Welp here we go!
It's been storming here practically nonstop for days, and I feel like I haven't seen the sun in a week. Although that makes me really want to write more, I also like sleeping too much to do it sometimes.
Enjoy the chapter and review if you feel like it!
"Alright everyone, turn your books to page 127 and we'll get started for the day."
The class begrudgingly complied, following Kirishima's orders as they began their hero studies class. The redhead was teaching alone today, since Bakugo had been called to Nezu's office and Iida was visiting family once again. Apparently, Tensei Iida was beginning to get lonely at the house even with their parents around.
As usual, Izuku was notably absent. However, he knew it was for a good reason this time.
'I still can't believe he fought with Endeavor and Hawks against some giant Nomu.' the man thought, flexing and stretching his arms above his head to stave off the numbness of the cold morning. 'He's all over the news now, so if he wanted to keep a low profile he failed miserably.'
The greenette had been forced to take a break from teaching for the week in order to recover from the battle and actually live a little. From what Kirishima knew, he had gone home to stay with his mother for the entire week. He smiled softly to himself as he remembered how differently Izuku and Bakugo described the Midoriya matriarch, but how similar their descriptions were.
"My mom? She's...unique. She's a wonderful mom and she cares a lot, but sometimes it's a bit too much. She's the type to stress out and cry so much that she blacks out."
"Auntie Inko cries even more than Deku, but she's a good person. She's too fuckin' innocent for this world. I swear she would die of dehydration if he wasn't around to save her."
Looking back to Class 1-A, Kirishima stood up and paced as he taught. His personal style was to keep the class engaged by relating the subject matter to how practical it is. In his opinion, Izuku got far too carried away by discussion and Iida was too focused on simply reading from the book and expecting them to understand the first time around.
Bakugo barely tried. His usual way to teach the class was to read the material beforehand and summarize it into bullet points for what would be on the tests. It certainly helped the students pass, but whether they really learned or not was questionable.
The lesson today was on the bane of every new pro hero's existence: paperwork. It could make or break a hero by legality alone, and it was a nightmare to complete the required documentation after every single incident. During his first year as a pro, Hawks was notorious for being lazy with his incident reports and getting into trouble. At one point, it became so much of a problem that he was forced to hire a professional shadow to follow him and document any encounters with criminals or villains.
Ever since that day, Hawks still hasn't filed a single report by himself.
"So who can tell me why incident documentation is important in the first place?" Kirishima asked, receiving silence as a response until Yaoyorozu raised her hand and he called on her.
"Documenting every single incident not only helps the authorities know how the criminal broke the law, but it also helps keep pro heroes accountable for their actions." she said, as if reciting directly from the textbook.
The redhead smiled at her. "Thanks Yaoyorozu, that's exactly right! Incident reports are how pro heroes are judged, basically. If you resolve a lot of incidents, like Endeavor or Hawks, you'll more than likely be placed higher in the hero rankings. Resolving them without violence or large amounts of collateral damage, like Midnight, usually give you a boost as well."
He continued, not noticing the face peeking through the thin window on the classroom door. "Being flashy can also help you gain popularity, and that can sometimes help especially for your debut. In this case, Izuku made a good example. I'm sure you all saw the news?"
Hagakure pumped her invisible arms in excitement. "Oh yeah! He fought with Endeavor and Hawks against that Nomu, right? That was super cool, and he was so strong!"
"Talk about a debut, for real. Saving the number one hero's life is one hell of a way to get your name out there." Kaminari said, blowing a lock of yellow hair away from his face.
Kirishima chuckled. "I agree with you there. Even if he hates the spotlight, Izuku always seems to find himself right in the middle of it. Anyway, can anyone tell me what Izuku had to do as soon as the incident was over? Assume that he doesn't have someone to do it for him."
After receiving silence once again, he sighed. "Okay, Ashido. Why don't you tell me exactly the four steps he had to complete." he said, pointing toward his unwilling victim who groaned.
"Aww, damn." she mumbled under her breath before looking back at him. "He had to file a report with the police and give his statement, then he had to...uhh..." she trailed off, face looking less and less certain of her answer by the second. "He had to..." the pink girl looked to her friends for assistance, but received nothing besides sheepish grins and waves.
"You don't know the rest, do you?"
Her head slammed into her desk with a loud *thud* that made her pencil roll off of the top and clatter to the floor.
"No, sensei..."
Kirishima sighed again. "At least you tried, right? She was correct that he needed to file his police report first, but who can finish the rest?"
Uraraka raised her hand and was called upon. "Deku-sensei needed to give his statement to the police first, then he had to submit an official incident report form to be approved by the chief of the police department. Third, he had to sign to claim responsibility for resolving the incident. Finally, he had to provide a written response to any questions posed by the courts regarding the incident if there were any."
The redhead smiled. "Thank you, Uraraka. That was very detailed, and absolutely correct. There is a lot that goes into making a full report, so it's not surprising that most pro heroes prefer to have someone as an authorized signer complete the paperwork for them. If he had someone to do that, Izuku could skip the submission of the report form and signature to claim responsibility."
He breezed through the rest of the lesson with little difficulty. Although it wasn't a very exciting topic to teach, Kirishima stressed its importance as much as he could.
"Alright, onto our activity for the day." he said with a bit of a smile. The class practically jumped to attention, thinking they would be fighting or something. "Something that goes hand in hand with reporting is being able to present yourself in front of the media." The energy that the class had was immediately crushed into a fine powder and blown away by the wind.
