A/N: Before I get into this chapter, I have a couple of announcements to make. First of all, I'd like to give a HUGE shoutout to Lestat719 for being the first person besides Ryuujin96, tiguylerobot, James Birdsong and Z-Arc34 to review this fic! Sure, I love getting reviews from my regulars, but it's always nice to see that other people appreciate my hard work, too!

Second of all, last Sunday, I learned that Jessie James Grelle - formerly Josh Grelle - who plays Tokoyami, came out as transgender. Because of this, I'm changing all mentions of Tokoyami's gender to use they/them pronouns, barring the first "Flashback Friday" chapter because they hadn't revealed themself to be nonbinary at that point in the series. I realize I probably could've done this sooner, but hey, better late than never.

Anyways, about this chapter: It's the first of a two-part request from Z-Arc34. I hadn't planned on doing another "Flashback Friday" chapter until the first week of January 2024, but I'm not one to turn down requests from my loyal readers...not unless they violate the guidelines. That aside, enjoy this trip back to the end of the Forest Training Camp arc!

After the incident at the Beast's Forest training camp, Deku was recuperating at the nearby Sakura no Izumi General Hospital, having injured himself fighting against Goto Imasuji, better known as the villain "Muscular". The fight ended in a mixed bag: while the green bean had indeed succeeded in saving the boy Kota, he failed to rescue Kacchan, who was captured by the League of Villains, and it was weighing down on his conscience more than an anvil. His recovery hadn't been an easy one; he'd slipped in and out of consciousness, had his fair share of seizures, and even awoke with a fever. Recovery Girl had stepped in at one point, as did the police, though Deku didn't remember either. The first thing he really remembered was waking up and seeing a small bowl of apple slices on the nightstand next to him along with the following note:

"When you wake up, please eat this and call me"

Deku had a pretty good idea who'd brought those to him, too. It was at this moment that he thought about his mother Inko, right after his encounter with Shigaraki:

"My baby, I can't do this anymore! I don't think my heart can handle another scare!"

Despite Inko's worries, Deku was still determined to rescue Kacchan and become the world's number-one hero. For now, though, all he could do was lie in bed and try to heal as best as he could. There was something else on his mind, too:

"What about Kota? I hope he's OK."

While Deku was ruminating on his situation, somebody knocked on his door and opened it, revealing a familiar face:

"Hey! Midoriya! Good, you're finally awake!" said Kaminari.

Deku looked over, and not only was Kaminari there, but most of Class 1-A, barring Kacchan. Kaminari continued:

"Did you see the news? Reporters are all over the school right now!"

"It's worse than last time," said Rikido Sato.

"I brought a present!" Minoru Mineta held up a cantaloupe. "I mean, it's from all of us! It's a melon!"

"I caused you trouble, Midoriya," said Tokoyami.

"No please…I did this to myself," said Deku. "Did everyone from Class A come to visit?"

"No…Jiro and Hagakure are still out," said Iida. "They were knocked unconscious from that villain's poisonous gas, and Yaoyorozu took a pretty bad hit to the head. She's hospitalized here, though I just found out she finally woke up yesterday. So it's just us, though obviously we wish the whole class could be here."

"Only 15 of us for now," said Uraraka.

"Because Bakugo is gone," said Todoroki, whose hair had grown quite a bit since her gender reveal, but had yet to reach her shoulders.

Ashido freaked out upon hearing this. "He knows, Todoroki!"

This mention caused Deku to have a flashback to when he failed to save Kacchan.

"If all of you will excuse me, I need to have a word in private with Midoriya," said Todoroki.

No one responded to her request.

"Well GO!"

Todoroki swiped her arm in the direction of the other students. They gave each other looks of confusion and concern before slowly filing out of the room. When everyone was out except Todoroki, Deku slowly sat up, mustering every ounce of strength he had in order to do so.

"What's up, Todoroki?"

