Chapter 307- From Thoughts to Words

So, a quick apology for the long hiatus. Was final week last week, and the week before that I was swamped with projects and presentations, so I couldn't get much done. Thankfully I'm done with my semester and am on break, which means more time to work on this! Please enjoy the first original chapter of this project!

"Young Midoriya! You're awake!"

Izuku could hear All Might's voice, wavering with concern and relief, from the side of his bed. The faint beeping of the monitors and rush of air around his face told him what he needed to know- he was in a hospital yet again.

'My right arm hurts…' He thought to himself.

"All… Might?" He managed to gasp out. His voice was strained and scratchy, as though he hadn't used it in a while. How long had he been out? He focused on All Might's face, the bright light above him dimming as his eyes adjusted. All Might had a relieved smile, but the worry lines around his eyes told Izuku how worried his mentor had truly been.

"Don't worry, kid! I'll call the nurses in and get you up to speed on everything!" He quickly spoke, grabbing for the paging machine on a table next to him.

Izuku focused more on his surroundings. Beyond the bed and equipment attached to him, there was nothing else inside of his room.

'I'm surprised I got a room for myself.' He thought. 'Surely the hospital is packed with more patients…'

Glancing down, his right arm was wrapped in a cast, while his left sported some bandages. That would explain why his arm was numb.

Once All Might had finished paging the nurses, he turned back to Izuku, a bottle of water in his hand. "Here, kid. Drink up; we have to talk."

Once Izuku had managed to pry his oxygen mask off and take a drink, All Might continued. "So… You spoke with the vestiges again." Izuku sat up and nodded.

"Yeah. You were there too, All Might. Well, at least a version of you." All Might nodded.

"Indeed. I think because of our proximity, as well as the developments in One for All, I was able to take on a more solid form within your consciousness- one that allowed me to understand what was being discussed and reflected my reactions, even if I couldn't respond directly."

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so you understood what we talked about?" All Might nodded again. "Does that mean… You've been here the whole time?" All Might looked down, guilt crossing his face.

"Correct. I… When I saw how bad your injuries were, and what had transpired on the battlefield, I worried that…" All Might trailed off, shaking his head. He suddenly leaned forwards, pulling Izuku into a tight hug. Izuku was speechless as All Might squeezed him tightly. "I feared the worst. But you've surprised me in a good way again, Young Midoriya. I'm glad to see you alive."

"All Might…" Izuku was touched by his mentor's care.

'All this time, you were with me…' Izuku thought. 'Both in my dream, and right here…' Izuku hugged his mentor back tightly, even as a pang of guilt shot through him.

'I… don't deserve this kind of support.'

"Furthermore…" All Might continued, separating from him. "We do need to discuss what happened between you and Shigaraki. Your fight with him has made it clear what the young villain is after." Izuku nodded, snapping himself out of his doubts. There would be time for that later. "After our talk with the predecessors, I know what our next move should be."

"I need to master their powers." Izuku spoked, looking down at his body.

"Correct. If One for All and All for One are destined to clash for a final time soon, then I want you to be as prepared as you can be."

Izuku internally shuddered.

'Fighting Shigaraki, learning several new powers, all within as little time as I can. It's going to be hard. I also need to find a way to save Shigaraki. I told the vestiges I can't ignore that crying child, and even if they aren't completely on-board with the idea, they'll be supporting me the best they can. But there's no way I can tell Kacchan about that. If he were to hear that, then he'd-'

Izuku's eyes widened as he remembered his friend. "All Might, how are the others?! Kacchan, and sensei, and Gran Torino-!"

"Easy, kid!" All Might raised his hands, calming him down. "Everyone is still alive, I at least know that much. Young Bakugo and your teacher both had successful recoveries from their injuries." All Might grimaced. "Although, Aizawa's going to need a prosthetic leg, and he will most likely never be able to use his quirk again; his right eye was torn out by Shigaraki." A look of guilt crossesd Izuku's face. His stomach felt queasy.

'Prosthetic leg… Unable to use his quirk again…'

"And… Gran Torino's been in and out of surgery. He's been mostly stable for now, even when he's regained consciousness, but… The damage was quite taxing on his body." Izuku winced at this. "Don't worry. My master's as tough as they come. He'll make it through." All Might didn't sound like he believed the words as they left his mouth.