If there was wind in the classroom, one could imagine tumbleweeds blowing between the desks.
"Oh don't look so bored! Some of you may enjoy it more than others, but the media is everywhere. Being able to handle yourself during an interview is critical for a lot of reasons. You all are aware of our...unique circumstances," the class nodded, "so I can tell you that the media was much less friendly when we first started as pros. They tried to find every possible way to ruin a hero's reputation, so you had to be extremely careful with how you worded things."
Mineta raised his hand. "Um, Kirishima-sensei? Could you give us a bit of an example?"
He nodded. "It won't be fun, but sure. Katsuki used to suck in front of the media, and they tore into him on live TV. Every time he got the slightest bit upset, the interviewers would ask pointed questions like 'Do you think heroes should be forced to take anger management classes' or 'How do you feel about your reputation as the number one hero voted most likely to become a villain'."
The class winced at the last one, since that had been the League of Villain's opinion of him. After all, it had led to his capture in the first place.
"Jeez, talk about harsh." Jirou said, head held up by her palm. "I bet he didn't like that."
Kirishima chuckled. "We actually had to drag him away before he exploded in that reporter's face. Cameras caught the whole thing. It took him almost a whole year of anger management classes to calm down enough to handle himself."
The students looked to each other. Some of them laughed softly, but others looked genuinely concerned. "Anyway, enough about that. Luckily, the media here is a lot more friendly as long as nothing major is going on like at Kamino. And to help you guys practice, we have two guests here today that are experts on this sort of thing. Come on in you two."
The door slid open, revealing two buxom and very recognizable women. Mt. Lady and Midnight strolled into the classroom, and Mineta legitimately screeched in terror before trying to hide himself at his desk.
"About time you called us in, Beefcake!" Mt. Lady exclaimed, crossing her arms with a smirk that the man in question didn't appreciate much. "We've been waiting outside this door like stalkers for almost half an hour!"
Midnight rolled her eyes at the blonde woman beside her. "You obviously don't know the first thing about teaching, do you? These things take time."
"Nope." she replied, before looking around for someone. "Where's Blondie?"
Kirishima shrugged with an unapologetic smile. "He got called to the Principal's office for something, but he didn't tell me what. Why, you miss your boyfriend that much?" he teased, and the woman in question scoffed.
"Puh-lease. He wishes I would date him. The guy won't even talk to me half the time."
The Rated R 18+ hero stood at the front of the class with a sigh. "Moving on..." she adjusted her glasses on her face. "As Kirishima said, being able to handle yourself in an interview is really important for your future as pro heroes. Being confident and comfortable is key."
Mt. Lady snapped her fingers, and a small horde of third year boys walked in with pieces of wood shaped to fit together to create a stage. The entire class sweatdropped as the young men rushed to finish their task, as if they would be rewarded for doing a good job. Upon completion, however, they were simply waved off without even a 'thank you' from the blonde hero.
Even so, they left with dopey expressions on their faces and feeling far too satisfied.
"As practice, we're going to do mock interviews here today." Mt. Lady said, before looking around and pointing to a student in the back. "You there, Peppermint Patty."
All eyes went to Todoroki, who pointed to himself in confusion.
"Yes, you. Come on up here and demonstrate."
He stood and walked onto the small stage with a flat expression on his face. The boy didn't necessary looked thrilled, but he didn't seem to hate it either.
Meanwhile, the blonde produced a microphone out of seemingly nowhere. "For this first question, just pretend you did something awesome. Alrighty then, let's get this interview started!" Her expression changed in an instant from crass to overly excited.
"Today we have the pro hero, Shouto! That was quite an incredible display, Shouto-san! What do you have to say about that?"
The question was a bit too open-ended for Todoroki's tastes, but he tried his best. "I think it was alright." he responded, simply.
Everyone sweatdropped, but the blonde took it all in stride. "What kind of hero do you aim to become, Shouto-san!?" Takeyama was trying hard to keep her enthusiasm high, but Todoroki's stoic tone did nothing to aid her efforts.
"Someone whose presence... inspires people...to be at ease..." he trailed off, uncertain of what to say next.
"A brilliant answer! But if a hero as handsome as you came to my rescue, I think my heart rate might double!"
Todoroki cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Do you...have heart problems or something?"
Takeyama laughed in an exaggerated manner, but inside she was sweatdropping again. 'Is this kid for real?...He's cute, though.' she thought. However, what she said out loud was "Oh you're too much, Shouto-san! What kind of special attacks do you have?"
With no preparation, Todoroki unleashed a massive wave of ice to the side of the classroom, freezing everything in its way. "It's called Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall. It has a variety of uses, can cover a wide range, confine people in the vicinity, and allow people to find footing. Among other things." he explained.
Mt. Lady smiled at the explanation, but lifted a finger. "That's wonderful, and I don't want to attack your personality or anything, but you should try to smile more! If you could manage that, I bet the ladies would be dropping like flies!" she said in a slightly flirtatious tone.
It didn't have the desired effect, as Todoroki looked down at his trembling hands with a look of terror. "If I smile, they'll die!?" he asked, fearing the answer to his question.
She couldn't hold the act together any longer. "Cut that out, already! It was funny the first time, but now it's a little annoying! Nobody is actually gonna die if you smile at them, Peppermint Patty! It's a figure of speech!"
His hands stopped shaking and Todoroki looked toward his classmates for reassurance. They nodded, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Maybe I'm not cursed after all..." he mumbled to himself, only causing the sweatdropping to resume.
