It was Izuku's first day at the hospital, and he was wearing a blindfold.
The blindfold was part of the training Uncle Mirai had done to help Izuku get better at using his quirk; he would cover his eyes, and then try to function normally with just his quirk for sight. At first, he had only done it for a few minutes, then hours, but now at the age of 10, he sometimes wore it for entire days. At this point, there wasn't much of a difference between when he's wearing the blindfold, and when he's not wearing it. Except, of course, seeing things that are more than a meter away from him, like the board in school and cars.
He wasn't necessarily supposed to wear it today, but at this point, he used it more for comfort and reassurance than for training. And Inko and Mirai, who were standing on either side of him, had let him, so he was sure that it's fine.
They walked up to the front desk, Inko talking with her fellow nurses, while Hisashi and Mirai stood next to him while they waited. Hisashi shouldn't have been in Japan, he had a bunch of meetings and calls that he had around this time, but he cleared his entire schedule for the week so that he could come to be with Izuku on his first trip to the hospital.
It had all been a surprise; neither Inko nor Hisashi had said anything about it to him until Hisashi had walked through the front door this morning.
Then he helped Inko make waffles as a celebratory breakfast, and they were on their way.
Now he was talking with Izuku and Mirai about the visit, just going over what Izuku was going to be doing.
"So he's going to be looking at people who have already been diagnosed," Mirai explained to Hisashi, "and then he'll learn what identifies them, and then we'll see if we can evntually bring him to someone who hasn't been diagnosed yet, and see how well he'll do with that."
"He's not being taken to see any gory things, right?"
"Yes, Inko made sure of that."
"Well, that's a relief. How are you doing Izu?"
Izuku smiled nervously at Hisashi.
"I'm great! I can't wait to do it."
"Being nervous is fine, Izuku, it would be strange if you weren't nervous. This is your first time doing something like this, and if you need something, or if you want to do it another time, we can always do that."
"Well, I can't really do it another time, you came all the way to see me do it and-"
"And if you don't I still get a whole week with my family! That's one week more than I would normally get, and I'd get to spend all of it with my lovely wife and son."
"But what if I mess up-"
"Izuku, I want you to take a deep breath for me."
Izuku did.
Hisashi bent on to one knee to be on eye-level with Izuku
"Now, tell me; how can you mess this up?"
"Well, I could say the wrong thing, and, well, get it wrong-"
"But we're doing it for people who have already been diagnosed. You're not responsible for their health or the accuracy of the diagnoses, all you're doing is practicing to get better. The nurses are in charge of the rest."
"But what about that last one you said, that the patient will be undiagnosed-"
"The nurses will find out later if you were right or wrong, they know that you're just training, and won't just take your word for it; they'll consider what you tell them, but then they'll diagnose the patient how they do all the others. You don't have to worry about the well being of the patients or if your diagnoses are right or not, for now, you don't have much experience and the nurses and doctors all know that. This is your first time; no one's going to be hard on you if you get things wrong. And they'll only let you diagnose someone who hasn't been if they know you're ready for it."
Izuku took off the blindfold so that his tears wouldn't get it wet, and hugged Hisashi.
"Thanks, Dad."
"No problem, Izu, anytime you need."
Just then Inko came over from the front desk.
"Are you ready Izu? We can wait if you need time."
Izuku wiped his eyes with his sleeve and put back on his blindfold.
"No, I'm ready now."
"Ok, then let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜~~~~~~~~~~~
The first patient was a person with an arm in a cast. Izuku walked up to them, and once he got in range, he saw them. Their blood vessels, their flesh and bones, their organs. The same thing he saw every day whenever someone was next to him. It had been a little weird at first, but Izuku had gotten used to it quickly.
Unlike most of the people he saw on a daily basis, this person had one of their right arm bones broken.
Izuku pointed this out when he was asked what he saw, and the doctor that was with them told him which bone it was and how they treated it.
The day kept on like that; they would go to a patient, Izuku would see what looked to be off or wrong, like a fractured bone or a large quantity of pathogens (another new word to teach Kacchan!).
As the day went on, Izuku calmed down more and more, until he was completely absorbed in taking in all of the new information, that he didn't realize until the last minute when they were about to finish for the day.
Inko had to practically drag him out, and only with the promise that they'd come again this week for more.
~~~~~~~~~~〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜~~~~~~~~~~~
One day, while Izuku was putting together the house phone blindfolded, again, (which at this point wasn't even a challenge), he heard Mirai come in.
