Chapter 2

Ashido felt a wetness spreading across her shoulder. She could hear Midoriya's breath shuddering in between each sob, but his cries were silent. They stood like this for what felt like an eternity; only occasionally did she move to rub his back or to whisper in his ear. Eventually the two pulled apart and paused to look each other in the eyes.

Ashido, her amber orbs swathed in a dark void, stared deeply into Midoriya's calm, verdant eyes, her gaze intent on getting a read on his emotional state. He was really distraught, that much was obvious, but she wasn't sure to what degree. One quick scan of his face and she suddenly realized just how different it was to see Midoriya so sad, his signature smile vacant from his expression. It made her uncomfortable. Not in the way that it was off-putting, but more so in the way that it just didn't seem natural. Finally, Ashido broke the silence.

"So…" She trailed off. Great. Way to open things up. He's definitely gonna open up to me now.

"I'm sorry." Midoriya suddenly spoke.

Sorry. That wasn't what Mina had expected him to say. She felt like maybe she should've been the one saying that. But here she was, standing in front of Class 2-A's newly-crowned, notorious recluse, and he was the one apologizing to her. It's not like she had made an effort to come talk to him before now, or like she tried harder to get him to talk when she saw him around campus. She started to feel a little bad. She could've done more; she could've pushed the issue harder, but she had given up at the first sign of resistance. That wasn't what heroes do. Midoriya was the exact embodiment of what a hero was: meddling where you don't necessarily have to. And yet, Ashido had just ignored this principle entirely.

Her face flushed magenta. "What do you have to be sorry for Midori?" She made it a point to insert her nickname for him, hoping it might draw an answer out of him. She continued: "I should be the one apologizing to you. It's clear that you've been suffering in silence and I haven't really made an effort to help you at all. Some hero I am."

She smiled at him in an attempt to make it clear that she was joking around a bit with him; he didn't seem to notice, or maybe he just didn't care. Her smile faltered a bit. Midoriya seemed to be lost in thought. Coming up with a response probably. Or maybe he had just shut down. Mina wasn't too sure at this point. He hadn't seemed like himself in almost a week now. Quieter than usual. Avoided group activities more than usual. And he always seemed to have some sort of excuse to be elsewhere. Not to mention that he hadn't been to class at all since the fight with the Paranormal Liberation Front.

He looked back at her suddenly, his gaze once again catching hers. His lips parted and a sound could be heard leaving his throat, but he stopped suddenly. He pursed his lips and began shifting uncomfortably. It almost looked like he was trying to force the words out of his mouth. What did he have to hide? Why couldn't he just say it? Mina began to grow a little impatient. She wanted to help Midoriya, she really did, but why did he have to make it so damn difficult?

"Izuku." She decided maybe calling him by his given name might catch his attention. "You can talk to me. Seriously. I want to help you, but I can only do that if you talk to me." Her tone grew a bit desperate at the end, but that seemed like just the thing to tip Izuku over the edge. He prepared himself to speak again, only this time, she could tell he was going to continue. She listened intently.

"I'm sorry for avoiding everyone for so long. I just couldn't face you all yet. Even now, I'm struggling to talk to just you." Mina finally realized just how hoarse his voice sounded. She guessed it must have been from underuse, only ever speaking recently to deny an invitation or spout out a quick excuse for himself. This must have been the first time he had spoken more than a couple sentences in the past week.

Suddenly he spoke again: "I'm sorry that I just recklessly threw myself into a tense and difficult situation. I'm sorry that I didn't think about the consequences or how it would affect any of you. And I'm.. I'm sorry…" He was interrupted by his own sobbing. He had broken down again and was once again crying. Mina quickly pulled him into her embrace again and began rubbing his back.

"Midori…" She cooed quietly. "You don't have to apologize for any of that. You're YOU. I think I would be more concerned if you hadn't have gone and done all that. It's just in your nature. Sure, it was reckless and crazy, but you fought damn hard to protect everything you care about. You shouldn't apologize for that." He pulled away from her and their eyes met again. He looked confused. Had this been the first time he had heard something like that? What had others been telling him?

"Y-You're not concerned that I could have died?" He seemed really taken aback. Now Mina was really confused.

