Though you were a light sleeper, you never heard Midoriya leave your apartment.
The sun filtered through your curtains and you stirred at the new warmth. When your eyes opened, you half-expected Melissa to be at your bedside.
Not Midoriya. Melissa.
Melissa... Your eyes opened fully.
She was your rock. You were like a lost child, with or without her, but Melissa was the one person you trusted unconditionally.
With clunky, robot-like movements, you got up and went to go freshen up. Temptation to break schedule and immediately call Melissa did pull at you, but you never wavered. To be disciplined was to be consistent.
The stitched gash on your head wasn't pretty in the slightest. You almost regretted taking off the old bandages. As you pulled some stray hairs away from the awful thing, you figured you had no choice but to go to the hospital. The cut sat along your hairline, crusty and an overall eyesore.
Will it scar?
As you brushed your teeth, you thought of Midoriya and Kirishima's scars. Midoriya had gotten his after his fight with Todoroki. Kirishima scratched himself as a child.
Will I have a scar too?
Having something in common with your friends was good, wasn't it? You knew this after researching friendship.
You spat out the toothpaste foam and rinsed your mouth.
I am one step closer to obtaining true friendship.
You searched for your phone after leaving the bathroom. Round eyes and clumsy hands darted around before finding it on your desk. Next to the phone was a strange notebook.
You picked it up.
Hero Analysis for the Future. Number 5.
Did Midoriya forget this? I do not recall him having this in his possession yesterday.
You checked the time on your phone. It was 11 a.m, so it was 7 p.m. at I-Island and Midoriya was already at school.
Glancing back to the notebook, you wondered if he left you this just before he went.
You took a seat at your desk. Just before you went to unlock your phone, your thumb froze.
Should you really be contacting her? You said you'd be independent, right? You promised you wouldn't rely on her too much, right?
Right?
You put the phone face-down and turned away.
Right.
On your way to the kitchen, you grabbed Midoriya's notebook and set it on the dining table.
Standing before your stove, you realized that you ate like the filthy American you were. Pancakes, eggs, and a shit ton of rice wasn't going to help you heal.
You turned to look towards the Midoriya residence.
Is Mrs. Midoriya home?
"Oh my God!"
You stared at Inko with childish innocence as the blood drained from her face. "May I have breakfast here, Mrs. Midoriya?"
Her plump hand was lifting your bangs away from your forehead. After she peeled away the new bandages (with your permission), she saw the ugly gash. "Oh my goodness...are you sure a fight with your friend caused this? I know you kids have to fight each other for practice, but this is..."
You nod and she quickly wrapped up your head, fingers moving with experience. You briefly wondered if she had to do this often.
Inko worriedly grimaced as she guided you towards the dining table. "And you stayed home instead of going to the school nurse? I heard her Quirk can heal most things in an instant, so why?"
You sit down. From under the desk, your feet began to shuffle. "She said it'd be better if I let it heal naturally first. She said she would heal me once I go back to school."
Recovery Girl said none of that.
"Did she? Alright then..." Inko's worried sighs were drowned out of the sound of pots and spoons. As you waited, you stared out the nearby window. The curtains were drawn, letting in the afternoon light.
The strange man from yesterday....was he watching you at this very moment?
You glanced over at Inko. Was coming here a good decision? You came because there was no point in pretending that the man didn't know the Midoriya's lived here, but there might've been factors you were unaware of due to your inexperience.
Should I go to Mrs. Recovery Girl or go to the hospital?
You might be spotted by your teachers or classmates, but going to her would be much more efficient than the hospital. And she also wouldn't be obligated to report the injury to your guardian.
Also...that man likely wouldn't attack while you were at school. It'd be much more likely if he attacked when you were at the hospital. The hospital was full of weak civilians and you couldn't afford to use your power there.
I will go to Mrs. Recovery Girl then.
Inko arrived with the food. It was a steaming bowl of bamboo shoot soup with pork. She put it down on the table and warned, "Careful, it's hot. I hope you don't mind that I made this just this morning..."
You blink up at her and shake your head. "I don't mind. The food should still be fresh if you made it just this morning, Mrs. Midoriya."
She chuckled, bringing a hand to her mouth. "Oh, you're very sweet! I was just worried that you might not like it." Inko returned to the kitchen after giving you utensils. "Tell me if it's even just a little bit off."
As you ate, you thought deeply about the events that would unfold in the next few days.
"I'm going to visit Mrs. Recovery Girl today."
"Eh!?"
Midoriya dropped the food he got you. He'd just got back from school and you were already up to no good. "Wh--!? I thought you were coming back to school in 2 days?"
Slowly settling into a squat, you picked up the bag he dropped. "Yes, but it might be 1 day if I visit her today."
Midoriya rambled as he helped you stand back up. "Are you sure you're fit to travel? What if you pass out on the way there?"
"I will not." You shuffled away from him to put the bag onto your kitchen counter. The other boy followed you, worry wrinkling his face.
Midoriya watched as you pulled a box of tofu and a package of cooked beef out of the bag. When he noticed you were curiously squishing the tofu, he smiled slightly.
"[L/n]..."
