It's dark. I can't see anything.
Where am I?
"I'm so sorry," cries a voice. It echoes through the shadows.
Who is this? They sound so sad...
"Take a deep breath. She's going to be okay," says another, their voice is softer, calmer.
I hear a long inhale. No exhale.
They're holding their breath?
I try moving. Nothing.
I feel limbless.
An exhale. Gasping.
What's going on? Are they okay?
Light.
Blinding white light.
"She's awake!" a voice shouts.
"Oh my gosh - I was so scared!"
Sighs. Exhales.
"Y/n?" probes a voice.
I can't see. It's too bright.
I open my mouth.
Nothing.
What's wrong with me?
"Is she okay? Why isn't she responding?!" cries a voice.
There's shifting, audible breathing, silence.
"...She's alright. She needs to adjust. Healing takes a hefty toll on a person, especially when it's for themselves."
It's Recovery Girl. Is that where I am?
The light flickers. I see figures; blurry, colorful, dim.
Closing my mouth, I look around.
Who are all these people? Nurses?
Blinking, blinking; nothing's clearing up.
"Y/n?" a blob waves in front of my face, "Can you see?"
It's a hand.
"...a little." I squeak.
Is this my voice? What's wrong with me?
"How many fingers am I-?"
The hand is swatted away, "Give her a second! I know you're worried, dear, but you're scaring yourself more than anything." Recovery Girl's voice is laced with suppressed concern. It sounds as though she's keeping a brave face.
What's going on? What happened?
A sharp, piercing ring plays a symphony in my ears.
I can see.
I'm in one of the beds in Recovery Girl's office.
My classmates are here. Izuku stands beside Recovery Girl, a bead of sweat slipping down his temple as he watches with worried eyes. Todoroki stands beside Izuku with his arms crossed, his expression void of emotion, yet his eyes are searching. The girls stand in a group at the end of the bed, some have streaks of tears reflecting the light on their cheeks. Ida stands beside the girls with his arms crossed and head down, he looks irritated.
Is he angry?
Bakugo leans against the wall right inside the door with his hands in his pockets, his eyes glued to the floor as though all he's focusing on is listening. Sato and Kota, both adorn with troubled expressions, stand in the corner of the room with a few others that I can't see as the rest stand in front of them. Kirishima's got his hand on Denki's shoulder, it looks as though he's trying to comfort him. Momo's consoling Mina, her aura overcome with nurture.
Denki and Mina, who appear pale, anxious, and exhausted, stand to the right of me; Mina in a chair next to the IV drip with eyes puffy from tears, and Denki standing right by my side, his hand desperately clasping mine that lays limp on the bed. I've never seen those two so upset before.
I read Mina's lips since her voice doesn't sound through the ringing, 'Are you okay?'
It takes me a moment to understand what she's asking. I nod. It's really slow.
Mina's eyes well up more.
The ringing suddenly stops.
I'm alert.
"What's going on..?" I ask. My voice is hoarse, raspy, though my mouth isn't dry. I reach my left hand up to touch my throat, but it doesn't move.
Recovery Girl pats me, drawing my attention to herself who's on my left. She looks upset, frustrated, and relieved all at the same time. "We have a lot to discuss. For now, you should speak with your classmates. I'll give you twenty minutes while I speak with principal Nezu." She turns to Izuku, "Press this call light button if anything happens, okay?"
Izuku nods, "I will."
I'm nervous...
Anxiety eats away at me as I watch Recovery Girl exit the room.
"I'm so sorry!" Denki suddenly blurts, his eyes welling up as his lips wobble with his words, "I shouldn't have left you there- I should have warned you. I didn't think you would- I thought...!" his voice cracks, the tears overflow, "I thought...!" he breaks down, crumbling onto the space on the bed beside me, "I thought you were gonna die!"
Kirishima frowns, unprecedented shock in his eyes as he urges Denki to his feet with gentle pulls, getting nowhere.
I crinkle my brows in worry, placing my hand on Denki's back as he sobs into the sheets, "Denki, it's okay... It's not your fault. I'm okay..." I coax, gently patting his shoulder in hopes to calm him down.
It doesn't.
