Opposites Attract 4
On the following Tuesday, Class 1-A began making preparations to continue the co-operative activity with Class 1-H. Their teacher had informed them of what they would be doing today: testing out inventions made by the Support Course. That was exactly what Aizawa had told them, too. The class had concluded that he was not the kind of person to go into too much detail.
The class had piled into Class 1-H's homeroom and were waiting for further instructions from Mr. Daiki, Class 1-H's homeroom teacher.
"Alright, Class 1-A. When you left yesterday, I had each student here make a support item for you all. Each item is made specially for your individual use, and they should enhance the way you fight or use your quirk in a practical situation. We'll be going to Gym Gamma to use these items, but first we must make teams." Daiki explained. He pulled out a box with a hole in the top. "You will all reach into the box and pull out a single card with a number on it. The number on the card ranges from 1 to 10, and that number will symbolize the team you will be in. Once all the cards are gone, I want each student with a matching number to form a team. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Very good. I want everyone to make a single file line and take a card from the box."
Both classes lined up, and they all slowly advanced towards Daiki who was holding the box out in his hands. Izuku stood in the middle of the advancing line, next to Hatsume.
"You're gonna love this task!" Hatsume said excitedly. "I was helping the person who made your particular tool, since I know you the best, so I know exactly what it is and how it works!"
"Really? Can you t-tell me about it?" Izuku asked.
"I really want to, but I won't. The reason why Mr. Daiki didn't show you what we made is because it's meant to be a surprise!" Hatsume replied. "You're pretty special to me, but not special enough for me to ruin the purpose of the activity."
"Huh?! I'm sp-special to y-you?"
'Oh no, I can't believe I said that out loud! Quick Mei, think! How do I get myself out of this situation?' Hatsume thought as a blush quickly formed on her face. "U-uh, yeah! As a f-friend! That's right!"
"Hey, what are you two talking about?" The person behind Izuku asked. Izuku tensed up quickly, and turned his head to see who was there. He screamed a bit when he saw a face that resembled a hairless wolf standing right behind him, looking down.
"Ahh! W-what is that?" Izuku yelled.
"'What?' That's a bit rude." The person said. "I'm Yozakura Genrou, but you can just call me Genrou. I insist."
"O-Oh. Sorry about earlier. I guess I was just startled." Izuku said weakly, still frightened from his earlier scare and a bit intimidated by Genrou's height.
"It's fine, it's all in the past now. Anyway, you are Izuku, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. How did you know?"
"It's your scent. I'm able to smell things that are almost unsmellable to a normal human nose, similar to a wolf. I can smell each person's individual scent. Your scent is one that lingers on Check-Out over there often, and I deduced a while ago that the once unknown scent belonged to you, since she talks about you all the time in the dorms." Genrou said, almost stoically.
"Hey! I don't talk about Izuku all the time!" Hatsume retorted, leaning against Izuku's back to be heard better, despite her shouting. Izuku blushed as he felt Hatsume's bust press against him.
"That may be true, but he is brought up often during any conversation with you." Genrou replied, earning a small blush from Hatsume. "Anyway, I believe we should focus on the task today. I must warn you that some of the support tools that have been made are rather complicated for some to comprehend, so it is important that you focus on what you are told about it, rather than focusing on other people."
"Oh, of course!" Izuku replied. "I'm eager to see what my support tool is. Can you tell me who made mine?"
"Yours was made by Ichiro Akuhei, one of this classes most talented students. He, along with Check-Out on some occasions, worked on the device for some time." Genrou said. "I'm not sure exactly what the device is, myself."
The line had made significant progress while Izuku and Genrou were talking. Hatsume had just picked her card. "Alright! I won't check what I have until you guys are done. Meet me at my desk!"
"Okay!" Izuku replied. He made his way towards the box and gently pulled out a card. He held it so that he wouldn't see the number, and made his way to where Hatsume's desk was: in the middle of the class. Hatsume was sitting at the desk, tracing the edges of her card with her thumb. She looked up when she heard Izuku's footsteps, and her face lit up.
"Oh hey! Where's Genrou?" She asked.
"He's still getting his card. He should be here-"
"Right now." Genrou said as he walked up to the two. "Let's check our numbers."
The three flipped their cards over all at once. Hatsume had a number 8, Genrou had a number 4…
...and Izuku had a number 4.
"Aw, I'm not in your team.." Hatsume said sadly. "At least you guys are in a team together."
"Yeah, it's a shame that we're all not in a team. I think we'd get along well together. It'd be just like my small group in Class 1-A." Izuku said.
"Oh well, I guess that's just how it is with drawing lots." Hatsume said. "I'm gonna go find the others with number 8. See ya!" Hatsume waved happily at the two, then ran off to the other clusters of students, leaving Genrou and Izuku alone.
"Well, um.." Izuku began. He was hoping to be in a group with Hatsume, purely because he knew her and it would make any co-operative parts of the activity easier. However, it seemed now that it may not be the case anymore. The chances of being paired up with someone from Class 1-A was high, since the number of students in his class outweighed the amount of students in Class 1-H. However, Izuku was not confident that he would be paired with someone he knew.
