Izuku had been standing in front of the door to Uraraka's room for the past 5 minutes, hand still raised to knock. He had tried both calling and texting her, but she hadn't replied even once. Asking Iida and their other classmates led to him finding out that she had been absent that day due to being at her internship. Izuku faintly recalled her telling him she was going to Ryukyu's office the last time they had spoken.

He didn't know what had happened during her day, but he hoped she was alright. Izuku had been worried that her sleep deprived state would hinder her usual performance and lead to mistakes, but Uraraka was careful with herself. She wouldn't let her fatigue get in the way of her duties.

Still, it was unlike the brunette to not answer his texts when she was free. She could, of course, be asleep. Izuku had considered that possibility as well, and if that was the case he would feel horrible for waking her up when she was finally able to rest. For these reasons, the aspiring hero was still standing outside, trying to decide whether or not to knock on the door.

In the end Izuku decided to leave her alone. She might have needed some time for herself since she was keeping her distance or she was taking a nap. With that in mind Izuku returned to the 1st floor where he was supposed to meet his group for their first time cooking together. He had been a little nervous at the prospect, but a part of him was also somewhat excited. He generally liked cooking, but he hadn't cooked with anyone other than his mom before.

Thinking about his mom brought a smile to Izuku's face. She had been so excited when she heard about class A's students cooking for each other and she had greatly encouraged it. She had even offered her assistance if need be. The thought of Inko teaching his classmates the proper way to cut vegetables made him chuckle.

"Ah, there he is! Midoriya, hurry!" Kirishima's voice cut through to him and Izuku looked over to see his hot-blooded friend wearing an apron and waving at him from the kitchen area.

Behind Kirishima were Asui and Todoroki, both wearing identical aprons to the one on the redhead. The hybrid quirk user was pulling uncomfortably at the fabric, examining it. Asui on the other hand looked like it was the most natural thing in the world to be wearing. Izuku could see the fourth apron, which was obviously meant for him, lying on top of the counter and he walked over and started putting it on.

"I'm here. What are we making?" The freckled boy took his place beside Todoroki and looked at the menu. It included rice, fish, steamed vegetables and egg rolls among others. Izuku knew how to cook rice and steam vegetables, but didn't have much experience with seafood.

"I only know how to make rice." Todoroki spoke up beside him, picking up a large knife and testing his grip. Izuku gently took away the knife, not trusting him to wield anything that sharp.

"You don't need a knife to make rice, Todoroki-kun." He sweat-dropped. What kind of rice had he been making before? Suddenly, Izuku feared for everyone's safety.


"Midoriya-chan." Asui had been quiet for a few minutes while working on the soup. Izuku, whose concentration had been solely on chopping vegetable, looked up.

"Yes? Am I cutting the pieces too large?" Izuku remembered his mother saying something about always cutting food into smaller pieces, so maybe his knife wielding skills needed work.

"No, they're fine. It's about Ochaco-chan." The frog-girl glanced at him and returned her attention to stirring the pot with broth.

She motioned for Izuku to add the vegetables, which he did while he waited for her to elaborate. Behind them Kirishima and Todoroki were busy handling the rice and other side dishes, so they weren't paying attention to the conversation between Asui and Izuku.

"Is she okay? She hasn't been answering my texts." He finally asked. His mind had wandered back to Uraraka a few more times while he had been with the others and Izuku hoped she was coming down to eat dinner with everyone else.

"Something happened today while we were on patrol. We got split up and Ochaco-chan was ambushed by a villain with a venom quirk. She subdued him, but he managed to poison her. The venom did something to her. She hasn't been herself for the past few days, but after the attack, she completely shut down. They extracted most of the venom and told her to rest for a few days." Asui had lowered her voice so only Izuku could hear her and she was still looking down into the pot of soup.

"Ochaco-chan puts on a brave face all the time and doesn't burden others with her feelings, but for a few days I can tell she's had lots on her mind. I think she is suffering right now." When she met Izuku's eyes, he could see concern for Uraraka as well as an unspoken plea for help.

"I know." Izuku steeled himself and made a decision. Asui couldn't help Uraraka by herself, so she was asking him for help, but did she know about the brunette's mental health beforehand? Even if she did they needed Uraraka to open up and rely on them, otherwise her guilt and anguish would eat her alive.


