Chapter 8: It's Quiet Uptown
Toshinori knows what fear looks like. He's fought enough villains to have it ingrained in his memory--the instant the villains realize fighting is pointless, the moment they realize they've been beat...that's when fear kicks in. When they've given all they can to the fight and have run out of strength.
And Toshinori knows his own fear, too. He feels like, at this point, fear is more of an old friend than anything else.
Now, he watches as a fifteen year old highschool boy stares down villains who attacked him and his classmates with the intention of killing them.
And it isn't the boy who's afraid.
Izuku takes a step forward. The seven distorted images-- ghosts --follow his lead, hovering over the ground behind him. Shigaraki and Kurogiri step backwards, away.
They're afraid. As they should be.
"So," Izuku says, raising a hand. "You seemed pretty confident that you could kill All Might earlier, didn't you? Why is it that you're backing down now to a kid?" He flicks his fingers back towards himself, eyes bright above a wide, twisted smile. "Come at me, bro."
Shigaraki and Kurogiri flinch back. For all their talk, for them storming into the USJ ready to face "All Might" head-on...as this fifteen year old boy stares them down…
...They're afraid.
And Toshinori thinks he may have misjudged Midoriya Izuku. He mistook the boy for a normal middle school kid who loves puns and lame gags and longs to save others more than anyone else Toshinori ever met. And this is all true for Izuku, of course, but it's not all.
When it boils down to it, Midoriya Izuku is a terrifying force to be reckoned with.
The boy smiles again, and it's the most unsettling thing Toshinori has ever seen.
"Well?" Izuku says. "What are you waiting for?"
Shigaraki raises a hand and points with a shaking finger. For the record, it's a brave move for someone in his predicament--after all, he's only being stared down by eight ghosts.
"You." Shigaraki's voice wavers. "You're not human, you can't be human. You're--"
"A monster, yeah, I know." Something flickers in Izuku's eyes, though, as he says it--something like pain. It's gone a second later, replaced with another eerie smile, but it'd definitely been there, and the smile he wears now is definitely forced. "You're probably right. But if being…" He pauses, fumbles for a moment, "...if being like this means I can protect the people I care about, well...yeah. I'll be a monster."
He raises his head.
"So what about you, Handy-Man?" he asks--his smile fades with the light in his eyes, and he stares at Shigaraki with a blank, dead expression. "Are you okay with being a monster?"
Silence.
And then, many things happen at once.
Gunfire rings out overhead; blood spurts from several gunshot wounds on Shigaraki's arms, legs--Kurogiri leaps into the fray, covering Shigaraki with his warp gate and folding in on himself. Bullets sink into the mist harmlessly, and a second later, the gate disappears with Shigaraki.
They're gone.
"...So they ran after all," Izuku says, staring at the now-empty space. He laughs hoarsely and shakes his head, and when his voice comes back, it's small and fragile.
"...And people called me a coward."
Toshinori winces. His heart gives a lurch. Midoriya…
And then he considers the gunshots and turns in the direction from whence they came. He can't see it very well, but there's a band of heroes swarming at the entrance of the USJ, ready for battle. There are others there, too--students of Class 1-A having regrouped at the front, plus several teams of medics. A little closer to him, Toshinori sees Tsuyu, looking towards the entrance, with Izuku's lifeless body leaning up against her.
Toshinori turns back towards Izuku's spirit. The seven figures around him flock, distorted, but they're fading now, little by little. He watches for a moment, still stunned by the whole situation.
And then, one of the figures turns to him.
He can't make out any defining features, of course--it's just a fuzzy form, a fuzzy, distorted ghost, but they're definitely looking at him. A pair of bright yellow eyes, not unlike Kurogiri's, find his.
The figure raises a fuzzy limb--an arm--and waves.
Toshinori blinks.
And then, all seven figures fade into the air like they'd never been there at all.
Izuku doesn't know what happened.
Well, yes, he does, vaguely--but it's more of a concept. A blur. He knows what happened, what he did; he's just having a seriously hard time comprehending it.
He looks down at his hands. His figure is as vibrant as it'd been a second ago, and his feet are still planted firmly on solid ground.
Weird, he thinks, raising his head. That's never happened before…
"Young Midoriya!"
Izuku's head whips around. All Might is standing there, surrounded by a cloud of smoke; he finally ran out of time, then. He looks worse for wear, but not seriously injured, and Izuku lets out a huge sigh of relief.
That's good…
...I made it in time…
He runs towards his mentor--as a ghost, of course--and stops just in front of him. All Might stares at him for a long moment, and Izuku stares back--and then, All Might reaches out, hesitates, and ruffles Izuku's hair.
It's odd, Izuku thinks, that he's able to actually do that right now.
All Might withdraws his hand. "Young Midoriya...your Quirk doesn't make any sense."
Izuku laughs loosely, and he thinks that it's nice to be able to laugh after what happened today. "Thanks," he says. "I'm sure whatever happened here...I-I mean...all of this." He gestures to himself. "...There's, I mean…"
"I know," All Might says, nodding. "We'll figure it out, don't worry. I'm sure there's an explanation."
Izuku smiles, nods.
"Oh--" All Might pauses, frowning. "You're fading."
"I'm--?" Izuku looks down at himself. Some of the vibrance is leaving, returning him to his normal transparent, ghostly form. "I see. I should probably, y'know...find my body…"
"You do that," All Might says. "I'll wait here for now. I can't maintain my other form anymore."
Izuku nods. "Gotcha. Well--bye!"
He takes off towards Tsuyu. His footsteps feel light; in a second, he'll be floating again.
"Young Midoriya."
Izuku stops and looks over his shoulder. All Might smiles at him.
"I'm proud of you, my boy. What you did took a lot of courage. "
Izuku blinks. Then, he beams.
"You too!" Izuku says, and without waiting for a response, he spins around and races towards Tsuyu and his body.
By the time he gets there, he's a full ghost again, transparent and unseen. His feet don't touch the ground anymore; he's back to hovering.
There's a team of medics already laying his body on a stretcher; Tsuyu is standing by them, telling them how he sustained the injuries, explaining that he'd been slammed into the ground several times by Shigaraki's monster. Izuku sucks in a breath (or, what he thinks is a breath--he is a ghost) and bites his lip. His body looks...bad. There's blood on the sides of his face from gashes on his head, his skin is ghostly pale (Ironic, he thinks), and he remembers the sharp pain he'd felt in his ribs. The medics are bandaging him all over the place, but still; healing will take time, and until then, it's going to hurt.
Izuku hesitates, steels himself, and slips back into his body.
It burns.
His eyes snap open, his cry of pain swallowed up by a sharp inhale of breath. The medics notice he's awake and move faster now; someone flashes a penlight in his eyes, and someone else is saying something about an oxygen mask.
Everything is spinning and blurring together. His stomach burns and twists with nausea, and he turns his head. He chokes; his throat burns, it tastes like there's metal in his mouth--
Oh.
There's a splatter of red on the otherwise white stretcher.
That's…
...Oh.
