welcome to mood whiplash: the chapter

warnings: Muscular

The members of class 1-A are all awake before 0600. There's no coordinated breakfast-making effort, like there was with the dinner making, but that will probably change in light of what's happening!

You see, Todoroki, Ochako, Izuku, Kaminari, and Ashido all manage to drag themselves out of bed first, somehow. How Ashido and Kaminari managed that, well, maybe it had to do with the way Izuku tripped and fell face-first into Kaminari while trying to leave, and how Ashido had snuggled up to Ochako at some point in the middle of the night, so she couldn't get up without waking up the other pink girl.

And, well, Todoroki just wakes up early.

Somehow all the commotion of Izuku tripping into Kaminari and the two of them leaving together doesn't wake the rest of the boys, and the five of them find themselves out in the pavilion with only a sleepy-looking Ragdoll for company.

"We have eggs," she says, gesturing to what are, indeed, eggs. There's also a variety of vegetables and meat and meat-substitute options that have gone unmentioned, as well as probably enough orange juice to fill a small pond.

"Hey Todoroki," Kaminari says, "can you cook with your left side?"

"What?" Todoroki asks, a blank expression on his face.

"Can we…" Kaminari gestures at Todoroki's entire person, as if that clarifies anything.

"I think he's trying to ask if your left side could fry eggs?" Izuku makes an attempt at translating, his voice even rougher than it has been so far in the morning fog.

"Like, fry an egg on him?" Ochako asks, frowning.

"Oh my gosh that's brilliant," Ashido says, suddenly way too wide awake for times before six. "Todoroki, please?"

Todoroki blinks, once. And then he shrugs.

"Sure."

Izuku instructs Todoroki to lay down on top of one of the tables, something that, thankfully, can be done via emphatic gesturing. He's already wearing shorts, despite the dawn chill, and Ashido is in charge of getting several pumps of hand sanitizer and wiping down Todoroki's left leg with it before Ochako wipes the excess off with a paper towel (let it never be said that they were unsanitary).

"Maybe it would work better on my chest," Todoroki says. "It might slide off my leg."

Izuku frowns. "Do you want us to fry it on your chest?"

"Why not do both?" Ochako suggests, and Kaminari gasps.

"Uraraka, you're a genius," he says while Todoroki pulls his shirt off.

So, they redo the sanitation procedure with the left side of Todoroki's chest, and then Izuku instructs Todoroki to start heating up his left side before he cracks the eggs.

"What temperature?" Todoroki asks.

"Uh—About sixty-five?" Izuku replies, and Todoroki nods.

Soon, Izuku can feel the heat radiating off Todoroki's left side, which is steaming. Ochako, Kaminari, and Ashido are all gathered close, taking in the radiating heat.

"It's there," Todoroki says, and Izuku cracks the first egg. He can see the way Todoroki visibly suppresses the urge to shiver. "That feels weird."

"It okay?" Izuku asks, another egg already in his hands. Todoroki nods, and Izuku cracks the next egg.

They can fit three eggs on Todoroki before Izuku's worried about one sliding off. That's about the moment Izuku realizes how strange this is, the four of them standing around their shirtless classmate as they fry eggs on his skin.

"What are we doing," he whispers.

"Cooking our breakfast," Ochako replies.

"Mr. Aizawa is going to kill us," he moans, resisting the urge to bury his head in his hands because he still has raw egg on his fingers, damn it.

"No, he won't," Todoroki replies. "He wants me to use my left side at camp."

"Oh my gosh," Izuku whispers, his eyes wide open. "He might actually give us points for creativity."

"Nah, this is just dumbassery," Kaminari replies.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

All four of them whip around.

"Just Hagakure," Ashido says. "And Aoyama."

"We're making breakfast," Ochako replies to the invisible girl's question.

"Is that Todoroki?" Hagakure asks, her hands coming up to her face.

"No," Izuku says, shaking his head.

"Oh." Hagakure shrugs. "Okay, then." She grabs Aoyama's arm and drags him, the boy still staring at the group of five, over to where Ragdoll's guarding (read: napping by) the eggs.

