A/N: Hey, everyone! Before we begin, it has come to my attention that email notifications all across the board from this site have apparently been disabled for certain email services. I don't know the full list of email services affected, but I do know that Hotmail/Outlook is one of them. I know this because I had been using a Hotmail/Outlook account for all of my email notifications from this site.
Acting on the advice I saw from someone on the Fanfic Help Desk forum, I decided to switch my account's email address to Gmail, since the email notifications appear to be working over there. After a couple of days of using Gmail, I am quite satisfied to say that it's not affected by whatever issue has befallen upon the site's email notification send-outs yet again. For all of my readers and fellow writers who are using Hotmail/Outlook accounts (or any other affected email services), I strongly recommend switching over to Gmail if you wish to continue receiving email notifications from this site. You could just create a fanfiction-exclusive Gmail account if you are uncomfortable using your existing Gmail account for that stuff.
Alright, that's enough rambling! On with the chapter. ENJOY!
P.S.: For updates regarding progress on my writing and just life in general, please check out my profile! I try to update it as often as I possibly can with any status update!
P.P.S.: Due to the slowly improving situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I am going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:
-Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer
-Avoid close contact with people who are sick
-Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)
-Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly
-Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
-Stay informed on the COVID-19 vaccines, get shots if you're able to, and try to get a booster shot if you're eligible
And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:
-Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough
-Not sharing food and drinks with others
-Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)
-Avoiding close contact with others
-Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects
-Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)
-Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)
If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.
NEW CLASS 1-A
Old Class 1-A students
1) Mina Ashido
2) Tenya Iida
3) Ochako Uraraka
4) Mashirao Ojiro
5) Eijiro Kirishima
6) Rikido Sato
7) Mezo Shoji
8) Kyoka Jiro
9) Izuku Midoriya
10) Minoru Mineta
New Class 1-B students
1) Itsuka Kendo
2) Yui Kodai
3) Ibara Shiozaki
4) Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
5) Pony Tsunotori
6) Kosei Tsuburaba
7) Manga Fukidashi
8) Juzo Honenuki
9) Kojiro Bondo
10) Neito Monoma
NEW CLASS 1-B
Old Class 1-B students
1) Yosetsu Awase
2) Sen Kaibara
3) Togaru Kamakiri
4) Shihai Kuroiro
5) Kinoko Komori
6) Jurota Shishida
7) Nirengeki Shoda
8) Setsuna Tokage
9) Hiryu Rin
10) Reiko Yanagi
New Class 1-B students
1) Yuga Aoyama
2) Tsuyu Asui
3) Denki Kaminari
4) Koji Koda
5) Hanta Sero
6) Fumikage Tokoyami
7) Shoto Todoroki
8) Toru Hagakure
9) Katsuki Bakugo
10) Momo Yaoyorozu
"Wow! You know, we've only actually known one another for a couple of hours, including our time in Musutafu! But after what I just heard, I think we should definitely change that up. Whaddaya say, Midoriya? Shall we continue where we left off all those years ago?!"
"I'd like nothing better!"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Izuku abruptly shot up into a seated position, his hands groping around helplessly at empty air. He then looked around, his frazzled yet alert mind still processing his reality while his emerald eyes began adjusting themselves to the gleaming morning sunlight. Eventually, the nature of his surroundings set in, and the boy released a heavy sigh of disappointment as he laid himself back down in the comfort of his bed.
"Oh..." he moaned. "It was just a dream..."
At that moment, the boy heard the same knocking noise on his door again. This time, it was followed by a familiar voice.
"Rise and shine, Midoriya!"
Heaving out another heavy sigh, Izuku proceeded to get out of his bed, put on a pair of pants to hide his boxers (which were obviously All Might-themed), and approach the door. After latching his hand on the doorknob, he took another deep breath, mentally prepared himself for the reality that was about to set in, and then opened the door.
The first thing he saw was the same bright, idealistic smile that inspired him in his Quirkless childhood.
"Or, should I say Icchan?" Itsuka asked.
Izuku blinked dumbly, his brain taking a moment too long to process her words.
"I...Icchan...?" he asked sluggishly.
"Well, yeah!" The redheaded Big Fist user gave him a light, playful punch on the left shoulder while giving him a teasing smirk. "What else am I gonna call my long-lost childhood friend?!"
Izuku blinked again, his mind initially in a painfully empty state. Then, all of a sudden, everything started flooding back into his fragmented, addled memory.
Ever since they realized they met before in Musutafu as children, Izuku and Itsuka had spent much of the night engaged in conversation about the lives that they led ever since they bade each other farewell. Mostly, it was Itsuka who did the speaking, something that Izuku didn't mind, since he felt terrible about lying to her about the true origin of his Quirk and he knew he would blurt out the truth sooner or later if he was given more opportunities to speak.
Naturally, the viridescent boy learned a lot about Itsuka's personal life. Prior to enrolling at U.A., she lived in Chiba all of her life, right above the dojo that her family owned. Her father was a teacher at a local high school and also taught part-time at the dojo, while her stepmother was the manager of a local bank. She had three younger half-brothers, all part of a set of triplets, and they spent every day driving her absolutely crazy. In addition to Death Arms, Itsuka had two other uncles; one of whom was a product safety tester working at I-Island, while she claimed to have not seen the other in five years or so. She excelled in all of her classes and had been made the class president for all three years at her junior high school.
Finally, the faculty had actually considered signing her into the U.A. Recommendation Entrance Exam due to her familial connection to Death Arms. However, she turned down the offer and chose to enroll through the regular Entrance Exam, wanting to prove herself and her abilities without any special perks afforded to her by her family history. Evidently, all of her efforts paid off, since she wound up ranking fifth in the Entrance Exam, with 25 Villain Points and 40 Rescue Points. Those numbers enthralled Izuku and immediately sent him on a spiraling tangent of deducing the actions she had to take for her to score those points, a tangent that only ended after Itsuka gave him a light karate-chop to the back of his neck.
Of course, Izuku contributed to the conversation as well, filling Itsuka in on the life he spent thinking he would forever be destined to live as a Quirkless person. However, he left certain key details out, particularly those pertaining to One For All and his true relationship with their teacher All Might.
Suffice to say, it appeared as though Izuku learned more about Itsuka from the conversation last night than vice-versa. Not that Itsuka seemed to realize or care.
And he couldn't have it any other way.
"Oh, yeah!" Izuku cried, his viridescent eyes widening in relief. "It...It wasn't a dream!"
"Huh?" The redhead arched an eyebrow at him in curiosity. "What wasn't a dream?"
