Be Careful What You Wish For

Intermission

Dr. Kyuusai smiled at him as he sat down. "How have you been doing since we last met?" she asked, hands folded over her blue little notebook.

Izuku mulled over the question for a while, considering his answer. Finally, "Its been... good."

Kyuusai jotted something down. "Did something special happen?" she wondered, eyes raising to meet his.

"We had the end-of-term exam at U.A.," Izuku provided, and his therapist looked intrigued.

"It must have been pretty stressful. But judging from your response, you seem to have done well," she tilted her head slightly and tapped her pencil to her cheek. "I'm curious. What does the end-of-term exam of the most prestigious hero school in Japan entail?"

"Well, first there's the written exam," he began. "It's pretty much what you'd expect. Lots of questions about quirk laws and the history of heroics... along with some more general subjects. Then there's the practical exam," he smiled at the memory. "We were paired in individual teams to fight against one of our teachers, pretending to be a villain."

"That sounds pretty extreme," the doctor commented. "I heard every teacher at U.A. is a pro-hero. Did they at least take it easy on you?"

"Well... I wouldn't say they 'went easy' on us..." the boy scratched the back of his skull. "But they did provide us with alternative means to complete the exam, without having to beat them in a straight up fight."

"Who was your opponent?"

"All Might."

Dr. Kyuusai looked impressed. "And you won?"

Izuku nodded. "It wasn't easy... of course. Actually, I didn't think it was possible. Especially not when..." he cut himself of suddenly, but the woman's keen eyes did not miss a beat, and her pupils narrowed.

"Was there a problem?" she prompted, notebook up and ready.

Izuku avoided her gaze, staring into a corner of the room. Dust had gathered between the crack where the wall strips met, and he studied it like a modern piece of art. Finally, still considering the small spots of dirt that stained the white varnish, he said simply, "My teammate."

Dr. Kyuusai frowned. "This person, you don't get along well?"

Izuku shook his head mutely, green curls softly whipping his cheeks. Then, tilting his chin up, he stared through the window, watching green trees swaying calmly back and forth in the wind. "We did."

The doctor put her book in her lap, concentrating on him. "What changed?"

"It's complicated," he answered vaguely. "We used to be friends. But then, when everybody started to get their quirks except for me... I guess I wasn't important any more. I just became a boring, useless Deku..."

"You've known them for a long time, then. How did they feel about you entering U.A.?"

Izuku snorted. "I'm lucky his quirk isn't killing people just by looking at them."

The woman's eyebrows furrowed, and she grimaced mildly. "Not good then."

A soft laugh escaped the boy's chest, and Dr. Kyuusai looked startled, before a pleased smile soothed her face. She retrieved her notebook and moved her pencil over the paper, while she continued her questioning. "How was it, working together with him against All Might?"

"He punched me."

His therapist paused, eyes leaving her page to meet orbs of green.

"So I kicked his head into the pavement."

She lowered her hands. "Now I'm even more curious to know how you managed to pass the exam."

Izuku leaned back in his seat, eyes fixed to the ceiling, staring at nothing. "I guess I managed to talk some sense into him... whatever I said, it was enough to convince Kacchan to work with me. At least temporarily." He smiled placidly, and his eyes met Kyuusai's. "I'm not sure if anything between us has changed, but..." he clenched his hands over one another and his head lowered subconsciously. "I want to believe that it has."

He wasn't sure when the tears started, or even why, until the doctor offered him a white tissue box with a sympathetic look on her face. He took it gratefully, quickly scrubbing the wet saline off of his cheeks.

Kyuusai laid her blue block on the table, and extended a slim hand toward him, a mellow expression on her face. "Do you mind if I use my quirk on you?" she asked. "Usually, we have patients fill out blankets asking them how they're feeling, but I feel that this is much more accurate."

Izuku inhaled a final sniffle and nodded, putting the tissues down on the table. "O-okay," he murmured, letting his hand fall in hers.

Like the first time they met, she closed her eyes and let her quirk to its work. She didn't pull away hastily from him with a terrorized look in her eyes this time, but instead held him with a considering expression and eyebrows furrowed lightly in concentration. Eventually, she lets him go, and slowly opens her eyes.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," she says, and pick up her notebook.