Chapter 5
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-kun and Masaru-kun 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 6
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.