A/N: First of all, I want to thank you all for 11,000 reads on this story. The amount of support I've received is overwhelming and I'm really happy that you are all enjoying it! I won't waste any more of your time now, so on with the chapter.
Izuku never liked making things difficult for people. That part of him might explain why he always took it upon himself to help instead of being helped. This was probably the only circumstance where he would accept and any form of assistance. Uraraka called on All Might, who quickly came to aid her in taking Izuku to the hospital and during that time, she explained to him the situation about Melodyne, about Izuku's control of his power and every other little detail of which All Might listened to with interest.
He wasn't that upset, of course, he was a little frustrated that Izuku took on a villain single-handedly, even without anything close to a provisional license but then, part of him couldn't help but feel proud for his successor, he just wished the circumstances would've been a little different.
Now though that was over, Izuku was checked over and given the all-clear and all that was left to do was to wait for him to wake up. All might had called Inko, told her about what had happened and spent more time than he should have, trying to reassure the protective mother that Izuku really was okay.
All Might had gone back to the school to prepare for the classes that would be starting again on Monday and left Uraraka to wait with her friend. She decided on her own that letting Mina know would be a good idea. Part of her didn't want to tell the Acid Quirk user about the incident but no doubt there will be a newspaper article out on it at some point, and she'd find out anyway.
She put it in the Class A-1 group chat just so everyone knew what had happened and that Izuku was okay. All Might didn't say no to her suggestion of doing so probably because it wasn't a major attack and no one bar Izuku got hurt.
And so, Uraraka sat by Izuku's bed, watching the nerdy teen peacefully sleep. His face had a few cuts that had been closed with sterir strips and a few bruises covered him but other than that he seemed fine. The doctor said the blood he coughed up wasn't from any internal damage or mouth injuries, but purely from the shock of the impact. Just to be safe though, Recovery Girl was again involved to ensure there wouldn't be any major damage, and now the worry was gone.
Bouncing her leg, she sighed, unable to take her eyes off Izuku's face. Part of her felt bad for not disobeying him and helping him fight but she also understood why he did it. There wasn't really anything Uraraka could use as a weapon, and with a range and close-range weapon in one tool, she wouldn't be able to get close enough to do anything without getting hurt. It frustrated her so much that she wasn't really able to help, even though she wanted to, but she was safe thanks to him.
"Uraraka? Uraraka?" It was Mina's voice approaching. Uraraka might not have spoken to Mina as much as some of the other girls in her class, but she still considered her a good friend and could tell quite easily when Mina was concerned about something. Her voice was tinted with frantic as she jogged down the hall and appeared in the doorway.
"Oh, here you are." She sighed, putting on a smile and strolling inside, sliding the door closed behind her.
"Mina? I didn't think you were going to come... Weren't you at the mall today?" Uraraka asked, sitting up and looking at Mina with a sideways expression.
"I was, I got dad to bring me here as soon as I saw the message." She replied, not taking her eyes off the greenette who was still unconscious and still. "Oh..." Uraraka muttered back simply.
"So... How's he doing?" Mina asked after a few seconds of silence.
"He's okay. The doctor said that besides a few cuts, bruises and grazes, he's perfectly fine." Uraraka explained, also not taking her eyes from Izuku.
"How did he fight? Well?" Mina asked, getting up off the wall and strolling over to the opposite side of the hospital bed, taking Izuku's crooked hand in her own and tracing the scars with her finger again.
Uraraka felt a strange, stirred up feeling awaken in her stomach when Mina did this, and part of her even wanted to tell her to stop, but she quickly suppressed the feeling. What was she thinking? Acting that way is simply childish.
"He fought like a hero would've." Uraraka replied, scenes of the battle flashing into her mind and a smile spreading across her face. Izuku's dodges were incredible. After that first hit, he didn't actually take any other damaging shots from Melodyne. He was definitely improving from where he began, and she was in awe at just how good of a fighter he was becoming.
"I wish I could've seen him..." Mina muttered, staring down at the freckled teens face with fondness in her eyes.