Tokoyami raised his hand. "We're revealing our movesets on live television? Doesn't that seem like a bad idea, letting our opponents prepare for fighting us?"
Mt. Lady gave him a serious expression. "A good question, but not everyone knows what kind of people you are yet! Your special attacks symbolize who you are, and they demonstrate what you're capable of! To your fellow heroes, they're key to efficient team-building. To villains, they're a warning of your presence, and to the citizens, they're a signal that they can trust you with their lives!"
She scoffed, crossing her arms and leveling a slight glare at the class. "What, did you think we yelled out our attack names for no reason?"
Ashido chimed in. "Uhhh...kinda? I never thought of it like that before."
Midnight spoke up. "A good example was All Might. Whenever he would use one of his Smashes, everyone recognized the attack. It became part of who he was as a hero. Villains were afraid of them and citizens felt safe because of them. Do you guys get it?"
A few words of confirmation were all that were needed before Mineta spoke up. "I had no idea she could be serious. Up until now, I thought she was only concerned with how she looked on camera."
Although the woman glared at him, it was Kirishima who responded. "Everyone is trying their hardest to fill the void that All Might left behind. Those are some big shoes to fill, so everyone needs to step up and do their best to make people feel safe again!"
Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Bakugo with a confused glare. "...What the hell is she doing here?" he asked the redhead, who shrugged in response.
"Interview training, man. You remember how we had to learn this stuff, right?"
The blond man growled. "A little too well. Damn therapists telling me to 'calm down' and to 'think happy thoughts' like that would do anything."
"Hey there Blondie, glad you could finally make it to your own class. Be glad you're not a student or I'd have to mark you late." Takeyama smirked at the man, who grit his teeth and tried his best not to get even angrier.
"Cut the crap, Princess. Who said you could come here?"
"You did, remember? Now get on up here and show these kids how to do an interview."
Hagakure snickered softly, leaning toward Ashido while hiding her mouth behind her hand. "This'll be good."
"I heard that, Invisalign! I'll remember that for the next physical exam!" he shouted, causing the invisible girl to giggle unapologetically.
"Okay, you ready?" Takeyama turned to Bakugo with a genuine smile. The blond man took a deep breath before stepping on stage.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Go ahead, Princess."
She cleared her throat before beginning. "You looked pretty incredible out there, Ground Zero! Got anything to say?"
He clicked his tongue in annoyance at her tone, but responded with a roll of his eyes. "That guy was nothing. I bet I could take on five of him without even breaking a sweat."
Takeyama's eyes lit up, excited to see him actually playing along. "It sure seems that way! You really gave that villain a reason to be afraid of you! I noticed that you have some pretty flashy moves, Ground Zero! Do you mind telling me about a few of them?"
He lifted a hand and allowed a few controlled sparks to form in his palm like a sparkler. "They'd be too loud and dangerous to show you inside, but I'll tell you about them. My AP Shot is basically a focused blast that can break someone's guard or blow up debris in midair. My Railgun Shot is a more advanced version that's for more dangerous villains, and the blast is even more focused than that so it can cause serious damage. My last special ability is called my Howitzer Impact, where I use my blasts to spin and my momentum helps disperse my attack's force across a wider area."
Takeyama, along with the rest of the class, was dumbfounded. This was probably the longest that Bakugo had ever spoken without even a glare in his eyes. "T-Those all sound very dangerous, Ground Zero! How do you manage to keep them all under control in the heat of battle?"
He clenched his hand into a fist and smirked. "I didn't get to where I am without a lot of practice, and that's how I learned to control my explosions. When I first started they were just indiscriminate blasts, but now they're precise and focused attacks that are a lot more versatile."
"I'm inclined to agree with you! If you had to say anything to any would-be villains out there, what would you tell them?"
That question made Bakugo's smirk turn vicious. "Bring it on, you extras. You're just dirt waiting to be wiped off my boots."
Takeyama laughed and gave him a thumbs up, while the class applauded. "That was pretty damn good, Blondie! I honestly expected you to blow a gasket for a second there!"
He growled at her, glare returning. "I needed to show these brats how it's done, didn't I?" he mumbled while looking away. Midnight clapped her hands together with a smile.
"That was very well done Bakugo-san. I imagine most people would feel more than comfortable relying on you to fight off villains with an interview like that. Saving their lives from an accident, though?...Maybe. I know from experience that your moves can get pretty...destructive."
"That's just because you were holed up in that stupid base during our fight! Deku had to bust his way in there himself because we were trying to flush you all out with my Artillery Shot!"
The black haired woman blushed slightly, remembering exactly what went on inside of that 'stupid base'. That, coupled with some of the memories she was recovering in her sleep, didn't help her keep her composure when it came to the man's green haired partner. "O-of course, but none of you really needed saving during our battle so I never got to see it firsthand."
Takeyama took back the reins of control over the class. "Okay! Now that you've all gotten a good idea of what you should expect, let's have each of you come up here and give it a try. Since I'm lazy, I'll just start from the back and move forward."
Conveniently, a certain Pop-Off user was the first one in the back of the classroom who hadn't gone yet. He cringed and averted his eyes, but eventually relented and walked to the front of the class.
Nearly half an hour passed before the class was over, and everyone disbursed for the day. The third year students removed the stage and took it back to wherever it came from, and Midnight busied herself with talking to Kirishima about something related to the lesson. This left Bakugo to handle Takeyama, who seemed a little too excited.
