Mina paced back and forth, over and over again. From one side of the room to the other.

She didn't recall how long exactly she had been in here for. Four hours maybe? Five? It felt a lot longer, and she couldn't make herself stop moving back and forth. She was restless. Anxious.

Worried.

Perhaps more worried than she had even been in her life beforehand.

Because Izuku was an idiot.

It had been a few hours after their encounter with the infected Hyper-Response guy, and everything was just… A mess right now. There wasn't any other way to put it. A complete mess. Everything had just fallen apart in the last few hours. And Mina had had to go over it again and again in her head.

They had been pinned down, the absurd way in which the Quirk Virus had affected it's victim palpably, making them dangerous even for Pro Heroes to contend with. Aizawa had been knocked out cold pretty much instantly, and the students had reacted on instinct.

In true Izuku fashion, the green haired teenager had taken matters into his own hands, and rushed in at the expense of himself.

And oh God, was it at his expense this time.

"Idiot…" Mina muttered to herself, grabbing at tufts of her hair. She still struggled to believe that he'd been so… So… So stupid! How hadn't he broken this habit already, they had been training to become Heroes for three years!

When he realized that the situation was getting more and more dangerous, he had used his Quirk to leap beyond the wall of ice todoroki had set up, and charged for the infected at as quick a speed as his power would let him. Of course, the infecteds Quirk responded to his incoming, but with his Quirk, Izuku could respond, counter, and hold back the worst of the attacks.

Coming into direct contact with the infected. Preventing them from moving, and letting the Pandemic Response Team take the shot to knock out the infected.

And now he was at risk of having caught the Virus himself.

Of course he was at risk. The Virus was capable of transmitting through physical contact. Everyone knew this. It was why they all had to wear gloves now, and why the support department had been working overtime to provide costumes that could either be disposed of as needed, or specialized equipment that wouldn't hinder the users Quirks all that much. Izuku knew this as well as everyone else did, yet he charged in anyway, without even thinking about the risks to himself.

That or he considered them irrelevant.

...Or himself irrelevant.

Mina let out another loud sigh, and felt her hands flop to her sides. Once that thought got into her head, she was drained of the pent-up energy she'd been trying to burn by pacing. There was a window on the other side of the room, and she made her way towards it, to see what was going on outside.

The streets were empty. About what she expected. On the road, she saw an ambulance headed towards the building. She watched it as it turned the corner and came inside the hospital. She thought to herself that it had to be another person with the Virus being brought in for treatment. These days it felt like it was rare for people to be brought here for any other reason.

Coming into close contact with an infected person with a Quirk like that Hyper-Response had landed everyone present into hospital quarantine. Mina herself had already been tested, she was just waiting on the results. Izuku had been rushed off to a completely different block, since he had come into direct contact with someone infected. He was at the most risk. Thinking about it made Mina's jew clench.

With a Quirk like Izuku's, what on earth would the Virus do to him?...

...She hoped he was alright.


Three more hours passed, Mina switching between being anxious as all hell and unable to sit down, to quiet contemplation and absolute stillness. The worst part was the waiting, she concluded to herself.

She wasn't normally an anxious person - She dealt with things as they came, tried her best, and just lived with whatever happened afterwards. That was how she'd lived most of her life, from dealing with bullies in her Kindergarten, to failing grades or even Villain attacks. She took things as they came and did the best she could at the time. Not having any course of action, just being forced to wait… That was what was getting to her more than anything.

A nurse with red skin and a set of horns eventually opened the door and spoke to her though.

"Your test is back. You're clear."

Once she heard that, Mina let out what felt like a breath she'd been holding the entire time she was here. Her head dropped along with her shoulders as she sighed. "Oh, thank God…"

"If you'll come with me, please, I'll take you to meet with the rest of your group."

Mina nodded, and stood up, stretched her arms upwards to work out a cramp that had made itself uncomfortably known once she got up, and followed the nurse - Making sure she kept a reasonable distance. Better safe than sorry.

Curiosity compelled her to ask, "How is everyone?"

The nurse glanced at her clipboard, shifting around a few pages. "Your teacher is fine, if shaken up slightly. He's suffered from a few injuries that I suspect will take him off of active duty for a while, but he'll recover in time."

Aizawa was okay. That was a relief, Mina thought to herself. The injuries he had suffered were pretty nasty to look at, and reminded her of how he looked after the USJ invasion back in her first year.