"Ne-Never mind!" The boy's lips broke into the widest, toothiest, most genuine smile he had ever given in his entire life. "Good morning, Kendo! Or, should I say Succhan?!"
Itsuka returned her childhood friend's wide, bright grin of one of her own. Then, with a good-natured chuckle, she slung her right arm over his shoulders and ruffled his already-unkempt hair. This caused him to blush furiously, for he still was not used to intimately close contact with a living, breathing female.
"Jeez, I'm still not used to those pet names," she replied, "but...I think I won't mind getting the hang of it eventually."
"S-Sa-Same here..." Izuku stammered lightly.
"But!" Itsuka released her grip on the boy and stared into his emerald eyes, her teal ones glimmering with great resolve. "We shouldn't preoccupy ourselves with getting up-to-date with our childhood friendship. We need to make sure we are both focused on guiding our classmates through the new activity!"
"O-Oh yeah, that's right..."
Instantly recalling the circumstances behind his official reunion with Itsuka, Izuku turned his head towards the foot of the staircase. He could see the glimmering golden light coming from the kitchen, accompanied by the voices and occasional rowdiness of his classmates, along with Itsuka's.
"Integrating our classes with one another was successful for the most part," Izuku continued. "But there are still quite a few holdouts..."
"Hey, it's just a few holdouts, Mido- er, Icchan!" replied an optimistic Itsuka. "I think it'll take two, three days tops to get them used to their current circumstances! Besides..." She cast her own glance at the foot of the stairs. "If I can hear all of that correctly, I think, generally speaking, our classes are getting along just fine!"
"HELL YEAH, LET'S GO!"
"BRING IT ON, MAN! I'M READY!"
A loud smack startled most of the other members of Class 1-A and officially began their day. Their eyes flew towards the kitchen table, where they saw Eijiro and Tetsutetsu engaging in a heated round of Quirk-powered arm wrestling. Eijiro's toughened skin creaked against Tetsutetsu's groaning arm of steel as each boy struggled to overcome the other. Almost immediately, some of the other students ran up to the table with the intent of cheering their respective classmate on.
"Yeah, Kirishima!" Mina cried encouragingly while Ibara flinched beside her. "You've almost got him! You can do it! I know you can!"
"Go show him why we call you the Man of Steel at 1-B, Tetsutetsu!" Manga exclaimed, his yell literally punctuated with a large, bold exclamation mark.
"Man of Steel?" Rikido asked, giving Manga a dissatisfied side-glance. "Really? That's what you guys came up with?"
The speech bubble-headed boy shrugged. "Well, it was either that or the nickname Kamakiri kept throwing around. Ball-"
"Yeeeeeah, don't wanna hear the rest of that," Kyoka interrupted, realizing what was about to come next.
"Alright, everyone!" Tenya announced, stepping forward with raised arms. "I understand we are all having a little rout of fun, but I just wanted to advise you of the price-tag this table likely holds, given it's a piece of furniture that's supported generations of U.A. students over the years! So, Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, I'm not so sure that using your Quirks for a mere game of arm wrestling is the most-"
"Iida."
Tenya's speech was swiftly cut off by a hand latching itself on his shoulder. With a confused hum, the bespectacled class president looked beside him and saw Juzo standing beside him.
"It's the morning before school," the other boy said. "The beginning of our first full day together as a new class. Let them have a little fun."
"I do understand, Honenuki," Tenya replied, "but if they overexert themselves and their Quirks, it could jeopardize the-"
Juzo closed his eyes and released a calm exhale. "So what? A table is just a table. If what you told me is true, Iida, then it seems like this table's story is gonna come to an end sooner or later. We can always just get ourselves a new one and cover the costs, if need be."
"W-We-Well-"
"Hey, I know you guys are having fun over there, but could you keep it down a little?"
Tenya and Juzo glanced at Mashirao and Kojiro and were both surprised to see them in the middle of constructing Kojiro's latest plastic model, styled after the New Tokyo Skytree.
"We're trying to focus here," Mashirao continued, his eyes glued to the model as he carefully glued another piece to the main structure.
"Mm-hm, mm-hm!" Kojiro vocalized in agreement, a vigorous nod punctuating his utterances while he fished around the kit for an important piece.
"Ooh, ooh!" Pony cried while excitedly approaching the tailed boy and the glue dispenser-headed boy. "Can I help?!"
"Yeah," Mashirao replied without tearing his gaze away from the New Tokyo Skytree model. "Could you try and find the upper piece for the spiral? Bondo dropped it and it rolled off somewhere."
Pony blinked in confusion. "The, uh, upper piece?"
Mashirao thought about it for a moment, momentarily confused by Pony's brief reversion to her native English. "Uhhhhh, y-yeah. You know what the Skytree looks like? You can't miss the piece when you see it."
"O-Okay!"
With that, Pony went on all fours and began crawling around the living room floor, her wide, innocent eyes scanning the surface in search of the missing piece. After a few seconds of searching, the blonde exchange student heard an ominous voice whisper in her ear.
"Hey. I saw it roll off over there."
"H-Huh...?"
Skin crawling, Pony turned her head and saw a fleshy appendage with only a mouth at the other end, smiling at her.
"Hey!" the appendage greeted.
"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"
Pony leaped to her feet in terror and stumbled away from the appendage. Before the nearby Mezo could try and assuage her, she tripped on her own foot and fell on top of the Skytree model Mashirao and Kojiro had been tirelessly working on. The sudden escalation of the commotion caught the attention of everyone standing at the kitchen table and cut Eijiro and Tetsutetsu's arm wrestling match short.
"AAAGH!" Mashirao cried in surprise, his mind still processing the destruction of an hour's worth of hard work. "W-WHAT THE?!"
But Kojiro had fully realized what happened. Heartbroken and defeated, he picked up a few pieces of the Skytree model and sniffled, a drop of glue forming in one of his eye-holes in the process.
"My Skytree..." he whimpered feebly.
"Ah, crap!" Mezo cried, his voice still coming out of his mouth-tipped appendage while he stepped forward in an attempt to help Pony. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to freak you out like that. Here, lemme help you up."
He held out another one of his limbs, which ended in a regular human hand. But Pony stared it at for a moment, then at him, before recoiling in visible disgust.
"D-Don't touch me, you...you octopus!" she shrieked shrilly.
Mezo blinked, unable to understand Pony's English. "Huh?"
"She called you an octopus, man!" Kosei called from the sidelines.
"An...An octopus?!"
