Note: This was a request for me to tell my story about being a sufferer of epilepsy. I got quite emotional when writing this, but I was so thankful for this request because it made me realise that there were people out there that wanted to learn about what I have to go through. This oneshot contains real things that have happened to me, so it's incredibly personal hence why I got so emotional. All the bullying, the injuries and the drawbacks described in this oneshot are some of the things I've had to go through, hence why it got so emotional for me but again, I am glad it was requested. I just want to say that if I see any abuse towards people with epilepsy written in the comments I will mute you, I won't give you a second chance. Sorry for the long note.

Quirk: Plant Manipulation

Requested by: Toghoul4school21

 I was laid down on my bed in the UA dorms, having had to of taken the day off of school due to needing rest. I hadn't told anyone about my suffering in fear of them bullying and belittling me like my so-called 'friends' did back in middle school, although here at UA I felt as though I had made solid friends who I could rely upon, but I was still too nervous to tell them.

I suffered from an illness known as epilepsy, which severely affects the brain. Sudden bursts of electrical activity in the brain causes me to suffer from multiple types of seizures. In middle school many people called me horrid names, making fun of the way I looked when having the different types of seizures I suffered from. Whenever I suffered from a fitting seizure known as a tonic clonic seizure, it always drained me of my energy to the point where I could sometimes barely stand which was exactly the situation I was in now. Not only did it drain me physically but also emotionally, as I found myself crying and repeatedly asking myself 'why did it have to be me?'

There was nothing Recovery Girl could do, as I had asked her as soon as I joined UA. She could only heal physical injuries rather than illnesses, and there was nothing my neurologists could do either. Epilepsy, despite it being fairly common, had no known cure. Most people grow out of the illness, but if you hadn't by the time you're an adult then the chances are you'd be stuck with it for life.

As I sat on my bed, attempting to do homework that was due for the end of the week but finding it too difficult to concentrate, there was a knock on the door. I glanced at my clock on the bedside table and realised school was over, so I called whoever it was to come in. Shoto Todoroki, my closest friend and inconveniently my crush, stepped in with Sato following, him holding a cake. "Hey (l/n), we just wanted to see how you were doing?" Sato asked, neither of them knowing exactly why I was hauled up in bed.

"Oh, I'm recovering, slowly," I said, an unintentional sad tone in my voice.

"Well I baked you a cake, cake always makes people better," Sato said, placing it and a knife on my bedside table. I chuckled, having the first proper smile on my face since I had the seizure earlier that morning. I had inconveniently had it as I was getting ready for school, hence why I couldn't go and had to spend the day resting.

"Thanks Sato, that's sweet of you," I said and he blushed a little.

"You're welcome. Anyway I should go, I've got homework I need to do," he said, saying his goodbyes and leaving just Shoto and I alone. There was silence for a moment as I waited for him to speak. He approached my bed and sat next to me, me moving up to give him some more room.

"(y/n) you have to tell me what's going on," he finally said, glancing up at me and looking at the large plaster on the side of my forehead. "What happened?"

"I-I tripped," I lied.

"You're a terrible liar (y/n)," he said sternly. I thought back to all the people in middle school calling me names and inside I knew Shoto would never do anything of the sort, but the bullying had scarred me.

"O-okay, I'll tell you... but you have to promise not to tell anyone else," I whispered and he nodded. "I have epilepsy... bad epilepsy."

"Epilepsy? That's where you have fits from flashing lights, right?" He asked, causing a slight spark of anger inside of me.

"It's not just fits and it's not just flashing lights!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself. "S-sorry it's just... they're both terrible stereotypes. In most cases people with epilepsy aren't actually affected by flashing lights," I told him.

"Why haven't you told me this before?" He asked with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Because I was scared you would judge me," I whispered. "All I've known since being diagnosed is that people have judged me after finding out I'm epileptic. It's horrible Shoto, so horrible, I've been called names, I've been bullied, people have made fun of me having seizures- it's just so hard. I know you'd never do anything like that but I've just grown to hate it so much that it's better off if people didn't know I had it at all."

"People have bullied you because of it?" He asked, a slight anger in his tone and I nodded.

"I have two types of seizures: tonic clonic and absences. Tonic clonic seizures are the fitting ones, and absences are when I just freeze on the spot for a few seconds. People enjoyed faking seizures in middle school to make fun of me. They told me I looked stupid, that I was a... a spastic," I felt tears fall from my eyes as the horrid memories came back. Without thinking I hooked my arm around Shoto's and rested my head against his shoulder, his scent and presence being enough to comfort me.

He took it a step further and actually wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a side hug. I couldn't help but cry into his shoulder, feeling the pain I had felt in middle school. "(y/n), I hope you know that no-one here would ever say anything like that to you. And if they did I'd freeze them until they apologised," he said and I let out a light chuckle.

"You know I thought I was stupid, applying for UA. All my life I had been told I couldn't do things because I was epileptic," I said once I had calmed down a bit. "I spent a whole year on a waiting list to get into the football team, then six months in they saw me have an absence seizure during training, and when I showed up to the next session they kicked me off the team," my lip began to quiver again as I remembered how heartbroken I was that they'd kicked me off just because I had an illness. "I'm never going to be able to learn to drive either. There's so many things I've been told I can't do, so I thought becoming a hero would be one of them."

"What made you change your mind?" He whispered, holding onto me tightly.

"My parents. They assured me I could become whoever I wanted to be. If I wanted to be a hero, then they'd support me and do whatever it took to make my dreams come true. I think they feel somewhat bad... epilepsy is hereditary, and my great grandma suffered from it so my dad carried the gene until it became active in me," I admitted. Shoto reached across to my bedside table and pulled a tissue from the box.