"Well of course I am. The situation would have been way different if you had, but you didn't. And that's what matters right? You're here now and you're living your life. You're moving on." She supposed that the last bit was a lie, but she really hoped that she could help Izuku move on from this. She wanted to see his shining smile once more. He looked shocked to hear that. Maybe she was getting through to him after all. She didn't want to get too far ahead of herself, but that thought alone instilled a bit of excitement in the pink-skinned girl.

"I-I don't know Ashido. Just thinking about how my life could've been snuffed out so quickly at many points in that battle scares me. It scares me to think of the effect my death could have had on my mother, or my classmates, or All Might…" Izuku trailed off at the end, a slight look of panic on his face at the mention of the former Number 1 pro-hero. Why would he care so much about what All Might thought of his death? Sure he was their teach, and she supposed he would be torn up at the thought of a student passing away, but Midoriya had put him in the same league as his mother. Perhaps Todoroki's theories weren't too far off… Mina quickly filed those thoughts away for later. That wasn't what was important right now. Right now, her only goal was to console Izuku.

"What's the point in thinking of all of that though? I mean, it didn't happen, so shouldn't you quit spending so much time dwelling on it?" He went silent again. At least he was listening and taking in her words. She could tell by the way his brow furrowed and his eye twitched. He was obviously deep in thought. But was it moving him in a positive direction? She decided it was probably best to move on for now.

Mina sat down and leaned against a nearby tree. She patted the space next to her and Izuku followed suit, coming to rest with his head on her shoulder. She figured he was more comfortable now, but she was a little upset she couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. There was something captivating about his emerald stare, something that put her at ease. She just wished she could do the same for him now.

"So how do you feel?", she asked, hoping that maybe she could get the ball rolling in a different direction this time.

"Pretty terrible."

She should've expected that, but for some reason, she had hoped he would have answered differently. She continued:

"Well obviously. I'm sure that in this kind of situation, I wouldn't feel too great either, but I mean… how do you FEEL?" She put extra emphasis on the last word, hoping he might get the hint and pick up on her subtext. She realized that her faith in his deductive abilities was misplaced.

"Well, I just told you. I feel pretty damn terrible about all of thi—"

"Your arms Izuku! How do you feel about your arms?!" She raised her voice, her frustration evident. She tried beating around the bush, but it had become obvious that the only way to get the info she wanted was to ask directly. "Sorry." She added. "I didn't mean to raise my voice like that. I mean I did, but I didn't mean to upset you by it."

He seemed a little taken aback at first, but finally he responded: "No. No, you're right. I was just avoiding the subject, but it might help to finally talk about it with someone other than my mom or Recovery Girl." She giggled at that, causing Izuku's face to break out in a light blush. She was glad he wasn't too hung up on her little outburst. Seeing he was ready to continue, she listened intently.

"It was a pretty big risk… no, it was a really dumb decision: what I did against Shigaraki. I had already been told by Recovery Girl that one more instance of breaking my arms would cost me their use, but in that moment… I wasn't really thinking about that. I had one clear goal in mind: Stop Shigaraki. And in the end, I did what I set out to do, but in ignoring the consequences, I cost myself my arms." Mina nodded along with what Izuku was saying; she wanted to make sure he knew she was listening. And she did listen, absorbing every little detail he relayed to her, while also studying his body language—you don't become a avid gossiper and not pick up on some body language tells.

"I guess I'm mostly just struggling with the aftermath of my choices. It's weird, you know? I still have my arms—they're there—I just no longer have the means to move or use them. And it's a sensation that's difficult to cope with. I keep willing them to move and remembering that I can't really do that anymore. It's disheartening." Mina thought carefully about what she wanted to say next. Izuku had come to a comfortable pause in his recounting that she knew she could fit a response in quickly.

"But you don't necessarily need them to be a hero. You've got your Full Cowling technique. You'll just have to rely on that!" She felt she had made a good point.

"I guess." Or maybe she hadn't. "I can always rely on my legs, of course. But it was nice to always have the option of my arms. Now I'm completely limited in that regard, and that's just taking into account the hero aspect of my life. What about all my day to day living? It's been hard: adjusting to life without the use of my arms!" Mina really sympathized with that. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to adjust to living after suddenly losing the ability to move your arms. A thought occurred to her though and a sly smile crept onto her face.

