Thank you all so much for the support, I'm shocked anyone even read it but I'm so glad it was well-received. Thank you for the reviews, they mean a lot and help push me to write more of this story! So review/comment if you can, it helps a great deal!

Another thing I forgot to mention back in chapter 1, if something doesn't happen in this fanfic, for example, if I skip over something that canonically happened in the anime, it still happened in the fic. Enjoy chapter 2!

They had done it.

With the help of Uraraka, the five were able to pull through in the rescue mission. Uraraka had floated them in the back, Kirishima in the front breaking through the wall, and Izuku and Iida running and jumping as fast and hard as they could. Due to the weightlessness and well-timed jump, the four soared through the air, getting a massive amount of height - just out of reach of the villains. Once they reached their explosive friend, they flew off with help from Mount Lady and the other pro heroes.

It was truly a feat of teamwork, it was so impressive to Izuku; how fast they agreed to work together and how perfectly executed everything was. He was so thankful Uraraka had come, without her none of it would have been possible. Her quick thinking and timing on her quirk had saved them. The admiration he experienced towards her was unparalleled. It brought him joy knowing he had someone like her in his corner.

But now.

Now, was different.

That joy he spoke of was gone. Just, gone. He watched as his idle, his mentor, his predecessor, All Might, used the last of his power to stop All for One. The crowds around him cheered and called his name as the number one hero called out, "Next, it's your turn."

His finger outstretched pointing at the camera. Pointing at every single criminal in Japan, every single villain in the world. It shouted a warning to all foes yet unseen.

They took it that way. Everyone, took it that way. They saw their hero showing strength in his final moments as number one.

But Izuku? No - he took it completely differently.

As they heard a warning, he heard the one person that gave him the strength to be a hero; finally pass the torch. He felt All Might's finger pointing directly at him, he felt the weight behind his words. It was his time.

It is your turn to uphold the mantle of One for All

No one seemed to notice the tears streaming down his eyes. Although, through the cheering of the crowd, the energy of the people around them, he stuck out like a sore thumb. It was enough to draw the attention of Bakugo, and Uraraka.

Uraraka's upbeat energy as she cheered on All Might, their teacher, was all but zapped as she glanced towards him. She was extremely confused, asking herself why Deku of all people would be crying at a time like this? When All Might won the battle. Defeated his final adversary. His idle had just secured his most important victory. Shouldn't he be happy?

Bakugou started at Deku as well, having noticed from the very beginning that he was acting strangely. Nothing but a blank expression painted his face. Hints of pity were in the boy but he would never, show it. Instead, in his mind, he theorized the possibilities as to why Deku was crying. The "nerd" had always been emotional so maybe he was just crying of joy? But no...that didn't look like tears of joy. Sadness it was then. Suddenly, the blonde's eyes widened as he thought back to the beginning of the year. When Deku had stopped him after their first exercise as heroes in training. He had said something-

"I was given this power, but one day I will make it my own Kacchan!"

No way...

7 days had passed since All Might beat one for all; the symbol of peace had officially retired from hero work. It left society in a strangled mess, civilians didn't know how to react. Villains suddenly entered a period of unrest.

Todoroki was able to recover completely from his fight with the villains. He did have a rather nasty scar on his shoulder - but other than that, he seemed to have a speedy recovery. The boy was up and moving within a few days. It did take Recovery Girl a few 'kisses' to fix him, however. The burns he suffered were...almost un-repairable. But thankfully recovery girl was an expert at her job.

Izuku had gone to see Todoroki every day, and when he finally had woken up - it took everything in the boy's power not to cry tears of joy. He had felt like he had cried enough, although a part of him didn't see his tears ending anytime soon.

U.A. thrust the class of 1-A into their provisional licensing exams. A part of him wondered if it was because they needed the class to be capable of fighting back in emergency situations. It hadn't exactly been a coincidence that the league had attacked them in every scenario they left the campus, so it made sense.

