Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

8: HERO KILLER: AFTERMATH

Daylight gleamed through the large windows of their hospital room. Iida sat in his loose hospital gown, cross-legged, on the edge of his bed, staring at the sleek tiled floor. One of his arms was bandaged and in a sling across his chest. Todoroki had his feet tucked into his slippers on the ground, leaning slightly forwards with his palms resting on his knees. He only had a small patch on his forearm where the knives had grazed him. Izuku was laying on his back on his bed, bandages wrapped beneath his curly hair and strapped tightly around his abdomen under his pale blue hospital clothes.

The atmosphere was tense, barely broken by soft-spoken questions passed between them as they mulled over their near-death experience. Izuku was growing more restless by the second as his friends kept glancing at him as if to speak, only to shut their mouths at the last second and look away the moment they noticed he caught them staring.

He sighed, lightly brushing his hand across his side where the stitches over his injury remained. "You're scared of me, aren't you?"

Both had the decency to appear a little guilty now that the subject was out in the open. He continued to gaze vacantly at the ceiling, tapping his fingers on his abdomen as he waited patiently for them to finally speak their mind.

"After the USJ incident," Iida began quietly, not moving an inch. "Asui-san and Mineta both told us how cool you were. They said you were entirely unafraid, not hesitating to save Aizawa-sensei and courageously facing the villains with a smile, as if you'd been fighting your entire life. I thought they were just exaggerating, but seeing you last night, facing down Stain without flinching... I couldn't help but feel afraid, Midoriya-kun. I... I know we're friends, but..."

"You almost gave off the same, intense vibe as the Hero Killer, Midoriya," Todoroki cut in, shifting to clasp his hands together in his lap as he blinked at his friend. "For some reason, I found myself imagining what it would be like if you were against us, and that thought was... terrifying. Stain put you on a pedestal at the same height as All Might himself, which should seem ridiculous, but somehow I understand."

"You seemed a lot older," Iida added, voice rising as he regained his confidence. "And the way you moved and fought was awe-inspiring. I felt as if you could've easily taken down Stain on your own, and I was just a burden to you. It's only been two days on the internships, but you seem to have improved your Quirk so much in such a short time."

"That's what I thought, too, but then I remembered the Quirk apprehension test on the first day. You avoided using your Quirk in all the tests, but then it came to the ball throw..." Todoroki paused, his tone growing stern. "Tell me, Midoriya... Have you been suppressing your potential this entire time?"

Izuku slowly turned his head, pressing his cheek against the pillow as he peered at his friends. Both of them wore subtle frowns as they gazed at him like he was an enigma.

"Before you answer, Midoriya-kun, there's something else that's been bothering me," Iida admitted with his tone drenched in suspicion. "I overheard a little of your phone call to All Might-san at the Sports Festival... You told him to send some Pro Heroes to Hosu. I didn't think anything of it, but later on..." His voice cracked, but he just straightened his back and hardened his gaze into a glare. "Later on, my brother was attacked. The doctors said if he had been found a few minutes later, then he might've been permanently paralysed from the waist down."