He leveled his red eyes at her own purple ones with a slight glare. "What do you want now? You keep smiling at me and it's creepy as hell."
The blonde woman clasped her hands behind her back and adopted an expression of fake bashfulness. "Oh, is it not okay for me to be happy to see you? I thought you liked having me around."
"As much as a tiny dog that won't stop barking, maybe."
She pouted, crossing her arms. "Well now that class is over, what do you plan to do? It's a Thursday so nothing too crazy I bet."
He sighed. "As much as I'd love to play hooky tomorrow, I'll have to be here in the morning. I could really use a drink after what Nezu told me."
Takeyama's eyebrow rose. "Oh? Bad news?"
The blond shook his head. "Hardly. Basically he told me I'm next on the list to be free to use my quirk and be a pro again. I need to celebrate or I'll lose my mind being stuck on this campus all the time."
"Why not celebrate with me? I'm already here, after all. Besides, it's been awhile since I've had a good drink."
Bakugo looked at her for a few seconds, internally weighing his options. Finally, he shrugged. "I have beer in my room we could drink, but if you're more of a liquor person we'll have to go out." he offered, walking away with just a single glance for her to follow.
Takeyama complied, clasping her hands behind her head and unintentionally thrust her bountiful chest outward. "Hmm. I'm down for anything, really. I was hoping we could talk while we're at it." She gave him a pointed look that he caught out of the corner of his eye. "And I mean talk, not you listening while I talk your ear off."
He rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Fine, just don't expect me to be too excited about it. Now that I think about it, we should probably avoid my room. The brats all live in the same building and they have this habit of eavesdropping. They did it to Deku and Kayama, and I sure as hell won't tolerate them doing it to me."
She cocked her head to the side as they walked. "I thought you said they broke up or something?"
"In a way, they did but they didn't."
"You're not making any sense, Blondie. How does that even work?"
He huffed. "If I could explain it, I would. Deku already got in enough trouble for not keeping his mouth shut. The rat would have my head if I was the one to ruin his surprise."
It only took another hour and a half for the two of them to meet up at a local brewery. It served a decent variety of beers and to Bakugo's surprise, it had animals that would intermingle with the customers. He and Takeyama chose a seat near the back of the establishment so they could talk in relative privacy.
While ordering their food and drinks, a german shepherd puppy made its way over to the pair and hopped onto the booth beside Bakugo before laying down with its head on his leg. After a few minutes of the puppy staring at him meaningfully, the blond couldn't resist petting it gently. The dog loved the attention, but seemed to fall into a deep slumber from the man's ministrations.
Takeyama couldn't resist cooing at the sight of the usually aggressive man being so gentle, but opted not to mention it lest he lose his patience. Instead, she decided to strike up a conversation while they waited for their beverages. "So tell me a bit more about yourself, Bakugo-kun. You barely talk at all, so now's a good chance since there's not a lot of people around."
He gave her a flat look. "Really? You care about that kind of crap?"
"Well duh. You've been over to my place twice now and I barely know the first thing about you. You're grumpy and you teach at U.A., but there has to be more than that."
Bakugo rolled his eyes. "There's not a lot to tell, Princess. I went to U.A. when I was a kid, graduated, and now I'm a pro hero. Newly reinstated, anyway."
"Why were you restricted from being a pro hero, anyway? Seems a bit stupid if you ask me."
Bakugo growled. "Just like with Deku and Kayama, I really can't talk about it. Trust me when I say I'd tell you if I could. I almost couldn't even tell my parents. Speaking of parents, how are yours doing?" he asked, idly scratching the puppy behind the ears and inwardly enjoying the way it curled into his side.
Not that he would admit it to anyone. Dogs were usually annoying and needed too much attention for his tastes.
The blonde woman waved her hand dismissively. "Eh, they're doing alright. It was good to catch up with them after so long. They're both still living on the family farm out in the country. Mom still works with the animals and Dad still does the heavy work around the fields."
He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't peg you as the country bumpkin type of girl."
Takeyama huffed and crossed her arms. "You wouldn't be the first one. I'm pretty much the stereotypical 'country girl comes to the big city to make it big' type of person. I'm the first one in my family to be a hero."
Bakugo gave a quick huff of amusement. "First one in your family, and you're already in the top twenty five heroes within a year. Not too shabby."
She snorted with a quick chuckle. "That's probably the first compliment you've ever given. So what about you? You haven't told me anything about your own parents."
The puppy yawned before adjusting itself until it was laying on Bakugo's lap. He smiled down at it for just a moment, but the moment was gone as quickly as it came. "Again, not a lot to say about 'em. The Hag and my old man both work at a fashion designing company, and they've been doing that as long as I've been alive."
Takeyama was about to respond, but the waiter returned with their beers. Bakugo ordered a dark stout, while she opted for a lighter 'blonde' ale. He had teased her a bit about her choice, much to her chagrin.
"You call your mom a hag? What, do you two not get along or something?"
He rolled his eyes with a groan. "If you think I'm hard to get along with, just wait until you meet her. Every time I'm at home, I swear she makes it a competition to see how many times she can scream at me. If I could tell you the number of times she's smacked me in the back of the head you'd file a police report for domestic violence."
She giggled at him before taking a sip of her drink, admiring the flavor. "Is she like that with everyone, or just you?"
Bakugo growled. "Only other person my age she's met is Deku, and she loves him for some stupid fuckin' reason. She's always like 'Why can't you be nice like Izuku' or 'I bet Izuku doesn't complain about doing the dishes'. Pisses me off."