"No, you're not!" Mina wails in devastation, breaking down just as Denki had. Mina's cries of apology become muffled behind her hands as she buries her face in her palms. Momo wraps her arms around her, murmuring words of comfort into her ear.
I look at Izuku, feeling nothing but worry and confusion.
"What's going on...?" I ask cautiously, stress eating away at me.
Izuku's face is dressed in concern, he parts his lips to speak only for Ida to chime in, "You could have died," he begins, pushing his glasses up as he looks at me.
His eyes are slightly swollen. He's been crying.
"Don't you have any idea what could have happened had Denki not come to get you?" Ida snaps, gritting his teeth behind pressed lips. He looks like he's trying to keep himself together, "Running off like that in the middle of the night? No- even later, without telling anyone of your whereabouts? Does that sound like appropriate conduct to you?"
I can feel my eyes widen, my lips part to speak.
Ida's glare hardens, his fists tense at his sides, "Not one of you three had made a single person aware of your plans. I know you're all adults and you should be able to do as you please, but you are also students of this academy, which makes you responsible for following school rules. And as class president, I'm responsible for all of you! According to school conduct and the student handbook, you are supposed to be accounted for after hours and I'm supposed to keep you all in order. You didn't say a word! On top of that; illegal use of your quirk, Y/n? Did you not just get your registration Friday evening? Only to run around handing it out like it's no big deal? Did you forget the effects it has on you when you're not taking care of yourself? You left yourself completely helpless! What on earth were you thinking? Were you even thinking at all-?"
"That's enough, man!" Kirishima cuts in, giving him a pressing look. Ida grits his teeth, his fists clenching tighter as he stares holes in the floor.
Kirishima glances at Denki who weeps bitterly; Kiri sighs, then stands to his feet, "Listen," he continues, his tone calmer as he faces everyone, "We're all super on edge, but going off on her isn't going to fix the situation, right? Take a breather. She's okay," he glances at me, as though to make sure, "I'm sure you're super confused." He states.
I hadn't realized tears had begun to form until now, "I- yeah." I stutter, "I'm sorry, Ida, truly. I don't know what's going on."
Ida exhales slowly, pockets of tension still clinging to him, "I apologize, Y/n. I should not have snapped at you, especially when you're in such a state. I hope you'll forgive me."
My chest tightens, I suddenly feel like a terrible person, "Of- of course."
"No, Ida's right." Todoroki says, his expression unchanging, "You shouldn't be so reckless with your abilities like that. Especially with people you don't know."
"Not you, too." Kirishima groans, then holds his hands up, "Okay, as much as I agree with you guys, let's get to that later." He turns to me, "You remember using your quirk on that tattoo artist, right?"
Gyeol... that's right.
I nod, the memories starting to cluster together.
"Right, so when that happened, apparently your body basically malfunctioned since you both have nursing capabilities?" Kirishima says, looking to Izuku with pleading eyes, asking for help.
Izuku nods, his expression a mix of worry and thoughtfulness, "Your quirk restores others' wounds, but since Gyeol's quirk exchanges heart strings to heal others, your body took that on for him. If what Denki said is right and Gyeol can't control his quirk, it makes sense that his quirk would have tried to make up for the sudden change by healing your heart, but instead, it only reversed his damage by switching the conditions of your guys' hearts. Thankfully, Recovery Girl said your body heals much faster than others, so your quirk must've recognized the damage done to your heart right away and began restoring it. That ended up dehydrating you in the process."
"That's how you ended up here." Momo cuts in, "You collapsed on the way back with Denki. Fortunately, Recovery Girl was already in the office when Denki called in. You could have died, Y/n. The risk you took was not thought through enough. I'm sure you think your noble act may have been worth it, but what about your future? You put your entire future at risk. With that said, you should consider how you deal with these sort of things from now on. You need to be well prepared for situations like this when it comes to your hero career." Momo continues, her eyes stuck on me with striking determination, "Apart from you, no one else in this class has a nursing quirk. That doesn't mean we should be unaware of the devastation it could cause those who wield them." Momo faces everyone now, her tone is strong enough to catch everyone's attention, "Everyone in this room is trying to become a hero, right? Instead of criticizing her faults, we should learn from them instead; that way, we can all grow as individuals. We can't move forward as a class if we don't help others grow with us. I understand you're all upset, as am I. Is what she did okay? Not according to school conduct and rules, but I know without a doubt that she had good intentions and I'm sure she can explain herself." She declares, a hopeful glance cast my way.
