Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida
32. Rebuilding
Why do we fall sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.
-Alfred Pennyworth, Batman Begins
True to his mother's word, Izuku's room had been set up nearly exactly how it had been at home, with shelves of circuit boards and wiring, a worktable and narrow bed, a bookshelf with textbooks and reference materials, and a small dresser for his clothes and various small knick knacks.
Inko visited for a short time, but seeing that Izuku was already exhausted, she let him be after he assured her he would be fine. He'd just sat down on his bed, realizing he had no idea how he was going to undress himself. The nurse at the hospital had helped him earlier, and Shinso had helped Izuku into his costume. He was just about to give up and lay down dressed when there was a knock at the door.
"It's open," Izuku called.
Mr. Hatsume slid the door open, looking around. He spied Izuku and smiled. "Mind if we talk for a moment, son?"
"No please, have a seat," Izuku said, trying to stand up.
"Relax son, take it easy. You still look as beat to crap as you did back in the hospital," Mr. Hatsume told him. He and the rest of the Hatsume family had visited Izuku a few times, though their visits had been necessarily brief.
"First, I can't thank you enough again for what you've done for Mei," Mr. Hatsume said, easing his bulk into the chair. He fiddled with his ball cap, looking around the small room nervously.
"I told you already, I was happy to do it. And Mr. Hatsume? It was worth it."
"I told you to call me dad or Shu," he growled, though it was a friendly tone. "Anyone who saves the life of my baby girl has more than earned that, and you've been family for a long time now son."
"Thanks...dad," Izuku said, blushing and looking down.
"You heard from Mr. Midoriya?" Shu asked quietly.
Izuku nodded. "We talked on the phone for a little bit. It was...awkward. He said if I needed anything to let him know, but…"
"But what you need is a hand, literally, and he ain't here."
Izuku could only nod, feeling his throat tighten slightly. They sat in silence for a long minute, the only sound that of Shu rubbing the fabric on his cap. At last, he spoke up again. "Look, Izuku, the truth is, I am here to offer you a hand. Whatever you need. I don't know if I can ever replace that arm you lost, but you'll be taken care of, looked after. The Hatsume family owes you a great debt."
That made Izuku smile. "I appreciate it, but I think I'll manage on my own. I um, am having some trouble with this zipper. If...if you could help me out of the costume..?"
"Oh, right, of course. Here." Gently, Mr. Hatsume helped Izuku undress, then change into more comfortable clothes. It was awkward and strange, but Izuku realized that he was going to have to learn how to operate with one hand, and that for at least a short time he'd need a lot of extra help, especially as he'd previously been right handed.
"I know it will be kinda weird, but Hari's here to help if you need it," Shu told Izuku once they'd managed to get him changed. "And Mei too. It might embarrass you, but I don't think Mei really cares one way or the other about people being naked. We had a hell of a time getting her to wear clothes when she was really little, and she kept getting in trouble in kindergarten for...well, that's a story for another time."
"Um, thanks. I...I'm going to need a lot of help until I figure this out," Izuku agreed.
"Yeah. You still set on being a hero?" Shu asked.
Izuku nodded firmly. "More than ever."
"Well, if anyone can do it, you can, son. Hell, you were the first quirkless hero, maybe you'll be the first one armed one too. But anyway, they're having the other kids head over to the mess hall to eat. You feel up to that?" Shu asked. Izuku decided not to mention Fullmetal, Shanks, or any of the other pros who had operated without both arms, taking the kind sentiment for what it was.
"No, I think I need to lie down for a bit," Izuku said. "Thanks for the help. I...I will talk to Hari and Mei, and maybe some of the other boys. At least until I figure out how to get things done one handed."
"Of course," Shu stood, putting his cap back on his head. "Well, you get some rest. I'll make sure they feed you something when you wake up."
Izuku dozed off for a few hours, and when he woke he slowly drifted up out of consciousness, feeling groggy. He nearly went back to sleep, as a soothing humming filled his ears. Then he cracked his eyes open, realizing who had to be the source of the tuneless sound. Sure enough, Mei was sitting at his workbench, tinkering with something and humming to herself.
Izuku smiled, feeling at peace. He stirred, and Mei looked up. "Hey, you're awake! Great! I need to get your measurements."
"My measurements?" Izuku asked.
"Yep!" Mei sprang onto Izuku's bed, and began feeling his arm.
The sudden proximity to her brought Izuku fully awake, in more ways than one. "Mei! What are you doing?"
"I told you, getting your measurements. Hmm, now the other one." Mei began to feel and prod at Izuku's stump, until he let out a yelp of pain. "Oh! Sorry, sorry, here, I'll be gentle."
"Mei, why do you need to feel my arms?" Izuku asked, feeling puzzled.
