There's no ruder version of a wakeup call than aching all over acting as a fill-in for an alarm clock. Particularly because it's hard to turn over and fall back asleep without feeling those aches. An alarm clock you can ignore. You can hit snooze and snore. Instead of snoring, Izuku groggily groans.
As the boy blinks back bleariness from his eyes, his vision adjusts to the room. He sheds sleep and comes awake. And as he does, he begins to realize that he's not in his own bed back at home. He's in a cot lacking All Might themed sheets and blankets, the plain white cloths draped over him matching the bandages wrapping around his resting form.
Izuku sits up straight, now remembering how he came to receive the aches that he's feeling – but not how he received the medical attention required to have gauze over them. The Nomu and Electro doing a good number on him led to him passing out. Which means he was left vulnerable to the U.A staff that he suspects might not be so heroic. Instinctively, Izuku quickly reaches for his face.
He breathes a sigh of relief. His mask is still on. He then realizes that while he can lift his arm, his hand is hardly as responsive. It's in some sort of cast. Izuku checks his other hand to see that it received the same treatment. After the Nomu broke both, he's fortunate enough to have received healing from what he suspects was Recovery Girl as his nurse, otherwise he'd probably not be doing any wall crawling ever again.
Speaking of Recovery Girl, the elder heroine peels back a privacy curtain after hearing the rustling around that Izuku caused. She sees that he's still got a hand hovering close to his mask and offers him a smile that's meant to be assuring. "Not to fret, dear! Your secret is safe", her smile only increases in size when she adds, "That should often be the case for anybody that All Might vouches for."
The lenses on his mask widen with his eyes. He'd forgotten about asking for All Might's help. That the man listened to him moves him deeply. He allows his hovering hand to fall and rest in his lap. Izuku stares down at it. Right about now, he'd probably curl his fingers over and clench his hand into a fist. But all that he can do currently is leave it open.
Recovery Girl tends to routinual maintenance matters during her patient's silence. Such as copying over the medical data that she has on him from her clipboard to the school's computer system. As she does so, she stops to consider a recent case and how that corresponds. There's no point in having duplicate records. And there is the matter of patient confidentiality. She shreds the past medical record that closely resembles this new one.
Once she's finished, she returns to the boy's bedside. "There's a lot of people who want to speak with you, as you can imagine" She checks his blood pressure and his heartbeat, ensuring that he's ready for visitors. "I'll get to letting them know you're awake."
"Wait", but the masked boy stops her before she can go. Even with the dramatic facial covering concealing his expression, the old nurse has no difficulty picturing what type of look that he's undoubtedly giving her behind it. He softly says, "I'm not really up for police and all of that just yet.."
Recovery Girl gives him another one of her assuring smiles. "Very well", she helps him settle back down while suggesting an alternative visitation, "There are others who would like to see you that I can let in first then."
Spider-Man cocks his head to one side in order to convey his confusion, "Really? Like who?"
Recovery Girl chuckles. "There's quite a few young ladies who are very interested in seeing you", she laughs a little more when she sees the boy's body radiating a hue as red as his mask. She was young once too that she can understand the mysterious allure that a rebellious vigilante would have to exude such an attraction from the Hero Course girls. "One in particular was much more persistent than the others", she enjoys teasing the youth that remind her of her own golden days.
"I- Uh.. A- A girl? G- Girls?", how someone can be so bold & brave as to go against quirk law and battle villains but still choke up when made to deal with members of the opposite sex is beyond the old woman despite her years of wisdom.
She shakes her head, clearing out her mind full of amusement. It's endearing for a boy his age. And after hearing each of the young girl's testimonies as to why they wished to see him, she can see why All Might would vouch for the kid. Hagakure told a tale of him willing to sacrifice himself for her safety. Kendo spoke of her admiration for his ability to move first and deal with the consequences later. All things that would usually be advised against by her for the sake of his well being. And yet, like All Might himself, she knows that these are the traits of a true hero.
"Wait here", she refrains from whacking him on the head with her cane to knock some sense into him – she's sure there'll be plenty of time for that if he's bound to come to her infirmary for medical attention again any time soon – and instead uses the walking stick to help herself out of the room, "I'll grab her if she's still waiting."
