Just a quick note, the previous chapter was purposely made as short as it was. It was only meant to be an intro/preview to my story. The other chapters in this story won't be near that short. That was done intentionally.
Chapter 2: Surprise!
"T minus 2 hours and counting!"
"That's plenty of time! We'll definitely get everything finished before he gets here!"
"Don't let up now. You'd be surprised how fast two hours can go by."
"Nah! What else do we still need to do?"
Kirishima held up a hand to begin listing things off. He emphasized each item with a new finger raised. "Finish the decorating, finish the food, pick up the cake, music playlist, and gifts of course!"
The rest of class 1-A was bustling about the dorms common living areas and kitchen trying to get last minute preparations done for a certain someone's surprise birthday party. It almost seemed as though he didn't want anyone knowing it was his birthday. It was almost by luck that they were able to figure it out before the day had passed.
Kaminari began waving his hands in front of him. "Woah, woah, woah. I thought we all agreed on no gifts for several reasons."
"That's right!" Sero held up a finger at his exclamation. "We agreed that not only are most of us pretty broke… with the exception of a few… but that it is also hard to buy for someone like him anyway." He shrugs at the last statement.
"Oh, that's right. But we still need to finish the other things," Kirishima concludes.
"We're almost finished with the decorating." Asui gestures to herself, Yaoyorozu, and Hagakure. Asui was stuck to the ceiling hanging streamers from the ceiling and walls, using some of Sero's tape as she goes. The other end of the streamers she is using is currently coming out of Yaoyorozu's forearm. She had already created other small decorations for the others to use. Hagakure is blowing up balloons different balloons and tying them to any surface, table, or piece of furniture they would tie to. No one was sure what colors they would like so they decided to go with a rainbow of colors, with Aoyama adding his own touch of glitter to everything.
"Awesome! Decorations are looking good!" Kirishima shot them a thumbs up. He spun around at the next person to call to him.
"We're handling the music!" Jiro calls. Her and Ashido are messing with the tv and speakers. Ashido's setting up some speakers around the room so the music could be heard form anywhere. Jiro was helping wire them together and hook them up to the tv, maybe for some karaoke later.
Shoji was setting up a couple of tables for the food to make a sort of buffet and Sero was still running around the entire place to anyone who needed some tape.
Iida was walking around with a check list in hand making sure everything needed was getting done. After checking a few things off, he looked down his list. "So all we need is the cake and food?" Iida asks.
Another voice calls from the kitchen, but that rough angry voice is unmistakable to anyone in Class 1-A. "I'm handling the fucking food! No one else here is competent in the damn kitchen!" Bakugou ignores the few scoffs he gets at that but sighs and adds, "Fine! The damn monkey and fish lips are working on food too!"
"This is looking great guys! So we're just missing Ururaka, Koda, Tokoyami, and Midoriya." Kirishima looked around for those missing.
Bakugou continued his yelling from the kitchen, finally poking his head out. "That damn nerd is handling the cake. Fucking pink cheeks and rock face went to pick up plates and forks." The angry pom tsks before turning back to his work.
"Oh, and Tokoyami is still in his room, he said something about need the dark abyss as a break from the many blinding colors," Kaminari shrugged.
"Uh… okay then." Kirishima clears his through. "I guess that takes care of most everything."
Suddenly, Ururaka burst through the front door. Everyone freezes what they were doing, looking at the anti-gravity girl in anticipation. "Guys! He's coming back early! We only have about 30 minutes!"
All hell ensues at that statement.
A little earlier
Izuku rushed to get dressed and get ready. He had slept right through his alarm and had promised everyone he would pick up the cake before the party. Now he doesn't have too long left before Todoroki arrives back from his early training this morning. He quickly tugs on his signature red sneakers and rushes out his door.
The elevator seems almost slower than usual. Izuku bounces from foot to foot, impatiently waiting for the elevator to arrive. He nearly slaps himself when he remembers he is only one floor up and could just take the stairs. Just as e bolts off the other direction, the elevator arrives. He wastes few precious seconds hesitating in the hall before continuing to the stairs.
Just as he arrives in the living area, the whole place is like a circus. Everyone is rushing here and there, getting decorations put up, balloons everywhere, rearranging furniture, setting up music, and he definitely notices some delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Without stopping to take everything in, Izuku rushes out the front door.
The cake shop he ordered the cake from is a few streets down, so it won't be too long of a walk but will still take some time. There is a chill in the air with the temperature being about 1.7C. He made sure to grab a heavy coat and gloves to keep warm, though even with the temperature being what it is, he really doesn't feel that cold.
He makes it to the small bakery without even realizing it, stepping inside and feeling the warmth of the small place wash over him. Very few people were this early, there were only two other people in the store: two men in a booth at the back corner. One, with very chiseled features, seemed rather tall and well built, he was sporting a buzz cut and had a scar across the side of his face across his temple. The other man was plenty short, making the first look taller than he really was. The second had longer dark hair and had softer features that could almost be considered handsome. They were both wearing long dark coats and had nothing but a couple cups of coffee and a small pastry on the table.
When they seemed to notice Izuku watching them, he quickly looked away, embarrassed a being caught staring at some strangers. Finally, he walked up to the counter, asking for an order under the name Midoriya. The cake was almost to big for the small hero in training as he had ordered a full sheet cake seeing as over 20 people will be eating (if Aizawa-sensei and All Might decide to attend). He carefully situates the box on his arms to make it easier to carry.