A dark look promptly fell upon Mezo's masked face, and his expression became unreadable. Unfortunately for him, that only made him look even more menacing in Pony's doe-like, Prussian blue eyes. With a terrified squeak, she started to scramble further away from the six-armed student, just as Ochako and Yui stepped in.
"I-It's alright!" Ochako exclaimed, standing between Pony and Mezo while Yui tended to the former. "I-I'm not sure she meant any harm in that!"
"She..." Mezo whispered, his voice suddenly sounding ominous. "She called me...an octopus..."
Ochako's skin crawled at the sound of her classmate's voice, but she stood her ground. "W-W-Well, th-then I'm sure that Tsunotori will apologize for that!" She looked down at Pony pleadingly. "W-Wi-Will you?"
Unfortunately for her, Pony still looked mortified by Mezo's presence. At that moment, Yui began patting her classmate's back, like one would do to their dog while it was in the middle of a frightened spell. Evidently, it did the trick, for Pony's shivering began to recede, and the gravity of her words finally began to dawn on her.
Lowering her head in shame, Pony whispered, "S-Sorry. Sorry for destroying your model, Bondo."
"I-It's alright," Kojiro replied meekly while swallowing his tears. "I-I can just b-bu-buy a-a new model..."
Then, Pony directed her head towards Mezo, though she still didn't face him. "A-And s-s-sorry to y-you too..."
Mezo didn't reply to the girl's apology. Instead, with the same shadowy, unclear look on his face, he turned around and walked towards the staircase, just as Izuku and Itsuka were already making their descent.
"Good morning, Shoji!" Izuku greeted brightly.
However, that brightness faded quickly as soon as he noticed Mezo's ambiguous but serious expression. Wordlessly, the six-armed boy marched up the stairs and passed by him and Itsuka while apparently heading for his own room.
Izuku and Itsuka watched their multi-armed classmate go, and within seconds, they heard a door slam itself shut. They immediately looked at each other in concern.
"What in the world was that?" Itsuka asked.
The two monitors continued looking at one another before swiftly rushing down the stairs and entering the ground floor of the 1-A dorm.
"Guys, is everything alright?" Itsuka called out. "Shoji passed us by looking all weird and..."
Her voice trailed off as soon as she saw Pony on the ground being patted on the back by Yui, while Mashirao and Kojiro were still picking up the pieces of their destroyed Skytree model.
"Uhhhhh...what happened here...?" Izuku asked nervously.
"Shoji and Tsunotori had a little, uh...encounter..." Ochako replied.
"Mm-hm," Yui added with a curt nod of her head.
The boy's eyes became enlarged in shock. "Th-They did?!"
As for Itsuka, she was looking down at Mashirao and Kojiro while they were gathering up the last pieces of the destroyed model. She promptly bent down and started picking up some of the pieces alongside Kojiro.
"Don't worry, Bondo," she said. "It's just one plastic model out of many kits. You'll get another one, and this time, you'll be able to complete it."
"Y-Ye-Yeah..." Kojiro replied, doing his best to swallow his grief and pride. "Y-Y-You're right a-as a-always, Pr-Prez..."
Then, Itsuka looked at Pony, who was being helped up to her feet by Yui. "And Pony?" the redhead asked.
"Y-Yeah...?" the exchange student replied, her face pink with shame.
"I don't know what exactly happened between you and Shoji, but you two need to talk it out. If this is gonna define your interactions with Shoji down the road, even after this activity is over, then you are never really gonna get over what you saw in Tsuburaba's room, and it's gonna become a defining moment of your Pro career."
"H-Hey!" Kosei barked from the background. "I said I was sorry! What more do ya want from me, Prez?!"
As for Pony, she lowered her face to hide her guilt. "A-Alright..."
Itsuka furrowed her brow in sympathy before giving the blonde a small smile. "But you can do it during lunchtime. I can tell Shoji needs a little time to himself first."
Pony nodded, her hair bobbing to and fro. "O-Okay..."
With that, the blonde started to calm down while Yui guided her to the kitchen so she could get something to drink, while Itsuka continued to help Mashirao and Kojiro in retrieving the model pieces. The easing of the tension in the air prompted Izuku to heave a sigh of relief.
"Holy whoa!" he thought. "Succhan does it again! That oughta settle things for now..." Then, he began to tap his chin as he pondered over the status of Mezo and Pony's relationship. "Now, we gotta think of a way to settle things between the two of them as peacefully as possible-"
At that moment, Izuku's thoughts were cut off by the bloodcurdling noise of a chair's legs grinding against the floor, then followed by the sounds of stomping footsteps from the kitchen table. He looked across his shoulder in shock and spotted Tetsutetsu breaking away from what appeared to be an arm wrestling match with Eijiro.
"Morning, Kendo!" he bellowed, his voice so loud and masculine that it made Izuku feel like he was reduced to the size of a tadpole. "Ya ready for our morning jog?!"
The last two words piqued Izuku's intrigue. "H-Huh? M-Morning jog?" he asked in curiosity.
"Huh?" Itsuka looked up at the Steel user in momentary confusion before remembering. "Oh, yeah!" After helping Kojiro collect the last of the model pieces, she stood up. "You betcha I'm ready, Tetsutetsu!"
"AH, YES!" Tetsutetsu pumped a fist in excitement before heading towards the stairs, nearly shouldering Izuku aside in the process. "Hang tight, Kendo! I'm gonna get my-"
"Hold up, Tetsutetsu!"
"Hm?" The gray-haired boy literally froze in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at Itsuka in surprise. "Yeah?"
"Would you mind if we brought someone along today?"
"Bring someone along?" Tetsutetsu's face became filled with confusion, which was then covered up with enthusiasm mere moments later. "H-Hell, yeah! The more, the merrier! I mean, what kind of man would I be if I left someone out of our lil' exercise regiments?!" He finally fell out of his frozen position and turned to face Itsuka. "But...w-would you mind if I, you know, asked who's coming along?"
"Midoriya." The redheaded girl pointed a thumb at Izuku's direction while wearing a wide grin. "Hey, get this, Tetsutetsu! He's the boy that I've been telling you about!"
"The boy?"
At first, Tetsutetsu's mind was in a blank, empty state. Then, after a minute of thinking and recollection, the Steel user's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"NO FRIGGING WAY!" he yelled, his voice so loud that it startled all of the others and shook some nearby windows.
"Huh?" an exasperated Mina asked while rubbing her ear canal. "What boy?"
"What're you talking about, Prez?" Juzo asked calmly.
"Oh, right!" Itsuka exclaimed. "I didn't tell all of you this!" She stared at her classmates from 1-B. "Get this, guys!" She gestured towards Izuku. "Turns out Midoriya here is a long-lost childhood friend of mine! Isn't that amazing or what?!"
