Disclaimer: Yo, I can't even speak Japanese, why would I be able to claim ownership? Even so, I'll admit, I don't own Boku no Hero Academia.

With chapter 2 in the books, I had a question that asked something along the lines of how the series was to proceed if Izuku never saved Iida from Stain, etc. Good question: but also, remember, this is AU, meaning, Alternate Universe. In this Universe, Iida didn't run into Stain, as it'll be explained. However, this review was useful in having me recognize I need to open up the background a bit more, and give light to things happening outside of the world.

So, with that in mind, this chapter is going to focus on a few fronts. And this chapter will feature... Recovery Girl!

If you guys want, leave a review with who's POV you'd like to see, and I'll see about trying to write from a third-person, but focus on their thoughts, much like how Tsuyu's chapter was. Certain characters may be denied, such as class 1-B or something, but if you want it, who knows, maybe I'll find a way to incorporate them in.

Thanks everyone!

It had been two days since Izuku Midoriya had been found, brought to UA, and been treated for his injuries.

When Izuku had first come in, Recovery Girl was almost certain he was going to be impossible to heal. Her quirk, Recovery, relied on a person's stamina and own healing abilities, in order to heal the recipient. When her patient had first been brought in, he was unconscious, and the two students who'd came in with him, stated he was completely uncooperative when they were trying to talk to him, which meant Recovery Girl wasn't sure if she was going to be able to heal him to his full capacity.

Furthermore, she wasn't even sure if she should restore him to full-strength. From the sound of it, his mind was too far gone, and he would be a danger to himself and everyone around him, should he have his full power restored. She hated seeing children hurt, but this was the one time where she was actually reluctant to heal someone.

In an effort to understand what to do, she'd uncharacteristically reached out to All Might for his opinion. While the man was an excellent hero, and the most knowledgeable about One-For-All, he had never displayed the same ability in forethought as he did in heroics. Still, if there was anyone that could help restrain the young, wounded hero, it was going to be the man who gave him his power in the first place.

All Might's advice was simple: "heal Young Midoriya."

She shouldn't have been surprised. Most likely, he felt guilty for his young protégée's kidnapping, and the aging hero couldn't bear the thought of his disciple wearing the wounds of his own failure to protect him. She couldn't blame his hasty decision, though she did wish he would put a little more thought into things. Outside of battle, his ability to break down situations was beyond subpar, and for that, she typically avoided going to him for crucial decisions.

Still, she respected his wish, and thus, she'd begun administering small healing sessions with the unconscious hero in-training.

Thankfully, he hadn't returned to consciousness, and she hadn't had to cross that bridge of restraining him... yet.

All Might had been more than unwilling to come into the room, and it went back to his feeling of failure, as Recovery Girl would guess. She felt her own levels of guilt creep up as she slowly took away the boy's pain, and she couldn't imagine how much weight the World's Number One hero was feeling right now, as the only thing he truly had, was laying, beaten and broken, in a medical bed, with no telling how he was faring beneath the closed eyelids.

"Shuuzenji." Recovery Girl put her thoughts on hold as the steady, monotonous voice of her colleague broke through her station of thoughts. "How is he coping?"

Recovery Girl, or Chiyo Shuuzenji as she was called outside the field, snorted, and adjusted her glasses. "Which one? The boy, or his teacher?"

Aizawa exhaled heavily, prompting Shuuzenji to turn around and face him. He looked tired.

His eyes, typically dried out from his quirk, was darkened by lack of sleep, and they looked as if they were barely staying open. Dark bags hid under his eyes, and his scar from his fight at the USJ seemed so much more ominous with the paleness his skin held. Recovery Girl narrowed her eyes as she quickly examined the man in front of her.

"Are you sleeping enough?"

Aizawa didn't even look up as he approached Izuku's bed. "Are any of us?"

Chiyo had no response, so she remained quiet, and let the underground hero look over her patient. The bruising that covered his body had taken a less ominous appearance, more than likely thanks to the quick and few healing sessions that he'd been able to tolerate without incident.

She'd been able to restore actual structure to his bones, and even knit some of the muscles back together, although his arms were far from healed. His legs had been in bad shape, but only because he'd broken them, and forced his body to keep moving. His arms, however, were beyond shattered. It was only because of their initial structure that the limbs had been able to maintain any sense of structural integrity.

