Chapter 23: The Deal with the Witch and the Calcium Crisis.
U.A. Nurse's Office. 1:00 PM.
The hallway was a sanctuary of silence. Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Inside the infirmary, Recovery Girl sat at her mahogany desk, savoring the delicate aroma of her freshly brewed green tea. It was a rare moment of peace in a school filled with chaotic teenagers.
She lifted the cup to her lips.
BAAAAAM!
The sliding door didn't just open; it exploded off its track, rattling the frames of the medical charts on the wall.
"THE DRAGON IS HERE!"
Natsu Dragneel struck a pose in the doorway. His white scarf, defying the laws of physics inside a windless room, fluttered dramatically behind him. He grinned like a maniac, his teeth sparkling. Beside him, hovering on white wings, Happy struck a matching pose with his paw raised.
"Requesting immediate repairs!" Natsu bellowed, his voice echoing off the sterile tiles.
Pffffft!
Recovery Girl sprayed her expensive tea all over her paperwork. She slammed the mug down, grabbed her syringe-shaped cane, and pointed it at the intruder like a loaded weapon.
"You noisy child!" she shrieked, her bun trembling with rage. "Do not kick my door! This is a hospital ward, not a playground for delinquents!"
Natsu marched in, boots thumping loudly, completely immune to her anger. He slammed his hands onto her desk, leaning into her personal space.
"Granny! I need you to fix my ribs! I have a festival to win, and the Mummy-Man won't let me enter unless I'm healed!"
Recovery Girl sighed, a long, weary sound that deflated her small frame. She massaged her temples. "I knew it. Aizawa warned me about this."
"Hah?" Natsu blinked, tilting his head.
"He told me specifically: 'That pink-haired idiot is going to come begging for healing. Do not do it,'" Recovery Girl mimicked Aizawa's tired, droning voice with frightening accuracy. "He says your body needs natural rest. My Quirk isn't magic, boy. It accelerates your natural healing ability by stimulating your cells. If I use it on fractures this severe, it will drain your stamina to zero. You'd pass out, and in your weakened state, you might not wake up for a week."
"Energy?" Natsu's grin widened. "Is that the problem?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, crinkly plastic bag filled with a coarse, grey-black powder that smelled of sulfur and danger.
"I brought snacks!"
Recovery Girl squinted through her visor. "Is that... pepper?"
Natsu tipped his head back and poured the powder straight into his gullet.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
Sparks flew from between his teeth. A thick plume of grey smoke poured out of his ears like a steam engine. His skin began to glow with a healthy, rosy tint, and the heat radiating from him made the thermometer on the wall spike.
"It's gunpowder!" Natsu announced, swallowing with a satisfied, smoky burp. "High quality! I saved it from chemistry class! I'm full of energy now! Heal me!"
Recovery Girl stared at him, her jaw practically unhinged. She looked at the empty bag, then at the boy who was literally smoking.
"Why..." she whispered, horrified. "Why are you carrying live explosives in your pocket?!"
"For emergencies!" Natsu flexed his bicep. "See? I'm ready! Do it!"
"Absolutely not," Recovery Girl said flatly, pointing her cane at the door. "Get out. Doctor's orders."
Day 2.
Scrape.
Recovery Girl looked up from her computer. Natsu was hanging upside down from the second-floor window frame, peering through the glass.
"Yo! How about now?"
"Get out!" She threw a handful of tongue depressors at him.
Day 3.
Recovery Girl opened her supply closet to retrieve a roll of gauze.
"Boo!"
Natsu was sitting cross-legged inside the cramped closet, happily munching on a stick of artist's charcoal. His mouth was stained black. "Fix my bones?"
"KYAAAA!" She whacked him squarely on the head with her cane. "OUT!"
Day 4.
When Recovery Girl arrived for work at 7:00 AM, blinking the sleep from her eyes, she found two figures kneeling on the floor in a formal, deep dogeza bow.
"Please, oh Great Healer of the East!" Natsu chanted, his forehead pressed to the linoleum.
"We brought you a tribute!" Happy offered a half-eaten, slightly soggy mackerel on a paper plate.
"I don't want your raw fish! Go to class!"
Day 5.
Recovery Girl sat at her desk. She looked haggard. Her left eye was twitching involuntarily. The peace of her office had been shattered by a pink-haired force of nature.
Natsu stood in front of her, vibrating with a persistence that bordered on insanity.
"Granny..."
"FINE!"
Recovery Girl threw her hands up in defeat. "I give up! I can't take this anymore! You are more exhausting than the villains! If I heal you, will you leave me alone?!"
"Aye sir!" Natsu and Happy high-fived, the sound sharp and victorious.
"Listen to me," she said sternly, pulling her swivel chair closer. Her expression turned serious. "This is going to be a shock to your system. It will drain every ounce of stamina you have stored. You won't feel pain, but you will feel a sudden, crushing exhaustion."
"I'm ready," Natsu said, his voice firm. He lifted his shirt to reveal the bruised, yellow-and-purple canvas of his torso.
Recovery Girl sighed, leaned forward, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Smooch.
A soft green light enveloped Natsu's chest. For a second, he felt a warm, tingling sensation deep inside his core, like thousands of tiny threads knitting his shattered ribs back together.
Then, the crash hit.
It wasn't pain. It was gravity. It felt as if the Earth's pull had suddenly increased tenfold. The color drained from his face instantly. His vision swam.
"Whoa..." Natsu's eyes rolled back slightly. His knees buckled like wet cardboard.
Recovery Girl caught him before he hit the floor—surprisingly strong for her size—and immediately shoved a handful of high-glucose gummy bears into his mouth.
"Chew," she ordered.
Natsu chewed weakly, the sugar rushing into his depleted system. He sat on the floor, blinking sluggishly, feeling like he had just run a marathon while holding his breath.