The class had only four days to work on their ultimate moves, and then they moved onto the test. It also made sense that with All Might retiring, more heroes would be needed immediately. Deku, along with many others, had acquired their licenses. But surprisingly, Todoroki and Bakugou hadn't. The two strongest of the class were somehow left behind. Having to take extra classes definitely pissed the explosive boy off, but Todoroki seemed content. He was the more mature one after all.

The students of 1-A, as well as the entire U.A school had been moved into dorms immediately afterward. It surprisingly had taken less effort to convince the parents then Aizawa had originally thought. He was glad they had been so understanding, especially in today's society. He wouldn't have blamed them for pulling their kids from the school. Thinking about it logically, he probably would have if he was a parent.

Izuku, well...the distraction of the provisional license exams had been a welcome one. He hadn't gotten the chance to think over everything that had occurred. But now that they had downtime, he was not doing the best. His over-analytical brain dragged him down. Analyzing everything takes a toll - he wished he could turn it off. Just...stop thinking for once.

It was a day or two after the exams. The girls had the whole class, minus Bakugou, and Mineta (at the girls' demand), on a room tour competition. He had been having fun in the beginning, but after the first few rooms, he quietly sunk to the back of the group. Stuck in his mind, worrying about every single thing.

It's up to you now

Ever since that day he had been feeling...funny. Like a knot in his stomach that wouldn't go away. It felt like there was something sitting at the top of his throat ready to come up. Like he just wanted to scream, while simultaneously ripping his own hair out. He couldn't shake it. The anxiety, the pressure. Even after his talk with All Might, which had helped slightly, he couldn't get it out of his head - he was the sole holder of One for All.

Only you

It was his job now to be that symbol of peace.

It was his job now to stand as a pillar of society.

It was his responsibility to be a savior unlike any other.

And those three things made him more stressed than anything. How could he fill All Might's shoes? How could he, a scrawny, useless, Deku... possibly take place of the greatest hero that ever existed? How was he supposed to become what All Might was?

Part of him knew this was stupid. He had gone through this worrying already - he already had these conversations with himself before. But...why was he still thinking this way? That question ate at the back of his mind as the girls commented on so and so's room. It felt like all of his prior anxiety had come rushing back as soon as he was reminded of his expectations. As soon as he remembered the sheer weight of responsibility he held.

It had been a few minutes since he stopped walking with the rest. Halted dead in the hallway, clenching his fists, and biting his lower lip, he simply breathed. Breathed hard, and fast, like he couldn't find the air he needed so desperately.

Before he knew it, he was on the elevator going back to his floor, and even faster he was on the floor of his dorm breathing even harder, even faster, than before

What was happening to him? Why did he feel light-headed, and why was he breathing so quickly? Was he hyperventilating? He didn't know, he didn't know anything, all he knew was soon enough his stomach emptied itself into the small trash can that sat next to his desk. Loud groans escaped his throat as stomach acid shot through his mouth. The burning sensation stung so much, his throat was on fire.

Throwing up was his least favorite thing to do. Especially when it took multiple minutes for it to stop. Right now, Izuku thought he was going to kill himself by hurling so much. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't stop.

It wouldn't stop...

...and he couldn't breathe.

He was choking on his own bile. His mind went cloudy, something was grabbing his shoulders. He couldn't tell what it was, but he didn't care. He needed to breathe. He couldn't breathe. But he needed to-

The girls had just walked out of Sato's room, feeling happy and satisfied with their tasty treats. They couldn't believe how good of a baker Sato really was, but it did make sense considering his Quirk was based on sugar. Ochako reminded herself that she would have to ask Sato for his recipe, it was just too good not to.

As the group continued on, laughing and ranking the rooms, she felt an absence. Like a usual energy that was so lively and warming - it was gone. Her eyes scanned her friends as they moved forward, and the only one missing was Deku. The mop of green hair on top of his head had disappeared from the sea of bodies. Rationally it wasn't that concerning, so she didn't immediately worry. He could have just gotten tired and went off to bed. Bakugo had followed a similar route earlier. But she doubted that, as Deku wasn't one to leave without telling anyone, even Todoroki, who had to be more tired than anyone, was still with the class.