As Izuku waits, the cot loses its comfortability. He shifts himself around as he increasingly gets more nervous. He's grateful that he has the disguise of his mask, at the very least. That he can do this as Spider-Man and not Izuku Midoriya brings him just a tad bit more confidence.
He's not sure which of the girls that he remembers from the USJ that he was expecting to see first, but there's both some surprise and apprehension in the recognition he has of the girl with the ear jacks. She's just as shy and nervous about this whole thing as he is if her bashful demeanor is anything to go by. Something about the atmosphere is different from the previous times that they saw one another. It might be the lack of villains trying to kill them but it's strange that would be the cause of their anxiety instead of alleviating it.
"H- Hi", she starts out by giving him a little awkward wave.
"H- Hi", Spider-Man goes to wave back. "Uh..", he stops and puts his hand back down when remembering that he quite can't with it in a cast. "Hi", he just made it somehow even more awkward.
The girl has to stifle a laugh at that. She does so by biting her bottom lip. As she does, she catches a glimpse of his bare chest. "You look better", she realizes what she said as she stares at his exposed muscles, "I mean– !" And she winds up blushing so furiously that she has to hide her face with her hands. To make matters worse, her ear jacks get themselves tangled. "I'm glad that you're doing better", she whines while trying to recover from her act of embarrassment.
Seeing that he's not the only one who gets easily flustered helps put the boy at ease. Spider-Man regains his usual flare in personality, "You should see the other guys", and offhandedly uses a figure of speech that doubles as a joke.
The problem is that it's a poor choice of words to choose offhandedly. Kyoka Jirou thinks back to when Spider-Man fought Nomu. To when the vigilante punched the creature's jaw so hard that it broke. She can hear the shattering soundclap replaying in her ears even now.
She subconsciously makes an expression when recollecting the reverberation. Spider-Man sees this and winces himself behind his mask, realizing that he made a mistake. He thinks to change the subject. But he too remembers the incident with the Nomu. And with that incident, what led to him losing his cool that he'd even hit anything that hard.
"Eraserhead!", Spider-Man's outburst startles Jirou – and even himself – he has to tone it down a notch and ask more evenly, "Is.. Is Eraserhead alright?" Remembering the way that the Nomu tore off the underground hero's arm now fills him more with dread than rage like he had felt back then.
"You mean Aizawa-Sensei?" Jirou looks around for Recovery Girl, hoping that the nurse will have a better answer for Spider-Man. Seeing that she's alone with him though, she opts to sit down across from him and sigh while giving him the only answer that she has to offer. "Well.. He's alive. Thanks to you."
Spider-Man looks away, unsatisfied with that answer but unable to blame Jirou for it. He instead blames himself. "Yeah.. Some huge help I was", he scoffs, "Eraserhead nearly got killed trying to protect me–"
"Don't put yourself down like that!", Jirou makes the otherwise brave boy jolt when she snaps at him. He looks at her, surprise written in the eyes of his mask. "If you hadn't shown up – Things would have probably gone a whole lot worse", her sharp tone mellows out at the mention of a scenario in which the villains could have wreaked more havoc.
Not wanting to upset her again, Spider-Man settles on saying, "Maybe.."
Jirou eases into the backrest of her chair. "If anybody ought to know.. it's me", her words are whispered but they're still easily heard in the silence of the space that they both occupy, "You saved me before you know."
"I remember", Spider-Man gives her a single nod of acknowledgement. And then to prove it, he raises a hand and says, "Rock on!" But then remembers that he can't make the sign that goes with it. "Oh.. Right.."
That gains a giggle from the girl. But she soon sobers up when she says, "If you hadn't saved me then.. I would have died in that fire.." Jirou toys with one of her ear jacks, wrapping it around a finger. "This was no different", she shyly fidgets in her seat, "So.. I wanted to thank you again.." And then tentatively takes his hand in her own, "This time without you running off."
"Uh.. Y- You're w- welcome", Spider-Man has to turn his gaze away from the girl to maintain some semblance of function for his speech. Despite the cast covering it, he can still feel the warmth of her hand holding his. "So, um, why are you in the Hero Course?" He does his best to divert both her and his own attention away from the meaningful physical contact.
