Both males had locked eyes since they had stepped out into the ring. The crowds were in a stir while Present Mic played up the battle that was about commence. The shouts and screams seemed distant as the two competitors braced themselves.

You held your breath. You almost couldn't watch.

And yet it still sent a jolt of adrenaline to your heart when the first attack was launched.

Or rather attacks. Both your classmates were very well versed with each other's quirks. So much so that their first assault was led by Shoto casting a wave of ice and Izuku deflecting it with a flick of his finger. Again, you witnessed the familiar electric light ignite in his finger and go off like a bomb. There was the briefest pause before the frozen forest in front of Izuku shattered in all directions.

You weren't even in the arena and yet the sheer force of the two collisions made you stagger. The gust of wind and the ice scattering throughout the stadium chilled you to the bone.

However, as the violent air dispersed, you saw the way Izuku cradled his hand. The finger he had used was now red and bent. Like a bell, the memory of your first meeting rang to mind.

"Oh, this? I'm used to it. It happens when I over do it."

Was this him overdoing it?? Even back then his injuries seemed too extreme. You began to worry if asking for his help might have been wrong on your part.

That fear only seemed to grow as Shoto caught sight of the wound. Without missing a beat, he plunged another storm of ice at Izuku. The male bared his teeth as he countered with another broken finger. "Smash!"

The blast stopped the frozen horde, but the outcome was far worse. You breathed a heavy gasp as drops of blood ran down Izuku's hand. This was wrong. You didn't know this would happen. You didn't know he would do this.

You were heroes in training, so getting a little bloody was inevitable. But this was training. Yes this was part of the program, especially if he was fighting someone like Shoto, but you felt partly to blame because you had requested his help. You were part of the reason he was getting hurt.

Your guilt swarmed you as you had no choice but to watch the scene knowing you had asked Izuku to do this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shoto had realized a while ago that Midoriya was determined to keep him at bay even if it meant destroying himself in the process. And for that reason, he had planted a wall of ice behind him as a safety precaution. There was no telling how strong Midoriya's attacks would be that it could potentially knock him out of the ring.

However, if he couldn't get near him right then...what was Midoriya's plan?

Shoto's ice raced out from the ground in a blur only to yet again be met with a wipeout. The scowl on Izuku's face bore more pain than anything else as he gripped his own wrist. Another finger cracked and broken.

That's when it dawned on him. Midoriya wasn't waiting for an opening. He was waiting for Shoto's exhaustion to settle in.

The male furrowed his brow in annoyance. "You're stalling," the heterochromatic boy snapped. "Your endurance tactic won't last long. I'll be ending this quickly."

Again, Shoto launched an even stronger wave of ice. And just like the times before, Izuku countered with an explosion from his finger. It backfired, however, pushing him back a few feet.

While Izuku suffered his injury silently, Shoto took the opportunity to make an ice bridge. In a flash, he was booking it towards Midoriya whose entire right hand was now black and bruised.

But his opponent's momentary lapse in focus lasted only a second before he used one of his left fingers to obliterate Shoto's path. Evading the attack, Todoroki leapt off his structure and aimed a frozen fist at Midoriya. But the green haired boy was running on luck as he dodged at breakneck speed, leaving Shoto to hit the ground with shards of ice.

Shoto's patience was wearing thin. The male shot a cold stare at Midoriya as he fled in mid-air. Todoroki flexed his hand and hurled a wave of ice towards him, clipping his shoe.

The alarm on Midoriya's face warned him of the impending danger and he quickly constructed a giant wall behind himself. As if on cue, his opponent closed his fist and sent it directly into Shoto's attack. The shock of the blow reignited the tremulous winds and thrusted Todoroki nearly to the end of the arena. Even his safety net ice had been cracked and worn down.

Midoriya's scream of agony rang throughout the stadium as Todoroki realized that he had used his entire left fist for that last assault. No wonder it had been able to move him farther than before.

"That's a lot more power than the first few times," Shoto noted nonchalantly, raising himself from out of the frozen debris. The frustration and surprise on Midoriya's face was clear as day. Todoroki lifted a giant piece of ice from on top of him and shoved it aside. "Are you trying to tell me to stay away?"

Shoto watched his opponent, ignoring the freezing sensation spotting his skin. Patches of ice could be found forming across his cheek and on his right arm. The familiar chill filled his muscles as he huffed out a single white breath.

Despite Todoroki's unknowingly taunting tone, Midoriya was quiet and contemplative. "Your defense and evasion is taking a toll on you," Shoto addressed the silent boy. He sighed and glanced up at the stands. They landed immediately where he anticipated he'd be.

