Hey guys,

I don't know why I'm updating literally a day after publishing. I'd say normally you can expect updates a week apart, but who knows. I kind of have this story in my head and it's demanding to be written.

SPOILER NOTICE:

Anyway, this story now contains spoilers through Chapter 100 of the manga.

Thanks! Enjoy.

Midoriya was pretty sure that this had been the week straight from hell. He loved hero training, he really did, but the teachers had been pressing the students very hard about procuring their provisional licenses, and the extra physical workload on top of his regular exercises were wearing his body thin. He exhaled loudly as he let his legs relax into the chair, absolutely exhausted after 40 minutes of isometric exercises.

"Something to add to the discussion, Midoriya?" Cementoss called at him from across the room. Midoriya shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had completely forgotten about his work in Modern Literature.

"N-no, sorry sensei," he replied quietly, staring straight down at his desk while avoiding the stares from his classmates.

After class Midoriya stayed after with Iida and Uraraka to clean up the room. "Midoriya, what happened in class today?" Iida asked him, concern lines peppering his face.

"Oh," Midoriya laughed nervously, "I've just been pushing myself hard lately and I'm a little tired is all."

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Midoriya," Iida chided, a serious look overcoming his face. "Proper training requires proper rest."

"He is right, Deku-kun," Uraraka chimed, smiling as she cleaned the blackboard. "Are you guys headed home this weekend?"

"Yes, I will be," Iida answered. "I'd like to spend the time with my brother."

Uraraka nodded. "And you, Deku-kun?"

Midoriya paused for a minute. In all honesty, he hadn't really thought about it. Obviously, he probably would, if only to comfort his mom. On the other hand, the two days off from school would give him valuable training time with All Might. It really had only been a week that he'd been away from home, and with the Symbol of Peace gone the amount of time before he had to face the League of Villains was quickly ticking away.

Both Iida and Uraraka were looking at him intently now. He laughed nonchalantly, "I should probably go home," he conceded, and for a second it looked like Uraraka's smile faltered. "But the extra training time on campus would be helpful," Midoriya added, and Iida nodded in agreement.

"What about you, Uraraka?" Iida asked, turning towards the girl.

"I lived in an apartment here in Musutafu before U.A. became a boarding school," Uraraka confessed. "My parents live far, so I will probably still be here." She turned away, the blackboard chalk neatly in a row. "It'll be pretty lonely here with everyone gone."

"I don't think you'll be all alone," Midoriya piped up, "I'm sure some people are staying behind for the weekend."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Deku-kun," Uraraka replied, "I'm going to head back to the dorms and see if anyone's staying behind." Uraraka waved goodbye to the two boys and headed toward the dorms.

"Midoriya," Iida whispered intensely. His tone and expression were filled with such strong integrity that it startled Midoriya. He hadn't seen Iida speak this way to him since he was going to thank Uraraka at the exams for saving him.

"Y-yeah?"

"Uraraka is a dear friend of ours and it would be completely out of the question to have her remain in the dormitories this weekend all by herself," Iida exclaimed. "I think she was trying to find a way to ask you if she could spend time with you, and I think it would be impertinent of you not to oblige."

Midoriya immediately felt heat filling his face. "N-no, I d-didn't mean it l-like that," he stuttered, feeling his heartrate increase. "You're right, Iida, I-I'll go talk to her right away!" Midoriya nodded, quickly darting from the room.

He made his way slowly to the dorm, trying to find a way to ask Uraraka if she would be willing to hang out with him. Should I ask her to go to the park? Should we go to the mall? My house? If I ask her to go to my house would that be creepy? I don't want to come off as creepy, I mean I'm really not –

"Midoriya?" A voice interjected, "Are you okay? You were doing that muttering thing again."

Midoriya quickly turned around to see Todoroki standing behind him, concern on his face. Midoriya immediately felt the heat return to his face as he raised his hands in front of him. "N-no, no, well, I mean, yes I am okay, I just didn't realize that I had been muttering aloud this entire time."

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt," Todoroki replied, turning away, a bag in his hand.

"Are you headed out for the weekend then?" Midoriya called after him.

"Yeah, on my days off I like to go visit someone…" Todoroki trailed off, turning back towards the gate. "Take care of yourself, Midoriya," he finished as he scanned his I.D. on the gate to leave.

"You too!" Midoriya called after him, turning around to head back to the dorm. If Todoroki is gone, then he will have the dorm completely to himself. It really is the best time for some additional training, he thought as he opened the door to the dormitory's stairwell and began the ascent to Class 1-A's floor.