"That infected person you were dealing with is okay as well." The nurse told her, leading the pink girl through the corridors of the hospital. "We've managed to put him in binders that stop his Quirk from activating. We're considering putting him into a sort of medically induced coma until we can treat the Virus." The nurse's face scrunched up at that. "It's not a pleasant thought, but I think it's the only way to be sure he can't hurt anyone while he's infected."

What else could they do with someone with a Quirk like that? The idea didn't sit well with Mina either, but it wasn't like they lived in a Quirkless world. Some people who got infected with this Virus would just end up being…. Dangerous.

Still, she was glad to hear that they were okay. It wasn't like it was their fault that they had acted out because of the Virus, or like they could control what their Quirk was.

"As for your friends…"

The nurse's voice trailed off. Mina felt her spine shiver.

"What… About them?" She asked, afraid of the answer, but knowing that she needed to hear it anyway.

"...Most of them are okay." The nurse said. "But… I'm afraid one of them has tested positive for the Virus."

"Who?" As if she didn't already know.

"According to this… Izuku Midoriya."

It didn't surprise Mina all that much. Somehow, she already had a suspicion that that was going to be the case. Izuku had gotten in close. He'd had physical contact with the infected. He'd knowingly put himself at risk there.

And it had gotten him infected. It didn't surprise Mina.

But that didn't mean it didn't hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I-Is he alright?!" Mina asked immediately. "His Quirk - "

"He only seems to have a fever."

At that, Mina blinked. "J… Just a fever?"

The nurse nodded. "Just a fever. It's an oddity - The Virus usually attacks a person's Quirk, but it seems to have ignored it in his case." They tilted their head, glancing over their notes. "It's not… Completely unheard of. Some European countries have reported similar symptoms, but they're an exceedingly rare case. We aren't sure if it's a mutation of the Virus or if it's an aspect we aren't sure of, but it means that no one is at immediate risk of his Quirk being unleashed against anyone."

Mina blinked again. Why had the Virus affected him differently? What about his Quirk made him an exception?

She supposed she should just be more thankful that it wasn't causing his Quirk to go ballistic - He could hardly control it back in their first year without shattering his bones, who knew what the hell could happen if the Virus affected his Quirk. The only thing she could even imagine was him exploding. The mental image of that occurring was… Not pleasant.

It was… An oddity. But she supposed it was at least not as bad as it could have been.

Not that that meant he wasn't still at risk.

"I… Is he gonna be alright?" She asked, feeling her breath hold again.

It wasn't like the Virus only affected peoples Quirks - Some people had actually died to the Virus directly. A low amount compared to the number of infected, granted, but any percent of fatality when infected with a virus was a prospect that put anxiety into the heart of anyone who knew someone infected.

"Right now it's hard to say…" The Nurse told her, honestly. Mina was a Hero-In-Training - Heroes-In-Training didn't get to hear the reassurances a civilian would. "We're treating him now…"

The Nurse kept talking, going into detail about the procedures they were putting Izuku through, and leading Mina to the reception, but the pink girl had sort of tuned her out. Her mind had wandered off.

It was now purely on Izuku.


"D'you actually think this is a good idea, Midoriya?"

It wasn't a surprise to Mina in the slightest when she learned that Izuku had signed up to volunteer to help with the Quirk Virus efforts. He took pretty much every opportunity he could to help people, and the universe just seemed to have a way of bringing the most dangerous and riskiest situations to the foot of Yuuei.

Every time, he was at the forefront of it. Mina was starting to think that he had some sort of second Quirk that brought this stuff to his doorstep.

Running into Izuku like this had honestly just been a coincidence for Mina. It was the middle of the night, and she'd found herself unable to sleep. Cooped up inside in self-isolation for a few weeks now, Mina found herself getting more and more restless. Whenever she got like this, she was at least able to go on a walk to burn off that energy outside, but now that she was constantly cooped up, she'd tried to make do by wandering around the student dorms. She was glad they were large, now more than ever, but it wasn't quite the substitute she had been hoping for.

Eventually though, she'd wandered towards one of the living spaces on the first floor, and there was Izuku. She approached him, they spoke, and he revealed his intention to volunteer, and that was where they found themselves now.

"I… Don't know if it's a good idea." Izuku admitted jokingly, chuckling slightly. He'd gotten better at throwing light hearted jokes out since the first year. Compared to back then, he was now an incredibly relaxed sort of person. "But… It's the right thing to do."

"I dunno if that makes it any smarter."

"Me either."

