when Izuku steps up to open his door, he hesitates.

Kacchan is still standing on the sidewalk watching him when he glances over his shoulder. He always watches Izuku go into his house, as if to make sure he actually makes it inside even though his door is right there. Their eyes lock.

Izuku opens his mouth to ask... something. He doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know if it’ll make things better or worse. 

He ends up losing his confidence and scrambling into his house. Sushi meows at him judgmentally, but he just sighs heavily and goes to start on his homework. And once he finishes that, he starts on his other homework. 

Human Anatomy and Physiology. Even though it’s been two weeks since he’s received it, he’s only just barely finished chapter one. It’s not that he doesn’t find it interesting, it’s just very… dry. He’s definitely learning a lot, but it’s kind of hard to remember it all when the text is so small and there’s so much of it on every page. It’s as if the book is really two thousand pages but they needed to save paper so they just crammed it all into one thousand pages. He’s grateful that there’s pictures because a lot of the stuff would be very confusing without the visual aid. And at least Recovery Girl has also highlighted important parts and written down her own notes in it, although that’s probably from her own studying and not done specifically for him. 

Still, it’s just… dry. And he doesn’t want to say boring, but he often finds his mind trailing off while he’s staring at a page and then he has to go back and reread it. 

He’s determined to finish it, though! Even if he doesn’t like it, he will read the whole book and remember everything he can from it. So with this determined mindset, he sits down on the couch and cracks it open once more. 

Inko comes home from work an hour later to find Izuku with his face smushed against the pages, drooling slightly. 

“Okay, I never thought I’d say this,” Haru says, “But you need to talk to him.”

Izuku lifts his head up from where it was leaning against his palm and frowns. “What?” 

“Dude, you’re miserable,” Haru says, “You’ve got a red mark on your cheek from leaning against it so much. That’s a classic sign of moping.” 

“I’m not moping,” Izuku protests as he rubs his cheek petulantly, “And I’m not miserable. I don’t need him.” 

Haru rolls his eyes. “Yeah, and I don’t need porn, but look how much happier I am with it in my life.” 

“Ew!” Izuku grimaces. “What’s with you comparing Kacchan to weird things?”

“Because he is a weird thing.” Haru points at Izuku with his chopsticks. “A weird thing that you need in your life.” 

“I thought you hated him?”

“Oh, I do,” he replies firmly, “But you gotta admit, he has changed a bit. Whatever you said to him really made him shape up. Sure he’s still an ass, but he hasn’t gotten into a fight in almost a month. That’s gotta count for something.” 

Izuku stares at him, then sighs. He glances at Kacchan sitting with Tsubasa and Inaba across the cafeteria. “It’s just… I dunno…” He says, “I’ve always had him in my life, you know? And it’s weird that he’s not anymore… but I don’t even know what I would say to him at this point. I don’t know how to fix this…”

He falls silent, picking at his rice without much appetite. Haru gazes at him for a few moments, then sighs. 

“Well, I think I have an idea,” he says, standing up.

Izuku raises an eyebrow questioningly but Haru doesn’t say anything else, instead grabbing his tray of food and walking away. Izuku watches him leave, confused as to what he’s doing until he realizes he’s walking over to Kacchan’s table.

He bolts up. “Haru-kun!” 

He abandons his tray and starts running towards him, but there’s no way he can get there in time. All he can do is watch as Haru walks behind Kacchan and not-so-accidentally spills his drink over his head. 

The reaction is immediate. 

Kacchan roars and jumps to his feet, whirling around to snarl at Haru. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!? Bastard!”

“Oops!” Haru raises his hands innocently. “It was an accident!”

Kacchan’s fists clench and his body tenses up, ready to pounce. Izuku’s heart leaps to his throat and for a moment Haru looks scared too. Everyone in the cafeteria stares, waiting for a fight to break out.

To all of their surprise, however, all Kacchan does is get in Haru’s face and yell, “FUCK YOU!” before he storms off. 

Izuku freezes, his eyes wide with disbelief. Kacchan… didn’t start a fight. He was certain he would- a month ago he would’ve murdered Haru for spilling his drink on him. But he didn’t do anything…

His lips twitch upwards without him realizing it. 

Haru turns to him as everyone goes back to their lunches and smirks. It falls a moment later and he looks strangely… somber for a brief second. Then his face lights up again and he jerks his head to the door.

“Go after him, Izukun.”   

Breaking out into a full-on grin, Izuku smothers Haru in a hug and whispers in his ear, “Thank you!” Then he lets go and races out of the cafeteria after Kacchan.

He finds him in the boys’ bathroom, grumbling obscenities under his breath as he tries to wipe the juice out of his gakuran with a damp paper towel. They both freeze when they see each other. 

Kacchan stares for a few seconds before scowling. “Did you set that fucker up?” He growls accusingly.

Izuku shakes his head. “No.” 

Silence follows.

Kacchan swallows and turns away sharply, going back to rubbing his gakuran. Izuku exhales slowly and steps closer. Kacchan doesn’t move, but his eyes do flicker towards him briefly before looking away. He scrubs harder. 

“It’ll be easier if you just-” Izuku finally reaches him and puts a hand on his arm, stilling his movements. “Just… Just take it off,” he says quietly. He reaches up and slowly unbuttons his gakuran, sliding it off his shoulders and leaving him in his undershirt. Kacchan watches him with an unreadable expression as he takes it and turns towards the sink. He holds the stained part under the water and reaches to turn on the faucet-

Something bumps the back of his head. It takes him a moment to realize it’s Kacchan’s forehead. He pauses.

They stay silent for a long time, just listening to each other breathe. Izuku’s hands clutch the edge of the sink as tears prick the edge of his eyes. A hard lump forms in his throat. 

He realizes now why he’s been feeling so awful for the past few weeks. It’s not just because he’s still mad at Kacchan for what he said. He… he… he mi-

“I miss you,” Kacchan’s voice rumbles in his ear. 

Izuku sighs but stays silent. The stained gakuran is forgotten in front of him. 

A moment later, Kacchan continues, “Can… can we talk?” 

Izuku sniffles. “Sure.”

Silence.

“I mean, not like serious talk,” Kacchan grunts, his forehead still pressed against him, “Just… talk.” 

Izuku nods. “Okay,” he says quietly. 

Nothing happens for a few seconds after that, but then slowly, ever so slowly, Kacchan’s arms wrap around his middle, pulling him closer. Izuku inhales deeply and shifts in his hold, turning around so they can hug properly. He wraps his arms around his friend and leans his head against his shoulder, closing his eyes. Kacchan buries his nose in his green curls and takes a deep, shuddering breath.

He isn’t sure how long they stay like that, just holding onto each other in the middle of the boys’ bathroom during their lunch period. All he knows is that, for the first time in weeks, he feels… whole. Like everything is going to be okay now. 

Izuku smiles and hugs him a bit tighter. Then, “Do you want to play video games after school?” 

Kacchan lets out a huff of laughter and he feels it against his chest. “Yeah,” he replies softly, “Yeah, let’s do that.” 

The lunch bell rings before they can remember to wash the gakuran, but neither of them care that much. Izuku’s never been so excited to walk home later that day. It’s still kind of quiet; Kacchan finally asks him about getting scouted by Recovery Girl and Izuku is more than happy to tell him about it, but there’s still plenty of pauses and somewhat awkward silences here and there. 

But Izuku finds himself not minding that so much. It’s hard to mind when Kacchan’s finally back on his couch again, sitting beside him and getting fully invested in whatever video game they’re playing this time. Izuku keeps glancing at him throughout their game and when he inevitably loses, all he does is smile and giggle. As Kacchan gloats over his win, Izuku leans against his side and lets his cheek smush against the other boy’s shoulder. 

He’s missed his player two.

Chapter Text

Izuku finally finishes reading the anatomy book two months later. When he announces his triumph, Kacchan gives him a mildly impressed look and Inko cooks him katsudon for dinner. All Might sends him a carefully crafted thumbs up emoji. He texts Recovery Girl too and her response goes along the lines of ‘good job now read it again’. 

It makes him grimace, but the healer surprises him by dropping by his house during that weekend to give him a gift. It’s a bunch of DVDs of this old show called House MD. Recovery Girl gives them to him in hopes of making the learning process more interesting. It was made way back before quirks appeared so it’ll be a good introduction into traditional quirkless medical practices, many of which are still used today. Izuku questions the fact that it’s a drama show and she says that, despite how exaggerated everything is, the episodes are based on real medical issues. 

She seems really adamant that he watch the show, so he just shrugs and accepts the DVDs without complaint. Later that night, he drags Kacchan to his couch and forces the blond to watch with him. 

Two days later, they’re on Season 3.

“God I hate this fucking show,” Kacchan growls as he stares at the screen with rapt attention. He’s too captivated to even care that Izuku’s feet are resting on top of his legs. 

“I like Cameron,” Izuku chirps, snuggling into a pillow, “She’s so cute and friendly, like a rabbit.”

Kacchan snorts, “Figures you would like her. She’s way too soft to be a doctor, if you ask me.” He leans back and glares at the TV, waving his hand vaguely. “But I don’t get why women like this House guy. He’s such a jackass. Why do people hang out with him?” 

“I dunno. Probably the same reason I hang out with you.”

“Oi!” Kacchan throws a pillow at his face. 

July 3rd

(Toshinori 4:00PM) -Guess what, Young Midoriya?

(Midoriya 4:03PM) -What?

(Toshinori 4:04PM) -Since we met, my time in my muscle form has increased by 40 minutes!

(Midoriya 4:04PM) -Woo hoo! 

(Toshinori 4:05PM) -Yes, woo hoo! And I have gained twenty pounds!

(Midoriya 4:06PM) -Woo hoo again! You’ve been eating well, then?

(Toshinori 4:07PM) -Yes, although I wish Recovery Girl wasn’t so bossy about what I ate. Apparently eating ‘fatty American foods’ isn’t considered a healthy way to gain weight. 

(Midoriya 4:08PM) -Welllll even if you are malnourished, gaining weight too quickly will probably give you indigestion at the very least.

(Midoriya 4:09PM) -And probably some metabolism problems too. 

(Midoriya 4:09PM) -And issues with your blood sugar.

(Toshinori 4:11PM) -See now you sound like Recovery Girl.

(Midoriya 4:11PM) -I will take that as a compliment.

(Toshinori 4:12PM) -So no ice cream? 

(Midoriya 4:12PM) -No.

(Toshinori 4:12PM) -(◞‸◟；)

(Midoriya 4:13PM) -Noooooo.

(Toshinori 4:13PM) -What if I told you I haven’t been able to eat ice cream for the past five years?

(Midoriya 4:14PM) -I would believe you but still no.

(Midoriya 4:15PM) -Why don’t you make a list of all the stuff you really really wanna eat and then you have that to look forward to?

(Toshinori 4:15PM) -Sounds like that would just make me want to eat that stuff right now.

(Midoriya 4:16PM) -No, no, it’ll be motivational! Cuz you’ll see that list and think ‘wow I wanna eat that food, better keep eating whatever Recovery Girl is making me eat so I can get to the good stuff sooner’.

(Toshinori 4:16PM) -Hmm, fine. But can I say that nutrition shakes are disgusting?

(Midoriya 4:16PM) -Your complaint is noted. 

(Midoriya 4:17PM) -If you hate them so much then why don’t you try another flavor?

(Toshinori 4:17PM) -??? There’s more than one flavor?

(Midoriya 4:17PM) -...yeah? I hear the chocolate flavored ones are really good.

(Toshinori 4:18PM) -?!?!? THERE’S CHOCOLATE FLAVORED NUTRITION SHAKES?!? 

(Toshinori 4:18PM) -WHAT THE HELL HAS CHIYO BEEN MAKING ME DRINK THEN?!? 

(Toshinori 4:18PM) -Hold on, I need to make a call.

(Midoriya 4:18PM) -All Might?

(Midoriya 4:23PM) -All Might???

(Midoriya 4:37PM) -I would like to actually have a mentor when I go to UA, you know?

(Midoriya 4:50PM) -RIP Recovery Girl.

(Toshinori 7:15PM) -I have successfully negotiated for strawberry cream flavored shakes. 

(Midoriya 7:20PM) -asjhfdalsjkdakl

July 20th

(Midoriya 2:15PM) -What kind of ending was that?!?

(Recovery Girl 2:30PM) -I’m assuming you finished House?

(Midoriya 2:32PM) -I am conflicted.

(Recovery Girl 2:34PM) -I thought it was solid. But it’s also been a few years since I’ve seen the show. More importantly, what did you learn? 

(Midoriya 2:36PM) -.... There are so many more things that can go wrong with the human body than I had initially thought. 

(Recovery Girl 2:37PM) -Ha.

(Recovery Girl 2:37PM) -And that didn’t even cover injuries.

(Midoriya 2:40PM) -I asked Kacchan what he learned and he said “No one can fire you for being an asshole if you’re the best at your job”

(Midoriya 2:41PM) -I am mildly concerned. 

(Recovery Girl 2:43PM) -Yes, but don’t worry. Unfortunately, most doctors and healers are not like House. 

(Midoriya 2:44PM) -“Unfortunately”? 

(Recovery Girl 2:45PM) -The whole ‘ruggedly handsome’ look isn’t as popular in the medical community as I would like it to be.

(Midoriya 2:47PM) -...

(Recovery Girl 2:49PM) -My roommates and I watched House when we were in med school and we got all these high expectations for the male doctors we would be working with in the future. 

(Midoriya 2:52PM) -......

(Recovery Girl 2:53PM) -But alas, no, I have not met a doctor like House. I am still a single woman, after all. 

(Midoriya 2:55PM) -...............

(Recovery Girl 2:56PM) -I can feel your judgement through the screen, boy. 

(Midoriya 2:57PM) -I didn’t say anything.... 

(Midoriya 3:10PM) -“Ruggedly handsome”?

(Recovery Girl 3:11PM) -Go read your book. 

By the time winter comes around, Izuku’s anatomy book is filled with a cacophony of highlights and brightly-colored sticky notes. Recovery Girl gave him permission to write on the pages and he finds it a lot easier to memorize things when he has visual cues like colors to help him remember. He’s nearly done with his fourth round of reading the book, which is more than Recovery Girl asked but he wants to be extra prepared. 

There hasn’t been much time for anything but studying during winter break. There’s studying for school, for Recovery Girl, and for the UA entrance exam in February. To make matters worse, All Might tells Izuku that the recommendation exam occurs a week earlier than the general exam. 

“It’s to give the judges time to evaluate the scores,” the number one hero says over the phone, “Rather than doing it after the general exam, when they’ll also be busy evaluating a larger number of students. It also gives those who fail the recommendation exam the chance to take the general one.” 

It makes sense, of course, but damn if it doesn’t rile up Izuku’s already shot nerves. The boy is a mess of anxiety during the entire month of January, despite constant reassurances from Inko, Haru, and all the Bakugous. He pours himself into his studies and repeats information like a mantra in his head during class until the day finally comes. 

“I don’t like that you’re going to be going by yourself,” Kacchan growls as Izuku struggles to pick what to wear. It’s still early in the morning but the blond had come over anyway, knowing that his friend would no doubt be working himself into a worried fit. He’s right, to some degree. Izuku was too nervous to eat much for breakfast so instead he’s focusing on making himself presentable.

“I’m not going to be alone, Kacchan,” Izuku says as he pulls out a tank top, frowning in consideration. It’s still pretty cold outside, but he knows there will be a physical portion and he doesn’t want to risk getting too hot. But then again his main focus is on the written exam. “Recovery Girl’s colleague is going to meet me at the train station, remember?” 

Kacchan grumbles unintelligibly.  

“What do you think I should wear?” Izuku asks, giving up and putting the tank top back, “I want to be practical but I also want to look nice.” 

Kacchan huffs before getting up and not-so-gently nudging him aside with his shoulder. Izuku goes to sit on the bed and waits while Kacchan rummages through his closet, eventually pulling out a pair of black leggings that he usually wears to spar or run as well as a white long-sleeved shirt and a black track jacket. He throws the clothes at Izuku with more force than necessary and snaps at him to get changed already. 

He ends up walking Izuku to the train station to meet All Might, who is waiting for them in his non-muscled form. Izuku smiles when he sees him. He hasn’t seen the number one hero in person since April, so he hasn’t been able to see his physical progress since then. All Might is definitely back to a healthy weight now and his health shows in every aspect of his body, from his shiny hair to his straightened posture. His eyes and cheeks are no longer sunken and gaunt, and when he smiles at them it’s a lot brighter. He looks… happy.

Izuku can hardly recognize the once-skeletal man he met in the alley. 

“Young Midoriya, it’s good to see you again!” All Might greets, waving them over. His eyes land on Kacchan, but his smile doesn’t fade. “And you must be Young Bakugou.” 

Kacchan eyes All Might skeptically as he nods. “Yeah.” 

Izuku hasn’t really talked much about All Might- or rather, Toshinori- with Kacchan, so he knows the other boy is a bit wary around him. But even without being in his muscled form, All Might is still a very tall and lean man, so eventually Kacchan mentally deems him worthy enough to leave Izuku in his care. 

“Text me when you get there, nerd,” he says, turning away, “And good luck.” 

With that said, he bumps his shoulder and leaves. 

Izuku and All Might turn to each other and both simply grin for a few moments.

“You look good!” Izuku says, proud when his voice doesn’t squeak. Even though he’s technically been talking to All Might for months, there’s a big difference between texting and meeting up personally. The boy is hit with yet another reminder that he is totally not over his hero worship. 

“Thank you,” All Might says, puffing up his chest proudly. Then, his grin softens and he asks, “How are you feeling?” 

“Like I’m about to die,” Izuku answers truthfully and All Might laughs. 

“Nonsense!” He clasps the boy’s shoulder, leading him to their platform. “You’ve already won the favor of Principal Nedzu and Recovery Girl. All there’s left to do is pass the written portion and do as well as you can during the physical demonstration. You’ll be fine- I know how hard you’ve been studying.”

“I know, I know, it’s just…” Izuku scrunches up his shoulders and looks at the ground. “What if I don’t get in? I mean, what’ll I even do then? What if all this was for nothing? How will I ever become a healer if I can’t train with Recovery Girl at UA?” 

“Bold of you to assume that Chiyo-san wouldn’t train you even if you didn’t get into UA,” All Might chuckles as they step onto the train, “I don’t think you understand how excited she is to have an apprentice. Besides, you know that if you don’t pass the recommendation test then you can always try for the general exam next week. Sure, you wouldn’t get into the hero course, but Chiyo-san would still be able to train you if you were in General Studies.” 

Izuku takes a deep breath and sits down, All Might taking the seat next to him. “You’re right,” he sighs, “I just worry, you know?” 

“Yeah, no kidding.” 

All Might lets out a huff of laughter and Izuku puffs out his cheeks in mock offense. Thankfully, the train ride to UA isn’t very long and All Might talks for most of the time, clearly trying to distract the greenette as he anxiously tugs at his curls. At one point the number one hero pauses and coughs a little, immediately taking out a handkerchief to quickly wipe his mouth, but Izuku doesn’t miss the splash of red on the cloth before it is pulled away.

“You’re still coughing up blood?” He asks softly.

All Might clears his throat. “Yeah. I think it has more to do with my lung than my stomach.” 

Izuku frowns, feeling a pang of guilt. Even if it would be detrimental to him… he technically does have the ability to heal the hero. And yet here he is, making him wait. 

All Might must read Izuku’s face because he smiles reassuringly and says, “Don’t worry about it. I told you, I can wait. Besides, I already feel loads better thanks to you. Trust me, this is nothing.” 

Izuku blushes lightly at the praise and looks down at his lap, smiling. He eventually stops fussing with his hair and pulls it up into a ponytail before they arrive at their stop. It’ll be better to have it out of his way during the written and physical exams.

The train station is only a short walk away from campus, and soon Izuku is gawking in awe as UA looms over him. All Might laughs at his reaction and puts a hand on his back to lead him inside. It’s more amazing than he ever could have imagined. And it’s so big- part of him wonders if it’s because they have to accommodate students with mutant or gigantification-type quirks. As they walk past the gates, All Might inflates into his muscled form.

“I don’t think anyone but Principal Nedzu and Chiyo-san know that I am the one that is sponsoring you,” he says, “So I apologize if there is a bit of a fuss.” 

“That’s alright. Do you think we’re early?” Izuku asks, glancing around for other recommendation students. 

All Might looks at his phone. “Not really. I’m sure others will be arriving shortly. Although, I will admit I’m a bit out of my depth here.” He scratches the back of his head. “To keep things fair, Nedzu-san only told me what the other sponsors were told. All I know is that we’re going to meet in the Beta Gym.” He nods at a smaller building to the left of the main building and they start walking towards it. “After that, I assume that you’ll be directed to wherever your test will be taken.” 

“Okay,” Izuku says as they approach the teachers center, “How many recommendation students will there be? Are there a specific amount of spots to be filled, or do they just accept as many as they want?”

All Might shakes his head and shrugs cluelessly. “I really don’t know, Young Midoriya. This is new for me too.”

“Right, right, sorry,” he apologizes. 

They’re at the door now, but they both stop in front of it. All Might turns to him and, after a moment of gazing, lifts his hand as if to ruffle his hair comfortingly. He then seems to reconsider it since he’d ruin Izuku’s ponytail, so instead he just gives him a thumbs up before pushing the door open. 

The first thing Izuku notices is that the Flame Hero Endeavor is standing at the end of the hallway with another boy. The second thing he notices is that as soon as Endeavor glances over his shoulder, he immediately starts glaring heatedly at All Might. 

Izuku is not unaware of the apparent despise Endeavor holds for the number one hero. It’s fairly common knowledge that he’s always been jealous of the latter’s status. In fact, the only one who doesn’t seem to notice his hatred for All Might is All Might himself, which is evident in how the hero perks up at the sight of Endeavor and waves.

“Yo, Endeavor!” All Might calls in his deep voice, wearing his signature grin as he approaches the other man. Izuku trails behind him nervously. “Long time no see!”

“All Might,” Endeavor practically growls as he fully turns around. 

Izuku gulps. The Flame Hero is far more intimidating in real life than he is on TV. Izuku was interested in him for a little while before his healing quirk manifested because he thought he might inherit his father’s fire-breathing quirk. Even back then, Izuku couldn’t find himself liking the hero very much, mostly because, despite his fire quirk, he just seemed so cold, especially compared to someone like All Might. He’s never been known for being particularly friendly, and Izuku can see that now more than ever.

He makes sure to stand slightly behind All Might when he stops in front of Endeavor. 

“I haven’t seen you since that talk we had with the press ten years ago, huh?” All Might says, completely ignorant of the glare the other hero is sending him. If looks could kill, the number one hero would be nothing but a pile of ashes by now. 

“What are you doing here, All Might?” Endeavor asks and All Might visibly brightens. Before Izuku can react, the blond has his hand on his back and is pushing him forward. 

“I’m here to sponsor this fine young man, Midoriya Izuku!” All Might proudly announces. 

Izuku very nearly shrivels when Endeavor’s glare turns to him. Heart racing in his chest, he can’t help but shrink slightly when the Flame Hero narrows his eyes suspiciously. Izuku tries to hold his gaze but very quickly loses his nerve and drops his eyes, instead looking over to the boy standing next to him, who he assumes is his son, Todoroki Shouto. He’s heard very little about him- Endeavor is especially tight-lipped when it comes to talking about his family. But it seems that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree because Todoroki is glaring at him just like his father, albeit less heatedly. No, his eyes are cold and his face is carefully devoid of emotion, but somehow Izuku still gets the feeling that he’s being sized up. 

“You are sponsoring someone?” Endeavor’s voice is carrying a hint of something else now, something Izuku can’t quite decipher. “Well, he must be a very special young man if he was able to catch your eye.” Even though his words seem kind, he practically spits them out. 

All Might pats Izuku’s shoulder and grins brilliantly. “Indeed!” He proclaims, puffing up his chest with pride, “Young Midoriya here has one of the most powerful quirks I’ve ever seen!”

Izuku has never wished so badly for All Might to shut up before. He knows the older man means well but dear God how can he not see that he and Endeavor are on completely different pages?!? 

As soon as All Might says those words, Endeavor’s flames seem to grow. His attention is fully on Izuku now and the poor boy can virtually feel the intense heat radiating off of him. A quick glance tells him that Todoroki is still staring at him with cold eyes.

Well, shit. What the hell is going on? 

“Is that so? High praise from the number one hero,” Endeavor growls, low like rolling thunder, “I look forward to seeing it…” 

After a few more moments of glaring, he straightens up and gestures to his son. “My Shouto is taking the recommendation exam as well.” He somehow makes the statement sound like a threat. “I believe this will be a fine opportunity for everyone to show off their strength and skill.” 

Then, much like how All Might did with him, Endeavor puts his hand on Todoroki’s back and pushes him forward. So now Izuku is awkwardly standing in front of Todoroki while the other boy continues to glare at him icily. 

Crap, why is he so creepy? Izuku is used to the explosive rage that Kacchan constantly displays, not this silent, cold intimidation. It’s so terribly unnerving- he hopes he never has to use his quirk on him.

No, what the hell is he thinking? Intimidating or not, Todoroki could be one of his future patients! He should make himself seem friendly and open- no doubt he’ll have to form strong relationships with heroes in the future. So, why not start with one of his potential classmates?

Looking up at Todoroki, Izuku forces himself not to shrink under his gaze and instead smiles. Unfortunately, Todoroki must interpret it the wrong way because his eyes narrow in response.

“Certainly!” Meanwhile, All Might is still talking to Endeavor. “I look forward to seeing Young Shouto’s power as well! You’ve always been so secretive about him, Endeavor.” 

Endeavor huffs and opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, the door behind him opens and a head pops out. Izuku perks up, instantly recognizes her as the R-rated Hero Midnight.

“Oh, there you guys are!” Midnight says, “Well, don’t just stand out here. Come on inside, we’re just waiting for a couple more people.” 

Endeavor sends one last scathing look to All Might before brushing past her. Midnight hastily dodges, narrowly avoiding his flames. Todoroki follows his father silently.

As soon as they’re gone, Izuku feels as if a giant weight has been lifted off of his chest. Sighing wearily, he turns to All Might and asks, “Is he always that… intense?” 

“Yep!” All Might replies, popping the ‘p’. “But he’s a strong and well-respected hero, although I haven’t had the chance to work with him many times.”

He sounds so genuinely disappointed that Izuku nearly snorts. How can someone so powerful and successful be so oblivious? 

All Might straightens up. “Having Young Shouto as your ally will no doubt be beneficial!” He says it so confidently that Izuku can’t help but smile in response. 

Well, just because his first impression of Todoroki wasn’t so good, that doesn’t mean he should let it cloud his judgement of the other boy.

So, without further ado, Izuku walks into the gym with All Might and gets his first glimpse of what could very well be his future classmates. The entrance of All Might immediately draws everyone’s eyes and many people seem surprised. He can hear a few gasps ripple across the room and he ducks his head slightly, walking in with All Might’s gentle hand on his back.

There aren’t as many recommendation students as he thought there would be. He estimates around fifteen or twenty, but since they all have a sponsor with them, there’s close to forty people in the room. And as soon as they get over their shock at the sight of All Might, all of their eyes land on him.

He gulps. Maybe it would have been better if All Might had sponsored him as Toshinori? At least then nobody would be staring at Izuku as if he just openly challenged them all to a duel. 

It’s not hard to tell what everyone is thinking. He knows how this must look- the number one hero is personally sponsoring some random kid they’ve never seen before to help him get into his alma mater school for heroics. They’re probably thinking he must have some super powerful combative quirk if he was able to catch the eye of the greatest hero in Japan. 

He should probably say something, just to make sure there’s no misunderstandings…

Before he can, though, All Might brings attention back to himself by greeting everyone cheerfully. Izuku only recognizes a few of the heroes that are sponsoring their own students, but All Might seems to be somewhat familiar with most of them. He supposes that, as the number one hero, he must regularly meet a lot of heroes.

As the large man begins to chat idly with a couple of people, the buzz of conversation resumes. However, Izuku still sees many curious and suspicious eyes glancing at him as the sponsors and students whisper amongst themselves. 

It feels a bit isolating, but one student seems to have no problem marching right up to him. He’s extremely tall with a broad chest and shaved head, but it’s his wild eyes that really catch his attention. Izuku can’t help but tense up slightly as he approaches.

However, unlike Todoroki, this boy grins at him widely.

“Wow, wow, wow! I never thought I’d be seeing All Might sponsoring somebody today!” The boy says loudly, “That’s super freaking cool, man! I’m Yoarashi Inasa!”

He promptly sticks out a large hand. Izuku blinks and glances at All Might uncertainly, but the blond simply gives him a thumbs up before turning back to his conversation.

Smiling politely, Izuku takes Yoarashi’s hand and shakes it. “Hello! I’m Midoriya Izuku!” 

Yoarashi shakes his hand a bit too enthusiastically for his tastes, practically jerking his whole arm up and down repeatedly. “Midoriya-kun!” He nearly shouts, “Or Izuku-kun? Izukun! I like that better! Can I call you Izukun?”

Izuku laughs nervously, slowly retracting his hand. Well, he’s definitely friendly! Kacchan would totally hate him.

Still, Yoarashi’s overwhelming energy is much better than Todoroki’s cold demeanor, so Izuku just finds himself smiling and saying, “Sure!”

“Great!” Yoarashi grins. “Are you as excited as I am? I’m totally stoked right now!”

Yeah, no kidding.

“I just love UA! It’s the most passionate high school in Japan! Do you think-”

Yoarashi ends up doing most of the talking during their short conversation. Izuku just keeps smiling and nodding, but he doesn’t find himself minding too much. It takes his mind off of his anxiety for the test and Yoarashi’s obvious passion for heroics is kind of charming. He’s clearly boisterous and rowdy, but his friendliness seems genuine. Izuku wouldn’t mind talking to him after this is all over. 

A few minutes later, Principal Nedzu walks in and announces that the written portion of the exam will now begin. He goes on to say that afterwards they’ll be moving to Ground Beta for the physical portion. The students separate from their sponsors as they’re led to another section of the gym where rows of desks await them. 

Izuku takes a deep breath, refocusing his mind to the situation at hand. The written test. All he has to think about right now is the written test. He can worry about everything else later. Sure the physical exam is literally right after this one, but he tells himself repeatedly that he doesn’t have to worry about that one as much, even Recovery Girl said so- wait a minute, where is Recovery Girl? 

“Aaand… begin!” 

Pushing his thoughts out of his mind, Izuku swallows his anxiety and focuses on the test. The next couple of hours go by way too quickly. Even though Izuku studied months in advance, he still comes across a good handful of questions that he doesn’t know the answer to. It’s obvious that the recommendation test is meant to be a lot more difficult than most high school entrance exams, or even UA’s general one. Still, he thinks he does fairly well overall. Definitely not the highest score, but far from the lowest. 

As soon as the timer is up, Present Mic bursts into the room, startling nearly everyone. 

“Okay! The written test of the recommendation entrance exam is over!” He shouts, “Now, little listeners, I’m sure you’re wondering what the physical portion will entail! Get up and follow me!” Without waiting for a response, he whirls around and starts dramatically marching out the door. 

A few students blink at each other for a couple of moments, stunned by the sudden appearance and disappearance of Present Mic’s wild energy. Someone else comes by and tells them to leave their tests on their desks so they can be collected while they’re gone. Izuku glances at his papers once more before getting up. 

Whatever anxiety he can have over the written portion doesn’t matter anymore. It’s done, it’s over, and now Izuku can finally relax. Maybe he can even have fun with the physical exam! He feels so much lighter now that he’s finished the most important part- at least, for him. 

Smiling, he trots up to Yoarashi’s side. “How do you think you did?”

“Pretty good!” The taller boy grins down at him. “It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, though!”

“Yeah, same here,” Izuku says, “I got really worried when I saw the question about-”

From the front of the group, Present Mic calls out, “Please refrain from discussing specific test questions!”

A few people snicker around him as Izuku’s face turns red. “Sorry!” He squeaks, clapping his hands over his mouth. 

Yoarashi laughs, but not unkindly. “Don’t mind! He didn’t seem too mad about it.” He slaps Izuku on the back good-naturedly, but the force of it sends him stumbling forward. “Oops, sorry!”

“Don’t mind,” Izuku giggles, regaining his balance. “Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a strength quirk.” 

Yoarashi puffs up his chest. God, why does he have to be so big? It’s not even his height alone, he’s just generally large. 

“Nope!” He says, “My quirk’s called Whirlwind! It allows me to manipulate wind currents.”

A wind quirk? Not even a physically enhancing quirk? So he’s just that tall because of genetics, then? Life is so unfair.

He doesn’t notice the pair of heterochromatic eyes watching him as he replies to Yoarashi, “That’s super cool!”

 Yoarashi practically glows at the praise and peers down at him curiously. “What’s your quirk?” 

“Oh! It’s-”

“Alright, listen up, kiddos!” Present Mic yells loudly, interrupting Izuku. 

The boy blinks in surprise and looks around. He hadn’t even realized they’d stopped in front of Ground Beta. The thick walls loom above them, concealing what’s inside. Present Mic pulls out a projector and projects a screen onto one of the walls. 

“The physical test will be a three-kilometer long obstacle course!” The voice hero explains, “Students will receive numbers and will race six at a time. Use your quirks freely to reach the finish line! Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited! In addition, your sponsors will be waiting for you at the finish line! Okay, any questions?”

Nobody speaks up so Present Mic gives them a few minutes to go change into whatever clothes they want to wear for the test. Most of them are wearing some form of workout clothes underneath their outfits, and Izuku just takes off his jacket and pushes it into a locker. Then, Present Mic goes about handing everyone a paper with their number on it. Izuku ends up being placed in the last group to go, but so does Yoarashi so they get to chat with each other while they wait for their turn to go. Izuku’s surprised that Yoarashi doesn’t seem the slightest bit worried. Most of the others, aside from Todoroki, are fidgeting or hopping from foot to foot. He must be very confident in his quirk’s abilities if he’s able to go into this with such an easy mindset. Either that or he’s just really good at hiding his anxiety, which Izuku would envy.

When it’s finally their turn, Present Mic has them line up against the starting point and wait for the alarm.

“Good luck, Yoarashi-kun!” Izuku chirps as he steps up beside Todoroki. Glancing over at the bi-colored boy, he tries smiling again and gets a cold look in response. Not to be deterred, Izuku asks, “Are you excited?” 

Todoroki narrows his eyes. For a moment, Izuku doesn’t think he’ll reply, but then he says in a low voice, “It’s my goal to surpass All Might and become the number one hero.”

Izuku blinks in surprise, mostly because he wasn’t really expecting him to respond. Well, he didn’t really answer his question though. Where did that come from? 

Well, anyway, it’s not exactly an uncommon goal. Kacchan’s been telling him for years that he’s going to become the number one hero. Why Todoroki felt the need to tell him in such a threatening way, Izuku doesn’t know, but maybe he’s fishing for support? 

Izuku opens his mouth, ready to say something along the lines of ‘you can do it’ or ‘good luck’, but Todoroki’s not done. 

“So, if you’ve got something from him,” he says, “Then I’m going to beat you too.” 

With that said, he turns away and focuses on the obstacle course ahead.

Izuku frowns, bewildered. Something from All Might? You mean, besides his recommendation? 

All he has time to utter is a confused “Huh?” before the alarm blares, signalling the start of the exam. 

Everyone immediately bolts towards the obstacle course and Izuku scrambles after them a second later. Todoroki uses his ice to push himself forward, but Yoarashi quickly takes the lead, propelling himself with his wind. Izuku only has a few seconds to gawk at how cool the quirks are before the two disappear over the first obstacle, which seems to be some sort of rockwall. The three other recommendation students all appear to have pretty well-rounded quirks too; one girl with a ponytail seems to pull a grappling hook out of her stomach to help her get over the wall.

Izuku knew full-well prior to the exam that he’s probably going to come in last place, so he doesn’t feel too bad when he’s quickly overtaken. Still, he does his best to clamber over the rockwall as fast as possible, and he mentally pats himself on the back for having kept himself in good physical shape. It’s definitely helping him now- the obstacle course is hard but clearly doable even if one doesn’t have a combative quirk, however it is clear that above-average physical skill and fitness is needed to get through it. 

He’s probably naturally faster than most of the students he’s competing against and it shows when he starts to catch up to the students other than Todoroki and Yoarashi, but it takes a lot more time for him to get over the obstacles and that slows him down significantly. Still, by the time he reaches the finish line, he only comes in about a minute or so later than the last person does, which is pretty good, all things considered. 

The others, however, clearly don’t think the same.

They all watch him as he runs towards the finish line, sweating and panting heavily. Confusion is written all over their faces, including the sponsors’. Well, except for All Might, who just gives him a thumbs up, and Todoroki, who stares at him with a carefully blank expression. Yoarashi is glaring at Todoroki for some reason, but even he looks puzzled when Izuku finally crosses the finish line. Nevertheless, he’s still friendly enough to flash him and grin and walks up to him as he catches his breath.

“Yo, Izukun! You made it!” His grin is wide, but the confusion is clear in his mind. “Er… Did you not use your quirk, or…?” Behind him, the other students glance at each other. 

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Izuku swallows and looks up. “Oh, no, no,” he pants, “I-”

“What the hell is this?!?” A shout from the group of sponsors catches everyone’s attention. A few of the adults back away from Endeavor, who’s flames are flickering as he scowls with rage. Turning to All Might, the Flame Hero snaps, “Does your successor not feel the need to take this test seriously? What, is he just playing around? Think this is all for fun?” 

“Er, Endeavor-” All Might tries to say, but Endeavor interrupts him.

“Or maybe he’s just so over confident in his quirk that he believes he doesn’t need to use it for the test?” He snarls, “Figures you would sponsor someone just as pretentious as yourself, but I will not stand by and let him make a mockery of this test and its participants! Who does he think he is-”

Despite All Might’s numerous attempts to calm him, Endeavor continues to rant at the number one hero without even pausing for breath. His face is twisted with rage and his flames are nearly covering his entire upper-body, making for a truly frightening scene.

Meanwhile, Izuku is still standing amongst the recommendation students, staring at Endeavor in dismay. Guilt claws at his heart- he didn’t think anyone would be getting so upset by this!

“I-I’m sorry,” he chokes out, embarrassed tears pricking at his eyes as his cheeks burn, “I didn’t mean to offend anyone!”

Endeavor is yelling so loudly that none of the adults can hear him, but the recommendation students all turn to him. The girl with the ponytail puts a hand on her hip and tilts her head. “Well, then, why didn’t you use your quirk?” She asks, “I figured you would possess an exceptional quirk if you were sponsored by someone like All Might.” 

“Er-no,” Izuku replies, wringing his hands nervously, “I mean- yes! But, er, I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding. I don’t have a combative quirk, I have a-”

“Endeavor, please!” Principal Nedzu’s voice rings out. 

He turns to see the principal approaching the group of sponsors with Recovery Girl in tow. Izuku lets out a sigh of relief when he sees her. It’s alright now, everything’s going to be okay, Recovery Girl will be able to explain everything and then Endeavor can stop being so mad.

“Endeavor,” Nedzu says, padding up to the number two hero, “Calm down, please. Midoriya-kun here is a bit of a special case because he’s-”

Endeavor doesn’t hear him out, instead whirling on the mouse and snarling, “Oh, so he’s getting special treatment because All Might recommended him? I never pegged UA as the type to-”

“Oh, shut up, you dolt!” Recovery Girl suddenly snaps. Everyone glances at her in surprise.

“Chiyo-san!” All Might looks embarrassed.

Recovery Girl rolls her eyes and steps up right in front of Endeavor. “Now listen here, young man,” she says, glaring up at the hero, “Midoriya Izuku is not getting any special treatment from anyone. He is taking this test just like everyone else and is not being given an unfair advantage.”

“But-” Endeavor tries to interrupt, but Recovery Girl keeps going.

“However, I think you need to think twice before making assumptions about people! That boy has the best damn healing quirk I’ve ever seen and I’m not going to let some pompous, bull-headed fool get in the way of me training him to become a healer! So, I’ll say it again- shut up.”

There’s a moment of silence in which everyone just stares at her in shock. Endeavor opens and closes his mouth repeatedly, his face morphing between rage and confusion as if he can’t decide which emotion to feel. Eventually, he somehow manages to settle somewhere between the two and he turns to All Might.

“Healing quirk?” He questions, “But you said his quirk was-”

“I didn’t say, actually,” All Might interrupts, “Although, perhaps I should have. I wasn’t lying earlier, though. It is one of the most powerful quirks I’ve ever seen.” 

Endeavor glances between him and Izuku for a moment before growling. “But this test is to get into the hero course,” he claims, “What business does someone with a healing quirk have there?”

“Both Midoriya-kun and his classmates will benefit from him being there,” Recovery Girl explains with a firm voice, “He will assist me in dealing with the numerous injuries that hero students acquire on a day-to-day basis and will learn how to react and defend himself in potentially dangerous situations. I’m sure you know that past incidents have shown the hero community that healers can sometimes face the same dangers that heroes face.”

Izuku’s jaw nearly drops in shock. Recovery Girl didn’t mention it by name, but there’s no doubt that she’s referring to the incident involving one of Endeavor’s healers being stolen by a villain over fifteen years ago. He can’t believe she went that far!

Endeavor’s teeth grind audibly as he glares down at Recovery Girl, but he won’t argue with the healer after he’s been so thoroughly chastised by her, at least not in front of a bunch of other heroes and children. 

Still, Izuku feels the need to speak up.

“Er, I’m sorry, Endeavor,” he apologizes nervously, “I- I didn’t mean to upset anyone.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Young Midoriya,” All Might says softly, “It was just a simple misunderstanding.” 

Izuku must not look very convinced because Yoarashi claps a hand on his shoulder and says, “Don’t mind!” 

Izuku smiles a little, turning to face the rest of the recommendation students that are gazing at him with much friendlier expressions. Even Todoroki isn’t glaring at him anymore; in fact, he almost looks a little embarrassed. He doesn’t say anything, but when Izuku smiles at him once more, his only response is to drop his gaze to the ground, the barest hint of a flush on his cheeks. 

“So, you really have a healing quirk?” Yoarashi asks and Izuku nods. He grins. “That’s super cool, man!” 

“How does it work?” The girl with the ponytail asks.

Before Izuku can answer, a boy with scary-looking teeth thrusts his arm out in front of him. “Hey, I got a scratch on my arm from the mountain area,” he says abruptly, jerking his head at the obstacle course, “Can you heal it?”

Izuku glances at Recovery Girl for permission. He knows he’s not supposed to use his healing quirk unless he’s under the supervision of a medical professional, which Recovery Girl clearly is, but he isn’t sure if their training has officially begun yet. To his delight, however, she merely smiles and nods at him to continue. 

Izuku turns back to the boy with a grin. “Sure!” He rolls up the other’s sleeve, revealing the relatively shallow scratch, and gently places his hand over it. A few seconds later, he pulls it away, revealing perfectly healthy skin.

“Whoaaa!” 

All of the students close around him as they stare at the boy’s arm with wide eyes. “That’s so awesome!” Yoarashi exclaims. 

“It was so fast!” The boy he healed gawks at his own arm before grinning at Izuku. “Thanks! I’m Honenuki Juzo, by the way.” 

“Midoriya Izuku,” Izuku replies, shaking his hand. 

The girl with the ponytail introduces herself as well. “My name is Yaoyorozu Momo.”

“Tokage Setsuna!” The other girl says. 

“YOARASHI INASA!” Yoarashi shouts, unnecessarily loud. He laughs and grins down at Izuku. “But you already knew that!” 

Izuku giggles and there’s a moment of silence before they all turn to Todoroki expectantly. His face remains blank. “Todoroki Shouto.” Then, his head tilts ever so slightly and he asks, “Why did All Might sponsor you if you’re going to train with Recovery Girl?”

“Oh!” Izuku’s mind races for a moment before he settles on, “Er, well, Recovery Girl-san couldn’t sponsor me herself because she works at UA and there’s like an old rule saying that teachers at UA can’t sponsor students. Um, ‘cause I guess they might help them cheat?” 

He didn’t really answer Todoroki’s question and from the look on his face he can see that too, but Izuku is saved from further questions by Principal Nedzu announcing the end of the recommendation exam. He congratulates them all for finishing the test and tells them that they will receive their letters of acceptance or declination before the end of the week. 

Endeavor immediately turns to leave.

“Shouto!” He barks, “Come!”

Todoroki presses his lips together before following his father out of Ground Beta. Izuku notices Yoarashi gazing after them with an unusually hostile expression.

“What’s wrong?” He asks and the taller boy looks down at him, his face quickly smoothing out.

“Nothing!”

Another sponsor calls out and Honenuki turns to them, saying, “Hey, I’ve gotta go, but it was cool meeting you guys.”

“Yeah,” Izuku says, “I hope I see you guys at UA this spring!” 

“You too!

“Yeah, see ya!”

“BYE IZUKUN!” 

Huffing a little laugh, Izuku turns and jogs back over to All Might. He can’t help but have a skip in his step. He just finished the recommendation exam! It’s finally over!

The number one hero grins and begins leading him out of the training ground. As soon as they’re out of hearing range, Izuku chirps, “Well that went well!”

All Might just laughs. 

Chapter Text

Izuku receives his acceptance letter from UA that Thursday. Even though he knew there was a pretty good chance he would get in, he still lets out a huge sigh of relief when he learns that he actually got accepted. Inko cries and hugs him tightly for a few minutes before inviting the Bakugous over, who all congratulate him in their own way. 

Izuku pulls away from Auntie Mitsuki’s hair ruffle only to get caught by Kacchan who ruffles his hair even more. “Kacchan!” He whines but the boy just snickers. 

“Next week, it’s my turn to get a letter!” He grins. 

All Might and Recovery Girl congratulate him over text and Izuku expresses his surprise to the former that he was in his acceptance letter. 

(Midoriya 8:23PM) -I suppose it’s not a secret anymore that you’re going to be working at UA?

(Toshinori 8:24PM) -Nope! The cat is out of the bag!  

(Midoriya 8:25PM) -Should I start calling you All Might-sensei, then?

(Toshinori 8:25PM) -...

(Toshinori 8:26PM) -Oh this is going to be weird.

Izuku laughs.

The rest of the school year seems to fly by quickly, which he’s thankful for. To no one’s surprise, Kacchan passes the general entrance exam with top scores. Izuku and Kacchan are the only students from their junior high to get into UA, so they get praised and complimented numerous times by both students and teachers. Kacchan preens under the attention.

Only Tsubasa, Inaba, and Haru know that Izuku got in through recommendations, although they still think it was Recovery Girl’s recommendation. They congratulate him, but Tsubasa and Inaba’s attention quickly shifts to Kacchan once he gets in. That’s alright, though. Haru doesn’t sit with them at lunch, but Izuku still hangs out with him as much as he can, so they get time to talk about UA.

Haru decided not to apply, despite Izuku reassuring him that Kacchan wouldn’t hurt him anymore. Instead, he’s chosen to go to another high school that’s fairly well-known. He has a bashful look on his face when he tells Izuku that he wants to work with kids in the future.

“Maybe as a pediatrician or something…” He scratches the back of his head. “I dunno yet, but I just thought… well, my quirk is good for making people laugh. And I wanna make kids laugh and feel better when they’re maybe not feeling so good.”

Izuku listens with a soft smile that only grows as he speaks. Reaching to place his hand over the boy’s, he says earnestly, “That’s really cool, Haru-kun! You’ve always been great at making me laugh.” He grins. “I’m glad you’re thinking of ways to help people with your quirk. You’re like a hero!” 

Haru’s wide-eyed expression sends him into a fit of giggles. 

Finally, April arrives and it’s time for their first day of class at UA. Izuku practically vibrates with excitement and nerves as he and Kacchan walk past the front gates. Even though he’s been here before, he still gazes at everything with wide eyes, trying to take it all in. Kacchan looks straight ahead as he walks next to him. He’s trying to seem cool and indifferent, but Izuku’s known his friend long enough to tell that he’s just as excited as he is.

“Relax, Zuku,” Kacchan growls half-heartedly, “It’s just the first day, we’re probably not even going to do much. Opening ceremonies take forever.” 

“I can’t help it!” Izuku puts a little spring in his step. “I’m just so excited! What do you think our classmates will be like? I wonder how other recommendation students got in? I hope I see Yoarashi-kun again!”

“Who?” Kacchan arches a brow.

“Yoarashi-kun,” Izuku repeats, “I told you about him. We met during the exam and he was really tall and loud but really friendly too.” 

“The wind quirk guy?” Of course Kacchan would remember that part.

“Yeah.” 

The blond grunts a noncommittal reply. 

There aren’t many students here yet, mostly because they had to come early to meet with Recovery Girl. Part of Izuku’s training includes meeting up with her before and after school. The morning meetings are going to be short, mostly just him checking in with her before going to his homeroom, while the later meetings are going to be longer as she’ll be teaching him then. 

The infirmary is located right in the middle of the main campus. Recovery Girl welcomes them inside when they arrive, but Kacchan is content to just wait in the hallway while they talk.

“So, I’m assuming you’re excited, Midoriya-kun?” Recovery Girl asks with a twinkle in her eyes. Izuku grins and nods rapidly. “That’s good. It’s always so nice to see the energy of the youth.” She turns in her chair and gestures to the room around her. “There’s not much to go over right now, but of course you’ll be expected to become very familiar with this room as time goes by. It may not seem very big, but I like to keep things organized, especially paperwork.” She nods at the small shelf of binders and books on her desk next to her computer. “I asked that a desk be made for you as well, although I’m afraid there’s no computer yet.”

Izuku notices the smaller desk on the opposite side of the room and smiles. It’s so nice of Recovery Girl to give him his own space in her office. He spots a couple of textbooks on it and starts to walk over to them, but Recovery Girl just waves her hand.

“Oh, don’t worry about those yet,” she says, “We’ll be going over my lesson plan for you later today. For now, I just want you to focus on getting settled in. You have Aizawa-san as your homeroom teacher, right?”

“I think so,” Izuku says, “Is he nice?”

For some reason, his mentor looks amused. “Yes, but he might not seem like he is at first. He has a nasty habit of expelling a lot of his students.”

Izuku’s heart leaps to his throat. What?!?

His panic must show on his face because Recovery Girl quickly adds, “But he won’t expel you- all the teachers know that you’re my apprentice. They’re allowed to give you detention if you misbehave, but if they want to expel you then they’ll have to go through me first.”

Izuku smiles and relaxes, but only slightly. Just because he’s safe doesn’t mean that Kacchan is. He hopes his ill-mannered friend will at least try to stay out of trouble today, although that’s a rather tall order.

“Well, you should probably head on to your class now,” Recovery Girl says, “There are plenty of teachers wandering around, so if you get lost, just ask them.” 

“Okay.” He bows politely. “Thank you, Recovery Girl-sensei!” 

The older woman rolls her eyes. “None of that, now. Just -san if you must. Rather pointless to put it on my hero name, though.”  

Giggling, Izuku straightens up and rejoins Kacchan outside. Together, they walk through the massive halls of UA, trying to find their classroom. The door for Class 1-A is massive, but Kacchan pushes him inside before he can gawk at it for too long. 

It seems that they’re allowed to choose their own seats, so Izuku just follows Kacchan and takes the seat behind him. The blond immediately makes himself comfortable, leaning back and kicking his feet up onto the desk in front of him. Normally Izuku would complain about that, but right now he’s too excited to even think about scolding the other boy.

“We’re finally here, Kacchan!” He whispers, “Are you nervous?”

Kacchan scoffs. “Of course not! And why the fuck are you whispering? We’re the only ones in here.” 

As soon as he says those words, the door slides open and two people walk in, a girl with pink hair and skin and a boy with spiky red hair. Izuku perks up and smiles at them, hoping to come off as friendly. It seems to work because the two smile back at him before taking seats near each other. They chat with each other as a few more people walk in, but it seems like most of them are trying to keep to themselves. It’s not surprising- it’s a bit intimidating to talk to people you don’t know yet, although the pink girl and red-haired boy do seem to be familiar with each other. Still, Izuku hopes that smiling at the students that walk in will help them feel more welcomed.

“Quit smiling at everyone, weirdo,” Kacchan grunts, “It’s fuckin’ creepy.” 

Izuku frowns, but just then a familiar bi-colored boy walks in. Todoroki glances at him briefly but remains silent as he walks to the back of the classroom and takes a seat there. Izuku stifles a sigh. Well, at least that’s one more familiar face…

He keeps hoping for Yoarashi to appear, but the wind-wielder is nowhere to be seen. However, a couple of minutes later the girl with the ponytail walks in. Yaoyorozu, was it? 

She smiles when she sees him and walks over. “Midoriya-kun?” She asks a bit uncertainly and relaxes when he nods, “It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you too!” Izuku smiles, straightening up in his seat.

Kacchan raises an eyebrow. “You know this chick, Zuku?” He eyes Yaoyorozu up and down, looking a bit unimpressed. She frowns.

“Yeah, she’s a recommendation student,” Izuku replies. To Yaoyorozu, he says, “This is my friend, Bakugou Katsuki. Kacchan, this is Yaoyorozu Momo.”

“Nice to meet you,” Yaoyorozu says.

Kacchan merely rolls his eyes and turns away with a huff. “Yeah, sure.”

“Kacchan…” Izuku warns, giving him a look. 

Before he can say anything else, they’re suddenly approached by a tall blue-haired boy. He marches up to them with purpose and promptly frowns down at Kacchan. 

“Don’t put your feet on the desk!” He loudly orders.

Kacchan narrows his eyes and smirks. “Haah?” 

The boy makes an odd motion with his hands and points at the desk. “Don’t you think that’s rude to the UA upperclassmen and to the people who made the desk?” 

“Nope!” Kacchan sneers, “What junior high did you go to, you side character?”

“Kacchan!” Izuku scolds while Yaoyorozu puts a hand to her mouth in shock. 

The blue-haired boy looks surprised too, but he quickly straightens up and replies, “I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya.”

Kacchan’s eyes practically light up in the worst way possible. “Somei? So you’re a damn elite, huh? Looks like I’ll have fun crushing you!”

And yep, that’s Izuku’s cue to step in.

“He doesn’t mean that!” He yelps, jumping to his feet. 

“Hell yeah, I do!” Kacchan retorts. 

“No, you don’t!” He rushes to put himself between Kacchan and Iida, smiling apologetically as he pushes his friend’s feet off the desk. The blond lets him, but he grumbles the entire time. 

“Sorry about him!” Izuku laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head, “He has a bit of a rough sense of humor!” 

“I see,” Iida says, still frowning slightly. At the same time, Kacchan snaps, “No, I don’t!”

Still smiling, Izuku replies, “Yes, you do.”

“I’m fucking hiliarious!” 

“I’m Midoriya Izuku,” he says, ignoring Kacchan as he holds his hand out to Iida. 

The blue-haired boy shakes his hand. “Iida Tenya.”

“Nice to meet you!”

“Oi, nerd!” Kacchan growls behind him, standing up, “Don’t fucking ignore me!” 

“Are you two really friends?” Yaoyorozu asks warily, watching the scene with a skeptical expression. 

Kacchan bares his teeth with raised hackles. “Of course we fucking are!” He snarls at her, “Why wouldn’t we be?!?”

Izuku waves his hands apologetically as Yaoyorozu and Iida glance at each other. “Kacchan and I have known each other since we were kids,” he explains, but before he can say anything else, something catches his eye. 

It looks like… a yellow caterpillar? Just standing in the entrance of the classroom. Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Kacchan follow his gaze and frown in confusion. Then, the caterpillar sheds its skin to reveal a scruffy-looking man with black hair and a grey scarf.

It takes a moment for Izuku to recognize him, but as soon as it clicks he perks up. “Eraserhead?!?”

Iida and Yaoyorozu still look confused, but Kacchan grunts in acknowledgement. “This guy again?” 

Eraserhead’s eyes narrow at them and he says in a drawling voice, “If you’re just here to chat with friends I suggest you leave now.” 

They stare at him for another moment before Iida stiffens up, apparently realizing that he means for their group to disperse. As they all go to sit in their own seats, Eraserhead steps out of his sleeping bag and bundles it under his arm.

“It took ten seconds for you guys to settle down,” he says, “Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough.” He glances around the room with tired eyes. “I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Nice to meet you.” 

While everyone murmurs in shock, Izuku’s heart practically leaps. Eraserhead is his homeroom teacher! Eraserhead! Recovery Girl never told him that part! God, UA is already so cool!

The underground hero reaches into his sleeping bag and pulls out some uniforms, telling them to get changed and go out onto the field. As they walk towards the changing rooms with their uniforms in hand, Yaoyorozu walks up to Izuku’s side.

“Midoriya-kun,” she says, “You and Bakugou-kun seemed to recognize Aizawa-sensei when he walked in. Who is he?”

Visibly brightening, Izuku replies, “He’s a super cool underground hero! He can erase other people’s quirks just by looking at them! Plus, that scarf around his neck is really a weapon that he uses to capture bad guys!” As he talks, his mind thinks back to the page he has for Eraserhead in his journal. 

His obvious enthusiasm for the hero catches the attention of a few other students, who glance at him curiously. Yaoyorozu looks intrigued.

“Oh? An underground hero?” She asks, “How did you find out about him?” 

Izuku hesitates, not wanting to go into detail about his near-kidnapping. Eventually, he settles on, “I found myself in a bit of trouble a few years ago and he rescued me. I guess I’ve become a bit of a fanboy since then.” He blushes and looks at the ground. 

Before Yaoyorozu can say anything else, Kacchan calls out from ahead, “Come on, Zuku, hurry it up!” 

“Coming, Kacchan!” Izuku says, then smiles at Yaoyorozu, “See you on the field!” 

Even though the changing rooms aren’t very different from the ones in their junior high, just more spacious, Izuku still gawks for a few moments until Kacchan snaps at him to get dressed. He hastily changes into his training uniform- so cool!- before making his way onto the field with the rest of his class. 

Aizawa gazes at them with tired eyes and promptly announces that they’ll be taking a quirk assessment test. 

“But what about the opening ceremony?” A brown-haired girl in the front asks, “The orientation?” 

“If you're going to become a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events,” Aizawa grunts, “UA’s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's also how the teachers run their classes.” He gives them a sharp look, making a few students tense up. The teacher goes on to explain how the education system is slacking and they’re going to redo the physical fitness tests from junior high, with a slight change.

Then, he has Kacchan throw a softball, giving him full permission to use his quirk. The blond seems a bit surprised, but eagerly pitches the ball into the air, using an explosion to propel it far. 

“Die!!!”

Questionable choice of words aside, he creates an impressive result that causes the rest of the students to get excited. 

“This looks fun!” The pink girl from earlier says cheerfully.

“Fun, huh?” Aizawa drawls, “Alright then. Whoever comes in last place will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion.” 

Izuku gulps as everyone around him gasps. Well, Recovery Girl did warn him about this. And even though he knows he’s safe from expulsion, it’s still a bit unnerving to know that one of these students might end up going home after today. 

“We're free to do what we want about the circumstances of our students.” Aizawa gives them a terrifying grin. “Welcome to UA's hero course!”

The brown-haired girl from earlier protests that the test is unfair, and Izuku… can’t find himself agreeing with her. Even though Aizawa’s decision might seem cruel, he knows there must be some logic behind it. Recovery Girl said that deep down Aizawa is nice and Izuku saw that for himself when the hero comforted him after his attack. So… so he’s probably not doing this to be mean. If someone with ‘no potential’ stayed in the hero course… well, even if they did manage to become a hero, Izuku supposes that they might not last long. He knows from experience how dangerous villains can be, and if you’re not properly prepared or able to deal with them then you would probably end up dead. 

It seems that Aizawa tries to tell them this too, in his own strangely ominous way. Next to Izuku, Kacchan is already warming up, stretching his arms with a grin on his face. 

“Alright, the demonstration’s over,” Aizawa says, “The real thing starts now. The first test is a fifty-meter dash, so go line up in pairs over there.” He nods to a series of lines near the wall of the changing room. Izuku moves to follow his classmates as they start to walk over, but the teacher calls out, “Midoriya Izuku. A word.”

Kacchan arches a brow questioningly but Izuku waves him off to join the others. He forces himself not to freak out, or worse, fanboy out, as he approaches Aizawa. He wonders if the man even remembers him. There’s no flash or hint of recognition in his eyes, but then again he seems to be purposely keeping his face neutral during this whole thing. 

He stops in front of Aizawa and politely asks, “Yes, sir?” 

Aizawa slowly blinks at him and grunts, “Obviously you won’t be expected to use your quirk in this assessment. However, I still want you to try your best. It’s my job to train you and make sure you can handle yourself in a dangerous situation, so I need to know where you’re at physically. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!” Izuku nods and Aizawa motions for him to rejoin his classmates. 

The test begins soon after. It’s kind of interesting to see how nearly everyone uses their quirks to help them get through it. Iida turns out to have engines in his legs and very quickly secures the top score for the race. A few manage to get close to his score, though; Kacchan uses his explosions to propel himself forward, and a girl with a frog-like quirk swiftly covers ground in long leaps and bounds. Izuku doesn’t do half-bad himself, thanks to all those long runs he goes on with Kacchan. Plus, there are other students with quirks that aren’t helpful in this situation, like the girl with strange ears and the boy with electric-blond hair, that he actually gets a better score than. 

The grip test he doesn’t do as well in, but it’s clearly biased towards people with some sort of strength-enhancing quirk. He still has fun admiring the brawn of a six-armed boy who introduces himself as Shoji. He gawks at his impressive score until Kacchan drags him away with a huff. 

The standing long-jump is amusing too, if only because it’s funny to see the awkward position Kacchan puts himself into in order to keep his feet off of the ground for as long as possible while his explosions propel him. Todoroki impresses everyone by making some sort of ice bridge to get him across and Yaoyorozu creates a long pole-vaulting stick for herself. 

As the tests go on, Izuku tries not to let it bother him that his quirk isn’t helpful right now. Everyone is finding some way to get an impressive score in at least one of the tests, but he repeatedly tells himself that it doesn’t matter. He’s doing just fine. Which is fine, in and of itself, but… he can’t help but wish he could be a little above average in something. Every score he gets is very middle-of-the-pack. Not awful, but not outstanding either. 

Not that he needs to be! He’s going to be a healer, not a hero, so it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t. He should just… think about something else... 

The ball toss is fun to watch, especially when the brown-haired girl from earlier gets a score of infinity. Izuku giggles along with a few other people, but Kacchan just grumbles because she got a better score than him. Then there’s toe-touches, sit ups, and a distance run, all of which he does fairly well in. At the end when Aizawa announces their final scores, Izuku finds himself in fifteenth place. 

Beside him, Kacchan snarls angrily. Izuku startles and is about to ask what’s wrong, but then he sees it. To his immense surprise, his friend didn’t get first place, or even second. No, those places belong to Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, respectively. That leaves Kacchan in third place, which isn’t really that bad, but the blond still looks furious.

“Don’t mind, Kacchan!” He says, patting his shoulder soothingly, “You did great!” 

“Shut up!” Kacchan snaps and Izuku frowns. The explosive boy just shoves his hands into his pockets and glares heatedly at the ground, grinding his teeth audibly. 

Last place goes to some poor kid named Mineta, who is promptly sent packing by Aizawa. Izuku feels terribly sorry for him as the boy leaves in tears, but he does notice how many of the girls look relieved. He makes a mental note to ask Yaoyorozu later if she knows why. 

Aizawa sends them off after that, telling them to look at the handouts of the curriculum after lunch. As they walk back to the main building, Izuku notices that a lot of the students are now chatting with each other. Even Kacchan is talking to the boy with spiky red hair, although it seems like the latter is doing most of the talking.

Izuku perks up when he sees Yaoyorozu and Todoroki walking together and jogs to catch up with them. 

“Hey, guys!” He says, coming up on Todoroki’s left, “Great job getting first and second place!”

“Thank you.” Yaoyorozu smiles. “I’m a bit surprised Aizawa-sensei had you participate, though. Does he know that you have a healing quirk?” 

“Oh, yeah, but he just wanted to see how capable I am,” Izuku replies, “Physically, I mean. I think I’ll be participating in most class activities, unless they involve direct combat using quirks.” 

Yaoyorozu tilts her head. “And how will you be training with Recovery Girl, then?” 

“I’m going to be meeting with her before and after school for lessons.”

Yaoyorozu looks surprised, and even Todoroki casts him a glance. Izuku grins and scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, it’s a bit of extra work, but I’m excited.” He pauses, then remembers a thought. “Hey, I was wondering if you guys know if Yoarashi-kun is here?”

“Yoar…” Yaoyorozu frowns. “Was that the boy from the recommendation exam? The one with the wind quirk?” 

“Yeah,” Izuku says, “I haven’t seen him yet, so I thought maybe he got put in class 1-B…”

Yaoyorozu shakes her head and says, “I haven’t seen him either, sorry.” She glances at Todoroki, but he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to the conversation. 

“Oi, Zuku!” 

Izuku suddenly finds himself being dragged forward by the arm. Kacchan stomps doggedly towards the boys changing room and growls, “Come on, nerd, I’m fucking hungry, so get changed quick so we can get to the cafeteria before these other losers.” 

“Oh.” Izuku blinks and looks back at Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, who stare at him as he gets dragged away by Kacchan. “Sorry! See you later, guys!” 

He turns away before he can see the quizzical glance they share. 

The rest of the day goes by fairly quickly. Izuku feels like he’s getting whiplash from seeing one pro hero after another. He’s met more heroes today than during his entire life, and they’re his teachers! UA is just too cool! 

By the time the end of the day arrives, he’s both overwhelmed and tired. He doesn’t know if his brain can handle any more new information, but he’s excited to learn from Recovery Girl so he gives himself a quick slap on the cheeks to wake him up and marches towards the infirmary. Kacchan comes too, even though Izuku tells him he doesn’t have to come, but the other boy insists. He ends up lying on one of the beds and playing on his phone while Recovery Girl asks Izuku how his first day went.

“I can’t believe Eraserhead is my homeroom teacher!” Izuku gushes, “Thanks for the warning, Recovery Girl!”

The healer looks amused. “I didn’t know you were a fan. Most kids have never heard of him before.”

“I met him once, actually,” he says, “But I don’t think he remembers me.” 

“Oh really?” Recovery Girl hums, “How’d you two meet?”

Kacchan doesn’t move, but he does glance up at Izuku. The greenette can’t quite read his expression, but he doesn’t look like he’s about to protest.

So, Izuku says, “A couple of villains tried to kidnap me when I was ten.” Recovery Girl stiffens in alarm, eyes widening slightly. “They… they wanted to sell me for my quirk, but Eraserhead stopped them. He probably saved my life, really…”

His mentor opens her mouth, then closes it. Her brow is furrowed. 

“I-I started taking self-defense classes right after that, though!” Izuku hastily tries to reassure her. “And that’s the only time something like that has ever happened!”

“That’s good…” Recovery Girl says, her eyes trailing to Kacchan.

The blond notices and grunts, “I walk him to and from school. Don’t worry, I know how to keep him out of trouble.” 

That seems to satisfy her enough. Recovery Girl nods and turns back to Izuku. “Well, I’m sure Aizawa-san remembers you. He’s just a difficult man to read.” She goes to sit in her chair and leans back with a sigh. “Anyway, there’s not much I can teach you on the first day of school. I don’t usually see many injured students until the second or third day. However, when we do get to healing people, I want to teach you traditional methods first. I don’t want you to rely so much on your quirk, especially since you can’t control it well. We’ll get to training with your quirk in a couple of weeks, but for now…”

She nods at the books on Izuku’s desk. He goes to pick them up and notices that there’s only a couple and one of them is a bit thicker than the other. Thankfully, though, neither of them are even close to the size of his anatomy book. 

“The smaller book is all about basic first aid,” Recovery Girl explains, “And the other one has a bunch of information on how to treat common injuries like sprained ankles, concussions, dislocated shoulders, you get the picture. I’ve gone in and highlighted the ones I see students get most often, but I want you to learn about all of them.”

“Okay,” Izuku says, still looking down at the books, “When do I need to read them by?”

“The first aid one, preferably by the end of this week,” she says, “It’s a lot of information but it’s a relatively easy read.”

Izuku nods determinedly, already moving to put them into his backpack. 

“And while you learn about that,” Recovery Girl continues, “I also want you to think about how quirks could potentially harm their users.”

“Huh?” Izuku asks.

“You saw your classmates use their quirks today, right?” He nods. “Consider what drawbacks their quirks might have and how overuse might affect them. Like how, for example, overusing your quirk makes you tired.” 

Izuku frowns in thought, glancing over at Kacchan who’s still lying on the bed. “Well, sometimes Kacchan’s wrists start to hurt when he makes too many big explosions,” he muses and the blond looks up, “And during the quirk apprehension test one of the boys- er, I think his name was Aoyama? He mentioned that he gets a stomach ache if he shoots his laser for more than a second. Um… I suppose Iida-kun would eventually tire out, and Aizawa-sensei’s quirk relies on staring so he would probably get dry eyes…” He subconsciously dissolves into muttering, but Recovery Girl doesn’t seem too bothered. He tries to recall as many of his classmates’ quirks as possible, but he only just met them all. “I’m sorry, I haven’t really memorized everyone’s quirks yet.” 

“That’s alright,” his mentor says, “but you’ve got the right idea. UA likes to push their students to the brink of exhaustion- go beyond, plus ultra and all that.” She rolls her eyes and Izuku’s lip twitches. “So, injuries from quirk overuse is something that we’re going to have to deal with often. I want you to learn how your classmates’ quirks could affect them and, if necessary, prevent them from going overboard.” 

Izuku blinks in surprise at this. Prevent them?

Recovery Girl reads his face and gives him a firm look. “Believe it or not, but healers do have some authority over heroes. If you think a student is about to get themselves seriously injured, you have the right to order them to stop, or make the teacher stop them. Now, I’m not saying you can go around flaunting your authority right away, but it’s just something that you should know. Especially since a lot of heroes like to act tough and ignore their injuries.” 

She sounds so utterly annoyed that Izuku can’t help but laugh. Kacchan grumbles to himself from across the room.

“Okay,” Izuku giggles. 

After a few more minutes of talking, she sends them on their way. Their meeting only ended up being a little over half an hour, but she makes sure to remind Izuku that his future lessons will be much longer.

“I just feel kind of bad that you’re going to be waiting for so long, Kacchan,” Izuku says as they walk towards the train station.

Kacchan scoffs, “Don’t be, idiot. What do you think I’m going to do, let you walk home by yourself?” His tone leaves no room for argument. 

“No.” Izuku rolls his eyes. “But maybe you could, I don’t know, hang out with some friends somewhere while I’m with Recovery Girl?”

“What friends?” Kacchan raises a brow.

Izuku gives him a look. “Come on, Kacchan. You can’t act like you’re not going to make any friends at UA.” 

“I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to be a hero,” he says grouchily, “Besides, our class is just full of annoying dumbasses.”

“That’s not true!” Izuku sputters. “Yaoyorozu-san is nice- and not dumb, I bet!” He wrinkles his nose. “And Iida-kun seemed friendly too.”

“Loud,” Kacchan grunts. 

“So are you!” Izuku retorts. Kacchan snarls wordlessly. 

There’s a few moments of silence in which they just walk, and then Izuku adds, “It’s not a bad thing to make new friends, you know.” Kacchan narrows his eyes at him. He smiles. “Makes things more fun.”

The blond tosses his head and snorts, “Pssh, whatever.”

Izuku casts a worried glance at his friend. Kacchan could just be being gruff, but Izuku really hopes he befriends someone other than him. Kacchan’s crude attitude takes a long time to get used to, though…

His mind wanders back to the red-haired boy who was chatting with Kacchan earlier and smiles.

“Five bucks says you have a new friend by the end of next week.”

“Oh, fuck off!” 

Later that night, Izuku takes a break from reading his first aid book to text All Might.

(Midoriya 8:15PM) -I didn’t see you at school today?

(Toshinori 8:17PM) -I was there, but I spent most of my day in the teachers’ lounge preparing for my future classes. I wanted to check on you after school, but Recovery Girl messaged me saying that one of your friends was with you in the infirmary. I figured it would be best to avoid raising suspicions on the first day of school.

(Midoriya 8:18PM) -Oh ok. Don’t worry, I’ll try to convince Kacchan to wait somewhere else during my lessons.

(Toshinori 8:18PM) -Did you have fun today?

In response, Izuku sends him a picture of his open first aid book, which is half-covered by Sushi sitting on it. 

(Midoriya 8:19PM) -I already have homework :/

(Midoriya 8:19PM) -But it was really fun! My classmates have such cool quirks!

(Toshinori 8:20PM) -Your cat looks upset at the book and I agree.

(Toshinori 8:20PM) -What could you possibly be learning about on the first day of school that would warrant that much homework?

(Midoriya 8:21PM) -Basic first aid.

(Midoriya 8:21PM) -But don’t worry, I have till the end of the week to read it. 

(Toshinori 8:22PM) -Oh good.

(Toshinori 8:22PM) -Well, I will be teaching hero lessons tomorrow. No spoilers, but I think it will be very fun.

(Toshinori 8:22PM) -But then again what do I know about teenagers? 

(Midoriya 8:23PM) -Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be a great teacher!

(Toshinori 8:24PM) -I know kids these days enjoy memes? Should I incorporate memes into my lesson? 

(Midoriya 8:25PM) -Plz don’t. 

Izuku is distracted from his phone by Sushi meowing very loudly at him. He looks up to see the cat glare at the book under his large paws and then at him. 

Sighing, Izuku leans forward and tries to pull the book away. “Come on, Sush, I gotta keep reading.”

Sushi just stares at him and meows again, long and annoying. 

“I think he’s telling you to take a break, sweetie,” Inko says as she walks by. “You said you have until the end of the week to read it and yet you’re already almost halfway through.”

Izuku huffs, frowning at Sushi. “I’m just excited. I wanna hurry up and heal people, even if I’m not allowed to use my quirk…” His shoulders droop for a moment, then he perks back up. “And it is interesting! First aid stuff, I mean.” 

“That’s great,” Inko replies, “But again, you don’t need to rush. Ever since you met Recovery Girl, it’s like you’ve been reading non-stop.”

“Yeah, well, healers have to know a lot.” He sniffs. 

“I don’t doubt that,” his mother says, “But you should learn to limit yourself. You had a long day today, didn’t you? Take a break. You don’t have to learn everything right away.” 

With a small sigh, Izuku gives in. “Fine,” he says, leaning back against the couch, “What should we do now, then?”

Inko pauses in thought, then smiles. “Do you want to rewatch some episodes of House?” 

“I love you.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Izuku checks in with Recovery Girl before homeroom begins. 

“You already read half the book?” She blinks in surprise. “I thought it would take longer- it certainly did for me, but you seem like you’re a faster reader. I’m still impressed that you, a fifteen year-old boy, willingly read Human Anatomy and Physiology four times in less than a year. I feel like it took me ages to get through that book when I was in college.”

Izuku smiles and she turns to her desk, pulling something out of the lower drawer. “Well, then, I have no worries giving you this.”

She pulls out what looks to be some sort of costume. Izuku tilts his head questioningly as his mentor explains, “You’re going to need this for today’s hero lesson. I’ve already spoken with Toshinori-san and apparently the class is going to be combat training. Since it’s really just a chance for the students to show off how their quirks can be used in battle, you will be on standby for injuries.”

“Oh. Okay,” he says, still confused by the costume. 

She gives him a firm look. “Now remember that until you learn how to control your quirk, you’re not allowed to heal anything beyond minor injuries. However, since you read a good deal of that first aid book last night, you can also choose to treat minor injuries through traditional means.”

He nods and finally she gestures to the costume in her hands. “You never submitted a form for your costume.”

“Huh? Costume?” He asks, “But I thought…”

“Healers often wear costumes too, especially since most work as combat medics,” Recovery Girl explains, “So that they’re more easily identifiable on the field. I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and spoke with your mother to create your costume for you. There are some regulations that combat medic costumes have to follow, but I think we made something rather nice.”

His breath catches and he wants to reach for his costume- his costume!- but Recovery Girl puts it back in her drawer. 

“You won’t need that until after lunch,” she says, “But one of the things it comes with are a few pouches full of medical equipment. Today’s class will be a good opportunity to become familiar with them.” 

A bit disappointed that he can’t become familiar with them now, Izuku pouts and nods. Recovery Girl’s eyes twinkle with amusement and he blushes, looking down at his feet. “Okay.” 

She smiles before adding, “And remember what we talked about yesterday.”

Izuku ponders. “Oh! I can observe my classmates’ quirks more closely today! And… think of how overuse would affect them?”

Recovery Girl nods and the warning bell rings. Izuku bids his goodbyes before joining Kacchan, who is waiting outside. 

Kacchan frowns at the skip in his step and asks, “What are you so happy about?”

Izuku beams. “I got to see my healer costume!” He chirps.

“Healer costume?” Kacchan raises an eyebrow incredulously. 

“I know right?” Izuku says, “I didn’t even know I would get one! Apparently Recovery Girl designed it with mom.” 

“Uh oh.” Kacchan smirks when Izuku gives him a look. 

They walk into class 1-A and take their seats. Homeroom begins soon after and Izuku’s heart still gives a little leap of excitement when he sees Eras- Aizawa walk in. He’s Aizawa now, not Eraserhead. Man, it’s gonna be awhile before he stops internally fanboying over his teachers. There’s even heroes in the goddamn cafeteria! Izuku nearly chokes on his food when Lunch Rush passes by his and Kacchan’s table. 

At least it’s a bit easier with All Might during their hero class after lunch. While everyone freaks out at the sight of the number one hero, Izuku is able to remain a little more composed. Sure, he gawks too- it would be suspicious if he didn’t, and All Might’s silver age costume is really cool. But when All Might’s smile gets just a bit brighter when their eyes meet, well, Izuku can’t help but feel a little bit special. 

“I teach Hero Basic Training!” The hero announces once he reaches the podium. “It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero! You’ll take the most units of this subject!”

Izuku’s lip twitches. It sounds like he rehearsed this many times. 

All Might promptly announces that they’ll be doing combat training, which Izuku already knew but it’s fun to see Kacchan’s enthusiastic reaction. Their costumes slide out of panels in the walls and Izuku is pleasantly surprised when his is there too. Recovery Girl must’ve given it to All Might during lunch. 

As they get changed, Izuku takes a moment to admire his costume in one of the changing room mirrors. It appears to be a light green-and-white jumpsuit with pale yellow bands down the front and a darker red belt that holds his medical bags. Looking at it a bit closer, Izuku realizes with a fond flutter in his heart that it almost looks like a combat-ready, palette-swapped version of what Recovery Girl wears underneath her lab coat. It also has black gloves, elbow and knee pads, as well as a black face mask that he keeps on his neck for now. The most noticeable part, however, is the red Caduceus symbol on his chest, which is probably the required healer identification Recovery Girl mentioned. 

A smile tugs at his lips. He feels so… important. 

“Not bad.” Izuku glances up to see Kacchan giving him an appraising look.

“Thanks,” he says, “You look pretty cool too.” 

Kacchan puffs up his chest as he smirks. Izuku rolls his eyes and playfully shoulders past him, following the rest of his classmates as they start to make their way to Ground Beta. It takes a moment to realize that the tall suit of armor walking in front of him is actually Iida, but when he does, he trots up to his side. 

“Your costume is super cool, Iida-kun!” Izuku says.

Iida’s armored face turns to him. “Thank you! Yours is… interesting as well.” He gets the feeling Iida doesn’t quite know what to make of him. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask-” 

“They say the clothes make the man, young men and ladies,” All Might declares as, interrupting Iida, “Be fully aware, from now on you are heroes!”

Izuku smiles and glances around at his classmates. They all look so cool!

All Might just about voices his thoughts, seeming very excited as he gazes at all of their costumes. “Now, it’s time for combat training!” He announces, somehow straightening up even further. He goes on to explain that, since villains have a higher probability of attacking indoors, their training will take place inside. They’ll be split into “heroes” and “villains” to fight 2-on-2 battles. The heroes’ goal is to find and capture the nuclear weapon that the villains are protecting. 

All throughout his explanation, students ask question after question. Izuku can see All Might sweat-dropping and stifles a laugh, but it gets really hard when the hero just pulls out a script to read from. 

“Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!” All Might says, holding up a box. 

Iida raises his hand. “How will teams of two be chosen if there is an odd number of students?” 

His classmates shift uncomfortably, recalling how easily Mineta was expelled on just the first day of class. Izuku tilts his head. Well, if he’s going to be on the sidelines…

“No worries, Young Iida!” All Might shouts, dramatically pointing to Izuku, “Young Midoriya here will not be participating!” Most of the class aside from Kacchan, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki, make various noises of confusion. “UA has been given a unique opportunity to welcome a young healer into its ranks! Young Midoriya is being mentored by Recovery Girl, but he will be joining the hero course in many of its classes. However, during exercises that involve direct combat with quirks, he will remain on the sidelines in case any injuries are obtained.” As Izuku shrinks under the sudden attention of his classmates, All Might gives a cheeky smile. “Be grateful, young heroes. Healers are extremely rare and you are very lucky to have the chance to learn alongside one.”

Okay he’s really laying it on thick, and from the mirthful look on his face, it’s on purpose. Izuku blushes as his classmates practically gawk at him.

“A healer?” 

“Hey, cool, I’ve never met a healer before!”

“Like a doctor?”

“No, dummy, he’s like Recovery Girl, he has a healing quirk.”

“Ohhh.”

“I guess the wings make more sense now,” the brown-haired girl says and Izuku gives her a confused look, “On your costume. The… the medical symbol?”

“Oh, right.” 

“How does your quirk work?” A lanky black-haired boy asks, “You’re not going to kiss us like Recovery Girl, right?”

All Might lets out a booming laugh, catching all of their attention. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll become very familiar with his quirk soon enough,” he says, “After all, as heroes-in-training, injuries are to be expected. Avoided if possible, of course, but nevertheless inevitable.” 

