The Bright Hero, Cobalt

Chapter Eight

A/N: Every previous chapter, and this chapter up to chapter ten, once had the names in English naming. I have altered the naming theme as best as I could to Japanese. As of this chapter's uploading, every other chapter currently posted will have been replaced with the updated version. Other minor changes have been made as well, none that anybody would need to reread old chapters for. As of right now, 5/17/2020, I have up to chapter eleven completed. That chapter, and all after, will hopefully feel a bit cleaner, since I won't have to alter the naming theme in them, simply writing them like this in the first place. As always, thank you to my editors, and thank you to all my friends who encouraged me to keep this going, and my readers and reviewers. Each of you helps keep me going. PLUS ULTRA!

"Normal speech."

"Buff Might/AI speech."

'Thoughts without intent to share ideas. Some will be heard by Izuku regardless of intent.'

"Thoughts with intent to share ideas and words with Izuku/Telepathy."

'Sign language.'

A Few Days Later, In Class 1-A

Class 1-A was abuzz with activity, still cracking jokes about events from the outing. Fumikage and Dark Shadow had been given the title Sith Apprentice, due to their actions in the arcade, much to the amusement of both boy and quirk. When Izuku pointed out that one of them should be the Sith Master, since the Rule of Two was a big deal in the Star Wars universe, everybody in the know laughed.

"Look at the Dark Lord of the Sith trying to divert attention away from his sithliness! We're onto you, Darth Midori! You can't make us forget your display of the Dark Side on the second day of school!" Denki joked, incidentally reminding Izuku that he should think about how his powers looked to bystanders. He didn't want them to look at him and be afraid, after all!

As most of the class was chatting, Shoto was simply sitting in silence, brooding as usual. His father was grumpier than normal, and had started pushing him in his training again. Shoto would ask him what was making him upset, but he didn't care at this point. As the chilliest boy in class wandered amongst his own thoughts, a slip of paper made its way onto his desk, Izuku having directed it there with his quirk, looking incredibly nervous, and Katsuki, the one who tossed it originally, a manic grin on his face. The paper read as such:

"Friendship is inevitable, Icy-hot!"

Shoto rolled his eyes, then looked over to Katsuki again, the boy's grin having widened to comical levels. Shoto sighed and froze the paper in an instant, then shattered it, letting his thoughts be known on the matter. Koji, Mina, and Eijiro, who had been simultaneously chatting in and teaching Eijiro Sign, sighed at the failed gesture. Eijiro, being the manly creature that he is, decided to use it as a learning experience, taking his cheat sheet out, and finger spelling, Rude!

Mina giggled conspiratorially as she and Koji helped Eijiro correct the bits he got wrong, having an idea for an addition to their class's catchphrase. I have a horrible, wonderful idea! she signed to her horn buddy with a grin. The aforementioned plan would have to wait until later, though.

The door to their classroom opened, and in walked Aizawa, carrying some pamphlets. The class became silent the instant he entered, not wanting to make him any grumpier than he typically was. He looked at his students and let out an audible sigh. "Your fight is far from over," he said ominously, and considering what kind of person he was, everybody in class was on the edge of their seats, nervous energy pulsing through them. Thus, they all received mood whiplash when he elaborated, "U.A.'s Sports Festival is fast approaching."

Tenya rose from his seat, a look of concern plain to see on his face. "Don't you think it's too soon for something like this? We may have done well in repelling them, but U.A. just suffered a villain attack!" the droid-like hero exclaimed, arms chopping at speed.

Eraserhead gave out a sigh. "It's necessary to demonstrate that U.A.'s crisis management protocols are sound. That's the thinking with the people in charge, anyway. Compared to past years, there'll be five times the police presence, plus a little extra that's too much of a pain to explain in full detail. Anyhow, our sports festival is the greatest opportunity you'll get from this school. It's not an event that can be cancelled over a few villains," the sleep-deprived pro explained, several of his students giving tells of nervousness and/or excitement, understanding dawning on them all.

Shota intensified his gaze before continuing. "This event happens once a year. You'll each get three opportunities to impress the pros, so make them count," he added, a bit of a grin on his face as he finished, "Let them know who you are, Plus Ultra style."

