Chapter 9: The Push

Uraraka logged on late. It was unfortunate since she had made plans with Midoriya, but she had a chance to catch locusts and she really couldn't pass on that opportunity. The season was almost over, and she wouldn't be able to snag any more for months.

Real food came before fake food.

She knew she'd have to apologize to Midoriya once she got on though. He was already on when she got home, and she hadn't felt right sitting down while she was still sweaty. A quick shower had done the trick, and saved on the water bill too.

She hoped so anyway. Her mom and dad refused to tell her about that bill.

Thankfully her in-game house wasn't far from Hero's, so it was a quick trip. It was only as she arrived that she got a twinge that something had gone wrong. Martin was lingering outside the door to Hero's house, arms folded and eyes guarded.

She had to play this cool, waving at him as if nothing were wrong, earning only a spare motion from him. "Hi Martin, is Hero home?"

"He is, but he isn't up to going apple-picking with you today." Hero's NPC ally answered, "But maybe you can tell me something about that?"

Uraraka blinked, "What do you mean?"

Martin pushed himself off the wall, approaching her. He was almost two feet taller than her, and loomed over her, "I know you two have been trying to get one over on the merchants. And I know they don't like it."

"You mean my haggling?" She asked, taking a step back.

He nodded, "Did you piss any of them off? Did he?"

"No," She shook her head, "it'd be stupid to burn bridges like that."

"Burn bridges…" He barred his arms across his chest, "funny turn of phrase, that." He gave her an accusatory stare and she blinked.

"I'm not sure what you mean?" She finally answered.

Martin's eyes lingered on her for another long moment before blowing out a breath, "Yeah. Damnit. You probably don't." Uraraka blinked, and after a moment he sighed, skepticism morphing into concern. "Hero was attacked."

"Attacked?" She squeaked. "How? Where?" Had he angered an NPC while she was away?

"He won't tell us who did it." Martin looked almost disgusted, "He claims it was someone he hasn't seen in town before, which smells like horseshit to me, but that's the story he's sticking to."

Uraraka nodded slowly. For an NPC, that wouldn't make a lot of sense. Ted wasn't so large that you could just miss someone for your entire life, even if Hero only had a few days of in-game experience. And with the goblins laying siege, the town had been on lockdown for weeks.

But that didn't explain why he was being quiet. Had Reona managed to rope in another player? Even if she did, why would they attack Hero? Had he been hurt outside the game? The in-game avatars matched what you looked like in life, and only differed if you were permanently injured in-game. But why would he even log on if he was hurt?

Martin let out a sigh and dropped his arms, "Look, I'm sorry if I'm jumping at shadows. Alicia's upset, and we're both hoping it wasn't a guard. He said it's not, but we won't know until we know who did it to him." Martin's expression became more considering, "You've been getting close to Hero. Think you could get it out of him?"

Uraraka hesitated, weighing her options. Even if she managed to get an answer from him, there was a good chance she wouldn't be able to tell them. Still, she wanted to see, if nothing else than to make sure he was okay. She forced herself to smile, "I'll try."

Getting on had been a mistake, Izuku thought to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. Alicia's poultice, made from ground-up healing herbs mixed with milk and honey, wasn't making him feel any worse, but it wasn't making him feel any better either.

No, it was the way he'd worried Alicia and Martin. Alicia had covered her mouth in shock when she'd seen his stomach, and Martin was just as concerned. They both wanted to know what happened and had been increasingly frustrated that he wouldn't answer them.

But how could he? Even if he described Kacchan, they wouldn't recognize him, and he didn't want them asking the guards to find someone who didn't exist. It would just make more work for everyone.

They couldn't accept that though. Martin had stomped off from sheer frustration, almost ready to go looking for whoever did this while Alicia stayed at his side, quietly telling him how he'd be better soon, that the sludge on his stomach would help, and that he could trust her no matter what–in between asking him about what happened again and again.

If he knew what would happen if he logged off in front of NPCs, he'd have done it already, but he didn't want to spook her even more. So he lay there, hoping she would leave for a few minutes so he could log off before his mom got home.

"Hero," Martin called out as he stomped back inside, "Carpenter's here." Izuku cringed, realizing he was going to look stupid, his shirt open and stomach covered in a slimy green mash, but she was already at the door offering him a hesitant wave. He felt his face reddening as he returned it.

"Alicia," Martin glanced at his sister, "how about we give them some time alone?"

Alicia looked ready to refuse, giving Carpenter an unreadable glance before letting out a huff, "Just make sure he doesn't get out of bed, will you? I don't want him making his injury worse."

Carpenter waited until Alicia passed before walking into his room and closing the door behind her. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine," The words spilled out on reflex.

"You don't look fine." Carpenter murmured, double-checking the door was fully closed before approaching and taking Alicia's seat, "What happened?"