His guess was spot on the money as he found Endeavor staring at him with a disapproving glower. "Sorry for all this. I appreciate it though, Midoriya. Thanks to you, he doesn't look too happy." It was almost like Endeavor could hear him because the mute rage seemed to burn brighter.

Shoto then inspected Midoriya's wounds. His hand and his arm were a bloody mess and scathed harshly enough to potentially leave scars. Surely, he couldn't go on like this.

"You can't fight with both hands wrecked like that. Let's just finish this." Shoto released a sigh and stepped on the ground, sending the flurry of ice speeding towards the boy.

Right as it was about to make impact, a strong shout resonated out of his meek classmate. "Who said I was done!?" On cue, Shoto's assault was absolutely demolished, bursting into fragments of glass.

The unexpected turn of events had stunned Shoto so bad that the attack drove him straight across the field. He recovered in the nick of time, however, and did his best to build a barrier of ice behind him to keep him within bounds. And it was quick-thinking too because he had made it right to the edge of the white line.

"Damn it..." He muttered under his breath. That was close.

Todoroki looked up at Midoriya with a glare. His anger only flourished as he witnessed the gruesome state of his opponent's finger. Why would he break himself this much? What was he playing at?

Shoto wasn't the type to skirt around the subject. He got up and furrowed a questioning brow at him. "Why are you going this far?"

"You're shaking, Todoroki."

Shoto stared at him, letting go of a cold breath in the process. Consciously, he referred back to himself and realized that Midoriya was right. He was trembling. His right side had progressively gotten worse and was growing even more frostbitten skin. Every time he exhaled it would come out in a huff of frigid white smoke. His body temperature couldn't keep up.

"Quirks are still just physical abilities," Midoriya went on. His right finger remained dull and quivering. "There has to be a limit to how much cold you can bear."

"But then again you could just thaw yourself out with your left side, right?" His opponent stared him down. Despite the clear extremes the two were at, Midoriya's eyes were challenging. "Everyone's giving it their all...to win...to achieve their goals. To make it to the top! And you want to win with half your strength!?"

Midoriya's fist trembled as he forced himself to grip it closed. "You haven't even put a scratch on me... So come at me with everything you've got!!"

Shoto's brows furrowed with contempt. His usual neutral demeanor was shedding along with his energy making it increasingly difficult to keep his emotions under control. "What are you trying to do?" He hissed as his brained racked for explanations for his competitor's foolish motivations. "'Everything I've got'? Did my bastard of a father put you up to this!?"

Rather than wait for an answer, Shoto's fury took over. He stormed up to him, his shivering left hand ready to fire. He knew that close quarter encounters were not ideal for Midoriya and he was determined to take advantage of that.

But his massive ice attacks from before had really taken a toll on him. He was too slow to maneuver as Midoriya reacted to him raising his left leg almost immediately. Shoto braced for impact as the male lodged a super-powered punch square into his abdomen. The pain was so instant that he couldn't really think to break his fall as he sailed and tumbled across the field. Out of some miracle, his landing managed to not cross the threshold holding them in.

But that wasn't what was running through the crowd's minds. They roared with disbelief at Midoriya's successful counter.

Shoto, however, was mystified and greatly annoyed by his opponent's change in strat. His eyes scanned the arm he was able to encase in ice right when Midoriya's hit had connected. While viewing this, he noticed his weakened stance. Even though Todoroki was over here hacking and grunting through the throbbing soreness, Midoriya looked like he could barely stand.

Not wasting a minute, Shoto unleashed trail of ice to capture Midoriya. However, the boy still managed to leap out of the way. He grit his teeth in frustration; his exhaustion was causing his attacks to slow.

But he forced himself forward, rounding Midoriya until he could find an opening in his defenses. Again, he tried to freeze him but again he was met with Midoriya cracking another finger at him. Shoto was knocked harshly into his own leftover ice scattered across the area.

He drove himself to quickly rise and caught sight of Midoriya easily breaking the ice that had clung to his shoe. His scowl gave him away while his competitor acknowledged the efforts. "It's not just you that's slowing down. Your ice is getting weaker, too."

Enraged, Shoto once more threw himself into battle, launching as much frozen shards at the male as he could. But he was taken by surprise when Midoriya exhausted all his options and used his cheek to flick his finger at him. Shoto inhaled sharply as the force shoved him back far stronger than the previous times. He almost faltered when providing a frozen barricade to catch his stumble.