That's blood…
He can't register it. He knows what it is, of course, but things aren't clicking. There's business around him; he feels like he's underwater, his ears ringing, the voices muffled. He feels hands on his forearm; Tsuyu's there, and her grip makes for a nice anchor as the world around him slips away. Something is put over his mouth and nose, and then they're moving. Tsuyu's hands slip off his arm, and with that he's dragged under by pain and shock.
When Tenya comes back, it's with reinforcements from U.A.
The heroes spread out immediately, and so do the medics, and Tenya's eyes scan those who are here, searching. Most of his classmates are here up front, being looked over by a few medics; the heroes are rallying up unconscious villains, tying their hands behind their backs to be shunted off to police custody where they belong.
"Iida!"
Tenya turns as Uraraka sprints towards him, looking frantic. He'd passed her (along with Sero, Ashido and Shouji, and an injured Thirteen) on the way in, just outside the U.A.'s double doors. A team of medics are outside helping Thirteen now, and the hero didn't seem to be gravely injured, which are both good things.
"Uraraka," Tenya says heavily, but not without relief. "You're alright, then. I'm glad."
Uraraka nods. "Deku bought us time to escape," she tells him, but her voice is thick. "Iida, do...do you have any idea what...what actually happened earlier? W-With Deku?"
Tenya shakes his head. "I haven't got a clue."
And he doesn't, he hasn't, but he knows there'll be time for all of that later. He'll be able to ask Midoriya and hopefully get some answers—after all, there's a reason for everything that happened earlier. He doesn't know what it is yet, but there definitely is one.
"Hey, you two!"
Tenya and Uraraka raise their heads. Kirishima stops just in front of them, not even out of breath.
"Glad to see you guys are still alive," he says, and he says it like he's trying to make light of the situation, but can't quite decide how to go about it. "Man, what I wouldn't do for one of Midoriya's dumb jokes right about now…" He stops abruptly and looks around for a moment or two. "...Come to think of it...where is Midoriya?"
"Last I saw him he was going to make sure everyone else was safe," Uraraka answers, wringing her hands together. "Do you think...do you think he's okay?"
"I'm sure he's fine!" Kirishima says, and he sounds so sure of himself that Tenya can't help but believe it. "I mean, this is Midoriya we're talking about, he's tough. I'm still trying to figure out how the heck he came first in the entrance exam, though…"
Tenya tenses. He shares a side-glance with Uraraka, who seems just as uncomfortable.
"...Oh, crap." Kirishima's eyes are wide. "I missed something big, didn't I."
"Big" seems like an understatement, and their lack of answer is enough for Kirishima.
"Dag-freaking- nabbit."
"It was so cool, though!" Uraraka says immediately, and there's light in her eyes now, light that wasn't there a second ago. She calms down as she goes on, but the sparkle doesn't leave her eyes. "It was really amazing. Deku... he's really amazing. He kept making puns at that freaky warp-gate villain."
"No kidding!" Kirishima grins. "Well, that's our Midoriya for ya, I guess. I'll have to ask him about it sometime—"
A team of medics show up suddenly, rolling a stretcher with them, and Tenya feels like all the air is sucked out of his lungs at once. Kirishima's voice cuts off. Uraraka gasps sharply, and her hands fly to cover her mouth.
That's...
...That's Midoriya.
He's unconscious, and he's paler than Tenya has ever seen him. There's blood on his head, on his face, on his chin; there's an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and a small, portable tank on the stretcher. The medics are frantic, moving quickly and precisely. Tsuyu is there, too, and she has this haunted look in her eyes, like she's seen a ghost.
"Holy crap," Kirishima whispers, staring. "Holy...crap…"
Tenya can't look away. He wants to, he really does, but he can't. He stares, he watches; the medics are talking, and he makes out words like "ribs" and "concussion" and "crushed" but that's all. He wants to say something to Uraraka and Kirishima, maybe a word of comfort or consolation but he can't, not when the only thought going through his mind is
All I did was run.
He stares, watching, unable to do anything else, and all he can think about is the fact that he abandoned Midoriya. Midoriya had told him to go, of course, and Tenya wasn't about to argue with him, not when he sounded so serious and desperate, but in the end, when it came down to it,
All I did was run.
Tsuyu disappeared a little while ago, he doesn't notice that until now. He sees her talking with Ashido a little ways off, but he can't exactly register it.
All I did was run.
In the end, while Midoriya and the others stayed and fought...
...All I did was run.
Ochako stares, understanding but not quite computing. There's blood, there's Deku, and there's bandages and there's blood and it looks so wrong on his face. His eyes are closed and his skin is pale and there's blood and there's an oxygen mask and there are medics and people talking around her and there's shock and fear and confusion because how can this happen how can this happen this isn't happening it can't it can't it can't I can't I can't--
Kirishima runs past her unexpectedly, and she follows on numb legs, although she doesn't really register moving at all. Iida is beside her, but it takes her longer than it should to realize this.
Kirishima kneels, and Iida and Ochako sink to their knees beside him. It's Kirishima who moves first, reaching out and closing his hands around Deku's limp, pale one. And then Iida closes his own hands around Kirishima's, and Ochako follows in suit. She's shaking.
"Hang in there, buddy." Kirishima's voice is heavy. "Hang in there."
Deku doesn't answer. His eyes are closed and the blood stands out stark on his pale face, and it's so wrong, because Deku is always so full of life and light and now he's still, he's too still. Ochako has a suffocating urge to sob and scream, but she can't make a sound. Her eyes are dry. It still hasn't clicked.
She doesn't want it to click.
All I did was run.
The medics come back and they're forced to let go.
All I did was run.
The medics take Deku away.
All I did was run.
When the tears do come, they have no mercy.
Izuku is burning.
He feels like there are hot coals inside him, burning him from the inside out. It's unlike anything he's ever felt before, a painful, excruciating, scorching sensation that leaves him unable to breathe and wanting to scream.
He doesn't scream, though. He can't scream. He doesn't have the breath to do so.
He wonders if he's dying. If this is what dying feels like. It has to be, there's no way he can survive and feel this way. It doesn't seem possible.
"Hey. Kiddo. You're not dead yet."
It's a woman's voice. Izuku doesn't recognize it. But, amidst the burning haze and fog of pain, he thinks he feels something stir within his chest--something much gentler and cool. Comforting, almost.
"You're pretty close, but you're not dead yet."
Izuku swallows and squeezes his eyes shut. I don't want to die. It's probably the first time he's ever thought such a thing. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.
"Yeah, I know you don't. You're not going to. You're a lot tougher than people give you credit for, you know that? You have a strong spirit, you'll be alright."
Izuku isn't sure if it's literal or not, but he's in too much pain to give it much thought.
"...You're doing great, kiddo, just keep fighting. There are people waiting for you. You don't want to let them down, do you? You risked so much to save them."
Izuku never stops to think about who exactly he's talking to or how he's able to do it. Right now, hurt and confused and scared, he'll hold onto any source of comfort he can get.
"You're gonna be fine, just hang in there, alright? Hang in there."
There's nothing he sees or hears to indicate that the speaker has vanished; only the returning feeling of loneliness tells him that she's gone. He wants to call out, to ask her to stay with him, but he doesn't. An unnatural wave of exhaustion overwhelms him, and he lets go of his consciousness.
