Disclaimer: I don`t own mha

Warning: Rated M for dark themes

Here is the next chapter, hope it`s alright. Don`t quite know where I want to take the story from here

Midoriya watched in concern from the side of the medical bay as Eri was sitting in isolation while breathing erratically and sweating.

"We had to separate her from the others. Her quirk is unstable right now and needs to be kept under close watch." The doctor explained while walking up to Aizawa and Midoriya.

"What about the others?" Midoriya asked in fear.

"The boy will make a steady recovery. He'll be more than a little sore for the next few weeks... but he's in no danger so long as he doesn`t over do it... As for the girl..."

The doctor looked down with a troubled expression.

"The girl nearly died of blood loss... it took three transfusions just to stabilize her... As of now, we are not sure if she will pull through... I'm afraid we can only pray."

Midoriya was speechless upon hearing this, to think that one of his dearest friends was so close to dying was beyond horrifying.

Sensing his despair the doctor offered a remorseful look.

"You are free to go see her... although if I were you, I would head home... it's never easy to see someone you love in such a tragic state."

With those words, the doctor left the boy and went to go see how Eri was doing.

While Midoriya was lost in thought, Aizawa rested a hand on his shoulder, garnering the boy's attention.

"Your classmates are still unaware of any of the details regarding the raid... but they do know that you were hospitalized for the entirety of yesterday. They too worry for you as you do for the girls and Mirio... You should return to the dorms and put their hearts at ease... like the doctor said... we can't do anything to help right now."

Midoriya stood there frozen in uncertainty and contemplation. After the longest time, he eventually turned to Aizawa with a sad look.

"I'll go home and see them... but only for a minute so they don't have to feel the same way I do... Afterward, I'm coming back... I want to spend as much time with her as I can."

Aizawa looked at the green haired boy with a sad expression. After a while, he nodded and gestured for the boy to come with him.

"I'll drive us back."

Later on that day, Midoriya had returned to the hospital after assuring his friends that he was alive and well. They were of course happy to see him but sad to see him leave so soon.

It hardly mattered to the boy though he had much on his mind and Pony was perhaps at the top of it now as he sat by her bedside with a troubled expression.

The room was enveloped in a near dead silence apart from the sound of the vital monitor and the faint flickering of the fluorescent lights, his mind clung to the sound of the stagnant beeps with desperation

"Please don't leave me Pony... I failed to save Nighteye. I can't lose you too."

He weekly looked to his side to get a better look at the girl with a despaired look in his eyes.

The horn user had been unconscious for seventeen hours. She was only half covered by the white blanket in the hospital bed. Bruises, lacerations, and bandages adorned her body while she faintly breathed in and out, causing her respirator mask to fog up a little with every weakened breath.

"I never wanted anyone to die..."

Midoriya looked down at the ground while reaching out and grabbing her a hand. As he stared on, tears started to fall from his eyes as he quietly sobbed.

"Huh?"

Much to his shock, he felt his friend's grip tighten around his hand and he looked up desperately hoping to see something fortuitous.

Reality was quick to sink in as there were no notable changes in her condition... but even so, her grip was firm, almost as if she didn't want to let go either. It seemed a part of her wasn't going to give up and this brought the boy some sense of ease. Still... this solace wasn't enough to heal the boy's heart as he continued to quietly sob to himself.

Elsewhere in the in the hospital, a certain blonde was slowly coming to as he groaned in delirium while slowly sitting up from the bed and rubbing his skull.

"Mirio!"

Amajiki let out a relieved smile while looking over to Nejire and shaking her from her slumber, causing the girl to groan while rubbing her eyes.

"Uugghh... w-wh...ah?"

As the blue haired girl came to, she noticed that a familiar head of blonde hair was sitting upright and her eyes widened as all the sleepiness in her gaze faded in an instant.

"Mirio!"

"Uurrhh?! T-too... nnrrhh... ti...ght!"

The young hero let out a groan of pain and discomfort as he was tightly hugged from both sides by his two friends.

"Oh, sorry."

