A/N: HECK! HECKIN,,,, DID NOT CROSS UPDATE! No author's notes for the next 13 chapters because ya gal hecked it and didn't update simultaneously with AO3. Sorry

Field Medicine wasn't her idea of a great time. In fact, it wasn't what she planned on doing at all. But Inko knew she was at a slight disadvantage. She was here to make up for it.

"Move those keisters, kids!" Recovery Girl sat under an umbrella, relaxing as the special elective students ran the obstacle course. It wasn't the traditional training environment, but it was a stroke of genius that made Inko appreciate the wisdom behind the motherly disposition. When the Hero classes finished destroying something, and before the cleanup crews were slotted to make repairs, Recovery Girl's after-school electives course hit the ground running.

Inko hadn't gotten used to the weighted backpack quickly. It was a hard journey, uphill every step. But, she knew she wanted an edge. There was only so much she could do with her quirk. What she needed more than anything else was experience. There was no better way to get that experience than putting in the extra hours. This would pay off.

She hit the wall just after Hidemi, and crouched to make an improvised foothold with her hands. "No rules against teamwork."

They were both dripping sweat, soaked in their athletic uniforms and exhausted from carrying the 'medical kits' all around the empty warzone. Most of the students who signed up for this had designs on med school, or the quirks to facilitate a fast-pass into the medical industry. The pair trying to vault the toppled mass of concrete and rebar had neither.

"I'll pull you up after." Hidemi took a deep breath and used Inko's hands to reach the top of the obstacle. She paused, caught her breath, and leaned down to give Inko a hand up. "Use that crack in the middle to push yourself up. It'll hold."

Inko nodded her thanks and took the offered hand. They were getting close to the finish line. She was pretty sure the kid with the stretchy legs had already finished, but it wasn't about timing, she was almost certain. Of course they had to be fast, but they also had to think and be ready to handle anything the course threw at them.

"Injured civilian, ladies, get moving!"

The megaphone had become the bane of their existence, but Recovery Girl could leave it be and not tell them about things like this. Let them blunder their way through without giving them a heads up about the challenges that lie ahead.

"I wonder who she got for extra credit now?" Hidemi led the way off the other side of the concrete barrier. She waited for Inko to shop down. Better they both left together than some accident happen while either of their back were turned. The first day on the 'improvised course', a girl got her foot caught in a crack in the foundation without anyone seeing. They had to send in an actual rescue party after two hours.

"Could be anyone." Inko dusted off her shirt and started forward. They would have to diagnose and treat whichever injuries their civilian had acquired. Mostly it involved red paint and the correct first-aid technique, but Recovery Girl would occasionally throw in a few curveballs.

The pair rounded the corner in the marked off course and found their patient.

"Ladies."

"Kyou, you have perfect grades."

He grinned, laying on the ground before them in a costume covered in red paint. "Perfect grades and something terribly wrong with my leg. Oh dear, I seem to be in need of medical-"

"Quit chatting! The clock is ticking!"

Inko bent down to get a look at the paint marker. It wasn't haphazardly thrown on like something in a theatre production, but carefully applied to simulate and very real and very specific type of injury.

"Looks like something fell on you, Mister Civilian." Hidemi opened her kit and got out the obnoxious orange bandage they used to be able to mark a treated injury.

"Let's check for any particles in the wound." Inko carefully searched around the fabric for any black tape, rhinestones, or the usual odds and ends that got stuck on to remind them to check the injury site. Clear. She pulled out the can of aerosol food coloring anyway. "Better safe than sorry."

In this part of training, it was important to have the procedure down. That was what Recovery Girl drilled primarily- procedure. None of this was real medicine, and none would hold up in a real situation, but she never stopped reminding them the importance of the basics.

"I hate this stuff." Kyou complained. "Never scrubs off my skin easy."

"Better that than an infection, pal." Hidemi unrolled the brightly dyed bandage and started making sure she properly bound the injury. It would be checked.

Inko, meanwhile, got to her feet and surveyed the rest of the terrain. Odds are, they'd have to carry him to the finish line.

"Hey take it easy! I'm not really bleeding here!"

If it weren't for Recovery Girl's eagle eye, she'd be tempted to leave him. Inko make a full turn, then half a turn again before spotting what she was after: One of the kids in 1-B had a quirk that let her melt through inorganic matter. There was a suspiciously clean hole in the rubble dead ahead.

"I found the way to the finish line!" Inko pointed towards their escape route before returning to Kyou's side. "Are you in any condition to crawl a short distance, sir?"

Kyou blinked before recalling the response. "Only a few meters. I'm in terrible pain and I don't think I have the energy for that kind of trip."