"Has the blood work returned?" Aizawa asked quietly.

"Yes," Shuuzenji said, quietly in turn. She mentally prepared herself for what she had to say, and the response she'd likely get. "He was exposed to Trigger."

Aizawa's eyes shot up, and a look of disbelief flashed across his face, before he settled back into his typical, stoic appearance. Still, she'd seen it on his face- he knew exactly what that meant.

"Trigger, huh?" Aizawa gently brushed his fingertips along Izuku's bandages, seeing if he would elicit a response from the unconscious teen. To Recovery Girl's relief (and slight disappointment), he did not. "That's not a typical kidnapping, then. These guys weren't just trying to kidnap for ransom. They had something planned... and it involved Midoriya."

He spoke again. "Undeniably, they wanted something."

Recovery Girl picked up her cane, and gently pushed her desk with it, allowing her chair to roll toward the bed. Oddly enough, her quirk couldn't heal herself, and because of that, her ability to walk without pain had deteriorated throughout the years. For years, she'd felt powerless as she became a liability in the field, unable to avoid the attacks that would rain down on the scene from larger scale villain organizations, until she'd come to realize it was time for her to operate behind the scenes.

Now, she once again felt powerless, only this time, it had nothing to do with her placement.

"What that something is, I can't fathom. Unless they simply wanted to break him, which they seemingly succeeded in," Recovery Girl hissed. She ignored the fleeting glance Aizawa gave her, as brief as it was. "What else could he possibly have to offer?"

Silently, Recovery Girl hid her suspicion about One-For-All. Aizawa hadn't been entrusted with that information, mostly due to the chasm of dislike that separated All Might and himself, which stemmed from their outlooks on heroics. Thus, he didn't know the truth behind Midoriya's quirk, nor did he know about the mechanics of it, such as its ability to be passed from user to user.

The knowledge of that feature was extremely limited. Almost nobody knew about that feature, even in the small circle of people that knew about All-For-One as a whole. If Izuku had been kidnapped in an attempt for him to give up that power, it spelled out terrible things for both himself, and All Might. While Shuuzenji always nagged on the World's Top Hero to reveal his status for what it was, the one thing she immediately agreed on with him, was the knowledge that it could be passed on.

Villains from all over the world would come to try and get their hands on it, by whatever means necessary. Izuku, and any other wielder, would never be left in peace, and they'd undoubtedly be hunted down until their last days.

"His immense power," Aizawa said, and for a split second, Recovery Girl froze in place, thinking the Erasure-hero had somehow discerned the truth behind Izuku's power. As it were, however, Aizawa continued. "He displayed terrifying strength during the Sports Festival, and for any villain watching, that strength could be used to their advantage. They likely beat him in an attempt to cause him to become loyal to them... and when he denied, they were left with no other option."

Recovery Girl internally sighed as she realized Aizawa was still ignorant to the truth behind One-For-All, however, she didn't have the time to display her relief, as the next burning question came to mind. "Do you believe the Trigger was an attempt to discover if it was an actual serum?"

If they'd bought the drug in the underground market... there was no telling if the dosage they got was sufficient enough to be used in the midst of a battle. With no other way to test it, it was completely possible that they'd used the drug on Izuku to simply test whether or not it was the real-deal, so to speak.

In a sense... he was a lab rat for their disgusting curiosity.

"That," Aizawa said quietly. "Or they used it to discover what his upper limits were. His strength... could it have been enhanced even further?"

Personal gain.

That's what everything came down to, in the end. Chiyo Shuuzenji's hands clenched firmly around her cane. It hadn't been the boy's fault he was given the chance to become the hero he'd always dreamt of. It hadn't been his fault he had the traits that made him a warrior, along with a caring and selfless individual. He hadn't anticipated that, by fighting so fiercely in the tournament, he'd be kidnapped so that a bunch of lowlife criminals could test their new toy on him!

His exposure and kidnapping... it'd been a freak accident... one that could've happened to any prospective student-hero. To any hero trying their hardest to stand out for the crowd.

This time, it just happened to be Izuku Midoriya.