"Do you know when he'll wake up?" She asked, glancing up at Uraraka with a curious expression, to which the Zero-Gravity Quirk user simply shrugged in reply.
"No clue." She sighed. "Hopefully soon." She added, leaning forwards on her knees again, turning her head to the floor and looking up to Mina as discreetly as she could.
The pink-skinned girl had an expression on her face that looked like a strange mixture of concern and happiness; a gentle, caring expression as she reached her free hand towards his face and brushed his soft hair away before tracing his cheek with her thumb.
"You and Izuku must be pretty close huh?" Uraraka asked, gritting her teeth lightly.
"I guess so... I don't really know; I like to think we are." Mina replied coolly. Something about her was different, Uraraka had never seen her acting like this before. She expected Mina to come in wanting to draw something on his face whilst he was asleep, but she didn't. Instead, she seemed genuinely concerned.
"Did you get my message about Izuku? What he was talking to me about earlier?" Uraraka asked, sitting back up with a sigh. She was hoping there was a small chance that that was what she was worried about on top of his fight.
"I did yeah... I didn't realize he felt that way at all. He never really shows how he feels though... Unless you count all the times he bursts into tears." She replied with a chuckle, still holding Izuku's hand and rubbing his cheek with her thumb. "I guess I'll have to take care a little more care of you now." She whispered. Uraraka heard her say something but it was incoherent to her, so she brushed it off as nothing.
"Well, I better head home now, my parents told me I have to get back 'cause of my aunt coming to visit. Would you mind staying with him until he wakes up? Doc said it should only be about an hour and that was like... forty-five minutes ago." Uraraka smiled, sighing as she got up from her chair, adjusted her sweatpants and stretched. She was reluctant to leave her with him but like before, she couldn't understand why she was feeling this way. She could trust Mina.
"Well, I'll be off then. Oh, when he wakes up, he can go home, the doctor said it'd be fine." She sighed, shaking the thoughts from her mind, and waving at Mina with a smile before heading out the door.
"See ya Uraraka!" Mina called after her before turning her attention back to Izuku. His face looked so content and it brought a smile to her face, it hurt her too though. It hurt her because in all the time she'd known Izuku, and heard about him visiting the hospital, she'd never actually seen it herself. Now she'd gotten to know a little about him though and she'd seen him smiling and laughing, it hurt her to see him in such a bad state.
She let go of his hand for a moment to grab a chair, pulling it up to the side of his bed and sitting down with a quiet sigh. She wriggled out of her backpack and sat it between her feet before taking Izuku's scarred hand in her's again, rubbing its rough skin with her thumb. She decided on this because this was what she'd want to wake up to if in a hospital bed. She admired him over anything and anyone else, she felt like he was foolish for taking Melodyne on alone, but she admired him for how gutsy and selfless he was. He did it to protect all those people, even though it could've got him in serious trouble.
"What are we gonna do with you hmm?" She giggled quietly, cocking her head a little and resting it in her hand with a sigh. Whist studying his face she felt the grip on her hand tighten ever so slightly. A buzz of joy awakened within her, but it was quickly replaced with concern as Izuku's face began to contort, as if he were scared or in pain. His breaths increased and he began moving, shaking his head as if he was having a nightmare.
"M-Midori? Hey Midori." Mina said, clasping his hand between hers and getting to her feet. He was breathing heavily now, squirming, and muttering something about 'Melodyne'. Then, just as she was about to call for the doctor, he shot up from his resting position, gasping for breath. He was holding Mina's hand so tightly that she thought it was going to break, but she didn't really care; She was more concerned for him.
"Hey! Hey, are you okay? What happened?" She said softly, quickly sitting back down and scooting right up to Izuku's side, keeping hold of his hand as he looked around in a panic.
"I-I... Whe-... Was I..." He stuttered.
"Hey calm down, it's okay." Mina muttered with a gentle smile, using her left hand to rub his back comfortingly as he let his mind process what was going on.
"A-Ashido..." He said quietly, turning back to Mina with an expression of confusion and distress.
"Yeah, it's me, I'm right here. What happened?" She asked softly. Normally she would've cracked some sort of joke, mocking some sort of petty fear like she would if it were Kirishima, Kaminari or the girls, but with Izuku? Not even she knew why she was acting differently towards the situation.
