As Ayumu pried her eyes open against the blinding light above her, the first thing she became conscious of was the pounding in her head. She reached up to rub it, only to find a bandage wrapped around it, covering the space that throbbed.

"Ayumu, you're awake."

Shinso dropped a bookmark into his page and closed the book he had been reading before moving his chair closer to her bedside.

"Hitoshi?" Ayumu forced herself into a sitting position. "What happened? Where am I?"

Shinso put his hand on her shoulder and gently moved her into a more relaxed position. His eyes were filled with concern.

"That off campus facility you were at was attacked. What's the last thing you remember?"

Ayumu tried to think back, "I saw Todoroki and I slipped on some of his ice and cut my knee…"

Ayumu looked down and saw the knee of her pants was still split, but the cut was gone, just smooth skin as if she'd never fallen. The voice replayed in her head 'you should have known better than to come here alone'.

"Someone hit me in the back of the head. I guess I should've gone with Bakugo and Kirishima." Ayumu met Shinso's gaze, "Is everyone else okay?"

"I heard one kid went to the hospital, but I don't know any of the details."

"We might be able to help with that." Kirishima's voice caused both Shinso and Ayumu to look up. Bakugo was leaning against the doorway while Kirishima made his way into the room.

"I told you you shouldn't be running off by yourself." Bakugo scolded.

Shinso turned back to Ayumu. She gave him a look, telling him it was okay. They had a silent conversation before Shinso stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets as he did

"I'm going to get Recovery Girl and let her know you're awake and give your mom a call. She asked me to give her an update on how you're doing. I'll be right back."

Ayumu watched Shinso walk out of the room before her eyes landed on Bakugo still leaning against the doorway, hands shoved into his pant pockets. He crossed his arms and looked away from Ayumu as if the conversation didn't interest him.

"Stupid Deku broke both of his arms and legs again and some of the villains got away, but they were able to arrest most of those small time villains we fought." Bakugo explained.

"Everyone else was okay though. We got kind of worried when we didn't see you outside." Kirishima confessed.

Ayumu nodded in understanding to Bakugo before flinching at the pain in her head. She turned to Kirishima, "Sorry for making you guys worry, I guess I should have stayed with the group."

"Icy hot said he saw some villain hit you in the back of the head. He was able to freeze the guy, but obviously he was a little late." The annoyance was thick in his voice, but he ignored her apology. Finally, he looked directly at her, "Next time stay with the group. It was stupid for you to go off by yourself. You're lucky Icy hot was there. Your quirk is useless without support items."

Ayumu sat up a little taller despite the protests her head gave, "I had to make sure everyone was okay."

"How'd that turn out for ya? You're in the nurse's office with a concussion and everyone else is at home."

"Bakugo, chill out. She just got really hurt." Kirishima scolded, sympathy in his voice.

"And whose fault is that?"

Ayumu looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

"It's not my fault I was ambushed. Just because I don't have a flashy quirk like you do doesn't mean…. If he hadn't snuck up behind me-"

"If you'd stayed with us instead of running off like a dumbass he couldn't have ambushed you." Bakugo turned his back on them to leave. He paused for a second, his palm resting on the door frame, but he didn't look back, "When everyone was being evacuated and you weren't there, you had shitty hair really worried. He wanted to go back inside and look for you. You were putting other people in danger, idiot."

"Bakugo!" Kirishima called after him, but he was already gone. Kirishima turned back to Ayumu who was studying her hands carefully, "sorry about him, but you know how he is."

"Yeah I know." Ayumu looked up, "I just hate that he's right. If it hadn't been for him and Todoroki, I'm not sure what would've happened to me today."

Ayumu felt her eyes begin to sting and she cursed herself for being so weak and useless.

"Hey," Kirishima put his hand on her shoulder, "Everyone is just glad you're okay." Kirishima sighed, "I should probably get going too, we just wanted to come check on you."

"Thanks, Kirishima." Ayumu forced a smile, but she felt guilty. If she had just stayed with the group, Recovery Girl wouldn't have had to waste her time with her and her classmates wouldn't have been worried.

Kirishima turned toward the door, pausing for a moment in the doorway before turning back to Ayumu and giving her a small smile, "Hey, Suzuki, I know he doesn't act like it, but Bakugo was really worried about you."

Ayumu wiped her eyes, not knowing what to say. Shinso walked back in, just as Kirishima walked out, leaving Ayumu to process his last words. Shinso took one look at her and squinted.

"What's wrong?" He glanced back over his shoulder to where Kirishima was still walking away, "You look upset, did they say something?"

Ayumu shook her head, again feeling that annoying pain when she did. "Nothing, they were just concerned."

Shinso shrugged it off and sat in the chair he had been in before. "Recovery Girl should be in here in a second to check on you and then I can walk you home. Your mom made some soup for you to eat once we get there."

Ayumu nodded, suddenly becoming aware of how hungry she was. She had skipped lunch and only eaten an apple for breakfast. Sitting with Shinso at lunch felt like it had happened years ago. It was hard to believe it had only been a few hours before.

Ayumu linked her arm through Shinso's as they walked away from the school. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, trusting him to lead her in the right direction. Recovery Girl had healed her headache and instructed her to take it easy for the evening.

The sun had already gone down and the streetlights lit the path as Ayumu and Shinso walked together.

"Histoshi?" Shinso hummed in acknowledgement, but said nothing. "Thanks for being there when I woke up."

"Honestly you had me really worried when you didn't answer your phone. I knew something had to have happened and then I saw it on the news."

Ayumu gave his arm a small squeeze, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry." She sighed deeply, "Bakugo was right, I shouldn't have taken off by myself. That was dumb."

"Which one was Bakugo?"

"The blonde. He and Kirishima wanted me to stay with them, but I didn't listen."

It was Shinso's turn to sigh, "What matters is your alright." He walked up the front steps of her house and opened the door to let Ayumu in. "I'll see you in the morning okay?"

Ayumu took a few steps toward the door before turning around and giving Shinso a tight hug. It ended so quickly, he hadn't had time to respond. She let him go and smiled up at him, "Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow."