Once Again From Better Days

Once Recovery Girl is done with him, Katsuki feels like the energy has been sapped out of him. Izuku lies in the bed next to his, sleeping off a little bit of the fatigue. Katsuki has a couple of bruises and scr.a.p.es left, but his left arm no longer hurts. He has been instructed not to stress it for the next few days, though.

Katsuki looks back to Izuku. He looks peaceful, and he's definitely earned his time to rest. As he watches Recovery Girl examine Izuku, she mutters something under her breath about how often he shows up in her office, and Katsuki tries not to think about that too much. The worst of Izuku's injuries are healed, but he still has bandages wrapped around his c.h.e.s.t and visible scratches on his face and arms.

Katsuki leans back in the bed he's sitting on and relaxes. Recovery Girl doesn't pay any attention to him or ask him why he hasn't left yet, and he's thankful for that. As the match between Todoroki and Tokoyami reaches its end, Recovery Girl wakes Izuku. She helps him sit up, mindful of his injuries. Once upright, the first thing he does is look over to Katsuki.

"Are you alright?" Izuku asks.

It's that question again. And he's ignoring his own injuries–again. This f.u.c.k.i.n.g idiot. Katsuki reaches over and pinches his cheek.

"I'm not the one who got two ribs broken and a fractured leg," he says, trying to sound angry or annoyed and trying not to let his face relax with relief.

"It doesn't hurt much." Katsuki pinches harder. "Ouch, Kacchan!"

Katsuki lets go and puts his feet on the floor. The awards ceremony should be starting soon, and first and second place shouldn't be missing. He extends his hand to Izuku, who is rubbing his cheek looking miffed. He takes it anyway and lets Katsuki pull him into a standing position. Recovery Girl reminds him that his leg is healing and asks him if he wants a crutches to relieve some of the stress.

"No, I should be fine. If I really need help, I have Kacchan."

They're allowed to leave after that, and Katsuki follows Izuku out of the room. Does that little f.u.c.ker have any clue how much he's suffering right now? Katsuki stares out the windows of the hallway as they walk and desperately attempts to clear his head.

The award ceremony passes without event. Todoroki ends up in fourth place, since he, according to Kirishima anyway, reverted to not using flames. Izuku accepts his second place medal with a smile, and All Might nearly breaks his ribs again with a hug. And then the sports festival is over. All the students have to change out of their gym uniforms. As Katsuki is swept away by his 1-A classmates, he loses sight if Izuku. He'll have to find him again later.

In the changing room, Katsuki finds himself near Kirishima and the others again, which is, in retrospect, not a good idea. He's halfway through buttoning his shirt when Kaminari thinks it's a good time to talk about what happened after the tiebreaker.

"I think you moved faster to catch him than you did during the race," Kaminari comments.

Katsuki nearly pulls one of the buttons off his shirt. "Shut the f.u.c.k up, it's just a reflex."

"A reflex to keep him from getting hurt? That's roma–"

Katsuki pulls sharply on the collar of Kaminari's jacket. How the f.u.c.k is he supposed to win in this situation? Before he decides whether to push Kaminari into the wall or blast his face off, Kirishima steps in to separate them. Katsuki only lets go reluctantly, and Kaminari skids away from him.

"You're going to get yourself killed if you keep teasing him about his–about that," Sero mutters, in a tone that's supposed to be too quiet for Katsuki to hear. Katsuki narrows his eyes. His what?

He finishes getting changed quickly as possible and slings the first place medal around his neck. This time he's proud to wear it. He weighs it in his hand as he leaves the three idiots behind and goes to search for Izuku. It doesn't take long to locate him, but the problem is that he's talking to Todoroki. That half-and-half piece of shit. Katsuki hangs back and finds himself eavesdropping on a conversation between Izuku and Todoroki for the second time in one day.

"Midoriya, I…wanted to thank you. You've given me a lot to think about." As he speaks, he lifts his left hand and stares at it. "Also, if you want to know more about the hero course, I can give you my number so you can ask me about it."

"You're, uh, welcome." Izuku sounds nervous. "And, yeah, I'm–I am interested in the hero course."

Katsuki tries not to blow anything up. Maybe he should barge in and interrupt their conversation. No, he definitely should. He prepares to take a step into the hallway, when someone else passes in front of him–someone with purple hair who's in Izuku's class. Shinsou drops his arm over Izuku's shoulders. Todoroki looks slightly taken aback and bids farewell quickly. F.u.c.k.i.n.g hell , what is wrong with these people? Katsuki leans back against the wall. If he doesn't calm down, he is actually going to blow someone up, and then all his plans for saving the world will go to shit.