Amari wiped the sweat off her brow as she stared down at the pitiful heap that was a passed out Midoriya. Once again the boy had managed to break several bones in his limbs- yes all four of them - and she had kickstarted some bone growth for the fragments before her grandma had taken over.
The boy was covered in bandages and compresses for the multitude of burns littering his skin. Todoroki really had done a number on the boy. Or more accurately, Midoriya had really done a number on himself. Again.
She wished that he would finally start getting the hang of his quirk before he broke something a bit more critical, like a spine. She was quite frankly appalled that the school allowed the boy to put himself in such a state on what was pretty much a weekly basis.
Amari glanced idly at the television screen that was showing some replays of the fight as Present Mic and Aizawa gave some additional comments on their technique and strategy.
The only fight left in this tournament was the final: Bakugou versus Todoroki. Both boys were powerhouses in their own right, especially now that the latter had shown the full extent of his quirk.
A pitiful moan drew her attention back to the green haired boy lying on the bed next to her as he tried turning in his sleep but jarred his broken arm against the bed railing.
"Oh for god's sake." She muttered as gently turned the boy back on his back, carefully lifting his arms and placing two thick pillows under them.
"First Aid."
The familiar gruff voice made her turn around, coming face to face with her angriest classmate standing awkwardly in the middle of the nurse's office.
"Bakugou."
The boy blew out a puff of air through his nose as he approached her, not quite meeting her eyes as he pulled to a stop in front of the girl.
"Don't you have a final to fight in?" Amari asked as they stood there in uncomfortable silence.
"Tsk." The boy scoffed. "They need to clear out the mess that Half-n-half and fucking Deku made first."
That made sense. The two had left the arena in tatters from the destructive force of both of their quirks combined. She sure hoped Cementos was being paid extra for this.
Again it was quiet as Amari waited for the blonde to come out and say why he was there in the first place. She couldn't see any injuries as she scanned him up and down surreptiously.
"So." She finally broke the silence. "Why are you here? Are you injured somewhere?"
Finally the boy looked at her, albeit with an enraged glare as he puffed up like a porcupine.
"Like hell any of those extras could hurt me! Do you think I'm weak or something?!"
Amari winced at the force of his outburst, taking half a step back.
"Well this is the nurse's office..."
"I FUCKING KNOW THAT!"
"If you're not injured." She started, pinching her nose in exasperation. "Why are you here?"
Why did everything have to be so difficult with the blonde half the time?
Bakugou finally seemed to remember that he did in fact come into the room for a reason other than picking a fight with her as he again refused to meet her eyes. Instead, he held up his arms in front of him.
Amari instantly realized what he wanted her to do. The slight tremble in his arms belied the muscle fatigue he must have been experiencing. The quirk overuse must have taken its toll on the taut muscles.
She rolled her eyes at the request but nevertheless reached out for his arm, briefly touching her lips to the skin.
It was quiet, but not uncomfortably so, as she took the time to properly work out the tension knots in his muscles in a manner that was slowly becoming familiar to the pair.
"There." She spoke after a moment, releasing his arms and blinking away the drowsy feeling that had been gradually increasing during the day.
Bakugou clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, before promptly turning around and walking towards the door.
Amari's eye twitched violently as he didn't even give her a second look. Who the fuck did he think he was?
"Thank you, Amari." She mocked in a questionably low voice.
"You're welcome, Bakugou." She replied to herself in her normal voice. "The least you could do is get me something to drink to repay me."
She got the distinct urge to throw something at his head as he merely raised his middle finger and walked out the door.
"That arrogant little piece of shit."
"Language." Her grandmother tutted as she walked out from the little pantry with a new roll of bandages and antiseptic.
Amari merely grunted as she went to checkup on one of the general studies students who had gotten a small case of frostbite. Just for that she was rooting against Todoroki.
She pulled a face as she realized that that meant she had to root for Bakugou. Certainly an equally unappealing option.
"Hey, catch."
She squeaked as a bottle of something was launched in her direction. With the grace of a potato, she barely managed to catch the bottle. An annoyed glare was thrown in the general direction the projectile had been launched from, only to falter when it landed on Bakugou casually leaning against the door with his hands in his pockets.
Amari looked back down at the bottle. It was cherry flavored soda. Her favorite.
"We're fucking even now." Bakugou said.
"Yeah yeah." She huffed in amusement. "Now go and beat Todoroki."