Hidemi nodded to Inko. "You ready?"

"Ready!"

"Alright!" Hidemi clapped. "Sir, we are going to carry you to safety. Please alert us to any pain or changes to your injury!"

She was getting into it. Kyou saluted, equally enthused by the exercise. "Yes ma'am! Let's get this show on the road!"

Inko and Hidemi made a seat for him out of their arms, adjusting so that his weight was distributed evenly between them. Then it was a less than easy journey to their classmate's workaround solution.

"I'll go through first." Inko sized up the escape route and started to climb through. "Mister civilian," she bit back a giggle, "if you would follow me. Hidemi, you bring up the rear."

All in all, it was a fairly painless journey the rest of the way through. The pair of Medics in training managed to get their 'patient' across the line in a reasonable amount of time. Of course, the fun didn't stop there.

"Kawakami and Yokomizo!" There was an upperclassman, a girl with white pink hair drawn up into a wide bun, waiting to give them their score. She clicked her stopwatch. "15 minutes, 49 seconds! Not a bad time, all things considered." She jotted down the time and made another note. "Of course, small talk with a patient can be commendable, but in this circumstance the objective is to complete the course in a manner that saves time rather than prioritizes-"

Recovery Girl chose that moment to holler at them. "Mizushima! Give them their report and let them be on their way. It's nearly dark!"

Mizushima actually blushed. Inko didn't mind the long-winded reports the older girl gave, since they were intended to be helpful. She knew it irked some of the other kids in this elective course. But, at the end of the day, Mizushima in 2-A was Recovery Girl's top student by a long shot. What she had to say did carry some weight.

"You passed. If I'm going to be quick, exemplary work. You did not sacrifice ethics for speed, though in the future consider streamlining your patient chatter."

Inko, Hidemi, and Kyou were free to go. Mizushima stamped his credit slip and they were all on their way.

Hidemi stretched her arms over her head as they walked. "At what point do you stop being sore? How many muscles do you have to have to just feel good all the time after a workout?"

"Yeah, that doesn't ever stop." Kyou took the opportunity to flex. "I'm in peak physical condition and I find it still hurts to be this good look-"

"I know a few stretches my mom used to do." Inko took the same opportunity to interrupt. "She was a body builder for a little while in college, and I'm sure she's got some advice that can help you." In fact, Inko's mom was already helping her with basic stretches, toning workouts, and general fitness tips. Inko was no muscle-strapped superstar, but she didn't feel so bad after exercises she used to consider grueling.

"That sounds like a great idea." Hidemi was nearly doubled over trying to ease out the tension in her shoulders. "I could sure use some sage advice. Until then I think I might just sleep? How does a week sound, because I think that ought to do it."

Inko stopped herself from making the comment about 'too much sleep being bad for you in the long run', because as much as she loved and cherished her friends, she knew when to keep helpfully-meant comments like that to herself. Hidemi didn't like hearing on-the-spot advice when all she really wanted to do was make a joke. Kyou didn't appreciate people trying to shoot holes in an idea he meant genuinely, and Kyoshi wanted people to react to his dry quips instead of taking them at face value.

It was little things. Little things about people taught you so much about their personalities. And Inko took the time to watch. When Mizushima launched into a long-winded lecture about a certain topic, it meant she thought it was important. Inko wanted to learn, but she also wanted to thank her upperclassman for all of the hard work she put into helping them learn. So she listened. She listened and sometimes asked questions.

Not only did it help other people feel comfortable and smooth conversations along, but it let them know you cared. This was something she could apply to her personal and professional life. What better way to make patients feel at ease than to learn their ways and adapt to them? That was what her training- her education even- was all about: learning to adapt. As long as she had her quirk and worked on it, she had hope.

She and her friends parted ways. At home, her mother told her she had a voicemail from one of her friends. Inko rewound the tape, and listened with some degree of excitement. She sat for the last couple seconds of her neighbor's call a few days ago, and then it started.

"Hey Inko, it's Kyoshi. Hachi wanted to know if we could get together for another history study session. He said his neighbor and a few other kids from school were in. I think it might be a good chance to work on the math too. Never waste a study session, right? Anyway. Please call me back at your earliest convenience and we can make plans. Thanks."

Huh. She stopped the tape and fiddled with the spiral cord. Another study session. Hachi was nice, but she did wonder if it would devolve into another party like the Sports Festival session did. Of course, if Kyoshi was calling her directly, there must be some merit to it. He was pretty serious when it came to studying. Not one to goof off or wait until the last minute for anything.

Alright. Inko determined to clear things with her mother and brush up on her names and dates. It was time to get serious!