His prediction turned out to be correct when a person he had never met before came up to him and Genrou with a card in his hands. This person had black hair in a similar style to Todoroki's.
"U-Um, do y-you guys have n-n-number 4?" He asked.
"Yes, we do indeed." Genrou said as he lifted his card up.
'This guy seems more socially awkward than me, how is that possible?' Izuku thought as he saw this person trembling in his shoes as he spoke.
"Okay, good. B-But, who is th-this?" The person asked, motioning towards Izuku. He took a step towards Genrou when he said this, and that gave Izuku the impression that he wasn't fond of strangers. Though, he seemed hesitant to move towards Genrou as well.
"I'm Midoriya Izuku, I'm from Class 1-A. Nice to meet you!" Izuku said cheerfully, holding his hand out for a handshake. The person jumped when Izuku moved his arm.
"Oh, I-I'm Nakamura T-Tomohisa." He said as he weakly shook Izuku's hand. "Uh, s-sorry if I'm a bit j-jumpy, my quirk h-has had a few adverse effects on m-me. It's Mnemonic Reversal, and it lets m-me remember any event p-perfectly. It also lets m-me see memories f-from past lives, and sometimes those memories c-can mix with my own o-ones, and I sometimes c-can't decipher what I-I saw myself and what b-belongs to a past life. B-Because of that, I-I'm really paranoid all th-the time."
"O-Oh. I'm sorry about that."
"Don't b-be. It's kind of useful, s-sometimes. One t-time, I tried using my quirk t-to get the highest mark on a h-history assignment. Long story sh-short, I ended up w-with the highest mark on the h-history assignment, as well as some m-memories of a Jewish person who w-was in Auschwitz.."
"Oh, whoa. That must have been scarring for you."
"Y-Yeah."
The two stood in silence for a bit. From that small conversation, Izuku could tell that Nakamura wasn't a people person. He mentioned that he was paranoid all the time, and he could see why. Imagine if, instead of randomly recalling your own memories, you randomly recall a memory that doesn't belong to you.
Daiki stood up. "Okay, I can see that you are all in your teams. I would like you all to make your way to Gym Gamma, where the support items should be. Get moving, now."
The class responded by getting up and leaving, as commanded. Izuku walked out the door with Genrou and Nakamura following closely behind. He could already tell that he would miss having Hatsume's energy in his group.
Hatsume's group was the first to arrive at Gym Gamma, thanks to the people in her group. She was paired with Uraraka and Iida, so it was no mystery as to why they were there before anyone else. Before they left, Uraraka and Iida were talking on their own when Hatsume approached them. Needless to say, Uraraka wasn't overly happy to see the pink haired girl. Iida, although still harboring a small grudge against Hatsume for her actions during the Sports Festival, was willing to put that aside for the sake of the task ahead.
Uraraka's jealousy over Hatsume's relationship with Izuku had only grown after yesterday, as the two would regularly talk to each other, and rarely include her. Not to mention the two hanging out after school like they always do. Sure, she always hung out with him in between classes, during lunch and during homeroom, but the way they talked and the way Izuku looked when they talked was much different to how Hatsume and Izuku interacted. Whenever he was with Hatsume, they both had wide smiles on their faces, and laughing often. Whenever he was with Uraraka, Izuku would act similarly, but he didn't seem as happy as he was with Hatsume, and that really annoyed Uraraka. What did Hatsume have that she didn't?
In front of the three was a table made of concrete and covered with the support tools. Each item varied in size and shape, probably due to the wide range of quirks. Uraraka could already see a few that stood out, like a large belt and very heavy looking gloves and boots. The rest of the class arrived just then, and they let out a number of 'ooh's and 'ahh's when they saw the support tools.
"Oh, Uraraka, Iida, look at this one!" Hatsume exclaimed as she eagerly beckoned for the rest of her team to go to her. "This is the one I made myself! I'm sure you could easily guess who this belongs to!" The tool in question was an arm attachment with something that resembled a small T-shirt cannon attached to it.
"I have no idea." Uraraka said after quickly analyzing the tool.
"I also do not know who this could belong to. Perhaps Mineta? The small cannon attachment could be used to fire the 'grapes' on his head." Iida concluded.
"That's right! This is gonna be used for that exact purpose!" Hatsume cheered using her hands and arms to imitate an arm cannon shooting a projectile and exploding, as well as creating her own sound effects. "I mean, the gloves are good enough, but what if Mineta's throw isn't that good? He can't get someone else to throw for him! This is the ultimate work-around!"
"It's quite ingenious, I must say." Iida said, holding his hand up to his chin. "If this is what this particular tool is like, I wonder how the rest will function, or if the others can even live up to this level?"
"There's only one way to find out, Iida." Uraraka said firmly, pressing her fist into her open palm. "Let's try them out now!"
"That's a good idea, but how will we be able to find out which tool belongs to us?" Iida asked.
"Simple! There are labels." Hatsume pointed to the label on Mineta's tool, which clearly read 'Mineta.'