As Midoriya neared the top of the building, approaching Class 1-A's floor, he couldn't help but hear a playful voice in the common room. "Uraraka, am I right?" A voice that sounded like Ayoyama's cooed.

Midoriya opened the door to the common room to see Aoyama, relaxed on the couch and Uraraka standing in front of him, fists clenched and her back turned to the stairs.

"Hey guys, has most everyone left?" Midoriya calls, noticing Uraraka flinch.

"Oh yes, it's become quite an intimate affair here," Aoyama purred. "Wouldn't you say so, Uraraka?"

Uraraka doesn't respond and Midoriya, as per usual, doesn't really understand what Aoyama could be talking about. "Hey, Uraraka, I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together this weekend? You said that you don't really have any place to go and I thought that we could –" Midoriya started, feeling uncomfortable.

"No," Uraraka cut him off harshly. "I've got other things I've gotta do this weekend." She muttered something to Aoyama under her breath and quickly escaped to the girls' side of the dormitory without even bothering to turn to look at Midoriya.

"Poor Midoriya," Aoyama sang from the couch, "forever misunderstanding."

Midoriya shook his head and walked towards his room. In a way it was a relief that Uraraka was busy this weekend because he still wanted to see if he could fit in some training with All Might and still visit enough to make his mother happy. Once in his dorm, he quickly opened up his phone to text All Might.

Midoriya: Are you available for any extra training this weekend?

Midoriya laid quietly on his bed, pressing his phone to his chest. He hoped that All Might would be up for a few rounds of training. The League of Villains was a growing pressure looming above his head. A responsibility that he had to live up to. He was beginning to sink into a pit of anxiety when a the vibrations from his phone hit his chest.

All Might: No can do, Young Midoriya! I must meet with the teachers regarding official U.A. business, and you have already trained so heroically this week! Excellent training demands excellent rest! Please go and visit your kind mother this weekend!

Midoriya sighed, but this was to be expected of All Might. In order to get Midoriya's mom to agree to boarding school, All Might had promised that he would guide Midoriya on a new path, a safer path, and a path that was much different than the one he himself took. Part of that was making sure that Midoriya maintained healthy, normal relationships with his family and friends.

Midoriya was about to text his mom about coming home tonight when he heard a plop underneath his bed. He rolled over and saw that the small, UA-inscribed notebook had fallen out from underneath his mattress. In the last week he hadn't looked at it a single time, and had even forgotten about it. Having the diary had begun to weigh a little more heavily on his conscience, and he especially didn't feel comfortable reading someone's intimate thoughts while Todoroki was in the same room as him. He picked it up off the floor and stared intently at the cover. It was begging him to read it. Just one more entry, the diary whispered to him.

Still though, even if it's just me is it right for me to read it? Midoriya shook his head. His conscience was right, and there really was no use in keeping the diary around. All its presence did was make him want to read it, and it was probably better for him to avoid that temptation. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his hand and caused him to the drop the diary.

Mom: Are you coming home this weekend? I'm making your favorite for dinner.

Midoriya smiled. Katsudon was always a treat, and he especially loved it when his mom made it for him. He opened the home screen to reply to her when he noticed that the diary had fallen to the ground. Worse yet, the front cover had popped open again and the third entry was in plain sight.

April 12

Unfortunately, he's back from his trip and training resumed today. He was unimpressed with my performance in Aizawa Sensei's Quirk Apprehension Test. Training was brutal and maintaining normalcy in class will be difficult with the injuries.

Midoriya froze. That was the final entry on the first page, so if he didn't willfully open the diary, he wouldn't accidentally read any more notes. But, still, this diary belonged to one of Aizawa's students. This diary belonged to a member of Class 1-A. Midoriya felt his heart sink, reading over the entry again. Someone in his class felt alone, and felt the need to hide training injuries from everyone else. Someone in his class felt like they needed to suffer alone.

Midoriya quickly replied to his mom, letting her know that he would be home in a few hours. He grabbed his school backpack and quickly threw some clothes in it for tomorrow, and ran to the shared bathroom to grab his toothbrush. As he left the small bathroom, he noticed the journal sitting on his bed, next to the packed bag. In a split-second decision he decided to take the journal with him, fearing that if he left it in the dorm that Todoroki could potentially come back and that it might fall out of its hiding place again. Guilty of invading someone's privacy or not, Midoriya didn't feel like he should risk another person finding the diary.

