Chapter 52: ... cheese.
now that the raid it seemed like as things went back to normal that time had gone by faster, Sir Nighteye's funeral came around with all the raid participating heroes and work study students as well as All Might himself to give their last goodbyes. the raid was a huge success but unfortunately due to their injuries and the loss of Sir Nighteye's life work study was put to a halt for the time being. before long it was becoming fall and the atmosphere was finally becoming normal at U.A. again, or at least for most of the school but not for Class 1-A. ever since Izumi's scar healed the girls of Class 1-A wouldn't stop talking about it, it kinda annoyed Izumi but at the same time she didn't have the courage to tell them to leave her alone. thought the bright side is that unlike normal times she wasn't embarrassed like normal but actually found it enjoyable mainly because she was back in school and not fighting dangerous criminals anymore. it was peaceful, she did enjoy the thrill of hero work and the rush of fighting a villain but after the exhaustion of nearly dying multiple times she was just glad to be doing something that didn't have the potential of losing blood or life. so she focused hard on her school work with great determination and pride, even during the times she got questions wrong. then like that another class was over but before Izumi left she bumped into Yaoyorozu.
"oh sorry Yao- I mean Momo-chan." Yaoyorozu's eyes then sparkled with joy which made Izumi back up a little in confusion.
"oh! sorry I just can't help but stare in awe at your beautiful face, even when you say my name in such an adorable manner." oh here we go again... Izumi thought.
"um, thank you Momo-chan but I honestly think you look much prettier than me."
"oh no need for flattery Izumi-chan! oh, dear me I forgot what I wanted to tell you, I know your grades have ranked you as the fourth highest in our class but I couldn't help but notice your struggling at math. well, I was thinking that maybe you and I could study together." Izumi was surprised to hear this but quickly smiled because she actually liked the idea, she could use some studying to improve her math skills, and thought Yaoyorozu was the most guilty of praising Izumi's looks too much she also knew to respect Izumi's comfort zone so Izumi felt that this was a good opportunity for her. however the other girls heard this conversation and soon Hagakure's eyes burned with jealously and she rushed over and grabbed Izumi's right arm.
"oh come on Izumi like Momo-chan said earlier you already have stable grades, how about we do more girly thinks instead like makeup! *sigh* your already so pretty now! I bet you'll end up being a goddess once I'm done with you." though she was still invisible Izumi could practically feel the fire of passion burning in Hagakure's eyes which made Izumi sweat nervously and then Yaoyorozu locked onto Izumi's left arm. Izumi looked to Yaoyorozu in joy thinking she was going to get her out of this but she was instead frozen in fear when she saw Yaoyorozu smiling happily but had an aura of burning jealously.
"Hagakure, that's nice and all but we all know Izumi doesn't like that kind of thing, I think she would prefer to improve her studies better."
"but you can't improve what's already perfect, Izumi earned her place in the top 5 after all. besides maybe she doesn't like it because she hasn't had much experience."
"that may be true but I really want to help Izumi with her studies to become a better educated hero."
"she already has brains and brawn, plenty of brawn actually, but we all know she's lacking in charisma arguably one of the greatest factors of a hero! shouldn't she be focusing on her overcoming her weaknesses rather than improving what is already great?" neither of them were letting up and holding tightly to Izumi's arms trying to grab hard enough to make the other loss grip. Izumi was in the middle with both her arms being pulled but rather than be in pain she was just sitting there with a bored expression out of annoyance, well this is nostalgic Izumi thought as she remembered the first few weeks of U.A. back when she was first discovered to be a girl and both Uraraka and Bakugo were fighting to stay close to her. she remembered how sometimes when she walked to school with them she had to be in-between them too keep them from fighting but by doing so she could practically feel the negative energy they had toward each other.
"hm... Izumi-chan? which one of us would you like to hang out with?" Izumi froze in panic, she was hoping that one or the other would eventually give up or hopefully they both would but now they were making Izumi chose who she had to spend time with. she did think that studying with Yaoyorozu would be more beneficial; after all Izumi related more to Yaoyorozu and even thought she liked adoring Izumi like the other girls she was much more tame about it. because of this Yaoyorozu but Izumi knew that if she chose her Hagakure might do something unpredictable, despite being a girl Izumi knew nothing about how girls normally acted so she was just as scared as a dumb boyfriend would be with his already angered girlfriend. and like an idiot Izumi just sweated nervously while both the girls stared at her intensely waiting for her reply.
"Deku! aren't you coming? its lunch time!" Izumi then lit up with she saw Uraraka and Iida she then tried to playfully laugh as she got her arms out of Hagakure's and Yaoyorozu's grasp and walked over to Iida and Uraraka. Izumi then awkwardly apologized to the two and the three of them left the room to which Izumi sighed in relief and Uraraka patted her on the back to comfort her.
