So I mentioned in the last chapter that updates would slow down. Unfortunately, it seems more like they are going to stop for the next couple of weeks. I'll try to get some more chapters done, but I am exhausted from my new job. As such, I am going to be going back to my Post Something On A Friday update schedule. Hope you understand.
Grey
"Hi-chan!"
Shinso sighed as he walked into the dorm. It had been barely three days since he had started joining the Hero students for meals, and yet the green-haired teen had already decided that this was enough of a reason to give him a ridiculous nickname. He looked past Izuku, inspecting the group of class A and B students already gathered around the table, various books scattered across its surface as Yaoyorozu stood at the head, seemingly tutoring them.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked, Izuku shaking his head as he led the purple-haired teen towards the table.
"Nope, we were just finishing up," he said, "Come on, you can help set the table!"
The teen just nodded as he silently followed Izuku, glancing over at the table as they passed, both Mina and Kirishima face down on it as what looked like steam slowly rose from their heads. He chuckled quietly to himself as he walked into the kitchen, greeting Inko as Izuku handed him a stack of plates.
"And how are you, Shinso-san?" the woman asked as she bustled around the kitchen, "Studying for your upcoming exams, I hope?"
"Yeah," he muttered, the woman smiling kindly at him.
"That's good to hear," she hummed, "We're having fish tonight, it's good for your brain."
"Thanks," he replied, following Izuku out of the room as they walked over to the table, the rest of the students already clearing the books away.
"I think that went well," Momo beamed as she stood at the head of the table, hands on her hips as she gave a satisfied sigh, "I think you'll all be able to at least pass at this point."
"My brain is numb…" Setsuna moaned as she put a stack of books to the side, "Is it normal to be able to feel your brain? Cause I can't."
"It is imperative that we be properly prepared for these exams!" Iida called as he took some of the plates from Hitoshi, laying them out on the table, "They are just as important as the practical!"
"Oh yeah," Ochako hummed, "I wonder what those'll be like?"
"Oh, I know an upper-classman," Kendo chuckled as she stretched her back, "They told me that the practical exam for first years are almost always fights against robots."
"You mean like in entrance exams?" Pony chimed happily in her broken Japanese as she hopped up, "This be easy then!"
"SHUT YOUR FU-DAMN MOUTH, HORNS!" Bakugo spat as he appeared from the stairwell, not having joined in their study group, "THIS IS UA, NOTHING IS EASY!"
"Aw, are you saying you might struggle, Kacchan?" Neito chuckled, the blond glaring at him.
"OF COURSE NOT! I'LL ACE ALL THE EXAMS THEY CAN THROW AT US! AND DON'T CALL ME THAT, XEROX!"
Hitoshi just watched as they two blondes began throwing shade at each other, letting out a quiet sigh as he glanced over at the other quiet boy beside him. Rin gave him a tired smile, shrugging his shoulders as he sat back at the table.
"Number One Customer! I have new babies to show you!" the pink-haired support student yelled as she burst through the door, arms laden with rolls of paper, before a hand grabbed the back of her collar.
"Eat first, Mei," the bat-like girl sighed as she half dragged the babbling girl towards the table, "Then you can talk about your inventions."
"But babies!"
The rest of the students laughed at their antics, apparently already used to Mei's eccentricities. Hitoshi just sighed as he slipped into his seat between Pipi and Izuku.
"Now that everyone's here," Inko's voice called from the kitchen as she walked out, arms covered in plates as she set them down on the table, "It's time for dinner! I hope you all enjoy."
"Thanks, mom!" Izuku said, standing to give her a quick kiss on the cheek as she passed by him.
The students quickly fell silent as they began to dish up and eat, only chatting quietly. Inko smiled as she watched them, the fifteen students clearly enjoying the meal. Even Mei was quiet as she stuffed food into her mouth. She turned silently and headed back into the kitchen, picking up the two plates she'd left there as she headed towards the door to her apartment.