Feeling the unbearable weight of his guilt, he rushed out of the dormitory so quickly that he didn't hear his classmates in the common area wish him a good weekend. In fact, he was running home so quickly that he didn't even realize he'd changed his course. In only a few minutes he found himself standing outside U.A.'s administrative office. The home of U.A.'s lost and found. Midoriya reached a hand towards his bookbag when he heard All Might's words ring in his head.

Midoriya, All Might had said to him after he lost his match against Todoroki in the Sports Festival. Giving help that's not asked for is what makes a true hero.

How can I help when I don't know who to help? Midoriya wondered to himself, letting his hand fall from his bookbag, leaving the diary still tucked inside. For now, he decided, he would keep the diary.

When he walked through the entrance of his home he was immediately scooped into his mom's arms, and she held him tightly as she sobbed. "Oh Izuku," she cried, "I've missed you so much! I'm so happy that you're safe."

If Midoriya didn't feel guilty before about leaving for boarding school at U.A., he definitely felt guilty now. It hurt him to have to see his mom go through as much pain as she did for him to pursue his dream. This time, All Might had promised her though, would be different. All Might was sure that he would lead a different life than he himself did.

"Yeah," he chuckled, hugging his mom back, "All Might really made sure I came home this weekend to spend time here instead of training."

"I'm so glad, Izuku, please," she gestured toward the apartment's kitchen, "have some katsudon!"

Midoriya smiled and took a seat at the table. It was a relief to be back home and have normal conversation with his mother. She talked all about how much she watched the news, and how she had even received a call from Kota asking how he was doing. Midoriya was touched to know that the boy he saved still thought of him, and was relieved that his mom was finally coming around to the idea of him being a hero, albeit very slowly.

When it was time for bed his mom must have hugged him another fifteen times before she finally let him trot to brush his teeth and go to bed. It was weird being in his room without all of his All Might memorabilia, but he did appreciate having it at school in the dorm. It even seemed like Todoroki liked his All Might stuff too. Midoriya sighed and rolled over, staring at the small diary that he had placed on his bedside table. He felt silly for bringing it to bed with him, but he had grown a sort of attachment to the book. He decided against reading it and turned over again, hoping to get a good night's rest.

It took a long time for sleep to come, though, and when it did it was restless and difficult. It had been the first night in weeks that Midoriya hadn't gone to bed so exhausted that he passed out the second his head hit the pillow. This was the first night in weeks that he had had a moment to himself before bed, and it was clearly for the worse.

Collages of images filled his dreams. There was Tsuyu, with Shigaraki's hand reaching towards her face. And then there was Iida, paralyzed and unmoving as the Hero Killer Stain moved to kill him. Worse yet, images filled his brain of Uraraka's face as he felt Shigaraki's hand clamp down on his throat. There's All Might, fighting All for One while all he can do his hopelessly watch the news station, praying for All Might's safety. Images flood his mind of Tokoyami's helpless form captured by Mr. Compress, and then his dreams fill with images of Kacchan. There's Kacchan, small and helpless in the river. Then there's Kacchan being absorbed alive by the sludge villain, and then there's Kacchan being pulled into Kurogiri's warp field. Lastly, there's Kacchan being held by the League of Villains, and Midoriya is powerless to save him alone. Midoriya is always powerless alone to help his friends. Deep down he knew that relying on friends is essential to becoming a successful hero, but he couldn't forgive himself for causing his friends to risk their lives.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya calls out in his sleep, waking himself up in the process. He's covered in sweat and his covers have been kicked off the bed and onto the floor. His breathing is heavy and labored as he turns on the lamp on the bedside table. "It was just a dream," he whispers softly to himself, knowing that it's not true. Those were memories, not dreams.

Midoriya slowly felt the panic in his chest recede, but the overbearing weight on his shoulders didn't lift. This is what One for All means, he thought to himself, this is my responsibility to bear. Midoriya sighed and glanced at the lamp, noticing the unopened diary next to it. He shrugged and grabbed the diary from the table, opening it up in his lap.

April 16

Today the class went to USJ for a training exercise with the rescue hero, Thirteen. We were attacked by villains during the exercise and split up. Luckily, I managed without difficulty. Midoriya, who has a quirk that seems like All Might's, was the only one injured.

I didn't use his quirk against the villains. Just moms. He's relaxed his training for now. It is a welcome reprieve. I want to become a hero without ever using it to spite the bastard.