"So basically you're a problem child and she wants you to be responsible." she summarized with a smirk that annoyed the blond across from her.
He chugged down half of his beer in one go, barely giving himself time to appreciate the flavors. "The Old Man is just a pushover in comparison. The Hag is the one in control of the house." he slightly changed topics, and Takeyama relented.
Their conversation went on like this for a short while before Bakugo's phone buzzed in his pocket. Thankfully, it was a pocket that could easily be reached without disturbing the dog that lay on top of him. Takeyama raised an eyebrow at him, not expecting him to be the type to rudely answer his phone when company was around.
However, he gave a snort of amusement as he read the message. "Huh. I guess the rat says it's okay for you to know."
That got her attention, and Takeyama leaned forward slightly. Her jacket had been shed long ago despite the chilly weather outside, leaving her in a cute V-neck sweater and jeans. She refused to prod for the deepest details. Despite her persona as Mt. Lady, she actually valued privacy quite a bit and avoided gossiping when she could.
"It's okay for me to know about what exactly?"
The blond took a deep breath. "You remember the Sports Festival for the first years a few months ago?"
She cocked her head to the side with an eyebrow raised. "Uh, yeah? I was stuck patrolling the arena the whole time, so I missed most of the good parts."
"You remember who won it, right?"
"Where are you going with this? It was some angry blond kid with and explosion quirk."
Bakugo rolled his eyes. "That was me, Princess."
To his surprise, Takeyama merely finished off the remainder of her drink and smirked. "Yeah, I kinda figured that one out already."
Bakugo raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. She barked out a quick laugh. "Oh please. You made it super obvious, so it's not a surprise I put two and two together. I helped the other brats save your ass at Kamino, remember? Or did you forget?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep sigh. "I shoulda fuckin' figured. Well I'll sum it up for you. Basically we got stuck in the past for eight years and now we're back. Ta-da!" Bakugo attempted to be dramatic while giving jazz hands, but Takeyama just snorted out a laugh in response.
"After all the weird shit that's been going on? I'm barely surprised. Time travel sounds crazy as hell, but it's not like there's any other explanation for you turning from an angry twerp into a sexy ass adult in a few months."
He raised an eyebrow. "Mind running that one by me again?" the blond asked, crossing his arms.
"I said you're hot, Blondie. That shouldn't be much of a surprise to you."
"..." Bakugo was speechless. He'd had plenty of women comment on his appearance in the past, but it never felt so genuine until now. He couldn't fight the slight redness that invaded his cheeks, and he looked away in embarrassment. "Tch. You're not too bad looking yourself, Princess."
Takeyama's smirk turned devious. "Hoh? Is my little Bakugo-kun not used to being complimented by pretty ladies?"
"S-Shut up." he growled, blush darkening.
"That is adorable. You stuttered like a little kid in grade school with his first crush."
"I said shut up!"
"And when are you actually gonna call me by my name, huh? Being called a princess out in public is cute and all, but sometimes I like to hear my name too."
Bakugo deadpanned at her, but her unflinching gaze caused him to sigh. "Fine...T-Takeyama-san." he said through grit teeth.
She wagged a finger in his face. "Nuh-uh, that won't cut it. We're at least friends, so drop the honorific."
"God damn, fine."
"I want to hear you say it."
Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the woman who seemed to push his buttons better than anyone else. "Takeyama."
She leaned back and downed the rest of her drink. "There, now was that so hard?"
The blond man didn't say much for the rest of the night, but her persistence reminded him a little of his childhood friend. It pissed him off beyond belief, but somewhere deep down...
It made him happy.
Nemuri Kayama stretched and let out a yawn. She had just finished her last Modern Hero Art History for the day, and was packing up her things to leave campus. There weren't many things to pack, since the textbooks and such were held at the school itself, so she really just had to stand up and leave after cleaning the whiteboard and picking up any trash left by the students.
The Somnambulist user expected to go home for the evening, order take-out from a nice restaurant, and enjoy her dinner while watching sappy rom coms. What she didn't expect was to have one of her students stay after class with a concerningly dark blush on her face.
"Umm, Midnight-sensei? Do you mind if I ask you something...personal?" Ochaco Uraraka asked, fidgeting in place. Kayama raised an eyebrow at the vague question, but allowed it.
"Sure, Uraraka. Go ahead and ask."
"How do you know when you...l-lo-" she struggled to say the dreaded L word, too embarrassed to say it outright. "When you l-love someone..." she almost let out a sigh of relief when she could actually say the word, "what is it like?"
Midnight giggled to herself. 'That was the most adorable thing I've seen all week!'
"What brought this on, if you don't mind me asking? I'm a little surprised you'd ask me and not your parents or something." is what Midnight actually said aloud. Although she was flattered that one of her students trusted her with this kind of secret, she was genuinely confused on why she was the one to go to for advice.
Uraraka's blush darkened and she fanned herself with her hand to stay conscious. "I-I think I might l-like someone, but I'm not really sure what it is. I could ask my parents, but I feel like you might sugarcoat it a little less than my parents." she sweatdropped. "They're a little over the top."
A look of realization dawned on the pro hero's face. "I understand, Uraraka." She put a hand to her chin in thought. "When you love someone...hmm..." she trailed off. "Well, when you love someone you feel like they matter more than anyone else in the world. Sometimes you care about them more than you care about yourself. Is that how you feel around this person?"
Uraraka nodded. "Yeah, I guess..."