Maybe it was because she knew he was more sensitive than they were, even after the years of Bakugo's ill treatment. She needed to remember he still wasn't completely used to unfiltered humour also.
"I... I-I..." He stuttered before bringing his hand up to his face massaging the top of his nose.
"Did you have a nightmare or somethin'?" She asked with a light laugh, hoping it would cheer him up a little.
"Y-Yeah..." He replied blankly, still sounding a little unsettled.
"I don't mind ya holding my hand, but I think you're about to break it." She laughed, trying to hide the pain she was feeling in her right hand.
It wouldn't seem like it, but Izuku had a grip like a vice. He was quiet and unmoving for a few seconds before looking down his right hand and quickly letting her's go, his face turning bright red as he began to panic stutter out an apology.
"Hey-hey, stop. I'm the one who held your hand whilst you were resting. Quit panicking and lay back down will ya." She ordered with a small smile, not releasing his hand from her grip. He seemed hesitant at first but accepted her request after a few seconds, slowly leaned back and rested his head in the pillow.
"Well, the good thing is that it was just a nightmare, fear not." Mina beamed, patting his shoulder. Izuku chuckled half heatedly back and smiled up at the ceiling.
"Huh... Yeah..." He muttered, barely tightening his grip on her hand but enough for her to notice. "Did Uraraka go home?" He asked, rolling his head over to the left where Uraraka had been sat a few minutes before.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, her parents said she had to get back for visiting family." Mina replied, following his gaze to the empty chair opposite her.
"Oh... Sorry if I'm keeping you from anything Ashido." He sighed with an apologetic look on his patched-up face, turning to her with a small grin.
"Midori, come on, me? Doing something? Pfft, ya got the wrong gal." She replied jokingly, wafting her had at him and shaking her head. He chuckled slightly in response, but she could tell he still wasn't sure if she was being honest or not.
He always felt guilty when he got into these situations because he knew it caused trouble for everyone. From what he'd seen of Mina so far, she was almost always up to something, so for her to say what she just had didn't quite add up to him.
He wasn't sure exactly how long she'd been sat there or how long he'd been out for, but he still felt drained. He was amazed he'd managed to win against Melodyne because going by how he fought, he could've given even a pro a challenge. He was talking about debuts a lot too, so he must've been a villain who was new on the scene; trying to make an impression and going all out.
"You ready to go then, mutterer?" Mina asked with a calm smile, pulling him from his thoughts. Sitting up he noticed she was no longer in the seat beside him but standing by the door, holding it open and patiently waiting.
"What? Shouldn't the doctor tell us when to go?" He asked hesitantly, looking around to see if there was one around.
"Nope, Uraraka brought you here for a check-up. He said it was nothing serious, so once you were awake you could go home." She explained with a smile, nodding out the door.
"Oh... So long as you're sure." He replied cautiously, scooting off the bed and carefully getting to his feet. His legs felt a little shaky still, but that was understandable considering he'd been out for the past hour and a half.
Considering everything that had happened over the past few days, Izuku was grateful for it all. Sure, his experiences had varied; He'd been out and about with Mina more than anyone else and he loved every second of it.
He'd been in some heartfelt conversations with her. He'd battled a villain to protect his friend and citizens and, all in all, he was thankful that it had all happened. Sure, the fight definitely wasn't an ideal way to start his day, but it taught him a little way to control his power until he learned a more efficient way that wouldn't put him under as much strain.
Another thing that was clogging his mind was the way Mina had acted since he'd been awakened by the nightmare. For whatever reason, she didn't seem as jokey and careless as before, he couldn't tell if she was upset because of his foolish decision to fight Melodyne, if she was worried because she'd been called to the hospital or if she was just having an off day.
"Hey, Ash... Ashido." He started awkwardly, pushing forwards a little to walk closely beside his pink-skinned friend.
"Mina." She corrected quickly with a crooked smile.
"Right... Are you okay?" He asked, shaking himself and craning forwards a little to try and see her face.