By this point, the eggs on Todoroki are cooked, so Izuku removes them (with a plastic spatula, he's not cruel, he wouldn't use a metal one on someone's flesh) and puts them on a plate before cracking three more eggs onto Todoroki.

While he's cracking eggs, Kaminari and Ashido both pick up forks and stab an egg before taking a bite.

"You forgot the pepper," Kaminari says. Izuku gestures at the pepper shaker sitting right in front of Kaminari. Ochako, bless her soul, picks the shaker up and shakes some onto Kaminari's egg for him.

Izuku's attention is caught by the door to the part of the lodge the teachers and Pussycats stay in opening and closing.

"Oh no," he whispers, feeling his classmates freeze around him as they all catch sight of Aizawa together.

Their next three eggs aren't even cooked yet.

Aizawa seems to sense something is off, though, because he looks up and meets Izuku's eyes. Izuku glances away, but he can already see their teacher coming over.

And then he stops. Right at the edge of the pavilion, but oh, his eyes are wide, and, yep, he's definitely looking at Todoroki.

"What," he says.

"We fried an egg," Kaminari raises his hands, "on his LEG!" He gestures at Todoroki's leg, grinning.

"We sanitized him first," Izuku adds, tapping his foot rather than twisting his hands together because he still has raw egg on his fingers.

Aizawa blinks, opening his mouth.

"And Todoroki said it was okay," Izuku cuts him off. Their teacher sighs and shakes his head.

"Whatever. Don't do it again."

"Yes, sir," all five of them say.

Honestly, the egg, for its… circumstances of origin, is not that terrible tasting. Todoroki wipes himself off with a wet paper towel and throws his shirt back on with the explanation that he'll be spending all day in a barrel of water anyway, no need to take a shower. Most of Class 1-B arrives just in time to hear that comment, and Izuku resolves not to let the weird looks they give them throw him off.

Day Three is incredibly similar to Day Two, with even similar kinds of training happening. They're all exhausted by the end, and this time, both classes work together to cook dinner. Izuku brings Kouta a bowl of dinner again, and this time, they don't speak to each other. Afterwards, Izuku does his standard training, except the students with heteromorphic quirks aren't completely released.

"Now!" Pixie-Bob says, prancing to the front of the classes. "Tonight's our test of courage! Class 1-B, you will meet Ragdoll out here at 2030 sharp! Class 1-A, you'll meet Mandalay, Tiger, and I out here at 2045 sharp! Got it?"

"Yes!"

"Good!" Pixie-Bob claps her hands together once. "You're released until then!"

All of 1-A shows up five minutes early to the test of courage. The three Pussycats, along with Aizawa, are already there and waiting.

"Oh, you have them so well-trained!" Pixie-Bob gushes. "Class 1-B is already out and waiting! Are all of you ready for the test of courage?"

"Yeah!" Kirishima yells, fist pumping.

"We sure are!" Ashido agrees.

"Those 1-B kids won't know who hit them!" Kaminari agrees.

"Not you six," Aizawa says, pointing out the six remedial students. "You will be coming back to the classroom, with me."

Ashido groans. "No fair!"

"Life's not fair. Get a helmet," Aizawa replies, leading the six off. The rest of the class watches, wincing, until Pixie-Bob and Mandalay catch their attention and explain the test of courage. They'll be split into pairs, with one team of three (so that no one is alone with the odd numbers).

Yaoyorozu and Aoyama are the first to enter, followed three minutes later by Ochako and Tsuyu. Pairs three and four—Shouji and Tokoyami, and Jirou and Todoroki—have both entered and Mashirao and Shiozaki are getting ready to go in when Mandalay freezes.

"Do you smell that?" she says.

"Smells like smoke," Tiger agrees.

"Someone scared Todoroki so bad he set the forest on fire!" Hagakure gushes, and Mashirao raises his eyebrows.

"Uh, Hagakure? That's a bad thing," he says.

No one has a chance to reply as Pixie-Bob glows pink and is yanked across the clearing.