But, just before he's dragged under, a name comes to mind.
Nana Shimura.
He has no idea where the name came from or why it popped into his head. He doesn't know the name, but somewhere, in the back of his mind, he feels like he should.
"I can't believe you."
"I know," Toshinori says.
"You insufferable, boar-headed--how could you not tell me something like this?"
"I know." He feels numb.
"Don't you 'I know' me!" Recovery Girl snaps furiously. "If you knew, then why didn't you mention this sooner!?"
Toshinori doesn't know how to answer. "The boy is...he's...not comfortable with it," he says, and it sounds like a dumb excuse, even to himself. "He doesn't...I didn't think it'd turn out like this…"
No one did. Not even Izuku.
"Oh, so you just casually forgot to tell me that the boy can eject his ghost!?" Recovery Girl shouts--not too loudly, but loudly enough to get his attention. "What made you think that was a good idea!?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry."
He doesn't really know who he's apologizing to, but it feels less and less like Recovery Girl.
Izuku is unconscious. He's been unconscious for the past day now. His injuries aren't nearly grave enough to land him in a hospital, but they're still serious; he's still on oxygen, and there's gauze around his head and smaller bandaids over cuts on his face. Beneath his shirt, his ribs are bandaged, and an IV needle is buried beneath the skin of his wrist.
It seems strange--Toshinori was engaged in combat with a monster specifically designed to kill him, and yet, all his injuries healed within the day he received them. Izuku's injuries, however, have barely healed at all.
"...What did he do to himself for this to happen?" Recovery Girl asks him. The bite is gone from her tone (or, at least, some of it is), and she doesn't sound angry anymore, merely...tired. Sad. "What happened?"
"...To be completely honest with you…" Toshinori's voice is heavy, and it almost doesn't feel like his own. "...I don't know what he did. Young Asui mentioned he was attacked by Shigaraki's Nomu, which explains his ribs and his head, but…"
That's the thing. Broken ribs and a minor concussion wouldn't be enough to keep Izuku unconscious like this. Recovery Girl's Quirk strikes fast and true; if a concussion were the only problem, Izuku would be awake right now.
But he isn't.
"His life is out of danger now," Recovery Girl says, and Toshinori feels a bit of weight leave his chest--only a bit, though. "I assume he'll be making a full recovery within the week, but...Toshinori, what he did to himself, it's...this isn't a joke. His life is safe now, but...it was close. It was way too close."
The air is gone from his lungs. Everything feels so...surreal.
"Can you...tell me exactly what it is he did to himself?"
Recovery Girl nods stiffly. "His heart rate dropped dangerously low, first of all, and...his breathing was...he was barely breathing at all. It's better now, but, whatever he did...it damaged him. I don't know half of what I'd like to know about this boy's Quirk, and until I do, there's not much else I can say."
Toshinori nods heavily. "The boy's parents," he says--anything to distract him from what's right in front of him is good. "Have they been contacted?"
"I spoke with the boy's mother a while ago," Recovery Girl answers. "She should be here any minute now--"
The door bangs the wall behind them, and in tumbles a woman with vibrant green hair and matching eyes.
The resemblance is uncanny. Toshinori knows who she is before she even introduces herself.
(She doesn't introduce herself at all, actually--she catches herself and sprints across the room to the infirmary bed where Izuku lays.)
He hears her sobbing, hears her whispering comforting mantras of "It's okay" and "you're okay" as she strokes Izuku's hair off his face, and Toshinori turns away, feeling like he's invading on some special moment between mother and son.
It ends sooner than he expects.
"What happened to him!?" Inko cries, and it's aimed at both Toshinori and Recovery Girl.
"He's exhausted," Recovery Girl says. "I expect him to regain consciousness any day now, but--"
"That doesn't explain what happened!" Inko says, and she seems more angry than sad now. "You said there was a villain attack, y-you said... h-how…"
It's probably a stupid thing to do, but Toshinori does it anyway.
"It's my fault," he says, and Recovery Girl and Inko are staring at him immediately. "What happened to Midor--Izuku. It's my fault. I take full responsibility."
Recovery Girl opens her mouth, but doesn't say anything--Inko turns to him fully, balled fists shaking at her sides.
"You're All Might."
It isn't a question. She doesn't ask about his appearance, isn't confused in the slightest. She knows who he is, just like he knew her.
He nods. "Yes," he says. "I'm--"
The slap comes as a surprise, but it probably shouldn't have.
Toshinori flinches, but he doesn't falter. He's had worse--the slap stings, but that's about it. It's nothing.
"What is this, then!?" Inko questions, and her eyes are full of tears. He can't tell if she's angry, scared, or sad anymore--maybe it's all three. "What kind of things were Izuku dragged into!? What happened to him!?"
"He and his classmates were attacked," Toshinori says. He isn't irritated, not at all. He doesn't really know what he's feeling right now. "I'm...I'm sorry--"
"What good does that do now!?" Inko demands, and Toshinori's teeth snap together. "'Sorry' doesn't…" She stops, chokes. "S-Sorry doesn't help my son! He's my son, you realize that, don't you!?"
"Yes, I do. I'm sor--"
"If you apologize, one more time--!"
"Stop it!" Recovery Girl cuts in, and the argument (if you can really call it an argument) ends immediately. "This is an infirmary! You want the boy to be able to rest and recover, don't you!? If you're going to yell at each other, take it outside!"
It doesn't sound like a suggestion. Silence covers the room like a thick cloud-- dead silence, Izuku would say if he were conscious.
He doesn't realize it until now, but he really, really misses the boy's jokes.
I'm sorry, is all Toshinori can think, both to Inko and to Izuku. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
"I'm sorry."
Toshinori turns to stare at Inko, confused. They're sitting on a bench outside by the infirmary door, where they'd decided to take the conversation while Recovery Girl checked over Izuku again.
"...Why are you apologizing?" Toshinori asks.
Inko shakes her head. "I shouldn't have gotten on your case like that," she says, "or...or slapped you--"
"Believe me, I deserved it."
"--No, you didn't. Y-You didn't. I wasn't thinking, I was just…"
"You don't have to apologize to me," Toshinori says. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I still shouldn't have yelled at you," Inko says heavily. "I-I know you care about Izuku. You're…" She wrings her hands together. "...You're worried about him, too. I...I know you are. I-I just, Izuku, he…" She pauses; for just a moment, a bit of light flashes in her eyes. "He's the only thing I care about in this world. H-He's my son, and I...I-I...I-I'm just…"
"You don't have to explain yourself, I get it."
Inko nods stiffly. "I want to be supportive," she says. "I want him to be able to follow his dream and become a hero, but...it...it scares me. It's...It's always scared me."
Toshinori looks away. "Yeah," he says. "The life of a hero isn't...it isn't a safe one--"
"N-No, that's...well, that's part of it, but that's not really what I mean."
Toshinori turns to her again. She looks the other way.
"It's his Quirk," Inko says. "His power, his...his 'Dissociating.' That scares me. I'll...I'll never forget the first time he did it. He was...he was four, and...and it was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen, him just... dropping like that."