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re here, then!” The red-haired boy that was talking to Kacchan earlier grins at him. “Midoriya-kun, was it?” 

“Yeah.” He smiles back. 

“All right, let’s get started!” All Might says. Lots are drawn, the teams are made, and then Izuku is heading with most of the class to the monitor room. Kacchan, Iida, Uraraka, and Yaoyorozu make their way to their assigned battle building. 

While the teams take time to make their plan of attack, Izuku opens his medical pouches and examines the contents. It seems like stuff that would be typically found in any first aid kit, but it’s pretty extensive. Izuku is surprised that they were able to fit so much into these bags, and in an organized manner. He’ll have to be sure to avoid letting it get messy. Seeing so much equipment, however, kind of makes him nervous. He finds himself wishing he had read more of the book last night. Sure, first aid seems simple enough, but what if he panics in the heat of the moment and completely forgets what to do? Of course he could always use his quirk, Recovery Girl even gave him permission to for minor injuries, but wouldn’t it look bad for a healer to rely so heavily on their quirk that they don’t even know basic first aid? If he ever gets hurt or sick, this is the only way he’d be able to help people! Why didn’t he bother learning this stuff sooner? 

“Young Midoriya.”

All Might’s voice cuts through his thoughts. The number one hero is facing the large screen displaying the battle area, but he glances at the greenette in concern.

“Everything alright?” He asks. “You’re muttering.” 

Izuku waves his hands apologetically. “Sorry! It’s a bad habit! I’m just, er, making myself familiar with my medical bags.”

All Might nods and turns back to the wall of screens. “Now, let's start the indoor person-to-person combat training with Team A and Team D!” He announces into the microphone. Izuku stands a few feet behind the rest of his classmates as they gather around All Might, gazing up at the screens that display the various angles of the interior of the building. 

“Okay, everyone,” All Might says, “You all should think as well.” 

The screens don’t have any audio, but it’s clear that Iida is trying to form a plan with Kacchan, who is very obviously ignoring him. Izuku sighs and ponders about the possible outcomes of this exercise. Kacchan and Iida might win out of sheer power, but Yaoyorozu didn’t get in through recommendations for nothing. He watches as she whispers to Uraraka, who nods determinedly. 

As soon as All Might gives the signal, Yaoyorozu creates a ladder and the two girls climb to the second floor. She also creates two pairs of… goggles? Then both girls are creeping along the corridor, their eyes concealed behind tinted glass.

“Why are they wearing goggles?” Asks the electric-blond boy- Kaminari, was his name? Izuku thinks back to All Might announcing the teams and nods. Yeah. Kaminari. 

“It’s probably part of their plan,” another boy- Ojiro!- answers.

Kacchan does exactly what Izuku expected he would and attacks first, leaving Iida behind to defend the weapon. As soon as he launches himself at the girls, Yaoyorozu quickly makes a shield and throws something at Kacchan with the other hand. All of the sudden, the screens turn white and everyone winces, either squinting or closing their eyes.

“A flash bomb!” All Might laughs, “Clever!”

The screens clear just in time for them to see Uraraka slap a disoriented Kacchan with her hand. A second later, he starts floating into the air. The blond shrieks indignantly and aims an explosion at Yaoyorozu, but the shield protects her. The force of the explosion sends the floating Kacchan flying back into the wall. Izuku winces at the hard impact. Uraraka touches her fingers together, causing Kacchan, still stunned from being thrown into the wall, to fall to the ground. The girls quickly dash forward and Yaoyorozu holds down Kacchan’s head and upper torso with her shield while Uraraka ties his wrists together with the capture tape in one swift movement.

“Bakugou Katsuki has been apprehended!” All Might announces. 

Izuku cringes. No way Kacchan is going down that easily…

“Er, All Might…”

Kacchan suddenly lets out a large explosion. The hero team leaps backwards in surprise, but Uraraka, who had just tied his wrists together, doesn’t manage to fully escape the explosion. Her face contorts with pain as she pulls away with a very obvious burn on her arms.

Exclamations of shock and outrage ripple through his classmates.

“What the heck, he just attacked them!” Ashido shouts.

“Bakugou-kun, that’s cheating!” Kirishima frowns. “Not manly at all!” 

All Might grips the microphone and says sternly, “Young Bakugou, I made it very clear that once you are apprehended you are out for the rest of the game!”  

Kacchan continues to thrash around, no doubt yelling furiously. He continues to release explosions, causing the hero team to back away from him, clearly confused. Uraraka ducks behind Yaoyorozu and her shield. 

“Young Bakugou!” All Might warns.

Kaminari wrinkles his nose. “Man, what a sore loser!”

“Hey, he got free!”

Izuku tenses up as Kacchan’s wrists snap apart, having broken through the capture tape with his explosions. His face is twisted with rage, his eyes bloodshot. This is probably the first time Izuku has ever seen him lose a fight and he’s clearly pissed about it. He ignores All Might’s repeated warnings and takes a step towards Yaoyorozu and Uraraka.

Izuku frowns. Kacchan usually gets away with a lot, but this is unacceptable.

Gently nudging his way past his classmates, Izuku promptly takes the mic from All Might and says sharply, “Kacchan!” 

Kacchan freezes. 

Izuku glares at his image on the screen. He hopes the other boy can somehow feel it. 

Kacchan’s fists clench and unclench repeatedly. He lifts his foot.

“Kacchan!” Izuku snaps again, an edge of warning in his voice. 

After grinding his teeth and glaring at the two girls for a solid minute, Kacchan snarls and backs down. He huffily leans against the wall and crosses his arms, still glaring daggers at Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, who both glance at each other before continuing to move to the third floor.

Satisfied, Izuku hands the mic back to All Might and turns around. His classmates stare at him with wide eyes. 

“What?” He asks innocently. 

There’s a couple more seconds of silence in which All Might unsuccessfully tries to smother his laughter. Then, Kaminari speaks up.

“Dude,” he breathes, his eyes wide with awe, “That was… He didn’t even listen to All Might…” 

Izuku blinks, confused. 

“You didn’t even have to try and convince him.” Sero gawks. “All you had to do was say his name.” 

“‘Kacchan’?” Asui tilts her head. “You two must be very familiar.”

Izuku nods, still unnerved by their stares. “Um, yeah,” he says, scratching the back of his head. 

His classmates glance at each other and a few of them shudder. 

“What?” He asks again.

Kirishima gives him a toothy smile and wraps an arm around his shoulders. “That was super manly, dude!” He says, “But damn, I’m almost scared to find out what you had to do to make a guy like that listen to you!”

Izuku’s eyes widen and he waves his hands around frantically. “Oh, no, no, it’s not like that!” He protests, “We’re just childhood friends! He doesn’t even listen to me half the time anyway! I’m not like- trust me, he kicks my butt all the time when we spar!”

Kirishima laughs and ruffles his hair. “I like you Midoriya-kun!” He grins. “Oh hey, there goes Iida-kun.”

Izuku tries to politely duck out from under Kirishima’s arm to look at the screen. Iida isn’t faring well against both Yaoyorozu and Uraraka. He attempts to keep the weapon out of their grasp by picking it up and running around, but Yaoyorozu creates a grappling hook and binds his legs together, making him fall to the ground. Their victory is secured soon after.

“Hero team wins!” All Might yells victoriously. 

“Man, Yaomomo is super cool!” Ashido says enthusiastically. Izuku smiles. Yaomomo? What a cute nickname.

“Right?” Another girl- he thinks her name is Jirou- says, “Her quirk is really cool!” 

“Uraraka-san was pretty great too,” Kaminari says, “She sent Bakugou-kun flying!” 

“It’s too bad about her arms, though,” Sero says, wincing, “That burn looks painful.” 

There’s a pause, then all fourteen students turn to Izuku expectantly. He blushes and looks at his feet. 

“Young Uraraka,” All Might says into the mic, “Will you need assistance getting back to the monitor room?” He presses a finger to his earpiece, then nods. “Alright, then. Return promptly.” To the rest of the class, he says, “We’ll review their performance together and then teams I and B will go.”

The students nod and Izuku smiles a bit. All Might is doing well for his first day as a teacher. 

The two teams enter the monitor room a few minutes later and Izuku immediately approaches Uraraka. She’s holding her burned forearms close to her body, a pained grimace on her face. Izuku ignores Kacchan’s glower and instead focuses on Uraraka.

“Can I see your arms?” He asks softly, holding out his hand. She nods and carefully stretches her forearms out. Izuku frowns down at the nasty burns marring her soft skin. They remind him of the burns on Haru…

He instinctively reaches out to use his quirk, but then he hesitates. This isn’t like the usual scrapes and bruises he’s used to healing. If he could just use his quirk all the time, then Recovery Girl probably wouldn’t care whether or not he knew first aid.

Pausing, he looks over the burns for a few moments. Now he notices that bits of Uraraka’s costume have been seared into her skin. 

If he healed her, would the fabric get trapped beneath her skin? He doesn’t want to find out. 

Thankfully, the black gloves that are a part of his costume are covering his hands already. He doesn’t want his quirk to activate as soon as he touches her, not with the pieces of fabric that have been seared into her skin. He’ll have to cut it away first. 

He quickly finds some scissors and tweezers in his pouch and starts carefully removing the cloth. “Sorry about your suit,” he apologizes as he cuts around the burn, but Uraraka simply smiles and shakes her head.   

“Don’t worry about it,” she says, wincing when he pulls another piece out. 

As soon as her burns are clear of any scorched fabric, he pulls off his gloves and gently puts his hands on her forearms, letting his energy flow. Uraraka watches in awe as the burns fade away right before her eyes. 

“Whoa,” she whispers. 

“Dude, that’s awesome!” 

Izuku jumps in surprise and glances around. He didn’t realize that all of his classmates were watching him! 

“It just disappeared in like five seconds!” Kirishima exclaims.

Tokoyami gives him an impressed look. “That’s some quirk.” 

“How’d you do that, man?” Kaminari asks. 

“Oh! Um…” Izuku fidgets nervously, not knowing who to look at, “My quirk is called Healing Energy. It’s like… er, I heal people by transferring my own energy to them. It, uh, makes me really tired if I use it too much, though.” He laughs sheepishly. 

“Your own energy?” Iida asks, peering down at him curiously, “I’ve never heard of a healing quirk that works like that.” 

“Oh, yeah, um, I guess it’s kind of uncommon?” It sounds more like a question. 

Ashido bounces up to him and grins, her black eyes wide. “What’s the biggest injury you’ve ever healed?” 

Izuku swallows and looks to All Might for help. The number one hero just grins and shrugs. 

Well, he supposes it’s alright if he’s vague about it…

“I regrew a guy’s stomach once,” he admits. The reaction is immediate.

“Whoaaa!!!”

“But I passed out for like two days afterwards!” He adds quickly. 

“Whoa- ohhh…”

Yaoyorozu puts a hand on her chin in thought. “I suppose a quirk like that would carry more risks for you,” she says, “It must be a very self-sacrificing power.”

Izuku blinks. “Oh… er, I guess so…” 

All Might claps his hands, catching everyone’s attention before they can continue questioning Izuku. “Well, then!” He says, “Let’s discuss their performance. Who do you think the MVP is?” 

His classmates mutter amongst themselves, but Izuku thinks it’s rather obvious. He glances at Yaoyorozu, who looks torn between raising her hand and staying quiet. She probably doesn’t want to seem conceited.

Smiling, Izuku raises his hand. All Might nods to him. “Yes, Young Midoriya?”

“I believe Yaoyorozu-san is the MVP of this exercise,” he says. 

All Might’s grin widens even further. “And why is that?” 

Time for Izuku’s hero analysis skills to kick in. 

“Yaoyorozu-san embraced this challenge. She thought of ways not only to apply her own quirk in battle, but her teammate’s as well. While sending Ka-er, Bakugou-kun to play the offensive role was a good idea on the villain team’s part, it was obvious that they didn’t communicate well with each other. It looked more like Bakugou-kun was going off on his own. Iida-kun did well to protect the weapon, but he took advantage of the fact that this was training. If the weapon had been real, carrying it around while fleeing from heroes would not be a viable option. Uraraka-san worked well with her partner, but she relied a bit too much on Yaoyorozu-san. Yaoyorozu-san was fully prepared to engage with her opponents, she had a strategy and never lost sight of the mission.” 

When he finishes, everyone is staring at him again. Yayorozu’s cheeks are tinged pink. Even All Might looks surprised. 

Izuku blushes.

“Er… I like analysis…” He mumbles sheepishly, scuffling his toe. 

“Correct!” All Might suddenly shouts, making everyone jump. “Good observation, Young Midoriya! Now, let’s move on to the next match! Tackle this training after thinking about what we just talked about.” 

As the next two teams leave, Izuku goes over to Kacchan, who is sulking against the far wall. 

“Hey,” he asks, “You alright?”

Kacchan grinds his teeth. “Fucking superb.”

Izuku frowns. “No you’re not, your face is all scowly. You’re upset about the training match.”

Kacchan wordlessly snarls. Izuku remains unfazed. 

Leaning against the wall beside his friend, he says, “Don’t feel too bad about it. It’s just training, that’s all. You can’t always expect to win.” 

“That’s bullshit,” Kacchan hisses lowly, “I always win. No matter what. The best hero always comes out on top.” 

Izuku gazes at him for a long moment. Kacchan’s pride has been hurt, no doubt, but there’s something he’s clearly not understanding.

“Kacchan,” Izuku says quietly, “You’re not the best here.” The blond’s head whips up to glare at him. Izuku glares right back. “You’re not the best here. You’re used to beating up people that are weaker than you, that don’t have aspirations to be a hero. But guess what? Now you’re surrounded by people just like you, people with strong quirks, people that all want to be the best hero. You’re on even ground with everyone now. So no, you can’t always expect to win. Before UA, you were the strongest because you just happened to be born with a powerful quirk. But now, you’re going to have to work to be the strongest. Got it?” 

Kacchan stares at him, his eyes slightly wide. Then, he grits his teeth and turns away sharply, burning holes into the ground with his glare. Izuku sighs.

“I don’t really know what I’m doing either, you know?” He says, “I thought I could just rely on my quirk for everything, but I can’t. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t know yet and it is frustrating, but I’m willing to learn. Are you?”

“Of course I fucking am!” Kacchan snaps a little too loudly. A couple of classmates glance back at him from the group. 

Izuku smiles. “Good.” He looks back at the screens, which show teams I and B getting ready in the battle building. 

“Match two!” All Might announces a couple of minutes later, “Team B will be our heroes! And Team I will be the villains! Look alive, kids! Show us you’re the embodiment of good!” He falters. “Or evil! Let’s go!” 

Izuku smothers a snort behind his hand. All Might is doing pretty good for his first day as a teacher, but he’s incredibly goofy at times. It’s even funnier to know that his classmates probably think it’s on purpose. 

As soon as the buzzer sounds, Shoji steps into the building and spreads his multiple arms, listening for his opponents. Izuku thinks back to what Recovery Girl told him about quirk overuse. He supposes that would only apply to emitter-type quirks, but he wonders what would happen if one of Shoji’s extra limbs were cut off. Would it grow back? If not, would he still be able to replicate different body parts on whatever is left? 

He should ask when he gets back. 

After Shoji reports to Todoroki, he goes back outside. Murmurs of confusion ripple through the students. Izuku watches in awe as Todoroki places his right hand on the wall and freezes the entire building. Unfortunately, it also makes the monitor room very cold. 

Under normal circumstances, his classmates might gape at Todoroki’s power. However, now they’re just too busy shivering.

Izuku steps closer to Kacchan, who thankfully tends to run warm.

“He did not cause any damage to his teammate or the nuclear weapon,” All Might says, his teeth chattering, “And on top of that, he weakened the enemy.”

Hagakure and Ojiro appear to be stuck, their feet frozen to the ground. Izuku feels a brief flash of concern over potential frostbite, but Todoroki uses his left hand to both claim the weapon and unfreeze the building. 

“Hero team wins!” All Might declares. 

Todoroki’s face remains impassive as he turns and leaves the building. 

“Wow!” Sato exclaims.

Kamainari looks impressed, but a bit uneasy. “Man, what’s up with that quirk?” 

“As expected of someone who got in through recommendations,” Asui comments. 

Izuku tilts his head, watching Todoroki through the screen. From the recommendation exam, he knew Todoroki’s ice quirk was powerful, but this is a whole other level! His left side probably prevents him from getting from getting frostbite, while his right probably prevents him from overheating. But why does he keep his left side frozen? Wouldn’t that make it hard for him to use his fire, as well as reduce his mobility?

As soon as the teams return, Hagakure bounces over to him. 

“Can you use your quirk on me?” She asks excitedly, “I wanna see it again! Also, my feet hurt!” 

“It’s probably not that bad,” Ojiro says, approaching more calmly, but takes off his shoes anyway when Izuku gestures for him to do so. 

It’s just some frostnip, so he uses his quirk. He can’t see Hagakure’s feet, but he assumes they look the same as Ojiro’s. They thank him once he’s done and he looks up at Todoroki, who’s standing a bit away from the group, gazing up at All Might impassively as he reviews their performance. 

Once the teams for the next match leave, Izuku approaches him. 

“Todoroki-kun!” He says, “I was just wondering- why do you keep your left side frozen?”

Todoroki narrows his eyes and Izuku immediately backpedals. 

“I-I mean, I was just worried about frostbite!” He stammers, flailing his hands, “Even- Even though your left side would keep you warm- which, by the way, why doesn’t that just melt the ice? Wouldn’t keeping your left side frozen reduce your mobility? And make it hard for you to use your fire? And-”

“I don’t get frostbite,” Todoroki interrupts, his voice monotone. 

“O-Oh…” Izuku squeaks, averting his gaze out of sheer embarrassment, “Right, er, that’s good.” He notices that Todoroki didn’t answer any of his other questions and looks like he has no intention to. Still, Izuku gets the feeling that he shouldn’t ask. 

“Erm…”

“Your friend looks upset.” Todoroki’s face doesn’t change, but his eyes slide past Izuku.

The greenette glances over his shoulder to see Kacchan glaring daggers at Todoroki. He lets out a shaky sigh of relief. An angry Kacchan he can deal with. A cold, emotionless Todoroki however? He has no idea how to deal with that. 

“Er, right. Thanks- I mean, I’ll see you later?” Izuku turns away before he can see Todoroki’s reaction, his face burning as he scampers back over to Kacchan.

“What’d that fucker want?” His friend growls.

Izuku just covers his face with his hands and not-so-subtly tries to hide behind Kacchan. “Nothing,” he groans, “I’m just awkward.” 

The rest of the matches go on with relative ease. Izuku soon forgets his embarrassment and watches the screens with rapt attention, trying to learn as much as he can about his classmates’ quirks. There aren’t any more injuries for him to heal, although Aoyama tearfully asks him if he’s able to heal his cape that Ashido accidentally burns. 

The class takes up most of their afternoon, so all there’s left to do afterwards is change out of their costumes and return to homeroom. He’s already thinking about his lesson with Recovery Girl as he walks back to the classroom. A few of the other students are enthusiastically discussing the training, but Izuku doesn’t pay much mind to them. At least, not until the final bell rings and Ashido stops him from grabbing his bag.

“Midori-kun!” She grins. “Don’t leave just yet!” 

“Eh?” He asks in confusion, slightly unnerved by her gaze. 

“I can call you Midori-kun, right?” She asks, “I have a feeling we’re gonna be great friends!” 

“Oh, um-”

“I’m Kirishima Ejirou!” Kirishima seemingly pops up out of nowhere. “We’re all going over the training right now.”

“I’m Sero Hanta!” 

“I’m Aoyama Yu-”

“I’m Ashido Mina!” 

“I’m Sato!” 

“I-I know!” He stammers, “I mean, I heard. During the training. From All Might?” He rapidly loses confidence as he continues to talk. 

Thankfully, his classmates don’t seem to mind his awkwardness. 

“I’ve never met a healer before!” Ashido says, “It’s super cool that you get to be in the same class as us!”

“Are you ever going to join a training lesson?” Kaminari asks, but Sero punches him in the shoulder lightly.

“No, silly, he’s a healer! Healers don’t fight.”

“A-actually, I do,” he says, trying to keep his voice steady, “Um, I’ve been taking self-defense classes since I was ten…"

Somehow Ashido’s eyes sparkle even more. “You know martial arts?!?” She squeals and Izuku nods. “So cool! I love martial arts! Where do you train?”

Her intense energy makes Izuku struggle to find his words. “Oh, um…”

“Why do you need to know how to fight?” Sero tilts his head.

“So you are going to be training with us?” Kaminari asks. 

“Uh- um, yes, but not on days when we’re supposed to use our quirks for direct combat,” Izuku manages to stammer, “I’ll stay on the sidelines for that.” To Sero, he says, “Healers need to know how to fight because they’re sometimes put in dangerous situations, especially for combat medics.”

“Combat medics?” Sato asks. 

Izuku nods. “Yeah, like if-if they join a rescue team, or sometimes I think they follow heroes when they fight big battles and are on standby for injuries, but they’re technically out on an active battlefield then, so-”

“Wow!” Kirishima exclaims, “I’ve never thought about all this stuff. I just figured healers stayed in the hero agencies or something. Do you-”

“Oi!”

They all turn to see Kacchan glaring at them, having just put his costume back in its case slot. He stomps over to them huffily. 

“Quit hounding him, idiots!” He snaps, shouldering his way to Izuku, “He doesn’t have time to answer your shitty questions!”

He grabs Izuku’s arm and pulls, but Izuku protests. “Wait, yes I do!”

Kacchan stops and glares at him. “Don’t you have a lesson with Recovery Girl or something?” He sneers. 

“You have after school lessons too?” Kaminari gives him a pitiful look. “Yikes, that’s rough.” 

At the mention of Recovery Girl, Izuku perks up. “Yeah, I do! Which reminds me…” He turns away from Kacchan and says, “One of the things she told me to find out today was how my classmates’ quirks affect them when they’re overused.” 

His classmates brighten. 

“My brain short-circuits and I get really dumb for a while,” Kaminari says, looking way too proud. 

“My acid starts to eat away at my skin!” 

“My hardness gets hard to keep up after a while!” 

“I get really sleepy after I use my quirk! Oh, and the sugar also makes me kind of dumb.”

“My stomach hurts if I shoot my laser for more than a second.” Aoyama winks. “So it’s a good thing you can grow me a new one if my stomach ever collapses.”

The mental image makes the conversation falter for a moment, everyone just staring at the sparkly boy in shock and mild disgust. 

Then, Kacchan grumbles, “I’m pretty sure I saw Round-Face puke her guts out after the entrance exam.”

Izuku frowns. “Round-Face?”

“Hey!” Uraraka snaps from across the room. 

Iida suddenly starts shouting at a boy named Tokayami for sitting on one of the desks, which grabs all of their attention for a few moments. Kacchan tugs at Izuku’s wrist again.

“Right, well, I do actually have to go,” he says apologetically. 

“No worries!” Kirishima says. 

Asui’s head pops out from behind him. “If you would like, Midoriya-chan, we can go around writing down how our quirks affect us and give it to you tomorrow, ribbit.”

Izuku protests, not wanting to trouble them all, but they take to the idea eagerly. 

“Don’t worry about it, Midoriya-kun!”

“Anything to help out our class healer!”

“It’ll help us get to know each other better, too!”

He thanks everybody profusely as Kacchan drags him out of the classroom, huffing in annoyance. They don’t talk much as they walk to the infirmary, Izuku still reeling from the interaction. When he opens the door, he’s surprised to see that Recovery Girl isn’t alone. 

A boy with smooth blond hair is sitting on the bed, complaining quite loudly about the pain he’s in. Recovery Girl looks mildly annoyed. 

Kacchan takes one glance at the scene before turning away with a snort. “Have fun with that, Zuku.” 

Izuku sighs as he walks away and steps into the infirmary. 

“Ah, Midoriya-kun, perfect timing,” Recovery Girl says as soon as she notices him, “Come on over.”

“Who are you?” The blond boy asks, seeming unimpressed.

“Midoriya Izuku,” he replies, glancing between the boy and his mentor, “Are you alright?”

“Apparently, one of his classmates chopped him on the head,” Recovery Girl says, her tone dry. Izuku’s lip twitches.

“Kendou-san doesn’t understand a joke when she hears one,” the boy gripes. 

Recovery Girl stifles a sigh and looks at him. “Basically, he has a headache. How would you heal him?”

Surprised, Izuku hesitantly replies, “With my quirk…?”

“No, just ice it and give him a couple of painkillers,” she says bluntly, “Now that you’re in the hero course you’re going to be dealing with injuries bigger than scrapes and bruises. You should learn how to spend your energy wisely and don’t use your quirk unnecessarily, especially on minor injuries that will typically go away in a day.” 

Izuku thinks back to the burns on Uraraka’s arms. Usually minor injuries aren’t too taxing on him, but if he heals a lot of them they eventually take a toll. If he had to heal Uraraka’s injury after healing a bunch of minor ones, he imagines he’d be very tired afterwards. 

He nods. “Okay, that makes sense.” 

Recovery Girl looks at him expectantly and he jumps, quickly going over to the mini-fridge and taking out an ice pack. As he presses it to the blond boy’s head, he asks, “What’s your name?”

“Monoma Neito,” the boy replies, eyeing him up and down, “Are you a nurse or something?” 

Amused, Izuku says, “I’m a healer. Or, well, I’m going to be. Recovery Girl is training me to become one.” 

“She said you were in the hero course.”

“Yeah, I’m in class 1-A,” he explains, “I’ll join some of their hero lessons, but whenever they involve direct combat with quirks I’ll be on the sidelines in case anyone gets hurt.” 

Monoma’s face twists into something indecipherable. “You’re in class 1-A? How come they get a healer and we don’t?”

“Huh?” Izuku looks at him in confusion. 

“I’m in class 1-B,” Monoma says, “How come 1-A’s getting special treatment?”

“Oh, no, they’re not, I just-”

Recovery Girl interrupts him by slapping something into Monoma’s hand. “Go to the water fountain outside and take these,” she says, “You can keep the ice pack.”

Monoma blinks down at the pills in his hand. Recovery Girl ushers him out of the infirmary soon after and turns to Izuku with a huff.

“I’ll tell you something, Midoriya-kun,” she says, “There are two types of heroes you’ll encounter. Those that try to act tough and hide their injuries, and those that complain nonstop about every little thing.” She sounds so annoyed that Izuku can’t help but laugh. 

“Aw, come on, he didn’t seem that bad,” he teases. 

His mentor huffs again before asking how his day went. He tells her about the combat training and how cool his costume is. He also describes with detail how he got the fabric out of Uraraka’s burn before he healed her.

She looks impressed. “I’m glad I didn’t have to teach you that myself. I’m sure by now you’ve realized why I’m having you learn traditional methods first.” He nods and she gestures to one of the beds. “Your quirk is powerful, Midoriya-kun, but all quirks have limitations. What would happen if you healed a broken bone without taking an x-ray first?”

He gets the feeling that she already knows how he’ll respond, but he still says, “It might heal wrong. I mean, if it’s a bad enough break that I’ll need to set it first…”

Recovery Girl nods and smiles. “And I’ll teach you how to do all of that. How to take an x-ray, how to set a bone- I’m glad that you had the foresight to remove the fabric from that young lady’s burn before healing it. Wounds that are dealt with incorrectly often result in surgery being needed.” 

Izuku suddenly becomes nervous. “Will I need to learn how to do surgery too?” He doesn’t know if he can handle that much gore. Even Uraraka’s burn was hard to look at. 

Recovery Girl notices his discomfort. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be saving that for later. No way will I be teaching a first-year how to operate on a human being.” 

Izuku lets out a sigh of relief and his mentor beckons him closer, grabbing a chart from her desk. She takes him through the list of students that she treated today, which isn’t many since it’s only the second day of school. She asks him how he would have treated them before telling him how she did. It kind of feels like a pop quiz, but she doesn’t get upset when he says something incorrect. He’s grateful for her patience and afterwards he tells her about his classmates’ quirks. He tries to remember what he can about what a few of them told him about how their quirks affect them, but eventually he just reassures her that they’ll write down that information later. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Recovery Girl says, “Geez, you like to rush, don’t you? Trust me when I say that you’ve already done more than I expected you to. It’s not bad to be an overachiever, but I don’t want you to get so worked up over thinking that you haven’t done enough.” 

Izuku takes a deep breath and nods. He can’t help wanting to learn as much as he can as soon as he can. It’s hard to take things slow- he wants to be a healer already! He wants to fix All Might’s injury!

Recovery Girl gets his attention again. “Now, how ‘bout you tell me how you think you treat each of your classmates’ quirk overuse?” 

For the first time in his life, Katsuki lost a fight. 

The foreign yet distinctly recognizable feeling of failure that he hasn’t felt in a long while returns now, and it only fuels the burning rage within his chest. 

He glares heatedly at the ground, slouching against the wall as he sulks in the hallway outside of the infirmary. His blood boils with anger and humiliation as he recalls the shit-show that was their first hero lesson. He can’t believe he had been taken down so easily! No, taken down isn’t even the right word! It was hardly even a fight in the first place- if it was, he would’ve turned both of those bitches into mincemeat! He was going to, but they- fuck- they got him first, and he was about to say ‘fuck it’ and blow their asses up anyway, just to wipe that triumphant look off their faces and make sure they damn well knew this didn’t mean they won, but then Zuku called out to him with that tone and Katsuki begrudgingly backed off- solely because Zuku sounded like he was going to get his panties in a bunch if he didn’t and Katsuki didn’t want to deal with that. 

But damn, those bitches! Especially that Ponytail chick- she nearly fucking blinded him! He had been expecting her to have some tricks up her sleeve. After all, she’d gotten a better score than him during Aizawa’s quirk assessment test, and Zuku mentioned that she was one of the other students that got in through recommendation, so surely she must have some level of skill. And she sure as hell proved it. 

What the fuck was her quirk- some sort of object creation quirk? Where the hell did she get that shield and those flash grenades from? Whatever, it doesn’t matter- he underestimated her. He underestimated that round-faced chick too. He’d caught a glimpse of her puking her guts out earlier during the entrance exam and immediately dismissed her as weak, instead seizing up Ponytail as the bigger threat and deciding to focus on going after her, but then Round Face surprised him by appearing out of nowhere and sending him flying into a fucking wall! 

And it’s not just them, either. He’d underestimated all of his other classmates too. When he’d seen that Half n’ Half guy freeze the entire building, it felt like his own blood had been frozen as well. All he could do was stare at the screen in awe as the guy single-handedly defeated his two opponents, something he failed to do, in mere seconds. 

This was Todoroki Shouto. Katsuki recognized him of course. This was the son of Endeavor, the son of the number two hero. A recommendation student, just like Ponytail girl, and just like her, he already scored higher than Katsuki during the quirk assessment test. This was his competition, this was the real deal. 

Faced with such blatant, immense power, Katsuki had been momentarily stunned to find that… he couldn’t see himself defeating someone like him. 

The blond clenches his jaw. His heartbeat flutters like a bird’s wing in his chest as he ducks his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Damn it. Damn it! No! This is the real deal! UA is the best of the best! That’s what Zuku was trying to tell him, wasn’t it? To not feel bad about it, because he can’t always expect to win now that he’s up against people that are strong too… right? 

Katsuki swallows heavily. Zuku… What must he think of him? To see Katsuki, the one who’s supposed to protect him, to keep him safe, lose a fight. In all their lives, he’s never seen him lose- what must be going through his mind? Surprise? A flicker of doubt? Is he thinking, perhaps... maybe he’s not good enough then? 

Katsuki chases away the thought with a wordless snarl, but it’s followed by another thought. A memory- the one of watching all of their classmates’ matches, feeling the hard knot in his chest growing by the second, then glancing over to see Zuku’s awe-struck expression, eyes sparkling in obvious excitement at the sight of such powerful quirks. Recognizing that look. He knows that look. He knows that look, because even to this day Zuku still holds a healthy admiration for his quirk- because he knows damn well how great it is- and he can always make those eyes twinkle by doing something particularly flashy. 

But now those eyes are turning elsewhere. 

Katsuki’s fists curl. A brief flash of fear brushes against his heart beating rapidly within the cage of his chest. He grits his teeth. 

Fuck that. Fuck that. UA’s the best of the best? Well then he’ll be better than the best! He made the mistake of allowing himself to get too comfortable around the weak-ass losers in his junior high, but there’s no time to fuck around anymore. He’s in UA now, All Might’s goddamn alma mater. Zuku may have been right about him being surrounded by people with strong quirks, but he was dead wrong about them being on even ground with him. He’s going to kick ass during training, show all these extras just how strong he is, then he’ll leave this place and everyone in his dust and become the greatest hero anyone’s ever seen! 

And he’ll be the best damn hero for Zuku! The only one worthy enough to protect him! 

The familiar burn of determination returns, filling his chest and overshadowing the unwelcome feelings of fear and failure. Katsuki straightens up, taking a deep breath through his nose as he clenches and unclenches his fists. There. That’s better. Anger and determination- this he can deal with. 

The door to the infirmary suddenly slides open, making him flinch. He glances over in surprise, but it’s not Zuku. Of course it’s not, it’s far too early, his lesson just began only twenty minutes ago. 

Instead a girl walks out, an upperclassmen. Katsuki thinks he might’ve seen her walk in earlier. She doesn’t have a scratch on her now, and she looks a lot happier than she did before. Of course she does. She just saw Zuku. Katsuki can hear the muffled sound of his bright voice from inside the infirmary, followed by familiar, bubbly laugh just before the door slides shut again. 

The fear flicks at his heart again.

Katsuki swallows, throat impossibly dry. Clenching his jaw, he turns back to his phone with a scowl and pushes all thoughts of the day’s events out of his mind, stubbornly ignoring the lingering hint of fear in his chest that refuses to be snuffed out. 

Izuku leaves the infirmary a lot later than he did yesterday. Even though he didn’t do much healing today, he’s still pretty tired after the long, exciting day he had. He finds Kacchan sitting against the wall in the hallway, playing on his phone while he waits.

“Why didn’t you go back to the classroom?” Izuku asks as they walk to the train station, “You could have chatted with our classmates instead of just being bored in the hallway.”

“I wasn’t bored,” Kacchan grumbles, but says nothing else.

Izuku glances at his friend, frowning slightly. The explosive blond almost looks like he’s pouting as he trudges onward, his brows furrowed and his eyes on the ground. Hmm, he must still be upset about losing to Yaoyorozu and Uraraka. 

However, Izuku already gave him a talk and he’s kind of too tired to think of another one. 

So instead he just sighs and leans his head against Kacchan’s shoulder while they wait for their train to arrive. Kacchan glances at him, but stays quiet. He doesn’t say a word the entire way home, and as more time passes Izuku starts to get a bit concerned. Kacchan isn’t usually one to keep his thoughts to himself. He’s not exactly the quiet type. 

Before he steps onto his porch, Izuku opens his mouth to speak, but instead Kacchan interrupts him by saying, “If you ask if I’m alright, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Izuku knows he doesn’t really mean it, but he snaps his mouth shut anyways. He and Kacchan watch each other for a long moment before the latter huffs.

With a determined gleam in his eyes, Kacchan straightens up and declares, “I’m just getting started, you hear? I don’t give a shit about what happened today- I’m still gonna become the number one hero! So you better keep your eyes on me!”

His words are unabashedly confident, like he doesn’t have an ounce of doubt in his body that that is his future, no matter what anyone else has to say about it, and Izuku doesn’t expect anything less from him. He’s so blatantly brash and arrogant, and after his behavior in today’s hero lesson Izuku should really be more chastising, but still he finds himself smiling. 

He nods. 

“I’ll look forward to it.” 

Chapter Text

The next day, UA is surrounded.

Izuku and Kacchan stare out at the crowd of reporters swarming around the entrance of the school, shoving a microphone into the face of every student that tries to enter. 

“Er, I guess they heard that All Might is teaching here,” Izuku says uncertainly. 

Kacchan just lets out a very annoyed huff. He doesn’t make a move, but his eyes are roaming over the mob, analyzing and searching for weaknesses. Izuku shifts uneasily. 

“So… how are we gonna-”

Kacchan suddenly grabs him by the arm and starts dragging him toward the crowd. A reporter notices them and immediately shoves a microphone at them.

“You!” She demands, “How are All Might’s classes-”

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!” Kacchan roars. It’s startling enough for the reporter to jump backwards in surprise. Kacchan proceeds to bulldoze his way through  the mass of people, loudly snapping at anyone who tries to shove a camera in his face. Izuku, for once, is actually grateful to be dragged behind his friend. They make it through the crowd fairly quickly and Izuku is only a couple of minutes late for his meeting with Recovery Girl.

“Tsk!” His mentor rolls her eyes. “I don’t know how Toshinori-san deals with those vultures all the time! Has he said anything to you?”

Izuku shakes his head. “No, not today. He texted me after I went home yesterday, but that was mostly just to ask what I thought of his teaching.”

“And what did you think of his teaching?”

 He ponders about it for a moment, trying to find the right words. “I think… he has a lot that he can teach us, but…” He smiles and shrugs. “He’s All Might, you know?” 

Recovery Girl huffs and turns to her desk, saying, “Well, you don’t have to worry about him today. You don’t have a hero lesson but you have PE, which Aizawa-san will be teaching. And before you ask, yes, you will be participating.” Izuku closes his mouth. “It’ll be a quirkless sparring lesson, so you’ll get a chance to show what you learned in that self-defense class you mentioned.”

Izuku perks up. Finally, something he can join in on. 

His morning classes seem to take forever today. In the past few months, he hasn’t gone to as many self-defense classes as he had before, mostly because he’s just been so busy studying for the recommendation test or schoolwork or Recovery Girl. And now that he’s in UA, he’s completely dropped out of Kimura’s class, one, because he simply won’t have any time to attend her after school lessons on top of Recovery Girl’s, and two, because he’ll be learning even more about fighting in UA. 

So, it’s been a while since he’s had a good sparring session. He’s excited to train with his classmates, but part of him is worried that perhaps he’s gotten a bit rusty. He doesn’t want to embarrass himself- he wants to show that he’s strong even though he doesn’t have a combative quirk. 

“Quit fucking muttering, Zuku!” Kacchan growls. 

Izuku snaps out of his thoughts and smiles apologetically. They’re on their way to the cafeteria for lunch, although he thinks he might be too nervous to eat. 

Kacchan gives him a look. “You’ve been acting all weird and fidgety since you checked in with Recovery Girl. Is it something about one of our lessons later?” He frowns. “We don’t have any hero classes, just PE. What’s so bad about PE?”

Izuku wrings his hands. “You know I can’t say, Kacchan,” he sighs. As Recovery Girl’s apprentice, he’s privy to information that other students don’t know, whether it be about each other or their future classes. Just things that he needs to be aware of, like All Might’s injury or certain students’ allergies or a lesson that he needs to be prepared for in advance. But he can’t just go telling that information to anyone who asks! 

Katuski grumbles under his breath and Izuku hastens to reassure him. “It’s nothing bad, though! You know me, I get nervous about everything!” 

His friend snorts and thankfully drops it. He leads the way into the cafeteria and while they’re waiting in line for food, Izuku glances around. 

For the past couple of days, he and Kacchan have been eating lunch by themselves, either finding an empty table or sitting with some upperclassmen that ignore them. But now that they’re more familiar with their classmates, Izuku wants to go sit with them. 

He spots Iida and Uraraka sitting at a table together and starts walking over to them once he gets his food. As soon as Kacchan realizes where they’re heading, he immediately stops and scowls. 

“Hell no!” 

Izuku sighs and Kacchan starts roughly nudging him away with his shoulder. “Kacchan…”

“I’m not sitting with Four-Eyes,” the blond growls, “And I sure as hell am not going to eat with Round-Face. He’s annoying as fuck and she fucking threw me into a wall.”

“Well, technically your explosions did that…” Kacchan glares daggers at him and he swallows. “But alright, fine, we won’t sit with Iida-kun and Uraraka-san.”

He glances around the cafeteria and spots Todoroki and Yaoyorozu sitting at a table in the corner. He perks up. 

“What about Todoroki-kun and Yaoyorozu-san?”

Kacchan raises an eyebrow, clearly not remembering their names, and turns to follow his gaze. His scowl deepens. 

“Bitch nearly blinded me-” Izuku rolls his eyes “-And you act weird around fucking Icyhot.” 

“No, I don’t,” Izuku says, then recalls that awkward moment with Todoroki yesterday and sighs. “Fine, fine, how about… Kirishima-kun?” He spots the red-haired boy sitting with Kaminari, Ashido, and Sero. 

Kacchan pauses and huffs, “Shitty Hair.” Izuku’s patience is about to snap, but then the blond shrugs. “Fine, whatever.”

Izuku blinks in surprise. ‘Fine, whatever’? Wow, Kacchan must really like Kirishima! When did they become friends? How did he not notice? 

Kacchan scowls at his stunned silence. “Well, are we gonna sit with them or what?” 

Izuku nods rapidly and leads the way. Kirishima grins at him when they approach.

“Hi, guys! Do you mind if Kacchan and I join you?”

“Of course, man, no problem!” 

Izuku makes sure that Kacchan ends up sitting next to Kirishima while he takes a seat next to Ashido. This is the first time that Kacchan has actually seemed to want to hang out with a particular person other than him and Izuku is going to foster this new friendship as best as he can!

“Hey, Midoriya-kun,” Kirishima says, handing him a piece of paper, “We got that list that we were talking about yesterday.”

Izuku looks down at the paper and to his delight he sees information about his classmates’ quirks’ drawbacks, written down in various handwriting. He reads what is no doubt Yaoyorozu’s neat handwriting and nearly smacks himself in the face. Of course she’s susceptible to malnourishment! She can’t create things out of nothing- oh, but it’s so cool that she can transform the molecular structure of her fat! He’ll be sure to keep some extra nutritional bars in his medical pouch.

In fact, as his eyes roam over the list, he realizes he can add a lot of things to his bag to help out his classmates. Some sugary candies for Sato, some anti-nausea pills for Uraraka- oh, maybe he can find something that’ll help strengthen the lining of Aoyama’s stomach? He’ll have to ask Recovery Girl later. 

Looking back up at Kirishima, he grins. “Thanks, Kirishima-kun!” 

Kirishima flashes him a toothy grin and scratches the back of his head. “No problem! It was actually kind of cool getting to hear about everyone’s quirks.” 

“Hey, we helped too!” Ashido pouts and Kaminari nods. 

Amused, Izuku smiles and thanks them too. Ashido immediately blushes and waves him off while Kaminari lifts his chin proudly and drawls, “Ah, it’s no big deal.” 

Kacchan snaps his chopsticks in half. 

Lunch with the three of them is very entertaining, much more so that sitting alone with Kacchan is. Izuku spends so much time laughing at Kaminari’s antics that his food is cold by the time he remembers to eat. Even Kacchan is amused, although he hides it underneath gruff annoyance. 

Finally, after lunch if over, it’s time for their PE class. Aizawa tells them nothing except to change into their training uniforms and meet him in Gym Gamma. If Izuku’s classmates notice his obvious excitement, they don’t mention it. 

Gym Gamma is a huge and spacious building. When they walk inside, they see numerous blue mats rolled out across the floor. Aizawa stands in front of them with his usual blank-yet-judgemental expression.

“We’re going to be doing sparring lessons today,” he says. Everyone starts to cheer, but then he adds, “Without your quirks.”

“Woooo- wait, wha?”

Aizawa blinks slowly, somehow looking very tired despite the fact that they haven’t even started yet. “Before you can learn how to fight properly with your quirks,” he says, “You’re gonna need to become good at fighting without them. Most of you guys have emitter-type quirks. Now imagine if you came across a villain with a quirk like mine.” A few students shudder. “Your quirk can only take you so far, and relying heavily on it will only hold you back. What you need is to build a solid foundation before you can start applying your quirk to your battle skills.” 

Some of his classmates seem a bit miffed that they don’t get to use their quirks, but Aizawa’s explanation is logical enough to appease most of them. He has them separate into two groups, those who claim to have experience in hand-to-hand combat and those who have none. 

Kacchan and Izuku, of course, go to the experienced group. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu join them too, along with Ashido, Kirishima, Iida, and- to Izuku’s mild surprise- Ojiro. 

“Alright,” Aizawa says, “You’re gonna split off into random pairs and begin sparring. This is just so I can evaluate your skill levels and see where each of you is at, so there’s no need to use excessive force.” He sends a pointed look at Kacchan, who huffs. “You’ll fight for about twenty minutes, or however long it takes for me to assess all of you. Afterwards, I’ll spend the rest of the class demonstrating real fighting moves.” 

Kacchan moves to partner up with Izuku, but apparently Aizawa is the one that’s going to decide who their partners are. Kacchan ends up getting paired with Kirishima, Yaoyorozu with Ashido, Iida with Ojiro, and Izuku with… Todoroki. 

The bi-colored boy turns his cold gaze at him and Izuku sweatdrops. 

Well, shit.

As the groups disperse into pairs, he hears someone whisper behind him, “Geez, isn’t it a little unfair to pair up the strongest in the class with the healer?”

“I know right? Hopefully, he’ll go easy on him…” 

The voices sound like they belong to Kaminari and Sero, but that hardly matters. Izuku’s mind freezes. 

They’re... underestimating him. 

Kacchan keeps casting him sharp glances as Kirishima leads him away and Todoroki falls into a fighting stance that definitely looks a bit lax and oh my God they are totally underestimating him! 

Indignance pricks at his heart. A very Kacchan-sounding voice in the back of his head snarls, “Well fuck that!”  

Aizawa tells them to start, but Izuku doesn’t move. Instead, he remains in the stance that Kimura taught him, muscle memory coming back to him despite his recent lack of training. He watches Todoroki, who eyes him up and down, realizing that Izuku won’t be making the first move. Izuku takes a deep breath, keeping alert for any signs of an oncoming attack and-

Todoroki steps with his right foot before he punches.

It’s a common hint, one of the first things that Kimura taught him to keep an eye out for. A proper stance is the foundation of a strong attack, so you can anticipate a person’s movements by watching their feet. And Izuku knows the perfect counter attack.

While Todoroki swings with his left arm, Izuku ducks under his fist and darts forward, aiming a punch at the boy’s ribs as he steps past him. It takes Todoroki by surprise, but when he tries to turn and face Izuku again, he jams his elbow into Todoroki’s temple. Hard. Probably harder than he should have, but he doesn’t give himself time to feel bad. As soon as Todoroki stumbles from the blow, Izuku grabs his wrist, aims a kick at the back of his knees, and pins him to the ground with his arm twisted behind his back. 

It’s a quick takedown, probably not taking more than ten seconds.

Silence fills the gym. 

Izuku keeps his attention on Todoroki beneath him, watching him for any signs of movement. So when someone bursts out in loud, obnoxious laughter, it startles him.

Head whipping up, he instantly flushes when he realizes that everyone is staring at him with wide eyes. Well, everyone except for Kacchan, who is too busy laughing his ass off next to Kirishima. 

“Dude…” 

“Did he just…?”

“Holy fuck!” Kaminari exclaims.

Even Aizawa seems mildly surprised, although he glares at Kaminari for cussing. Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu gives him an impressed look and Ashido flashes him a grin. Izuku’s face turns red under the attention. 

Below him comes Todoroki’s muffled voice, “Can I get up now?” 

“Right!” Izuku squeaks, jumping off of him. Todoroki peels himself off the mat and Izuku winces at the red mark on his cheek from being pressed against it. “Sorry- er, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you so hard!” 

There’s a bruise blooming on the other boy’s temple and shit, now Izuku feels really bad.

“It’s fine,” Todoroki grunts, steadying himself. 

Aizawa sighs and calls out, “Good job, Midoriya-kun. But please try to avoid giving your partner a concussion. That goes for all of you.” He briefly fixes the other students with a hard look. Before he turns away, he says, “And Todoroki-kun.” The boy glances up and Aizawa smirks slightly. “Don’t underestimate your opponent based on their quirk.” 

Izuku can’t help it- he smiles and ducks his head. Todoroki looks a bit disgruntled but nods. 

“Alright, back to work, brats.”

Izuku turns back to Todoroki and they both fall into fighting stances. In the corner of his eye, he sees Kacchan finally compose himself and face Kirishima, but he still has a grin on his face. Izuku focuses on Todoroki when he moves to attack. 

And damn Todoroki’s fighting for real now. 

Not that Izuku’s upset that he’s finally being taken seriously, but after the third time in a row he gets knocked on his ass, he starts to feel just a smidge of regret. 

Todoroki is an extremely skilled fighter. His movements indicate experience, and he’s got the muscle to back up his attacks. Fighting him would be fun if it wasn’t also painful. Even so, he can tell that the other boy is pulling his punches. Not exactly holding back, just putting less power than he could behind his blows, probably so he doesn’t seriously hurt Izuku since this is training. 

After the fifth time he’s beaten, Izuku starts to give Todoroki a run for his money. His fighting style is so different from Kacchan’s that it throws him off a bit at first, but once he gets used to it, the fights start lasting longer. He still loses the majority of them, which is frustrating, but at least he doesn’t go down too easily. It’s always worth it to see the look on Todoroki’s face whenever he manages to beat the other boy. 

Whenever he’s not laser-focused on his partner, he takes note of his other classmates’ sparring sessions. Ashido is faring surprisingly well against Yaoyorozu, and Iida and Ojiro seem to be evenly matched too. He noticed Kacchan getting knocked down by Kirishima during the first few rounds, but that’s probably because he was trying to simultaneously keep an eye on Izuku. Now he’s doing much better against Kirishima, but the wins are a solid 60/40 in his favor, so the redhead isn’t doing too bad himself. 

Izuku pays for his distraction by getting his feet swiped from under him. 

Time passes and as they continue to spar, Izuku starts to notice one of his own weaknesses. Usually, sparring in Kimura’s class doesn’t last too long. They’ll go a few rounds, then take a break or switch partners. But they’ve been at this consistently for nearly twenty minutes now and Izuku’s stamina is rapidly draining. He’s panting heavily, his clothes are drenched in sweat, and his curls are starting to escape from his ponytail. 

For what feels like the hundredth time, Izuku gets knocked to the ground, but, for some reason, Todoroki doesn’t just let gravity do the work like he usually does. The next thing Izuku knows, there’s hands on his wrists and a heavy weight pinning him down and holy shit Todoroki’s face is really really close now-

Todoroki stares down at him with narrowed eyes. His skin is flushed and he’s panting slightly, but his gaze is unwavering. His heterochromatic eyes are gazing down at him with such intensity that it makes Izuku’s breath catch. A flush creeps up his neck as he stares back up at Todoroki with wide eyes. 

Izuku feels like a butterfly pinned to a board, wings spread for the other to see. His heart threatens to beat out of his chest as he wiggles his hands experimentally, but it’s clear Todoroki has no inclination to allow him any kind of movement. The grip on his wrists is like iron. 

Izuku gulps. 

Todoroki may be cold, but his eyes burn. 

For a few tense moments, they stare at each other. Both panting, both high on adrenaline. Todoroki’s bangs fall into his face as he looks down at him. Izuku has no idea what the hell is going on, but something in Todoroki’s eyes slowly turns… curious. He probably wouldn’t even notice it if he wasn’t so close to the other boy’s face.

Finally, Todoroki speaks. 

“Not bad.” His voice is low. “Who trained you?”

Izuku can barely form a coherent thought right now. Todoroki’s intense eyes practically erase his ability to think. 

“Huh?” Comes his intelligent reply. 

Todoroki stares at him for another moment. The grip on his wrists flexes. He opens his mouth-

“Alright, everyone, that’s enough.”

Aizawa’s voice cuts through the tension like a knife. 

Todoroki blinks and looks up at Aizawa as he tells everybody where to gather for his demonstration. As soon as the other boy’s gaze is off of him, Izuku lets out a huge sigh of relief. He almost feels dizzy. 

“Er,” he asks weakly, “Can I get up now?” 

Todoroki looks back down at him and seems to just realize that he’s still pinning him down. “Oh.” He gets off. “Sorry.”

Izuku clambers to his feet, ignoring how his legs suddenly feel shaky. Todoroki stands back and watches him carefully. 

Laughing breathlessly, Izuku says, “You’re a really good fighter, Todoroki-kun.” 

He hardly reacts. “Thanks,” he says, then asks again, “Who trained you?”

“Huh?” Izuku blinks, recalling Todoroki’s previous question. “Oh, uh, I took self-defense classes with a woman named Kimura Aki. Um, since I was ten, but I stopped recently.” 

It doesn’t seem to be the answer Todoroki was looking for, but after a moment the other boy nods and turns to join their classmates, who are gathering in a group in front of Aizawa. Izuku hastens to walk by his side.

“Who trained you?” He asks, hoping to strike up a conversation. 

Todoroki’s eyes narrow and he suddenly becomes nervous. Did he say something wrong? Is it a touchy subject or…?

He almost thinks Todoroki won’t respond, but eventually the other boy huffs, “My father.” 

His father… Izuku’s mind flashes back to the tall, intimidating man covered in his own flames. Of course Endeavor would be the one to train Todoroki. He’s the son of the number two hero, why would he need to train with anyone else?

But the way Todoroki just replied… he didn’t sound very proud. If Izuku didn’t know any better, he’d say his tone was almost… resentful. Maybe they don’t get along too well? He can’t imagine training with a man as terrifying as Endeavor would be very fun… 

They reach the group quickly and Izuku sits down next to Kacchan. He hears Todoroki sit down close by. 

As Aizawa starts demonstrating some basic forms for the less experienced students, Izuku has trouble focusing. There’s something nagging at the edge of his mind, something he can’t quite grasp. He feels Kacchan watching him out of the corner of his eye.

“You alright?” His friend asks in a low tone, “Did that IcyHot fucker rough you up too much?” 

“No…” Izuku trails off, glancing to his right. 

Todoroki is sitting a couple of feet away from him, watching Aizawa with a blank gaze. His left side is facing Izuku. 

Green eyes land on a blotchy red scar. 

For some reason, Izuku feels his stomach sink. 

“Zuku…?” Kacchan questions. 

“Nothing,” he murmurs, turning away from Todoroki. He doesn’t meet his friend’s gaze. “I’m just… awkward.” 

Later that night, Izuku goes on the computer and researches everything he can about burn scars. 

There’s even more press at the entrance of UA the next day. 

Kacchan grits his teeth and Izuku sighs tiredly. He stayed up a bit too late last night with homework and reading for Recovery Girl and that... thing about Todoroki’s scar. Ever since their sparring session, he’s just had a lot on his mind. No solid ideas or theories or anything, just his mind overreacting as usual. 

It also doesn’t help that he’s still sore from yesterday. Recovery Girl offered to heal his bruises during their lesson but he politely declined. It’s been a while since he’s felt the ache of a good spar. No need to worry about some sore muscles- sure, it’ll prevent him from using his quirk, but he’s focusing on traditional healing methods anyway. 

Still, he’s not too inclined to take on a crowd of reporters again when he’s not feeling one-hundred percent. 

“Alright, bitches,” Kacchan growls, cracking his knuckles, “Time for round two.” 

He grabs Izuku again and starts shrieking at the reporters as he enters the mob, but it’s a lot harder this time. There’s twice as many people and cameras than yesterday and everyone seems to be even more determined to interview students. Izuku is finding it hard to follow Kacchan despite the fact that he’s practically being dragged along. 

Suddenly, a hand clasps around his wrist and yanks him back. Yelping, he stumbles and Kacchan’s hand loses its grip on his arm. 

“Hey!” The blond snaps, whirling around, but as soon as they’re separated the crowd of reporters swarms around them. “Zuku! Hey, fuck off! Get-”

“Kacchan?!?” Unable to see his friend amongst the mass of people, Izuku starts to panic. Whoever grabbed him still has an iron grip on his wrist. He tries to pull away using one of the wrist escapes that Kimura taught him, but as soon as the grip is broken, more hands grab onto him. “Let me go! Let me go! Kacchan!”

“You!” A microphone is shoved in his face. “Give us a statement!”

“Tell us about All Might!” 

Izuku glances around frantically. There’s flashing lights and cameras no matter where he turns. He feels suffocated by the crowd of people pressing down on all sides. The hands on his wrist tighten and yank again. 

“Ow!” He grimaces, trying once more to pull away, “Please, let me go! I- I have to go to class, I-”

To his disbelief, the reporters sound angry.

“Just a statement, kid!”

“Come on, you gotta give us something!”  

“What is the Symbol of Peace like as a teacher? Tell us!” 

Over the droning of the crowd, he hears Kacchan screech, “Get the fuck away before I blow your asses up!”

Shit, he’s getting angry. He’s been doing so well not getting into any fights, but if he uses his quirk on civilians then he’ll definitely get in trouble!

“Kacchan! I’m alright!” Izuku calls out, tugging his wrist again, “I’m fine, it’s okay, I just have to-”

“Let go of him.” 

A cold voice suddenly cuts through the commotion. 

Izuku nearly cries with relief when he sees Todoroki approach him, the crowd parting for him slightly as he walks. One of the reporters grabbing Izuku perks up at the sight of the son of the number two hero, but a sharp look from him has her faltering. 

Todoroki’s eyes land on the hands gripping Izuku’s wrist. The air around him seems to drop ten degrees, and Izuku isn’t the only one that notices. 

“You know,” Todoroki says lowly, coming to stand in front of Izuku while keeping his gaze on the offending reporters, “Most people wouldn’t dare lay a hand on a healer.” His eyes narrow dangerously. “Heroes tend to be protective of them.” 

There are three people grabbing onto Izuku’s wrist. Two of them stiffen in alarm and instantly pull away, but the woman instead perks up.

“Eh? A healer?” Her eyes flash hungrily. “UA has a new healer?” 

Her co-worker looks nervous. “Um, Sasaki-san…” At least he seems to realize the implications of Todoroki’s words. 

Now that there’s only one person holding onto Izuku, he’s able to break her hold fairly easily. He immediately pulls back and ducks behind Todoroki, rubbing his wrist gingerly. 

Kacchan’s voice roars again. “Zuku!” 

“I’m fine!” Izuku calls back. Todoroki looks at him, and then at the reporters. 

“We’re leaving now,” he says, his tone leaving no room for argument. Izuku stays close behind Todoroki as they make their way out of the mob, keeping his arms close to himself in case someone tries to grab him again. 

As they weave through the crowd, Izuku glances up at Todoroki’s face. The other boy isn’t looking at him. His scar draws Izuku’s attention, reminding him of his research the previous night. He’d spent almost an hour looking at various pictures of different types of burn scars, so he knows now that Todoroki’s scar must be from water rather than fire. Which is relieving. After the way he sounded talking about being trained by his father, which really wasn’t more than a couple of words, Izuku couldn’t help but wonder if his scar had been caused by Endeavor. Which would absolutely be none of his business, even if his father had been the cause! He just has an overactive imagination… 

Kacchan is already at UA’s gates when Izuku and Todoroki escape the crowd. His eyes widen and he rushes over. 

“Zuku! Dammit, are you alright?” Izuku starts to reassure him but then the blond’s eyes land on his bruising wrist. “What the fuck? Who fucking did that?!? I’ll kill them!” 

“Kacchan, it’s fine,” he says, “A couple of reporters grabbed me, but Todoroki-kun made them leave me alone.” He turns and smiles at said boy, who is standing a bit away, watching them silently. Kacchan glares at him for a moment before clenching his jaw.

“Thanks, I guess,” he mutters begrudgingly. 

Todoroki blinks, looking as aloof as usual. “No problem.” His eyes slide to the reporters, who are standing just behind the gate. “The press is... annoying.” 

“You can say that again,” Izuku huffs, “How come they listened to you and not me?” 

Todoroki shrugs.

“Well, anyway,” Kacchan sniffs, “Class is starting soon. You still gonna check in with Recovery Girl?”

Izuku looks down at his phone and winces at the numerous texts from his mentor. He should go see her, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes. 

He bids his goodbyes to Kacchan and Todoroki, the former not wanting to go with him in case he gets late, and rushes over to the infirmary. 

“Sorry, Recovery Girl!” He apologizes as soon as he bursts into the room.

“Midoriya-kun.” Recovery Girl turns to him with a confused expression. “What kept you? I was beginning to get worried.”

He scratches the back of his head sheepishly and waves her off. “Ah, it was nothing. Just had a bit of trouble getting past the press, that’s all.” 

She frowns, but when she spots the angry red bruise forming on his wrist, her eyes widen. “Did they do that to you?” 

“Huh?” He glances at his wrist. “Oh, yeah, but it’s alright. Doesn’t hurt that bad.”

Recovery Girl’s expression doesn’t ease. She holds out her hand and Izuku gives her his wrist, sighing in relief when she kisses it gently. 

As grateful as he is, he can’t help but tease, “I thought you were all against using your quirk for minor injuries?”

“Your quirk,” she corrects, “My quirk doesn’t rely on sacrificing my own energy.”

She turns back to her desk, but something about her tone seems troubled. He hesitates. Maybe he can’t afford to have bruises today?

“Will… um, will I need to use my quirk in class today?” He asks, but Recovery Girl shakes her head.

“No, no, that’s not it,” she says, “You kids are just going to be doing more sparring lessons with All Might this afternoon. Aizawa-san should have told you that yesterday.” Izuku nods. She huffs, “What bothers me is the press. And the fact that they’re getting physical with students. Geez, so desperate to talk to Toshinori-san that they’d resort to hurting children!” She sniffs. 

Izuku gives her a gentle smile. “I don’t think that they meant it.” 

“Still, I’ll talk to the teachers later about keeping those vultures away.” His mentor glances up at the clock before telling him to hurry off to class.   

Izuku races down the hallway and steps into his homeroom right as the bell rings. Aizawa spares him a single glance but doesn’t comment as he rushes to his desk, panting heavily. 

“Good job during PE yesterday,” he grunts, “You’ll be practicing the moves I showed you during your hero class today with All Might, and then he’ll talk about how you can apply your quirks to those moves.” Murmurs of excitement ripple through the class and the teacher narrows his eyes. “I said he’d talk about it. You won’t get to spar with your quirks until you learn the basics of fighting.” 

The excitement dies down a bit. Aizawa sniffs. “Now, let’s get down to homeroom business. Sorry about the late notice, but today I’ll have you…” Everyone tenses up. “... decide on a class representative.”  

Izuku lets out a sigh of relief. Finally, a normal school activity! 

The classroom erupts into shouts. 

“I wanna be class rep! Pick me!”

“Me too!” 

“I want to do it too!” 

“I’ll be the leader!” 

Izuku stays quiet, watching with amusement as his classmates argue over who should be the class representative. Their enthusiasm makes sense; in a normal class, they’d probably just be taking on everyday tasks, but in a hero course being class rep would allow someone to practice being a top hero by leading a group. It’s a good opportunity for the future heroes. He chuckles when Kacchan aggressively demands to be the one to take on the role. 

Iida is quick to calm down the chaos and suggests that they hold an election to choose the class representative. Most of his classmates probably vote for themselves, but Izuku isn’t quite sure who to vote for. As much as he loves his friend, Kacchan isn’t exactly the most level-headed person. Then again, taking on a leadership role could have the effect of making him more mature, but that isn’t a guarantee. 

Izuku glances around the room and spots Kirishima. He seems to be pretty friendly with everyone, but he’s not as goofy or careless as Kaminari and Ashido. Not that Izuku really knows him too well, but if he’s able to somewhat wrangle Kacchan, then he should be able to deal with whatever this class throws at him. 

So, Izuku casts his vote for Kirishima-

-And nearly faints in shock when he gets chosen to be the class representative. 

“What?!? Me?!?” He squeaks, “I got votes?!?” 

Kacchan is confused too. “Haah? Zuku? Who voted for him?!?” 

“Well, it’s better than voting for you,” Sero teases lightly and the blond snarls at him. 

As the two bicker back and forth (although it’s mostly one-sided on Kacchan’s part), Izuku is still trying to wrap his mind around the situation. He got three votes! Three! He got more than Yaoyorozu- and damn, he didn’t even think about voting for her! She would be so perfect for the role!

“But- But, why me?” He stammers, “I mean, I-I’m not even going to be a hero, really, I’m just a healer!” 

“Eh, maybe it’s not such a bad idea, then?” Kaminari suggests.

Kirishima grins. “Yeah, you’re pretty cool, Midoriya-kun!”

“Yeah, remember when he healed Uraraka-san?”

“He seems pretty friendly with everyone, I guess.”

“Yeah, Midoriya-kun!”

“Wait, wait!” Izuku waves his hands frantically. “I’m-I’m flattered and all, but I- I’m really not much of a leader.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Midoriya-kun,” Yaoyorozu says, catching everyone’s attention. “As a healer, you have a unique role in this class. Even though we may be classmates, every student in the hero course are rivals to some degree. Everyone except you.” Izuku gapes at her and she smiles. “You are a neutral party. So if you are our class representative, then we know you won’t be biased in any way.” 

Izuku blinks. Then blinks some more. “Oh…” His voice is tiny. “I… I guess that makes sense…” 

Yaoyorozu nods. “It’s logical.” She glances at the rest of the class. 

Sero turns away with an airy huff. “Well, we know who you voted for then.” He simply grins when Yaoyorozu frowns at him and says, “Alright, I’m down.” 

“Yeah, me too,” Kirishima agrees, grinning at Izuku, “Good luck, Class Rep!”

“Er…” The boy hesitates. He’s still not so sure about this.

But everyone seems to agree with Yaoyorozu’s logic and soon Aizawa announces him as class president and Yaoyorozu as vice-president. Izuku gulps nervously. 

“Quit worrying, Zuku,” Kacchan growls as they sit down for lunch, “It’s not the end of the world.”

Sero nudges Izuku and says, “Hey, even Bakugou-kun agrees!” 

“Well it’s better than having any of you fucking losers do it!” Kacchan snaps, stabbing his food more harshly than necessary. One of his chopsticks snaps at the end.

Sero and Kaminari immediately burst into laughter while Kacchan screeches at them. Izuku sighs. Next to him, Ashido puffs up her cheeks in a pout. 

“He has a point, though.” Izuku looks at her in surprise and she tilts her head. “You’re really the best one for it. Yaomomo is so smart.” She lets out a wistful sigh at the end. 

“But I thought you guys wanted to be class rep,” he protests, glancing between her and Kirishima, “You seemed so excited about it.” 

Kirishima shrugs. “Well, yeah, it seemed like a good idea at first. But then when we were writing down our votes, I thought ‘ehh, maybe not’?”

“Yeah, too much responsibility for the first year,” Kaminari complains good-naturedly, leaning against Sero. 

“So I figured I’d vote for you,” Kirishima says, startling Izuku, “I mean, if you can get Bakugou-kun under control just by saying his name-” He laughs when Kacchan screeches at him. “-Then handling the rest of us should be a piece of cake.” 

“I… didn’t vote for you, I still voted for myself,” Kaminari admits sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, “But I’m glad things turned out the way they did now!” 

“Yeah, you’ll do great, Midori-kun!” Ashido says. Kirishima and Kaminari grin while Sero gives him a thumbs up. 

“Oh.” Izuku blushes a little bit, tucking a curl behind his ear as he smiles down at his food. It’s kind of heart-warming to know that his classmates think so highly of him after only knowing him for a short amount of time. “Thanks, guys. I’ll try and do my best, then.” 

Sero grins. “Don’t worry about it. Although, I think Iida-kun might be a bit broken-hearted.” He points at another table with his chopsticks, where Iida is currently spluttering at something Uraraka said. 

Izuku shrivels. Iida had seemed really enthusiastic about being class rep. “Oh, God, I didn’t even think- I should go apologize or something-”

Ashido waves him off before he can work himself up too much. “Ah, it’s his own fault, anyways.”

“Yeah, he’s the one who talked up the whole election thing, even though he knew most of us would vote for ourselves,” Kaminari says, “And then he didn’t vote for himself. What did he think would happen?” 

They all glance back at Iida, who is now standing with his chest proudly puffed. Uraraka beams at whatever he’s saying, but Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero, and Ashido just squint in confusion and slight judgement. Kacchan raises an eyebrow. Izuku tilts his head. He wonders what Iida is saying to Uraraka to make her look so amazed. 

Before he can say anything, alarms suddenly blare loudly. Izuku flinches and Ashido lets out a little ‘eep’ of surprise. A voice says over the speaker system, “There has been a Level Three security breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly. I repeat-”

“Level Three security?” Sero asks, “What’s that?” 

“I dunno, but I think it’s pretty serious!” Kaminari turns in his seat, looking at some older students as they jump up and start running out of the cafeteria. Others soon follow, seeming scared and panicked. 

Kacchan stands up. “If it’s a security breach, then that probably means someone’s trespassing on school grounds.” He gives Izuku a sharp look. “Let’s go.” 

They all abandon their food and hastily make their way out of the cafeteria. However, since everyone else is doing the same, the hallways quickly get overcrowded. With so many people packed together topped with the fact that they’re all panicking, it soon becomes a stampede. 

And for the second time that day, Izuku loses Kacchan in the crowd. 

“Don’t push!”

“Hey!” 

“What’s happening?!?”

“Stop it!”

“Ow!”

Izuku quickly turns at the sound of the cry, but there’s no point in trying to figure out who it came from. Everybody is pushing and shoving against each other as they try to reach the end of the hallway. Izuku yelps as someone steps on his foot and jerks back, only to bump into another student.

“Hey, wait!”

“Ah, I’m falling!”

Crap! People are going to get seriously hurt with everyone stampeding like this! 

Izuku grimaces and tries to help a stumbling boy regain his balance, but it’s hard when he barely has any balance of his own. “Everyone!” He yells, “Please, calm down! You’re going to get hurt!” 

His voice gets drowned out by the shouts of dozens of students. 

He can just barely hear the sound of Kacchan calling his name, but there’s no way he can find him in this mess. All he can do is wait for things to calm down and try to avoid getting injured in the meantime. 

As soon as he thinks this, an elbow comes flying towards his face. He tries to dodge, but with such little space he still ends up getting hit on the cheek. 

“Ow!” He cries out. Then a foot kicks him in the shin, causing him to stumble.

A hand suddenly grasps his upper arm and yanks him backwards. He feels his back collide against someone’s chest and struggles to glance over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Midoriya-kun!” Kirishima shouts, “I’ve got you!” He proceeds to harden his arms and holds them beside Izuku, protecting his upper torso and face from getting hit. 

“Kirishima-kun! Thank you!” Izuku breathes a sigh of relief. With movement being so difficult, he can’t even twist around to properly see the redhead, but it doesn’t matter. Kirishima stays close, chest pressed against his back as he protects Izuku as best as he can with his arms. The greenette’s feet still get stepped on every other second, but at least he doesn’t have to worry about getting a broken nose on top of it. 

“This is crazy!” Kirishima shouts, painfully close to Izuku’s ear. He suddenly pauses and plunges one of his arms into the crowd. A moment later, he fishes out Kaminari. 

“Ahh- oh, hey guys!” The electric boy perks up. “This is crazy!” 

“That’s what I just said!” Kirishima replies, grunting when someone elbows him in the ribs. 

Another person cries out in pain and Izuku winces. “People are getting hurt!” He yelps. 

Kaminari raises his arms and yells, “Everyone, stop! Slow down! Slow do-”

He promptly gets knocked off his feet, but Izuku grabs him by the jacket before he can get swept away. He pulls the other boy close. Things are getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute, with Kirishima pressed against his back and Kaminari pressed against his front. They’re roughly jostled by the crowd with every step they take and Izuku is really starting to freak out now with just the seemingly endless amount of people around him. 

He’s about two seconds away from a panic attack when everything suddenly stops. Something has caught everyone’s attention, making them stop and look up. Izuku peeks over Kaminari’s shoulder, surprised to see Iida standing on top of the emergency exit sign. 

“Everyone! Everything is fine!” Iida shouts. His legs wobble slightly and Izuku’s heart leaps to his throat in fear. Still, Iida continues, “It’s just the media! There is nothing to panic about! Everything is fine! This is UA. Let us act in a way befitting the best of the best.”

His tone is so chastising that it actually makes some students pause. A few glance around and someone calls out, “Oh, wow, it really is just the media.”

“The police are here too!” 

“Oh good.” 

Slowly but surely the pressure surrounding Izuku eases away as people calm down. He lets out a huge sigh of relief and beams up at Iida. The blue-haired boy is still standing confidently on top of the emergency exit sign and Izuku can’t help but think that he looks really cool. 

As for the cause of the stampede… 

“Man, I really hate the media now,” he grumbles and Kirishima laughs, “Thanks for protecting me back there. Are you alright?” 

The redhead waves him off. “Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about me. But, uh…” He looks over Izuku’s shoulder and the boy turns around, following his gaze to a couple of students making their way out of the hall. One has their arm around the other’s shoulder and is clearly limping. Glancing around, Izuku sees that there are a lot of people with minor injuries. 

“Oh.” He winces, turning back to Kirishima and Kaminari. “I should go help out Recovery Girl. If you see Kacchan, can you-”

“ZUKU!” 

“-Nevermind,” he cuts himself off, trying to give Kacchan a reassuring smile as the blond rushes over to him. “I’m fine, Kacchan, it’s alright. I have to go to Recovery Girl now though.”

Kacchan doesn’t look mollified. “I’ll walk you there,” he says, taking a step forward, but Izuku shakes his head. 

“It’s fine, there’s already gonna be a bunch of people there anyway.” Before he turns away, he glances up at the emergency exit sign and asks, “Can you make sure Iida-kun gets down safely?”

Kacchan grumbles in response but Kirishima and Kaminari give him a thumbs up. Satisfied, Izuku turns and starts running to the infirmary as fast as possible. 

By the time he gets there, there’s already a long line of students waiting outside. “Sorry, sorry, excuse me,” he mumbles as he pushes his way into the room. When Recovery Girl sees him, she almost looks like she’s about to cry in relief. 

“Midoriya-kun!” She exclaims, “Thank goodness! What is going on? What’s this about a stampede I’m hearing?” 

Izuku’s already moving to his desk to grab some latex gloves, pausing to quickly put his hair up in a hasty bun in order to get his curls out of the way before he puts them on. “Everyone freaked out when the alarms sounded and we were told there was a security breach so everyone started rushing outside but we got stuck in the hallway ‘cause it was too small for all of us, so, yeah, stampede- but it was just the media that sounded the alarm!” 

Recovery Girl lets out a noise of frustration and turns back to the student she’s treating. “Dear lord, what a mess! Can you go outside and start examining everyone? Those with more serious injuries can be treated now, but if they just have scrapes and bruises then tell them to come back after school.” 

Izuku nods dutifully and walks outside. “Everyone!” He calls out, facing the line of students, “I’m going to check your injuries, but if you have minor injuries that can wait, then please come back after school. There are too many people to take care of right now.”

The students stare at him in confusion.

“And who are you?” An upperclassman asks with a raised eyebrow. 

“I’m Recovery Girl’s apprentice,” he replies, already moving towards her to check her for injuries, “Where are you hurt?” 

“Recovery Girl has an apprentice?” The girl asks instead of answering. Izuku’s fairly stressed out right now so he doesn’t feel too bad about giving her a harsh look. She straightens up. “Oh, shit, alright. Er, I got elbowed in the ribs pretty hard.” 

She has no qualms about lifting her shirt to show him her ribcage. A couple of guys behind her suddenly seem very interested, but Izuku sends them a sharp glare and they avert their eyes innocently. He turns back to the girl’s torso, poking and prodding gently while asking her some questions. The gloves keep him from automatically healing her as soon as he touches her skin, which would be bad if any of her ribs were broken. However, he soon determines that they’re most likely just bruised and tells her to come back later. She seems a bit disheartened, but leaves.

As he turns to the next student, he notices that a few other people are leaving as well, probably deciding that their injuries are minor enough to wait. A couple more students leave when the lunch bell rings, but worrying about being late to class is the last thing on Izuku’s mind right now. 

He is surprised to come across Aoyama amongst the remaining students, however. He doesn’t know the other boy too well, but it’s clear that Aoyama is being unusually quiet right now. The blond is cradling his hand to his chest with a pained expression.

“Monsieur,” he whimpers, “I fell in the hallway and my hand got stepped on many times.” He holds his injured hand out and Izuku can immediately tell that it’s broken, maybe even in multiple places. The skin is turning purple and his fingers are swelling heavily. It’s the worst injury that Izuku has seen so far. 

“You fell?” He carefully starts leading Aoyama towards the door, ignoring a student that complains about the blond getting to skip the line. “Did you get hurt anywhere else?” 

Aoyama sniffles. “Oui, someone kicked me in the head and another person stepped on my back before I was able to stand up again, but my hand hurts the most.” 

“Okay, we’ll get you fixed up soon, Aoyama-kun,” Izuku reassures, then looks up as they approach his mentor, who is frowning down at a girl’s leg, “Recovery Girl! I checked out most of the students and managed to convince some to come back later. The rest mostly just have sprains or cuts, but I’m pretty sure Aoyama-kun here broke his hand.” 

Recovery Girl takes one look at the boy’s hand and concludes the same thing. The poor woman seems so overwhelmed right now- strands of her hair are even starting to come out of her bun from all her rushing around- but she’s quick to usher Aoyama outside. 

“I’ll need to do an x-ray- I’m sorry, but do you mind taking over here for a few minutes, Midoriya-kun?” She looks extremely apologetic. “I’m fairly certain Haya-san’s ankle is just sprained, so it’s fine if you just use your quirk. But remember to limit yourself! I don’t want to come back in here to find you exhausted, alright?” Izuku nods and she turns to leave, only to jerk back once more. “Oh! And you- how are you? Any injuries?”

Izuku blinks and examines himself. He’d been so busy worrying about everyone else’s injuries that he didn’t even notice his own bruises, although they aren’t that bad.

“It’s just a couple of bruises…” He says. Of course, it would still prevent him from using his quirk, and his mentor knows this too. She’s expressed her reluctance to use her own quirk on Izuku before, given that it would sap the stamina that he needs to heal other people. However, since it is only a couple of bruises, she holds her hand out expectantly and kisses Izuku’s knuckles when he gives her his hand. Then, she’s bustling out the door with Aoyama in tow and Izuku, hardly feeling any more tired than before, turns to the girl she had been treating earlier. 

“Okay, Haya-san, was it?” He asks, already kneeling down and taking off his gloves. The girl- an upperclassman with short pinkish hair- nods and tilts her head.

“Who are you?” She asks.

“I’m Midoriya Izuku, Recovery Girl’s apprentice,” he replies, placing his hands on her ankle and letting his energy flow. She visibly brightens a few moments later and rolls her ankle carefully, smiling when she feels no pain. 

“Wow!” She exclaims, “I don’t even feel tired! Thanks, Midoriya-kun!”

She hops off the bed and bows politely before leaving. Izuku turns to the boy that was waiting after her as he approaches. 

“Er, I got a cut on my arm,” he says stiffly, lifting his arm to reveal a six-inch long gash running along the side of his forearm. Izuku’s eyes widen.

“Holy crap, how’d you get this?” He immediately takes the boy’s arm into his hands. 

“Uh, I think I grazed it against some kid with spikes during the sta…” The boy trails off as the gash disappears within seconds. “Oh.” He blinks in surprise. “Cool.”

“Next!” Izuku calls. The boy takes the hint and leaves. 

The next few minutes are spent treating patient after patient, each coming in with some sort of not-minor-but-not-life-threatening injury. He doesn’t use his quirk for all of them, but he’s still relieved when Recovery Girl returns with Aoyama. The blond’s hand is fractured in multiple places, but none of the bones completely broke so thankfully he doesn’t need surgery. Izuku keeps helping out other patients while also trying to pay attention to his mentor as she takes the opportunity to show him how to properly cast a hand. She doesn’t want to heal him entirely since he still has class to attend, so she only half uses her quirk before sending Aoyama back to class with a late slip. Izuku envies her ability to control the output of her quirk. 

Once Aoyama has been taken care of, Recovery Girl is able to take over the infirmary again. However, Izuku still stays to help out until all of the students have been treated. 

By the time he makes it to his afternoon hero lesson, he’s almost forty minutes late. Recovery Girl gave him a slip, of course, but he also had to run to homeroom to grab his uniform, then run to the Gamma Gym changing room and quickly get dressed, then run into the gym. That, on top of the fact that he’s been on his feet constantly since the stampede, plus using his quirk on numerous people, plus having not been able to completely finish eating lunch, means that when he finally stumbles into the gym, he’s pretty exhausted. 

Everyone is in the middle of practicing sparring moves with All Might, but they all pause to look at him when he enters. All Might tells them to keep going, turning to Izuku with concerned eyes when he walks up to him panting.

“Sorry I’m late,” he gasps for breath, “Recovery Girl needed help healing people. Lot of injuries.” He wearily hands his teacher the late slip. All Might takes it reluctantly.

“I heard about what happened during lunch,” he says, “I’m sorry that the media caused such a ruckus. Is everyone alright? Young Aoyama came in late with a broken hand.” He nods at said boy, who is sitting on a nearby bench watching his classmates spar, obviously not participating due to his injury.

“Yeah, we dealt with most of the bad injuries,” Izuku says, “We asked people with minor injuries to come by after school.” He takes a deep breath and straightens up, trying to focus his scrambled mind. “So, what’d I miss?” 

“Oh, I was just having them practice the moves Aizawa-kun taught you guys yesterday,” All Might explains, gazing at the sparring students, “In a few minutes, I’ll stop everyone and start talking about using their quirks in fighting.” He gives him a wary smile. “My first real lecture, I suppose.”

“Right.” Izuku nods. Normally he might smile back at the obviously-anxious teacher, but he’s finding it hard to focus when his mind is still coming down from what happened during lunch. He feels like this is the first time he’s actually stopped moving since the stampede. 

He starts to walk towards his classmates, intent on finding someone to pair up with, but a large hand on his shoulder stops him.

“I think you should sit out of this one, Young Midoriya,” All Might says, his voice full of concern.

“What?” Izuku asks. “Why?” 

