Heya fellas! I'm back! Today it's a smaller chapter, a 'side-chapter' like Chapter 7-1. And we find ourselves in a hospital, I'll let y'all read to know what is happening.

But before that, the reviews:

sharkyawesomness5: Here you go, and thank you :)

Chapter 10-1: Battle Scars

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Izuku Midoriya felt as if he was floating in a void, consciousness a distant shore he couldn't reach. There were muffled voices, muted like underwater murmurs, and an incessant, rhythmic beeping that grated on the edge of his awareness, like a chalk on a blackboard. Slowly, agonizingly, the greenette clawed his way back to reality, fighting through a fog of pain and disorientation, against himself.

His eyes fluttered open, but the world was a blur. Everything was a hazy amalgamation of colors and shapes, indistinct and confusing. Izuku blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, but it remained stubbornly out of focus. Panic began to set in, his heart rate spiking as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings. Where was he ? Why couldn't he see ?

"He's waking up." a voice said, closer and clearer than the others. It was a nurse, her outline gradually sharpening as she leaned over him.

The boy tried to speak, but his throat was dry, and the words came out as a croak.

"W-where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, young man.", she said gently.

"You've been unconscious for a while. Just take it easy."

Hospital. The word sent a shiver through the boy, and fragments of memory started to piece themselves together as the veil of pain lifted up a bit. The fight. Kacchan. The explosion. The debris. He lifted his arms, or tried to. The moment he moved, pain shot through his forearms, a searing, white-hot agony that made the greenette gasp. He forced himself to look down, and even through the blur, he could see the bandages wrapped around his arms, tight and stark against his skin. Scars. Of course there would be scars.

"Your forearms took quite a beating.", the nurse said, her tone professional but kind. "You've got some pretty deep lacerations, but they'll heal in time."

Heal in time. Izuku couldn't think about the future right now. The present was overwhelming enough. He gingerly touched his face, remembering the explosion, that Bakugo had made when he had gripped his face, and where Izuku's nails had ripped off patches of skin to try and ease the pain. He winced as his fingers encountered rough, uneven skin. Burn marks. Kacchan's explosion. The realization hit him like a physical blow, and the boy let his hand fall back to his side.

"Your hearing might be a little off." the nurse continued, and it was at that moment that the greenette noticed that indeed, what he was hearing was sounding muffled, and that each beep of his heart monitor was making his ears ring.

"And your vision... well, it's going to be blurry for a while… Maybe permanently… About your arms… We tried to heal them to our maximum, luckily we managed to save them, but you will have to be careful… Your arms might not hold that well the next time you bust them like you did."

And that dealt another blow to Izuku… He was forever condemned to be practically blind and half-deaf, and he had a chance to loose his arms now. He closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing, but every inhalation was a reminder of his injuries. Everything hurt. His body was a patchwork of pain and discomfort, each sensation demanding attention, none of them willing to be ignored. And then, beneath the physical pain, there was the emotional wound, raw and aching.

Kacchan. Bakugo Katsuki. His friend, the boy he'd admired and feared in equal measure. He had been beaten up before, countless times, but this... this was different. This time, the blows more brutal, he hadn't held back, he never did, but back there it had been to another degree. He'd thought, hoped, that maybe Kacchan could change, that he could see past his anger and his pride. But now, lying in this hospital bed, scarred and broken, the greenette felt that hope shatter.

He was a bully. He'd always been a bully. And Izuku had been foolish to think otherwise. The memories of their childhood, the times he'd pushed him around, called me names, made him feel worthless, all came flooding back with painful clarity. He'd wanted so badly to believe that the blond could be better, that he could see him as an equal, but that belief had been nothing more than a naïve dream. Focus and Warden were right all along.

The nurse was still talking, her words a distant hum in his ears. The greenette couldn't focus on what she was saying. Izuku's thoughts were a maelstrom of anger and betrayal, swirling and churning, threatening to drown him. How could he? How could Kacch- Katsuki do this to him? After everything we'd been through, after everything he'd tried to do to help him, the blond boy had still seen him as nothing more than an obstacle, a punching bag for his frustrations, for his ego.

The greenette had always looked up to him, even when he treated him like dirt. He had admired his strength, his determination, his unwavering confidence. But now, those qualities seemed tainted, twisted by his cruelty and his need to dominate. He didn't deserve his kindness. He didn't deserve his respect. And he certainly didn't deserve a chance at redemption. His two friends were right. Bakugo Katsuki was a deep fucker, someone who only deserved to be treated like he treated the others.

For so long, the greenette tried to see the good in him, to believe that there was a part of Bakugo that wanted to change, that could change. But now, lying here in this hospital bed, he realized how wrong he had been. He didn't want to change. He didn't care about anyone but himself. And he was done making excuses for him.

The anger surged, hot and fierce, mingling with the pain and the disappointment. Izuku was angry, no, not angry, furious, at the blond for what he'd done, but he was also furious at himself for being so blind, for holding onto a hope that had no foundation in reality. He had to let go. He had to see him for what he really was: a bully who thrived on hurting others, who didn't care about the damage he caused to the others.

Tears pricked at his eyes, a mixture of pain and frustration. He blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. He wouldn't cry for the blond. He didn't deserve his tears. He didn't deserve anything from him, except perhaps his scorn.

"Young man?" The nurse's voice broke through the greenette's thoughts, and he turned his head slightly to look at her. She smiled, a gentle, reassuring expression that did little to soothe the turmoil inside him. "You're going to be okay. It will take time, but you'll heal."

Heal. The word felt hollow. Physical wounds could heal, but the scars Bakugo had left on his heart, on his soul, those would take much longer to mend. If they ever did. He wasn't sure he could ever forgive him for this, or forgive himself for believing in him.

He would probably never.

He closed his eyes again, exhaustion pulling at him. The pain, the anger, the sense of betrayal, it was all too much. Izuku needed to rest, to find some way to cope with everything that had happened. As he drifted back towards unconsciousness, one thought remained clear and unyielding in his mind.

Kacchan didn't deserve his kindness. He didn't deserve his hope. And from now on, he wouldn't get either.

The little hopeful Izuku Midoriya that looked up to Kacchan was now dead, gone, it was the past.

Now remained Izuku Midoriya. And only that.

And with that, it's all for today. There will be others chapters like that for the next few days, and as they go pretty fast since I planned everything during my little 'trip', expect the next between tomorrow and the next three days ;) .