Toshinori listens, understanding. The first time Izuku dropped in front of him, he'd been thoroughly shaken, too. He has no idea what that'd feel like for a mother and her four year old.
"That...that kind of stuff sticks with you," Inko goes on. "A-And I don't like him breaking his bones, either, I don't like him coming home with slings or crutches but...but he's coming home, still. His Quirk, the one he was born with...it can…" She stops and drags in a long, shuddering breath. "It can do this to him, and...if he pushes himself, like I know he will, I...I-I don't know what it's capable of doing to him."
Toshinori has no idea what to say. He agrees; Izuku is reckless and stubborn, and he cares too much about others and too little about himself. After what Toshinori saw Izuku do at the USJ...he knows there's nothing the boy wouldn't do when it comes to saving the people he loves.
Absolutely nothing he wouldn't do.
And that thought is terrifying.
"So you're...All Might, then," Inko says--an abrupt change of subject, and Toshinori is glad for it.
"Yeah, that's me."
She looks at him for a moment. "You're…"
Toshinori doesn't lie. "I sustained an injury in a fight about six years ago that weakened me. When I'm not working as a hero, well..." He gestures vaguely to himself. "...This is me."
Inko nods. He assumes, in any other situation, she'd be more shaken than this than she appears. Except, right now, Izuku is most definitely at the forefront of her mind, which means everything else takes lesser priority.
Inko opens her mouth to say something else, but echoing, pounding footsteps swallow up whatever it was she'd been about to say.
Kirishima, Uraraka, and Iida sprint down the hallway, wide-eyed and frantic. They screech to a halt in front of the bench and turn toward Inko and Toshinori.
It's Inko who speaks first, when no one else does. "O-Oh, hello," she says, rising to her feet. Toshinori does the same beside her. "Y-You...you must be friends of Izuku's, then."
The three students look at each other briefly, then turn back towards Inko.
"Yeah," Kirishima says. "I mean...we've only known him for a couple days, but…"
"That's alright," Inko says, and she smiles softly. "He's told me a lot about you three, I believe--that is, if you're Kirishima, Iida, and Uraraka."
"Y-Yeah, t-that's...that's us," Uraraka says, twisting her shoe into the ground. "A-And...and you must be Dek--I-I mean, Midoriya's mom."
Inko nods. "That's me," she says.
"So, you're…" Kirishima raises a finger towards Toshinori, looking confused. "You're his…?"
"He's a friend of the family," Inko cuts in, and she says it so simply and matter-of-factly that it's impossible to argue with.
"Yagi Toshinori," Toshinori says--he figures it's alright for them to know his name, considering they don't know he's All Might. "Feel free to call me Toshinori."
Iida takes a breath. "In that case..." He steps forward and bows lowly to the both of them. "I'm sorry," he says. "I...I had a duty to protect Midoriya, not only as class representative but also as his friend, and...and I failed. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too," Kirishima says, and he bows likewise. Uraraka is quick to follow suit.
"N-No, d-don't do that," Inko says at once, and the three look up at her, confused but listening. "Please, don't. If you're really friends of Izuku's, he isn't going to like you blaming yourselves. I-I know it's hard, but please, please don't. If Izuku knew you were doing that, it would make him very sad."
Toshinori isn't entirely sure why, but he gets the feeling it's not directed just at Iida, Uraraka and Kirishima.
His mind is full of fog.
He feels fuzzy, and he isn't absolutely sure of anything except that there's pain. It's dulled; he's probably on some kind of medication, in that case, but it's still there, and it hurts.
He can't really think of anything. He doesn't know where he is and he doesn't know fully what's going on. It hurts, though, it hurts a lot, and beneath his confusion, he just feels extremely lost.
He wants to wake up. He wants to drag himself out of whatever this haze is, but he isn't sure he can. He wants to, though, he desperately wants to. He wants to open his eyes, he wants to see his friends, he misses them, he misses them a lot--
"You're a tough one, you know."
"Hang in there, kiddo. You're doing great."
"You've got a long road ahead, but you're off to a great start. Keep on going."
"You're alright now. You saved them. You saved all of them."
"You sure made those villains run, boy. It was awesome. Ten out of ten, would watch again."
"Your friends are safe now, thanks to you."
"It's okay to rest if you want."
He doesn't recognize any of the voices, but it's...it's oddly okay. He doesn't hear them as much as he feels them, if that makes sense--he feels them in his mind and in his heart, and he doesn't know them but they're comforting. He isn't unsettled or scared in the slightest.
Somehow, he cracks his eyes open. His vision is blurry, and he hears a dull hum and a quiet, steady drip, drip, drip. He's in the infirmary, it seems, judging by the sliver he can see through his half-closed eyes.
His bell choker is on the side table, sitting there like it's waiting for him, and he raises a hand. His arm feels like lead, but it doesn't matter; he reaches over, and as soon as his stiff fingers close around his bell, he pulls it back towards himself.
He doesn't put it on, of course, he just...holds onto it. The cold metal is another anchor, something he finds he longs for quite often. The bell is an anchor, a reminder: he has friends waiting for him.
He closes his eyes again, feeling less lost and more secure than he's felt in a long, long while.
He isn't sure why he thinks it or who he wants to say it to, but, Thank you, he thinks, and he thinks it from the bottom of his heart.
The answers come immediately. Seven of them.
"You're welcome, kid."
"What do you mean? You did all that yourself."
"You're a brave one. You throwin' that warp-gate villain around? Priceless."
"No problem. I still think you're too reckless, though. Gotta work on that self-worth there."
"You've got the heart of a true hero, that's for sure."
"Go ahead and sleep for now, okay?"
"You've done us proud, kiddo."
Izuku smiles tiredly and lets exhaustion drag him back under. His fingers stay closed around the bell.
Chapter 9: Take a Break!
The next time Izuku wakes up, he can actually form coherent thoughts, which is new—he hasn't been able to do that for quite some time.
He opens his eyes and blinks up at the infirmary's ceiling. He feels numb and not entirely there, and a headache pounds at his temples, but it's not bad. The pain he feels now is nothing compared to the pain he'd felt before; he can deal.
He still has his bell clutched in one hand, and he squeezes it for good measure. The metal is solid. He can feel it.
He's alive.
He takes in a breath, steels himself, and sits up. A burning pain shoots through his ribs, and he winces and wraps an arm around his middle, but the wave passes quickly. For a moment, he sits there and breathes—then, he raises his hands and settles his choker around his neck again, clipping it in the back.
He lowers his hands and takes a look around the room. The oxygen mask isn't around his face anymore; there's an IV drip beside the bed, next to a side table. On the side table is an empty packet of something (Painkillers, Izuku thinks. Something Recovery Girl put in the IV), and his phone.
He reaches for the latter and opens the homescreen. Dozens of messages spring at him all at once; they're all from the same person.
All Might.
Izuku stares for a long moment—then, he opens the phone and pulls up his messenger. Some of the texts are from yesterday; a couple are from the day before that; most are from today.
All Might
Young Uraraka gave me a book earlier.
I couldn't put it down.
Izuku stares at the message for a long moment.
And then he realizes.
That's…
...That's a joke.
He smiles and scrolls down a little further.