"It could've been avoided…" Izuku muttered. All Might looked at the young boy, guilt crossing his face. "I could've… Should've done more to protect them." All Might suddenly gripped his shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Young Midoriya, do not blame yourself. They knew getting injured like that was a possibility. Even so, they chose to fight with you." All Might said. "Being a hero doesn't mean you get to walk away unscathed all the time, or save everyone you could've. You did your best out there, and everyone is still alive thanks to your efforts."

"I…" Izuku started, but whatever he wanted to say died in his mouth.

'I want to believe that, All Might… I really do. But I just can't.' Izuku decided to keep those thoughts to himself, and nodded instead.

The door to the room suddenly opened, and a nurse walked through. She gave the two of them a kind smile as she approached, a vanilla folder tucked under her arm.

"Hello there, Midoriya." She spoke. All Might sat back down, giving the nurse a polite nod. "I'm glad to see you're awake. I'm certain what you've gone through has been hard on you."

Izuku nodded silently, lost in thought.

"Don't worry. Your friends and teacher here have been patiently waiting for you to wake up. As soon as you're cleared, you'll be able to see them again. Before I clear you for visitation, though, I'll give you a full rundown of your injuries." She pulled out the folder and placed it on the table next to All Might. Izuku sat up to look at the x-rays and files. "I'm sure you could already tell, but all of your limbs were broken; we were able to fix the bone and muscle with the help of Recovery Girl, but there's still a lot of regrowth that needs to be done on its own. You also suffered a severe concussion, and some of your ribs were cracked. A few days of rest and some medication should help with that… And lastly, your right arm." The nurse grimaced.

That couldn't have been good news.

"Although we were able to recover the muscle, the bone was shattered beyond repair. We used what technology we could to rescue it, but it's become extremely brittle and weak… If you were to try to use it to lift anything heavier than a textbook, it very likely could become strained or worse."

Izuku looked down at his arm, covered in its cast. He remembered the words of the doctor after the summer training camp, how breaking it one last time would result in it losing function entirely.

'Losing my right arm means I've lost my dominant hand.' Izuku realized. 'I relied on it so much during all my battles… Even as I trained Full Cowling and Shoot Style, my strongest attacks came from my punching. I can still use my left arm, but without my right arm I'll lose a lot of combat and mobility options, especially without being able to fire Blackwhip from it. If any of the other predecessor's quirks rely on the use of my arms… I'll be fighting at half capacity with them.'

"I'm sorry." The nurse spoke. "I know as a hero in training, you need to have enough physical strength to fight and save people… But you should not do anything drastic with that right arm." She collected the photos, bowed her head in apology, and made her way out of the room. All Might cautiously eyed him.

"Young Midoriya…"

"It's alright." Izuku responded, still looking at his arm. "When I use Blackwhip… It cushions the blow from my impacts. So if I ever NEED to use my right arm, I'll remember to do that. I can learn to use my left arm in the meantime."

'Of course, it won't be that simple. But I still need to be able to use everything I have…'

All Might continued to give Izuku a sympathetic look, but nodded. "Just don't overdo it, please. It won't do anyone any good if you were to lose that arm."

Just then, the door opened again.

"Yo." A robotic voice called. "Glad to see you're doing okay, Izuku Midoriya!"

Izuku and All Might looked up to see Hawks and Best Jeanist standing in the doorway, Hawks waving as he typed on his phone. Best Jeanist adjusted his hair as he shut the door behind them.

"Hawks and Best Jeanist?" All Might spoke. "What're you two doing here?"

"Actually, we kinda wanted to ask you that ourselves." Hawks replied. "It's a bit odd when the former number one hero stays next to the bedside of the kid who fought Shigaraki, even with the no visitors allowed rule, no?"

All Might winced. "I-I see."

"Furthermore, we had some questions for Midoriya." Best Jeanist explained. "As he was the one who primarily fought with Shigaraki. We need as much information as we can get."

"And also…" Hawks typed, turning around to make sure the door was shut. "We needed to ask about something you told Endeavor… And your connection to One for All."

Izuku and All Might's eyes widened. They couldn't believe what they had just heard from the number two hero.

'How on earth do they know about One for All?!' All Might panicked internally. 'Shoot, I've been in here this whole time so I haven't kept up with the media aftermath! If the general public were to learn of One for All, they'd hound Young Midoriya… With another secret of a pro hero revealed, the trust between the people and heroes would become even more fractured!'

"W-W-What I said to E-Endeavor?!" Midoriya stuttered.