Without another word, the boy turned around and left again, leaving Amari standing there with the beginnings of a soft smile as she looked down at the bottle. Maybe rooting for the blonde wasn't that bad.
"So about that frostbite..."
Amari stared in abject horror at the podium below where a chained up and muzzled Bakugou was shouting what were most likely threats and profanities at Todoroki while Tokoyami tried to pretend nothing was out of the ordinary.
Recovery Girl had told her granddaughter to go watch the finals with her classmates as the girl had worked hard enough for the day.
The actual finals match had been... incredibly boring. It seemed like all the fire that had come out during his match with Midoriya had disappeared again. Bakugou, under loud profanities, had easily shattered through the lackluster ice Todoroki threw his way and had swiftly ended the match.
"I can't believe Bakubro's going to be on tv like that." Kirishima sighed deeply, shaking his head from the second hand embarrassment.
"I can't believe they just had a muzzle and shackles ready to use." Amari spoke, taking a sip from her cherry soda.
"That's a good point actually." Mina chimed in from her other side.
In the end, none of the girls from their class had made it past the first round of the one on one matches. She knew Momo especially felt bad about her quick knockout by Tokoyami. The girl had been one of the two recommended students after all.
"Alright everyone!" Midnight commanded their attention from down in the arena. "Of course, there's only one person worthy of distributing the medals!"
The audience looked up as a booming laugh filled the air as All Might appeared at the top of the stadium, grinning down at everyone. He then launched himself into the air, diving down to the stage.
"I am he-"
"All Might, the number one hero!"
Midnight and All Might spoke at the same time, effectively ruining the hero's dramatic entrance.
Yeah that was embarrassing.
Nevertheless, the audience screamed and cheered as the man sent a quick wave into the crowd before stepping towards the podium.
"Young Tokoyami." He started loudly as he placed a bronze medal around the boy's neck. "You showed great strength out there."
"Your words humble me, sir." Tokoyami returned.
"Young Todoroki." All Might moved on with the silver medal. "You ought to be proud of yourself, you did well."
Todoroki silently accepted the piece of metal, staring down at it contemplatively.
Finally, the hero stepped in front of Bakugou, gold medal in hand.
"Now, young Bakugou." He began and then paused as he took in the boy's constraints. "This a bit much."
The blonde wiggled around with muffled screams.
"Well, you made good on your promise during the pledge." All Might continued, taking off the muzzle. "You were true to your word."
"Winning like this doesn't mean anything!" The blonde exploded. "I refuse to accept this!"
Amari exchanged a look with Mina before focusing on a very uncomfortable All Might as he cleared his throat.
"In a world where we're constantly being compared to one another, there are very few who can keep their eyes focused on the top spot, but you are one of them. Please accept this medal, even if you have to think of it as a scar, something you'll never forget."
"I don't want this piece of garbage!" Bakugou spit as he moved his head around violently to dodge All Might's attempts of putting it around his neck.
"What a shitshow." Amari spoke lowly.
Finally, the man managed to stick the medal on a still feral Bakugou.
The familiar buzzing of her phone drew her attention as she fished it out of her pocket.
Caller ID: Iida Tenya
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen their class president during the finals or now during the award ceremony.
"Excuse me, I need to take this."
A few hours later, Amari found herself standing in front of the registration desk of Hosu City Hospital. Iida had been a crying mess when he had told her about Stain's, the infamous herokiller, attack on his brother, Ingenium. The man was apparently kept in a medically induced coma due to the extent of the injuries.
Her class president, in some desperate moment, had rung up Amari in hopes of her quirk being of any impact, something that she herself doubted. Bigger hospitals usually had a quirk healer and if they couldn't help him, well, she didn't think she could. Not wanting to leave her classmate hanging, though, she had speedwalked to the train station and gotten on the first train to Hosu.
"Excuse me." Amari drew the attention of the receptionist, an aging man with a kind smile. "I'm here to visit Iida Tensei."
The man looked surprised by her request.
"Relation to the patient?"
"I'm his younger brother's classmate."
The man seemed to accept that statement, picking up the phone and dialing a number. The man quickly confirmed her identity before sending her up in the elevator to the VIP floor, reserved for celebrities and heroes.
She halted in front of room 12 and softly knocked on the door. A middle aged woman who strongly resembled Iida opened the door. The woman had clearly been crying judging by the red puffy eyes and smudged mascara.
