Sorry for the long wait! I moved into my new apartment in August and quite literally got internet installed in here just a few days ago to log online. College has started up for me again and I'll be even busier since it's my third year, but I promise to do my best with my stories :) Enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia characters and plot events belongs to Horikoshi Kohei.
To Be a Hero
it's yours
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The crowd cheered as Bakugou's face appeared on the big screen as the winner of the eighth match. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that just moments ago they were booing the blonde for "playing around". While Present Mic announced the final winner and concluded the first round, Shiro watched the medical robots wheel Uraraka out to Recovery Girl and Bakugou make his way off the stage as well with the characteristic scowl on his face.
"Uraraka-san..." Shiro said almost regrettably for the girl. Doing the calculations, the result of the match only drew her one step closer for the chance of facing off Bakugou in the semi-finals. Judging by his performance here, she can only conclude that anyone up against him was going to have a hard time with such an overpowering Quirk. "She did her best. She really was leading him by the nose for a good moment there."
"It's true that this was the best she could do in that situation, but knowing Bakugou's strength, it was incautious of her to not have a back-up," Todoroki added for measure.
"There just wasn't enough time and Uraraka-san had used her all her energy repeatedly throwing herself into the explosions," she looked at the male besides her. "Speaking of time, your match is up next, isn't it?"
Todoroki nodded silently and pushed himself off the wall. He had seen Midoriya head into the tunnel for the player waiting room already, and that was his cue to go as well. Just as he was about to leave, he felt a tug on his arm and turned to see a soft look in Shiro's ruby eyes.
"I don't know how your 'talk' with Midoriya-san went and I'm not going to pry into your business, but just... Remember what I said, okay?"
Todoroki stilled. What she said had never left his mind, but he didn't know how to think the same way as she did. He was someone cursed with two powers; one from his mother and the other from his father. It was because of this curse that his father became even more of an asshole than he was and the reason why his mother had become so unstable.
"Aisaka, I..."
"What the fuck are you two doing?"
Bakugou, in all his glory, was glaring at them with his hands in his pant pockets. Shiro realized that his eyes were trained on her hand still holding into Todoroki's wrist, so she quickly let go. "What exactly is your problem?" she retorted impatiently while he glowered.
"You're quick to make a move on anyone huh," came his taunting sneer. Even he didn't know why he was suddenly so pissed off. He was just sick and tired of seeing these two together all the damn time. That, and perhaps all the pestering Kaminari gave him while watching her fight with Shinso had given him a justifiable reason to be angry.
"That side character wasn't enough for you?"
Shiro's cheeks reddened. H-How dare he! Despite the fact that she had defended him just minutes ago against Pro Heroes, hearing that from him immediately threw any good thought about him out the window.
"That's rich coming from you!" she spat with a huff. "I'm surprised you didn't try to pull a fast one when you were fighting Uraraka-san, pervert!"
Bakugou's eyes twitched because he knew exactly what she was referring to. "T-That was your fucking fault and you know it!" he growled as he stalked up to her. His face was red, but whether from anger or embarrassment, they couldn't tell.
"Hmph!" Shiro managed to not burst into flames from both embarrassment and anger. Instead, she swiftly turned to Todoroki, who was beyond confused of their exchange, and pretended to not even see the blonde anymore. "As I was saying before someone rudely interrupted, good luck on your match, Todoroki-san," she encouraged with unmatched calmness before shooting the blonde a taunting glare. "Maybe we'll be opponents."
Todoroki blinked; though he appreciated it, he wasn't so sure that it was the right response at the moment.
An almost inhuman growl sounded from the pissed off male and she stood her ground, prepared for what was to come. Though, she was surprised as he stomped past them, all the while making a point to bump shoulders with her.
"I'll blow you and that bastard into ashes," he vowed with his back to her. "Just don't fucking lose until I beat you!"
Shiro watched as he headed towards where Kaminari and the others were sitting and reeled stubbornly. Todoroki's hot and cold she could manage, but Bakugou? He was a wild card. Just why did he have to go and pick a fight and bring that up suddenly? What even was his problem?!
Ugh, that prickhead!
"Oh, there he is! Bakugou!" Kaminari called as the blonde stomped over to them. The electric Quirk user saw an equally fuming Shiro and ever-impassive Todoroki together behind the male and raised his brows at the situation. "Did you say something to piss Shiro-chan off? Jeez, no wonder Todoroki is ahead. You gotta stop doing that if you want to have a chance at her heart—"
The curling of Bakugou's palm in a tell-tale sign that he didn't have any qualms to use his Quirk to shut the other blonde up immediately worked to do just that. Meanwhile, Sero looked at Bakugou apprehensively. "Anyway…" he drew the conversation back to their original topic of discussion. "That match was tough, huh? Playing the bad guy..."
"Even if it was because of the match-up, you played an amazing villain, Bakugou-chan," Tsuyu added bluntly.
"Yeah!" Kaminari reverted to his bold demeaner once again and sighed with a pitying look. "I can't believe you were able to aim such a huge blast at a frail girl! I wouldn't be able to help but hold back."
The cellophane user grimaced at the blatant exaggeration as Tsuyu called the blonde out. "You'd most likely try to show off with a higher wattage than you can handle, just like what you did with Midoriya-chan. But it'd be more embarrassing because it would be a girl."
"T-Tsuyu-chan...!" Kaminari whined with embarrassment at the truth.
Bakugou scoffed at their annoying banter. He'd like to blow them up to shut their traps, but he knew he needed to calm down. Besides, he was the one in battle, so he knew. Nothing about his opponent was frail. He only did what was necessary to win. There are more matches ahead that he was looking forward to so that he can beat them all and show them his undisputable strength.
But either way, he wasn't going to allow anyone to best him one-on-one. His face contorted into an embarrassed scowl when he thought about Shiro once again.
Why do I keep fucking thinkin' about that...
"The winner of their arm wrestling match to decide who advances to the second round is—! Kirishima! He won his ticket to the second round!"
Overhead, Shiro could already hear Present Mic announcing for the second round to start soon. She felt bad for missing Kirishima's tie-breaker but seeing that she had a little time after the last battle ended, she had decided to walk around and cool off. Yes, she was going to put the blame on a certain prickhead. Turning the corner quickly, she nearly bumped into Midoriya who was looking downcast and frustrated.
"Midoriya-san?"
"Ah, Shiro-san! Sorry, I should've been paying attention!" Midoriya apologized before rubbing the back of his head at her concerned stare. "I just saw Uraraka-san…" he explained. "She put up a brave front with me, but it's obvious that she's frustrated about the result of her match…"
Shiro nodded her head slowly. It was understandable that Uraraka felt this way, especially since the girl had high hopes for the festival to reach her dream. If Shiro was in the same position, no doubt she'll be even more frustrated due to her stubborn nature. "What about you?" she shifted her attention to the male after a moment of thought. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah," the male insisted before biting his bottom lip and rubbed an arm across his watering eyes. "It's just... I can't believe I told Uraraka-san that I could help when I couldn't do anything for her... Instead, she encouraged me again. I wanted to make sure that she was okay, but she ended up comforting me for my match…"
Shiro put a hand on the male's shoulder to let him know that it was okay, though a bit awkwardly since she didn't know how to deal with crying people. "Well, we are all looking forward to your match with Todoroki-san," she told him to change the subject. "Uraraka-san did her best, so I'm sure she wanted you to do yours, right?"
Squeezing the drop of tear from his eye, Midoriya nodded and looked ahead more confidently. "Yeah. You're right!"
Heavy footsteps suddenly came around the corner and the figure that appeared surprised them. Before them stood the Flame Hero: Endeavor. True to upholding his hero name, the man was sported from head to toe in fiery orange flames.
"E-Endeavor?! What are you doing here...?" Midoriya was shocked to see the hero, but his reaction of the hero was not his usual fanboy admiration. It seems that he's also heard about the hero's deeds from Todoroki and was regarding him with fear.