Everybody got excited upon hearing this, outside of Shoto, who was stuck in his own train of thought. Aizawa rolled his eyes, his bit of good mood spent, and announced, "I'm going to take a nap. Take some time to study, or don't. Just don't do anything illegal or typical of a problem child." And with that, he became a yellow caterpillar once more, zipping his sleeping bag up around him and dropping to the ground, where he started snoring immediately.

As was to be expected, nobody really got any studying done. Ochako stood up from her seat and began exuding an aura of power, her face darkening with determination. "Midoriya-kun...I'M GONNA DO MY BEST!" she roared suddenly, raising her fist in the air, with Izuku doing the same, her enthusiasm bleeding over to him as he let out a roar of badassery as well.

"EVERYONE! I'M GONNA DO MY BEST!" she roared again, though everybody else was more subdued in their responding cheer. A piece of chalk was tossed from Aizawa's corner, and beaned Ochako in the forehead, causing the girl to calm down. "Sorry, Sensei."

Izuku, after that, just smiled. His power sure picked an interesting person to bond with. The boy got back to his notebooks, now part way through fourteen, which consisted almost entirely of his classmates. He made sure to leave a few pages blank between each classmate for updates that would undoubtedly come about. On his own page, he put down the basics, but focused more on combinations he could make with his classmates, liking the idea of working together with his friends. He'd already decided on names for several of their team-ups, like with Ochako, the attacks were listed under G-Force. So far, he had a few, but some of his classmates had quirks that he couldn't figure out how to work with in conjunction with his own power. He smiled fondly at the ideas for Blast Force and Speed Force, having gotten closer with Katsuki and Tenya lately.

Momo, seated directly behind Izuku now that Minoru was gone, leaned forward to look at his notebook. "Those are some nice combo moves there, Midoriya-san. I like the naming theme, too. Do you have any for teaming up with me?" she asked, curious.

The greenette jumped a bit in his seat, but turned around with a smile. "I have some stored in my head, but I'm waiting until you get your upgraded hero outfit in case I can add improvements to them. I'm torn between calling our team up moves' names Omni Force, since we'd be able to perform omni-directional attacks with several ideas I've thought of, or ReinForce, since my aura particles can apparently be used to make unbreakable substances, though I have no clue how that's done," he explained, a sheepish smile on his face as he poked his index fingers together, then confessed, "I don't have enough information on your quirk to know if such moves would be possible, anyway." Saying this, he turned to her page in his notebook.

Momo gasped, seeing a drawing of her in her school uniform, along with some detailed notes about her quirk and mannerisms, along with ideas for more creative uses of her quirk. Fascinated, she reached forward and picked the notebook up, looking at it in more detail, before realizing something, and turning several of the pages, finding entries on all of their classmates. "Izuku, you gathered all this info? You take great effort to not look into our heads with your quirk without permission, so was this all done without it?" she asked.

Katsuki, feeling better upon being reminded of his friend's talent, let out a quick bark of laughter. "That's not even the craziest thing. Take a look at the title on the front, Class Rep," he said with a gleam in his eyes.

She did as the ash blond said, and her eyes widened. "Volume Fourteen? There are thirteen other notebooks with your hero analyses in them?" she asked, giving the book back to Izuku as she looked at the boy with a bit of awe.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. Volume Fourteen is being reserved for you guys, though. I've got volume fifteen in my backpack right now. I have several pages blank for each of you, since I'll probably have that much to put in it, along with space for whoever ends up taking Minoru-san's place," he commented. Hearing this, several classmates made their way over, hoping to see their entries.

As everybody was admiring Izuku's notebook entries, Shoto rose from his seat, and made his way to the group. "Midoriya-san," he said, and everybody went silent, turning to look at him. The Prince Zuko expy ignored the looks they gave him, and simply said, "I would like to talk to you after lunch. One on one, please."

Izuku simply nodded. "Sure. Thanks for asking ahead of time. I've got something to check out during lunch, so that really helps," he replied, doing his best to maintain eye contact, despite the other boy's frosty gaze. His piece said, Shoto returned to his seat. Momo watched as he walked away, a look of concern on her face.

Everybody went back to looking at their entries in Izuku's book or studying, and before long, the bell rang, signalling the start of their next class.

