Ochako wakes up for a moment, disoriented. Himiko and Chiyo explain what's going on. Ochako mumbles something and now Himiko is . And Katsuki tries to figure out where to go from here.

'Ugh, my head,' Ochako thought, trying to open her eyes but instantly slamming them shut from the painful glare that entered them. Where in the blazes was she? She brought one hand up to her head, or at least, she tried to, but the sudden surge of intense pain in her shoulder made her rethink her actions. What did she do?

She tried to focus, to think back to what she last remembered, but every thought was like sand through her fingers, slipping away whenever she thought she had a firm grasp. She buckled down, focusing as hard as she could. It wasn't the first time she'd been knocked the fuck out and it probably wouldn't be the last time, so what…DEKU!

With a jolt, she sat up in bed, eyes flipping open. Immediately she felt her stomach roil and turn, feeling the bile shoving up her throat as nausea slammed into her with the force of a hammer to the abdomen. She clasped her arms around her waist, leaning sideways as she felt her last meal start to escape her. A pair of arms wound about her shoulders, gentle but insistent, as a bucket was placed before her. She couldn't really see, the light still burning her retinas, but it was enough to retch into the bucket, avoiding splattering her vomit all over the floor. A hand gently rubbed her back as she shook, her entire body aching as her head spun, but as soon as she felt she could speak, she shoved away from the arms.

"D-deku," she gasped out, desperate to see him. She remembered his pale, lifeless body in her arms, blood gushing and streaming and her desperate prayers to every god in existence not to take him from her. She needed her Deku, needed him so badly, she couldn't be without him. She tried to move her legs but one of them was heavy, uncooperative, refusing to obey her as the hands that had been around her shoulders returned, pressing her down towards the bed. She fought back as best she could, but it was weak and uncoordinated. Between the pain, the dizziness, and how weirdly heavy her body felt, she could barely struggle, but she didn't care. "Deku!" she cried out, still pushing against her arms.

Finally, sounds began to trickle in, a voice audible, soft and feminine. "It's okay, he's okay, just lay back for a bit okay? I'll explain everything, just relax, please relax, he'll be alright," the voice soothed, insistent and calm.

Ochako swallowed thickly, the taste of sick nearly making her ill once more, but managed to blink her blurry eyes rapidly enough a shape was visible next to her. Wrapped in a white coat and with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, she saw a teenager, maybe a bit older than her, speaking to her. Behind the teenager, she could see a small, stunted shape examining a bed where green! Green hair! Deku! She reached out one hand with a wordless cry, but it was snatched up by the teenager who kept speaking softly to her.

The other shape, shorter, stockier, turned around and made its way closer, Ochako able to finally make out more details as her eyes adjusted, revealing the familiar shape of that UA Nurse hero, Recovery Girl. It hit her. She'd called Eraserhead for help, unsure what else to do, the explosions having thrown them off their game. He…he must have come to get them. They were at UA, and Recovery Girl had a super healing Quirk! Deku would be fine. Her shoulders relaxed, tension bleeding from her body as she lost all energy, the exhaustion stealing her strength. She collapsed into the arms of the teenager, the blonde letting out a quiet 'oof' at the sudden dead weight before adjusting herself as Recovery Girl came closer.

"Zero? Zero, can you hear me?" the nurse asked, peering up at her.

Ochako swallowed again. "Y-yeah. Wh-where's Deku?" she was pretty sure she knew, but she needed to verify.

"Specter is currently resting. He's too weak for my healing yet, but he's doing alright," she reassured Ochako. Ochako relaxed fully at that, now that she had her confirmation, and allowed the blonde teen to lay her back down. She tried to slow her breathing, now that she knew what was going on, realizing she had nearly been hyperventilating.

She took a moment to refocus herself, before turning to look at Recovery Girl. "So what's the damage?"

Recovery Girl pursed her lips, sharing a glance with the blonde teenager before nodding. "If it's alright with you dearie, I'll have my assistant Himiko explain. Specter is not in life-threatening danger right now, but he still needs more work, as do you. Is that okay?"

Ochako nodded, looking up at the girl now identified as Himiko, waiting for a response as Recovery Girl moved back over to Deku's bed. The blonde smiled down at her, helping fluff her pillow as she spoke softly. "Well, I like to start with introductions for my patients, although Chiyo sort of stole it from me!" That last part was delivered as a tease to the nurse, Recovery Girl merely waving her cane at Himiko as the blonde rolled her eyes affectionately. "Anyways, I'm Himiko. Like Chiyo said, I'm her assistant, and while I'm not a nurse yet, I can probably answer any question you have about your condition."