Sensing that her student needed a bit more than that, Midnight continued. "Are you sure that you're feeling love and not infatuation though?"
"Infatuation?" the girl asked, curiously.
"That's when you believe you're in love with someone, but in reality you're just obsessed with them. Or you're in love with the idea of being with them. Either way, infatuation is extremely dangerous since it can really ruin your life if you're not careful. Be honest with me Uraraka. How well do you and this person get along?"
The question made Uraraka stop in her tracks. 'How well do we get along?...Fine, I guess...Except for the whole age difference thing. We're definitely not as close as we used to be...'
"It's a...bit more complicated than that, Midnight-sensei."
"If you're not comfortable sharing the details, that's fine. Just know that I can only help you if I know enough of the story."
The Zero Gravity user sighed. 'Here goes everything...'
"Midnight-sensei, would it help if I just told you who it was?" she asked, fully expecting the teacher to jump at the opportunity to pry into her student's private life.
"I'd rather you didn't, actually." came the response from the black haired woman. Uraraka's head shot up in surprise, and the woman chuckled. "As funny as it is to guess who would try to date who in your classes, it really isn't my business. I've always been the type to let you kids experience that stuff on your own."
Uraraka found a new bit of respect for the pro hero with that statement. As much as she was a symbol of sexuality, she really did care about her students. "O-Okay then. What do you think I should do about all of this? I'm more than a little bit confused and frustrated with how my heart hurts all the time whenever I think about him."
Midnight hummed in thought. "Have you ever tried thinking about being with someone else instead?"
"What!? Why would I want to do that?"
"Think about it, Uraraka. If your heart is so set on this person, then why? What is it about him that makes him so unique to everyone else? Is he brave, funny, cute, or what? These are all qualities that anyone can have in their own way, so it's possible that the person you want isn't as amazing in reality as he is in your head."
The brown haired girl was silent. 'Not as special as I think he is?...But why? Deku-sensei is incredible. Even after coming back, he's not way too different. He's still sort of cute, but it's a little different than before. He doesn't stutter like he used to, and he's a lot more confident. But all the things I liked about him are still there. Maybe Midnight-sensei is wrong?' she thought.
The teacher ruffled the girl's hair, much to her amusement and Uraraka's annoyance. "Just don't let it get to you too much. You're still young, so even if things don't work out you still have plenty of time to find love if that's what you want! Either way, I need to get moving. Dinner and crappy rom coms await!" Midnight exclaimed with a wide smile that Uraraka found infectious.
As the woman was leaving, Uraraka stopped her. "Um, Midnight-sensei? Thank you so much for this. I know it was a little sudden, but I appreciate your help."
The pro hero turned toward her and smiled. "Anytime! Now get back to the dorms, I'm sure you're hungry and your classmates will wonder where you're at."
"Yeah, okay! Thanks again!" Uraraka said, waving as she went the opposite direction down the hallway. Midnight sighed as she began her slow walk to her car.
"She must still like Izuku-kun..." she mumbled to herself, expression becoming somber. "And just when I started remembering all of my feelings for him, too. What horrible timing..."
She shrugged internally. "Well, I guess my evening plans just changed."
Izuku absent-mindedly washed the dishes. When he was told by Nezu that he was forbidden from doing any pro hero work or teaching for the week, the greenette decided to go visit his beloved mother. Inko Midoriya hadn't seen her son since he returned from the past, suddenly looking years older and much more mature.
Her initial reaction had been to immediately faint, but she had recovered relatively quickly to the news.
Now that he had some down time, Izuku wanted to stay the entire week with his mother for two reasons. The first is that he felt like he hadn't seen his mom in forever, which in reality, he hadn't seen her in years. The second is that he knew his mother was still shaken up about the whole 'I missed eight years of my only child's life' thing, and he felt that she would benefit from seeing him for more than a single night.
He smiled as he finished one chore after another. Although he didn't like doing them, per se, he knew that anything he did to help his mother would ease her worries. The fact that he knew she would be happier made it worth the effort. After he had washed the dishes, done the laundry, vacuumed the carpets, and cleaned the kitchen floor, Izuku decided to watch some hero news. Dinner was cooking while he waited.
He fully expected some of the news articles to be about him. After all, he had fought tooth and nail alongside the top two heroes in the country. That was bound to give him a reputation extremely quickly on its own.
However, he wasn't ready for nearly all of the news channels to be asking questions about him.
"We've recently been given clearance to disclose the name of the mysterious hero who assisted the number one and two hero with the villain attack two days ago. Deku, whose real name is still unknown, appears to be in his mid-twenties with green hair and freckles. His quirk seems to be some kind of strength enhancer, but he has also shown that he is capable of creating a strange, black rope as well. Is it possible he has two quirks? If so, is he the only one? And what of his music career? What more will-"
He flicked to another channel, only to hear similar stories. Izuku sighed. 'If this is what All Might had to deal with every single day, including interviews, I can only wonder how he managed to keep himself together. The media really doesn't have anything better to talk about. Why not talk about the attack itself?' he wondered out loud.
Nearly half an hour of mindless news ranging from a supposed hero team being formed between Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, Death Arms, and Edgeshot to the mysterious death of Overhaul after his incarceration.
He sighed again. 'At least Eri is safe with Aizawa for now. I'm sure Mom would have loved her to death, but I'm worried that her quirk could run out of control again. It seems like it only takes a few weeks for her to store up enough power to cause issues, and Aizawa is the only one who's capable of really handling her when that happens.'