Later, During Lunch

Izuku, having gotten his lunch and Ochako's, walked with her outside the main campus building, floating their trays and preventing any portions of their lunches from falling over or flying away as they walked and ate, talking exclusively through their bond. The two of them were in a good mood, with Izuku having convinced her to tell a few of their new friends her reasoning for getting into heroics, the girl feeling incredibly relieved upon finding out he was right, and that everybody who'd been told found her reasoning to be acceptable, even admirable. Now, though, they were nearing the location Izuku had led them to.

"So, you're saying you can feel the presence of your new armor? How do you mean?" Ochako asked, curious.

Izuku had to think for a moment to properly describe it. "I guess it's the same way I feel my arm or my leg, which is weird, since the armor isn't connected to me. I'm just aware that it's there, and able to move it at any time. I've not done much moving of it, since it's still undergoing maintenance and having software updates installed, but I want to talk to the girl working on it in person, since my communication through it is limited while those updates are being worked on," the greenette explained, taking a sip of his water. "Do you want any of my food? I get that you have to budget and all that, but I'd be glad to share some of my lunch with you. Heck, Mom basically gave you permission to come over whenever you feel like it, and that includes for meals."

Ochako blushed at the suggestion, being aware enough of Izuku's childhood that he didn't understand the implications of the two of them sharing food. "Ya don't hafta give me any of yer lunch, Izuku-kun! I do think I'll be coming over more often to spend time with you and yer ma, though," she answered with a warm smile. "I like the feelin' of being near the two of ya. It's like a little piece of home away from home. I wanna introduce you and yer ma to my folks sometime, too. I think they'd like the two of ya."

Izuku grinned despite his blush at her decision to start calling him with a less informal name. "That sounds like it would be fun! Your parents are such nice people, and I think I could really get along with your dad, both of us being born quirkless and all. Regardless, please let me know if you're ever low on food or any other supplies. This bond means we're in this together, accidental or not, and you're my best friend, so that's two reasons right there to make sure you're healthy and happy. Don't make me make a list, because I've already thought of two more in the past few minutes!" he responded, his grin turning sillier as he spoke.

Ochako smiled back. "When did I get promoted to best friend? I thought that was Bakugou-san's position," she retorted.

Izuku looked down, placing the food he'd been about to put in his mouth back on the plate, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I mean, he's my best friend, too. It's just...I don't know how to explain it. What I have with him and what I have with you feel different, but they're both incredible. I'm not exactly the best at understanding relationships, but you're both my dearest friends," he said, then grinned at her and added, "I guess I have two best friends! I'm pretty lucky, huh?"

Ochako's heart skipped a beat. 'Did he just confess to crushing on me without realizing? No, maybe he's crushing on Bakugou-san, and I'm the platonic best friend. I can't just assume things like that. He hasn't known me nearly long enough to like me like that, anyway. Why though...Why does the idea of him liking Bakugou-san more than me make me sad?' the girl thought to herself, doing her best not to broadcast to him, and apparently succeeding, if the innocent, confused look on his face was anything to go by. "Sorry, I just had to think about what you said for a second. That is really nice, though! I'm glad I can be one of your best friends, Izuku-kun!" she responded, getting a smile in return.

The two of them kept silent for the rest of the walk, knowing they were near their destination. A moment before they got there, though, a thought crossed Ochako's mind. 'Izuku's straight, though…' she remembered, a bit of hope blossoming in her confused heart.

Having finished their lunches en route, they started speaking verbally again. "Well, we're here. This is where the Support Course keeps their bigger projects, from what I've heard. Normally, I wouldn't have a key, but one was installed into Unit 0, so I just have to bring it out of storage…" Izuku said, then startled Ochako when a door opened on the side of the building, and the armor walked out, and made its way over to the door they were standing in front of. It pointed a finger out at the door, and a beeping sound was heard, along with the sound of a lock unlocking.

Izuku sent Unit 0 back to its docking station, and opened the door, where a student with bright pink hair-tentacle things, and yellow eyes shaped like crosshairs, stood waiting, oil stains and a few cuts here and there making her outfit and body messier than they normally were...probably. "Hello, Midoriya-chan! I was expecting you to make your way over here sometime soon! Oh, and you brought Uraraka-chan, too! Good, she's part of this conversation, too! Now come on in, and I'll tell you both about the baby I made for you!" she exclaimed, confusing the two with the baby comment, and turned around to walk back in, not waiting for them to follow.