"I could be your arms for you Midori. I could help you with all sorts of things in your day to day life." Whether she had meant to or not, her tone had come across as rather sultry. Perhaps not the best for the current situation, but she was joking after all, so maybe it wasn't so bad to flirt with him like that. When she looked at him, she could see he was a mess of blush and stuttering.

"I-I-I-I d-don't think t-that would be a-all that necessary Ashido. But t-thank you." Izuku seemed to take her seriously. He looked a bit uncomfortable. Maybe she should clarify.

"Relax Midoriya. I was just messing with you. Unleeeeeess…" She couldn't resist. He really seemed to longer be so focused on the dark subject matter and instead had become focused on containing his embarrassment.

"But seriously, if you ever need my help with anything, don't hesitate to ask. I'm here for you… WE'RE here for you. I'm sure anyone in the class would happily oblige. We're all here for you. No one is holding anything against you." Mina went silent after that. She felt like she had said what she needed to. Izuku had seemed to calm down so much that it almost sounded like he had fallen asleep. She knew he hadn't though when he spoke a few moments later.

"Do you really think I can still be a hero Ashido?"

"Of course Midori. If anyone can, it's you. I've never met someone so motivated to be a hero. I just know that you'll find a way to pull through." She felt him smile. She smiled in turn, not necessarily to Izuku, but just in general. It felt good to know that he was smiling.

"Thanks."

Plain and simple, like Midoriya. Or as she was now realizing. Unlike Midoriya. He was a lot more complicated and deep than he really let on. He always seemed to just be a hero fanatic driven to be a hero by his own desire to become his idols. But Mina could now see that he had struggles. He had his own emotional battles he was fighting, just like many other people in the world. It was comforting, in a twisted way, that Midoriya was, in her eyes, no longer on that unattainable pillar or heroic perfection, but instead, he was just as human as the rest of them.

"Do you really think I can be a hero?" He asked again. She was confused; he had just asked that. Mina was about to answer when he continued speaking, this time through strangled sobs.

"Do you really think I can be a hero even if I'm a murderer?"

Her throat tightened. She couldn't breathe. Bile rose in her throat and she began to feel a bit of panic set in. She really hadn't expected that. That was such a heavy question, a heavy subject. And obviously, she didn't have an answer, at the very least, not a clear answer. How would you even answer a question like that? 'Oh no Midori! You're not a murderer. That guy was a villain and deserved to die, you were just taking care of him for someone else!' It just didn't seem like the right response. But on the contrary, telling him outright that he was a murderer just didn't seem right either.

Everyone had been stunned. No one really thought that Little Izuku Midoriya would ever be the one to go as far as he did against Shigaraki. Granted, no one expected Midoriya to be able to output so much damage that even Shigaraki couldn't regenerate with the help of All for One. So when Midoriya dealt that finishing blow, the sickening crack that resonated across the battlefield caught everyone's attention. It didn't take a detective either to tell that from the sickening angle Shigaraki's head was tilted at, that Midoriya had cleanly snapped his neck.

The body was never found, so an autopsy was never conducted and a final verdict was never given. For all anyone knew, Shigaraki could've survived the neck-snapping and simply been dragged away to regenerate elsewhere. But the fact still stood, Izuku Midoriya had been willing to go far enough as to kill a villain, something that Mina was sure the rest of class 2-A hadn't given much thought too. Was there anyone else in their class that had that willingness? Was Izuku wrong for doing that? By definition, it was clearly a crime, but Shigaraki was a threat to the entire world, so it created this nebulous gray area that Midoriya fell into that made anyone uncomfortable to discuss. In fact, Mina wasn't sure if she had heard even a single one of her classmates mention the occurrence since the climactic battle. She finally decided that no matter her actual thoughts on the situation right now, that there was only one answer that was clear to give while Midoriya was in this mindset.

"I don't think you're a murderer Midoriya. Not at all. You did what you had to. Anyone else would have done the same if they were in the same situation and had to make that same decision. It's not always easy to make decisions like that in battle, but I think that it's more important to think about how to move forward from here, instead of focusing so hard on what happened last week." She paused to give him time to process what she was saying before continuing once again.