"geez Deku, your such a cute girl but you act like a dumb boyfriend who doesn't know what girls are thinking."
"... that's because I don't." Izumi then looked up at Uraraka and then rushed over to hug her.
"ha, but thank you Uraraka. I'm so glad that your not clingy, overbearing, or crazy at all. your just a good and understanding friend." Uraraka then laughed nervously while hugging Izumi back, but then noticed Iida starting at her in disappointment since she still hadn't owned up to much of the misdeeds she had done during her obsession with Izumi. but Izumi let go of Uraraka and stood tall while smiling with joy to which Iida and Uraraka smiled as well now knowing that she was ok.
"ha, sorry about that, anyways lets get go eat!"
"of course, thought I have to say it seems that your radiating more brightly than usual Izumi. I wonder if that's just me."
"oh is it really that obvious Iida? I guess I'm just happy that the mission we work study students had is now over. it put a huge amount of stress me. so frankly I'm just glad to be back in school where nothing dangerous or weird could sneak up on me again."
"have some cheese" just then Aoyama showed up and put a small slice of cheese into Izumi's mouth, Izumi stared at Aoyama with a mixture of confusion and fear while Aoyama pushed the cheese into Izumi's mouth and she slowly started chewing out of growing fear.
"this is my favorite cheese, its mild making it perfect for snacking. wouldn't you agree." Izumi actually did not like the small hit of sweetness in the savory taste of the cheese but she was now scared of Aoyama and just smiled while kept chewing.
"uh, ahem, Aoyama your going to lunch right, want to join us? its normally just me, Uraraka, and Izumi but there are times where other students eat with us, why don't you join us today?"
"no, I'm afraid my taste is too refined for Food Rush's cooking." Aoyama then got back into the classroom and pulled out a large lunch box that inside was an extremely fancy looking dish. he then waved them goodbye but also winked directly at Izumi, too which she smiled back while sweating nervously, the three of them then finally walked off to the cafeteria.
"well that was suprising, Aoyama does like making a flash when he's around but I've never known him to so passionate about... cheese."
"uh speaking of which Izumi are you ok? you don't like sweets right? is cheese sweet?" Izumi then pulled a napkin from her pocket and spat out the cheese into the napkin.
"ugh... its only a little sweet but I still can't stand the taste. but he wasn't exactly being rude so I didn't want to spit it out while right in front of him."
"he did force feed you the cheese, isn't that kind of like assault?"
"that just sounds silly. besides I'm sure Aoyama was just trying to be nice, though I don't understand why so suddenly."
"eh, we can worry about that later, lets go eat!"
that night Izumi managed to get another good night rest, she managed to relax more due to the fact that she and the other work study students received a message that Eri was now awake and stable. this was only a start, there was no way to tell how long it would take for Eri to fully recover and how long after than to be able to fully control her powers. still it was progress which made Izumi happy knowing that she was getting better even if a little bit, so she was able to go to sleep; or at least she would have if she didn't hear someone walking on her balcony. Izumi slowly turned her head out of fear and saw Aoyama placing something on the floor, he then suddenly left, Izumi now confused got up and opened the balcony door and saw a bunch of cheese placed in an order to spell out "I know everything." Izumi then screamed out of both confusion and fear but actually managed to cover her mouth before her screaming could wake up everyone and was instead muffled.
Izumi didn't end up sleeping well at all that night and was quite exhausted in the morning when she went to the living room to get some breakfast. she then lazily went over to get some breakfast but then on the table saw a neatly decorated lunchbox with the tag "for Izumi" with a star next to her name. Izumi was too tired to think straight so she opened it without hesitation but inside was quality cheese. this instantly filled Izumi with enough fear to wake her up and she screamed while falling to the ground.
"wow hey Izumi are you ok?"
"huh? its just cheese in the box." then Sato and Sero went over to help Izumi up while Sero also peeked into the box to see what scared her.
"oh, thanks guys. I uh, kinda had a rough night and I really don't need cheese right now." Izumi then remembered her bad nightmares of Aoyama suddenly turning into a cheese monster and started eating her.
"ugh, hey what are you guys having for breakfast?"
"um well I'm having cereal, so-"
"oh! I'll have that!"
"... uh, don't you hate cereal?" this was true Izumi could practically taste the sugar in cereal making the flavor unbearable for her but she was extremely desperate to get cheese out of her mind so she was willing to even eat poison at this point.
"ah... nope! I can defiantly eat cereal!"