Izuku looked at Ochako and shrugged, Ochako rolling her eyes in response. "Just go with it, I guess?" he suggested nervously. The two walked into the workshop, which led into the hangar where hero vehicles and such were kept. A few heroes working on campus had vehicles that went with their hero identities. Izuku nearly had a fangasm upon seeing the car typically driven by David Shield when he would support All Might. Izuku supposed that since David was on I-Island, the car was driven by AI when All Might wasn't driving.

After getting to the back of the building, where the girl was working on something on her workbench, Izuku cleared his throat, getting the pink-haired engineer to stop. "Oh, sorry. I just try to use any spare time I have to work on my babies. This one I'm putting together right now is a shield unit for you, Midoriya-chan! It'll be able to float around separately from Unit 0 for both defensive and offensive maneuvers, and it can dock onto Unit 0 as well! Anyway, I'm sure you have questions. I can't guarantee I can answer all of them, but I'll answer what I can!" the girl exclaimed, clearly very happy to see them.

Izuku chuckled nervously. "Well, first of all, I want to know why you wanted to work on my gear specifically. I heard that you insisted, and since Unit 0 is nothing like the armor I originally commissioned, I assume you've been working on it a lot longer than the beginning of the school year, which has me a bit worried," he said, hoping to get the hard question out of the way.

Not missing a beat, the pinkette started talking. "Well, you see, a little over a decade ago, there was an incident, and I met-"

Izuku and Ochako blinked in confusion. One second, Mei had been standing there, and the next, she was gone. Try as he might, Izuku couldn't sense her anywhere on campus. He was about to panic and call a teacher, when she appeared once again.

"Ugh, sorry. Your benefactor is a butt, and doesn't want you hearing all the juicy bits from me. She'd much rather tell you herself when she's ready. Sorry if that freaked you out, by the way. I didn't get teleported away or anything. She just removed your perception of me for a second to chew me out," the girl said, then blinked in confusion. "Oh, she's right, I haven't properly introduced myself yet! Hatsume Mei, mad engineer, and inhaler of caffeinated beverages, at your service! Anyway, to the parts of your question I can answer, the reason I want to work on your armor so badly is personal, and involves my friendship with your benefactor. And yes, I did start working on it prior to the school year starting. Perks of being a friend of your benefactor include access to those particles your aura makes, as well as certain bits of knowledge on how they work. I was able to build the armor itself pretty quickly. The hard part was programming the interface with your armor and the AI. Any flawed programs were unacceptable for reasons I'm not at liberty to explain. Your ability to connect to the armor has to be seamless and more importantly, secure as fuck."

Izuku nodded. "So I guess you have to keep updating it all the time, then?" he asked.

Mei cackled. "Who the hell do you think I am? I've uninstalled it already! You're synched to it now, via your powers. It's like how you're connected to your fingers and ears! You don't have to think about moving it so much as you have to move it! The really tricky parts were making it so you could hear and see through it, but I got that going too, because sleep is for the weak!" the girl exclaimed.

Izuku frowned a bit, and moved slightly to stand between this girl and Ochako. "One more question. Is my 'benefactor' connected to my asshole of a sperm donor?" Izuku asked, glowing green and getting ready in case he had to fight.

Mei blinked, surprised. "She's right, you are good. Thankfully, she has the perfect way to show her intent. Just give it a second. She's not as good as you are at this," the pinkette said, confusing Izuku and Ochako for a few seconds before he felt it, with Ochako feeling it as well via their bond. Affection. Concern. Hope. Pride. Joy. Relief. If Izuku didn't know any better, he'd think he was sensing the feelings of his mother, but he could still sense her in their home, completely separate from this presence. He could tell that these feelings weren't lies, either. He felt the ghosts of memories from this person, no, this girl, he somehow realized. They were connected in some way, even if he couldn't see the memories properly, he knew he was a part of them in some way.

Ochako brought him out of his reverie with a light squeeze of her hand in his, Izuku having not even noticed when they'd joined hands, nor who initiated it. The red-shoed boy turned his gaze back to Mei. "C-can I have a name...for my benefactor, I mean. It's kind of weird to just call her Benefactor-san, after all," the startled boy asked, a nervous smile on his face.

