Izuku yawned. He felt out of place not being at the training grounds and couldn't shake the sense he was being lazy. All Might had been working with him, Todoroki, and Kacchan all week on their teamwork by having them face off against one of the teachers as a team. The sheer repetition instilled a sense of routine that was difficult to break.
All Might may have given him the day off but still felt like he needed to do something.
Instead of training, here he was carrying a bag of yakisoba buns so he, Todoroki, and Kacchan could stuff themselves while they watched a movie.
Their teamwork had improved since the exercises but it was far from perfect. There was still an awkwardness between the group – most of it stemming from Kacchan being Kacchan and unfamiliarity between them. For as long as they had been classmates, they still knew so little about each other.
In fact, Tododoki figured that with the rest of the class out shopping that it provided them a good chance to hang out and bond.
It was for this reason Izuku tilted his head upon walking into the UA dorms. Where were Kacchan and Todoroki and more importantly why were the Big Three here? He mentally corrected himself – technically they were the Big Two now which was decidedly a weird name that should never be used.
"Hey, Midoriya, how are you doing?"
Izuku blinked. He hadn't seen Mirio since the combat and rescue drill where he kept flinging himself in the water. It wasn't like him to show up out of the blue since he usually only was around UA to take care of Eri and it was even weirder for Tamaki to be around since he technically had no reason to be around Class 1-A. Besides, he wasn't a people person in the slightest.
Mirio laughed. "Cat got your tongue?"
"Just surprised to see you, it's been a while." Izuku replied, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.
"Too long, actually. Haven't seen you since the school training drills and the festival."
"I'm curious what brought you guys here, it must be pretty important."
Tamaki nodded. "Yes, actually, there was...something we wanted to ask." the nervous upperclassman began, glancing over at the couch where the third member of The Big Three was sitting in the living room every so often as if to keep an eye on her. "But it might be better if Mirio asks it."
Izuku glanced over, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the female member of The Big Three as she turned the channel. He shook his head. When had Nejire arrived or had he simply not noticed her presence? He imagined she had to have been there before him because he hadn't seen her enter and she couldn't just phase through walls like Mirio could.
His mind started to rabbit trail only to be drawn back to reality again by Mirio.
"So what do you say?"
Izuku sputtered, blushing slightly out of embarrassment over zoning out. "I'm sorry, run that by me again."
Mirio flashed him a thumbs up. "Sorry, that's a lot to process, so let me start from the top. I was going to ask Eraserhead about whether you guys could keep Nejire company and keep her occupied for a little bit."
"He's not here," Izuku replied. "And neither is most of the class."
"I know, that's why I'm asking you instead."
"Why are you asking me to do this?"
"Nejire doesn't do alone." Tamaki interjected.
Izuku frowned. "What?"
"I mean, Nejire literally doesn't do alone. If you leave her alone, she gets bored and will try to find us."
"Yeah, usually she hangs out with us, but we need someone to keep her occupied while we prepare the birthday celebration with the other third years for her. You and the other students of Class 1-A seemed like the most logical choice since you guys are already somewhat acquainted." Mirio whispered, keeping his voice down and occasionally peeking over towards the living room to make sure Nejire wasn't listening in on them.
"I mean, I guess she can hang out with us..." Izuku muttered, only to be cut off before he could finish.
"Awesome, knew we could count on you!" Mirio beamed.
"We'll...owe you one." Tamaki added.
"But Todoroki, Kacchan, and I are the only ones here." he blurted out, only to realize Mirio and Tamaki had already left.
Izuku felt his heart sink. Everything happened so fast he hardly had time to process the responsibility put upon him. But here he was alone with the girl voted most beautiful at UA whom he knew little about and his friends nowhere to be seen.
What he would have done for the outgoing personality of All Might and his ability to find the right words to say. What was he supposed to say to her anyway? Did they even have anything in common? She was a third year, after all.
"Hello, how are you doing?" he asked in a shaky voice.
Nejire set the remote on the coffee table after turning off the television and turned her head to look back at Izuku. Her blue eyes she fixated on him.
"Hey, Midoriya, I didn't see you come in! Unless you phased through a wall like Mirio. Wait, does your quirk include teleportation or phasing? Because that would be pretty cool. They're such neat powers."
"Uhh, no, I'm afraid not. I can't do that, yet." Izuku replied, the last part being something only spoken to himself in a whisper. After the training session between the two classes, he could never be sure One for All wouldn't throw something new at him.
Nejire sprung up from the couch, prompting Izuku's face to flush red. He couldn't help but notice she was wearing the blue dress from the beauty pageant which made things significantly more awkward since it emphasized her...body proportions.
He looked away, frantically looking for Kacchan and Todoroki.
"You know, we should probably find Kacchan and Todoroki!" the flustered boy exclaimed. "They might have something they want to do today."
"Are you guys that close? That's pretty cool. But I think they said something about picking up some drinks for your movie night." Nejire replied, moving closer to him.
Izuku flinched. "They did?" he sputtered, dismayed they had left him alone with this situation.
"Actually, that made me wonder if I could watch it with you guys. What are you watching later? What genre is it? Is it funny, sad, romantic, action-packed?"
Izuku felt his head start to spin from the amount of questions. Before he could even think about answering any of them, the chipper third year changed the subject and pointed to the notebook on the coffee table – his hero notes.
"Actually, now that you're here I just remembered some questions I wanted to ask."
Izuku gave her an incredulous look. Wasn't she already asking questions?
"I hope you don't mind, but I was looking through your journal and was amazed by all the research you did! But I couldn't help noticing you didn't have a page on yourself even after all the stuff you did in the sports festival. I saw you generate wind currents. Can you control the weather? What's the upper limits of your super strength? How fast can you move?" she babbled.
Izuku paled. Was this what it was like for other people when he rambled on about quirks?
"I-one at a time, please!"
Nejire stepped closer and grabbed his arm, lifting it up and examining it. Izuku tensed, caught off guard by her lack of understanding about personal space.
"I believe you flicked your fingers. What's the strongest wind currents you've created? Can you create tornadoes? Have you accidentally blown something away with the wind you weren't supposed to?"
"That's not how that works, it's just a strength enhancement quirk."
"But during the Shie Hassaikai raid you generated lightning or some sort of energy across your body. Is that electricity? Does it hurt? Do you glow in the dark? Can you electrocute people?" Nejire blurted out almost all at once.
She ran her hands up and down Izuku's chest and abs. "Wait, could you actually demonstrate that again so we can test it?"
"Why so close?" Izuku gasped.
He tried to back away only to stumble backwards, pulling Nejire with him as he landed on the floor with a loud thud. He groaned, stunned by the hard landing knocking the wind out of him.
Izuku's eyes widened once he realized the position he was in with Nejire laying on top of him.
Just when he thought it couldn't get any more awkward, the door swung open. "Damn it, Icy-Hot, move your ass! I'd like to watch the movie sometime today!"
Izuku paled as Kacchan turned and saw their situation.
"What the hell?" the blonde screamed.
Izuku paled and let a dying gasp. He was never going to live this down.