Izumi was almost late to class that day due to throwing up all the cereal she ate that morning she was left more hungry afterwards and just had Sero's leftovers which was just a plate of scrambled eggs but better than nothing. when Izumi finally reached class Iida congratulated her on making it on time while Uraraka cheered her on while Sero told them both to shut up. Sero practically had to carry Izumi to class which in theory sounded like a romantic opportunity but in reality was a whole chore so he was not in a good mode. Izumi however was way too exhausted to notice anything, what she did notice however was Aoyama smiling at her which made her shiver in fear as she slowly walked to her classroom. Izumi couldn't even focus on what was happening in class, then the last class of the day hero training was finally up. Izumi felt bad that she didn't even take notes for all the other classes but she was happy that hero training class was finally up because she knew that if anything would calm her nerves it would be her hero training.
"ok now today we are going to continue working on your final and special moves. for those few of you who had yet to perfect or even make such a move focus on that for today's class time. for the rest of you it would be best to improve on your moves and if you can confirm with one of my clones that your moves can't be improved any further then focus for the rest of the class time to over come your weaknesses. there's always something that can be improved so keep at it!" Izumi was excited at first but after taking a few steps she felt the full weakness due to her lousy breakfast in the morning.
"is that seriously all you got?" Izumi then looked behind her to see Bakugo walking past her toward the training area.
"where the hell kind of stance is that? trying to get someone to save you? guess your just that pitiful Deku." Izumi knew what Bakugo was trying to do but his words still felt like hot iron to her skin but thankfully after the raid she was able to focus more on the positives in life so she stood up and showed Bakugo a V for victory sign while smiling brightly, Bakugo was now just looking back at her with a disappointed look.
"you trying to be a hero or an Idol? whatever just remember that if anyone is to beat me at being number one its got to be you, you hear me Deku?" Izumi continued to smile but then walked past him and then kissed him on the cheek again, Bakugo wanted to hit her for that but he instead growled in anger while blushing because of the kiss.
"grrr! annoying bitch! Kirishima! let me use you as target practice! you wanna be known as the toughest guy in Class 1-A?! let my explosions be the judge of that!" Kirishima then enthusiastically ran to Bakugo and Izumi couldn't help but cover her mouth as she laughed because of how happy and cute Karishma looked wanting to help Bakugo. Izumi continued to the back of the training area to be alone so that she could use One for All to her full potential without hurting anyone. she then tried activating Spark at 10% once again while activating it her skin felt like it was on fire but she kept at it trying to get used to it and then like that her healing quirk kicked in and it now felt sort of ticklish.
"haha, wow, great I'm back to my normal limit... but maybe, I can go beyond!" Izumi then got far to ambitious and rather than safely raising her spark to 15% she went straight for 20%. her body now felt like not only was it on fire but it was being stretched and pulled apart. her spark was turned off immediately and right afterwards she collapsed onto the ground out of exhaustion, ugh, guess my healing quirk isn't as overpowered as I thought... but I should still be grateful for it though I wonder which All for One user it originated from... HEY WAIT! IF IT WAS A POWER FROM A PAST USER DOESN'T THAT MEAN THAT I COULD GAIN OTHER POWERS FROM OTEHR PAST USERS! ... that kinda sounds like cheating now that I think about it. Izumi then just got up to keep working on maintaining spark at 10% now that she finally managed to get herself back to that limit. Izumi then walked over to three pillars which were perfect for what she had in mind.
"*inhales then exhales* ahem! One for All: Multi-Shot!" Izumi then crudly put all four of her fingers behind her thumb just like at the sports festival and one by one at high speed flicked them at the pillar from top to bottom. the pillar now had concentrated puncture shots like a large cannon shot the pillar multiple times. Izumi was impressed but couldn't stop for a second and quickly went to the next pillar.
"One for All: Multi-Chop!" this was an ambitious new move that Izumi wanted to try out she knew that if she was to be the next symbol of peace she needed as many special moves as she could get. Izumi then flattened her hand and like a blade she made a zig-zag slash on the pillar from top to bottom, the cuts weren't deep enough to actually slice the pillar to smaller pieces but it was enough to make quite deep cuts into the pillar. Izumi liked the results but now her hand felt numb from using chop too many times, however she refused to rest and moved onto the next pillar.
"One for All: Double Strike!" Izumi then aimed a high kick at the pillar and then quickly did a flip and swung her other leg to do another kick at the pillar this however proved to be too much and her leg ended up twisting due to not being able to keep up and the sudden force from the strike. she then fell to the ground and now had to wait for her healing quirk to kick in. she then looked up and saw how the pillar now looked like it was hit by two large explosions on its sides leaving the middle of the pillar quite thin now. the pillar then broke and the long top part of it fell to the ground and fell next to Izumi. it wasn't close enough to hurt her in any way but it did scare her a little.
"ugh, that was close. One for All: instant heal!" Izumi then put her hands on her legs trying to focus her healing quirk on her leg but it continued to heal slowly she then tried what she did at the hospital and then kissed her hand hoping the healing would spread to her leg but it just continued to heal slowly.