While separating, Nejire clapped her hands together and let out a sheepish chuckle while Amajiki looked to the side while blushing and rubbing his arm nervously as he wasn't used to expressing so much emotion.

Mirio looked at the two and smiled. There couldn't have been two better faces to wake up to.

"How is Eri doing?"

The two older teens looked on and surprise before looking at each other and chuckling. Of course he would ask that right after waking up.

"They were able to stabilize her quirk, but as a precaution, she hasn't been allowed to leave isolation quite yet. They have been talking about setting up living arrangements."

"That's a relief."

The three young prodigies looked at each other and smiled, all too overcome with joy at having succeeded in saving the girl.

"So what room have they been keeping Sir in? I have to go see him at once."

Nejire and Amajiki's smiles faded upon hearing the question. Neither one of them seemed sure of how to respond.

For only a brief moment, Mirio grew confused and concerned in response to their awkward silence. Moments later, he let out an awkward chuckle.

"Come on guys I know we had a huge victory but I still wouldn't call this an appropriate time for jokes. Why don't you just tell me what room they're keeping sir in so I can go visit him?"

Nejire backed away while growing even sadder at the mere thought of Sir Nighteye while Amajiki on the other hand looked at Mirio with a mortified expression, he couldn't bear to see that sad smile.

"Mirio..." The manifestation hero muttered his name with a sad expression.

The blonde looked at his two friends with the same awkward smile that gradually grew to be accompanied by a look of shock in his eyes before he eventually looked down with a troubled expression.

"No... not him..."

Amajiki and Nejire continued to watch concerned as Mirio started shaking slowly.

"Not him..."

"Mirio, calm down."

Nejire reached a hand out to console her friend only to flinch in the following moments as he raised his head in anger and despair.

"NOT HIM!"

Mirio shot out of bed and reeled his fist back before punching the wall. This would continue over and over for some time.

"NOT HIM! I`M NOT READY! I`M NOT READY FOR THIS!"

"Mirio! Stop! He's gone now! There's no sense in hurting yourself even more!"

Amajiki pulled the boy away from the wall and turned him around to force him into a tight hug much to the boy's shock and surprise.

On instinct, Mirio's first reaction was to push him away, but as concise reasoning started to kick in, his anger started to fade and he weekly embraced the manifestation user.

"I... didn't get to say goodbye... I wasn't there to help him..."

Mirio leaned into his friend's shoulder while tightening his grip around him as tears started to cascade down his cheeks.

"He wouldn't have wanted you to see him like that in his final moments. He died a hero." Nejire interjected.

"I-I... know... but still... what a shit show..."Mirio pulled away and tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath, but even so he couldn't stop his shaking.

While wiping away his tears he went to sit back down on the bed and looked at the two.

"S-So... what about the others? What all happened exactly after I passed out?" He inquired with a look of seriousness and a gaze that demanded some sense of closure.

Amajiki went on to explain everything that happened near the end of the raid, along with the state of his other allies.

Still distraught over his mentor's death, Mirio could only look down with a glum expression while the occasional tear fell from his eye even after repetitively clearing them.

"So Chisaki is dead... that's truly a shame... he deserved far worse."

Nejire and Amajiki were visibly unsettled upon hearing the venomous and uncharacteristically cruel sentiment that their friend had just uttered. They didn't even know how to respond.

Mirio stood up and took another deep breath while walking over to the mirror next to the sink and taking a deep look at himself.

He stared into his own rage filled eyes for a while but eventually sighed while looking back at his friends with a dispirited look in his gaze.

"But that's not how Sir would have wanted it... He would have wanted justice... something that Chisaki has also eluded."

His fellow seniors looked at the boy with silence and sadness before Amajiki took a step forward with a troubled expression.

"Mirio..."

The blonde raised a hand to stop him and closed his eyes in discontentment while heading for the door and turning back to look at them only once from over his shoulder.

"I need some time to process this."

As Mirio went on to get some fresh air, many days past and despite their loss and even the possibility of losing even more, the life of a hero never stood still and eventually everyone had to return to their classes.