All Might
How do you make an eggroll?
You push it.
Oh wow.
All Might
How do trees access the computer?
They log in.
All Might
What do you call a broken can opener?
A can't opener.
There are more of them, loads more—Izuku laughs at some and groans and rolls his eyes at others, but he loves them all. He's surprised by the sheer amount of them, though—when he finally gets through them all (and what a privilege it is), the jokes stop, and there are a few final messages.
These were just sent a few minutes ago, he realizes, then begins to read.
All Might
I'm not as good at this as you are.
Making light of situations like this, I mean.
I guess I'm too worried to genuinely do that.
Izuku frowns. And then, his fingers swipe across the screen, and as soon as the text is done, he sends it.
Izuku Midoriya
HEY GUESS WHO'S NOT DEAD
THAT'S RIGHT IT'S ME
DEATH THOUGHT HE COULD HANDLE ME,
BUT HE GOT SICK OF MY JOKES REEEAL QUICK
SO NOW I'M BACK HERE :D :D :D
WHAT UP??
He isn't sure that's how he wants to approach this, but...he doesn't want things to stay the way they are now. He doesn't want people to worry about him anymore—he wants them to be able to laugh and smile again.
So.
Izuku Midoriya
If you REALLY wanted to make light of a situation
don't forget to bring a flashlight! :D :D :D
Ayyyyy
...HEY WHY ISN'T THERE A GUN FINGER EMOJI
oh wait hold on
[emoji.ghost]
I CAN DO THIS :D
There's no response. He isn't sure when All Might will actually get any of these messages, but no matter; Izuku keeps going. It's nice to be able to text his mentor like this.
It's nice to be alive.
Izuku Midoriya
Hey i found some cool emojis look.
[emoji.hand] [emoji.hand] [emoji.hand]
it be Shigaraki
gotta -hand- it to them for nailing his portrait
*insert gun fingers*
Hey why did Shigaraki cross the road
He didn't he made Kurogiri warp him there.
*gun fingers part 2*
I'm just gonna keep doing this until you reply.
Don't mind me~
Izuku Midoriya
[emoji.nurse]
Oh look it's Recovery Girl
No hold on
[emoji.anger]
Now it's Recovery Girl.
[emoji.skull_crossbones]
And this is me.
When Recovery Girl gets back.
Izuku Midoriya
Man I feel like a plank of wood.
Bored.
:) :) :) :) :)
Wood you believe it?
Ayyyy.
He's typing something else ("I nailed that joke") when the door bangs the wall to the far right of him, and his head whips around. He almost drops his phone in shock, fumbling with it for a moment or two until he has a secure grip on it again.
All Might—in his true form—is standing in the doorway, breathing like he'd run the whole way there. He's holding a phone in one hand, his other hand pressed flat on the door from when he'd thrown it open.
Izuku grins and raises a peace sign briefly. "Heya!" he says, then drops his hand back to his side. "Long time no see, I guess?" He shuts his eyes and laughs shakily, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I mean, I haven't seen you in a while but you've probably seen me. I'm sorry for worrying—"
All Might's arms encircle his shoulders suddenly, and Izuku's eyes snap open at once, the words getting stuck on a sudden lump in his throat. For a long moment, he doesn't say anything.
"...I'm fine," Izuku says, numb. "I-I'm really—"
"You scared me," All Might says. "You really, really scared me, kid. Just…" The arms around Izuku's shoulders tighten. "...Let me have this, alright?"
"...Okay."
He doesn't move for a long moment. And then he hugs his mentor back and buries his face in his shoulder, his eyes burning with tears.
They stay that way for a long time.
And then,
"Y'know," Izuku says, "I actually got offered a job once by a window cleaning company. It was weird, though, 'cause they wanted to hire me as a ghost."
"...Where are you going with this."
"Well, I turned them down, anyway. It wasn't something I could see myself doing."
There's a beat.
All Might doesn't groan or sigh, just embraces Izuku tighter. "I really, really missed that."
"What? My jokes?"
"Yes."
"...I'm taking that as my okay to bombard you with them."
"I have no objections."
Izuku gives a shaky laugh. "Wow, you must've been really worried—"
"I was."
Maybe it's the way he said it, or simply how straightforward the words were, but Izuku's teeth snap together immediately.
"...I'm fine."
"You are now, but...you weren't."
Izuku bites his lip.
And then, he pulls out of the embrace. He isn't sure he's ready to let go and he doesn't think All Might is either, but he feels like, right now, he has to.
"I'm fine," he says, looking All Might in the eye. "I wasn't before but I'm fine now. I'm okay."
All Might doesn't seem entirely convinced, and Izuku supposes he has every right not to be all things considered, but he nods.
"...Anyway…" All Might pulls up Recovery Girl's stool and takes a seat. "...How are you feeling?"
Izuku takes in a breath and lets it out in a rush. "It's been a rough past couple of days. I-I mean, I guess...I feel better than before. I have a headache and everything's kind of...sluggish, I guess, but I'm doing better."
All Might nods stiffly. "Yeah…I, ahhh...I met your mother earlier..."
Izuku stares at him, eyes wide. He thinks of his mother, protective and stern and the words that immediately flow out of his mouth are, "And you're still alive?"
He didn't mean to say it, but All Might doesn't notice, and he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly for a moment or two. "Well...she did slap me—"
"Are you serious."
"Yes, she did. She was extremely worried about you, my boy."
Izuku looks away, biting his lip. "My mom, she's, ahh...she's pretty protective of me," he says. "I mean, it's not a bad thing, I-I just…" He fiddles with the blanket for a second or two, trying to think of what to say.
"It's alright," All Might says. "I'm not upset, believe me. She had every right to do what she did. Oh—" He looks up suddenly, like he's just remembered something important. "I wanted to let you know, your classmates are fine. Worried about you like everyone, but they suffered no bodily harm."
Izuku lets out a sigh of relief. "T-That's good—" And then, he stops. His eyes go wide. "W-Wait, Aizawa," he says, lurching forward, a dizzying feeling of dread washing over him. "Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen, are they—"
"Calm down, calm down, they're alright," All Might says immediately, settling his hands on Izuku's shoulders. "They're alright. They're both receiving treatment in the hospital at the moment, they're going to be alright."
Izuku lets out another sigh of relief—a longer, deeper one this time. "That's...that's good," he says. "I'm glad…"
For a moment, he thinks about Aizawa. He'd been fast enough to stop Kurogiri from grievously wounding Thirteen, but he hadn't been fast enough to keep the Nomu from smashing Aizawa's face into the ground. When he thinks about it—when he remembers the sickening crack and the blood that followed—his stomach gives a lurch, so he tries to put it out of his mind quickly.
He can't, not completely. He doesn't think he'll ever be able to.
"You gave us all a serious scare, kiddo," All Might says, and Izuku gladly accepts the change of subject. "I'm glad you're alright. We all are."
Kiddo. All Might had called him "kiddo." It makes Izuku think of something else, someone else, a person he doesn't know but feels incredibly familiar with.
"Hey, All Might, erm...this...this might seem like an out of nowhere question, but—do you know anyone named Nana Shimura?"
