When I arrived back at the school, I was sent to receive immediate medical attention from Recovery Girl, who helped pull the splinters and chips of wood out of my back while kissing my wounds to make sure that I could feel better as soon as possible. I was grateful for her, especially since I was tired of hurting for so long. She treated me with kindness and compassion, working in silence as to not overload my sensory systems. It was the most humanely I'd been treated all day — I appreciated her professionalism and mortality.

The rest of the afternoon, after my treatment, was spent laying down and getting some rest after this whole stressful ordeal had finally elapsed.

It was in the late evening when I woke up, groggy and unaccustomed to the bright lights that hung from the ceiling of Recovery Girl's office. Blinking a couple of times and squinting my eyes in disorientation, I groaned and sat up in the little cot I was in, taking a couple of minutes to adjust myself and find my place so that I wasn't a mess when I stepped outside. Feeling an unbearable pounding sensation in my head, I sighed and slipped off the bed I previously laid on, a zip of lightning racing up my legs as my feet touched the floor.

My knees folded, buckling, and I almost hit the ground if not for the aid of Recovery Girl, who was quick to act on catching me.

"Slow down, sweetheart," she chuckled, "No need to rush." I managed to meekly laugh along with her, but was more focused on the aching in my bones and that persistent thudding on my skull. Taking a deep breath and attempting to haul myself up with my arms, I found that they too, were useless in my pursuit, as I just fell again due to the pain. Recovery Girl patted my shoulder reassuringly, wrapping her arm around my torso and underneath my arms.

"It's alright dear, I can help you." She leaned my body on hers, and sure enough, I was able to slowly but surely make progress to the point where I could stand on my own instead of being crumpled in on myself. I was shaking and sweating bullets, but at least I could hold my own.

"The pain is settling in right now, which is normal," Recovery Girl murmured, clasping my hand in hers, "I'm sorry I can't do anything else for you at the moment, but please let me know if you need anything, dear. I'm going to get you a wheelchair to use for the time being." She started to make her way towards a storage room at the back of her office, but stopped midway, as if remembering something.

"I forgot to mention -- your classmates want to see you. Is it alright with you if they come?" I brightened up at her comment, my hurting completely forgotten for a split-second. My face contorted into a delighted grin, relieved that they were willing to visit.

"Of course. I'd be so happy." Recovery Girl smiled at my expression, nodded, then got a wheelchair and told me to sit and wait until people had arrived.

It wasn't long before the other students came, some more worried than others, but still some element of anxious nevertheless. Uraraka, who was in tears, rushed to me and pleaded for me to say that I was alright, to which I obliged to, reassuring the brunette that I was fine. It wasn't necessarily the case, but I knew that it was the best thing to say to her to prevent even more complications. Midoriya and Mina had both cried a bit themselves, but only shared their sentiments in saying that they were glad I was here, and doing physically better than before. I was thankful for their awareness of the situation at hand, and their acknowledgement in how difficult it would have been if they were to say anything else.

Then there were those who were quieter. Shoto, Iida, Tokoyami, Bakugo, amongst many others. They held their heads low and chose not to speak at all. I couldn't assume that they all felt bad, but the predicament must have put a damper on their moods. I couldn't blame them, in all honesty -- it was scary. Shoto had been the only one to embrace me, an opportunity that I took full advantage of, basking in his familiar hold and touch, comforted by his scent and atmosphere. With my eyebrows furrowed and my eyes squeezed shut, I couldn't focus on anything else but his inherent sorrow and possible guilt.

In these precious moments, I spotted the tear-ridden faces of my classmates and died a little bit on the inside. They turned their flushed cheeks and red eyes away from me in hopes of becoming invisible, just as a particular student of UA was, but to no avail. I looked on at the sea of worrisome souls and guilty thoughts and sighed at their complexions, my eyes taking in every single bit of what they were so desperate to not show me.

"Everyone," I suddenly interjected, turning the room's attention to me, "I just wanted to thank you all for being here for me right now. If you're feeling helpless or guilty for not being able to aid me back then, just know that it wasn't in your power to do so. Please don't blame yourself for what happened, because I don't blame you. I don't blame any of you. Just you being here is enough for me. I cannot stress how grateful I am for your support right now." Feeling my nose and eyes starting to burn, I tried to blink away any tears that might've emerged.