"Oh, there you are," the Flame Hero mused. His icy blue eyes shifted to Shiro for a brief moment before going back to the curly haired boy with a point of his gloved finger. "I watched your fight. You have a wonderful Quirk. You created so much wind pressure just by flicking your fingers. If we're talking about power alone..." his eyes narrowed more. "Yours is comparable to All Might's."
The hero's words visibly shocked Midoriya and he immediately adverted his eyes. Shiro noticed that he seemed to do that a lot when people commented things that related him to All Might. However, this was no time to be suspicious about her friend. What does Endeavor want with Midoriya?
"Wh-What are you... What are you trying to say?" the boy denied nervously as he made it a point to walk around the hero to avoid the confrontation. "I-I must get going!"
"It is my Shoto's duty to surpass All Might," Endeavor said, making Midoriya pause as he continued. "His match with you will be a very instructive test bed. Please don't disgrace yourself in it."
Shiro narrowed her eyes as Todoroki's words for his old man filled her mind, not even caring that her emotions were so apparent on her face for the hero to see. She understood Todoroki's frustration and distaste even more now. Just what does he make of his son?
"I..." Midoriya clenched his fists; he was bothered by those words as well. "I am not All Might."
Endeavor raised a brow. "That should be obvious—"
"That's obvious, right?" he cut the hero off before walking away with as much confidence as he could muster. "Todoroki-kun isn't you, either."
That's right, you tell him Midoriya!
Shiro gave the number two hero a sideways glance before trying to follow behind. She already had someone anger her in the last 10 minutes, so it was a hard pass for her to even speak to Endeavor at this point. However, she was stopped by the hero's large and outstretched arm.
"If I may have a word with you," Endeavor's voice boomed, his request sounded more like a demand in her ears. Unlike Midoriya, however, she was able to hold her gaze with the powerful hero as if expecting him to hurry up with his words. She realized how strikingly similar his eyes were to Todoroki's, yet looking at Endeavor's double icy orbs only elicited a feeling of ire.
"It seems like my Shoto has taken a liking to you," he examined Shiro carefully as she continued to stubbornly hold his piercing blue eyes. "I heard you are Eraserhead's adopted child? Hmph, I must have a word with him. My Shoto can't afford distractions from you."
That got Shiro to narrow her eyes with insult as she remembered similar words from Todoroki after the first challenge before they made up. Unwittingly, the dual-Quirked male was truly a son of Endeavor. "Excuse me?"
The hero stood with total authority and wasn't backing down from his claim, so like a dam, her internal anger broke through. Patience with injustice was never her forte, anyway.
"I used to envy those with real parents and wonder what it was like, but after meeting you, I can only feel disgust," she said without holding back anymore. "Todoroki-san is a human being, let alone your son. I won't let you treat a friend of mine like an object you own."
"Friend? Shoto does not have a need for friends," Endeavor claimed with narrowed eyes.
"If that's how you think, then it's not my problem that he would rather hang out with me than be in the same vicinity as you," she rolled her eyes fearlessly. "With the rate you're pushing, you won't be able to get him back."
Endeavor could only regard her audacity to defy and stand up to him with surprise. It was no wonder his son seemed so interested in her now. What kind of girl did Eraserhead raise? A low and amused chuckle sounded from the back of his throat in thought.
For Shiro, her words seemed to get him thinking about something and she didn't like it one bit. Then, as if the hostile conversation never even happened, the hero stepped past her with just a single encouragement, if one could call it that.
"Hm. Shoto's match is starting. I apologize for my sudden appearance. Good luck on the rest of your matches, Shoto's friend."
The burning fire and sound of heavy boots faded down the hall and Shiro couldn't help but be confused and irritated by the encounter.
What was the point of his remark, and what exactly does he want from her?
"Thanks for waiting, everybody!" Present Mic's voice shouted through the intercom as Shiro finally returned to Class 1-A's seating section. "The first match of the second round is a big match!"
