Iida ran through the hospital doors, her heart in her throat. Her sister had been attacked.
Her sister! Ingenium!
She had been attacked viciously by the Hero Killer! Why?! She never hurt anyone!
"Mother! Father!" She opened the door that her parents and sister were in. She stopped cold.
Her sister looked horrible. She was covered in bandages from head to toe. She had been put into a medical coma because of too much pain. Her long, blue hair lay limply on the pillow beside her.
"Tena!" Her mother crashed into her, pulling her into her arms.
"Ma..?" She never took her eyes away from her sister as she wrapped her arms around her mother.
The door opening alerted her enough to look up. The doctor walked forward, clutching her clipboard to her chest. She smiled sadly at the family. "Hello Iida family. I'm the doctor in charge of your daughter-Sora Iida. We took her to get some x-rays done and, well…"
Her father spoke up, urgency in his tone, "What's wrong with my daughter, Doctor?"
The woman frowned and without speaking to the man turned to his wife. Her eyes widened when Mrs. Iida gave her an unimpressed and insulted frown. "Answer my husband."
The doctor swallowed and turned back to Mr. Iida, "Her spinal cord has been badly damaged. She's paralyzed." Mrs. Iida collapsed into her husband, wailing loudly. Mr. Iida wordlessly wrapped an arm around his wife, using his other arm to wrap around his younger daughter. Tena felt herself grow numb. A harsh ringing was in her ears and her vision was starting to grow dark…
"What the?! What is-?!" Tena looked up with effort, her blue eyes widening as she saw Zelda. She straightened up, holding out an arm.
"W-Wait please! This dragon is a part of my friends' quirk! She's sentient-I-I think she wants to help." Zelda growled lightly and flew over to Tena, making sure to knock her healing shards into the stand of a nearby lamp. A blue shard was let loose; Tena immediately bending down to get it. Taking up the shard, she grabbed the vase that was near her sisters' bed and used it to crush the shard. The healing blue light glowed around Sora, brighter around her legs and spinal cord. She also saw Sora's many superficial wounds slowly getting healed.
When the light finished glowing, Tena saw her sister opening her eyes slowly. She let out a few groans, using her hands to push herself to an upright position. The girl looked at her family, giving them an unsure look.
"What'd I miss?"
…
The doctor had rolled Sora back to the lab to take more x-rays. Doctors and technicians surrounded Tena; their eyes locked onto Zelda in hunger. Seeing her shards heal a paralyzed person, they were flabbergasted and thirsty for the possibilities that she stood for. Tena held onto Zelda protectively, steadfastly refusing the offer. "She's part of my friend's quirk. You can't do anything to her without permission." She didn't want to say the pronoun in case of what they would do if they found out her friends' gender.
She looked up right as she saw her sister being rolled back in, the doctor shaking her head in wonder. She turned towards the Iida family as they looked back at her. "Her…her spinal cord is completely healed-just a few splintered fragments and bruising. She'll need to be in a wheelchair for a few months, but I don't see why she can't go back to work a few weeks after she's healed."
Her mother let out a sob, this time of pure joy. Her father nodded, grinning, tears falling down his face as he shook the doctor's hand. Sora grinned slowly, sighing in relief. She looked up at her sister…
…and felt her grin slowly diminish.
Tena was grinning at her sister, a picture of genuine happiness…
…but her blue eyes were filled with nothing but rage.
…
Rauru and Toshinori met with Midoriya as he walked through the halls. He felt drained and weary. He thought he was over it…over with the abuse, the taunts, the jeering…he thought that once he had this power, he could focus on the good he would do.
But, facing Shinso…it all came rushing back. I guess I have a way to go before I can put my past behind me…
"Young Midoriya." He looked up to see his mentors looking at him with concern. "Are you alright, my boy?"
He smiled, "I'm okay."
"Young man." Midoriya looked at Rauru, wincing at the look in his eyes. The look that said, 'I know what you're thinking, so don't give me any excuses.'
The greenette sighed, "It brought up a lot of things…I thought I was over them, but it turns out I'm not. And I don't want this to hold me back." He looked up as a hand touched his shoulder, seeing the gentle gaze of Yuki Toshinori.
"Young Midoriya, there's nothing wrong with how you feel. And there's no limit to processing your feelings. We're heroes yes, but we're also humans." Rauru touched his other shoulder.
"You've come a long way from the boy I met two years ago. Becoming a hero is not an easy feat…there will be pain and struggles…but facing and accepting your feelings will only help you move forward. You're on your way to becoming a true hero and I…we…are so proud of you."
Midoriya sniffed, placing a hand on top of Toshinori's. "Thanks, All Might. Rauru." They looked up as the announcements started. Midoriya blinked as he heard that Todoroki had an automatic victory, now that Iida had left the competition. He made a mental note to ask Iida about it later when he next saw her.
Toshinori pointed with her thumb behind her, "Want to watch the fights?" Midoriya nodded, grateful that they were not going to talk about his past anymore.
…
Uraraka groaned as the harsh attack of another explosion hit her front. I'm gonna feel that tomorrow…
She wiped her face as she focused on the blonde girl who was giving her a look of amusement. For some reason, that expression irked her. "I can't believe Deku admires you so much."
The smile vanished instantly. "Don't bring him into this!" She used her explosions to lift her up into the air, aiming her hand at the brunette when she was at the highest peak. Uraraka pressed her fingertips together, lifting the sharp bits of rubble that broke loose from the explosions. She willed them to turn towards Bakugou, the sharp ends facing her. She placed her hands together, her fingers forming a triangle…aiming the space at Bakugou. The rubble flew toward the girl, her red eyes widening at the new display of power.
"Haa…it's a new move I came up with…I never would have come up with it without Deku."
Bakugou snarled again, "What does he have to do with it?! What, do you guys have study dates or something?!" The brunette shook her head.
"No, I just listen to his advice. You should probably try it sometime." Bakugou said nothing as she wordlessly sent an explosion her way.
…
Midoriya sighed helplessly, clenching his fists. He couldn't do anything but watch his childhood friend and his new friend continue to fight each other. He didn't know who to root for either.
Jiro elbowed him gently, "So…who are you rooting for?" Midoriya shrugged.
Monoma scoffed, placing a hand on her chest in a superior manner, "Well, they're a part of 1-A, not a part of the superior Class 1-B, so I pick no one!" She paused, blinking slowly, before looking down at the ground.
"Well…I'd root for you, Midoriya. O-Only because you're so strong. D-Don't get any ideas!"
Midoriya blinked before smiling good-naturedly, "Of course, Mono-Nokina."
Nokina let out a 'humph', but didn't look up again. Jiro gave her a suspicious look but eventually shrugged.
…
Uraraka tried. She tried really hard. But, she was thrown out of bounds. She sighed in defeat, holding her damaged shoulder. A hand reached down, gripped her other arm, and pulled her up, surprisingly gentle.
Bakugou was next to her, her blonde bangs covering her eyes.
"…You did good."
Uraraka blinked, her suspicious eyes turning warm at the compliment. "You too." Bakugou gave her a nod and walked away.