Everyone watches her flight path, watches as she slams head-first into a rectangular metal thing and crumples to the ground at the feet of two women.

"So sorry to interrupt," the, the not-grey one says, her red-stained lips curling into a dangerous smile. "We just need you kitty-cats out of the way."

Izuku feels his feet shift, feels him move towards the interlopers. Except—Tiger and Mandalay are there. Tiger holds one arm out in front of Izuku, preventing him from going any further.

"You need to get your classmates back to the lodge," Mandalay orders. Izuku nods, glancing back at Hagakure, Kouda, Mashirao, Shiozaki. He can do that. He can see them to safety.

"Wait," he gasps, fear kicking the supports out from under his heart. "Kouta."

"We have to trust he knows what to do and is hiding," Mandalay says. "None of us except Ragdoll knows where his hideout is."

"I do," Izuku gasps, except he's shoved back by Tiger as the two women—villains—run forwards.

"Did you say you know where that boy is?" Shiozaki asks, her hands on Izuku's upper arms as he stumbles backwards from the force of Tiger's shove.

"Yes," he replies, not bothering with sign, even though Mashirao's there to translate. "With—with villains in the forest, I can't just trust that he'll be safe. Can you make sure they," he jerks his chin towards their three classmates, "make it back to the lodge?"

"No," Mashirao says, stepping towards them. "I'm coming with you."

Izuku blinks, pauses, shakes his head. "No, you go back to the lodge. You're our best at hand-to-hand, you can make sure they make it back—"

"While I come with you," Shiozaki finishes his thought, nodding.

Mashirao looks at her, his eyebrows drawn tight. "Take care of him," he asks, voice strained.

"I can take care of myself," Izuku says, wincing as he sees Mandalay take an exceptionally hard hit from the grey-skinned villain.

"I'll see him back safely," Shiozaki promises. "Godspeed, Ojiro."

Mashirao looks lost for a moment. Behind him, Kouda is talking to… some owls, it looks like. "Oh, uh, Godspeed?"

"Thank you," Shiozaki dips her head for a moment.

"Wait!" Kouda says as the two green-haired teens get ready to run into the forest. "They," he gestures at the owls and then continues signing, "promised to follow you! They'll come get me at the lodge if anything happens to you!"

"That's genius," Izuku says. "Thank you, Kouda."

Kouda nods, his mouth closed tight. He swallows, and then runs off towards the lodge, followed by Mashirao and Hagakure while Shiozaki and Izuku glance at each other and run towards the woods, sprinting right past Tiger and the villain he was fighting.

"Where do you two think you're going!" he shouts, blocking a punch from the villain.

"Have faith! We'll save Kouta!" Shiozaki yells over her shoulder before they're into the trees and running from the clearing.

Izuku takes the lead, vaulting logs and dodging branches until he finds the little trail that leads up to Kouta's hideout. It takes five minutes to walk there from the main pavilion. At this pace, they'll make it in less than two.

Will that be enough?

Shiozaki keeps pace with him, but he can hear her struggling, her breathing quickly growing labored. He gets it: they're both completely exhausted. But that doesn't mean they can stop.

…They can maybe afford to slow up, some, though. He slackens his pace just a little bit. It won't do them any good to be completely exhausted when they get to Kouta, after all.

As they approach the hideout, Izuku holds his arm out, a signal to slow down. They do, and they approach quietly. He can hear a man laughing.

There should not be a man up here.

"Ah, the Water Hose's kid," the man says, and Izuku can hear the sadistic grin the man definitely has. "I knew they had a son, but I wasn't expecting to run across you here! This must be something like fate."

Something like fate.

Something like fate, another voice hisses in Izuku's ear, a voice that's one month ago and right now and never.

"What's the plan?" Shiozaki hisses.

"You distract him and we hope he doesn't have a heteromorphic quirk," Izuku hisses back, and she nods. "Don't announce your presence—just attack."

Shiozaki nods again.

"I know you," Kouta's saying. "You're. You're Muscular. You killed my parents."