Indeed, the crowd was cheering even louder than before at the sight of the bicolor haired male walking towards the stadium as Present Mic hyped up his introduction. On the opposite side, Midoriya was making his way up as well with a determined face. This was one of the matches that the crowd was looking forward to, and at the same time, was a bit apprehensive to watch after Todoroki's show of strength during his first match.
I made it in time, Shiro thought with relief as she was about to run up towards class 1-A's seating section. At the same time, Kirishima's footsteps pounded up to her, his face showing relief as well seeing that the match below was only just starting.
"Shiro-chan!" he greeted with his proud grin and an excited twinkle in his eyes. "Did you see how I used my manly strength to defeat Tetsutetsu?! Man, he was so strong!"
"Congratulations, Kirishima-san. I knew you could do it," she told him, not wanting to reveal that she didn't see his wrestling match because a certain someone had pissed her off. "It looks like we both made it into the second round."
"Yeah! I'll be up against Bakugou next!"
The girl didn't realize how her face scrunched at the mention of the explosive blonde, but Kirishima did and he rubbed the backside of his head. He knew the two never had a great relationship, but their visible distaste for each other usually only appeared after an immediate argument.
He didn't think things between them during the cavalry battle had gotten too bad. Bakugou was pissed about Shiro's team snagging second place, but he knew the blonde was directing the bulk of his frustrations towards Todoroki who placed first. Why was it that they were always fighting?
He swore they were like a couple of fiery lovers.
Shiro caught his knowing gaze and looked away swiftly to avoid eye contact with the redhead, who was scratching his head at her cute denial with naivety. "Um, how about I go and get Bakugou to apologize to you?" he offered with a good natured grin. "He acts hard all the time but he's not a terrible person, I promise."
Shiro grumbled before stopping the eager redhead. He was making her feel guilty. "Thanks Kirishima-san, but I'll be okay."
"Eh, you sure...?" he blinked. "How about you tell me what happened? I'm sure whatever Bakugou said or did can be solved!"
Kirishima, you're too good to that prick, she thought before pondering what she should do. Can she really tell the redhead what has been bothering her since the day she trained with Bakugou? It was fine before because she had it squashed in the corner of her mind, but now that Bakugou himself had to come in a pick at that embarrassing memory, it wasn't failing to plague her every thought.
"You finally wanna fight me?"
"No Quirks," she instructed as a caveat to agreeing. "I'm only doing this because it's better than fighting a punching bag."
"Heh, I don't care about your reasons," Bakugou rolled his shoulders and got into position. There was a glint of excitement in his eyes as he smirked at Shiro. "Just don't go crying when I beat you to a pulp."
"Oh please. Instead of talking the talk, you should walk the walk!" she grinned and charged right at him with her fist ready for a right hook.
Bakugou instinctively shield his face before retaliating. She managed to defend herself from his blow by ducking under, but he was fast as his knee came up towards her abdomen. Breaking away from that painful blow, Shiro aimed for his solar plexus by drilling her arm up.
"Your moves are too damn predicable!" he sneered as he caught her fist and twisted it. Shiro kicked her foot up to make him loosen his grip and jumped back. "Is that all you got, Pigtails?!"
He was riling her up, she knew. Too predicable? It was really hard to fight without her Quirk; her probability manipulation had always aided her attacks and defenses. Stripped of her power, she can only rely on her own strength and that gave her a painful disadvantage against Bakugou in terms of combat ability. But she wasn't going to let that discourage her.
"Don't get too cocky, Prickhead!" she shouted as she charged at him again.
He was ready once again to deflect her with a kick but this time, she wasn't aiming to attack first. Using his leg as leverage, she used it to push herself up into the air and land behind him. There, she aimed her own kick at his back and sent him across the room. Not giving him a second to recover, she jumped on him with her arm threatening to crush his trachea.
"Still 'too predicable'?" she huffed in short breaths.