"hmph, I just don't get this quirk sometimes. oh well, if I keep using it it should be easier to use."
"yes! that's it keep those spirits up beautiful Izumi!" Izumi then lost all of her colors as she heard Aoyama's voice.
"please relax for now and allow me to show you by progress! behold my navel Buffet Laser!" Aoyama then ran to the fallen pillar and then shot his navel lazer right down the pillar shooting right threw it despite it being so thick.
"ugh, ahem! now feast your eyes, guide de lumière! to show the rescue team where fragile civilians are and to keep them safe from nasty villains!" Aoyama then started shooting little lasers from his shoulders which slowly shot out and sparkled brightly. Izumi felt like a hostage at first but now she was slightly entranced due to the beauty of Aoyama's lasers, she couldn't help but smile and start clapping to praise Aoyama but then she stopped when he started trembling.
"ugh... uh, ahem! now *pant, pant* I call this *pant, pant* l'art du scintillement!" Aoyama then went to the side of the pillar and then struggled to make another navel laser blast but this time his laser was thin and weaker. Aoyama then used his smaller laser to write on the side of the pillar "Izumi tu es l'étoile dans mon ciel." now Izumi's legs were finally healed so she stood up and walked over to Aoyama and looked at the writing but she didn't know French so she had no idea what it said.
"ah, so sorry, but I wanted to write it in a familiar language. it says Izumi, you are the star in my sky." Izumi looked at Aoyama and couldn't help but blush to this, Aoyama just used his quirk to express romatic feelings towards Izumi. this would be weird in any other circumstances but for Izumi it was enough to win her heart since it was romantic while also using what she loved most which was quirks. but the moment was instantly ruined when Aoyama started getting queasy as he crouched to the ground in pain.
"ah, I reached my limit."
"oh no, Aoyama you should really take it easy. I'm sure the teachers will understand since you get stomachaches after using your quirk too much."
"of course but I just wanted to show you... that your not alone." Izumi was now confused but then she was quickly filled with fear when she remembered the message he left for her last night.
"uh... Aoyama, I've actually been wanting to ask you what's been going on with you lately? and what was up with the I know message from last night?"
"oh that I hope it lifted your spirits and gave you a good night sleep. especially after then horrors you had to face after the heroic raid to save fair Eri." Izumi couldn't help but frown now knowing the full intention of Aoyama's message and how it backfired horribly.
"uh yeah thanks for that Aoyama, but uh what did you mean by it."
"I know that, your quirk is not made for your body." Izumi was now filled with genuine fear, it would have been really bad if another student found out about One for All.
"in other words your just like me." however that fear instantly turned into confusion.
"when I was young and got my test results for my quirk the doctors found out that my quirk needed a special tool to function properly otherwise I would either lose control of it or not be able to use it at all. in other words I was essentially quirkless. but then when I came of age my parents gave me this navel cannon lens for my quirk so now I can use it all I want with my stomachache being my only weakness. I know I act like I am full of myself and I tend to be a show off, I mean the first time we meet I called you a freak because I hated the way you looked. I even insulted you right after you defeated that massive 0 point robot but I've seen what your capable of and what you had to struggle threw time and time again. I think your just like me, you have a quirk your body just cant handle or keep up with so you have to work twice as hard to reach your goal. actually in that last aspect I think your better than me." Izumi couldn't help but feel guilt indeed she had to struggle with a quirk her body was not made for but Aoyama was born with his quirk while she was given hers. she didn't feel like it was fare but All Might told her to stop doubting herself and quickly tried to shake the guilt out of her head.
"Aoyama I-"
"no please don't dismiss your self for my sake. I just want you to know that your not the only one who has to struggle with a quirk you can barely control. your not alone anymore so please keep using that beautiful smile of yours. how else will people be able to see you shine." Izumi was so surprised by this but also felt guilt, she thought Aoyama was being creepy but it turns out that he was just trying to cheer her up. Izumi just inhaled, exhaled, then helped Aoyama up and smiled brightly at him.
"thank you Aoyama you are the brightest star that I have ever seen." Izumi kept smiling brightly with her eyes closed but then she opened her eyes and saw Aoyama's face extremely close to hers.
"... Izumi, I really want to kiss you right now." Izumi turned red at this moment but she didn't say anything or even push Aoyama away as he leaned in closer but then Uraraka showed up and kicked him in the stomach. she and Hagakure then stared attacking him while Yaoyorozu and Jiro then ran to Izumi and started comforting her. Izumi didn't really need comfort but she did sigh in relief because in all honesty she really did not want to kiss Aoyama, as nice as he was being she really didn't feel for him the same way she felt for Iida or Yaoyorozu. still thought she felt a lot better now and she was going to be sure that after class was over she was going to do something nice for Aoyama which he clearly would need after being attacked by Uraraka and Hagakure so unfairly and brutally.