"What about Deku's condition?" Ochako asked.

Himiko pursed her lips. "Deku is Specter, right?" At Ochako's nod, Himiko sighed. "I can tell you about him too, but we should start with you, okay?" Ochako nodded again, deciding to let the other teen speak her piece. "Well, let's start with the worst news I guess. Your leg was pretty badly broken. Luckily, we'll be having a specialist come in to help with the bone regrowth."

Ochako blinked rapidly, looking down towards her leg. She pulled the blanket off herself, revealing the cast-bound right leg, wrapped up tightly. Idly, she realized this had to be why her leg felt so heavy…but oddly it didn't hurt that much. Then again, the weird haze in her mind meant painkillers she was pretty sure, which would explain why it didn't hurt. And it made her really sleepy, now that she thought about it. She was pretty sure she should be more panicked by the leg; it meant she couldn't escape easily, but the pleasant buzz of the painkillers was slowly relaxing her, along with the knowledge Deku was okay.

"You had a really bad cut on your shoulder, but we've taken care of that. So it's mostly the leg you'll need to deal with for now," Himiko continued, not noticing Ochako's internal monologue and slow drift off. "As for Specter, he has a concussion but luckily no permanent damage we can see. The damage to his abdomen is…more of a problem, but we're having someone come in to help with that as well."

Ochako nodded sleepily, her eyes drooping. "So Deku gonna be 'kay?" she asked, her voice a murmur.

Himiko turned back and smiled at the sleepy Ochako. "We're doing our best, I promise."

"Mmkay. Good. Just lemme know if Deku goes, 'cause if Deku goes I gotta go, I promised…" she muttered, her eyes closing as she lost her battle with consciousness, missing the sudden wide eyes and paling face of Himiko as she spoke.

Himiko, as soon as she was sure Zero was asleep once more and comfortable, strode over to Chiyo's office, taking a quick check on Specter's vitals before stepping into the room. Chiyo was at her desk, quickly taking down some notes, and glanced up at Himiko as the blonde entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"Yes, Himiko?" Chiyo asked.

"...Chiyo, did…I-I think I heard something bad," Himiko managed to sputter out, not really sure how to explain the thought that went through her mind.

Chiyo sighed, setting her pen down and clasping her hands on her desk. "Is it in reference to the last thing Miss Uraraka said?"

Himiko gulped, nodding. "Am I reading too much into it? It sounded like, like…"

"Like a suicide pact?" Chiyo said bluntly, making Himiko flinch. After a moment, she nodded sheepishly. Chiyo sighed once more, gesturing to the chair in her office for Himiko to take. Himiko quickly sat down, used to having difficult conversations with Chiyo like this, her perched on the chair as Chiyo calmly explained things to her; the medical field was not one without its difficult to manage topics, after all. "I cannot say for certain, Himiko, but it's likely that is what she meant."

Himiko stared, eyes wide, before slumping in her chair. "W-what do we do about it?"

"We can't do anything about it right now, except make sure it never becomes something she must consider," Chiyo responded bluntly.

"But-"

"Himiko, I do not know the full details of their story, but I know enough from what Nezu told me. I can't tell you much of it, but suffice it to say the only people either one of them could rely on for years was the other. Based on how obsessively protective she is of him, and the fact he's likely the same in return, they have a very close, rather unhealthy bond. While it is unfortunate…it's also the best they could do. People in extreme situations consider extreme solutions," Chiyo explained softly.

"But, but that's just…that's fucked up!" Himiko protested.

Chiyo offered her a sad smile. "It is, I agree. But we can't just wave a magic wand and fix it. We can only do our best, and for now, that is making sure the two of them are in the best condition they can be. But don't worry…I know it hurts to see others hurting, but Nezu and Shouta are already working towards a solution. Just be patient."

Himiko sat there, struggling with her own worries. She never handled it well when signs of abuse or hurt were seen in other teenagers, always a struggle for her not to just fly off the handle and go figure out how to solve it herself, yet Chiyo always was there, preaching patience and understanding to her…and she couldn't disobey the woman who had basically become her grandmother. Her shoulders slumped. "We can't do anything?" she whispered, looking down at the desk.