Bakugou only grinned dangerously before he kicked his foot up to try and flip her over. However, during the struggle, they rolled around and knocked into one of the weight lifting sets in the corner of the room. The impact caused the stand to wobble as one of the smaller weights dropped down from the tall shelf
"Shit—!" Bakugou, being under Shiro, saw it and forcefully pulled the girl with him has he rolled to the side. Not yet realizing what was happening, the girl jolted up in the midst of him ducking his head down.
Time froze as both pairs of ruby eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Shiro snapped out of the blasted memory with a startling blush. Yeah, there was no way she could tell Kirishima that they had accidentally kissed that day.
"Shiro-chan?"
"...It's nothing. He was just being an ass like usual. Just give him a good punch for me during your match, okay?" she concluded, making the redhead laugh heartily with a nod before their attention finally went back to the current match between Midoriya and Todoroki.
It was amazing to see two great forces clashing at such a scale. Midoriya's powerful Quirk has smashed through each one of Todoroki's towering ice walls. However, while Todoroki's attacks seemed endless, Midoriya's came at an immediate price. Each powerful flick only further crippled him further. It was excruciating to watch as his chances were limited to the number of usable fingers.
"Man, Todoroki can shoot off powerful attacks that cover a lot of ground with no lag time!" Kirishima mused animately. "Midoriya's Quirk is cool too, but he always gets hurt. Even with my hardening Quirk, there's a limit to how much damage I can take. Quirks like Todoroki's and Bakugou's are always at an advantage!"
"Quirks are phyiscal abilities, too," Shiro shook her head at the comment. "I'm sure you're aware of what happened after I overused my Quirk back at USJ. Everyone has their limits and risks."
Like how Todoroki is slowly being consumed with frostbite, she narrowed her eyes at the male. That idiot.
"Why are you going so far?" Todoroki let out a chilled breath as he lifted himself up with a slight tremble.
With both his right hand and entire left arm incapacitated, Midoriya was a sitting duck for Todoroki to send his final blow. But Midoriya hadn't let the blow finish him off. To everyone's great surprise, he had blasted both Todoroki and the wall away with his broken right index finger.
"There's a limit to how much cold your body can take, isn't there? You're trembling," Midoriya straighten himself up with great effort. His index finger looked ghastly, but so did the rest of his appendages. It didn't matter, though. "Isn't that something you could easily solve by using the heat from your left side? Everyone's fighting with everything they've got to win and get closer to their dream... To become number one... But you... You want to win with just half your strength?!" He curled up his fist despite the injury. "You haven't put a single scratch on me yet, you know!"
Todoroki narrowed his eyes. "Midoriya... What are you planning? Everything I've got?" he gritted his teeth angrily and ran towards the male. "Did my damn old man buy you off or something? Now I'm angry!"
As he ran towards Midoriya to get in close combat, he felt his body not being able to keep up. He was sure that everyone else noticed too; it was obvious. But the moment he lifted his foot, the male came charging at him as well, and Todoroki felt the punch in his gut before he even saw it. Grazing his right hand across Midoriya's broken arm, he was thrown backward with colossal force.
Letting out a pained cough, Todoroki got back up. Why...? Ice formed under his feet and trailed towards his opponent again, but it was significantly slower this time. Even so, he didn't let up his ice attacks. Midoriya long had run out of usable fingers to flick his powerful attacks at him, yet he was still able to retaliate his blows. "Why are you... Going so far?"
"Because I want to live up to everyone's expectations," Midoriya staggered towards him with resolve. "I want to be able to smile... And respond to them... To be a cool hero... That's what I want to be!"
"Shoto..."
His mother's voice cut through his memories just as Midoriya landed another punch in his gut.
"Everyone's giving it their all! There's no way I can know all of your circumstances, or your resolve. But for you to become number one without giving it your all, to completely reject your father..." the male stepped up with a stumble. "Right now, I think you should stop screwing around!"
Shut up... The effects of his ice was starting to numb his entire right arm, and soon, it'll reach the rest of his body. It would all be solved if he used his fire side, but he won't. Todoroki gritted his teeth as memories of his harsh upbringing flashed through his mind once again. His mother always tried to stop his father from pushing him further when he was too weak to continue. It was because of him that she always got pushed around by his bastard father. It was because of him that she cried so much!