“You look exhausted,” All Might replies frankly, “Why don’t you go sit with Young Aoyama? We’ll move onto the lecture soon.” 

Izuku wants to protest, but the hero gives him a firm look and, well, he is pretty tired. So, he trudges over to the bench and sits down next to Aoyama with a heavy sigh.

“Monsieur, are you alright?” Aoyama asks, “You look dreadful.”

Izuku snorts a little and says, “I’m fine. Using my quirk a lot just makes me a bit tired.”

Aoyama nods in understanding and doesn’t seem to mind when Izuku stays quiet after that, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. His bun bothers him, but it’s pretty messed up from the hectic day so he just takes off the hair tie before relaxing again. He’s hoping to rest for a little bit, but All Might stays true to his word and stops the sparring session a few minutes later, calling everyone to gather around him. 

Ignoring the numerous concerned glances sent his way, he joins his classmates as they sit down on the mat in front of All Might. He plops down next to Kacchan and immediately leans his head on his friend’s shoulder, sagging his weight against him tiredly. Kacchan wraps an arm around his torso and Izuku lets out a sigh of relief. 

All Might starts going on a rant about applying quirks to fighting techniques and the importance of doing it safely. Izuku tries to pay attention, he really does. But he’s been running on adrenaline for the better part of an hour and now everything’s finally catching up to him. His muscles slowly start to go slack and his eyelids slip closed.

He’s not going to fall asleep, he tells himself. He just needs to rest for a couple of minutes.

He falls asleep. 

“Zuku.”

“Mhnnn.”

“Zuku, come on, wake up.” 

“Mmmmhhhh.”

“I’m not fucking carrying you all the way back to class, dumbass.”

“I’ll do it!”

“Fuck off, Shitty Hair.”

“Mhhrr-hm?” Izuku drowsily blinks his eyes open, looking around. Nearly his entire class is gazing at him with various expressions of amusement. Yelping, he jerks into an upright position before his eyes land on All Might standing behind his classmates. Horror fills his chest as realization dawns on him. “Oh my God.”

Ashido coos, “You’re so cute when you’re sleepy, Midori-kun!”

“I fell asleep!” He exclaims in dismay, jumping to his feet. “All Might, I’m so sorry! That was so rude of me!” He bows, apologizing profusely, but All Might just laughs.

“Don’t worry about it, my boy! You looked like you needed it.” He grins broadly. “Class is over now, though, so I’m afraid you’ll have to stay awake long enough to get back to homeroom. Maybe Aizawa-kun will let you nap in his sleeping bag if you ask nicely enough.” He laughs again and Izuku’s face flushes a deep red. 

Kacchan rolls his eyes and nudges him towards the door. Izuku shuffles along, hiding his face in embarrassment. As they walk back to the changing rooms, Kirishima comes up beside him and ruffles his hair gently. “You sure you’re alright, Midoriya-kun?”

“I told you, it’s just ‘cause he used his quirk a lot, Shitty Hair,” Kacchan growls, pushing the redhead’s hand away from Izuku.

“Oi!”

“I’m alright, Kirishima-kun,” Izuku says, and it’s true. The nap gave him a bit of an energy boost and his mind feels much more clear than before. Still doesn’t make it okay that he fell asleep during class, though. 

Kacchan keeps a careful eye on him throughout the rest of their afternoon classes, which are thankfully fairly calm. At their end of the day homeroom, Aizawa tells him and Yaoyorozu to decide on the rest of the class officers. They walk up to the podium and stand in silent for a moment, not quite knowing what to say. Izuku shifts uncomfortably under the gazes of all his classmates before realizing what Yaoyorozu is looking at him expectantly.

Oh. Right. He’s the class representative. 

Izuku can’t quite stifle the sigh that escapes him. All throughout his afternoon classes, he was really only thinking of all the students he has to treat after school. His day doesn’t end once school does like the rest of his classmates, and to add the responsibilities of being class rep on top of that? Izuku’s exhausted just thinking about it.

“Um, before we decide on the class officers, can I say something?” He asks. His classmates blink at him curiously. Yaoyorozu tilts her head as he turns to her and says, “I think you should be the class president, Yaoyorozu-san.” 

“Huh?” She looks taken aback.

Izuku looks at the rest of his also-surprised classmates and adds, “And I think Iida-kun should be the vice president.” He makes eye contact with Iida and smiles. The blue-haired boy just stares at him with wide eyes. 

Murmurs of surprise ripple through the class. 

“Midoriya-kun,” Yaoyorozu says, baffled, “But…”

Izuku turns to her, giving her a reassuring look. “I appreciate what you said about me earlier…” He glances at his classmates. “...And I really am flattered that you think I’d be a good class president. But I really don’t think this role is for me.” He nods at Iida and says, “During lunch, Iida-kun was able to get everyone’s attention in such a cool way. He stopped the stampede and prevented even more people from getting hurt. I thought he looked really heroic too, so I think it would be best for Iida-kun to lead you guys…” He trails off, then jumps and waves his hands apologetically at Yaoyorozu, “Of-Of course, along with Yaoyorozu-san!” 

She smiles but still looks uncertain. “Midoriya-kun, if it’s a matter of self-confidence, then-”

“It’s not!” Izuku shakes his head, then hesitates. “Well, actually, it is, sort of. But it’s mostly because… ‘cause… I’m just really busy, you know?” He laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head. His classmates glance at each other in confusion. Clearing his throat, he continues, “I just… I mean, as a healer-in-training, I have a lot of responsibilities. Outside the hero course, I mean.”

“Oh.” Kaminari blinks. “You mean like your after school lessons with Recovery Girl?”

“Huh?” His classmates turn to him. 

“He has lessons with Recovery Girl after school,” Kaminari explains, “‘Cause, you know, he’s learning how to be a healer.” 

“Oh, wow,” Uraraka says, “On top of what we’re learning in here?” Izuku nods. She suddenly has a very pitying look on her face, along with most of his other classmates.

“Oh, geez.”

“I didn’t even think about that.”

“He did look really tired when he came back from the infirmary after lunch…”

“Yeah, you’ve got enough on your plate already, man.”

“Don’t worry about it!”

“We didn’t mean to pressure you or anything.”

Izuku flails his limbs frantically, trying to reassure them all that it’s okay, but Yaoyorozu looks devastated. 

“Oh, Midoriya-kun, I’m so sorry,” she apologizes, putting a hand on his shoulder, “I’m so ignorant, I didn’t even think about-”

“It’s alright, Yaoyorozu-san, really!” He cuts her off, mentally hoping to get this over with as soon as possible. God, he’s really not good with all this attention on him. Why does he have to make things so weird? 

He glances at Iida and asks, a hopeful tone in his voice, “So, Iida-kun? Are you okay with being our vice prez?” 

Iida still looks astonished, but after a few encouraging words from his classmates (specifically Kirishima, bless that boy), he accepts the role with a rather dramatic speech. As he marches up to stand beside Yaoyorozu, Izuku sits down in his own seat with a sigh of relief.  

Later, when he goes to the infirmary for his lesson, he’s surprised to see that Recovery Girl is not there. The numerous students with minor injuries, however, are. Izuku winces at the sight of the line already forming outside of the infirmary before deciding to go ahead and start without his mentor. 

Thankfully, since most of these students do have minor injuries, they’re easy enough to treat. Izuku ends up raiding the cabinets for band-aids and disinfectants while instructing others to press ice packs to their bruises. He can’t let them keep the packs like Recovery Girl did for Monoma- they’d run out by the end of the hour. 

The only time he decides to use his quirk is when a girl comes in with a heavily swollen black eye. 

“Why didn’t you stay during lunch?” He scolds gently as he examines the dark bruise.

The girl shrugs. “Eh, it hardly hurts so I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

Izuku stares at her incredulously. “When you walked in you told me you could barely see anything out of it.” 

She nods once, not quite looking like she understands. “Is that bad?”

Izuku doesn’t know whether to face palm or sigh in exasperation. After a moment, he chooses the latter and grumbles under his breath as he heals her eye. Recovery Girl’s earlier words come back to mind: “There are two types of heroes you’ll encounter. Those that try to act tough and hide their injuries, and those that complain nonstop about every little thing.”

He thinks he must have had his first encounter with the former. 

As he continues to treat students, he wonders where Recovery Girl is. His mentor hasn’t sent him any text messages to explain her absence, nor did she leave any kind of note for him. When his last patient leaves, Izuku flops onto his desk chair and pulls out his phone. He’s about to send her a message when a suddenly-

“Young Midoriya! I. AM. HE- ack!”

A loud bang startles him enough to make him drop his phone. 

“All Might!” He exclaims as the number one hero clutches his forehead, which had smacked against the doorframe when he tried to burst into the room. “Are you alright? What are you doing here?” 

All Might winces in pain and carefully ducks under the offending doorframe as he enters the room. “I’m fine.” He grimaces, swallowing some blood that threatens to escape his lips. “Although sometimes I wish I wasn’t so tall.” 

Izuku’s lip twitches as the man closes the door behind him and deflates into his normal form, still rubbing his forehead. “Consider yourself lucky,” he chides lightly, leading him to sit on the nearest bed, “I’d love to be as tall as you.”

All Might snorts and Izuku reaches to heal his head, then hesitates. If he starts healing All Might, even if it’s just for a bruise, there’s no telling whether or not he’d be able to stop. Instead, he settles on just giving him an ice pack and a couple of gummies to cheer him up. 

“Thanks,” the hero says, “Anyway, I just came here to check on you. Also, to tell you that Chiyo-san is coming soon, but she got caught up with something for the principal...” There’s something in his eyes as he says this that Izuku can’t quite decipher. He almost seems… not nervous, but more like bothered. Like he’s got something on his mind, something that definitely wasn’t there during class.

Izuku tilts his head while All Might shifts warily under his gaze. The blond forces a grin and asks, “So… are you feeling better now? I saw some students walking out of the infirmary as I came by- were you able to treat them successfully?”

Shrugging off the weird moment, Izuku nods and sits back down in his chair. “Yeah, I could deal with them mostly without my quirk, although there was one girl that I wish would’ve come during lunch. I was able to heal her without too much trouble, though. And yes, I am feeling better, thank you for asking. Still tired from-” He makes a vague gesture with his hands, “-Everything, but nothing a nice fat nap when I get home won’t fix.” 

All Might smiles. “Crazy first week of school, huh?” 

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Izuku huffs, “I don’t know why I expected things to be a bit more tame, at least at first.” 

“Welp, that’s UA for you.” All Might lets out a long exhale and leans back, looking amused. “I remember during my first week of UA, I ended up breaking my arm within the first couple of days.” Izuku’s expression must be comical because All Might bursts out laughing a moment later. “Ha ha, yeah, Chiyo-san pretty much had the same reaction.”

“Recovery Girl worked at UA when you were in UA?” Izuku asks with wide eyes. 

“Oh yes, although she wasn’t the full-time healer until much later in her life. She was a very busy young woman.” All Might gestures to Izuku. “She used to wear her hair down too, believe it or not.”

Izuku blinks and his hand subconsciously reaches up to his hair, which he didn’t realize was still down. He usually keeps it up in a ponytail or a bun so it doesn’t get in the way, but he’d let it down before his impromptu nap on Kacchan’s shoulder and he hadn’t put it back up. 

But Recovery Girl with her hair down? Izuku can’t even imagine it! 

All Might is still watching him with a small smile on his face. After a moment, he says, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair down, Young Midoriya.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I like to keep it up most of the time,” he says, “It’s kind of hard to maintain otherwise. Drives my mom crazy.” He chuckles, idly running his hands through his curls as he talks. 

He starts to pull it back into a bun, but All Might interrupts him. “It looks good.” 

“Oh?” Izuku blushes. 

“Mmh, much better than mine does,” All Might says, running a hand through his messy mane of hair. Izuku wonders how it looks so much more slick when the hero’s in his muscle form. And the bangs, how do they stand up?

“Your hair looks fine, All Might,” Izuku says, “Do you ever put yours up?”

“I’ve never been as... adept at managing long hair as most people have.”

When Recovery Girl walks in a couple minutes later, it’s to see Izuku kneeling on the bed behind All Might, threading deft fingers into his mane with his brows furrowed in concentration. He pulls most of his blond locks into a small ponytail, leaving his long tufts of bangs free. All Might rubs the back of his neck, his fingers gently tugging the smaller strands that didn’t make it into the ponytail, before his gaze lands on Recovery Girl.

“How do I look?” He asks, a humorous twinkle in his blue eyes.

The healer huffs and waddles over to her desk. “Slightly less rumpled than usual. Now shoo, I have a lesson to teach.” 

All Might bows politely and gives Izuku another grin before leaving. 

The boy turns to his mentor, who looks a little disheveled herself as she apologizes for being late. She doesn’t give any explanation as to why, and he wants to ask her, but she’s quick to turn the conversation to the students that they treated today. Like yesterday, they go over the list of patients that she logged down on her clipboard- and he instantly feels bad for not doing the same with the ones that he treated both during lunch and after school, but Recovery Girl reassures him that it’s not his fault since he didn’t know. She then teaches him how to fill in the necessary information in a clipboard of his own, plus she tells him that he is able to give late slips, although she strongly warns him against abusing that particular power.  

They talk about Aoyama’s hand and that eventually leads to her showing him how the x-ray machine works. It’ll be awhile before he’s allowed to use such expensive medical equipment without supervision, but it’s cool to learn about. By the time they’re done, it’s already ten minutes past their usual ending time. 

“I didn’t think we’d be getting to it so soon, but I’ll show you how to properly put a cast on someone tomorrow,” Recovery Girl says as he gathers his things, “You know, when there’s not a bunch of injured teenagers to distract us.” 

“Okay…” Izuku zips up his bag and hesitates. “Er… Recovery Girl?” His mentor tilts her head. “When am I going to start training with my quirk? Not that these traditional methods are unimportant! I’m just curious…” 

Recovery Girl sighs softly. “Well, I wanted to give you some time to settle in before we started any rigorous training, especially since your quirk makes you so tired… However, if this first week is anything to go by, it seems that going slow isn’t going to fly very well. I’ll think of some exercises you can do with your quirk next week.” 

“Okay.” He smiles, then fails to stifle a yawn. Today has been an incredibly long day. First he got swarmed by the media, then he got stuck in a stampede, then used his quirk multiple times to heal injuries for over half an hour, not to mention all the stuff with briefly becoming the class representative and everything that happened after school. Needless to say, he’s feeling pretty drained. 

So, he bids his goodbyes to Recovery Girl and turns to leave. Before he makes it to the door, however, his mentor asks, “You walk home with one of your friends, right?”

Bewildered, Izuku glances back at her in confusion. Her tone was nonchalant, but her expression is tight with… worry? It’s strange. She’s never really asked about Kacchan before.

“Um, yeah, I walk home with Kacchan,” he replies uncertainly, “You’ve met him before, right?” 

She nods but doesn’t say anything else. He shifts his feet. “Um… Is that... okay?”

That seems to jerk her out of her thoughts, and her expression smoothes slightly as she smiles. “Of course, of course, don’t mind me…” She trails off for a few moments and Izuku doesn’t really expect her to say anything else, but then she looks back at him. “Just… stick close to each other on your way home. Better to be safe than sorry.”

Izuku frowns in confusion. She’s worried about his safety? 

“Oh, um, of course,” he says. She nods and he leaves without another word. 

He finds Kacchan waiting for him outside of the cafeteria munching on a couple of meat buns, although he passes one to the greenette as they leave the school. They don’t talk much, but Izuku can’t keep his mind off of Recovery Girl’s strange behavior at the end of their lesson. 

Is she just being paranoid because he told her about that time he was almost kidnapped? No, no, he told her that earlier in the week. Should he be worried about his safety? Is there something dangerous she knows about? Does it have anything to do with why she was so late to their lesson? 

His mind is racing with questions that he doesn’t have the answers to. 

If Kacchan notices that Izuku starts walking a bit closer to him than usual, he doesn’t mention it. 

Chapter Text

Thankfully, the rest of the week passes without much drama. Izuku spends most of the weekend reading the other book Recovery Girl assigned to him, the one that she’s made notes in about the most common injuries she sees hero students get. He also wants to start doing research on ways he can help his classmates deal with the effects of their quirk overuse, but that’s probably going to take a while so he tells himself to finish the book first. It’s bigger than the first aid book, but it’s nothing compared to Human Anatomy and Physiology. He’d be grateful to read literally anything other than that monstrosity of a book. 

When he meets Recovery Girl the next Monday morning, she looks slightly less surprised when she learns how much he’s read already.

“I suppose there’s no point in me telling you to go slow,” she says with a deadpanned voice and Izuku smiles sheepishly. She sniffs and turns back to her desk, seeming rather annoyed. “The same goes for Toshinori-san, apparently.” 

Izuku blinks. “Hm?”

With an irritated sigh, Recovery Girl says, “Ever since his strength has been returning, his time limit has been steadily increasing as well.” Izuku nods. All Might has told him this. His mentor purses her lips. “Because of this, he’s been staying out longer and longer- he doesn’t know how to limit himself anymore! That man has been a teacher for only a week and he’s already been late twice! He was supposed to meet me before school starts because I wanted to check on his injury, but alas…” She gestures to her infirmary, which is notably All Might-less.

Recovery Girl almost always seems annoyed when talking about All Might, so Izuku knows not to take her displeasure too seriously. “He probably just got a bit side-tracked,” he says, pulling out his phone to check his social media. One of the All Might accounts he follows reports that the number one hero has already resolved three incidents this morning. 

He shows her his phone. “See? He’s working.”

Recovery Girl remains unimpressed. 

Izuku texts All Might as he walks to homeroom.

(Midoriya 8:20AM) -Beware of the angry Recovery Girl

(Read at 10:45AM) 

During lunch, Izuku checks the news again and sees that All Might seems to be caught up in a hostage situation. He frowns. Even though All Might doesn’t teach any morning classes, it still isn’t a good idea to tire himself out before their afternoon lesson. He’ll probably be late…

“What’s with the face, Midori-kun?” Ashido asks. 

Izuku startles out of his thoughts and puts his phone away. “Nothing,” he says, turning back to his lunch. Lunch Rush makes good katsudon- but not as good as his mother’s, of course. 

Kacchan wrinkles his nose. “I don’t understand how you can eat that stuff so often.”

Izuku scowls at him. “I like katsudon!” 

“Me too,” Sero agrees, “Although, I can never really finish the whole thing. It’s kind of heavy, you know?” 

“Not exactly healthy either,” Kacchan says pointedly.

Izuku gives him a shrewd look. “Am I being fat-shamed here?” 

Kacchan’s eyes widen slightly and the others laugh in response. “What the fuck? No!” He snaps. “I’m just wondering how the hell a guy your size can pack away so many fucking calories without becoming fucking obese!”

“I don’t eat that much, Kacchan,” Izuku says sniffily, turning up his nose, “Sure, maybe I have a bit of a sweet tooth and maybe I like to have a few snacks here and there, but-” He’s interrupted by Kirishima laughing.

“Nobody’s shaming you, Midoriya-kun!” Kirishima grins. “My quirk requires me to eat a lot of protein.” 

“Yeah, lay off, Bakugou-kun!” Ashido pouts. “It’s not his fault his quirk makes him hungry. Yaomomo has to eat a lot too in order to use her quirk.”

“A lot of people have specific diets tailored to their quirks,” Sero adds.

Kacchan arches a brow, looking at Izuku in confusion. “Wait, what the fuck? I didn’t know you had to eat a lot.”

Izuku is confused too. “Um… I don’t? At least, I don’t think so…”

Ashido tilts her head. “Huh? Are you sure?” She asks. “I mean, I just figured. Didn’t you say your quirk relies on you transfering your energy or something?” 

Izuku nods. 

“So… the more energy you have, the better it works.” She looks at him like it should be obvious- and shit maybe it is. 

Izuku stares at his katsudon, dumbfounded. How did he not realize this sooner? It’s not like he eats an outrageous amount more than normal, but he’s definitely never shied away from putting a little extra on his plate, or going for a snack between classes. He’s even noted something similar in his old quirk journal, about how if he doesn't sleep so well the previous night or skips breakfast then his quirk is more sluggish and he tires out a lot faster. It’s something he’s noticed but never really thought too much about. 

“Oh,” he says lamely, “I guess… I guess I didn’t realize…” 

“You didn’t realize that food affects your energy?” Kaminari looks rather amused. “Haven’t you ever taken health class, Midoriya-kun? Food basically is energy.” 

Izuku blushes. “Well, I mean, it’s just something I do automatically. Eat a lot, I mean. I guess I just figured I had a big stomach…”

He feels very dumb right now. 

Kirishima snorts. “Well, at least now you know.”

“Maybe you should talk to Yaomomo,” Ashido suggests, shoving some rice into her mouth, “You could, like, talk about what foods to eat. Or, I dunno, get addicted to energy drinks.” 

“Ha! I’d love to see Midoriya-kun all hopped up on caffeine!” Kaminari laughs.

“I don’t think that’d be too healthy,” Izuku says as he smiles, “But good idea, Ashido-san.” 

With this new information in mind, he makes sure to finish his food by the time the lunch bell rings. He’s not quite sure exactly what is going to happen in their hero class today, but Recovery Girl said they’ll be doing rescue training in an off-campus facility. And, since it doesn’t involve combat with quirks, Izuku will be expected to participate. 

He and his classmates are excited when Aizawa announces what their training session will be later in class. 

“Disasters, shipwrecks, and everything in between,” the teacher grunts, “It’s rescue training.” 

“Rescue? Looks like it’ll be a lot of work this time, too,” Kaminari says, looking at Ashido who pumps her fists eagerly.

“Idiot, this is the duty of a hero,” Kirishima says behind him, “My arms are ready to rumble!” He grins, then glances at Izuku. “Hey, Midoriya-kun, are you gonna train with us?” 

Izuku nods. “Yeah! Recovery Girl said that sometimes healers act as combat medics and join search and rescue agencies.” Kacchan grumbles at this but Izuku ignores him. “I’m not quite sure yet about what I’m going to do in the future, but I definitely want to do as much as I can!” 

“Hey, I’m not done,” Aizawa grunts, “You can decide if you want to wear your costumes or not this time.” The panels on the wall slide open and Izuku’s heart leaps to his throat. He gets to wear his costume again! 

Since the training is taking place off-campus, they’re going to take a bus. They all quickly get changed into their costumes and make their way outside. As soon as they’re ready, Iida starts blowing a whistle very loudly and commands them to file into the bus in a neat and orderly fashion. 

Izuku glances at Yaoyorozu, who looks like she doesn’t know whether to join in Iida’s overly-enthusiastic leadership or to just let him do his thing. Izuku’s eyes meet hers and he gives her an apologetic smile. He had no doubt that Iida would take to his responsibility of vice-class representative well, but he hopes Yaoyorozu isn’t feeling overshadowed by Iida’s strong personality. 

To his relief, though, he watches as the girl straightens up a moment later and tentatively approaches the blue-haired boy, helping him order their classmates onto the bus in a much calmer manner. 

The ride to the training facility goes by quickly. Izuku listens as his friends talk about their quirks and how popular they’ll be as heroes, and laughs when Kaminari makes fun of Kacchan’s personality. 

“I’ll kill you!” The blond snarls and Izuku hastily pulls him back.

“Easy, Kacchan,” he says, “Kaminari-kun’s only teasing.” 

Kacchan plops back down into his seat with a huff, grumbling, “Little shit,” under his breath. Izuku pats his shoulder placatingly. 

Asui says with a blank voice, “Well, even if his personality is crap steeped in sewage, at least we have Midoriya-chan here to tame him.” 

Kacchan explodes again. “Tame me?!? He’s not fucking taming me!”

“Kacchan,” Izuku says, frowning. The blond’s muscles subconsciously relax ever so slightly and he turns to give the greenette a withering glare.   

Yaoyorozu haughtily turns her nose away and comments, “It’s a miracle you’ve been able to deal with his outrageous behavior for so long without going insane, Midoriya-kun.” 

Kacchan wordlessly snarls at her and Izuku giggles, “Who’s to say I haven’t already gone insane?” Kacchan gives him a look of utter betrayal while everyone around him laughs. 

“We’re here.” Aizawa’s voice calls out, interrupting the laughter, “Stop messing around.” 

The bus soon comes to a stop and everyone starts getting off. As they stand up, Izuku gently nudges Kacchan with his shoulder, giving him an apologetic smile. Kacchan huffs sharply but nudges him back, albeit a little roughly, before he turns away.

Forgiven. 

The training facility seems to be a large dome of some sort, and when they walk inside they’re greeted by the Space Hero Thirteen. Izuku immediately recognizes them from his hero journals. Everyone is super excited to see them, especially Uraraka, who apparently really likes this particular pro hero. Thirteen introduces the training ground as the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short, which was created by them. It contains different kinds of disaster zones including a shipwreck, landslide, fire, windstorm, etc. 

As Thirteen explains, Aizawa looks down at his phone and scowls. 

“By the way,” Thirteen asks, glancing at Aizawa, “Where’s All Might?” 

“Late,” Aizawa huffs and pockets his phone, “Said he’ll be arriving at the school soon, but to go ahead and start the lesson.”

Thirteen doesn’t seem discouraged. “Ah, well, he’ll get here soon enough. Anyway, let’s see…” They turn back to the students. “...Before we begin, let me say one thing… or two… or three…” 

The numbers keep increasing and the class winces. Thirteen gives a long speech about quirks and how they can do good but also can kill easily if people don’t know how to use them properly. The pro hero emphasizes that the students do not have powers so they can harm one another, but so they can use them to save people. Izuku glances at Bakugou at this, but the explosive blond is merely scowling. 

As they talk, Izuku looks around the USJ facility, eyeing the various disaster zones. He wonders how the training will go and if he’ll be any good at it, without a combative quirk. Even though he appreciates his ability to heal, part of him will always be disheartened at not being able to become a true hero. Joining a rescue agency as a combat medic is probably the closest he can get to his original dream, so he hopes he does well today. 

Suddenly, the lights in the dome go out. 

Izuku is so lost in thought that he doesn’t notice at first, but then his eyes slide to the fountain in the center of the facility. The water sputters a few times before it- becomes swirly? No, that’s not right. Something is swirling, but a few seconds later it becomes clear that some sort of portal is forming. 

“Sensei?” He asks, frowning in confusion.

Aizawa follows his gaze and instantly stiffens up. The portal suddenly explodes with purple and black tendrils. Amidst the fog, a pale hand reaches out. 

“Gather together and don’t move!” Aizawa suddenly orders, “Thirteen, protect the students!”

Izuku’s classmates murmur in confusion before they notice the portal too. Their eyes widen as a man steps through the purple mass, almost immediately followed by multiple other large people. 

“Those are villains,” Aizawa growls, slipping his yellow goggles out of his scarf and putting them on. Izuku’s heart stutters at his words. He watches as his teacher steps forward and peers down at the villains as they continue to pour out of the portal, a grim look on his face. Thirteen glances at him as he says, “The trespassing last week was the work of these scumbags after all, huh?”

Izuku tenses up. Trespassing? But- it was just the media, wasn’t it? 

Recovery Girl’s worried face appears in his mind, telling him to stay close to Kacchan on his way home. His eyes widen. 

As his classmates exclaim their alarm, Yaoyorozu speaks up, “Sensei, what about the trespasser sensors?” 

Thirteen replies, “We have them of course, but…” 

“Did they only appear here, or around the whole school?” Todoroki suddenly says, his voice impassive. Izuku is shocked at how calm both he and Yaoyorozu are, but he supposes they’ve had more training than the rest of them. “Either way, if the sensors are not responding, that means they have someone with a quirk that can do that. An isolated area separated from the main campus during a time when a class is supposed to be here. They might be fools, but they’re not dumb. This surprise attack was planned with some sort of goal in mind.” 

Despite Todoroki’s calm demeanor, his words only make his classmates even more uneasy. 

Aizawa orders Thirteen to start evacuating everyone and to try calling the school, telling Kaminari to try as well. Then, he steps closer to the edge of the platform, his scarf flying up around him as he tenses up. 

Izuku startles. “Sensei! You can’t possibly be thinking of fighting them all by yourself! There’s too many!” 

He knows Eraserhead is a skilled fighter. He’s seen for himself how easily the hero can deal with a small group of villains, but there must be dozens of them pouring out of the portal. There’s no way he can fight them all! After the man saved him when he was ten, Izuku scoured the internet for every video he could find of him fighting. So he knows very well that Eraserhead is at a huge disadvantage here. His fighting style is to capture after erasing the enemy’s quirk- long battles against a large group of people are not his forte. He’s not physically enhanced, he’ll get tired, his eyes will get dry, he’ll get hurt-

“Don’t worry about me,” Aizawa interrupts his panicked thoughts, not sparing him a glance, “You stay in the middle of the group and get back to the bus.” Without another word, he grabs a few folds of his capture weapon and leaps down into the fray.

“Sensei!” He cries out, but Thirteen quickly starts ushering everyone towards the door. 

Kacchan grabs him by the arm and drags him along. “You heard him!” He growls, pushing him ahead. Iida glances back at him and puts a hand on his shoulder, guiding him so that he’s running in the center of the group. It makes sense, keeping the healer in the safest part of the group- and from the way the other students flank around him, he’s not the only one who realizes. A tiny spark of indignance still erupts in his chest, though. 

The retreating students suddenly skid to a halt as the portal villain materializes in front of them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the mass of fog says in a surprisingly polite voice, “We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves into the home of the heroes, UA High school, in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath. I believe All Might should have been here. Has there been some kind of change?” 

Nobody responds, staring at the villain with fearful eyes. Izuku gulps. This is real! These are real villains right in their school! And they’re here to kill All Might? The number one hero is already on his way, but Izuku almost doesn’t want him to get here. The villains seem so confident in their abilities, surely they must be a real danger? 

After a moment of silence, the purple mass continues, “Well, regardless, this is the part I am to play.” He suddenly begins growing bigger, the fog spreading out. 

Thirteen tenses up and raises their finger, clearly preparing to use their quirk, but suddenly Kacchan and Kirishima lunge forward. Izuku’s heart leaps to his throat as his friends pounce on the villain. A large explosion from Kacchan’s palms makes the ground rattle as dust and smoke fills the air, obstructing their view briefly. 

“Did you consider you’d get beaten by us first?” Kirishima snarls, his forearms raised and hardened. 

To everyone’s surprise, however, the villain remains unharmed. “Even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs,” he says. As Thirteen orders Kacchan and Kirishima to move away, he adds, “My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!” 

The tendrils of fog suddenly dart forward and surround them all. Izuku panics as he loses sight of his classmates. Then, the ground abruptly disappears from under his feet and he falls, crying out as he lands on something hard a moment later. 

“Aha!” A voice calls out gleefully, “Fresh meat!”

Disoriented, Izuku blinks rapidly at the sight of a large jaw full of razor-sharp teeth snapping at him. He immediately scrambles backwards and sends a hard kick at his assilant’s nose, causing them to jerk back with a yelp. Jumping to his feet, the boy realizes that he’s no longer in the plaza anymore, instead he’s surrounded by the rocks and uneven ground of the landslide zone. His classmates are gone too, replaced by a villain with a canine-like quirk that glares daggers at him. 

“Little twerp!” She snarls, rubbing her nose, “That fucking hurt! You’re dog food now!” 

She lunges at him again, teeth bared and claws swiping. Years of training kicks in and Izuku moves on instinct, ducking under her fist and punching her in the stomach as he darts past. She wheezes as the air is knocked out of her and stumbles, giving him time to aim a kick at the back of her knees. Once she’s on the ground, he turns tail and runs away, only to skid to a halt at the sight of another villain. 

Izuku can’t quite tell what this one’s quirk is. The man is large and has snake-like eyes, but no other hints as to what his quirk might be. He just barely manages to dodge his attack, but he doesn’t have time to counter. The villain moves quickly, striking with such speed that all Izuku can do is just duck and dodge repeatedly. 

Movement at the corner of his eyes catches his attention and he blanches, realizing that there are multiple villains surrounding him. One of them aims some sort of weapon at him and he flinches. It’s enough of a distraction to prevent him from avoiding the next attack from the snake-like man. 

Before the hit can land on him, however, everything around him freezes. Literally. 

Gasping, Izuku whirls around and spots Todoroki standing a few feet away, a sheet of ice spreading from his right foot. The villains are all frozen in place, but Izuku remains untouched. It’s a testament to Todoroki’s impressive control over his quirk that he was able to avoid freezing Izuku in his attack.

“Todoroki-kun,” Izuku pants, but the other boy just glares at the villains.

“It’s pathetic to lose against a single child,” he says, “Get a hold of yourselves. You’re adults, aren’t you?” His tone is flat, but just like during their sparring match, his eyes burn. 

Izuku gulps, his whole body shaking with adrenaline and fear. “Todoroki-kun…” 

Finally, the boy looks at him, but his gaze hardly softens. “Stay close to me,” he orders before turning away. Still rattled from the sudden turn of events, Izuku wordlessly nods and scampers after him. 

Todoroki leads the way downhill. Since they’re in the landslide zone, it’s fairly obvious that the exit is at the bottom of the hill. Still, it’s a long way to go, and it soon becomes clear that they have more villains to worry about.

Villains seem to appear out of every corner, but no matter what their quirk is, Todoroki defeats them by simply freezing them. It’s almost laughably easy, but it’s also incredibly intimidating. Izuku could barely hold his own against two of the villains and Todoroki is just stopping them in their tracks within seconds. It’s a reminder to Izuku that this boy really is the strongest in the class, and he isn’t even using half of his power.

“Ha-Have you seen any of the others?” Izuku asks, glancing over his shoulder as they make their way downhill. 

“No,” Todoroki replies, “That warp villain said he’d scatter us and kill us. The others must be spread out across the facility.” 

Izuku lets out a trembling breath. This is all so crazy. He can’t believe they’re getting attacked by real villains on the second week of school! He hopes everyone else is okay…

“All Might will be here soon,” he says in a weak attempt at reassurance. His hand moves to his phone in his pocket, only to remember what Aizawa said about the circuits being jammed. 

Todoroki eyes his hand briefly before refocusing his attention on their surroundings. “I’ve been meaning to ask… how do you know All Might?”

“Eh?” Izuku blinks, taken aback. 

“You seem familiar with him,” Todoroki says, “And I’m sure Recovery Girl could have asked plenty of other heroes to sponsor you. So why him?” 

He talks so casually that Izuku can’t believe his ears. “To-Todoroki-kun!” He sputters, “I hardly think this is the best time to talk about this stuff! We’re being attacked, how can you be so calm?!?” 

Todoroki gives him a look that he can’t quite decipher. “You’re scared,” he states bluntly.

“Well duh!”

“Don’t be,” he says dismissively, already turning away, “I’m perfectly capable of-”

A loud voice suddenly yells behind Izuku and Todoroki whirls around. His hand reaches towards him and Izuku feels something whip past his ear. By the time his reflexes kick in and he stumbles away, Todoroki has already frozen the villain, who looks like he was about to stab Izuku with a spear. Five more jump out of nowhere, apparently deciding that ganging up on them is the best strategy, but Todoroki easily encases them in ice. 

Izuku gapes in awe but the bi-colored boy simply gives the villains an unimpressed look. 

“You’re right, I suppose,” he says, and it takes a moment to realize that he’s talking to Izuku. “There are more important matters at hand.” He turns to the villain that tried to stab them and says, “At this rate, your cells will slowly die. I want to be a hero, so I would like to avoid something so cruel if possible.” Despite his words, his tone doesn’t sound particularly regretful. 

Izuku tenses up as Todoroki raises his right hand to the villain’s face. Clouds of cold air billow from his palm and the villain’s eyes widen in alarm. A hard ball forms in the pit of Izuku’s stomach.

“Todoroki-kun,” he warns. 

Todoroki ignores him and keeps his stony gaze on the villain. “On what basis do you think you can kill All Might?” He demands, “What is your plan?” 

The villain seems to be frozen, both with fear and ice. The air is thick with tension. When he takes too long to respond, the frost in Todoroki’s hand increases. 

Izuku can’t take it anymore. “Todoroki-kun!” He barks, grabbing the boy’s shoulder, “You’ll suffocate him!” 

Todoroki doesn’t take his eyes off the villain. “Not if he tells me what I want to know.” His finger twitches. The villain notices and his eyes well up with fearful tears. 

“Todoroki-kun,” Izuku warns again, his breath catching in his throat. He doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like this… this torture tactic. Villain or not, Izuku can’t stand by and watch a man freeze to death- or worse, watch his classmate hurt someone for information. Just the thought makes him feel nauseous. 

Thankfully, the villain caves a few moments later and starts sputtering, “A-Alright, alright, I’ll talk! I-I don’t know much, but- but they’ve got a guy who can take him down. All Might, I mean! They’ve got someone who can fight him!” 

As soon as he finishes talking, a loud boom suddenly echoes throughout the dome. Todoroki and Izuku glance up at the platform to see a large cloud of dust. Then, All Might steps out of the fog.

Izuku lets out a sigh of relief. “All Might…” 

The number one hero is still far away, his form looking a lot smaller in the distance, but they are able to see him jump down into the plaza, no doubt going to help Aizawa fight that mass of villains they saw earlier. 

Todoroki looks back at the frozen man and utters a simple, “Thanks,” before knocking him out. He uses his left hand to unfreeze him and does the same with the rest of the frozen villains, leaving a bunch of unconscious but ice-free adults on the ground. 

Izuku must still have a displeased expression on his face because Todoroki takes one look at him and says, “I wasn’t actually going to kill him. Relax.” 

He starts walking downhill again, his pace fast, but Izuku hesitates. “It was unnecessary force…” he mumbles under his breath. Todoroki’s supposed to be a hero-in-training, and heroes don’t act like… that. So cold and uncaring of the pain he was causing. Seeing anyone get hurt triggers an instinct in Izuku to heal, and his gaze trails to the unconscious villains. 

Todoroki glances over his shoulder impatiently. When he realizes where he’s looking, he says sharply, “Don’t waste your energy on them.” 

“I wasn’t going to-” Izuku suddenly feels the ground beneath him become slippery as ice forms under his feet. His arms flail as he slides down to Todoroki, who catches him before he can go any further. 

“Having a soft heart won’t benefit you when it comes to villains,” he says, “I got the information we needed. Now let’s go.” 

Before Izuku can say anything in response, Todoroki shifts to hold him with his left arm and turns the ground to ice again, creating a makeshift ice slide to take them downhill faster. He keeps his eye out for any other attacking villains, but it’s clear that those were the last of them. 

Unfortunately, being pressed against Todoroki’s left side means being pressed against the layer of ice he has covering himself. That, mixed with the wind whipping at them from their quick descent, has Izuku shivering uncomfortably. 

“Hey, Todoroki-kun?” He asks over the wind, “Now’s probably not a great time to ask, but why don’t you ever use your fire?”

Todoroki doesn’t respond and when Izuku glances at him, he sees that the boy’s jaw is clenched. “You’re right,” he grunts, barely audible, “Now’s not a great time to ask.” 

Izuku wrinkles his nose. “Hey, you asked about All Might!” 

“And you didn’t answer.” The slope evens out and Todoroki returns them to normal ground, pulling away from him. “Come on.” 

Pushing aside his annoyance, Izuku dashes after Todoroki as they race towards the exit. A loud boom and a cloud of dust erupts from the plaza, the sound rattling Izuku’s bones. His heart leaps to his throat. All Might must be fighting someone, and if what that villain said was true… 

He runs faster, passing Todoroki as he races over to where the dust is slowly clearing. 

“Hey- Hey, wait!” 

Ice forms underneath his feet, causing him to slip and fall backwards. Todoroki catches him, but keeps a firm grip on his arm to stop him from moving. 

“You don’t know what you’re running into,” he snaps, pulling him back. 

Izuku’s gaze slips past him and he gasps. Todoroki turns to look as well. The cloud of dust in the plaza dissipates, revealing All Might in a precarious situation as he grapples with a large, hulking beast. The warp villain, along with another man with strange hands covering his body, look on from a few feet away. The beast’s torso is stuck in one of the warp villain’s portals, but his head and arms come out from the ground underneath All Might, who is bent over backwards. Izuku flinches at the sight of the beast’s fingers digging into All Might’s side. Blood starts soaking his shirt and he knows the beast must be hitting his weak spot. 

Nearby, Aizawa is still fighting against the mass of villains. Despite their numbers being steadily depleted, they refuse to let the teacher get past them. 

The blue-haired man with the strange hands lets out an eerie laugh, “Were you trying to keep him from moving by sticking him deep in the concrete? You won’t be able to stop him like that.” Somehow, his voice sounds both chastising and amused at the same time. “Nomu is as strong as you are. This is good, Kurogiri. It’s an unexpected opportunity.” He glances at the warp villain beside him, who must be Kurogiri. 

The beast- the Nomu- claws at All Might’s side even harder, causing the hero to release his grip and try to pry the brutish hands off of him. Kurogiri eyes the number one hero.

“I do not want blood and guts flowing within me,” he rumbles, “but I would be happy to take in someone as great as you.” As he talks, the Nomu starts dragging All Might into the portal. “You’re too fast to see with the human eye. Restraining you was Nomu’s job. And then, when your body is halfway in…” 

Izuku gasps as the portal starts closing around All Might’s arms and torso. He lunges forward, but Todoroki pulls him back with a hard yank.

“Todoroki-kun!” He cries out, but the boy fixes him with a hard glance.

“Stay here.”

“But-” 

“Don’t make me freeze your feet to the ground.” 

Letting out a frustrated groan, Izuku looks back at All Might, who’s slowly being cut by Kurogiri’s portal. His heart skips a beat. “Go!”

Todoroki whirls around and dashes over to the villains. Once he’s close enough, he stops and stomps his right foot on the ground, causing ice to race across the ground and freeze the Nomu, stopping right before it reaches All Might. Then, he sends a jagged chunk of ice to Kurogiri, who narrowly dodges but the distraction causes him to loosen his portal slightly. 

Then, all of the sudden, the portal disappears completely. All Might and the Nomu are forced out and onto the ground, the former freeing himself from the latter’s grip and jumping to stand beside Todoroki. 

“All Might!” 

Aizawa’s voice reaches Izuku’s ears. His homeroom teacher rushes over to the scene, keeping his eyes on Kurogiri as he wraps his capture weapon around the villain and slams him down. He pounces on top of him and pins him to the ground, panting heavily as his body shakes with exhaustion from fighting the mass of villains. No doubt his eyes must be burning, but nevertheless he keeps his gaze locked on Kurogiri and avoids looking at All Might or Todoroki. 

The boss villain makes a noise of fascination. “You’re so cool, Eraserhead. So, so cool…”

“All Might,” Aizawa grunts again. The question of ‘Are you okay?’ is silent.

Izuku is still standing a bit away, but he’s close enough to see All Might’s injuries. Kurogiri’s portal created a large cut shaped like a ring around the hero’s chest and biceps, and his left side is bleeding from where the Nomu dug into his weak spot. 

Izuku swallows heavily. He desperately wants to help. He wants to run over there and heal All Might and make those villains stop but he can’t. The familiar, horrible feeling of helplessness rises in his throat and makes his eyes prick with frustrated tears. It’s just like that time with Furuya and Akamine, or when those villains tried to kidnap him, or even when Kacchan turned on him. He’s useless, he can’t do anything in a fight, he’s not a hero, he’s just-

“Nomu,” the boss villain orders, “Save Kurogiri.” 

The partially frozen beast immediately rights himself into a standing position, completely ignoring how the ice breaks his limbs off in chunks. Izuku watches in horror as new ones grow back right before his eyes. 

All Might is shocked too. “What? His quirk wasn’t shock absorption?” 

“I didn’t say that was all he had!” The ringleader laughs, “This is his super-regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you at one-hundred percent...” 

Fear seizes his throat. 

Crap, but All Might isn’t at one-hundred percent! Do these villains somehow know of his injury? 

In the blink of an eye, the Nomu darts over to attack Aizawa still pinning down Kurogiri. Before anyone can react, the beast punches and sends a giant shockwave across the facility. Something flies right towards Izuku and he dodges, squeezing his eyes shut against the dust and debris. The air slowly clears and he lifts his head, inhaling sharply when he sees that All Might is suddenly a lot closer to him than before. 

The number one hero has been forced back into a nearby wall, apparently having taken the brunt of Nomu’s punch instead of Aizawa. He’s been knocked back towards where Izuku has been watching, now only a few meters away from the greenette. 

All Might is panting heavily as he recovers from the blow. He coughs a couple of times and Izuku can see the blood that escapes his lips. His eyes widen. 

This is his chance! 

Without giving himself time to think twice, he dashes over to All Might, yanks off his gloves, and grabs onto his exposed forearm. As soon as their skin makes contact, his quirk automatically activates and rapidly pours energy into the hero. He’s so desperate to help him that he completely forgets why he always avoided healing All Might in the first place.

His quirk instantly reacts to the numerous wounds he feels on the man, but thankfully the majority of his energy begins pouring into his immediate wounds first rather than scars or missing organs. All Might startles at his sudden appearance and quickly pushes him away a moment later, stopping his quirk before it can do much to heal his older injuries. That’s fine, though. All he needed was a few seconds. 

The wounds from Kurogiri’s portal and the Nomu’s grip stop bleeding, the skin visibly closed once more. 

“Young Midoriya,” All Might rasps, looking torn, “Thank you for healing me, but you need to get out of here right now-”

“Oi, oi, what the hell is this?” The boss villain suddenly growls. “Why’d you stop bleeding?” He almost sounds like he’s whining. 

Kurogiri’s golden eyes narrow. “Shigaraki, look at the boy’s costume.”

Izuku can’t see Shigaraki’s face behind the hand mask, but he gets the feeling the villain’s eyes are on him. 

After a moment, the man makes a noise of intrigue. “Oh? Not a hero…” His stance suddenly freezes. “A healer.” 

Izuku gulps and All Might tenses up beside him. Shigaraki is speechless for a moment, then a low growl rises in his throat. “That’s… that’s not fair…” he rasps, “That’s… This is fucking cheating!” His voice becomes enraged. “You’re not supposed to have a healer! How the fuck did he heal you like that?!? How did he heal-” 

He cuts himself off abruptly. Kurogiri, having been saved by Nomu, moves beside Shigaraki and whispers something in his ear. The boss villain stiffens. Then…

“No…” He hisses, “No, no, no, NO!” His hands reach up and he starts furiously scratching at his neck, spitting and snarling with rage. “No- it’s not supposed to be this way, it’s not supposed to- you’re supposed to be weak, he said you’d be-” 

“Shigaraki!” Kurogiri says, tone sharp. 

The wild scratching stops, but instead Shigaraki whips his head towards Izuku. “YOU! You’re a fucking cheat code, you- you- NOMU!” 

As soon as he shrieks the name, both the beast and All Might react. Now that he’s healed and energized, All Might is able to meet the Nomu halfway as the latter lunges for Izuku. They strike each other simultaneously and the impact causes another shockwave, knocking everyone off their feet. All Might punches the Nomu again, but the beast doesn’t show any pain and punches back.

For a few moments, all anyone can do is stare at the two massive forces of power as they trade blows back and forth. All Might soon punches the Nomu hard enough to knock him into a nearby forest area and the fight continues on there. They can still feel the effects of the shockwaves that are created as All Might forces the Nomu back, but at least now they’re able to stand. 

“BRAT!” 

Izuku’s head whips around to see Shigaraki lunging towards him, hands outstretched. A flash of blond suddenly crashes into Izuku. Arms wrap around his torso and the next thing he knows he’s flying off the ground, explosions ringing in his ears.

“Kacchan!”

At the same time, grey tendrils latch onto Shigaraki and yank him backwards, pulling him away from Izuku. Aizawa pounces on the villain and Kurogiri moves to intercept him, but Izuku can’t see what happens after that. 

Kacchan carries him over to where Todoroki and- surprisingly- Kirishima are waiting. “You idiot!” He snarls as he sets him down, “What were you thinking, getting into the middle of a fight?!?”

“It’s not his fault,” Todoroki says, “That thing knocked All Might over to where Midoriya was hiding. Although, rushing over to heal his wounds wasn’t a good idea.” He gives Izuku a look. 

“What was I supposed to do?” Izuku snaps, “He was injured!”

Kacchan’s eye twitches. “What you’re supposed to do is-”

“Oi, talk about this later!” Kirishima barks, eyes locked on something else. “We’ve got company!”

Izuku follows his gaze to see that a few of the villains that Aizawa took down have regained consciousness and are running towards them. Todoroki immediately freezes three of them, but one has a quirk that lets her fly so she’s able to dodge his ice. Kacchan uses his explosions to launch himself into the sky and lets out a battle cry as he attacks her. 

Meanwhile, one of the villains that Todoroki froze aims his silver fingers at them. Izuku has just enough time to duck behind Kirishima before an onslaught of bullets are fired at them. Todoroki creates a wall of ice to protect himself while Kirishima activates his hardening quirk, protecting both himself and Izuku. 

A pained grunt catches the greenette’s attention and he looks over. Aizawa isn’t faring too well against both Kurogiri and Shigaraki. The man obviously can’t risk letting Kurogiri out of his sight or else he might warp him-or them- away, and that is something that Shigaraki is clearly trying to take advantage of. He crumbles the hero’s scarf beneath his fingers when Aizawa tries to bind him and makes to dart behind him and the man instinctively turns to intercept, to protect himself- only to have his vision blocked by the purple fog that descends over his face to cover his eyes. He curses and immediately lashes out blindly to strike Kurogiri, but it’s too late. 

Shigaraki grins beneath his mask, and Izuku watches in horror as the villain grabs his teacher’s back with both hands. 

Aizawa screams. 

Chapter Text

A loud BOOM catches everyone’s attention, including the villains. They all look up to see the Nomu go flying into the air, breaking through the glass windows of the dome and causing a massive vibration that shakes the earth. The beast disappears, but a moment later All Might is leaping towards them.

In the blink of an eye, he takes out the villains that are attacking Kacchan, Kirishima, Todoroki, and Izuku before going to rescue Aizawa. Kurogiri and Shigaraki barely have time to react before the number one hero knocks them back with an air pressure strike from his fist while he grabs Aizawa. He immediately brings the injured man over to Izuku and then steadfastly plants himself between them and the two villains. 

Izuku can barely hear what All Might says then. He doesn’t have time to worry about the hero’s condition after his fight with the Nomu. All he can focus on is Aizawa and the sickening amount of blood that is pouring out of his back. He’s almost glad that the man is unconscious, having passed out either from pain or just pure exhaustion from having fought so hard for so long. 

He just barely manages to remind himself to analyze Aizawa’s wound instead of automatically healing it as he drops to his knees beside him. The skin on most of his back is completely gone, leaving a mess of raw, exposed flesh and muscle. Thankfully, thankfully, despite the heavy bleeding, it doesn’t appear to be very deep. Shigaraki’s disintegration- or whatever his quirk was- doesn’t seem to have had enough time to reach down to bone, so there’s probably no spinal damage- thank God, Izuku wouldn’t know what to do if that happened. It’s still a horrendously disgusting wound to look at, though, so Izuku swallows down some bile that threatens to crawl up his throat and gently places his hands on Aizawa’s bloodied back. He doesn’t even think twice about the fact that he’s not allowed to heal pros without a license- he’s just glad he doesn’t have to spend time cutting away Aizawa’s clothes like he did with Uraraka. His teacher’s shirt has been disintegrated along with his skin, so it doesn’t get in the way of his quirk activating. 

Izuku feels himself weaken even more as his energy flows into Aizawa’s body. Fighting and healing All Might’s injuries has already taken a decent chunk of his stamina, and now as Aizawa’s skin and muscle regrows underneath his palms, he finds himself struggling to stay upright. It’s a good thing he’s kneeling, he’d probably collapse if he was standing. 

Aizawa’s healing doesn’t take more than fifteen seconds, but he still doesn’t regain consciousness. Before Izuku can even begin to wonder why, Shigaraki’s voice catches his attention. 

“He used a cheat.” Izuku looks up and feels his breath catch in his throat. The villain is staring at him, blood-red eyes peeking out from between deceased fingers making him feel pinned to the spot. A scratchy voice rasps, “He used a cheat. Hey, that’s not fair…” 

“What’s wrong?” All Might taunts, “You’re not coming?” Izuku is sure that the only reason All Might isn’t going after them himself is because he doesn’t want to get caught up in Kurogiri’s quirk again. 

Shigaraki startles at his words and takes a step back, looking at All Might. “He… he gave you a 1-Up! You… you were supposed to be weak…”

Izuku frowns. 1-Up? Cheat? He’s talking like this is all just one of those video games he plays with Kacchan! 

Shigaraki starts wildly clawing at his own throat again. “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” He snarls, “We’ve been completely overwhelmed! I can’t believe he did that to my Nomu!” 

All Might quickly gets tired of his chattering. “Come now, villains. I’m sure we’d all like this to end as soon as possible. Surrender and come quietly, or I’ll make you.” 

“I hate you!” Shigaraki spits, “I hate you! You don’t play fair, hero!”

“Shigaraki...” Kurogiri warns, but before he can say anything else, he suddenly shields Shigaraki from a bullet flying their way. 

Izuku looks up to see that the rest of UA’s teachers have arrived and are standing on the platform. He thinks he sees Principal Nedzu too, but he can’t be sure since they’re so far away. Despite the distance, he’s able to hear Present Mic’s scream loud and clear as the Voice Hero takes care of the remaining villains in the plaza.

“Damn, they’re here already?” Shigaraki groans and then sighs, clearly disgruntled, “It’s game over now. Shall we go home and try again later, Kurogiri?” 

“I won’t let you escape!” All Might says, tensing up. 

Instead of looking at the pro hero, or even his ally, Kurogiri turns to Izuku. His golden eyes narrow. Izuku shrinks under his unnerving gaze. 

“Actually, Shigaraki-” Kurogiri starts to say, only to be interrupted by a flurry of Snipe’s bullets flying towards them. Shigaraki shrieks as he gets hit a couple of times before Kurogiri swirls around him. They both disappear into a portal a moment later.

“Hey!” All Might lunges towards them, but it’s too late. His hand swipes on empty air. 

There’s a beat.

Then, Kirishima lets out a sigh of relief, “They’re gone.” 

Beneath his palms, Izuku feels Aizawa stir slightly. He carefully rolls his teacher onto his newly-healed back, but he doesn’t regain consciousness.

“Why isn’t he waking up?” Kirishima asks, “You healed him.”

“I don’t know,” Izuku replies, moving to check Aizawa’s vitals. His breathing is rapid and shallow and when Izuku feels his unusually pale skin, it’s cold and clammy. His hand moves to the man’s neck, feeling for his carotid artery. Aizawa’s pulse throbs rapidly under his fingers. 

“I think it’s from blood loss,” Izuku says, a bit uncertainly, “I… I guess my quirk can’t do anything to help that. His heart’s going into overdrive trying to replace what he lost.” 

“Is he going to be okay?” All Might asks and Izuku glances up at him.

“Um…” He hesitates, eyeing the puddle of blood underneath Aizawa. “I’m not really an expert on blood loss, but I don’t think he lost a dangerous amount. He probably just passed out because it was so sudden. And he also fought for a really long time so he’s probably exhausted anyways.” 

“So are you,” Kacchan grunts, grabbing under his armpits and lifting him up. Izuku tries to gather his feet underneath him, but his legs are too wobbly to hold him up. Kacchan wraps Izuku’s arm over his shoulder and takes most of his weight. “Let’s get these guys back to the bus,” he says roughly. 

“Shouta-kun!”

They look up to see Present Mic running over to them with Vlad King right behind him. His eyes widen when they land on Aizawa’s unconscious form and All Might hastily lifts a hand to reassure him. 

“Don’t worry,” he says, “He’s alright.”

“That’s a lot of blood!” Present Mic protests, kneeling in front of Aizawa.

“Young Midoriya healed him,” All Might explains, stooping to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, “He’s unconscious from blood loss, though. Did anyone call an ambulance?”

Vlad King nods. “And the police. They’re working with us to gather up the remaining villains.”

“Good.” All Might picks up Aizawa and then turns to Kacchan. “Let me take Young Midoriya. I can get him out of here faster.” 

Kacchan hesitates, but then Kirishima elbows him and he reluctantly lets All Might gather Izuku into his arms alongside Aizawa. He ends up carrying each of them in one arm, with Aizawa’s long legs falling slightly over Izuku’s, and he’s careful not to jostle them as he leaps into the sky. 

“Once again, Young Midoriya,” All Might says in a low voice, “I must both thank and scold you for running to me like that in the middle of battle.” 

Izuku makes a disgruntled noise, leaning his head against the hero’s chest tiredly. “I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. I felt so helpless…” 

All Might lands on the platform with a sigh, “I understand it must be frustrating…” He glances at the various pro heroes and police officers that pass by as he briskly walks towards the exit. “Well, at least now we know of one way to stop you from overusing your quirk.”

Izuku blinks, trying to focus his drowsy mind. He recalls his quirk stopped once All Might pushed him away, breaking their skin contact. So, while he can’t physically move or stop himself once his quirk is activated, it seems that at least others are capable of doing it.  

He makes a mental note to mention this discovery to Recovery Girl later.

All Might drops Aizawa off at an ambulance and the paramedics quickly start fussing over him, putting an IV into his arm and giving him fluids. One doctor asks about Izuku, but All Might explains that he’s just tired from using his quirk. 

“Is Recovery Girl here yet?” He asks.

“She just left with one of the other ambulances a few minutes ago,” the doctor replies, already getting back into her own ambulance to take Aizawa away, “She’s helping treat Thirteen.”

Once they’re gone, Izuku frowns at All Might. “Is Thirteen okay?”

All Might grimaces. “I’m afraid they got attacked by that warp villain. I arrived just as Young Iida was escaping and I had him continue on to the school. When I got inside,  a few of your classmates had already driven the villain away and I saw Thirteen injured.” 

Despite his fatigue, the thought of one of his teachers being seriously hurt has Izuku squirming in All Might’s grasp. The hero tightens his hold on him. “And no, you will not in any way be using your quirk on them or anyone else today. You’re going to trust in your mentor’s capability and you’re going to rest.” His tone is firm and leaves no room for argument.

Izuku pouts and hides his face in the man’s shirt. “Bossy sensei,” he grumbles. All Might lets out a huff of laughter. 

“All Might!” A plain-looking man approaches them with a smile. His eyes land on Izuku and he tilts his head questioningly. 

“This is Midoriya Izuku,” All Might says, “Young Midoriya, this is my friend Tsukauchi Naomasa.”

Tsukauchi’s eyes twinkle as he gazes at Izuku with curiosity. “The famous Midoriya Izuku. I must say, I’ve been dying to meet you after hearing everything that this one has said about you. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

His gratitude is so genuine and sincere that Izuku glances at All Might in confusion. He feels like he’s missing something here.

The number one hero’s brow twitches and he says, “He knows.”

Oh.

Tsukauchi just keeps smiling at him. It’s almost a bit creepy, but Izuku shyly smiles back. 

“I was going to ask if you were okay after the fight,” he says to All Might, not taking his eyes off of Izuku, “But I guess there’s no need.” 

All Might nods, frowning a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine… but that Nomu was terribly strong. If I were as weak as I was last year, I might not have been able to defeat him.” He seems troubled by the thought.  

Tsukauchi asks if he can fill out a report and All Might promises to do so after Izuku is taken care of. His classmates are outside the bus being counted by a cat-faced police officer, but they wave at Izuku as All Might brings him into the bus. 

“Rest well, young man,” he says, gently setting him down on one of the seats, “Your friends will be with you soon.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to see Recovery Girl?” Izuku asks, then fails to stifle a yawn. 

“Probably not, but I’m sure she’ll text you. I will too, once this is all dealt with.” All Might ruffles his hair gently and Izuku lets out a tired grumble when his ponytail gets messed up. As All Might turns away, he settles into his seat, hoping to nap on the way back to school. Something tugs at the edge of his mind, however, and he finds himself calling out to the hero before he steps off the bus. 

“All Might?” 

“Hm?” The blond glances back at him. 

Izuku blearily blinks and asks in a tired voice, “Why did that man call me a cheat code? He talked like we were in a video game…” 

Something flashes in All Might’s eyes. “I don’t know… We’ll talk more once you feel better.” 

With that said, he leaves. 

The rest of the day passes by in a blur. His classmates worry about him when they get onto the bus, but soon turn to chatting about their own experiences during the attack. Izuku idly listens to their stories as he falls asleep against Kacchan’s shoulder. 

When they get back to school, the blond ends up carrying him the rest of the way home. Since they don’t have to stay late for Recovery Girl’s lesson, they’re joined by Kirishima, Ashido, Kaminari, and Sero, all of whom insist on helping the duo to the train station- although they really just end up making fun of the way Kacchan gives Izuku a piggyback ride. 

The greenette is more than happy to let his friend deal with trying to soothe his mother’s fretting when they get home. He naps on the couch while Kacchan explains to Inko- and later Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru when Inko invites them over- what happened at USJ. He wakes up long enough to eat dinner and then falls asleep again. 

He sleeps through most of the next day too, waking up at 1PM and panicking when he realizes he’s late for school, only for Inko to tell him that UA is closed today. After that mini-heart attack, Kacchan comes over to hang out with him, although he’s still too tired to do much aside from cuddle with Sushi on the couch and play video games. He tries reading more of the book Recovery Girl gave him, but Kacchan yanks it out of his hands and threatens to burn it because apparently ‘reading doesn’t count as resting if it’s for school’. 

Both All Might and Recovery Girl text him repeatedly to see how he’s doing, the latter having a hard time believing that he’s actually resting until Kacchan takes his phone and sends her a selfie of him pinning Izuku to the couch with one hand. The next picture she gets is a blurred image of Sushi attacking Kacchan, taken by Izuku of course. 

On a whim, he also decides to send it to All Might, just for laughs. 

(Toshinori 3:23PM) -That cat is going to become the next number one hero  

(Midoriya 3:24PM) -XD

When he goes back to school the next day, he asks Recovery Girl how Thirteen is doing. 

“Don’t worry about them. They’re going to make a full recovery,” she says, though she seems a bit tired. 

“That’s good…” 

There’s a pause as his mentor looks at him with an expression he can’t quite decipher. Then, she sighs.

“I’m sorry you all had to go through what you did,” she says, “I know it must have been very scary for you.”

Izuku opens his mouth to reassure her, then closes it. He knows the older woman well enough by now to know that brushing this off won’t help. 

“It was scary,” he admits, “I felt helpless. I thought… I mean, after what happened when I was ten… I’ve spent so long learning how to fight and I thought- I don’t know, I just thought I was stronger than…” He struggles to find his words. “I just- I could barely defend myself. If it hadn’t been for Todoroki-kun…” He trails off with a grimace. 

Recovery Girl gives him a pitying look. “You’re always going to be at a disadvantage in battle. This world isn’t fair, and some people are just born to be more vulnerable than others. But, if it makes you feel better, I think you did everything right.” Izuku looks up in surprise. “Ignoring the fact that you’re not supposed to heal pro heroes-” She gives him a stern look and he winces apologetically before she continues, “Toshinori-san told me how you ran to him at the most opportune moment, taking advantage of his distance from the villains to safely heal him as quickly as you could. He also told me how he was able to stop you from going overboard with your quirk, which is something we can look into more later.” 

Izuku looks down at his feet, processing her words. 

“You did good, Midoriya-kun,” she says resolutely, “As did the rest of your classmates. You’ve all gotten more combat experience within the first two weeks of your high school career than most second and third years do. And UA will be making drastic improvements to their security from here on out to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.” 

Izuku nods, then recalls something. “Oh, um, during USJ… Aizawa-sensei mentioned something about the villains being the ones behind the trespassing last week?” It comes out sounding like a question rather than a statement. 

Recovery Girl suddenly looks very guilty.

“Yes… I should have told you- I wanted to tell you, but Nedzu-san didn’t want to cause any unnecessary panic…”

He tilts his head. “You looked kind of worried when you came back from… er…” He actually still hasn’t found out where Recovery Girl disappeared off to last week after the stampede. “When you were late to our lesson… All Might said you were with Nedzu-san?”

“After the press was dealt with, Hound Dog was on patrol and discovered that one of UA’s southern barriers had been destroyed,” she explains, “We didn’t know who was the cause, so obviously we were very concerned. I suppose now that it was some sort of declaration of war from this ‘League of Villains’.” She sighs again. “Well, anyway, that’s why I was late. And why I wanted you to stay close to your friend on your way home. He seems like a good boy.” 

Despite the heavy mood, Izuku snorts. 

Recovery Girl suddenly claps her hands, startling him. “Anyway, I don’t want you to spend so much time worrying about this!” She declares, “We will leave this to the heroes. Now, Aizawa-san will be telling you all some very important information in class today, so I want you to focus on that. Do you have any questions?”

Yes, he has a lot of questions. He’s not ready to just push this out of his mind and forget about it. He wants to know who these villains are and how they knew All Might was weak and why they looked at him like that-

But the warning bell rings and Recovery Girl sends him off to homeroom before he can say anything. And so he reluctantly does what she wants and tries his best to push his questions to the back of his mind. 

He walks into class with Kacchan to find his classmates talking about the incident. 

“Did you watch the news last night?” Kirishima asks, “They were covering the USJ attack.”

“Yeah, all the channels made a big deal out of it,” Kaminari says, sounding just a tad bit smug.

“Can you blame them?” Jirou feigns nonchalance. “The hero course that keeps pumping out pro heroes was attacked.”

Sero notices Izuku’s entrance and perks up. “Hey, Midoriya-kun! You feeling better?” 

“Yeah, much better.” Izuku smiles and goes to take his seat behind Kacchan. 

As his classmates casually talk about the attack, he’s suddenly struck by the oddness of it all. They all were attacked by villains and nearly died just a couple of days ago, and now they’re chatting about it as if it’s just a mildly interesting news story they heard. As if it happened to someone else and not them. Izuku doesn’t understand how they can get over it so quickly. It was so scary!

Then again, once they’re pros they’re going to have to deal with villain attacks all the time. 

Recovery Girl said ‘leave this to the heroes’ as if it has nothing to do with the two of them. As if it’s not their place, as healers, to concern themselves with events like this. And… Izuku supposes that she’s right. The USJ attack was terrifying, but it’s unlikely that he’ll have to deal with something like that again. For the first time in a while, he finds himself grateful that he’s able to become a healer rather than a hero. The world of villains that the pros face everyday is not something that he was prepared for. He’d much rather concern himself with injured heroes rather than villains. And yeah, feeling helpless in the battlefield was awful, but at the end of the day the heroes came out on top! They didn’t need him. He shouldn’t have felt helpless because he shouldn’t have worried about them in the first place. He’s lucky he wasn’t taken hostage at any point, really. He’s not a hero, he doesn’t belong on the battlefield, he-

Kacchan’s words snarl in his mind, “You’ve got no business getting involved with fights! You’re gonna be a healer, not a hero- so quit acting like you’re anything more than a guy with a healing quirk!”

Izuku frowns. A bitter feeling settles in the pit of his stomach. 

“Morning.” 

Everyone jumps when the door slides open with a bang and Aizawa walks in. 

“Sensei!” The class exclaims.

Iida’s hand shoots into the air. “So you are alright, Aizawa-sensei?!?” 

The teacher raises an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“Kirishima-kun said that you passed out from blood loss,” Asui ribbits, “Even though Midoriya-chan healed you.” 

Izuku winces and curses himself for not remembering to mention that to Recovery Girl. He needs to learn a lot more about blood loss now that he knows his quirk doesn’t do anything to help it. 

Aizawa sniffs. “I’m fine. They gave me fluids and I went home later that day.” His eyes slide over to Izuku. “Thanks, by the way,” he grunts. 

Izuku tries not to blush as he beams at the praise from the hero. He’s pretty sure his eyes sparkle regardless, if the way Aizawa squints and looks away is anything to go by. 

“We have a lot to discuss before your morning classes start, so pay attention,” he says, “The UA Sports Festival is drawing near.” 

Kirishima and a few others immediately cheer, but Jirou and Ojiro express their concerns about another possible villain attack. Aizawa reassures them that security will be increased significantly and that the UA Sports Festival will be a good chance for young heroes such as themselves to get noticed and possibly scouted. He stresses the importance of this opportunity and to begin preparing for it. 

“One chance a year- a total of just three chances. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don’t slack off on your preparations!” 

“Yes, sir!” 

Throughout the rest of their morning classes, the Sports Festival is all that’s on anyone’s minds. Izuku suddenly finds it easy to forget about the villains with such a big event to look forward to. 

When the lunch bell rings, many students still linger in the room, chatting about the upcoming festival. 

“Even though all that stuff happened, I’m getting really excited!” Kirishima grins, pumping his arms enthusiastically. 

Sero joins him. “If we put on a good show and stand out, we’ll have taken the first step to becoming pros!” He nudges the redhead with his elbow. 

Izuku smiles as he idly puts his books back into his backpack, listening as his classmates express their excitement. 

“Ojiro-kun, I’m getting kind of nervous now!” Hagakure’s shrill voice catches his attention. “I need to stand out at the Sports Festival!” Ojiro tries to be supportive, but Izuku can easily tell what he’s thinking. No doubt it would be difficult for Hagakure to get noticed with a quirk like hers. 

“You’re lucky, Shoji-kun,” Kaminari says to the multi-limbed teen, “Your brawn stands out on its own.” 

Jirou giggles and teases Kaminari, claiming that he’ll stand out when he short-circuits his brain. Izuku’s never seen the effect himself, but apparently it happened during the USJ attack. He frowns in consideration. Obviously he won’t be participating in the Sports Festival, but maybe he can help his classmates prepare for it? 

Kacchan stands up from his desk and starts stalking over to the door, ignoring his classmates in favor of getting lunch. Izuku makes to follow him, but Ashido’s voice calls out to him.

“Hey, Midori-kun!” She hops up to him. “So what does this whole Sports Festival thing mean for you?” Her question catches the attention of their other classmates.

“Oh yeah,” Sero says, “You’re not going to be participating, right?” 

Izukiu shakes his head. “Definitely not. Recovery Girl will probably need all the help she can get. I bet there’s going to be a lot of injuries.” He perks up. “This will be a good opportunity for me to practice training my quirk!” 

Kaminari snickers, “You’re just excited that people are going to get injured!” 

Izuku flushes and sticks his tongue out at him in response. Kaminari cackles. 

“But still,” Yaoyorozu says, turning the attention to her, “Even though you’re looking to be a healer, your future career involves joining hero agencies, doesn’t it? How will you get scouted?” 

Izuku thinks for a moment before shrugging cluelessly. “I really don’t know. I’m gonna talk to Recovery Girl about all this stuff after school. But she has said that healers are always in high demand, so I bet that whole process is going to be a bit different for me.” 

Kaminari grins and leans back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head while feigning nonchalance. “Don’t worry, Midoriya-kun,” he says smoothly, “Once I’ve got my own hero agency I’ll be sure to hire you as my healer.” 

“What the fuck?” Kacchan turns away from the door and glares at the electric boy. “He’s not fucking joining your shitty agency,” he snarls, “He’s gonna be my healer.” 

Izuku opens his mouth, but before he can speak Ashido pouts, “Says who?” 

“Says me!” Kacchan snaps, “I already called dibs, like, ten years ago!” 

Jirou wrinkles her nose. “What the heck? Why do you get dibs?” 

“Yeah, you can’t hog Midoriya-kun all to yourself!” Kirishima buts in. 

“Um, guys-” Izuku says, but nobody is paying attention to him anymore. To his horror, even his more logical classmates are starting to join in. 

Yaoyorozu makes a surprisingly snide comment about Kacchan making decisions for Izuku and Jirou backs her up, asking why Kacchan thinks he deserves Izuku any more than they do. Uraraka asks why he would want a healer if he claims he’s so strong and even Tokoyami adds his own two cents to the argument. 

Izuku loses all hope for salvation when Iida of all people joins the quarrel, claiming that it’s selfish to confine a healer to one agency when they’re needed by so many. The clock ticks by with Izuku just standing there watching the dispute, emotions swirling between flustered that they’re arguing over him and irritated that he’s being kept from his lunch. 

An elbow suddenly knocks into his. He glances over his shoulder and, to his surprise, sees Todoroki gazing at him with his usual aloof expression. 

“Let’s go get food,” he says, sounding more like a statement rather than a request. 

Izuku glances back at his arguing classmates before nodding wordlessly at Todoroki. He’s not even going to bother asking why the bi-colored boy wants them to eat lunch together- it’s odd, they’ve certainly never eaten lunch together before- but right now he just wants to escape from his awkward situation. 

They make it all the way to the door before they’re spotted.

“Oh no you don’t, you candy-cane bitch!” 

Izuku really needs to tell Kacchan to stop yanking him around- it’s getting very annoying. He lets himself get dragged backwards by his collar and sighs when the blond gets all up in Todoroki’s face. 

“Thought you could sneak away with him, huh?” He snarls. Todoroki simply narrows his eyes in response.

A hand falls on Izuku’s shoulder and Kirishima says, “Hey, Midoriya-kun, you’ve really gotta settle this for us.” 

“Yeah, who’s agency are you going to choose?” Ashido asks. Behind her, Kaminari points to himself and silently mouths ‘mine’. 

With everyone’s gazes on him, Izuku gets steadily more and more flustered. “Ah… well, I don’t know…” His mind scrambles to find the right thing to say. Of course he’s not going to commit to anyone right now, but he doesn’t want to piss off Kacchan by outright denying him. He decides to settle on something light and teasing. 

“I-I guess I’ll just go with whoever charms me the most!” He laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head, completely oblivious to the sudden competitive tension in the air as his classmates glare at each other. “Anyway, let’s go to lunch!”

As soon as he steps out of the door, a hulking flash of blond intercepts him.

“Young Midoriya is here!” 

All Might enthusiastically points at him as he beams. Izuku jumps. 

“A-All Might? What’s the matter?”

“Lunch!” The number one hero exclaims, holding up a wrapped-up bento box. “Wanna eat togeth-”

“Yes!” Izuku interrupts, seeing his chance for escape. Ignoring the confused murmurs behind him, he darts towards All Might and immediately starts ushering him away. “Yes, yes, I would love to have lunch with you! Let’s go right now!” 

He practically runs away from class 1-A, All Might following with a bewildered smile on his face. When they get to the teachers’ lounge, he collapses onto the couch with a loud sigh.

“Is… everything alright, Young Midoriya?” All Might asks, looking as if he doesn’t know whether to be concerned or amused. 

Izuku waves him off. “Yeah, I’m fine. You just saved me from an incredibly awkward situation though, so thanks.” 

“Oh!” Now All Might doesn’t hide his amusement. Even after he shrinks into his normal form, his eyes twinkle with mirth as he sits down on the couch across from him. “I’d ask about it, but I’m afraid of what would happen if your face turned any redder.”

Izuku rubs his heated cheeks and groans. All Might chuckles. “Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing.” 

“Hm?” Izuku blinks, surprised. “Oh! I’m fine.” 

It comes out like a reflexive response, his tone way too light and dismissive to show any real consideration behind his answer. 

All Might tilts his head. “Did Aizawa-kun talk about the Sports Festival?”

“Oh, yeah. Sounds like fun,” Izuku says. He thinks about saying more, but he gets the feeling that the Sports Festival isn’t exactly the topic the man wants to talk about. 

There’s a beat, then All Might shifts in his seat. “I’m sorry, I would have met with you later, but you have your lesson with Chiyo-san and I don’t want to take you away from that.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, I just thought maybe we should talk about USJ…”  

Izuku perks up. All Might notices and says, “I can’t tell you much because it’s still an ongoing investigation, but I just thought… if you had any questions, or something you wanted to discuss…”

“Yes!” Izuku straightens up. “Yes, oh my God, I have so many questions! Recovery Girl said not to worry about it and I’ve been trying to just focus on the Sports Festival but-” He rambles rapidly and the blond raises his hands.

“Easy, easy, kid,” he says and Izuku forces himself to take a breath. Remembers why his mind has been so plagued for the past couple of days. 

“No- it’s not supposed to be this way, it’s not supposed to- you’re supposed to be weak, he said you’d be-” 

“All Might.” He purses his lips, trying to hide his worry. “They knew you were injured.” 

All Might sighs and nods solemnly. “It seems so.” 

Izuku opens his mouth, but he doesn’t know what to say. All Might continues, “There’s a lot of things we don’t know about this ‘League of Villains’- how they knew about my injury being one of those things. We don’t know how much information they’re privy to, however I suspect it is very minimal, considering how surprised Shigaraki was when he saw you.”

“Huh?” Izuku frowns, confused. 

All Might clasps his hands together. “If I had been in the same state as I was in when I first met you, I highly doubt I would have been able to defeat Nomu.” Izuku can’t help but flinch. Even though he was heavily injured, All Might was still extremely strong back then. Strong enough not only to survive with a missing lung and stomach, but also to keep being the Symbol of Peace for years after that devastating fight. If he really believes that he would have lost to Nomu… then that beast must be terrifyingly powerful. 

Not to mention the multiple quirks… 

“I assume that those villains must’ve somehow created Nomu to be able to withstand the strength that I had back then,” All Might says, “They knew I was injured and thought that they could defeat me while I was weakened. But they didn’t expect you.” 

Izuku is still a bit confused. It must show on his face, because the man says, “I’ve been thinking about why Shigaraki called you a ‘cheat code’. There was something else he said about you, but I can’t quite recall the term…”

“1-Up,” the boy says, then explains, “He said I gave you a 1-Up. Er, in video games that’s an extra life…”

All Might brightens and nods emphatically. “And that’s just what you did! You basically gave me an extra life. Young Midoriya, you must understand…” He leans forward and looks at him very seriously. “You have done what countless other healers have failed to do. You’ve given me my health and my power back. And those villains weren’t expecting that. They weren’t expecting you.”

Izuku nods slowly, processing his words. “So… that means…”

“That means that we have the advantage.” All Might leans back, looking satisfied. “Their information was dated and flawed. I doubt that they’ll try an attack like that anytime soon, now that they’ve realized how grievous of a mistake they’ve made. It was a bold attack that normal people wouldn’t carry out even if they had thought about it, anyway. They may have escaped, but their ringleader is injured and Nomu has been captured. I don’t think they’ll be causing trouble anytime soon.” 

Izuku smiles, feeling a bit of pressure lift off his chest. All Might smiles back. “Does that make you feel better?” 

“Yes,” Izuku breathes out a sigh of relief and the man laughs. 

“Good,” he says, “I thought you’d be worried, so I figured the least I could do is help ease your anxiety.”

Izuku looks down at his hands with a faint blush. He’s confided in All Might about many things over the past year, one of which being his tendency to occasionally panic or worry over little things. Still, it’s strange to be sitting here talking about it in real life, rather than over text. 

“Oh!” All Might suddenly says, reaching over to hand him the bento box, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to keep you from your lunch. Here, I asked Lunch Rush to make this for you.”

Izuku takes it gratefully and starts opening it. “What about your lunch, All Might?” 

The blond waves him off. “Don’t worry, I’ll eat later.” Izuku gives him a firm look. “I will! I promise! You know nothing can keep me away from food now that I have a stomach!” He grins and Izuku rolls his eyes. 

They talk a little more about USJ while the freckled boy eats. All Might mentions how his healer costume can be both a blessing and a curse, since it’ll identify him for heroes but could also put a target on his back for villains. Izuku shudders when he recalls how both Shigaraki and Kurogiri looked at him when they realized he was a healer. It was incredibly unnerving and he’s tempted to bring it up, but he doesn’t want the older man to think that he’s being paranoid, or worse, cause him to worry too. 

Naturally, the conversation moves to the Sports Festival and by the end of the lunch period Izuku is snorting with laughter as All Might recounts an outlandish tale from his own highschool days during the festival. He leaves reluctantly when the lunch bell rings and walks back to class with a smile on his face. 

“Oi, Zuku,” Kacchan says as they gather up their things at the end of the day, “What’d you and All Might talk about during lunch?” 

Izuku sweatdrops and frantically tries to think of an answer, slowly putting his books in his backpack to give him more time. “Ahh…” 

“Yeah, I’m curious too,” Sero says, having heard Kacchan’s question since he sits in the row across from them, “You guys seem familiar with each other.” 

“Oh, are you guys talking about All Might?” Uraraka calls out from across the room, catching even more attention. “He looked like a maiden when he asked you to lunch!” She giggles. 

“Oh, yeah, Midoriya-kun, what was that about?” Kirishima asks curiously as he shoulders on his backpack. 

Now with multiple sets of eyes on him, Izuku swallows down a wave of panic. Then, an idea pops in his head. Thankfully, as an apprentice healer he has certain privileges, so he simply says, “Sorry guys, you know I can’t always talk about stuff like this.”

“Aww, more secret stuff?” Ashido pouts as she comes over to lean on his desk, “Is it about tomorrow’s hero class? You’re so lucky you get to know things before us!”

Her comment causes murmurs of surprise and confusion to pass through the class. 

“Hm? What is she talking about, Midoriya-kun?” Yaoyorozu asks, tilting her head. 

Izuku waves his hands frantically. “It’s nothing, really! It’s just, you know, as Recovery Girl’s apprentice, I’m just… Well, there’s just some things that I need to be aware of beforehand, and sometimes those things involve our future classes. But it’s not stuff I can talk about!” 

Ashido puffs out her cheeks. “See? Secret stuff.”

Izuku winces guiltily. “Sorry.” 

“Nonsense!” Iida shouts, making his way over with a firm chop of his hand, “It is merely part of your duty as a healer-in-training to be informed and prepared for all activities that require your abilities prior to their occurrence!” 

Izuku blinks rapidly, trying to process what he said. He gets the feeling that Iida is trying to make him feel better. Eventually, he just gives him a smile. “Uh, right! Thanks!” 

He starts making his way over to the door. Most of his classmates like to stick around for a few minutes after school to chat, but he has to get to the infirmary. “Sorry, guys, I’ve gotta go to Recovery Girl now. See you tomorrow!” 

He opens the door to see a crowd of people standing right outside. 