His muscles themselves were beginning to feel like bricks as Todoroki leaned on his glassy sculpture. The cold was becoming unbearable and he had a feeling Midoriya knew. "Why...why are you going this far...?" Shoto questioned.

"Because I want to live up to everyone's expectations..." Midoriya groaned, his fingers twitching unconsciously. Blood oozed out of his bruised, blackened limbs as he ran at Todoroki. "A smiling...dependable hero...that's what I want to be!"

His heart nearly stopped recalling a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. It was his mother's. It was her whispering his name. That day—

The memory was a severe distraction, he didn't even see Midoriya closing in and socking him once again in the stomach. This one wasn't fueled by his quirk, however, allowing Todoroki the seconds to stagger backwards.

Another voice he didn't expect to hear was one more recent for him. His heart hammered in his chest in sporadic disarray. "But I can't give up. I can't give up on my dream," You pleaded softly. "I can't go down knowing I had the chance."

"That's why I'm giving it my all! For everyone!" Midoriya exclaimed fervently. The timid boy who never lashed out was now in full display. "Your experiences, your determination, your pressures...I can't even begin to imagine what that's like..."

"But if you become the number with just half your strength, then I don't think you're really serious about denying him everything!"

His body was sheeted in patches of frost yet it felt like someone had submerged him into ice water. Images flickered into Shoto's mind like a dark film reel, forcing him to relive his repressed memories.

His father shouting and yanking him to his aching feet. "Stand up! If this is all it takes to knock you down you can forget about beating All Might. Tch, a third-rate villain would be able to pummel you into the ground."

His exhaustion was too immense. He ended up falling back down on his knees as bile rose from his throat. The liquid splattered onto the ground while he held his stomach for any sort of relief.

"Stop it! Please, stop! He's only five!" His mother cried, rushing to his side. Shoto's tears clouded his vision, but he could still see the form of the man before him.

"Yes, he's already five and still useless! Get out of my way!" The sound of the slap was clear in his ears. The scream that followed also ingrained itself in him.

Shoto looked up in horror. "Mom!"

The stinging ice on his skin grew, almost completely encasing his arm. Todoroki unconsciously grit his teeth. "Shut up."

Midoriya was speeding towards him again, fist jolting to life.

"I hate him, mommy..." Shoto sobbed into his mother's chest. "I don't want to be like Dad... I don't want to be someone who hurts my mommy!"

His mother stroked his hair gently. How could she be so kind after what had happened? Shoto looked up at her soft smile. "It's okay for you to be one. As long as you have a future you're striving for."

"That's why I have to win!" Midoriya yelled. "I have to surpass you!" With that declaration in the air, the male threw his punch into Todoroki's abdomen and hurled him off his feet.

However, the pain was almost numb compared to the vivid detail of his past.

He recalled the days he spent watching from the balcony as his siblings played in the courtyard, laughing and smiling. And how quick his father would come by to collect him and begin training once again.

"Don't look at them, Shoto," His father would scold as he fought against his grip. "They're from a different world than you."

His mother's words, the only person he had, cut like a knife the day he overheard her. "I can't take it anymore, mom. I'm going crazy," She cried into the phone receiver. "I know it's not right, but I can't do it anymore. Every day, the children are more and more like him..."

"And Shoto, his left side...sometimes I look at him and I can't stand the sight." She trembled fearfully as she took the whistling tea pot off the stove. "I can't raise him anymore. I shouldn't raise him anymore..."

Shoto's child heart sank. "M-mom...?"

She gasped. Her hand went rigid as she pulled the phone away from her ear. Though her body froze, her head turned slowly toward him.

He remembered the disturbing nature in her gaze right before she clutched the tea pot's handle.

All hell broke loose the day his father found him writhing on the floor next to his mother who was stammering incomprehensibly. It wasn't long before they got his eye bandaged up and his mother taken out of the room. The man was furious, muttering to himself as he paced.

"Of all the stupid things she's done...and at this important time in your development..."

"Where's mommy?" Shoto asked quietly.

"She hurt you so I had her put away. She won't be a hindrance any longer."

An anger like no other coursed through Shoto upon hearing these words. He balled his fists, his eyes streaming with tears despite the burn of the injury. "It's your fault," he hissed, "You're the one who made mom..."

"I'll show my father," Shoto grunted painfully, clambering to his feet and shaking the memory from his thoughts. Midoriya's blow had shoved him back but he was still within the white border. "I don't need his power..."

"It's your power, isn't it!?" Midoriya cut him off in a vibrant yell.