"I don't think so," Recovery Girl said at least, pushing the anger and rage to the side as she addressed the topic at hand. "His quirk allows for his body to use its absolute peak power. The human brain typically restrains that potential, because it would break our bones and tear our muscles... as you've already witnessed. Perhaps these villains didn't know that, and they were just lowlife grunts who happened to stumble upon something that'll get them their 'big score'... but even then, I don't think that's what happened."

"Shuuzenji... what is his quirk, exactly?"

Recovery Girl gave no outward indication that she was worried, but internally, she was already formulating an elaborate ruse. Whilst she disagreed with All Might's decision to hide his identity, and his quirk, she knew it wasn't her place to reveal anything, no matter how much she disagreed. Part of medicine was knowing what confidentiality meant, and how that applied to each situation.

This was no different.

"It's hard to say; I haven't asked him much, aside from what I just mentioned. It seems to be a strength-amplification quirk... and, as I said, it unlocks the hidden potential that we're limited from, due to the repercussions of the power. Simply, this boy is just going to need to train to use that power to a greater extent so he can limit those injuries."

It was difficult to tell if Aizawa bought the lie outright, if he took bits and pieces and truth and marked the rest as a fib, or if he simply thought the entire explanation was a huge lie. His face was passive, and his eyes unreadable, but after a moment passed, he simply nodded, and turned his attention back to his student.

"I see..."

A gentle rap on the door immediately pulled both UA faculty members attention to the noise, and both prepared for the spiel they'd need to give the student that was likely waiting on the other side, hoping to see their injured school mate.

Recovery Girl got off her chair and walked over to the door, and opened it just enough to peek through the crack. To her immense surprise, she was met with a tan suit attached to an immense man. His face, wearing a proud smile, seemed to hint at the anxiety he was likely feeling as he shifted his somewhat timid gaze from the door, to the woman in front of him.

"I am here!" He said loudly, but overly so as to disturb the slumbering Izuku. He then dropped his regal facade, and timidly asked, "May I come in?"

Chiyo Shuuzenji knew better than to deny the mentor his request, and she opened the door wide enough so that the mountain of a man could slip inside. Whilst it was hard to believe, he was actually quite limber, and with that, he was very agile, which kept him from accidentally knocking things over as he entered tight confines.

His face displayed a hint of fear mixed with worry as he saw the unconscious Midoriya, but the smile remained plastered on his face, defying the truth he felt in that moment.

"Aizawa! You're here, too?" All Might asked, being sure to keep his voice down. If it had been a simpler injury, he might not have been so conscious about his level of volume, and he'd accept the smack that the diminutive nurse would be sure to give him, but she couldn't help but appreciate his awareness for the situation. It was... refreshing.

Aizawa nodded mutely, his eyes lazily rolling over to look at the new visitor. "Of course; he's my student, too. And, while he has a knack for breaking himself... this wasn't his fault, and I'd like to see him well again."

There was a look of understanding that passed between the two radically different heroes; the connection subtle, but the electricity between their gaze was intense. But for once, Recovery Girl watched as compassion passed between their locked stares, and she saw the tiniest of nods, before Aizawa closed his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pocket, before stepping away from the bed.

"I gotta go tend to some homeroom papers; be sure he stays well in my absence, All Might." It was less of a demand, and more of a hope, though one that didn't know Shota Aizawa might say that he didn't do things such as 'hope'.

However, the message was loud and clear to All Might, as he put two fingers to his forehead, and saluted, his ever-common grin growing large at the task at hand. "I shall! He'll be up and running in no time!"

"He most certainly will not be running if I have any say!" Recovery Girl butted in. Honestly, where in the world did All Might get such delusional fantasies from?

Aizawa didn't respond. He simply walked from the room and made sure the door was closed behind him before leaving. As soon as the door clicked shut, a puff of smoke escaped All Might's body, and the once muscular hero was replaced by a frail, bony man with blood that leaked from his mouth. His eyes were much more sunken, but they still held the same shine that one could see in All Might's.

"How is he, Shuuzenji?"

It was remarkable how similar Toshinori and Shota were, Recovery Girl mused. Despite their radical differences in both personal operation and outlook, they shared such similar beliefs in heroics as an act, and their care for their students was so obvious, no matter how they tried to hide it - though, in All Might's case, he hardly tried to hide it. Especially when it came to Izuku.