“Ehh?!?” He yelps, stumbling backwards in surprise. 

“Midoriya-kun? Wha- oh!” Uraraka’s eyes widen. “What’s going on?!?” 

The crowd doesn’t do much aside from lots of muttering and staring, but they’re completely blocking the door. All of class 1-A has looked over at this point and Iida walks to stand beside Izuku. 

“What business do you have with class 1-A?” The blue-haired boy asks firmly. 

A scoff comes from behind. “They’re scouting the enemy, Four-Eyes,” Kacchan grouses. Iida sputters at the rude nickname and Izuku sighs, giving him an apologetic smile. “We’re the ones who made it out of the villain attack. They probably wanna check us out before the Sports Festival.” 

The blond grabs Izuku by the elbow and walks to the door, glaring at the sea of students who eye him warily. “There’s no point in doing stuff like that. We’ve got places to be, so get the fuck out of my way, extras!” He barks.

“Kacchan!” Izuku squeaks, glancing nervously between him and the other students. 

“Stop calling people ‘extras’ just because you don’t know them!” Iida scolds. 

“He-He didn’t mean that!” Izuku apologizes to the crowd, moving in front of Kacchan.  

“Sure hope not,” a drawling voice says from within the mass, “Although, it kind of sounded like he did.” The crowd parts as a boy makes his way through. “I came to see what the famous class 1-A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant. Are all students in the hero course like this?” 

Izuku makes a strangled noise as he hears Kacchan growl behind him. “No, no, of course not! He’s just- oh.”

The student who spoke earlier finally weaves his way to the front of the crowd. He’s a tall, lanky boy with messy purple hair and dark circles under his eyes. He steps right up to Izuku, who takes a step back and bumps into Kacchan.

“Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned,” the boy says, sounding rather uninterested as he rubs the back of his neck. His gaze briefly roams over the class before settling on Izuku. His eyes narrow. “You’re that new healer everyone’s been talking about, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Izuku stammers. People have been talking about him? “Uh, I-I guess so. My name’s Midoriya Izuku.”

The boy eyes him up and down like he can’t quite decide what to make of him. “And how’d someone like you get into the hero course, Midoriya Izuku?”

“Er, through recommendations,” Izuku replies hesitantly. Something about this guy makes him nervous.  

Hardly any emotions pass over the taller boy’s face, but Izuku thinks he sees his nose wrinkle ever so slightly. “There are quite a few people who enrolled in General Studies or other courses because they didn’t make it into the hero course,” he says, tilting his head and looking down at him with hooded eyes, “Did you know that?”

Izuku gulps. “Uh, um, I-”

“The school has left those of us a chance,” the boy continues, “Depending on the results of the Sports Festival, they’ll consider our transfer into the hero course. And it seems they may also transfer people out.” He arches a brow at Izuku when he says this. The greenette feels Kacchan tense behind him. 

“Oi, oi, what the fuck are you going on about?” Kacchan snarls, pushing Izuku aside with his shoulder so he can sneer at the purple-haired boy’s face. 

He remains unfazed. “I came to say that even if you’re in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I’ll sweep your feet out from under you.” His indigo eyes roam over their classmates. “I came with a declaration of war.” 

As he speaks, the tension in the air continues to rise until Izuku feels like he can barely breath. Alright, time for him to do something about this! What was that Yaoyorozu said earlier about him being a neutral party? 

Izuku puts on a friendly smile and laughs nervously as he steps back between Kacchan and the other boy. “Wow, that’s bold!” He says, putting a hand on each of their chests and pushing them apart. Kacchan begrudgingly takes a step back, still glaring over his head the entire time, but the other boy doesn’t move and instead eyes Izuku’s hand on his chest disdainfully until the healer hastily removes it. 

“Ha ha, you hero-types really do get competitive, don’t you?” He forces his grin not to waver. “But, ah, th-there’s really no need for all this, you know? We- We have an extra spot afterall. A boy got expelled on the first day of class, so-”   

“UA entrance exam has the highest number of applicants and the lowest acceptance rate,” the boy interrupts, “With such a limited number of spots in the hero course, forgive me for wondering why they would give one to someone like you.” 

Izuku’s breath hitches in surprise. Then, it’s as if a dam breaks. 

“Hey, what’s your problem, man?”

“Who the hell do you think you are?!?”

“What is wrong with you?!?”

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

The last one comes from Kacchan, who Izuku hastily restrains from attacking. The purple-haired boy seems mildly surprised at the sudden appearance of pretty much every student in class 1-A glaring at him fiercely as they surround Izuku. Still, he’s not deterred.

“I’m just saying, he’d be perfectly capable of healing people while in the General course. Why waste a spot in the hero course on someone who’s not even going to become a hero?” 

This time, Kacchan doesn’t even have to say anything because the rest of class 1-A is one step ahead of him. The classroom suddenly erupts into a loud cacophony as Izuku’s classmates furiously scold and berate the boy for what he said. Kirishima and Kaminari just barely hold themselves back from pouncing on him. Iida nearly whacks him in the head with his chopping motions as he lectures him on the importance of healers in the hero society. Yaoyorozu sounds like she’s trying to explain why healers need to learn how to handle themselves when it comes to the dangers of the hero world, but Izuku can’t quite hear exactly what she’s saying since everyone’s talking and yelling at the same time. 

The purple-haired boy looks like he’s starting to regret opening his mouth. 

Ignoring the ringing in his ears from the loud noise, Izuku shouts at Kacchan, “I need to go to Recovery Girl!” 

He nods and shoves his way into the crowd, shouldering the boy roughly as he passes. Izuku averts his eyes and hastily walks after his friend. It’s only when they’re in the nearly empty hallway next to the infirmary that he starts to relax. 

“Man, what a jackass,” Kacchan growls, glancing back at him, “You alright, Zuku?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Izuku replies softly. He scratches the back of his head. “I… I feel kind of bad now…”

Kacchan wrinkles his nose. “What the fuck for?” 

“I mean, I guess he had a point… There are so few spots in the hero course and I’m just a healer-”

“Oh, shut up, idiot!” Kacchan interrupts him, “Don’t let what that fucker said get to you! He’s just whining ‘cause he was too weak to make it into the hero course and decided that he had nothing better to do than pick on a healer! I mean, how fucking pathetic is that?” 

The blond grabs him and gives him a rough noogie, one that he loudly protests, before shoving him towards the infirmary. “Forget about that asshole. Focus on what’s ahead of you. And if he bothers you again, tell me and I’ll kick his ass.” 

“Alright, alright.” Izuku rolls his eyes but smiles as he steps up to the door. “See you later, Kacchan.” 

“See ya.”

The beginning of his lesson with Recovery Girl goes about the same as usual. They go through the list of patients that she treated today and see to the occasional student that walks in. After about ten minutes, however, they start discussing the Sports Festival. He’ll be helping her during it, of course- his heart warms when she expresses her immense relief to be having someone helping her out this year. UA really makes this poor woman work too hard. 

However, since the first week of school is over, she brings up how they’ll be training with his quirk. The Sports Festival is going to be a great opportunity, but that’s still two weeks away. There’s no reason he can’t start training now, so Recovery Girl helps him come up with a list of goals that he wants to achieve with his quirk. 

One: Be able to touch someone without automatic quirk activation. Two: Learn how to control the speed and output of his energy. Three: Be able to slow down or completely stop his quirk before an injury is fully healed, therefore helping him save as much energy as he can. Four: Figure out how to direct his energy to specific injuries so that they’re healed first. 

Four goals doesn’t seem like a lot, but Izuku still finds himself intimidated. Multiple people have claimed his quirk to be one of the most powerful healing quirks ever, but that doesn’t make it perfect. Here are his four greatest weaknesses laid out on a simple piece of paper and he’s just supposed to… overcome them? 

He realizes now that he’s terribly inexperienced when it comes to his quirk. He always just let it do its thing- never even tried to control it, not really. His mind flashes back to the first time he used his quirk on All Might, how terrified he was when he realized he could do nothing to control or stop the energy that was rapidly draining out of him, trying to reach as many wounds as possible as fast as it could. He couldn’t do anything to make his body move, he felt frozen. 

“Midoriya-kun?” Recovery Girl’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts. His worry must show on his face, because she says, “This is… Of course, I don’t expect you to accomplish all of this right away. I know you like to do things as quickly as possible, but I would really rather you take your time with this. You have three years to master your quirk. Let’s just focus on one thing at a time, alright?”

Izuku swallows, forcing his mind to calm down, then lets out a slow exhale. “Okay.”

“Good,” his mentor says, “I think a good goal to work on right now would be number three. Focus on the energy as it leaves you, focus on that flow, and try to harness it. The good thing about this one is that we know we have a backup for it in case you’re unable to stop your quirk. If you need, you can ask your patients to pull away from you at a certain point to break the skin-to-skin contact.” 

“Okay,” Izuku says, nodding resolutely, “Okay, that’s… that’s a good plan.” 

“Yes, but you’re still going to be training with traditional methods, of course,” she says, “You can’t exactly train your quirk unless there’s injured people.” 

Izuku smiles sheepishly and says, “Kaminari-kun made fun of me by saying that I’m excited that people are going to get injured in the Sports Festival because it means I can use my quirk.”

Recovery Girl rolls her eyes with an amused huff. “Oh don’t worry, there will be plenty of injured young hooligans for us to deal with on that day. I swear, all these grey hairs you see on my head are all from past Sports Festivals. Nedzu-san’s ideas get crazier and crazier each year.” She sniffs. “That rat drives me nuts.”

Izuku tilts his head. “I thought he looked more like a bear?”

“Oh, who knows.”

He snorts.

Chapter Text

The next couple of weeks are full of nothing but training, for both Izuku and his classmates. Kacchan finally has something to do while he waits for his after school lessons to be over. He often loses track of time when he’s in the forest just outside of the gates, making explosion after explosion until his wrists start to hurt. Since Kacchan is no longer waiting in a nearby hallway or classroom, Izuku has to go looking for him in the forest, which leads to a couple of near-misses with the blond’s large explosions. 

Their other classmates are also staying after school to take advantage of UA’s numerous facilities to help them train. Izuku occasionally looks outside the window of the infirmary to see Iida running by in one of the fields below. During lunch, Ashido talks about how she and Uraraka are working together to improve their quirks in Ground Beta. Sometimes during their hero classes or PE, a few classmates are still tired from their personal training the previous day. Aizawa is ruthless and continues to push them forward. 

It’s not just class 1-A that’s training too. All of the students in the hero course, from first to third years, seem to be physically preparing themselves in some way for the Sports Festival. And, of course, an increase in training means an increase in injuries. 

The first case is with Kaminari. 

A couple of days after Aizawa announced the Sports Festival, Izuku is walking out of the main building, having just finished his lesson with Recovery Girl, when he’s approached by Jirou and Yaoyorozu. 

“Oh, Midoriya-kun! Can you help us out here?” 

Izuku glances over to see the two girls holding Kaminari up in between them. The dazed look on his face causes a spike of panic to strike Izuku’s heart and he quickly rushes over to them.

“What happened?” He asks, confused by Jirou’s laughter and Yaoyorozu’s exasperated expression.

“I wanted to practice with my ability to make electricity-resistant materials,” Yaoyorozu explains, “So I figured I’d train with Kaminari-kun today, but he went over his wattage limit and short-circuited his brain.” 

“Yee…” Kaminari makes a strange noise that sends Jirou into peals of laughter. 

Yaoyorozu seems like she’s struggling not to laugh as well, a smile tugging at her lips. “Do you think you can do anything about this?” She asks. 

Izuku’s gaze roams over Kaminari, who appears totally out-of-it. The disoriented look in his blank eyes makes him nervous, so he nods and lets the girls shift Kaminari over to him, pulling the boy’s arm over his shoulders so he can help take some of his weight. 

“I’m no neurologist, but I’ll see what I can do,” he says, glancing at Kaminari worriedly, “Do you know if this happens often? I really don’t like how unresponsive he is…”

For some reason, Jirou is still laughing. And sure, Kaminari might be acting a bit funny, but his freaking brain just got shocked with who knows how much electricity! Does she not realize how dangerous that can be?

Jirou takes one look at his face and sobers up pretty quickly. “Er, sorry,” she coughs awkwardly, “He usually comes to in about an hour…” 

Izuku nods and bids his goodbyes before starting to lead Kaminari back to the infirmary. The blond goes with him fairly easy, too dazed to cause much fuss. When they reach the infirmary, there’s a note on the door saying that Recovery Girl stepped out, so Izuku leads Kaminari into the empty office and has him lay down on one of the beds. He texts Kacchan quickly to let him know that he’ll be late before turning his attention to the other blond. Kaminari babbles nonsense while he checks his vitals, all of which seem normal enough. It’s obviously just a problem with his brain.

Izuku takes a step back and sighs, gazing at his friend lying on the bed with a thin line of drool dribbling down his chin. He recalls how he, Kirishima, and Ashido made a list of all of their classmates’ quirks’ drawbacks, just because they wanted to help him out. When he looked at the list, he realized there were a lot of little things he could do to help out his classmates, like get anti-nausea pills for Uraraka or nutrition bars for Yaoyorozu to keep in his pouch. 

But for Kaminari? Izuku isn’t quite sure how to help. He knows a decent amount about the human brain from the Human Anatomy and Physiology book that Recovery Girl had him read multiple times- there was a whole section dedicated to neurology. But Kaminari’s brain obviously must work differently, or at least be enhanced in some way; most people would die from the amounts of electricity he deals with on a daily basis. How could Izuku help?

His eyes trail over to the computer on his desk.

When Recovery Girl returns to the infirmary half an hour later, she’s surprised to see her apprentice eagerly scribbling down notes onto his clipboard as he stares at his computer. Kaminari snores loudly with his head buried in a pillow. She doesn’t bother asking what happened, instead choosing to sit at her own desk and get some paperwork done. Occasionally, she’ll send a curious glance towards Izuku, but whatever the freckled boy is researching has his full attention and she doesn’t want to disturb him.

Another half hour later, Kaminari wakes up abruptly. He jerks into a sitting position and glances around in confusion. “Huh?”

“Kaminari-kun, you’re awake!” Izuku says, turning around in his chair, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine…” The blond seems confused. “How did I- oh. Did I short-circuit again?” 

Izuku nods. “Yeah. Jirou-san and Yaoyorozu-san brought you to me. I, ah, didn’t quite know how to help, so I figured I’d just let you sleep…”

Kaminari is already waving him off with a smile as he swings his legs over the side of the bed. “Oh, yeah, don’t worry about it! Happens all the time. Usually I get better in about an hour, so.” He shrugs carelessly and glances at the clock on the wall. “Oh, hey, I’ve gotta go. Thanks for keeping an eye on me!” 

He leaves as quickly as he woke up. Izuku and Recovery Girl watch him go before his mentor turns to look at him, arching her brow questioningly. He sighs and rolls his chair over to her, handing over his clipboard.

“Recovery Girl, what do you think of this?” 

“Hey, Kaminari-kun?” Izuku asks the next day during lunch. 

Said boy glances up at him from across the table with a smile. “Yeah, man? What’s up?” 

Unsure of how to begin, Izuku shifts in his seat and asks hesitantly, “Er, how often does the whole short-circuiting-your-brain thing happen?” 

Kaminari blinks, surprised at the question, before his expression smoothes out. “Is this about what happened yesterday?” He gives him a reassuring smile. “Seriously, dude, it’s nothing to worry about, really!”

“Eh?” Ashido asks, leaning across the table, “Did you fry your brain again, Kaminari-kun?” 

Kacchan glares at the other blond. “Yeah, the dumbass kept Zuku in the infirmary for another hour after his lesson. We had to take the late train!” 

Kaminari waves his hands as he sheepishly apologizes, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! He really didn’t have to do that, I overuse my quirk all the time! Just stick me in a corner for an hour and I’ll be fine, I swear!” 

Sero snorts around his noodles. 

“Still,” Izuku says, trying to regain control of the conversation, “It can’t be healthy to do that to your brain so often.”

The electric blond shrugs. “Eh, I haven’t really had any long-term damage.” 

“But what about when you’re a hero?” Izuku presses, “You can’t afford to be in such a vulnerable state in the middle of a battle!”

Kaminari blinks at him again, this time more confused, and now the others are looking at him weirdly too. Izuku shrinks back slightly. Alright, no point in beating around the bush anymore. 

He quickly takes out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolds it. “Er, well, I-I did some research last night- and Recovery Girl helped out too, of course- but I just was trying to think of ways to, um, prevent your brain from short-circuiting.” He hands the paper to Kaminari, who peers down at it curiously along with Sero and Ashido. “I thought that maybe if you could strengthen your myelin then your electricity might not affect you so badly anymore. It-It’s just a theory, of course! I didn’t have time to run any neurological exams on your or anything, but Recovery Girl thinks it’s a good idea…”

“Uh…” Kaminari, Ashido, and Sero are staring down at the paper with identical confused expressions. “My… I’m sorry, I’m kinda confused. What did you say, my…?”

“Myelin,” Izuku explains, “It’s a sheath made of fats and cholesterol that protects nerve cells. It insulates the neuron and directs the impulse of the nerve.” 

His friends gaze at him with blank expressions. 

Pressing his lips together, Izuku tries again. “Imagine a bunch of wires bundled up together, okay? Myelin is basically the plastic coating around the wire that keeps the electricity going to the right place and prevents it from touching other wires. But if none of the wires had any myelin to separate them from each other, if they were all just naked wires, then as soon as one picks up electricity, all the others light up as well. I think something like that happens with you when you short-circuit your brain.”

Kaminari nods slowly, not quite looking like he understands yet. “Okay…” 

“The brain has all sorts of electrical impulses,” Izuku continues, “But with your quirk, you’ve got a bit more electricity than others. Now, most of the time, a person’s body will accomodate in some way for their quirk, which is probably why yours hasn’t killed you yet.” Kaminari blinks. “However, as we all know, quirk overuse can harm a person. I believe the excessive amounts of electricity may be either damaging or just be enough to bypass the myelin sheaths around your nerves. So, what I’m hoping is that if you strengthen your myelin, then your nerves will be better equipped to process the amounts of electricity that your quirk produces.”

His friends stare at him for a few moments before turning to the piece of paper in Kaminari’s hands. Sero tilts his head. 

“So… This is like… a diet?” He asks, “That if Kaminari-kun eats this stuff that’ll make his… myelin stronger, then his brain won’t fry up anymore?” 

Izuku nods. “In theory, yes.”

Kaminari perks up, suddenly looking far more interested. 

“You should’ve just led with that, man,” Kirishima laughs. 

Ashido leans her cheek against the palm of her hand. “My head hurts.”

Kacchan smirks. “Zuku, you’ve gotta remember that we’re surrounded by dumbasses. You can’t say complicated shit like that and expect them to understand.” 

“Hey!” Ashido wrinkles her nose.

“I mean, he has a point, but still- hey!” Sero says. 

“Sorry.” Izuku winces apologetically, then turns to Kaminari, whose eyes are roaming over the paper, “It doesn’t have to be a super strict diet, you mostly have to make sure to eat the right fats and avoid certain things.” 

“No, no, this is great!” Kaminari says, “I can definitely stick to a diet like this. Oh!” He points at a particular note on the paper and grins. “Get more sleep? Don’t need to tell me twice!” 

Izuku giggles. “There’s also some over-the-counter vitamins included in there that you can find at the pharmacy pretty easily. Also, having healthy myelin can improve your memory and learning abilities.”

Kaminari gasps, eyes practically sparkling. “Dude, this will make me smarter?!?”

Ashido lunges for the paper. “Holy shit, I need me some of that!” 

Sero leans away from the two as they begin to scuffle. Izuku smiles and glances at Kacchan and Kirishima who are sitting next to him. 

The blond glances back at him before rolling his eyes. “Fucking nerd,” he grumbles under his breath as he stabs at his food. 

Izuku beams. 

After the incident with Kaminari, Izuku turns his attention to his other classmates. He goes up to Aoyama during homeroom with a Recovery Girl-approved list of foods and supplements that will help strengthen the lining of his stomach. The elegant blond boy calls him a genius in French and thanks him by kissing him on both cheeks, which leaves him red-faced and spluttering. 

Thankfully, when he approaches Uraraka with some anti-nausea medicine and promises to always keep some in his medical pouches for her, she thanks him with a smile and a hug. It still leaves him blushing furiously, but at least there are no surprise kisses. 

He does his best to help the rest of his classmates with their quirks, and ends up adding a lot of things to his medical pouches. Nutrition bars for Yaoyorozu, sugary candies for Sato, glowsticks for Tokoyami, and a couple of soothing creams for Ashido and Sero, whose quirks both affect their skin. He eventually asks Recovery Girl if he can reorganize his medical bags in his costume so he can have one of the smaller pouches just be meant for holding his things for his classmates. 

In regards to his own quirk, Izuku very quickly learns that controlling it is going to be a lot harder than he thought it would be. After going his entire life just letting his quirk do its thing, trying to control it now is an incredibly difficult undertaking. He constantly reminds himself of Recovery Girl’s insistence on patience, that it’s alright to be struggling, he’ll get the hang of it eventually. Whenever he tries to get a grasp on the energy flowing out of him, however, by the time he manages to even focus on it, the wound is already healed and his quirk turns off. Stopping it is a futile endeavor- he feels like a lone boulder in a river of gushing water, desperately trying to block the flow to no avail. 

At least there’s plenty of opportunities to practice. With so many people training for the Sports Festival, there’s bound to be accidents. 

On the Monday of the week before the festival, Izuku walks into the infirmary for his after school lesson to see Recovery Girl fussing over a raven-haired boy with an obviously broken ankle. His blond friend pats him on the shoulder while he winces in pain. 

“Sorry, Recovery Girl!” The friend laughs, “Third year is turning out to be a lot tougher than our second year!” 

Recovery Girl grumbles under her breath as she checks the other boy over for more injuries. “Please, boys, the Sports Festival hasn’t even come yet! How could you possibly break your ankle this badly?” 

The boy shrinks while his friend rubs his back, saying, “Tamaki-kun was trying a new move! It’s super cool! If all goes well, you’ll see it at the Sports Festival next week!” 

Recovery Girl looks like she’s about to say something particularly sarcastic, but then she notices Izuku standing in the doorway and greets him. “Ah, Midoriya-kun, good timing.” 

Izuku walks in and sets his bag down on his desk chair, smiling politely at the two upperclassmen when they look at him. 

“This is Amajiki Tamaki and Togata Mirio,” his mentor introduces them, “They’re third years, although from the way that they act you wouldn’t know it.” Amajiki shrivels while Togata lets out a bark of laughter at Recovery Girl’s dry tone. Izuku’s lip twitches at the woman’s disgruntled expression. “Get used to them, ‘cause they get injured a lot.” 

“Usually me!” Togata says, not a hint of remorse in his bright blue eyes. Izuku’s gaze roams over the numerous scars littering his arms. The blond grins at him. “You must be the new healer I’ve been hearing about. Midoriya-kun, right?” 

Izuku is taken aback. First that purple-haired boy and now him? “Have people been talking about me?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Togata says, “It’s not everyday Recovery Girl takes on a new apprentice! Apparently, a boy in class 1-B has been making quite a fuss about 1-A getting a healer and not them.” He arches a brow. 

“Oh.” Izuku shrinks, feeling a bit guilty. Maybe he should be making more of an effort to help out the other hero class. 

“Anyway,” Recovery Girl says, bringing the attention to her, “Now that you’re here, Midoriya-kun, let’s go ahead and take Amajiki-kun to the x-ray room.” 

“Right.” He moves to help the raven-haired boy stand, but Togata waves him off.

“Don’t worry, Midoriya-kun, I’ve got this!” 

He wraps his friend’s arm around his shoulder and follows Izuku and Recovery Girl as they lead him to the x-ray room. Once Amajiki is settled on the table, he walks into the other room while Recovery Girl takes Izuku through the motions of setting up the x-ray. The freckled boy eyes the machine warily. Just the thought of having to work with such a complicated and expensive piece of equipment by himself one day makes him nervous. 

Thankfully, the process doesn’t take too long and the two upperclassmen wait while Izuku and his mentor go over the results.

To his relief, the break doesn't look too bad, and it's only in one place. Recovery Girl hums thoughtfully.

"I think I'll be able to set this from the outside," she says, "Lucky boy."

“No surgery?” Izuku blinks in surprise. 

She shakes her head. “Sometimes broken ankles need to be fixed with surgery, but usually as a last resort. It’s getting rather late now, so I would like to try fixing this without doing anything invasive. I think I can use this as an opportunity to teach you something new- I’ll be needing your help, though.” 

Izuku nods and she goes to talk to Togata and Amajiki, who are waiting in the other corner of the room. “We’re going to fix it without surgery,” she says, the boys watching her attentively, “What we’re going to do is put you back on the table and set your bones while performing a fluoroscopy procedure, which means we’ll have a monitor showing us a live x-ray the entire time. Once I set your bones properly, Midoriya-kun will heal you. It’ll be a tad bit uncomfortable, but considering that the other option is surgery…” She trails off.

Amajiki swallows and nods. 

A fluoroscopy procedure is something that Izuku has only seen be done on TV. He tries to hide his excitement as Recovery Girl lies Amajiki down on the table and gets to work, using a couple of dull, metal probes to gently nudge his broken bone from the outside. Izuku watches the x-ray monitor with fascination as he sees the bone move in real time back into the right places. Once everything's in the right place, Recovery Girl nods at him and holds her probes steady while he touches the older boy’s skin, focusing on the energy flowing out of him. There’s no point in trying to stop it in this case, so he just tries to familiarize himself with the feeling. 

Amajiki, who was wincing and grimacing the entire time despite the mild anesthetic he was given, lets out a sigh of relief as his bone heal. He tentatively rolls his ankle and blinks in surprise. 

“That was fast,” he murmurs, barely audible. Izuku realizes that this is the first time he’s heard him speak. 

Recovery Girl huffs as she turns off the x-ray machine, “Oh, yes, much faster than mine, isn’t it?”

“‘M not tired either.” Amajiki looks at Izuku and smiles softly. “Thanks.” 

For some reason, Izuku finds his face heating up slightly. He blushes even harder a minute later when Togata plops a heavy arm around his shoulders and gives him a friendly shake. 

“Wow, Haya-san was right, your quirk is pretty amazing!” He says, glancing at Amajiki who is walking with ease. 

Izuku is briefly confused as to who he’s talking about, then recalls one of the upperclassmen he healed after the stampede. 

“Th-Thanks, Togata-san!” He says, but the blond waves him off.

“None of that!” He says, “Call me Mirio!” 

Izuku presses his lips together and flushes even more. “Erm, okay. M-Mirio-senpai.”

Mirio beams so brightly Izuku nearly goes blind.  

“Thank you, Midoriya-kun,” Amajiki says, his voice slightly louder than before, “We should go now, though.” He gives Mirio a look.

“Oh, right! Sorry, kouhai, we’ll get out of your hair now!” Mirio waves cheerfully before practically skipping down the hall with Amajiki in tow. Recovery Girl and Izuku watch them leave, and the former huffs.

“I am not looking forward to another year of dealing with those two,” she grumbles. “They give me too much work.”

“I like them!” Izuku says resolutely. 

“Oh, wonderful. Now you can be the one to deal with them for the rest of the year.” 

The majority of the week goes by without much drama, which Izuku is immensely grateful for. It seems like ever since he came to UA, there’s just been one incident after the other, whether it be the stampede, USJ, people injuring themselves, etc. It’s nice to be able to have a relatively calm week. 

He really should’ve known better, at this point. 

It happens on the Friday before the Sports Festival. Their usual hero classes have been steadily increasing in difficulty in order to prepare them for the event. Today’s lesson involves getting through an obstacle course in teams of two, each team competing to get the best time. Even though they’re meant to use their quirks, Izuku still wants to participate and Aizawa has no qualms about letting him. 

So, he gets paired up with Aoyama and they watch from the monitor room with their classmates as the first team goes. It’s Kirishima and Ashido, who will no doubt do well considering that they’re both fairly athletic and get along phenomenally. Izuku smiles as his friends enthusiastically fist bump before taking off at breakneck speeds as soon as the buzzer sounds. 

Just as he assumed, the two compliment each other well. Kirishima is strong and can bulldoze his way through many of the obstacles with sheer brute force while Ashido is lean and agile enough to dodge quickly as she slides across the ground with her acid. They’re both clearly having a blast, if the identical grins on their faces are anything to go by, and perhaps it’s their excitement that distracts them enough for the accident to occur. 

It happens when they’re nearing the finish line. Kirishima and Ashido are running next to each other, although the redhead is above her, dashing along the top of a flat slab of concrete jutting out of the ground. It’s coming to an end soon, so Kirishima prepares to jump off, but when his foot hits the edge, the concrete crumbles. He squawks as he starts falling towards the ground and instinctively hardens himself as he braces for impact. Unfortunately, Ashido is directly underneath him, and this time the pink girl doesn’t manage to completely dodge. 

The monitor screens have no audio, but her classmates are clearly able to hear her scream from outside. 

Izuku is running out the door before anyone can react. 

He dashes into the training area and follows the sounds of screaming and crying. Heart in his throat, he spots Ashido kneeling on the ground with Kirishima fretting over her and races over to them.

“Midoriya-kun!” Kirishima exclaims, tears flying as his head whips up at the freckled boy’s arrival, “I-I- I didn’t mean- Ashido-san and I, we- we-”

“I saw,” Izuku says briskly, coming to kneel in front of Ashido. He can immediately see that her shoulder is dislocated. Kirishima must’ve clipped her with his hardened form when she tried to dodge. He’s grateful that she even managed to react in time- he doesn’t want to think about how hurt she would’ve gotten if Kirishima’s full hardened body had landed on her.

Ashido’s shoulder juts out awkwardly, swollen and already turning purple. Her chest heaves wildly as she cries, tears and snot streaming down her face. 

“It’s alright, Ashido-san!” He reassures hastily, trying to check her over as quickly as possible, “Have you ever dislocated your shoulder before?” 

She shakes her head rapidly. “No!” She sobs, “It hurts!” 

“That’s normal.” After making sure she doesn’t have any other injuries, he carefully takes her arm into his gloved hands. “I’m gonna set your shoulder now, okay?” He says, struggling to keep his voice steady. He’s never done this before- he’s only ever read about it. “Take a deep breath.”

Ashido nods shakily and Kirishima kneels beside her, taking her free hand into his. Izuku swallows and concentrates on her arm. He has to be extremely cautious- if a nerve gets caught, he’ll cause even further damage. The muscles around her dislocated shoulder are tense, so he slowly begins rotating her arm, trying to gently ease her humerus back into place.

Ashido wails the whole time, squeezing Kirishima’s hand tightly. The sight of his friend crying makes Krishima cry too, although he at least makes an attempt to compose himself.

“Young Ashido!” 

Izuku hears All Might’s voice behind him, followed by the multiple footsteps of his classmates as they finally catch up. Aizawa comes to hover by his side, but he keeps his focus on Ashido, carefully rolling her arm until finally, after a few more nerve-wracking seconds, her shoulder pops back into place. A choked gasp escapes Ashido’s lips, then she lets out a shaky sigh. 

Izuku double checks that everything is where it should be before taking off his gloves and placing his hands on the bare pink skin of her forearm. He can feel his friend’s energy swirling around her swollen shoulder, but it soon eases once his quirk takes over and heals the torn muscles and ligaments.

Ashido’s whole body droops once the pain is gone. Izuku catches her and shifts her to lean against Kirishima while she gasps for breath.

“Wow,” she croaks, “That… that looks a lot less painful in movies.”

Kirishima lets out a wet laugh and hugs her. “Fuck, I’m so sorry!” His voice is shaky and laden with guilt as he struggles to control his tears. 

“‘S alright, it was an accident.” She sniffles, wiping at her face with a quivering hand. 

Izuku gives himself a brief moment to let out a quiet sigh of relief as his heart thumps in his chest. “How does your shoulder feel?” Izuku asks. 

“A lot better.” The girl tries to sit up, but she’s still trembling violently. She sniffles again and it turns into a wet cough. “So-Sorry, I-I just-”

“It’s alright.” Ashido is clearly shaken, no doubt still coming down from the rush of adrenaline- as is Izuku- so he does his best to soothe her. “Dislocated shoulders are very painful. I don’t like how movies make it seem like they’re so easy to walk away from.”

“Yeah, what the heck?” She snorts, wiping her face again, “I feel lied to.” 

Kirishima takes a shuddering breath and tries to smile. “You’ve gotta teach me how to pop a joint back into place, man. That didn’t look like the movies either.”

Izuku smiles, then startles slightly when a hand falls on his shoulder. 

“Does she need to go to the infirmary?” Aizawa asks, looking down at him with dark eyes. 

Izuku nods immediately. “I would like to take her. Just in case, you know?”

“Eh?” Ashido blinks. “But my shoulder feels better, see?” She lifts her arm up and down to prove her point, but Izuku can see how careful she’s being.

“Better to be safe than sorry,” he says, helping her stand up along with Kirishima, “I’m still an apprentice, after all.” 

Ashido pouts but doesn’t protest. 

“I’ll be back soon,” he says, glancing over his shoulder at his teachers and classmates. They all gathered around him as soon as they caught up, but thankfully kept a good distance so that he didn’t feel crowded or distracted as he worked. A couple of the girls look like they might’ve been crying, but mostly everyone just looks relieved. 

“Alright.” Aizawa nods, then gives him a look of approval. “Good job, Midoriya-kun. You acted quickly and stayed calm.”

“The mark of a true healer!” All Might gives him a thumbs up. 

Izuku smiles and tries to hide his flush, but it becomes impossible when his classmates start praising him too. 

“Good job, Midoriya-kun!”

“Yeah, great job man!” 

“Geez, I would have freaked out- her shoulder looked gross!”  

“Dude!”

“Man, I’m glad we have you here, Midoriya-kun!” 

They’re all gazing at him with such palpable relief in their eyes that makes Izuku realize that this really the first big injury they’ve seen him heal. Usually it’s just scrapes and bruises- even Uraraka didn’t cry that much when Kacchan burned her. But Ashido’s screams of pain have obviously shaken them all. 

Aizawa takes this as a time to give them a lecture. As Izuku walks out of the center with Ashido, he hears the teacher say, “I hope this incident has shown you all how dangerous hero training can be. I don’t care if some of the exercises seem like fun- you should never let down your guard because major injuries can and do happen sometimes, alright? Midoriya-kun isn’t here just to heal your scrapes and bruises, he’s here to help keep you all safe…”

His words fade as Izuku gets farther and farther away. Still, a feeling of importance fills his chest and makes him feel warm. He smiles and glances at Ashido, who has her arm looped around his and is cheerfully humming under her breath. 

He reaches into his pouch.

“Would you like some gummies?”

Chapter Text

Finally, after what feels like the longest two weeks ever, the day of the Sports Festival arrives. 

“Waah, this looks like so much fun!” Izuku exclaims as he and Kacchan walk into school. Despite it being early in the morning, UA is already packed. Vendors and booths line the walkways, selling fun foods and decorations. Music from the stadium can be heard all the way over. “Can you believe we’re finally here, Kacchan?!?”

Kacchan grunts noncommittally, eyeing the festivities disinterestedly. His mind is probably more focused on the trials to come, as Izuku’s should be. Still, he casts a longing look at a vendor selling takoyaki as he follows his friend to the first-years’ stage. 

Aizawa already informed everyone of what to do before the Festival begins, so they meet up with the rest of their classmates in the 1-A waiting room. 

“Hey, Bakugou-kun, Midoriya-kun!” Kirishima greets them, “You guys excited?”

“So excited!” Izuku pumps his fists. “I can’t believe I’m actually here! Kacchan and I always used to watch the Sports Festival on TV together!”

“Zuku’s just excited about the food,” Kacchan grunts, “You shoulda seen him back there. He was practically drooling the entire way here.” 

“Hey!” Izuku lightly slaps him on the shoulder while his friends laugh. He huffs and rolls his eyes.

“Well, anyway, I can’t stay long. I have to meet up with Recovery Girl soon,” he says, “I hope I don’t have to give you guys a lecture on staying safe?”

Kacchan groans while everyone else shakes their heads. They’re all wearing their training uniforms, having changed right before going to the waiting room, but Izuku is still wearing his regular uniform. It makes him feel just a little bit like an outsider, and a small twinge of envy tickles his chest- they both watched the Sports Festival since they were kids, but Kacchan’s the one that gets to participate- but he covers it up with a bright smile. 

He chats with his friends for a few minutes until Iida steps into the room.

“Everyone, are you ready?” He asks loudly, “We will be entering soon! Oh, Midoriya-kun…” He tilts his head in confusion. 

Before Iida can ask what he’s doing here, Izuku waves his hands apologetically. “That’s my cue! I guess I’ll see you guys when this is all over.”

A volley of goodbyes shower him as he steps towards the door, but something makes him hesitate. He glances back at his classmates. Kacchan, for once, is sitting quietly in a chair, eyes intense and focused. A few others like Tokoyami and Todoroki do the same, while the more excitable students try to chat away their nerves. Even though they’ve only been in UA for a few weeks, they all look so much more confident than they used to. He knows how hard each and every one of them has been training for this day.

“Midoriya-kun?” Iida asks, noticing him lingering, “Is everything alright?”

Izuku nods. He pauses, trying to find his words, before looking up with what he hopes is an encouraging smile. “There’s no point in me telling you to do your best, because I know you’re all going to do even more than that. So, I’ll just say… Good luck everyone! I’ll be cheering you on!” 

They all stare at him for a few moments. Then-

“Aww, Midoriya-kun!” 

“Thanks man!”

“Holy shit, I might cry.”

“Good luck to you too!”

With one last grin, Izuku turns around and starts jogging down the hallway. He’s never been to the stadium’s infirmary before, but Recovery Girl gave him a map of the first-years’ stage the other day, so it’s easy enough to find. His mentor is bustling about inside, trying to prepare as best as she can for the busy day ahead. 

“Recovery Girl!” He greets, walking in, “What do you need me to-”

He’s interrupted by his costume being thrown at his face. 

“Put that on and go join your classmates,” she says.

Izuku blinks. “Ehh?!?” This wasn’t part of the plan! “But-But they’re going out soon!”

“I know, and you’re going to join them,” Recovery Girl says, as if she hasn’t just dropped a huge bomb on him, “Come back here once the first game starts.” 

Izuku’s mind is whirling. “But-But-Wha?”

“Hurry up and change!” 

Startling, Izuku jumps into the other half of the room and pulls the curtain to give him some privacy. He changes in record speed, realizing that his healer costume is missing its gloves, elbow and knee pads so that he’s just left with his green-and-white jumpsuit and belt, which doesn’t carry his usual bags. It looks a bit more informal, like Recovery Girl’s outfit that she wears while working rather than what he’d wear in the field. 

He doesn’t have much time to dwell on it because soon he’s racing back down the halls towards the waiting room. He nearly slams face-first into Iida’s chest as the door swings open.

“Midoriya-kun!” Iida exclaims, grabbing him by the shoulders to steady him, “What’s wrong? We’re going out now.”

“I know,” Izuku pants, “Recovery Girl told me to join you.”

“Huh?” Murmurs of confusion ripple through his classmates. 

“But- But you’re not in uniform!” Iida sputters.

Izuku shrugs cluelessly. “I dunno, I’m as confused as you are.” Present Mic’s voice zealously yells over the speaker and he winces. “Let’s go!” 

Iida looks like he wants to protest- the lack of order must be killing a goody-two-shoes like him- but he just shakes his head and starts leading the way to the field. Izuku falls into step beside Kacchan, who gives him a reassuring nod as they step into the entrance tunnel. 

“It’s time for the students to enter the first-year stage! The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! Hero course, class 1-A!” 

The roar of the crowd is deafening. Fireworks pop and cameras flash from every angle as Izuku walks out onto the field with his classmates. He swallows heavily and glances around. He knew there would be a lot of people, but he never thought that he’d be one of the students under their eyes. 

“Th-There are so many people!” He squeaks.

Kirishima grins and nudges him. “Man, Present Mic is going overboard with that praise! I’m getting nervous! Aren’t you, Bakugou-kun?” He glances at the blond. 

“No.” Kacchan bares his teeth. “I’m just getting more into it!”

Izuku lets out a nervous laugh. “Easy there, Kacchan!”

Class 1-B gets announced after them, as well as the General Studies, Support course, and Business course. They all gather together in front of a stage where Midnight stands. She announces that it’s time for the player’s pledge and, to everyone’s surprise, calls up Kacchan to represent them.

“Wha? It’s Kacchan?” Izuku glances at Kirishima and Kaminari in confusion. 

Sero’s head pops over his shoulder, startling him. “I think it’s ‘cause he got first place in the entrance exam.”

“Yeah,” Kirishima says, “Apparently Midnight pulled him aside last week and told him to prepare a speech.”

“Huh?” Izuku’s brow furrows. “He didn’t tell me anything!”

Kaminari snickers, “He probably forgot about it.” 

Kacchan stands in front of the microphone with a neutral expression, hands in his pockets. Everyone waits with bated breath, then…

“I just wanna say… I’m gonna win.”

Izuku facepalms. 

Kacchan ignores the screeches and jeers from the crowd and walks back to stand beside Izuku. His expression doesn’t change.

“Why are they booing?” He grunts. “I’m right.” 

Izuku just sighs. “You are hopeless, Bakugou Katsuki.” 

Midnight is quick to call the attention back to her and announces that the first game will be an obstacle course race. As she begins to explain the rules, Izuku wonders when he should take his leave. It’s not like he really has a reason for being here. He should be helping Recovery Girl prepare. Why did she send him out here? In his costume, no less! He’s garnering many curious looks from the other students, most of whom recognize him as Recovery Girl’s apprentice. He tries his best to push down his growing anxiety, but the whispers behind him don’t help. 

Midnight tells everyone to take their places around a nearby gate, which probably leads to the obstacle course. Izuku mentally panics, wondering what he’s supposed to be doing here. He ends up trailing behind the large group, not wanting to get caught up in another stampede when the game begins. There are a couple of entrance tunnels sort of close to the gate, maybe he can-

“Start!” Midnight yells. 

The next thing he knows, all the students are rushing forward and pouring into the gate, leaving him standing alone. By himself in the massive field. Where everyone can see him. 

The back of his neck prickles as he shrinks underneath the numerous gazes of the crowd, feeling vulnerable and exposed as he hears confused murmurs pass through the throng of people. God, what the fuck is happening? Why didn’t Recovery Girl tell him more? This is so embarrassing- what is he supposed to do? Maybe if he just walks off like it’s natural then nobody will notice? There’s an entrance tunnel nearby, maybe he can-

“Hey, hey, hey!” Present Mic’s loud voice echoes throughout the stadium, “You may be wondering why this little guy here didn’t join them!”

Izuku jumps, eyes wide. What is going on?!?

“Well, that’s because this is Midoriya Izuku, the young apprentice of UA’s very own Recovery Girl! Word is that he’s got the best damn healing quirk anyone’s ever seen! So be sure to give this kid a cheer- he’ll be making sure our students live to fight another day after today! Ha ha ha!” 

Izuku flushes as the crowd erupts into cheers. It’s different from before, not like they’re cheering for the upcoming violence and competitive spirit. It’s more polite and encouraging, and it makes Izuku smile despite his nervousness. He gives a little wave before disappearing into one of the entrance tunnels, letting out a huge sigh of relief once he’s out of the public eye. 

Recovery Girl laughs at him when he returns to the infirmary.

“How could you do that to meeeee?!?” He cries, burying his face in his hands. The older woman just laughs and pats his back. “Why didn’t you warn me?!?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” Her eyes sparkle with mirth. “I felt bad that you’re going to be helping me the whole time while all the other first-years get to participate in the Sports Festival. So, I asked Present Mic to shine the spotlight on you briefly so you could have your moment of glory.”

Izuku’s face somehow turns even redder. “I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to simultaneously throw up, shit my pants, have a heart attack, and then just die right in front of everyone.” 

Recovery Girl dissolves into peals of high-pitched laughter and he smiles despite himself.

“Thanks, I guess,” he eventually mumbles, trying to rub the heat out of his cheeks. 

His mentor giggles for another moment before catching her breath. “Come on,” she says, still smiling, “We should pay attention to the race.” 

“Oh right,” Izuku says, “What’d I miss?”

“Todoroki-kun froze everyone.”

“Of course he did.”

They both turn towards a screen in the corner of the room showing a live broadcast of the Sports Festival. The vast majority of the students are still trapped in the tunnel, their feet frozen to the ground by Todoroki’s ice. Said boy is currently running ahead towards a group of enormous robots, the rest of class 1-A and a few others right on his heels. They all stop when they reach the robots, obviously trying to figure out a plan to get past, but Todoroki doesn’t hesitate for long. One loud crackle and a blast of ice later, the massive machines are frozen stiff. Todoroki runs between their legs, leaving the rest of the students behind him stunned. 

Recovery Girl lets out an impressed whistle. “Well, there’s something to be said about brute force…” 

She makes a couple more comments after that, but her voice fades into the background as Izuku gazes at Todoroki running on the screen. He hasn’t really spoken to the boy in a while. Not since…

One morning, five days before the Sports Festival, Izuku is walking down an empty hallway to the infirmary for his usual check-in with his mentor. He hums to himself, idly wondering what he’ll have for lunch, when a low voice reaches his ear.

“Midoriya.”

Izuku startles so badly he nearly trips. 

“T-Todoroki-kun!” He shrieks, stumbling as he whirls around to face the boy, “Oh my God, don’t scare me like that!”

Todoroki blinks slowly at him. Izuku presses a hand to his chest to ease his racing heart. “What are you doing here?” He asks, “It’s early.” 

Todoroki shifts, not quite meeting his gaze for a moment, then says, “I was injured during a training accident last night.” His voice betrays nothing, but the implication is clear. 

“Huh? Oh!” Izuku straightens up. “I was just on my way to meet with Recovery Girl. If you come with me, she’ll-”

“No!” Todoroki says sharply. Izuku jumps in surprise and even the other boy seems startled by his own outburst. Clearing his throat, he says, “No, there’s no need to bother her with this. Your quirk should be enough.”

With that said, he reaches for Izuku’s hand, but the greenette pulls back. He eyes Todoroki uncertainly, but the other boy’s face remains impassive. Something about this doesn’t feel quite right. Why wouldn’t Todoroki want to see Recovery Girl? 

“Is something wrong?” Todoroki tilts his head.

“Is there?” Izuku asks, “Why don’t you want to go to Recovery Girl?”

Todoroki gazes at him for a few seconds, then says, “Her quirk will make me tired. Yours won’t.”

“Oh.” It’s a fair point, but Izuku struggles to find a response. “Ah- um, well,” he stammers, “Can-Can I at least see your injury first?” 

Todoroki pauses, then his eyes briefly flicker down the hallway before his hands reach up to unbutton his shirt. When he exposes his shoulder, Izuku winces. A large, severe burn spreads across his skin from his collar bone to his shoulder. It looks hastily wrapped in gauze, but he can easily see the injury underneath.

He hisses between his teeth as he gently reaches to undo the gauze. “Geez, Todoroki-kun, this looks like it’s almost third-degree! How on earth did this happen?” 

Todoroki is silent for a moment. “Like I said, it was a training accident.” 

Izuku’s attention is on his burn, so he doesn’t see his expression, but he can hear how carefully blank he’s keeping his voice. He glances between Todoroki’s face and his injury. 

“Training…” He murmurs. He doesn’t recall Todoroki getting injured during PE yesterday, and it can’t be the product of his own quirk since it’s on his left side- what kind of fire quirk would burn its user?- so that only leaves…

“Were you… training at home?” He asks cautiously, “With… Endeavor? Did… Did he do this?” 

Todoroki’s jaw clenches briefly before his gaze turns to meet Izuku’s. “It was just a training accident.” Voice devoid of emotion. 

He’s lying. Izuku doesn’t know why or how, but something in his chest tells him that Todoroki is lying. He stares at the taller boy, hoping to find some hint of… something- he doesn’t know what- but Todoroki just stares back at him, eyes cold and intense. 

Izuku averts his gaze. Well, fine. If he wants to be stubborn… 

He turns his attention to the burn. “I can heal this, but once I do my quirk will probably try to heal your scar as well. It addresses fresh wounds before old ones, so if you don’t want that to happen, then just pull away as soon as your burn heals.” It’s easy to fall into a more professional tone, but his mind still races. 

“Alright.” 

Izuku gently places his hand on Todoroki’s shoulder, and as soon as his skin turns smooth again the boy pulls away. 

“Thanks,” Todoroki says, buttoning up his shirt again.

Izuku presses his lips together uncertainly. “Todoroki-kun…” He opens his mouth to say more, only he finds that he really doesn’t know what to say right now. 

Todoroki sees his escape and turns away without sparing him another glance. “See you in class.” 

Todoroki doesn’t come to him with any more burns, but the hard rock in the pit of Izuku’s stomach doesn’t disappear. 

“...oriya-kun? Midoriya-kun? Are you listening to me?”

Recovery Girl’s voice snaps him out of his stupor. “Huh?” He glances at his mentor and winces at her annoyed expression. “Sorry, sorry, what did you say?”

She huffs through her nose. “I know this is all exciting, but it’s important to stay focused today-”

“I know, I know!” He waves his hands. “I’m sorry! I just…” He sighs and shakes his head to clear his thoughts. “It won’t happen again.” 

“Good.” Recovery Girl nods. “Well, I was saying that we’re probably going to get flooded with kids after this first race, so let’s do what we did when that stampede happened. Treat them with traditional means and send the worse ones over to me.”

“What about my quirk?” He asks, “Isn’t this a good opportunity to train?”

“Yes, but I need you to save your energy for the battle tournament,” she explains, “Of course, don’t tell anyone I told you this, but it’s going to be a series of one-on-one battles. It’s like a bracket system, you know? They fight and fight until one person comes out on top. Foolish and barbaric if you ask me.” She grumbles the last part and Izuku snorts. “Anyway, the winners of each match have to go on to fight another, but they’re often injured from the previous fight. It’s always been such a pain to figure out how to deal with them because my quirk will sap them of the strength they need for their battles. But now I have you!”

His mentor smiles and rubs her forehead. “Oh, Midoriya-kun, you are a godsend right now. I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with these idiot kids throwing themselves at each other all by myself anymore.”

 Izuku knows just what to say to cheer her up. “Nedzu-san works you too hard.” 

“Yes, he does!” She cries out, then huffs good-naturedly, “Alright, come on you, let’s get to work.” 

It soon becomes clear that the obstacle race is really between Todoroki and Kacchan, the two being leagues ahead of the other students. Izuku is surprised that Iida isn’t doing as well as he thought he would, considering that it is a race, but the camera hardly focuses on the stragglers as Todoroki and Kacchan enter the minefield. He knows he needs to remain unbiased- neutral, as all healers should be- but he can’t help the little leap of excitement his heart gives when he sees Kacchan start to overtake Todoroki. They push and pull at each other, trying to slow each other down, but when the rest of the students start to catch up they break apart. Between Todoroki sliding on his ice and Kacchan propelling himself with his explosions, it’s a tight race, but Todoroki ends up winning by a hairbreadth. 

Izuku is… mildly surprised, but he doesn’t have much time to think about his undoubtedly pissed off friend before students start coming into the infirmary with injuries. After that, he hardly has time to pay attention to the festival at all, too busy looking over patients and treating what he can alongside Recovery Girl. Thanks to Todoroki, most of the injuries involve frostbite. The boy didn’t melt his ice like he did with Ojiro and Hagakure, so the prolonged exposure resulted in more damage this time. Fortunately, none of the students have any dead tissue, so it’s mostly just a process of rewarming the skin and bandaging it up in some cases. 

When he glances up at the screen again, the cavalry battle is occuring. Once again, everyone, including Present Mic, realizes that it’s really just a fight between Kacchan and Todoroki. Izuku briefly wonders how the blond’s wrists are doing- he’s never seen him use his quirk so much before. A moment later, however, his attention is drawn back to his work. They make good time going through the numerous wounded students, but a decent handful have injuries aside from frostbite, and it takes him a moment to realize that some of the students coming in are upperclassmen. He knows that the second and third years’ Sports Festivals happen at the same time, but he has no idea where they are. The first years’ stage is massive, how could they fit two more into the stadium? He brushes it off as UA just being huge and focuses on his work. 

It’s not particularly difficult, he doesn’t come across anything that he’s never dealt with before, but it’s taxing and he’s been on his feet constantly since leaving the train this morning. By the time he’s able to look at the screen again, the cavalry battle is almost over. 

He watches as Kacchan lunges towards Todoroki, who has barricaded his team in ice. The blond snarls and grabs onto his left forearm- and this must be it! Todoroki is definitely going to use his fire now! Except… he doesn’t.

Instead, he lets Kacchan yank his arm aside and grab one of his headbands, ripping it off as he flies by. Even through the screen, Izuku can see the burn that is left on Todoroki’s arm when Kacchan lets go. 

Despite his efforts, however, it seems that the wrong headband was grabbed, because Todoroki remains in first place with over ten million points. The crowd roars and cheers, but Izuku just winces. Kacchan has lost twice to Todoroki. No doubt his friend is furious. 

And he most certainly is.

Thankfully, Izuku is the only one in the infirmary when Kacchan bursts in. There are surprisingly few injuries after the cavalry battle, and those that are wounded are seen to quickly. Recovery Girl steps out for a moment to restock their supply of bandages and gauze, telling Izuku to ‘hold the fort’ before leaving. 

So, Izuku is able to give his friend his full attention as he comes stomping into the infirmary, visibly seething. 

“That Half n’ Half motherfucker!” He hisses, his red pupils mere pinpricks, “That’s the last time he’ll make a fool out of me! I’m not gonna fuck around anymore!” 

Unperturbed, Izuku simply asks, “Are you injured?” 

Kacchan grits his teeth and shoves his forearms towards him. “I would’ve blasted him outta the ring at the end there,” he growls, “But my wrists were fucking killing me.” 

“I suppose there wouldn’t be any point in telling you to take it easy,” Izuku sighs, gently placing his hands on his wrists and letting his energy flow. Recovery Girl hasn’t told him to start using his quirk yet, but he assumes that it’s okay since Kacchan is going to be fighting in the battle tournament. “But at least be careful.” 

Now rejuvenated, Kacchan testingly rolls his wrists and bares his teeth in a grin. “I’m gonna wipe the floor with his ass!” 

“Kacchan,” Izuku huffs.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be careful too.” Kacchan rolls his eyes. “C’mon, the lunch break just started. Let’s go eat, I’m fucking starving!”

“Oh, uh…” Izuku glances around the empty infirmary. “I don’t know if it would be such a good idea for me to leave…”

“What, you don’t get a lunch break?” Kacchan scowls. “Don’t act like you’re not hungry. Doesn’t your quirk work better if you’re full?” 

“Lemme just wait for Recovery Girl to get back,” Izuku says, “She shouldn’t take long, but why don’t you go ahead and get in line for us? I’ll join you soon.” 

Kacchan looks like he might argue, but then his own stomach lets out an audible growl. “Fine.” 

As soon as he’s gone, Izuku flops down in the nearest chair with a heavy sigh. His feet ache, and even though he hasn’t used his quirk that much yet, he feels like he could go for a nice long nap. He’s about to close his eyes just to rest for a little bit when a knock on the door startles him. 

It can’t be Recovery Girl, she would have just walked in, so it must be another injured student. Stifling a sigh, Izuku drags himself to his feet and opens the door.

“Todoroki-kun!”

Said boy seems slightly surprised to see him. “I thought you’d be at lunch.” 

Izuku shakes his head and steps aside to let him in. “Recovery Girl stepped out for a minute, so I was waiting for her to get back first…” He trails off when his eyes land on the burn on Todoroki’s left forearm. He grimaces. “Man, Kacchan really doesn’t know how to hold back.”

“Why would he?” Todoroki asks as Izuku leads him to sit on one of the beds. The greenette doesn’t respond, instead looking over the boy for any other injuries. He has a few other burns from Kacchan that he must’ve gotten while they were scuffling during the obstacle race. Like with Uraraka, Todoroki’s uniform has been seared into his skin in some places. 

Izuku makes a disgruntled noise and walks over to one of the drawers. “I’ll have to remove the burned cloth from your wounds before I can heal them,” he says, grabbing some tweezers and scissors, “But it shouldn’t take too long.” 

Todoroki nods but doesn’t respond. Izuku quietly gets to work on the burn on his shoulder. The same shoulder that had been burned just about the same last week. 

Izuku presses his lips into a thin line. He doesn’t really know what to think about… all this. Everything involving Todoroki. There’s too many confusing hints, too many questions that he doesn’t have the answers to, but at the same time he’s afraid of what those answers might be. 

He glances at his burned arm. 

“You know,” he murmurs softly, “If you had used your fire-”

“I won’t use my fire,” Todoroki interrupts, not looking at him.

Izuku hesitates, then, “It would have been to your advantage…” 

“I don’t care.” His voice is cold. “I’ll win without using my left side.” 

He sounds so resolute, like he’d decided this a long time ago. It’s confusing, and it only makes the hard ball in the pit of Izuku’s stomach get even heavier. There’s just something about the way that Todoroki speaks, so meticulously devoid of any emotion, like he’s trying to hide something. Or protect himself. 

Still treading carefully, Izuku says, “You… don’t seem to be very fond of fire.” It’s more of a comment than anything, an idle musing while he plucks bits of charred fabric out of the burn. 

Todoroki remains quiet.

Izuku swallows. “Does… Does that have anything to do with Endeavor?”   

A long, tense silence follows. Slowly, Todoroki’s face turns towards him. Izuku keeps his eyes on the burn, but his hands aren’t moving. He’s too nervous to do anything but wait for the response, trying not to suffocate under the rising tension. 

Finally, “Midoriya-”

“I just notice things, you know!” Izuku blurts out, completely interrupting him, “It’s just- I don’t even know you that well, but whenever you’ve mentioned training with your father or not using your fire I just- you never seem… happy about it, you know? Not that you have to be thrilled or anything!” He’s rambling now. “But I just started thinking- I couldn’t help but wonder, especially with your scar and then when you came to me with that burn, I just- I just-”

“Midoriya,” Todoroki tries to interject. 

“I don’t want to make assumptions, you know? But everything that I’ve seen from you kind of looks a certain way and I can’t help but worry-”

“Midoriya.” 

“And I know it’s absolutely none of my business anyway!” Izuku waves his hands frantically. “I’m totally being rude here, but I…” He trails off, struggling to find his words. All he can think about is the burn that was on Todoroki’s shoulder, how painful it looked and how he lied- he lied, Izuku knows he did, but what can he do?

The helpless feeling that he hates with a passion returns, frustration burning his throat. 

“I… I’m a healer, Todoroki-kun,” he whispers, head bowed, “I want to help people. I want to save people, but I can’t. All I can do is heal them after they’ve been hurt.” He takes in a deep, shuddering breath and looks up at Todoroki with a weak smile. “But I’ve always wanted to be a hero. I hate not being able to stop people from getting hurt. So, please, Todoroki-kun… I don’t know what’s going on, but if there’s anything I can do to help you…” 

Todoroki stares at him for a few moments, eyes slightly widened. Then, he blinks and his face becomes impassive once more. “There isn’t.” 

Izuku swallows and tries to stifle his disappointment. “Oh,” he whispers. 

Todoroki looks like he might say something else, but when he doesn’t, Izuku wordlessly averts his gaze, turning his attention back to his injured shoulder. He dutifully picks the bits of fabric out of the burn, ignoring the pair of mismatched eyes that stare at his face as he works. There are only a couple of other burns that need his attention, smaller ones that he cleans fairly quickly. Then, he leans back and starts to take off his gloves.

Todoroki’s hand shoots out. He catches him by the wrist, just below his palm, carefully avoiding the bare skin below his glove. Izuku startles and looks up at Todoroki to see him staring at him. 

“T-Todoroki-kun?”

The taller boy slowly slides off the bed, making the greenette take a step back as he stands in front of him. Izuku pales as Todoroki gazes down at him, something unreadable in his eyes. 

“I don’t need you to save me,” he says. Izuku blinks. Todoroki presses his lips in a thin line and tries again. “I mean… It’s nothing I can’t handle on my own, so don’t worry about it.” 

Unwittingly, Izuku’s eyes flicker over to his shoulder, then back to his face. A soft sigh passes through Todoroki’s nose. He seems to be considering something.

“To… Todoroki-kun…”

“I’m sure you know,” the other boy says, “that Endeavor has been stuck as the number two hero forever. My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world. As a hero, he won a name for himself with crushing force. Because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore to him. Since he couldn’t surpass All Might, he moved on to his next plan. You’ve heard of quirk marriages, right?” 

Izuku is a bit taken aback by the turn of the conversation, but he doesn’t want to risk saying anything that might make Todoroki stop. He has a feeling this is finally going to clear up everything he’s been wondering about. 

Todoroki continues, “That thing became a problem for the second and third generation after superpowers appeared. Choosing a spouse based only on strengthening your own quirk and passing it on to your children, forcing people into marriage.” His eyes narrow. “The old fashioned way of thinking is brought about by a lack of ethics. He is a man with both accomplishments and money. He won over my mother’s relatives and got a hold of her quirk. He is trying to fulfill his own desire by raising me to be a hero to surpass All Might.”

Izuku’s breath hitches. Todoroki isn’t even looking at him anymore; instead, he’s scowling at the ground. “It’s so annoying,” he hisses through gritted teeth, “I won’t become the tool of scum like that. In my memories, my mother is always crying. She told me my left side was unsightly as she poured boiling water on me.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen as Todoroki raises his hand to cover his scar. He feels like he can’t breath. That scar… he knew it wasn’t from fire, but… his own mother … 

Todoroki’s voice brings him out of his thoughts. “I will reject him completely by winning first place without using my damn old man’s quirk.” His hand drops and he fixes Izuku with a determined look. "So, no. I do not need to be saved. I have a plan, and it will work.” 

He looks so stubborn and resolute that Izuku almost believes him. 

“Todoroki-kun…” 

The door slides open. “Sorry about the wait, Midoriya-kun!” Recovery Girl chirps as she walks in, her arms full of bandages and gauze. Izuku takes a step back and Todoroki lets go of his wrist, as if he didn’t realize he was still holding on to it. 

“Oh, hello, Todoroki-kun.” Recovery Girl notices the boy. “You’ve done very well so far. Is everything alright?” She directs the question to Izuku, frowning at the burns on Todoroki.

Izuku straightens up, trying to recollect his whirling mind. “Oh, yes. I just had to remove some pieces of cloth that were seared into his skin.” He turns back to Todoroki, taking off his glove. “I… I can heal it now.” 

“Remember to focus on the flow,” his mentor reminds him as he places his hand on the burn. 

He tries to concentrate, he really does, but Todoroki just dropped a huge bombshell on him. Endeavor is… really that awful? The number two hero… 

Izuku remembers a time before his quirk manifested when he was interested in the Flame Hero. He wanted someone to look up to in case he inherited his father’s fire-breathing quirk. But even though he never seemed too friendly on the news or even during the recommendation exam, Izuku never would have thought… Endeavor is supposed to be a hero, how could he do something so horrible?!? 

Like before, Todoroki pulls away from his touch before he can heal his scar. 

“Thanks,” he mutters, already turning away. 

Before he can leave, however, Recovery Girl calls out, “Oh, Todoroki-kun, why don’t you take Midoriya-kun with you to lunch? You both need to eat well before the final event.” 

Todoroki pauses at the door and Izuku hastily trots after him, saying goodbye to his mentor as he leaves. They walk down the hallway in silence. Pretty much everyone is busy getting lunch, so it’s mostly empty. 

Izuku casts a glance at Todoroki, but the taller boy isn’t looking at him. There’s still something that he didn’t quite confirm… although, from the way he talked about Endeavor, it’s fairly obvious.

Despite Todoroki’s odd attempt at reassurance, Izuku still feels a flare of protectiveness in his chest. “If… If he tries to hurt you again…”

“He won’t,” Todoroki says, “He knows better than to leave a mark on me when I have school the next day.” A pause. His lips press together. “Usually.” 

Todoroki’s words don’t bring Izuku any ease. Instead, his stomach churns even more. He glances at Todoroki’s healed forearm. Something tugs at his heart. 

They part ways during lunch. Kacchan has already gotten both of their meals when he meets him. The blond loudly complains about how long he took to get there, but Izuku can’t find it in himself to say much in response. Kacchan casts him a couple of odd, quizzical glances as they eat with their friends, no doubt noticing his sudden lack of enthusiasm. Not wanting to worry his friend, Izuku plasters on a smile and forces himself to eat, despite the fact that he actually feels quite nauseous. 

There isn’t much to do when he goes back to the infirmary, so he just idly watches the broadcast of the Sports Festival. Midnight announces what the final round of the competition will be, and Ojiro surprises everyone by withdrawing along with a boy from class 1-B. Izuku tries to pay attention, but all he can think about is what Todoroki told him. The ache in his chest grows bigger.

What does he do now? One of his classmates is being… being abused by his father! A pro hero! This is really serious- should he tell an adult? He isn’t sure if they’d believe him without proof, but he is a healer… or, at least, he’s going to be. He wonders if doctor-patient confidentiality applies to his case too. 

But if he did tell someone… Todoroki might not ever forgive him. He probably wouldn’t have told Izuku his secret if he didn’t have some level of trust in him- he doesn’t want to betray that. It might even just make things worse; Endeavor is an immensely powerful man, not just physically, but socially too. If it came to a legal battle, there’s no way he’d go down easy. And Todoroki would be the one having to deal with the repercussions. 

Swallowing past the hard lump in his throat, Izuku looks down at his lap. He needs to ease his mind somehow. He needs… he needs…

He takes out his phone. 

(Midoriya 1:15PM) -Hi

(Toshinori 1:15PM) -Hello, Young Midoriya! How are things on your end?

(Midoriya 1:16PM) -Fine. Bit of a lull right now. Where are you?

(Toshinori 1:16PM) -I’m at the third-years’ stage in the teachers’ booth. Why?

Izuku briefly wonders why All Might is watching the third years instead of the first, but saves the question for later.

(Midoriya 1:17PM) -Can I ask you a question?

(Toshinori 1:17PM) -Of course.

Izuku stares down at his phone. He starts typing a response, then almost immediately deletes it. How does he ask this? After a few more typed and deleted responses, he finally hits send. 

(Midoriya 1:20PM) -Can I call you?

(Toshinori 1:24PM) -Yes.

“Can I go to the bathroom?” 

Recovery Girl glances up in surprise. “You don’t have to ask me,” she replies, “But the recreational games are going to be over soon, so don’t take too long.” 

Izuku nods and tries not to rush out of the infirmary too quickly. Instead of heading towards the bathroom, he finds himself an empty hallway and presses the call button. 

“Young Midoriya?” All Might’s voice sounds a little breathless, as if he also hurried to find a quiet spot. “Is everything alright? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Izuku sighs, leaning against the wall. He winces. “Actually… maybe not so much…”

“Are you hurt? Where are you? I’ll come-”

“No, no, it’s okay! I’m not hurt, I just-” He cuts himself off with a rough exhale, struggling to find his words as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “All Might… I… What would you do if… if you knew someone was in trouble, but they didn’t want your help?”

“Er- Young Midoriya?” All Might sounds bewildered.

“If… if you know you shouldn’t meddle because… because it’s none of your business, and it might make things worse anyway…” Izuku lets out a heavy sigh, “But-But you can’t just sit back and do nothing, you know?” 

All Might is quiet for a long time. Izuku knows that he’s probably confused the man, but he can’t think of another way to ask. 

After a few beats of silence, All Might says, “I… I think I would just do what my heart tells me is right. I’ve always believed that meddling when you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero.” 

Somehow, the words make Izuku’s chest feel just a bit lighter. His mind is still in turmoil, but now… he knows he should do something. He has to do something. He doesn’t know what yet, but the resolve is enough to steady him.

“Thanks, All Might.” He smiles softly even though the man can’t see him. 

“...Are you sure you’re okay?” All Might asks, “I’m assuming those questions weren’t rhetorical.”

“No, but you helped.” He hears a particularly loud cheer come from outside. “I think I should go now. Will I see you later?”

“I don’t know. I’ll text you if I can’t stop by.” 

“Okay. Bye.” Izuku hangs up and walks back to the infirmary.

Chapter Text

The first match of the battle tournament is between Asui and the purple-haired boy from General Studies, whose name is apparently Shinsou Hitoshi. He’s curious as to what his quirk is, but he doesn’t get to see it because as soon as the match starts, Asui flicks out her tongue and wraps it around Shinsou’s waist, flinging him out-of-bounds. It’s an awfully swift defeat, and Izuku spares a wince of pity for the other boy as he claps for his classmate. Shinsou seemed so determined to get into the hero course, it’s kind of unfortunate that he got taken down so easily. But perhaps it was just a bad match-up.

‘Or,’ Izuku reconsiders as he watches Asui turn away without a single ounce of remorse on her face, ‘Perhaps he shouldn’t have pissed off class 1-A.’

The next match has the crowd roaring with excitement. It’s only natural; Todoroki has taken first place in the preliminary events. He’d probably make Sports Festival history if he won in all three competitions. 

Izuku feels a little bad for Sero. Despite being friends with the boy, Todoroki is the most powerful student in class 1-A for a reason. Hopefully, the fight won’t be as short as the last one-

“Start!”

-Actually, it turns out to be even shorter. 

The crowd is dead quiet. A massive glacier stands in the middle of the arena, jagged spikes jutting over the top of the stadium. It groans under its own weight, and even in the infirmary Izuku can feel how cold the air has suddenly gotten. Everyone, including Izuku, stares in awe at the evidence of Todoroki’s sheer power. 

 At the very bottom of the glacier, Sero stands nearly completely frozen in ice.

“Don’t… don’t you think that’s a bit much?” His voice is tiny over the TV screen. 

Recovery Girl lets out a whoosh of air. “I’ll repeat myself: There is something to be said about brute force…” Even she sounds impressed. Then, she huffs, “But this boy is giving us an awful lot of frostbite to deal with.” 

Izuku doesn’t respond, too busy watching as Todoroki moves towards Sero the moment his victory is announced. The boy stands under the eyes of the crowd shouting condolences for his defeated opponent, melting what he had frozen himself with his left hand. There’s no triumph in his posture, however. No… even though Izuku can’t see his face, something about Todoroki seems very sad to him. 

“Ah, well,” Recovery Girl tsks a few moments later, catching his attention once more, “I’ll go ahead and see to that poor boy. Stay here in case anyone comes by, you know the drill.” 

Izuku nods, noticing that Sero is looking a little stiff as he’s finally freed from his icy prison. Once the glacier is melted, Present Mic announces a brief hiatus while the stage dries off. Izuku turns away from the screen, frowning. 

That was certainly an… impressive display of power from Todoroki. Unnecessary, though. He could’ve defeated Sero with a much smaller attack, so what prompted him to… to show off like that? 

He gets his answer when Todoroki walks through the door again a few minutes later, this time without knocking. He’s glaring at the ground and his jaw is clenched, but he looks up when he sees Izuku. The freckled boy pauses, taking him in. A thin layer of frost coats his right side, spanning across his skin and creeping onto his cheek. Looking closer, Izuku also realizes that he’s shivering ever so slightly. 

Todoroki doesn’t seem like he’s going to move any closer, so Izuku gets up and slowly approaches him. Mismatched eyes watch him for a moment, then drop.

“Saw my old man before the match,” he says quietly as Izuku comes to stand in front of him, “Told me to stop being childish and to focus on surpassing All Might.” 

Izuku gazes at him, then looks at his nearly-frozen right side. He can’t see his skin, but he has no doubt that there’s frostbite. His hand reaches for his arm, but the layer of ice prevents him from making skin contact. 

He hesitates. “Todoroki-kun… you need to unfreeze yourself.” 

Todoroki acts like he doesn’t hear him. His fist clenches. 

“I got angry,” he hisses through clenched teeth. His gaze is still averted.

“Todoroki-kun,” Izuku says, gently putting a hand on his shoulder to make him look at him, “You’re going to hurt yourself. I need you to warm yourself up.” 

Todoroki inhales shakily through his nose, and when he exhales, a cold puff of air brushes Izuku’s curls. He’s never seen his classmate look so... ruffled before. It doesn’t show on his face, but he can see the swirling turmoil of emotions in his eyes. 

He seems… lonely. So terribly, miserably lonely, and maybe that’s why he told Izuku about his past. Maybe that’s why he’s come to him now, because he’s the only one who knows. Because he just needed someone to understand. It must be so horribly isolating to have to go through what Todoroki has gone through all on his own. He always seems so stoic, but maybe… maybe he just needs a friend.

Todoroki stares at him for a few moments, slowly breathing in and out. Gradually, the ice on his body starts to melt away, revealing red, irritated skin. It’s not as bad as Izuku thought it would be, but he reaches out to heal it anyways. Todoroki steps back after a second. 

Neither of them speak right away. Todoroki’s eyes are still troubled, switching back and forth between quiet distress and cold fury. Izuku takes a deep, steadying breath. Then-

“I… I’m sorry about… everything that happened to you,” he says, keeping his voice soft, “But... I still think you should use your fire.” 

Todoroki’s jaw clenches. “Weren’t you listening to what I said? I don’t need his power to win. I refuse to let myself be controlled by him.”

“But you are,” Izuku insists. He has no idea what he’s doing, but All Might told him to do what his heart tells him, so he’s going to listen. Even if it’s not what Todoroki wants to hear. “You are letting yourself be controlled by him. You’re… You’re letting him hold you back. This hatred you hold for him is only going to hurt you.” 

“It’s not that simple.” Todoroki glowers. 

“I know it’s not. I know there’s a lot more to it, and I know there’s probably a lot I still don’t know about,” Izuku admits, “I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand what you’ve gone through, but… You’re letting him become a weakness. If you keep this up, if you keep ignoring this other half of you, all you’re going to do is hurt yourself. You know you’re susceptible to frostbite, you need the heat to negate the effects. You could be so much stronger if you just-”

“Don’t!” Todoroki suddenly snaps, pulling away, “Don’t say that. Don’t sound like him.” 

Izuku pauses, holding up his hands placatingly. Todoroki watches him with narrowed eyes for a tense moment, but it doesn’t seem like he’s about to run away. 

Slowly, carefully, Izuku continues, “I’m just going to say this… everyone out there is giving it their best. To… to ignore half of yourself, to only fight with half of your power- it’s incredibly disrespectful to your peers. Everyone has worked so hard to get to this point; how do you think it would feel if someone beat you with one of their hands tied behind their back?” 

Todoroki’s eyes flash, but he says nothing. 

Izuku takes a deep breath. “I get that you want to spite your father by winning the Sports Festival without your fire, but how far will that take you? How far will spite and anger take you? Will you be a hero fueled by those negative emotions? Because let me tell you something Todoroki-kun, if that’s the case, then you’re going to become just like your father.”

It’s harsh, and Izuku hates saying it, but it’s necessary. Todoroki inhales sharply and for a moment, a brief flash of anger passes over his face. He opens his mouth to retort, or yell, or curse, but nothing comes out. He just keeps staring at Izuku with wide, unreadable eyes. 

He needs to end this. “I know you hate your father, Todoroki-kun,” Izuku whispers, “But you shouldn’t hate your quirk too.”

Todoroki’s breath hitches. “It’s not-” He stutters, “I… his power- I won’t-” 

That catches Izuku’s attention.

“It’s not his power,” he says firmly, “It’s yours, isn’t it? That’s why your body aches for the heat it knows is there. That’s why denying this half of yourself will only get you hurt, will only make you weak.” He gives him a weak, sad smile. “And that is how Endeavor is still controlling you.” 

 Silence follows his words. 

Todoroki stares at him, his face going slack. He’s completely still, not moving a single inch as he stays rooted to the spot, his eyes never leaving Izuku’s for a second. He looks… God, Izuku can’t even describe the expression on his face. But it doesn’t matter, because in the next moment he lets out a slow, shaky exhale, as if he’d been holding his breath for minutes. As the air escapes his lips, steam starts rising off the left side of his body.

Izuku smiles. “You can do it,” he says softly. 

Todoroki’s throat clicks as he swallows. Then, a small flame flickers to life on his left forearm, soon joined by another, then another, until a thin line of flames is dancing along his arm, curling around his shoulder and flitting between his fingers. 

Another shuddering sigh. His hand clenches. The flames go out.

“I… I can’t-” His voice rasps and he coughs slightly to clear it. “I can’t control it.”

“That’s fine,” Izuku says, “You’ll learn. Like we all do.” 

Holding his gaze, Todoroki slowly nods. He still looks uncertain, but it’s enough. 

Not much is said between them after that. They kind of just stand there for a while, Izuku waiting patiently as Todoroki works through whatever thoughts and emotions he’s battling with now. His brows are furrowed as he looks at the ground, but he occasionally glances back up at Izuku, expression unreadable. 

Soon, the familiar pitter-patter of Recovery Girl’s footsteps approaches from the hall, dragging them both out of their reverie. The door slides open and his mentor startles when she sees them both standing there. Before she can say anything, however, Todoroki bows his head politely and steps past her. 

He glances back at Izuku one last time before the door closes, and when their eyes meet, he can hear Todoroki’s wordless response clearly.

‘Thank you.’

The fight between Kacchan and Uraraka is brutal to watch. Not because of the merciless explosions the blond sends her way, but because, despite the obvious, immense differences in their strength, Uraraka still gets so close to winning. No matter how many times she gets blasted across the arena, she gets right back up and tries even harder. She comes up with a brilliant plan, one that takes the whole audience by surprise, but it’s all for naught. Kacchan is too strong, too clever, and he burns her plan to smithereens and fights until she collapses. 

Izuku is grateful that Aizawa defended Kacchan the way he did. He knows his friend better than anyone, and when the crowd started accusing him of being cruel, his heart sank to his stomach. But Aizawa made everyone realize that all Kacchan was doing was acknowledging the strength of his opponent and doing what he had to in order to come out on top. 

Izuku wonders when Aizawa got to know Kacchan so well. 

Recovery Girl stays true to her word and doesn’t allow him to heal Uraraka since she lost. She heals the worst of Uraraka’s wounds with her quirk, leaving her only with a few scratches that Izuku cleans and bandages. He manages to convince his mentor to let him escort her back to the stands, but once they leave, Uraraka insists on going to one of the waiting rooms instead. 

“You really don’t have to come with me,” she says, smiling reassuringly, “I feel fine now, just a little tired from Recovery Girl’s quirk.” 

“I just wanna make sure you get there all right. It’s the least I could do.” He rubs the back of his neck uncertainly. “I… I feel a little bad. I know Kacchan can be rough, but-”

“I’m glad he didn’t hold back,” Uraraka interrupts, sounding surprisingly unbothered, “Even though losing sucks, I think I would’ve felt even worse if he had let me win. At least I know that he was taking me seriously.”

“Oh.” He blinks, taken aback. “That’s… That’s really mature, Uraraka-san.” He smiles at her. 

She returns his smile, then bares her teeth in determination. “You better tell your precious ‘Kacchan’ that I’m going to kick his ass next time!”

Izuku lets out a surprised laugh. Uraraka laughs too, dispelling any worries that might have weighed at his heart. He wonders why he doesn’t hang out with her more often- she’s so cool. 

He escorts her to one of the waiting rooms and leaves when she tells him that she’s going to call her father. A particularly loud cheer from the arena lets him know that Kirishima and Tetsutetsu’s match must’ve ended, so he hurries to get back to the infirmary. 

Before he can even get close though, Endeavor suddenly appears out of nowhere, stepping into the corridor. Izuku just barely manages to stop himself from colliding with the man. Squeaking in surprise, he stumbles backwards as Endeavor’s gaze turns to him.

“Oh. It’s you,” he rumbles in a low voice. 

Izuku gulps and tries not to cower. The Flame Hero is surrounded in such an intense aura that Izuku feels like he could suffocate if he gets too close. The fact that he’s massive doesn’t help either. 

He hasn’t seen Endeavor since the recommendation exam. Recalling the hostility he faced makes Izuku’s stomach churn with anxiety. Recovery Girl’s scolding no doubt wounded Endeavor’s pride, but surely he wouldn’t be so outwardly aggressive towards Izuku now? It was just a misunderstanding, a mistake on the hero’s part for making assumptions. 

Judging by Endeavor’s expression as he gazes down at him now, he can tell that the older man doesn’t quite know what to make of him. 

Izuku, on the other hand, knows exactly how he feels about Endeavor now that he knows the truth from Todoroki. He has more than a few choice words to throw in his face- if only he could get past his nerves…

“You healed my son after the cavalry battle, didn’t you?” Endeavor eyes him up and down. Izuku gulps, nodding. He gets the feeling that the man is rather unimpressed. “Thank you for that. However, it was foolish of him to get injured in the first place. It was easily avoidable too.” He growls, seemingly to himself, then says, “If he gets hurt by that Bakugou boy again, don’t heal him.”

Izuku stiffens. “Er…” He stammers, “Healing is… kind of my job…”

“He needs to learn his lesson,” Endeavor insists, “My Shouto should be strong enough to avoid getting injuries.” 

Izuku’s jaw clenches. ‘My Shouto’, he said, as if Todoroki is some sort of possession. It ignites a familiar feeling in Izuku’s chest, one that’s both indignant and desperate for freedom at the same time.  

“I’m going to become the best damn hero this world has ever seen, and you’re going to become the best damn healer. And you are going to be mine.”

Ah. That’s why this is familiar. 

“Yeah, alright, sure,” Izuku huffs sarcastically, “But when Recovery Girl gets pissed off, I’m sending her to you.” 

Endeavor raises a brow. “I see her attitude has already rubbed off on you.” He lifts his chin and haughtily gazes down at him. “Forgive me for asking, but what exactly is your relationship with our beloved Symbol of Peace?” 

Izuku blinks in surprise. “Huh?” 

Endeavor narrows his eyes. “I’ve been trying to figure you out ever since the recommendation exam. I can’t imagine why someone like All Might would go out of his way to sponsor someone who won’t even be a real hero.” 