Todoroki grabbed Deku by his upper arms and shook him. "What were you thinking!? Are you out of your mind!? You could've been killed!"

Deku formed an angry look on his face. "Excuse me, Todoroki, I'm glad you're concerned about me, but you don't have to insult me like that!"

Todoroki relaxed her grip on Deku and sighed. "I'm sorry. I…it's just…well…I care about you, and I like you."

Deku smiled and put one of his cast-wrapped hands on Todoroki's shoulder. "I understand. I like you too, Todoroki."

"No, I mean…" Todoroki turned away, hoping to conceal the fact that she was blushing. "I like you."

Deku gasped when he heard those words. Sure, Todoroki had become friendlier with him since their match at the Sports Festival, and he had figured she had some sort of feelings for him, but still, hearing her admit to such a thing was more of a shock than sticking a fork in an electrical socket.

"T-Todoroki…"

Not sure of how else to process this revelation, Deku broke down crying. Todoroki gasped when she saw this:

"No, Midoriya…don't cry! I…I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be! I-I'm so happy right now!"

Despite being confused as to how somebody could be happy and yet cry their eyes out, Todoroki gave Deku a big hug, which he gladly returned. Doing so made her think back to when she first confessed her true gender identity to him and how badly messed up she felt at the time, which made her think that he must be feeling messed up right now, too. Even so, she was not only proud of him for doing his best during the training camp incident, but also of herself for being able to open up about her feelings for him and have him accept her affections. All she wanted to do right now was hug him forever and ever, to let him know just how much he meant to her. He had done her a great service back then, and she wanted to return the favor to him now, even if it hurt to do so. Besides, whatever hurt she was experiencing now was probably small potatoes compared to whatever she'd experienced under Endeavor's tutelage.

In spite of the fact that he'd witnessed Kacchan's kidnapping firsthand, Deku definitely felt a sense of relief from Todoroki hugging him. While this wasn't his first time ever being hugged, it was probably one of his favorite times. Knowing that this girl, who – up until a couple of months ago – was a complete stranger to him actually liked him in a romantic sense warmed his shaken soul. All he could think about was how beautiful she was and how he wanted to spend so many romantic evenings with her, away from the hustle and bustle of hero business. Even if he had yet to finish his first year at UA, he already felt he'd accomplished so much by giving her his encouragement and having it returned to him tenfold like this. Even if being unable to rescue Kacchan really hurt, he was grateful that he at least had her to comfort him. Eventually, Deku stopped crying, but continued holding on to Todoroki for what seemed like ages. She didn't even let go of him until he did.

"Feeling better, Midoriya?"

Deku nodded weakly. "Almost. It's just…Al Might told me there'd always be people beyond our reach…that we can't protect, even though we want to, which is why we have to save the people we can reach. I…was so close to being able to save him. I…needed to save him…had to! That's the entire reason I have my Quirk! It's exactly like Mr. Aizawa said to me: 'you're worthless if you can only throw a single punch before breaking down!' My body…wouldn't move! I couldn't save someone who was right in front of me, and since I failed…he's gone!"

Todoroki noticed that Deku was still shedding tears, so she put her hands on his shoulders and made direct eye contact with him.

"I know it hurts, Midoriya. Just know this: I believe Bakugo is still alive, and I know you will save him…we will save him. All I ask of you is that you have faith not only in me, but in all of your friends. Can you do that for me?"

Deku nodded weakly. "I…I'll try…"

"And you'll succeed." Todoroki smiled.

While Deku had no idea about where to even look for Kacchan, or if he was still alive, seeing that Todoroki had such faith in him made him smile through the tears. In the meantime, the other students had re-entered:

"We heard the whole thing, Midoriya," said Kirishima. "Let's go get him."

Iida gasped at the suggestion, wondering just what was going through the spiky red boy's head, while Todoroki looked at him and smiled, glad that somebody else was in on the Bakugo rescue plan.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.