"He's progressing, which is more than I could say earlier."

Toshinori hummed quietly. "Has he awoke?"

"No," Shuuzenji said. "And that's a relief, quite honestly. I doubt I could contain him without assistance from either you or Eraserhead."

The sickly man known as All Might was quiet for a moment, drinking in the appearance of his broken down protégée. Even though he tried to mask it, horror and shame coated his features like black pain on a white fence, and Recovery Girl didn't even need to have telepathy to know what he was thinking.

"You're going to blame yourself, that's natural; but how is that going to help the boy?"

"It won't." Toshinori said simply. His eyes didn't break from Izuku's body. "But I still should have found him sooner. This is my fault. They were after One-For-All."

Recovery Girl's breath hitched sharply. "You don't mean-"

"No... they weren't actively attempting to steal its power... but they were trying to make it their own, by enslaving Young Midoriya. I've seen it a few times in my day... this isn't a new practice, and unfortunately, it won't be the last one, either. The sludge villain that I fought before the UA entrance exam this fall... where I originally met Young Midoriya, was the last time I'd seen this kind of thing. It was far more tame, but nonetheless, it was the same basic idea: find someone with a powerful quirk and break them to use them to your advantage."

Recovery Girl was silent.

She had nothing left to say, after all.

"There are other concerns," Toshinori said quietly, causing Recovery Girl to eye him uneasily. It wasn't like him to appear so foreboding, but yet, his words carried weight, though Shuuzenji wasn't sure how much weight was upon them. "The other students must be informed, eventually."

"I would imagine they've already been told by the two that found the boy."

Toshinori sighed. "Yes; but to an extent. They don't know the truth."

"Nor do we," Shuuzenji countered.

"The agency exposure field days are about to begin- we held off in order to give the students time to adjust with everything that happened... but I can't help but think the longer we hold off, the more we take away from their ability to grow," Toshinori pointed out.

It had been a rough decision by the faculty to suspend the initial passage of the agency recruitment, but with everything that had happened between the USJ and then one of their students mysteriously vanishing, it hadn't seemed like a good idea to force the up-and-coming heroes to ignore their friend and become distracted by his disappearance. While it cost them about two weeks, it stood to reason that nothing was significantly pushed back, and the end of term would still be in the same amount of time, if not slightly pushed back a few days.

It didn't help that a hero killer was on the loose, threatening to strike down anyone who crossed his blade. With all the threats looming on the horizon, suddenly releasing their students into the wild world didn't seem like such a great idea, even if they were training to be heroes.

"You're afraid of their feelings for being kept in the dark?" Recovery Girl asked.

Toshinori nodded once. "The longer they're ignored, the more questions they'll have... and the more suspicion will arise. They know their friend is not well... how unwell has yet to be seen."

Recovery Girl hummed as she thought about their predicament. "You've thought this through quite well..."

"When it comes to major crisis, I tend to kept my gaze focused ahead."

"Good..." Recovery Girl said. She spared a glance at the clock that hung on her wall.

1342.

Only an hour or so until her next hurdle appeared.

"If you've thought well ahead... you can stand with me and face the young man's mother."

Scarier words had never been spoken.

"W-where's my I-I-Izuku?!"

It began with the rapid swing of the Nursery door, and it was immediately followed by a tearful wail that could only belong to the overly anxious mother of Izuku Midoriya. Tears, fresh and flowing, dripped from her chin as she burst into the room, her red and puffy eyes drawing a painful stab of guilt from within Toshinori Yagi.

Recovery Girl, for all of her patience that came with dealing with the family members of injured heroes, knew this was not going to be easy. While she'd never directly met Inko Midoriya, there was no shortage of stories when it came to her waterworks, and it suddenly didn't seem so surprising that Izuku had inherited the trait as well.

In fact, it would've almost been scary if Izuku didn't cry as much as his dramatic mother.

This was the one thing, however, Recovery Girl could understand a river of tears, and then some.

"Mrs. Midoriya, I humbly apologize for the wait," All Might said in his deepened, heroic voice. His form, whilst strained from past injury, had been shifted to his muscular form in order to appease the terrified mother. While his size might ordinarily be intimidating, Chiyo Shuuzenji doubted any mother was going to care about the size of anyone when it came to seeing her baby.