Now THAT pisses Izuku off. Straightening up, he glares at Endeavor and says, “Well, perhaps All Might simply wanted to help me out because he’s smart enough to recognize the importance of healers, especially to hero schools like UA.” His tone drips with false politeness.

“I didn’t mean to imply that they’re not important,” Endeavor growls lowly, “But their place certainly isn’t within the ranks of future heroes as if they’re equals. I don’t understand why All Might would waste his precious time in the first place.” 

Izuku has to repeatedly remind himself that punching a pro hero would not be a wise idea. He knows what Endeavor is looking for. He wants to know how the number one hero happened to meet some kid with a healing quirk, and why he was impressed enough to help him get into one of the best hero schools in Japan. But he can’t say that he healed All Might, he can’t expose a weakness as great as that, especially not to someone like Endeavor. 

He needs to get out of this situation. 

“I don’t think All Might saw it that way,” he says simply, trying to keep his voice steady, “But speaking of time, I’m currently wasting mine. So, if you’ll excuse me…”

He averts his gaze and tries to move past, but Endeavor stretches an arm out to stop him. He doesn’t touch him, just blocks his path with a large hand. Izuku can feel the heat radiating off it as he turns to look at Endeavor.

The Flame Hero’s gaze is piercing, his face showing the barest hints of a snarl as he glares down at the boy. “Why you?” He hisses, looking as if he’s struggling to solve a particularly difficult puzzle, “What’s so special about you?” 

Izuku’s heart threatens to jump out of his throat, but he swallows it down and smiles sweetly up at Endeavor. “There’s nothing special about me, Endeavor,” he says softly, “I’m just a kid with a healing quirk.” 

Endeavor is silent for a few long moments. Holding his fiery gaze is just about the hardest thing Izuku has ever done, but he manages it until Endeavor finally lowers his hand, letting him walk away. Izuku still feels his eyes drilling holes into the back of his head as he leaves. 

As soon as he’s alone, he leans against a wall and lets out a huge sigh of relief, pressing a hand to his chest to steady his racing heart. He didn’t realize it earlier, but his whole body is trembling faintly. He gives himself a few moments to calm down, then continues on to the infirmary. He really has been gone too long.

“You know, you two didn’t have to come with her,” Recovery Girl says as soon as Izuku steps into the room. He’s surprised to see Mirio and Amajiki standing together, supporting a girl between them that looks like she’s about to pass out. “I’m sure you have your own matches to prepare for.” 

“Nonsense!” Mirio chirps, “Friends always come first! We stick together!” He spots Izuku and grins brightly. “My little kouhai! There you are!” 

“You certainly took your time,” Recovery Girl says, clearly miffed. 

Izuku winces. “Sorry, I got held up.” He eyes the girl worriedly. “What’s wrong?” 

She raises her head tiredly and gives him a weak smile, but Mirio speaks before she can. “This is our friend Hado Nejire! She just kicked butt in her last match, but she overused her quirk and now she’s super sleepy!” 

“Normally, I can’t do anything about this one,” Recovery Girl says, “Her quirk is very similar to yours in that it relies on her utilizing her own stamina. And just like you, when she overuses it-”

“She exhausts herself,” Izuku finishes. His mentor nods. 

“Of course, using my quirk on her would only make things worse,” she says, “But now we have you.” 

Mirio tilts his head curiously. “Your quirk uses your stamina too?” 

Izuku nods. “Yeah. It’s like… like a transfer of energy. I give people my own energy and it helps heal them.” He looks at Hado. “I’ve never tried giving any to someone that isn’t injured, but I’ll try…” 

Mirio and Amajiki watch as Izuku gently places a hand on Hado’s forehead. As soon as his quirk activates, he takes note of the girl’s own energy. It isn’t swirling around any particular point, like it would with a wound, but it definitely feels weak. Almost like how All Might’s missing organs felt, except that there isn’t a complete absence of energy, just a lack of it. As usual, he tries his best to control the flow of his own energy as it leaves his body, but it escapes him before he can even fully grasp it. 

Hado perks up as soon as he pulls his hand away. 

“Wow!” She exclaims, “I feel so much better! Even better than I did this morning! Thanks, Midoriya-kun!”

He smiles. “You’re welcome.”

“Or Midoriya-chan? Mido-chan? Can I call you that?” She gasps, eyes widening, “Can I call you kouhai?!? No fair that Togata-kun gets a kouhai and I don’t!” Her cheeks puff up as she pouts. A second later, she smiles again and squeals, “Oh, you’re just so adorable! I love your hair!”

Izuku flushes as she squeezes his cheeks and continues to chat away. She really likes to talk a lot. He almost regrets replenishing her energy. Still, he’d take her over Endeavor anyday. 

“Er, did you all make it to the final event?” He manages to ask while Hado is taking a breath between sentences. 

“Yup!” Mirio puffs up his chest proudly. “It’s the first time either of us have made it this far!”

“I hate all the attention,” Amajiki whispers, eyes fixed on the ground. 

Izuku frowns in concern, noticing the slight quiver in the taller boy’s frame. As a fellow sufferer of anxiety, he sympathizes. He places a hand on Amajiki’s shoulder, causing him to look up in surprise, and gives him the kindest smile he can offer. “Don’t worry, Amajiki-san. I don’t like the spotlight either- it makes me nervous- but you shouldn’t let it get to your head. I’m sure you’ll do great.” 

Amajiki stares at him, wide-eyed. Then, his face slowly starts turning red. A second later, he suddenly jumps behind Mirio and buries his face in the boy’s back, a deep flush still visible on the tips of his pointy ears.

Izuku pulls away and glances at the other two upperclassmen in confusion. “Uh… did I say something wrong…?” 

Mirio only answers by bursting out into laughter while Hado rolls her eyes. 

“Alright, alright,” Recovery Girl interrupts, making a shooing motion with her hands, “If you’re all fine and dandy now then you can leave. We have work to do.”

“Right, sorry, Recovery Girl,” Mirio apologizes, still smiling. He wraps a beefy arm around each of his friends’ shoulders and leads them to the door. “See ya later, kouhai!”

“Bye, senpai!” Izuku giggles.

“Hey!” Hado protests, twisting around to look at Izuku as she’s dragged out the door, “You come eat with us at lunch sometime, alright Mido-chan?”

“Uh…” Thankfully, Izuku is saved from answering by the door closing behind them. Silence fills the infirmary, only broken by the cheers from the TV. 

Recovery Girl sighs, “How are you feeling?”

Izuku blinks and takes note of himself. “Oh. Actually, I’m a lot more tired than before. Not exhausted or anything, but I guess Hado-san needed a lot of energy to replace.” 

“Well, sit down for a bit, then,” Recovery Girl says, nodding at his chair, “I need you to last until the final round. From the way things are going…” She glances at the TV and Izuku follows her gaze. “The fight between Todoroki-kun and Bakugou-kun is going to end in blood.” 

On the screen, Izuku can see the fight between Todoroki and Asui. The frog-like girl is agile enough to avoid Todoroki’s attacks, but when she tries to grab him with her tongue, he blocks with a wall of ice. It’s two long-distance fighters against each other. Eventually, however, the chilled temperature of the air begins to affect Asui and she slows down long enough for Todoroki to trap her in a slab of ice, securing his victory.

He doesn’t use his fire once. 

Izuku presses his lips together and looks away. “I want to ask how Hado-san uses her quirk in battle,” he says instead, “I know our quirks must work differently, at least in regards to output, but surely she must have more control over hers than I do. Maybe she can give me some ideas on how I can control mine...” 

Recovery Girl hums in thought. “It’s not a bad idea. You can take her up on that offer to eat lunch with them.” 

Izuku’s face heats up. Just the thought of eating lunch with upperclassmen makes him nervous. He never thought he’d be making friends with third-years when he came to UA. 

Asui ends up being carried to the infirmary, fast asleep. Apparently, due to her frog-like nature, when she’s exposed to extremely cold temperatures she goes into hibernation. Recovery Girl expertly swaddles her in a heated blanket and lets her nap on a bed while Izuku watches the fight between Iida and a girl with a vine quirk from class 1-B.

The next few matches go fairly quickly. The fight between Kirishima and Kacchan is particularly interesting to watch- Izuku’s never seen someone who’s able to withstand his friend’s explosions for so long before. However, despite Kirishima’s brawn, Kacchan is clever and wins in the end with a round of searing explosions. As soon as the redhead collapses, Recovery Girl sighs and prepares to deal with more burns. 

To their surprise, Kacchan is the one to bring Kirishima to the infirmary while Iida and Todoroki fight. It’s probably because he just wanted to get the gash on his cheek treated, but Izuku doesn’t miss the way he glances at Kirishima as the other boy is being treated by Recovery Girl. Izuku arches a brow questioningly when the blond looks back at him.

Kacchan pauses, then grunts, “Not bad.”

Izuku gives him a shit-eating grin. 

To no one’s surprise, the final round ends up being between Kacchan and Todoroki. Izuku takes a seat and watches the screen with bated breath. As much as he loves his best friend, he can’t help mentally rooting for Todoroki a little bit. He knows that if Kacchan loses to the other boy one more time, he’ll be insanely furious. But… if Todoroki is going to use his fire against anyone, it would be Kacchan. Only he is strong enough to force it out of him. If Todoroki really wants to win, then he’ll have to use his fire against Kacchan. 

“Start!” 

Todoroki immediately traps Kacchan within a massive glacier, similar to the one he used against Sero, but Kacchan blasts his way out of it in a matter of moments. He then uses his explosions to launch himself at Todoroki, grabbing him and launching him over his shoulder, trying to throw him out of bounds. Izuku doesn’t miss the way he grabbed Todoroki by his left side- pretty much everyone has realized at this point that Todoroki won’t use his fire. The boy saves himself from going out of bounds by making an ice slide, but it’s a close call. 

As the fight continues, and Todoroki shows no sign of flames, Izuku steadily gets more and more nervous. The rock in his stomach has returned, but this time, Izuku has trouble sitting still, despite his fatigue. He fidgets and shifts until Recovery Girl asks him what’s wrong, to which he responds by asking if he can be excused.

“I’ll be right back, I promise!” He says, already rushing out the door.

“Midoriya-kun!” His mentor exclaims.

Todoroki is going to lose. No matter how much ice he sends at Kacchan, the blond just blows it away. He’s beginning to tire, his dodges become too narrow, and he’s getting burned repeatedly. The crowd roars as Izuku runs down one of the entrance tunnels, stopping right before the edge and takes a deep breath.

‘Sorry, Kacchan’

“Todoroki-kun! Don’t lose! Do your best!” 

His cry rings across the field. Todoroki tenses up.

Then, the arena bursts into flames. 

Katsuki can’t see Zuku’s eyes, but he knows they’re not on him. He hears his friend cry out, but it’s not for him.

Once again, Katsuki loses. 

Somehow, it hurts more this time.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” 

Izuku freezes at Kacchan’s growl. The blond is sitting in front of him on the bed, covered from head-to-toe in a variety of burns, bruises, and frostbite. His whole body is tense, muscles quivering with rage as he glares at the ground with crimson eyes. Usually, when Kacchan gets mad, he’s loud and violent about it, but now…

Izuku has never seen his friend so angry before. 

He gulps. “Ka… Kacchan?”

Kacchan doesn’t look at him. “Just let Recovery Girl use her quirk on me.” 

“Bu-But it’ll make you tired-”

“It’s alright, Midoriya-kun,” Recovery Girl says, watching the two boys carefully, “I’ll just heal him halfway, so I don’t completely drain him. It’s not like he has another fight after this.” 

She kisses Kacchan on the cheek and the blond doesn’t budge. Doesn’t make a sound. Anxiety claws at Izuku’s heart as he turns to his mentor helplessly. She gives him a look, then Kacchan, then turns to the door. “I’ll go see what’s keeping that Todoroki boy.”

She’s clearly just giving him and Kacchan some space to talk. 

As soon as she’s gone, Izuku turns to his friend nervously. “Kacchan… I… I understand that you’re upset, but-”

“You cheered for him,” Kacchan suddenly says, his voice barely above a whisper, “You cheered… for him.” Finally, he lifts his head, and when he does, he glares at Izuku. “Why?” 

Izuku stares, frozen. How can he explain this to him? He can’t tell him about Todoroki’s past- that would be a huge betrayal of trust. But how could he explain why he’s glad that Todoroki won? Why it was more than just about winning for Todoroki? How happy he is that he used his flames… 

 Eventually, he says, “I just… I thought- if Todoroki-kun didn’t use his flames, if he won without them, then it would be worse. For you, I mean. I know it sucks that he won, but at least you know that he was taking you seriously.” He unconsciously repeats Uraraka’s words. “If… If you had beat him when he was only fighting with half his power… then I think you would have been really upset…”

Kacchan gazes at him for a few moments, then drops his eyes. His shoulders slump. He looks tired. Izuku hesitantly places his hands on Kacchan’s wrists, sliding them up his forearms as he steps closer between the blond’s thighs. Kacchan inhales deeply as his wounds finish healing, then wraps his arms around Izuku’s lower back, pulling him closer and plopping his forehead on his shoulder. 

“I… I fucking lost,” he whispers, as if he can’t quite believe it yet.

Izuku idly scratches his spiky hair. “Well, you did win second place…”

“I’m… I’m not the best. I’m not the strongest. He is.” Then, slowly, Katsuki’s arms begin to tighten around Izuku’s waist and he snarls in a deadly low voice, “I’m going to kill that fucker.” 

Izuku sweatdrops. “Ah… how about a friendly rivalry?” He suggests weakly. 

Kacchan acts like he doesn’t hear him, too busy growling obscenities under his breath as he clutches at the back of Izuku’s costume. The freckled boy sighs and continues patting his head soothingly. A couple of minutes later, he hears the door open behind him. Before he can turn to see who it is, Kacchan’s arms suddenly tighten into a vice-grip around him. 

“You!” Kacchan snarls, “The fuck are you doing here, Half-Face?!?”

Half-Face? Izuku struggles to glance over his shoulder.

Todoroki’s voice speaks up, “I wanted to see Midoriya…”

“What the fuck for?” Kacchan spits, “You’re fine!”

“Todoroki-kun?” Izuku wiggles.

“Recovery Girl did heal me a bit,” Todoroki says, “But I wanted to talk to Midoriya before the awards ceremony…” 

“Haah? Talk? Since when do you two talk?” Kacchan growls, “Bullshit! You just wanna use his quirk! Well, he’s been busting his ass all day, so he’s too tired to-”

“Kacchan!” Izuku whines, squirming in his hold. 

Todoroki approaches and Kacchan’s grip gets tighter with every step he takes. “Let him go,” he demands coolly. 

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do!” 

“I said-”

“Oh, shut up!” Izuku shouts. He pushes his way out of Kacchan’s arms and stands between the two boys, flustered and rumpled. He tucks a few wild curls back into his messed up bun before fixing Kacchan with a firm gaze. “Kacchan, if Todoroki-kun wants to talk to me about something, then he has the right to do so.” 

“But-”

“Why don’t you go change into a new uniform before the ceremony?” His suggestion is more of an order. “Yours is a mess right now.”

Kacchan scowls. “I’m not fucking leaving you here with this little shit!” 

Izuku rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on, what’s he gonna do? I’m a healer, he knows better than to mess with me.” He giggles to himself and flashes a smile at Todoroki, who is watching their exchange with an unreadable expression. 

Kacchan still looks pissed off. “He’s gonna do nothing because he’s fucking leaving!” He whips his head to Todoroki and snarls, “Beat it, you two-toned bitch!”

“Kacchan!” Now Izuku is starting to get a bit annoyed. He puts a hand on Kacchan’s bicep, but the blond shoves him off. 

Todoroki’s eyes narrow. 

The door opens once again and Recovery Girl walks in. “Hey, you two!” She frowns at Kacchan and Todoroki. “If you’re done harassing my apprentice, you can get your butts back to the arena. The awards ceremony is about to begin.” 

The two boys glare daggers at each other, neither wanting to be the first to move. Izuku scoffs and shoves them both out the door, shutting it behind him and sliding to the floor. 

“I think I’m done with hero students for today,” he groans, covering his face with his hands. 

Recovery Girl snorts. 

Kacchan’s insufferableness continues on for the rest of the day. 

Izuku trudges behind his friend as they walk home from school, tired from the long day’s events. He glances up at Kacchan’s back, taking in his hunched shoulders and incessant grumbling, and sighs. Kacchan had openly glared at Todoroki throughout the entire awards ceremony, vehemently refusing the second place medal when All Might presented it to him. The poor number one hero had resorted to hanging it off his gritted teeth while the explosive blond shrieked at him. It’s around his neck now, but that’s entirely Izuku’s doing. 

He also refused to leave Izuku’s side after the ceremony, insisting on walking him back to class from the infirmary and snarling at anyone who got too close. He nearly threw a fit every time he caught Todoroki glancing at the greenette. 

It’s a giant step backwards for Kacchan’s behavior. Izuku hasn’t seen this level of aggressive possessiveness from his friend since junior high, but he tries his best not to worry about it. Kacchan’s had a long, stressful, and ultimately disappointing day, so Izuku’s hoping that he’ll go back to normal once he gets over this. And if he doesn’t… well, Izuku’s too tired to think about that right now. 

So maybe it’s wrong, but he lets Kacchan indulge in his old shitty behavior for now. He sends apologetic smiles to everyone and doesn’t complain when Kacchan drags him away. Doesn’t complain when he stays attached to his hip the entire way home, or when he invites himself in for dinner once they reach Izuku’s house. Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru end up coming over and Inko makes them all a congratulatory dinner. Kacchan seethes the entire time and Izuku’s too tired to do much talking, but he does his best to smile along as his mother recounts her point of view of watching the Sports Festival. 

Then Kacchan announces that they’re having a sleepover. Except, he doesn’t ask Izuku, more like demands it from the adults, and Inko allows it since they’re being given the day off from school tomorrow. 

So now it’s a little past 8PM and Izuku is curled up in his bed while Kacchan lies on a futon on the floor. It’s much earlier than Izuku’s usual bedtime, but using his quirk so much has left him exhausted and Kacchan always goes to sleep early anyways. 

However, it seems that sleep is escaping his best friend right now. He grumbles and snarls to himself, which Izuku normally might be able to ignore, except they’re the only ones in the room so it’s all he can hear. He waits five minutes, then ten, then fifteen, but the grumbling doesn’t stop. 

Finally, after twenty minutes, he lets out a loud sigh, “Kacchan. Can you please be quiet?” 

Kacchan falls silent. Izuku hums and snuggles deeper in his blankets. A moment later, he hears sheets rustling and suddenly the blanket is being yanked off him. Squinting in the low light, he whines in protest as Kacchan clambers onto the bed and pushes him aside to make room for himself. 

“Kacchan, what are you doing?” Izuku makes a disgruntled noise in his throat, one that Kacchan entirely ignores. Instead, the blond flops down next to him with a huff and wraps his arms around him, pulling him to his chest. Izuku blinks in surprise. Kacchan has never really been one to initiate cuddling, although Izuku isn’t quite sure if this counts as cuddling- his grip is way too tight. The smaller boy shifts uncomfortably.

He must really be upset then. But it’s not the loud, aggressive anger that Izuku is used to seeing from him. Usually Kacchan isn’t afraid to let everyone around him know that he’s pissed off about something and why. This is the quiet type of anger though, the one that stems from a deeper problem, one that he wants to keep to himself. It rarely happens- the last time Izuku can think of is when they had that big fight last year and didn’t talk for almost a month. 

But why this time? It’s just a Sports Festival. There’s a good chance he’ll win one of the next two, especially since he has so much time to get stronger. Maybe it’s just his pride that’s been wounded then, but that doesn’t explain why he’s all quiet now…

Izuku’s confusion slowly fades away as he starts to get sleepier and sleepier. Kacchan’s tight hold is a bit uncomfortable, but he’s warm and he always smells like burnt sugar thanks to his quirk, so Izuku can’t help relaxing in his arms as he begins to doze off. 

Just when he’s about to fall asleep, Kacchan shifts. His grip tightens ever so slightly. Hot breath brushes against the greenette’s curls as he hears his friend whisper quietly, “I’m gonna be strong enough for you. I promise.”

Izuku doesn’t have time to process the words before his mind succumbs to sleep.

Chapter Text

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. 

Izuku blearily blinks his eyes open, confused when he notices the room is still dark. Something is making the bed vibrate, and it takes him a moment to realize that it’s coming from his phone underneath his pillow. Sighing, he grabs it and brings it close to his face, grimacing when the bright light from his screen threatens to blind him. When he’s finally able to see who’s calling, he’s only even more confused. 

Iida is the one that’s calling him. The blue-haired boy had insisted that everyone exchange phone numbers a couple of weeks ago, but he’s never called Izuku before, at 11PM no less. They’re friends, of course, but they’re not exactly close. Izuku’s even more surprised to see that he already has two missed calls from the boy. 

Worry claws at his heart as he sits up, carefully extracting himself from Kacchan’s grip, which is much more lax now that the blond is asleep. Picking up the call, he presses the phone close to his ear and whispers, “Iida-kun? Is everything al-”

“Midoriya-kun!” Iida shouts, causing Izuku to wince, “Midoriya-kun, oh thank God, I-I apologize deeply fo-for calling you so late, but-but-” He lets out a choked noise and Izuku straightens up in concern. 

“Iida-kun?” He asks, “Iida-kun, what’s wrong?” Behind him, Kacchan lets out an annoyed grumble as he stirs. Izuku barely notices, suddenly a lot more awake than before. He’s never heard Iida sound so distraught before. 

“Midoriya-kun, it’s…it’s…” Iida’s breath hitches before he wails, “It’s nii-san! It’s my nii-san! The-The- He got attacked by the hero killer!” 

“What?!?” Izuku exclaims, his mind whirling. Kacchan sits up and leans against his shoulder, frowning as he listens. “Iida-kun, what- what are you talking about?” 

Iida’s response is barely intelligible, “He-He was on patrol and-and he got attacked and I’m in the hospital with him now, but-”

“Four-Eyes’s brother?” Kacchan grunts, arching a brow, “He’s a hero, isn’t he?” 

Izuku nods. Pretty much everyone in the class found out about Iida’s family of heroes when Uraraka couldn’t keep her mouth shut about it. So, if it’s Iida’s brother… then he must be talking about Ingenium. He got attacked by… the hero killer? Izuku hasn’t been able to keep up with the news that well during the past week, but he’s heard that a particular villain has been causing trouble for the heroes lately. 

“Iida-kun, Iida-kun,” Izuku says, trying to keep his voice steady, “I need you to calm down. Please, tell me what’s going on.” 

Iida gasps for breath. It sounds like he’s been crying for a long time. “Tensei-nii… he’s… he’s paralyzed.” His voice shatters when he says this. Izuku tenses up and Kacchan hisses. “That-That villain got him and he-he- he can’t move, his hero career is over- but- but… oh, Midoriya-kun, could you heal him?”

“Huh? Me?” Izuku startles. 

“You-You said you’ve h-healed big injuries.” Iida swallows audibly, clearly trying to compose himself. “You- you regrew a stomach before, di-didn’t you?” 

Izuku shrinks slightly, anxiety clawing at his chest. “I… I don’t know, Iida-kun… I’ve never healed a spine before…”

“Please, please, Midoriya-kun.” Iida is practically begging now. “None of the healers here can do anything for him. If-If anyone could heal him, it’s you.”

Izuku’s breath catches in his throat. Tears start pricking at the edge of his eyes, but he forces himself to remain calm. “Iida-kun… even if I could heal him, I-I’m not allowed to. I’m-I’m still in training and I need a license before I’m able to use my quirk on pro heroes…” Iida lets out another choked noise of dismay and Izuku hastens to reassure him. “But I’ll talk to Recovery Girl in the morning, okay? Maybe we can figure something out, or… or… I don’t know, but we’ll fix this, alright? It’ll be okay. Okay?”

Iida inhales shakily and says, “Okay… I… Okay, that’s… Thank you. And-And again I’m sorry for calling you so late-”

“Don’t worry about it, Iida-kun,” Izuku says, “Just stay calm and try to get some sleep. You’ve had a long day.” 

He doubts Iida will listen to him, but he hangs up soon after anyways. Then, he turns to Kacchan, who was silent the entire time.

“I guess that’s why he had to leave the festival early,” the blond muses. 

Izuku sighs, rubbing his forehead tiredly. The sudden dump of information and emotions is a lot to process when he’s still half-asleep. “Poor Iida-kun. I mean, paralysis would be horrible for any hero, but Ingenium…”

“He’s a speedster too, isn’t he?” Kacchan asks and he nods.

“Who is this hero killer anyway?”

Kacchan flops back down on the bed and after a moment Izuku lies beside him. “Haven’t you been paying attention to the news?” He grumbles, “Guy calls himself Stain. Apparently he’s killed, like, seventeen heroes and injured a bunch of other ones.” Izuku’s eyes widen. “I bet Ingenium was trying to go after him.” 

“That’s horrible…” Izuku murmurs.

His friend grunts, “Yeah, well… You’ll call Recovery Girl in the morning.” He grabs Izuku again and pulls him close. “No point in worrying about it now. Get back to sleep.” 

The freckled boy squirms. Unlike before, he’s no longer pressed against his chest. Instead, Kacchan is curled around his back, being the perfect definition of the ‘big spoon’. 

Izuku huffs, “You’re being awfully cuddly tonight.”

“Shut the fuck up.” 

Despite his fatigue, he doesn’t end up sleeping too well during the rest of the night. Kacchan snores like a motorboat behind him, growling in irritation when Izuku wiggles out of his arms as soon as morning arrives. He quietly steps out of his house before calling Recovery Girl. 

He quickly informs her of the situation, but she already knows. She seems annoyed that Iida called him last night and tells him that she’s going to go visit Ingenium as soon as she can.

“But can I… I mean, could I…?” He starts to ask. 

His mentor sighs, as if she was expecting this, and says, “You know you can’t. Even if you did have a license, I wouldn’t let you heal an injury like that until you got better control over your quirk. It was very inappropriate for Iida-kun to ask that of you.”

Izuku feels a flash of defensiveness on behalf of his classmate. “He was just upset. I probably would have done the same if I were in his situation.” 

“I know,” Recovery Girl says, “But still. You have the next two days off- enjoy them. Leave this to me for now.”

Izuku reluctantly agrees and hangs up. After a moment of deliberation, he pulls up his messaging app and texts Iida, apologizing for his inability to help but promising to work hard and get his quirk licensed as soon as possible so he can try to help Tensei. Iida doesn’t reply, but it’s still early in the morning and the boy has no doubt had a rough night, so Izuku doesn’t worry about it. 

As soon as he pockets his phone, he hears the door open behind him.

“Oi, dumbass, don’t come out here all by yourself,” Kacchan growls.

Ignoring the twinge of annoyance his words cause, Izuku says, “I was just calling Recovery Girl. Didn’t want to wake anyone up.” 

Kacchan grumbles unintelligibly in response and comes up behind him, hooking his chin over his shoulder as he lets out a drowsy huff. “So, what’s the deal?”

“Can’t do anything without a license,” Izuku sighs.

“Thought so,” Kacchan hums. Then, after a moment, his arms wrap around Izuku’s middle and pull him flush against his chest. Izuku frowns. Apparently Kacchan’s strange behavior isn’t over yet. Not that Izuku’s opposed to cuddling, but cuddling is supposed to feel relaxing, and this doesn’t feel very relaxing. It feels more like Kacchan is trying to keep him from running away. 

It bothers him a little, but he ignores it in favor of wiggling out of Kacchan’s grip and going inside to make breakfast. 

The rest of the morning is rather boring. Izuku is mostly just lounging, trying to regain the rest of his strength back after yesterday’s ordeal. He brushes Sushi’s fur and watches some TV with Kacchan until the blond suggests playing video games in the afternoon. He’s in the middle of a round of Super Smash Bros when his phone buzzes beside him on the couch.

He glances over briefly and Kacchan takes advantage of his distraction by punching his Mewtwo off the platform. The blond snickers while he huffs and grabs his phone. 

(Todoroki 1:15PM) -Hello.

Izuku blinks in surprise. Todoroki is texting him? 

(Midoriya 1:15PM) -Hi. What’s up?

Kacchan complains loudly and he reluctantly turns back to the game, but curiosity makes it hard to focus and he loses their next match within two minutes. At the same time, Todoroki texts back.

(Todoroki 1:17PM) -I visited my mother this morning.

Izuku almost drops his phone in shock. That was… very out of the blue. He isn’t quite sure how to respond at first. 

(Midoriya 1:18PM) -Oh wow! How did it go? 

“C’mon, Zuku.” Kacchan glares at his phone. “Who the hell are you texting anyways?”

Izuku waves him off dismissively, watching as the typing bubble appears for a few moments, then disappears. It reappears and disappears a couple of more times before he finally gets a response.

(Todoroki 1:21PM) -Can we meet up somewhere?

(Midoriya 1:21PM) -Now?

(Todoroki 1:22PM) -If you’re not busy. 

“Zuku,” Kacchan gripes, waving his controller in his face, “Come on, are we playing or not?” 

“Uh, actually, Todoroki-kun wants to meet up so we can chat,” Izuku says, putting down his controller as he types out his response. A particularly nasty growl from Kacchan has him pausing and looking up.

The blond looks pissed. “Since when are you two fucking friends?” 

“Since…” Izuku trails off, suddenly nervous, “... I don’t know! Since whenever!” He and Todoroki never really hung out before the Sports Festival, which Kacchan knows since he spends so much time with Izuku, so the fact that they want to hang out now probably looks suspicious. 

Kacchan huffily turns back to the TV. “Well, tell him you’re fucking resting or some shit.” 

Izuku frowns. “But I want to go see him.” 

“Why?”

“To… To, you know... talk!” He throws his hands up in the air. 

“You can talk over the phone,” Kacchan says dismissively and unpauses the game, “You should be Samus next.” 

“I’m not playing anymore, Kacchan.” The spark of indignation returns. He pushes his controller aside and gets off the couch. “I’m going to go hang out with Todoroki-kun.” 

Suddenly, a hand snatches his wrist in a vice-grip. “No, you’re fucking not!” Kacchan snaps, jumping to his feet. 

Izuku tenses up as soon as he grabs him. His training kicks in and he twists out of the other’s grip, stumbling back a few steps and turning to fully face him. Kacchan glares at him with crimson eyes, muscles tense and hackles raised, looking as if he’s one second away from pouncing. 

“Kacchan,” Izuku says warningly, “Are you not letting me leave?” 

“Yes- er, no-” Kacchan cuts himself off, then lets out a frustrated noise, “Just- fuck it, I’m coming with you then!” 

He takes a step towards him but Izuku steps back. “I don’t want you to come with me.” 

“Why not?!?” The blond snaps, reaching for him again.

“Because-” A hand closes around his forearm again. Izuku tries to twist away again, but Kacchan doesn’t release his grip, instead moving closer and grabbing his other wrist too. “Let me go, Kacchan!” 

“Why don’t you want me coming with you?!?” Kacchan demands, stepping even closer and crowding his space as Izuku continues to struggle against him.

“Because you’ll just freaking argue with him all the time!” Izuku snaps, then shoves the other boy with his shoulder, “Let me go!”

Kacchan pushes right back. “No!” Izuku tries to wrench his wrists out of his grip and the blond bares his teeth in a snarl. “You little- Fucking stop-”

“Let me go!” Izuku snaps again, then yelps when Kacchan suddenly yanks him so close their chests nearly collide. But as soon as he’s pulled closer, he’s shoved back again by Kacchan’s shoulder, only this time the boy’s foot is hooked around the back of his ankle. Izuku squeaks when he loses his balance and Kacchan uses his grip on his wrists to twist him to the side, forcing him back down onto the couch. 

The blond pounces on top of him, attempting to pin him to the cushion, and Izuku’s heart leaps to his throat in panic. “Kacchan!” He cries out, thrashing in his grip.

Kacchan’s fingers tighten painfully around his wrists, his crimson eyes narrowed to pinpricks in fury. “Stop it!” He snarls, trying to force him onto his back while the smaller boy struggles against him, “Stop fucking squirming!” 

For all of Kacchan’s aggressiveness, he’s hardly ever truly rough with Izuku, so maybe that’s why a stab of fear goes through him now. And the next thing he knows, they’re wrestling. Except it isn’t playful or even for training- Kacchan is really angry and Izuku has no idea why.  

He tries to push him off, to give himself space so he can scramble away, but the angle is bad and Katsuki is a lot stronger than him. He forces his arms back down with a snarl and pins his wrists on either side of his head. Izuku kicks his leg out and attempts to flip him with a jerk of his hips, but Katsuki is stubborn and jams his knee into his hip a couple of times in retaliation until he stops trying to flip him, then presses his knees down on either side of his thighs to keep him from moving. Izuku squirms breathlessly, but Kacchan is heavy weight on top of him, impossible to move. 

Finally, he falls still, breathing heavily as he glares up at Kacchan above him. The blond stares at him with wild eyes, panting slightly.

Then, in a low voice, he says, “I’m not letting you go alone. You need protection.”

“Protection?” Izuku exclaims in disbelief, “That’s what you’re worried about?” He rolls his eyes, scoffing in exasperation. Just Kacchan being over-protective as always. “Geez, don’t worry, I’ll be safe. I’ll be with Todoroki-kun.” 

He means to appease his friend, but if anything, he only makes him even angrier. The grip on his wrists tightens painfully. 

“Why the fuck would you rather hang out with that IcyHot fucker than me?!?” Kacchan snarls at his face, “What’s he got that I don’t? Is it ‘cause he beat me in every fucking game? Is it ‘cause of that shiny new first place metal? Huh?”

“Kacchan!” Izuku’s eyes widen in shock. 

“Well, FUCK HIM!” Kacchan shrieks, “I don’t give a shit that he won this time! And I don’t give a shit that he won on the first day either- or that he’s a recommendation student, or that he’s the son of the number two hero, ‘cause I’m gonna be number one! I’m gonna be the strongest fucking hero there is and I’ll wipe the floor with his ass!” Izuku gulps as those wild eyes glare heatedly down at him. “And I’ll kill any villain that tries to lay a hand on you! So if you think that you’ll ever be safer with that fucker than with me, you’re dead wrong! I’m gonna be better than that piece of shit, just you wait!” 

His chest heaves as he pants heavily after his rant. Izuku stares up at him, stunned. Silence fills the room. 

The memory of Kacchan’s voice whispers in the back of his mind, “I’m gonna be strong enough for you. I promise.”

Izuku blinks. Oh. He’s… he’s…

“Kacchan,” he says quietly, “You… you know you’re enough, right?” 

Kacchan scowls. “The fuck do you mean?” 

“I mean…” He tries to wiggle his wrists, but Kacchan won’t let him go, his grip instead tightening even further. Izuku hesitates. “I mean… you’re good enough. For me.” He presses his lips together and gazes up at his friend. “Do you… do you really think that I would prefer Todoroki-kun over you because you lost?” He can’t keep the hurt out of his voice. How could Kacchan think so little of him? 

The blond is quiet for a few moments, jaw clenched. Then, “It would make sense. I lost to him. I keep losing to him. He’s… He’s stronger than me.” He bites out the words as if they’re physically painful to say and, knowing Kacchan, they probably are. His throat bobs as he swallows. “He’d be a better hero for you. He’d keep you safe…”

“You keep me safe,” Izuku insists, but Kacchan just scoffs. 

“Not well enough to keep you from getting attacked by a bunch of fucking reporters. Or to keep you from nearly getting kidnapped and sold for your quirk.” His voice quivers ever so slightly and he squeezes his eyes shut. “Fuck, I couldn’t even keep you safe from me. I just keep failing-”

“Kacchan, stop it,” Izuku protests, “You’re fine, you’re perfect. Trust me, I would get into a lot more trouble if I didn’t have you around.” He gives him a solemn look. “We’re still learning, remember? Don’t you remember what I said back during our first hero lesson? You’re going to fail- and that’s alright, that’s part of life, and I won’t think any less of you for doing so. It just means you’re going to grow even stronger from then on.” 

Katsuki doesn’t look convinced. “IcyHot-”

“Todoroki-kun is going to fail too,” Izuku interrupts, deciding to ignore the rude nickname for now, “I know it may not seem like it right now, but he will eventually. He’s a fifteen year-old boy just like the rest of us, and he came to UA to learn, just like the rest of us too. You can’t learn without making some mistakes along the way.” 

Katsuki opens his mouth to say something, then closes it, mouth pressed into a line of displeasure. His expression is still tense, but his jaw looks less tight than before. Izuku takes it as his cue to continue, “And you shouldn’t compare yourself to him like that. Yeah, he’s really strong, and he might be stronger than you now, but you’re plenty strong too, and I know you’re going to get stronger than ever now that we’re in UA!” He rolls his eyes and playfully cocks his head to the side. “You’re the most bull-headed, stubborn person I know, Kacchan. If you said you’re going to beat Todoroki-kun, chances are, it’s gonna happen sooner or later.”

Kacchan huffs, and his grip on Izuku’s wrists finally eases up slightly. Izuku slips out of his grasp and slides his hands up his arms comfortingly. He can feel the power and strength in his friend’s hard muscles, along with all the stress and tension as well. His lips press together. 

“And,” he adds in a gentler voice, because he knows how important being his ‘protector’ is to Kacchan, “I know you think you’re the only thing standing between me and villains, but you’re not. We’re in UA, surrounded by some of the best heroes in the country. We have All Might as our teacher.” He smiles, letting a little awe seep into his voice before he sobers up again. “And we have friends now, strong friends that are going to be great heroes too. You should trust in their ability to keep me safe. I do.” 

Kacchan wrinkles his nose, then glances away with a low growl, “I still don’t like that IcyHot fucker…”

Izuku gives him a deadpanned look. “Well, sorry, but I’m allowed to hang out with people other than you. And just because I want to spend time with Todoroki-kun today doesn’t mean that I suddenly hate you or think that you’re inferior or whatever you were implying. I’m not hanging out with him because I think he’s better than you, I’m hanging out with him because I like making new friends.” Kacchan scowls. Izuku decides to take a little pity on him. “But you’ll always be my best friend.” He smiles brightly.  

Kacchan squints and grumbles under his breath before begrudgingly leaning back with a huff. “Fucking whatever, then,” he grunts as he gets off him, shoving his hands into his pockets, “Just one condition; he’s gotta come pick you up. I don’t want you walking alone.”

Izuku rolls his eyes and sits up, relieved to be free of Kacchan’s suffocating weight. “Yes, your highness,” he says sarcastically, turning to search for his phone. Unsurprisingly, it had fallen to the floor during their scuffle, and he sighs in relief when he sees it’s undamaged. 

(Midoriya 1:34PM) -Sorry for the late response, but yeah I’m down to hang out now. Do you mind picking me up at my place? Kacchan’s being an overprotective butt and doesn’t want me going by myself. 

(Todoroki 1:35PM) -Sure. What’s your address?

Izuku texts it to him, and then, after a moment, texts his mother as well, letting her know that he’s going out. He’s glad that she had to leave earlier to take Sushi to the vet, otherwise they both would’ve been witness to his little argument with Kacchan. 

As he types, he calls out, “Hey, why don’t you hang out with Kirishima-kun while I’m gone? You like him, don’t you?” 

Kacchan wrinkles his nose. “I don’t fucking like anyone.” A pause, then, “And who the fuck is Kirishima?” 

Izuku looks up. “Are you kidding me? We hang out with him everyday.”

The blond frowns, as if it’s actually taking a lot of work to remember. Then, he blinks. “Oh. You mean Shitty Hair.”

“Oh my God, Kacchan, you are hopeless.”

He pulls up another chat.

(Midoriya 1:40PM) -Hey, could you do me a huge favor?

(Kirishima 1:41PM) -Anything bro.

(Midoriya 1:42PM) -Can you invite Kacchan out somewhere? I wanna hang out with Todoroki-kun and Kacchan’s being annoying about it.

(Kirishima 1:43PM) -Sure thing! 

Todoroki arrives at his house twenty minutes later. It’s strange to see him in civilian clothes, but even stranger to see him without the usual cold look in his eyes. He greets Izuku with a faint smile and doesn’t even seem to mind when Kacchan outright growls at him, demanding that he bring Izuku back in one piece. The blond then proceeds to glare at him the entire time as they leave.

“Sorry about Kacchan,” Izuku apologizes as he walks beside Todoroki, “He’s been a bit grumpy ever since the Sports Festival.” 

Todoroki nods, then glances over his shoulder before looking back at him. “I’m a bit confused. I know that you guys walk to school together, but does he live with you too?” 

“Oh, no, that’s not it!” Izuku waves his hands. “We just live on the same street, so he comes over often.” 

“Ah,” Todoroki hums. There’s a brief pause, then he adds, “He seems to be very… protective of you.” 

Izuku winces, recalling how Kacchan had practically snarled at anyone, Todoroki especially, who got too close to him after the Sports Festival. Heck, he didn’t even allow him to heal the rest of Todoroki’s injuries. 

“Ye-Yeah,” he says, “He has his reasons, though. How are you feeling today, by the way?” He eyes the large bandage on the boy’s cheek. 

“I’m fine.” Todoroki looks at him. “What are his reasons?”

“Huh?”

“His reasons,” the other boy repeats, “For being so protective. Forgive me for being rude, but I don’t think I’m the only one who’s noticed the way he treats you. He acts like he’s constantly expecting someone to snatch you away from him. Like you can’t defend yourself.” He glances away. “I thought our sparring match proved to everyone that you can certainly put up a good fight, despite being a healer.”

Izuku pauses, considering his answer. “Well… we’ve been friends basically since we were babies. Kacchan’s always been really strong, especially after he got his quirk, and when mine manifested… I guess it kind of just made sense for him to protect me. Healing quirks are pretty rare, and they’re sought after by both heroes and villains…” 

Todoroki nods, as if this is something he’s already aware of, and Izuku assumes that he must know about the incident with his father’s healer. Still, he hesitates to continue. Todoroki has already told him incredibly personal things about him, it’s only fair that he reciprocates.

“But… I guess it only got really bad after… well, there was this one time I almost got kidnapped by villains.” Todoroki’s eyes widen slightly. “I was hanging out with Kacchan and some friends, and the villains lured me into an empty alley and put me in a bag…” He trails off, curling into himself slightly at the fear the memory brings. “Er, they wanted to sell me for my quirk, but Aizawa-sensei saved me. And ever since then, Kacchan’s just been super paranoid about me being taken again. And that paranoia kind of bleeds into our school life, so I’m sorry that he’s a bit aggressive towards people sometimes, but it’s not coming from a mean place, I promise.” He looks at Todoroki earnestly and the other boy nods. 

He’s quiet for a moment, then hums thoughtfully, “I guess I’ve misjudged him, then.” 

Izuku smiles, then huffs a little laugh, “This is actually kind of weird for me. Hanging out with you. I hardly ever go anywhere without Kacchan.” 

“This is… kind of weird for me too,” Todoroki agrees, “I don’t really ever… hang out. With people.” 

He looks so unsure and awkward that Izuku can’t help but smile even wider. He gets the feeling that Todoroki isn’t really cold so much as socially inept. 

“I do wish he would trust me a bit more, though,” he says conversationally, “I mean, I like to think that I’m a decent fighter.”

“You are,” Todoroki says. 

“Not good enough to beat you, though,” Izuku points out. 

“Yeah, well.” Todoroki shrugs. “You said you’ve been taking self-defense classes since you were ten, didn’t you?” Izuku nods, surprised that he remembered that. “I’ve been training my entire life to be a pro hero, so it’s not fair to compare yourself to me. Not many people would win against me.”

Izuku’s lip twitches and he’s tempted to make a sarcastic comment about how humble Todoroki is, but the boy doesn’t sound like he’s trying to brag. More like he’s simply stating a fact. 

Izuku is silent for a moment, then shakes his head. “Well, anyway, enough about me! What about you? You wanted to talk about your mother, didn’t you?” He realizes that, thanks to Kacchan, he hasn’t been able to properly talk to Todoroki since he convinced him to use his fire. Which is a huge deal that he’s definitely going to ask about later, but one thing at a time. 

They’ve been walking for the past few minutes, so now they’re just approaching a neighborhood park. Todoroki wordlessly leads him over to a bench and sits down beside him.

“It went… better than I thought it would,” he says quietly, “I… after the Sports Festival, I was still unsure about using my fire. My old man approached me afterwards and told me how proud he was that I had gotten over my ‘childish tantrum’.” He sneers somewhat and frowns at the ground. “It made me sick. But I realized that, when I used my fire during the battle, I didn’t think about him at all. All I could think about was y-”

He suddenly cuts himself off, pressing his lips together. Izuku tilts his head curiously, but he can’t see the expression on the other boy’s face since he turns it away slightly. 

After a moment, Todoroki clears his throat and continues, “So I thought I’d visit my mother at the hospital this morning. I... never visited her before because I figured that my presence would put pressure on her, but I may have just been making excuses for myself. I thought… if I could just see her… talk to her… maybe try and fix things… then maybe it would be okay for me to be the hero I want to become.”

Izuku watches him quietly. He doesn’t exactly know what that means, what kind of hero Todoroki wants to be, but the other boy seems to know exactly what he wants to aim for, so that’s all that matters.

“And?” He prompts gently. 

Todoroki smiles softly and looks at him. “She forgave me. She was even… happy to see me. I told her everything and she apologized for burning me and told me to move forward in my life without anything holding me back. That that would be her salvation.” 

Izuku beams at him, heart warming his chest. “So…”

“So I will no longer let my father hold me back,” Todoroki says resolutely, “I won’t let him control me. And I won’t become someone as bitter and angry as him.” 

“That’s wonderful, Todoroki-kun,” he says, “I’m so happy for you.” 

Todoroki gazes at him. “I would never have been able to do it if it hadn’t been for you.” Izuku blushes and starts to stammer out a protest, but Todoroki insists, “No, really. If you hadn’t said what you did, if you hadn’t opened my eyes, nothing would have changed. I’d still be trapped by my father, so seriously, Midoriya, thank you.” He looks so earnest it makes Izuku’s heart jump.

Still blushing furiously, he hides his face in his arms and squeaks, “You’re welcome!” 

Todoroki tilts his head, blinking curiously. “Are you okay? Your face is red.” 

“I’m fine!”

“If you’re not feeling well, then we can-”

“I said I’m fine!” Izuku frantically tries to change the subject. “So- So what are you going to do now? Er, I’m assuming you-you need to train your fire. I mean, since you didn’t use it for so long…” 

Todoroki pauses and then nods. They talk about school for a bit after that, about how Todoroki might train his fire quirk and how Izuku is currently training his own quirk. Izuku finds that talking with Todoroki is a lot different than talking with Kacchan, who usually leads the conversation. Not to say that he doesn’t ever listen to Izuku, but the greenette is finding that Todoroki is more than happy to sit back and let him talk enough for the both of them, occasionally commenting or giving his input here and there. It’s different, but nice. Izuku regrets not having befriended him sooner, although he supposes that Todoroki has changed a lot since the first week of school. 

The conversation eventually turns to Ingenium when Izuku’s phone lights up with a notification of a news story reporting his near-fatal encounter with the hero killer. He admits to Todoroki about Iida calling him the previous night, expressing his worry over their vice-class president. 

Todoroki seems rather disturbed too, although he doesn’t show it very much. “You’re friends with Iida, aren’t you?”

“Hm? Oh, uh, sort of. We’re friendly with each other, but we don’t really hang out much,” Izuku says, “Didn’t you team up with him during the cavalry battle?”

Todoroki nods. “Yeah. He seems passionate. I just hope he doesn’t turn it against that hero killer.” 

Izuku frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he probably holds a lot of resentment towards him,” Todoroki points out, “For effectively ending his brother’s hero career.”

Izuku winces. “Do you think he’ll… I dunno, do something?” 

Todoroki shrugs cluelessly. “I’m not sure. I don’t know him well enough. I just know that anger can make you do stupid things.” 

His tone is all too knowing. Izuku gulps, and the hard rock in the pit of his stomach returns, only this time his anxiety isn’t for Todoroki. 

His phone suddenly vibrates in his pocket, distracting him from his thoughts. Startling, Izuku takes it out and blinks at the message Kirishima sends him.

(Kirishima 2:51PM) -Obliterated. 

The text is followed by a picture of Kirishima and Kacchan, the former flashing a grin and a thumbs up while the latter demolishes an ice cream cone. And despite his worry, Izuku can’t help but smile. 

Chapter Text

“Who are you texting?” Kacchan grunts as they take the train to school a couple of days later. Since it’s raining, the train is more crowded than usual, so the two boys are pressed together uncomfortably while Kacchan futilely growls at anyone who gets too close.

Without looking up from his phone, Izuku replies, “Haru-kun.” 

Kacchan wrinkles his nose. “You still talk to that guy?”

“Mm hm. Only sometimes though. We’re both kind of busy.” Izuku glances at his friend. “Don’t you still talk to Tsubasa-kun or Inaba-kun?” 

“Why would I?” Kacchan raises an eyebrow and Izuku shakes his head with a sigh.

“Well, anyway, Haru-kun says congratulations on getting second place.”

“Tell him to fuck off.” 

Another sigh. “Kacchan-”

“Excuse me,” a voice suddenly whispers, “Hey, Bakugou from the hero class!” 

Kacchan and Izuku both blink in surprise and glance over at a man flashing the blond a thumbs up. “Good job at the Sports Festival! You were so close!” 

Izuku winces when he hears his friend’s teeth grind audibly behind him, but the stranger’s whisper catches the attention of other passengers too. 

“Ohh, you’re the one who got second place!” 

“You were so cool!” 

“You’ll win next year, I’m positive!”

They mean well, they really do, Izuku can tell, but all they’re doing is rubbing Kacchan’s loss in his face. The blond starts to growl, but Izuku interrupts him by elbowing him sharply. Glancing over his shoulder, he meets Kacchan’s glare and counters it with a warning look that clearly says ‘be nice’. 

Kacchan’s jaw clenches. Then, through gritted teeth, he hisses, “Thanks.” 

Pleased, Izuku is about to turn back to his phone when a woman calls out, “Oh, who’s that green-haired boy with him? Isn’t that the new healer?”

“Oh, yeah, it is!”

“Midoriya, right?” 

Startled by the sudden attention, Izuku flushes under the curious but friendly gazes of the other passengers. He supposes it makes sense that they would recognize him too, even if he didn’t compete. Present Mic did put him under the spotlight, and the fact that he was the only student not wearing a training uniform coupled with the fact that healers are incredibly rare probably helped people remember him. 

The freckled boy smiles politely at their well wishes, but he can’t help the sigh of relief that escapes him once they leave the train. Kacchan snorts at his flustered state before propping his own umbrella open. 

His usual check-in with Recovery Girl is brief and a little disappointing. He asks about Ingenium, but she says that there isn’t much anyone can do for him. She sends him off early, and so when Izuku walks back to homeroom, he gets there the same time as Iida. 

They both stop when they see each other. Izuku’s eyes roam over the taller boy. He looks… surprisingly fine. Aside from the faintest hint of dark circles under his eyes, he looks as neat and proper as usual. It baffles Izuku, but then Iida smiles and greets him.

“Good morning, Midoriya-kun. You’re here early.” He tilts his head thoughtfully. “Or do you meet with Recovery Girl in the morning as well?” 

“I do,” Izuku replies a bit hesitantly. He pauses, then asks, “Er, Iida-kun, I was wondering-”

“If it’s about my brother,” Iida uncharacteristically interrupts, “There’s no need to worry. I apologize for calling you the other night, it was incredibly inappropriate for me to do so.” 

“Oh.” Izuku blinks. “Well, if you’re sure-”

“I am.” Iida smiles at him, but something about it feels forced. “Let’s go inside, shall we?” Without another word, he leads the way into homeroom. Izuku stifles a sigh and follows him, taking his seat behind Kacchan, who glances questioningly between him and Iida. 

Soon, everyone starts filing in and chatter excitedly about the Sports Festival. 

“So many people talked to me on my way here!” Ashido exclaims.

“Yeah, me too!” Kirishima says. “Bakugou-kun and I went out for ice cream the other day and people kept coming up to us while we were in line!”

“You two went out for ice cream?” Kaminari raises an eyebrow. “Together?” 

Ashido perks up while Kacchan snarls wordlessly at the blond. Izuku makes eye-contact with the pink girl and grins. She squeals. 

Their classmates continue to chat about their own experiences with their newfound fame until Aizawa slides open the door, causing everyone to scramble to their seats. The teacher silently trudges up to his desk before turning and fixing them all with a firm look. 

“We’re having a special hero informatics class today,” he says promptly. Everyone tenses up. “Code names. You’ll be coming up with hero names.”

“We’re going to be doing something exciting!” The whole class cheers, only to be silenced by a flash of red from Aizawa’s eyes. 

The man goes on to further explain the pro hero draft picks he mentioned the other day, how it’s uncommon for first-years to receive offers and that they’ll have to prove themselves during their internships. He then displays the list of nominations, and Izuku isn’t surprised to see that he has none. He makes a mental note to ask Recovery Girl what he’s going to be doing for his own internship, if he even gets one. 

Todoroki, of course, has the most nominations. Izuku glances over his shoulder and casts him a supportive smile. Meanwhile, Kacchan growls under his breath at once more being forced into second place by Todoroki, having around six-hundred fewer nominations. 

“Keeping these results in mind,” Aizawa says, “Whether or not anyone asked for you, you will all be participating in internships with pros. At USJ, you already got to experience combat with real villains, but it will still be meaningful training for you to see pros at work firsthand.” 

The students glance at each other with smiles on their faces, murmuring in excitement. Sero looks at Izuku and asks, “Do you think you’ll be doing an internship too?” 

“Yeah, what about Zuku?” Kacchan asks. 

Aizawa blinks, slow and tired. “Midoriya-kun will also be participating in an internship.”

“I will?” Izuku jumps in surprise. “But I didn’t get any nominations…”

Aizawa scratches his cheek idly and grunts, “I think I heard Recovery Girl mention something about introducing you to some other healers. I’m not quite sure what you’ll be doing, though, so ask her.” 

Izuku perks up. Meeting other healers? That’ll be fun! 

“So that explains the hero names,” Sato says. 

Aizawa grumbles something about the names being temporary, then retreats into his sleeping bag to let Midnight take over the name choosing process. The class immediately starts brainstorming for ideas, but Izuku finds himself hesitating. He hasn’t thought about having a hero name in years, not since his quirk manifested. Before then, of course, he always imagined what his future name might be. They all ended up being variations of All Might. But that was back when he could still dream about being a hero, when he could still spend hours wondering what his life will be like and how cool his quirk will be and how he could become a hero like All Might. But now… 

He isn’t even sure if he’s supposed to be thinking of a hero name. After all, it’s not like he’s going to be a real hero. He’s just a healer…

‘I can’t imagine why someone like All Might would go out of his way to sponsor someone who won’t even be a real hero,’ Endeavor’s voice snarls in his mind. 

Across from him, Sero plops his chin on his palm and sighs, “Man, I’m stumped. I thought of a bunch of names when I was a kid, but now they just sound dumb.” He glances at Izuku. “What about you, Midoriya-kun? Any luck?” 

“Hm?” Izuku blinks in surprise as he’s dragged out of his thoughts, then looks down at his blank board. “Oh, I don’t really know… Am I supposed to think of a name?”

Sero tilts his head, confused. Midnight hears from the front of the room and calls out, “Of course you need to think of a name, Midoriya-kun! The pros need to know what to call you during your internship!”

Her loud voice catches the attention of his other classmates and Izuku shrinks slightly, feeling self-conscious. “But I mean, this is hero stuff…” He mumbles, “I… I mean, I’m not… I’m just a healer, you know?” 

Midnight blinks, and she seems to take on a more serious tone when she says, “Midoriya-kun, I hope you realize that healers are considered heroes as well.” 

Recovery Girl said something similar before when they first met, but when Izuku glances at the rest of his classmates, all of whom are strong and fought so hard during the Sports Festival, he can’t really find himself agreeing. 

His silence seems to make Midnight even more displeased. “Midoriya-kun, why do you call our beloved nurse Recovery Girl instead of Chiyo-sensei?” 

Izuku frowns in confusion, then his eyes widen in realization. He glances away sheepishly. “Because it’s her hero name?”

“And what is her full title?”

Izuku feels his face heating up slightly. “The Youthful Heroine: Recovery Girl.”

“That’s right.” Midnight smiles, her eyes twinkling with warmth. “Because she is a hero. That woman has saved more lives than I can count, and I’m sure you will too someday. I don’t know about you, but that counts as a hero in my books.” 

Izuku ducks his head, trying to hide his burning cheeks. His classmates smile at him reassuringly, and even Kacchan sends a sharp kick to his shins, as if to scold him for thinking something so stupid in the first place. 

“I… I guess I don’t know what to pick for myself, then,” he admits, “I’ve never really thought about this before…”

Kaminari perks up and suggests, “You should be Recovery Boy!” 

It’s stupid and it makes everyone groan, but Izuku can’t help the snort of laughter that escapes him. In the end, he doesn’t manage to think of a name before class ends, but Midnight is forgiving and allows him to have extra time to come up with one. 

The rest of the school day is fairly uneventful, except for lunchtime. Izuku wants to let Todoroki join their group, since he has a suspicion that the boy usually eats alone, but Kacchan snarls and complains when he suggests it. He compromises by quickly getting one of the big tables for them, one that they can’t fill up with their usual ‘Bakusquad’, as Ashido has dubbed it. So, he waves Todoroki over, and to his surprise Yaoyorozu and Jirou come along with him. Soon, they’re also joined by Uraraka and Iida. Izuku beams as he successfully sits between the two groups, ignoring Kacchan’s growl as he talks to Todoroki. 

The conversation about internships continues. Everyone, minus Izuku, received a list of agencies to choose from, even those who didn’t get any nominations. 

“I’ve already decided,” Uraraka announces, “I’m going to Battle Hero: Gunhead’s agency.” 

“Huh?” Izuku exclaims, “Gunhead’s a huge battle type! You’re going there, Uraraka-san?” 

“Yup! I got an offer from them!” Uraraka says, smiling determinedly as she throws a fake punch.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to become a hero like Thirteen?” Yaoyorozu asks, “You seemed really excited to meet them at USJ.” 

“Ultimately, yes,” Uraraka replies, “But fighting Bakugou-kun at the Sports Festival made me think- the stronger I get, the more possibilities I’ll have! If I only do what I want, I’ll have a narrower perspective.” 

Kacchan, who has been stubbornly pretending to not pay attention to them, suddenly sneers loudly, “You’re still gonna get your ass kicked, Round-Face!” 

Uraraka smiles sweetly and promptly flips him off. Yaoyorozu’s cheeks turn pink while Jirou and Izuku burst out laughing. Kirishima has to hold Kacchan back from launching himself across the table and pouncing on Uraraka. As Izuku laughs, he can’t help but notice that Iida is being strangely quiet. It’s shocking that he didn’t scold Uraraka for her rude gesture, but the blue-haired boy is silently staring down at his mostly untouched meal with a far-away look in his eyes. 

Izuku’s heart aches. 

“Er, anyway…” He tears his gaze away from Iida, forcing a smile on his face. “Now I’m wondering if I should try to go somewhere that will increase my fighting skills. It might be helpful if I decide to join a rescue agency.”

“Mmm, but didn’t Aizawa-sensei say that you’re gonna do something with other healers?” Uraraka asks.

“I wonder if healers have their own agencies?” Jirou says. 

Izuku shakes his head. “Probably not. I’ll have to talk to Recovery Girl-san about it after school.” He turns to Todoroki with a small smile and asks, “What about you, Todoroki-kun? Decided on a place yet?” 

The boy hums. “My father’s agency nominated me,” he says, his voice blank, “I think I’ll go there.” 

Izuku freezes while the girls smile and give encouraging comments. Todoroki meets his gaze and says in a much quieter voice, “I thought I’d learn what I can from him.” 

Izuku… doesn’t quite know how he feels about this, but he trusts Todoroki’s newfound resolve to become his ideal hero, so he simply nods and tries to look supportive. 

At the end of the day, as Kacchan and Izuku are leaving the classroom, Kirishima trots up to them and asks to walk to the train station with them. 

“Oh, sorry, Kirishima-kun,” Izuku apologizes, “I meet with Recovery Girl-san after school, remember?” 

“Oh, right, I forgot.” The redhead turns to Kacchan. “What about you, Bakugou-kun?” 

“I walk him home afterwards,” Kacchan grunts. 

Kirishima cocks his head to the side. “Do you wait by yourself the entire time?” Kacchan shrugs in response but Izuku nods. Kirishima grins. “Don’t worry, bro, I’ll wait with you!” 

“Hah?” Kacchan looks puzzled.

“I don’t mind, I like hanging out with you,” he chirps. Kacchan stares at him like he’s gone crazy. “Hey, let’s go train in the gym! I want a rematch for the Sports Festival.”

Izuku nudges his friend encouragingly and Kacchan shakes himself out of his stupor, a savage grin forming on his face. “You’re on, Shitty Hair!” Glancing at Izuku, he adds, “Text me when you’re done.”

Izuku waves him off and smiles as he watches them leave, proud that his stubborn childhood friend has made a friend of his own. He’s still smiling when he walks into the infirmary for his lesson. After their usual business of going over the day’s patients, Recovery Girl finally tells him about his internship. 

“As I’m sure Aizawa-san told you, hero agencies are only allowed to nominate one student each, so they have to choose wisely,” she explains, “But just because they chose your classmates over you doesn’t mean that nobody was interested in you. I thought I might have to pull a few strings, but actually I got a lot of calls from healers that I know asking if they could mentor you for your internship week.” Izuku’s heart flutters and he smiles. “So, I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and chose someone for you. Her name is Kamei Yuki, also known as VaporMend, and she’s a very good colleague of mine. I’ve worked with her on and off throughout the years and I trust that she will give you a good insight into the world of hero healers.”

“VaporMend…?” Izuku says, “I’ve never heard of her. What agency does she work at?” 

“Well, since they’re in such high demand, healers don’t often stick to just one agency,” Recovery Girl says, “Kamei-san primarily works at Endeavor’s hero agency but often travels to other agencies that reside in the same area, like the Ryukyu Hero Agency. You’ll be shadowing her during your internship week and, since she’s also a combat medic, you’ll get to explore more of that field for yourself. I know you’re still figuring out exactly what you want to do with your future.”

Izuku nods, trying not to fidget eagerly. He gets to follow around a combat medic for a whole week? Going to multiple hero agencies? So cool!  

“Okay!” His voice squeaks a bit and Recovery Girl’s eyes twinkle with mirth at his obvious excitement. 

“I don’t know exactly where you’ll be meeting up with her yet, but we can work out the details later,” she says, then leans back in her chair and arches an eyebrow. “So, I believe I heard from Kayama-san that you had trouble coming up with a hero name today?”

Izuku freezes. “Uh… How-How much did she tell you, exactly?”

Recovery Girl gives him an unimpressed look and he cringes. He supposes he deserves the twenty minute lecture about the importance of healers to the hero society and ‘yes-Midoriya-kun-healers-are-heroes-too-you-dolt’ that comes afterwards. 

“What about something that refers to your quirk?” Kirishima suggests as they walk to the train station later, “What was it called again? Healing Energy?” Izuku nods. “So, how ‘bout that?”

Kacchan wrinkles his nose. “The Healing Hero: Healing Energy? Sounds fucking weird.” 

Izuku hums in agreement, patting Kirishima reassuringly when the redhead’s shoulders droop. “Don’t worry, it was a good idea. I mean, relating it to my quirk and all…”

“I can’t believe she didn’t like my name,” Kacchan says. 

Izuku gives him a deadpanned look. “And I can’t believe you actually thought she would.”

“King Explosion Murder is a fucking great name!” The blond snaps, “That bitch has no taste!” 

Kirishima snickers, “A great name for a video game character maybe, but way too violent for a pro hero!” 

“YOU WANNA DIE, SHITTY HAIR?!?” Izuku is about to stop Kacchan from lunging at Kirishima, but the latter easily defends himself from the blond’s explosions by making his arms hard. 

“Anyway,” he says casually, as if he wasn’t just attacked, “I’m more worried about the internships. I’m torn between Fourth Kind’s agency and Swift Wonder’s.” 

Kacchan returns to Izuku’s side with a huff while the greenette thinks. “Hmm, I think Fourth Kind would be better, considering your quirk. What about you, Kacchan?”

He looks at his childhood friend, who smirks and flaunts his long list of recommendations. “Of course I know where I’m going!” He boasts, “I got nominated by Best Jeanist.”

Kirishima’s eyes widen. “Whoa, the number four hero?!? Lucky!” 

Kacchan tilts his chin up smugly. Then, he pauses and glances back down at the list. “Wait a minute.” He frowns. “You said that healer chick you’re gonna follow around works at Endeavor’s place, right?” 

“Yeah,” Izuku says.

“That’s too far from Best Jeanist.” Red eyes roam over the list. His brows furrow even deeper. “None of these fucking agencies are anywhere near where you will be.” 

Izuku rolls his eyes, already knowing where he’s going with this. “Don’t worry, Kacchan, I’ll be fine.”

“What’s he worried about?” Kirishima asks.

Sighing exasperatedly, Izuku turns to the redhead and says, “Kacchan’s convinced himself that he needs to be my personal bodyguard at all times. Even though I will literally be surrounded by heroes the entire time.” He gives Kacchan a pointed look, but the other boy merely curls his lip wordlessly. 

Thankfully, Kirishima seems to agree with him. “Ah, he’ll be fine, Bakugou-kun. He’s a tough little healer, isn’t he?” Grinning, he ruffles Izuku’s curls good-naturedly. “Remember when he kicked Todoroki-kun’s ass during training?” 

“Half ‘n Half wasn’t using his quirk,” Kacchan grumbles, but when Izuku narrows his eyes at him, he sighs loudly, “But fine, whatever. Just be sure to fucking text me, alright?” 

It’s as good as he’s going to get with Kacchan. Izuku smiles, not noticing the way Kirishima glances between the two of them curiously. 

The next day goes by quickly. Lunch goes about the same way, with the Bakusquad sitting on one end while Izuku’s other friends sit on the other end. It’s nice- not that Izuku doesn’t like hanging out with Kacchan, Kirishima, Sero, Ashido, and Kaminari, but it’s fun to get to know his other classmates better. Yaoyorozu is eager to give him tips and recipes when she learns of his quirk’s connection to food, which is similar to her own. 

They have a stealth-based hero class that afternoon, and once school is over, Izuku helps Recovery Girl treat a handful of students. She gives him a bit more homework than usual, trying to prepare him as best as she can for the internship week, but he’s more concerned about his difficulty controlling his quirk. He’s hardly made any progress and, despite his mentor’s insistence on patience, he finds himself becoming frustrated. 

“Oi, Midoriya-kun, what’s with the frowny-face?” Uraraka asks, dragging him out of his thoughts. It’s the last day before the weekend and they’re currently eating lunch in the cafeteria. 

“Oh, it’s nothing…” He starts to say dismissively, but as he looks up at her, a flash of blond catches his attention. He glances over, spotting Mirio walking with Hado and Amajiki, all with trays in their hands and obviously looking for a table. An idea forms in his mind. 

“Uh, excuse me,” he says, grabbing his tray and standing up. His friends blink in surprise.

“Where are you going?” Yaoyorozu asks. Across the table, Kacchan notices his movement and frowns in confusion. 

Izuku waves them off reassuringly as he awkwardly slides past Todoroki. “I-I just remembered that I’ve been meaning to talk to someone! I’ll see you guys later, okay?” 

“Midoriya,” Todoroki starts, but Izuku is already shuffling away. 

“Don’t wait up for me!” He calls over his shoulder, making his way across the cafeteria with his tray in his hands. Mirio, Hado, and Amajiki have found a table at this point and are sitting down. As Izuku approaches them, he finds himself getting increasingly nervous. Just talking to upperclassmen makes his heart pound, but now he wants to eat lunch with them? What is he thinking?!?

But no- no, he can’t back down now! This is a good idea, it could really help him, he can’t let his anxiety get in the way! Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like they’ll be outright mean to him…

Forcibly swallowing down his anxiety, Izuku determinedly walks over to the upperclassmen and stops in front of their table. “Ah- um, hi guys-”

“Kouhai!” Mirio shouts as soon as he looks up at him. The blond gives him a blinding grin and Izuku feels his cheeks heat up slightly. Shit, wait, nevermind, this was a terrible idea, abort- abort- abort-

“Mido-chan!” Hado’s grin is just as dazzling as Mirio’s. “Where have you been, cutie? Come sit with us!” 

Her comment makes his cheeks burn even more. Well, at least she saved him from having to ask. “If you don’t mind…”

“Nonsense!” Mirio says, scooting over to make space for him. Amajiki grunts when his friend presses against him and squirms away. Izuku nervously sits down and Mirio immediately plops a muscular arm around his shoulders. “How are you doing, Midoriya-kun?”

“Oh, uh, I’m fine,” Izuku says, not quite sure how to ask what he wants to ask. 

Hado puts her chin in her hands as she leans against the table. “What are the first-years up to now?” Both she and Mirio gaze at him as if he’s the most curious thing they’ve ever laid eyes on. 

Izuku tries to force his flush away and replies in a meek voice, “Uh, mostly just getting ready for our internships.” 

Mirio makes a noise. “So are we! It’ll be your first time, right? What am I saying, of course it is!” 

Hado sighs with a wistful look in her eyes. “Ah, I remember my first internship. How wonderful it must be to be young and carefree.” Izuku stifles a snort, but Mirio doesn’t bother, letting out a loud bark of laughter. Hado smirks before perking up. “Oh, you guys must’ve chosen your hero names then!” 

“Oh, right! What’s yours, Midoriya-kun?” Mirio asks. 

Izuku gulps. “A-Actually, I’ve been having some trouble picking mine.” Curiosity tickles his mind and he asks, “What are your hero names?” 

Mirio puffs up his chest proudly and announces, “I will be the hero Lemillion!” He grins at Izuku and explains, “Because I want to save at least one million people!” 

He sounds so positive and confident that Izuku whole-heartedly believes that he will achieve that goal. Izuku smiles and glances at Hado, who wraps a curl around each of her pointer fingers and says, “Mine’s Nejire-chan!” 

Izuku blinks. “Your own name?” He recalls Todoroki and Iida choosing their given names too, but he thought someone as bubbly as Hado would choose something more… creative. 

Still, the girl seems proud of her choice, and a gentle squeeze of his shoulders has his attention turning back to Mirio. 

“Your name can be whatever you want it to be, really. Just make sure you choose something you won’t regret later.” He laughs and glances at Amajiki, who is watching them with his head ducked. “You could also have it relate to your quirk. Tamaki-kun’s hero name is Suneater.” At the sight of Izuku’s confused expression, Mirio explains, “His quirk is called Manifest; he can manifest the physical characteristics of anything he eats. You see that takoyaki he’s eating right now? Well, during class he’ll be transforming his fingers into octopus tentacles!” 

Amajiki turns his face away as the tips of his ears flush. Izuku doesn’t understand why he seems so embarrassed- that’s such a useful quirk! “That’s really cool, Amajiki-kun!”

The raven-haired boy somehow shrinks even further into himself. “Thanks,” he mumbles, barely audible. 

“Actually, now that I think about it,” Izuku says, looking at the other two uppclassmen, “I don’t really know much about your quirks either.” 

He sees his chance- it’s a good transition to the topic that he came here to discuss. He smiles and listens politely as Mirio explains his Permeation quirk, which is super cool, but he’s a lot more interested in Hado when she talks about her Wave Motion quirk. Much like him, she has the ability to convert her own stamina into energy and release it, but hers gets discharged in the form of powerful spiral shockwaves. 

“That’s really cool,” he says and the girl preens. After a moment, he hesitantly adds, “Actually, one of the reasons I wanted to eat lunch with you guys today is to talk about your quirk.”

“Oh?” Hado tilts her head curiously.

“Yeah.” His shoulders scrunch slightly. “I’ve, uh… well, I don’t really have that much control over my quirk. I usually just let it do its thing when I was younger because all I was healing was small injuries like scrapes and bruises, but one time I tried to heal something really big and I kind of totally exhausted myself and ended up in a coma for a couple of days.” He scratches the back of his head sheepishly while the upperclassmen’s eyes widen in alarm. “Anyway, I just thought… maybe, since our quirks are kind of similar… I thought that maybe you could-”

“Teach you how to control it?!?” Hado interrupts, practically throwing herself across the table to reach out and grab his cheeks, “Of course I will! But!” She grins almost manically. “Only if you call me senpai!” 

Mirio squawks while Izuku blinks, his face squished between Hado’s palms. “Oh. Ok!” He squeaks. 

Her grin widens and she releases him. As he gingerly rubs his cheeks, she asks, “So, what have you been having trouble with the most?” 

“Er, well, Recovery Girl gave me a list of things to work on, but right now I’m just trying to focus on controlling the output,” he says, “My quirk activates automatically once I make skin contact and it won’t stop until the wound is healed. So, even if I realize that I’m draining my energy, my body physically won’t let me stop until it’s over. Which is why it can be dangerous for me.” 

Hado nods, looking surprisingly serious. “And your energy- what does it feel like?” 

Izuku ponders about it. “Kind of like… tingly and warm? Like… like energy,” he stammers lamely. “Um, and when it’s leaving me it’s like a flow that I can’t touch or grab onto no matter what.” 

“Aha!” Hado perks up. “See, that’s your problem right there! You can’t control your energy by touching it. Instead of focusing on the energy itself, focus on where it leaves your body.”

“Huh?” Izuku frowns, then glances down. “Like, my hands?” 

“Sure!” She chirps, “You’ve gotta put all your concentration there to control the flow.” 

Izuku is a bit hesitant. “I don’t know… I can’t really move my hands at all once my quirk’s activated-”

“No, no, no, it’s not about moving your hands.” Hado taps her fingers to her lips, humming in thought, then says, “I like to think of it like a hose. You can stop the flow, or at least slow it down, by stepping on the hose. Just concentrate on the spot where your energy leaves and-” She makes a closing gesture with her hands, “-narrow it down until it cuts off.”

Izuku considers it. It’s kind of hard to visualize what she’s saying, but maybe that’s because he’s always been so focused on trying to grab his energy instead of looking at the output. He isn’t sure about this whole ‘hose’ analogy, but it’s a more solid idea than anything he’s ever come up with. It’ll at least be worth a shot. 

“Sorry if it sounds a bit confusing,” Hado says when he’s quiet for too long, “I’ve never really had to think about it so hard before, it makes more sense in my head-”

“No, no, it’s fine! That was really helpful, actually.” He smiles at her. “Thanks, Hado-senpai!” 

She gasps, eyes practically sparkling. A moment later, she’s squeezing his cheeks again and her face is suddenly way too close to his. “Call me Nejire-senpai and I will love you forever!” 

Izuku blinks. Next to him, Mirio is laughing loudly while Amajiki lets out a faint groan. He looks like he pities Izuku. 

“Um.” The freckled boy isn’t quite sure what to do. “Okay, Nejire-senpai.” 

Nejire lets out an ear-piercing squeal and throws her arms around him in a tight hug. It’s awkward and uncomfortable since they’re hugging from across the table, but that doesn’t stop her from cooing, “Oh my God you’re just too adorable! Mirio-kun, can we keep him? Pleeeease?”

Mirio just laughs louder while Izuku sweatdrops nervously. Keep him?!? 

Thankfully, at the end of lunch, Mirio prevents him from being taken hostage. The trio waves at him as he walks back to his friends, Nejire calling out, “If you ever need help again, just come to your trusty senpai!” 

“Or if you ever wanna hang out!” Mirio adds.

Amajiki just gives him what he assumes is a poor attempt at a friendly smile before walking away with his shoulders hunched. After saying goodbye for about the twentieth time, Mirio and Nejire follow him. 

Izuku turns away with a small huff of laughter. Even though his new senpais are a bit overwhelming, he found himself having a fun time while eating lunch with them. They talked about the Sports Festival- which Mirio won in the third-years’ stage- and the blond asked about Izuku’s classes with All Might. They’re friendly and easy to get along with, and even though they did most of the talking they made sure to include Izuku in their conversation. 

He tells Kacchan about them on their way back to homeroom, but his friend just grunts about how it’s weird for first-years to eat lunch with third-years. Izuku sticks his tongue out at him in response. 

During their hero lesson, All Might asks if they’ve all chosen what agency they’ll be going to for their internships. Everyone agrees, including Izuku, which incites more than a few surprised glances. 

“Really, Midoriya-chan?” Asui tilts her head. 

“I thought you said healers didn’t have agencies?” Jirou asks. 

“They don’t,” Izuku explains, “But I’m going to be shadowing a combat medic named VaporMend throughout the week. Since healers are in high demand, she isn’t exclusive to one agency, so she kind of just goes where she’s needed. I’ll be meeting up with her at the Nighteye Agency and I guess we’ll just go from there.” He smiles, unable to hide his excitement. Recovery Girl gave him the rundown of what to expect during his internship week just this morning. From what VaporMend told her, apparently they’ll be spending a good few days at the Endeavor Agency, but Izuku doesn’t want to tell Todoroki yet. He wants it to be a surprise, and it will no doubt be funny to see the look on Todoroki’s face when he shows up. 

“Hey, that’s pretty cool, Midoriya-kun!” Sato says. 

Hagakure’s sleeves jump around. “You get to go to multiple agencies? Lucky!” 

Izuku laughs, but then he notices the way All Might is staring at him with slightly wide eyes. He almost looks panicked. As soon as their gazes meet, however, the number one hero gives himself a shake and plasters on his usual smile.

“All right then, young zygotes! You want to make a good impression during your internships, so let’s get to work!” 

(Recovery Girl 4:02PM) -Sorry, I’m going to be a bit late for our lesson. Hold the fort until I get back.

(Midoriya 4:04PM) -Ok!

Pocketing his phone, Izuku steps into the infirmary, letting out a small sigh of relief when he sees that it’s empty. No students waiting to be treated. Normally he might jump at a chance to use his quirk, especially after what Nejire suggested to him, but today’s hero lesson has left him rather tired. He trudges over to Recovery Girl’s desk, intent on getting a headstart on reviewing the day’s list of patients, when a knock on the door has him faltering. 

He stifles a noise of annoyance and calls out, “Come in!”

To his surprise, instead of an injured student, All Might walks in. He’s still in his muscled form and his costume from today’s lesson.

“Hello, Young Midoriya,” he greets, gently shutting the door behind him. 

“Oh, hi, All Might,” Izuku says, eyes roaming over him in concern, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” He raises his arms and gestures to himself. “No new injuries, no need to worry. I just wanted to have a word with you about your internship.” 

“Oh.” Izuku relaxes and sits down in his desk chair. “Sure, what’s up?” 

All Might stiffly sits down on the nearest bed and shuffles his feet. He opens his mouth, then closes it and shifts uncomfortably. If Izuku didn’t know any better, he’d say All Might looks awkward. 

“Well, it’s mostly about the first agency you’re going to,” he finally says, “You mentioned the Nighteye Agency?” Izuku nods. He doesn’t really know that particular hero too well, but from the look on All Might’s face, he can tell there’s something bigger going on here. The blond coughs, thankfully without any blood, and says, “Ah, yes, well… You probably don’t know this, but Sir Nighteye used to be a sidekick of mine.”

Izuku’s eyes widen. “You had a sidekick?!?” He exclaims, “But- But I thought you were always against taking on sidekicks?!?” 

“I was,” All Might says, “But Nighteye was very persistent.” Izuku’s shocked expression doesn’t change, and All Might eventually adds reluctantly, “And he did all of my file work, so it was hard to say no.” 

Izuku is stunned. How did he not know that All Might had a sidekick?!? He feels like such a fake fan.

“He and I worked together for many years, until my injury.” All Might hesitates. “As I’m sure you know, my injury was very… severe. I almost died, and seeing as the usage of my quirk was suddenly very limited, Sir Nighteye wanted me to retire. Obviously, I refused and… well… we broke up.” He grimaces and looks down at the ground. Izuku can’t help but think he looks rather regretful. “I’ve been meaning to call him, to tell him about meeting you and my newfound health, but…” He glances away. “I’m not sure if it will change anything.”

Izuku frowns in confusion. Of course it would change things! Sir Nighteye wouldn’t have to worry anymore… but from the troubled look in All Might’s eyes, he can tell there’s a lot he still doesn’t know about this whole situation. Maybe their break up was uglier than All Might made it sound. So Izuku holds his tongue. 

Instead, he asks softly, “Do you want me to… say anything to him?” 

All Might smiles and waves him off. “Oh, no, no, don’t you worry about it. I guess I just, I dunno... wanted to mention it.” He pauses, gazing at Izuku for a moment, then his smile wavers slightly. A soft sigh escapes his lips. “Just… Well, if you see him… Let me know how he’s doing.”  

Izuku doesn’t like how sad All Might looks right now. He doesn’t outwardly show it, of course, but Izuku can see it anyways. He wonders just how deep and personal his relationship with Sir Nighteye was. Losing him must’ve hurt a lot, if it could leave such a heavy, lingering sadness in All Might’s eyes. 

Yeah, he’s definitely going to try and get those two back together.

Smiling brightly, he nods and says, “Okay!” 

All Might huffs fondly and reaches out to ruffle his curls. Izuku, as usual, whines in protest, but something in the corner of his eye catches his attention. Mirio’s face is sticking through the door. Izuku freezes. The blond blinks at the hand on Izuku’s head and glances between him and All Might curiously. 

“Mirio-senpai!” Izuku squeaks. All Might glances over and retracts his hand. 

“Ah, sorry, Midoriya-kun!” Mirio says, “I was just looking for Haya-san. She got a little injured during class today and said she’d visit the nurse’s office after school.”

“Haya-san…?” Izuku vaguely recalls a pink-haired upperclassman sitting next to Nejire during lunch. He healed her after the stampede, right? A friend of Nejire. And apparently Mirio? “Sorry, I haven’t seen her.” He gets up and looks over Recovery Girl’s clipboard once more. “Looks like she hasn’t stopped by today.” 