"Hm? What? Oh! Oh no, yeah, I'm better than ever! Also, shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" She asked with a small laugh. "What made ya ask anyways?" She interrogated, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Well, you just seem a little more... Quiet... Than usual" He replied with a shrug, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as they exited the hospital and headed to the nearby bus stop.
"Pfft naaaah, I'm great! I'm just angry you pulled me out of my mall trip." She smiled before grumbling at him and putting on an expression of fake irritation.
As she'd hoped, Izuku's eyes went wide and he clenched his fists with nerves.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were out with your family! If I'd known, I'd have-." He started, tripping over his own words as he usually did when he got panicked or flustered.
"It's okay. I'm not actually mad. Sure, it sucks but I think your well-being is a little more important than a mall, don't you?" She asked with a smile before looking back at the pavement. These words made Izuku's face begin to heat up and his insides flutter. "Also, you need to get used to my humour." She added with a chuckle.
He had no idea she felt that way at all. If anything, he expected her to crack jokes about how beat up he'd gotten as they headed home, but instead, he was getting the opposite.
"M-Mina..." He whispered surprised. Her face looked serious and a little disturbed, almost as if she had some kind of grim thought on her mind. He could tell she had been trying to hide it and although she was almost always smiley even when she probably didn't feel like it. This was the first time he'd seen her look so downtrodden by something.
Was she really that worried about him? Why? After all, she had only really begun getting to know him three days ago, so why was it that she was feeling so anxious. Even Mina couldn't answer this question, she had never had a feeling like this before.
Of course, she worried about all her friends when they got into fights, especially with villains, but for whatever reason, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread this time. Slowly she reached a hand up to her chest and closed her fist on her heart, gripping her shirt tightly. Why did this feel like it hurt her inside?
"M-Mina..." Izuku repeated a little louder, the use of her first name grabbing her from her thoughts.
"That's my name, don't wear it out." She replied, quickly putting on a smile as they sat down to wait for the bus.
"Are you sure you're okay? I don't mean to keep pressing it but... You really don't seem like yourself." He muttered. She couldn't help but giggle a little; His face was cute when he was anxious. Quickly she shook the feeling from her mind and focused back on what he'd asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I've been absent a lot today, I didn't sleep very well last night." She lied, hoping he wouldn't see through her as well as he seemed to see through everyone else.
"I see..." He muttered, slowly nodding, and turning to face forwards. She wasn't too sure if she'd convinced him or if he just didn't want to press the matter anymore but either way, she was happy she'd gotten away with it. Maybe she could talk to Tsuyu about it, she seemed to have a handle on any kind of 'feeling' situation, so maybe she could shed some light on it.
Finally, the bus had arrived, but it seemed the city wasn't on their side. Almost as soon as they'd left the hospital they'd been caught in traffic. Apparently, it was a simple traffic accident, which was obviously still serious, but at least it wasn't another villain attack.
Just to add to the situation, what Mina had lied about earlier was slowly becoming true. Her eyes felt dry, sore, and heavy and she felt like her neck was unable to hold the weight of her head, occasionally feeling her eyelids grew too heavy to hold open and begin to fall.
"Ashido?" Izuku perked up, returning to his old habits and grabbed her attention. Slowly she turned to look at him, trying her best to keep her eyes open.
"H-Here, use this and get some rest." He muttered, a small blush on his cheeks as he handed her his balled-up hoodie, making sure not to make eye contact with her and he held it out. She didn't process what was going on at first, simply looking from him, to the hoodie, then back at him.
"Oh, like a pillow or somethin'." She asked, rubbing her eyes, and yawning loudly.
"Yeah... You don't have to of course!" He added quickly.
Then an idea popped into her mind, something that could either be really funny or really awkward. She didn't reply but instead, took the hoodie from him and laid it on his shoulder be placing her head on his shoulder and scooting up close.
Her stomach felt like it was buzzing, and she could feel a large smile spreading across her face. Surprisingly Izuku was much more comfortable than she expected, she could tell by the slight firmness that it was muscle too and it only added to the feeling. Mostly she was smiling because of the expression on his face, but also for the content feeling it gave her to be this close to him.
