Given

8: Hospital Visits

When I was ten, I started to visit the local hospital's elderly and terminal patients every Wednesday as a way of cheering them up. I would bring my notebooks and a few stuffed animals that I would purchase with my allowance.

I talked first to Doctor Kenko Yakuzai and Doctor Tabemono Lin. Initially, it was a request to train heal-glow, which they thought was a wonderful idea. Healing quirks were extremely rare, and thus they'd love to help cultivate me into a healer. I also expressed interest in hero work to them, and they seemed ecstatic.

So they sent the request up the chain of command and it was approved, as long as I helped out by cheering up patients. And that wasn't so hard to do, so I agreed. Every Wednesday was a day to help out, and every available Thursday was used for staff with healing quirks to train me and let me heal minor wounds. On Wednesdays, I would talk to the older patients and spend time with them, and play with younger ones. The stuffed animals I bought were a gift to the younger patients so they could play with them.

Once, an elderly patient with stage three brain cancer had asked me what my quirk was. He was pretty lucky, only experiencing a small portion of symptoms. I explained it - not my legal quirk, my actual quirk. This was the first time I had done something like this outside of my dad knowing.

"Ah...my quirk is one that...steals other quirks."

"A-a copying quirk?"

"No, Saki-san. I can take quirks from people, and give them to others. My dad could do this as well...and he gave his quirk to me, using this quirk."

"Hm...that's pretty amazing, Izuku. Tell you what, when the doctors finally say I'm done for...why don't you take my quirk? Give it to someone who needs it more than me. A quirkless child maybe."

"There'd be some legal issues there, Saki-san."

"Oh, it'll be fine. One final request from a terminal patient. I think...I think it'll all work itself out."

In less than a month, Saki-san was diagnosed with stage four and declared a terminal patient. He had me come by to take his quirk, calling Doctor Kenko into the room as well.

"Doctor..." Saki-san looked very weak...and very much on the verge of dying. Machines were keeping him alive. "Izuku...does he know?"

"No...I'll explain it. Doctor Kenko...my quirk isn't heal-glow. Well...it is but that's only part of it. My quirk was given to me by my dad - it's the ability to steal quirks and give them away. My dad gave me heal-glow, the stealing quirk, and two others. This really has to stay confidential. Mostly for personal safety reasons..."

Doctor Kenko looked shocked. "Izuku-kun...that's..."

Saki-san spoke up. "And I've requested that he take mine, put it to use and give it to someone who needs it."

"Like...a quirk transplant of sorts...?"

"Can we get this unofficially approved?" I asked. I was uneasy about this, but over time Saki-san had convinced me it would be okay.

"It's...my idea...Doctor." Saki-san said tiredly. "I...know I may not...survive it. Izuku has explained it well."

"I suppose...if it's your idea..." Doctor Kenko left to talk to a few people, explaining to them about a new "experimental quirk transplant" and setting up a proper time and planning out use of pain medications. Two days later, I took Saki-san's quirk, who just barely survived it.

He died a week and a half later.

But not before I showed him a picture of the previously quirkless five year old who received his quirk. Saki-san's eyes had lit up, happy, before he fell asleep.

And from then on, "quirk transplants" were explained to terminal patients as an option to help society. There were those who accepted and survived beyond it, those who died from it, and those who refused. Not many accepted, though. Those who did were always the kindest people.

Doctor Kenko Yakuzai and Doctor Tabemono Lin trained me in my heal-glow quirk and helped me so much. I felt good about helping out.