Five minutes later...
Recovery Girl had already finished healing the majority of Midoriya's external injuries while muttering under her breath the entire time.
"You great fool..."
Kiss.
Her Quirk accelerated his healing.
"You call this restraint?"
Kiss.
"You've nearly flattened those children."
Kiss.
"Honestly."
She turned toward All Might.
"You should know better."
All Might scratched the back of his head.
"...I'm sorry."
"No."
"You aren't."
She pointed her cane directly at him.
"You'll apologize after you stop breaking children every examination."
Several nearby teachers quietly pretended not to hear.
Even Aizawa looked mildly amused.
Katsuki remained unconscious on another bed.
Thankfully...
Recovery Girl's Quirk had stabilized his burns and repaired much of the accumulated damage, though she'd intentionally left enough soreness to discourage him from immediately trying to fight someone.
"...He'll wake up."
She said matter-of-factly.
"And when he does..."
"...he'll complain."
Izuku slowly flexed his fingers.
His body still ached.
Recovery Girl's Quirk accelerated healing, but it couldn't magically restore stamina or erase accumulated exhaustion.
Still...
Compared to how he'd felt moments ago...
It was incredible.
He carefully climbed off the bed.
"...Thank you."
Recovery Girl smiled.
"There."
"Much better."
All Might adjusted Katsuki over his shoulder.
"I'll return these two to U.A. shortly."
Izuku suddenly raised a hand.
"...Um..."
Both adults looked toward him.
"...Would it be alright..."
"...if I stayed?"
All Might blinked.
"You've just finished your own exam, Young Midoriya."
"I know."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.
"But..."
His eyes brightened.
"...everyone else's battles."
"I'd really like to watch them."
Recovery Girl tilted her head.
"...Watch?"
"I want to analyze them."
He said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"The teachers..."
"Their Quirks..."
"The different strategies everyone used..."
"I think there's a lot I could learn."
Recovery Girl stared.
Then sighed knowingly.
"...You're one of those children."
Izuku flushed.
"...Sorry."
"No."
She chuckled.
"Stay."
"But you're sitting."
"No running."
"No taking notes while standing."
"And absolutely no trying to spar with anyone afterwards."
"I won't!"
"You definitely will."
"...Eventually."
Izuku sheepishly smiled.
All Might laughed quietly before lifting Katsuki again.
"...Then I'll leave Young Bakugo in Recovery Girl's care until transport arrives."
As he turned toward the tent's exit...
His eyes lingered briefly on Midoriya.
He's still thinking about learning.
Even after all that.
A warm pride settled inside him.
One day...
Young Midoriya...
You'll become extraordinarily strong.
Not because of One For All.
Not because of talent.
Because he simply never stopped growing.
As All Might stepped outside...
His thoughts shifted once more.
Toward the unconscious boy resting over his shoulder.
Young Bakugo.
He smiled faintly.
Whenever Young Midoriya sees a person in trouble...
He forgets every obstacle between himself and them.
A wall simply doesn't exist.
Then...
He thought about Bakugo.
Whenever Young Bakugo sees a wall...
He doesn't avoid it.
A chuckle escaped him.
He laughs...
...and tries to blow it apart.
Different.
Opposite.
Yet somehow...
Those differences had finally begun pulling them toward the same destination.
Inside the Tent
Recovery Girl wheeled over a television monitor.
Several camera feeds appeared across the screen.
Izuku immediately leaned forward.
"...They're recordings?"
Recovery Girl nodded.
"The practical exams are recorded from dozens of angles."
"The live observation rooms only show a portion of each battlefield."
"So now you can watch everything."
Izuku's eyes sparkled.
"So there were angles I didn't see—"
"Except one."
Recovery Girl interrupted.
Her expression became unusually firm.
"You are absolutely forbidden from watching Midnight's examination."
Izuku blinked.
"...Why?"
"...Because you're fifteen."
"...Fair."
Recovery Girl nodded approvingly.
"A sensible answer."
The recordings began.
Principal Nezu calmly dismantled Mina and Jirou's strategy before eventually being captured through clever teamwork.
Ochaco turning an entire city block into floating ammunition against Thirteen while Aoyama covered her with precise laser support.
Present Mic's deafening battle against Sato and Kaminari.
Shoji and Hagakure's stealth duel against Snipe.
Power Loader's battle against Iida and Ojiro.
Ectoplasm's tactical masterpiece against Tokoyami and Tsuyu.
One by one...
Izuku watched every movement with complete focus.
Occasionally muttering observations under his breath.
"...Interesting..."
"So that's why..."
"I didn't notice that..."
Recovery Girl quietly smiled.
Even after the hardest fight of the day...
This boy's first instinct wasn't to celebrate.
It was learning.
...
Some time later...
The tent flap opened again.
Students slowly filtered inside after receiving treatment.
Denki immediately flopped into a nearby chair.
"That was exhausting!"
Kirishima grinned.
"Deku!"
"You've already started studying?!"
"I couldn't help it!"
Mina leaned over the back of his chair.
"Ooooh!"
"Replay ours!"
"I wanna see Nezu getting melted again!"
Jirou sighed.
"...That's not what happened."
Nearby, Todoroki quietly sat down with another bowl of cold soba.
Momo politely greeted Recovery Girl before joining everyone else.
Tsuyu took a seat beside Tokoyami.
Even Bakugo—now awake, heavily bandaged, and looking thoroughly irritated at being alive after so much unwanted medical attention—eventually wandered in, muttering complaints under his breath as he dropped into a chair near the back.
No one mentioned it.
But no one asked him to leave either.
One by one...
The entirety of Class 1-A gathered around the monitor.
Watching.
Laughing.
Groaning whenever someone made an embarrassing mistake.
Cheering whenever someone overcame impossible odds.
For the first time since entering U.A., they weren't rivals competing against one another.
They were simply classmates.
Learning from each other's victories...
...and from each other's failures.
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[Auther: The pacing seems alright, I don't mind this being 2 or 3 hundred chapters, comment if you want it a tad faster.]