AN: Hi there! This chapter, much like a few of the others recently, turned out a little longer than I was expecting. The conversation between Kendo and Yaoyorozu just wasn't working the way I wanted it to, and I'm not really sure how to fix it... for now, I'm just going to leave this chapter here, and once these last couple of chapters are done I will return to take another swing at it.

Thank you for reading, and you're wonderful. Have a nice day!

Chapter 25: We Move Ahead

Midoriya was wheeled into Recovery Girl's office first, but she was not the only student who had received injuries. Shiozaki from class 1-B had been knocked unconscious. Uraraka, who had lost a significant amount of blood from the cut on her leg, was placed on a bed adjacent to Midoriya. Shoji had been badly beaten up as well, though most of his injuries seemed to be colorful bruises and shallow cuts sustained during his encounter with the Nomu in the dorm building. All in all, his damage seemed fairly minimal.

Sero and Kirishima both discovered a few minor scrapes from their encounter with the crazy girl with the knives, but they refused treatment from Recovery Girl. Kirishima said it would have been a waste of her time.

Others, like Aoyama, Asui, and Tokoyami, had received few or no physical injuries, but were shaken by the events in any case. Recovery Girl insisted that they should stay in her office overnight.

Todoroki had chosen to stay by Midoriya's bedside for a while, not even bothering to change into street clothes; he was still wearing his formal attire from the event at the Yaoyorozu household. Apparently, Shoji was fussing over Tokoyami for a while, until he had determined that Tokoyami was fine and agreed to lie down. Kendo, Tetsutetsu, and Sero had all crowded themselves around Shiozaki's bedside for the first half hour of the night, but Recovery Girl soon tried to kick them all out, as their presence crowded the already packed area. Kendo and Tetsutetsu left Sero to watch over her.

Kendo and Tetsutetsu left the small, makeshift hospital to find most of class 1-A standing outside, watching them with apprehension. Surprisingly, even Monoma had followed the group to the nurse's office. "Yaoyorozu and Iida, let me talk to you," Kendo said, motioning for them to follow her.

When Iida and Yaoyorozu had reached Kendo, she motioned for Tetsutetsu to leave them so they could speak privately. He drifted over to stand beside Kirishima.

"Anything you can tell us?" Iida asked quietly.

Kendo nodded. "I didn't want to tell your classmates for you, but Recovery Girl says most of them should be out by morning. In fact, there's only one student who is of concern…" she trailed off.

"Midoriya," Yaoyorozu finished, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

Iida's eyes widened. "Is she… will she be alright?"

"Her condition is currently stable, but she received some pretty grave injuries. Recovery Girl is worried she won't be better by the license exam," Kendo explained.

Both Iida and Yaoyorozu averted their eyes. "She won't like that," Iida said with a sad grin.

"It's not like Midoriya to give up," Yaoyorozu murmured. "For all we know, she'll get out of bed in the morning with sheer willpower."

Kendo smiled, attempting to remain optimistic. "You know her better than I do. For now, I should go find Vlad King sensei. I'm sure everyone in the class B dorms is awake after all that ruckus, and I should make sure he doesn't need my help."

"Thank you, Kendo. We appreciate this," Iida said, bowing to show his respect. He and Yaoyorozu turned to address their class, but Kendo stopped Yaoyorozu before she could get too far, grabbing her wrist.

"Hold on, Yaoyorozu. At the beginning of the year, you offered to get coffee or something with me, right? Just so we could talk about class rep stuff, or whatever else was going on," Kendo said quietly. "Can I take you up on that? I kind of have a lot to talk about, and no one who will listen."

Yaoyorozu turned back to Kendo, a little surprised. "Of course, Kendo! Though… could we postpone until after the license exam?"

"Yeah, definitely." Kendo released Yaoyorozu's arm. "Do you mind if I bring Tetsutetsu? He's a good friend."

"Not at all. He's going to want to bring Kirishima, too, right?" Yaoyorozu replied.

Kendo laughed, very quietly. "He will absolutely bring Kirishima along."

"There's a place down the street. We should meet there the morning after the license exam," Yaoyorozu suggested. "They have wonderful tea."

