Chapter Text
The first thing Izuku noticed when he woke up was the silence.
For a few seconds, he just stared at the ceiling of his dorm room as the memories slowly came back. The war. The destruction. The people they lost. The battles that felt like they happened years ago and yesterday at the same time.
It was over.
They won.
That was what everyone kept saying.
But Izuku didn’t feel like a winner.
He slowly sat up and rubbed his face before looking around his room. Everything was still the same. His All Might figures were lined up on his shelf and his notebooks were stacked neatly on his desk.
Except something was missing.
Something important.
One For All.
The quirk that had defined his entire life.
The thing that had given him a purpose.
He knew it was selfish to think that way. People had lost much more than him. He should be grateful.
And he was.
But sometimes, when he looked at his empty hands, he couldn’t help but wonder who he was without it.
During the war, he had been the person everyone relied on. The one who could save people. The one who could actually do something.
Now?
Now he was just another hero helping rebuild what was left behind.
Construction sites. Cleanup. Repairs.
Important work, obviously.
But it didn’t feel the same.
He pushed himself out of bed and walked over to his window. His eyes caught something sitting on the bedside table.
A cigarette.
His old habit.
Something he thought he had left behind years ago.
Something he promised himself he wouldn’t go back to.
Izuku stared at it for a moment.
He knew better.
He knew exactly what this was. A bad idea. A step backwards.
But the exhaustion, the emptiness and the feeling of not knowing what came next made it tempting.
Just one.
That was the lie he always told himself.
His hand reached out before he could think about it.
“…Screw it.”
He grabbed it.
A few minutes later, the window was open, letting the cold air rush into the room as he tried to get rid of the smell. The winter air hit his face, sharp and freezing, but he barely reacted.
It was easier to focus on that than everything else.
Then—
Ding.
His phone lit up.
Class 2-A Group Chat
Izuku glanced at the screen, already knowing it was probably something chaotic.
He opened it.
Iida:
Class, we may have some trouble.
Bakugou:
What fucking trouble? Get to the point.
Kirishima:
Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Asui:
Has anyone seen a jar of flies? Asking for a friend, ribbit.
Jirou:
Ew, Tsu. What the hell?
Iida:
ANYWAY. As class representative, I was asked to inform you all that we might be locked in the dorms. A lockdown of sorts.
Izuku frowned at the message.
Locked in?
Why?
He quickly typed.
Midoriya:
Why?
A few seconds passed before another message appeared.
Yaoyorozu:
Because there is a blizzard outside and apparently it will be a while before it stops.
Izuku blinked.
A blizzard?
He looked towards the window.
Thinking back, he had noticed it was snowing more than normal.
But a blizzard?
Mina:
Ughhh I actually had something to do today.
Bakugou:
Why the fuck is there such a big blizzard?
Iida:
Everyone meet in the main room so I can explain this better.
Izuku looked at the cigarette still between his fingers.
Then back at the message.
He might just be trapped inside the dorms with everyone.
Great.
Exactly what he needed.
Izuku stared at the cigarette for another few seconds before sighing.
He quickly put it out and made sure there was no trace left behind. He opened the window wider, letting the freezing air clear the room before throwing away anything that could give him away.
It was stupid.
He knew it was stupid.
But he also knew he didn’t want anyone seeing that side of him.
Especially not them.
Not after everything.
He left his room, closing the door behind him as he walked towards the common room.
At first, his mind was focused on the blizzard and the fact that they were apparently going to be stuck inside.
Then the realisation hit.
He was going to be trapped here.
With everyone.
For who knows how long.
By the time he reached the common room, he had pushed the thoughts down again. At least as much as he could.
The room was already filling up with people.
“Deku!”
He looked up.
Uraraka was standing nearby, giving him a small smile.
“Hey, are you okay? You look kinda pale.”
His eyes widened slightly.
She noticed?
Immediately, he looked away.
“I-I’m fine! Really.”
His voice came out too quickly.
Uraraka tilted her head, clearly not completely convinced.
But she smiled anyway.
“Okay… if you say so.”
Izuku felt his face heat up.
There was something about her.
Something he couldn’t explain.
He knew he cared about her. A lot.
But he didn’t know what that feeling was.
And honestly?
He wasn’t sure he wanted to figure it out right now.
Before he could think about it more, Iida stepped in front of the television and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, please settle down!”
The room slowly quieted.
Iida adjusted his glasses.
“As you all know, the weather conditions outside have become extremely dangerous. Due to the unusual climate changes caused during the war, it seems nature itself has responded in an unpredictable way.”
He paused.
“Essentially, we are experiencing an extreme blizzard.”
A few people stared at him.
“So we are currently required to remain inside the dorms until it passes.”
There was silence.
Then—
“Are you serious?!”
“Very serious, unfortunately,” Iida replied.
“So how long do you think we’ll be here for?”
Todoroki, who hadn’t said anything until now, spoke up.
“Mr Aizawa said we could be expecting to be stuck for a month minimum.”
Everyone looked over.
Bakugou stood there, already looking irritated.
“After all the fucking trouble we went through, we still have to deal with this shit? What has—”
He suddenly stopped.
A cough interrupted him.
A rough one.
For a second, his expression changed.
But it disappeared almost instantly.
Izuku noticed.
He always noticed things like that.
Bakugou had been through too much. His body had taken too much.
And yet he still acted like he was completely fine.
Izuku didn’t understand why he refused to slow down.
Why he kept pushing himself.
Why he kept screaming when everyone could already hear him.
“Yeah, keep screaming if you wanna end up dead again.”
Kaminari’s voice broke the tension.
Everyone looked at him.
Bakugou slowly turned.
“I’ll kill you.”
But this time, his voice was quieter.
Izuku looked between them before speaking.
“So… what do we do now?”
The room went quiet again.
Then Uraraka raised her hand slightly.
“Maybe we could make this a class bonding experience?”
Everyone looked at her.
She smiled.
“I mean, if we’re stuck here anyway, we could plan things. Group activities, movie nights, games… stuff like that.”
“An excellent idea!” Iida immediately agreed.
“Absolutely,” Tsuyu said, nodding. “It could be fun, ribbit.”
A few other people started agreeing.
Mina immediately seemed excited.
Kirishima nodded.
Even Shinsou, who had been unusually quiet throughout the whole conversation, gave a small shrug.
“Could be worse.”
More nods followed.
Everyone seemed to accept the idea.
Everyone except Izuku.
He didn’t say anything.
He smiled when everyone else smiled.
He nodded when everyone else nodded.
But deep down, he felt something he couldn’t explain.
A month.
A whole month trapped inside.
With nowhere to escape.
And a part of him wondered how long he could keep pretending he was okay.