You who decorated my lungs with thorns,
was it all for naught?
—————————————————————————

It felt weird, walking back to class, all normal and all, after all that had happened. Nothing much changed.

It was just him and his petals.

Moreover, he hadn't seen Bakugou in awhile, after being discharged, he'd been cooped up at home, either spending time in his bedroom daydreaming, or in the toilet, coughing up those yellow flakes, which tainted the water slightly red with his blood. It lasted for a week, his rest at home, but to Midoriya, resting seemed pointless.

It wasn't like he was going to recover anyways.

All Might and Aizawa visited him during the period he took off from school. They looked more gaunt as the days passed, and he knew why, they were stuck in a predicament, and worrying about Midoriya surely must've taken a toll on them. It hurt a lot.

"Midoriya-shonen, I hoped for this moment to never happen, but now that it has..." All Might drifted off, probably unsure of his choice of words.

"Please choose when you'll undergo the surgery." Aizawa-sensei filled in for him, eyes unmoving. "We can't afford to lose a promising hero, our society needs us, Midoriya."

I lowered my head, if the Syndrome didn't make me feel crappy enough, this did. Remembering wasn't an option in UA's books. Trembling, he felt himself on the verge of tears, until he felt a pat on his head, as All Might's rough, callused hands stroked his droopy green locks. I saw All Might's eyes, they were red, it stirred something in me, like some part of me I was desperately holding in surged out. As I hugged All Might, the tears I was trying to hold back streamed down my face.

"You still have a choice, you know." All Might suddenly stated.

"What? Are you out of your mind, All Might?"  Aizawa exclaimed. "I just told the kid surgery was the only way out."

"At least let him make the choice, it's his body after all. Love isn't something that one would be willing to let go so easily, Eraserhead."

Aizawa looked away, I could see he was deeply conflicted. It was shocking, but it didn't compare to the amount of bitterness lacing his words next.

"It was for you."

Drawing in a deep breath, he opened the door.
Countless of faces met him, as the noisy chatter in the class dulled down considerably. Before everyone surged forward, engulfing him with hugs and pats on the head. No one cried, but Midoriya suspected they were just holding it in for his sake.

The only person that didn't go to him though, was Bakugou, as he sat by his window seat, gazing out restlessly.

"Don't mind Bakugou, he's been more agitated than usual." Kirishima stated, shooting Bakugou a glare, which he coldly returned.

"It's okay, Kacchan has always been like th-" A cough broke his sentence, as yellow petals flew out of his mouth.

Everyone went quiet, and even Bakugou looked at him, his fiery eyes scrutinizing his every move, before shifting to the yellow petals that laid on the floor. Midoriya swore he saw fear flash in his eyes for a split second.

"Oh yeah! We even came up with this! Petal clearing duty!!" Kaminari piped up, in his hand was a sheet of paper with names scrawled on it. "We'll take turns following you around school daily in case your flower thing crops up, don't want any unexpected cases you know?"

He was stabbed in the ear by Jirou, who looked down at him with a disapproving gaze.

"Why did you have to phrase it that way you idiot?!"

Midoriya watched the commotion unfurl, and suppressed a laugh. They were doing so much just for him, he felt himself smiling despite the burning of his throat.

"Thank you, I appreciate all of your help, it means the world to me."

"Don't sweat it man! Speaking of which, today's partner would be..." Kaminari stuttered, attempting to recover from his previous attempt at lightening the mood, only to drift off at the end.

Midoriya cocked his head. "Who is it? Kaminari-kun."

Kaminari turned to him, and Midoriya saw his eyes flash apologetically.

"Bakugou-kun."