He took a deep breath. His chest expanded. No catch. No sharp stab of pain.
"My ribs..." Natsu breathed out, a slow grin spreading across his face. "They're fixed!"
"Do not push yourself," Recovery Girl warned, wagging a finger in his face. "Your energy reserves are empty. And seriously... Aizawa is going to be very, very annoyed when he finds out I caved. Do not tell him until the last possible minute."
Natsu stood up. His legs shook slightly, but his spirit was iron.
"Thanks, Granny! You're the best witch ever!"
"I'm a nurse! Get out before I break them again!"
One Week Later. The Cafeteria.
The U.A. Sports Festival was three days away. The atmosphere in the school was suffocatingly intense. Every student was in their own world of preparation.
In the gym, Bakugo was blasting targets to dust, screaming "DIE!" with every explosion, sweat flying from his brow.
In the training grounds, Midoriya was dragging heavy truck tires across the dirt, muttering strategies to himself.
In the dojo, Ojiro was meditating, centering his chi.
And in the cafeteria... Natsu Dragneel was sitting at a table, staring intensely at a glass of white liquid.
"Calcium..." Natsu muttered, his face scrunched in concentration. "The mummy said my bones are brittle. So, I need calcium to make them hard like iron. That's the science."
He lifted the glass and took a tentative sip. He grimaced. "It tastes like... nothing. It's cold. It needs fire."
Happy sat on the table, watching this display with growing horror. His ears flattened against his head. His tail twitched with agitation.
"Natsu..." Happy whispered, his voice trembling. "What are you doing?"
"Training," Natsu replied, wiping a milk mustache from his lip. "I'm fortifying my skeleton."
Happy stared at him. He looked at the milk. He looked at the calm, boring, strategic Natsu.
Something in the little blue cat snapped.
POW!
Happy delivered a spinning roundhouse kick to the glass of milk. It flew across the room and shattered against the far wall, splattering white liquid everywhere.
"Happy?!" Natsu jumped up, shocked. "That was for my bones!"
Happy didn't apologize. He flew forward, grabbed the collar of Natsu's uniform with both paws, and shook him violently.
"When did you become so boring, Natsu?!" Happy screamed, tears of frustration gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Drinking milk?! Worrying about calcium?! Since when do you care about biology?!"
"But... the doctor said..."
"FORGET THE DOCTOR!" Happy yelled, pointing a paw right between Natsu's eyes. "You are Natsu Dragneel! You are a Dragon Slayer! Where is your roar?! Where are your wings?! Where is the fire that burns everything?!"
Happy let go and hovered in the air, crossing his arms like a drill sergeant, glaring down at his partner.
"Are you going to let them pass you? Are you going to let Todoroki and Bakugo leave you in the dust while you sip dairy products?! Is that who you are now? A coward who worries about broken bones?"
Natsu stood frozen. He looked at the spilled milk dripping down the wall. He looked at his hands, which had been idle for too long.
A silence stretched between them.
Then, a low chuckle escaped Natsu's lips. The chuckle turned into a laugh—a deep, guttural sound. Smoke began to curl from his shoulders. His eyes ignited with a fierce, predatory light that had been missing for weeks.
"You're right..." Natsu grinned, baring his fangs. The heat coming off him distorted the air. "What was I thinking? Strengthening bones? Stupid!"
He punched his own open palm, creating a small, concussive explosion. BOOM.
"I don't need strong bones if I burn their attacks before they even touch me!"
"That's the spirit!" Happy cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "Let's go, Natsu! Let's burn this festival to the ground!"
"Aye, Coach!" Natsu roared, grabbing his bag and tossing it over his shoulder. "Let's go train for real! I'm going to eat a volcano!"
The Day of the Sports Festival.
The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue.
The U.A. Stadium was a coliseum of modern times. Tens of thousands of spectators filled the stands, a sea of cheering humanity. Pro Heroes lined the walkways, scouting for talent. The noise was deafening, a physical wall of sound. Fireworks exploded overhead, painting the sky with smoke.
Class 1-A Waiting Room.
The tension was palpable. It felt less like a waiting room and more like a pressure cooker.
Midoriya sat clutching his knees, his face pale, mumbling to himself.
Iida was pacing back and forth, reciting school regulations to calm his nerves.
Bakugo sat in the corner, glaring at the floor, vibrating with pent-up aggression.
Todoroki stood by the wall, cool and detached, icing over the floor beneath his feet.
Kirishima looked around the room, counting heads. He frowned.
"Hey..." Kirishima asked, his voice cutting through the quiet. "Where's Natsu? The opening ceremony is about to start."
"I haven't seen him all morning," Kaminari noted, looking worried. "Did Aizawa-sensei actually ban him? Did he really not recover in time?"
The room went quiet. Even Bakugo looked up, his scowl deepening. The idea that the "Salamander"—the guy who charged a Nomu—wouldn't be there to fight felt... wrong. It felt incomplete.
"Attention students!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the speakers, amplified to ear-splitting levels. "Entry time! Get to the tunnel! Let's hear some noise!"
The class stood up and began to file out into the dark tunnel leading to the sunlight.
"I guess he's not coming," Sero sighed, shaking his head.
"Too bad," Tokoyami muttered. "Can't believe I miss his noise"
But high above the stadium, far above the cheering crowds, the fireworks, and the nervous students...
A small blue cat was struggling against the wind, holding onto the collar of a pink-haired boy who was plummeting through the clouds like a meteor.
Natsu grinned as the wind whipped his face, his scarf snapping violently. He looked down at the tiny arena below, a target waiting to be hit.
"Ready, Happy?" Natsu yelled over the wind.
"Aye, sir!" Happy cried, letting go.
The Dragon was about to make his entrance.
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