"So I can make you a new one of course! This time, with a flamethrower. I believe they are very practical."
Izuku's heart skipped a beat. "A new arm?"
"Yep! You bet!" Mei pointed to Izuku's table, and on it he saw the basic frame of a human arm, though in metal and wires instead of in flesh and blood. "It should only take me a few days! I'm adapting the neural interface you made for the Power Suit."
"That would be incredible," Izuku said, struggling into a sitting position. Then he blushed. "But, um, actually, I need your help in a different way right now."
"Ok, what's that?"
"I, er, I need to use the bathroom."
True to her father's prediction, Mei was rather blaise about helping Izuku to the nearest shared bathroom. He did manage to unbutton his pants on his own and rebutton after, but it took a lot of fumbling and struggling to do it, the fingers of Izuku's left hand clumsy and unsure of their role. Mei waited patiently though, and took Izuku back to his room, where she happily produced two take out boxes.
"Dad told me to make sure you ate! And also me, so this time I did remember!"
"Thanks," Izuku said gratefully. And quickly discovered that he had no idea how to use chopsticks left handed. He ended up managing, arduously scooping the rice up or spearing the chicken and vegetables. He probably could have just used his hand to eat and Mei wouldn't have cared, but the idea of neatness was important to Izuku.
After that, Izuku tried to help Mei with the arm, but found he couldn't do much of anything aside from offer advice, which quickly frustrated both him and Mei. He ended up simply going back to bed, dozing off to more of Mei's humming.
The next few days Izuku spent a great deal of time sleeping and resting, with short intervals of working with Mei in his room. Recovery Girl came by once or twice a day to see to his wounds, and soon enough he was fully recovered, at least as much as he could be considering he was now short an arm.
There were twenty one students in the 1A dorms, with Hari and Mei sharing a room, and the rest of the students from the Kamino Incident on various floors. To few people's surprise, Mineta had dropped out, transferring to the Hero Course at another school. No one seemed upset at the news.
Akai on the other hand, would be missed, but following her extensive injuries from the Training Camp attack her parents had withdrawn her. She would end up missing an entire year of school, as one of her lungs had been damaged and her spine injured. Frankly, Izuku was shocked his mother hadn't tried to do the same thing, even with all the letters.
What he did start was physical therapy, for several hours a day. He had to re-learn how to do nearly everything, from writing to eating to dressing himself. Mei was working on an artificial limb for him, but it was turning out to be far more complicated than either of them had anticipated. For one thing, they had to wait for the limb to fully heal, which even with Recovery Girl's help had only just happened. Izuku's arm had been amputated only inches below the shoulder, and there wasn't much tissue left to build an arm from.
"Frankly you're going to be lucky to get much use out of any prosthetic for a good long while," the therapist informed him. "Honestly I think you should consider dropping out of the Hero Program, until you fully recover."
Izuku seriously pondered not bothering with physical therapy anymore after that, but decided that while he wasn't about to listen to that kind of advice, he did need help learning how to get through life with only one arm, at least for the time being.
That week, other students started to filter back in to fill up the other dorms, as apparently UA had fully converted to a boarding school. Izuku didn't worry about that much, instead focusing on his training and recovery.
Shinso came by his room at least once a day, and did manage to drag Izuku back to his own room a few times for some video game sessions. He had several consoles hooked up to a small TV across from a futon, and a wide variety of games. While it was a serious struggle for Izuku to figure out how to use a controller one handed, his natural level of competitiveness and Shinso's own refusal to go easy on him got Izuku to quickly adapt to it.
The most surprising thing was that Shinso infrequently managed to convince Bakugo to join them for a round of games. Izuku was at least a little surprised to find out that Bakugo was downright terrible at video games in general, apparently having played very little of them growing up. He never stayed for more than a few games, quickly growing frustrated as he always lost to Shinso, and even occasionally Izuku. During the games Bakugo would swear, rant, and shout at the screen, which only led to Shinso laughing at him.
"Oh screw you!" Bakugo snarled after a round of Hero Fight VI where he'd been particularly trashed by Shinso. He tossed his controller to the side, clearly frustrated. He stomped to the door, but then paused. "That was...fun. Thanks." But then he slammed the door after him, a small explosion leaving a faint whiff of smoke in the air.
More often, Kirishima and Kaminari invited themselves over to play, with Ashido and Jiro joining in a few times as well. Shinso didn't seem to mind, offering everyone a controller and a place to sit and enjoy themselves.
"Damn dude, you have the most fun room here," Kaminari said after an hour-long session. "I should have gotten a console instead of just a PC."
"Honestly I had to go out and buy the extra controllers. I always just used to play online, no one ever wanted to play with me," Shinso commented.