“Alrighty, then. I’ve ‘To-gata’ go find her!” Mirio laughs boisterously. Izuku is confused, but then All Might laughs too. Mirio looks thrilled that the number one hero found whatever he said to be humorous. “See ya later!” He chirps before his face retreats. 

All Might is still chuckling. “What a funny young man.”

Izuku blinks. Then, his eyes widen in realization. “Oh! To-gata go! Like his name, but he has to- oh!” He looks at All Might. “That was a joke!” 

Not a very funny one, in his opinion, but he’s not surprised that All Might would laugh at something as stupid as that. 

“Took you a little while there,” the older man teases. 

Izuku huffs, then pauses. “Wait, you know his name? I thought you didn’t teach third-years?”

All Might stiffens, so fleeting that Izuku wouldn’t have noticed if he didn’t know the man so well, then casually brushes it off. “Oh, I’ve just heard his name go around campus- he’s a popular one, you know? Apparently, there’s almost always laughter echoing around him.”

It’s believable, but Izuku is still a bit suspicious about the way he tensed up there. Actually, throughout their whole conversation he got the faint feeling that All Might wasn’t quite telling him everything. But Izuku knows that he wouldn’t keep anything too important from him, so he supposes it’s none of his business to know. 

Still, he can’t help but wonder why All Might would know Mirio’s name- and recognize him. The two do look rather similar, too…

Smirking slightly, he asks, “Are you sure he’s not your secret love-child or something?” 

He’s teasing, of course, but he immediately regrets it when All Might chokes and spews blood in shock. 

“Oh shit, sorry, sorry-”

“My-My boy- gak!- What on earth-?”

“Ahh, here’s a handkerchief! Do you need another one? Shit-”

“Dear lord, you can’t just say things like that! What goes on in your mind?!?”

“Sorry!” 

Chapter Text

Despite Izuku’s excitement for his internship week, the day they’re meant to be sent off also brings a sense of unease. Uraraka texts him early that morning, expressing her worry about Iida doing his internship with a lesser-known agency in Hosu. The city where his older brother essentially lost his life as a hero. He won’t have any friends to distract him from his pain, and Izuku worries how this week-long internship might affect him.  

So, when class 1-A meets up at the train station, Izuku and Uraraka approach Iida. The blue-haired boy turns when Izuku calls his name, but the greenette suddenly finds that he doesn’t quite know what to say. What can he say in this situation? He has no idea what’s going on in Iida’s mind right now. 

Thankfully, Uraraka knows Iida better than he does, so she steps forward. “If… if you ever need to talk to someone, you have our numbers. You know you can talk to us about anything…”

“We’re your friends, right?” Izuku asks. 

There’s a pause, then Iida turns to them. Even though he’s smiling, his face is closed off. 

“Yeah,” he says, then turns and walks away without another word. 

Uraraka sighs and looks at Izuku. “I suppose there isn’t really much else we can do for him…” 

Izuku reluctantly nods. They can’t really help Iida if he doesn’t want them to. He hopes that just the reminder of their support will be enough for the other boy, but that doesn’t stop anxiety from churning in his stomach as he bids goodbye to Uraraka and returns to Kacchan’s side. 

“Remember to text me when you get there,” the blond reminds him for the hundredth time as they walk to Izuku’s platform, “And don’t fucking talk to creeps along the way.” 

Izuku rolls his eyes. “Yes, mother.” 

Ignoring Kacchan’s growl, he spots Todoroki and waves as they pass by. Todoroki simply gives him a small smile in return. Soon, Izuku is sitting on the train, gazing out the window as the scenery flashes by. It’s… really weird to be travelling by himself for the first time. It’s weird that the person sitting next to him isn’t Kacchan, but a complete stranger. It makes him nervous, but he mentally scolds himself for being so cowardly and tries to force himself to be excited instead. 

He gets to go somewhere without Kacchan! He gets to have an adventure that’s all his own! This is new and exciting and he’s going to make the best of it! 

So, with that positive mentality, he plasters a smile on his face and eagerly anticipates his arrival. The Nighteye Agency is about an hour-long train ride from UA, but it feels like it passes in minutes. Before he knows it, he’s standing on the sidewalk, peering up at the large, five-story building in front of him.

His smile wavers ever so slightly. Despite his mental pep-talk, his anxiety returns with full force. He’s really alone right now. Kacchan usually takes the lead with this kind of stuff. Actually, he takes the lead with pretty much everything. Izuku’s so used to being a follower that he isn’t quite sure how to proceed. What if he’s super awkward and makes a fool of himself? What if he does something wrong and messes everything up? What if-

Through the glass doors, he can see a receptionist inside giving him an odd look. Oh shit, he’s been standing outside for way too long. 

Stepping inside, he smiles politely and walks up to her desk. “Ex-Excuse me,” he tries not to stammer, “Um, I’m here for my internship. With-With Kamei Yuki.” 

The receptionist glances at her computer screen and makes a noise. “Ah, are you Midoriya Izuku?” Izuku nods, mentally scolding himself for not giving his name right away, and she gestures to the staircase. “She should be on the third floor. I’ll let her know you’re coming.”

Izuku thanks her and nervously makes his way up the staircase, which is shaped in a dizzying spiral. Everything around him seems so pristine and fancy, it makes him feel very out of place. He gazes around in awe- he’s in a real hero agency! He’s so busy gawking at everything that he completely loses count of how many floors he’s gone up. 

Shit, did he already pass the third floor? No, no, it’s the one just above him- this one! 

Coming to a stop at the next landing, Izuku spots a plain-looking door at the end of the long hallway. There’s no sign or any hint as to what might lay behind it, so he cautiously moves closer and opens the door slowly. 

The first thing he notices is the abundance of All Might merchandise spread out across the room. Posters are plastered on every wall, All Might bobble-heads and knick knacks carefully placed in already-full bookshelves and desks, a life-size All Might cardboard cutout propped up in the corner. Izuku freezes. What did he just walk into? Is this whole room a shrine?

Whatever this place is, he’s not the only one here. A young woman with blue skin and hair notices him as soon as the door opens and straightens up.

“Who are you?” She asks.

Izuku startles and opens his mouth to reply when suddenly a large body flies out from one of the walls. Except, the wall remains unbroken, as if the body phased through it. The person hits the ground with a loud thump right in front of Izuku. He immediately recognizes who it is.

“Mi-Mirio-senpai?!?” He squeaks. Mirio glances at him in surprise, sitting up, and- wow that’s a lot more skin that Izuku’s used to seeing. His face heats up and he slaps his hands over his eyes. “You-You’re naked!” 

“Huh?” Mirio looks down at himself, as if he didn’t even notice. “Oh, right. Sorry, sometimes I lose my clothes when I phase through something with my whole body.” 

Izuku keeps his eyes covered as he hears Mirio get up. The woman from earlier sighs and walks over, asking, “Why did you phase through the wall, then?” 

“I thought I might break it. Sir would be upset if I destroyed his Bronze Age poster.” Izuku peeks between his fingers long enough to see Mirio nod at a poster on the wall featuring All Might in said Bronze Age costume. Mirio himself is unabashedly standing with his hands on his hips, his broad, naked chest glistening with sweat. Izuku blushes furiously, sparing a quick glance down and letting out a sigh of relief when he sees that Mirio has covered his nether regions with a jacket, probably given to him by the woman. 

Mirio looks at him with a grin. “Anyway, I didn’t expect to see you here, my little kouhai!” 

“You know this kid?” The woman asks. 

Izuku opens his mouth to introduce himself, only to be interrupted by a door opening on the same wall that Mirio phased through. A tall man, who Izuku instantly recognizes as Sir Nighteye- he may have done some research after All Might mentioned him- walks in. 

“Mirio-kun, what did I tell you about-” He pauses when his eyes land on Izuku. The freckled boy gulps, suddenly finding himself under an intense gaze. “Who are you?” Nighteye demands. 

Izuku once again opens his mouth, but Mirio beats him to it. The blond wraps a heavy arm around his shoulders, pulls him close to his side, and announces, “This is my kouhai, Midoriya Izuku of class 1-A!” 

“A hero student?” Nighteye’s golden eyes narrow. “I didn’t hire another intern. What are you doing here?” 

“Oh, yeah, what are you doing here, Midoriya-kun?” Mirio glances down at him curiously. Izuku’s face burns, mostly likely due to the fact that, despite the jacket, Mirio is still very much naked and is pressing the smaller boy against him. 

As he squirms out of his grasp, he stammers, “Uh, I’m doing my internship with Kamei Yuki. Er- VaporMend!”

“Ah, right, she mentioned someone would be coming by,” the blue-skinned woman says, “You’re Recovery Girl’s apprentice, right?” Izuku nods and she smiles. “It’s nice to meet you then, Midoriya-kun. I’m Bubble Girl, Sir Nighteye’s sidekick.” 

She holds her hand out and Izuku takes it. “Nice to meet you.” 

“Hey, you never told me you’d be coming here for your internship!” Mirio says, his words accusing but his tone good-natured. He reaches out to ruffle Izuku’s curls but the greenette hastily dodges. He’d put his hair in a very nice bun today and he doesn’t want it to be ruined. 

“I’m not really staying here, I don’t think,” he says, “VaporMend goes where she’s needed, so I’ll just be shadowing her.” 

“You get to go to multiple agencies? Dang, it’s cool that healers have such flexibility!” Mirio says. “I’m jealous.” 

“There are so few of them around,” Bubble Girl comments, “It’s nice to see such a young healer.” 

Before Izuku can reply, Sir Nighteye speaks up, “Yes, well, we’re all glad that you’re here, but if you don’t mind, we were in the middle of a training session.” He gives Mirio a look and the blond grins sheepishly.

“Training…” Izuku looks at Mirio, “You’re doing your internship here, senpai?” 

Mirio puffs up his chest with pride. “Yup! I’ve been working with Sir for almost a year now!” 

“That’s super cool.” As Izuku speaks, the door behind him opens. 

“Ah, there you are, Midoriya-kun.” He glances over his shoulder to see a short woman with a distinct, sharp cut bob hairstyle that matches the jet black color of her nails. She smiles warmly and extends her hand. “Kamei Yuki, nice to meet you. The receptionist said you were on your way, but I figured you got lost. Don’t worry about it, though,” she adds when Izuku starts to apologize, “This place can be a bit confusing for new people. I see you’ve already met Sir Nighteye.” She looks over at the man who nods politely in return. 

“Kamei-san,” Sir Nighteye says, “I was unaware you were taking on an intern this week.” He doesn’t sound too pleased at the surprise, but the healer waves him off. 

“Oh, yeah, I wasn’t really planning on it,” she says, smiling at Izuku, “But Recovery Girl has spoken so highly of you, I just had to snatch you up before any of the other healers could.” 

Izuku flushes slightly and looks down at his shoes. “I-I hope she didn’t oversell me…” 

Mirio laughs and gives him a hefty pat on the back that nearly makes him lose his balance. “You’re too humble, Midoriya-kun!” He says, “You’ve got a super rare quirk and you’re a recommendation student! Have some pride!” 

Izuku blinks. “How do you know I’m a recommend…” He trails off and shakes his head. Considering how displeased Shinsou was when he found out, there’s a good chance he mentioned it to others. News about Izuku seems to spread like wildfire in UA. 

“Who sponsored you?” Bubble Girl asks, then catches herself, “Oh, wait a minute, it was probably Recovery Girl.”

Sir Nighteye, who has been steadily looking more and more annoyed as they continue to talk, catches Mirio’s attention and jerks his head towards the door that no doubt leads to a training room. Mirio pats Izuku once more before turning to follow his mentor, but Izuku quickly spots his chance.

“Actually, All Might was my sponsor,” he says. Bubble Girl and VaporMend make noises of surprise, but Izuku keeps his eye on Sir Nighteye. Just as he expected, the man stops dead in his tracks. 

“What?” He asks, turning around to fix Izuku with a firm but bewildered look, “Why would All Might sponsor a healer?” 

Feigning casualness, Izuku explains, “Oh, we met around a year before I got into UA. I guess he saw my potential, but I have trouble controlling my quirk sometimes. See, I can kind of sense injuries and my quirk will automatically try to heal them, but if it’s a big injury then my quirk won’t stop and I’ll eventually pass out from exhaustion. All Might wanted to help me get into UA so that I could train with Recovery Girl, sooo… yeah, he sponsored me.” 

It’s a vague explanation and it doesn’t divulge how he even met All Might in the first place, but it’s enough to make Sir Nighteye look suspicious. Izuku can practically see the gears turning in the man’s head as his sharp eyes seemingly analyze the boy thoroughly. It’s rather unnerving, actually, but Mirio distracts him with a loud ‘ohh’ of understanding. 

“That explains the other day, then…” Izuku and Bubble Girl tilt their heads questioningly and Mirio says, “I was poking my head into the nurse’s office after school one day and I saw All Might ruffling Midoriya-kun’s hair. I guess it makes sense now.” He smiles at Izuku. “You two seem close.” 

Izuku rubs the back of his neck bashfully. “Er, I guess so…” 

“That’s awesome!” Bubble Girl exclaims, “Man, to be sponsored by the number one hero?” 

“It was kind of crazy,” Izuku admits, “I think I confused a lot of people during the recommendation exam.”

VaporMend laughs and says, “Well, if you have both All Might and Recovery Girl in your corner, then I can’t wait to see your quirk! I don’t know how much I can help you with controlling it, but I can definitely introduce you to the world of hero healers!” 

Izuku’s eyes sparkle eagerly. “Thanks! And don’t worry about the control thing- my friend Nejire-senpai already gave me some advice that I’m excited to try out.” 

“Yeah, can’t have you passing out anymore!” Mirio grins, then cocks his head to the side curiously. “Hey, speaking of, I was wondering- what’s the biggest injury you’ve ever healed?” 

Izuku’s smile widens. Bless his senpai for asking the right questions! Sir Nighteye is still gazing at him when he glances over. Making direct eye-contact with the hero, Izuku nonchalantly says, “Oh, I regrew a stomach once.”  

Sir Nighteye’s eyes widen. 

“Holy shit, that’s amazing!” Bubble Girl exclaims, oblivious to her boss’s silent freak out. 

“A stomach? You can regrow organs?” Mirio gapes at him and Izuku giggles, nodding. “Holy crap! Wait, is that the big injury that made you go into a coma afterwards?” 

“Eh?!?” Bubble Girl and VaporMend stare at him in alarm. 

Izuku coughs awkwardly. “Ah, yeah. My quirk utilizes my own energy, so big injuries take a lot out of me. Hence, why I need to learn to control my quirk better.” 

VaporMend hums in thought. “I see. Well, you let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you out with that. We can talk more about quirks later, though.” She straightens up and turns to Sir Nighteye, who looks speechless. “I’ve just finished organizing your medical wing. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give Midoriya-kun a quick tour of it before we go on our way.” 

Sir Nighteye still hasn’t torn his dumbfounded gaze away from Izuku. Now Mirio and Bubble Girl are starting to notice his odd behavior as well. 

“Um, that’s fine! Go right ahead!” Bubble Girl says when her boss takes too long to respond. She bounces over to him and snaps her fingers in front of his face while VaporMend leads Izuku away. Mirio cheerfully waves as they leave.

Turns out, Izuku had gone up one flight too many. VaporMend leads him back down to the third floor where they enter a room that looks much more hospital-like than the previous one. 

“Alright, then, let’s get started,” the healer says, waving her arms around her, “This is the Nighteye Agency medical wing! And those lovely people over there-” She gestures to a trio of adults gathered around a desk who watch them curiously. “Are the medical team! Nakamura-san is the head healer and Kida-san and Sakuma-san are his medics. Most hero agencies are set up in a similar way, with one head healer supported by multiple doctors that make up for their unrelated quirks with their dazzling medical degrees!” 

She flourishes her hand flamboyantly and grins. Izuku laughs nervously, but the medics don’t appear to be offended. They smile and greet him politely while VaporMend continues. 

“As you may notice, this place isn’t too big. That’s because agencies like Nighteye’s are more focused on intel gathering rather than combat, so their medical wing is smaller than most, but when we go over to Endeavor’s agency you’ll see that their wing is a lot bigger. Actually, it’s so big that I’m not the only healer that works there- I’ve got a partner named Osaki-san! He’s an older fellow, though, so he just sticks to the Endeavor Agency.” 

Izuku nods, kind of wishing he could take notes, and starts to ask, “Um, VaporMend-”

The woman cuts him off with a wave. “Oh, none of that! Just call me Kamei-san.” Izuku nods and opens his mouth to finish asking his question, but Kamei just plows onward. “Healers tend to stick to the agencies where their particular skills will be most useful. For example, my quirk, Healing Breath, works by utilizing the healing properties in the water droplets of my breath. Basically, if I breathe on an injury, it speeds up the healing process by about fifty percent. So it’s really good for dealing with external wounds like burns, which is why I primarily work with the Endeavor Agency. The big guy’s a great hero, but kinda messy. You’ll see when we get there.” 

At the mention of Endeavor, Izuku shifts uncomfortably. He’s only ever met the man twice, but each time he wasn’t very friendly. And now that he knows how Endeavor views healers, he isn’t too eager to join his medical team, even if it’s only temporary. 

Well, at least Todoroki will be there. 

He follows Kamei as she walks around the medical wing, continuing her explanation, “Other agencies like rescue agencies typically have healers with quirks like pain stopping and stuff like that to help keep the civilians that they’re rescuing calm. They also provide good on-sight medical treatment, but I suppose that part could be applied to all combat medics. Oh!” She perks up. “There is one healer that I know of that works at underground agencies with a quirk that’s like internal body cleansing or something? He could get rid of poisons and stuff. Do you know why that quirk is best for underground agencies?”

She turns to face Izuku, who is taken aback by the sudden question. He can already tell that Kamei is the type to talk a lot- and quickly too, so it takes him a moment to process what she asked. 

“Uh…” His mind whirls. “Because… underground heroes probably deal with… sneakier villains?” He struggles to find the right words. “I mean, they might do undercover work, stuff that most heroes can’t do because they’re in the media spotlight, so… the threat of drugs and poisons must be higher for them, compared to other heroes?” It comes out sounding like a question.

However, considering the pleased expression on Kamei’s face, it’s the right answer. “You’ve got the gist of it, yeah!” She says, “So, you see how it’s important for healers to understand their specialities?” He nods. “Most healers communicate to some degree with each other and go where they’re needed. So if, say, Endeavor gets poisoned by a villain, we’d call up our underground friend and have him come over. Healers, especially the more powerful ones, are constantly on the move. I bet you’ll be just like Recovery Girl- with a quirk as flexible as yours, you'll be traveling all across Japan during your career, healing heroes left and right.” She grabs his hands and leans a bit too close to his face, grinning eagerly. “Isn’t it exciting?!?”

Her eyes are wide and sparkling with energy. She kind of reminds him of Nejire with her bubbly, in-your-face personality. Swallowing, he leans back slightly and stammers, “Uh, ye-yeah, tota-”

“Let me show you how everything’s set up!” She moves away as quickly as she came, spinning around and gesturing to a large cabinet probably full of medical supplies. “Nighteye’s medical wing was in desperate need of a tune-up, so Kida-san called me over. Like my own mentor always said, all good medical wings need to have a-”

She goes on to explain the logistics of setting up a hero agency’s medical center, talking a mile a minute about everything from basic necessities to decorations to the cost of equipment- which he won’t even have to worry about since it will be paid for by the agency, but he gets the feeling that she just wanted an excuse to rant about some of the ‘outrageous’ prices of particular equipment. He nods along politely, slightly overwhelmed by the abundance of information being dumped on him so soon, and tries to remember as much as he can so he can write down notes later. 

It’s a long time before Mirio’s head pops through the door, startling Izuku. “Excuse me,” he says. Kamei and the other doctors glance over, seeming entirely unsurprised at the sight of the teenage boy’s face sticking through the door. “Not trying to rush you or anything, but Sir says he wants to talk to Midoriya-kun before you guys leave.” 

Kamei stops talking for the first time in twenty minutes, miraculously not even slightly out of breath, and cocks her head to the side. “Why?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Mirio says, “But you know how he’s a big All Might fan- he’s probably just curious about Midoriya-kun ‘cause he got sponsored by the guy.”

Well it’s about time Sir Nighteye decided to say something. It couldn’t have taken him that long to figure it out. 

Izuku smiles and looks to Kamei for permission. 

“Oh, go ahead then,” she says, waving him off, “Just don’t take too long- I wanna have time to get lunch before we have to go to Endeavor’s place.” 

Izuku nods. Mirio’s face disappears for a moment before his senpai opens the door for him and dramatically gestures for him to join him in the hallway. Izuku giggles and trots after the older boy as he begins leading the way. Mirio strikes up a friendly chat while they walk, talking about his intense training with Sir Nighteye, who apparently has a lot more physical skill than he appears to have. He’s led to a smaller, more private office room; Mirio opens the door for him before giving him a quick pat on the shoulder and leaving. 

When he enters, he spots Sir Nighteye standing on the opposite end of the room. The tall man is facing away from him, his hands braced on his desk as he gazes out the window with hunched shoulders. It makes for a rather dramatic sight, but for some reason Izuku doesn’t feel quite so nervous anymore. 

Sir Nighteye is silent for a moment, then says quietly, “Even though All Might and I haven’t spoken to each other in years, I still keep a close eye on him. It would’ve been impossible for me to not notice how he’s been staying in his muscled form longer and longer each day, despite his injury. At first, I thought that perhaps he was just pushing himself. It would’ve been far from the first time he’s done so.” He straightens up and slowly turns to look over his shoulder at Izuku. “But now I know why.” 

His gaze is firm but skeptical, as if he doesn’t quite know what to make of him. Izuku meets it calmly and says, “I haven’t healed him entirely yet.” 

Sir Nighteye blinks, then frowns. “But you said-”

“Just his stomach,” Izuku clarifies, then winces in apology at the interruption, “I just… grew back his stomach. I didn’t even mean to, really, I just…” He trails off, then figures he should probably start from the beginning. “I met All Might last April after the incident with a sludge villain that resulted in a woman’s death.” Sir Nighteye nods, as if he’s very familiar with said incident, and considering how much All Might merchandise he has and how closely he’s been watching the number one hero, he probably is. “I stumbled across him in his weak form and he kind of accidentally coughed up blood on my face which was really gross but I ended up basically grabbing him by the wrists and- well, like I said earlier, my quirk activates automatically as soon as skin contact is made.” He struggles not to ramble. “I could sense his injuries and my quirk was trying to heal them as quickly as possible, but I eventually just ended up passing out. I didn’t even realize who he was or what I had done until he visited me in the hospital a couple of days later. He told me about getting injured by that villain and… and that he had a stomach for the first time in years and I couldn’t believe it!” He looks down at his feet, smiling softly at the memories. “And, well, Recovery Girl offered to train me and…” He gestures as if to say ‘the rest is history’. 

Sir Nighteye stares at him, clearly processing his words. “But… I still don’t understand why All Might sponsored you…”

“Oh!” Izuku waves his hands sheepishly. “That’s just ‘cause there was some old rule about teachers not being allowed to sponsor students, so Recovery Girl couldn’t do it herself and, well, All Might was more than willing to help out.” He scratches the back of his neck, then forces himself to be steady and straightens up. “I plan to heal him completely as soon as I learn how to control my quirk.” 

“And where are you with that?” Sir Nighteye asks. 

Now, Izuku gets a bit nervous. He wrings his hands in his shirt and glances away with a sigh. “Honestly, not very far. I’ve got a couple of ideas that might help, but I’ve basically gone my entire life without trying to train my quirk. It might be a while.” He brightens slightly and adds, “But we did find out that my quirk can be stopped if the skin contact is broken by someone else, like if they move away or move me.” 

“Then why don’t you just do that?” Sir Nighteye asks, a bit demandingly. 

“I know right? I totally could!” Izuku agrees wholeheartedly, to the man’s surprise. He sighs again, “But Recovery Girl said I have to get licensed before I can heal a pro hero. You know, ‘cause of legalities and stuff. I wasn’t really supposed to heal All Might the first time, but they let it go.” 

Sir Nighteye looks slightly frustrated, which Izuku understands. Eventually, though, he lets out a heavy exhale through his nose and says, “I guess it can’t be helped, then. Well, regardless, I want to thank you for healing him.” Izuku blinks in surprise when the man gives him a small smile. “I never thought I’d ever see him be as strong as he is now again.”

Izuku flushes and averts his gaze shyly. He’ll never get used to such blatant praise. “Oh, um, it’s-it’s no problem.” 

Sir Nighteye arches a brow. “Sounds like it was, though. What did Mirio-kun say about you being in a coma?” Izuku decides to explain his quirk a bit more thoroughly, explaining how it usually works and how All Might’s injury affected him. Sir Nighteye nods thoughtfully. “Your quirk… I’ve never heard of something like it before. It’s so powerful… It should be impossible…” He murmurs the last part, as if to himself. He falls silent, his brows knitted in contemplation, and Izuku waits patiently. 

He startles when Sir Nighteye abruptly straightens up and looks at him. “How much has All Might told you about me?” 

Izuku blinks. “Er- just that you used to work together and that you broke up when he got injured.” 

The hero huffs and grumbles something under his breath that Izuku doesn’t catch. Pursing his lips, he says, “My quirk is called Foresight. It allows me to see a person’s future. When All Might was injured-” He cuts himself off, a sharp exhale hissing through his teeth as he glances away. “You don’t understand… He was broken.” A deep pain flashes in those golden eyes. Izuku’s chest suddenly feels tight. 

Sir Nighteye pauses, inhales deeply, then continues, “While he was hospitalized, I used my quirk on him.” Another pause. “And I saw that he would face off against a villain and die an unspeakably gruesome death.”

Izuku’s breath catches in his throat. He stares at Sir Nighteye with wide, disbelieving eyes. 

“Whatever future I see cannot be changed; this rule is absolute, as I myself have tried to change the future to no avail. But I knew,” the man whispers, “That if he was to continue on like that, with that body, he would only seal his fate. I couldn’t stand by and just let this future play out, not with All Might. Even though I knew it was hopeless, I had to at least try.” He swallows heavily and continues, “So, I told him to retire. I told him to find a successor to pass the mantle of the Symbol of Peace onto. To spend the rest of his days as a legend, to live while he still could.” His face twists into a grimace and he growls, “And he refused. Even though he couldn’t smile at all, he refused to stop fighting. And I couldn’t support him. I couldn’t watch him accept his fate. At that rate, everything would have gone according to my Foresight. It was going according to what I saw…” His words trail off and he lifts his head towards Izuku. “But I didn’t see you.” 

Heart in his throat, all Izuku can do is stare. He doesn’t understand what he’s saying. All Might is going to…?

“I didn’t see you,” Sir Nighteye repeats. His jaw clenches. He almost looks frustrated. “I don’t understand you. What is your place in all this?” Izuku doesn’t realize that he’s stepped closer until the man is right in front of him, gazing down at him with an indecipherable expression. “A boy with a healing quirk, rare even amongst rare quirks. Born of pure chance, with a complete disregard to genetics. An anomaly…” His golden gaze seems to pierce Izuku. “How could I have possibly foreseen you?” 

Izuku… doesn’t know what to say. Vaguely, he’s reminded of his conversation with All Might after USJ, the man telling him how the villains lost because they didn’t expect him. He swallows uneasily. Is he an anomaly? Everyone always seems so shocked by his quirk, even healers…

What is he?

Silence is his only response. Sir Nighteye’s eyes roam over him as he says, “Six or seven years. That was how far into his future I looked. That was when I saw his death. The further into the future I look, the less accurate the time. It could be this year or next year…” His voice drops to a murmur, “Or it could have already passed.” 

“Huh?” Izuku croaks. 

Sir Nighteye takes a step back, still holding his gaze. “In all my years as a hero, my Foresight has never been wrong. I knew that even if I tried to change All Might’s future I would fail. But you… you weren’t part of my vision. You can heal him, you can fix him, and I just can’t help but wonder…” 

Silence falls between them. Izuku doesn’t notice until now that his eyes are wet. Still, he somehow can’t bring himself to wipe his tears just yet.

“Have I…” He whispers shakily, “Have I… changed anything?” 

Sir Nighteye’s throat bobs. “I don’t know. I’m not…” Then, his eyes widen ever so slightly. Inhaling deeply, he steps towards Izuku once more and raises his hand. “Ever since I saw All Might’s death, I decided to never read people’s futures. From then on, I would only look seconds and minutes into the future, no more. But I…”

Izuku’s gaze darts to his raised hand hovering inches away from his face, then back to his eyes. Wordlessly asking for permission. He nods and Sir Nighteye’s hand gently cups the side of his face. Golden eyes turn purple. 

Mere seconds pass before those same eyes well up with tears. Izuku stiffens in alarm, but then the hand on his cheek slides to the back of his head and the next thing he knows he’s being pulled against a chest. Long arms wrap around him, holding him tightly as a heartbeat louder than his own echoes in his ear. A chin drops on top of his head with a shaky exhale. 

They stay like that for a long time, Izuku awkwardly hugging a man so much taller than him. He can’t tell what this hug means- were those tears happy or sad? Is his future bad? 

The chin on his head shifts, and a voice croaks, “I guess I should pay that man a visit, then.” 

Izuku smiles, not bothering to prevent the giggle that escapes him as he burrows deeper into Sir Nighteye’s chest. 

Well there’s his answer. 

Chapter Text

Izuku picks at his tempura half-heartedly all throughout lunch. His mind is still preoccupied with his conversation with Sir Nighteye, wondering what the future will entail now he has supposedly interfered with the man’s Foresight. Kamei remains oblivious to his distraction, continuing to incessantly chat about anything and everything as she sits across from him, only occasionally stopping to slurp up some udon. If he wasn’t so used to the constant chatter from the Bakusquad, he might find her annoying, but instead her babbling fades into the background as his mind gets lost in thought. 

After their hug ended, Izuku was kind of tempted to berate Sir Nighteye for not visiting All Might sooner- how could he leave his friend’s side if he knew he was going to die? However, since it’s a rather personal matter that Izuku still probably doesn’t fully understand the emotions of, he lets it go. He shouldn’t involve himself in this any more than he already has. 

A buzz from his phone distracts him.

(Kacchan 1:56PM) -All good?

Izuku rolls his eyes and sends a thumbs up emoji in response. They leave soon after that, Kamei refusing his offer to pay for his half of the meal, and return to the car. A pretty fancy one, in fact. They’re driven by a tall, muscular-looking woman who doesn’t speak much, although she does give Izuku the occasional glance. Kamei doesn’t pay her any attention, so Izuku follows her lead and instead keeps his attention on his new mentor. 

The Endeavor Hero Agency is a massive skyscraper that Izuku is able to spot easily before they even get close. Somehow, he thinks that it fits the Flame Hero perfectly, especially when he sees the stylized flaming “E” that adorns the front entrance. The inside is just as luxurious as the outside, fancy- and no doubt expensive- decorations visible all throughout the lobby. People bustle about busily, none of them paying much mind to the healer and her trainee as they make their way towards the elevator. 

When they’re finally alone inside the elevator- Izuku mentally blanches at the sight of so many floors- Kamei turns to him with a grin. “Well, what do you think?”

Izuku gives her a weak smile in return. “It’s really… big.”  

Kamei throws her head back in laughter and pats his shoulder. “Yup! That’s what I thought when I first came here! Don’t worry, I’ll only be giving you a tour of the floors we’ll be spending the most time on. As a healer-in-training, you don’t really need to know the rest, and as a guest, you don’t really get to see the rest.”

Izuku nods. Right, some of these floors probably contain a lot of classified information, of course she can’t go showing some high school student around the whole agency. 

“I’ll show you all the fun stuff first before we get to the medical wing,” Kamei promises with a wink. The elevator dings and they step out. Izuku nearly gets shoulder-checked as a man brushes past him in a blur and Kamei scoffs. “You may notice that there’s a shittone of people here.” 

“Yeah, no kidding,” Izuku says, making sure to stay close to her side. 

“That’s because there’s a lot more to a hero agency than just heroes,” she explains, “There’s intel-gathering, a legal department, human resources- all the little cogs that make the clock tick, you know?” 

Izuku nods and asks, “What about sidekicks?” 

“Oh, the big guy’s got about thirty of ‘em.” The surprise must show on his face because Kamei laughs and shakes her head, bobbed hair swaying slightly. “Don’t get the wrong idea- everyone knows that Endeavor’s a solo act. The sidekicks usually take care of minor jobs or guard the villains that Endeavor defeats until they can be handed over to the police. They don’t get much of the spotlight, but they all seem to be pretty proud of what they do. The ‘Flaming Sidekickers’, that’s what they’re called.” 

She makes a face at this and Izuku giggles. “Do you think we’ll see any?” He asks, trying not to seem too eager. 

“Probably. I’m gonna show you the lounge first- we might run into some there.” 

They do in fact run into a couple of sidekicks in the lounge. Izuku does his best not to fanboy out, even though he doesn’t recognize them, and tries to pay attention to Kamei as she shows him around. The two sidekicks seem to be off-duty and are chatting idly while splayed out across one of the couches, so he doesn’t want to bother them. The lounge itself is very nice and luxurious, much like the rest of the building, and Kamei promises they can hang out there later. 

Next she shows him the dining commons and Izuku takes the opportunity to mention the connection between his quirk and food. 

“Lucky!” She whines, “You get an excuse to eat as much as you want! But when I go for a third plate…” She lets her sentence hang, puffing out her cheeks in a childish pout. Izuku laughs. 

Afterwards, he gets to see the personal gym the sidekicks use to train- the justification for this being he needs to know where to go in the case of training accidents. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with the way Kamei smirks at him as he gawks at two sidekicks sparring with each other. The tour keeps going on for the next two hours. Just when Izuku thinks they’ve reached the last place, Kamei takes him somewhere new. It’s incredible and overwhelming and fun and exhausting all at the same time. 

By the time they finally reach the medical center, Izuku kind of just wants to sit down for a while. 

“And here we are!” Kamei announces, gesturing widely to the medical center that is much bigger than Sir Nighteye’s, “Final destination! We’ll be spending most of our time here, obviously.” 

The Endeavor Agency medical center encompasses an entire floor, looking very much like a large hospital within a building. Rows upon rows of beds line one wall with curtains available on the sides to be pulled whenever they’re needed. Izuku glances around at the expensive machinery here and there and notices that there’s even a few separate rooms at the other end of the floor. Kamei takes him there first, showing him the radiology unit, surgery rooms, the intensive care unit, personal offices, bathrooms- so much more than he could have thought of when imagining a hero agency’s medical wing. It basically is just a giant hospital. 

There’s also a lot of doctors and nurses roaming around. Kamei weaves past them, seemingly looking for a particular person.

“Osaki-san!” She calls out, waving her arm at an older man currently frowning down at a clipboard. He looks up, appearing a bit irritated, but then his expression smoothes out when he spots her.

“Kamei-san, welcome back.” His eyes slide over to Izuku, who stares back at him. Something about this guy seems… familiar. 

Kamei puts a hand on the freckled boy’s back and gently pushes him forward. “This is Midoriya-kun! Recovery Girl’s apprentice, remember?” 

“I remember,” Osaki says, holding out his hand, “Nice to meet you, Midoriya-kun. My name is Oaski Kai.”

Something clicks in Izuku’s brain and his eyes widen in realization. Osaki Kai! He’s the healer that got kidnapped all those years ago! The one that villains stole from Endeavor- when was it, over fifteen years ago? Maybe twenty? 

Izuku realizes that he’s been staring for too long and snaps himself out of his stupor, hastily shaking Osaki’s hand. “Hi-Hello! I’m Midoriya Izuku!” 

Osaki’s wrinkled eyes twinkle with amusement. “What a strapping young man.” He retracts his hand and gives Izuku a once-over. “You’ve been quite the buzz in the medical community. Recovery Girl has spoken highly of you- and your quirk.”

“Oh! Um…” He flushes in embarrassment as his mind blanks on how to respond.

Beside him, Kamei snickers and puts a hand on his shoulder. “He’s a timid one, but he’s got spirit. I can tell.” 

“I don’t doubt that,” Osaki says, glancing between them, “How has your tour been going then?” 

“Pretty good!” Kamei boasts, “I’ve saved the best for last. I thought I’d go around introducing him to everyone, since he’s gonna be here for a while.” 

Osaki nods amicably and sends them off with well-wishes soon after. For the next half-hour, Kamei practically parades Izuku around the facility. He feels bad when she blatantly interrupts medics while they’re working, but they don’t seem to mind. It’s as if they’re used to Kamei’s odd antics at this point. There’s too many new names and faces for him to remember, but they all greet him kindly with curiosity in their eyes. Izuku wonders if it’s because they don’t often have healers-in-training as young as him come by very often, or if it’s because, as Osaki said, he’s the buzz in the medical community. Part of him hopes it’s the former. 

As Kamei introduces him to people, she also explains more about the medical center. 

“Most of the patients we treat are sidekicks coming back from patrol,” she says, “But, like I said earlier, Endeavor’s kind of a messy guy, so we also deal with… ah, how do I say this? Collateral damage.” Izuku blinks and tilts his head. “Sometimes he accidentally burns the civilians he’s meant to be saving, and if it’s bad enough we take care of them here rather than letting them go to a regular hospital. Since those cases are kind of the big guy’s fault, their treatment is free of charge. It’s a great way to avoid a lawsuit.”

“Oh,” Izuku says, somehow not surprised to learn this. He’s seen the way Endeavor fights on TV, and while he’s certainly skilled and powerful, there’s also a sense of recklessness to his fighting style. He supposes the accidental burns could also be attributed to the generally untamable nature of fire, but he’s more inclined to believe the former to be the cause. 

“It also happens with villains, too,” Kamei adds. At his surprised expression, she quickly adds, “Not that we ever bring them back here, no, no. That’d be too much of a risk. But-” She cuts herself off, then switches gears, “Well, since I’m a combat medic, you’ll be training as one as well this week. Usually, we stay here while the heroes are on patrol and then go if they need us, but if they ever get called out for a particular incident, then we go with them. Of course, we stay away from the fighting, but once the threat’s down we move in.”

She stops walking and Izuku does too, turning to face her as she gives him a firm look. “Now, I know that the media and the news and no doubt your school has taught you to adore heroes and hate villains. But you need to understand this: we, as healers, are a neutral party. Above all else, our duty is to save lives. Hero or villain, good or bad, that doesn’t matter to us. We are separate from that. We cannot let our personal feelings on a matter get in the way of our work. It’s not our place to judge the value of life based on the actions of the individual- for healers, all life is equal. Do you understand?” 

Izuku stares at her, taken aback. “So... We have to save villains too?” 

He’s… never thought about that before. Saving villains. Healing the people that his classmates are learning to defeat. Using his quirk to undo what heroes have done. It feels… kind of wrong. 

However, Kamei nods. “Sometimes.” She pauses. “Well, actually a good number of times. Many villains don’t stop fighting until they’re unconscious. I mean, think about it. How do you think a villain would look after a fight with Endeavor? Or even All Might?” 

Izuku frowns in contemplation. He’s never really considered what happens to villains after a fight. Not not many people do, really. He’s just assumed they’re taken by the police. Once the battle’s done, all the media attention is on the victorious hero. Anything about the villain is added as an afterthought. 

As much as he doesn’t like the idea of healing villains… he supposes… if he was ever put into the situation, he wouldn’t be able to turn his back on an injured person, good or bad. Even if that person was a villain… he could imagine he would still try to save them, if they were really in danger of dying. The thought of letting someone die while he was able to do something to stop it makes him feel nauseous. 

In the back of his mind, he recalls Todoroki’s words during USJ, “Having a soft heart won’t benefit you when it comes to villains.”

USJ was different, though. He just felt bad that Todoroki was hurting those villains in such an unorthodox way. 

“But all we do is stabilize them!” Kamei adds hastily, trying to ease his mind, “We just make sure they stay alive long enough to make it to the hospital, you know? And there’s always a bunch of sidekicks on guard just in case the villains try anything, so you don’t need to worry about them hurting you.” 

“No, it’s okay. I get it. I think.” He looks up at her and gives a small, uneasy smile. “I mean… they’re people too… I guess I kind of like that our duty is to life. That we’re… neutral.”

Kamei smiles back. “It has its perks. You get to boss heroes around when they’re hurt. Medical authority, you know?” She giggles before sobering up. “Anyway, you’ve had a long day. Why don’t we go get some dinner and then I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping at night?” 

He nods gratefully and follows her as she leads the way out of the infirmary. Something niggles at the back of his mind and he pipes up, “Hey, you never mentioned healing Endeavor. Doesn’t he get hurt from villain fights?” 

Kamei throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, you bet! Not that he’d ever admit it, though! If you try to heal him while he’s still out in the field, he’ll get real snippy with you and insist that he’s fine, even if he’s literally bleeding from every limb. He likes to put on a tough face when the cameras are out. Osaki-san and I try to remind him that healers have medical authority over heroes, but alas…” She shrugs as if to say ‘what can you do?’. “I usually just try to pounce on him while he’s in his office. Only way to heal him. It’s like trying to get a cat into a bathtub.” 

He snorts at the comparison. As they walk back to the dining commons, he tries to keep an eye out for Todoroki, but he doesn’t find him. Surely he’ll see him at some point during the week, even if it is a big building. He wonders how Todoroki’s first internship day was. Somehow he can’t imagine Endeavor being a very good teacher. 

Dinner is a relatively calm affair. Kamei’s vibrant energy seems to be dwindling down and she doesn’t talk as rapidly or as loudly as before during their meal. As they eat, Izuku texts Kacchan, who complains about his apparently terrible experience with Best Jeanist. Kacchan thinks he’s made a mistake choosing him, but Izuku reassures him by reminding him that it’s just the first day, surely things will be more exciting later. Nevermind that he himself hopes that the rest of the week isn’t more exciting than his first day was- there was way too much going on today. 

By the time Kamei leads him to the guest room, he’s ready to collapse. He bids her goodnight and takes off his bag, sluggishly changing into his pyjamas before flopping face-first onto the bed. He only has half a mind to appreciate how comfortable his bed is before he falls asleep. 

The first thing Izuku learns on his second day of his internship is that Kamei is a morning person. She knocks on his door at 8AM with a bright smile and a skip in her step. Izuku, on the other hand, has always been a bit of a slow starter. While people like Kamei and Kacchan are able to wake up fully energized and ready to start the day, Izuku doesn’t quite wake up until after he’s had time to digest his breakfast. 

Kamei, however, doesn’t seem to care. She blabbers on incessantly while Izuku tries to keep his face from dipping into his bowl of cereal, rapidly blinking his eyes open every time they start to slide shut. He’s in the midst of stifling a yawn when a particular question catches his attention.

“By the way kid, where are you with self-defense?” Kamei asks. 

Izuku blearily blinks as his mind struggles to catch up. “Huh?” 

“Self-defense,” she repeats, “I know you’re in the hero course, but surely they teach quirkless sparring before the kids get to use their quirks, right?” 

“Oh. Yeah,” he says, “I’ve, uh, been taking self-defense lessons since I was ten.”

Kamei nods, looking strangely serious. “That’s good. It’s important for healers to know how to defend themselves. Especially you; a quirk like yours might catch some unwanted attention.” 

Ah. So that’s where she’s going with this. 

“Oh, yeah, I know. Recovery Girl-san already gave me this talk.” He tries not to sound too dismissive. After a pause, he asks, “Um, Osaki-san… is he the one that…?” He trails off, not quite knowing how to ask.

Kamei seems to understand, though. She straightens up. “You know about that, then?” 

“Yeah,” he says, “My doctor told my mother about it as soon as my quirk manifested. It kind of freaked her out, so she always wanted me to take self-defense lessons.” 

Kamei hums. “Yeah, it freaked everyone out, really. I was barely beginning my training when it happened. Osaki-san doesn’t talk about it much, but I’m pretty sure it’s why he hardly ever leaves the agency. It was a big scare; I mean, all the hero agencies really tightened up their security around their healers afterwards. That’s why I’m always traveling with one of Endeavor’s sidekicks.” Izuku makes a noise of surprise and Kamei asks, “Didn’t you notice our driver yesterday?”

“...Oh.” He didn’t realize that the woman was a sidekick. 

“Yup.” Kamei pops the ‘p’, then leans closer. “Healers aren’t really “allowed” to travel by themselves. Of course, you went to Nighteye’s on your own, but since your teacher saw you to the station, you were only ever by yourself during the train ride, and even then you were surrounded by other civilians. But later when we go to other agencies, or even if we get called into the field, we always have to be accompanied by at least one pro hero.”

Izuku must not look too pleased because she adds, “It might seem restrictive, but it’s to keep us safe.” Izuku nods, idly recalling his own near-kidnapping experience. “Besides, most sidekicks are happy to hang out with us. And we don’t have to drive ourselves anywhere, so that’s a plus! I kind of suck at driving.”

She laughs and Izuku snorts. Yeah, he could imagine that. 

The rest of the day is spent in the medical center. He shadows Kamei the entire time, watching how she works with the medics and interacts with the injured patients. He’s excited to see her quirk in action, only to be mildly disappointed. She said earlier that her quirk speeds up the healing process by 50%, but part of him thought that that meant the injury would become 50% healed as soon as she used her quirk. Instead, a wound that might normally take two weeks to heal would now only take one. It’s still interesting, but he can see a few potential weaknesses it carries.

Kamei’s quirk wouldn’t be too helpful in a critical situation, like if someone was in danger of bleeding to death. Not to mention that since her breath can only reach external wounds, she wouldn’t be able to do anything for stab wounds or internal injuries. He could also imagine the risk of her becoming dehydrated if she were put into a situation that required her to overuse her quirk. 

Honestly, he thinks Osaki would be better for combat medic work. He has a sort of blood manipulation quirk that allows him to influence the healing process of a person's wounds, such as making their blood coagulate and scab. It can't do much about any torn tissues, but that's where his medical expertise comes in. He's great in dealing with cases of blood loss, which Izuku is all too aware is his greatest weakness. 

It’s also interesting to see the way Kamei interacts with the injured sidekicks coming back from their patrol. The first sidekick she sees to immediately starts talking about the villain fight he just got into. He’s rather dramatic about it, gesturing wildly with his hands and emphasizing the danger aspect of his experience. He’s obviously exaggerating just to make himself seem cooler, but Kamei just hums and nods along as she treats his wounds.

At first, Izuku thinks she’s just being nice. Maybe she really likes this particular sidekick for some reason? But then she does the same exact thing with the next one that comes in an hour later, and for the life of him he can’t understand why. It seems so unlike her, to pander to these outrageous tales the sidekicks are telling just to make them feel better. 

While one hero is in the midst of rehashing today’s harrowing battle, Kamei gestures for Izuku to come over. She asks him how he would heal this hero’s wound- mostly minor lacerations to her left leg- and when he gives his answer she looks satisfied. He wonders if she’ll let him use his quirk, but recalls that he’s not allowed to heal pro heroes until he’s licensed, even if he’s under the supervision of a medical professional. Maybe he’ll be allowed to heal some civilians later… 

Kamei has him patch up the sidekick’s leg after she uses her quirk on it. Wrapping up wounds is effortless for him at this point, but she still watches him the entire time. 

“Thanks, kid,” the sidekick says once Izuku is finished, hopping off the bed. She flashes Kamei a grin. “See ya later, Kamei-san.”

“Take it easy out there!” Kamei calls after her as she walks away. 

Once the hero is gone, Izuku turns to the healer with a confused frown. “Uh… Kamei-san… why do you, erm, act like that? With the heroes, I mean.”

The woman laughs and starts gathering up the bloodied gauze. “You mean why do I act like a star-struck schoolgirl?” Izuku smiles sheepishly and nods. Kamei snorts, “‘Cause it makes them feel better! Let me tell you something, kid. Heroes love nothing more when people fawn over them. They like to be made to feel like the tough guys, you know? They like to feel big.” 

“Yeah, but…” Izuku is still unconvinced. “I mean, it’s not our job to boost their self-esteem…”

“No, it’s not,” Kamei agrees, “But I do it anyway because it makes them easy to manage.”

“Huh?”

“Listen, kid, throughout your time as a healer, you’re gonna have to deal with heroes that you probably wouldn’t normally get along with too well in a regular setting. But if you tell them what they want to hear, then they’ll like you no matter what, and they won’t give you much trouble.” She turns to him and leans against the bed, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically. “You’ve just gotta say things like ‘that’s so cool’ or ‘that sounds scary’ or ‘wow, you must be so brave’!” She bats her eyelashes at him and Izuku giggles. “Put on a show and act like every hero you meet is your favorite hero!”

“I don’t know if I’d be very convincing,” he admits, “I’m not much of an actor.”

“Don’t knock it ‘till you try it. Trust me, they’ll be putty in your hands.” She winks before turning and continuing to roll up the leftover gauze. “Besides,” she chirps, “I like making people feel better.”

Izuku supposes that it wouldn’t be too awful to put aside his pride and stroke a hero’s ego for a bit. He thinks about his more difficult patients like Kacchan and Monoma. The former can be stubborn and irritable sometimes- actually, all the time- and the latter… well, he doesn’t seem to like anyone in class 1-A. 

He hums in thought. Sweet-talking sounds a lot better than getting bossy.

“I suppose it could be worth a shot.” 

As time passes, Izuku starts to wonder if he’ll even get to use his quirk today. Sure, it’s only the second day, but he’s eager to take Nejire’s advice and put it into action. The medical wing gradually turns orange in the light of the sun as it dips closer to the horizon. There’s been a bit of a lull for the past hour, but it’s interrupted when a couple of sidekicks burst in, carrying an obviously injured civilian between them. 

Kamei takes one look at the third-degree burn on the woman’s leg and curses under her breath. “You’d think that a hero as experienced as Endeavor would be better at aiming for the right target,” she grumbles to Izuku. 

“Actually…” One of the sidekicks winces in apology as he helps set the woman down on a bed. “This was Burnin’s fault. It was an accident, of course! But…”

Kamei looks unimpressed. “And why didn’t she bring this poor woman in herself?” She sniffs.

The other sidekick snorts, “Probably ‘cause she knew you’d tear her head off.” 

“Um,” the injured civilian says, “Can I get some help here?” Her expression is tight with pain and her voice wavers. Honestly, considering how ugly the burn is, Izuku is surprised she’s not crying.

“Right, of course.” Kamei immediately starts examining her wound, Izuku hovering over her shoulder. Much like how he does with the burns Kacchan causes, Kamei has to carefully remove the seared cloth of her pants from the injury. Once it’s clear, she falls silent and just gazes at it for a moment. Then, she turns to Izuku and asks, “Hey, kid. Wanna show off that quirk of yours?” 

“Huh?” He asks, “Are you sure?”

Kamei nods. “Yeah, even if I use mine, this is still gonna take weeks to heal.” The injured woman flinches. “Come on, I’ve been dying to see your quirk ever since Recovery Girl told me about you.”

Izuku hesitantly switches places with her and slowly reaches out to put his hands on the woman’s leg. The burn runs horizontally along her thigh, and while it is severe, it’s not extremely big. He can feel everyone’s eyes on him- Kamei, the civilian, the two sidekicks- but he forces himself to concentrate on himself as his quirk activates.

Like Nejire said, he tries to focus on where his energy leaves his body, rather than the energy itself. Obviously, the point he’s drawn to is his fingertips. He isn’t quite sure what to do now; he doesn’t feel something tangible that he could have a grasp on. Still, he tries to do what his senpai suggested and close off that exit. 

He shuts his eyes and tries to imagine. Just take that channel the energy is flowing from and narrow it down. Didn’t Nejire say something about a hose? Try to step on the hose, to stem that flow of water…

“Holy shit!”

“That’s amazing!”

Izuku startles out of his thoughts, his quirk shutting off. Everyone around him is staring at the completely healed skin under his palms, but Izuku notices something else.

His fingertips are tingling. 

It’s like… he’s suddenly aware of this part of his body that he had never really felt before. He didn’t even succeed in slowing down his energy, but somehow that analogy Nejire said makes perfect sense. It’s like the hose is in his fingers! But- not literally. It’s hard to describe, even to himself, but he felt it. It was like the point of his quirk’s concentration. It wasn’t tangible, but it felt like it… could be? 

Whatever it was, he needs to try it again!

“There isn’t even a scar!” Kamei peers at the non-existent burn with wide eyes. 

The civilian looks shocked too. “It feels totally better! The pain just went away like that!” She turns her stare to Izuku. “Who are you?” 

Izuku smiles politely and says, “My name’s Midoriya Izuku. I’m an apprentice doing my internship week with Kamei-san.”

“Damn, Kamei-san, where’d you find this kid?” One of the sidekicks asks.

Kamei looks just a bit smug. “Recovery Girl is mentoring him at UA, but she let me take him for the week.” She turns to Izuku. “You were worried about her overselling you, but I don’t think she sold you enough! That’s seriously an amazing quirk!”

“Is it like Osaki-san’s?” The sidekick asks, but Izuku shakes his head and explains how his quirk works. She gives him an impressed look. “You’ve got something really special there, kid.” 

Izuku flushes and thanks her. They’re able to send the civilian off soon, but only after she thanks Izuku profusely, much to the greenette’s embarrassment. Then, Kamei claps him on the shoulder and steers him towards the door.

“Let’s go get dinner,” she says, “You deserve it. You’ve done really well for your second day.”

“I’m glad,” Izuku says. 

“You feeling tired?” Kamei asks, a tinge of concern in her eyes, “I was gonna give you a brief rundown of the night shift after dinner, but I know your quirk saps your energy, so-”

“No, no, it’s alright!” Izuku insists. Even though he is pretty tired- not from his quirk, just from the long day in general- he wants to learn as much as he can while he’s here. “I usually only get tired after healing big injuries or just a lot of smaller ones. I’m fine, really.” 

Kamei nods and they take the elevator up to the dining commons. Dinner is calm; a couple of other medics join their table and chat with Kamei, so Izuku is able to relax and text Kacchan, whose second day wasn’t much better than his first.

(Kacchan 7:02PM) -BASTARD FUCKING GAVE ME A HAIRCUT!!!

(Midoriya 7:02PM) -Omg, plz send pics.

(Kacchan 7:03PM) -FUCK NO!

(Kacchan 7:04PM) -He also fucking put me in jeans! How the fuck am I supposed to fight villains in jeans?!?

(Midoriya 7:05PM) -I repeat: Omg, plz send pics.

(Kacchan 7:05PM) -FUCK YOU!!!

Soft snickering to himself, Izuku pockets his phone and continues eating. The food here is amazing- despite not liking Endeavor too much, he’s gotta admit the guy’s agency is pretty great. Maybe later he can check out the training facilities when Kamei’s not too busy. 

Once he finishes his dinner, he idly listens in on the medics’ conversation until Kamei announces that it’s time to go. He bids his goodbyes and follows the healer as they make their way out of the dining commons.

“This shouldn’t take too long, so don’t worry,” Kamei reassures, stepping into the elevator, “I’m just gonna introduce you to the night shift staff and have them explain how their duties go. Not too different from what we do, but there are some differences to take note of.” 

“Okay.” Izuku nods, noticing that the elevator is slowing down. It must be stopping to pick up someone on another floor.

The doors slide open to reveal Endeavor, in all his flaming glory, standing with Todoroki. As soon as their gazes land on Izuku, their faces morph into expressions of surprise. 

“Midoriya?” Todoroki’s eyes widen.

Izuku smiles. “Todoroki-kun!”

“Kamei-san,” Endeavor growls, turning his glare to the healer.

“Endeavor!” Kamei finishes, smirking, “You coming in, or what?” 

“What is he doing here?” Endeavor demands.

“He’s here for his internship,” Kamei replies simply. 

The Flame Hero’s eyes narrow. “And why wasn’t I made aware that my agency nominated both Shouto and Midoriya?”

Unphased by his aggressive aura, Kamei says smoothly, “He’s not the agency’s intern, he’s my intern.” The doors start to close but Endeavor holds them open with a large hand. “I suggest you come in.” 

Clenching his jaw, Endeavor shoots Izuku a sharp look before stepping into the elevator. The massive man takes up a significant amount of space and Izuku leans away from him to avoid his flames. He brightens when Todoroki comes to stand between him and his father.

“Sorry I didn’t say anything earlier,” Izuku says, “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Thankfully, Todoroki doesn’t look upset. “We could have travelled here together,” he says. 

Izuku shakes his head. “Oh, no, I really did have to go to the Nighteye Agency first. I met up with Kamei-san there.” 

“And how do you like it here so far?” Todoroki asks, ignoring the holes his father’s eyes are drilling into the back of his head. 

“It’s nice,” Izuku replies honestly, “Kamei-san is teaching me a lot. What about you-”

He’s interrupted by a loud alarm. They all look at Endeavor as he takes out his phone, his screen lighting up. His flames seem to grow larger.

“There’s an incident in Hosu,” he declares, more to Todoroki than anyone else, “We’re being called out.” He jabs the elevator’s buttons, somehow overriding the previous order to stop at the medical floor, and they start going down to one of the lower floors. “Come, Shouto.” Endeavor steps out of the elevator and starts barking orders to the nearest person he sees. 

Todoroki casts Izuku a parting glance before following his father. To the greenette’s surprise, Kamei ushers him out of the elevator too. 

“We’re going with them, kid,” she says. 

“Huh?” He asks, “But I thought-”

“Remember what I told you yesterday?” She asks, glancing at him. 

Izuku blinks, recalling. ‘Usually, we stay here while the heroes are on patrol and then go if they need us, but if they ever get called out for a particular incident, then we go with them. Of course, we stay away from the fighting, but once the threat’s down we move in.’

Right. That was before she told him about healing villains… 

“There’s a special ambulance we travel in,” Kamei says, gently pulling him along, “I’ll have someone bring down your costume.” 

The next few minutes go by very quickly. Endeavor and Todoroki leave almost immediately after the alert is sent out, multiple sidekicks rushing after them. Izuku hastily changes into his costume while Kamei gets into the front with a sidekick. He nearly loses his balance when the ambulance starts driving and grabs onto one of the overhead railings to steady himself. 

Normally, driving to Hosu might take a decent amount of time, but with the sirens of the ambulance blaring, they’re able to speed through the streets quickly without having to worry about getting stuck in traffic. As they get closer and closer to their destination, Izuku feels himself becoming rather nervous. They’re going into a real fight right now!

“We’re entering Hosu!” The sidekick calls out over the loud alarm.

Kamei glances over the back of her seat to check on Izuku. “Things are gonna move pretty fast, but I need you to stick by my side!”

“Okay!” He yelps when the ambulance flies over a rough bump.

“We’re going to be staying far enough away to be safe but close enough to assist,” Kamei tells him, “But this is an active situation and things can change at any moment, so you listen to what the heroes tell you, alright?” 

“Okay!” 

The ambulance takes a sharp left, causing the whole vehicle to wobble dangerously, and Izuku struggles to stay in his seat. As soon as he rights himself, the sidekick gasps right before something crashes into the front of the ambulance. For a long moment, all he can hear is the sound of tearing, crunching metal. He’s thrown out of his seat as the ambulance stops abruptly and just barely manages to catch himself before he hits the opposite wall. The chaos stops as quickly as it started. 

Disoriented, Izuku looks up and realizes that the ambulance must’ve crashed. The siren has gone silent and the lights are off, leaving Izuku in pitch black darkness. He slowly gets to his feet, his legs trembling- he didn’t get injured, but panic and fear is starting to flood his veins. 

“Kamei-san?” He calls out. Hearing no response, he carefully makes his way to the back of the ambulance and forces the door open. As soon as he rounds the corner, he gasps in shock. 

A massive beast with pale, leathery wings stares at him with wild, unfocused eyes. Izuku feels like his heart stops. It’s another Nomu. It has to be, with its brain sticking out like that. 

The Nomu opens its jaws and lets out an ear-piercing shriek, startling Izuku out of his stupor. A second later, two flaming whips wrap around the beast’s neck and yank it backwards. 

“Kid!” The sidekick that drove them yells as she jumps out of the ambulance, “Get out of here!” She ducks as the Nomu swipes at her and lashes at it with one of her whips. The Nomu shrieks again, and it’s loud enough to spur Izuku into action. 

“Kamei-san!” He dashes around to the other side of the ambulance, briefly taking in the crushed hood, and yanks open the passenger door. “Kamei-san, we have to- !!”

The woman is unconscious, head lolled to the side as blood dribbles down the side of her temple. Swallowing down a cry, Izuku immediately unbuckles her seatbelt and tries dragging her out, but her legs are trapped under the broken dashboard. 

“Kid!” The sidekick yells again, “I said get out of here!” 

“But Kamei-san!” He protests.

“I’ll take care of her- ah!” She cries out as the Nomu swipes at her. The sidekick is clearly overwhelmed by her opponent, but she must’ve called for backup because Izuku can see other heroes running over to them, Endeavor included. The Nomu knocks the sidekick aside and lunges for Izuku, who instinctively freezes in fear despite his brain screaming at him to dodge!  

Flames lick his hair as a large ball of fire flies past his head, narrowly missing him. It strikes the Nomu instead, forcing it to stumble backwards with an ear-piercing shriek. A moment later, Endeavor barges past him and starts pummeling the Nomu. 

“Get him out of here!” He barks at one of his sidekicks, not sparing Izuku a single glance. 

A hand grabs him by the upper arm and starts pulling him away. “Come on, kid,” another man says. Izuku struggles not to stumble as he hurries after him, cursing himself for freezing like that. He hasn’t felt fear like this since USJ, except this time he doesn’t have his friends with him.

The sidekick glances over his shoulder and hisses under his breath. Izuku looks too and sees that the Nomu has escaped Endeavor’s grasp and is in the air, dodging the fireball the Flame Hero throws at it. The sidekick glances back at Izuku, briefly looking torn, then straightens up and orders, “Go hide somewhere safe! I’ll find you later!” He pushes Izuku towards a nearby alleyway. 

Not needing to be told twice, Izuku hastily scrambles away. He darts into the alley and keeps running. He didn’t notice it earlier, but he can hear sounds of crashing and screaming coming from all around him. Dark clouds of smoke hang above the buildings and civilians flash by the mouth of the alleyway, fleeing from some unseen threat. Not wanting to find out what it is, Izuku ducks down another alley and keeps running. 

He doesn’t know how long he runs for, or how far he goes. All he can focus on is trying not to pass out as he dashes from alley to alley, never stepping onto the streets and gasping for breath the entire time. After what feels like hours, although it’s probably only ten minutes, he slows down. 

Legs shaking with fear and adrenaline, he leans against the nearest wall and listens. Things are quieter around here. He must be far from the fray. 

He feels his phone buzz in his pocket. 

(Todoroki 8:45PM) -Sidekick said u ran off. Where r u?

(Todoroki 8:49PM) -I can’t find u. Couple sidekicks r hurt.

(Todoroki 8:53PM) -Please respond.

Izuku immediately feels guilt claw at his throat. He was so panicked, he completely forgot that he has an actual job here to do. Whatever is going on, it must be big. He doesn’t know if that was the only Nomu that’s causing trouble, but either way, one is enough to cause a lot of injuries. He needs to get his act together and help people, especially since Kamei is unconscious. He feels a brief flash of worry for his mentor as he struggles to type out his response. Trembling with fear and adrenaline, his fingers are too shaky to type, so eventually he just sends his location to Todoroki before pocketing his phone again. 

“God, where the hell am I?” He whispers to himself, glancing around. In his fright, he hadn’t been paying attention to where he was running. All he could think about was getting as far away from that Nomu as possible. 

As soon as he starts walking over to the street, a scream stops him in his tracks. Startled, he whips his head around. This part of the city is fairly quiet, so he could hear the scream loud and clear. It sounded like it came from deeper within the alleys. Heart speeding up again, Izuku turns away from the street and starts jogging towards the cry. He doesn’t hear any other sounds of fighting, so maybe somebody’s injured? If it’s just that, then he can help. He has to be careful that he’s not walking himself right into another fight, though… 

The greenette hesitantly peeks around the corner of a building, seeing nothing but another empty alleyway. He frowns, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him with that scream, but then he hears someone snarl, “I’ll kill you!”

That voice. He knows that voice! But… he’s never heard it sound like that before. 

Heart jumping to his throat, Izuku rushes down the alleyway, which opens up into an empty parking lot. He dashes across it, diving into another alley and racing to the end of that one. Having no idea where he’s going, Izuku rounds the corner and abruptly skids to a halt, gasping at the scene in front of him.

Two bloodied figures lay slumped against the floor, one he recognizes as the pro hero Native and the other he recognizes as Iida. A third man stands over his friend, the jagged sword in his hand poised to strike. 

Izuku’s eyes widen and time seems to slow down. In the back of his mind, he must’ve known Iida’s reason for choosing to do his internship in Hosu, the city where his brother was attacked. He just never thought… someone as rational and logical as Iida would go looking for…

Todoroki’s voice echoes in his head, ‘Anger can make you do stupid things.’

So that must mean… that this man standing before him is… 

The Hero Killer Stain glances up at Izuku’s shocked gasp and looks over at the freckled boy. Izuku’s breath catches in his throat, feeling frozen with fear as blood red eyes land on him. 

“Another child?” The killer growls, gaze roaming over him. His eyes land on the medical symbol on his chest and he makes a noise in his throat. “A healer.” He seems to relax ever so slightly.

“Mi-Midoriya-kun?” Iida croaks, struggling to move his head, “What are you- get out of here! Run!” 

“Listen to your friend, boy,” Stain agrees, “It’s my duty to kill fake heroes, but you don’t need to die as well. I have no quarrel with healers.” 

Izuku’s eyes between the villain and his friend frantically, mind whirling frantically as he wonders what to do. He can’t fight Stain- even if he did have a combative quirk, he wouldn’t stand a chance against the Hero Killer! But he can’t just run away either!

“He-He’s not a hero!” He manages to squeak, “He… He’s just a student!”

Stain’s cold gaze is unforgiving. “Even so, I can already tell that he will grow up to become just another fake hero poisoning this toxic society. After all, he didn’t come here to save this other fake.” He jerks his head at Native slumped against the wall. “He just came to fulfill his own vengeful desire.” 

Iida lets out a choked noise and rasps, “Midoriya-kun, please- please leave! Don’t get involved! This has nothing to do with you!” He looks angry, eyes wet with unshed tears as he hisses at the ground. 

Izuku’s heart breaks to see his friend like this. Torn, he glances between Iida and Stain before shakily moving into a fighting stance, raising his fists in front of him. Even if he can’t fight this man, maybe he can distract him long enough for help to arrive? He knows Todoroki is looking for him, maybe he’ll-

At the sight of his fighting stance, the Hero Killer lets out a bark of laughter, “Are you that desperate to save your friend? Don’t waste your blood on phonies like him, boy. Healers are far too rare to squander their life on such trivial matters. Surely you must know that.” 

“Stop it!” Iida snaps, “Run away! I told you, this has nothing to do with you!” 

Frustrated, Izuku snaps back, “If you say that, then heroes can’t do anything!” Recalling All Might’s words, he says, “Meddling when you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero!” 

“You’re not a hero!” Iida snarls and Izuku flinches, “Goddamnit, run away! You’re going to get yourself killed!” 

His cries are drowned out by the Hero Killer’s laugh. He grins wildly at Izuku and the greenette gulps. “Oh, you are a little hero, aren’t you? A better one than these fakes, by far!” He sneers down at Iida briefly before looking back at Izuku. “It’s a pity you weren’t born with a more suitable quirk. This corrupt society would be better if all heroes had hearts like yours.” 

It’s such a threatening way to compliment someone that it just leaves Izuku feeling confused. He’s even more confused when Stain tilts his head and rumbles, “You’re Midoriya Izuku, aren’t you?” 

“How- How do you know my name?” Izuku asks.

“It seems a villain named Shigaraki has his eyes on you.” Izuku tenses up. “He showed me a picture of you from the Sports Festival. Said you were a particularly troublesome little healer.” He sniffs. “I can see why now. However, I still have a duty to uphold.” He turns his attention back to Iida, lifting his sword once again, and Izuku’s heart skips a beat.

“Wait!” Stain pauses and Izuku frantically tries to think of what to say. “Uh… You- Why are you-”

“You’re obviously trying to buy yourself time,” Stain interrupts, sounding a bit more impatient now, “But there’s no point in delaying the inevitable. So unless you really do intend to fight me yourself, I suggest you run along.” 

“Midoriya-kun.” Iida’s watery, fearful eyes meet his own as he croaks, “Go!” 

The edge of Stain’s sword dips dangerously close to his face. In a split second, Izuku’s mind is made for him. He moves without thinking.

Hearing his footsteps slapping against the gravel, Stain whirls around, looking surprised that Izuku is actually approaching him. As soon as his back is turned, Izuku sees Todoroki appear at the other end of the alley. Their gazes lock and Izuku ducks to avoid the stream of fire Todoroki sends at Stain’s back. The Hero Killer barely manages to dodge and a moment later Todoroki uses his ice to slide Izuku, Native, and Iida over to him. 

“Todoroki-kun!” Iida exclaims. 

“Midoriya, you need to give more details in a time like this,” Todoroki says, not taking his eyes off of Stain as he pockets his phone, “You made me late.” 

Izuku is so relieved he feels like he could cry. “Thank you!” 

“See to Iida-kun’s wounds,” Todoroki orders, “And call for more pros.” 

“Right.” Izuku crawls over to Iida, struggling not to slip on Todoroki’s ice as he reaches his friend’s side. 

“Midoriya-kun,” Iida starts to say.

“Shut up.” Izuku takes off his gloves and presses his hands to the wound on the other boy’s shoulder. “I’m not running away.” To his confusion, even when he heals his wounds, Iida still can’t move. “I don’t understand. What’s wrong? Are you-”

“It’s his quirk!” Iida struggles. “Todoroki-kun, don’t let him-”

Izuku looks up just in time to see Stain throw a knife at Todoroki’s face, grazing his cheek. Todoroki curses and suddenly Stain is right in front of them, dagger in hand.

“You have good friends, Ingenium!” He sneers, swinging his knife only for Todoroki to block his attack with a wall of ice. He grabs Todoroki’s shirt with his other hand and tugs him forward, long tongue darting towards his cheek, but is forced to jump away when Todoroki ignites his left side. 

“That was close!” The bi-colored boy says, “It’s blood, isn’t it? His quirk activates by ingesting blood?” He sends another wave of ice at Stain, but the villain dodges and slices through it with his sword, sending smaller chunks everywhere. 

Meanwhile, Izuku struggles to tug Iida’s upper body into his arms. He doesn’t want to leave Todoroki alone, especially with Native still unconscious, but maybe if he could get the two out of here then Todoroki will be able to fight easier. “Come on, Iida-kun,” Izuku grunts, glancing at the entrance of the alley nearby and wondering how to carry his much larger friend. “Let’s-”

“Why…” Iida’s whisper distracts him, “Why are you two… Please stop! I’ve inherited my brother’s name. I have to do it… That guy’s mine!” 

Izuku feels a flare of frustrated anger, but Todoroki saves him from retorting by saying, “You inherited it? That’s strange.” His voice is calm, even as he sends another wave of ice at Stain. “The Ingenium I saw before didn’t have that face, though. You’ve got a lot going on behind the scenes in your family too, huh?”

Izuku stares at him, then tenses up when Stain breaks through the wall of ice.

“To block your own view against an opponent that’s faster than you,” he growls, “What a foolish plan.”

Todoroki ignites his left side, only to cry out in pain when two throwing knives plunge into his forearm. 

“Todoroki-kun!” Izuku exclaims. Distracted by his pain, Todoroki doesn’t look up in time to see Stain leaping towards him with his sword, but Izuku does. He drops Iida in favor of lunging at Todoroki, wrapping his arms around his middle and knocking him aside. Unfortunately, instead of slicing Todoroki’s shoulder, Stain’s sword ends up coming down on Izuku’s leg. He screams and kicks out, knocking the sword out of Stain’s hands before he collapses on the ground next to Todoroki. 

“Midoriya!” Todoroki turns to him in concern as he sits up, then hastily sends a stream of fire at Stain when the villain turns to Iida once more, a new sword in hand. He gets to his feet and continues forcing Stain back as Izuku leans himself against the wall, examining his injury. The cut in his calf is deep and painful, but all he can think right now is that he can no longer heal anyone. Todoroki still has the throwing knives in his arm and Iida is still paralyzed for whatever reason and Native is bleeding heavily. 

The horrible feeling of helplessness rises in his throat again, but the light of Todoroki’s flames burns his retinas as he watches his friend fight for his- for their lives-, and he finds himself forcing the feeling right back down. No, no, he will not let himself become useless once more! Not this time! Not when his friends could die at any moment! There has to be something he can do, something, something, something-

His eyes land on the chunks of ice scattered around the alley floor and a lightbulb goes off in his mind. Stain starting to force Todoroki towards the opening of the alley, getting dangerously close to Iida and Native, who Todoroki just barely manages to protect with his long-distance attacks. He can’t keep this up forever, though- he’s bleeding and tired and clearly outmatched. Stain forces him to dodge yet another blade thrown at him, and while the boy is distracted he turns towards Iida, raising his sword to deliver a killing blow and-

SLAM!

The Hero Killer stumbles when a chunk of ice collides with the back of his head. Stunned, he glances over his shoulder at Izuku, but he doesn’t have time to say anything before Todoroki sends a stream of fire at him. He dodges, but at the same time Izuku throws another chunk of ice at him, this time hitting him in the back. 

His head whips around. “You little-” Flames fly towards him and he jumps out of the way. 

They manage to fend him off this way for a few minutes, keeping Stain between them as Todoroki attacks from the front and Izuku from the back. Izuku doesn’t have incredible aim, but he can at least force Stain to dodge, which keeps him from turning on Iida and Native who are still too close to him. 

Meanwhile, Iida is pleading for them to stop. “Please…” He whispers, “Please stop… I’m… already…” 

Gritting his teeth, Todoroki yells, “If you want us to stop, then stand up! Look properly at what you want to be!” 

Stain breaks through one of his ice walls again, forcing Todoroki backwards once more, but at this point he seems to realize that he’s getting nowhere being stuck in between Todoroki and Izuku. In a swift movement, he throws a knife at Todoroki with one hand and with the other, he uses the flat of his sword to parry the chunk of ice Izuku aims at the back of his head, sending it flying back to the boy. 

Izuku, who was in the midst of reaching for more ice to throw, only has time to look up in surprise before the chunk hits him in the face. “Agh!” Pain explodes in his temple and his vision blurs briefly. He barely sees Stain backflip towards him, but he does hear the man’s heavy boots land behind him and he most certainly feels himself being grabbed and yanked upwards. A long, slimy, disgusting tongue licks his temple and the next moment he goes limp. 

“Midoriya!” Todoroki raises his left hand, but freezes when a dagger is pressed against Izuku’s stomach. 

“Enough!” Stain snarls next to Izuku’s ear. No matter how hard the boy tries, he can’t make his body move. Todoroki was right, Stain’s quirk does activate through ingesting blood. He feels paralyzed, but even so, Stain still holds him in a vice-grip, a muscled arm wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides while a knife presses against his stomach. 

“Don’t do anything foolish, boy,” Stain warns Todoroki, who glares, “I don’t approve of killing innocent people, but I won’t hesitate to end this boy’s life if you force my hand.” 

Todoroki snarls wordlessly, but when Stain presses the blade a bit deeper, making Izuku whimper, he reluctantly lets his flames go out. A tense silence fills the alley. Despite his steady tone, Izuku can feel Stain’s muscles trembling with exhaustion. His heart thuds rapidly against Izuku’s back. Taking Izuku hostage might’ve actually been a move made out of desperation. 

Growling, Stain spits, “Now look at what you’ve made me do. Harming a healer is a low move, even for villains. See, they don’t save people for the glory of it- but you? You’ll never be anything more than a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires! Just like your father.” Todoroki bares his teeth and the grip on Izuku tightens. “You are a cancer to a society that warps the idea of ‘heroes’. Someone must set you straight.” 

“You’re an archaic fundamentalist,” Todoroki says. Then, for the briefest second, his eyes flicker to the side before focusing on Stain again. “I won’t listen to the logic of a murderer.” 

“Of course you won’t!” Stain hisses, “That’s exactly why I will-”

He’s interrupted by a loud cry of “RECIPRO BURST!!!”

Stain’s head suddenly jolts forward, his chin grazing Izuku’s curls. His chest hits Izuku’s back, causing them both to pitch forward and fall to the ground. Izuku hits the ground first and is squashed by Stain’s body a moment later, but all he can focus on is the pain that suddenly explodes on his flank. 

“Midoriya-kun!” Iida shouts and Stain’s weight disappears off him, but Izuku still can’t move thanks to the villain’s quirk. He hears Todoroki’s flames roar above him and he struggles to turn his head, peering out of one eye and seeing Todoroki and Iida both relentlessly attacking Stain, whose movements are significantly more sluggish. Iida must’ve gotten up behind them while Stain was holding Izuku hostage and sent that Recipro Burst to the back of his head. The villain is clearly dazed, but that makes his fighting all the more desperate. Izuku can see he’s making more mistakes now. After a few minutes of dodging and throwing knives, Stain stumbles long enough for Todoroki’s ice to freeze one of his legs. The fight ends not long after that, with Iida taking Stain down with a flurry of Recipro Burst-powered kicks. 

When the Hero Killer finally collapses, they all just stare at his crumpled form for a few moments. 

“He’s probably knocked out… right?” Iida pants. 

“Let’s restrain him and get out onto the street,” Todoroki says, glancing around for something to bind him with. 

Meanwhile, Izuku struggles not to whimper in pain, his left flank feeling like it’s on fire. Blood steadily pools beneath him and he croaks, “Uh, g-guys?” 

They both turn around, their eyes simultaneously widening at the sight of blood. “Midoriya-kun!” Iida drops to his knees beside him and carefully turns him over. Now Izuku groans in pain. A knife slides into the pool of blood on the ground and Iida gasps in shock. “His-His stomach!”

“Stain had a knife pressed against him,” Todoroki says, kneeling on Izuku’s other side so he can keep an eye on the unconscious villain. “You couldn’t see it because he had his back turned to you.” 

Iida’s eyes fill with guilt. “Mi-Midoriya-kun, I…”

“Kids,” a voice grunts and, after a few moments of shuffling, Native’s face enters Izuku’s field of vision. His eyes land on the injury and he hisses, “Crap.”

“It’s alright.” Izuku grimaces, but is surprised when his arm twitches when he tries to move it. “Huh? I can move again?”

“I don’t understand.” Native frowns. “I was down for so long.” 

Izuku shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter right now. Help me sit up, I need to look at my wound.” Todoroki helps him lean up against Iida, who holds him steady as he presses down on his flank. The pain is unbearable, especially now that the adrenaline has worn off, but he can tell that it’s not too bad. “It’s just a graze,” he grunts, “His arm got jostled, I think, when Iida-kun kicked him, so he didn’t stab me. I just got grazed when I fell on the knife.” He carefully feels around with his fingers, trying to gauge how deep the gash right under his left ribcage is. It’s fairly deep, considering that he had Stain’s weight pressing down on him when he fell on the knife, so he does his best to put pressure on it. Blood still leaks through his fingers.

“Can someone get the gauze out of my bag?” He asks weakly, “Help me wrap up my leg and- oh, Todoroki-kun!” He recalls the knives in the boy’s forearm and frowns when he sees them missing. “You shouldn’t have taken them out, you’re going to bleed more.” 

Todoroki looks like he doesn’t know whether to feel fond or frustrated. “Midoriya, please, worry about yourself for once.” 

“I can help patch you up,” Native says, reaching for the bags on Izuku’s belt, “All heroes get some basic medical training.” 

Todoroki nods. “I’ll restrain Stain, then.” He gets up to look for something to tie him up with.

“Be sure to remove his weapons too,” Native calls out, unravelling the gauze and giving some to Izuku to press against his stomach. As he starts wrapping up Izuku’s leg, the freckled boy stifles a groan and leans his head back against Iida’s chest. He’s never been more exhausted in his life. After a few minutes of silence, Native asks, “So you’re really a healer, then?”

“Hm?” Izuku blinks tiredly. “Yeah. Well- in training.”

Native smiles softly. “You’re really brave.” Then, “Keep the pressure on.” 

Izuku’s hand had gone a bit slack from his exhaustion. A larger, stronger hand slides over his, pressing more firmly against his wound. “Iida-kun?” 

The blue-haired boy has been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes, but now Izuku can hear his hitching breath behind him. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, “To… To have my friends… to have a healer bleed for me…” 

Izuku presses his lips together. Now that the panic has died down a bit, he actually finds himself rather mad at Iida for actively seeking out the Hero Killer. It was an incredibly stupid and dangerous thing for him to do. If Izuku had found him only a moment later, he would’ve been dead- and just that thought makes Izuku feel dizzy. 

So for now, all he says is, “Later, Iida-kun. Later.” 

Iida falls silent. Native glances between them and says, “Hey, if you’re not injured, why don’t you carry your friend while I help take care of the villain?” 

“Of course,” Iida says, carefully scooping up Izuku into his arms. Native and Todoroki make quick work of restraining Stain, who has yet to regain consciousness, and together they all make their way out of the alley. Soon after they step out onto the street, a group of sidekicks approach them. 

“Children?” One asks, bewildered. 

“Those injuries look serious!” Another exclaims, “Somebody call for a healer!” 

“This is a healer,” Todoroki says, nodding at Izuku, “And he’s too injured to heal anymore.” 

The heroes look even more shocked. Izuku winces. “I’m an apprentice, but my mentor got injured during the initial attack.” 

“Shit, this is bad,” one woman hisses, then her eyes widen when she spots Stain, “Is- Is that?”

“The hero killer!”

“What?!?”

“Call the police! And an ambulance!” 