"Ah, good. I prefer tea over coffee, honestly." Kendo gave Yaoyorozu one final smile before she made her way back towards the dorms.

Yaoyorozu turned back to face the group of her sullen classmates, seeing that Iida was already telling them about the conditions of their friends in the nurse's office.

As the night continued, the students were informed that the villains had been taken into police custody and that the dorm building was free of external threats. Cementoss had made sure the building was structurally sound, meaning that the students were free to enter the building to grab their things.

Additionally, the students were told not to contact their parents yet - the police were seeing if they could keep the attack from hitting the presses, given that this story would likely have negative repercussions for the school's future. Temporary housing arrangements, as well as additional food, were provided in a few of the classrooms further towards the center of campus.

Yaoyorozu found herself in a room with Kyoka, Hagakure, and Ashido. From the looks on her classmates' faces the next morning, Yaoyorozu was pretty sure none of them had gotten much sleep.

by around 8 am, Asui and Uraraka were released, and they happily surprised their classmates in the temporary female dorm with tales from the nurse's office. According to Uraraka, Midoriya had awoken early that morning to find several different body parts in casts, only to remove them and attempt to get up. Aizawa sensei had been forced to restrain her with his "capture scarf," as Uraraka called it.

Uraraka and Asui relayed additional stories - like how Shoji had been unwilling to let Recovery Girl treat him until he was absolutely sure that Tokoyami was okay, and how Sero had stayed up all night to see Shiozaki. Unfortunately for him, that meant he was unable to stay awake when she finally did wake up, and he passed out only moments after she came to. Yaoyorozu couldn't help but smile at their happy faces, nor could she keep herself from grabbing Kyoka's hand when she saw that Uraraka's and Asui's fingers were interlaced.

Midnight sensei came into the girls' room in order to tell them that they were allowed to contact their parents, and it should be safe for them to go home. They were required to show up on campus the following morning at 6:30 am so they could travel to the site of the license exam. Additionally, Midnight informed the students that the fight had been presented to the media as a training exercise, so they should try to keep the details from the previous night to themselves.

Even thought they were free to go, most of the students stayed on campus for quite some time, going through their possessions in the ruined dorm building or staying with their injured classmates. Some, like Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, and Sato, chose to train all day in the hopes that a few last-minute sets could help them during the exam. Others simply stretched and did some light cardio or training, fully allowing themselves to forget their stressful night and focus on the task ahead. Namely, Iida and Bakugou were only seen at random intervals throughout the day as they jogged around campus.

Most of the other students were trying to keep to themselves or deal with personal issues. Yaoyorozu attempted to call her parents four times over the course of the day, and they never picked up.

"Damn it," she muttered, rubbing a hand over her face as the sun finally sank below the horizon. She tossed her phone on the ground in front of her as her call was ignored yet again. Kyoka was sitting beside her on the pavement a few meters away from the wrecked dormitory. They had just collected their belongings from inside, but Yaoyorozu had taken very little. She could recreate most of the items in that room, or purchase them at little personal cost.

Kyoka rubbed her back. "Still not picking up, Momo?" she asked.

"Yeah," Yaoyorozu replied with a sigh. "I just… I don't know. I know they're going to be upset, and it's not like I want to get yelled at. I guess… I want to tell them that I'm alright, and… I want them to care."

"I'm sure they do, Momo."

A few tears ran down Yaoyorozu's cheeks. "I don't know what to do. We were told that we should get picked up tonight and go home, but I don't want to go back there."

"Then don't. You're always welcome at my place, and you know that." Kyoka's voice was soft and kind, and she pulled Yaoyorozu into a sideways hug. "You can always figure this stuff out with your parents when the exam is over."

Yaoyorozu smiled sadly. "Maybe you're right. Or I could just never go back." She wiped away some of the tears that ran down her face. Her makeup from the previous night was still there, and she and Kyoka were still wearing their formal clothes.

She rested her head on Kyoka's shoulder for a few minutes, during which time Iida finally retired from his training. Almost as soon as the conflict was over, he had changed into basketball shorts and a jersey so he could train without ruining his formal wear any more than it had already been damaged. He approached the two with purpose.