His? The scream shook his stance. The rage he felt was becoming muddled with the confusion in his heart. His morals, his beliefs, they felt like they were crumbling and that thought scared him.

Why was he there?

"Yes, that's right!" All Might grinned during a program he watched as a child. "Children inherit quirks from their parents, but that's not what's really important. It's about recognizing one's own flesh and blood— recognizing yourself."

Shoto beamed from ear to ear as he observed his favorite hero pulling people from the rubble of the destruction. "That's what I mean when I say, 'I am here'!"

"But you want to be a hero, don't you? It's okay for you to be one." His mother's voice echoed softly in his ear. "You're not bound by his blood. You decide who you want to become."

"can be dangerous, but they're not always like that. They're warm and comforting...like you." The memory of your passionate smile and the way the stars danced on your skin. His heart thumped.

"Your flames..."

He decided who he wanted to become. It was his choice.

When did he forget that?

Amidst his lapse, something drew Shoto's vision towards the stadium. They scoured across the field until they met your (e/c) eyes looking back at him. They softened with concern as you watched him.

"They're warm and comforting...like you."

The walls he had put up seemed to crack while he stared back at you. Your smile came to mind. The thought of how much he wanted to see that again pulsated in him.

All of a sudden a brilliant light engulfed him. He didn't think twice as the heat ran over his skin in a frenzy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your heart hammered hard against your ribs as you recalled the anxiety in Shoto's gaze. The next thing you knew you were blinded by a vivid flash of light. The blast was so fierce you had to shut your eyes as the scorching sensation hit you like a heatwave. Daring to peek at the stunt, you squinted to get a better look.

You almost couldn't believe it.

"Even though you want to win...damn it..." Shoto hissed as the frost on his limbs evaporated away. "Helping your enemy...which one of us isn't taking it seriously now?"

Despite your wishes for him being answered, you couldn't behold the sight before your eyes. Like a storm in the wind, Shoto's flames roared from his left side and overtook a huge portion of the battleground. It made the rest of the arena look dark by comparison. The fire nearly licked at his skin from how close the flame emitted.

But most alarming of all was the ferocity in his eyes as he stared down Midoriya.

"I...I want to be a hero, too...!" Shoto released in a shaky breath. The grin that appeared on his lips was somewhat unsettling since you couldn't quite pin down what it meant.

But your linger didn't last long as an enormous, rumbling shout echoed from atop the audience stands. Everyone and their mothers turned to look at the source and found the number 2 flame hero making his way down the steps.

"So you finally accepted it!? Yes! Excellent!!" The insane man rattled off. You never thought you'd see the hero smile and witnessing it now, you wished you never had. It was broad and boisterous, leaving only room for the instability his gaze projected.

"It all starts here for you! With my blood pumping through your veins, you will surpass me and fulfill my ambitions!" Endeavor proclaimed. Seeing as how you were one of the few people who knew about Shoto's predicament, you could only guess what was going through the minds of the crowds.

You turned back to Shoto causing your sensibilities to ache as you watched a single tear escape him. There was no way you could ever understand the emotions he must have been feeling right then...oh but how you wished you could comfort him.

Present Mic moved past the comment by spouting off about the strange pep talk and the attention swiveled back to the students. Izuku watched in amazement as the flames fanned themselves to heights you would have never imagined.

Despite the thunderous noise of the fire, you could hear Izuku say something under his breath. "Incredible..."

Your concentration suddenly landed on Midoriya and the oddly encouraging grin on his face. His eyes gleamed with excitement as Shoto inspected him. The way he revered him was like a sudden click in your head.

You never had to ask for his help in getting through to Shoto.

Because of his kindhearted nature, Izuku was probably going to do it anyways.

This understanding somehow made you chuckle to yourself. The warmth that flooded your heart was immeasurable and you couldn't believe you failed to see how good Izuku really was. It was a soothing feeling knowing that even if you couldn't help Shoto, there was someone who would try just as hard.

"Why are you grinning like that?" Shoto said, irked. "With those wounds and in this circumstance...you must be crazy." He shook his head. "It's not my problem what happens to you now."

Right as the words left his mouth, Shoto's right foot unleashed a giant span of ice around him as the flames cooled him down. They erupted just as strongly however, and encapsulated his entire left area in a dangerous forest of fire.

Izuku himself stepped up, despite the broken arms, and ignited his limbs with glowing, pulsing veins. The air surrounding him rushed, escalating the height of the fight.