As they wait for said ambulance, most of the heroes stand guard around Stain while the rest fuss over the trio. They ask about their injuries, Izuku’s, of course, being the worst out of the three. Iida only has a few minor scrapes and bruises from the end of the fight, all of his initial wounds having been healed by Izuku earlier. Even as more time passes, his arms never waver as they carry Izuku. The greenette, however, can see the turmoil swirling in his eyes. 

“You two,” he says, glancing between Todoroki and Izuku. He bows his head. “You were injured because of me. I am so… so sorry. I… I couldn’t see anything through my anger.” Even though his head is bowed, Izuku can see the tears in his eyes clearly. His heart aches.

“I’m sorry too,” he says, “Even though I knew you were in pain, I couldn’t do anything to help you.” Lifting his hand from his side, he presses it against Iida’s chest and says, “I’ll heal your brother as soon as I can. I promise. I won’t let Stain take your hero away from you.”

Iida’s breath hitches and he squeezes his eyes shut. The tears finally fall.

Todoroki shifts awkwardly and says, “Pull yourself together. You’re crying all over Midoriya.” 

“I’m sorry,” Iida sniffles, rubbing his face against his shoulder to wipe away his tears. 

Izuku smiles, feeling just a bit lighter, and snuggles deeper against Iida’s chest. It’s surprisingly comfortable, even with the armor. 

Of course, his comfort is short-lived.

A cry of alarm is the only warning he gets before he’s suddenly being snatched out of Iida’s arms, a massive wing knocking the boy aside. He shrieks as claws dig into the gash on his flank, nearly passing out from the pain as he’s carried higher and higher into the sky. 

“Midoriya!” He can barely hear Todoroki’s scream with the wind whipping past his ears. 

It takes a few moments for Izuku to realize that he’s being carried by the same Nomu that attacked his ambulance, but by the time he does, the beast suddenly shudders and starts falling. An arm wraps around Izuku’s torso, holding him steady and preventing him from getting injured as the Nomu hits the ground. 

A familiar knife delivers a killing blow to the Nomu’s exposed brain. 

“This is all…” Stain rasps, “To create a more just society.” 

Izuku panics, but Stain keeps him pinned with a large hand on his back. “Let me go!” He grunts in pain as his wounds are aggravated. 

Stain pays him no mind, breath rattling in his chest as he glances over his shoulder. “Endeavor,” he hisses. 

Izuku struggles to turn his head and sees that the Flame Hero has joined the group of heroes. Still, Stain doesn’t back down. Instead, he lets go of Izuku and turns to face Endeavor.

“You fake…” He growls. The utter hatred in his voice is enough to make everyone pause. Even though Stain’s hand is no longer pressing him down, Izuku still feels pinned. “I must make things right. Someone must be dyed in blood. I must take back what it means to be a hero!” Taking a heavy step forward, he snarls, “Come! Try and get me, you fakes! The only one I’ll let kill me is the true hero… All Might!” 

For a good few moments, everyone is paralyzed by the weight of his conviction. But as soon as it started, it’s over. Stain falls unconscious. 

All anyone can do is stare. Todoroki is the first to break out of his stupor. 

“Midoriya…” He starts to rush over, but Native stops him, telling him to wait until the heroes wrangle Stain. Endeavor does so, along with a couple of sidekicks, but he seems displeased. When he approaches, he glances at Izuku with some emotion that almost looks like concern, although it’s more likely he’s just taking note of his injuries before he turns his attention to the Hero Killer. A sidekick helps Izuku limp his way over to the ambulance that arrives moments later, and with that he, Todoroki, Iida, and Native are carted off to the nearest hospital.

What was already a long night turns even longer. Izuku ends up needing a minor blood transfusion in addition to his stitches due to the amount of blood he’s lost by the time he reaches the hospital. Inko, of course, gets notified about his injuries, which results in him spending a significant amount of time trying to calm her down while he gets the transfusion. She wants to drive over immediately, but he manages to convince her not to, so long as he promises to call her multiple times throughout his hospital stay. 

All Might texts him too, asking if he’s okay. Izuku isn’t sure how the man found out about all this, but Recovery Girl calls him only two minutes after, so he assumes she told him. Needless to say, by the time he, Todoroki, and Iida are finally left alone in their room to sleep, he’s more than ready to pass out. He falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. 

Chapter Text

The Chief of Police visits them the next morning. Kamei and the hero Manual are here too, but they stay silent as Chief Tsuragamae tells them of Stain’s condition. Then, to the trio’s surprise, he informs them that they must be punished for yesterday’s incident because they used their quirks without permission. 

Understandably, this pisses off Todoroki. He defends their actions- a bit too aggressively for Izuku’s comfort- and claims that if they had not acted then Native would have been killed. He also claims that Izuku shouldn’t get in trouble because he didn’t use his quirk to fight. Kamei interjects at this, saying that Izuku isn’t supposed to use his quirk without the supervision of a licensed healer. 

In the end, the Chief of Police does them a favor. Since there were very few witnesses to the event, he’s willing to sweep this under the rug. The incident will remain undisclosed and Endeavor will take credit for defeating the Hero Killer. However, as a result, none of them will get any recognition for their efforts. It’s a small price, one they’re willing to pay for the pardon. 

Kamei still takes the chance to scold Izuku for willingly running into a fight, though. “Geez, kid, what did I tell you about listening to the heroes?” She gives him a light chop on the head.

“Sorry, Kamei-san,” he apologizes, then adds, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She waves him off. “Ah, it was just a concussion.” She points to the bandage wrapped around her head. “They fixed me up just fine.” 

“Well, then,” Chief Tsuragamae woofs, “If that’s all, I should be going.” He turns to leave, but Iida interrupts him.

“Wait! Uh, sir.” They all glance at Iida in surprise. The blue-haired boy’s eyes dart to Izuku briefly before he frowns. “It’s just something I’ve been concerned about… Stain mentioned Shigaraki having an interest in Midoriya-kun. He said he’d been shown a picture of him…” 

Izuku blinks. In the chaos of the night, he’d totally forgotten about that little detail. It’s… disturbing, to say the least. But not entirely unexpected. Recalling his conversation with All Might after USJ, he supposes that he shouldn’t be surprised that Shigaraki has taken an interest in him. Him healing All Might messed up the villain’s plan. But before he can panic, he reminds himself that there’s still no need to worry. Shigaraki made a big mistake and All Might is still strong. Sure, the news is a little unnerving, but for the most part it doesn’t change anything. 

He wishes he could reassure his friends of this, but it’d be difficult without going into his conversation with All Might. 

Chief Tsuragamae tilts his head. “The villains Shigaraki and Kurogiri were spotted by chance on top of a water tower in Hosu last night. It is assumed that the League of Villains are responsible for the attack on the city. If what you say is true, then Stain most likely has connections to the League. As for Shigaraki’s interest…” The dog turns to look at Izuku. “I will let others know, but I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you. Last night’s attack resulted in two healers getting seriously injured. The heroes will no doubt be on high alert.” 

With that said, he bows his head politely and leaves. Kamei and Manual bid their goodbyes as well, leaving the trio alone once again. 

Todoroki frowns. “He probably means that my father will increase security around healers now.” At Izuku’s expression, he adds, “Not necessarily because he’s worried- mostly because it looks bad for the agency. Two of his healers were hospitalized on his watch. He’ll get bad press if he doesn’t do anything.” Sighing, he sits back down on his bed and muses, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to prevent healers from leaving the agency at all before someone manages to talk sense into him.” 

“Oh.” Izuku’s eyes drop to his lap, lingering on his bandaged calf. 

He feels Todoroki gazing at him for a few moments before the boy says, “By the way, I’d like to apologize on behalf of my father’s agency- and myself- for not being able to protect you better.” 

“Huh?” Izuku looks up. 

“Both of our healers got hurt even when they had protection,” Todoroki says.

Iida sighs, “Neither of you would have gotten injured if I hadn’t been stupid enough to go after Stain. This is all my fault.” 

“No,” Todoroki says, then adds, “Well, yeah, that wasn’t a good idea, but don’t blame yourself. Native probably would have died if you had done nothing. I should have-”

Before he can start putting the blame on himself, Izuku interrupts, “Alright, alright, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is. It’s no one’s fault. Let’s just… I don’t know, take this experience for what it was and let it encourage us to do better in the future?” It’s kind of lame and comes out sounding like a question, but it seems to satisfy his friends. 

Iida is quiet for a moment, then says, “And I’m sorry for what I said before. Of course you’re a hero, I’m sorry for saying that you weren’t.” Izuku smiles and Iida lifts his head to give him a solemn look. “But please, never do something like that again.”

Izuku blinks. “What?” 

“Rushing into a fight like that…” Iida shakes his head. “Midoriya-kun, you could have been killed.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen. He can’t believe what he’s hearing. “But-”

“I agree,” Todoroki says, “You got lucky this time, but that’s only because Stain was reluctant to kill healers. The next villain might not be so kind.” 

Izuku protests, “But if I had done nothing, then-”

“I’m not trying to say that I’m ungrateful,” Iida tries to reassure, “It’s just…” He trails off, looking a bit hesitant.

Todoroki turns to Izuku. “You’re not a fighter,” he says, his voice soothing but firm, “You’re a healer. Your place isn’t on the battlefield.”

Izuku swallows back a retort, trying to quell the indignation flaring in his chest. He knows that. Of course he knows that. But it still leaves a bitter taste in the back of his throat. 

Blinking away the tears that sting the edges of his eyes, he turns away and leans back against his pillows, dropping his gaze to his lap. “Fine.” 

He doesn’t see the glance Todoroki and Iida share. 

The news story breaks out about an hour later. There’s no TV in their room, but their phones suddenly start blowing up with texts from their classmates. The official story released by the police was that when seven pro heroes and three high school interns came across the hero killer, Endeavor took care of the situation. Iida, Todoroki, and Izuku’s name were not made public, but it’s not hard for their classmates to figure out who those students were since Iida’s internship was in Hosu and Todoroki was with his father. Granted, no one knew that Izuku was with the Endeavor Agency too, but the story mentioned that one of the students was a healer-in-training, so it’s kind of obvious. 

Kacchan even calls Izuku, who smiles apologetically at Iida and Todoroki before limping out of the room to take the call in the hallway.

“What the fuck is this shit I’m hearing on the news?” Kacchan demands as soon as he puts the phone to his ear, “You were fucking attacked by the Hero Killer?!?”

“Don’t worry, Kacchan, everything’s fine,” Izuku reassures, leaning heavily against the wall, “Weren’t you listening? Endeavor saved us.” 

“Are you alright?” Kacchan presses stubbornly, “Where are you?”

Izuku hesitates, glancing down at his bandaged stomach and leg, before saying, “Ye-Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I’m back at Endeavor’s agency.” He feels bad lying to his best friend, but he knows the blond will only worry incessantly if he tells him the truth. “Er, anyway, I’ve got to get back to work, but I’ll text you later, okay?” 

Kacchan grumbles out a response and Izuku hastily hangs up. 

The rest of the day goes by slowly. Iida gets discharged around noon- thanks to Izuku’s healing, his injuries were minor. The Nomu had knocked him aside pretty roughly with its wing when it snatched Izuku, so the doctors kept him overnight just in case, but there’s no reason for him to stay any longer. 

As for Todoroki, since he has relatively light injuries, he intends to return to his father’s agency later in the evening. Endeavor, however, is apparently insisting that they both come back to the agency. The doctors don’t seem too happy about it, but since the Endeavor Agency does have a good medical center they reluctantly discharge Izuku too. 

Despite his injured arm, Todoroki carries both their bags while they make their way out of the hospital. Izuku feels bad about it, but there isn’t much he can do about it since he needs crutches just to be able to limp around. The stitches under his ribcage pull uncomfortably the whole time, but he doesn’t have to go very far. A fancy car is sent to pick them up at the front of the hospital. 

“Is Kamei-san not here?” Izuku asks, noticing the absence of his mentor. 

A sidekick steps out of the passenger side and opens the back door for him. “No,” she says, taking his crutches and helping him inside, “Endeavor doesn’t want any of his healers to leave the agency unless it’s absolutely necessary.” 

As Todoroki slides in beside him, Izuku notices that rather than there being just one sidekick who drives, they’re accompanied by three sidekicks. Izuku glances at Todoroki who simply shrugs as if to say ‘I told you’. 

When they return to the agency, the sidekicks lead them to the medical center and take Todoroki’s bags, which contain both his and Izuku’s torn costumes. Kamei greets them and begins checking over their injuries.

“Osaki-san would use his quirk on you guys,” she says, “But he’s kind of had his hands full with dealing with the sidekicks’ injuries after last night. Those Nomus are nasty things.” 

“Yeah.” Izuku frowns. It’s concerning to know that there are multiple of those beasts. He’s just glad that none of them seemed to be as strong as the one at USJ was. Pushing away those thoughts, he looks at Todoroki who is sitting on the end of his bed. “What are you going to do? You’re not going to be training with your arm all messed up like that, right?” 

Todoroki shakes his head. “My old man’s probably going to be busy dealing with the press for a couple of days.” A small smile pulls at his lips. “He hates doing press work. He’s going to be miserable.” 

The pleased look on his face has Izuku giggling. 

Kamei uses her quirk on both of them before ordering Izuku to sleep. He stays in one of the rooms in the medical center, since it’s kind of pointless to send him back to his guest room when it’s so difficult for him to move around, but Todoroki bids him goodnight and goes back to wherever he stays during the night. He doesn’t sleep as well as he did the previous night, the pain from his injuries occasionally waking him up. 

There isn’t much for him to do during the next day, or the day after that. Kamei still teaches him more about the world of hero healers and even shows him how to use some of their expensive equipment, but he laments not being able to practice training his quirk. Of course, just when he thought he might’ve figured something out with it, he goes and gets injured! It’s frustrating, but at least Todoroki has time to hang out with him now. Like he said, Endeavor is too busy dealing with the press to train him, so the bi-colored boy spends much of the day with Izuku. 

It’s kind of nice. Todoroki is easy to talk to, and he doesn’t seem to mind when Kamei takes Izuku’s attention away to teach him something new. He even brings Izuku his meals from the dining commons and eats on the bed with him so that he doesn’t have to move around too much. 

“Aww, what a gentleman!” Kamei coos, ruffling Todoroki’s hair as she passes by. His messed up hair coupled with his bewildered expression sends Izuku into another fit of giggles. 

“Sorry about her,” he snorts, “Here, I can…” He reaches out to fix Todoroki’s hair, only to freeze before touching him. For some reason, he wonders if this is okay, if maybe he’s pushing any boundaries. It’s just hair, but Todoroki has never seemed the physically affectionate type and, knowing his past, Izuku doesn’t blame him.

Todoroki blinks curiously at his silence, eyes darting to his hovering hand. Then, he slowly leans his head forward, wordlessly giving him permission. Izuku’s lips twitch upwards as he lays his hand on his friend’s hair. It’s surprisingly soft, sliding easily through his fingers as he goes about fixing the strands, separating the white from the red and smoothing it down. Todoroki remains quiet, eyes fluttering slightly when Izuku accidentally pulls on a tuft. 

As Izuku gently combs the boy’s hair with his fingers, he feels his ear brush against the side of his palm. Blinking in surprise, Izuku slowly lets his hand lower until he’s cupping the left side of Todoroki’s face. His scar feels rough under his fingertips. Izuku tilts his head curiously, gaze fixated on where their skin meets. It’s strange, not having his quirk automatically activate in response to such a blatant scar. It’s something he’s always had to be cautious about when healing Todoroki, to be careful not to linger too long or else he’d heal the scar as well. He supposes, now, that he’s never been able to casually touch Todoroki like he does with the rest of his friends. Another part of him wonders if, considering his past, Todoroki could be touch-starved.

His eyes trail away from the scar to meet Todoroki’s mismatched gaze. The boy is staring at him silently. Izuku’s cheeks heat up. He’d been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn’t realize that he’s just been cupping his friend’s cheek for an uncomfortable amount of time. 

“Sorry!” He yelps, yanking his hand away and scrambling backwards. Unfortunately, since they were eating dinner on the bed, he accidentally kicks his utensils and they clatter to the ground. Flustered, he practically dives off the bed to go after them. “Shit, sorry, sorry, I’ll get- ow!” 

“Midoriya!” Todoroki jumps to his feet and grabs him by the shoulders to steady him. “Did you just step on the fork?” 

“Nope!” Izuku squeaks, even though he totally did. He hides his injured foot by leaning on his good leg. “Nope, I just, uh, moved too quickly and pulled on my stitches, that’s all- but I’m fine!” 

Todoroki looks a little unconvinced, but gently pushes him back to the bed. “Well, alright, but take it easy. I can pick this up.” 

Once Izuku is seated on the mattress again, Todoroki quickly picks up the fallen utensils and puts them back onto the tray. Izuku’s face is still hot and for some reason his heart feels like it’s trying to beat out of his chest. What is happening?!?

Even calm, cool, and collected Todoroki is looking a little ruffled. “Er, I should probably… uh…”

“Yeah,” Izuku manages to stammer out.

Todoroki nods jerkily and grabs both their trays, obviously trying to retreat as quickly as possible. “I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow.” 

Izuku gives him a weak smile and flops back onto the bed once he’s gone. When Kamei comes by to check on him a few minutes later, she finds him curled up on his side clutching a pillow to his very red face. 

“Is your foot bleeding?” She asks.

Izuku just groans into his pillow. 

Eventually, Todoroki does have to return to Endeavor once the man has finished dealing with the press. Izuku isn’t sure if there will be any regulation changes in regards to the protection of healers from now on, but he does know that there was some fuss from the press about his and Kamei’s injuries. He’s been checking his social media every morning and the press was not afraid to criticize Endeavor for this mishap, despite the Flame Hero’s supposed victory over Stain. They even went as far to bring up Osaki’s kidnapping. 

He figures this is what Todoroki meant when he said that two healers being injured would look bad for the agency. 

By the end of the week, Izuku’s wounds are mostly healed. He can walk around with only a slight limp, but his quirk still won’t work until he’s completely better. As much as he regrets not being able to train with it more, he is satisfied with all that he’s learned during his internship. He bows politely to Kamei and thanks her for everything she’s taught him. 

“Ah, don’t mention it, kid!” She says, ruffling his curls, “It was my pleasure! I’m sorry I couldn’t help you out with your quirk more, though.” 

“It’s alright,” he says, “I learned plenty even without it.” 

Kamei grins and walks him to the car that’s going to take him home. Like before, there are three sidekicks waiting to accompany him. “I’d go with you,” she says as he gets into the car, “But the big guy’s being sniffy about his healers staying close to the agency with all that’s gone on this week.” 

Izuku nods understandingly and bids her goodbye. During the ride home, he texts Todoroki, who he hasn’t had as much time to hang out with during the past couple of days thanks to his father. Thankfully, Todoroki says they’ve been doing less patrolling and more internal stuff, Endeavor showing him how to run a hero agency.

(Todoroki 12:35PM) -He’s basically been teaching me how to boss everyone around. 

Izuku snickers. He can practically hear the other boy’s dry tone as he reads the message. 

Despite enjoying his internship week (for the most part), he’s glad to be home. Inko seems pleased that he was escorted home by three sidekicks and is thrilled to see him, giving him a tight hug that makes his wounds ache. He hides his discomfort with a smile and forces himself not to limp as he walks inside the house, only to be nearly knocked over by Sushi as the cat bowls into him. 

“Aww, he really missed you!” Inko coos.

Izuku snorts and nuzzles his furry friend. “I missed you too, buddy.” 

For some reason, when Izuku later tells Kacchan to come over so they can properly chat about their internship experiences, the blond refuses. No matter how much Izuku presses, Kacchan won’t budge, and he won’t give him a good reason either. 

It’s suspicious, so Izuku takes matters into his own hands and walks over to the other boy’s house. Auntie Mitsuki lets him in with a grin, and when he sees Kacchan, he stops dead in his tracks.

“Not. A. Word.” Kacchan growls.

Izuku tries. He really does. But seeing his childhood friend’s perfectly combed hair is too much for him to handle.

He bursts out laughing. 

Thanks to Kamei’s quirk, by Monday Izuku’s injuries are completely healed. He’s extremely grateful- he might be able to fool his mother, but Kacchan would definitely notice if he was hiding a limp. Unfortunately, it looks like he’s going to have a couple of scars on his ribcage and leg, which he wouldn’t mind except he doesn’t know if they’ll interact with his quirk.

Recovery Girl eases his worries by pricking her own finger and having him heal it. To his relief, his quirk works just fine. 

“That’s a relief,” he sighs, leaning back, “I’ve never had a scar before, so I didn’t know if it would…” He trails off when he sees his mentor’s tight expression. “What?”

Recovery Girl purses her lips. “I just feel bad, I suppose. Only a month into school and you already have scars.” 

Izuku’s eyes widen and he hastens to reassure her. “Do-Don’t worry!” He says, “I don’t mind, really! Mirio-senpai says that scars build character!” 

She frowns in confusion. “What?”

“Well, I offered to heal the scars on his arms once and he said that scars build character…” Izuku sweatdrops. “I guess it made more sense when he said it…” 

Recovery Girl peers at him for a moment, then huffs, “Of course he would say something like that. But that’s not really where I was going with this. You’ve gotten into more danger in the first month of your high school career than any healer should in their lifetime.” 

Izuku winces. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, I’m sorry,” she says, leaning back in her seat, “You shouldn’t have had to go through something so scary. I couldn’t believe my ears when I got that call.” She gives him a look. “And once again, you ran headlong into danger. Granted, the heroes could have done more to prevent your ambulance from getting attacked in the first place, but facing down the Hero Killer? Really?” 

He knows his mentor is just worried about him, much like his friends were, but he still feels annoyance stir in his chest. His displeasure must show on his face because Recovery Girl presses her lips together and sighs, “Well, I’m just glad you’re alright.”

The genuine relief in her tone makes his heart ache slightly, and he averts his eyes. “I was still pretty useless in battle,” he admits regretfully, “Just like during USJ…” Recalling how he used Todoroki’s chunks of ice to defend himself against Stain, he asks, “Is there any way I can, I dunno, add a weapon to my costume?”

“Of course,” Recovery Girl says, surprising him, “I was actually going to suggest that.” 

He blinks, glancing up. “Huh?”

“Well, if you’re going to make a habit of putting yourself in danger, it’s certainly a good idea. It’s not uncommon for a healer to have a weapon of their own. Kamei-san probably has one, especially since she’s a combat medic.” His mentor lifts her syringe cane. “This is my weapon.” 

Izuku is even more confused. “Huh?”

“You should mention it to your teachers,” she continues, ignoring his obvious bewilderment, “See what fits.” 

She turns back to her desk while Izuku tries to wrap his mind around the new information. Recovery Girl’s cane isn’t actually a cane but a weapon? How? Is it like bo staff? No, no, it’s too short. She’s too short- he can’t even imagine her fighting!

He tries to picture it in his mind, but fails miserably. 

 “Well, there isn’t much going on today,” Recovery Girl says, getting his attention, “There’s a rescue race training during your hero class that I think you’re capable of participating in. So do your best and don’t get injured ‘cause after school we’re going to work on your quirk more. You said you were starting to get somewhere with it before Hosu, right?” Izuku nods. “Then let’s focus on that. The second-years are doing an exercise with Ectoplasm that is particularly foolish if you ask me, so there will be plenty of injuries for you to practice with.” 

She sends him off before turning back to her desk with a huff, grumbling under her breath about the severe lack of mental capabilities of some of the teachers. Izuku walks away wordlessly.  

Well, whatever kind of fighter Recovery Girl is, he has no doubt that she’s a ruthless one. 

The rescue race training is very fun, and even though his quirk doesn’t help him out with stuff like this, Izuku is fast enough to at least not get last place in his group. It’s nice to work up a sweat- ever since he started at UA, he hasn’t had much time to go on the long runs he used to go on. He wants to improve his physical skill so if he ever encounters a villain like Stain again he can be more useful. 

“That was some hard training,” Sato says as they get changed in the locker rooms. 

“It’s our first class in a while that made me sweat!” Aoyama wipes his sweaty face with his cape. 

“I need to work on my mobility,” Kirishima says. He glances at Izuku next to him. “You were pretty good, Midoriya-kun!”

“Thanks.” Izuku smiles. He’s still coming down from the adrenaline high, so he doesn’t think twice about taking off his jumpsuit. Kirishima’s eyes widen.

“Whoa, dude, where’d that come from?!?” 

Izuku glances down and spots the long scar on his left ribcage from where he got stabbed. Shit, right. 

Kirishima’s loud exclamation has caught the attention of a few others, including Kacchan. Izuku hastily covers his scar with his shirt as the blond looks over. 

“It’s nothing!” He stammers, frantically trying to think his way out of this. Suddenly, he feels a presence behind him and a cold, frost-covered hand slides over his ribs. 

“It’s just a bruise,” Todoroki says.

Kirishima stares at him like he’s crazy. “Dude, that’s not-”

“I’ll ice it,” Todoroki talks over him, subtly trying to shield Izuku’s body with his own.

Kacchan’s eyes narrow.

“If you’re done changing, then you should make your way back to the classroom promptly!” Iida shouts, taking the attention away from Izuku. He chops his hands wildly. “Punctuality is an important attribute for students of a school as prestigious as UA!” 

“Alright, alright, geez,” Kaminari gripes, struggling with his tie, “We’re going.” 

As the other boys grumble, Izuku lets out a quiet sigh of relief. Kirishima is still staring at him in confusion, but when Izuku gives him a pleading look, the redhead glances between him and Kacchan. Understanding seems to dawn on his face.

“Yo, Bakugou-kun!” He says, walking over to the blond, “Race ya back to class!”

Kacchan wrinkles his nose. “What the fuck? That’s stupid as hell, no way!”

Kirishima pauses, then turns his head away with a smirk. “Yeah, nevermind. You probably wouldn’t be much of a competition anyways.”

The reaction is instantaneous. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?!? DO YOU WANNA DIE SHITTY HAIR?!? LET’S FUCKING GO THEN!”

“Oi, oi, don’t get a head start!”

“I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS AFTER I WIN!” 

Todoroki lets out a quiet huff and turns back to Izuku. The freckled boy smiles gratefully at him.

“Thank you,” he says softly. 

Todoroki nods and looks down to where his hand is still touching Izuku’s ribs. His hand is covered in a thin layer of frost, preventing Izuku’s quirk from activating through skin contact. He slowly swipes his thumb over the scar, causing Izuku to shiver, goosebumps breaking over his skin. 

“T-Todoroki-kun?” He swallows, suddenly finding it a little harder to breathe. When did the air get so thin?

The taller boy has him cornered against the lockers, but he doesn’t even seem to notice. His mismatched eyes stay transfixed on the scar as his thumb gently runs over it. He almost looks… sad. Regretful.

Izuku blinks, trying to ignore the way his heart is seemingly trying to beat out of his chest. “Todoroki-kun?” 

Todoroki looks up at him then, slowly tearing his eyes away from the scar to meet his gaze. Neither of them say anything for a few moments.

Then, “You shouldn’t have any.”

Izuku frowns. “What?”

A quiet sigh, and then Todoroki’s other hand slowly comes up to brush his fingers around his own scar around his eye. “You shouldn’t have any,” he repeats, just as softly, “Scars, I mean. Stain… he… if I had just-”

“Todoroki-kun.” Izuku shakes his head, pulling away from Todoroki’s icy touch. “This… Don’t blame yourself for this.”

Todoroki presses his lips together. “If I had been stronger-”

“But you weren’t.” The other boy flinches, but Izuku continues, “You weren’t... because you are a fifteen year-old boy who fought against a villain responsible for the deaths of numerous pro heroes. You’ll get stronger, Todoroki-kun, don’t worry.” Izuku smiles. “You held your own against the Hero Killer. Give yourself some credit. We wouldn’t have made it out alive if it weren’t for you.” 

Todoroki doesn’t really look convinced, but steps back to give Izuku space to put his shirt back on. Izuku turns around, noticing that his ribs still feel cold. His heart is still beating rapidly too, although he isn’t really sure why. This isn’t the first time it’s done this around Todoroki. Maybe he’s getting sick? He should do some more research on heart arrhythmias with Recovery Girl later. 

“Alright, let’s go.” 

The rest of his classes pass by fairly quickly, and then comes his lesson with Recovery Girl. Like she said, there are a good number of second-years in need of healing. Wanting to give him plenty of chances to get familiar with this new output-controlling technique, she leaves the majority of the students to him, only using her own quirk on the more serious injuries. 

Once again, he tries to focus on where his energy leaves his body through his fingertips. It feels strange now that he’s aware of it, like a channel flowing through his fingers. He pictures the hose in his mind and does everything he can to narrow it down, to stem the flow of energy. It’s… difficult, to say the least. Especially since whatever he’s trying to manipulate is in no way tangible. He supposes it’s more of a mental thing. He does his best to concentrate, but it doesn’t help that his quirk automatically shuts off as soon as the injury is healed. 

By the end of his lesson, he’s frustrated and drained. Recovery Girl reassures him that this new development is a good thing; when he described his strange new awareness of this intangible part of his body that he had never really felt before, she said that it must have something to do with his quirk. That this must be his body giving him some way to control his ability. 

She seems so certain, and his fingertips still tingle, so he does his best not to be too disheartened. He’s soon distracted by All Might, who asks to speak with him after his lesson. The hero is still in his muscled form as he leads him to the teachers’ lounge, but once he closes the door he deflates. 

“Have you talked to Sir Nighteye?” Izuku asks as soon as they’re alone.

All Might glances at him in surprise before his expression smoothes into a smile. “Yes, I did. He called me not long after you left his agency.”

“And?” Izuku prompts.

All Might slowly sits down on the couch, a soft smile still on his face. His blue eyes look thoughtful. “We’ve spoken a few times since. Our bond is… mending. I was truly surprised to learn that he held no ill will towards me, after everything…”

Izuku sits across from him and arches an eyebrow. “You should’ve seen his agency,” he says bluntly, “There was a giant cardboard cutout of you in his office. Trust me, ill will is the last thing on his mind.”

All Might chuckles, “Ah, yes, he’s always been a bit of a fanboy.”

It’s one hell of an understatement, one Izuku ignores in favor of asking, “He mentioned he wanted you to find a successor after you got injured. Is it Mirio-senpai?” It’s half-baked theory, one formed out of mild curiosity as to the older boy’s place in all this. He could just happen to be someone Sir Nighteye has taken an interest in, but something about him tells Izuku otherwise.

All Might briefly looks surprised. “How much did Nighteye tell you?” His voice has an odd tone to it, one that Izuku doesn’t know how to interpret. 

“About Mirio-senpai? Not much.” 

All Might pauses, then says, “I’m going to meet with Young Togata soon. I guess we’ll see how it goes.” 

Izuku nods, wondering how the number one hero will go about mentoring Mirio if he does take him as a successor. Their quirks aren’t very similar, but maybe it’s more about the whole ‘Symbol of Peace’ thing? Mirio’s definitely got that type of personality, and his quirk could easily put him in the top ten once he’s a pro hero. 

All Might seems to hesitate for a moment. Izuku tilts his head curiously, but all the man says is, “Anyway- How did the rest of your internship go? Chiyo-san told me about your encounter with the Hero Killer, so that’s why I texted you that night, but I didn’t have the chance to check in with you afterwards.” 

“Oh, it was fine. I learned a lot…” Izuku trails off. He can’t imagine why All Might would be curious about healer stuff, though there’s a good chance he’s probably just asking to be polite. Instead, Izuku finds himself talking about Stain. How he ran after the Nomu attacked his ambulance, how he found Stain right when he was about to kill Iida, how useless he was during the fight, how even his friends told him that it wasn’t his place to get involved in that. Just talking about it leaves him feeling bitter. He also mentions what Stain said about Shigaraki having his eye on him. 

That seems to make All Might concerned more so than anything else. “He said what, my boy?” 

Taken aback by his reaction, Izuku explains, “He said that Shigaraki showed him a picture of me. And… he had said that I was troublesome? Stain even knew my name…” 

All Might swallows thickly and puts his chin in his hands, elbows perched on his knees as he hunches forward, brows furrowed in contemplation. He looks so tense that it makes Izuku nervous.

“All Might?” He questions. 

The man sighs through his nose. “After the attack on Hosu… Sir Nighteye and I spoke again. With all that has happened, this League of Villains might be more of a problem than we thought. He theorized that… that there might be someone behind this. Acting as the brains of the League of Villains. Principal Nedzu-san had previously brought up the idea of Shigaraki being guided by someone, and now I believe it might be true.” He looks grim. Izuku is about to ask who he thinks it is, when he says, “I believe this person might be the villain who I fought with six years ago. The one that hurt me…” 

Izuku’s eyes widen. “What? But… But I thought you defeated him?” 

“I thought so too,” All Might admits, “But it makes sense. That villain… I know him well. And this… everything that he’s doing, it’s exactly his style. And it makes sense that it’s him. How Shigaraki knew that I was injured, the Nomus-” He cuts himself off abruptly. Izuku frowns in confusion. All Might shakes his head quickly and clenches his fists. “It sets my teeth on edge to think that he still managed to survive after our fight. And now with what you’ve told me…” He grits his teeth. “I can’t begin to imagine why someone like him has taken an interest in you.” 

Izuku swallows nervously. He’s never seen All Might look so… distraught before. This villain must be truly horrible if he can make the number one hero look like this. There’s still a lot Izuku’s confused about, but a thought pops into his head. 

“What if he’s still hurt?” He suggests warily, “What if he needs a healer? I mean, I was the only one able to heal you. I bet this guy is in the same weakened state that you were in.” All Might stares at him. Izuku recalls the way Kurogiri looked at him during USJ. A knot of fear grows in his throat. “So… so that means…” 

“No- no, Young Midoriya,” All Might interrupts, leaning forward to place his larger hands over Izuku’s, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought this up. I don’t want you to worry about this. It’s just a theory, after all, I could be completely wrong and he might have nothing to do with the League of Villains.” 

Izuku is still uneasy. “But if you’re right-”

“Then I’ll just have to defeat him again,” All Might says, then gives him a forced smile, “Don’t trouble yourself with this, my boy. Focus on your studies and training your quirk.” He puts a hand on his head, but doesn’t ruffle his curls. Blue eyes gaze at him earnestly. “And thank you for helping me with Nighteye.” He huffs fondly, “You’re giving me back everything that I had lost.” 

Izuku can’t help but smile slightly. He knows All Might is just trying to brush this off. If what he said is true, then Izuku would be in danger. However, if this villain is still weakened, then he probably wouldn’t dare to attack Izuku now that All Might is gaining his strength back, right? Maybe All Might is right, maybe Izuku doesn’t have anything to worry about? There’s certainly nothing he can do about it now, so focusing on his studies and quirk is as good an idea as any. 

All Might walks him to the door and gives him one last pat on the head before sending him off. Izuku walks down the hallway, idly wondering if he’ll find Kacchan in the homeroom or training in the gym.

He doesn’t see All Might’s smile drop, nor does he see him turn and walk towards the principal’s office. 

Chapter Text

Izuku has a nightmare about Stain that night. 

He’s had a couple of them since Hosu, and they leave him sweaty and paranoid for the rest of the night. They’re always about the same thing; he gets to the alley too late, he doesn’t reach Iida in time, he doesn’t knock Todoroki away from Stain’s blade. Either way, his friends always end up dead in the end. And the horrible feeling of helplessness puts a rock in his throat and keeps him up for hours afterwards.

He’s always been a slow starter in the mornings, but even Kacchan casts him a concerned glance as they walk to school. Izuku does his best to push through his fatigue and get excited for the new day. He cheers with his classmates when Aizawa tells them about the training camp during summer break. Their teacher warns them that those who fail to pass the end of term test will be stuck in remedial school. This makes Izuku wonder if Recovery Girl will give him a final exam too.

He finds out later that she does, in fact, intend to give him some sort of test. When he asks more about it, though, all she tells him is to keep studying and training. Which is… annoying. He’s fine with studying, but he hates not knowing what to study for. Leaving him in the dark is a surefire way of giving him anxiety. 

At least he’s able to make some progress with his quirk over the next few days. By the end of the week, he’s able to sort of slow the output of energy. It takes an immense amount of concentration just to barely make a dent in his metaphorical hose, but Recovery Girl says that the rate he heals wounds at has slowed by at least ten percent. So that’s… something. He’s still nowhere near being able to make his quirk stop, but he’ll take what he can get. 

On Friday, his usual morning check-in with his mentor is interrupted by Shinsou walking into the infirmary. Izuku startles, surprised to see the tall purple-haired boy who he hasn’t spoken to since before the Sports Festival. He’s even more surprised to see him covered in bruises. 

He opens his mouth to speak, but Recovery Girl beats him to it.

“Are you kidding me? You were here nearly everyday last week!” She huffs irritably and ushers him towards the bed. “I’m going to be having a serious chat with Aizawa-san after this!”

Shinsou winces and sits down. “Sorry.” 

Izuku blinks in confusion, glancing between the boy and his mentor. “Uh… what?” 

Shinsou glances at him and explains, “I did my internship week with Aizawa-sensei. He approached me after the Sports Festival and offered to train me.”

“Oh!” Izuku is a bit taken aback, but happy. “That’s great! Er, I’m assuming you’re still training with him, though?”

“Yeah,” Shinsou says, watching him carefully, “He’s gonna help me transfer into the hero course.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen if he keeps beating you black-and-blue like this!” Recovery Girl says snippily, then turns towards her apprentice. “Midoriya-kun, if you would…” She gestures to Shinsou.  

Getting the message, Izuku hesitantly approaches the other boy. He’s a bit nervous- he’s only ever talked to Shinsou once before, and it wasn’t a very friendly encounter on Shinsou’s part. He seems different now, though. Still tired and devoid of emotion, but his indigo eyes hold less of a hard edge to them than last time. Izuku’s skin still prickles as they watch him closely. Ducking his head, he gently places a hand on Shinsou’s forearm and concentrates on controlling his quirk. He thinks he manages to squeeze the hose a bit tighter this time, healing Shinsou’s bruises more slowly than usual. 

Shinsou lets out a sigh of relief when he’s done. “Thanks,” he says. Then he pauses, seemingly hesitating, before he adds, “By the way- I, uh… Before the Sports Festival, what I said to you… er…” He rubs the back of his neck and glances away. “Sorry,” he coughs awkwardly, “I was frustrated and it was kind of a dick move. So…” 

Izuku perks up, pleasantly surprised by his apology. Maybe he’s like Todoroki? Aloof and intimidating on the outside, but secretly just dorky and socially awkward? Either way, Izuku is grateful that he’s trying to ease the tension.  

“It’s okay,” he says, then pauses, “Well- no, it wasn’t, but I accept your apology.” He gives him a bright smile. 

Shinsou squints slightly before glancing away again with a huff. “I gotta admit, you’ve got some damn protective classmates,” he says. “Teacher too. You didn’t see him interrupt that mess in the hallway before the Festival. First lesson I got from him was on the importance of healers. As if your classmates hadn’t done a good enough job with that.” He grumbles the last part.

Izuku flushes at this. “Sorry!”

“‘t’s alright.” Shinsou shrugs. “Guess I deserved it.” 

“I- I’m glad you’re getting a second chance, though!” Izuku says, “I’m sure you’ll make a great hero.” 

Shinsou’s eyes sharpen slightly. “You don’t even know what my quirk is.” His voice has a tone that Izuku can’t decipher, but he suddenly feels like he’s being tested.

Swallowing, he asks warily, “What is it?”

“Brainwashing,” Shinsou says, “I can control the mind of anyone who verbally responds to me and make them do whatever I say.” He looks down at Izuku through hooded eyes as he says this. He sounds proud of his quirk- no, not proud. There’s something else in his voice, almost like he’s trying to scare Izuku. And sure, brainwashing is kind of a scary quirk, but all Izuku can think now is how cool it is. 

“That’s awesome!” He exclaims, “What a useful quirk! It’s perfect for hero work! You can take villains down just by talking to them? Man, you’d be a godsend in hostage negotiations!” He giggles, not noticing the stunned expression on Shinsou. “I think I get why Aizawa-sensei has taken an interest in you. You both have emitter-type quirks and- oh! You’ll probably rely on your own physical skill when it comes to fighting, right? Is that why you couldn’t pass the entrance exam?” He’s rambling now. “My friend Kacchan said they had to take down robots, but I guess your quirk wouldn’t work on them, right? That doesn’t seem fair. It’s strange that UA hasn’t noticed that their test is so flawed. Although maybe they have, since they do allow students to transfer into the hero course if they do well in the Sports Festival. Do you think-?”

“Midoriya-kun,” Recovery Girl interrupts, rolling her eyes fondly. 

Izuku startles. “Oh, sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble!” He waves his hands sheepishly. 

Shinsou is looking at him oddly. “It’s... alright.”

Tilting his head, Izuku asks, “So, are you going to join class 1-A then? We have an empty spot.” 

“I hope so,” Shinsou replies, “I mean, if all goes well…”

“It will!” Izuku nods resolutely. “Aizawa-sensei’s a great teacher! You’ll be ready for the hero course in no time!” On a whim, he adds, “And if you ever need a sparring partner, I’d be willing to help out.” 

That seems to surprise Shinsou. He raises an eyebrow. “You want to spar with me?” 

Izuku, of course, knows exactly what’s going through his mind. “I may be a healer, but can certainly handle myself in a fight. Just ask Todoroki-kun! Sure, he won the Sports Festival, but I totally knocked him on his ass during our first sparring class!” He grins triumphantly, lifting his clenched fists. 

Shinsou looks like he doesn’t quite know what to make of him, but his lips twitch upwards when he huffs, “Alright, then, I’ll consider it.” The warning bell rings and he gets up. “Thanks for healing me. I’ll try not to show up as often.”

“Please,” Recovery Girl says as he leaves. 

Izuku is sure that he does try, but knowing how merciless of a teacher Aizawa can be, he’s not at all surprised when Shinsou shows up at the door at the end of his after school lesson with Recovery Girl later that day, freshly covered in scrapes and bruises. Izuku sighs and steps aside, letting him in.

“Is this going to be a common thing?”

“Probably.” 

One day during the next week, Izuku is walking down the hallway after school, having just finished his lesson with Recovery Girl. It was a shorter lesson today, only about half as long as usual because his mentor had to leave early to attend some board meeting. He isn’t quite sure what to do with himself now; a lot of his classmates, Kacchan included, have taken to training after school, no doubt wanting to be as ready as they can be for the physical portion of their final exams. He doesn’t want to disturb Kacchan, so he finds himself making his way over to Gym Gamma, hoping to get in some of his own training. 

He peeks his head through the door to see if it’s empty. 

It’s not.

The first thing he notices is that Shinsou and Aizawa are sparring together. The second thing he notices is that Shinsou is getting his ass handed to him. Izuku winces as the purple-haired boy’s chest hits the mat with a loud thud, Aizawa keeping him pinned with his arm twisted behind his back. 

“Alright, alright, you got me!” Shinsou gripes. Aizawa lets go and Shinsou rolls onto his back, panting heavily. “Can’t we work on the capture weapon now?”

“I told you,” Aizawa replies, sounding bored, “I’m not teaching you how to use a capture weapon until you can hold your own in a fight.” 

Grumbling, Shinsou gets to his feet. “We’ve been at this for two weeks! It’s gonna take me ages before I can beat you!”

Aizawa’s lip twitches. “You don’t have to beat me, you just have to hold your own. Quit trying to rush things, you’ve already been making good progress. So let’s-” Suddenly, his eyes dart up to meet Izuku’s. The greenette stifles a squeak and pulls his head back behind the door, but it’s too late. “Midoriya-kun. Come over here.”

Swallowing, Izuku accepts his fate and sidles into the gym, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry sensei, I didn’t mean to be nosy. I just wanted to see if the gym was being used.” 

“Did you want to train too?” Aizawa arches a brow as Izuku steps onto the mat. When the boy nods, he jerks his head towards Shinsou. “Good. Spar with him.” 

“Huh?” Both Izuku and Shinsou simultaneously say. 

Aizawa is already stepping off the mat. “It’ll be easier for me to see your mistakes and fix them if I’m watching from the sidelines. Plus, it’s good to have a variety of sparring partners. Fighting a short person is different from fighting a tall person.” 

Izuku pouts. “I’m not that short,” he grumbles under his breath. Shinsou makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a snort. 

“Well?” Aizawa says, gazing at them expectantly. 

The two boys glance at each other. Shinsou shrugs, and Izuku quickly takes off his jacket and tie before dropping into a fighting stance. Shinsou does so too, eyeing him up and down before making the first move. He swings- far too wide- with his right fist and Izuku easily dodges, darting in to land a quick hit to his ribs before stepping back. He could aim a kick at his knees, but he wants to give Shinsou a chance to fight back before he takes him down. 

The purple-haired boy briefly looks surprised before turning to attack him again. Izuku dodges the next few punches, getting in a few light hits of his own, but mostly just being quick on his feet. He can see Shinsou’s problems- he has lanky limbs that would be difficult to dodge if he didn’t take up so much time with his attacks. He needs to keep everything more condensed, keep his limbs close to his body before darting out with quick strikes. 

Shinsou is starting to get frustrated with Izuku practically dancing around him. In the corner of his eye, the greenette can see Aizawa looking a bit irritated as he follows him with his gaze, probably annoyed with how long he’s prolonging the fight for, so he decides to end it. In a swift movement, he sweeps Shinsou’s legs out from under him before pinning him down with his weight. 

“Damn it,” Shinsou growls. 

Izuku keeps him pinned, hearing Aizawa walk towards them. 

“Midoriya-kun,” the teacher drawls, “Can you tell Shinsou-kun what he did wrong?”

Izuku glances at him briefly before looking back at Shinsou, who is wearing a very disgruntled expression. “He swung too wide and he wasn’t fast enough. It made all of his moves easy to see and easy to dodge. You should keep your limbs closer to your body. Don’t be so loose, but also don’t be too tight?” The last part comes out sounding like a question. He glances at Aizawa for affirmation and the man nods.

“Now, Shinsou-kun,” he says, “What did Midoriya-kun do wrong?”

Shinsou blinks, clearly not knowing what to say. “Uh…”

“Let me rephrase that.” Aizawa sends a very pointed glance at Izuku. “What is a weakness that a smaller opponent might have?” 

Izuku wrinkles his nose childishly while Shinsou ponders. After a moment, he wiggles his arm free, grabbing Izuku by the shoulder and pushing him to the side. Izuku squeaks as Shinsou rolls them over and pins him down. 

“He’s light,” Shinsou says, grinning down at him triumphantly. Izuku sticks his tongue out at him. 

“Exactly.” Aizawa looks at Izuku. “If you need to pin someone, don’t use your weight like that. You should twist their arm into a difficult position or something like that.” 

Izuku nods. Shinsou lets him up after a moment and says, “You’re really good, though. Where’d you learn that stuff?”

“Oh, I’ve been taking self-defense classes for a while now,” Izuku says, the words feeling rather repetitive as he reaches up to fix his ponytail. He feels like he’s told a lot of people that recently. A spark of warmth tickles his heart. ‘I guess that means I’m making a lot of new friends!’ He thinks with a small smile.

“What about you?” He asks, “Did you just start learning how to fight during your internship week?” Shinsou nods. “You’re doing pretty good so far. I’m sure Aizawa-sensei is a fearsome opponent.” He flashes Aizawa a cheeky grin and the man just huffs. 

“He kicks my ass every time,” Shinsou complains. “But once I get better, he’ll be teaching me how to use a capture weapon.” 

“Once you get better,” Aizawa says pointedly. Shinsou sighs dramatically, making Izuku chuckle.

Smoothing out his curls, he says, “That reminds me, I need to find myself a weapon to train with. Recovery Girl said that it’s important for healers to have one, but I’m having trouble thinking of what to get.” He tilts his head thoughtfully. “It needs to be something light, something that I can carry with me and that won’t get in the way of my costume.” 

Shinsou and Aizawa share a glance over his head. 

“Sounds like a capture weapon,” Shinsou says.

Izuku pauses and frowns. “Why would I need to capture someone?” 

“You don’t need to use it for capture,” Aizawa says, “You saw me fighting at USJ. It’s good for keeping villains at a distance, and it won’t weigh you down much.”

Shinsou pipes up, “Plus, it can double as gauze if you run out.” Izuku and Aizawa glance at him. “What? It could.” 

Izuku eyes the scarf around Aizawa’s neck and considers it. “I guess it’s not a bad idea…”

“‘Course, it won’t be easy to learn to use one,” the teacher sniffs, “It took me six years before I could properly use mine.” When Izuku’s eyes widen, he adds, “But then again, I didn’t have someone to teach me. You could join Shinsou-kun’s lessons and learn alongside him.” 

Shinsou gives him a Cheshire-like grin. “Yeah, come suffer with me!” Aizawa gives him a sharp look that would make Izuku cower if it was directed at him, but Shinsou just smiles at him innocently. 

“I-I would love to,” Izuku says, “But I already have my after school lessons with Recovery Girl.” 

Aizawa idly scratches his scruffy cheek. “I’ll talk to her,” he grunts, “See if we can work something out. If she really believes it’s important, then she’ll probably be fine with me stealing some of her time with you.” The raven-haired man looks down at him. “So what do you say?” 

Izuku smiles eagerly. “Sure!” 

After some discussion, they end up working out a schedule with Recovery Girl. Izuku will train with Aizawa and Shinsou on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. Since their lessons often run longer than the hour Izuku spends with Recovery Girl, he’ll spend the first half hour with her to at least go over the day’s patients and maybe heal a couple of people before joining Aizawa’s lesson halfway through. It’s difficult to fit yet another thing into his already busy schedule, but it’s worth it. 

Training with Shinsou is great. He’s not nearly as good of a fighter as Izuku, but he’s a fast learner and is willing to push forward even when he’s tired. It’s easier for Aizawa to fix his mistakes when he’s watching him spar with Izuku rather than himself, so they start to make more rapid progress. 

Shinsou is surprisingly fun to hang out with too. He has an incredibly dry and sarcastic sense of humor that throws Izuku off at first, but it’s not long before he’s inviting the boy to sit with him at lunch. Shinsou doesn’t take him up on the offer until a week later. Then, it’s as if he’s been a part of the group for ages. Izuku’s friends-minus Kacchan- are more than happy to welcome him in, especially after learning he might join their class soon. Izuku figures it’s better for Shinsou to start befriending his future classmates sooner rather than later. 

Meanwhile, their afternoon hero classes have steadily been getting more and more difficult. All Might seems to be focusing on their ability to maneuver around quickly in all sorts of environments. They haven’t done much direct combat, which Izuku is grateful for, but it looks like that’s about to change soon.

During one class in the middle of June, All Might pulls Izuku aside once he’s gotten changed into his healer costume.

“You’re going to be doing something a little different than the rest of your classmates,” All Might says. 

Izuku winces. “Let me guess, they’re doing more combat training?” 

All Might’s smile turns into something more mischievous and secretive. “Something like that.” 

Izuku starts to get nervous. 

All Might has him stay by his side until everyone has gathered around him. Kacchan arches an eyebrow at Izuku, who just shrugs cluelessly. He jumps in surprise when All Might plops a large hand on his shoulder and grins.

“You may be wondering why we’ve come here today!” All Might’s voice booms as he gestures to the buildings of Ground Beta. “Well, today’s training will entail a bit of roleplay!” Izuku is bewildered as to why he sounds so excited. Unsurprisingly, Kaminari, ever the unmature one, snickers at this. All Might continues, oblivious. “You all, of course, will be the heroes! I, however, will be your villain. And Young Midoriya-”

Izuku lets out a surprised squeal as two muscled arms suddenly wrap around his torso and lift him up. “All Might?!?” 

“-will be my hostage!” All Might declares. The students tense up, bracing themselves for a fight. All Might’s eyes flash. “You have forty minutes to rescue him.” 

The hero squats down before leaping into the air. Izuku shrieks and clutches his arms for dear life, but All Might holds him to his chest securely. They land on top of a building with a heavy thump. 

“I’m bait?!?” Izuku exclaims. 

“No, you’re a hostage,” All Might says patiently, “And I’m a villain. This is a great training exercise for these young heroes. Plus-” He shifts his grip. “This is exciting! I never get to be the villain!” 

Izuku can’t see the man’s face, but he can practically hear the eager grin in his voice. Seriously? Why does he have to be the hostage? Well- he does suppose he wouldn’t have much of a part to play in rescue training, as a healer… 

With a huffy little sigh, he begrudgingly lets himself go limp. So much for his own training. 

Mere seconds after they land on the roof, the sounds of explosions erupt from the street below. Kacchan rockets over to them, a snarl on his face.

“Give him back, you fucker!” 

All Might shifts Izuku over to one arm and flicks his fingers with his free hand, creating a blast of air that knocks Kacchan backwards. A moment later, Todoroki appears, having bolstered himself up with an iceberg. He makes to attack, but All Might grabs Izuku’s head in his massive hand. 

“Ah, ah, ah,” All Might warns, “I’m a villain now, remember? I can hurt my hostage at any moment.”

Todoroki freezes. Izuku does too, even though they both know All Might won’t actually hurt him. But this is way too similar to his situation with Stain. Izuku can see it in Todoroki’s eyes- they look the same as they did back then. Angry and frustrated, but ultimately fearful.

He stands down. 

Kacchan recovers from the attack and blasts his way onto the roof. He lunges at All Might, but Todoroki stops him with a block of ice. “Wait!” 

“What the fuck are you doing, Half n’ Half?!” Kacchan snarls, whirling on him. As he does, other students finally reach the rooftop too. Sero swings himself and Kaminari up with his tape, Yaoyorozu makes a grappling hook for herself, and Uraraka makes herself and a few others float while Asui swings them over with her tongue. They circle around All Might, who tightens his hold on Izuku.

“Fighting villains is different when they have a hostage,” he says, “Everything you do will have a direct effect on the hostage. Attack carelessly and I could use Young Midoriya as a human shield.” He gives a pointed look to Kacchan, who seethes. “Your job is to save him without getting him hurt. How will you do that? Well, I think the answer should be obvious.”

With that said, he takes off into the air again, this time landing on the ground. The next half hour goes by very slowly. Every time the students circle around All Might, he moves again. Just catching up to him eats up a lot of time. And when they do, they struggle to figure out how to take him on without hurting Izuku. It’s difficult and frustrating for his classmates, but Izuku just finds himself getting kind of bored. 

“You know,” Izuku says when they’re alone, “If Shinsou-kun was here, this fight would be over in two seconds.”

“Is that the boy you’re training with now?” All Might asks, flicking another stream of air at Kacchan when the blond rounds the corner, “Aizawa-san’s apprentice?” 

“Yeah, you’d love him,” Izuku says, “He’s like Aizawa-sensei but sassier.” 

“Oh lord.” All Might jumps out of the way when the ground beneath him freezes. “You’ll have to try harder than that, you zygotes! Mwah ha ha ha ha!” His chest vibrates with the booming laugh. He’s really having way too much fun with this.

Izuku, in a very deadpanned voice, says, “Aaaah.”

“We’re coming, Midoriya-kun!” Hagakure’s voice cries out from… somewhere. 

“Hang in there, buddy!” 

“We’ll save you!”

“Cool,” Izuku sniffs, flashing a thumbs up to no one in particular. 

The clock ticks by as All Might continues to get chased around. Then, all of the sudden, everyone seems to disappear. All Might glances around at the empty street, standing just outside of some sort of parking garage. 

“Oh heroes, where are you?” He calls out, “Don’t tell me you left Young Midoriya to fend for himself!”

Izuku is kind of tempted to bite him. 

Something hits the ground behind them and All Might whirls around just as the object explodes, a cloud of smoke bursting out. “A smoke screen?” All Might questions, jumping backwards to avoid it. However, that means that now they’re inside the parking garage, shrouded in the dim light. 

Just as Izuku realizes what’s about to happen, he hears Dark Shadow’s roar. Another smoke bomb goes off, this one unavoidable in the tight quarters. Izuku can’t see anything anymore, but he can hear multiple battle cries from his classmates, as well as the sound of Todoroki’s ice freezing over something. A mass of darkness swirls around them and All Might’s arms suddenly loosen their grip slightly. As soon as they do, Izuku feels a long slimy tongue wrap around his torso and yank him away. He isn’t quite sure what happens then, he feels a lot of hands moving him around, and the next thing he knows he’s out in the blinding sunlight once more. 

It takes him a moment to realize that Iida is carrying him away from the parking garage, where sounds of fighting erupt. 

“Midoriya-kun!” Iida looks down at him worriedly. “Are you alright?!?”

Izuku blinks up at him, noticing that he’s being carried bridal-style. “Uh, yeah. A bit confused, but-”

“Not so fast, Young Iida!” All Might is suddenly running beside them. Before Iida can even react, All Might knocks him aside and grabs Izuku once more. The rest of his classmates are desperately dashing over from the garage. 

“Not a bad plan!” All Might says as they circle around him. Izuku is really getting quite tired of being carried like this. All Might’s arms are wrapped around his torso, leaving his legs dangling awkwardly. 

Wait a minute.

“I’m glad you realized that teamwork is the key to dealing with hostage situations,” All Might says, “Unfortunately, your realization has come a bit too late. Your time is almost up, so-”

Izuku kicks him in the balls. 

“Agh!”

All Might’s grip slackens, and Izuku proceeds to sink his teeth into his arm and clamp down until the man drops him. Then, he makes a mad dash while his classmates surge past him, now having free reign to attack All Might all at once. He almost pities the man when he hears the utterly furious screech that Kacchan lets out, followed by a booming explosion. 

“Midoriya!” 

Something bumps into him and then he’s been swept off his feet again. The wind whips past them as Todoroki swiftly glides across the ground on his ice, carrying Izuku bridal-style. And as thrilled as Izuku is to be in his arms rather than All Might’s, he’s kind of done with being passed around. 

“Are you alright?” Todoroki asks.

Why would he not be? It’s not like All Might was actually going to hurt him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, “Thanks.” 

There’s a particularly loud yell behind them and Todoroki glances over his shoulder.

“Incoming!” Someone shouts.

Todoroki skids to a half briefly and stomps his foot on the ground, creating a massive glacier like the one from the Sports Festival. All Might must’ve been chasing them, but the sounds of fighting continue on a moment later, now muffled by the ice. Todoroki whirls around and continues sliding, only to suddenly take a sharp left and swerve into a building. Izuku isn’t quite sure where he’s taking him. Todoroki kicks open a door and finally puts Izuku down, shoving him forward into the dark room before following him and- wow, that’s a tight fit. He shuts the door and makes a wall of ice as an additional barrier, leaving them with even less space.

Izuku wiggles uncomfortably, stuck between Todoroki’s chest and something else. “Todoroki-kun?”

There’s a click and a light above them turns on, dim and occasionally flickering. Izuku blinks and struggles to glance around.

“A closet?” 

“He won’t expect us to hide in here,” Todoroki explains, panting heavily from his ordeal, “He thinks we’re still running. We can hide here until the time runs out. It shouldn’t be long.” 

“Oh.” Izuku hopes it won’t be long. It’s dusty and cramped in here. Silence falls between them and Izuku tries to figure out what to say. “Uh, funny how this is the lesson we’re learning, right? I mean… ‘cause, um… er…”

Crap, why’d he say that?  

Izuku can’t really see Todoroki’s face from where he’s pressed against him, but he can feel him shift. “It’s like we were back in that alley,” he says lowly.  

Izuku tries to reassure him. “You know All Might wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“I know, I know, it’s just…” Todoroki sighs, and Izuku can feel his breath disturb the curls on the top of his head. “I couldn’t do anything.”

“Alone,” Izuku points out.

“Even working together, we couldn’t really do anything.” Todoroki pauses, then huffs a bit more lightly, “I can’t believe you kicked him in the balls.”

Izuku smiles against his costume. “It’ll become one of my most treasured memories.” 

A little snort of laughter escapes Todoroki. Shocked, Izuku pulls back enough to look at his face. Even Todoroki seems mildly surprised.

Izuku’s smile grows. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before, Todoroki-kun.” He lets out a giggle of his own. “I like it.” 

Todoroki stares down at him. For some reason, his face is starting to look a bit flushed. Thanks to their small hiding spot, their faces are very close together. Izuku’s neck is starting to cramp from looking up at Todoroki, so he moves to rest his chin on the boy’s shoulder. 

Much like during their first sparring lesson, and later during their internship week, Izuku’s heart starts beating rapidly in response to Todoroki’s close proximity. Thankfully, he doesn’t feel as dizzy or breathless as he did during those times. He kind of likes it, actually. It’s like his insides are all fuzzy and warm. Kind of like how he feels on the rare occasions gets to snuggle with Kacchan, except there’s something else to it. 

Todoroki’s heart is beating rapidly against his chest too. Izuku sniffs, noticing an odd burning smell slowly growing stronger. The fabric under his chin is starting to grow warm too…

His eyes fly open.

“Todoroki-kun!” He yelps, jumping backwards, only to grunt when he bumps into a shelf. “You’re burning!”

Izuku can’t really get away from the other boy, but Todoroki is quick to put out his flames. In fact, the room drops about ten degrees colder. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Todoroki hastily apologizes, “I-I didn’t mean to-”

Izuku shivers and winces as something hard pokes his back painfully. “Ow, wait, hold on-” He grabs Todoroki’s arm and steps between his feet, trying to get into a more comfortable position. The thing poking his back doesn’t move and he shifts again, accidentally knocking something over. It clatters to the ground and he almost slips, but the other boy catches him.

“Stop,” Todoroki grunts.

“Just- there’s-” Something jabs the back of his thigh and he presses closer to Todoroki, trying to wiggle away from the offending object. The fabric of their costumes slides together unpleasantly as Izuku keeps shifting. 

Suddenly, Todoroki lets out a strangled noise in his throat. Hands grab Izuku’s hips and he abruptly finds himself being pressed against the shelf behind him. He groans and twists uncomfortably, but Todoroki’s guttural voice makes him freeze.

“Stop squirming.”

Izuku goes still. Above him, Todoroki breathes heavily, skin flushed as he fixes him with an intense gaze. Izuku swallows. 

It’s been a while since those mismatched eyes have made him so nervous. 

For a few moments, neither of them speak. Izuku is still very uncomfortable, the shelf digging into his back painfully, but he can’t budge an inch with Todoroki pressed against him like this. The grip on his hips tightens when he tries to move, a silent warning to stay still. Izuku’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest, and he feels so breathless that he doesn’t trust himself to speak. Instead, he averts his gaze and looks down at Todoroki’s chest. Then, his eyes drop even lower. 

Their hips are pressed against each other, Todoroki’s thigh between his legs. With the way they’re squashed together like this, Izuku suddenly realizes why Todoroki was so bothered by his wiggling.

His face burns. 

He looks back up at Todoroki, ready to spout a million apologies, but he finds himself trapped by heterochromatic eyes. Todoroki stares at him silently, intensely, and Izuku feels strangely vulnerable under his magnetic gaze. 

He gulps. And he comes to his second realization of the day.

The way his heart pounds around Todoroki, how his cheeks flush, how dizzy he gets-

Izuku’s breath catches in his throat.

Oh. 

Oh shit-

The buzzer goes off, signalling the end of the training exercise. As if snapped from the trance, Todoroki jerks backwards, hitting the wall of ice. It evaporates a second later and he practically falls out the door. 

“Todoroki-kun!” Izuku yelps, but the other boy catches himself before he can hit the ground. 

“There you are!” Kirishima spots them through the window and trots into the building, Kacchan on his heels. “Did you hide? Good thinking, Todoroki-kun!” 

Todoroki’s face is still flushed. “Mmm hmph,” is all he can get out. 

Kirishima tilts his head, concerned. “Are you alright, man? You don’t look so good,” he says, but Todoroki is already stumbling out of the building. “Hey, wait!” 

Kacchan turns to Izuku. “What the fuck happened?” 

Izuku shakes his head feverishly. He’s still reeling from his realization, but he manages to squeak, “Nothing!”

Kacchan’s eyes narrow. He glances at Kirishima walking away with a decidedly unsteady Todoroki, then glances back at Izuku’s flushed face. His eyes widen slightly.

“No way,” he says after a beat.

Izuku moans and covers his face with his hands. Kacchan is silent for a moment.

Then, he snorts.

“Oh, shut up!” Izuku cries, punching his friend on the shoulder as he bursts out laughing. “It’s not funny!”

“You should- ha ha- see your face!”

“You’re the WORST!” 

The next few days are kind of awkward between him and Todoroki. They still sit with each other at lunch, of course, and it’s not like they’re actively avoiding each other. It’s just… a little weird. Tense, perhaps. 

But as Izuku snuggles with Sushi in his bed later one night, trying to calm his racing heart as he thinks about Todoroki, he comes to think ‘what does it matter?’. Yes, he can admit that he thinks Todoroki is… pretty. But a lot of people think that! Ashido said that basically all the girls think he’s the most handsome boy in class. Izuku is perfectly fine acknowledging his friend’s attractiveness. And as for all the… physical reactions he has to the boy, well, he figures that could just be attributed to hormones. He knows the human body better than any of his classmates, so he knows that he’s not excluded from the variety of raging hormones that go on in a fifteen year-old’s body. It makes sense, he supposes. He likes Todoroki, they’re good friends, and maybe that coupled with his newfound appreciation for Todoroki’s beauty has given his body and mind all sorts of weird signals. 

It’s a perfectly logical explanation. He doesn’t have to worry, nothing has to change, and nothing has to be done about it. 

So, despite the fact that he now blushes whenever Todoroki looks at him a certain way, and that Kacchan (and Kirishima, because Kacchan told him, the traitor) has a shit-eating grin whenever he’s in the same room as the bi-colored boy, life continues on as normal. 

Or, as normal as life in UA can be. 

On more than one occasion, Izuku spots All Might talking to Mirio. He wonders how things are going on that end, if All Might has decided to make Mirio his successor. He doesn’t want to be nosy, though, and he figures All Might would probably come to him about any big developments anyway, so he lets it go. 

In regards to training, he’s having varying amounts of success. Aizawa has just started teaching him and Shinsou how to use a capture weapon. Neither of them are very good at it, but Izuku tries not to get frustrated, considering that they just started learning. He also finds that it’s easier to fail when you have someone else to fail with you. His quirk, on the other hand, is showing more improvement. He’s able to slow the flow of energy by fifty percent now. His progress excites him, but he doesn’t forget about one of the things Kamei taught him that he’s wanted to try. 

Currently, it’s 4PM in the afternoon, two weeks before finals, and Izuku is tending to Monoma’s wounds. The boy has a nasty cut on his leg that normally wouldn’t be too difficult to heal, except there’s also an annoying amount of gravel stuck in it that Izuku has to pick out first. 

Meanwhile, Monoma is complaining very loudly at how ‘unfairly’ Vlad King treated him during whatever exercise class 1-B was doing. 

“He just doesn’t see my potential as a leader,” Monoma sniffs disdainfully, “Instead, he chose that hot-head Kamakiri-kun, and his crazy tactics got us trampled by the beast.”

“Beast?” Izuku questions idly, removing a piece of gravel with some tweezers.

Monoma waves his hand dismissively. “Shishida-kun has a quirk that turns him into a big hairy beast. He’s strong, but he goes a little wild sometimes.” 

“That must’ve been scary,” Izuku says a bit condescendingly, but it gets the reaction he’s looking for. 

Monoma blinks at him, looking mildly surprised before he tilts his chin away with a smirk. “Nah, he’s alright. I’ve dealt with scarier things than him.” 

It’s clearly bait, but Izuku takes it. “Like what?”

Monoma’s eyes flash eagerly and he launches into a very dramatic tale of the time he protected his younger brother from not one, but two villains. It’s clearly exaggerated and unrealistic, and about halfway through Izuku realizes that the villains were most likely just some neighborhood bullies. However, Izuku still acts like he’s fascinated with the story, nodding along excitedly and gasping at all the right times. Monoma preens under the attention, but more importantly, he doesn’t give Izuku any trouble as he picks the gravel out of his wound. 

“-and, well, that’s just the kind of guy I am,” Monoma finishes, feigning nonchalance.

“That’s really cool, Monoma-kun!” Izuku looks up briefly to smile warmly at him. Monoma’s chest puffs up just a little more. 

“Man, class 1-A must not be as impressive as they think they are,” he snorts, “if you’re impressed by a side character like me.” 

What starts out as a typical arrogant statement abruptly turns into something surprisingly self-deprecating. Taken aback, Izuku asks, “Huh? What do you mean by ‘side character’?” 

“Ah, you know,” Monoma says, turning up his nose, “Those people with flashy quirks like your friends outshine the rest of us. I’m not ignorant, I know my quirk can’t even begin to compete with theirs when it comes to who’s gonna steal the spotlight. Your class is full of main characters, surely you must see that.”

Izuku blinks, dumbfounded. “Uh… what?”

Monoma looks at him like he’s questioning his intelligence. “Your class is full of main characters,” he explains slowly, “They get to be born with perfect quirks that basically guarantee their success so long as they have half a brain, and because their quirks are so perfect and flashy everyone pays attention to them. But not everyone gets to have a flashy quirk. Take your homeroom teacher for example. Sure, people like us can still become heroes, but in a society like this we’re always destined to be side characters.”

Izuku is… honestly shocked. Monoma is always so narcissistic and arrogant, he never thought the boy would think so… little of himself. His voice has a bitter edge to it, but ultimately he looks rather resigned, like he’s already accepted this a long time ago. It makes something pull uncomfortably in Izuku’s chest.

Looking back down at Monoma’s injury, Izuku silently keeps on working. Monoma is quiet too. The pull in Izuku’s chest grows stronger. 

He doesn’t pause in his ministrations or take his eyes off of the wound as he hesitantly says, “You know, I wanted to be a hero.” He can feel Monoma’s eyes snap to him, but he continues softly, “And I think a part of me always will. Even though I have this amazing healing quirk, it’s… It’s hard not being able to do what you want because of what you were born with. But even though this isn’t the quirk I wanted, I still love it very much.” He glances at Monoma briefly. “Even though your quirk isn’t as flashy as you would like, even if it might not ever get you into the spotlight… you should always respect the gift you were born with. You can do things that other people can’t. You can save people in ways that other people can’t. So, I guess…” 

He removes the last piece of gravel and straightens up. Monoma gazes at him with an indecipherable expression and Izuku gives him a weary smile. “We just have to do the best we can with what we’re given.” After a moment, he adds, “And for what it’s worth, I think you could be a main character. You might have to work a bit harder than everyone else, but you shouldn’t give up and settle for being a side character.” 

Monoma stares at him. Then, his lips quirk up into a smirk. “Who said I was giving up?” He says, arching a brow. 

Izuku smiles and ducks his head, moving his hand over the boy’s leg to heal him. “There you go, all better. Tell Shishida-kun to be more careful next time.” 

“Sure,” Monoma drawls, sliding off the bed. After testing his weight on his newly-healed leg, he walks over to the door. He pauses, then glances at Izuku over his shoulder. A smirk still plays on his lips. “Thanks.” 

Izuku watches him leave, chest feeling warm. Hmm, maybe Monoma’s not so bad after all?

The next couple of days go by rather uneventfully. Izuku finds himself becoming a bit stressed as finals approach. Between school, training with Recovery Girl, training with Aizawa, regular homework and Recovery Girl’s homework, he hardly has any time for himself. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t know what to study for Recovery Girl’s exam. Needless to say, his anxiety is having a blast. 

When he walks into the infirmary for his after school lesson, he’s surprised to see Mirio there with All Might, who’s in his normal form. Both blonds give him blinding grins when they see him. Izuku squints.

“Hello, Young Midoriya.”

“Kouhai!” 

Izuku smiles and walks in, ducking All Might’s hand when he reaches out to ruffle his curls. He doesn’t manage to avoid the arm Mirio plops around his shoulders, but at least he leaves his hair alone. 

“How’s your day been, Midoriya-kun?” Mirio beams at him.

Flushing slightly, Izuku averts his gaze and says, “Uh, it’s been fine, I guess. What are you doing here?” 

“IIII broke my toe!” Mirio says with flourish, lifting up his foot to display said broken toe.

Izuku stifles a sigh. “Your quirk makes you untouchable. How on earth do you keep breaking things?” 

“I’ve been wondering that for the past three years.” Recovery Girl doesn’t even bother to look up from her computer. “I’ve already set it, though, so all you need to do is heal it.” 

Izuku looks up at All Might. “And you?”

The man shakes his head, blond tufts swaying. “Oh, I’m fine. I just escorted Young Togata here. I’ll get out of your way.” To Mirio, he says, “Meet me at the gate once you’re done.” Before he leaves, he manages to get his hand on Izuku’s head before the greenette can duck, ruffling his hair and then leaving while Izuku whines in protest.

“What is it with people messing up my hair all the time?” He gripes, fixing his long curls.

“It’s very ruffle-able,” Mirio says decisively.

“I ought to cut it short,” Izuku grumbles under his breath.

“It will still be very ruffle-able.” 

Izuku sighs and Mirio snickers. Bending down, he takes Mirio’s foot in his hand and casually asks, “So how are things between you and All Might going, then?” 

“Huh?” Mirio blinks at him, stunned. He glances up at the door where All Might left, then back at Izuku. The freckled boy simply arches a brow, and his eyes widen comically. “You know?” 

“Of course I know, who do you think healed him?” Izuku finds the expression on Mirio’s face very amusing right now. “Recovery Girl knows too.”

“Oh, good.” Mirio lets out a huge sigh of relief. “I’m glad there’s at least some other people I can talk to about One For All.” Izuku blinks. “I mean, I still can’t believe All Might offered it to me! And Sir Nighteye has been getting me ready for this without me even knowing?!? How crazy is that?!? I mean, of course I’m grateful for it now, considering what he told me about One For All, but-”

“Wait, wait,” Izuku interrupts, frowning in confusion, “I’m totally lost. What the heck is One For All?” 

Mirio freezes, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Recovery Girl sighs very loudly from her desk. 

“Never underestimate the stupidity of heroes,” she mutters under her breath as she gets up and moves over to the door, poking her head into the hallway. “Toshinori-kun!” She calls out, “Come back here!” 

Izuku glances between her and Mirio who blanches, his expression morphing into one of utter dismay. As soon as All Might steps through the door, he blurts, “I’m so sorry, I thought he knew!”

“Knew about what?” Izuku asks, turning to All Might, “What’s One For All? And why are you giving it to Mirio-senpai?” 

All Might stares at him. Then, he lets out a world-weary sigh and reaches behind him to lock the door. Izuku frowns. 

“Don’t worry,” All Might says to a very guilty-looking Mirio, “I was going to tell him eventually.” 

“Tell me what?” Izuku presses, frustration rising in his chest. What’s going on here? Mirio looks like he just accidentally ran over someone’s dog, All Might looks like he’s resigned himself to some unknown fate, and Recovery Girl looks like she’s just done with all of their bullshit, which- well, that’s not an unusual look for her. But they all clearly know something that he doesn’t, so of course he can’t help being curious about what it is! 

And- he won’t admit this out loud- but a small, teeny tiny part of him is just a little bit offended that he was left out of this secret. 

All Might and Mirio share a look that Izuku doesn’t understand, and then the number one hero turns to him, wordlessly gesturing to his desk chair. The greenette reluctantly goes over and sits down, All Might doing the same on a spare stool a couple feet away from him. Mirio takes a step back to give them some space but stays standing, and Izuku pretends not to notice the way he’s watching his mentor with thinly-veiled anxiousness in his eyes. 

Looking at All Might, Izuku doesn’t ask again, but gazes at him imploringly. The man presses his lips together for a moment, then says, “To answer your question, ‘What’s One For All?’- it is my quirk. That’s what it’s called.” 

Izuku blinks in surprise. All Might’s quirk? That’s… not what he was expecting. Such a strange name for a quirk like his- why One For All? All Might’s immensely powerful quirk is something that has been speculated on for many years, but- wait a minute. 

Mirio said that All Might offered One For All to him. 

Izuku’s brows furrow, but before he can open his mouth to ask anything, All Might continues, “One For All is a… very special quirk, the true nature of it being a very tightly kept secret, known to only a few select people. The tabloids called it ‘superhuman strength’ and a ‘boost’, and I always dodged the question during interviews with a funny joke. Because the Symbol of Peace, All Might, had to be a natural born hero.” 

And the way he says that, the expression on his face, makes Izuku’s heart skip a beat. What...What is he saying? Is he not a natural born hero ? That’s impossible- he’s All Might! 

But the steadfast look in All Might’s eyes chases away any thoughts that he might be lying, and the confirmation comes a moment later. “But Young Midoriya, that is not the case,” he says in a severe, but not bitter, tone. Then he straightens up slightly and spreads his arms, declaring, “My quirk was passed on to me like a sacred torch. It is the ability to transfer power from one individual to another. One person cultivates the power and passes it on to another person who also cultivates it and passes it on- that is the power of One For All! It is the crystallization of power that spins together the voices of those who need help with a courageous heart!”

He finishes his short speech with a triumphant lilt in his voice. Izuku stares at him blankly, his mind reeling. 

From her desk, Recovery Girl sniffs.

All Might lowers his arms slowly. “So,” he coughs slightly, “Yes, well… that is One For All-”

“What?!?” Izuku finally manages to choke out, eyes wide, “I- I don’t-” 

No more words follow and his mouth is just left hanging open for a few moments before he closes it, frustration burning in his chest as his mind whirls with confusion. 

It sounds impossible, it has to be impossible- but then again, everything about All Might always seems to be impossible… 

All Might’s large hand reaches to grasp his. “I was going to tell you eventually, I swear,” he says earnestly, “I’ve been lucky to have Chiyo-san in my corner for all these years. And once I pass my quirk on to Young Togata, I would like you to be by his side.”

Izuku startles and glances rapidly between him and Mirio. “Wha- Wait, I-I’m sorry, this-this is all a bit much, I’m still… still a little confused,” he says uncertainly, “You’re-You’re going to give him your- One For All?” 

All Might nods. “Yes, I am. As you already know, Sir Nighteye desperately wanted me to find a successor after I got injured- so that I could have someone to pass One For All down to and train them to become the next Symbol of Peace. And even after we broke up, he still went and took Young Togata under his wing in the hopes that I would one day accept him as my successor.” Izuku doesn’t miss the way his eyes shine with gratitude when he talks about his old friend’s dedication. 

Slowly processing the information, the freckled boy glances back over at Mirio. Their eyes meet, and the older boy’s expression smoothes out to give him one of his familiar bright, easy-going smiles. Somehow, Izuku finds a tiny bit of his anxiety slipping away just at the sight.

“And... you really think he’s your successor?” He asks, turning to look up at All Might. He doesn’t mean any offense by it, of course, but if all of this really is real, then this is a super important decision. 

A smile forms on All Might’s lips and he nods again. “I do,” he says, looking at Mirio. “He has all the qualities I could possibly ask for. He has exceptional strength and skill, and is never one to shy away from a challenge. He has heart, and firmly stands by his values. He believes in what I also believe- that a hero is supposed to help and protect, to save the day with a smile, no matter what.” All Might turns back to Izuku, eyes warm. “He is my successor.” 

And he sounds certain of it. 

Even though part of Izuku is still reeling from the revelation, he can’t help smiling a little. He slowly looks back at Mirio, gaze roaming over his impressive physique, his blond hair, his bright eyes. They really are so similar, in more ways than one. And Izuku knows that there’s truth to All Might’s words. Of course there is, Mirio could never have caught Sir Nighteye’s attention or won the third-years’ Sports Festival if he didn’t have an immense amount of skill and determination. But far more importantly than that, Izuku knows from experience how kind and caring he can be, going out of his way to make sure his kouhai feels comfortable and making him laugh with silly jokes that don’t always make sense but are somehow funny anyways. 

Yeah, he’d be a perfect successor for All Might. 

“So…” he says slowly, “You… don’t have One For All yet?” 

“No.” Mirio shakes his head. “We were going to wait until summer break, so in case something goes wrong, I won’t be in school.”

“Goes wrong?” Izuku questions, concerned.

“One For All can be… a bit tricky to get the hang of, at first,” All Might admits a bit sheepishly, “That’s why Sir Nighteye has been helping Young Togata get into peak physical shape so that when he does accept my quirk, his body will be able to handle it.” 

Mirio grins and flexes his muscles with a wink. Normally, Izuku might smile or blush, but his mind is still struggling to process all this new information.

This… this is a lot. It kind of feels like the rug has been pulled out from under him, but, admittedly, he’s almost started to get used to that feeling now that he’s at UA. He can handle this. It would have been nice if All Might had told him sooner , but he supposes he understands why he kept it a secret. 

But then All Might glances between him and Mirio and sighs once more. “There’s… something else I need to tell you about,” he says hesitantly, “Something I haven’t told you about yet, Young Togata. But… you deserve to know.” It almost sounds like he’s trying to tell himself that. “If you’re going to accept One For All, I need you to know everything beforehand.”

Izuku’s stomach sinks. There’s more?  

Mirio looks confused too, his usual cheerful expression vanishing at All Might’s severe tone. “What do you mean?” He asks. 

“The origins of One For All,” All Might replies, and then he goes on to tell them about a quirk that existed long ago, back when superpowers were just appearing, called All For One. He tells them of the man that used said quirk to steal the quirks of others and quickly gain immense power in the underworld of Japan during the chaotic period when society didn’t know how to deal with the emergence of quirks. He tells them how he would force quirks onto people to make them submit to him, but that many could not bear the burden and would become like living dolls who could not speak- “Just like the Nomus.”

Izuku stiffens, memories of the hulking beast at USJ flashing across his mind; its massive size, its immense strength, its shock-absorption, its regenerating limbs-

“What? His quirk wasn’t shock absorption?”  

“I didn’t say that was all he had!” Shigaraki’s voice titters in his head, “This is his super-regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you at one-hundred percent...” 

Beside him, Mirio’s brows knit in confusion. “What are you saying?” 