...
...
...
...
...
"Uhhhhh...guys...?"
Izuku felt it too. The entire ground floor of the 1-A dormitory was being blanketed in an awkward silence. All of the other members of the new Class 1-A stared at the two of them with various reactions. Some looked absolutely flabbergasted, others had blank looks of confusion as they tried to process this foreign information, and a couple of them simply stared at them with unreadable faces.
Namely Ochako and Neito.
Eventually, Tenya was the one who broke the silence. "W-Wow! S-Such an astounding revelation!" He looked at Izuku. "I didn't know you were familiar with Kendo in your youth, Midoriya!"
"W-We-Well," Izuku stammered, intimidated by the sudden stares he started receiving from Itsuka's classmates, "I-I was not exactly fa-familiar with her back then. W-We only met o-one time, one time in our childhoods before g-going our se-separate ways..."
"But you two met up again!" Mina squealed, jumping in-between Izuku and Itsuka with a red face and a swooning body. "After all this time! It...It just sounds like the perfect love story!"
Izuku's eyes became larger than he ever thought possible, and his face became so red and hot that everyone thought his head was going to explode.
"A-A-A l-l-l-lo-lo-lo-love s-s-s-st-st-st-sto-sto-sto-story?!"
"Calm down, Icchan," Itsuka commented. The redhead calmly approached Izuku and patted him on the back, cooling him down literally and figuratively. "It's not a love story, Ashido. It's just a-"
"If it's not a love story," Mina interrupted, her enthusiasm for romance being converted into endless giddiness, "then why did you call him 'Icchan', Kendo?! It's such a cute pet name!"
"It's just what we started calling each other by the time we went our separate ways. There's nothing wrong with doing it again for old time's sake."
But Mina didn't seem convinced. Instead, she joined her thumbs and index fingers to form the shape of a camera, which she aimed at Izuku and Itsuka. Closing her left eye and peering through the space, she gave them a mischievous smile.
"Oh, yeah!" she cried. "You're the picture-perfect couple, alright! Oooooh, the red string of fate is just something else!"
"B-Bu-But..." Izuku stammered nervously. "We-We're not-"
"Ashido," Tenya interjected, his voice firm and stiff, "I know that you're, eh, highly excited over the prospect of a budding childhood romance, but we must all remember this: we're still students at U.A. High, not to mention Heroes-in-training! Regardless of whether or not they're romantically involved or were romantically involved or will be romantically involved, they must keep in mind all of the great responsibilities on their shoulders, and ensure that secondary things like romance and relationships don't jeopardize their goals!"
"Thank you, Iida," Itsuka replied, nodding with gratitude. "Any sort of relationship isn't really on the plate for me at the moment. I've gotta become a great Hero first!" She then wrapped an arm around Izuku and shook him lightly. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't catch up with some old friends!"
"Ye-Yeah!" Ochako blurted out. She stepped forward, her round cheeks rosy-pink from stunned shock at the revelation of Izuku and Itsuka's childhood friendship. "Th-They're just old friends, Ashido! N-Nothing more, nothing less! Th-There's no r-red string of fate t-tying them t-to-tog-ge-gether!"
The brunette turned her head towards Izuku, her expression beseeching and strangely hopeful. Her lush lips impulsively moved, as if she was about to ask him something important. However, she seemed to think about it for another moment before refraining from making any further sounds.
As for Mina, she looked disappointed. "Aw, phooey." She glared suspiciously at the red-faced Izuku. "Alright. I'll take you guys' word for it. But! Don't think I'll be taking my eye off ya that easily! We're all gonna be together for a week! That is more than enough time for a romance to bloom between the two of you long-lost friends!"
"Seriously," Ibara piped up, catching the pink-skinned girl's attention while she stood next to her, "I don't understand this preoccupation with underage romance. It is imperative that the two of them reach the age of adulthood before indulging themselves in such carnal and ungodly desires!"
"C-Ca-Carnal and u-ungodly desires?!" Izuku repeated in a near-incomprehensible blubber. "Wh-Wh-Where'd that c-come from?!"
"Jeez, Shiozaki," Mina commented while giving the vine-haired girl a nasty side-glance. "You're such a KJ."
Ibara closed her eyes with a furrowed brow. "Firstly, I do not understand the meaning behind such an acronym. I would appreciate it if you used the full word or phrase from now on, Ashido. And secondly, we are all adolescents, caught up in the throes of hormonal needs and still not fully on the path of the Lord. We must wait till we mature before we can even begin to think about relationships and sexual desires and the like."
Mina promptly exploded in agitation towards Ibara's liberal use of archaic words. "W-Why the hell are you escalating this conversation when we weren't even talking about sex?!"
The green-haired girl gasped at the sound of Mina's curse-word and then started praying to herself. As for Mina, the Acid user watched on with a mixture of stunned shock and complete exasperation. Realizing the fiery tension swiftly forming between the two girls, Juzo calmly stepped in-between them.
"Alright, you two," the skull-headed boy said coolly. "Let's calm down now and be rational. No one here is thinking about starting a romantic relationship or indulging in, as Shiozaki so eloquently put it, carnal and ungodly desires." He glanced at Itsuka. "Prez just wanted to let us know that Midoriya is a friend of hers that she hadn't seen in a long while. That's all that should matter right now, and I can sympathize with that."
"Yes, that's true," Tenya replied. He then looked at Izuku with a nod of acknowledgment. "I'm glad that you were able to meet up with Kendo after all these years, Midoriya. And I hope that this renewed friendship of yours can translate into a sweeping success for our class in this activity."
Juzo nodded in agreement. "Not to mention better relations between our classes overall down the line."
"I-I hope so too!" Ochako squeaked with raised fists of encouragement.
"Mm," Yui vocalized with a soft nod of her head.
"Same here," Mashirao added, having just finished putting away the pieces of his and Kojiro's destroyed Skytree model.
"Mm-hm, mm-hm!" Kojiro mumbled in excitement.
"W-Well," Tetsutetsu said, catching Izuku's and Itsuka's attention, "I'm surprised to hear you knew Kendo way back then, but just so you know, any friend of Kendo's is a friend of mine as well!" With that, he put Izuku in a headlock with a big, muscular arm and started rubbing his other fist into the top of the hapless boy's hair. "And what kind of man would I be to exclude someone?!"
"Okay, okay..." Izuku croaked helplessly, unable to escape the clutches of Tetsutetsu and his noogie.