Inko didn't respond right away, as she locked onto Izuku's peaceful slumbering state, and rushed over to him. She immediately ran a hand through his knotted green hair, which had become shaggier during his time spent within the villain's clutches. She seemingly paid it no heed, however, as she whispered caring things to the unconscious teen, continuously running her hand through his hair.

"You'll be okay... y-y-you'll be o-okay..." Her delicately wavering voice sounded so fragile, so ready to break, that Recovery Girl almost felt the need to give her a gentle hug. However, the elderly nurse knew better than to make the first move. This was simply the calm before the storm... and the storm was sure to strike with vengeance.

A few moments passed, where the only thing that was said was whatever Inko whispered to her son, gently brushing her fingers along his arms, shoulder, and face, simply soaking in his existence. Understandably, she wasn't sure if she would get the chance to see him again... alive, that is.

"I apologize for how long it took," Recovery Girl finally said. She knew she'd be the first to incur Inko's wrath, but nonetheless, she deserved a handful of the blame in that regard. It had been her decision, after all, to keep Izuku under her care, and to deny any visitors, no matter who it was.

Inko slowly turned from her son and, despite the tears in her eyes, lowered a weak glare at the duo, to which was met with lowered heads in a bowed posture. "W-who decided to keep me from my s-son?"

"Ah, that would be me, Mrs. Midoriya," a smooth, higher-pitched voice said, surprising the three people in the room. From the doorway, a small rodent-like creature stood, a merry smile on his face, despite the situation at hand. "I dearly apologize, but I couldn't risk everyone's safety until it was confirmed Izuku was safe, sound, and of no danger."

"D-d-danger?! He wouldn't hurt a-anyone!" Inko nearly screamed, but her voice was broken by the tears that still flowed from her eyes, taking away from the effect. Still, the rodent-like principle bowed with the smile still on his face, and accepted the blame.

"We weren't positive of that. There's much we have to talk about, and there are things you should know," Principle Nedzu said evenly, with the jovial hint still in his voice.

Recovery Girl hadn't anticipated the principle's arrival, although in hindsight, it made perfect sense for him to be present. He did oversee the school, after all. His willingness to accept blame that wasn't his own was admirable, that much Recovery Girl would admit. But by putting blame on himself, it was a question of how much damage with the public was he willing to risk, especially if things soured between himself and Inko Midoriya.

"L-like what?!"

"My colleague shall explain," Nedzu said, gesturing to Recovery Girl.

The elderly nurse took that as her sign to introduce herself, giving a small bow as greeting, and though she didn't expect it to be returned, she was pleased when Inko nodded her head in response. It wasn't formal, however, it was more than what she'd been expecting.

"Greetings, Mrs. Midoriya. My hero name is Recovery Girl, and I work for the school medicinal department. My quirk, Recovery, accelerates the body's healing factor, but requires the patient to have the stamina to keep up. I've been working with your son since he's arrived. His condition is improving drastically, and soon, he should be back to full health."

"I thank you for t-that..." Inko said quietly. Her gaze, tearful, leveled with the UA faculty, and behind her fears, they were a fire that burned, dedicated to protecting her son. "B-but he shouldn't need protecting!"

"Everyone needs protecting," Nedzu said evenly.

To this, Recovery Girl agreed silently.

The world wasn't fair. Those with powerful quirks typically reigned supreme, from their positions in the underworld, to their sudden ascension in the business world, and they rarely faltered. Combining strength with charisma, or power with strategy made for a dangerous adversary. Nowadays, civilians rarely understood how much they needed protection, because they rarely understood of the dangers that lurked above or below. The media tended to put their focus on the events or people that were visible, which gave those under-the-radar villains the cover they needed to operate.

Whatever the media failed to report on... was essentially invisible.

All Might took this moment to speak. "It is my fault, Mrs. Midoriya. I failed as my responsibilities as a member of the prestigious UA staff... and for that, you have my humblest apologies."

Apologies, as it seemed, were not what Inko Midoriya was out for, as she waved away the sorrow with a stern, yet scared, glare. "Being sorry doesn't help my s-son! He... h-h-he... he doesn't deserve this!"

