A/N: Hey everyone. So, I really struggled with releasing this chapter. I would have preferred everyone to find out the gist of Izuku's secret at the same time as Katsuki but on the other hand if I pushed this off it would have messed up the timeline. I've already written several fics where the timeline hops all over the place and honestly, its too much work. Ultimately, I chose to keep things in the proper order which means you guys find out first.

SHHH! Don't tell him. I like making him suffer! Lol

Happy Reading!

XXX

Izuku's point of view- Saturday

Tapping on glass followed by the smooth sound of a heavy metal door sliding across its track rouses me from a deep sleep. I've buried myself within a cocoon of soft blankets, starting with an All Might sheet, a forest green throw, and topped off with an All Might comforter. I'm wearing my favorite woolly grey socks, keeping my feet nice and cozy, and shorts and a tee shirt. I know someone has entered my room but I'm not ready to commit to the demands of a new day, so I try not to move and pretend to still be asleep. This game never works for me but that won't stop me from trying anyway.

My eyes are squeezed shut while I follow the sound of squeaky sneakers treading across the waxed floor, meanwhile I'm actively willing my visitor to turn around and let me sleep. My internal clock is insisting it's too early and I feel compelled to agree with it. Instead, I hear those squeaky sneakers coming closer not further, so I resign myself to my fate and peek my head out from under the sheets.

A short, middle aged woman with curly red hair pulled into a poofy ponytail and wearing the usual navy-blue scrubs is poking around a small machine set up next to my bed. My movement must have caught her attention because she turns her head slightly and beams brightly at me. Her smile is infectious, I find myself grinning back despite feeling annoyed at being woken so early. Out of all the nurses who could have walked in here, I'm glad it's my favorite. She's ridiculously nice and one of the few who doesn't look at me with pity, instead opting to treat me like a regular human being.

"Good morning Izuku. How'd you sleep last night?" She reaches out for my arm and wraps the nylon blood pressure cuff around my bicep, sealing the Velcro snuggly. I can't stop myself from staring at the extra material as she wraps it, there's more of it now then even last weekend, meaning my biceps have gotten smaller.

Trying not to dwell on the meaning behind that, I meet her gaze and force my lips back into a halfhearted smile "Good morning Nurse Hatsue. I actually slept pretty well last night. I think the melatonin really helped." She nods and turns on the machine, the cuff gets tighter and tighter until it stills for half a second and then it begins to relax. As it relaxes, I can feel my pulse beneath the material. It's a weird sensation and I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

Next she takes a thermometer and covers it with a disposable plastic shield, popping it under my tongue. While we wait for an accurate reading, she removes the BP cuff and checks the vascular access site on my other arm for infection. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain level this morning?" I chew on my lip as I take a quick mental assessment of my body, trying to decide if anything feels off or hurts. The thermometer goes off and she removes it, absentmindedly noting the results in my chart while waiting for me to answer.

"Uh zero, I guess? Nothing unusual." She purses her lips at that, seemingly unconvinced.

"Izuku, I know you have a high pain tolerance but even if something is minorly bothering you, I need to make a note of it. Try again."

"Right, sorry! Maybe a two then? My arm is still a little sore from last night. Nothing major." She hums her acknowledgment as she scribbles my answer down in my chart.

While Nurse Hatsue updates my chart, I sleepily help myself to a good yawn and stretch, noting Mom still seems to be asleep on the couch by the window. She's nestled beneath the blanket she brought from home, one hand hanging off the side of the couch while her other hand clutches a book closely to her chest. She's been on a medieval romance kick lately so it's probably brimming with chivalrous knights and swooning maidens. I feel bad she sleeps on that thing every weekend but the one time I tried to tell her she really didn't have to spend the night here, she looked at me like I just tried to kill a cat or something. I didn't bring it up again after that.