"So why do it then?" Mina asked, no hostility - Only concern - in her voice. "You'll have to be isolated while you're volunteering in case you bring it back here. And your Quirk isn't… Exactly a good one for this sort of a situation. You'd need to get close to people to use it. That'll put you at risk more."

She was making valid points, she knew, because Izuku was nodding his head at all of them. No doubt he'd already wrestled with them himself though.

"...I just… Need to." He answered. "I can't sit here and… Not do something if I can do something to help. Even if it's just moving supplies or being support or... "

His hands waved in front of him, like he was trying to pull the right words out of thing air.

"...Something."

They then fell back to his sides, and he let out a small sign.

"...What is it with you?"

Izuku turned his head towards Mina. "H - Huh?"

"I really don't get you sometimes." The pink girl said, plainly. Her arms folded up, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "You wanna be a Hero. I get that. We all wanna be Heroes. But you just… Keep going, constantly. All the time. You don't stop. Ever. It's insane."

Her hand unfolded itself, and with each point she made, she raised a finger.

"You threw yourself in to save All Might at the USJ, you went nuts on Todoroki at the Sports Festival, you took on Stain, you went so hard you ended up in a hospital when the League of Villains attacked our summer lodge, you went behind everyones back and broke the law to rescue Bakugou." Having run out of points on one hand, she brought up the other. "You got involved in that raid to save Eri, you dealt with that Gentle guy, you took on that internship with Endeavour…" She paused, then just threw her hands into the air. "Pretty much everything that happened in the second year you were involved in. You just…. You don't stop. It's insane to me. I just..."

Finding the right words proved tricky, she found.

"...You throw yourself into stuff that you're not suited for, what your Quirk isn't suited for, but you just… Keep doing it. Even when you might do more good in other places it's like you… Have to be on the front, helping people directly, even if it costs you."

"...Don't you ever feel that way?"

"I… I'd be lying if I said I didn't." Mina nodded. A few seconds of silence fell, as neither knew what exactly to say next. "I just… I don't know." She paused. "...I admire it a lot if I'm honest."

"Y - You do?" Izuku blinked, and straightened his back at that statement.

Once again, Mina nodded. "Yeah. I mean, you've just been so… Consistent the entire time I've known you. You jump in even when it makes no sense to and when you're honestly kind of dumb for doing so."

"Gee, thanks."

A single laugh made it past Mina's lips. She sullened up quickly though. "I mean it though. It's impressive. More than impressive, honestly. I can't even pretend that I'm surprised you're volunteering."

"Its… It's not like I'm the only person volunteering here." Izuku insisted, downplaying what he was doing. "Todoroki and Yaoyorozu and Sero are all volunteering as well. I - I think even Monoma from 1B is too."

"Isn't he still like… Crazy?"

He's… Gotten better about that."

"I'll…. Take your word for it."

"...Do you think I'd be any help out there?" Izuku suddenly asked.

The suddenly bluntness of his question made Mina pause again. "Don't you think you will?"

"I don't... " He trailed off. "I just… I want to be there. In case something does happen and my Quirk could be useful…. If.. I could be useful. Even if it turns out nothing I do helps, I just… I want to be there… But I want to think I'd be helpful… You're not wrong though."

He raised his hands up, so he could see the palms of his hands - Battered and bent and crooked from the year he spent battering his arms, and cut and blistered from his more recent efforts to regain some control over how his Quirk affected his arms.

"...My Quirk is dangerous if I'm not careful. And if I got infected… I could end up hurting someone else."

"That's always a risk with being a Hero, Isn't it?"

"Maybe… But I don't… If I mess up, I want it to be because I messed up, not some virus that meant I couldn't control myself or my Quirk."

"...Do you think I'd be useful out there?"

Izuku turned to look at Mina directly again, and the expression on his face made him look like he'd just been asked the most obvious question in the world. "Absolutely. You've gotten… so much better at handling your Quirk since our first year. You've got new techniques, new moves, new methods of keeping your Acid non-corrosive. You'd be an absolutely valuable volunteer!"

"Yeah, well… I'm afraid of the same thing you are. Hurting people without being able to control it…" Mina sighed, her head hanging. "And I dunno what to do either… I want to help, but..."

"...You could volunteer with me."


For some reason, that scene had played out in Mina's mind for every day for the last couple of weeks.

Every day, when she stepped into the hospital, spoke to whoever was on reception, and stood outside Izuku's room, that scene played out in her mind, over and over again, like a projector movie stuck on a permanent loop.

