Izuku was in the abyss again, with the four-pointed star in his hand.
Why was he here?
Ah, it must be because of Recovery Girl's quirk. But he didn't remember falling asleep. He didn't even remember feeling tired. He only remembered Recovery Girl telling him to hold still, and then nothing. That wasn't right.
He knew it was probably nothing, but...
When presented with the option of saving or returning, he chose 'return'.
---
The freckled teen woke up feeling more tired than he had ever felt in his life.
His throat, where his box cutter had pierced him so many times, felt odd. Like there was something on his skin that hadn't been there before. A similar feeling to how paint feels when it dries on your skin.
He was on the same cot as earlier, but laying down, and with a blanket over him. The curtains he had noticed next to the cot earlier were drawn, closing him off from anything that might be going on outside of them.
His head felt so heavy, he thought he might break his neck if he tried to sit up. Everything was heavy. His eyelids had only been open for a few moments, but they were already trying to snap shut again. Why was he so tired? Nothing hurt, his ankle felt fine, but if it was possible to feel like you were about to go into a coma, he was sure this is what it would feel like.
He stared at the ceiling for God knows how long, lost in a sea of thoughts he couldn't quite make out, until he heard faint voices, growing louder. The voices stopped, then he heard the sound of a door opening.
"Recovery Girl, is he awake yet?"
It was Shinso, and probably Uraraka and Iida as well.
"Last I checked, he was still out. You're free to look for yourselves, though."
"Sweet Jesus, what's wrong with him?" Ah, there was Uraraka.
"I told you earlier, I really have no idea."
He saw shadows moving outside the curtains, and then the curtains were drawn back, revealing his friends - he assumed they were friends by now - standing behind it. Shinso saw that Izuku's eyes were open. They were hazy, unfocused, and mostly closed, but technically they were open.
"Hey, I think he's awake!" The insomniac sounded so hopeful, it felt like it should make him smile, but his face was too heavy, his muscles too tired.
Shinso stepped closer, waving his hand above Izuku's face. "Hey, you there, Mido?"
Izuku opened his eyes as wide as he could - which wasn't nearly as wide as usual - and tried to focus on Shinso's face. The purple-haired teen seemed to notice his eyes shifting, and smiled.
Recovery Girl got up from her seat and came over to where Izuku lay, leaning over him.
"Can you talk?"
Izuku was starting to wake up a bit more, now.
"...yes..." It was barley a mumble, but it was better than nothing.
"I'm assuming you have no idea what happened." He shook his head slightly. Recovery Girl sighed. "Well, to be perfectly honest, neither do I. It seems that I accidentally healed several stab wounds in your throat, taking up too much of your energy and almost killing you. I don't know how the stab wounds weren't killing you already, but that's my best guess."
Izuku was very, very glad he hadn't saved.