Izuku found himself standing in front of Uraraka's door for the second time that evening. This time, however, he was carrying a tray with several covered dishes and some fruits. He had texted the brunette earlier that he was bringing her dinner, and although she hadn't replied to him, Izuku was certain she had seen his message.

"Uraraka-san, I brought you dinner." He called out to her. He didn't expect her to get the door, so he waited for a few moments before announcing he was coming in. It was unlocked.

"Uraraka-san? Are you awake?" Izuku asked, slowly stepping into her room. It felt different from the last time he had been there. The air was thick inside and the curtains were drawn so no sunlight – however little was left outside – was making its way in. None of the lamps were on, so Izuku's eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the dimness.

He carefully stepped forward and placed the tray on top of her table and moved further in until he was standing next to her bed. Uraraka was currently a lump hidden under her blankets. Izuku could tell she was facing the wall from the way her body was curled up. Her breathing was normal, so she probably wasn't asleep.

"I'm not hungry…" Her voice had been so low that Izuku almost missed it. Luckily, he was standing close enough to her that he heard her speak.

"You need to eat something." Izuku insisted. When she stopped replying, he turned around and sat down on the floor in front of the bed, leaning his back against its frame. He wasn't sure when she had last eaten and he wasn't leaving until she had emptied the tray.

"Asui-san told me what happened. She's very worried about you. So are the others." Izuku's eyes roamed over the few picture frames she had placed on top of her dresser. She also had some succulents next to the frames and he had to wonder if they were real or not.

"Uraraka-san, we are your friends. You are supposed to tell us when you are bothered by something and it is our job to help you." Izuku leaned his head back a little and looked up at the ceiling. It was hard to have a conversation when he was the only one participating in it.

"…I don't want to bother anyone." Her reply was muffled by her blanket, but it reached him nonetheless.

"You are too hard on yourself. No one is bothered by you." Izuku chuckled. He came prepared to fight her stubbornness, but he couldn't help but smile at how predictable the situation was. Asui had already warned him that the brunette would insist she was fine, but the frog-girl didn't know of Uraraka's promise to him about asking for help. It sounded like Uraraka herself also had forgotten it.

"If you don't want to talk about it, will you at least eat something? Please?" He turned his head slightly and waited for her to move or say something. Maybe he would have to force-feed her? But it would become an extraordinary challenge if she made him or the food float. Izuku opted for her to feed herself.

The sound of shuffling from behind him told him that she was about to get up. The green-haired teen leaned over and pulled the small table closer so she would have an easier time reaching the food. Uraraka slowly sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Did you make this?" Her voice was a little raspy and she seemed a little shaky in her movements. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself before reaching over.

"Yes, together with Asui-san, Kirishima-kun and Todoroki-kun." He smiled a little. Uraraka still hadn't looked directly at him. Her hands shook a little and her breathing sounded a little off.

"Can you help me down on the floor?" She asked after a moment of silence. Izuku could see how it would be easier to eat when she was sitting down and he quickly agreed. Grabbing a cushion, he placed it right in front of her and got up to help her. He placed one arm behind her back and the other took her hands as he eased her off the bed and onto the floor. Uraraka's legs wobbled as she tried sitting down and she gripped onto Izuku for dear life.

When she finally met his eyes, Izuku felt like punching something at 100%. More specifically, he felt like punching the villain that ambushed her and anyone else that caused her trauma. Her face was as white as a sheet and her eyes looked hollow. He noticed the tiny cuts and bruises that were scattered across her skin, how chapped her lips were and how she kept closing her eyes in concentration when she moved too much. Maybe she had overused her quirk and was feeling nauseous on top of everything, but he didn't ask.

'Well, she did get poisoned. Maybe that's causing her nausea.' Izuku thought dryly. She was probably drained for energy and for a moment he considered offering to hold the bowl for her, but when she finally settled down and picked up the soup bowl without spilling any, he changed his mind.

Izuku knew how much Uraraka hated feeling weak and wanting to everything by herself, so he didn't want her to think he was taking pity on her. If she asked for his help, he would gladly help her – heck, he would even feed her – but she seemed to be doing fine so far.

Ochaco took a few spoonfuls and sighed in content, the soup was warming her up. The feeling of warmth in her body made her realize just how hungry she was! That and also the growl from her stomach that followed the soup. The brunette tentatively bit into the chopped up vegetable and chewed slowly.