"No... I don't want to be like Father... I don't want to become someone who bullies you, Mother!"
"But you want to be a hero, don't you? It's okay for you to be one. As long as you have a future you're sure about."
"That's why... I will win!" Midoriya came up before him, his right arm emitting a powerful glow to knock him out. "I will surpass you!"
"Where's Mother?"
"She injured you, so I put her in a hospital."
"It's your fault... You're the one who made Mother..."
"I will reject..." Todoroki lifted himself up again. He was trembling harder than ever now. "My old man's power...!"
"It's your power, isn't it?!" Midoriya shouted in frustration.
Your power. Your power. YOUR power.
Those simple words seemed to have snapped something back into his mind as more memories flooded back. He realized that people have been saying the same thing throughout his life, but he just never understood it. His mother, All Might, even Shiro...
The look in Shiro's ruby eyes reappeared across his mind and he felt a weight lift off his body. This was what she was trying to get him to realize the entire time. Before I knew it, I had forgotten...
"You don't have to be a prisoner of your blood. It's okay for you to become who you want to be."
His mother had said those words to him that one night he came crying to her. That night, she watched the entire interview of All Might with him and encouraged him to become the hero he wanted to be.
"I'm still my own person. Just like how you are your own person, Todoroki-san. So the person you choose to become is from your own heart, isn't it?"
The person I choose to become...? That was all the encouragement he needed to ignite the fire on his left side. Instantaneously, all the numbness on his body melted away as orange flames set the stadium ablaze.
"Th-This is—!" Present Mic's surprised howl cut through the stage.
"The fire's here...!" Uraraka braced herself as the heat blew up towards the student section much like the ice had done in the previous round. Everyone was instantly sweating from the blast of heat. "S-So hot!"
"He used it..." Shiro's eyes were as wide as saucers. Midoriya actually made him use his left side... Even if it meant that he was helping his enemy become stronger...
"SHOTO!" Endeavor's voice boomed across the stadium. His hell flame was lit brightly as victory etched across his face. "Have you finally accepted yourself?! That's it! Good! It all starts from here for you! With my blood, you will surpass me... You will fulfill my desire!"
"Endeavor suddenly shouts encouragement...?" Present Mic questioned. "Such a doting father."
As if, Shiro crossed her arms before looking down at the two males in the ring as they got ready to send the final blow. But nonetheless... I'm glad that Midoriya was finally able to get you to see the beauty that is your power, Todoroki.
"Todoroki-kun advances to the next round!"
Murmurs sounded as the first match of the second round ended abruptly with Cementoss' interference. Nonetheless, the force of the clash of two powers hitting the giant cement wall ultimately caused Midoriya to be thrown out of bounds, thus declaring Todoroki the winner. While the former was wheeled to Recovery Girl, Todoroki walked away with his eyes void of emotion and his mind spinning.
"'You're in my way,'" Endeavor stood in the middle of the tunnel with a proud smirk on his face. "You're not going to say that this time?"
The hero was met with silence from his son once again, but he was not deterred after that spectacular display of power. Instead, he glanced at Todoroki's torn shirt that was destroyed from the fire.
"You need to control your left side... You're just letting it all out and it's dangerous. But you have abandoned your childish tantrum and finally become a perfect upgrade of me. After you graduate, come work for me. I'll lead you down the path of the mighty!"
"There's no way I can abandon anything," Todoroki said softly as he looked at his left hand. "It's not something that can be so easily reversed. It's just... Back then... For that one moment, I forgot about you."
Endeavor's icy blue eyes widened as his son walked past him.
"Whether that is a good thing or bad thing... Whether it's correct or not... I need to think about it."
All he knew for certain was the answer to who he's choosing to become...
...A hero worthy of my powers.
"We should go check on Deku-kun!" Uraraka urged as she shot up from her seat after Present Mic announced a short break while Cementoss fixed up the stadium. "He looked really beaten up!"
