Several days later Izuku woke up in an unfamiliar room. He slowly opened his eyes, staring at the familiar white ceiling. He could also smell the medicine and the feeling from the sheet covering his body.

' hospital? '

After becoming aware of where he is, Izuku then slowly sat on his bed trying to remember what happened right before he passed out. However, since he was unconscious for too long, his body was a bit stiff. His head also felt a little spinning, which made him vaguely remember what happened.

' What happened before? Ouch! my head... '

As Izuku groaned in pain, the door to his room opened and a familiar person entered the room.

" so you're awake "

" Todoroki-san? "

Izuku tries to get out of bed but stops when a headache strikes him again.

" You'd better not move much, do you know how long you have been unconscious? "

" How long? "

"a whole week"

" a-a week?... "

" That's right, we almost thought you were dead back then "

" Wait, if a week has passed, then what about the inauguration?"

" Is that what you worry about as soon as you wake up? "

" Ah... sorry about that "

Seeing Izuku's response to light made Todoroki couldn't help but sigh. Regardless of how he just woke up, the first thing he worries about is work.

' I guess this is what is called workaholism '

" Don't worry about it, we couldn't have held the inauguration without the vice guild master as well as the founder of the guild. "

" Is that so, so... when will it be held? "

"Two days from now"

" I see... "

Todoroki couldn't help but sigh once again at the workaholic in front of him who was thinking about leaving even after he regained consciousness. If no one forced him to rest, he might faint again like last time.

But despite that, Todoroki realizes that there is something different about his best friend, especially in terms of appearance.

" hey Izuku "

" what? "

" I've been curious since just now "

" What is that? "

" What's happened to your hair? "

" What's wrong with my hair? "

" Look at yourself "

Todoroki took a mirror he got from somewhere and handed it to Izuku. Izuku had just received the mirror with a dazed expression, but that expression disappeared as soon as he noticed the change in his appearance.

" W-why is my hair black?... "

Seeing his reaction like that, Todoroki just raised his eyebrows in confusion.

" So you don't know either? I thought you dye it or something "

" You think I can do it while I'm unconscious? "

" Well... You have a point, then is it related to what happened to you in that dungeon? "

Izuku only smiled faintly remembering what happened inside. The memory of what he saw back then flowed back into his head which made his forehead wrinkle with a headache.

Somehow the memory seemed like it would not leave his mind and kept spinning in his head like a film tape.

"I don't know... I'm not sure either"

Seeing his reaction like that, Todoroki knew Izuku had the answer to his question but refused to answer. Either it was because he himself was not certain or because of other things.

" Well whatever you say, I'll tell the others when you wake up. "

" Sure, thank you for visiting "

" Oh! right... Just a reminder, Kiyoko-san probably won't let you go this time. "

Izuku's body immediately stiffened after hearing Todoroki's words. He turned his head to Todoroki with a stiff movement, and he could see Todoroki's face smiling faintly.

" I suggest you rest while you can. "

"Ah... sure, of course, thanks for the warning "

As soon as the door was closed, the fatigue he had been ignoring returned to him which made him fall onto the bed. Although Izuku thinks of Kiyoko as his own sister, thinking about Kiyoko with her excessive worry makes Izuku tired.

Not only she will heal him with her healing magic, but she will not leave Izuku's side before she is sure that Izuku's condition is absolutely fine.

Not long after Todoroki left, Izuku's door opened once again. This time the incoming groups are Daichi, Sugimoto, Katshuhito, and of course Kiyoko.

Izuku immediately erased his tired face and greeted them with a smile.

Seeing Izuku who was already awake, Kiyoko immediately ran over and hugged him.

"Izuku... Thank goodness you're awake, you know how worried I am. "

Although awkward to receive Kiyoko's hug, Izuku did not reject it. The warmth he felt from his embrace made Izuku's smile slowly soften.

The others also approached Izuku, right behind Kiyoko. Daichi grabbed Izuku's head and messed up his hair.

" This kid really knows how to make others worry "

"I also heard that from Sugimoto-san you worked hard again, didn't I, if I knew that I would have dragged you to bed. You should pay more attention to yourself, why do you keep working hard even if you are young? You should go out for a walk and make more friends. And why did you enter the dungeon instead of resting? Especially with the rank of the dungeon, why did you go in by yourself instead of waiting for help?..."

Kiyoko kept shaking Izuku's body while continuing to complain which if continued might make Izuku's ears bleed. Luckily, Daichi grabs Kiyoko's shoulder to stop her excessive scolding.

"Kiyoko... I think that's enough, don't you look at Izuku's current condition"

Hearing what Daichi said, Kiyoko turned her gaze back to Izuku's figure which was messy from the repeated shocks she gave, and it seemed that half of his soul had just left his body.

Realizing the mistake he made, Kiyoko immediately released his handle and immediately apologized.

"Oops!... sorry"

The staggering Izuku tried to regain his composure though his gaze was still spinning slightly. He shook his head trying to relieve the headache that kept swirling in his head. Even though he had just woken up, he was more tired mentally than physically.