Her mind told her that it was nothing, and Deku was fine, just a little tired. She wouldn't blame him, she herself was feeling exhausted. The last week or so felt nonstop, with their license exams, and not to mention All Might's retiring still looming over their shoulders. But, for some reason, it didn't seem like it was just normal stress. In her heart, she could just tell something was wrong.

'He did look a little pale earlier...

Quickly letting her friends know that she had to use the restroom, she left the group and headed straight towards the only place he could have gone - his bedroom. It was the most logical option for where he could be. A part of her thought for a second, that maybe there was a reason he didn't tell anyone that he left. But she couldn't help but worry for him. She hopped onto the elevator and clicked the number for his floor. It wasn't like him to just leave like that. Maybe something really was wrong. He would have said something...he would have told her, right?

Getting off the elevator on his floor, she quickly noticed that the door to Deku's room had been left slightly ajar. Almost as if he forgot to close it all the way. Shuffling forward, slower then she would have liked, Uraraka reached his entryway and was immediately shocked when she heard loud groans coming from inside his room.

Thinking the worst, she immediately shoved herself past the door and rushed into the room...

Gods

She had found Deku, hurling into his small trash can, struggling to breathe. Gagging on his vomit, clinging onto his desk for dear life. Needless to say it was a rather disturbing sight. It took 30 seconds of him vomiting, and Uraraka grabbing his shoulders to try and stop him from convulsing, to finally pass out.

She was, shocked, horrified, worried...incredibly worried. She had so many questions, like why did Deku start throwing up? Could he have been sick? Was it just a stomach bug?

Stomach bugs didn't look like that

Putting a hold on her worrying for a minute, she looked around his room to find it was more than a mess. He had missed the trash can a bit, and the things on his desk were sprawled out all disorderly. With another pang of worry, she moved him to his bed and started to clean up. Deku, had helped her in her time of need, he had comforted her in the hospital when he was the broken one, countless times he had been there for her. This time she would be there for him, whatever was wrong with him she would be there.

Not like she wouldn't have helped anyway

After cleaning up what he had left in the trash can and on the floor, she floated his body into the bathroom. Her hands worked diligently, wiping his face clean and patting off the beads of sweat that rolled down his forehead. He looked so tired, so worn out, so, not like himself. This whole ordeal was, well a bit disgusting, but it didn't really bother her. She knew he would do the same for her.

After she cleaned him, she brought him over to his bed. His body floated down and his head automatically rested on the pillow. It really looked like he had a fever, but then again it could've been from the strain of throwing up with no air.

Didn't they say to place a cool towel on the forehead for fevers? Or was it layer so he could sweat it out? They didn't exactly teach this in their health and safety course. That focused on CPR, and emergency procedures - not so much caring for the sick. A cool washcloth was doable enough, he had towels in his bathroom so it wasn't impossible. A part of her didn't want to rummage through his drawers for extra blankets anyway, so she was sure the cloth would be fine

Once she placed the towel on his head, she realized that she wasn't exactly sure how to deal with this potential sickness. Part of her was thinking maybe she should keep her distance so she doesn't catch it. But at the same time, she wanted to help him. All she knew, was when she used to get sick, her parents would do the same thing that would always make her feel better.

They took her temperature by placing their hand on her forehead, Uraraka already had done this and he most definitely had a fever. Then, they placed a washcloth on her forehead, check her temperature, and gave her a kiss on the nose.

Heh

Her face lit up like a traffic light, she swore she could see the red reflection in his mirror. Kiss? Deku? On the nose?! Who was she to just enforce herself on him like that!? There was absolutely no way she would ever do that without his permission.

It would be pretty nice

-Ah! Shut up! Ok, she admittedly would LOVE to do that right now, but she couldn't! He was passed out, what kind of person would do that to their best friend when they can't even consent?