"Yep." Hawks replied, taking a set next to his bed. "Endeavor told us about how you had contacted him not too soon after Shigaraki woke up, specifically after he had mentioned the term "One for All" over the comms. He said that you said Shigaraki would be coming after you, which strikes me and my companion as odd, to say the least."

"We know Shigaraki attacked your class at UA before, and that you were present in rescuing Bakugo during the Kamino Raid." Best Jeanist continued. "Beyond that, however, you've had minimal interactions with him. You'll have to forgive us for our inquisition, especially after you have just woken up, but if you know something important about any of these things, then you need to tell us."

Izuku looked between the two of them and All Might nervously, Hawks and Best Jeanist giving him sharp looks, awaiting a response, and All Might grimacing, realizing the implications of what they said.

'It can't be helped…' All Might reasoned. 'These guys need answers, and they won't believe a lie or excuse we could fabricate. Furthermore… If we are to beat All for One, we need everyone to be on the same page.' Turning to Izuku, All Might gave him a somber nod. 'I'm sorry kid. Our secret… We can't keep it anymore.' Izuku swallowed, but he soon caught on to the same page as All Might, and nodded back.

"I-I can tell you e-everything I know…" Izuku said. "B-But I think it would be safe if we kept this information limited from others."

Hawks and Best Jeanist shared a look, but nodded anyway.

Izuku told Hawks and Best Jeanist about the power of One for All, its history, and its connection with All for One. He told them about how he came to inherit the power from All Might and how he had been trying to cultivate it into his own power through his training at UA. How Bakugo had come to learn about the power, and had helped him cultivate it (Best Jeanist seemed to have a proud look in his eyes when he heard that). He explained All for One's ambition regarding One for All, and why Izuku knew Shigaraki would be targeting him after his awakening. Hawks and Best Jeanist stayed quiet the whole time, sans a question or two, while All Might would occasionally chip in with additional information or context. After he was done, the room stayed quiet for a short period of time.

"...I see." Best Jeanist finally broke the silence. "And now that Shigaraki has obtained All for One's quirk, his aim is to take One for All back and use its enhanced strength to fulfill his dream."

"...Yes." Izuku weakly replied. Hawks sat up in his chair, carefully typed something, scratched his head, then typed again.

"This explains a whole lot." His phone spoke. "And this also gives us a lot of information on what to do next." All Might and Izuku both gave him curious looks, while Best Jeanist raised an eyebrow. "In the previous battle, Endeavor had his dirty laundry aired for the whole country to see, courtesy of Dabi- better known as Toya Todoroki. By supposedly trying to keep his secrets all hush-hush, Endeavor has just had a lot of people lose faith in him and his image. While a secret like this is nowhere near the scale of his, it's a secret nevertheless; secrets will only serve to hurt us heroes at this point."

All Might raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying we should reveal this information to the public? That will only serve to put Young Midoriya in more danger… Something I will not allow."

"Not to the public, no." Hawks responded. "But just as you told us, you also need to tell some other dedicated heroes about this as well. This information will go a long way in preparing us in how we handle Shigaraki, the League of Villains, the escaped criminals, and the Nomu going forward." He turned to Izuku, giving an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Midoriya, but it looks like you'll become the centerpiece of our plan. You're our best shot at beating the bad guys."

Izuku slowly nodded. He had already resolved to shoulder most of the responsibility in defeating Shigaraki anyways. All Might, however, remained skeptical.

"I trust you two and Endeavor." All Might spoke. "But what other heroes do you know we can trust? Many have already retired or are preparing to. We can't tell anyone who will likely leak information to the public or to our enemies."

"My dear friend, Edgeshot, and his teammates have expressed resolve to see this battle through to the end." Best Jeanist replied. "And Mirko has been ranting about how she needs to- ahem- "kick a lot of ass" to get back at the villains for what they've done, despite her injuries."

All Might nodded.

'It's not many… But I'm still happy to hear that there are heroes who are determined to stay.' He thought. He grimaced as his thoughts started to go down a darker path. 'Young Midoriya will need all the help he can get, and there's not much more I can do for him.' He shook those thoughts out of his head. 'No. For as long as I am alive… I'll support this boy with everything I have.'

Hawks stood up from his seat, quickly typing on his phone.

"We'll need to come up with a plan with them after Midoriya recovers." He said. "Before then, Endeavor will be giving a press conference about what Dabi has revealed. Jeanist and I will be there to support him, and to also speak with the public ourselves." He turned back to Midoriya. "Kid, I know it's a lot to have on your shoulders. But between you and your friends, I know how capable your generation is. You won't be doing it alone either; you'll have the top three as the wings at your back every step of the way, so to speak."