The mad inventor grinned. "She goes by Aureck for people she doesn't want to know her actual name. She got into Star Wars at some point, and decided on a letter from the in-universe alphabet to use as her pseudonym. She wants you to know her for real, but she's afraid of stuff and whatnot. I keep telling her she doesn't need to be afraid of it, but she's messed up in the head, and coming from me, that's saying something!" she exclaimed. Her face softened a bit, and she added, "I think connecting to more people will be good for her, honestly. There are four people besides me that she's opened up to, but that's just not enough."

This time, Ochako stepped forward. "Um, I don't mean to sound intrusive, but how is she getting on campus? I mean, assuming she works with you on the armor here, and not from some rundown warehouse on the other side of town or anything," the brunette asked, joking a little about this girl's desire to keep her identity secret.

The reticule-eyed girl held a finger up, her grin becoming upbeat again. "Oh, that's easy. She's a staff member's adopted daughter. The head honchos have her whitelisted with the security system because of this. Plus, the technology necessary to contain her isn't exactly something we've invented yet, so this is also so that the alarm isn't tripped pointlessly when she comes and goes. It was a nightmare for the staff the first couple weeks after she decided this place was safe enough to turn into her hangout, apparently. There was an entire plan to try and capture her to keep her from doing anything harmful, but they realized she was harmless quickly enough. Heck, if villains come near the campus while she's here, she'll occasionally help repel them! Speaking of which, boy, was she pissed when she got back from a weeklong break from bullshit yesterday! She's been hovering around the people she feels attached to more than usual lately, though good luck finding out where she is at any given time! I could tell you, but you've seen what she can do about people blabbing things!" the girl snickered.

Izuku and Ochako both chuckled, then started stuttering in confusion when Mei started blinking in and out of existence in a pattern. Izuku gaped like a fish when he realized what was going on. "Is...Is she using her power to turn you into Morse Code? Did she just shoo us away?" Izuku asked, having a basic knowledge of the obtuse language.

Mei rolled her eyes. "Ugh. She's getting grumpy because I said more than she really wanted again, but since she allowed me to say so much of it in the first place, I guess she isn't actually that mad. Regardless, you should get going. I've got to work more on my babies. I'm already thinking of new upgrades to Unit 0, and I need to get that stuff figured out soon! Now shoo!" the girl explained, then went back to her machines.

The two of them went to leave, but as they were getting to the door, Izuku turned around, and brought up something he'd thought he'd have to wait for later to figure out. "Hey, um, Hatsume-san? Thanks for the armor and all that, and for being Aureck-san's friend. I have another favor, though, if you have time. Heck, if you don't, just passing it along to another member of the support course would-"

"OUT OF THE QUESTION! Tell me what you need, and I'll make a baby to get it done! There's nothing I can't do!" the pinkette exclaimed.

After recovering from the outburst, Izuku and Ochako both chuckled. "Well, we have a friend with an invisibility quirk in our class, and she said a couple days ago at an outing that she really wishes she knew what she looked like. Is there anything you can develop to let her deactivate her quirk temporarily?" the empath asked.

Mei waved a gloved hand at them. "It'll take a while, but I can do that. Now skedaddle! I've got babies to make!" she exclaimed.

Ochako laughed nervously. "Don't lose too much sleep over it, though. She'll be here a while, after all," the brunette said.

"I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD, NOW SHOO! My babies don't just invent themselves!"

With that, the two heroics course students fled from the mad engineer.

After Lunch, In Heroics Class

The class was doing one on one sparring, and since there were only so many teachers, Izuku and Shoto managed to move a ways away from the class, to have their own one on one.

Izuku took a seat on top of a bench in the fake city, patting the spot next to him. Shoto shook his head, and simply stood nearby. "Well, we're far enough that the only people who might hear us are Jiro-san and Shoji-san, and the two of them know better than to listen in on something like this. If that's not enough, we can use my telepathy, if you'd like?" the greenette informed the frigid inferno beside him, offering to make their conversation even more private.

Shoto surprised him with his response. 'How about we talk like this? Nobody in our class has the ability to see through walls, after all,' he suggested in sign, and indeed, he was right. They had moved to the other side of a building to get to this bench, and nobody in their class had a quirk to see through solid objects.

Izuku nodded. 'Where do you want to start? I'm not a psychologist or anything, but I know talking about the problem can help. If it's bad enough, though, I will have to at least suggest you talk to a professional,' he replied.

Shoto sighed. 'Let's start with what you've already figured out. Mind telling me that?' he asked.