"Alright, that makes it a lot easier. It seems the others found out about the labels before us, though." As the group looked around, they saw a multitude of groups already trying out their support tools. "We had better get a move on before time runs out!"
And so that's what Iida and Uraraka did. With the help of Hatsume, the two heroes in training found their specially made tools and tried them on. Each label came with basic instructions on how to use them, so there was no trouble there. Uraraka's tool was also an arm attachment that would push people away. It was designed so that she could repel any villains by applying her quirk on them then using the device to keep them at a distance. Iida's support tool was more simple, it allowed him to cool down his engines faster, as well as keep them from frosting over and rendering them useless.
While Uraraka was testing her support tool, she couldn't help but notice Hatsume wandering off to talk to Izuku. This made her angry to no end. 'I can't believe that she'd ditch us to talk to Deku! During a team activity, as well! Deku isn't even on our team!' This thought came up in her mind many times, and a similar thought surfaced when she saw Izuku coming to her group. At first, Uraraka was happy. She thought that Izuku was coming here to talk to her, and that really lifted her spirits.
However, Izuku wasn't here for her. Uraraka looked towards Izuku and waved happily. Izuku waved back of course, but continued to walk right past her, and towards Hatsume. Uraraka watched Izuku walk up to her, wave and begin talking. His group wasn't far behind. Uraraka watched as the tall wolf-like man and the black haired and visibly distressed boy walk towards Izuku and join the conversation. 'Hmph. At least Deku brought his group with him,' Uraraka thought as she watched him from a distance.
While Uraraka was busy thinking about her jealousy, she failed to notice the wolfman walk right up to her. "Hello." The man said. Uraraka squealed and looked up quickly. "You seemed lonely, watching us from over here, so I thought I would introduce myself."
"Oh, uh, thank you. I'm Uraraka Ochako, what's your name?"
"I'm Yozakura Genrou, but you can just call me Genrou. Please forgive me for my intrusion, but I couldn't help but notice that you looked visibly distraught. Is something the matter?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Uraraka lied.
"You're lying, aren't you? I'm quite observant. If I wasn't, I would not have picked up on your sadness just now. Again, is something the matter?"
"...okay, there is something wrong. I'm... I'm jealous over Deku and Hatsume's relationship." Uraraka said quietly.
"Deku? Do you mean Midoriya?"
"Yeah, Deku's my nickname for him."
"Huh, that's a good one, albeit insulting at first. I've been thinking about calling him 'Midori,' simply because of his green hair. Anyway, why are you jealous? Is it because you hold feelings for one of them?"
"Yeah, I, uh, I l-like Deku. Romantically. I haven't had the courage to tell him, though. The jealousy stems from the fact that I've known Deku since the start of the year, and I've only made very little progress with getting him to like me, but Hatsume's been able to surpass me with ease. Now that Hatsume's getting closer to Deku, I keep thinking that my chances of dating Deku are slimmer than before." Uraraka explained. "Oh, I can't believe I j-just told you that! Please, just ignore me!"
"I cannot. You have explained your situation, so I'm going to help you. Listen closely." Genrou said strongly. Uraraka did as he asked. "You still have a chance with Midori, however I suspect that Check-Out, that's my nickname for Hatsume, also harbors feelings for Midori. So, if you want to date him, you need to act soon, otherwise you'll lose your chance. Bear in mind that the chances aren't very high, so be prepared for failure."
"O-Oh.."
"Also, your jealousy shouldn't stop you from joining in on conversations. Come join us for a bit, I'm sure Midori would like that." Genrou said. "After all, your explanation made it sound like you and Midori are close friends. Am I wrong?"
"N-No, you're right.."
"Then come with us."
Uraraka hesitated at first, but eventually smiled and nodded. "Okay!"
Before long, the class was over, and Class 1-A left to continue their normal sessions. Uraraka joined in on the conversation between the two groups and had a fun time. She was surprised when, despite what she originally thought would happen, Izuku actively spoke to her. In fact, most of the group was actively participating in conversation, except for the timid guy who was later revealed to be Nakamura Tomohisa. This conversation continued during the lunch hour, when Hatsume actually removed herself from her special tinkering room to eat lunch in the cafeteria. Although, this time she spoke mainly to Izuku and was getting as close to him as possible, both intentionally and unintentionally.
At the end of the day, while everyone in Class 1-A was relaxing in their dorm rooms, Izuku's phone lit up and vibrated. Surprised, Izuku tool out his phone and checked it. The screen displayed the current time, his All Might themed background, and one notification from a contact labelled 'Hatsume' with a gear emote next to it. Izuku unlocked the phone and checked the notification. It read:
"Hey Izuku! Do you wanna come to my dorm tomorrow after school? :D"
Izuku blushed. 'Sh-She's asking me to go t-to her dorms?! L-Like a date?' He gulped nervously. What will poor Izuku do now?
A/N: The story has almost passed 100 followers! To some, that may seem like a small number, but I've only ever had at least 20 followers and favorites on a story at once. Thank you to all those who are reading and showing support, whether it be through favorites, follows, or reviews! It really motivates me when it comes to writing the chapters.