Fighting Fears

Chapter 8

Winter's POV

"Winter!" "You're okay!" "What happened?!" "Why'd you run away?!" The class threw questions at me faster than I could answer. It took a while for everything to calm down.

"Where are they?" I questioned. "Midoriya and Todoroki? They were expelled." Kirishima frowned. "Great. More work for me." I groaned. "Wait you want to see them?" Ojiro asked in confusion. "Yes. I need to speak with them." I replied. "I can try and get them to come by, but they most likely won't respond." He said, texting the two.

As we all waited, I sat quietly, thinking about everything. "You sure you're okay?" Tsu asked me. "Huh? Oh. Okay might be a bit of an overstatement, but if you're asking if I'm emotionally stable for the time being, then yes." I said. "That's... reassuring." Yaoyorozu raised her brow curiously. I smiled. "I've never been one to put a person at ease." I chuckled. There was a knock at the door. The second it was open, someone flung themselves on top of me in a hug, knocking over the entire couch in the process.

"I'MSOSORRYWINTERI'MSORRYINEVERSHOULDHAVESAIDTHATORDUGAROUNDTOFINDOUTABOUTYOURPASTINEEDTOKEEPMYSELFOUTOFTROUBLEI'MSORRY!" Midoriya wailed, squishing the air out of my lungs, tears flowing down his face. "L-Let me breathe..." I gasped. He sat up, apologizing more. "Winter, I'm so sorry!" "I know. You've said that." I replied. "I just want you to know that I really mean it!" He whimpered. "Look. What you did wasn't okay. But, in all honesty, I probably would've done the same thing. I've kept track of all the incidents you and your friends have been caught up in. If I were you, I would be skeptical about a new person who doesn't have the most approachable past too. Thank you for agreeing to come speak with me." I flicked my ear back. "O-Of course. Thank you for listening to me. Also I'm sorry for tackling you." He chuckled awkwardly, helping me up. "It's fine." I shrugged. "I ought to be going though. If my teachers find out I'm on school property I might be put in jail for trespassing." Midoriya turned to leave. "No, you won't be. I'll speak with the pros. You don't need to be expelled. Punished, sure, but that's a little extreme." I sighed, knowing I had a bigger task ahead.

~~~

It had been over two months and no one had heard a word from Icy Hot. Even if you showed up at his house, no one would respond. Even the pros couldn't get ahold of him. I shot a blast of ice at a chunk of rock, blowing it up into pieces. "Winter!" Ochaco called from the doorway of the gym. I turned to look at her, hopping down until we were level. "Yes?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "Good news and bad news," She began. "Good news, All Might finally got ahold of Todoroki. Also Midoriya is fully accepted back to UA." She smiled. "That's great news. What's bad about it?" I frowned. "We have to go to the hospital." "What? Why?" Anxiety began to kick in. "The only reason they were able to get ahold of Todoroki is because he tried to kill himself."

I felt a cold feeling in my chest. "STOP TALKING TO ME THEN AND LET'S GO!" I snapped. "Winter, wait! He's in ICU, and will be for a while! You should probably take a shower, I don't think the hospital would like it if you burst in looking like you just won a wrestling match." Ochaco reminded me. "R-Right. Is anyone else coming?" I stuttered, trying to slow my thoughts. "The rest of the class is prepping. We should be ready to leave at the same time. But Endeavor specifically told All Might to get you, so you definitely better be ready." She said. I nodded. "I will be."