Izuku looked down in shame. 'Sorry. I try really hard not to hear the private thoughts of others, but you have so much hurt in you, that the feelings attached to those thoughts make them hard not to hear. What I have gathered so far is that your father hurt you and your other family members. Your hate for him is tremendous, only surpassed by the regret you feel for not being able to protect your siblings and mother. That's about it, though. Is there anything more you want to talk about?' he asked, lifting his head up again.

Shoto looked him dead in the eyes. 'What do you know about quirk marriages?' he asked.

Izuku rubbed his temples for a second, then replied, 'Enough to know that this just became a headache and a half. You're the result of a quirk marriage? Your dad must be really high up the ladder to be able to get away with that in this day and age, though I guess he got away with it at least fourteen years ago, so it makes a bit more sense. Judging by your quirk and name, I'd guess you're Endeavor's son, but you know what they say about assuming. Am I correct?'

Shoto nodded. 'Calling me his son is a bit of a stretch, though. I'm what he calls his masterpiece, not his son. He wants me to surpass All Might, but I don't really care about that. Speaking of which, you and All Might seem a bit close, from what I've seen. My dad will want me to defeat you, since he hates All Might so much, and I will. However…' At this, Shoto stopped signing, and spoke. "I'll beat you only with my mom's power. I'll show that bastard I don't need his power."

Izuku frowned and got up. "I don't think it's healthy to view your quirk like that, but the teachers will be able to help you with that if you let them. Uraraka-san just told me you and I are going to be needed for the lesson soon, so let's head back. And Todoroki-san? Thank you. It was very brave of you to tell me about this. I won't go blabbing, obviously, and I'll need to do a bit of poking around to figure out more of the situation, but if he hurts you where I can see it, I'm going to protect you, okay?" he said, then walked past him, the boy glowing green suddenly. Feeling safe for a moment, Shoto smiled a little, enjoying the feeling of the green glow.

When he got back to the class, he spotted Katsuki grinning at him. "What is it, Bakugou-san?" he asked.

"You're already becoming one of us," he said ominously, causing several of their classmates to bust a gut, a few of them belting out the new 1-A motto.

Shoto rolled his eyes. His classmates are weird, but that's okay. He's a bit weird, too.

Later On, At The End Of The School Day

Eraserhead sighed audibly upon hearing the bell signalling the end of the day. "All right, you little terrors. Get out of my classroom," he said, then left quickly, apparently having work to do.

Each of the students of 1-A grabbed their things, and headed to the door. Eijiro, who got there first, let out a sound of surprise. "What gives?" he asked suddenly, prompting the others to get over to the door.

A crowd of students from the other classes were waiting outside of the classroom, staring them down. The tension in the air was heavy, all things considered. A blond boy made his way to the front of the crowd, and started on a tirade.

"You class 1-A fools have looked down on us in 1-B for far too long! You think you're all high and mighty because you fought off real villains?! Well, this sports festival, we'll show you all our combined might, and crush you with it!" he exclaimed manically.

Izuku made his way to the front of his class, and smiled at the boy who'd just irritated his entire class. "Awesome! I expect nothing less from our fellow students, heroics course or otherwise! I'm Midoriya Izuku, Vice-Rep of Class 1-A. And you are?" he asked, confusing and irritating the blond in front of him with his friendly response.

"How dare you speak to me in that way! I am Monoma Neito, and 1-B and I will rip victory from your clutches, and laugh as we stand over your fallen forms!" he exclaimed, then began laughing maniacally, until he realized the boy before him wasn't upset at all. With the same smile as before, Izuku gave the boy a thumbs up, momentarily turning his closed-mouth smile into a gleaming grin.

Neito threw up his hands in frustration, and started walking away. "I can't! I just can't stay mad at him! He's like a puppy! A happy, friendly, fearless puppy!" the boy complained as he wandered off.

Another boy with really sharp eyebrows rose a bit over the crowd, wanting to let his two yen be heard. "Wow, did you just kill Monoma-baka with kindness?! Who knew his weakness was people with diabetes-inducing smiles and friendly attitudes?! Props for that, dude! I'm still gonna kick your ass in the festival, but credit where credit is due!" the silver-haired boy exclaimed.