Izuku ran up to welcome him, but stopped short when he came into vision.
Mirai was slumped over, tired, and didn't even notice that Izuku was right there. His eyes weren't focused, and he walked forward slowly.
"Mirai! How was work to-"
Inko stopped short when she rounded the corner.
She walked up to Mirai and cupped his head in her hands, and raised his head so that he was looking at her.
"Are you ok?"
"...No."
She nodded her head, and led him into the living room, then sat him down on the couch, while she went to the kitchen to make something.
Izuku followed them to the living room. He had never seen his Uncle Mirai like this. Sure, he had his low times, when there would be lots of villains that day, and he was exhausted, and he usually came to them when that happened, but today it looked like his heart had been torn out of his chest and smashed into bits, and it took all his effort to get to the house and not just collapse on some random street.
Izuku didn't know what he should do with that, so he just sat next to him and waited for Inko to finish in the kitchen.
After a few minutes Inko brought out a steaming cup of Mirai's favorite tea, put it in his hands and sat down in front of him.
"What happened?"
"We-we had a lead, on a villain that All Mi-Toshinori has been after for a while now. We tracked him down, and when we got to him, he and Toshinori fought. It was-It was a tough fight. I'm really not supposed to tell you this, but I can't not tell you. Toshinori beat the villain, but he was hurt, badly, really badly. He wants to keep on fighting crime, but I used my quirk and-"
"And?"
Mirai seemed to be on the verge of tears now.
"...And he won't live if he does that. He'll have five years now. And I told him that, but he wouldn't listen. I told him that he'll die, and he didn't listen to me."
Inko didn't say anything as he cried, she just got up and hugged him tight as she cried with him.
Izuku felt his eyes watering, and hugged him too.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, even though it felt like it was longer, until they had all calmed down. Izuku went to get the tissues they always had in stock for when something emotional happened, and to put away his blindfold.
Inko was the first to say something.
"Are you going to go back to him?"
"I...I don't know. I don't think I can. What am I supposed to do in a situation like this? It hurts too much to be with him, but it also hurts to be away."
"I think, maybe take a break now, for a bit, and then, well, maybe talk to him and try and convince him again. You know how stubborn Toshinori can be; it'll take time to convince him of anything he doesn't like that much. And giving up on saving people; that's a big thing for him. It's almost his entire identity is centered on it. He doesn't have a single self-preserving braincell left in him."
That brought a small chuckle out of Mirai. He smiled a tiny, fond and sad smile.
"No, he doesn't."
"So you should take your time with him. Take a break from being a hero, and focus on him. Take that time to get to him, slowly make him try and take care of himself more and more. Start with making him take longer breaks, take more days off and what not. You don't have to go right back to how things were before, but don't let things fall apart."
She paused to let him take a sip of his tea.
"And, if he doesn't, and still decides to keep on, that's his decision, and you two are so close, you should just try to make it the best years of his life."
~~~~~~~~~~〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜~~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku was scrolling through hero forums when he stumbled over something unusual.
It was a comment on a post, with the commentator declaring that if anyone wanted any tips & tricks from an up-and-coming pro, they should join his Discord server and get them before he became a pro and was "too busy for other people", and went on about how if you were really nice to them, they'd give you their autograph.
This was followed by a Discord link.
Most of the people responding to the comment were calling them out for probably not being a pro and possibly trying to scam them. Other's were just plain insults because the person had a high-and-mighty attitude.
Izuku himself had by now joined quite a few servers (he had waited till he was thirteen, but now that he was he's going all out) about heroism and of specific heroes (he will never admit to anyone, not even Kacchan or Uncle Mirai, how many All Might servers he's on. That secret will die with him).
So he was interested to see what this one had to offer. Worse comes to worst, he'd just leave it or get banned.
He clicked on the link, accepted the invite, and his life changed forever.
~~~~~~~~~~〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜~~~~~~~~~~~
→ A wild Greeny has appeared
PikachuToday at 6:00 PM
Welcome to our Mad Banquet of Darkness
Mad Banquet of DarknessToday at 6:00 PM
Why must you steal my line, Pickachu?
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:01 PM
Welcome my little nugget, and no fighting you two
Picka, don't steal his line or you'll get sued
PikachuToday at 6:01 PM
You can't do that to me!
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:01 PM
We'll see about that :)
Greeny Today at 6:02 PM
W-what did I just walk into?