"It's been... really hard," I said, starting to choke up, "I'm just so happy that I have you guys. I can't thank you enough. I'm just so happy you're here. I'm so happy that you care, I just-" My shoulders trembled as I quietly sobbed into my hands, tears staining my fingers with imprints of raw emotion.

"Ugh..." I groaned as I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands and attempted to scoop up my tears with the bottoms of my palms, "I probably made the mood in here a lot worse, I'm sorry." Pressing my lips together in a thin line, then lifting my head up to meet everyone's gaze, I was surprised to see that there were a few people staring right back at me.

I found Kirishima's gaze first.

"It's ok! It's ok!" he shouted with misty eyes, "What matters is how you feel! If you're okay, then that's what matters! That's all that matters!" I laughed breathlessly at his charisma feeling my cheeks warm and my head start to spin.

"(Y/N)!" Mina wailed, drawing out the middle syllable of my name, "We were all so worried about you! I can't believe I found out so late!" As she cried, I felt tears start to fog up my vision when I attempted to smile. My lips were being tugged downwards as I rolled up to her to give her a hug.

"It's ok. I'm here now, Mina. I'm alright." She sniffed and looked at me with glossy eyes when we separated.

"Really?" I nodded when I felt hesitation strike me for a moment, but eventually found the will to speak.

"Yeah."

__

After being escorted to the front of the 1A dorms, I talked a little bit with everyone outside to catch up on schoolwork and such, then made my way inside the building on my own to get a feel for pushing my own weight.

When inside, I found All Might sitting in the Commons, along with Aizawa. It was an odd sight, since faculty members weren't usually inside the dorms, and I figured it had something to do with my recent kidnapping. Their faces seemed to be forcibly contorted to give off the impression of impassiveness, but their expressions still had undertones of complete worry and stress.

The group around me went silent as they caught wind of the situation at hand. All Might turned to us, smiled a bit with pained eyes, and gestured to me.

"If it's alright, I'd like for everyone to go to their rooms. Your teacher and I need to discuss something with (L/N)." Everyone looked at each other, then at me with troubled gazes. I swallowed the saliva pooling at the bottom of my mouth and gave my classmates a wobbly grin to reassure them that I would be alright.

With one last, cautious glance at me, everyone filed out of the Commons and into their respective rooms, leaving All Might, Aizawa, and me alone together. I met their stares with an indifferent gaze — I couldn't muster anything else, less I wanted to burst into tears right then and there. Clearing my head and clasping my hands together, I prepared myself for the conversation that followed. All Might cleared his throat softly before speaking.

"Are you alright with speaking about this?" His voice was quiet, almost a murmur at best, but I could hear him well. Given the atmosphere, it almost seemed as if you could hear the sound of a pin dropping onto a carpeted floor. I sucked in a breath and held it while I considered All Might's inquiry.

"In all honesty, I think I'm ready to talk about it now," I admitted, "I've calmed down enough to adequately process everything." The two men that sat in front of me looked at each other momentarily, then averted their gazes from one another, refocusing on me.

"Well, if that's the case," Aizawa stated, "Would you mind giving us a brief retelling of what happened?" 

And so I did. 

I told them everything, from the melonpan run to what happened with Compress, to Dabi and the holding garage. With surprising composure, I also mentioned Shigaraki's threats and his outbursts, including the dialogue that I could remember, and what information I had gathered from that. Through the whole, long explanation, Aizawa and All Might remained attentive, occasionally writing notes for the important bits, but making sure to let me know that they were here, that they were present, aware, and here for me.

Once my story had ended, I just sat there for a minute, breathing a little harder than I was at the beginning of the retelling. My throat was dry and my hands were trembling.  Perhaps I had a lapse in judgement, perhaps I wasn't truly ready to tell them. I tried to blink away the tears forming in my eyes, but to no avail, as they started to fall from the corners of my eyes down to the bridge of my nose, and onto my lap.

All Might's eyebrows creased gently at the sight of me, his face morphing into one of tender sympathy. He approached me slowly, then enveloped me in his embrace, the faint smell of his cologne permeating through the linen shirt he wore. And there was a certain emotion that surfaced, though I couldn't explain it in words. It stirred the heart and made me feel like there was nothing expected of me when I was so vulnerable.

Describing it in the best sense would be to say that I felt comfort in this warmth that had been gone for so long. 

The warmth that I had felt when I was home. 

"Mom," I sobbed softly, "Dad." 

All Might held me tighter to his chest, his arms wrapped around my being in a kindred spirit and said nothing.

He said nothing, and the night wore on.