All Might's head snaps up, which is really all the answer Izuku needs. "My boy, how... how do you know that name?"
"W-Well…I-I…" Now that he thinks about it, it sounds crazy. "Y-You're probably not going to believe me—"
"I will."
"I-I mean, it sounds crazy even to me," Izuku says. "I barely believe it, I just—"
"Midoriya, Nana Shimura was my predecessor."
Izuku's eyes go wide, and he stares, understanding but not computing. "S-She was...she's—"
"She's...she's a real person who lived, and...she's a real person who died," All Might says, and there's a heaviness to his tone. He's quick to move on. "The world never knew her name, my boy, never. How do you?"
Izuku's tongue feels too thick for his mouth. His head is spinning. Nana Shimura. All Might's predecessor. She's dead—
"B-Before," Izuku says, and he fumbles over the words in his haste to spit them out. "W-When I was, I mean, I think I was dying—"
(He doesn't miss All Might's wince, but he doesn't comment on it, either.)
"—I heard her, in my head," Izuku goes on. "O-Or, I mean, in my chest, I-I don't know. It was all pretty confusing, I-I didn't really get it, but…"
"You…" All Might looks just as shocked as Izuku feels. "...You spoke with her."
Izuku nods. "Her, and...and a few others. I think—I think there were seven of them including her? Yeah, seven. They were kind of talking over each other, b-but I mea—"
He stops.
Seven.
He'd never made the connection before now.
Seven figures he'd unknowingly summoned at the USJ.
Seven voices within him, felt more than heard.
Seven people.
Seven holders.
Seven real people who'd lived and died.
"...You're kidding me." The words are out of his mouth before he registers speaking. "You're kidding me. That means...One For All, the previous holders, t-they...you mean I—I…I can..."
All Might stares at him. It's hard to read his face.
"...Midoriya, my boy... your Quirk doesn't make any sense."
Izuku's mind is blank. "Believe me I know."
"Can you—talk to them still, right now?" All Might asks. "I mean—is there a way you could, or—"
"I have no idea," Izuku says, his voice lowering to a sort-of whisper. "I-I mean, I could try, I guess—"
"No, no, wait," All Might tells him, reaching out and settling a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "If they aren't already talking to you, wait. Don't strain yourself too soon."
Oh, yeah. That's probably a good idea.
It's hard to think about this all—Izuku's headache goes up a notch, so he tries not to put too much thought into it. "So...the ghosts I summoned at the USJ, those were...those were the previous One For All holders, too."
All Might nods. He, too, seems eager to move on to another subject. "Yeah. I suppose it makes sense—One For All is raw power, and when combined with other Quirks, it makes them stronger. I think that's what happened before—One For All enhanced your own Quirk"
Izuku nods. He already assumed that much. "So, that's why, on the bus," Izuku says, "on the way to the USj—we went through a tunnel, and everyone started freaking out about my eyes."
"Oh. Because they glow?"
"Yea—wait, you noticed?"
"It isn't a very bright glow, but it's hard to miss."
"Well, according to them, it was a 'pretty bright glow' back on the bus," Izuku says. "They all started screaming."
"Oh—well, if it's a part of Dissociate, then yes, One For All definitely made it stronger."
Izuku sighs. "Great. I've always wanted flashlights for eyes."
"They can't be that bright."
"I know, I'm exaggerating. You know how people say 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed'? Maybe this is just me taking that whole 'bright-eyed' thing a little too seriously."
"..."
"...Sorry, back on topic," Izuku says, "how do you think...I mean, the previous holders...how did I summon them like that? And...why did it…" He glances down at himself briefly, remembers feeling like he was being burned alive. "...Why did it hurt me like that?"
"I have...a theory," All Might answers. "It may or may not actually be correct, but it's a theory."
"Okay?"
"One For All is a physical Quirk," All Might says, "but it's also an extremely spiritual Quirk. Your thoughts, your feelings...they're crucial elements when it comes to wielding the power. However, when you aren't a part of your body, you lose that 'physical' aspect of One For All and are left with only the spiritual part of it."
Izuku nods. He's following so far.
"Now, tell me, kid," All Might goes on, "what did it feel like? Summoning them?"
"I-I didn't do it on purpose," Izuku answers, turning away awkwardly. "I mean, I just...I wanted to save everyone. I didn't want anyone to die, so...I just...I started running, and then I felt this...this weird rush of power, I guess. Sort of like—"
He freezes. In that moment, everything clicks.
"...Sort of like how I feel...when I use One For All."
All Might nods. "Exactly," he says. "Young Midoriya, I believe...when you use One For All as a ghost rather than as a physical person...that's what happens. Rather than being strengthened physically, you're strengthened spiritually, and the seven souls of the people who came before you...the seven souls of those who carried this power before you...you're able to draw them out."
Izuku stares down at his hands for a long, long time.
"...Why do I have to be the one with the confusing Quirk?" he asks desperately, more to himself than anything. "So, wait—if using One For All as a ghost summons the previous users, then...the physical backlash…"
"It's like breaking your bones in your physical body," All Might says. "If summoning all seven past users is one hundred percent of the power, then summoning one is, say, ten percent."
Izuku's head is starting to hurt again.
"Also, at the USJ," Al Might goes on, "when you summoned the past holders, their bodies were...fuzzy, for lack of a better word. Distorted. Which brings me to believe you weren't actually using One For All at full power. Maybe—seventy percent, or eighty percent. If you used one hundred percent, then—"
Izuku snaps his fingers. "Then they'd be summoned as ghosts like the one I turn into! Still, y'know, transparent, but with more defined bodies."
"That's what I believe, yes."
"That's cool!" Izuku says, beaming. "I-I mean, if I can summon them—even if I summon just one of them, I mean—I think that's really cool! Maybe I should—"
All Might's hand on his shoulder stops him again. Izuku turns and looks at him for a moment.
"...Wait?"
All Might nods. "Wait. At least until Recovery Girl gives you the all clear. And even then, my boy...we have to be very, very careful with how you use this power. If only around seventy percent was enough to do this to you..."
He doesn't need to finish. One hundred percent would probably destroy his spirit— literally.
"So...One For All," Izuku says, if just to gather his thoughts out loud, "when I use it as a ghost, it...summons the past holders."
"It would seem that way."
"That's…" Izuku pauses for a moment, trying to think of the word. "That's insane."
"Yeah. Don't think about it too much right now, alright?" All Might reaches out and tousles his hair, mindful of the bandages around his forehead. "Like it or not, you've still got a ways to go before you've completely healed."
"Yeah…okay."
"Anyway." All Might rises from his seat. "If you're feeling up to it, you've got a couple of friends who have been worried sick about you. I'm sure they'd love to visit."
Names come to mind immediately: Kirishima, Iida, Uraraka, Tsuyu…
Izuku nods, and All Might ruffles his hair one final time before turning back towards the door.
At the last second, though, Izuku calls out to him.
"I-I'm glad you're okay, too, All Might."
All Might pauses, hand poised towards the door handle.
"...Toshinori," he says.
Izuku tilts his head. "Toshi...nori..?"
"That's my name," All Might says, turning towards Izuku again. He's smiling. "When I'm in this form, feel free to call me Toshinori."