Izuku pressed his head back against the lumpy pillow, "It's nothing. Alicia just overreacted."

"She covered your stomach in healing herbs. That's not nothing." Carpenter was silent for a moment, "It happened in the real world, didn't it?"

Izuku grimaced, "It was an accident."

Carpenter reached out and took his hand, "Tell me what happened."

It wasn't a question.

Izuku groaned. He didn't want to lie to her, he didn't want to lie to any of them. But what could he say? Kacchan was angry, and he reacted badly. "I got my friend in trouble. He was frustrated." He answered, keeping it vague.

Carpenter was silent for a moment, "Your friend did this?" There was no missing the way she repeated the word.

Izuku forced himself to nod, an uneasiness settling over him, "He didn't mean to–"

"Midoriya," Carpenter squeezed his hand, stopping him, "I told you that the girls in my school bully me."

Izuku grimaced, "He-he isn't a bully. He's going to be a hero."

She nodded, "Can I see?"

"What?"

"I need to see what he did to you."

Izuku tried to sit up, but she still held his hand. "I-I don't think you need to."

"Please?" She asked softly, and his mouth went dry.

Izuku swallowed, a knot forming in his throat, "J-just be careful, okay?"

"I promise." She answered. And she began scooping the mash off his stomach, revealing the red and tender burn. He winced at her touch, sucking in breaths as her hand brushed against his skin. She slowed, visibly worried, and moved with even more care, cleaning smaller and smaller amounts away, until it was clear. She stared at him, face growing pale, "Midoriya, you may need to go to the hospital."

"It doesn't hurt that bad–"

"You've got blisters forming." She said, cutting him off, "I'm not sure if they need to be popped or not."

Blisters? He'd never gotten blisters before. But Kacchan hadn't ever been this angry before either. He tried to look at himself, but lying down, with the remnants of the sticky green paste on his stomach, he couldn't see them. He tried to sit up, but Carpenter put a hand on his shoulder to hold him down.

"What sort of quirk did they use?" Carpenter asked, drawing her attention back.

Izuku cringed and shook his head. He couldn't, not even for this. If Kacchan got in trouble, he'd never be able to become a hero. He'd never be able to forgive himself.

"I'm going to ask my dad what to do." She pressed, "But I need to know what caused it."

She looked down at him, eyes full of worry. Alicia had looked at him the same way, and so had Martin. What would Mom say if she saw them? Would he even be able to hide it from her?

He bit his lip, sealing his eyes shut, "Fire. He used fire." It was true. Sort of. Close enough that it wouldn't throw off any results she might find. Hopefully.

The moment he spoke, her hand left his and he opened an eye, but she was already gone. He lay there, unsure what to do. Should he wait for her? Should he go offline and look this up himself? Would she message him? Should he message her? He was sure he was mumbling, but he wasn't sure what to do. He tried to lift himself to get a look, but his stomach ached abominably and he fell back to the bed breathing hard.

Was he really hurt that badly? Kacchan wouldn't… it had to be a mistake. He'd just been angry. He wouldn't risk going too far and really getting in trouble, he'd never be able to get into UA.

"I'm back." Carpenter reappeared, looking down at him anxiously, "My dad said you need to go to a hospital. You only get blisters like that from a really bad burn."

"But Kacchan," Izuku cringed, "H-he might get in trouble."

"He deserves it!" Carpenter all but shouted, "You're really hurt!"

"B-but he's going to be a hero!"

Carpenter opened her mouth, her face setting in grim determination, "Not if he did that to you." She reached out and grabbed his hand, "You need to go tell your mom and dad. They need to take you to the hospital. Now."

Inko smiled to herself as she opened the door to her apartment. Mitsuki had really come through, first with the return of a cheap copy she got, and then by giving her Katsuki's copy of All Might Battle Challenge. She wasn't sure if Mitsuki had gone a little overboard with selling all of her son's games, but losing the newest one because he robbed her son seemed fair. And even if Izuku was enjoying his new game, she was sure that he'd love to get it.

"Izuku, honey, are you home?" She called out, kicking off her shoes, "I have a surprise for you." She couldn't help but grin.

"Mom," Izuku croaked, and every motherly instinct went on high alert. She could hear the pain in his voice. She hurried into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of him, pale with tears streaming down his face.

"Izuku," Her breath hitched, and she all but ran to his side, "what's wrong?"

Her son cringed, misery written across his face as he lifted his shirt. His stomach was burned, skin a blotchy red with yellow blisters at the center. "I-it hurts."

Author's Notes: Well, it's a good thing Izuku has friends who are making him take this seriously. It's a pity that Alicia and Martin can't do anything to make him feel better, but Uraraka did her best. Sorry this took a while, I struggled with the first scene. Originally it was Alicia's reaction, but it never quite worked, and it kept going on and on. I had to cut it and restart the story.