"And now I'm going to kill you," he growls.

"Now," Izuku hisses, and Shiozaki runs around the corner, her vines, tired as they are, already plunging ahead, weaving a wall between the man—Muscular—and his victim—Kouta. Izuku sprints out, taking advantage of the distraction of Shiozaki's quirk in order to close the ground and slap five fingers down on Muscular's bare arm.

He knows this villain, and he knows of the Water Hose, and some things are starting to make sense now.

Muscular, the villain who killed the Water Hose, has a transformation quirk.

Izuku's quirk activates, a flash of red lightning, and he dodges backwards, the wind from Muscular's punch ruffling his shirt.

"What the-? Oh, you're the Midoriya kid," Muscular grins. "I was warned about you. The boss wants a chat with you, says you're old friends."

Izuku snarls. They are not old friends. He hears Shiozaki's vine barrier come unwound behind him, and he dodges another hit in time to see more of her vines writhing forward, twisting and wrapping around Muscular's arms. They hold the villain long enough for Izuku to get a few feet away, before Muscular tears out of them with brute strength and a laugh, full-bodied, throwing his head back.

"Sorry, girlie," he says. "Your pretty plants aren't enough to hold me."

"I'm sorry, Midoriya," Shiozaki says. She's holding her hand out, keeping Kouta behind her. "After training… I just don't have enough-!"

She scoops up Kouta and leaps backwards while Izuku dives to the side, rolling out of the way of Muscular's charge. Even without his quirk he's incredibly strong, a wall of muscle standing between them like a dark All Might.

"Get Kouta back to the lodge!" Izuku strains his voice, as loud as it will go now.

"I won't leave you!"

Izuku dodges backwards, the wind off Muscular's swing brushing by his face. "I'm not asking you to!"

Does she get it? Does she get what he's trying to tell her? He can't look, Muscular is too fast, too strong, always right there, right in his face, and it's everything he can do to avoid the hits that just keep coming.

"Those are some awful pretty scars on your neck there," the man growls as Izuku ducks under another hit. Izuku tries, fails, can't move fast enough to get behind the man, can't do anything—"Maybe by the end of the night you'll have a few more to match them. Too bad for you your pretty little lady-friend left you behind." Muscular laughs. "You might've stood a chance."

Shiozaki left. Please, please let her understand, please let their time together in class have been long enough.

"Hey, before I tear you apart, you mind telling me where we could find your friend Tokoyami? It'll save us a lot of time and effort that would be better spent elsewhere."

"Never," Izuku spits, and that's his mistake as a large fist slams into his gut and another hand grabs his right arm and—

Something snaps, and Izuku collapses, his face being ground into the dirt as his arm—broken, fresh, snapped—is held behind him, pain shooting up the limb. He can barely breathe.

"I bet you wish you'd just surrendered, but that wouldn't've been half as fun." Muscular's breath is hot, warm against Izuku's neck, and he shivers, remembering someone else's whispers, someone else's breath on the shell of his ear, the back of his neck.

And then, the weight is gone.

"Get away from him!" that's Shiozaki, running forward, pulling him to his feet, pulling him after her by his uninjured arm.

"You little bitch!" Muscular yells, but he sounds… somewhat distant, and Shiozaki keeps a tight grip on Izuku's hand as she pulls him forward.

"I sent Kouta back to the lodge," she gasps out between breaths. "I don't—I don't think I have any, anything left, with my, my quirk."

"That's okay," Izuku pants.

They can no longer hear Muscular screaming, and so they slow down.

"I can't go to the lodge anyways—they, they're after Tokoyami, I need to get to Mandalay so she can warn them," he says, and Shiozaki shakes her head.

"No. Midoriya, you can't. Your arm is broken and you look like you're about to fall over," she says. He glances over and her eyes are wide, a sheen of sweat on her forehead and temples and neck.

"It's fine. Tokoyami broke my arm in the Sports Festival and I could still fight," he replies, tacking on a smile.

"This is not the Sports Festival," Shiozaki hisses, glaring at him. "Let's at least—see if Kouta made it back?"