But as they powered up, the teachers who had grown warier by the second, intervened in a flash. Cementoss called for Midnight's help while he sent a flurry of cement to separate the two walking bombs. She responded by ripping her sleeve and wafting her aroma quirk into the air.

But it was far too late. Your heart was pounding a mile a minute as an enormous barrage of ice pillars flew out from where Shoto stood. You saw Izuku take off from the ground, soaring high over the incoming attack with a scowl on his face. Genuine fear for him struck you as Shoto's form suddenly burned brighter than the sun. You nearly had to shut you eyes as you witnessed him beginning to manipulate the flames rising from his skin.

You stood in the passageway illuminated by the firework, mouth agape. Both males glowed with such power it was hard to believe it was really them. They revved their quirks to the max as they extended their hands and launched their finishing blows.

In a split second, you watched as Cementoss's barricade rose swiftly from the ground only to detonate into an explosion of red and gold that shook the very foundation of the building. Blocks from the barricade shattered into pieces and were flung throughout the arena carried by the heavy wind knocking everyone back. Every spectator grasped for the nearest structure around them as the harsh recoil threatened to blow them off balance.

Unfortunately for you, you were too astounded by the spectacle that you had left the safe haven of your wall and suffered for it. As soon as the two opponents clashed, you were ripped off the ground and hurled into the tunnel. A gasp escaped your lips as you prayed that the impact you'd make at the end wouldn't be so rough.

You were either really lucky or someone had answered your prayers because you flopped on the floor and rolled onto your shoulder, your back pressed against the wall.

Yet despite your sore stop, your eyes were still on the fight. You peered into the veil of dirt as it began to settle and the audience once again came into view. With bated breath, you crawled back up to your feet and hesitantly drew near.

"What the—!? What the heck is up with your class!" Present Mic choked out in surprise.

"All that chilled air was heated in an instant, making it expand," Aizawa informed nonchalantly.

"That was the cause of the explosion...? What a finisher! Then again, what a heat! Man...I can't see a thing! Has the match been called?"

You couldn't find Midoriya no matter how hard you tried. The mist of dust was too thick. Instead you focused on Midnight who had risen to her feet with a groan. It appeared you weren't the only one caught in the crossfire.

She glanced around for either competitors until the dirt dissolved enough to divulge Shoto. But where was Midoriya?

The teachers scoured the field but you were the first to spot him. Your breath caught in your throat as you watched him teetering against the wall of the arena. His posture was hunched while his legs wobbled trying to keep him up. In the end, his efforts were ineffective. You almost felt the urge to run to him as you saw his body collapse onto the ground.

"M-Midoriya is out of bounds..." Midnight proclaimed with shock. "That means...Todoroki advances to the third round!"

The crowds erupted into cheers while Shoto looked on, breathing heavily. His eyes were on Izuku's form, almost as if he himself was in disbelief.

You didn't know how to feel. You were happy Shoto finally got to overcome his fears but at what cost? You asked someone to put themselves on the line and now that person could be seriously injured. It didn't matter that he would've done it all the same, you still felt partially to blame.

You needed to make things right. Even if it hindered your next fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sped down the corridors as quickly as you could. You had stayed to see Izuku being carried away and knew exactly where they had to be going. And it appeared you'd arrived just moments as they had left because the staff that had brought him were now disappearing down the hallway, exiting the room you were about to enter.

You knew the price for getting caught yet it didn't repel you as you crossed the barrier into the office. Recovery Girl was readily tending to Izuku's wounds while a tall, lanky man stood at his bedside. He seemed familiar, but you couldn't place him. Odd since you'd never seen him before.

"His right arm is completely shattered," Recovery Girl clicked her tongue. "This won't be an easy fix. I'll need to remove the bone splinters from his joints first, then we can work on healing him."

The nurse shook her head with a sigh. "To push and ignite a fire in a child who would destroy his body this much for what he yearns...I don't like it. You're overdoing it. You, and this boy...you can't praise him for these actions."

Confusion flashed within you for a brief second before realizing you were intruding. Gently, you stepped forward and cleared your throat. "Um, I'm sorry to interrupt. I wanted to see how Izuku was doing."

Both adults whipped around to the sound of your voice. The tall man seemed very surprised by your arrival. "A-ah! I didn't notice..."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop," You apologized quickly. You glanced over his shoulder to see Midoriya in an awful state. Now that he was up close, you could witness just how dreadful the fight had been.