Mad Banquet of DarknessToday at 6:02 PM
A mad banquet of darkness my friend
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:03 PM
And identity theft!
Isn't it exciting?
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:03 PM
Very
Greeny, in accordance with your name, I decided to just give you the color that fits it the most
GreenyToday at 6:03 PM
...
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:04 PM
Pffft
GreenyToday at 6:04 PM
Is this a colorblind's cry for help?
The Rock Today at 6:04 PM
Pffft
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:04 PM
XD
That's it, Greeny, you're in, you can't leave now
You've sassed Nugget, you are now an official member
The Rock Today at 6:04 PM
That was quick
GreenyToday at 6:05 PM
Oh, is that why there are suddenly so many more channels?
Grape Juice Today at 6:05 PM
Wait, there are more channels?
Let me in!
Chicken Nugget Today at 6:05 PM
Never, you creep
You'll be banned soon
The Rock Today at 6:06 PM
Why wait?
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:06 PM
Once our last member of the council is online,
It shall be done
GreenyToday at 6:07 PM
While we wait, can I get green for my name?
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:07 PM
Sure!
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:07 PM
Well, bad news kid, we don't actually have a green
…
Gravity, why, we could have kept him red
GreenyToday at 6:09 PM
Thank you, Gravity.
This feels a lot better.
The Rock Today at 6:11 PM
Holy Vines Come so we can ban the creep
Holy vinesToday at 6:13 PM
I have been summoned
Very well, Chicken Nugget Just Say NO (to Gravity) let us begin
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:13 PM
The council is gathered here today to rest the case of our resident creep and ultimately ban him from our here server.
Grape Juice Today at 6:14 PM
What did I do?!
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:15 PM
You are charged with sending creepy messages, asking for inappropriate things from girls, and several other charges that I would rather not mention, but rest assured, if need be we have a full list.
Grape Juice Today at 6:15 PM
That was just me playing around!
You can't ban me for that!
Holy vinesToday at 6:16 PM
Is all the council agreed on the banning of Grape Juice?
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:16 PM
Yes
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:16 PM
Yes
Grape Juice Today at 6:17 PM
This isn't fair!
Holy vinesToday at 6:17 PM
Then goodbye Grape Juice, you shan't be missed, and your name shall never be mentioned again.
Grape Juice Today at 6:17 PM
Not again, please!
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:18 PM
It has been done
The Rock Today at 6:18 PM
Hallelujah!
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:18 PM
Yay!
Mad Banquet of DarknessToday at 6:18 PM
Truly a cause for celebration
Holy vinesToday at 6:18 PM
An amazing occasion
Chicken Nugget Today at 6:18 PM
Good job everyone!
GreenyToday at 6:19 PM
Wow.
You guys really hate him.
Was he that bad?
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:19 PM
Yes
Omg he was so annoying and creepy
The Rock Today at 6:19 PM
He was making everyone feel uncomfortable every time he talked
It was bad
Holy vinesToday at 6:19 PM
We are very happy to be rid of him
GreenyToday at 6:20 PM
Sounds like it.
What do you guys do when you're not banning creeps?
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:20 PM
Oh, don't worry, this was just the first time, we were very excited to be doing it
Holy vinesToday at 6:20 PM
We may have been a bit too enthusiastic, but I do think he deserved it
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:21 PM
Let's move on to a more exciting topic
We have a new member!
I'm assuming you got here through the link on the hero forum?
GreenyToday at 6:21 PM
Yep!
What tips & tricks do you have to be a pro?
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:21 PM
We have a channel for that, so you can check that out later, but for now, even though you've passed in Gravity's opinion, you still need to prove yourself to me, and show me that you're not a jerk or creep
I don't want to be giving all my invaluable knowledge to the wrong people and it to be used for evil
The Rock Today at 6:22 PM
He's kidding! All you have to do to prove yourself is buy him a bunch of chicken nuggets
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:22 PM
Shhhhhhh
Why did you have to tell him?!
The Rock Today at 6:22 PM
He was going to find out eventually
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:22 PM
Yeah, it's really easy to win him over
Holy vinesToday at 6:23 PM
Is there any name you would like to go by that's not Greeny?
Please excuse our bad manners
PikachuToday at 6:23 PM
What bad manners?