Izuku inhales, holds, exhales. "Alright." He nods. "Alright. We'll at least make sure Kouta made it there."

"Alright." Shiozaki doesn't let go of his uninjured hand, this time leading him down the trail back to the lodge. The pain in Izuku's arm, in his stomach, is a low throb—for now. His arm is sure to hurt more later, and that was not a clean little break like Tokoyami had given him in the Sports Festival. The motion Muscular had used… it was spiral, at best. He was lucky it wasn't a compound fracture.

His self-assessment halts as he hears something like… like crying.

"Hey, do you hear that?" he says, glancing around. "It sounds like…"

"Crying," Shiozaki nods. "It's… There could be more villains here."

"That's what I'm thinking," Izuku mutters. His throat burns, too, mustn't forget that.

Except—it's not some villain, pretending to be a child in distress.

It is a child in distress. It's Kouta, curled up just off the path, crying and shaking and trying to cry quiet (Izuku knows what it looks like, may have tried to do so on occasion in the past-)

"Kouta," Shiozaki says, crouching down next to him. "It's okay, Kouta. We're here, now. Midoriya's fine, see? I went and got him, just like I said." Her voice is soft, gentle.

Kouta sniffs, blinks, looks up, and Izuku crouches down next to Shiozaki.

"Hey," he says, his voice coming out semi-strangled. "I'm okay, see? And so are you. Let's get you back to the lodge, alright?" He holds out his left hand, the uninjured one, and feels a jolt of surprise as Kouta takes it, takes Izuku and Shiozaki's hands, and lets them pull him to his feet, lets Shiozaki pick him up and carry him on her back towards the lodge.

Izuku takes off at a jog, the sudden anxiety of Muscular nipping at his heels, and Shiozaki follows suit, despite the exhaustion, despite carrying Kouta. She's… she's amazing, honestly.

And then there's movement in the forest up ahead. Izuku is attack first, ask questions maybe, launching himself forward with every bit of adrenaline he has left, and it sends him crashing right into Aizawa. His teacher catches him, steadies him, hands on his shoulders.

Is it just him, or is the relief in the choked "Midoriya" actually there?

"Mr. Aizawa," he gasps, as Shiozaki runs up next to them, Kouta on her back. There's smoke in the forest, thick and heavy and black, and it stings Izuku's nose.

"You three need to get back to the lodge," Aizawa says, and Izuku shakes his head.

"No," he says. "No. They're after Tokoyami—We need to, we need to get to Mandalay so she can warn everyone."

"No," Aizawa growls, his hands gripping tight on Izuku's shoulders. "I'll go warn her. You make sure Shiozaki and Kouta make it back to the lodge."

"I—" Izuku gasps. "But—"

"The fire," a small voice says, and everyone turns to look at Kouta. "Someone needs to put out the fire. I—I have a water quirk. I can do it."

"You're five," Aizawa snaps.

"But what'll happen if I don't?" Kouta protests. "The whole forest'll burn down!"

Well, he's not wrong! Those blue flames are definitely from a quirk and definitely not slowing down.

Izuku watches Aizawa, watches him consider and discard idea after idea.

"Fine," he says, biting his lip. "Fine. Shiozaki, give Kouta to me, and go with Midoriya. Midoriya, Shiozaki, when you see Mandalay, I need you to give her this message from me: The students of U.A. classes 1-A and 1-B are granted permission to use their quirks in combat under the authority of Pro Hero Eraserhead, for the purpose of protecting themselves from this villain attack."

Izuku nods. "Got it." He hears Shiozaki echo a similar message behind him.

"Shiozaki, make sure that he goes right to the lodge after he passes his messages on," Aizawa orders.

She nods. "Yes, sir."

And Aizawa turns his eyes to Izuku.

"Midoriya," he says. "Izuku. Promise me. You will turn around and go right back to the lodge as soon as you pass your message on."

Izuku looks up. Meets his gaze. Nods.

"I promise," he says.

Aizawa releases him.

:)

expected update: 13 May, 2020