The Corpse in the Creek

To Say Thank You

Drop was held in the hospital for nearly a whole week before All Might and Nedzu broke him out of there. The teen was considered a medical phenomenon, the doctors had said, and no one could figure out what was going on with his situation. Drop could eat, sleep, and feel pain like just about everyone else but he had no heartbeat whatsoever. Additionally, their scans were telling them that the boy had no brain activity to speak of despite the fact that he sat in front of them aware of everything and cognizant. It was the strangest thing anyone had ever witnessed and, unfortunately, they didn't have much to go on.

"The only thing we can say," A young doctor spoke, pushing up his glasses when they slipped down the bridge of his nose. "Is that his memories aren't blocked. It looks like they were taken entirely. The area of his brain where the memories are stored is virtually undamaged, so it's highly unlikely he has regular amnesia caused by severe head trauma."

Nedzu nodded, a hand on his chin. What he was told was nothing he hadn't theorized himself but, regardless, it was still validating to hear it from a medical professional. "And how is his hearing?"

"Ah, yes." The doctor flipped past a page, his eyes scanning down it before finding the information he needed. "His hearing has been reduced by a significant amount. We recommend the use of hearing aids but it's not strictly necessary."

Drop made an odd face at his words. "Are they waterproof?"

"You can purchase waterproof ones if you want."

"But how waterproof are they? Like, if I completely immersed them in water, would they still work outside of it?"

The doctor stammered for a moment, clearly taken off guard with how much information the teen wanted about the features of hearing aids. "I think you would have to get them specially designed if you wanted them for that specific purpose. Is your quirk water based?"

For some odd reason, that question made Drop freeze and All Might and Nedzu didn't know why. They would have chalked it up to the fact that it was because the boy didn't have a quirk but he hadn't been ashamed to tell just about anyone that fact. 

"Water..." Drop tilted his head, his eyes seeming to get brighter and more green with his words, though they returned to their original color when he looked up. "Yes, I think it is!"

"You were so sure you were quirkless." Nedzu pointed out, a secretive smile on his face. If Drop felt that he had a connection with water, that was another puzzle piece the principal could use to find the boy's identity. "Are you?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm quirkless." He reported with a firm nod, like there wasn't any doubt in that statement. "But... I don't know how to explain it. Something tells me that you all already know but-" He gripped his hair, teeth gritted in frustration. "My brain's also telling me it's a secret and- I don't know what it is!"

All Might gently pried the boy's hands away from his hair, careful not to disturb the little patches placed over his ears in lieu of wrapped bandages around his head. His ears were mainly healed and the patched were just to keep the air from irritating the rest of the healing process and Drop from picking at them. "You are going to be okay, young man. We will figure this out together."

Drop didn't move his hands immediately and he looked at the hero's larger ones covering his like he wasn't seeing them at all. It was like he needed a moment of physical reassurance and All Might was the only one to give it. He couldn't ask for it from Bakugou or Midoriya no matter how much he adored them. All Might was different, he would always be different, because no matter what form he took the man would always be his hero simply because he was still alive.

"I think..." Drop hesitated for a moment before looking up at the hero, his sea green eyes wide as he silently pleaded for the man to understand. "I think I died at that creek. Shouta knows which one."