"It's good." She told him over another spoonful. She finally ventured out into more solid food and took a bite of the egg rolls Kirishima had cooked. They had finely chopped onions, carrots and spring onions in them, so they were fairly standard, but they were still delicious.

"Kirishima-kun is actually very skilled in the kitchen. He's very creative and also good at preparing ingredients beforehand." Midoriya told her. For some reason, Ochaco believed it. She could just imagine Kirishima being bored and testing out recipes for fun.

"What did you make?" She asked as she took a sip of water to wash down the eggs.

"Soup with Asui-san. It was actually her that did most of the cooking, the guys just assisted her. Oh, and Kirishima-kun and I tried to keep Todoroki-kun out of trouble." The freckled boy laughed. Ochaco wondered what had happened since the best student in their class needed to be kept in check.

"Tsuyu-chan is used to cooking for her siblings, so it was probably just routine for her." Ochaco had started on the fish and was feeling a little better. She didn't miss the worried glances Midoriya sent her when she struggled with swallowing right away or when she had to breathe deeply before continuing.

She was still taking it slow and chewing for longer than was probably necessary, but she didn't want Deku to leave just yet. Not that she thought he would actually leave as soon as she finished eating; no he was too much of a sweetheart to do that. He would likely stay until she asked him to leave. That was just the type of person he was. Ochaco still felt bad about not answering his text messages.

"I'm sorry for not replying earlier." She glanced at him before finishing off the rice, which had an unusual texture to it. It wasn't bad, but it felt a little too stiff and sticky. Done with her meal, Ochaco thanked him for the food and pushed back the tray.

"It's okay. I figured you were probably sleeping." He replied gently and smiled a little. His eyes were still filled with worry, but his shoulders weren't as tense as they had been minutes ago.

"I tried to… but I kept waking up every few minutes." Ochaco didn't want to admit it, but she had been afraid to fall asleep. The venom hadn't just affected her body, it had done something to her brain too. At least, it felt like it.

"Nightmare?" He lowered his voice even though they were alone. The brunette was surprised at the hesitation she felt from him before he asked. He was always being so considerate of her and constantly worrying about her, Ochaco felt like she had to be honest with him.

"Did Tsuyu-chan tell you about the patrol?" She asked slowly and when he nodded, she swallowed thickly before continuing. She wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell him, but she couldn't just keep everything to herself. Not when she had promised him to rely on him.

"After we got split up, I tracked one of the villains. He shot out poison like Mina does acid. Anyway, I managed to isolate him on a smaller street and I used the moves Gunhead taught me, but he… He was smart. He managed to graze me with his poison, while I used whatever objects and trash was lying on the street to knock him out." Ochaco shuddered and her hand went up to her upper arm where she had been grazed. The bandage covered her corroded skin and it was hidden under her shirt.

"The poison had a few seconds delay before the effect kicked in, but it made my knees buckle. I vomited and broke into cold sweat, I think. It just became hazy. I remember thinking I had to bind him while he was down, but I couldn't move. And then I started hallucinating. It was horrible. I would see blood flooding into the streets… then you guys would emerge from the blood… and… you were all trying to k-kill me. When the others found me, they told me quirk had gone into overdrive and I made so many objects float that I passed out." Talking so much made Ochaco feel out of breath. She looked at Midoriya and he looked like his jaw was set in stone. His knuckles had turned white from clenching his hands so tightly, and she was worried he would draw blood.

"What happened then?" He gritted out through clenched teeth. Ochaco didn't dare lie, but now came the hardest part. She had to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat before she could continue.

"They… captured him and then they saw my arm. The paramedics that had been called started extracting the poison, but it looked like it had… disappeared? They could only find traces of it in my body. The hallucinations hadn't stopped at that point, so I… attacked them. Luckily, I didn't hurt anyone, but they had to knock me out with sedatives." Tears had formed in the corners of her eyes as she continued.

"I woke up in the hospital with Ryukyu and some doctors next to me. They'd been doing some tests… The poison had more of a drug-like effect and it made me completely delusional for a while. When I came to, they made me so some physical tests to check… for damage… and I still can't use my quirk…" She hiccupped and the tears started streaming down her face.

"You can't… use your quirk?" Midoriya breathed in disbelief. Ochaco threw herself at him, sobbing.


A/N: The fic is set some time before the whole Eri thing. Again, thank you so much for your support! You reviews make me so so happy!