"Ah... Kacchan..." Izuku smiled, watching as Katsuki walked through the door. Her voice drawled out as she attempted to lift herself up, a happy smile took over her - she couldn't help but hate the hospital. Every single day she'd stare at the white ceiling, or talk to a doctor, or talk to her mom. It was the same thing, over and over.

It felt so constricting.

She enjoyed when Katsuki came over, because his brash attitude brought a welcome change to the stale atmosphere in the room. It didn't help that she couldn't leave her bed either, but at least she got to keep one of her All Might action figures (she'd wanted them all, but the doctors wouldn't allow her).

"Shut up. You're not gonna get any better if you push yourself." His scowl deepened, and he slammed down onto the chair besides her bed, arms crossed. "You tried getting up yesterday. What the fuck were you thinking!?" He asked, the bottled up frustration leading out onto her. She continued to smile in spite of him berating her - she knew that he cared for her.

After all, why else would he come so frequently to visit a useless deku like her?

"Mm, sorry... I was just so bored after... you left." She said, taking breaths in-between words, like it was a taxing effort for her to even speak. Her eyes sparkled for a moment as she noticed something within his hands (how she hadn't noticed when he walked in, she didn't know). "You didn't... have to..." She watched as he slammed a small All Might plush onto the bedside desk.

"Dumbass, who cares if I didn't have to! I already asked the staff, they said you can keep one, one, of these, so don't go asking for more." He bit, turning his head away as he ignored her look of admiration. He hated the way she looked at him - like he was, he was...

Some kind of hero...! But a hero could've done something, so he didn't deserve that title, even though she'd tell him all the time about how she'd thought he would be a great hero.

He couldn't. Remembering how she'd always look at him with admiring eyes - it pissed him off, not at her (never at her, not anymore), but at himself.

Her eyes closed for a minute as she smiled peacefully. "I... know. I just... don't want to be... a bother..." She droned, fingers idly playing with the plush as she stared at Katsuki. He raised an eyebrow as he turned back towards her.

"What? Do I got something on my face, nerd?" He asked, eyes piercing into her own. She couldn't help but stare, the bright, vivid red was a beautiful contrast to the dull whites surrounding her.

"A-Ah... no, sorry." Embarrassed, she clutched the plush into her stomach and watched as he pulled out a notebook labeled 'Hero Analysis #9'. He reached over and placed it on her lap, simultaneously grabbing the bed controls and making it so she would be sitting up.

"I finished your damn notebook again, it's a fucking waste of money. I don't get how you did this all the time." He stated, leaning back into his chair and stretching, letting out a deep yawn. Her smile only continued to widen ever since he'd arrived, and he didn't understand how.

And she called him strong.

Time passed by quietly as she read through the notebook, eventually dozing off into sleep. Katsuki put the bed back to its original position and waited. He sat there for a long time, watching Izuku rest on the bed - she looked almost lifeless except for the odd twitch she made. He hadn't noticed before, but her hair had gotten longer. It was short once, all sat flat atop her head, and now it grew down, almost all the way to her waist.

'She should probably cut it.' He thought to himself, too focused on Izuku to fully notice the other arrival in the room.

"Good afternoon, Katsuki." He turned as he heard the quiet, tired voice, coming face to face with Inko. She'd slimmed, quite a lot, and it wasn't because of excersise - his scowl deepened.

"Auntie Inko." He stated, turning back to watch the sleeping beauty. He mostly ignored the older woman's presence, but today it seemed like she had something to say, if it her twiddling fingers were anything to go by.

"Katsuki... thank you for coming to see my little Izu so often, you have no idea how much it means to her." She stated. His eyebrows rose as he scoffed to himself, wondering where she was going with this. "You know... your about the only thing she ever talks about, well, other than All Might!" She quietly laughs to herself as she reached for Izuku's hand. "Whenever I walk into this room after a day of work, and there hasn't been anyone to visit her, she just isn't the same. Her eyes lose the spark that they normally do, and she stares off into the outside world." Her hand begins to grip slightly, as something begins to well up in her eyes. Before she could continue, Katsuki interrupts.

"Hah. I know. After all, we're the only people she can talk to, and the only people she can vent to. It'd fucking suck, but despite that she still stays strong, even if it's just for the peace of mind for those around her." Something both he, Inko, and anyone who had known Izuku before agreed with, was that she was an amazing person. Abruptly he stands up, grabbing his bag and hooking it over his shoulder.

"You don't need to thank me, actually, just stop thanking me. If I'd been doing this for thanks..." He begins, looking back towards the sleeping Izuku, a soft glow emanating around her body as the afternoon light seeps in. "I would've been able to save her with a smile on her face." He ends, leaving the hospital. He breathed out a breath of frigid air and the scowl placed itself back on his face.

Katsuki realised it was cold outside.

He hated it, just like he did himself.