"Is Himiko not eating with us again?"
The voice almost surprised her, Inko turning to look at Pipi as the bat girl stood with her own plate.
"No, she says she's still not comfortable around crowds," Inko smiled softly as she spoke, but the support student could see the sadness in her eyes, "I'm sure she'll join you all soon enough."
"Do you mind if I join the two of you then?" Pipi asked, "I wanted to talk to her about something."
Inko blinked in surprise, before a genuine smile crossed her lips.
"Of course, sweetheart. I'm sure Himiko will be overjoyed."
"Sooo," Toru hummed as she leaned over Mina's desk, "What's it like staying in the dorms?"
"Oh, it's great!" the pink-skinned girl laughed, "We have a bunch of fun, and Inko-san's food is amazing! Though Yaomomo's tutoring sessions can get a little intense."
"Tutoring?" Denki blinked as he looked over at the two, "What for?"
"The exams?" Kiri said as he walked over to them, "That are next week?"
"Next week?" the blond muttered, suddenly jumping up from his chair as he grabbed his head, "I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO STUDY!"
"That is unforgivable!" Iida gasped, stepping up and grabbing the boy by the shoulders, "How could you forget something so important?"
"Between the Internships and Hero training it just slipped my mind," Denki said as Iida shook him, "I didn't mean to!"
"Then we must fix this immediately!" the blue-haired boy barked, turning sharply to look at Momo, "Yaoyorozu, are you prepared to have extra students to tutor?"
"M-me?" the girl gasped as she looked up from the book she was reading, "Why?"
"Well, you do already tutor everyone at the dorms, except Bakugo," Ochako said, "I mean, even Tokage-san says you're smarter than her, and she's also a recommendation student!"
"Wait. You're studying with the class B students, kero?" Tsuyu blinked as she looked up, "What's that like?"
"It's fine?" Ochako hummed, "They're all really nice. Well, Neito can be a bit…extra? I think that's what Izuku said?"
"Ooh, you're calling him Izuku now?" Toru chuckled as she sidled up to the brunette, Ochako blushing as she waved her hands frantically.
"I-it's just cause I'm getting more familiar with him!" she spluttered, "We're living under the same roof after all!"
"That certainly doesn't help your case," Jiro chuckled quietly as she looked around, "Where is Midori, anyway?"
The class fell silent as they looked at the empty desk, Katsuki scowling at them from his own seat.
"What the fuck are you fuckers fucking looking at me like that fucking for?!" He growled.
"Has Bakugo gotten worse with his swearing lately?" Rikido muttered as they looked at the blond.
"Oh, Inko-san doesn't like swearing, so he has to get it all out when he's not in the dorm!" Kirishima laughed.
"FUCK YOU TOO, YOU SHITTY HAIRED FUCK NUGGET!" The blond spat.
"See?"
The class laughed as Bakugo leapt out of his seat and stormed over to the red head, screaming bloody murder as he went.
"I'm sure it will be fine," Momo said, "Though we'll have to make sure to inform Inko-san that there may be more people over for dinner."
"One moment," Fumikage hummed, "Who is this "Inko-san" you have been talking about?"
"Oh, she's Midori's mom!" Mina said excitedly, "And she's so nice!"
"Midoriya's mom is staying at the dorms?" Mashirao asked, "Why?"
"Because that fucking quirk stealing fuck almost got fucking kidnapped, and he dragged Aunty Inko into his bullshit!" Bakugo growled as he stomped back to his seat, "That's why they fucking opened the god damned dorms to fucking begin with. FUCK!"
"Wait, Midori almost got kidnapped?!" the class shouted in shock, "What happened? Were they okay?"
"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!" Bakugo yelled back, "FUCK HIM!"
"I didn't know you felt that way, Kacchan," Izuku laughed from the door, the rest of the class turning to look at him in surprise, "Sorry I'm late, had to help my mom with something."