"We'll let you continue your recovery now." Best Jeanist said. "But before we go, we saw Bakugo on our way here, Midoriya." Izuku sat up, his eyes wide with curiosity. "He was as fired up and rage-filled as ever, but he was incredibly concerned for you far more than he was for himself. He certainly made your other classmates struggle to get him back to his room." Jeanist and Midoriya both chuckled, while All Might gave a small smile. "He is strong, and I'm sure he will be relieved to know you are all right- as will the rest of your classmates." Izuku nodded.

"We'll leave it up to you two to decide who else should be told about One for All." Hawks said. "Personally, I want people to be as open as they can be with each other right now- our camaraderie is our greatest strength right now." He and Jeanist left the room, leaving All Might and Izuku to themselves.

"Midoriya…" All Might began. "You have a large responsibility on your shoulders… But it's not yours alone. Even as you're recovering, we'll be helping you out." He turned and gave Midoriya a bright smile.

'Even still…' Izuku thought to himself. I can still hear and see every injury everyone suffered during that battle. Everyone got hurt because I wasn't good enough to save them…'

Izuku looked to All Might, opening his mouth to respond, until suddenly a commotion was heard from outside his door. All Might stood up and walked to the door. "Hang on kid, I'll check this out." All Might walked out of the room, leaving Izuku alone.

'I want to be happy with the amount of support I'm receiving… The top three heroes, All Might, my classmates… They'll all want to support me with everything they have- but I can't let them.'

He truly felt blessed- but he couldn't help but feel more guilt, the images of Gran Torino, Hado, sensei, and Kacchan getting injured replaying in his mind over and over again. He couldn't risk anyone else's safety- even if they accepted that risk. He had to keep them safe. He once again looked down at his own body, covered in bandages, his right arm dead inside of a cast.

'Right… I ended up like this too because I wasn't good enough.' He thought. 'It's not just them I need to protect- I need to be able to show people I can stand on my own two feet, despite this injury. I never want to give anybody a reason to worry about me…'

The door re-opened, and Izuku looked up expecting to see All Might again, a statement prepared in his throat- but his voice died when he saw Uraraka, Iida, and Jiro walk in.

"Midoriya! You're awake!" Iida exclaimed, his hand chopping through the air. "Thank goodness! You had no idea how worried we all were!"

"We?" Jiro snorted. "I seem to remember YOU being the most anxious there, Prez." Iida, stiffened and spluttered.

"You saw his injuries! I was worried that-"

"Guys, tone it down!" Uraraka hissed. "He just woke up!" Iida stopped his chopping and Jiro just snickered. Uraraka turned to Midoriya, a relieved smile on her face. "We really are extremely relieved to see you awake, Deku. You… Had us scared…" She shook her head. "But we knew you'd pull through!"

Izuku couldn't respond. He wasn't ready to see his classmates again…

'But I can't say I'm unhappy to see them.' He realized. 'This chaotic energy I've grown accustomed to over this past year… It's become so comforting.'

"Th-Thank you, guys…" He said quietly, feeling tears reach his eyes. "I'm just… Just happy to hear you're all okay, at least." The three of them gave him comforting smiles, and Iida and Uraraka began to approach his bed.

"Jiro, could you please go reassure Bakugo that Midoriya is awake and okay?" Iida turned to the purple-haired girl.

"Sure thing! I'm sure they're barely keeping him in his room anyways." She ran out the door and down the hall, leaving the three of them alone.

'Our camaraderie is our strength.'

Izuku smiled, remembering Hawks's words. He knew that the pro hero had been right. He already felt stronger being with his friends at that moment.

Even if he couldn't allow them to put themselves at risk, they still deserved to know the truth. It couldn't be right now, but he vowed to tell them the truth. He'd have to talk with All Might first.

Which reminded Izuku that his mentor had left not much earlier, due to a commotion.

"Did you guys see All Might?" Izuku asked. "He left to go check on something outside."

"Oh, that…" Uraraka said. "Some nurses were rushing by us. He stopped one and asked what was happening, and when he was told he just… took off with them."

"With them?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah. Whatever it was… It must've been important."

All Might rushed down the hall, outpacing the nurses despite his injuries and physical health. As soon as he had heard what the commotion was about he moved as quickly as his legs could take him.

'This can't be happening! Please, not now!' He thought as the nurse's words rang in his head.

"It's Gran Torino! He just went into critical condition!"