🥦
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The quiet hum of the air conditioner filled Izuku's room as evening settled over Musutafu.
Outside his window, the city glowed with soft orange streetlights and distant neon signs, the familiar heartbeat of home continuing as if nothing had happened. Yet every time Izuku closed his eyes, he still saw it.
Metal falling from the sky.
Iida is standing alone.
All Might is bleeding.
Wolfram smiling.
Izuku clenched his fist unconsciously.
His arm still hurts.
Everything hurt.
But that pain wasn't discouraging anymore.
It was proof.
Proof that he was still too weak.
The thought would've crushed him months ago. Now it only sharpened his resolve.
His notebook sat open beside him, pages filled with frantic observations and strategy notes from I-Island. Wolfram's combat patterns. Iida's mobility under pressure. Kaminari's close-range electric restraint. Even Bakugo's improvised support-item usage had an entire section dedicated to it.
Izuku flipped the page.
Then another.
Then paused.
Written messily in the corner of one page was a single line:
"If I was faster, Iida wouldn't have needed to..."
Izuku stared at it silently.
A faint knock interrupted his thoughts.
Before he could answer, the door creaked open slightly.
"Inko Midoriya Special Delivery!"
His mother's cheerful voice entered first, followed by the smell of fresh katsudon.
Izuku immediately straightened up. "M-Mom, you didn't have to—"
"Nonsense." Inko entered carrying the tray carefully. "You're still recovering."
She paused.
Her eyes softened slightly, seeing the mess of notebooks, workout plans, and analysis sheets scattered everywhere.
"...You're already training again, aren't you?"
Izuku froze.
His mother sighed in the exhausted way only mothers could.
"You got home from a trip looking like you survived a natural disaster, your shoulders are wrapped in bandages, and now you're muttering hero analysis to yourself at midnight."
"...Sorry."
Inko sat beside him gently.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then softly—
"You don't have to tell me what happened, Izuku."
That made him look up.
She smiled sadly.
"But I know my son."
Her fingers brushed through his messy green hair.
"Whenever you're scared...you start thinking harder. Working harder. Like if you stop moving for even one second, something terrible will happen."
Izuku's throat tightened.
"...I couldn't save everyone myself."
The confession slipped out before he realized it.
His voice was quiet.
Small.
"Iida almost..." He stopped himself. "And All Might was hurt again because we weren't strong enough."
Inko listened silently.
"You know..." she said after a while, "when you were little, you'd cry whenever someone else got hurt."
Izuku blinked.
"You'd scrape your knee and apologize because I looked worried." She laughed softly. "Even now, after becoming a hero student...you still think everyone else's pain matters more than your own."
Izuku looked away.
"...Heroes are supposed to."
"No."
Her response came immediately.
"Heroes are people first."
That made him pause.
Inko smiled faintly.
"You don't have to carry every burden alone, Izuku."
For some reason, hearing that hurt more than anything else.
Because part of him wanted to.
Part of him thought he had to.
A soft buzz interrupted the moment.
Izuku looked at his phone.
CLASS 1-A GROUP CHAT — 57 UNREAD MESSAGES
He opened it cautiously.
Kaminari:
BRO WHO PUTS PINEAPPLE ON TAKOYAKI???
Ashido:
ME 😤😤😤
Bakugo:
I'M GOING TO KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU
Jirou:
Finally, some peace.
Bakugo:
WHO SAID THAT
Todoroki:
I looked it up. Pineapple is technically compatible with octopus texture.
Bakugo:
HALF-AND-HALF SHUT THE HELL UP
Kuro:
Guys, an important question.
Kuro:
If Bakugo explodes in a public mall, is it terrorism or emotional expression?
Bakugo:
I'M GOING TO FIND YOU
Kuro:
You know where I live.
Bakugo:
GOOD.
Izuku burst out laughing before he could stop himself.
Inko smiled triumphantly.
"There he is."
Izuku rubbed his eyes, still laughing quietly.
"...They're really amazing."
"Mmhm."
"And terrifying."
"Definitely."
He looked back at the group chat.
The messages kept coming endlessly.
Stupid arguments.
Memes.
Photos.
Kaminari is somehow getting electrocuted indoors.
Again.
And slowly—
That suffocating heaviness in his chest loosened.
Because they were alive.
All of them.
A new message appeared.
Iida:
ATTENTION EVERYONE. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT TOMORROW IS STILL A SCHOOL DAY AND YOU SHOULD MAINTAIN HEALTHY SLEEP SCHEDULES.
Bakugo:
YOU'RE IN THE HOSPITAL AND STILL ANNOYING
Kuro:
Vice President spotted.
Kuro:
Deploying lethal force.
Iida:
KUROKAMI, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM VIOLENCE.
Izuku smiled softly.
Then another message appeared privately.
Melissa Shield:
How's recovery going, Deku? Dad says your muscle strain should heal properly if you don't overdo it.
A second message followed immediately.
Melissa Shield:
...Though he also said you probably WILL overdo it.
Izuku laughed awkwardly.
He typed back slowly.
Izuku:
I'm doing better now. Thank you for everything, Melissa.
A pause.
Then:
Melissa Shield:
You saved us, too, you know.
Izuku stared at the screen quietly.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Before he could answer—
A new message popped up from Kuro in the class group chat.
Kuro:
MIDORIYA IS ONLINE.
Kuro:
EVERYONE ACT NORMAL.
Bakugo:
TOO LATE, NERD.
Kaminari:
WELCOME BACK DEKU!!!
Ashido:
MIDORIYAAAAA 💖
Todoroki:
Your soba was eaten successfully, correct?
Jirou:
That's the first thing you ask?
Shoji:
Glad you're recovering.
Mineta:
BRO, DID YOU SEE THE NURSES—
Tsuyu:
Mineta.
Mineta:
I RESPECTFULLY APOLOGIZE
Izuku stared at the screen.
Then smiled.
A real smile this time.
Because despite everything—
The fear.
The injuries.
The near deaths.
They were still moving forward together.
And somehow...
That made tomorrow feel a little less frightening.
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[Auther: This story is going to take forever, man...at least I've got you guys.]