Disclaimer! Do not take any of the symptoms or diagnoses in this chapter as a medical advisory. Any correlation is purely coincidental. If you are experiencing any concerning symptoms, please contact a medical professional if necessary.

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I practiced with another teacher named Ectoplasm for the remainder of the time we worked in the gym. Instead of trying to work on any sort of special move, I just worked on my hand-to-hand combat skills with my quirk.

"Come now, Asuga." Ectoplasm lectured. "You are too obvious with your moves. You work on a pattern, not sporadic movements." He wasn't wrong at all. When I get into a rhythm, sticking with it is much easier than thinking up new tactics on the go.

"'Sporadic' is how you slip up in the field."

"Not if it is technical and calculated." He retorted.

Appearing aggravated, I started forward with my arm pulled back for a punch. As he had been expecting me too, I lunged forward a bit soon, just like I had every other time I intended to switch. I looked past him, peering right at the wall behind him, just like I had every other time. I even prepared to put my foot down, just like every other time. But this wasn't "every other time."

Ectoplasm noticed all these small details and whipped around to prepare for me there. As soon as he didn't see me there, he looked back at my original place. Except he wouldn't see me there either. It didn't occur to him to look up until it was too late either.

I slammed my feet into his shoulders. Ectoplasm crumpled to the ground and I took my place by standing on his stomach.

"How's that for 'technical and calculated'?" I taunted.

"Good, try to do that more often." He wheezed. Ectoplasm shifted under my stance, signaling for me to get off.

I switched off of him to get some distance before readying myself for the next rally of hits. Except this switch was different. It felt off. I didn't know how to explain it. It just didn't feel good. Unnatural if you will. I'm getting sloppy.

At the end of the day, class a and I— I mean we returned to our dorms and got settled for the night. I decided to head straight to my room to work on studying despite the pleads from my classmates.

After taking a good deal of time to read, I got ready for bed.

Scratch that, I couldn't sleep. Thanks to insomnia. I ended up starting a dive into a hero law textbook to keep myself busy until I heard it.

'Somethings wrong.' That was odd. They never said anything like that.

What? This better not be another one of your games.

'Asuga, you need to take deep breaths, try yawning as much as you can. You're going to feel some pain in your chest soon, it's already there a bit.' They weren't wrong, there was a weird feeling in the middle of my chest. I took a long, deep breath. 'Write down these exact words on a piece of paper—' I quickly grabbed a post-it-note.

'Air embolism in heart. Get Recovery Girl.' I wrote it down word for word. The pain in my chest was getting worse and I felt like I wasn't getting enough air.

Air embolism? What?

'You've read about it before. In fact, you've experienced it before. You just don't remember.'

Okay… so what do I do?

'Go to the teacher's dorms and find anyone that can get Recovery Girl. You need to act fast.' The pain was worse. It began to travel down my left arm. If it hadn't been for the lack of oxygen I was having, I would have known that I was having a myocardial infarction.

In unscientific terms, I was having a heart attack.

I took the note and began making my way to the elevator. I jogged in and pressed the button for the first floor. The elevator began moving and a wave of dizziness hit me. I slammed into the side of the elevator and nearly slid down until I grabbed the rail. What is happening to me? Millions of ideas racked my brain and confusion began setting in.

Ding! I stumbled out of the elevator, now clutching my chest with my left hand. The note was in my right. I could see a small light in the kitchen and took a sigh of relief.

'Deep breath back in, don't waste your air.' I didn't even bother to respond. I made my way over to the kitchen. The mere exercise I had done had already gotten me out of breath. Todoroki looked over at me, filling a glass of water.

"Kirika? What are you doing down here so late?" It only took him a second to notice something was wrong. His expression automatically changed. "What's wrong? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"Can't explain, but you have to go to the teacher's dorm." I was huffing through breaths.

"The teacher's dorm?"

"Yes. And give this to one of them and say that Kirika needs Recovery Girl's help." I laid the note in his hand and he stared at it.

"'Air embolism'? 'Get Recovery Girl'? Kirika, what is happening?" Todoroki looked very concerned. "Are you in danger?"

"Yes, but it's just me. If you don't find the teachers, Todoroki… Just please, please go!" I gave him a pleading look.

"Who will look after you?"

"I can manage, but you have to go. Now."

"Okay, okay. Just be careful and don't do anything stupid." He looked at me with concerned and made his way over to the door. He looked at me one more time before closing the door.

I nearly collapsed to my knees when I heard the door click shut. I was light-headed, dizzy, and the pain in my chest was worse. Okay, what do I do now?

'Grab some pillows from the couches. Place them in a stair-like formation about a foot apart. One pillow, then two in a stack, then three.' I did it and waited for my next instructions.

'Now, place your head on the single pillow and your feet on the stack of three. Make sure the stack of two is supporting your hips.'

The heck? This has got to be the most awkward thing ever.

'How are you feeling, Asuga?" They completely disregarded my comment.

…Actually, kind of better. But, really tired. Can I fall asleep?

'NO! Asuga! Do not fall asleep! When the teachers get here, you need to be able to talk to them!' I couldn't resist it. It was so hard not to fall asleep.

Shhhh.

'ASUGA! Come on! You can stay awake!'

I was semi-conscious when I heard the main doors open and closed rapidly. I heard voices. One was Todoroki's, maybe another was Recovery Girls', and one other. Aizawa? They may have been others but I couldn't be sure. They all sounded like mumbles. I was hoisted up onto a gurney or stretcher of some sort and strapped down. My feet were lifted up, similar to how I was when I was laying on the pillows.

I voice was then right above my ear. I knew this one, it was Recover Girl. "Dearie? Can you hear me?" Her faint silhouette was in my vision.

I could only get a few words out. "A-air… emb-… embo-"

"Yes, good. Air embolism. I got your note, dearie. Can you tell me how you're feeling?" I was moving, but I didn't know where or what direction. Lights passed above me but I didn't know if it was inside or outside.

"Con…fused. Hard to b-breathe… Chest… arm… pain-painful…" I was using all my focus to get words out. I could hardly even think. "Get… get R-Recovery… Girl."

"I'm right here, dearie."

"Good… then I-I can sleep?" I didn't even wait for a response before the world went dark.

~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~

I actually published on time! Yayyy! But more importantly, what is happening to our baby Asuga? Why does she have an air embolism? I bet a lot of you don't know what the heck an air embolism is, so I'll explain briefly (it will also be mentioned next chapter).

Have you ever wondered why doctors in horror scenes squirt the serum out and tap the sides of the syringe before injecting someone? It is so there aren't any air bubbles injected into the veins and/or arteries. These air bubbles can get lodged in an artery or vein, in the lungs, in the brain, or (in Asuga's case) in the heart. Now, since it is lodged in her heart's arteries, our baby is having a heart attack!

Stay tuned for more medical drama!

Peace!