Inquisitor

- Chapter: 41 -

Izumi hadn't left Katsuo's side after he got hurt. She had stayed with him so long that eventually she ended up falling asleep... on his legs.

When she woke the next morning, she realized what she had done and looked at Katsuo. The boy was asleep, much to her relief. She wasn't sure she could live through his teasing.

However, him being asleep also worried her deeply. He was in a state where he could possibly have long lasting damage. According to what she heard from Recovery Girl, most of his internal organs had been damaged in some way, where it was bruising, micro tears, or even being smashed in. That's not even mentioning his head.

He had got it hit with enough force to shatter the entire back side of his skull.

Izumi was worried about Katsuo. She was worried that because of his head injury he might change. She was worried that he might not be the same person she had come to know.

Izumi looked around the room and saw that it was still empty. Recovery Girl had left after doing what she could for Katsuo. She had an appointment at a hospital that she couldn't miss.

Izumi knew that Katsuo had known that running into the situation he had was dangerous. She knew that he had decided that if he died the outcome of his death would be greater than the loss.

But, Izumi couldn't accept that. To her, losing Katsuo was a loss too great to be compensated for. And knowing that he thought otherwise... made her mad. But, also sad. She could tell that he wasn't as he showed himself. She would sometimes find herself watching him and realize that some of his smiles weren't real. That some of his laughter was faked.

That's why she always got embarrassed when he smiled or laughed with, or at, her. They were always real. She always loved the way he seemed to glow whenever he was happy.

The words Uraraka had said echoed in her head. A blush finding its way onto her cheeks. 'Why did she have to say something like that? I'm not in... l-love with Katsuo... We're just friends, really, really close friends.'

A thought crept into her mind. 'Then why have I never felt like this about Kacchan? Or Uraraka, or Iida?'

She shook her head. 'No, no, no, I'm just closest with Katsuo. That's why he's different, nothing else!'

Izumi's attention was brought to Katsuo as he woke up.

"K-Katsuo!!"

He groggily turned his head and looked at Izumi. "Yeah?"

Izumi's eyes started making tears of relief when she heard him speak. His voice was hoarse, it was slow, and it was forced. But, it had a tone to it that only Katsuo's did. Izumi lost control of her body as she jumped up and grabbed onto Katsuo's shirt. Crying into it. Her voice came out mixed in with her sobs, turning them into an incomprehensible mess of sounds.

Katsuo seemed shocked when Izumi grabbed him, and tensed up. But, when he realized why she had grabbed him he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her as she cried.

Despite Izumi's words being no more than noises, Katsuo understood what she was saying. He reached up and patted her head. "Yeah, I'm going to be okay, Izumi."

They stayed like that for a while.

---

Katsuo turned to Recovery Girl and asked, "When can I go back to my classes?"

"Not Until you're cleared for training."

"What if I just go to the classes, and sit out on the training?"

"Would you actually sit out?"

"If the teacher was notified."

"So only if you're forced?"

"If the teacher told me to sit out I would."

"So you'd need to be forced."

"When can I go to class?"

Recovery Girl looked at Katsuo and seemed a bit angered. "During lunch, but you're not allowed to participate in hero classes."

"Understood."

"For some reason, I feel like it isn't."

"I wonder why?"

"Sure you do."

---

Class 1-A walked back into the class after lunch ended. They had heard that Katsuo was awake and were all relieved that he was projected to make a full recovery.

They were not expecting him to casually walk into class. Bandages wrapped around his head and torso. To sit directly in his seat. Infact, the class was not expecting it so much, that when it happened, none of them said anything until he had already fallen asleep.

"Uh, guys..." The boy with the tape quirk broke the silence. "That's... Katsuo, Right?"

Ashido spoke next. "Isn't he supposed to have like, a really bad head injury?"

"Whoa, he really is Aizawa Sensei's son." Kaminari said.

"Wait!" Everyone looked at Ashido, who had a look on her face that showed she had a genius idea. "He's Minizawa!!"

Some of the students laughed at Ashido's comment.

"Y-Yeah! He even has a Mini amount of bandages compared to his dad!" Kaminari said in an excited voice. "This is great!"

"Is it now?" Attention went to Katsuo, who was looking at Kaminari with his quirk activated. "Are you going to keep on saying such illogical things? This is a waste of time. U.A. is for training the next generation of heroes. Not clowns. Act like it."

Katsuo released his quirk and more of the class started laughing at his impersonation of his father.

"That's... That's too good! Oh my gosh! I can't stop!!" Kaminari wheezed as he talked, unable to stop his laughter.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves so much."

The class looked forward and saw Eraserhead standing there.

Training was extra hard that day.

Katsuo sat out, starting to like being injured more and more.