"Yaoyorozu, Jiro. I was thinking I might invite some of the students to my house, given that I am able to accommodate those whose parents are not expecting them to return. Do you think this is a good idea?" Iida asked.

"Yes. I think that would be a great idea. I would offer my place as well, but my parents aren't picking up, and…" Yaoyorozu trailed off, and her gaze fell to the phone at her feet.

Iida nodded. "I understand. If you need anything, let me know, Yaoyorozu. I might not be your boyfriend, but I hope you can still consider me a friend."

"Of course, Iida. Thank you very much."

With a smile, Iida pulled out his own phone and sent a text on the class group chat as he walked off. A few seconds later, Yaoyorozu could see her phone screen light up in front of her, and Kyoka's buzzed in her pocket.

"Do you think you and he could have seriously dated if you were straight?" Kyoka asked.

Yaoyorozu shifted so she could look up at Kyoka incredulously. "Oh, goodness. I can't think about that. I can't imagine what it would be like to be straight. It sounds gross."

Kyoka grinned. "Don't insult the heteros," she chided. "I was one for a while."

Yaoyorozu laughed. "I don't know, Kyoka. I think he likes someone else, so we might not have dated anyway."

"He likes someone?" Kyoka asked, nearly startled by the news. "Who?"

"Man, I can't remember her name. The girl from the support class who fought him in the tournament," Yaoyorozu said, rubbing her temple.

Kyoka gasped. "Oh, I know who you're talking about! Hatsume, right?"

"Yes! That was her name," Yaoyorozu replied.

"That's surprising. I mean, they're so… different. He's proper and… and law-abiding, and all that, and she's flirtatious and boisterous and not-Iida-like."

Yaoyorozu sighed a little wistfully. "Love is strange. You stay here with me, even though I'm a terrible girlfriend."

Without hesitation, Kyoka replied, "You're not."

"Todoroki was right. Every part of our relationship has been what I want, and I didn't take your feelings into account. I never even asked you if you wanted to go to that stupid party with me." Yaoyorozu stared forward at her feet.

"You didn't have to ask, Momo."

"Yes, I did. And honestly, I don't know why I wanted to go in the first place," she admitted. "I like the attention, and that's so selfish of me! We should have been here, both to spend time with our classmates and to help them when they were attacked."

Kyoka shifted under Yaoyorozu. "We did help them-"

"Not only that, but I forced you into a position where you had to ask Kaminari to go with you after he cheated on you!" Yaoyorozu was gesturing wildly about, becoming angry with herself.

"It's alright, Momo-"

"I was manipulative and oblivious and horrible, and I'm so sorry, Kyoka! I wish I had just told my parents as soon as we started dating - hell, I should have told them years ago, the first time I thought I might have been a lesbian, and then I could have been there for you, and we wouldn't have had to keep this a secret at all-"

"Momo!" Kyoka nearly shouted, and Yaoyorozu fell silent in an instant. She snapped upright and turned to face Kyoka, covering her mouth with both hands. Yet again, she had pushed Kyoka aside and rambled on about her own thoughts. This was exactly what made her a horrible girlfriend.

"Listen to me for one second. I love your voice, and I will always be there to listen to you, but I will not let you put yourself down like this." Kyoka fully turned her body to face Yaoyorozu as well. "You are not a terrible girlfriend. I don't care if you want to hide me under the covers or shout about our relationship from the top of the dorm building. I kept our relationship as secret as I could because you wanted me to, not because I felt forced to do so."

Yaoyorozu hiccuped.

"And even if you had told your parents earlier, before you met me, they would have been horrible to you then. At least now, you have me, right? And you have Iida, and Todoroki, and all these other classmates of ours who will always love and support you." She gestured around them, where a few others were quietly conversing. Iida was talking to Ashido, who was sheepishly taking him up on his offer of a place to stay overnight.

"And yes, maybe I didn't want to go with Kaminari to your parents' 'social gathering,' but I asked him anyway." Kyoka's voice was starting to get a little louder as she riled herself up. "Because we move ahead, Momo, and I can't stay stuck on the dumb, idiotic, and ridiculously stupid things he's done in the past. He was more than willing to try to make up for his actions, and maybe, because of this, I won't hate him quite so much anymore."