Midoriya closed the journal abruptly. This journal belonged to his roommate, Todoroki. He couldn't believe that he had had Todoroki's lost journal while in the same room as him. All week Todoroki's most personal thoughts had been sitting under his bed, only five feet away from the owner. It felt even worse now, and now he especially didn't know what to do. Had it been long enough that Todoroki had already checked the lost and found? He didn't even mention it being lost on moving day. Was it that private to him?

Midoriya mulled over it for a minute, resorting to his typical murmuring habits. If Todoroki hadn't even mentioned the diary to anyone, was he just hoping that it would be lost without ever being returned? Hopefully thrown away without ever being looked at? Midoriya thought about his classmates and Todoroki didn't seem particularly close to anyone. There wasn't a single person or group that he gravitated to and every time they had an exercise in class his pairing was always last minute.

Midoriya thought back to the first entry. He said this was the first school he'd ever went to, and he didn't know how to interact with the others. Midoriya also remembered moving day, he told me he never really got to have any toys as a child. Midoriya laid back on his bed and raised his cell phone.

Midoriya: Hey Todoroki, do you think you'll be back at the dorms tomorrow?

Midoriya hit send without really thinking about it, but immediately checked the time. Crap, he thought, looking at the time. It was almost four in the morning. He would look like an absolute lunatic texting this late. He hoped he didn't disturb Todoroki.

Todoroki: No, I don't think I'll be back until Sunday evening. Is there something you need?

Midoriya was surprised by the quick response. It had only been a minute or two, and Todoroki didn't even question the time.

Midoriya: No, sorry! Sorry for texting so late! I won't be back until Sunday evening either, I was just checking. Sorry!

Midoriya knew it was a lie, but if Todoroki figured he'd been gone all weekend, maybe there was a way for him to sneakily return his journal to him. He could leave it somewhere where Todoroki would find it on his way back to the dorms on Sunday, and then slip out before Todoroki saw him. That way it would look like he returned later and couldn't have been the culprit behind the returned journal.

Midoriya turned off his lamp and went back to sleep for the night. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he should help Todoroki somehow though. All Might's words weren't leaving his head. Sure, he had helped Todoroki become more comfortable with his left side, but the young hero still didn't seem happy. Maybe he could help that too, he thought, or maybe he was just being foolish.

The next morning was kind of a blur for Midoriya. His mom woke up early to make him more food, and even though he had no appetite, he didn't have the heart to not eat. So, instead, he stuffed himself so full of food that he thought he was going to get sick when his mom hugged him goodbye.

The journey back to U.A. was anxiety inducing. What if Todoroki returned early? He kept checking his phone for an update text from Todoroki, but it never came. What would he say if he ran into Uraraka? She did say that she would be busy this weekend, but Midoriya was still worried about how he would explain himself if she saw him.

Once on campus, Midoriya ran straight to the dorms, not stopping to think. His guilt about the diary grew with each step towards the building. What would Todoroki think if he found out Midoriya had had it for the last week? What would he say to him? Midoriya was feeling so ill from the guilt that he ran into the dorms without stopping in the common room.

"Deku-kun?" He heard a voice call out to him as he passed through the hall in the boys' dormitory, but he didn't stop. He entered the room and immediately sat down on the floor.

Mostly he was disappointed in himself for being an awful friend. Did Todoroki even consider him a friend? He would understand if he didn't. This whole time Midoriya hadn't even bothered to think that Todoroki might still be hurting even if he did use his left side now. However, regardless of his desire to help, an invasion of privacy was still incredibly wrong. He wasn't sure how he had been able to justify it before, even if his intentions had been sincere.

Midoriya sighed and placed the diary under his mattress, refusing to think about it as he laid on top of his All Might comforter. When did things become so complicated, he thought to himself. He hadn't even known Class 1-A for a year and they'd already faced death multiple times together. He trusted Todoroki with his life, but he still knew surprisingly little about the hero. Midoriya ran his fingers through his curls, and after some time he dozed off.

Midoriya had been in the middle of another round of vicious nightmares when a loud noise awoke him. He turned his head to see Todoroki hunched over in the doorway, but the boy didn't seem to notice him. He had pushed the door open with enough force to wake Midoriya up, but Todoroki didn't look so good. His breathing was labored and his body was covered in a cold sweat. He quickly slammed the door shut behind him and sprinted into their shared bathroom. After a minute, Midoriya could only hear retching and panting coming from the closed bathroom door.

"Todoroki," Midoriya called out hesitantly, "are you okay?"

Thanks for reading guys, let me know what you think.