You looked down at him as he appeared to take the tofu away and put it in the fridge along with the beef. Smiling more brightly at you now, he said, "If that's what you wanna do, then let me go with you. I'll help you get there."
Midoriya's smile made the freckles on his face look like stars in the sky. Helplessly trying to mirror his grin, you replied, "Thank you."
After being interrogated by Inko about what happened to you, Midoriya grabbed you and called a taxi.
"To U.A. High School, please."
"Sure." As the driver took Midoriya's payment, he eyed the two of you in the mirror to confirm. He could tell Midoriya was a student by the uniform, but you, not so much. "Are the both of you students?"
"Ah, y-yes!" Midoriya got nervous as if he weren't a student. His eyes darted towards you and he was about to tell you to bring out your I.D., but you'd tensed up.
"Why do you need to know?"
"...Hey, kid--"
"HE'S A STUDENT!"
Both you and the driver flinched. Midoriya's hand flew into your pocket to grab your I.D. and he branded it like a shield. "He's a student..."
"...Alright then."
Midoriya cried internally the rest of the way there.
"Y'know, maybe you should've worn your uniform. You stand out like this...." Midoriya glued himself to you as you walked the halls of U.A. Because it was after hours, it turned out that none of the staff really cared about your outfit. And there were few students to be seen. The ones that were present were support kids, who were cooped up in their room.
"I do not stand out."
"You...you do."
"No."
Midoriya just sighed.
When you reached Recovery Girl's room, the two of you peeked inside. There she was, putting assorted candies into a jar she had on her desk.
"Who is it?"
"Eek! Um, it's Midoriya and [L/n], Mrs. Recovery Girl." Midoriya quickly ushered you inside before shutting the door.
You attempted a smile as the old woman looked at you in mild annoyance. It was after hours, after all. Midoriya explained, "He hit his head yesterday and was too out of it to come back to school, so I thought I'd take him today."
Blinking, you realized that how he phrased it meant that it was his idea, not yours. You looked at him in confusion. "Mi--"
Recovery Girl just smiled and gestured to one of the beds. "Don't think you've fooled me, dearie. Now, get him on there."
Midoriya smiled nervously.. "Ahah, yes...." Crap. She knows.
Obediently, you sat down. Midoriya stood nearby, fiddling with his hands.
Recovery Girl scooted over to you and began unwrapping the gauze. With a grimace, she took a look at the wound. "You should have come yesterday. Oh well, it can't be helped...Be a little smarter next time."
You bobbed your head. "Yes."
Midoriya watched as Recovery Girl skillfully cleaned up the wound before giving you a kiss. Skin grew back instantly, and then it was as if nothing happened at all. Midoriya was in awe of her no matter how many times he saw her Quirk in action.
Suddenly, Recovery Girl raised a finger. "Follow my finger with your head."
"Okay." You did so a little sloppily.
"It's mild." Recovery Girl turned to grab her clipboard before flipping to a blank page. "Are you experiencing dizziness? Fatigue? Memory loss?" With the last one, she glanced at Midoriya and he quickly understood.
In the end, she recommended you get an MRI at the hospital in case your brain was bleeding. Midoriya was a bundle of nerves at the risk of you getting an aneurysm.
Two days passed.
"Hey, it's [L/n]!"
"[L/n]'s back?"
"[L/n]!"
Your eyes were like full moons as your classmates swarmed around you. Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero, and Ashido were at the forefront while Yaoyorozu, though visibly worried, made sure not to overwhelm you. Todoroki and Iida were making their way over, Iida already yelling. Midoriya smiled exasperatedly from his desk.
"Are you okay? Where've you been, buddy?" Kirishima smiled as he held your shoulder. His brows were lightly creased.
"I'm okay. I've been home."
"What even happened?" asked Kaminari. He added with a pout, "We missed you, you know."
You blinked. "You missed me?"
Yaoyorozu gasped, mortified. "Why, of course we did! Now, what happened?"
The experience of being missed...According to Moogle, that meant that you were cherished.
Your cheeks flushed a little. "I...got food poisoning." A lie, but a white one. Your classmates didn't need to fuss over you more than they already were.
Sero guffawed and Ashido snorted. "Of course you did!"
"You shouldn't eat things from untrustworthy grocers!" Iida lectured. Todoroki simply waved and you waved back, prompting Iida to tell you to pay attention.
You didn't even mind the volume as Iida continued to chide you. Knowing that you were a cherished person among your class...
For a second, your eyes flashed gold.
I am...a cherished person.
Midoriya's face lit up like a lightbulb when he saw your eyes. The others blinked before questioning you intensely, making you blink back at them. Uraraka recalled that time at the U.S.J. where she saw your eyes flash red and got up to go question you.
"Your eyes turned yellow for a second. What was that about?"
Looking down, you paused to think. "In that moment...." You looked up at their curious faces. Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Iida, Todoroki...
you looked at Midoriya.
"...I experienced enough happiness for my eyes to turn yellow."
"Ehhh!? That's so cool!"
"For real?"
The hubbub caused even more of your classmates to wander over.
"Well then!" Kirishima wrapped an arm around you, Kaminari following suit.
Kaminari grinned and finished, "We'll make sure your eyes stay gold!"