Sunlight streamed through the small gap in the blinds, drawing a thin line of optic pain directly over the invisible girl's eyes. Tooru rolled onto her side with a groan, pulling the pillow over her head to escape the lumenous assault.
The only issue with this was that now she could see her alarm clock.
A yelp reverberated through the room as sheets, covers, and a plush dog were thrown aside as Tooru sprinted to the bathroom. 'No, nonono I can't be late again!' In record time she had shed her sleepwear and started the shower, opting to brush her teeth simultaneously.
Her short hair was still damp as she rushed to the kitchen, packing a quick to-go breakfast and lunch, then shouting "gottagototrainingbebacklaterbye" before sprinting out the front door. Her pace didn't slow until she arrived at her train, barely making it before the doors closed behind her.
To her good fortune, there were very few people riding the train today, so she had plenty of room to collapse in a seat and eat her breakfast.
Thirty minutes later, the train gently came to a stop. Tooru realized she'd nearly fallen back to sleep after finishing her sandwich, so she made sure to grab a small cup of coffee at the small cafe before leaving the station behind.
The walk to her trainer's gym was a pleasant one as usual. Open streets lined with trees allowed copious amounts of sunlight through, yet provided adequate shade to escape the summer heat. With the clearness of the day, Tooru couldn't help but be in a good mood as she made her way down the sidewalk.
"Good morning, Ms. Fushiki," she called, pushing open the door of the small gym, the bell on the door tinkling lightly.
The woman in question looked up from the small table in the back corner, brushing a strand of bright red hair out of her face and giving Tooru a bright smile. "Well if it isn't my favorite student. You were almost late again."
The invisible girl felt herself flush. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I promise I learned my lesson from last time." She bowed as a sign of sincerity, making her teacher laugh.
"I know you did," Ms. Fushiki replied, waving off the unnecessary apology. "Now go ahead and change into your suit. We need to get going as soon as possible."
This caused Tooru to pause as she stuffed her bag into one of the lockers along the back wall. "We're not training here?"
The smile on Ms. Fushiki's face did nothing to help the invisible girl's nervousness. "Nope. Today we are going to do a field test. See how well you can apply what I've taught you so far."
The walls of the near-empty waiting room seemed to amplify everything around them. The
ticking of the clock, the creaking of chairs whenever someone shifted. Even his breathing seemed louder than usual in the enclosed space.
"Midoriya?" a voice called from the now open doorway across the room. "You can come on back now."
Mother and son made their way across the waiting room, Izuku's hand resting on his mom's arm to make sure he didn't run into anything. Passing through the door, they followed the nurse a short distance before arriving at the designated observation room.
"Ok, so today is going to be a little different," the nurse said, her smile very evident in her voice. "I'm going to take your vitals really quick, just like normal. However, Dr. Hashimoto is running a little behind right now, so we'll be taking your MRI as soon as we finish with the vitals here." Izuku nodded in understanding, and after a minute or two he was following the nurse down the hallway to the MRI room.
The nurse handed him a standard hospital gown, ushering him into the nearby bathroom so he could change in private. Locking the door behind him, Izuku sighed, taking a deep breath before shedding his clothing. "I wonder if they'll find anything new. Last time we couldn't stay around for the scan results, so maybe there's been a change? Maybe I'm getting better…" His hopeful muttering continued through the entire changing process and even back into the hallway, only stopping when the nurse rested her hand on his shoulder and led him into the scanning room.
"You know the drill, just lie as still as you can."
He knew his mom was laughing silently at him as he bounced up and down in his chair, but he couldn't help it. He was just too excited.
"Well, well, well," a deep voice filled the room as the door opened. "Glad you were able to stay for the results this time." Izuku's bouncing slowed until it was barely noticeable, but the smile on his face only grew. Dr. Hashimoto was obviously excited as well, but he did his best to contain it as he attached the images from the scan to the light board on the wall.