"We can. We can heal them, make sure they are healthy, and help show them that they don't need to flee as soon as possible. We want them to want to stick around, just like we had to do with you. You remember how untrusting you were, right? They'll be in a similar place. But it worked out for you, didn't it?" Chiyo asked.

Himiko nodded. She didn't like to think back to before UA, but…she wasn't wrong. It took a long time for Himiko to trust, and even longer for her not to feel like what she'd gotten wouldn't be taken away without warning. Even now she had those worries, those fears, and sometimes had nightmares creeping into her sleep to steal her rest from her, and she could only imagine how these two would be…which meant it was her job, as a student, as someone training to save lives, as a human being, to do whatever she could to help them. Chiyo was right. She had to be patient and understanding, just like her mentor was.

Looking up, she nodded at Chiyo, clenching her fists in determination. "Okay. We'll help them then!"

Chiyo reached across the table and gently patted her hand with a soft smile on her face. "That's my girl."

Katsuki stomped down the path towards the dorms, hands in his pockets to hide the shaking. Sensei had kicked him out, telling him to go back to the dorms and rest up. Fine, he didn't say it so coldly, but he was insistent Katsuki go back and go to bed and dammit! That was Deku in there! Hurt bad enough his teacher was panicked! How fucking bad was it that both Deku and his girlfriend were laid up in the nurses office and they called in that second year to back Recovery Girl up?

He couldn't sit still. His hands kept shaking, pops in his clenched fist as he tried to keep control over his blasted Quirk, the stupid thing acting up again. God he hated that. Ever since he saw Auntie Inko like that, when he'd gone over to see why Deku wasn't in school that day…fuck. He couldn't keep proper control over his Quirk when he got too heated, and it was the biggest fuck you to his attempts to be a hero possible. Heroes didn't lose control of themselves. Heroes didn't fucking have flareups and nightmares and wake up sweating in the middle of the night having to see their best friend coldly condemn them for failing to keep him and his mom safe.

Fuck! He couldn't stop cursing about it in his mind. He'd been doing better, much better, ever since he took that work study with Tintin under Sir Nighteye. Yeah the man was a hardass, but he knew his stuff, and Katsuki had actually been fucking learning how to control himself better. It made him feel a bit better, knowing that Togata had had Quirk issues for the longest time. Ever since he and the rest of the class got bodied by the senior, he'd wondered how he could ever reach that level and yet to find out he'd only gotten there after intense training with Nighteye? Yeah, Katsuki was all on board with that idea.

But now Deku was back!...or well, some half-assed version of Deku. Katsuki wasn't stupid. This Deku wasn't the bright-eyed hero nerd he'd made plans to open an agency with in the future. This Deku wasn't the boy who helped him design his costume, and his grenadier bracers he relied on so heavily. This Deku was…cold. Even when he was being nice, he was cold. Calm. Collected. Quiet. Not words he'd ever associate with Deku in the past. But beneath that placid exterior? Rage.

He knew anger when he saw it. In Deku's eyes, in the eyes of his girlfriend, it was practically a wildfire that consumed them both. And that worried him even more. Deku and that girl, Ochako, were clearly dependent on each other, connected and tied together. It was love, but a darkly obsessive kind from what Katsuki could see. And he wouldn't normally judge, hey, if Deku was happy he'd be all for it, but he was afraid. Afraid of what it would mean if one of them lost it…or was lost. Those two didn't want justice, no matter what they preached. They wanted vengeance.

Katsuki could see it. Hell, he'd be on their side in most cases. What he saw that day, with Auntie Inko…Deku had to witness that? Ochako saw something similar with her parents? Yeah, fuck that, he'd hold the fuckers down so those two could get their pound of flesh, but…the problem was they weren't thinking clearly. It was so obvious they were just going to get themselves killed, and he had perfect evidence of that with them laying in that goddamned nurses office!

God he just wanted to scream! He couldn't lose Deku, not again! He couldn't handle it if he did. And if he had to protect Ochako to keep Deku going, fine, fuck it. He'd save them both. He didn't care what he had to do, so long as they were safe. So long as Deku finally came home.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, his fears, his anxiety, he hadn't even noticed he'd entered the dorm…not until the swell of sound and approaching footsteps broke his self-imposed trance, making him glance up to see Eijiro rushing towards him, Mina, Kyoka, and half the class a few steps behind. In any normal circumstance, he'd just…blow them off and go to his room. He was so tired. So afraid. So angry. He didn't know what to fucking do! So when Eijiro asked him, worried, looking like a forlorn puppy, if he was okay, he found himself answering honestly for the first time in weeks.