And finally we got rid of the creep
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:23 PM
I think she's referring to the fact that no one introduced themselves
GreenyToday at 6:24 PM
I'm fine with Greeny
Holy vinesToday at 6:24 PM
Correct
Very well then, welcome Greeny,I am Vine, the Plant mod
The Rock Today at 6:24 PM
I'm Red Riot, but you can just call me Red or Riot
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:24 PM
Welcome! I'm Gravity, the Space mod!
PikachuToday at 6:25 PM
Yellow, my name's Pikachu
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:25 PM
I am Chicken Nugget, the ruler of this server and Birb mod
Mad Banquet of DarknessToday at 6:25 PM
I am Darkness, the one who's line was stolen by an identity thief
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:26 PM
Yeah, you know that's a serious crime, right Pika?
PikachuToday at 6:26 PM
It was literally this one time guys!
Chill out
Darkness incarnateToday at 6:27 PM
Never :)
Hello Greeny! I'm Darknessest
GreenyToday at 6:27 PM
Darknessest?
Darkness incarnateToday at 6:27 PM
As in the most darkness!
GreenyToday at 6:28 PM
I'm assuming from the color choice and name that you and Darkness are related?
Darkness incarnateToday at 6:28 PM
Yeah! We're twins!
GreenyToday at 6:28 PM
That's so cool! I don't think I've met many twins.
Also, before I go (my mom's calling me to help with dinner), how much do you guys share on this server, personal information wise?
Chicken NuggetToday at 6:31 PM
Well, I want to keep a certain level of anonymity, so no one's allowed to say their name. Pictures I just recommend not to share, but you can do it if you want, and then things like family life is totally fine to share. Quirks are encouraged to share, because then it's easier for other people to help you with getting better at it.
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 6:32 PM
Yeah! For example, my quirk can nullify gravity!
Hence the name
PikachuToday at 6:32 PM
And I can make electricity!
What about yours?
GreenyToday at 6:33 PM
You'll find out when I get back from dinner :)
~~~~~~~~~~〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, while Izuku and Kacchan were exercising, Izuku told Kaccah all about the server that he had joined.
"It's so much fun there! The people there are all so encouraging and supportive, and they're so much fun to talk to! And they have a hero analysis channel, and we talked for so much time and-"
"When did you go to sleep last night?"
"Well, em, you see, we were talking and, well, I-"
"What time did you wake up today?"
"Uh, well…"
"Yes?"
"You can't really wake up if you never went to sleep?"
"..."
"Please don't kill me"
Sigh "Ok, but you better not do it again, or Auntie Inko will get upset at you."
"Yeah, I won't do it again. I promise. I just got so carried away with talking to them! They're so nice and smart and-"
~~~~~~~~~~〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜~~~~~~~~~~~
By the end of the week, Izuku had gone and ranted to Kacchan about how awesome the server he was on was, and that he should join.
Kacchan had refused at first, and then even more vehemently after Izuku kept on nagging, and started to relent when he realized that Izuku was determined to get him on it, and that he would never stop nagging him.
So he finally decided (was forced) to join it.
→ King Explosion Murder hopped into the server
Green BeanToday at 8:56 PM
Well hello there, person I definitely don't know, welcome to the server
King Explosion Murder Today at 8:56 PM
Damit, I thought you'd be busy by now
Hello, I'm King
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 8:57 PM
Hmmmm
Welcome to the server Murder! I'm Gravity, the Space mod
The Rock Today at 8:57 PM
Hello, I'm Red Riot, but you can just call me Red or Riot
PikachuToday at 8:58 PM
Yellow, I'm Pikachu
Chicken NuggetToday at 8:58 PM
Welcome Murder, and just so you know, we disaprove of murder on principle hrer
And I am Lord Ruler of this server, Birb mod, and no one else is allowed to have a title like that
Just Say NO (to Gravity) Today at 8:58 PM
It's the law of the land
Explosion Murder Today at 8:59 PM
You-
What-
PikachuToday at 8:59 PM
They wield the power to change names
Green BeanToday at 8:59 PM
What color do you want, Mur
Explosion Murder Today at 9:00 PM
If already, I would like to be orange
AND THE NAME'S EXPLOSION MURDER
Chicken NuggetToday at 9:00 PM
You can't be orange
I'm orange
Explosion Murder Today at 9:00 PM
Then just give me a different shade
Chicken NuggetToday at 9:01 PM
Ok, ok
There you go
Boom Boom Death Today at 9:01
Thank you
YOU MOTHERF****R