Chapter Text
For most of his life, Izuku was seen as a perfectly healthy little boy. When he was born, the doctors kept an eye on him because he had a heart murmur. However, though the murmur stayed, it didn’t seem to affect him at all. He didn’t express any of the typical symptoms of heart disease. If he had a defect, it was likely harmless. So, they left him with the instructions to be vigilant about it. For the most part, he was.
Izuku first got the first inclination that something was wrong during the training camp. He was doing a few push-ups while he waited for Tiger to circle back for more training. He sat back on his haunches when the hero approached.
“Midoriya, go have a 20-minute break,” There were several jealous whines when they heard that. Izuku only blinked.
“But I feel fine?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. As far as he was aware, he wasn’t going over his limits and injuring himself. Tiger shrugged.
“Ragdoll’s orders.” Was his only response before he turned to the other students. Izuku stood for a second, before scampering off to get water.
“Oi. What’re you doin’ over here.” Aizawa-sensei drawled from where he stood. Izuku blinked at him.
“Ragdoll told me to take a break. Not sure why.” He answered honestly, before chugging his water bottle. There was a short hum.
“No broken bones?” Izuku shook his head, holding out his arms. “Hm.” His teacher left without another word.
During dinner that night, Izuku was sure to seek out Ragdoll out to ask her. He didn’t dare bother her when they were training, because she was busy enough as is.
“Um, Ragdoll-sensei?” He asked quietly. She blinked and turned to him with a wide smile.
“Yes, Midoriya?” She asked, and Izuku could practically feel her eyes looking into him.
“Uh. I was wondering why you made me break earlier today.” He said. “I wasn’t exactly sure why, and I just wanted to look out for it just in case.” Ragdoll smiled.
“Of course, kitten!” She easily agreed. “I didn’t like how your heart was acting, so I made you give it a little break.”
“Oh!” Izuku perked up. “That makes sense. I have a murmur.” Ragdoll hummed.
“A little more than a murmur, I’d bet.” She said with a sigh. “I want you to get it checked out once you’re home, okay?”
“Of course.” Izuku agreed easily, remembering his mother telling him to look out for this type of thing. However, the training camp went to absolute shit. There was so much going on that Izuku completely forgot Ragdoll’s warning.
It came back to haunt him later. They were doing some basic exercises after the internships. Izuku was still shaken up after… all that, and he threw himself into his training. Well, not in an unhealthy way. His friends made sure of that. Izuku had been particularly cautious lately, making sure he wouldn’t hurt himself and worry others again. He wanted to be dependable, not pathetic. He was taking a break between exercises when he felt a slight chest pain. Well, to his sort of pain tolerance, it was more like a slight discomfort. He rubbed his chest a little.
“Deku, you okay?” Uraraka asked, putting a hand on his arm. He smiled at her.
“Yeah. I think I’m having a few palpitations.” He said, honestly. “I’ll ask sensei if I can sit out for a bit.” Uraraka’s brow furrowed. “It’s mostly just a precaution.” He told her, smiling reassuringly.
“If you’re sure…” She said, not looking convinced.
“You can walk me there if you want.” He said. Uraraka’s face screwed up in determination. Izuku’s eyes widened as she gently tapped him to take away his gravity, and swept him up in a bridal carry. A near constant high-pitched squeak escaped from Izuku’s mouth as his best friend happily carried him to their teacher. “I said WALK !” He said, face turning even redder when his voice cracked. Uraraka only giggled. Izuku heard a few of his other classmates laughing as well. He hid his face behind his hands.
“I’ve gotta make sure you get there safe and sound!” She chirped. He couldn’t help but smile.
The carefree atmosphere didn’t last for long, when another, much stronger pang went through his chest. He clutched at his breastbone grunting. “Deku?” His breath was short.
“I-” He tried to speak through the pain. “Hurts…” He simply said.
“Your lips are turning blue!” Uraraka said, sounding slightly hysterical. She started sprinting to where Aizawa-sensei was. Izuku recognized the symptoms, however, before he could say anything, he lost consciousness.
It was supposed to be a normal training exercise. Shota noticed that during the break, Uraraka was carrying a thoroughly embarrassed Midoriya towards him. He huffed, seeing that it wasn’t that serious. Or so he thought. The giggling quickly turned into screaming. He saw that Uraraka was sprinting now, and he met her halfway.
“What’s going on?” He asked her, setting a grounding hand on her shoulder. Tears slipped down her face. Other students were starting to gather. “Someone call an ambulance.” He snapped at them. Recovery Girl was great at her job, but this may be beyond her paygrade.
“Deku said he felt some palpitations and was going to sit out, just in case.” Uraraka managed to say, sobbing. “but… he just started turning blue-!” Shota held two fingers to his student’s pulse point. His pulse was erratic and weak. Midoriya’s eyes fluttered open.
“Midoriya.” He said firmly. Hazy green eyes met his. “Can you tell me anything? What’s going on?” Midoriya opened his mouth before grimacing, clutching his chest.
“Systolic…” He managed to say. Shota could work with that.
“Tell them he’s going into systolic heart failure!” He shouted and he heard Uraraka give a terrified sob. “He’s going to be fine.” He told her gently.
“Yeah…” Midoriya said with a cough. “Heart’s just givin’ out a little bit… Just needs a break…” He tried to joke. Uraraka only cried harder.
“I’m so sorry, Deku…”
“‘S’not yer fault…” Midoriya slurred. “My heart’s fucked up…” He said, eyes growing hazier.
“Midoriya, I need you to stay awake,” Shota commanded firmly, gently slapping the freckled cheek. It was to no avail since his eyes promptly rolled back into his head and he fell limp.
“Sensei! The ambulance is here!” Iida shouted, and Shota heard distant sirens. Yaoyorozu came running in after him, with Present Mic in tow.
“You go with him. I’ll watch them.” Shota nodded in relief, before noticing something.
“Shit!” He said. He crouched over his student. “Get the EMTs! His pulse is getting worse!” He recalled every bit of medical training he could, but that still didn’t prepare him for the moment that Midoriya’s heart stopped.