Cubicity

Chapter 45: Preparation

All Might's voice reached Tooru's ears, but only bits and pieces were getting through to her mind to make sense of. Other thoughts were clouding her concentration of what was being discussed. She picked up on the main subjects like Izuku's near loss of One For All, his current physical condition, unlocking the Danger Sense quirk, and the ability to freely communicate with the previous owners of One For All. The minute details all just melted together as Hagakure tried to calm herself down. Continuing to lay her head on her now conscious boyfriend's side was all she wanted at the moment.

It had only been a day since Tooru's first visit to the hospital. Toshinori called her first thing in the morning about Izuku's awakening and to expect a ride in the afternoon to visit. Hagakure was about to protest but halted once the retired pro hero explained he wanted the boy's mother to visit. As unbearable as those hours were as she waited, she knew that family came first.

As the ride there happened, Tooru kept telling herself the same phrases over and over in her head. Keep it together for him. Don't show any weakness. Whatever you are going through pales in comparison to what he is right now. But upon seeing Izuku in his bed, all that mental preparation crumbled. She had a good long ugly cry. Hagakure didn't care that Midoriya's mentor and mother were there. It needed to be done. She had been holding it in so her classmates wouldn't worry. Tooru almost wished she had cried as much as Mina had been these last few days. It would have been easier. However, her boyfriend being awake wasn't the end of her worries.

"Hopefully, with the ever-presence of the previous vestiges of One For All, Midoriya-san's powers can become battle-ready at a rapid pace," All Might explained as he brought up a chair to the couple's side. Before, as he explained everything, he had been pacing around the room. But now, Yagi took a seat.

Hagakure looked back to Midoriya. The boy's face looked full of anxiety. This was very different compared to the fake smile he had before. Here we go, Tooru thought.

"There was a discussion this morning between the three of us and..."

Tooru cut him off and stated, "Izuku can't go back to U.A."

The statement made both men go wide-eyed.

The girl just shrugged before saying, "What? It was obvious considering everything that happened."

Izuku asked, "Does anyone else in our class think so too?"

Tooru recalled last night's visit from Mashirao but pushed the thought aside as she said, "Of course not. Only those that know your secret would even consider you doing this." She then paused before saying, "Well, I guess Bakugo-san might since he knows, but he's still here in this hospital."

"Bakugo-san...," Midoriya said with confusion.

Right, of course, he would notice me calling Bakugo that, Hagakure thought. "I'll explain later. Anyways, who's idea was it?"

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "Mine."

"It's not like I could stop him if I said no," Toshinori stated before sighing.

Tooru sat up as she said, "Yeah, the same goes for me."

All Might brought a hand to his face. "Not you too."

Midoriya reached out an arm to grab his girlfriend's hand. "Tooru, you can't. I'm doing this to protect everyone from me. That includes you."

"I'm a target too, you know. Toga will make sure of that," Hagakure said with confidence.

Yagi spoke up and said, "With that logic, so is the boy's mother, but that's why precautions are being made."

"Precautions?"