It was bizarre to her how well she remembered it. How she remembered nearly every little detail, every single word they said to one another in spite of it taking place about….

…. A month ago now? All the days blurred together at this point. She was at least mildly sure that it was a month ago they had had that conversation.

She remembered the conversation clearly but not when she had had it. That was how much of a mess she found herself in these days.

"Miss Ashido? Mina lifted her head towards the nurse who spoke to her. "I'm afraid you need to leave now. It's past visiting hours."

Mina didn't give a verbal response, but she acknowledged what she was told with a small nod. The nurse nodded back to her, and tried to put on the usual nurse 'Everything-is-going-to-be-alright' expression, before leaving Mina to leave on her own. By this point, all the nurses knew who she was.

The room Izuku had been put into was one with a large glass window in the side of the wall, which allowed anyone to view the inside of the room from the corridor that led to it. Sitting in the corridor by that window was the closest thing to being able to visit Izuku that Mina was able to get.

Whenever she visited though, he was nearly always completely asleep, or so out of it that he didn't realize that she was there. He was usually kept on oxygen providers, or full of drugs, or whatever other contraption he was needed to at the time. She hadn't ever run into him while he was awake.

Since he had gotten infected, she found herself unable to rest or relax. Barely able to sleep. Whenever she was awake, she was just reminded… Constantly, of that conversation they had had when they decided to volunteer together. She wasn't sure why. She was eternally tormented by it though. It only ever seemed to leave her alone when she was here, when Izuku was in sight.

Was it guilt that was affecting her? Guilt that she couldn't have done anything to stop Izuku running out the way that he did. Guilt that she hadn't been able to convince him that going out to volunteer was a mistake?

Guilt that she couldn't find a reason that volunteering was a mistake? That in spite of everything, she couldn't convince herself that her or Izuku had done anything that was a mistake. That in spite of the outcome, that this had been a moral good thing that the two of them had done.

She was just… She didn't know.

She just wished that he hadn't ended up like this.

All things considered, it was lucky that it was just a flu, and that the virus wasn't affecting his Quirk and making him explode all over the place. But that didn't take away… Any of the concerns she had. If anything it was a cold comfort.

With a sigh, she got up onto her feet. She didn't turn to leave the hospital though. Instead, she stepped next to the glass, and looked into it. Looked at Izuku. There was something about him that compelled him to push himself to nth degree, something he wasn't willing to tell other people. Mina doubted she'd be the person he wound up telling. But she could respect that. Admire it even.

...Somehow that made her feel worse though.

The two of them had gotten closer over the last few years. But the knowledge that he might not share those drives that made him go this far… Something about that felt.. .Isolating.

Ironically enough.

Was it messed up to be having thoughts like that when Izuku was like this?

Probably.

The pink girl sighed again. She turned to leave. Something caught her eye though. Movement.

Her head glanced back to the room.

Izuku had moved.

Every time, no matter how long she stayed here, Izuku had been asleep throughout all of her visits. She couldn't tell if that was because of the illness, or if it was because of whatever drugs the hospital was giving him, or what, but he was always out cold.

Now his eyes were open, and she watched him slowly sit up, and take a look at his surroundings.

He looked… Tired, somehow, in spite of how much sleep he'd had collectively these last few weeks. Confused as well, like he didn't know exactly where he was. His face was clearer now, and had grown stubbles, unkempt and scattered awkwardly all around his face.

His eyes locked with Mina's.

And he moved again.

Panicking, Mina reacted and looked all around the place - Izuku was sick! He was supposed to not be getting up and wandering around like he was now. He needed rest! He needed to be seen to by the hospital officials! He didn't - Shouldn't - Be up and walking like he was.

She looked, wanting to see some sort of hospital official somewhere - Anywhere - Someone who could help. But she saw no one. Wherever that nurse had just gone, she'd gone there fast. Without other options, she just shouted.

"H - Hey! I - I need help here! Midoriya's awake and he's walking around! Hey! Hey I - "

The sound of a'thunk' made her stop calling for help, and made her look back to the room.

Izuku was there, in front of the window. His forehead rested against the glass, and he was looking at her.

The glass was soundproof. If he said anything, Mina doubted she'd be able to hear it. She didn't need to hear him though. The expression on his face? That said everything.

I'm sorry.

Mina's eyes opened up as she understood the look. She'd seen it enough, every time he'd done something stupid or had made his friends worry for his safety.