"Ooo, this is better." She said half-jokingly.
"Ashido!" He hissed in a panic, frantically looking around to see who was looking. She laughed in reply before closing her eyes, relaxing into his side and letting out a quiet sigh.
"Just this once?" She asked, not looking at him but winning him over with the happy, innocent tone in her voice. It's not that he didn't like the contact, heck it was the closest he'd even been to a girl, ever, and he liked it. He didn't really give her a reply to the question but simply made a sound of approval, remaining sat like a statue and keeping his eyes forwards.
Ever since he'd first spoken to Mina, since he'd really spoken to her he felt comfortable and happy. He felt the same way with Uraraka and Iida but there was something about Mina that made him feel stronger. Their time as friends was still young but already, he'd learned a lot from her, he felt a little bit more comfortable with her overbearing, bubbly and excitable personality. He felt more up for doing some of the things that he wouldn't usually enjoy doing and ended up enjoying them.
Thinking about the events of the past three days made a big goofy grin come across his face and the thing that made him feel so good about this was that, for the first time, he didn't care how stupid it made him look. Her reasoning for first talking to him obviously hurt him a little, it'd hurt anyone with a heart but the other thing it did was make him feel closer to her, it made him feel good about himself.
He'd managed to get someone who didn't really see him as a 'friend' to want to meet up with him, go around the city, eat together, laugh together, have heart to hearts with each other and be sat in this current situation.
Mina was everything he expected but she was also a lot more. He'd seen first-hand just how much fun she could be, how excitable she could be, how fun, caring, funny, immature, hectic, cute, beautiful, encouraging and comforting she could be and he liked it, he liked everything about her and he couldn't have asked for a better friend.
She'd show him she didn't care if he was awkward, if he was sometimes clumsy, or if he sometimes cried at the drop of a hat. If he sometimes didn't think before he acted and all the other small things that made him a pain, and she'd also show him that she liked these parts of him.
This strange feeling, this feeling of warmth he felt in his chest every time he thought about her, what was it? He'd never felt something like this before, he'd felt things like it but never something quite as strong as this.
When Uraraka encouraged him at the Sports Festival he'd left something like it, when Tsuyu helped him fight as U.S.J and complimented his abilities he felt something like it too but, with Mina, it felt stronger, more focused and yet still he couldn't put his finger on what it was he was feeling.
As he thought about this, all this his body relaxed and surprising even himself, he allowed her sit right up close to him, burying her head under his chin whilst being careful not to impale him with her horns, brushing her hand against his. This sudden contact made his body tense up again but not as much as before. He didn't have a reason to feel like this did he?
Mina wouldn't have done this if she didn't want to and he didn't have any reason to feel so anxious about it. It went against every fibre of his being, but he knew, deep down that he liked this, he liked being this close to someone, being this close to Mina.
He felt bad that he'd been a little distant from his other friends recently, especially Uraraka and Iida but the feeling he got with Mina was exclusive to her. Maybe he should try getting the four of them together some time, try and get her more involved in his main group of friends.
*Maybe she'd like that.* He smiled to himself, slowly turning and looking down at the peacefully sleeping friend beside him.
"Ashido, this is my stop." Izuku perked up, nudging her lightly with his elbow as the bus rounded the corner and stopped outside the train station by U.A. She didn't budge but after a few more encouraging bumps from her greenette friend, she began to stir.
"Hmm? Are we there?" Mina groaned, slowly picking herself up from Izuku's shoulder and stretching.
"Yeah, the bus should go straight to wherever you need to go. It's the same bus as Wednesday, so you should be fine." He explained, holding onto the back of the seat in front and the support bar, picking himself up as the bus slowly came to a stop.
"Oh, awesome!" She beamed, letting out a fully awake and energetic sigh.
"Well... I guess I'll see you again on Monday?" He replied with a kind smile before turning and heading down the aisle of the bus. Mina sat and watched as he nodded and thanked the bus driver before leaving, strolling up the street towards his apartment, a goofy, absent smile on his face. She wasn't quite sure why, but she had an almost irresistible urge to hug him, to jump up from her seat and hold onto her taller, nerdy friend like it was the last time she was ever going to see him.