Midoriya and Mirio had returned to campus. It was decided that Eri would also live on school grounds for the time being, but she hadn't quite been discharged yet. Pony had not awakened either while in the hospital. Her classmates frequently visited and hoped for her safe recovery.

After another day of school, the two boys met up with All Might and Aizawa outside of the front gate after being summoned by the Eraser hero.

"You wanted to see us, sir?"

"Yes, it seems that Eri has personally requested that you visit her." Aizawa informed them.

Mirio and Midoriya looked at each other in surprise before turning their attention back to their teacher and waiting for him to continue.

"At first we didn't think it was a good idea to let her see anyone from the raid and to be fair we're still not sure... but her power has drastically diminished and we don't fear the possibility of her losing control as much as we did before."

All Might then stepped forward with a proud gleam in his eyes.

"You boys did good work and left quite an impression on young Eri. Don't you think it's only right that you get to pay her a visit and see how she's doing?"

"Of course Sir!" The two boys said in unison with excitement alight in their hearts.

All Might chuckled at their enthusiasm while Aizawa waved them off as he walked away, not comfortable with how sentimental things got real quickly.

"All Might will take you. Be sure to be on your best behavior and remember that the girl is likely still sensitive from just escaping such a traumatic situation."

Midoriya was confused by this as he turned to face his teacher.

"You`re not coming? What if her quirk gets out of control?"

"Unlikely. The doctors were able to reverse engineer a quirk sedative through her DNA. Even now, her power has weakened quite a bit. Making it possible to administer with minimal risk before her quirk starts to spiral out of control. Now, I have a lot of grading to make up after my absence from campus."

"Oh, ok. Bye Mr. Aizawa." He awkwardly waved while suddenly feeling a bit more nervous about being near Eri with that added risk.

Though, he`d eventually shake his head and find his resolve to take that chance.

'No it`s worth it... I`ve really missed her these last few days.'

With nothing left to say, the trio got in All Might's car and headed back to see Eri.

Later on, they were walking through the corridor. Out of the corner of his eye, Midoriya saw Pony through a large window still in a similar state to before but seemingly more relaxed alongside her was a group of her classmates.

'I should go see her later before we leave... it just wouldn't be right otherwise.'

In time, they had reached Eri's room and the doctor opened the door before gesturing for them to go on in.

"Eri!"

The young girl was sitting in her bed before she turned her attention towards the two with a blank expression.

"Sorry we couldn't come see you sooner. We brought you some yummy snacks though, hope you're feeling hungry." Mirio said with a kind smile while holding up a basket full of fruit.

The girl merely stared blankly while seemingly not knowing how to respond.

What's your favorite fruit? Oh no, let me guess. Peaches are your favorite cuz you're a peach." Mirio joked trying to ease the tension

"Apples." Eri said while holding the basket in confusion.

"Yeah, that's what I meant. Let's get this sucker peeled for you."

All Might and the doctors watch from the door as a precaution to make sure nothing will go wrong.

"This whole time even when I had a fever all I could think about was how much you did for me how you saved me but I don't even know what to call you. I know Lemillion's name but that's it. So who are you?"

"I'm Izuku Midoriya, my hero name is Deku. You know what? Deku's probably easier to remember since it's shorter. So yeah, Deku."

"A hero name?"

"It's like a nickname. Sort of."

"So Lemillion and Deku... and then... there was a man wearing glasses... and a girl with horns... All of you ended up getting hurt real bad because of me."

The boys quietly gasped in surprise upon hearing this as Midoriya recalled would Aizawa told them earlier.

'From what I understand, she's been racked with guilt and has been blaming herself for everything that happened, so we haven't told her about Nighteye.'

Eri looked down while growing teary eyed.

"It's all my fault. All the terrible stuff that happened. I'm so sorry."

'She'll find out someday, but it's too cruel to tell her now.'

As Eri was about to cry, Mirio placed his hand on her head causing her to look up only to see him smiling supportively.

"Eri, I guarantee that none of us think this was your fault at all. You know what we are thinking though? Man I am stupid glad that Eri's okay. So you see, there's no point in apologizing. Promise. Don't worry about it, besides everyone fought because they wanted to see you smile."