It was hard to find a spot that wasn't marred with black-ish bruising. His arms looked like they had been wrung out and left to dry under a scorching sun. Patches of blood littered his face, especially on one corner of his mouth. His shut eyes were creased with pain and exhaustion as sweat rolled down his face. Guilt ate away at you the more you drew in his horrible condition. Your legs shook as you came closer.

Tears had welled up in your eyes by the time you had sat on his bed. You tried to sniff them away but that only served to unleash them. "Izuku...I'm so sorry..." You whispered, softly touched his palm with yours. "I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have...."

The urge to sob threatened your eyes but you persisted in your composure. However, it was evident to the adults in the room that you were forcing yourself to pull it together. That was made clear by the ever-advancing teardrops escaping you.

"I'll give you two a moment while I prepare some surgical items. Don't be too long, he'll need his rest," Recovery Girl conceded as she pulled the white curtain open to give you two space. The man also went with her.

You were slightly embarrassed for interrupting her work, but you couldn't contain the desire to check on him. You had to set things right. And if that meant lending the last of your energy to heal him, that's what you would do. It was your insistence that made him do what he did and you had to take responsibility for the fall out. Even if you would have no strength to continue in the competition.

You came to terms with what this would mean and clasped his hand with yours. After taking a few shallow breaths, the tingling sensation in your veins began. The blood vessels came to life in purple hues as they ran down your arms and to your hands.

They were about to reach his skin when a soft mutter distracted you. You looked up to see Izuku's weary glance on you. "Izu!" You gasped, pushing the hair out of his eyes. He seemed woozy but he was conscious.

"I can't believe you're awake," You smiled sadly. "Don't worry, I'll get you fixed up soon. Just leave it to me."

You cupped his hand again but he gently struggled. "No," he groaned.

"Izuku, please, you're really injured."

"No...you can't heal something like this."

"I can, and I promise, I will. Please, let me help you," You pleaded.

"No...you'll hurt yourself. Like last time...you can't hurt yourself right now...you need to go on..." Izuku mumbled quietly.

"No. You wouldn't be here if I hadn't asked you to help Shoto. This is my fault. I don't care if I lose my spot," You said, wiping away tears and grasping his bruised limb.

"No, stop," He winced as he lifted his other hand and placed it over yours. "It was my choice to help...and I felt like I had to do it anyways. Todoroki needed to hear it from somebody, and I kinda forgot it was me when I did say it...I would have done it if you hadn't asked me to anyways. I was so frustrated..."

"Please...I don't want my fall to be yours too...you've gotten so far all by yourself. You've already proved Nezu wrong with all you've accomplished..." He smiled weakly. "Imagine how much better it'll be when you take first place...he'll have to realize his decision was harsh."

Your lips trembled as tears glistened in your eyes. "But Izuku, look at you. I can't just stand by while you suffer."

"I'll be fine. Recovery Girl is taking care of me."

Your heart was low as you took in his broken arm. You were pulled from your thoughts when the soft movement of Izuku's fingers brushed yours.

"Hey, don't cry...I'll be okay...please." The injured corner of his lips upturned into a half smile. You knew it pained him by the way he scrunched his brows.

You sniffed and tried to dry your tears with your sleeve. You gave him the happiest beam you could muster as tears slipped and rolled down your cheeks. His gaze weighed you with such a delicacy.

You leaned forward carefully, surprising the fragile patient. Before Izuku could process what was going on, you pressed your lips to his injured cheek. The swollen area just near the corner of his mouth suddenly alleviated and flattened to its original form. The pain had completely subsided.

You pulled back and gave him a small grin. "That was my thank you for your help. I really appreciate what you did for Shoto. If there's anything else I can do, just let me know."

Despite Izuku's feeble energy, a blush rushed to his cheeks.

You chuckled in response. "Thank you, Izuku. You're too good."

You stood up from the bed, thinking you probably over stayed your welcome. Recovery Girl would be with him again any minute now and she would need space in order to tend to him.

You wished him better health and pleaded for him to get lots of rest before you pushed back the curtain to exit. As you did, you bumped into the tall man from earlier.

He seemed so reminiscent of something, but you couldn't quite find the thought. His hair was a bold yellow that fanned out like spikes. His eyes were sunken black save for the tiny blue irises that gleamed through. Everything about him seemed hollow and malnutrioned, and it didn't help that his clothes appeared two sizes too big. You were sure you'd never met him before but here you were.

"Sorry, excuse me," You apologized. He said nothing and let you pass.

You shook your head free from the words shared by Recovery Girl and that man. These questions would have to be indulged later. Right now, you had battle that needed your full focus.