Class 1-A is on a field-trip to go skating. :))) Deku-whump
An instant is all it takes.
It took just an instant for Deku to grab onto the little boy standing above the thin, cracking ice, and only a moment more to swing the boy away right into his terrified mother's arms. Deku smiled briefly, but it was soon washed away.
Let's go back about a minute.
You see, this all seemed like a great rescue plan when Midoriya first noticed the thin ice beneath the boy's skates, but now he realized, that as he had pulled the child away, he also pulled himself closer and closer to the cracked ice, just until he was right on top of it.
A ball of regret formed in the pit of his stomach. He thought he could be quick enough-to get in and out. He looked down at his skates, knowing that even the slightest movement could cause the ice to shatter beneath him. A deep cracking sound echoed beneath him.
"Oh my gosh! Deku!" A horrified voice called to him. Deku shot his head to the left and looked. Ochako stood on the top of a small mount of snow a little ways away, Aizawa coming up right behind her. The slightest bit of relief fell upon Midoriya-Uraraka had gotten help, just like he'd asked. Except now it was himself that would need help. Aizawa only glanced at the situation below and seemed to understand completely what must have happened.
"Don't move, Midoriya!" Aizawa began running down the slope. Midoriya wanted to laugh. He certainly wasn't planning on moving anytime soon. At the top, other class 1-A student followed Ochako to the slope to see what was happening. "Uraraka," Aizawa shouted to his student. "Call-"
Anything after that was cut off by the sound of shattering ice and what only could have been the start of a cry before Deku plunged into the icy cold darkness below.
Instantly, pain surrounded him.
The cold water burned his skin, his muscles freezing up, Izuku's heart-rate accelerating faster than he thought possible. He needed to focus, to move, to get out; he needed air.
Come on Deku… Come on, All-For-One…!
A million thoughts ran through his head as he thrashed around, sinking deeper in the water, his wet layers weighing down on him. Around him was darkness, any light seemed to be choked out. Any air seeming to be burning up. His arms. His legs. His head. His lungs. Everything hurt. The thought inside his head were too loud to hear the voices calling from above. How long had been underneath the water? Would they get to him in time? Before he…? Deku was trying as hard as he could to swim upwards, but he couldn't tell if he was even moving at all. Everything felt like it was slowing down. The spinning became slower and slower, the darkness growing darker and darker, and his lungs screaming louder and louder, right until he thought they would burst. He tried to move, he really did. And then he just… couldn't any longer. He felt utterly numb. Only a sense of nothingness remained with him as he sank deeper into the cold. Faintly, finally, as his thoughts slowed, he might have heard a voice calling his name.
Mom… Tears slipped out of his eyes mixing into the water around him. All-Might…
And with the last of the oxygen left in his lungs, he let out a whimper, and the darkness invaded.
And then he woke up.
He didn't burst up-right from the hospital bed, wide eyed and afraid-no, he didn't remember anything yet. It was like voices. Soft voices, murmuring gently, but then they just keep getting louder and louder and louder until it feels suffocating and they just won't stop and you just want to scream and then: silence.
Clean, empty silence.
That was how he woke up.
Slowly however, Deku realized that the silence wasn't so empty. Someone was breathing. Softly. In, and out. And again. And again. Deku liked that sound, and for a while he matched his breathing with the other breathing. It was good, he felt. It wasn't until the breathing became louder and more awake that Deku realised there was another person there with him.
With heavy eyelids he stared at the person sitting next to him, their blurry head a bright shade of yellow. Izuku blinked the haze from his eyes a few times and kept staring blankly.
Oh. It's All-Might. I wonder what he's doing here… Deku shifted his eyes slowly around the room. White walls, and drop, cloudy sky out the window.
That's not what the view looks like from my room, is it? ...This isn't my room. Wait… What happened?
In just a split second, everything came back. Deku gasped. He felt like his mind had been hit by a truck.
The sound of his pupil's gasp caused All-Might to look up.
"Midoriya-boy! You're awake!" All-Might exclaimed. "You gave us all quite the scare!"
Midoriya laughed weakly. "Sorry… Is that boy okay?"
"The boy…? Oh! Yes!" All-Might sat back and rummaged through his pants pocket for a moment, then pulled out a small envelope. "This is for you."
Deku sat up slowly, grabbed the envelope and opened it.
He was silent as he read it, letting out a shaky breath at the end. Midoriya let the letter rest on his lap and stared at it for a moment.
"Is everything okay, Midoriya my boy? What did the letter say?" All-Might asked, concern painting his face.
Deku nodded. "Everything's alright. It's a thank-you letter from the boy's mother."
"I don't understand… what's wrong?" All-Might leaned in.
A shiver ran up Deku's back, like spiders crawling up his spine.
"It's just…" Izuku breathed in, unsure of what to say. "I know I saved that boy, but I can't help but feeling like I made things worse for everyone." His shoulder sank. He looked out the window at the clouded sky. "I'm not much of a hero if I need saving."
There was silence between Deku and All-Might.
"Midoriya my boy, everyone needs saving. Needing saving doesn't make you any less od a hero, or a person." All-Might spoke softly, watching the boy closely.
Midoriya looked on, watching a bird fly past the window.
"There was one time, I was a little younger than you are now…"
Midoriya turned his head towards All-Might, knowing All-Might never really talked about his childhood. In All-Might's eyes was a look of nostalgia and a smile on his lips. He continued the story.