Recovery Girl did not move.
After the selection meeting for the Hero Course's future students, everyone had left the room but her. Instead of grabbing her trusted cane and walking back to the infirmary, Recovery Girl read the file on her hand over and over and over again.
Midoriya Izuku. Quirk: Healing Contact.
The name is self-explanatory. Anyone Midoriya Izuku came in direct contact with, he will be able to heal any injuries they have. Even old and untreatable ones, at the cost of his stamina. A Quirk too much the same yet different from hers. But a healing Quirk wasn't that uncommon. Not in this day and age.
What caught her attention was the boy she saw.
The boy who ran through dangers with the most tiresome expression on his face, risking his own safety to help people he's never met. All with the most genuine smile.
And Aizawa rejected his application. Claiming someone who isn't willing to hurt others doesn't belong in the Hero Course. The man always has a point, as much bullshit as that point is, sometimes. But the decision was final, and the door was closed. A spot in General Education will let him get another shot at the Sport Festival, but...
Called her cruel and a pessimist, but the chances were... slim. The Sport Festival is usually a show-off show for the Hero Course, and only someone who is at least on par with them at showing off could have a thin shot. And the boy's Quirk could do harm to no one but himself. All in all, it was setting up hope to crush it...
And she couldn't stand that.
Not while she is here. (Chiyo reprimanded herself at the poor imitation of her old friend and the blond oaf)
With determination, Chiyo finally grabbed the cane and left the room, but not back to her office.
"Izu- Izu- Izuku!"
Jolted awake by his mother's frantic scream, Izuku rubbed his tired eyes before he set the pair of chopsticks he was holding down. Calmly, he walked towards the living room before getting bummed into by his mother.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Izuku asked with a soft smile. "You know you can't flood the apartment with your tears again. Satou-san downstairs has been getting grumpier-"
"That's not important!" Inko yelled back, before showing Izuku a letter she held in her hand. "U.A. U.A's letter has arrived!"
For the first time since he woke up this morning, Izuku finally displayed an expression other than tiredness. His eyes widened at the revelation, gaining more energy than ever. Maybe with a little dreadfulness along with it. Slowly, he took the letter from his mother's hand and studied it.
"It's the real thing..." He mumbled.
"You go and open it!" Inko shouted, snapping him out of his thought. "I'll clean up the table! Just... go to your room and open it!"
Without a chance to reply, Izuku was pushed into his room. A moment of hesitation passed, and Izuku finally gathered up the courage to open the letter. Slowly tearing the seal off, Izuku found a coin-shaped device falling out of the envelope. He clicked on it and to his shock, a hologram projection of his hero appeared, her face serious and firm.
"Good day to you, Midoriya Izuku." The senior lady in a white coat with pink visor spoke up. "My name is Shuzenji Chiyo, more commonly known as Recovery Girl, and I'm here to announce your result."
Izuku sped up his breathing unconsciously.
"You were among the highest scorers for the written exam. Almost a perfect mark, if not for that one spelling mistake you made in the essay question." She continued, unaware of Izuku's relief breath at the result. 'Halfway there', he thought. "As for the practical exam…."
The hologram then turned into footage of Izuku dashing through the exam site, helping a brown-haired girl up on her feet while healing her injuries with his Quirk. "Instead of destroying robots, you focused on aiding others. You did not take down even a single robot, Midoriya-kun. We do have Rescue Points in place, but even with them, I'm saddened to say that you weren't qualified into the Hero Course."
The lack of response was the only thing Izuku could do. 'Just as expected', Izuku hung his head down, not even having the energy to shed a tear. He considered turning off the projection and just fell back to sleep. But before he could do that, Recovery Girl showed a smirk as she continued.
"That is where I came in." Her words stopped him from turning off the hologram. "I see the potential in you, Midoriya-kun, and I want to help you explore it. Principal Nezu did too, as he signed this."
She revealed a piece of paper.
"Apprenticeship." She explained. "Aside from your education in the General Course, you will also be taking medical lessons with me. I'll teach you everything you need to know about being a healer, all in the span of one year. Once I deemed you qualify, you'll get the chance to transfer to the Hero Course. I need to make one thing clear though: I'll work you to the bones! So, you had better think twice before accepting this. Regardless of your decision, a seat in General Education is already yours, Midoriya Izuku. Welcome, to your maybe-Hero Academia!"
The noise of a door being shut loudly jolted Izuku out of his sleep. With a yawn, he looked over and found his mentor walking in with an annoyed expression.
"Chiyo-sensei?" Izuku asked as he watched the old lady make her way towards her chair. "Who pissed you off this time?"
"Your girlfriend, that's who." She replied not looking over as she set the cane and threw herself onto the chair. "The first year with the gravity quirk. Aizawa thought it would be nice to let them go all-out on hand-to-hand combat."
"Uraraka-san?" Izuku chuckled as he brewed the tea. "Right, like I'm lucky enough to date her."
He didn't notice the deadpanned look Chiyo gave him.
"That tea set is a gift from 1-A's vice president, right? What about her?"
"Yaoyorozu-san?" Izuku hummed as he put sugar into the tea. "She's amazing! I think the right word here is 'too good for me'."
A painful groan escaped Chiyo. Almost a year in and her idiot of a student still hasn't realized a single thing.
"Okay, let's assume 1-A is out of the equation." She continued, accepting the cup of tea from Izuku. "What of 1-B? The one with the vine hair? She definitely blushed when she talked to you this morning."
"Quite concerning, isn't it?" Izuku nodded. "I told her she could rest here, and I'll watch over her until she gets better, but her face just turned redder. The seasonal fever is really getting out of hand. I think even Kurose-sensei caught it."
Watching her student put on a concerned and thoughtful look, Chiyo couldn't help but mumble.
"Why did Setsuna have to fall for such a rock head...?!"
"What's that about Tokage-san?" Izuku asked. "Oh no, did she catch the fever as well!? Should I run over and check?"
"She's fine. Quit yapping." Chiyo grabbed her cane as she threatened to whoop Izuku with it. "I just don't understand her taste in men. Any of their tastes in men, actually..."
Izuku tilted his head in confusion.
Less than a year ago, Shuzenij Chiyo took Midoriya Izuku in with hope that he could succeed her, to be the one who helps Heroes. Yet here she is, watching that boy seducing every single person without even realizing it. She knew she didn't regret teaching him.
She was just worried he might actually be why she has a heart attack in the future.