All Might’s expression is grim, but he continues on nonetheless, telling them about All For One’s younger brother, the sickly man with a sense of justice that resisted him despite his quirklessness. He tells them how, for some unknown reason, whether it had been out of kindness or to force him into submission, All For One forced a quirk that could stock power onto his younger brother, who turned out not to be quirkless but in fact had the useless quirk that could pass on quirks. And those two mixed together created One For All. 

“It’s ironic,” All Might says in a tone that sounds far too bitter for Izuku’s liking, “That justice always comes from evil.” 

“Wait, All Might- I understand how that came about,” Mirio hastens to reassure him, “But if you were worried that I would reject One For All because it was created by a villain, don’t be! After all, it’s not about who it was made by, but how I use it that matters!” He clenches his fist with a determined look in his eyes. 

Izuku smiles, but when he glances back at All Might, the man doesn’t look any more relieved. If anything, he looks even grimmer than before. 

“That’s not it,” he says, pressing his lips together, “All For One continued to live on past the age of any normal man. With a power like his, he could steal any quirk he wanted- a quirk to stop aging is my best guess. And so with the Symbol of Evil being pretty much immortal, the younger brother decided to entrust his quirk to future generations in hopes that if they slowly cultivated the power, it would one day be strong enough to stop his older brother. And when it was my turn, I was finally able to defeat him!” 

Izuku’s eyes widen. His turn? All Might fought this villain from nightmares and won ? How- when? Surely a fight like that would’ve been all over the news-

Wait a minute.

“I asked that this fight not be made public to the world.”

Izuku’s breath hitches as realization dawns on him. And even though All Might’s words are triumphant, the grimace on his face is all the confirmation Izuku needs. 

“At least, that’s what I thought,” All Might reluctantly says, “But now- I.. I am unsure.”  

There’s a heavy silence in which Mirio and Izuku simply stare at him as he gazes down at his steepled fingers with a furrowed brow. Then, he speaks again, “One For All is the power inherited to defeat All For One, so to say. When I saw the Nomu with multiple quirks, I had a bad feeling.” He grimaces. “I know this villain. He moves in calculating ways, and there have been a few signs that have led me to believe that he has started moving again as the brain behind the League of Villains.” 

Izuku’s breath hitches as All Might sighs. “I might still be wrong, and I might have truly defeated him. But Young Togata.” He looks up at the boy with solemn eyes. “I need you to know that if you inherit One For All, then you might inherit this fight too.”

Mirio stares at him, then gazes down at his hands silently, his brow furrowed. All Might dips his head.

“I completely understand if you-”

“I’ll do it!” Mirio says, surprising the man. He clenches his fists and narrows his eyes in determination. “Of course I’ll do it!”

All Might blinks, stunned. “I don’t want you to make this decision hastily-”

“I’m not,” Mirio says, “It’s not a hasty decision. I’m going to become a pro hero soon. Even without One For All, I’d be doing my best to fight this guy!”

He gazes at All Might earnestly, not a hint of doubt in his eyes. The older man stares at him for a moment before his lip twitches up. “Young Togata-”

Izuku jumps to his feet, waving his hands frantically. “Wait a minute, wait a minute!” He squeaks, “All Might, you- you don’t have to give it to him right now! I’m-I’m going to heal you as soon as I can! You’ll be strong again, strong enough to defeat this All For One! There’s no rush-”

“Young Midoriya, calm down, calm down, relax,” All Might soothes, gently grabbing his hands, “You misunderstand. I won’t completely lose One For All once I give it to Young Togata.” 

Izuku blinks. “Oh.” He sits back down, a little embarrassed, but still incredibly worried. He glances between his senpai and All Might anxiously. “But- I-I don’t like this! I don’t want Mirio-senpai facing off against this guy!”

“I’m more worried about you,” Mirio says, looking down at him. Izuku blinks in surprise. “If he really did survive, then that’s probably why Shigaraki has his eye on you. He’s probably injured and he needs a healer, someone strong enough to heal him.” He turns to All Might, eyes full of concern. “Aren’t you worried?”

Izuku opens his mouth to reply, but All Might startles him by saying, “Yes. After Young Midoriya told me about Shigaraki’s interest, I expressed my concerns to the principal. A couple of underground heroes patrol your area regularly, so he asked them to keep an eye on you on your way home.” He says the last part to Izuku.

The greenette doesn’t think this day can get any weirder. “What?!?” He exclaims, mind whirling.

“That’s good,” Mirio says, relaxing slightly and acting as if he can’t hear Izuku’s brain running a mile a minute. “So, what now?” 

“Now, you think about this,” All Might says, standing up. He gives Mirio a firm look. “I know you’re young and eager to fight, but please, give this some more thought before you make your decision.” 

Pressing his lips together, Mirio nods.

“And you.” All Might turns to Izuku and places a hand on his head. For once, Izuku doesn’t push it off. “Focus on your studies, and focus on your quirk. We can discuss One For All more later, but I don’t want you to concern yourself with what villains might be thinking or doing. Like I said, I might be wrong and All For One might not be out there. But there’s nothing to be done about it right now. Okay?”

Izuku’s mind feels scrambled from this sudden onslaught of information. He nods numbly. “Okay.” 

All Might gives his head a small pat, nods politely at Recovery Girl, and leaves. Silence fills the room. Slowly, he turns to look at Mirio. His senpai looks back at him, bright blue eyes roaming over his face with a tinge of concern. Then, he smiles softly. Izuku doesn’t resist as he reaches out and gently pulls him to his chest, tucking his head under his chin and rubbing his back soothingly. Izuku slowly lets out a long exhale and nuzzles closer.

“My brain hurts,” he mumbles against his senpai’s shirt.

Mirio chuckles softly. 

Chapter Text

On the Monday before finals week, Izuku finally manages to completely stop his quirk. It takes an incredible amount of concentration and he almost feels physically tired afterwards, but he succeeds. He shuts off his quirk halfway through healing a burn on a student’s arm and promptly shrieks with happiness, much to the student’s confusion. He finds Nejire as soon as he can and thanks her profusely while she whoops and glomps him. His friends cheer when he tells them during class the next day and All Might congratulates him. Even Aizawa gives him an encouraging nod. 

Recovery Girl is pleased too. 

“Good job, Midoriya-kun,” she says, “I’m incredibly proud of you for working so hard to accomplish this.” He beams and tries not to blush. “I wanted to wait until you were at least in your third semester, but I know how eager you are to get your license.” He perks up, hope flaring in his chest. “I think- and I can’t make any promises- but I think I can pull some strings and have you do the license exam in the beginning of your second semester.” Before he can get too excited, Recovery Girl adds, “It’s going to be a provisional license, so there will be many restrictions, understand? You're still going to need some degree of supervision or guidance, and you absolutely won’t be able to do surgeries or anything like that, not that I’ve even taught you that.”

“But?” Izuku prompts, green eyes practically sparkling.

Recovery Girl gives him a chiding look and smiles. “But you will be allowed to heal pro heroes.”

“Yes!” He shouts, punching the air with his fist. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“We will keep on training you to control your quirk,” his mentor says over his cheers, “And you will go slow if you heal Toshinori-kun. I don’t care if it takes days or even weeks, I do not want you draining yourself for that man. And he won’t appreciate it either if you pass out on him.” 

“I know, I know!” Izuku says, practically vibrating with excitement. Finally he’s getting somewhere! He’s so close to healing All Might- and Ingenium! All he has to do is pass the license exam- which, by the way, what will that entail? How much does he have to study? Is it written or is it just a demonstration of his quirk? Or both? What if he-

As if she can read his mind, Recovery Girl says, “Don’t worry about the license exam now. I’ll do everything I can to prepare you for it. But first, you need to focus on passing your final exams. Don’t you want to go on that summer camp trip?” 

“Right! Yes!” Izuku nods. As much as he wants to start rushing to prepare for the future, he needs to concentrate on what’s just ahead of him. School comes first. He knows that, of course.

That still doesn’t stop him from being on a high for the rest of the week, though. Despite the pressure from the upcoming exams, it feels as if a weight has been lifted off his chest. He feels lighter and more carefree than ever before. He laughs with his friends at lunch and kicks Shinsou’s ass during training and he even joins a few study sessions when he can, although he mostly just ends up goofing around with Kaminari and Ashido. His friends notice his brighter mood too. 

Every time he manages to stop his quirk during his after school lessons, his chest fills with warmth. A hopeful voice in the back of his mind whispers, ‘This is it, you’re so close, you’re so close to fixing everything, All Might’s going to be strong again and Ingenium will run again and you won’t have to worry about villains or anything-’ 

He supposes it’s only inevitable that his high would come crashing down. 

It happens on Friday. It’s the last day of actual learning before the hell of finals week. Their afternoon hero lesson turns out to be a joint lesson between classes 1-A and 1-B. Competition is in the air as All Might describes their training exercise, which seems to be some form of capture the flag. Since it will involve direct combat with quirks- and will no doubt result in injuries- Izuku won’t be participating. 

The two classes bicker good-naturedly as they make their way over to the Gamma Field. It’s been renovated by Cementoss to make a more difficult terrain, not unlike the landslide area of USJ. Everyone except Izuku changes into their standard training uniforms while he gets to wear his healer costume. It doesn’t include his capture weapon yet, since he’s still not great at using it, but it will one day. 

“Alright, guys,” Izuku says chidingly as they leave the changing room, tying up his ponytail, “I know you hero-types like to get competitive, but try and play nice. Got it?” 

“Fuck, no. We ain’t playing nice!” Kacchan bares his teeth as he leers at the class B students. “We’re gonna blow their asses up to bits!”

“Metaphorically!” Kirishima chirps, plopping an arm around Kacchan’s shoulder. However, even he looks competitive. 

The class B students are a bit more refined, but no less eager.

“Enjoy the spotlight while you still have it,” Monoma says smoothly, “Because in just a few minutes, class B is going to knock you off your pedestal.” 

“Don’t you dare underestimate us!” Tetsutetsu warns. 

Kacchan opens his mouth to retort, but Izuku interrupts him, “Okay, time to go!” He pushes the blond forward and drags Kirishima away with his free hand. The rest of his classmates follow him, but he can see the looks they shoot towards their rivals. “Save it for the field!” 

The training commences soon afterwards, and Izuku watches from the sidelines with the teachers. The platform he, All Might, Aizawa, and Vlad King stand on is slightly elevated so that they can better see the students move around the rough terrain. It’s fun to watch- Izuku, of course, is mostly just keeping an eye out for injuries, but he can’t help silently rooting for his classmates. He inhales sharply when Ashido nimbly evades an attack from Monoma and smiles when Todoroki defends their flag from two other class B students. All Might and Vlad King occasionally call out encouragements or warnings. Aizawa watches silently, but Izuku can tell that he’s pleased when he sees his students expertly working together to achieve their goal. 

Class B, however, doesn’t go down so easily. Even though they didn’t experience their own villain attack, their skills in combat are actually pretty good. Izuku can see that even some of his more proficient classmates are having trouble against the other students. He wonders how their training differs from class A’s training. There are some obvious differences in how Vlad King treats his students compared to Aizawa, the former being noticeably more friendly, but Izuku isn’t sure if that would correlate to the skill of his students. 

His idle musings are suddenly interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream. Startled, he tears his gaze away from where he was watching Kirishima wrestle with Tetsutetsu and quickly looks for the source of the screaming. It’s coming from class B’s part of the field, but he can’t see anyone on the ground. However, he does see multiple students stop and run over to a particular mountain of rubble. 

“SENSEI!” Someone shrieks from behind the rubble, “SENSEI! SENSEI!”

Izuku has already jumped off of the platform and is dashing across the field, the other teachers on his heels a moment later. It feels like it takes ages to reach the rubble, his legs not moving nearly as fast as he needs them to. All Might gets there first, and he only stops and stares for a moment before he turns and frantically calls for Izuku. 

When the boy finally reaches the scene, time seems to slow down. A group of students are crowding around someone lying on the ground- ‘Kendou’, his mind supplies. She’s the one who is screaming so terribly, and Izuku immediately notices why. Her right leg is broken badly, splayed out at an awkward angle and bleeding profusely. The jagged edge of her femur juts out of a messy gash in her blood-soaked skin, the sight of it making Izuku’s heart leap to his throat. It’s probably one of the worst injuries he’s ever seen, but the severity only makes him rush over faster. 

“Out of my way!” He shouts as he shoves his way through the crowd. Kendou’s teammates back away hastily as he drops to his knees beside her, making a little splash in the pool of blood that steadily grows beneath her. 

“What happened?!?” Vlad King demands behind him. 

Monoma is the only one that hasn’t moved, staring down at Kendou with wide eyes. “It- It was an accident,” he stammers, face pale, “She- She was jumping and I- I didn’t mean to-”

Izuku doesn’t pay attention to what he says, too busy analyzing Kendou’s broken leg. He knows immediately that he can’t just heal her right away, not with her bone sticking out like that. He’ll have to fix it first, but he can’t be too hasty or otherwise he’ll end up healing it wrong. But God she is losing blood so quickly, will he even have time to fix it before she bleeds out? 

Panic builds within him like a wave, poised to crash down on him and drown him in fear. Crap, crap, crap, this is bad, this is really bad! It doesn’t help that Kendou is still awake and screaming in pain. Fuck, he wishes she was unconscious for this! Her cries are making everyone around him panic and he can hear a few students sobbing. They’re crying and scared and he is too but he needs to be strong right now, he’s the only one who knows what to do and he needs to do it right!

So, he swallows down his fear and focuses on what’s in front of him. First things first: stop the bleeding. Blood is pouring out of the gash far too quickly for normal. It’s gushing out in rhythmic spurts and he realizes that her femoral artery must’ve been severed by her broken bone. He needs to put pressure, but if he makes a tourniquet he’ll risk causing further damage to her femur. So that leaves only one option. 

Inhaling sharply, he puts one gloved hand on her leg to steady it before carefully sliding his other hand into the gash, the wound making a sickening squelching sound as he does so. Kendou wails even louder and he struggles not to gag, feeling around the torn flesh for the severed edge of her artery. He finds it and pinches it as hard as he can until the blood stops spurting between his fingers. Kendou shrieks, the cry sounding as if it’s being ripped from her throat. 

The wave of panic threatens to rise again but Izuku forces himself to continue. Next, next, what’s next? The bone- he needs to fix the bone! He’ll probably heal it wrong, but Kendou can’t wait for Recovery Girl to reach her, she’ll bleed to death long before then. He just needs to set the bone as best he can.

He needs more hands. 

Both of the classes have gathered around him at this point, either staring in horror or openly sobbing. He needs someone stable, someone who won’t panic, someone like-

“Aizawa-sensei!” He shouts. The man is by his side in an instant. Reaching into his bag with his free hand, he pulls out a couple of latex gloves and shoves them at him. “Put these on.” 

Aizawa immediately obeys and kneels down on Kendou’s other side. “What do you need me to do?”

“Pinch the artery,” Izuku orders, “I need both my hands to set her bone. Feel where I’m pinching?”

Aizawa’s hand slides over his, fingers feeling around the throbbing artery in Izuku’s grasp. He nods. 

“I’m gonna pull away on three, alright? I need you to pinch as hard as you can.” Aizawa nods again and Izuku counts down, “One, two, three!”

He yanks his hand away and Aizawa’s takes over. Blood spews past his fingers. 

“Harder!” Izuku demands, and Aizawa pinches harder until the spurting stops. The rest of the wound is still bleeding heavily, but at least it’s not gushing out. 

With the bleeding now relatively under control, Izuku turns his attention to the broken femur. Grabbing the slippery edge of her bone, he pushes it back down into the marred flesh until the two jagged ends meet. Unfortunately, it’s not a clean break. He can spot a couple of broken pieces stabbing into torn muscle. Reaching into the gore, he grabs them and hastily slides them into what he hopes is their proper place before removing his hands. 

Biting the edges of his blood-soaked gloves, he tears them off in one swift movement. “Hands out!” He barks at Aizawa. As soon the teacher lets go of the artery, blood starts spewing once more, but Izuku is quick to place his exposed hands on Kendou’s leg.

He doesn’t even bother trying to control his quirk.

The energy flows out of him rapidly in response to such a huge injury, trying to heal it as quickly as possible. The speed of it leaves him feeling dizzy and drained, but he almost cries with relief when he feels smooth, undamaged skin beneath his fingers. 

It’s not over yet, though.

“Midoriya-kun.” Aizawa’s voice has him looking up. He follows the man’s gaze to Kendou’s face, taking in her pale skin and closed eyes. She must’ve fallen unconscious at some point. 

All too aware of the pool of blood beneath him, Izuku scrambles over to her upper body and stains her neck red as he feels for her pulse. Nothing. 

He blames it on his trembling fingers and presses his ear to her chest. Nothing. Her heart is silent and her lungs are still. 

The wave of panic surges once more, and this time he feels tears sting the edges of his eyes. 

“Fuck,” he hisses under his breath and immediately moves to start chest compressions. Seeing him begin CPR sends a spike of terror through the crowd around him.

“Midoriya-kun!” Aizawa exclaims, “What-”

Stressed, Izuku snaps, “She’s going into hemorrhagic shock!” 

“What’s that?!?” One of the students cries out. 

This is absolutely not the best time for an anatomy lesson, but he knows how badly they must be freaking out, so he hastily explains, “She lost way too much blood way too quickly, and her body can’t compensate for the sudden drop in blood pressure. She’s going into cardiac arrest.” Counting to thirty, he quickly gives Kendou two rescue breaths before going right back to chest compressions. 

All around him, he’s aware of students shouting, students sobbing- and fuck, he wants to too! He’s not qualified for this; he’s a fifteen year-old boy who’s only ever done CPR on dummies under his mentor’s guidance. He’s just meant to heal scrapes and bruises- not restart someone’s heart! He can’t do this, he can’t, he doesn’t want to be responsible for someone’s life-

But he has to! He has to, he knows he has to, because everyone is relying on him to! He’d rather die than give up now! He has the quirk, he has the training, he just needs to stop panicking and think!

His hands move robotically as he begins the third round of chest compressions, Kendou still limp beneath him. This is taking too long. He racks his brain, trying to come up with some solution. He needs to restart her heart, he needs a defibrillator, he needs, he needs-

“Kaminari-kun!” He barks, “Come here!”

His friend startles. “Me?!?” 

“Now!” Izuku snaps. He’ll regret how harsh he sounds later, but it gets Kaminari to scramble to his side swiftly. Not pausing the chest compressions, Izuku asks, “You can control how many volts you discharge, right?”

“Huh?” Kaminari looks at him with wide eyes. “Yeah, why?” 

Stopping, Izuku hurriedly tears open Kendou’s uniform, sparing a brief wince of apology when he exposes her bra. Kaminari splutters as Izuku orders, “I need you to shock her with one thousand volts.”

“What?!?” Kaminari yelps, horrified. Izuku understands his panic and feels bad for asking so much from him, but there’s no time to waste. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but please Kaminari-kun!” Without waiting for a response, Izuku quickly slides off one of Kendou’s bra straps before grabbing Kaminari’s hands and yanking him over, placing one above her right breast and the other on her left ribcage. “You need to be quick- just a jolt, okay?” He leans back, not wanting to get affected by the electricity. “Now!”

Kaminari swallows, visibly forcing back tears, before looking down at Kendou. He squeezes his eyes shut and activates his quirk, Kendou’s body jerking once as the electricity surges through her. Kaminari immediately backs away a second later and Izuku takes over once more. 

There are electrical burns on her chest now that he’s quick to heal, before leaning down to press his ear against her sternum. Izuku feels his own heart give a leap of joy when he hears Kendou’s heart throbbing faintly. He’ll take a weak pulse over no pulse anyday. Straightening up, he begins CPR again, but it only takes a few chest compressions before Kendou starts breathing again. 

The girl’s gasps and coughs sound like music to Izuku’s ears. He quickly rolls her onto her side where she promptly pukes, mixing vomit with blood. It’s disgusting and it smells awful, but Izuku’s never been happier to see someone throw up in his life. He pats her back and lets out a long shaky exhale, looking up. 

Everyone stares at him and Kendou with unmistakable relief in their eyes. Someone cries out Kendou’s name, a few people release a fresh wave of tears, others look like they might faint, but everyone is visibly shaken, including the teachers. 

A hand touches his shoulder. All Might slowly kneels down next to him. “Young Midoriya-”

“Take her to Recovery Girl,” Izuku interrupts, rolling Kendou onto her back once she’s finished vomiting. She’s not out of danger yet. Her blood pressure is dangerously low- she needs fluids that his quirk can’t replace. “Tell her that she’s in hemorrhagic shock and that she needs a blood transfusion immediately.” 

All Might nods and begins to scoop Kendou, once again unconscious, up in his arms. As he does, Izuku glances at her classmates and asks, “Do any of you happen to know her blood type?” 

Most of the class B students regretfully shake their heads, but one girl pipes up with a trembling voice, “I-I think it’s AB positive? She- She mentioned it once during our biology class…”

A universal recipient. Good. Izuku isn’t sure how much blood Recovery Girl has stored- or if she even has any- but at least she won’t have to worry about giving her the wrong blood type. 

Izuku nods at All Might. “Tell her that too. Go.”

With Kendou securely in his arms, All Might turns and disappears in a flash, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Once he’s gone, the tension in the air seems to leave with him, and reality sinks in once more. 

“God,” one class B student croaks, “That- That was terrifying.”

Izuku finds himself wholeheartedly agreeing, although he doesn’t say it aloud. 

Another girl looks at him worriedly. “Is… Is she going to be okay?”

“I think so.” Izuku swallows heavily, feeling dazed. The wave is still there, still building, still threatening to overwhelm him, but he forces it down once more. Later. Later.

Wiping his sweaty forehead on his sleeve, he clears his throat and says, “She, ah, she needs fluids. My quirk- it can’t- it can’t replace blood. I think I probably healed her bone wrong, too, so she’ll need surgery.” A flash of panic ripples through class B, but thankfully Aizawa intervenes.

“Recovery Girl will take care of her,” he says, his voice calm and steady. He looks down at Izuku, thinly veiled concern in his dark eyes. “Are you okay?” 

No.

“Yeah.” Izuku tries to stand, but his legs feel numb. Aizawa gently helps him up, taking his arm and putting it over his shoulder when his legs wobble unsteadily. He didn’t realize it earlier, but his whole body is trembling violently. Aizawa notices and glances at him questioningly. Izuku swallows again and tries to brush it off, “I just used my quirk a bit too quickly. It was a big injury too, so…”

Aizawa nods. “I’ll take you to-” He cuts himself off, turning to look at the students. Izuku can tell that he’s torn. He wants to help Izuku, but he can’t just leave Vlad King to take care of nearly forty scared and probably now traumatized teeneagers all by himself. 

Izuku makes the decision for him. “Don’t worry, it’s alright,” he says, pulling away, “I can make it there on my own.” 

Aizawa is clearly unconvinced, and so are his classmates. 

Kacchan steps forward. “I’ll take him.”

“No,” Vlad King suddenly says, “Monoma-kun, you take him.” 

Surprised, Izuku glances at Monoma. The boy is uncharacteristically quiet. In fact, Izuku doesn’t think he’s heard him make a single peep this entire time. He just stares at the pool of blood Kendou left behind, a haunted look in his eyes. He raises his head when Vlad King addresses him, but he still doesn’t say a word. 

Vaguely, Izuku recalls him stammering something about it being an accident when his teacher demanded to know what happened. Whatever it was, Monoma’s clearly feeling incredibly guilty about it. He probably isn’t in a much better state of mind than Izuku, but part of him wonders if Vlad King just wants to give the boy something to do.

So, ignoring Kacchan’s protests, Monoma quietly walks over to Izuku and takes Aizawa’s place, wrapping Izuku’s arm over his shoulder and bearing some of his weight. As they make their way out of the field, he hears his classmates murmur reassurances to class B.

“Don’t worry, guys, Kendou-san is gonna be totally fine!”

“I know that was scary, but Midoriya-kun took care of it!”

“Yeah, Midori-kun knows what he’s doing! Kendou-san will be better before you know it!” 

Despite everything, Izuku feels his heart warm at his classmates’ trust in him. Then, they leave the field, and silence presses down on him. The walk to the infirmary takes minutes- or hours, Izuku can’t really tell. All he knows is that the wave is rising again, and without something to focus on, it’s harder to ignore. His heartbeat pounds in his ears, drowning out all other sounds as his trembling slowly gets worse. The pressure and sickening terror threatens to return, and in a last ditch attempt to delay it even further, Izuku turns his attention to Monoma. 

The boy’s eyes are fixed on the ground, his jaw visibly clenched. He looks like he’s on the verge of tears but is stubbornly refusing to cry. Izuku can relate. 

He doesn’t realize they’ve reached the main building until they’re standing right in front of the infirmary. Monoma watches him carefully as he slips his arm off, silently asking if he’s okay to stand on his own. Izuku nods and the blond turns away without a sound.

“Monoma-kun,” Izuku rasps. Monoma pauses. “Um... You know, accidents happen. That’s why I’m here. So… it’s okay.”

Monoma doesn’t look at him, doesn’t say anything, but after a moment he nods stiffly and continues walking away. Figuring he did the best that he could, Izuku pushes the door open and walks in.

As he expected, Recovery Girl is fussing over Kendou. The girl is lying on one of the beds, still pale and sweaty, but there’s multiple needles and tubes sticking in her arms. A bag of blood hangs nearby. Good. 

Recovery Girl glances at him when he enters, then does a double-take. Izuku doesn’t know how he looks, but it must be bad because her expression becomes concerned. 

“She’ll be alright,” she says, “I’m giving her fluids and I already did an x-ray of her leg. The bone healed wrong, so it’ll need to be rebroken and set surgically, but that can wait. Right now I just want to focus on getting her stable.” She pauses, her voice becoming a bit softer. “Toshinori-san told me what happened. I am very proud of you for acting so quickly and for staying calm in such a dire situation. Don’t worry, I can take care of the rest on my own.” 

It’s both relieving and devastating at the same time. The former because he’s shaken and tired, oh so tired. The latter because he knows he won’t be able to hold back the wave any longer. 

‘Please,’ he begs silently, ‘Give me something to do. Please, I don’t want to drown yet.’ 

It’s a testament to their bond that Recovery Girl can hear his wordless plea loud and clear. Her lips press together.

“Why don’t you go clean yourself up?” She suggests gently, “Change back into your uniform. Then afterwards, if you don’t mind, go to 1-B’s homeroom and ask for Kendou-san’s. Her clothes are kind of a mess.” 

Her words sound slightly muffed, as if his ears are full of cotton. Izuku nods numbly and leaves to find the nearest bathroom. When he blinks, he finds himself already standing in front of the mirror. 

His eyes are wide, his skin is pale, and he’s covered in blood. 

He pukes. 

The wave comes crashing down as he heaves his guts into the sink. Everything, all the emotions that he’s been pushing back, all the panic and anxiety and unbridled terror comes flooding over him, overwhelming his senses and drowning him. He bursts into tears, sobbing uncontrollably as he hunches over the sink, gripping the edges with white-knuckles and staining it red. He’s drowning, he’s drowning, he can’t breathe, he can’t do this-

He vomits again, gagging until he has nothing left, until he’s empty, but even then it’s not enough. He opens his eyes and sees blood that isn’t his. He clutches cold tile and feels cold skin instead. He gasps for breath, breath that he had to force into another person’s lungs because she wasn’t breathing, and that is wrong, so, so horribly wrong-

Over his wheezing gasps, he can hear someone step into the bathroom. 

“Midoriya-kun?” 

Izuku blinks through blurry, tear-filled eyes at whoever spoke. It takes a moment for him to realize that it’s Amajiki. The upperclassman is frozen, staring at him in shock for a few seconds before he rushes to his side. 

“Where are you hurt?” He demands, grabbing him by the shoulder. Izuku shakes his head frantically. “Midoriya-kun? I need you to tell me-”

“No,” he croaks, his voice breaking, “No- it- ‘s not- not mine-” He cuts himself off by coughing, wet and thick. 

Amajiki pauses, looking both alarmed and confused. “It’s not… oh…” 

Izuku struggles to catch his breath, to get himself back under control, but when he reaches up to wipe away his tears, all he sees is his bloody hand. Then, he’s drowning all over again. 

He doesn’t know if he grabs Amajiki or if Amajiki grabs him, but suddenly he’s clutching the other boy’s back for dear life as he sobs into his jacket. He cries and cries until his mouth feels dry, until his head is pounding, but even then he continues to bawl. He buries his face into Amajiki’s chest as if that will help him forget the blood and the pain and the fear. Over his own wails, he can hear the boy’s heartbeat against his ear. It’s strong and loud and a bit faster than normal but it’s there, it’s alive. Arms wrap around him, holding him steady even as his whole body trembles against his will. He doesn’t even realize until a few minutes later that Amajiki is muttering softly to him. He can’t quite make out what he’s saying, but the calm, steady drone of his voice is enough for him to latch onto. It’s something to focus on, something that can break through his swirling emotions and lead him back to the surface. 

Slowly, ever so slowly, the panic runs out. It’s not over quickly, but when it does finally end, Izuku is exhausted. He clings to Amajiki for a few more minutes, just sniffling and listening to his heartbeat until he feels like he can finally breathe on his own.

Reluctantly, he pulls away, although Amajiki keeps his hands firmly on his shoulders. Izuku moves to wipe his tears, but then thinks twice and lets his bloodstained hand drop. 

“Midoriya-kun?” Amajiki’s soft voice reaches his ears. “Can you tell me what happened?” 

Inhaling shakily, Izuku nods, averting his gaze. “I… A- A girl got hurt re-really badly,” he croaks, “Her-Her heart st-stopped and-and she wasn’t breathing- but- but I fixed her! She-She’s alright, now, it’s just-” He sniffles and gives Amajiki a wobbly smile, tears welling up in his eyes. “It was just really scary,” he hiccups, his voice shattering into a million pieces. 

Amajiki doesn’t say anything for a few moments, just watches him as he quivers and lets his tears fall to the ground. Then, his thumbs rub against his shoulders, making him look up again. 

“Hey,” Amajiki says, giving him a kind smile, “Why don’t we get this blood off you, okay?” 

Izuku blinks and nods shakily. Amajiki leads him back to the sink and turns on the faucet. He ends up doing most of the washing, taking his forearms in his hands and gently rubbing the blood off his skin. Izuku stays still, tiredly watching the water turn pink as it circles down the drain. He feels… raw and vulnerable, but most of all he just feels exhausted. 

“Do you know where your uniform is?” Amajiki asks quietly, wiping away the last of the blood. 

Izuku has to think for a moment, his mind moving sluggishly. “Um, it-it’s probably still in the lo-locker room. We-We were in the Gamma field…” 

Amajiki nods. “I can go get it for you, if you’d like to stay here. Or would rather come with me?”

Izuku doesn’t feel like he has the energy to go anywhere right now, but thought of being alone in silence makes a flash of panic rise in his throat. He grips Amajiki’s sleeve tightly. It’s enough of an answer for him. 

“Okay,” Amajiki says, “Let’s go, then.” 

He turns around and leads the way out of the bathroom. Izuku still grips his sleeve, and the older boy lets him. A part of him feels rather childish for holding onto Amajiki’s sleeve as they walk down the hallway together, but a bigger part of him just recognizes it as something to help keep him grounded. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, “You probably have a class right now…”

“It’s okay,” Amajiki says.

Izuku’s eyes trail to the back of his jacket and he winces. “I got blood on your uniform…” 

“That’s okay too.” Amajiki’s response is no less patient. 

Through his muddled mind, Izuku subconsciously wonders why the older boy is being so kind to him. Out of the trio of third-years, he knows Amajiki the least. The raven-haired boy is always there when Izuku hangs out with Nejire and Mirio, but he never says much. From what Izuku has gathered, he seems to have a rather timid, introverted personality. Mirio says that he just gets nervous really easily, but he doesn’t seem very nervous right now. He moves with purpose, almost confidently. His arms were strong and his voice never wavered when he held Izuku. He seemed to know exactly what to do to help the freckled boy calm down. 

Izuku briefly wonders how he knew, but his thoughts are interrupted when they pass by class 1-A.

“Oh,” he says, tugging Amajiki’s sleeve to make him stop, “Act-Actually, I-I think one of my friends might’ve brought my uniform back with them.”

Amajiki follows his gaze to the large door. His eyes widen slightly and he gulps. “O-Oh.” He looks down at Izuku, suddenly appearing a bit nervous, but then he straightens up. “O-Okay. Okay. Er, wait here.” 

Taking a deep breath, he walks over to the door and knocks. The murmuring inside the classroom stops, and the door slides open a moment later.

A pause. “Yes?” Aizawa’s blank voice demands.

Amajiki shrivels slightly. “Uh, erm, do- do you ha-have Midoriya-kun’s uniform?” 

Aizawa is silent. Murmurs ripple through the class. Izuku shifts slightly so that he’s within Aizawa’s line of sight. The man’s eyes dart over to him, and Izuku is all too aware that his own eyes are probably still red and puffy from crying. Aizawa glances between him and Amajiki, lingering on the noticeable wet patch on the upperclassman’s chest, as well as the blood staining his jacket. 

Turning around, he barks, “Bakugou-kun.” 

He disappears for a moment and Izuku can hear his friend bickering a bit with the teacher. When Aizawa reappears, he shoves Izuku’s neatly folded uniform into Amajiki’s hands. “Here.” 

“Th-Thanks,” Amajiki stammers. He opens his mouth to say more, then apparently loses his confidence and whirls around. “Okay, bye!” 

He shuffles back over to Izuku. Aizawa looks at him one last time, dark eyes roaming over him. Izuku gives him a weak smile and the teacher sniffs before closing the door. 

Amajiki lets out a sigh of relief. “Er, alright,” he says, seemingly to himself. Looking at Izuku, he straightens up once again and nods. “Okay, let’s, uh, go back to the bathroom.” 

Izuku wordlessly follows him. His mind will dissect that interaction later. Right now, he’s too tired to do anything other than listen to what Amajiki tells him to do. 

They return to the bathroom, which is thankfully still empty. Amajiki helps him out of his costume and washes away the blood that managed to soak through to his skin. Izuku does the best he can with his uniform, but his trembling fingers fumble with the buttons of his shirt, so Amajiki helps him with them. 

He’s so patient with him, even when Izuku is being more helpless and pathetic than ever before. A knot forms in his throat.

“I’m sorry,” he finds himself whispering.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Amajiki says calmly, buttoning up to his collar. 

Izuku averts his gaze. “It’s stupid,” he croaks, “I… I’m gonna be a healer. I’m gonna be dealing with stuff like this all the time. But I cried like a baby as soon as I saw some blood, it’s just- it’s so stupid-”

“It’s not,” Amajiki interrupts, his voice suddenly more firm, “Panic attacks aren’t stupid.” 

 Izuku blinks. Panic attack? Is that what that was? He knows what they are, of course, but…

“Oh,” he whispers, dropping his gaze. 

Amajiki’s hands don’t stop moving. Once he’s done with the buttons, he grabs Izuku’s tie off the counter and wraps it around his neck. 

After a few seconds of silence, he says, “Being strong isn’t easy.” Izuku glances up at him. His eyes are focused on the tie, but they dart to Izuku’s briefly. “Some people may make it seem like it is, but… You’re allowed to be scared.” Once he finishes, he takes a step back. “Is there anything else you need to do?”

Recalling his mentor’s request, Izuku says, “Um, I just have to get Kendou-san’s uniform- oh, she’s the girl that got injured. But, um, I think I can do it by myself.” Glancing at himself in the mirror, he frowns at his puffy eyes. He can’t show up to class B looking like this. He starts trying to rub the redness away, but Amajiki stops him.

“Don’t,” he says, “That’ll make it worse. Here-” He grabs a paper towel and wets it with cold water. “Just dab at them with this. It’ll help the swelling go down.” 

Izuku does as he says. He wants to ask how Amajiki knows all this stuff, how he knew exactly how to help him, but something tells him that it’s not the right time. Besides, this seems oddly… personal. 

When the redness around his eyes starts to fade away, Izuku sighs softly. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome,” Amajiki says. He hesitates. “And… if you ever feel like… that again, um… you can come to me. If you want.”

Izuku smiles tiredly. “Thanks.” He pauses. “Senpai.” 

A light flush dusts Amajiki’s cheeks, but he smiles back nevertheless. He does have to go back to class after that- sans bloodstained jacket- but Izuku can feel his gaze lingering on him as they part ways. He wearily makes his way over to class 1-B’s homeroom, hoping that he doesn’t look like too much of a mess now. He’s still shivering slightly and he probably can’t hide his fatigue, but he just hopes that they won’t be able to tell that he was crying in the bathroom for the past twenty minutes. 

Sighing, he knocks on the door and waits. A voice inside tells him to come in and he hesitantly slides the door open. The entirety of class 1-B’s attention turns to him and he forces a smile on his face. 

“Midoriya-kun!” Tetsutetsu exclaims, “Is Kendou-san alright?!?” 

“Is she gonna be okay?” Another boy asks. 

“Is she in surgery?!?”

“When will she be back?” 

“Everyone, everyone, quiet down!” Vlad King barks loudly. Once his students fall silent, he turns to Izuku. He doesn’t hide his own worry very well. “How is she, Midoriya-kun?” 

Clearing his throat, Izuku repeats what Recovery Girl told him. The students and teacher listen with rapt attention. “I can promise you that by next week she’ll be completely better,” he finishes, “I’ll make sure of it.” 

Everyone lets out a collective sigh of relief. 

“That was really scary,” one girl whimpers.

“Yeah,” Honenuki agrees solemnly, looking at Izuku, “You were amazing, though, Midoriya-kun.”

His classmates murmur in agreement as Izuku flushes. He’s about to brush it off when Tetsutetsu abruptly stands.

“I know we don’t know each other too well,” he says, “But can I give you a hug man?” 

“Huh?” Izuku blinks in surprise, but other students are getting up as well. 

“Yeah, I need to give him a hug too.”

“You deserve it, dude.”

“Thank you so much!” 

The next thing he knows, he’s being swarmed by the students of class B. Multiple hands ruffle his hair and pat his back. Tetsutetsu squeezes him to his chest and whispers tearfully, “So manly!” over and over again. Honenuki invites him to eat lunch with them sometime and Awase tells him that he’s now an honorary member of class B. The other students wholeheartedly agree. Izuku is both overwhelmed and flattered. 

“Alright, alright,” Vlad King says after a moment, “Don’t crowd him.” He shoos his students back to their seats, but even he plops a grateful hand on Izuku’s head. 

Politely ducking away, Izuku says, “Actually, I came here to ask where I can find Kendou-san’s uniform?”

“Oh!” The same girl that told him about Kendou’s blood type jumps up. “We brought it back from the changing room. Here!” She takes the uniform out of her bag and gives it to him. 

“Thanks,” he says, then turns to the door, “Um, I’ve gotta go back to the infirmary now, so…” 

The students bid him goodbye and continue to thank him repeatedly as he leaves. Then, he’s walking back through the halls and stepping into the infirmary. Recovery Girl glances up as he enters and thankfully doesn’t question why he took so long. Nausea returns with a vengeance when he looks at Kendou’s unconscious form lying on the bed and he quickly averts his gaze. Recovery Girl notices. 

She quietly thanks him and takes the uniform from his hands. Then, “You should go back to your classroom now, Midoriya-kun.”

He almost protests. Almost. He may have fooled class B, but his friends will be able to see right through his forced smile, especially Kacchan. He still feels fragile, like the dam might break again if someone prods at him, but he desperately does not want to be in the infirmary any longer. So he nods and turns to leave.

“And don’t worry about today’s lesson,” his mentor adds, “You get the day off.”

Nodding again, he closes the door behind him. Takes a deep, shuddering breath. Then continues down the hallway. 

He almost raises his hand to knock when he reaches his classroom. But that would be stupid, he never needs to knock. Besides, that would only stop the lesson and bring more attention to himself. Maybe he can just creep in?

As soon as he slides open the door, all eyes land on him. Then-

“Midoriya-kun!”

It’s almost comical how everyone simultaneously shouts. Much like class B, Izuku’s classmates all stand up and swarm around him, pulling him into hugs and asking how he is and telling him what a good job he did. Izuku almost laughs when Kirishima hugs him tightly and whispers, “So manly!” over and over just like Tetsutetsu did. 

“Oi, you fuckers, let him breathe!” Kacchan snaps, shoving his way to the front. Despite his words, he practically squeezes the breath out of Izuku as soon as he reaches him. “You’re fucking crazy, you know that?” He growls into his ear. When he pulls away, however, Izuku could swear that he looks proud.

The lump in Izuku’s throat returns and he has to forcibly blink back tears. Unlike before, though, it’s for a much better reason. 

“Thanks, guys,” he chokes out.

Todoroki appears by his side. “Are you okay?” He asks lowly, gaze roaming over his face. Izuku sniffles and it doesn’t go unnoticed by either him or Kacchan. 

Still, Izuku gives him a shaky smile and nods. “Yeah, I’ll be alright. I’m mostly just tired.” 

“Dude!” Izuku squeaks as Kaminari glomps him. “That was freaking scary, man! I can’t believe you held it together, I felt like I was having a heart attack the entire time!” He pulls back to look at him. “You’re fucking amazing, dude!”

Twisting in his grasp, Izuku grabs his cheeks and smiles at him. “Me? You’re the one who was amazing! I’m sorry I had to drag you into that.” 

Kaminari shakes his head so hard Izuku is worried it hurts. “No way, man, don’t be! That was the scariest, coolest thing I’ve ever done! Besides-” The blond grins back at him. “Now I have something to brag about to the ladies.” He tries to wink and fails, making Izuku snort despite himself. 

Sero pushes Kaminari’s face away. “Oi, don’t flatter yourself. Everyone knows Midoriya-kun did all the work.” 

Ashido hugs Izuku from the back and says, “Yeah, screw school- you’re already a hero!” 

Izuku flushes as Iida splutters and starts giving Ashido a lecture about the importance of school. He can tell the other boy isn’t too serious, though- he chops his hands extra dramatically to make his classmates laugh. 

“Speaking of school,” Aizawa’s voice drawls, “It’s not over yet. Get back to your seats, you brats.” 

Everyone reluctantly obeys, pulling away from Izuku. 

“And Midoriya-kun.” Aizawa stops him as he makes his way back to his seat. The man’s lips quirk up slightly and he gives him an approving nod. “Good job.” 

Izuku’s cheeks heat up. “Thanks!” He squeaks, then adds, “And, um, thanks for helping me.” 

“Mm hmn.”

Izuku turns away and hastily scrambles back to his seat. There’s only about half an hour left of class, but he tries to focus on the lesson anyway, despite jumping in so late. The same can’t be said for his friends, who glance at him more than occasionally throughout the period. He isn’t sure if they keep looking at him because of what he did or because they’ve noticed that he’s been crying. He has to force himself not to sniffle or rub his eyes. 

More than anything, he really just wants to go home and cuddle with Sushi. Maybe even Kacchan will join him. He’s a pretty good cuddler, even if he’s not the touchy-feely type. Izuku would much rather be surrounded by his burnt sugar scent than the metallic stench of blood that still seems to linger on him. 

Finally, the bell rings and Izuku gets up. Before he can grab his bag, though, Kacchan grabs it for him. 

At his questioning glance, the blond grunts, “You’re exhausted, aren’t you? I can carry our stuff.” 

Normally, Izuku might protest that he’s more than capable of carrying his things, thank you very much, but right now he’s just grateful. 

“By the way, Midoriya,” Todoroki says, following Izuku as he follows Kacchan to the door, “All Might was looking for you.”

“He was?” Izuku tilts his head.

“Said he couldn’t find you on his way back from the infirmary.” Todoroki shrugs. “He must’ve just missed you.” 

Izuku isn’t quite sure how that would’ve happened, but he pushes it out of his mind for now. He’ll text All Might later. Maybe after he’s taken a nap. 

They arrive at the door and Kacchan reaches his hand out, but it abruptly slides open with a bang before he can even touch it. 

“Hello, class 1-A!” Mirio shouts enthusiastically. Izuku splutters.

“What the fuck?” Kacchan growls, “The hell are you doing here?” 

With the majority of the class staring at him now, Mirio puffs up his chest and declares, “I’ve come to kidnap my kouhai!” 

In the blink of an eye, he darts forward and scoops Izuku up into his arms. Izuku yelps in surprise, clutching his bicep.

“Oi, fuck off!” Kacchan snarls, lunging towards him. Nejire suddenly pops out from behind Mirio’s back, blocking Kacchan’s attack. 

“Ooo, this one’s feisty!” She fearlessly pats the blond’s spiky hair, squealing with laughter when he tries to bite her hand. “He’s like a rabid dog!” 

“Fuck you!” Kacchan shrieks.

“Bakugou-kun!” Iida scolds, appearing with a chop of his hand, “That is no way to speak to an upperclassman!” 

“Fuck you too!”

Wincing at the loud noises, Izuku glances up at Mirio and whines, “Senpai, what are you doing?” 

Mirio grins down at him. “Like I said, we’ve come to kidnap you!”

“Why?” Todoroki asks in his typical blank tone. 

Nejire traps his cheeks between her palms, much to the boy’s surprise, and pouts, “Can’t a girl take her kouhai out for a treat?” 

Blinking slowly, Todoroki silently pushes her hands away in response. 

“A treat?” Izuku asks, feeling a little hesitant, “I don’t know guys, I’m kind of tired…” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll carry you the whole time if I have to!” Mirio chirps, then smiles, his eyes softening, “Come on, you deserve a break.” 

Izuku blinks in surprise and confusion. Then, Amajiki appears beside Mirio, giving him an encouraging smile. “It’ll be fun,” he says quietly, “I promise.”  

Oh. Now it makes sense. Of course Amajiki would have told his friends about what happened. Izuku’s cheeks flush slightly in embarrassment, but neither of them look pitying. 

Well, he is tired, but if Amajiki says it’ll be fun, then it must be. Besides, he doesn’t think the older boy would do anything that would make him uncomfortable and stress him out even more. Amajiki’s been nothing but helpful today, so Izuku trusts him. Hanging out with his senpais sounds a lot better than going home and crying some more anyways. 

“Alright,” he relents. Mirio and Nejire let out simultaneous whoops of joy. 

Kacchan is not pleased. “You just said you were tired!” He protests.

“Oh, I was dead serious about carrying him,” Mirio says, grinning brightly in the face of Kacchan’s scowl. 

The explosive blond wrinkles his nose and tries again. “Don’t you have a lesson with Recovery Girl?” 

“She gave me the day off,” Izuku says, “I’m gonna go with them.” Kacchan growls. “I’ll text you when I get home, ‘kay?” 

Kacchan looks pissed, but Mirio doesn’t wait for a response. “Alrighty then, let’s go!” He turns around and promptly marches away with Izuku in his arms, Amajiki following silently. 

“Bye-bye, baby heroes!” Nejire chirps, waving at his classmates as she walks away. 

Behind him, Izuku hears Kaminari mutter, “What just happened?”

The hallways are soon teeming with students leaving their classrooms, but the crowd parts as Mirio and Nejire come marching through. Confused glances are shot at Izuku, who is still being carried bridal-style in Mirio’s arms. Amajiki trails after them with his head ducked. 

When they reach the main gate, Izuku asks warily, “So… what are we doing?”

“Whatever you want!” Mirio replies cheerfully, “Like I said, it’s our treat! We could go get ice cream, how ‘bout that?” 

Just the thought of eating makes Izuku’s stomach churn with nausea. He shakes his head. “I’m not really hungry…” 

Mirio and Nejire share a quick, fleeting glance that Izuku misses, before Mirio straightens up. “No worries, we can do something else!”

“Yeah, we can go to the park, or the beach, or go watch a movie-” Neijire starts listing a number of activities, all of which don’t seem particularly appealing to Izuku right now, “-or go to a museum, or the zoo, or, hey, there’s a new karaoke club that opened nearby-”

“Actually,” Amajiki interrupts with his soft voice, “Why don’t we go to a cafe? We can order some tea and just relax for a bit.”

Izuku smiles and nods. “That sounds nice.” 

Mirio and Nejire perk up.

“Perfect!” Mirio says, “Wonderful idea, Tamaki-kun! Let’s go to a cafe!” He shifts his grip on Izuku.

“Are you really going to carry me the whole time?” The freckled boy asks dubiously.

“Yup!” Mirio grins, then stops. “Hold up.” He puts Izuku down before squatting in front of him. He gestures to his broad back. “Hop on!” 

Amajiki huffs while Izuku giggles in amusement. Rolling his eyes, he leans forward and wraps his arms around Mirio’s well-muscled shoulders. Hands grab onto his legs and hike him further up as Mirio stands. 

“Now we’re ready to go!” 

The walk to the cafe is short, but very fun. Piggyback rides are a rare luxury for Izuku, and unlike Kacchan, Mirio doesn’t get tired of it after five minutes. Izuku smiles and rests his chin on his shoulder, listening idly as Mirio and Nejire chatter nonstop. The cafe is a cute little shop at the end of a not-so-busy street. Amajiki immediately retreats behind Mirio as Nejire asks the waiter for a table, and they soon find themselves sitting at a comfy booth in the corner. 

“So, what are you thinking of ordering?” Mirio asks, blatantly peering over Izuku’s shoulder at his menu even though he has one of his own in his hands. 

On Izuku’s other side, Amajiki suggests, “You should get chamomile tea. It helps.” He doesn’t say with what, but the answer is fairly obvious. 

Izuku nods. “Okay.”  

“I think I’ll get jasmine tea!” Nejire says.

“I’m getting ramen,” Mirio says. The three turn to stare at him. He blinks. “What?” 

“We came here for tea, dummy!” Nejire says.

“But I like ramen!” 

“It’s almost July,” Amajiki murmurs, “It’s too hot for ramen.” 

“What do you guys have against ramen?”

“Nothing, it’s just an inappropriate time of the year.”

“Tea is hot, but you guys are still ordering it!” 

“That’s different.”

“How?!?”

Izuku giggles to himself as they continue to bicker. Mirio does end up ordering ramen, but Nejire forces him to sit at the far end of the booth so his ‘salty ramen smell’ doesn’t ruin their tea. Whatever that means. All this results in is Mirio and Nejire yelling unnecessarily loudly across the table so they can hear each other. Amajiki shrivels under the glares the other patrons shoot their way. 

Even though it’s loud, something about this situation seems peaceful to Izuku. He giggles at his senpais’ silly antics and idly listens to their meaningless conversation. Thankfully, they don’t try too hard to get him to join in, clearly understanding that he’s more than happy to just listen. His mind occasionally wanders back to Kendou and the incident, but the wave of panic has boiled down to a simmer that he can easily ignore for now. 

As he sips his tea, he finds himself slowly getting more and more drowsy. Amajiki is a warm presence beside him, his mellow personality a perfect contrast to his friends’. When Izuku finishes his drink, the older boy takes the cup from his hands and sets it down on the table. 

“Thanks, Amajiki-san,” he says.

“You should just call him Tamaki-senpai,” Nejire says, “Since you call us by our first names.” 

Izuku's cheeks heat up. "Oh! Uh..." He glances at Amajiki, who's face is flushed too. 

“He can call me whatever he wants,” he says with a tone that’s almost defensive. Mirio and Nejire pick up on it immediately and grin at each other wickedly. 

“Oookaaay,” Nejire sing-songs.

“Whatever you say.”

Amajiki grumbles to himself, but thankfully the other two go back to their incessant chatter a moment later. Izuku glances at him and decides to just brush it off as Mirio and Nejire being weird as usual. 

He isn’t sure how long they stay in the cafe for. The sun starts to set outside, spilling orange light through the windows and painting the cafe in warm hues. It’s nice, just sitting here with his senpais and relaxing. It’s almost as if nothing bad even happened today. 

He unconsciously finds himself slowly leaning against Amajiki’s shoulder, the pleasant mood mixed with the chamomile tea steadily breaking down his resolve to stay awake. Yawning, he gives one last valiant effort to keep his drooping eyelids open and fails miserably. 

As soon as his head hits Amajiki’s shoulder, he falls fast asleep. 

“Oh my God, he’s sooo cute!”

“Guys…”

“Quick, quick, take a picture!”

“What? No!”

“Oh, come on, this is adorable!”

“Don’t-”

“Tamaki-kun, there is no force on this earth that will stop me from taking this picture. This is gold!”

“This is so weird!” 

“Shh, you’re gonna wake him up!” 

“Nah, he’s out like a light.”

“Leave him alone, he’s had a tough day.”

“Aww, Tamaki-kun, I love seeing you get so protective!” 

“Sh-Shut up…”

“Should we take him home? I can carry him.”

“We don’t even know where he lives.” 

“Well, we can’t wake him up, he’s too cute! Can we keep him?”

“No, we can’t keep him.”

“Hang on, I think I know someone who can tell us his address.”

“Who?”

“Uh, a mutual friend! Lemme just text him real quick…”

“Hey, remember to send me that picture later, okay?”

“Of course, are you kidding? This is gonna be one of our most treasured heirlooms!”

*sigh*

“Don’t worry, Tamaki-kun, we’ll send it to you too.”

“You guys are the worst.”

Izuku wakes up a couple of hours later, surprised to find himself in his own bed. Confused, he grabs his phone and blinks blearily at the bright screen. He has one unread message from Mirio. 

It’s a picture of him and Amajiki from the cafe. Izuku’s face burns red, eyes widening at the sight of him completely conked out against Amajiki’s shoulder, the older boy blushing furiously and covering his face with one hand. Underneath the photo is a single message from Mirio.

  (Mirio 6:43PM) -CUTIES!!! (*´∀`*) 

Izuku throws his phone across the room and buries his face into his pillow with a groan. 

Chapter Text

Brushing Sushi’s fur has always been a relaxing activity for Izuku. Sushi enjoys it, and the rhythmic motions of it is something easy for Izuku to focus on. He doesn’t have to think about anything else other than brushing out clumpy areas and helping Sushi with those hard-to-reach places. 

That weekend, Izuku brushes Sushi’s fur so much that he can practically create another cat with the amount of hairballs his brush gathers. Eventually, Sushi tires of the constant grooming and flees. Izuku then turns his attention to his own hair. He spends almost twenty minutes in the shower just scrubbing and lathering every inch of it in conditioner. Then, he sits on his bed and starts combing his still-wet curls. They reach almost halfway down his back at this point, only a few inches above his elbows, and they’re in a sorry state. He’s been so busy with school and Recovery Girl’s lessons and homework and studying that he hasn’t been taking very good care of his hair. But now, he spends nearly forty minutes dutifully brushing out his wavy curls while All Might calls him on the phone. They talk about absolutely nothing for the entirety of the forty minutes, just making idle conversation while Izuku carefully untangles knots and smoothes them out. Once he’s done, he pats them dry with a towel and bids All Might goodbye.

If Kacchan notices a difference when he comes over, he doesn’t say anything. He does, however, vehemently refuse to let the greenette touch his spiky hair. Izuku merely pouts before offering to brush and style his mother’s hair. Inko agrees and the three of them sit on the couch and watch TV while Izuku starts on her long locks.

It’s his way of coping, he supposes. Simple, mindless work. It keeps him busy, keeps him from thinking about what happened to Kendou. He knows he probably should be studying, since finals are starting on Monday, but when he tried to crack open a book, he found his mind wandering back to the incident. So studying is out. He’s done enough of it during the past couple of weeks that he feels confident in his ability to do well on the exams anyways. 

Kacchan is watching him, always. Watching for… something. He doesn’t know what. A moment of weakness, perhaps. Waiting for him to drown again so that he can be the one to bring him back to the surface. But Izuku won’t drown again. He doesn’t need to. He already had his moment of weakness, and Amajiki- no, Tamaki helped him through it. So he doesn’t need to do that again. It doesn’t even hurt that badly, looking back. He just doesn’t want to think about it, and that’s fine. 

He will accept the cuddles, though. The stench of blood is faint now, more of a memory than anything, but Izuku is more than happy to drink in Kacchan’s burnt sugar scent as they lie on the couch together while Inko makes dinner. There’s no mindless work involved in cuddling, but Izuku finds that listening to Kacchan’s strong heartbeat is enough of a focus for him. 

He remains steady. He doesn’t break again. 

He thinks he might the next day when Kendou shows up at his house. Her parents are with her, and they all bow and thank him profusely for what he did. For saving her life. Kendou hugs him tightly and calls him her hero- and he doesn’t know how to respond. Ashido called him that too and his classmates agreed with her. Izuku isn’t quite so sure. He supposes, technically, that he is one. Heroes are all about saving lives, aren’t they? He did that. He saved someone’s life. 

For some reason, he thought saving a life would feel… better. Feel more heroic. But whenever he thinks about what he did, what he should be proud of, all he feels is nauseous. 

He hopes that’ll change one day.

Kendou is all better now, thanks to Recovery Girl. She’s a little weak, but the surgery went well and her leg is fine. She shouldn’t have any trouble during the practical portion of her final exam later in the week. Izuku is glad. Once she leaves, he feels a little better, a little lighter. At least now whenever his mind wanders back to the incident, to her cold, still form, he can remind himself that he just saw her alive and well. She’s fine and so is he, so everything’s fine.

He’s grateful to go back to school on Monday, even if it is just to take tests all day. Being around his friends makes him feel better, kind of like things are going back to normal. Ashido squeals and fawns over his better-than-normal looking curls, causing the other girls to join in and start up a surprisingly in-depth conversation about hair care. Kaminari does something silly and dorky during lunch that they should all be used to by now, but it still makes them laugh until they feel sick. Todoroki is a strong and steady presence by his side while Iida fusses and makes sure that they both have everything they need for their next class, which is really just a pencil and maybe an eraser. 

He still kicks Shinsou’s ass during training, but the taller boy’s attacks are steadily becoming more difficult to avoid. He makes sure to tell Shinsou this and smiles at the determined, hopeful gleam in his eyes. 

There’s not many people getting injured during finals week, so he doesn’t get as much practice with his quirk as he would like, but whenever he does get to use it he’s fairly successful in slowing the energy to a stop. It still fills him with pride everytime he does so. 

The only thing that’s really different is that class 1-B is more openly friendly towards him. It’s nice, even though his stomach churns every time he looks at Kendou. It’s the main reason he politely turns down their invitations to join them for lunch, although he really does just prefer to sit with his own friends. But other than that and the passing greetings he now gets from class B students in the hallways, not much changes. 

Soon, the three days of written tests are over and it’s time for the practical portion. Ashido and Kaminari had tried to wring information about the exam out of Izuku, certain that Recovery Girl had told him something- which she hadn’t- but eventually they got word from Kendou that the practical will involve fighting robots like in the entrance exam. So, pretty much everyone is feeling confident as they change into their costumes and take a bus over to the practical exam area. Everyone except for Izuku, who still has no idea what he’s going to be doing. Obviously he won’t be fighting robots, but will he just be healing his classmates? He does that basically everyday, surely something will be different? Recovery Girl already gave him a written exam the previous day that was fairly difficult but all-in-all manageable. So what’s next? 

He gets his answer soon. Everyone is surprised when a large group of teachers meet them in front of the exam building. They’re even more surprised when Principal Nedzu pops out of Aizawa’s scarf and cheerfully informs them that, thanks to the recent increase in villain activity, they will be participating in real life battle simulations. 

Which means that the students will be fighting the teachers. 

Barely trained teenagers versus grown and experienced pro heroes.

Izuku gets the feeling that Recovery Girl is far from pleased with this plan. 

To make matters even worse, Kacchan and Todoroki are tasked with defeating All Might. Together. Which- Izuku can think of a million reasons why that is such a bad idea. Anyone with two eyes and half a brain can see that the two don’t get along at all, especially after Kacchan lost to Todoroki during the Sports Festival. Why didn’t the teachers pair him up with someone that he can actually work with, like Kirishima? 

And poor Kaminari and Ashido against Principal Nedzu? What on earth were the teachers thinking?!? 

“Assuming you come across the enemy,” Snipe says, “If you think you can win a fight against them, then that’s fine. However…”

“In cases where there’s too big a difference in your abilities, it would be smarter to run away and get help.” Aizawa narrows his eyes. “Todoroki-kun, Iida-kun, Midoriya-kun. I’m sure you three understand this well.” 

Izuku shrinks slightly. Of course he’s referring to Stain. The difference in abilities between the Hero Killer and Iida and Todoroki was big, but Izuku doesn’t even have a combative quirk and he still ran towards the fight instead of away from it. And yeah, maybe things turned out well this time, but still… 

‘You’re not a fighter, you’re a healer. Your place isn’t on the battlefield.’

Izuku’s jaw clenches. 

“That’s right,” All Might says, standing in front of Todoroki and Kacchan, “Your decision-making skills are being tested! But with these rules, you’re probably thinking the only choice is to run, right?” 

‘Oh please do’, Izuku thinks. He can’t imagine how injured his two friends will be after a fight against All Might. But despite how unfair of a fight it is, he knows Kacchan won’t even think about running away. And Todoroki can be stubborn too. These “handicaps” don’t make him feel any better, either. 

“Those waiting their turn can watch the exams or think of strategies as a team,” Aizawa says as the rest of the teachers make their way into the building, “Do what you want. That is all. Midoriya-kun, come with me.” He turns away.

Gulping, Izuku starts walking after him. Looking over his shoulder, he sees his classmates start to formulate plans with their teammates. Todoroki glances at Kacchan and says something in a low voice, but Kacchan just snarls and ignores him. Todoroki doesn’t try talking to him again. 

“Midoriya-kun.”  

“Er- Coming!” 

Aizawa watches him as he hastily trots over to the man’s side. “Don’t worry about them,” he grunts, continuing to walk, “Just focus on your job today.”

Laughing nervously, Izuku asks a bit cheekily, “Isn’t it my job to worry about them?” Aizawa gives him a look and he quickly averts his gaze. “Nevermind. I mean, uh, what will I be doing then?” 

Aizawa sniffs. “These exams will no doubt result in injuries. Your test will be to heal all injuries only halfway, meaning you have to stop your quirk. Every time you’re unable to, five points will be taken away.” 

Izuku is suddenly a lot more nervous. “But- But I only just figured out how to do that last week!” 

“Then work hard,” Aizawa replies with no remorse. He glances away. “You’ll do fine.” 

Easy for him to say.

Well, at least worrying about his own exam takes his mind off of Kacchan and Todoroki’s predicament. He meets with Recovery Girl in the monitor room, who laments at the amount of work they’ll have today. As they watch Sato and Kirishima’s test begin, Izuku doesn’t notice the doors behind him open.

“Midoriya.”

Izuku glances over his shoulder. “Todoroki-kun! You came to watch?”

Todoroki nods, coming to stand beside him. “I figured seeing the students and teachers fight might give me some ideas.” 

“Ah, right,” Izuku says, wincing in pity, “All Might will be a challenging opponent.”

Todoroki’s face doesn’t change except for the slightest narrowing of eyes. “Bakugou’s attitude won’t help either.” It’s a close growl. The line of his shoulders is tense too, revealing his frustration. Todoroki looks at him. “I also came here to ask if you have any suggestions on how to deal with him, seeing as you know him best.” 

Izuku hesitates. Honestly, this is really a terrible situation for them. Kacchan views All Might as the best of the best, the person that Kacchan has to beat so that he can become the strongest hero. But he also feels intimidated by Todoroki, who he’s already lost to twice and whose unmistakable strength he’ll have to confront once more during this test. In the face of two overwhelming powerhouses, his insecurities will no doubt be heightened.

Honestly... Izuku can’t really imagine his friend passing this test. He most certainly won’t willingly work with Todoroki, in any case. 

Thankfully, Recovery Girl saves him from answering. “Don’t try getting any help from him, boy,” she says, not taking her eyes off the screen, “That is for you to figure out. Heroes occasionally have to work with people that they normally wouldn’t get along with. Consider this preparation for that.” 

Todoroki looks a bit disgruntled, but nods. Izuku feels like he should at least say something to him, but he’s distracted when Cementoss announces Kirishima and Sato’s failure. Eyes widening in surprise, he whips his head back to the screens to see the two boys unconscious on the floor. 

Recovery Girl tuts. “Oh dear, it’s only the first match and we already have work?” She doesn’t seem particularly regretful, though. “Oh well, let’s go Midoriya-kun. Your test begins now.” 

Izuku swallows. Todoroki gives him a small smile of encouragement as he nervously follows Recovery Girl out of the monitor room. Kirishima and Sato are brought to them on stretchers by a couple of robots so they don’t have to walk all the way down to the arena. Under Recovery Girl’s supervision, he goes through the motions of analyzing their physical wellbeing before he takes off his gloves to use his quirk on Kirishima. 

He’s been mostly successful so far in slowing the energy to a stop during these past couple of weeks, but his nerves are getting to him now. Thankfully, he does manage to shut off his quirk, however it takes just a little bit too long. By the time he succeeds in narrowing his metaphorical hose enough to stem the flow of energy, Kirishima’s injuries are about seventy percent healed rather than fifty percent. To his relief, he does a slightly better job with Sato. 

That’s pretty much how the rest of his test goes. He watches his classmates’ matches in the monitor room and tends to their injuries when he needs to. It goes well, for the most part- he doesn’t manage to stop his quirk when healing Asui and later Aoyama, but that’s mostly because their injuries were so minimal that Izuku didn’t even have time to slow down his quirk before they healed. Unsurprisingly, the ones with the worst injuries are the ones who fail their exams. The teachers all come out relatively unscathed, although Izuku has a feeling that’s going to change soon. 

Saving the best for last, Kacchan and Todoroki’s match against All Might is the final one for the day. At this point, most of Izuku’s classmates and teachers have gathered in the monitor room. Having people around was a bit annoying at first, but they gladly shut up when Recovery Girl ordered them to so he could focus on healing. Now he’s grateful that he can cling to Iida’s arm as he anxiously watches the screens with wide eyes. The blue-haired boy simply pats his back reassuringly. 

“There’s no need to worry, Midoriya-kun,” he says, “We both know how intelligent Todoroki-kun is. I’m sure he’s managed to talk some sense into Bakugou-kun. And if not, well…” He trails off uncertainly. Izuku stifles a sigh.

While he has no doubt that Todoroki understands the need for partnership when it comes to fighting against powerful adversaries like All Might, at the end of the day he’s still a bit of a lone wolf, just like Kacchan. If he’s already failed to communicate with the blond once, Izuku doubts that he’ll waste time trying again.

Struggling to swallow past the hard knot of anxiety that has formed in his throat, Izuku gazes at the figures of his two friends on the bright screens. His eyes land on Kacchan, watching as the blond tosses a withering glare at Todoroki over his shoulder before continuing to ignore him, and his stomach sinks.

‘Please,’ he mentally begs, ‘Don’t do anything stupid.’

“Team Todoroki and Bakugou, practical exam! Ready? Go!” 

IcyHot. Katsuki is up against All Might, finally getting his chance to test his strength against the best of the best, and he’s paired with freaking IcyHot. Fan-fucking-tastic. 

At least the two-toned bastard seems to be as displeased about the situation as he is. He does make an attempt to communicate with him after the teachers dismiss them to prepare for their exams, but he takes the hint pretty quickly once Katsuki snarls at him. Now they’re both set on simply ignoring each other as hard as they can. 

Fine by him. He doesn’t need that bastard’s shitty-ass quirk in order to pass. He’ll beat All Might with his own damn strength. 

Unfortunate partnering aside, Katsuki could not be more thrilled about the teacher he was chosen to fight. Finally he really gets to go all out and prove his strength to these fuckers, to truly put his power to the test and become better than the best- IcyHot just needs to stay out of his way. 

He knows the bastard is aiming to be number one too, so he’ll no doubt be trying to beat All Might with everything he’s got as well. But there’s no way in hell Katsuki is going to let him win again. IcyHot made a fool out of him for the last time during the Sports Festival, and now more than ever Katsuki is filled with an overwhelming drive to beat his ass and seize an indisputable victory, to finally stake his claim as the strongest in the class and knock IcyHot off the high-horse that he’s been on for far too long.

Curling his lip, Katsuki welcomes the familiar burn of rage in his chest as he casts a glare at the other boy, who is still ignoring him. 

They both have their eye on the same prize. If IcyHot does get in his way while he’s beating up All Might, would he be allowed to blow him to high heaven? Probably not. Looks like he’ll just have to find and take down All Might before him.  

“Team Todoroki and Bakugou, practical exam! Ready? Go!” 

Katsuki immediately turns and begins striding into the makeshift city confidently, feeling a small spark of pleasure when he hears footsteps walking in the opposite direction behind him. No need to worry about IcyHot tailing him then. Now it’s just a competition to see who can find All Might first. 

Ideally, he would’ve liked to tire All Might out a bit first- toy with him until the thirty minutes are almost up, then catch him off-guard with a Howitzer Impact when he’s tired- but he can’t risk IcyHot fighting All Might during that time and stealing his victory right out from under his nose, so he’ll just have to fight him head-on. Those “handicaps” that support student made supposedly should help weaken him slightly, but Katsuki shouldn’t count on that, and he shouldn’t want to- this is a test in more ways than one, isn’t it? If he can beat the goddamn number one hero, then all those losses before will be what he thought they were- flukes, just little mishaps, and he can be the best, the strongest once again! 

With determination filling his veins, Katsuki turns his stride into a jog as he begins his search for All Might. The buildings are tall around him, the city quiet except for IcyHot’s fading footsteps. If Katsuki remembers the map correctly, the gate is directly on the other side of the city, a straight cut through from their point, and he bets All Might is probably near there-

A huge blast of wind pressure suddenly rips through the testing facility, shattering windows and making the ground shudder. The force of it has him flying backwards and landing painfully on the ground, rolling to a stop.

“Who gives a damn about damaging the city?” 

Katsuki’s head whips up at All Might’s booming voice, but he can’t see the hero amongst the thick cloud of dust still clearing up. 

“If you think of this as an exam, you’ll be sorry,” All Might says in an intimidating tone, and Katsuki finds himself tensing up, “I am a villain, heroes. Come at me with everything you’ve got!” 

The dust is clearing, but he still can’t see All Might. His voice sounds like it’s farther away though- on the other street, damn it, back where he just came from! 

Katsuki dashes back over, cutting through an alley to get there quicker, but by the time he reaches the now-destroyed street, All Might is gone. A moment later, he hears the distinct sound of ice shattering and his heart leaps to his throat. Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! 

Following his ears, Katsuki furiously chases after the rapidly repeating sound as he tears his way down the street until he turns the corner and-

A block of ice comes hurtling towards his face.

Instinctively, he lifts his hand and releases an explosion, blasting it into smaller pieces that clatter onto the concrete harmlessly. 

“Oi, Half-Face, what the-!” Katsuki cuts himself off. 

IcyHot is currently getting his ass handed to him on a silver platter. Katsuki gawks as All Might dodges his attempts to freeze him to the spot, seemingly moving in the blink of an eye before darting in to attack before IcyHot can hardly even react. He smashes through each ice wall the boy throws up in self-defense like they’re made of glass, giant blocks breaking off and flying everywhere as he does so. IcyHot scrambles backwards, creating ice wall after ice wall as he goes on the complete defensive, but All Might lunges forward, breaking through two sheets of ice in one punch and grabbing IcyHot’s face in his massive hand before dragging him back through the crumbling hole he created. In one swift movement, he turns and hurls him all the way across the street where IcyHot makes a very painful-looking crater in the side of one of the buildings. 

Then, All Might turns to him with a wicked grin.

“Finally joining us, Young Bakugou?” 

Katsuki shakes out of his stunned stupor and peels his lips back into a snarl, shifting into a fighting stance. As All Might lunges towards him, he lifts his gauntlet and fires off a stun grenade. With the hero briefly blinded by the bright light, Katsuki launches himself into the air and prepares to aim an explosion at him- only for the same massive hand that grabbed IcyHot’s face to suddenly dart out and grab his, stopping him mid-air. He grunts in shock but continues aiming explosion after explosion at All Might’s exposed face until the man turns and slams him into the ground. Katsuki lets out a choked gasp as pain ricochets throughout his body. 

“Come on now, that was just a sting!” All Might’s voice cuts through the ringing in his ears. “Show me what real heroes are made of, you zygotes!” 

Katsuki didn’t realize he was casting a shadow over him until he’s gone, and as he painfully struggles to roll onto his side, he hears the sound of ice crackling once more and looks up. All Might is already across the street and in front of IcyHot, swiftly dodging a series of icy daggers shooting up from the ground as he advances on the boy- but suddenly, IcyHot switches to using his fire to defend himself from All Might’s next attack. 

Katsuki is surprised- IcyHot hardly ever uses his fire, for whatever fucking reason. In fact, their fight during the Sports Festival is the only time he’s ever seen him use it. The number one hero clearly isn’t expecting it either, and his hand actually gets a little burned, but he quickly shakes it off and sends IcyHot flying across the street with a swift punch to the ribs. 

While he’s distracted with him, Katsuki struggles to his feet and propels himself towards All Might again. All Might turns, jumps, and then suddenly he’s right in front of him and his fist is driving right into Katsuki’s abdomen. Pain explodes and the blond immediately vomits, expelling the contents of his stomach right before he’s sent flying backwards. 

He lands, skids to a stop, and doesn’t move. For a few, unbearably long moments, the pain is paralyzing, and he struggles to gasp for the breath that has been knocked out of him. Heavy footsteps approach and he wheezes, gritting his teeth in frustration. 

Damn it! Get the fuck back up!

Growling, he ignores the way his muscles scream at him and presses his palms against the ground. 

“I know why you’re so frustrated,” All Might’s voice says beside him as he slowly and shakily pushes himself up onto his knees, “It’s because of Young Todoroki’s strength, isn’t it?” Katsuki’s eye twitches. “You must know that everyone starts at different levels. Rather than feeling threatened by his strength, why don’t you focus on improving your own? You have so much more room to grow! And I’m not just talking about power!” 

“Shut up, All Might,” Katsuki hisses, shoulders hunched, “If I have to get help from that…” 

He abruptly trails off as he looks up to the side. IcyHot is up and running again- but he’s running away. He’s utilizing All Might’s distraction with Katsuki to flee. 

Katsuki’s eyes widen.

And something in him snaps. 

His lip curls, and he suddenly finds his blood burning hotter than ever before, like a bucket of hot acid has just been poured straight into his veins. “Strength?” He barks, “Strength? What fucking strength? There’s not an ounce of strength in the body of that FUCKING COWARD!” His voice rises into a screech before he whips around and aims both of his palms at All Might, releasing his rage in a massive explosion that has the number one hero actually taking a step back. He raises his forearms to protect himself and for a brief moment, Katsuki feels a flicker of hope in his chest, baring his teeth savagely as he continues the relentless assault. But a second later, All Might is jumping out of his range of fire, moving faster than his eyes can see, and then there’s a giant hand grabbing him by one of his gauntlets and he’s being lifted into the air. 

“Now that’s no way to talk about your teammate!” All Might says disapprovingly as Katsuki snarls and thrashes around. He raises his other hand to blow his face up, only to let out a cry of pain when All Might crushes the gauntlet he has in his grasp like it’s made of tinfoil, making the metal dig into the skin of his wrist. “Whether you like it or not, you two are in this together!” 

At the last word, he reels his arm back and hurls Katsuki all the way down the street- right towards IcyHot. Katsuki only has time to think ‘oh shit’ before his face collides with the bastard’s back and they’re both knocked to the ground. He rolls to a stop, and he can faintly hear the other boy groan in pain, but he’s too busy trying not to pass out from the blow to the head. 

“Bakugou,” IcyHot hisses somewhere to his left. 

Katsuki growls in irritation. “What?” He spits, struggling to stand back up. He lurches to the side, mind spinning. 

Footsteps, and then arms around his chest are yanking him to his feet. He snarls, but he’s too disoriented to fight off being dragged away to wherever the hell IcyHot is taking him. Off the street, into an alley, then IcyHot creates a tall wall of ice to seal off the entrance, but instead of continuing down the alley, he hastily opens a side door to one of the buildings and drags Katsuki inside. 

As soon as he closes the door behind him, the sound of shattering ice can be heard outside. Heavy footsteps- All Might’s footsteps- pause in the alley. Clearly he’d expected them to be there. Both Katsuki and IcyHot listen with bated breath as the silence lingers on for a brief moment, then All Might’s footsteps continue down the alley until they slowly start to fade. 

IcyHot lets out a quiet sigh of relief. 

A second passes, and then Katsuki violently shoves the two-toned bastard away from him. His legs wobble dangerously and his body screams in protest at the sudden movement, but he screams right back at it to stay standing. No fucking way is he going to accept help from that asshole! He stumbles backwards until he can lean against the wall instead, panting heavily from the ordeal. 

IcyHot isn’t looking too hot either, parts of his right side covered in frost and, much like Katsuki, just generally beaten up from getting tossed and pounded by All Might. They both simultaneously and wordlessly agree on a respite, each retreating to their own corners to catch their breaths and gather themselves as they struggle to process what just happened. 

Katsuki swallows heavily, his heart pounding against his chest. His attacks hardly did anything against All Might. He’s not naive, he knew the man would be difficult, nearly impossible to defeat, but faced with him now, faced with brutal reality- he is so much stronger than Katsuki could have imagined, even with the handicaps. That is what it means to be the best of the best, that immovable force, that power- and Katsuki’s explosions, the ones he’s so proud of, the ones everyone has always said were so powerful, were nothing to him, a mere sting. He’s too weak, he’s going to fail again, he can’t-

“We can’t beat him.”

Katsuki stills.

“What.” 

IcyHot gazes at him, eyes flat. “We can’t beat him,” he says with no infliction, as if discussing the weather, “We should run away.” 

Slowly, slowly, Katsuki lifts his head to look at him. IcyHot, who’s been doing nothing but winning since he’s got to UA, wants to run away?  

“Fuck you,” Katsuki spits. 

IcyHot presses his lips together. “I don’t like it either, but it’s the smart thing to do. It’s what Aizawa-sensei was trying to tell us earlier.” 

“I don’t give a fuck about what Aizawa-sensei was trying to tell us!” Katsuki snaps, trembling with rage, “I’m not fucking running! I’m gonna beat his ass and prove my strength while you can go run and prove what a fucking coward you really are!” 

IcyHot hardly reacts, and that pisses off Katsuki even more. The only indication of his frustration is in his rising voice as he counters, “We couldn’t beat him together, what makes you think you can beat him alone?” 

“Shut up!” He snarls, “I’ll win!” 

“He’s the number one hero, damnit!” IcyHot finally snaps, “You won’t beat him! Hell, you couldn’t even beat me-”

“SHUT UP!” Katsuki screeches, ignoring the pain in his muscles to lunge at IcyHot and aim an explosion at his face, which the other boy only barely manages to block with a wall of ice, “YOU WANNA FUCKING GO, YOU PRIMADONNA BITCH? I’LL BEAT YOUR ASS RIGHT NOW!” He aims explosion after explosion at the fucker’s ice while the other hastily defends himself.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!?” IcyHot shouts, stomping his foot on the ground and turning the concrete underneath Katsuki to ice, causing him to slip. As he lands on his back with a pained grunt, IcyHot continues, “Why are you always trying to- to- prove yourself?” 

“Fuck off!” Katsuki spits, struggling to his feet. 

“No,” IcyHot says stubbornly, a firm glint in his eyes as he glares back at Katsuki, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you act- like everything’s a competition all the time, like if you don’t constantly remind people of your strength they’ll somehow forget- why? What the hell is that about, Bakugou?” 

Katsuki grits his teeth, pulse roaring in his ears. “Shut up!” 

“Why do you have to beat All Might instead of running away?” IcyHot demands, “We could win that way- why do you have to beat him?” 

“Because-” 

Because because because- 

“Why do you have to beat me?”  

“Shut up!” 

His heart threatens to jump out of his throat. 

“Why?” IcyHot presses relentlessly, his voice increasing with each question, oblivious to the suffocating pressure building in Katsuki’s chest, “What is it all for? Who is it all for-?”

The pressure reaches a breaking point, and he finally screeches at the top of his lungs, “ZUKU!” 

That shuts IcyHot up. His mouth closes with a small ‘click’, eyes slightly wide. 

Katsuki lets out a low hiss, and with it, the pressure leaves, like a balloon deflating. “Zuku, you fucker, it’s-” He growls, but it’s a mere shadow to his aggression earlier. His shoulders sag, and he clenches his jaw as he glares at the ground. “I have to beat All Might,” he near-whispers. 

IcyHot gazes at him carefully. “Why?” 

“Because I’m his protector!” Katsuki snaps, lifting his head to turn his glare on him, “Zuku, I mean, I’m his protector and I-” Gritting his teeth, he grabs a fistful of his hair in his hand and hisses in frustration, “-Fuck, I keep losing, I keep failing, and I- I can’t- I have to beat All Might, I have to beat you, I have to be strong enough for him, I have to be strong enough to protect him from- from- fuck, from everything! From villains, from dogs, from reporters, from whatever fucking tries to hurt him!” 

IcyHot stares at him in confusion. “Bakugou, what-?”

Yanking his hand away, Katsuki straightens up and glares at him with renewed fury. “That’s why I’m going to beat All Might, I’m going to prove to Zuku that I’m the best damn hero to protect him, and I’m going to wipe the floor with your ass once this shit is over!” 

“What the hell?” The utterly bewildered expression on IcyHot’s face would be comical if Katsuki wasn’t so pissed off right now. “It isn’t a freaking competition!” 

“Haah?”

“Protecting Midoriya,” IcyHot says, “It isn’t just your responsibility, it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect him.”

Katsuki curls his lip, a flare of defensiveness going through him. “The fuck are you going on about, IcyHot? Didn’t you hear me say I’m his-?” 

“He’s a healer,” IcyHot interrupts, “He’s our healer. Yours, mine, and everyone in our class and in UA. He’s going to heal dozens upon dozens of heroes in his future, and it’s going to be their responsibility in turn to protect him. That’s how it works.” He says this like it should be obvious. “You’re not the only thing standing in between him and villains. You’ve done well protecting him up until now, but if you don’t learn to trust in others’ abilities to keep him safe, you’re going to burn yourself to the ground trying to protect him on your own. You’re- damnit, Bakugou, you don’t have to do this all by yourself.”