Yaoyorozu hiccuped again, still not daring to take her hands away from her mouth.

"You don't have to be ashamed of the fact that you like the spotlight, and you like to be around people. You don't have to be ashamed that you wanted to put on a beautiful dress and talk to all those people - I don't think it's stuffy or vain. You are a social person, and a people pleaser. And the fact that we were at your parents' place didn't stop us from helping out when the villains attacked here." Kyoka looked up at the charred building. "And arguably, the fact that we weren't here made it easier for us to call for help. Had Todoroki been here, he might have been too overwhelmed to call his father, and Iida might not have been able to ask for the others."

By this point, it was pretty clear that a few of the other students were listening in on Kyoka's rant, though most had the tact to act as though they weren't paying attention. Iida, however, was gaping rather obviously at them.

"And Momo?" Kyoka said, lowering her voice just a little. "You didn't have to ask if I wanted to go to your parents' event."

"Yes I d-hic-did," Yaoyorozu stuttered, finally bringing her hands down and away from her mouth. "You would have -hic- rather been here."

Kyoka reached forward and took both Yaoyorozu's hands in hers. "Maybe, Momo. But only if it was with you."

At this point, Yaoyorozu started to sob. Tears poured down her face as Kyoka pulled her into a tight hug.

"How can you be -hic- this understand-hic-ing?" Yaoyorozu asked. She buried her face in Kyoka's shoulder. "I don't deser-"

"Don't you dare say you don't deserve it. After everything you've done for me, after everything you've done for our classmates, do not try to claim that you don't deserve to have someone listen to you," Kyoka murmured. "I don't like it when people talk about my girlfriend like that."

Yaoyorozu sniffed, pausing as she tried to think of something she could say that wasn't self-depricating. "Okay. Thank you for listening, and telling me all this. I love you."

"I love you, too."

When Kyoka's parents arrived to take her home, they reiterated her invitation to Yaoyorozu. She politely declined, asking for a ride back to her house.

After they arrived at the gorgeous Yaoyorozu mansion, Kyoka got out of the car so she could tell Yaoyorozu goodbye. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Kyoka asked, grasping Yaoyorozu's hands in hers.

"I'll be okay." Yaoyorozu gave her a smile.

"What if they don't let you in?" Kyoka asked.

"I have a key."

"What if they changed the locks?"

Yaoyorozu sighed. "In one day, Kyoka? If they changed the locks, I can make a mold for a new key and generate the key that would unlock the door-"

"Fine, fine! I get it." Kyoka looked up at the house. "I just want to make sure you're going to be okay."

"I know. I promise I'll be okay. I'll see you tomorrow." She leaned down to give Kyoka a kiss, and then made her way up the pathway in front of her house.

The car behind her pulled away from the curb right in front of the gate, but the Jiro family did not turn the corner at the end of the road. Yaoyorozu smiled to herself as she unlocked the gate and walked inside. At least now she had Kyoka, who would never leave her if there was any potential for danger.

She walked up the front lawn and slowly unlocked the front door. She turned and waved at the car as she did so, to tell them that she was able to get in. The car slowly turned and continued down the road.

Yaoyorozu almost hoped no one was awake, but she prepared herself for the conversation she knew was coming. A small table was set out in the main hall, and most of the decorations from the previous night's festivities had been taken down. "Momo, you're home," she heard, turning to see her mother's head poking out of the kitchen. Her voice was strained.

"Let's have a chat," she continued, emerging alongside Yaoyorozu's father. "Then, you should get some food. You have an important day ahead of you tomorrow."

Yaoyorozu nodded. Her mother's tight-lipped expression and her father's furrowed brow generated a knot in her stomach, but the promise of a full meal was encouraging. "Yes, mother."

The three sat down at the table. Yaoyorozu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She wasn't sure if her parents would yell, or belittle her, or talk at her condescendingly, but she was well aware that she wouldn't accept it. Kyoka deserved better than a girlfriend who had to hide under the covers.

Her consolation, as the night progressed, was simply that this was how she'd move ahead. Fighting on this issue was inevitable - but tomorrow was a big day, and after that, a whole future was waiting for her.