"Oh", Jirou blinks back her slight shock at the sudden question, "I.. I dunno.. I originally wanted to reach people with my voice in music or through a talk show but.." She shyly retracts her hand, reclusively retreating from him.
"But what?", the masked boy tenderly broaches the matter when he sees the way that she reacted.
She barely lifts her shoulders, giving him the smallest of shrugs in response. "I'm not the most vocal person, am I?" Her voice is as small & delicate as her petite physicality.
Izuku sees the same meekness that he had himself before becoming Spider-Man. "There's a reason why I feel more comfortable making fun of villains with a mask on", he finds himself lowering his guard and being honest when relating to her in that way, "There's nothing to be ashamed of there."
Jirou can hear the sincerity in the sound of his voice. She knows that he isn't lying based on his heartbeat's rhythmic pattern. "You're just saying that", but she is still unable to accept that the vigilante who held his own against a monster made to murder All Might is in any way timid like her.
"No, really, I'm the furthest thing from confident when I'm not being Spider-Man!" But he insists in a way that manages to get through to her.
"When you're not Spider-Man…", her voice trails off with her mind as she becomes mesmerized by a sudden realization. This whole time, she hadn't stopped to consider the vigilante as anything other than that. She starts to realize that he's more than just Spider-Man; that there is somebody indeed beneath the mask.
That someone can be more than just a hero. That there is more to a person's identity than one singular thing that they do. It's a simple understanding that she's surprised she didn't know sooner. It's what was holding her back all this time. She doesn't have to choose between being a musician or a hero. She can be both.
"I.. Uh..", Spider-Man stares at the spaced out girl in front of him. While it's cute to see her so devoid of thought, he's starting to become concerned with how long it's lasting.
She stares back at him and asks, "Is that why you're Spider-Man? Why do you do what you do?"
The lenses on Spider-Man's mask practically blink because of how taken aback he is. It's a tough question. Jirou can tell by how his heartbeat starts to change. "Tell ya what…", but he doesn't sound as shaken up about it when he answers, "You can ask me that again when you have me on for an interview for your future talk show."
Jirou's face heats up. She now fully believes him about his confidence when wearing a mask. "You really think I'll have my own radio show?", she wonders if it's just a deflection to having to answer her though.
But his heartbeat has returned to its usual rhythm. And so she knows he's being honest like he's been this entire time. "As sure as I can stick to walls", he demonstrates that certainty by hopping up and adhering to the ceiling above him.
"Don't! You'll hurt yourself!", Jirou stands up to stop him out of concern for his wellbeing – since they're in an infirmary and all – but can't keep a goofy grin off her face either.
When Spider-Man stops sticking to the ceiling and allows himself to drop back into bed, she playfully smacks him on the shoulder for being foolish. She can imagine him grinning too beneath his mask. Especially since the both of them are now laughing together about the whole thing.
Right outside of the room, their laughter can be heard through the shut sliding door that currently functions as a barrier between them and the next couple of visitors that Spider-Man will have. Those visitors are Principal Nezu and Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, and they aren't as quite entertained by listening to the laughter through the door as Recovery Girl – who is also with them – is.
Tsukauchi shuffles his feet together, "We're wasting our time standing out here", he'd have liked a chair if he knew it was going to take this long.
Recovery Girl fixes him with a glare, growing impatient with his impatience. "Then you should go wait your turn elsewhere", she threateningly raises her cane in case she needs to use it and knock some sense into the man.
Nezu raises a paw, holding it up to stop her. "Please, Chiyo, the dear detective was only trying to make the point that you should have allowed us to speak with him first", the critter that's just short of being some sort of chimera has a tiny twitch in its ear that betrays its own impatience in having to wait.
"That's Recovery Girl to you", the woman redirects and points her cane at the small mammal. She does settle down and lower the stick though, "And besides.. The boy specifically requested otherwise", she doesn't want to cause a commotion that will disrupt the kids on the other side of the door.
Tsukauchi identifies the same tender weak spot that Eraserhead has for children in the old nurse. While he can somewhat understand it and where she's coming from, he also has to remind her that he has a job to do here. "This is a particularly sensitive matter that we can't abide by such a request", the detective folds his arms across his chest.