The door opened and Izuku hopped to his feet to welcome his mother. Quickly moving to the hallway, he came face to face with Inko Midoriya.
She was a beautiful woman with long, green hair and a kind face. Although she isn't quite as thin as she used to be, Izuku would never in his life say that his mother wasn't the most amazing looking person on the planet.
So he was a mama's boy, so what? His father wasn't around often enough for him to experience having a full family, so he had to take what he could get.
"Welcome home!"
Inko smiled softly at her son as he greeted her. "Oh Izuku, you know you don't have to get up whenever I come home."
He smiled right back. "I know Kaa-san, but it just feels like the right thing to do. How was your day?"
She waved her hand flippantly with a chuckle. "Same old nonsense; you know how things get this time of year."
"Oh definitely. Dinner is almost ready, if you're hungry."
His mother almost cried. Ever since Hisashi had started working in the United States, Inko had been forced to be a full-time mother and a full-time employee every single day. Most of her life, she was so stressed about her son's quirkless status that she hadn't had any time to really live for herself. Even her relationship with Mitsuki Bakugo had suffered over the years, especially since it seemed that Izuku did not want to go out of his way to hang out with Katsuki after awhile.
Now, her little baby boy was a fully grown and mature young man. It was a shock at first, seeing her son so grown up, but he was doing everything he could to make her life easier. Izuku had already proven that he was responsible, and he still held onto his morals.
If living on his own with three friends for eight years couldn't change her son for the worse, nothing would.
Inko smiled, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears of happiness. "Thank you, Izuku. I know you haven't gotten to hear this in a really long time, but I'm so proud of you."
"I know, Kaa-san. I know." Izuku wrapped her in a tight hug, his taller and more muscular frame dwarfing her own. His own eyes held small tears, but he refused to let them fall.
She went into her room to freshen up and change out of her work clothes, and Izuku retreated back to the couch to try to find any sort of news that wasn't about him.
'Questions about Endeavor's abilities and his health...Hawks and his flippant attitude...Me...more of me...Jeez there is nothing interesting on tonight.' he mused, eventually settling on a boring comedy show that he wasn't interested in at all. The actors and actresses were alright, but the writer tried to force the jokes a little too hard for his liking.
It only took a few minutes for Inko to return in leggings and a sweater, and her eyes widened at the small feast he had prepared. "I-Izuku, isn't this a little too much!? You didn't have to make all this!"
He shook his head with a smile. "Nah, I wanted to. Besides with this much food, you won't have to cook for most of the week! You'll have plenty of leftovers to heat up later."
Her son's thoughtfulness was not lost on Inko, who sniffled and thanked whatever deity would listen that her son turned into such a fine young man. As they sat down, however, there was a knock on the front door. The two greenettes shared a look and a shrug, before Izuku offered to answer it.
Opening up the door, he was more than shocked to see Kayama standing in jeans and a loose sweater. Her hair was not only straightened, but styled slightly. Izuku had to shake his head to regain his bearings.
"K-Kayama? Wh-what are you doing here at this time of night?" he asked. It was nearing 7:00pm and the sun was already dipping below the horizon.
She shuffled her feet and found it hard to meet his gaze. "I...got bored and wanted to see you."
He raised an eyebrow, but allowed her to enter his home. "You know, I wasn't exactly expecting you to show up here. How did you even know where I live?..." he trailed off in question.
Kayama pointed to her head. "I remembered you taking me here once during our second year. I never got to meet your mother because of all the time travel nonsense, but you brought me here and I guess the location just stuck with me."
"Huh, I guess you've remembered a lot of stuff then."
"Yeah...about all of that." Kayama started, removing her shoes at the front door. "I want to talk with you about all of that sometime. It doesn't have to be today, but...it would make me really happy to move forward from where we are."
"Izuku!" his mother called from the kitchen, "do we have a guest?"
"Yeah, Kaa-san! A good friend of mine paid us a visit. Is it okay for her to come in?" he responded.
"Her!? My baby boy is bringing women over to our house!?"
Izuku facepalmed with a sigh, while Kayama giggled. "Your mom seems interesting."
"You don't know the half of it. Come on, we were just about to eat dinner. Have you eaten yet?" he asked as they approached the kitchen.
The ebony haired woman shook her head, hair swishing in and out of her face. "I was going to, but I had the urge to see you and I ended up skipping the take-out."
"Let me guess, you were going to order from Ryugo's right?"
She was genuinely surprised that he knew. At her incredulous stare, he chuckled and pointed to his head. "You're not the only one who remembers stuff, you know. You always did have an obsession with spicy foods."
As soon as they turned to corner, Inko's eyes widened as she took in the appearance of their new guest. The woman was tall, polite-looking, and she was beautiful.
"H-hello! My name is Inko Midoriya, I'm Izuku's mother. A-and you are?" she asked, stuttering midway through her introduction with a hand outstretched.
Kayama gave a soft smile before she clasped her own hand with Inko's. "Nemuri Kayama, ma'am. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Midoriya-san."
The greenette raised an eyebrow. "Finally? If I may ask, how do you know my son? He's never mentioned anyone like you before."
Kayama jumped slightly before giggling and running a hand through her hair. "Oh, I'm so sorry for not starting with that! You may know me as the pro hero, Midnight. And I'm Izuku-kun's...something or other."
The man in question crossed his arms and deadpanned at her. "Is that really what you're going to go with, Kayama?"
She pouted. "Hey! I'm trying here, okay!? I've never met a boyfriend's parents before so this is a little stressful!"