He seemed to know the situation he was in… And he could see Mina clearly. She wasn't exactly anything better than an absolute wreck herself, and she knew it. Her hair was even more unkempt than normal, longer than normal, she had bags under her eyes - When he wanted to be, Izuku was very insightful with things like that.

A glance seemed to be all he needed this time.

Willingly he'd done this to himself, Mina remembered. Willingly, he'd thrown himself into a situation that would end up with him most likely getting infected. But he had done so anyway. Because of whatever the hell was was going on in his head at any one time, or that compulsion he always felt to be there to help people immediately, damn the consequences to himself.

But he seemed to understand the effect it had had on his friend.

Just from a single look at her.

For a few seconds, Mina didn't know how to act. How to respond. How to do…. Anything, really. She found herself just… Looking at him. Part of her didn't know how to react to that expression. To what it meant.

...Then she reached out.

And rested her palm on the glass.

It was practically the only right now that she would be able to put her hand on his shoulder, to grab his hand, or hug him or do… Anything. The glass would prevent her from getting infected. It took Izuku a moment to realize what she was doing. When he realized, he pressed his palm against the same section of glass.

Izuku was a reckless idiot. Mina wouldn't hear anything else from that - He was a reckless moron.

But that in of itself was part of what made so many people admire him.

It certainly made her admire him.

Desire to shake that recklessness out of him by physical force if need be notwithstanding.

She smiled at him. It was a weak smile - She couldn't offer anything else. But she did manage to smile at him.

He offered an equally weak, but still sincere smile of his own.

That was when the doctors and nurses finally arrived.

They didn't look away from one another until both were physically moved from one another though.


A month was a long time to wait when it came to something like the Quirk Virus. Like the universe was somehow moving slower, and the very concept of time was messing with her. Mina struggled to be patient at the best of times.

Each day though, she went to the hospital. Each time since then, Izuku was awake, at least for a while.

The glass prevented them from exchanging words, but the expressions they were able to give one another were enough. To help him pass the time, she would bring books and news articles that she would hold up to the window for him to read. Occasionally she would come with others - The other volunteers, of course.

When he was announced cured though, she came on her own.

Mina wouldn't claim to understand how medicine or science or how any of that stuff all worked, so she couldn't even begin to explain what the process must have been, how they had kept Izuku alive during that time, if he was ever in any noticeable danger whatsoever outside of the fever - She had absolutely no idea.

When she arrived at the hospital though, she saw Izuku waiting for her. He was clean, had managed to get a shave, and a set of more casual clothes had been handed to him by the hospital staff.

The second she was in reach, she threw herself into giving him a massive hug. He returned it more or less instantly.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said.

"I'm... Sorry, about… You know."

"Yeah, I know."

They seperated. "You feel okay?" Mina asked.

"I'm… Alright." Izuku answered cautiously. "They kept me in for a few days extra to be sure I was rid of the virus. It's… Weird though." He paused. "You're uh - "

"I'm still clean, don't worry. We've still been getting tests and masks and everything. I got one before I came here."

"Oh… Good." He let out a sigh of relief. "Good…. I uh… Really don't want to catch this again."

"You say that. You're not gonna stop this volunteer work, are you?"

Looking to Mina for a second, Izuku then shook his head. "No. I'm not."

"Somehow this doesn't surprise me."

"I… I can't. I can't after I've had this myself. I…. I need to help people who are dealing with this. I… I just…"

"I'm with you."

Izuku blinked. "Y - You are?"

"Oh yeah. You think I wouldn't be?"

"No, It's…. I just…. I remembered what you said back when I asked if you wanted to volunteer with me. And you weren't sure…"

"Perspective, I guess." Mina shrugged. "I…. Midoriya, there is something about you I don't get. You're like…. Insanely devoted to this rescue stuff to the point I don't even know if it makes sense. But…. This affected you and…" Her hands twitched slightly. "...I get it?"

Izuku didn't say anything for a moment.

And then he smiled.

He was a reckless idiot.

But Mina couldn't help but admire him for it.


Guess who forgot their own second chapter to upload! Eh heh... Sorry lads, lasses, and whatever the la-equivilant to NB's and Agenders (Like me) would be? La-exes? Eh we'll work with it for now. ANYWAY - Sorry about that, I got distracted by video games and other projects (Been working on an original comic /manga) so it slipped my m,ind. Sorry ya'll!

I do hope you enjoyed this small story! It was a little something for the collab on Ao3 I mentioned in the first chapter - I was really happy and really proud to take part : D I hope ya'll enjoyed it, and I'll see ya'll next time! See ya!