The doctor pulled out his stool and took a seat, facing the family. "As you know, over these past few years, we've been monitoring Izuku's brain activity and development. His initial accident at the age of 4 left him with significant damage to his visual cortex, resulting in his current blindness." The boy's smile diminished slightly, but his excitement did not. "We told you before how this could possibly result in a phenomenon called 'Blindsight,' where his eyes are still functioning but his brain isn't able to create a true image." Inko nodded, remembering the conversations of that day.
Dr. Hashimoto stood, pointing out a few spots on the MRI images, explaining how they had requested to continue monitoring Izuku's brain development. The amount of damage he'd sustained made his "version" of blindsight a rather unique case.
"Recently, however, we've noticed something very odd." This caught Izuku's ear, causing him to still and turn all his attention to the man. "While his visual cortex is still mostly destroyed, his brain seems to have been…adjusting." He felt his mom shift next to him, obviously wanting to say something. "It seems that in the past few years, his somatosensory and auditory cortices have expanded and joined with some of the visual pathways that were still intact."
Inko's voice cut in, sounding slightly confused. "So, what does all this mean exactly?" Izuku nodded along, equally curious.
The doctor sighed. "We can't say for certain. As far as I'm aware, this has never happened before." The green-haired boy felt an odd sense of pride at that, knowing he was unique in at least one way. "Our best guess is that his brain is trying to turn sound and touch into sight."
Izuku felt his breath caught in his throat. "You mean…" Tears welled in his eyes. "You mean I…"
"It'd take practice, and probably a lot of patience," the doctor's smile filled his voice, "but I'm fairly certain you could learn to see in your own way."
Nothing could stop Izuku from crying at those words.
"Well, Hagakure, I have to say I'm impressed."
Training hadn't been nearly as intensive as Tooru had feared. Sure it was difficult, and resulted in a few close calls ("I almost had a book shoved into my crotch. Can we please leave the library now?"), but all in all she felt really good about her performance. "Well, I have been learning from the best."
Ms. Fushiki smiled and ruffled the invisible girl's hair. "Helps that you're such a fast learner. Hopefully you can keep it up when we get more into hand-to-hand."
Their small talk continued until the pair reached the gym. Tooru quickly changed into her regular clothes, bowed to her teacher, and stepped back out onto the sidewalk.
The sun was getting lower in the sky, allowing the day to cool off somewhat. The girl took a deep breath of the summer air, smiling to herself as she stretched out a bit of her soreness before making her way to the train station.
As she neared, her eyes landed on a familiar face, complete with wild green hair and freckles.
"Midoriya!"
The boy turned, as if looking for the source of the voice. "H-Hagakure?" he asked.
"Who, Izuku?" Tooru paused, finally noticing the short green-haired woman next to her new friend.
"O-oh. Mom, this is my friend, Hagakure," Izuku explained, gesturing towards the girl. "She helped me find my phone a few days ago when I left it at the park on accident."
Tooru couldn't help but smile, bouncing slightly. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Midoriya."
Izuku's mom smiled in return. "Oh just call me Inko, dear." The lady extended her hand, which Tooru took. "Izuku's told me a bit about you."
"Only the bad parts," Izuku explained with a smirk, making the girl giggle.
"We're just heading home for dinner," Inko explained, grabbing the girl's attention. "We'd love for you to join us if you want."
Tooru froze briefly, seeing Izuku do the same. "Umm… I-I'm not sure…" She fidgeted nervously. "I'd have to check with my parents."
The older woman nodded understandingly. "Of course, dear. Our train won't be here for a little while yet."
Reaching into her pocket, the invisible girl pulled out her phone and took a few steps away from the boy and his mother. With a few swipes and taps, she held the device to her ear, listening to the dial tone.
No answer.
Nothing new.
"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad. It's me. I'm going to be having dinner at a friend's house tonight. I'll be sure to be home before it gets too late." With a sigh, she hung up and pocketed her phone, turning back to the Midoiyas.
Izuku heard her approach and quickly stopped muttering, a small flush present on his face. Inko simply smiled expectantly, not quite making eye contact.
"They said it'd be fine, just as long as I'm not out too late," Tooru said, doing her best to sound cheerful.
Inko's smile brightened. "That's wonderful. We're so happy you could join us."
The girl smiled sadly. "As am I."