About a minute or so passed when it became clear that the silver-haired boy was still hell-bent on continuing the noogie, prompting Eijiro to step in on his classmate's behalf.
"Alright, man," the redheaded boy piped up, patting his counterpart's shoulder to catch his attention. "I think you can let go of Midoriya now."
"Hm...?" Tetsutetsu looked back down and realized he still had Izuku in a headlock. "O-Oh yeah, right! Sorry about that, man!"
He quickly released Izuku, allowing him to catch his breath and heave out a small sigh of relief while hunched over. As he recovered, the boy heard two sets of footsteps approaching him. Straightening back up, he couldn't help but feel a total lack of surprise the moment he identified the newcomers as none other than...
"You're childhood friends with Prez, Midoriya?!" Kosei cried in outrage. "What're the odds of that?! A scrawny guy like you getting to hang out with a hottie like her?!"
"Please, teach me your ways, o great harem protagonist!" Minoru wailed while tears of desperation flowed from his eyes and down his cheeks. "Teach me your waaaaaysssss! Please, I beg of you, Midoriya! I beg of you!"
"H-H-Ha-Harem protagonist?!" Izuku exclaimed with an increasingly red face. The reactions were becoming too much for him by this point. "B-B-B-Bu-Bu-But-"
"Ohhhh, you gotta be kiddin' me," Itsuka replied, white-hot irritation passing through her teal eyes while she approached both perverted boys. Before they could react, she karate-chopped them with her Quirk-enhanced hands, sending the pair toppling to the floor. "I seriously don't know why you people think that one meeting between me and him equals the start of a romantic relationship! We are not characters in some bad piece of fanfiction, you know! We're not being strangled by the red string of fate, nor are we walking on some path of destiny carved out by the Universe or whatever! The two of us are just friends, plain and simple! Jeez!"
"It's still not fair..." Kosei moaned.
"I just have to know Midoriya's secret..." groaned Minoru.
"W-We-Well, I-I was not exactly fa-familiar with her back then. W-We only met o-one time, one time in our childhoods before g-going our se-separate ways..."
"Any sort of relationship isn't really on the plate for me at the moment. I've gotta become a great Hero first! But that doesn't mean I shouldn't catch up with some old friends!"
"Let's calm down now and be rational. No one here is thinking about starting a romantic relationship or indulging in, as Shiozaki so eloquently put it, carnal and ungodly desires. Prez just wanted to let us know that Midoriya is a friend of hers that she hadn't seen in a long while. That's all that should matter right now, and I can sympathize with that."
"Yes, that's right. Deku and Kendo are just childhood friends. It's as simple as that."
By the time the conservation about Izuku and Itsuka's past friendship died down with congratulatory responses, Ochako was pacing around in the kitchen while deep in thought. She tried her best to look innocuous, but nevertheless, her gait appeared to be highly, noticeably awkward. Fortunately for her, her classmates were no longer nearby, for they were now more focused in retrieving their school supplies or, in the case of a select few, preparing for Itsuka and Tetsutetsu's daily morning run routine.
"There's no way this whole thing will become more than just a friendship!" Ochako thought firmly and with determination rivaling that of a rhinoceros. "There's just no way that'll happen, right?! ...Right...?"
Feelings of dread and doubt started to well up in the brunette's mind, and her body started to shake slightly despite her steely stance. Her brain tried to ward them off, but it eventually became useless for Ochako, and the peculiar thoughts of a certain viridescent boy together with a certain redheaded girl quickly flooded her mind like a tidal wave.
"But you know what they say about childhood friends..."
As soon as that intrusive thought penetrated her mindset, Ochako realized what she was thinking and lightly slapped her cheeks to calm herself down.
"NO! No, no, no! What're you thinking, Ochako?! This is supposed to be a good thing! Deku found his long-lost childhood friend after all these years! It should be a moment to celebrate, not freak out over!"
"That's right!" she cried out loud. "I gotta congratulate Deku alone, when I have the chance! He did tell me that he didn't have a lot of friends when he was younger..."
"But then again, that could be why he'd cling to Kendo a lot. She was one of the few children who actually liked him back then. He probably treasures the great time they had together...probably a little too much..."
Ochako slapped her cheeks again. "NO! What're you saying, Ochako?! That he'll...f-fa-fall in l-lo-love with Kendo because of that nostalgia?!"
"It certainly wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility..."
"W-We-We-Well, y-you heard 'em! Th-They're just friends, a-and even if D-Deku does f-f-fa-fa-fall in love with her..." She gulped with dread. "Kendo w-wouldn't just r-re-reciprocate r-right away! She's set on becoming a Pro, first and foremost! A r-re-relationship..." She gulped again. "I-It'd just get in the way of her goals, h-her ambitions!"
"And if she does become a Pro? If she does reciprocate Deku's feelings? Then what, Ochako?"
"Then what? Deku's dead-set on becoming a Pro too! He wouldn't have time for relationships either, I would imagine!"
"Sounds like you won't do anything about it even when the opportunity presents itself."
"Why would I do anything about it?!"
"Ohhhhh, stop lying to yourself. You already know why you are so freaked out over this to the point where you're talking to yourself like a complete lunatic. You know something's up. You know there's something more to this. You know there's gonna be a but to this-"
"There's no but!" Ochako protested. "Deku found his childhood friend after all these years, and he's just happy to see her again! It's got nothing to do how I...how I..."
The brunette suddenly heard some shuffling, and she pulled herself back to reality, just to see a certain black-haired girl standing directly in front of her.
"AAAGGGHHH!" Ochako's hands flew up defensively, only for them to hit the knobs of the cupboard behind her. "OW!"
She hunched herself over, clutching her reddening, throbbing knuckles. Once the pain ebbed away, she looked up, just to see Yui still standing there and looking down at her, her expression as hollow as a turtle's shell.
"H-Hey, Kodai..." she greeted.
"Mhm," Yui replied, seemingly in acknowledgment.
"Heh heh heh..." Ochako sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Uhhhhh...did you hear all of that...?"
To her dismay, the other girl nodded. "Mhm."
"Really?! Ohhhhh, that's sooooo embarrassing!" Ochako buried her face in her palms. "Me and my big mouth!"
"Mhm."
Yui approached the cupboard and opened up one of the doors, all the while ignoring the red-faced Ochako. She searched around for a quick moment before retrieving some plastic-wrapped mochi from the abyss. Just as she was about to close the cupboard door, a last-minute thought struck Ochako, and she glared at Yui.
"Kodai!" the brunette cried.