"...no. I'm not okay. Nothing is okay," he whispered, all energy draining from him as his shoulders slumped. The adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins rescinded itself, a sudden chill wafting over him as he felt a wave of weakness take hold. He stumbled, finding himself caught by Eijiro's strong arm, the red-haired teenager quickly pulling him over to the couch where everyone else had scattered away from. He collapsed into it, Eijiro at his side, as Mina took the seat on his other side, caging him in.

"So was it them?" Mina asked quietly, worry evident in her voice that she was crossing some line. Eijiro gave her a warning glare, but Katsuki just sighed.

"...yeah. They were in the warehouse that blew up. I dunno how badly they are fucked up. I just know the old lady called in Fangs from second year to help," he said, looking down at the floor.

"If they are with Recovery Girl, I'm certain they'll be fine," Momo tried to reassure him, but he shook his head in response.

"If they were fine, Sensei woulda fucking told me so. He tried to say they'd be fine and shit, but I know when someone's lying. There's something wrong. Dunno what, but something."

"Sitting there worrying about it won't fix the issue. Nothing you can do but wait it out," Hitoshi said.

"You think I don't fucking know that, Eyebags?" Katsuki tried to snarl, but he was just too exhausted to do more than muster up a half-hearted glare.

"I know you know that. That's why I'm saying it. Because part of you is ignoring that, and I'm gonna talk to the other part of you that never gives up on anything," Hitoshi shot back, arms crossed over his chest.

"Hito, maybe back it down a bit?" Denki asked quietly, one hand on Hitoshi's shoulder.

"...nah. He's fucking right. I just have to wait," Katsuki muttered. "But fuck…I just…"

"None of us can truly understand how you feel right now, but from everything my brother told me, Zero and Specter are strong, talented individuals who always make it out of every altercation. Have faith they can continue to do so," Tenya offered.

"I want to, but…Deku isn't…he's not the same person. It's like a stranger wearing my friend's face and I just…like, I can see some of him in there. I saw it. But it's all buried beneath someone else. And I don't know who this other person is, to have any fucking faith in them or not," Katsuki tried to explain, gesturing helplessly.

Eijiro put an arm over his shoulder, the pressure and warmth helping ground him. "C'mon Kats…Hitoshi's right. You don't give up on anything. So don't give up on your friend. He'll heal up, and you'll go see him, and this time you'll figure out how to make him stick around, I'm sure of it!"

"...how'd you know I tried?" Katsuki asked, looking over at Eijiro.

"I mean…seemed obvious to everyone," Hanta shrugged. "You chase after him out the window, have some sorta talk, come back in a weird mood, vanish for the evening and when you came back you were grouchier than normal while he's vanished. Then you spent the last week being a shut-in jerk. Obviously something went wrong. Not hard to piece it together that he left and you didn't want him to."

Katsuki blinked, a bit shocked that his classmates had paid enough attention to figure that out…then again, they were nosey, gossipy jerks (and he found it rather comforting to know they cared enough to be nosey). He felt some tension leave his shoulders, leaning forward on the couch, planting his arms on his knees and pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"Did…did he tell you what happened?" Eijiro asked quietly. Katsuki knew that Eijiro really meant. He was the only one he'd told about what he saw that day, about what Deku really meant to him. Trusting someone else, giving someone else a piece of himself, he'd avoided doing it for years, refusing to take that chance, but when Eijiro came along with his bright smiles and can-do attitude, with his steady security, god Katsuki hated how much he realized he needed that…and hated himself more for taking the risk, but he had, and so Eijiro knew. He knew more than any of the others, even Kyoka who had a better idea about it than most.

"...he did. But it's not my place to say," Katsuki replied in a whisper. He could tell the rest of the class wanted to ask, but were choosing to respect his privacy and not pry. He swallowed, sitting up and leaning back against the couch. "...sorry for making everything fucking weird," he muttered, looking up at the ceiling. A chorus of negations came from the class, making him wince at the sudden increase in volume. How Kyoka or Mezo dealt with the noise these fuckers made was beyond him.

Eijiro rubbed his back. "It'll be alright, Kats. It'll be alright. Whatever you need, we got your back."

"...even if it's helping me convince two dumbass vigilantes to stop getting into fights with Yakuza?"

"Even if that. We're heroes, Kats. It's what we do."

Katsuki snorted, an unwilling smile crossing his lips. "...yeah. Yeah, it's what we fucking do."