"On the contrary, that's exactly why we will abide by the boy's request!" Recovery Girl crosses her arms too. "He may be a vigilante but he's also just that – a boy – and it ought to do him some good to talk with a person his age first who's coming from the perspective of a student here for what you'd like to present to him."
Nezu stares at the woman in front of it with an unreadable expression, beady black eyes and a snout concealing whatever thoughts are whirling around in its head. "You make an excellent point", until the blasted thing grins with its pointed teeth and giggles while saying, "Now I recall why you always made for a good opponent in chess back during your hay day."
"Watch it", Recovery Girl raises her cane again; she aims it threateningly at the principal of the institution that they're in.
"Case in point, you're correct that it's important to make this young man comfortable as to not get him spooked!" Nezu disregards the warning and carries on with a chipper demeanor.
"You mean get him to lower his guard", but Recovery Girl is not fooled by the cheerful act at all; she fixes the creature with a stare, all too familiar with the way it warps words and human behavior to manipulate matters.
Nezu stares back, unphased. "Synonyms exist for a reason", the principal adjusts its tie.
Tsukauchi clears his throat to remind the two that he's still there. "He evaded us until now that I think it's a valid thing to bring up when we talk to him", he glances away from the bickering pair and back towards the infirmary door, "Which should be.."
"Soon", Recovery Girl stamps down her cane to show her authority as much as she speaks it over the situation, "It will be soon."
Before anyone else can speak on the matter, the sliding door to the infirmary starts to open. The detective and the principal silence themselves. The nurse turns towards the young girl who steps out into the hallway with them.
"Yes, dear?" Recovery Girl speaks sweetly as opposed to her former tone with the two men.
Jirou spares them a quick glance before returning her gaze to the elder woman in front of her. "Um.. I'm finished..", she nervously tugs on one of her hanging ear jacks. It's a wonder whether she heard any of their conversation or not.
Recovery Girl dismisses Jirou before they have the chance to find out. "Very good, dearie!" She gestures for the girl to go, "Run along now."
Jirou tentatively takes two steps before stopping to look back and whispering, "Thank you for letting me visit him first."
Recovery Girl smiles and whispers back, "You're very welcome."
Nezu waits for Jirou to fully exit the hallway before speaking up again. "May we go in now, Chiyo?"
"Recovery Girl", the old woman snaps at the mammal. She throws a glance towards the door to her infirmary, "And… No.. Continue to wait here while I check", she wishes to visit Spider-Man herself first.
When she enters to check on the boy, she finds him flexing his fist. He opens and closes his hand, testing the sharp residual pain in it that he must still be feeling. But that he could remove a cast and even be capable of that much is a miracle in itself.
"I take it that my next visitors aren't as nice or pretty", Spider-Man sneaks a glance over at the nurse when she approaches his bedside. She nods when catching his gaze to let him know that he's right in his assumption. "Alright, I'm ready, I guess…", he sighs.
Moments later, Nezu and Tsukauchi enter the room. Recovery Girl exchanges a look with each of them on her way out as they pass by eachother. Whereas the nurse leaves the infirmary door open, they close the curtain to the bed for privacy.
Spider-Man holds up a hand, "Before we start about me..", first thing first – he tells them, "I know where those guys that attacked are hiding."
Tsukauchi's rectangular eyes expand when he hears that, "Really?!", he hastily pulls out a notepad from his overcoat pocket to write down the information that Spider-Man has to offer. He's quick to radio in the location so that the police & heroes can make a move on it.
"I found it when scoping them out and that's how I even found out about their raid on the USJ in the first place", Spider-Man finishes giving them his brief recap of what preluded the incident as Tsukauchi calls for an operation to begin.
Nezu attentively listens all the while. Eventually, the principal pipes up, "I'm sure that they will have moved locations by the time that we act but it sure is nice to have you on our side to provide such useful insight."
"About that..", Spider-Man looks down at his bandaged hands. He gestures with them to show the relative freedom of movement that he has with his wrists, "Why no cuffs to keep me chained to the bed? I could of went out the window at any time."
"Well", Tsukauchi shares a look with Nezu before saying, "I only have the answer to the first half of that" He grabs ahold of the remaining medical record that Recovery Girl left to share, "I doubt regular handcuffs would have been able to hold you and quirk suppressant cuffs aren't all that necessary for someone who comes up as quirk negative" Spider-Man stares with wide eyes at that; Tsukauchi pauses and lets it settle in as to what he knows. "The second half only you can answer.. Why didn't you go out the window?"