"Here," he said comfortingly and I took it from him with a smile.

"Thanks Shoto," I whispered, dabbing my eyes. "When my old classmates found out I had put UA as my top choice for high school I was bullied even more. They kept on saying that I'd never make it, that I'm stupid because my brain apparently isn't normal, that if I can't even learn to drive then how would I hope to ever become a hero... but mum and dads motivation kept me going. You don't know how shocked I was when I was accepted."

"Well the fact you were accepted in the first place is a middle finger to all those idiots from your old school. But not only that, you made it into the hero course, and you're in 1-A. You have to remember that (y/n), you're already an amazing hero with a provisional hero licence! I know it's easy enough for me to say because of what you've been through, but you have to try and put the past behind you. Focus on the future, because yours is bright. You're already a hero in training, I mean you've been inducted into Fatgum's agency with Kirishima haven't you? Billboard heroes are interested in you (y/n), and that's because you're an incredible hero already," he said and I slowly realised that that was all true. Despite having this invisible, severe illness I had managed to get into the hero course, I had gotten my provisional licence and I was at a pro heroes agency.

"Thank you, Shoto," I whispered, dabbing my eyes with the tissues as more tears threatened to fall.

"So how did this happen?" Shoto brushed his fingertips against the plaster on my forehead.

"O-oh, I had a tonic clonic seizure this morning," I mumbled.

"They're the fitting ones, right?" He asked and I nodded.

"I fell over and bagged my head repeatedly against my desk. You can see the blood on my desk," I said, pointing to the blood stains on the wood.

"Oh my god- oh my god are you okay?" He asked desperately.

"I'm getting there," I said softly but there was still a look of worry in his heterochromatic eyes. "Don't worry Shoto, I'm used to injuries. I got this scar on my hand from a seizure," I showed him the large scar that took up most of the back of my hand. "I even almost cut my eyelid open," I said and horror washed over his face.

"H-how?!"

"I don't remember. My memory's always patchy after I have a seizure, whether it's a tonic clonic or an absence. Oh, I've also hurt my foot... I think I may have torn a ligament," I said nonchalantly, being used to injuries.

"What? (y/n), you need to see Recovery Girl!" He said.

"Well I can't exactly get to her," I pointed out the fact I couldn't walk.

"Then I'll take you to her," he said.

"What?"

"I'll carry you."

"What?" Before I could stop him he'd picked me up bridal style, apparently not caring that I was only in pyjamas. I clung onto him, telling him repeatedly that I'd be fine but he was too stubborn to listen. He took me downstairs, ignoring everyones stares in the common room as they watched him carry me past them all. It was in this moment that I appreciated his strength as he managed to walk me all the way from Heights Alliance to Recovery Girls office in the school, although as soon as he put me down on the bed he seemed to be out of breath.

"What do we have here?" She asked, wheeling towards us on her wheelie chair.

"A torn ligament, we think," Shoto said.

"Oh? How did this happen?" She asked.

"I had a seizure this morning," I told her, her being one of the few teachers who knew about my illness.

"Have you been taking your medication?" She asked and I nodded.

"Same time every day," I assured her. She had a look at my foot and performed her healing methods, it draining more of my energy.

"You'll need to rest it overnight but you should be able to walk on it tomorrow," she informed me, handing me some crutches. "Bring those back to me tomorrow when it's feeling okay to walk on."

"I will do, thanks Recovery Girl," I nodded, Shoto and I leaving together. "Thanks Shoto," I mumbled, hobbling along on the crutches.

"What for?"

"For taking me to Recovery Girl, for not judging me just because I have an illness I can't control," I said.

"I'd never judge you (y/n), I really care about you and your happiness... more than you know," he mumbled. "I'll always be here for you."

"Y-you will?" I asked, my eyes wide. He suddenly stopped me in our path, taking ahold of my shoulders.

"Yes, I will," he assured me, stepping closer to me. My heart was racing a million miles per hour as we stood so close to each other, him slowly leaning down. I lifted my head up a little, thinking I was in a dream when our lips connected. It felt nothing short of perfect, and I though I was in a dream. His lips were so soft and addictive, making me want to kiss them forever but neither of us wanted to get too carried away so we pulled apart, however our foreheads remained touching. "I like you (y/n)... if you couldn't tell from that kiss," he said and I let out a laugh.

"I like you too Shoto... will you be my boyfriend?" I asked, hopeful.

"You don't even have to ask," he said, pulling me in for another kiss. "And my first act as boyfriend will be to stay with you the night to make sure you're okay."

I couldn't stop the smile coming to my face as we walked back to Heights Alliance together, although I wished we could've been hand in hand. When we were back in my room we cuddled on my bed, him making me feel good about myself.

- Timeskip -

Shoto encouraged me to tell people about my illness, and to not keep it hidden. He told me that it was a part of who I was and that I needed to embrace it instead of letting it get me down. I had to look at the positive things; that I was on track to become a hero and that would hopefully inspire others with epilepsy to go out and make sure they achieved their dreams and goals. He told me that I was perfect, with or without epilepsy, and his encouragement gave me the confidence to tell others.

He was right, everyone who I had told in the class seemed more interested in it rather than belittling me over it. They wanted to learn more about the illness, and were so supportive of me saying that I was strong and that my determination was admirable. Midoriya even had a notebook in hand practically interviewing me about it until Shoto got a little jealous of how close he was getting to me and intervened.

It was completely different to middle school, everyone was so supportive and not only that, they continued to treat me like a regular classmate which is exactly what I wanted. I didn't want to have any special treatment and I of course didn't want to be bullied again, so I was happy that they just treated me like any normal person which at the end of the day, was who I was.