At that, Inko began to bawl once more, her tears seemingly limitless as she desperately held onto the side of Izuku's bed, afraid he'd disappear if she let go. Recovery Girl felt her heartstrings being pulled on, but she forced herself to remain neutral- she knew one wrong step would result in a mass exodus of problems, and that was the last thing she, or any of the faculty, needed.

They'd have to tread lightly to keep things favorable.

Before she could say anything, however, All Might clenched his fist, and spoke softly- so softly, it was almost lost to the cries of the mother. "I know that. I... I know that better than I should. I took it upon myself to oversee Young Midoriya's growth... I push him to become the hero he desires to be... and yet, every time he is injured, I feel as if it lies upon my shoulders."

For all the times Inko had ever seen All Might, he'd always been adorned with a smile on his face. It was practically his staple, and from what her son used to rave about, it was what made him such an amazing hero. So when she looked up through her watery gaze, she almost froze in time, spying no evidence of a smile on the large man's face.

"No amount of apology can take away your pain, nor can it removed your son's. This failure is my sin to bear. I told him... I am here. But... I was not. And for that... I failed."

'You're really filled with this... Toshinori...' Shuuzenji thought to herself.

"But I will not rest until the men that did this to Young Midoriya are put in their rightful place, and justice is dolled out. You, Mrs. Midoriya, have my word." All Might's firm gaze, accompanied by his hardened words, gave Inko the confidence she needed, as she teared up for the umpteenth time. This time, relief spread throughout her features, and she nodded once.

"Thank you."

As Inko thanked All Might, a groan emitted from the bedside next to the two adults, drawing everyone's attention for different reasons. On Inko's face was pure elation. The UA faculty, however, wore an uneasy, slightly nervous look as their patient began to stir. His green eyes fluttered open amidst his groans of fatigue and- likely- pain, and for a second, they were calm.

Then, his pupils shrank and he began to look around frantically, not recognizing his location. Recovery Girl's frown deepened as she witnessed the tensing of Izuku's muscles, along with the clenching of his fist. If they didn't take immediate action, he'd activate One-For-All in a desperate attempt to escape.

"W-where am I?" Izuku mumbled to himself, before repeating the question to those he saw. His eyes were wild, filled with fear and mistrust, but what struck Recovery Girl the most was the foreign look within- he truly didn't remember anything. "Where am I?!"

"Midoriya, my boy. It is I, All Might! You were hurt, so we helped you become well again!" All Might said calmly, though his typical passion leaked into his words.

Judging by Izuku's stare, it was clear the teen didn't buy it. "Who... who are you?! Are you trying to hurt me?!"

Before there was even a chance to answer, an intense pressure settled upon the room as Izuku rose from bed, his fists, jaw and teeth all clenched. He ignored the IV that came tearing from his arm, the pain being almost a non-factor as he drew his fist back. "YOU WON'T TAKE ME BACK!"

"Quickly, Headmaster, evacuate Mrs. Midoriya!" All Might shouted, making himself appear larger in order to hopefully discourage the boy's attack. Recovery Girl took her position behind the mountainous man, all the while studying his fearful look that hid behind his aggression.

Even as Nedzu went to pull on Inko's arm, the green-and-black haired mother refused to budge. "Izuku, my baby... s-stop! D-don't you know...?"

Izuku's gaze settled on the woman, and for a second, he hesitated. His mouth went from a scowl, to a frown, and his eyes flickered with recognition. Then, his gaze turned fierce, with sorrow etched between the lines.

"Y-you... you can't be real..." Izuku mumbled. Tears began to pool at the corner of his eyes as he stared at his mother. "Y-you... you died!"

"You're not my mother!"

That's all for this chapter!

I tried to get away from making it seem like a filler, but I dunno, I kinda feel that's how it felt. I dunno. The plot isn't really progressing, but you are getting to see things, and there's still mysteries that exist sooooo... oh well. We'll work on it. This won't be a super long story, in all honesty. I'd say maybe 15 chapter or so. Who knows.

Anyways, yeah, that's all I have to say. I really appreciate all the attention this story has received so far. Keeping characters in-character is the hardest thing possible for me, because we're limited on some of their dialogue, even with the manga. So I do apologize if anyone seems off. I try to envision them saying it in my mind, so sometimes that helps... others, well, not so much.

Enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think, and thank you again for all your support!