" Are you okay? "

" Yes, I think so ... "

" Glad to hear that, we're glad you're awake "

" Yeah, thanks for coming too, but I didn't see Ichirou-san, where is he? "

" He's still busy right now, but maybe he'll be here tonight "

" Is that so... "

" Are you disappointed? "

" Not really, that's understandable "

" Well considering what's to come it's understandable. But I honestly still can't believe you prepared something that big behind our backs, why are you keeping it a secret? "

Hearing Daichi's question, Izuku couldn't help but smile slightly.

" Well, that... I have my own reason "

Knowing that Izuku didn't want to talk about it, Daichi let it slide.

" Fine, if you don't want to talk about it. "

" but Izuku, are you really okay? " (Kiyoko)

" As you can see I'm fine "

Kiyoko looked at Izuku with doubtful eyes. She was still holding Izuku's hand and she could feel the warmth in his grip.

" Then I'll stay here with you. "

"Eh?!...but I'm really fine"

" No! I can't believe you took a break even after we left. So this time you have to listen to this big sister, you might just work while we're not looking, so just shut up and obey this big sister "

Hearing Kiyoko plan to look after him all night made Izuku uncomfortable. He tried to seek help from the others but they quickly averted their eyes as if it had nothing to do with it.

Feeling betrayed Izuku looked at them with sharp eyes, but soon returned to normal when he heard Kiyoko's voice calling him.

" Did you hear me? "

" Y-yes of course I'm listening "

Those who know Kiyoko, know how stubborn she is. Once he's made up his mind on something, he won't let it go easily, especially when it comes to the people he cares about.

"Oh, look at the time, looks like we've been too long, I still have a business, so I'll excuse myself first"

" Me, too "

Izuku kept protesting inside his heart but he couldn't express it with Kiyoko who was in front of him. He just stared at the closed door in despair before looking back at Kiyoko who was still smiling at him.

His eyes then fell on the plate of clean, peeled apples, somehow already in Kiyoko's hands. Apparently, Izuku was too focused on Daichi and Katsuhito's escape and didn't notice Kiyoko was peeling apples for him.

Kiyoko picked up one of the apples with a fork and brought it to Izuku's mouth. Izuku shows some resistance, but after seeing Kiyoko's angelic smile that doesn't look like an angel at all, he gives in and allows himself to be fed like a baby bird.

That night Sugimoto and Ichirou came to visit Izuku to see Izuku's figure lying exhausted.

They both stared at Izuku in confusion before one of them opened their mouth.

" Did we come at an inopportune time " (Sugimoto)

" I think so " (Ichirou)

" Should we visit another time? "

Hearing Ichirou and Sugimoto who were about to leave, Izuku immediately got up from his bed and greeted the two of them.

" I don't think it's necessary, I'm fine now "

" Are you sure? To be honest you look a bit... "

Without even having to hear the rest of Sugimoto's sentence, Izuku knew what he wanted to say. It was so obvious just from Izuku's pale face that he looked like he had just walked through a storm.

" Well, Kiyoko-san just visited me and she insisted on looking after me last night "

Hearing Izuku's words, Ichirou couldn't help feeling sympathy for the boy, because he also knew Kiyoko's personality very well.

" Then where is she? "

" There's something urgent going on that requires her to go home, thanks to that I can rest in peace "

" Well, I guess you got pretty lucky this time. "

" Yeah, I think so too "

" good to see you're awake, so when can you leave? "

" Tomorrow I can leave "

"That's fast enough"

"Well, the doctor said there was nothing wrong with my body except for the build-up of fatigue and he advised me to rest for a full day before returning to my normal activities."

A few minutes after Daichi and Katsuhiko left Izuku's room, a doctor came in to check on his condition. But when the doctor examined Izuku he was quite surprised by Izuku's physical condition. There was no trace of anyone lying there for a week, otherwise, his condition was perfect.

However, considering the profession of the person he handled is not surprising anymore. The doctor had also treated several similar patients so he was getting used to this sort of thing.

"Fortunately, I don't need to force you to rest" (Ichirou)

"Well, I've heard enough scolding today"

"If I'm being honest, you deserve it" (Sugimoto)

"I won't deny it"

"I hope you can come to the inauguration the day after tomorrow without passing out like last time"

" Of course, I will rest well this time "

"Well if you say so, rest up see you the day after tomorrow"

" yes, sure, bye"

After saying their goodbyes, Ichirou and Sugimoto left Izuku's room. Izuku stared at the door for a while before laying back down on the bed.

' finally quiet '

For a while, Izuku noticed how quiet the room he was in was after all the commotion earlier. It was as if he was reminded again that he was never alone, not with people who cared about him.

Izuku smiled faintly, but quickly faded away as memories of that war came flooding back into his mind. Flames, screams of agony, and the thick smell of blood filled the air.

The terrifying sight he saw when he could have been recreated if the monsters in the dungeon were released into the outside world, plus the existence of superior beings summoned by Monarchs whose strength was already like a walking disaster.

This once again strengthened his resolve to become strong to face such enemies in the future.

' in the end, my only goal has not changed '

" I have to keep leveling up "

.