Yui stared at her blankly, evidently unmoved by the intensity of the other girl's glare. "Mhm," she replied as she casually unwrapped the mochi.
"Uh, c-could you please not tell anyone what you heard from me today? Especially De- er, M-Midoriya and Kendo?" Then, Ochako's face became deeply crimson. "I-It's just that, well, I-I don't want 'em to take my thoughts the wrong way! I-I-I know how m-miffed they were in Ashido turned their announcement upside-down and inside-out a-and all that!"
Yui's expression remained unchanged, concerning Ochako to the point where she clasped her hands together and bowed her head to the Size user.
"Pleeeeeaaaaaseeeee?! It'd mean so much to me, Kodai!"
Yui blinked slowly and idly as she reached inside the wrapper, took one of the mochi, and brought it to her mouth so she could take a soft bite. After a long, awkward moment of apparent contemplation, she gave Ochako her simple response.
"Mhm."
Ochako blinked back, stunned, then she replied, "Oooookay...I'm just gonna take that as a yes." Then, she finally noticed the mochi in Yui's hands. "C-Can I have one, please? O-Or a couple? I need to scarf down on something."
Yui looked down at the food, then at Ochako. This time, it didn't take her long to stick her hand out, displaying the plastic wrapping before the round-faced girl.
"Mhm."
Smiling in relief, Ochako procured more than just a couple of mochi from the wrapping and stuffed her mouth with two of them. She exhaled in elation as her taste-buds rejoiced in the snack's glorious multi-flavored taste.
"Mmmmmhhhhhmmmmm..."
Yui nodded in agreement. "Mhm."
Unbeknownst to either Ochako or Yui, the two girls were being watched, and the former's ramblings did not go unnoticed to anyone else's eardrums. As soon as the girls started indulging themselves in the mochi, one of the observers looked at his companion and pointed down at him with a devious smirk.
"Hey," Kosei said. "Two thousand yen says Midoriya hooks up with Uraraka before the week's over."
But Minoru glared up at his companion with an outraged look. "Midoriya hooking up with Uraraka?!" he shouted. Then, he shook his head disapprovingly. "No. No, no, no. Uraraka's mine."
"Yours?" Kosei raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't know you were pining for a specific girl here, Mineta-"
"I'm not pining over a specific girl, Tsuburaba! I'm trying to build up my harem!"
"Y-Your... Your harem..." The ovular-eyed boy took a moment to process those words, then he shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, even I would have to say you need to take a break from all this perverted stuff."
"Heh. Yeah, as if you would." Minoru craftily looked up at his new friend with a devious smirk of his own. "Isn't that right, Tsuburaba? You can't take your mind off a hottie and her proportions for even one second, even if your life depended on it? And don't pretend otherwise! Your googly eyes towards Kendo are as clear as day!"
"...Yeah..."
"Heh. Yeah, I thought so." Then, the grape-haired boy glanced at Ochako, who was still chewing on her mochi in elation, and he furrowed his brow at her. "Well...if that's how the harem gods want to play this game..." He reached into his small pocket and produced two 1,000-yen notes. "Alright, then. You're on, Tsuburaba. But how about this: I shall raise the bet to forty-five thousand yen, and pay you a nice portion of it upfront."
Kosei blinked twice in surprise. "W-Wait, what? I-I thought you wanted Uraraka all to yourself, man?"
"Well, obviously she has the hots for Midoriya and no one else, and I'm not gonna stoop as low as netorare! But Midoriya is so obsessed with becoming a Hero, and it's obvious that he wants to fill All Might's shoes, not to mention understand that freaky Quirk of his. Once it becomes clear to Uraraka that his heart will never belong to her, that is when I'll swoop in like an eagle and save her from her predicament!"
Kosei pondered over it for a moment. Then, he grinned just as deviously and plucked the bill from Minoru's hand. "You're on, dude. And I betcha forty-five thousand yen Midoriya's gonna together with Kendo when all of this is over."
It was now Minoru's turn to be surprised. "W-Wait, what? I-I thought you wanted Kendo all to yourself, man?"
"You're not the only one who's above stooping as low as netorare, you know! And it's like you just said! Midoriya may be a big chick magnet, for which I strongly envy him, but he's so obsessed with becoming a Hero that girls will be secondary to him! Once it becomes clear to Kendo that his heart will never belong to her, that is when I'll swoop in like an eagle and save her from her predicament!"
Minoru crossed his arms. "Dude, not fair! K-Kendo doesn't even have the hots for Midoriya! You heard her back there!"
"Yes, she doesn't have the hots for Midoriya." Kosei nudged his pervert-in-crime's elbow with a bright, knowing twinkle in his eye. "Yet."
"Well, if I remember my harem manga and anime well, I doubt those odds..." Minoru raised the random sandwich in his hand and took a large bite from it in triumph. "But I'll still take you up on that bet."
Kosei's grin widened as he coolly took a sip from the random boxed drink in his hand. "Excellent."
...
...
...
"So, Tsuburaba, where's my two thousand yen at?"
Kosei looked at Minoru. "What do you mean?"
"I gave you two thousand yen out of good faith." Minoru stuck out his chin. "I expect the favor to be returned."
Cursing under his breath, Kosei scoured through his pockets. However, after a few seconds of rummaging, he pulled out a few coins. After counting them, Kosei hesitantly glanced at Minoru.
"I only have this much on me-"
"I'll take that, thank you very much!" Minoru took the yen from his friend and counted it as well. "Dude, why do you not have a minimum of a thousand on you?"
"H-Hey, I spend my yen on frigging lunch! Whaddaya take me for?!"
"...Alright, you're forgiven." Minoru stuffed the coins in his pocket. "But I expect to receive the rest as soon as this week is over."
"G-G-Gotcha."
"W-We-Well, I-I was not exactly fa-familiar with her back then. W-We only met o-one time, one time in our childhoods before g-going our se-separate ways..."
"Any sort of relationship isn't really on the plate for me at the moment. I've gotta become a great Hero first! But that doesn't mean I shouldn't catch up with some old friends!"
"Let's calm down now and be rational. No one here is thinking about starting a romantic relationship or indulging in, as Shiozaki so eloquently put it, carnal and ungodly desires. Prez just wanted to let us know that Midoriya is a friend of hers that she hadn't seen in a long while. That's all that should matter right now, and I can sympathize with that."
"Yes, that's right. Succhan and I are just childhood friends. It's as simple as that."
Elsewhere, Izuku was pacing around outside the front door of the 1-A dormitory while deep in thought. He tried his best to look innocuous, but nevertheless, his gait appeared to be highly, noticeably awkward. Fortunately for him, he was all alone, simply waiting for Itsuka and Tetsutetsu so they could go on this morning run routine.