As soon as he starts walking, though, he realizes he needs to adjust it again. He sets the cake on a nearby table by the door and stretches out his arms. It's at that point that the two men in the corner decide to make their move. As soon as Izuku turns around, he sees the shorter of the men rushing at him. He barely has time to block a dropkick from the man, being forced backwards through the door and out on the street. He falls to his back, continues with the momentum, flipping over his head and falling back to his feet. He quickly allows his quirk to fill his body, feeling the familiar sensation of Full Cowl coursing through his veins. He has just enough time to block another kick aimed at his face. This time, however, he barely slides back a few inches. He counters with a kick of his own, sending the taller man across the street into a lamp post.
"Sai- I mean Puppeteer!" The shorter man rushes over to who Izuku assumes is Puppeteer, helping him to his feet. The both turn to him, looking completely undeterred by his fighting back.
"The Hero Deku I presume!" Puppeteer calls through a smile, despite rubbing his head from the previous impact. "One of the hero course students UA high school."
That catches the greenette's attention. "How do you know who I am? And what do you want from me?" He sneaks a glance at the time. Only about an hour before Todoroki is supposed to arrive back home. He internally cringes. I've got to get the cake back to the dorms.
"Oh, you've already begun making a name for yourself on these streets. Of course, we know your hero name but not your real name. Care to share?" The shorter begins to close the distance.
Izuku crouches into a fighting stance. "I believe I asked you first."
Puppeteer catches up to the other. "Oh, how rude of us! I am Puppeteer and this is Hypno… not relation to the Pokémon." He seems to mumble that last part.
Hypno speaks next. "We are known as the Control Alt Delete Duo. We tried the hero track… it didn't really seem to suit us." A wide grin splits his face that is anything but kind. It's a knowing smirk, one that seems to be in on a joke that Izuku is not a part of.
Ex heroes huh? Izuku can't help but roll his eyes at how cliché these guys are being. Seriously. They would probably start monologuing if given that chance. Instead, however, Puppeteer suddenly rushes at Izuku throwing a punch. Izuku easily blocks and counters. Their hand-to-hand combat lasts a few minutes before the young hero in training is caught from behind by Hypno. The mans hands pressed against Izuku's temples and a sharp pain shoots through his head. He can barely make out the words of the villain behind him.
"This encounter will stay locked in your mind. You will speak of it to no one."
Even through the pain, Izuku can hear the grin in the man's voice. Just as quickly as the pain came, it was gone, leaving him falling to his knees. The next thing he knew, someone else was by his side calling his name. A… girl? Her voice seems familiar but he can quite place it. Once she helps him to his feet, he finally looks up.
"U-Ururaka?"
"Hey." Ururaka gives him a warm smile. "Are you alright? You don't look too good, and you look a little pale."
"I was just a-" his voice suddenly cut off. The words he wanted to say just wouldn't come out. He could feel a small pressure in his head. He wanted to tell her about the villains but he couldn't. It's like something was forcing the words back, locking them inside his mind. "There was-" He coughed as though choking on his words, that pressure slowly increasing. He felt her hand softly patting his back. "I came out to pick up the cake and I sa-" He couldn't. No matter how he tried. "I left the cake on table inside befo-" The more he tried to tell her, the more that pressure increased into a full-on headache. He sighed. "I-I'm fine. The cake is inside, we can get it an head back."
"So, why did you come looking for me anyway?"
"Oh! That's right! I came to tell you that Todoroki will be coming back early form his morning training." With Izuku guiding the floating cake in front of them, Ururaka checked her phone for the time. "We've got about 15 minutes before he gets back. Which isn't too bad. All that's really left now is the cake anyway."
"Oh, I wonder why he finished early? Well, I'm glad everything got finished at least! I really hope he likes everything!" Izuku has been excited to surprise Todoroki ever since he was able to find out his birthday from Aizawa. Whether Todoroki knows it or not, he needs some fun in his life, away from the worries and stress of his hero schooling and… other stressors in his life.
"I'm sure he'll enjoy the party… even if he doesn't usually show a lot of emotion… or… any at all actually."
Izuku couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that.
They finally arrived back at Heights Alliance and rushed in to get the cake ready. Most everyone else in 1-A were finished or nearly finished. A few finishing touches were still being added here and there. A few classmates welcomed them as they guided the gravity-free cake over to the buffet table. All the rest of the food was ready with a large clearing in the middle made just for the cake. As soon as it was guided down to the table, Ururaka released her hold. It seemed as though everything was ready.
"Who's keeping lookout for Birthday Boy?" Kaminari asked, looking around to see who was missing.
Sato answered, "Kouda's outside keeping a lookout."
As if on cue, Kouda ran in waving his hands frantically and pointing outside.
"He's coming?" Kirishima guessed?
Kouda nodded quickly.
"Okay everyone! He will be here any second! Everyone get to your places; get ready for the surprise." Iida shouted at the class with his usual robot hands.
Everyone rushed about to find a place to hide. Izuku ran to hide just inside the door and to turn off the lights just as everyone is set. With a thumbs up from most everyone that he can see, he flips the lights and the whole place is silent in anticipation.
Those few seconds almost feel like an hour before the door finally creaks open. Izuku can barely make out the confused expression on his face before he flips on the lights and everyone jumps out yelling a chorus of 'Surprise!' with a few 'Happy birthday!'s mixed in.
Todoroki stands there silently, almost seeming a bit shell-shocked. When he finally seems to find his voice, he simply asks, "Why?"
Well, tell me what you think. Leave a comment/review. I hope you enjoyed the first full chapter! Please keep in mind, updates will unfortunately not be coming as fast as this chapter did. I do have two other stories I'm writing as well as this one so be patient. :) They will certainly come! Until next chapter,
NyteXate