Scratch that, she could think of a bunch of her friends that would take the chance in a heartbeat.

Would it be that crazy though? She was starting to not think so. When her parents did it, it always made her feel ten times better. A hundred times better even! So what was the big deal? A small peck on the nose wasn't anything to get crazy about.

Or maybe your just jumping at the chance to kiss your crush

She didn't know, but, if she was being honest with herself, she didn't care. She knew it was dangerous, and that she should probably not be looking at him as a crush. But as she sat on his bed, watching his mouth contort in discomfort, she realized that she truly did not care. Her face still beet red, she leaned down and gave Deku's nose a small peck.

Maybe it was her imagination, but she swore a small smile grew on his face. This of course nearly caused a yelp of embarrassment from the sheer cuteness.

It took a while, but her blush was finally dying down. So she plopped herself in his desk chair and waited for him to wake up. Usually, she would respect his boundaries and leave, but there were way too many questions on her mind. Why had Deku been on the ground throwing up? Was he just sick? Or was there something more? She thought of the possibilities, he could have eaten some bad food, but it would be unlikely as most of what he had thrown up wasn't food. He could just have had a stomach bug, but she doubted that as well; because that would mean she (and most of their class) had already caught the virus. And she doubted that this would be a reclusive case of a stomach virus.

Thinking back to around 2 weeks ago, the day All Might had defeated All for One, she remembered Deku's expression when they were watching the live footage. He was crying, heavily. She remembered thinking it was odd, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. But, he hadn't really been the same the rest of that night, and ever since then, he seemed more distant. In his thoughts more, maybe? He was less talkative, and as the days went on, she noticed less and less of her best friend when in conversation with the class. She knew Iida had similar concerns, they had both noticed the absence during their normal conversations.

But it wasn't even just that. He had been putting on fake smiles - most wouldn't notice. But with how much time she spent with him, she did. It wasn't too concerning. She had her fair share of fake faces she put on whenever it was just too much. Maybe she was being hypocritical, but the notion of him hiding his feelings from his friends, from her, just didn't sit right with her.

Something had to be troubling him, the big question would be if it has anything to do with his current condition.

beep - beep - beep

Ochako stirred slightly, brown hair ruffling around her face.

beep - beep - beep

She felt warm, it wasn't unpleasant, but a bit odd

beep - beep - beep

She finally shot up to a sitting position. Quickly glancing around, she had no idea where she was.

beep - beep - beep

Oh right...

She must have fallen asleep at Deku's desk, she had pondered what was wrong with him for so long, she must have been tired enough to pass out.

beep - beep - beep

She groaned at the annoying tone. Her finger rose and she finally pressed the small button on her watch to silence it. In the process, she glanced at the time.

'12:30 - damn, she had been out for two and a half hours. Was Deku still sleeping?

Her head turned to her right to glance at his bed when she suddenly realized that she was in fact not at his desk anymore. Instead, she was horizontal and sitting on something much softer.

She was in...Deku's bed.

The color that had taken over her face was almost indescribable. She would have floated off the bed as well if she hadn't noticed that Deku was nowhere to be found. In fact, she was laying right where he had been.

Immediately panicking and snapping out of her flustered frenzy, she jumped up from Deku's soft bed and flipped the lights on.

Just a small look around his room had told her. He was gone. But where could he be? Was he alright? The last time she saw him he had passed out throwing up. What kind of condition was he in to be up and moving around?

Her thoughts were quickly jumbled as she felt a faint rumble, barely noticeable, but enough to vibrate her feet on the soft All Might themed carpet.

What was that?

Deciding to not investigate further, as for all she knew he had simply gotten up to use the bathroom. He might have seen her sleeping at his desk, felt bad, and placed her in his own sleeping position.

Something told her that hadn't been the case.