My heart is pounding again...
I swallow hard, "He needed help. He was hurting, crying, and he seemed so desperate for someone or anyone to help. I didn't even realize how much pain he was in until he told me." I begin, avoiding eye contact by looking at my sheets. I can't move my body, so my hands cannot be fiddled with to occupy my anxiety, "I didn't want to leave him in that state when there's something I can do something about it."
I take a deep breath, staring at the same fold in my blanket, "I have the power to help people. I have the power to heal those that are hurting. There's people all around me, day in and day out, that struggle with issues that I have the power to fix. All it would take from me is a moment, a mere touch and I could remove the pain from any person. There's people who can't walk, or breathe right, or bleed, or can't even live life to the fullest because of some pain that I can easily get rid of. It would be stupid of me to not help those people when that's the whole purpose of having this power." I explain, finally looking up.
Ida's expression looks softer, and somehow, Todoroki's gaze appears gentler. Izuku's confounded, his thoughtful expression reappearing as he processes it all. Kirishima nods his head in agreement, a small smile on his face as though he expected this. Momo grins with a bit of relief, a proud look in her eyes, "I figured as much." She says.
"You won't be able to be a hero with that mindset alone." a resolute voice sounds through the room. Izuku's eyes dart to the door.
Bakugo looks up from the floor, his brows furrowed, "You wanna be a hero that helps others? You gotta be strong first. You can't help others if you're weak."
"I... I know." I stammer, unable to remove my eyes from his stare.
"Tch. Doesn't look like it." he retorts, his gaze unfaltering, "If you wanna help others, help yourself first. Nobody wants help from someone who doesn't have enough gall to help themselves."
Is that why Dabi...? No! I was more than fine then!
I part my lips to respond.
"If you're lost at sea; do you pray for a sinking boat?" Bakugo questions.
My eyes widen, my mouth ajar, unable to form a sentence to respond.
The air is thick. No one speaks.
He's right.
"Thought as much." He says, finally looking to the side.
My heart sinks.
The door opens, "Sorry. It took much longer than I expected. I hope you all are caught up then?" Recovery Girl asks, her cane tapping along the tile floor as she makes her way in the door. She pauses, looking around, "I suppose it didn't go so well."
There's no response.
Recovery Girl sighs softly, making her way to the bedside again, "Thank you, Izuku." she says, patting his shoulder as she takes a seat.
The air is suffocating.
"That's why I'm going to get stronger." I mumble, eyes forward.
Bakugo looks back at me, eyes squinted slightly as he studies my expression. He didn't hear me.
"I'm going to get stronger." I repeat, my voice more resolute than before, "So strong that everyone can rely on me without worry. I'll become a hero that's strong enough to save every single person that crosses my path!"
Bakugo's expression relaxes, the corner of his lips curl into a slight smirk, "You'd better."
I realize now that Bakugo was picking at my resolve. He was blunt, but only to show me the gravity of this situation, and what it means to be a hero. He was helping in his own way.
"That's wonderful, dear." Recover Girl says with a delighted grin on her face, "Let's work on getting you out of this bed first."
I purse my lips together to stifle a laugh, though it doesn't work, "You're right."
Todoroki turns his head away from me, I assume he's hiding laughter.
Mina giggles from my right side, and I turn to see her standing beside me, her tearful expression one of joy rather than sorrow, "I'm glad you're okay... I'm sorry for leaving like I did, and for dragging you into all that in the first place. I promise to learn from this."
Moved, I give Mina a warm smile, "I'm at fault, too. You're not to blame. No one is."
Mina's tears slip down her cheeks once more as she wraps her arms around me, "Let's get stronger together."
Denki perks up, wiping a final tear from his eyes, "Yeah, let's all get stronger," he turns to everyone, a smile playing about his features, "together."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I cannot properly describe how I feel Momo's costume could be so much better, so I went on a rampage to find an image that matched the one I had thought up. I don't mind her costume too much, but I think it would be much better if it was more practical for her quirk rather than being a marketing tool. I added an external link to the image, I don't know if that will work like I hope it will.