"Alright, I think that's all I need. Your doctor should be in to check on you soon." She tucks my chart away and rests her hands on the edge of my bed, easily slipping from caretaker to friend in a heartbeat. "So, did you hear about that recent villain takedown involving Selkie?" She wiggles her eyebrows, radiating excitement and ready to nerd gossip with me. Did I mention she loves heroes almost as much as I do?

"NO?! What happened? Is there footage of it? Tell me everything!" Grabbing my notebook from under my pillow, I quickly leaf through the pages until I get to the one dedicated to the Hero Selkie. His quirk is awesome, and I appreciate his dedication to keep the harbor safe and clean.

"It was AMAZING! The villain has a fascinating quirk, similar to one of your classmates I believe. He can communicate with sea creatures by releasing vibrations into the water. Calls himself the Sea Sorcerer. I believe he was trying to construct some sort of fish army to overtake fishing boats and similar vessels."

"Wow, that's a cool quirk. It's a shame he wasted a gift like that on villain activity. Why exactly was he trying to terrorize the fishing community anyway?"

"Animal rights activist. I guess when you have a connection like that with any kind of animal you probably aren't going to support harvesting and killing them for food." She pulls her phone from the back pocket of her scrubs and hands it to me. The pink case around her phone is decorated with images of Recovery Girl from her heyday. She told me once that recovery girl was her idol and the reason she got into medicine.

I play the video on the screen and watch as Captain Selkie fights the villain in the middle of the harbor. It's foggy, making the video output somewhat grainy, but I can make out the Captain and another guy I don't recognize who is wearing a black and blue wetsuit. The crewmember recording everything is loudly cheering on the Captain as he easily overtakes his opponent. It's complete chaos, there's fish flying everywhere, octopi are trying to strangle him, and a squid was shooting its ink in his face. I think had the villain undergone proper training, he would have stood a fair chance, maybe even been able to win but his method was uncoordinated and sloppy.

My bed dips down with a creak of the mattress, the empty space next to me replaced with a warm body leaning against my shoulder. My mom must have woken from the guy yelling in the video and came over to see what all the noise was about. She brushes her fingers through my hair just like she used to when I was a kid, and I find myself leaning into that familiar touch.

"My goodness you're up early. And already watching hero videos I see." Her body shakes with laughter as she leans in to watch it with me. At this point, the crew members are giving a commentary on everything that happened and what they believe the villain's motives were. As soon as it's over I plan to add him and his quirk to my notebook.

"Looks like I've walked into a party over here. What are we watching?" The deep, friendly voice of Dr. Kaneko booms through my room, immediately gaining everyone's attention. He's always smiling and is one of the few medical professionals who actually makes an effort to remember the interests and little details of his patents. He's an excellent doctor, always honest and genuine and he isn't above letting my mom cry all over his lab coat when she needs to. Japan needs more doctors like him if you ask me.

"I thought Izuku would like to watch the footage of Selkie fighting that villain, The Sea Sorcerer." She takes her phone back and replaces it in her back pocket. "You've seen it, right?"

"Oh yes, that strange fellow who tried to take over several fishing vessels."

"That's the one!" She clapped her hands together excitedly, making me chuckle at her enthusiasm.

"So then, Midoriya. How are we feeling today?" He walks over to me as mom hops off my bed to give him space to work.

"Okay, I guess. I feel kind of rested which is a nice change for me." He pulls out his stethoscope, the metal cool against my skin as he presses it against my chest. I breath in and out without needing to be told as he moves it to different locations along my chest, back and stomach.

"And how is your appetite? Are you eating during the week?" Nurse Hatsue hands him my chart, his brows furrowed as he reads over everything. "Hmm, I see a note here that says you refused your dinner last night."

"Well… I eat most of my meals, but I have been skipping a few towards the end of the week." I see concern flash through his eyes, his expression becoming more serious.

"According to your weigh in, you've lost several pounds. Izuku, I can't tell you how important it is for you to continue to eat throughout the week, even if you don't feel hungry. It was one of the big compromises we agreed on when you insisted you needed to continue going to UA." He tuts in disappointment and makes a note in my chart.