Spider-Man lowers his head. He has to actually contemplate his answer. "…You want the honest truth why I didn't run away?"
Tsukauchi nods. Beside the detective, Nezu gives a similar gesture.
Spider-Man thinks hard about it. "Recovery Girl's gummies", and he gives his answer.
Tsukauchi sighs when registering that as a lie. As silly as it'd be if it were actually the truth, he would have liked to know. But then again, he can imagine the kid's curiosity after being kept here and the peace of mind that this conversation could give. Spider-Man fleeing through the window now is more plausible than before if that's the case. So he makes sure to position himself in the way just to be safe.
"They ARE quite a tasty and nutritious snack!", Nezu plays along with the kid's shenanigans. Much to Tsukauchi's dismay.
The disgruntled man has to sit down. "This is going to be a long conversation", he crosses one leg over the other in order to get himself comfortably situated.
"It doesn't have to be", Spider-Man remains guarded nevertheless, "If you're going to arrest me for vigilantism then spare me my rights."
Tsukauchi grunts in response. Before apprehensively adding, "That's why it's going to be a long conversation."
Nezu hops up onto a chair opposite to Tsukauchi and across the bed. "You're quite the exceptional case, Spider-Man!"
The masked boy turns his head to look at the creature that's level with him now. He can't gauge anything from the mammal's beady black eyes. So he asks to make sure that he heard that correctly, "..I am?"
"As we said, you show up as quirk negative on all of our tests" Tsukauchi represents the medical records that he has in his possession. "Recovery Girl's leading theory is that you're an all new mutation much different from having a quirk genome", he provides an emphasis on the DNA results.
Spider-Man stares at the documentation in front of him. He puts it together in his head what this means, "In other words.."
"In other words, you are legally quirkless! And hence, you have legal immunity!" Nezu finishes those thoughts for him. Unlicensed quirk usage is a charge that he can't receive under such conditional circumstances.
Tsukauchi crosses his arms over his chest. "That's an oversimplification without all of the legalities involved, but.. Yes."
Spider-Man stares at either end of his bedside, stupefied. He'd pinch himself to check if he's dreaming if not for the lack of functionality in his hands just yet. "So.. I'm all good to go?"
Nezu nods. "You're technically free to carry out your vigilantism", U.A's principal is quick to hold up a paw though and add on, "HOWEVER.. I would like to offer you an alternative option."
To which Spider-Man sighs. He knew it was too good to be true. "Let me guess", he deadpans his guess at what the system would prefer that he choose to do in order to maintain a proper image, "You want me to come here and earn a license."
Nezu clasps both paws together and grins, "Close but not quite!"
Tsukauchi shakes his head and mumbles, "This part I would much rather not be apart of.."
"Oh, but won't you stay, detective? I've brewed tea!" Nezu somehow produces a pot and a kettle that steams when poured into tiny cups. "Tea, Spider-Man?"
"Where did that even.. ?", Spider-Man has to do a doubletake to figure out how that's possible to pull off. But ultimately decides to let it slide and just says, "No thanks."
Nezu sips on the tea, content with having it all to itself. "You see.. It would be rather an admittance on your behalf that what you did was wrong by coming to U.A as a student", the principal begins explaining why a standardized class setting is off the table, "I don't believe that's something you are willing to do."
Spider-Man shares a look with Tsukauchi, understanding the unspoken legal reasons that underlie there; admitting to vigilantism being wrong, quirk usage as a basis for arrest or not, would be shooting himself in the foot. "You'd be right", he nods his head to let them know that he's following along. But that's not why he wants to agree with them on their reasoning. "I did nothing wrong", the lenses on his mask narrow as he sharpens his sense of conviction, "I regret none of my actions."
Tsukauchi uncrosses his leg in order to lean forward, "Just because you got lucky on a technical loophole, don't think that you're above the law."
"I don't", Spider-Man sits up a little straighter to show them that he's serious about this, "I just know that I've been given a power, and whether that's a quirk or not, with that power came the responsibility to help people because I can."
"Responsibility! I like that!", Nezu's pointy toothed grin grows, "U.A could always use a responsible teacher!"