"Is it to do with the mysterious Himi-chi?" Mina giggled, grinning at him, "When are we going to meet her?"
"Himi-chi?" Toru asked, "Is that the girl Mina thinks you're dating? Does she also stay at the dorms?"
"Yeah," Izuku said as he walked to his desk, "She's been staying with us for a while, so she moved in to help my mom with her Dorm Mother duties."
"Though we have yet to see her," Momo hummed, "Apparently she is not comfortable around crowds."
"Something like that," Izuku hummed as he headed towards his seat.
"You will have time for gossip later," the familiar voice grumbled as their Homeroom teacher walked through the door, scowling at them, "Now get to your seats."
The men glanced at each other as they sat around the bar, most sipping on drinks as the mist-like bartender quietly cleaned a glass. Almost all of them had some sort of heteromorphic or animal-based mutation, at least visibly. Some had started talking quietly as they waited for the supposed ringleader to make his appearance and were starting to get antsy. They didn't dare fight though, the last couple of guys who had tried having vanished moments after when the bartender had engulfed them in his mist like body. They were all here for the same simple reason, the frankly ludicrous amount of money they were being offered for a simple kidnapping job and didn't see the point in messing that up.
"Yeh sure yeh in the right place, kid?" a towering man chuckled from the bar, his skin shimmering like diamond as he stared at the black-haired man leaning against the far wall, "They's said they's was after Mutant types. Unless them scars is your quirk?"
"Fuck off," the young man muttered, "I know why I'm here."
"So does I," the diamond-skinned cackled, "But I jus' dun want yeh to go crying outta here when they's reject yeh."
"Like they'd accept some two-bit Villain like you."
"THE FUCK YOUS SAY TAH ME?" the diamod-skinned man roared as he jumped up from his stool, glaring at the scarred man, "I'LLS CRUSH YER PRETTY LITTLE HEAD!"
He stepped forwards, his skin shimmering as the other man raised a hand, blue flames starting to lick across his skin. They both blinked when the shroud of blackish fog shot between them, both glancing over to the bar.
"Enough," the baritone voice of the bar tender, "The…leader is here."
The two stepped back as the mist receded back into the bartender, revealing the slender, pale-haired man.
"You," he muttered, pointing at the black-haired man, before his finger shot towards the only other non-mutant in the room, a towering man with a thick scar over the left side of his face, his eye replaced with an intimidating fake, "And you. Fuck off. We said only Mutants."
"Right," the scarred man growled as he stepped forwards, the muscular man also getting up from his seat, "But you don't know who I am or what I can-."
"I told you to fuck off," the pale-haired Villain spat, his red eyes boring into the man, "Kurogiri, get rid of them."
"As you wish, Tomura Shigaraki," the bartender hummed, neither of them able to respond as the black mist engulfed the room. The rest of the Villains hissed, tensing slightly, before the mist reformed into the bartender, his suit unruffled as he continued cleaning the glass.
"I don't need party members that'll be able to be turned against me," Shigaraki muttered, before turning to the rest of the room, "You lot, you're hired. Giran will contact you when we're ready to move out."
"That easy?" the lizard-like man muttered as he scratched at the mask on his face, still not used to the feeling just yet, "What's the catch?"
"The catch?" Shigaraki growled, making the man tense as he glared at him, "You'll all be meeting with …an associate first. We need to take some measurements for your gear. And other things."
"Gear?" the Villains in the bar muttered, looking at each other in confusion.
Izuku hunched over the notebook, eyes scanning the pages ferociously as he sat at the desk in his dorm room. After a moment, he flopped back in his chair, letting out a tired sigh. He had been at this for hours, and he was exhausted. But he had to make sure that what had happened wasn't a fluke. If it wasn't, then he had a whole new aspect of his quirk to train. To help him save. And he was going to use it.
He closed his eyes, reaching inside himself and pulling on the familiar light that lay within, the smell of burnt sugar wafting to his nose a moment later.