"There's no way this whole thing will become more than just a friendship!" Izuku thought firmly and with determination rivaling that of a rhinoceros. "There's just no way that'll happen, right?! ...Right...?"
"But you two met up again! After all this time! It...It just sounds like the perfect love story!"
"If it's not a love story, then why did you call him 'Icchan', Kendo?! It's such a cute pet name!"
"Alright. I'll take you guys' word for it. But! Don't think I'll be taking my eye off ya that easily! We're all gonna be together for a week! That is more than enough time for a romance to bloom between the two of you long-lost friends!"
Izuku quickly began slapping himself in the cheeks. "Ohhhhh, why, oh why, oh why did Ashido have to keep bringing up things like childhood romances and all of that stuff?! I've only just realized Kendo was Succhan all along f-for less than a day, and it's becoming so frigging awkward! Not every childhood friendship turns out to be a romance, right? ...Right...?"
Then, Izuku's mind started to wander to another reaction that he found highly awkward, but it didn't come straight out of Mina's mouth that time.
"Seriously, I don't understand this preoccupation with underage romance. It is imperative that the two of them reach the age of adulthood before indulging themselves in such carnal and ungodly desires!"
"C-Ca-Carnal and un-ungodly desires?! Si-Since when did it even come to that?!" Izuku slapped himself in the cheeks. "I gotta keep an eye on Ashido and Shiozaki now. It seems they're really rubbing off on one another the wrong way..."
"Yo, Midoriya!"
Izuku let out a high-pitched yelp of surprise, just as Itsuka and Tetsutetsu finally emerged from the front door of the 1-A dormitory building. Both of them were clad in exercise clothing: Tetsutetsu was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and an equally gray sweater with a hood and a logo depicting the kanji for "steel"; while Itsuka donned a pair of teal pants that were sleek and skintight, along with an equally skintight teal tank-top with yellow border-stripes. Izuku gulped nervously and swiftly looked away from Itsuka, not wanting his stare to linger upon her lean, fair-skinned, slightly muscular arms and her not-so-somewhat obvious blue-and-yellow-striped sports bra underneath-
"Chill, Izuku!" the viridescent boy thought in a panic. "Chill!"
"I see you're ready as well!" Tetsutetsu greeted. "I totally dig the shirt!"
"Hu-Huh?" Surprised by somewhat grateful for the distraction, Izuku looked down at his own sweater, which was colored pale-green and boasted an All Might-themed logo. "O-Oh! Th-Thanks, Tetsutetsu! AGH!"
Once again, Tetsutetsu had the hapless boy locked in a noogie. "Oh, I like a man with good taste in Heroes! To idolize the Number 1 Hero, let alone aspire to be like him?! If the rest of what Kendo's told me so far about you holds up, then we're gonna best buds, I can tell!"
While struggling under Tetsutetsu's unexpectedly tight grip, Izuku stared at Itsuka, who was stretching her arms outward in preparation.
"You told him about me?" the freckled boy asked.
"Well, yeah," Itsuka replied, her expression radiating with excitement. "Tetsutetsu's been my bro since we first met here on these grounds. There's nothing the two of us haven't talked about." She shot the Steel user a teasing gaze. "So far..."
"Ahhhhh, come on, Kendo!" Tetsutetsu finally released Izuku, allowing the leaner boy to catch his breath. "Now what kind of man would I be if I kept secrets from you?!"
"A wuss of a man, that's what."
Tetsutetsu's grin became more pronounced. "Heh. And that's why you can always trust me! A wuss of a man is not a real man at all!"
Itsuka chuckled before focusing on Izuku. "You're gonna hear a lot from Tetsutetsu about men and whatnot, just so you know. Better get used to it!"
"Duly noted..." Izuku wheezed back.
"Alrighty. Now, then..." The redhead placed her foot atop a nearby, tall rock and started using her newfound leverage to do some more stretches. "Better do some stretches before we get this run started, Midoriya! We don't want you to be left in our dust, now do we?!"
For a moment, Izuku watched Itsuka as she stretched before looking at Tetsutetsu, who had begun his own stretches as well. Then, upon recalling all of the physical training he had to and was continuing to endure to maintain his physique, he gave them both a single nod and a smile of determination.
"No, we don't!"
With that, Izuku began his own stretching routines, and the trio wound up spending the next couple of minutes preparing their bodies for the run. As they did, a single question entered the green-haired boy's mind.
"So, exactly how much miles do you guys jog every morning?"
"Wait... Wait up...Succhan!"
"Are you serious, Icchan?"
Itsuka and Tetsutetsu both stopped running and looked behind their shoulders, just in time to see Izuku nearly trip over himself. He was a few feet away, slightly slumped, and clearly out of breath. The soft breeze blew and the blades of grass waved at them, just as the boy recovered and ran up to his two friends. As soon as he caught up with them, the redhead could hear his wheezing.
"I don't get it," Itsuka remarked. "You were doing fine the first mile or so, and I wasn't even using my full sprint!"
"Same here," Tetsutetsu added with crossed arms. "What happened to the guy who creamed Monoma's team in the Joint Training Battle?"
Izuku's voice was peppered with laborious breaths. "He...decided...to...take a...break... PHEW!"
Itsuka also crossed her arms. "We're not even halfway there, Icchan."
He looked up at her, mortified. "We...We aren't?!" When the redhead's disappointed stare became all of the confirmation he needed, the boy moaned in exasperation. "Holy whoa, maneuvering your way around the woods is a lil' different from running in a circle a few times... And when I say a lil', I mean by a LOT!"
"That's not a good excuse, Icchan. What we're doing right now should be a walk in the park for you!" Itsuka crossed her arms. "What exactly have you been doing as part of your training lately?"
"W-Well..." Izuku chuckled bashfully. "I've been trying to master Blackwhip, for starters..."
Tetsutetsu blinked in confusion. "Blackwhip? The heck's Blackwhip?"
Izuku hitched a terrified gasp at the realization that he let his tongue slip. But before he could come up with a good lie to justify the name, Itsuka spoke up first, her teal eyes widening with each word.
"Wait, hold up! Are you talking about those weird black tentacles that you summoned during the Joint Training Battle? Is that what you've been doing, Icchan?"
The freckled boy chuckled and wiped away some of the profuse sweat coating his face. "Y-Yeah... Pr-Pretty much..."