Inko looked ready to faint. "M-my son has a g-gi-girlfriend!?" she had to brace herself on the kitchen table to stay upright. "You grew up too fast, Izuku! I don't like this anymore!"
Izuku sighed and held his mother's arm so she wouldn't fall in her shock. "It's okay, Kaa-san. We dated in the past, but things have been a little different since I've gotten back. She just really wanted to meet you, since...you know, she couldn't do it before."
Inko took a few deep breaths to calm herself, before waving her son off of her. She managed to get up in Kayama's face and put on as intimidating an expression as she could muster. "Now I'll have you know that I expect the two of you to be using protection! I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet!"
Izuku burst into a dark red blush. "K-Kaa-san!" he cried, covering his face with his hands.
However, Kayama merely laughed. "Don't worry, Midoriya-san. I'm not called the Rated R18+ Hero for nothing. I know my way around being safe with that kind of thing."
"Kayama!" he exclaimed, looking at her like she was crazy.
The Midoriya matriarch held her glare. "I'd better not hear about you two-timing my son or young lady we will have words."
"Mom!" the man's head was spinning as he tried to placate the situation.
Kayama bowed deeply. "I may be known as the Rated R18+ Hero, but I take relationships very seriously, Midoriya-san. Izuku-kun is very special to me, and I assure you that my feelings for him are genuine."
"Inko."
The black haired woman blinked. "Huh?"
The greenette crossed her arms with a smile. "Please, call me Inko. There's no need to be so formal in this house. You're welcome here anytime you want."
Izuku was floored by his own mother. 'I knew Mom could be protective, but I never thought she would stand up to Kayama like that.' He knew she had stood up to All Might himself when they were talking about the dorms, but his massive change in appearance as well as a possible threat to his safety were the main points she raised back then. Here, Izuku was physically safe and there was no imminent threat.
He would later admit that he respected his mother even more after that moment.
Kayama smiled at the shorter woman. "Thank you, Inko-san. I'm sorry for intruding on your dinner."
Inko shook her head. "Not at all! We were just about to eat. Would you care to join us?"
"That would be lovely! Thank you for your hospitality."
Several hours passed both in the blink of an eye and as slow as molasses for Izuku, and he felt bags forming under his eyes from the stress. Kayama and Inko got along very well, too well. What started as a relaxed dinner conversation quickly steered toward embarrassing stories of Izuku as a child, as well as his mother pulling out a photo album to showcase all of his best and worst moments.
Of course, the discussion eventually made its way back to both the time travelling and its effects on his life. Inko was astounded at the fact that her son had learned to sing from the one and only Present Mic, and even more surprised that he had managed to get Katsuki Bakugo to do the same. Kayama showed the greenette the full video of their performance, while Izuku did his best to hide his blush.
Before he knew it, Izuku looked at the clock to see that it was nearing midnight. His mother had always went to bed somewhat early, so to see her enjoying herself with Kayama made him smile. He didn't want to intrude on their girl time, but didn't want to appear rude, so he merely sat next to his sort-of-ex-girlfriend as the two women talked about anything that came to mind.
His mother seemed to notice him dozing off, and looked to the clock herself before gasping. "Oh goodness! I had no idea it was already so late! I'm so sorry for keeping you here, Nemuri-chan!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her in worry.
Kayama giggled. "Not at all, Inko-san! I had a lot of fun! I'm sorry for sticking around so late. I'm sure you have work in the morning and I didn't mean to keep you awake."
The two went back and forth with apologies until finally Izuku had to drag Kayama out the door to stop the cycle. After they reached Kayama's vehicle, a pitch black luxury sedan, she turned to him with a smile.
"I had fun today, Izuku-kun. Your mother is just as nice as you always said she was, and even more." The dark haired woman snorted. "I guess I know where your manners and personality came from."
He chuckled. "Yeah, well...My dad wasn't really around too much so she was all I had. I haven't even gotten the chance to talk to him about the whole 'I'm an adult now' thing. All I got to do was send a message, and he never responded. International calls aren't cheap."
Kayama's expression turned more neutral, and Izuku knew the conversation was turning toward a less exciting topic. "Izuku-kun, I want us to give it another shot."
He took a deep breath. "I know, Kayama...Things have been so crazy with me coming back, and suddenly you're remembering all of our lives together, and I don't exactly know how to feel."
She fidgeted slightly in place with a small blush. "D-do you want to try? I know I'm not exactly the same as I was back then, especially since I'm sure I haven't remembered even a fraction of it all, but something deep down told me you were special as soon as you came back."
He studied her expression, and his eyes softened. 'She looks exactly the same as she did when she asked me to the graduation dance.'
Taking another deep breath, he responded. "I-I'm not sure, Kayama. I tried hard to forget all of those feelings when I came back, and I knew it would take a lot of time. But now that you're here and you remember what we had? It's making it really hard on me."
He cracked a thin smile that eased her worried. "But if you want to, I'm at least willing to give it a try for real. People might not approve of it, you know. I know that Aizawa was awfully protective of you, even though you were his senior. He'll say it's 'illogical'."
She giggled before wrapping her arms around the man's bulkier frame. "I know he will; he's always been like that, even before we worked on a team together. He'll manage."
Izuku returned the embrace, smiling into the woman's hair. "Let's just take it slow and see what happens, yeah? I don't think I can handle much more craziness in my life after the past few months."
"No promises, Izuku-kun."
The man sighed. "Nemuri-chan, you always make things hard for me."
A mischievous smile. "I know."