"More like he beat himself up—"
While Mineta was immediately shut up by a slap from Tsuyu's tongue, Shiro and Iida had followed along. That last blow aside, Midoriya had already sustained repeated abuse on his injured limbs. Even if Recovery Girl can fix anything, it will take a lot longer to heal something so severe.
Heading down, Shiro caught sight of Bakugou slouching in his seat with gritted teeth. He was bothered and irritated. Though, it was to be expected since the two had put on such an intense battle. And it's not like it takes a lot to make him this way. The most important thing right now is to make sure that Midoriya is okay, she thought and continued on her way.
Reaching Recovery Girl's office, Uraraka and Iida were the first ones to barge in without thinking to knock. Tsuyu, Mineta, and Shiro followed behind moments later.
"Midoriya-kun!"
"Deku-kun, are you okay?!"
"Ack!" A scrawny, golden haired man in an oversized suit was sitting beside Midoriya and looked quite startled at the sudden intrusion. Letting out a breath as they bounded up to the bed-ridden male, he regarded them warily. "You scared me..."
"Oh, nice to meet you..." Uraraka realized and greeted the unfamiliar man.
"You're all so noisy," Recovery Girl chided from the other side of the bed.
As the rest fretted over Midoriya, Shiro took a moment to stare at the man in the suit. He looked familiar, but at the same time, he didn't. And for some reason, he grew very nervous when he caught her staring.
"Everyone... What about the next match?" Midoriya rasped out softly, regaining Shiro's attention and she dropped her skepticism, much to the man's relief. They explained the situation to Midoriya while Mineta unnecessarily rubbed some salt to injury. But as usual, Tsuyu was there to admonish him. The familiar scene made Midoriya crack a smile.
"Be quiet, now!" Recovery Girl ushered them out. "I know you're worried, but I've got to do surgery now. Go on now, get out of here!"
"S-Surgery?!"
"That's a big deal, isn't it? Will his injuries be completely healed?!"
"Is he dying—?"
Abruptly, they were all shoved out of the makeshift clinic, leaving just Midoriya and the mysterious man inside. Recovery Girl managed to shoo them away, but Shiro lingered just a moment longer.
"He'll be okay, right?"
"Don't worry about it," the old woman gave her hand a small pat. "Just leave it to me."
Shiro could tell that Recovery Girl was troubled with the amount of damage that Midoriya sustained, especially since he was always being sent to get fixed up. But with a small nod, she trusted the hero to do her job. "Wait," she wondered. "Who was that man inside with Midoriya-san?"
"Ah... " the hero blinked before nudging her away. "He's just visiting. Now, be on your way. Shoo! I have a surgery to perform."
Though the girl didn't look all too convinced, she allowed the door to close on her. Coming back inside the clinic, Recovery Girl sighed and walked over to the two.
"I hope you two know the severity of this situation. Midoriya, the bones in your right arm were shattered... It'll never be the same as it was before and most likely leave scars. To push and light a fire under a child who would destroy his body this much for what he yearns for... I don't like it," she looked up at All Might. "You're going too far. You, and this boy."
"Sorry..." they both apologized.
The woman sighed again and started wheeling out equipment for the surgery. "I'll heal you up enough to allow you to walk for now. But let me be clear on one thing... I will not heal injuries like this anymore," she said seriously, directing the warning towards both the boy and All Might. "You must find a way for him to use his power in a way that is not so self-destructive."
Behind the door, Shiro widened her eyes at the implications of Recovery Girl's words. She didn't know what compelled her to stay and listen, but she was just slightly suspicious. Now she didn't know what to think.
Just who was that man to Midoriya, and what kind of destructive Quirk did the boy possess?
Whoop whoop, we finally know what happened between Shiro and Bakugou ;) even tho the reveal took so many chapters pahaha. I just couldn't find the right place to put it until now. Hope it wasn't disappointing? More things happened in this chapter... Suspicious Shiro is suspicious. Plus, who doesn't love friendship!KiriBaku? My boy Kiri is a best boy :')
Don't forget to review! I like attention so please leave one for this poor author uwu