"You're Tenya's classmate?"
"Yes ma'am." Amari nodded solemnly. "Shuzenji Amari."
"It's very nice of you to come all the way over here." She quickly gestured her inside. "Tenya hasn't left Tensei's side since the accident."
Her eyes scanned the room momentarily before falling on the unmoving form of Ingenium. An oxygen mask was tied over his face and several machines were connected to the man, rhythmically beeping.
Next to him sat Iida, crying softly as he held his brother's hand. He only looked up as Amari's shoe scuffed the floor with a squeak.
"I- you came." He slowly stood up, grasping her hands tightly in his as he bowed down. "P-please. They don't know if he's going to make it. Can you help him?"
She let out a shaky breath as she pulled her class president upright.
"I don't know." She replied honestly. "I can try, but what the specialists can't fix..."
"Please try at least." Iida practically begged her, pulling her towards the bed.
She softly took her hands out of his, giving a meaningful look to his mother and himself.
"I need you to understand that if I do this, there's a chance that I'm going to make it worse." She stated seriously. "Additionally, I do not have a license to practice my quirk in unsupervised situations of this caliber. If you want me to do this, I'm going to need a doctor in here."
For several long moments it was quiet as mother and son stared at each other, exchanging more than what perhaps could be said in words, before Miss Iida finally nodded resolutely saying she was going to find us a doctor.
Amari didn't know what to do as Iida sank back down into the chair adjacent to the bed, shoulders shaking with quiet sobs, so she merely placed a hand on his shoulder hoping to bring him some comfort at least as they waited.
A good ten minutes later, a frazzled looking woman darted in behind Iida's mom. She quickly introduced herself as Tanaka Fuyumi.
"I understand you have a healing quirk?" She inquired as she looked the girl up and down.
"Yes ma'am." Amari nodded. "I go to U.A. and train under my grandmother, Recovery Girl."
Tanaka sighed, giving her a sad smile.
"I'm afraid his body is under too much stress to risk using a quirk that takes from the patient's energy or I would have done it myself already."
That did explain the medically induced coma.
"My quirk, it's a mutation. It takes from my own energy instead."
Finally, the woman's eyes fully focused on Amari in contemplation.
"It could be worth trying..." She then looked back at the Iida's. "You are aware of the risks of such a procedure by a healer in training?"
The pair nodded sternly and after the signing of some legal documents, Amari was standing in front of Iida Tensei.
She shakily bent down to press a kiss on his hand, her own hands softly holding on to his much bigger one.
A gasp escaped her lips at the extent of the damage her quirk was picking up on. His spinal cord had been cut clean in half. Tattered bits of bone, nerves and blood vessels lay around the cut. She could clearly see where the surgeons had staunched the blood flow. There were multiple cuts deep into his flesh, one so close to puncturing a lung it was a miracle he had even survived the attack.
Most acutely worrying of all however was the harsh infection that had set in around on of the deeper cuts. The sepsis was already affecting his lungs, she could practically feel the force the body exerted to breath in and out shallowly.
"He's septic." She muttered to Tanaka.
"Can you stimulate his immune system?"
Amari sucked in a deep breath as she carefully and tediously worked to stimulate formation of macrophages, granulocytes and neutrophils, delicately guiding them towards the infection site. Her own breathing grew labored as a headache pierced her forehead. The infection was slowly but surely clearing away and Tensei's breathing evened out.
Finally, she stumbled back from the bed, swaying dangerously as black spots entered her vision. If it weren't for Tanaka, she would have fallen right over. The doctor swiftly ushered her into a chair and went to retrieve something sugary to eat for the girl.
Iida's gaze was so hopeful it hurt.
"An infection set in and was affecting his lung functioning." She started, licking her dry lips as mother and son gave her their undivided attention. "I-I cleared most of it out so I think he's going to live."
Miss Iida let out a choked sob, clenching a hand to her mouth while silent tears ran down her son's cheeks.
"But as you know his spinal cord is severed. I'm not-" She hesitated. "It's an extremely delicate area and I'm not confident enough in my knowledge and skills to attempt to heal it."
"Oh my sweet child, you've already given us so much." Miss Iida threw herself at Amari in a tight squeeze of a hug.
Amari could feel tears prickling in her own eyes as she released a shaky breath and returned the hug. Vowing to herself that she would study as long as needed to help Iida's brother.