1/2 Hour Earlier

His eyes slowly opened, a damp towel covered his forehead, his hands were, clammy. The wetness was a bit unpleasant, and the moisture was dripping down his face like sweat. He slowly sat up in his bed, instinctively taking the washcloth off his face and placing it to the side. Wait-

How did he get in his bed

He thought back to his last memory, he had been throwing up and convulsing on the floor. He must have passed out or something, but the question still stayed, how did he get to his bed? He looked to the left towards his desk and found his answer.

There sat Uraraka, her head in her arms on his desk, completely passed out. A tiny snore left her mouth, and her brown hair mushed against the wooden desk.

He had to fight back a chuckle at the cute pout her face was making.

Immediately putting the pieces together, he sighed thankfully. She must have come to check on him and found him in the middle of a pool of his own throw-up. He looked back to the floor of his room, noticing that it was completely clean. She must have cleaned up after him as well.

She didn't have to do that

Looking back toward Uraraka, a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude, as well as a pang of guilt flooded his mind. She didn't have to clean up after him, or even take care of him the way she did.

He didn't deserve this kind of good treatment, at least not as much as she did for him. She has been there for his time and time again, and once more she helps him in his time of need. Sometimes, he felt he would never be able to help her as much as she has helped him.

Walking over from his bed to his desk, he checked over her. She looked completely exhausted and uncomfortable. He took a second to path out his next action; before gently picking her up and carrying her over to his bed. He laid her on his mattress and covered her with his blanket.

He probably should have just woke her up. But she looked too tired for him to do such a cruel thing. He would wake her up soon, but she could sleep a little while longer. It technically was against the rules, but he had a bigger problem on his hands.

He decided to sit at his desk, not being tired enough to fall asleep on the floor. He needed to figure out what had made him sick the way he was. His immediate thought was a panic attack, it had been the only thing that made sense. He had gotten them before when he was younger. These past few weeks, he had been too stressed and filled with anxiety from the All Might situation, and it all came out at once. He placed his elbows on his desk and shoved his face in his hands. A low groan emitted from his mouth; the young boy felt completely defeated.

How messed up was he? Having panic attacks over this? He was supposed to be the next symbol. The next holder of One for All. He had no time to be this mentally-

knock - knock - knock

A few soft knocks rang through his dorm, snapping him out of his mind for a brief moment. A look of confusion crept its way on to his face. But also, a look of annoyance.

Someone was knocking on his door in the middle of the night, he supposed it wasn't anything terrible. But now wasn't the right time for anyone to bother him. He had too much on his plate and now someone else wanted to shovel some more on.

Breathing a sigh, he moved to open the door.

He turned the knob, slowly pushing the wooden barrier open. A tired look on his face, his eyes laid upon the night time visitor.

"K-Kacchan!?" He exclaimed, confused out of his mind. Suddenly becoming aware of the person sleeping in his bedroom, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "W-What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." Kacchan stated plainly. One look at his face told him that he too was exhausted. So, why now?

"C-Can't it wait till morning?" He was almost pleading at this point, he really needed to try and get his mind straight.

"No."

"W-Why not Kacchan? What is so important that we have to talk right now? What do you want?" His voice immaturely got a bit hostile, and it obviously ticked his blonde "friend" off.

"We need to talk, about your quirk." Kacchan turned, walking off into the halls of the dorms, "Follow me."

He panicked. Not on the outside, but on the inside. Izuku...panicked.

His quirk? What could that mean? Did Kacchan discover something about his relationship with All Might? Or One for All?

Looking back towards Uraraka, he gulped. If he didn't follow him, who knows what would happen. Uraraka would be fine sleeping there, for now, he just hoped she didn't wake without him. What if she went after them?

He shivered at the thought of Uraraka getting in the way of Kacchan. Who knows how pissed he would be? What if he seriously hurt her? Would he do something like that? No.

Izuku realized he was thinking way too far ahead, with way too many possibilities, he was just stressing himself out once more. Slipping into his sneakers, Izuku quietly shut the door behind him and ran after his childhood "friend"