"That was over a month ago..." Itsuka took a moment to absorb all of that information. "Jeez, Icchan. I think you should better coordinate your exercises! You've only had that Quirk of yours for over a year, and you're now discovering a whole bunch of crazy, wacky new stuff about it, stuff that you are deciding to focus on now! In my opinion, you should be more focused on better developing the stuff you're most familiar with about your powers! Such as building up your body even more so it could withstand the practical effects of your Quirk!"
"W-Well..." Izuku immediately thought about all of the stuff he discussed with All Might about the discovery of Blackwhip, and all of the mystery that continued to surround One For All. "I-I suppose I could..."
"Tell me, how are you keeping track of your progress?"
"W-Well, I have a daily schedule for my exercises..."
Tetsutetsu quirked an eyebrow. "A daily schedule?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah." Izuku blushed with embarrassment. "A-A daily schedule. H-He called- Er, I-I call it th-the Aim-to-Pass American Dream Plan. O-Or something like that."
"Aim-to-Pass...American Dream Plan?" Then, Itsuka sputtered with laughter, joined by Tetsutetsu. "What a hammy title! That's sooo like All Might!"
"Y-Yeah..." Izuku laughed nervously along with them both. "I-It does sound a little silly, n-now that you think about it."
As soon as Itsuka recollected her bearings, she wiped a tear of amusement from her eye and said, "Okay. Tell you what, Icchan. When we get back here from school, let's have a training session of our own."
Izuku's emerald eyes widened in surprise. "A...A training session?"
"Yeah, a training session. Just between you and me." Itsuka flashed him a challenging smile. "I wanna see what you've got to offer with that Quirk of yours, and we'll see what input I have for you and your methods."
"You...You sure, Succhan...?"
"Of course!" Itsuka grinned and raised a clenched fist of determination. "You are looking at a former student of my own family dojo, after all! I'm sure I'll have something valuable for you to keep in mind!"
"Oh, hell yeah!" Tetsutetsu cried, startling Izuku. "I can vouch for Kendo! She and I have been training every single day in our Quirk use since day one! She's the reason I'm the badass fighter I am now!"
Itsuka blushed lightly. "Oh please, Tetsutetsu, I didn't do much for you. We just kept punching each other so my fists and your steel can endure bigger and harder hits." She then looked back at Izuku. "Icchan, on the other hand... I think I can expect something interesting out of you. But only if you're cool with it, that is."
Izuku's response was instantaneous. "Are you kidding?! Of COURSE I'd love to train with you, Succhan! So, we're gonna do this after class?"
The redheaded girl nodded. "Yes, first thing."
"S-Sure, then! I'd love nothing better!"
"Sweet!" Itsuka gave him a thumbs-up. "It's a date, then."
A/N: And that marks the end of this chapter! I gotta say, I love how this chapter turned out for the most part! A whole bunch of humor, a whole bunch of ship-teasing, a whole bunch of developments... You've got the entire package! I'm not a fan of how I wrapped it up, though, and I know why: I was multitasking between three different things at once by the time I was writing the last section of the chapter. Not to mention I was a little drowsy. Not a good idea to power through a multitasking event while nodding in and out of consciousness. XD XD XD
But, what can I say? I think this chapter finished up with the promise of a potentially great training session between our main protagonist and our favorite spunky redhead from Class 1-B! Can't get any better than that, am I right?
Well, I'd like to thank the following people for reviewing:
-Ryuujin96:
1) Looks like there's going to be a training session within a few chapters' time! So you can look forward to that scene! :D
2) Well, you never know. Things can happen within a week's time... ;)
3) Oh yes, you can't have a scene of Izuku where he is NOT a Hero fanboy! XD XD XD
4) Pay attention to their conversation about heroism. It's going to come back for them in a big way... ;) ;) ;)
-acosta perez jose ramiro:
1) Heh heh heh. XD Well, regardless of whether Death Arms remembers Izuku or not, the poor boy is still in for a scary protective-uncle-to-possible-boyfriend lecture.
2) Yes, there are certain problem students that require more focus than others. But still, that doesn't mean you will not have to expect any problems from the calm, loyal students like Iida and Honenuki.
-youalwayswereakiddersteve:
1) Of course not! This fic was started on the foundation of an old childhood friendship between Izuku and Itsuka, and I'm not going to waste this opportunity to write all sorts of scenarios between the two of them!
2) Heh heh heh. Well...if I ever do come up with an Izuku/Setsuna fic, I'm not going to recycle the whole old-childhood-friendship-rediscovered plotline. I may have to come up with something else... ;)
-gonzo22: Yes, but Pony did not MEAN to walk in on Kosei, and she still got badly traumatized by watching that porn by accident. Looking at and watching porn isn't exactly the best optics for a Hero-in-training either.
-Dead Man's Joy:
1) Tired dad Aizawa is best Aizawa. And unfortunately, his mental pain and anguish are just beginning here. XD XD XD
2) It's going to be somewhere in the middle. First, we have to rekindle their childhood friendship first! Once things are all settled in, the romance comes next! :D
3) Don't worry. Eri will be involved in these shipping shenanigans soon. Just cross your fingers! :D
4) Unlike the majority of fans, I find Mineta's highly perverse nature to be hilarious, and I'm going to capitalize on that in this fic now that the two Hero classes have shaken up their rosters!
5) Setsuna's not going to be involved in this shipping madness, just so you know. I'm going to wrap up her angle pretty quickly (and a little anticlimactically, honestly). As for the love triangle, well...you'll see. Just expect a ton of drama. :')
-Adrian (guest reviewer): Sorry. I will try to dial down these characteristics in the future. But do know that Izuku has just reunited with an old childhood friend, which may have sparked something in him, hence the stuttering... ;)
-whiteleopard1124: Well, like I told Dead Man's Joy earlier, Setsuna won't be involved in these shenanigans, and I will be wrapping her part of the story up pretty quickly. Anticlimactically, might I add. :P
-Takamura Rules:
1) Well, as you can see, the reactions by the rest of the class are just GLORIOUS. XD XD XD
2) I don't know who you're thinking about when you say you know who the Villains are after, but I can assure you, it is NOT what you think. ;D
3) The subplot between Shoji and Pony is going to be particularly interesting, I can assure you of that. Lots of potential that I'm going to be exploiting.
4) Heh heh heh, then it'll be three times the perverted madness! MWAHAHAHA! XD XD XD
5) Sorry. I personally like using first names at all times, yet I have to use surnames for the dialogue so as to align with traditional Japanese speaking. Obviously, I've got a very delicate balancing act going on here. I'm still trying to figure out what I can do here. So sorry.
Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!