"I'll get ya on Monday." She muttered, mischievously grinning out the window at him as the bus revved up and slowly pulled out of the bus stop.
Izuku felt nervous to put it lightly. He knew just how much his mother worried and there was no doubt that someone had let her know about his battle with Melodyne. He was expecting to walk into his home, and either be greeted with a hug and a worried lecture or an angry lecture but either way, he knew he wasn't going to enjoy it.
Then again, he never blamed her for feeling this way. His mother was much like Izuku in that she got emotional over little things. Then again, if Izuku had a son or daughter with a power like he had and they got into such situations, he would probably act the same way.
Swinging his backpack from his shoulder he unzipped the main pocket and reached in for his house keys with an anxious buzz in his stomach. Letting out a long, tired sigh he dragged his feet up the rest of the stairs and finally arrived at his apartment. However, instead of unlocking the door himself, it quickly swung open as soon as he got close enough, meeting the teary face of his mother.
"My boy... Oh, my darling baby!" She cried, throwing out her arms and grabbing her son, pulling him into a tight hug that felt like it could snap his spine in two.
"M-Mum... I can't... Breath." He croaked, patting her back lightly.
"Y-You... I-I was so worried! W-Why is it always you who gets caught up in things like this?" She sniffed, taking both his hands in her own and looking up at him with a loving expression.
"I-I'm sorry mum..." He replied quietly. He felt terribly guilty but then again, he wasn't exactly sure what he should've said to her.
He couldn't have just hidden away and let Melodyne run rampant but what if someone had gotten hurt? What if lots of people got hurt, or in a worst-case scenario, what if someone had been killed? He could have stood by and watched that happen but, seeing his mother so upset made him feel like sitting out would've been the wisest decision.
"Are you hurt! All Might called me and told me everything! You sounded like you'd gotten so hurt!" She sobbed, tracing his cheek with her thumb, and studying his face closely. He was shocked at the mention of his idols name but quickly brushed it off. Clearly, the sight of the sterir stripped cuts on his face and the tatty, torn up tracksuit he'd had to wear home.
"Here, you should spend the day in bed or... Or relaxing... Watch a little TV or... Or maybe you could do a little bit of studying but please. Izuku... Please don't push yourself any harder than you already are." She begged before pulling him into another hug. He felt terrible and there was a look in his mother's eyes that he'd seen in both Uraraka and Mina. All of them shared the same feeling and it made him feel terrible because it was his fault.
"I-I'm really sorry mum..." He muttered, trying to hold back guilty tears and she patted his back gently.
"Don't be sorry Izuku, just... Try and remember that you don't have to force yourself to be something you're not ready for. You're a U.A student and you've only been that for a month or so now, you don't have to force yourself to be a hero yet. Of course, I know you'll be the greatest hero ever, but maybe not quite yet." She explained, trying to express her concerns to him in the nicest way possible.
Of course, hearing this hurt just a little, but he knew, deep down, that she was right. He'd been pushing himself to be the hero but amongst that, he'd forgotten that he was merely a student. He'd only been handed the torch of One For All about a month ago and that incredible, powerful and awe-inspiring Quirk was still far from being within his control. He didn't want to cause anyone any more pain. He didn't want to make anyone upset or worried about him anymore, that's not what heroes did.
A/N: Hey all! Again, I'm sorry if this chapter feels a little bit shorter than others. I'm trying to make them as long and as entertaining to read as I can but still, I'm very new to writing in this way. I really hope I'm doing well!
So, Mina's started really feeling the effect Izuku's been having on her and it seems that Izuku is feeling that same thing too, but what does this mean? Does it mean they like each other? I don't know about you guys, but I feel like it could. Guess you'll have to see what happens in the next few chapters :D.
Thank you so much for your incredibly overwhelming and supportive feedback on this story and remember, if you enjoyed this chapter, send me a review and tell me what you enjoyed, what you think I can improve on and anything in between. See you in the next chapter! Take care!
-ElliottChap