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Midoriya is in the infirmary again, and for once it isn’t his fault.
It’s odd, Toshinori thinks; for as analytical as he is and as brilliant of a mind he possesses, Midoriya’s answer to nearly every problem he faces is reckless behavior that ends with serious, physical consequences. He’s been in the infirmary more than any student, and school hasn’t even been in session for very long.
Except this time, if just this time, it isn’t his recklessness or his own self-sacrificial nature that winds him in the infirmary. It’s a precariously balanced chunk of cement blown off the side of a building during “break and entry” training earlier and a bad case of horrible timing.
For as hard-headed as Midoriya is, it’s hard to believe that he’d ever wind up concussed, specifically concussed for a mishap during training and not some reckless scheme against villains. Yet here they are.
“Recovery Girl is sending you home early,” Toshinori comments; Midoriya is more aware now than he’s been for the past couple of hours, coherent enough to hold a conversation instead of just blinking up at the ceiling or zoning in and out of wake. “Your mother’s on her way to pick you up.”
Midoriya’s eyes flood with panic, and he sits up in a flash. “I’m fine!” he declares--then belies the words by wincing and clutching his bandaged head.
Toshinori sighs. “You push yourself too hard,” he says, shaking his head. “You’re going to end up seriously hurting yourself one of these days.”
Midoriya opens one eye and looks at him, still wincing although not entirely from the pain anymore. “Yeah, I...sorry.”
“It’s not your fault this time, my boy,” Toshinori says, “but when things like this come up, you need to give yourself some breathing room. I know you don’t like it, but it’s important.”
Midoriya swallows hard, but nods, although he stops himself quickly when his head ails him. Recovery Girl kickstarted the healing of his concussion, and it’s been a few hours so it’s mostly mended by now, but even so. Healing Quirk or no, these things take time. Toshinori wouldn’t be surprised if Midoriya doesn’t show up for school tomorrow, either.
Midoriya lets out a sigh and slumps back against the pillows. “I know,” he says, swallowing again. “I’ll do my best.”
Toshinori supposes that’s about the best the kid can do.
Behind him, the door bursts open, and in tumble Iida, Uraraka, and Kirishima, eyes wide with panic.
“Midoriya!” Iida and Kirishima chorus, and Uraraka chimes in with “Deku!” right along with them.
Midoriya winces immediately, but smiles the second it’s over. “Hey,” he says, blinking. “What…?”
“Keep your voices down,” Toshinori says, not harshly, but firmly enough as to be taken seriously. Iida, Kirishima, and Uraraka know the person of All Might, but Yagi Toshinori may as well be a complete stranger to them. “Midoriya has a concussion, but he’ll be fine.”
Midoriya looks at him, and Toshinori can see the thank you written clearly in his eyes. As much as Toshinori knows the boy loves his friends, they can be overwhelming, and Toshinori’s had enough concussions in the past to know that noise is the last thing someone recovering from one wants to deal with.
“Oh, right, I’m sorry,” Kirishima says at once; Iida and Uraraka nod their own agreement. “It won’t happen again, Mr…” He stops suddenly, blinking. “Say, who are you again?”
“I think I’ve seen you a few times around here,” Uraraka thinks aloud, before Toshinori has the chance to even start fabricating an answer. “Are you a teacher? Or a family member?”
Wellp, this is--oh boy.
“U-Um, I-I, um, you see--” Midoriya tries fumbling for an answer, but his eyes find Toshinori’s and Toshinori realizes that they’ve kind of doomed themselves here. “It’s, um, I--”
Midoriya’s friends are waiting for an answer, though, and Toshinori blurts the very first thing that comes to mind.
“The janitor!” he says, and the instant the words are out of his mouth, there’s a nasty one that wants to follow. “Yes, I’m--I happened to be finished with my work for the day, so Recovery Girl asked me to sit with You--Midoriya-kun until her return.”
Midoriya is looking back and forth between Toshinori and his friends, eyes wide and disbelieving, and Toshinori’s heart sinks because there’s just no way they’re going to buy it, there’s just no way--
Except, “Oh!” Iida says, nodding firmly. “Well, thank you for your services! Your kind of line of work is severely underappreciated, but know that we sincerely appreciate everything you do!”
Toshinori really, really wasn’t expecting that to work, but he nods uncomfortably. Midoriya’s friends wish him a quick recovery, then head to their next class for the day, shutting the infirmary’s door behind them.
Toshinori takes in a deep breath, then lets it out. “Well, that…”
It’s only now that he realizes Midoriya is shaking.
Toshinori blinks, concern spiking. “Midoriya?”
Midoriya inhales sharply, and then, a second later, he’s cackling.
“The janitor,” Midoriya says breathlessly, though he reaches up to clutch his head a second later. “The janitor. All Might. The janitor.”
Toshinori sighs. “Yes, yes, I know, that wasn’t the most...ideal thing I could have said,” he says, shaking his head, and he finds himself chuckling with the absurdity of it, too. “...It’s really not that funny, though.”
“It’s hilarious.”
The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that it kind of is, though he doesn’t explicitly say this. “You should try getting some rest,” Toshinori says instead, and Midoriya gets his fit of laughter under control to listen. “Your mother should be here any moment now, but still, Recovery Girl drained most of your stamina to heal your concussion. It’s going to take some time to build up again.”
Midoriya opens his mouth as though to say otherwise, but thinks better of it and simply nods instead.
Honestly, the more he thinks about the situation and the more the word janitor flashes through his mind’s eye, Toshinori supposes he deserves a big ol’ “you tried” sticker.
But at least he’s able to make the boy laugh.
BONUS
“...WAIT A SECOND.” Kirishima’s eyes are wide, and he looks up from where he’s seated at the couch in the dormitory’s main room. The Kamino Ward incident had been just last week, and things have finally begun to return to normal. “ALL MIGHT’S THE JANITOR!?”
Iida cuffs him on the back of the head.