"Of course I think you can still be hero Midoriya. You can't let that one decision change your entire future for you. You were under pressure and you were only trying to push Shigaraki to his limit to bring him down. I think it's better that you went a little too far instead of not far enough. Who knows what Shigaraki would have done if he been allowed to retreat? He could have completed the quirk transfer. He could have come back twice as strong and wiped us all out. You saved us all Midori." She was hesitant to continue. She worried that what she said next might send Izuku in an entirely different direction than before. She continued anyways.

"Besides… No body was ever recovered. I mean, it's definitely not a comforting thought, but maybe Shigaraki survived and got away. You don't even know if you actually killed him or not."

"I guess that's true." Izuku didn't sound wholly convinced, but Mina assumed eventually he'd come to understand that what happened really was out of his control. It wasn't his fault that Shigaraki had gunned straight for him. Todoroki mentioned that it had something to do with something called One For All, but Mina just presumed that he meant All For One and wrote the info off as unimportant. Izuku just happened to be an up-and-coming hero who had gotten in Shigaraki's way on more than one occasion, so she concluded that he really couldn't blame himself for any of it. Now she just had to convince him of all of this and everything would be perfect agai—

"Well Ashido, I'm gonna turn in for the night." Mina's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Izuku standing up and beginning to walk towards the dorms, fully intent on heading to bed.

"Wait, Midori—er, Izuku!" She called desperately to him. She wasn't ready for him to leave, not when she felt like she was so close to breaking through to him. He wouldn't have given up on her, so she won't give up on him!

"You can't leave yet!"

"Why not?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"Because… Um. I need to tell you something!" She quickly lied, thinking it would help her situation. She quickly realized that she had nothing she wanted to tell him, and began to scramble to come up with something.

"Oh, okay." Izuku began walking back towards her, confusion now painted all over his face. Suddenly he was upon her, and she realized she still hadn't thought of anything to say to him. "Well?"

"Uh, I…" Suddenly, she closed the distance between them and embraced him. "I'm here for you Izuku. Whenever you need me to be. Just call, and I'll be there. Uh, that was it. Goodnight."

"Oh. Thanks Ashido. I really appreciate it. Goodnight."

She felt like she had really gotten through to him. And judging by the way he had reacted at the end, it seemed apparent that there was some improvement. She began to follow his slowly retreating form. It had been a long night and she was ready to get to bed herself.

Izuku made his way inside. He waved at a few of his classmates as he passed through the common room, but made no effort to stop and chat. He was just ready to fall asleep. The entire discussion with Ashido was still fresh in his mind and frankly, it was emotionally draining. It had felt really nice to finally open up to someone about how he had been feeling, but it really put into perspective how much energy he was putting into bottling his emotions up.

He approached the elevator and raised his knee, ready to press the button to call it down. Suddenly, the doors opened and Mineta shuffled out in his nightwear. He nodded to Midoriya as a greeting as he walked by. No words were exchanged. Midoriya simply shuffled by his classmate and into the elevator as quickly as he could. Looking at the panel of buttons, he was surprised to see that Mineta had already pressed the button for his floor. He made a mental note to thank the pervy heroine later, but for now he watched the doors close as he waited to be taken upstairs.

As the elevator stopped and opened, Izuku eagerly made his way to his room. He brought his leg up once more and used it to nudge his door handle up. His door slid forward and he pushed his way inside. He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to finally be back in the comfort and safety of his own private area.

Adapting to using his feet and legs for most things had been uncomfortable for Izuku at first, but he felt he was finally getting the hang of it. He kicked his shoes on and managed to get his socks off before pulling his dresser drawer open with his foot. He searched until he found a suitable night outfit and pulled it out, tossing it on his bed as best as he could with just his foot. Then he turned to the corner of his room, where a bulky metal box now sat. Midoriya approached it and kicked it lightly. The box made a few small clicking noises before it sprouted arms and legs. A small head popped out of the top.

"Good evening, Izuku Midoriya. How can I assist you today?" Its voice was robotic, yet cheery, a strange combination that Midoriya found oddly soothing. UA issued him this robotic support in order to assist him with tasks that were deemed impossible without the use of his arms. At first, he found it to be just the slightest bit humiliating but he quickly realized that he had no other choice.

"I need help getting ready for bed."

"Understood. Proceeding to showers."

He followed the small robot and readied himself for his nightly routine. Mentally that is. It's not like there was anything he could really do to physically prepare.