"Hey, 1-B aren't the only ones who have a declaration of war to deliver," another voice said, a boy with purple hair and bloodshot eyes making his way to the front of the group. "Some of us in General Studies are going to be gunning for that empty seat in your class, and if any of you do poorly enough, even more of us will be joining the Heroics Course, while those of you who can't cut it will take our spots in General Studies. Heck, I'm only where I am because my quirk is useless against robots."

From a bit further back, Tenya nodded. "He has a point. There do exist extraordinary quirks that simply don't work on non-living targets. Recovery Girl and our own homeroom teacher come to mind, and they're both incredible pros themselves. It's a waste to keep that seat empty, so I do hope that by the end of the sports festival, we're back up to twenty students," the bespectacled bluenette said, swinging his arms as if he were more machine than man as he did.

The amethyst-haired insomniac rolled his eyes. "Okay, then. Declaration of intent delivered. I'm Shinso Hitoshi. Hope we work well together or whatever," he said, then began to walk away until he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder grabbing him. Whirling around, he saw Katsuki grinning at him, tiny explosions popping out of his other hand.

"Here's our declaration of intent. Friendship is inevitable!" he roared, letting out a slightly louder pop than before, before turning to face his class and letting out the warcry. "FRIENDSHIP IS INEVITABLE!"

"RESISTANCE IS IMPOLITE!" Eijiro and Mina exclaimed back with raised fists and grins, adding their own bit to it. Katsuki and the rest of 1-A (sans the quiet ones) roared in approval, then made their way out of the building.

As Izuku, Ochako, Katsuki, and Tenya made their way to the train station, Ochako made her way closer to Izuku. "Hey, Izuku-kun? Is your offer still open for dinner tonight?" she asked quietly, trying to be inconspicuous.

Izuku nodded with a grin. "Sure, let me just let my mom know real quick," he said, then let the older greenette know to expect Ochako for dinner via telepathy, and smiled at the bob-haired girl. "She's really happy you're coming over. She also wants you to know she wishes you'd come over more, and I honestly feel the same!"

Ochako grinned, and pumped her fist in the air. "All right! Home away from home, here I come!" she shouted with glee.

Tenya simply smiled at the excited duo, a bit of a knowing smile on his face, but he said nothing, realizing the two of them didn't like being bothered about their relationship. Katsuki had no such qualms, though. "SHUT UP AND FUCKING HOLD HANDS ALREADY!" he roared in mild frustration, causing Tenya to laugh for a moment as Izuku and Ochako turned into a stuttering mess for several minutes afterwards.

Later, At The Midoriya Residence

Ochako grinned, having enjoyed her meal. "Thanks again, Inko-san! Your food's awesome, as usual! I'll have to get your recipe for when I have the money to buy nice ingredients for dinner!" the gravity-defying quirk user exclaimed.

Inko blushed, holding her cheeks in her hands. "Oh, Ochako-san! Thank you for coming over! Sure, I'll copy the recipe for you. Let me just get your plate for you," Inko said, but was stopped when a green glow came over the aforementioned plates.

"Don't worry, Mom. We'll take care of it," her pride and joy said, smiling bright as always. Inko nodded with a smile of her own, moving back to her seat so she was out of their way. She gazed fondly at the two of them as they worked in tandem to clean the dishes.

As the green ray of sunshine and the high-flying heroine worked on their task, Ochako decided to ask the obvious question. "Aren't you going to ask her if she knows anything about Aureck-san?" the brunette queried.

Izuku smiled warmly at her, the girl startled a bit by the brightness of the aura she alone could see coming off of him, along with the happiness in his smile. "Aureck-san isn't a problem, and there's no reason to bring up anything stressful right now. Mom's happy, I'm happy, and even though you're a bit worried, I can tell that you're happy, too. I think we'll take this victory. Happiness is worth fighting for, after all," he replied, blue aura pooling out of him and flooding the room, causing the older woman in the room with them to chuckle happily, obviously enjoying the sight of the aura, knowing what its appearance meant.

As Ochako took in the smile of the boy next to her, her heart fluttered, and she came to a sudden realization, turning bright red suddenly and doing her best to keep from letting her feelings flow through. She didn't know if his elation was preventing him from sensing what she'd just realized, or if he was just unaware of what she'd just felt meant, but the brunette came to a realization at that time. 'I'm head over heels for him!'

As the two teenagers continued washing the dishes, the girl with the score of infinity contemplated just what this meant for the two of them.