Mirio sat back down and watched as Eri stared on for a moment before trying to comply with what he said.

The boys watched in awkwardness for a moment before she eventually gave up while growing teary eyed again.

"This is so silly, I think I`ve forgotten how smiling feels."

'Eri.'

Midoriya looked at her with concern as his mind fell back on the events of the past and the day he first met Overhaul.

'Chisaki`s shadow was blocking out the light, the horrible things he did are still hurting her. This girl hasn`t been saved yet, not completely. She doesn`t know the first thing about what it means to be happy or even how to smile... Come on, think. There has to be something I can do to help her.'

After contemplating for a bit, he recalled how Aoyama once told him about the qualities of a surprise and it helped to inspire him.

'Wait! According to the doctor, now that her horn is smaller she is more in control and less likely to use her power... This is perfect, no real chance she`ll run into anyone from outside the school.'

The boy shot up from his seat with confidence as he turned around and walked over to All Might.

"All Might. Do you think it`d be fine if Eri left the hospital. Just for one day I mean."

"It`s not totally out of the question. Actually we we-"

"Then I have an idea. To bring her spirits up!"

"And what would that be?"

"She should come with us! To the UA festival!"

Mirio`s eyes lit up in childlike excitement while Eri tilted her head in confusion.

"What`s a festival?"

"Eri! This is the best idea ever! Your gonna have such a blast! A school festival is a festival that takes place at our school! It`s great! All the students do super duper exciting things for the rest of the classes to have fun with! There`s different games and performances and food! Oh! And get this! I bet there will be candy apples there!"

"What are candy apples?"

"Its when they dip an apple into crackling sugar stuff and make it even sweeter."

"Sweeter how?"

Eri started to drool as she fantasized about food while wondering if such a thing was truly possible.

All Might pulled out his phone and started to scroll down his texts, based on his curiosity it seemed as though he was sold on the idea.

"Alright. I`ll talk it over with the principal."

"Thankyou."

Midoriya turned back to Eri with an excited look on his face, it seemed he himself would also be looking forward to the festival.

"Well Eri? What do you think?"

"Y`know, a minute ago when I didn`t know your name I was saddened and didn`t know what to do, because I knew more than anything that I just wanted to be friends with the people who helped me." She said while clenching her fists and looking up with a sense of determination.

"Yes! That`s what we want too!" Mirio enthusiastically replied.

He looked over to Midoriya with his own sense of determination.

"We should start putting a case together to convince the principal! That way she`ll be sure to be allowed out!"

"Yeah!"

He then looked back at Eri after agreeing on it.

"I`m on a break from school right now, so I can totally hang out with you before our festival date."

"A date?"

"That`s when two people who like each other hang out together!" Mirio innocently explained.

"So we`re going on a date?" Eri asked.

"Maybe that`s enough for today." Midoriya interjected with a sheepish smile.

The green haired boy then thought back to his time with Pony and Ochaco in conjunction with Mirio`s simplistic and childish views of the matter and blushed a little.

'But that would mean...'

He frantically shook his head of the awkward thoughts.

'Best not to go there.'

Once again, he thought of Pony though and his thoughts darkened as he leaned in closer to Mirio`s ear.

"I`m going to go see how Pony`s doing... I don`t think Eri should see her when she`s so banged up right now though."

Mirio briefly adopted a serious look as he nodded in understanding.

"Of course." He whispered back.

Midoriya flashed him a small and appreciative smile before looking back at Eri and patting her on the head.

"I have to go now. Mirio will hang out with you for a while though. I can`t wait for the festival."

Eri looked up at him while nodding in understanding.

"I`m really curious about the candy apples. Please come visit me again soon, before the festival I mean."

Midoriya gave her supportive and affirmative thumbs up in assurance that he most definitely wanted to visit soon. It wasn`t long before he turned to walk away from them and past All Might and the doctors without even saying a word.

As soon as he was away from prying eyes, the boy`s smile dropped in an instant. He`d reached the limit of his facade as he walked as quickly as he could through the halls in a single minded focus on getting back to see the horn user.