"Why not? You're chill and this is pretty fun," Jiro said, her head hanging upside down off the futon as she tapped on her controller.
"I haven't always been the warm and fuzzy type," Shinso replied.
"Well, don't start now, that'd scare the hell out of us," Kirishima laughed.
The door opened, and Mei poked her head in. "Izuku! I need you! I think I've finished your arm!"
"No way, can we see?" Ashido asked, dropping her controler and standing up.
"Yes, I am not ready to install it yet, but I need to make sure it fits properly," Mei informed them.
They hurried back to Mei's room, where Hari was waiting with the finished arm.
"It does not currently have a flamethrower," Mei informed Izuku. "But I did install a place for a weapon's module."
"I told her she wasn't going to turn you into some sort of killer cyborg," Hari told Izuku, holding up the arm. "At least not on the first go around."
"It looks amazing," Izuku said, gingerly taking the arm in his hand. Much of the work on the arm Izuku recognized, being largely based on the construction they'd done on the Power Suit. It would be able to lift far more than a normal human arm and be more durable as well. A part of Izuku wanted to pretend he was being upgraded, but more of him was still numb with pain at the loss of his limb.
"Well come on Midoriya, put it on!" Kirshima encouraged.
"Here, like this," Mei said, taking the arm and rolling up Izuku's sleeve. For once, she was gentle, carefully securing the arm into place with straps and buckles over the still tender flesh.
Izuku glanced down, and imagined flexing the arm. To his shock, it twitched slightly, and he gasped in surprise.
"Hold still, I'm not finished," Mei scolded. She finished adjusting, then smiled at stepped back. "There! It looks perfect.
Izuku gingerly shifted his shoulder, imagining himself moving the arm. It twitched and moved a bit, causing the others to cheer.
"Wow, way to go Hatsume! You'll have Midoriya back in one piece in no time!" Ashido said, giving Mei a quick hug.
Mei frowned slightly, shaking her head. "It's not the same. Normally I like making cute babies, but...but this one hurt."
"It's ok Mei, look!" Izuku said. Slowly, by concentrating, he was able to lift the arm up and jerkily wave.
"How'd you do that?" Jiro asked, peering at Izuku's new arm curiously.
"There's sensors in the joint based on the neural interface you made for the Power Suit," Mei said. "I think maybe you should look at what I made, it obviously isn't working properly right now."
"Hey, take it easy Mei," Hari told her sister. "The doc said it would take a while for Izuku to get used to a prosthesis, and he's not totally healed yet. You did good."
"I should have made the Power Suit stronger," Mei said, hugging herself and scowling. "Then Izuku wouldn't have lost the arm in the first place."
Shinso suddenly coughed loudly. "Well, that looks pretty cool. Good job Mei. Come on, let's give them some privacy."
The others made similar noises, complimenting Mei and congratulating Izuku, then filed out, leaving Izuku alone with Mei and Hari.
Awkwardly, Izuku hugged Mei, trying to control his new limb but not apply too much pressure. Mei sagged into him, and Izuku saw she was crying.
"Hey, maybe we could work on some goggles for you," Izuku offered. "You helped me with my arm. Now we can try to fix your eyes, too."
"They don't work right anymore," Mei whispered, burying her face in Izuku's chest. "They've always worked, but now I can barely see. They tell me my vision is normal, but this isn't normal."
Izuku looked to Hari, who sighed. "She's got 20/20 vision now. Thing is, she used to have better eyes than a hawk." Hari lifted up her own goggles, exposing her own odd pupils. Instead of crosshairs, her's were concentric circles. "My quirk's about the same as her's, um, was, though I'm better at zooming in on things than I am at looking at stuff that's far away. She could do both."
"And now it doesn't work. The Mask took it away, Izuku," Mei said, looking up at him. Instead of crosshair pupils with yellow iris, now her eyes were the same brown as her mothers with typical rounded pupils.
"I know, Mei," Izuku said, closing his eyes. He let his prosthetic fall to his side, gripping Mei tightly with flesh and blood. "But I still have you. It was worth the arm."
"And I think I like you better than my eyes," Mei sniffed. "But I didn't want to have to choose. So...let's make super cute babies for each other."
Gently, Mei took off Izuku's arm, cradling it in her hands. "You make the goggles, Izuku. Hari can help you if you need more hands. I'll take care of your arm. That way, we can use each other's babies."
"Whatever you need," Hari told Izuku, nodding. "I'm not a genius, just a mechanic, but I do know how to follow some plans."
Izuku just nodded, squeezing Mei tightly. They'd both had to sacrifice a lot, but in the end, Izuku's had been a price worth paying. He just wished he could have somehow been faster.