This Time

Chapter 20

Considering that school had only been in a few months, it was depressing how much I'd been seeing of the school nurse. Granted, this was the first time I'd been in the one lying in one of the hospital beds, at least.

Recovery girl finished patching up Midoriya and instructed him to rest before turning to the pro hero who stood quietly coughing at the foot of his students' beds. "All Might, you really don't know how to hold back," she scolded. "If you'd hit these kids any harder, they'd have permanent damage!" She rapped him with her cane disapprovingly. The hero merely looked down, hand in front of his mouth trying to muffle the coughing still. "Midoriya's back was horrible - I was barely able to heal it! And Hara had several broken ribs! Then there's Bakugo who's got quite a concussion and probably won't wake up for a while."

At Recovery Girl's instruction to rest, Midoriya was already drifting off to sleep with both the drain of her quirk's healing power and the exhaustion of the day weighing on him. Yagi still said nothing as he stared down at the unconscious boys, and I wondered what he was thinking.

Gingerly, I struggled to sit up, wincing and grasping my side as I did so. Instantly, Yagi's eyes were on me, expression still just as unreadable. It was always so much harder for me to interpret his emotions when he was in his muscle form.

"All Might, for the love of god, please come sit down. I'll give you my water if it will help with your cough," I offered, indicating the chair beside my bed and shakily holding out my water bottle to him. It probably wasn't wise to talk to him like this in front of Recovery Girl, but honestly, I was too tired to care right now and worried about the fact that he was still in his hero form. He was muffling the cough well, but I knew him well enough to know it wasn't a good sign.

Yagi took a half step and hesitated, then reached out to take the water bottle from my hand. "Thank you, Miss Hara," he said politely, finally speaking for the first time as he took the indicated seat.

"You shouldn't be sitting up yet, young lady," Recovery Girl said reproachfully. "The breaks are mended, but the area around them is still bruised and injured."

"Yes ma'am," I obeyed, sliding back down so I was laying again, and turning my head to try and see my companion's face. The coughing had halted all but for the occasional raspy breath and hastily wiped away trickle of blood. "You okay there?" I asked.

The man let out a small, humorless laugh. "I should be asking you that, not the other way around," he said.

"Oh stop sulking," I chided, rolling my eyes and causing the hero to tense in surprise. "I probably deserved most - if not all - of that ass whooping."

"Ah - Miss Hara! Now is that any kind of language for a young lady to use?" he said hastily, and I realized he was trying to cover up my bluntness in front of the nurse.

He's right. Remember where you are, Mei, I reminded myself.

"You know," Recovery Girl said thoughtfully as she paced between the two unconscious boys, peeking at their faces and apparently determining that they were in fact out cold. "I've been in the medical field for a long time. I'd be a pretty poor nurse if I couldn't judge someone's age after a physical exam," she said conversationally.

All Might started coughing again, harder this time, and I grimaced. Dammit.

The older woman's keen eyes turned on me, and I waited, holding my breath in preparation for whatever she would say next. "I was suspicious when I first met you, mind, but after patching you up today it was rather obvious. I take it you already knew, All Might?" she asked.

"Yes," he gasped, trying to regain control of his lungs again. "As does Principal Nezu."

Recovery Girl nodded. "Then that's good enough for me. I won't interfere," she said, and I finally let out the breath I'd been holding, shoulders sagging in relief.