Spider-Man is shaken yet again. His mind buffers to catch up with what's just been said. "You.. Want me to teach?", he has to make sure that he heard correctly.
"It'd be a position conditionally contingent on your performance in the upcoming Sports Festival to prove your capability as a teacher, but yes!" Nezu confirms the offer but the caveat is confusing to the boy.
"I don't follow", Spider-Man has to backpedal to the Sports Festival.
To which Nezu explains, "They may know you played a helping hand in protecting our students at the USJ, but to see that you're capable of protecting our students and aren't one yourself despite being the same age is proprietary" It makes sense that how he's perceived by the public would be essential to a school made up of Hero Society's standards, so Spider-Man nods along to show that he understands.
"It's also important that we're able to get out early and spin this as a way to bridge the gap between vigilantes and licensed heroes rather than anyone getting the wrong idea that we're giving you special treatment", Tsukauchi's tacked on addition to the explanation helps Spider-Man understand even more why the teaching position wasn't just handed to him. But in a way that reminds him that this is, yet again, all about public perception and not any valid concerns or justifications that a school should have for making such a decision.
"Otherwise everybody would skip the provisional license and training process", Nezu further confirms that this is just a means to maintain their system by handling him in this particularly public way.
"So this is damage control", Spider-Man doesn't conceal his contempt on the matter, "Always marketing with heroes and publicity stunts" He glowers at Nezu, "You underhanded rat."
Nezu's grin slips, but only momentarily. "Is that why you chose to be a vigilante? Not all heroes are made for the limelight! There are plenty who go underground!", the principal tries suggesting alternative methods to salvage the situation.
"That's not why", but Spider-Man has his mind and his heart set on an actual reason of responsibility; he casts a sidelong stare at the detective across from him too.
"Do tell", Nezu curiously tilts its head to the side.
"No thanks", but Spider-Man doesn't cooperate with the request.
Nezu hums. "Maybe another time", but accepts that answer for the time being.
Tsukauchi withholds a sigh, instead interjecting himself back into the conversation. "Listen, kid.. You may have had All Might vouching for you and you may have a leg up with the whole quirk thing, but it's only a matter of time before that falls through" He puts it bluntly, "You want to take this deal and get out ahead of it while you still can", he points at Spider-Man to let the boy know: "Otherwise, that mask is bound to come off."
Spider-Man thinks about all of the enemies that he's made by being a vigilante. He can't risk them coming after and trying to harm his mom or anybody else associated with him. "The mask stays on", his stare reflects in the lenses of his mask as they narrow.
"If that makes you feel more comfortable", Nezu chiming back in makes the vigilante whip his head back in the mammal's direction.
The rodent appears to be way too cocky about this. Izuku is no fool. He knows that after his encounter with Tsukauchi last time that it's highly incriminating for his identity to be matched now. But even so, he has to address the threat accordingly. "What are you implying?", he challenges the challenge.
"Will you play along nicely with us?", to which Nezu doubles down, "It's that or.."
AUTHOR NOTES
Now I get to have my cake AND eat it! I wanted Izuku to participate in the Sports Festival as Spider-Man without outing himself or becoming a student and this way hopefully makes enough sense to work. That being said, there's still some stuff from the last chapter that we have to reflect on, so let's get to it!
Good catch on my word play, Martini the Houdini, those were intentionally meant to poke fun at that prospect in some capacity!
And you bring up something relevant that can hopefully be answered regarding any other requests I get like this in the future, Proxygalaxy! Any content creators who wish to use any of my stories to convert them into technically audio dramas/audio books, you have my permission so long as credit is given to myself as the original author!
I can see how that verbiage can be interpreted that way, Alexander M0rningstar, but the thunderclap was only meant to convey the sound quality of the hit and not to imply anything bio-electrically related - sorry if that disappoints!
Good catch, Round 1 FIGHT, I always like sneaking in little references like that so it's neat when someone notices!
Love the enthusiasm as always, Pikapowerz!
Hope this chapter gave a little clarity, CapoPerk! But, of course, there's still a lot left unresolved and unanswered!
What of those unresolved and unanswered things will be addressed in the next chapter? Return, dear readers, for the next one - and find out then!
-Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood author!