Izuku blinks. "Tos...Toshinori…?"
He nods. Izuku thinks this over for just a moment; then, he beams. "I'll remember that," Izuku says. "Thank you, Toshinori-san!"
All Might—Toshinori—smiles and turns toward the door again.
"Also, Izuku."
Izuku stops. It's the first time All Might—Toshinori—has called him by his first name.
"...There are real, true monsters in this world," Toshinori says slowly. "And you, my boy, are definitely not one of them. Please...I want you to promise me that you'll never call yourself a monster again."
Izuku's breath gets stuck in his throat. There's a long moment of blank, empty silence.
"...O-Okay," Izuku says quietly. "I-I'll try."
Toshinori nods, satisfied, and leaves the infirmary. The door clicks shut behind him.
Izuku stares at the closed door for a long moment—and then, he flops back on the bed with a heaving exhale, his ribs and head throbbing. His bell jingles cheerily at the movement.
He shuts his eyes. He's exhausted, but his thoughts are running rampid. He's thinking about the previous One For All users, how he'd been able to speak with them before, how he'd summoned them without even realizing what he was doing…
He takes in a long, deep breath to calm himself.
"Is anyone there?" he calls softly. Within him, he's trying with all his might, pulling at One For All without activating it. For a long moment, there's nothing.
And then there's something.
A small, gentle tug at his chest. A soft but deliberate pull. Voices fill his mind.
"Ayyy, lookie there! He lives!"
"Hello, sweetie. We're glad you're alright."
"You scared the living crap out of Toshinori there, kiddo. Actually, I'm pretty sure you scared the living crap out of all of us."
"Hahaha, you said living crap. We've all been dead for years."
"You know what I mean—"
"Hey, Midoriya, my dude, my buddy, I have this great joke—oh hold on, I can't remember—c'mon, don't do this to me—I've been working on this for hours—"
"Daaang, your memory ain't what it used to be. I swear, it gets worse every day."
"I'd like to see how good you remember stuff when you've been dead for a few decades."
"We've all been dead for a few decades. You ain't special."
"Agh, it's too early for this…"
Izuku isn't sure why he smiles. He doesn't know any of these people personally, but he's connected with them through One For All, so he feels more like he's talking with old friends than total strangers.
"So, you guys...you all carried One For All before me," Izuku says quietly, not because he needs confirmation, but because it's a way of collecting his thoughts out loud. "And now...I can talk to you all…?"
"Apparently."
"Dunno, kid, what do you think?"
"Oh, don't be rude—"
"HELL YEAH WE FREAKING ROCKED ONE FOR ALL!"
"Can you please quiet down—"
"But...how does that work?" Izuku says, and the voices within him still. "I-I mean, earlier...when I was talking with All Mi—I mean, Toshinori-san, you weren't there—?"
"Oh, yeah, kiddo, we were there." That's Nana's voice, he knows that one.
"I'm very sorry we didn't say anything. We thought it would be best for you to have some time to think without hearing us in your head." A woman's voice, softer and gentler—like a worried mother.
"Believe us, we're just as confused as you are, boyo." A loose voice, male. He has an accent Izuku isn't familiar with. "I'm preeeeetty sure what happened back at that crazy facility was One For All combinin' with your own Quirk. The two finally merged together and formed this 'bridge' between us. That's why you can talk to us now when you couldn't before."
"Duuuude." A kid. He sounds young. Izuku wonders how old he is.
"Wellp, if that ain't hella confusing I dunno what is." Another woman, bold and loud. "Hey, Midoriya, you're a smart one, what do you think about all this?"
"I think…" Izuku pauses. "...That I really want to go to sleep again."
"Oh ouch, that kind of hurt me."
"Y'know, kiddo, if you feel like you need to get some sleep, you can. I know you wanna see your friends, but they'd rather you rest and recover than push yourself to stay awake for them."
He knows Nana has a point, but he shakes his head. "No, I'm fine," he says quietly—he has no idea when his friends are going to get here, after all, and the last thing he wants is for them to overhear him supposedly talking to himself. "I'll sleep later."
"If that's what you want, kiddo..."
"Sweetheart, you really are precious, but you're still recovering from your injuries, you need to rest."
"Toshinori, I'm sorry, but your kid is a frickin' IDIOT when it comes to takin' care of himself. I'll have y'all know, back in my day—"
"YOU'VE BEEN DEAD FOR FIFTY YEARS."
"Okay first of all rude, second, that is a LOW BLOW, KARIN."
"THAT'S NOT MY NAME AND YOU KNOW IT, JERK."
"W-When my friends get here," Izuku says, and the voices cease, "I'm...gonna have to ask that, y'know...you guys just...stay quiet…?"
"Oh yeah, for sure, kiddo."
"It's alright, we won't bother you. Enjoy your talk with your friends, sweetie."
"No prob, dude."
"We'll just hang 'round—ta be completely honest with ya, boyo, none of us have a clue what's goin' on with you and your Quirk and One For All. We'll keep to ourselves. If ya ever need us, though, we'll be here."
"Thanks," Izuku says—and then, the door flings open. The tug in his chest disappears, as do the previous holders of One For All, and he sits up again and turns toward the door.
They're there, in the doorway, frozen in place and staring like they've never seen him before—Kirishima, Uraraka, Iida, and Tsuyu. Izuku beams, and his heart gives a soft little lurch. He'd really, really missed them…
"BUDDY!" Kirishima shouts, and promptly hurls himself across the room, stopping only when his arms wrap around Izuku's shoulders. The embrace is tight, almost too tight, but Izuku doesn't protest.
And then Uraraka glomps them, and then Tsuyu, and then Iida's arms wrap around them all, gentler, but just as firm. Izuku laughs giddily, tears burning his eyes, and he hugs the four of them as tightly as he can.
He really, really, really missed them.
They pull back all at once, and Izuku brushes away his tears. "I-I'm glad to see you guys," he says, smiling. "I-I...I was worried."
"Wait, you were worried?" Kirishima says, staring at him. "You. In the infirmary with broken bones and a concussion. Are worried. About us. People who are, thanks to you, completely fine."
Izuku nods. "Yep."
"Aww, Deku," Uraraka says thickly. "That's...that's sweet, but—I mean, you…"
Izuku smiles faintly, then shakes his head. "I'm alright," he says. "I promise, I know it was bad before—"
"You were puking blood," Tsuyu says.
This brings on an immediate reaction from the others, like clockwork.
"YOU WERE WHAT!?"
"I-I'm okay now, though!" Izuku says immediately, waving his hands back and forth. The IV needle tugs at his skin, and he stops quickly. "I-I promise, I'm completely fine now.
There's a long moment. The tension is so thick it'd take a chainsaw to cut through it.
Iida looks down suddenly, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "You lied to me," he says, his voice heavy. "You said you were going to protect everyone, and you didn't."
Izuku blinks. "I-I did, though," he says hoarsely. "I-I mea—"
"You were included in that 'everyone,' Midoriya."
"...Oh."
Izuku looks down. He isn't entirely sure how he should respond to that.