A choked-up sound comes from the corner of the room. When I peek over, I notice Mom's eyes are watery and her lips are wobbling like she's trying to hold herself back.

"I'm sorry. I will do my best to eat every meal next week. I promise!" I'm saying this just as much to Dr. Kaneko as I am to Mom. The last thing I want is to make her worry about me even more than she already is.

"Please make sure that you do. Next question, are you taking your prescribed medication every day and at the proper times?" He raises an eyebrow, making me feel like he's goading me into something.

"Yes…"

"Some of your medication requires food. How are you taking those if you aren't eating?" Ah, there it is.

"I have crackers in my room. I can tolerate them okay." Crackers are barely food, but they keep me from vomiting up my pills so there's that.

"Hmm, okay then. Are you taking extra precautions during your physical training? Even minor injuries could lead to serious issues for you."

"I've been working hard on improving my shoot style to keep my bones from breaking in my arms. It also helps me guard my vascular access site, so it hasn't been injured even once since the surgery to put it in." He seems to approve of that and nods his head as he continues.

"Have you experienced any swelling in your hands or feet and is your urine output still relatively the same?"

"No swelling and yes, I think it's the same."

He opens his mouth to ask me another question but is cut off by my mom's sobbing, who's no longer trying to hold it back.

"This is ridiculous! It's just… it's ridiculous." Her tears are running down her cheeks, the lines of her face more pronounced as she looks at us like we've done something inexcusable.

"Mrs. Midoriya?"

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"All of this is!" She swings her gaze to me. "Izuku, you should be taking a break from school. You should be here, taking care of yourself. And you…" She looks over to poor Dr. Kaneko, who is now the focus of her outrage. "You should not be allowing him to go there. He's getting sicker, his numbers are proving as much, and he's admitted to not eating. He needs more care and he just can't get it when he's not here!"

Mouth still slightly ajar, Dr. Kaneko just stands there, unsure of what to say to sooth her concerns. My throat feels constricted and my eyes burn, I have to bite my bottom lip to keep the damn from breaking. I hate seeing her like this, so hurt and overwhelmed all because of me. She doesn't deserve to feel that way. Still, I'm not ready to give up school.

"Mom, I know you're worried but going to UA is the one thing I've wanted for myself and I'm not ready to give it up. I- I want to stay for now." I look to Dr. Kaneko, hoping to get some support from him.

"Mrs. Midoriya, I understand your concern, but It is my professional opinion that your son is still healthy enough to attend school. Obviously if you want to withdraw him and have him complete homeschooling while under medical care, that is an option, but I truly don't believe we are there just yet." He walks over and pats her back while offering her a tissue.

"I will take better care of myself while I'm at school. And… I just, I know we are calling it a 'break' but think we all know that's not really what it is. Please let me stay a little longer."

She gasps, looking at me with wide eyes like I just broke her heart. "Don't say that Izuku!"

"It's true mom. So, please… just let me go back to school." I'm gripping my comforter tightly in my fists, staring blankly at the smiling image of All Might as tears start to roll down my cheeks. They drip soundlessly onto his face and soak into the material, leaving behind wet stains.

Next thing I know, she's rubbing my back, her lips pressed against my temple. When she pulls back, I look up to her, my heart seizing from the pain I can see I'm putting her through, making me feel selfish for chasing after my dreams when I know it's hurting her.

"As long as you take care of yourself, you can stay for a little longer." She sniffles and rubs her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm going to run home now so I can take a shower and clean up. I'll be back some time after lunch, okay?"

"Okay mom." I can barely whisper those words as I try to hold back from crying in front of everyone.

She gathers her things and walks to the door, nodding goodbye to Dr. Kaneko and Nurse Hatsue. "I love you, Izuku" she says as she rushes out of my room.

"I love you too" I replied brokenly to the empty space between us.