With Love, Comes the Pain

I'll be fine, don't worry about it

Midoriya opened his eyes.

Everything was dark.

He shifted slightly, feeling two warm beings pressed against his side. One was clutching his arm like a lifeline, head pressed against Midoriya's shoulder, and the other was lying on his elbow. He could smell that seaside scent, the one that reminded him of Kota, and the lavender shampoo that Shinsou liked to use.

Midoriya could smell another person in the room, though.

He could hear the tapping sounds of the person typing on a laptop. The other person smelt tired, like they hadn't gotten proper rest at all. They smelt worried, stressed, and Midoriya shifted slightly. He could smell the strawberry shampoo, and he only knew one person that used it.

Lucky for him, his throat felt a lot better than before. Dry, yes, but at least he didn't feel like he was setting his throat on fire or drinking acid or something.

He smacked himself mentally.

Stupid me. No more talk about acids. That seriously sucked.

He wondered if Shuzenji's quirk managed to fix it up, but seeing as he no longer felt like his throat was going to kill him, he guessed that it had worked.

"Sen...sei...?"

He heard Aizawa stop typing, and the swish of his hair and scarf as he looked up.

"How are you feeling, Izuku?"

"Thirsty..." He coughed, and Shinsou shifted, before he sat up. Kota had also woken up, but he just continued lying there snuggled next to Midoriya.

"Hold on a second." Aizawa sighed, "I'll get Recovery Girl."

Aizawa left the room after placing his laptop on the chair, and Midoriya just lay there as Kota reached out to tap his white hair.

Kota hated it. He hated Midoriya's white hair. He had seen it turn white gradually, that white streak standing out against his green and black curls that adorned the right side of his face. He knew that Midoriya had suffered the entire time, taking more damage and injuries that necessary in his attempt to protect him from the villains. He had seen Midoriya do his best to prevent the villains from getting the satisfaction of hearing him scream out in pain, had seen the betrayal in his eyes when Toga stabbed him in the back.

Tears formed in his eyes, but he hastily wiped them away.

Shuzenji walked into the room a few minutes later, Aizawa trailing behind him.

"Aizawa, help him sit up. Midoriya, open your mouth, please. I'm going to check your throat, so if you feel some mild discomfort, just sign us."

Aizawa placed his arms behind Midoriya's back and head, and pulled him upwards, supporting the boy's weight. Midoriya opened his mouth, and Shuzenji carefully inserted an endoscope down Midoriya's throat. He flinched when the cold metal made contact with his throat, but he just sat there quietly as Shuzenji examined his oesophagus.

She pulled the instrument out, "Alright, it healed right. It might still be sore for a few days, but you should be able to eat and drink without any pain. We'll stick you on a liquid diet since you haven't eaten anything for the past few days to slowly get it used to digesting again."

Aizawa passed him a glass of water, and Midoriya gratefully drank it slowly.

She started asking him several questions, to check his proprioception and other senses. Nezu had given her list of other senses he might have developed, and Midoriya had showed to also have magnetoreception, the ability to detect which direction he was facing, much like a compass. It was a common sense that birds possessed, and it was no wonder that he also had the ability to do so.