"I...I-I'm sor—"
"Don't be like that, Midori-chan," Tsuyu interrupts, and she reaches out, settling her hand on his forearm. It's the first time she's said or done anything since hugging him. "We're just glad you're okay. But don't do anything reckless like that again."
She isn't afraid of me, Izuku thinks suddenly. She saw what I did at the USJ, and she isn't afraid of me.
"She's right, buddy," Kirishima says, reaching out and ruffling Izuku's hair. "You seriously messed yourself up. Gotta stop doin' that, okay?"
Izuku's eyes burn again, and he rubs them with the backs of his hands. "T-Thanks," he says—he figures, right now, his friends would appreciate his thanks more than his sorry.
They sit back and talk after that. His friends don't ask about his Quirk, they don't ask about what happened at the USJ; no, they talk about pointless, lighthearted nonsense—like classroom shenanigans, how they want to spend summer, pranks they've pulled on people in the past, accidental pranks they've pulled on people…
They don't bring up the fight, and Izuku is glad. He'll tell them all in his own time; for now, he'll relish in this peace and warmth as much as he can.
And he isn't positive, but he's pretty sure that, as he talks and laughs with his friends, he hears one (or several) of the voices in his head go, "D'awwwwww."
Recovery Girl isn't nearly as mad as he'd expected her to be.
She's stern, and she scolds him—scolds him for being reckless and not thinking things through when he ought to, scolds him for hurting himself—but after that, the anger is gone.
"I'll yell at you more later," she says, when Izuku mentions it, "when I'm not so glad you're alright."
Izuku supposes that's only fair.
"But I would like to talk to you about something," Recovery Girl says, sitting down on her stool. "Your Quirk. What do you know about it?"
"Oh, um...that's a lot to go over all at once," Izuku says, mumbling the last bit to himself. "Oh, wait, actually, I have a notebook at home. I've been documenting everything about my Quirk ever since I was little."
"Have you, now?" Recovery Girl says, and he nods. "Bring that to me as soon as you can, alright? Your Quirk, as you now know, is extremely dangerous."
Izuku looks down at himself, at the infirmary sheets and the IV needle in his wrist.
"...Yeah," he says heavily, "I know."
"Well, anyway," Recovery Girl says, changing the subject, "because of what happened, once you've recovered some, I'd like to run a test or two. Nothing major—I'll just have you leave your body here for a while so I can monitor your heart rate, your breathing, that sort of thing. That way I know what's normal for you when you're out of your body."
"Oh, o-okay," Izuku says, nodding. "Sounds good."
She writes something on a notepad on the table. "I'm sending you home today," she says, "but, granted you aren't in pain, feel free to come to school tomorrow. You've been in this infirmary too many times, I swear…"
He's not sure he's supposed to hear that last part, so he doesn't comment on it. "Thanks for everything," he says instead. "I—"
"You can thank me," she cuts in, "by not getting hurt like this again."
Izuku's teeth snap together.
He nods.
Izuku spends that evening at home updating his Disassociate notebook. He doesn't include the information regarding One For All for obvious reasons—he can talk to Recovery Girl about that in person, but should the notebook be found by another teacher or his classmates, well...he'd be in trouble.
For the most part, the ex-One For All users don't say much. They make a couple comments here and there, but nothing too distracting.
That is, until...
"Sweetheart, it's a school night, and you're still recovering, please go to bed—"
"I digress. The kid's a MORON."
"Dude, I get that a huge part of being a teen is staying up to ungodly hours, but this time, man, go to bed."
"Kiddo, seriously, get some sleep. You're pushing it hard enough as it is."
"DAGNABBIT, GO TO BED ALREADY."
"I'll go to bed!" Izuku says, slamming his pencil beside his notebook on the desk. "Let me finish this page, alright? It's really hard to do when you're all yelling at me."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Well then~"
"Ya shouldn't've told us that, boyo."
Izuku takes up his pencil again. "I'm drowning you out," he says. "This is me, ignoring you."
"GO TO BED GO TO BED GO TO BED, BED, BED—"
"The fitnessgram pacer test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that—"
"Go to sleeeeeep, now and reeeeest—"
"Some. BODY once told me—"
"La la la la laaaa, I can't hear ya over how FRICKIN' STUPID THIS KID IS—"
"NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN~"
"Hey wait you haven't had any water in a while, you should probably do that too—"
"THE YEARS START COMIN' AND THEY DON'T STOP COMIN'—"
Izuku tries tuning it out and updating the notebook, but it's hard to do when he has seven conflicting voices in his head all yelling something different, and eventually all Izuku can think is hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on—
"OKAY, FINE!" he finally relents, slamming the pen down on the desk and closing the notebook. "I'll go to bed, just stop!"
"Yay!"
"Nice choice, kiddo."
"You really are too stubborn, dear. Just remember, your notebook will be there for you when you wake up. You can write more then."
"Ya finally decide to take care of yourself, boyo."
"Brings a tear to my eye…"
"Mission accomplished, my dudes! High-five!"
"..."
"...Or, y'know, we could not do that."
"Seriously, go to sleep."
"DRINK SOME DAMN WATER FIRST, THOUGH."
"OkayokayIwill!" Izuku says, if just to shut them up, and as soon as he drinks some water (they won't leave him alone until he does), he hops into bed.
He doesn't go to sleep yet, though. Instead, he grabs his phone off the nightstand and turns it on.
"Oh no, oh no, he's turning on the electronic devices, we're gonna be here forever—"
"Kids these days and their smartphones, I swear. When I was your age—"
"I'm just sending a text," Izuku says. "I promise I'll go to bed right after this."
"You texting Toshinori, kiddo?"
Izuku nods.
"...Hey, can you tell him somethin' from me?"
"Sure thing. What's up?"
Later on that night as he's walking home, Toshinori's phone goes off. He pulls it from his pocket and looks.
Izuku Midoriya
Hey so, I'm going to school tomorrow.
I'm bringing my 'Dissociate' notebook for Recovery Girl.
I didn't put down anything about One For All.
Just thought you'd like to know.
Toshinori
Kid, you should be asleep.
Izuku Midoriya
OH NOT YOU TOO
Toshinori
?????
Izuku Midoriya
The ex-OFA users have been screaming at me to go to bed for like the past hour.
Toshinori
They're right.
Izuku Midoriya
:(
Toshinori
No, stop that.
Izuku Midoriya
:( :( :( :( :(
Toshinori
Kid
Izuku Midoriya
Oh wait!
Nana wants me to tell you hi! :D
(Toshinori chokes.)
Izuku Midoriya
She says hello and wants me to send you this:
[emoji.heart] [emoji.heart] [emoji.heart]
She specifically said "send a hundred of them" but
HEY CAN Y'ALL STOP SCREAMING AT ME FOR THIRTY SECONDS
oh whoops I typed that.
sorry that was meant for the voices in my head.
Ok I have to go to bed, they're all really mad at me now.
They threatened to sing "Let it Go" on loop for three hours straight if I don't sleep now.
Bye! See you tomorrow! :D
[IZUKU MIDORIYA IS OFFLINE]
Toshinori stares at his phone for a long, long moment.
And then, he smiles softly and keeps walking.