Izuku and his "assistant" arrived in the bathroom. They approached the sink. The small robot's arms began to stretch and extend towards the nearest sink top, Izuku's own designated one. It grabbed his toothbrush and lined the bristles with toothpaste.

"Ready?" Its robotic voice chirped. He flushed in embarrassment; he still wasn't used to having his teeth brushed for him, though he supposed it wasn't as bad as what came after…

"Yes," was all he said in simple affirmation. The small droid began to brush his teeth for him and after a two-minute period had passed, he was finally ready for the next step.

"Time to shower." This time it wasn't a question. Not that Izuku would have skipped his shower given the choice, but it felt different to be told to shower. He stepped away from the sink and towards the nearest shower stall. The robot reached for his shirt and began to tug it upwards by the ends of the sleeves, pulling it over his head and removing it completely. Next, his pants were removed. And finally, his "assistant" removed his last layer, leaving his extremities bare to the world. His face flushed again, still not adjusted to this part of his new nightly routine either.

Pushing past his embarrassment once more, he made his way into the stall, making sure to hold the door open for the robot to come in as well. It turned on the water and adjusted the knobs so that the temperature wouldn't be too much for Izuku. He stepped into the water and sighed as he felt the warmth slowly spread from his head to his toes, washing away the stress and exhaustion of the day. He couldn't help but make note of the fact that he felt the warmth of the shower everywhere but his arms, but he pushed that thought aside for now, focusing on the sleep that would come after.

After fifteen uncomfortably long minutes of being thoroughly scrubbed by the assistance droid, it was finally time for Izuku to leave the shower. The robot grabbed his towel and began to dry him off. Once he was dry, his assistant dressed him in his nightwear and the two left the bathroom.

Now back in his room, the robot returned to the corner and folded in on itself. Its lights shut off, indicating that it had powered down. Izuku sat down on his bed and turned, kicking the covers to the foot of his bed. He shimmied beneath them and pulled them back up as best he could. He was finally settled in his bed and ready to sleep, and it had only been about an hour since he came in and started his routine. He closed his eyes, ready to sleep, but found himself struggling. The nagging fear that if he closed his eyes he would see Shigaraki began to well up in his stomach and chest. He did his best to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, before he tuned out all thought and began to drift off to sleep…

Kyudai Garaki was sweating. Not quite from overexertion however; this room was simply too hot and dingy for his tastes. The quiet hum of machinery filled the background and gave the dim room and eerie feel. He had never been one to enjoy such a creepy workspace but working for one of the most formidable villains to ever live warranted this kind of lab he supposed. He quickly realized he was beginning to get side-tracked and immediately focused back on the task at hand.

Poor Tomura. His life had been met with a rather untimely demise. It pained Garaki to think about, but he supposed the attachment he held for the boy was strictly work-related: Shigaraki had been Kyudai's Magnum Opus. But he had been struck down early, before he could even do some real damage. His greatest creation, reduced to the charred and bloodied cadaver that now lay on the table in front of him.

Though he had come to the conclusion that some of his best work had been done post-mortis, so this was only really a minor setback. Rather, he should be thankful: he now had the opportunity to finish transferring All for One to Shigaraki, and the process would mean his body would be able to handle it without issue. Suddenly, the only door to the room he was in flew open. An abundance of light flooded in and he was met with the silhouette of his new employer standing there.

"How close are you to being finished?"

Garaki's throat dried out a bit. He was still pretty intimidated by his new boss, even though they had been the one to save him from the heroes who had captured him. He swallowed hard before delivering his answer.

"Well, I've only really just begun. I still need to repair the body before I can begin to finish the quirk transfer and even then, only 70% of the quirk was transferred the first time around. It could be months before I finish. But I'm working diligently, I swear!" He added the last part in fear of his life. He truly didn't trust his new boss with his life, and he doubted that he ever would.

"I want him up and about as quickly as possible. So hurry it up or it's your ass on the line!"

He flinched and made to retort. "But…"

"I don't want to hear it. Just get back to work." And with that the door slammed shut, once again bathing the room in a pale darkness. Kyudai set himself back to working on tissue restoration, trying desperately to push the thoughts of that maniac from his mind. He had a feeling it was going to be especially difficult to sleep tonight…