"I Love You."

Numbed

Midoriya's POV

Kacchan and I walked down the plain halls of the hospital, approaching the front receptionist desk.

When we arrived, the woman behind the desk smiled at us, her bright red lipstick matching her hair. A distant part of me wondered to Kirishima, and if there was the slight possibility that they were related. I smirked to myself, because I knew that if Todoroki was here then his brain would be doing backflips.

"Hello," the woman greeted, stilling her fingers from where she was typing something on her computer keyboard. "How can I help you?"

I swallowed and opened my mouth dumbly, words disappearing from my mouth because her eyes –

Her eyes were a bright neon green, the colours clashing oddly with her hair but seeming beautiful nonetheless. They were wide and practically glowing, and a rush of calm settled over my shoulders, making me stumbled backwards unexpectedly.

Before I could fall, Kacchan put his hand on my back to steady me, his red eyes watching me in concern.

"Whoa, are you okay?" he asked, moving his hands to my shoulders as my eyes frantically bounced from every corner of the room, stilling when they landed on a regretful looking receptionist.

"Y-Yeah . . ." I mumbled, not breaking eye contact with the woman. "I just felt light-headed for a moment."

Kacchan eyed me in suspicion, but before he could say anything a sweet but nervous voice came from behind him.

"Sorry about that, sir," the woman apologised, running a hand through her hair. "I have a calming quirk that makes people submissive and emotionally numb for a few seconds."

The words stung me, but also interested me, because is that what being numb felt like?

"It activates when I hold eye contact with someone, though sometimes it can be overwhelming and too sudden for the person it effected, which has sometimes left people unconscious." She continued.

I nodded and swallowed, nudging past Kacchan and looking at her hair, anything but her eyes.

"T-That's okay," I stuttered, accepting her apology. "It's a cool quirk, and is very suitable for a job like this."

Her mouth crinkled upwards in a smile, her face relaxing slightly.

"Thank you," she said, covering her eyes with her hand so that she didn't risk activating her quirk again. "Now, what can I help you with?"

"We want to know if there's a food court or something anywhere around here." Kacchan informed, kicking his foot into the ground.

Kacchan always did that, I realised. Whenever he's nervous or agitated he would twitch and feel like there was something he should do to expel that energy of anger his other emotions usually caused him. As a result, his foot would frantically tap on the floor, and I silently thanked this new method of handling his energy other than taking it out on other people.

"Oh," the woman replied, smiling slightly. "If you go down the hall to the left where the staff bathrooms are located and then take a right at the corner, there is a small café."

Kacchan and I nodded and said our thanks, descending the hall towards the café.

Kacchan seemed tense and alert, his shoulders squared and eyes scanning every hall and room we walked past. He was walking closer to me then he does usually, the action putting me on edge and caused me to stop walking.

Kacchan noticed immediately and stood by my side, watching my movements carefully.

"What's wrong, Izuku?"