Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida

33. A Semblance of Normalcy

"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."

― Mark Twain

The next day was the first of the new semester, which meant that it was finally time to return to class. Part of the morning routine was familiar: wake up, shower, brush your teeth, and eat breakfast. But none of it was the same.

Getting out of bed was simple enough, but showering with one arm was surprisingly difficult. Izuku had been given a special brush to help him reach all over his body, but it was still challenging and awkward to scrub himself down, and took longer than it had before. Something as simple as squeezing shampoo from the bottle was simple no longer, as Izuku had to carefully aim it atop his head and squeeze out a small drop, then scrub one handed.

Brushing his teeth was a chore now too: he laid out his toothbrush, carefully put a dot of toothpaste on it, then brushed his teeth and flossed. He had to use a dental pick now, as he couldn't easily reach parts of his mouth one handed. As for getting dressed, well, Izuku was able to do it now with a lot of practice, but it was still awkward and took far longer than it should have.

Eating was something Izuku was getting used to. He was becoming more adroit using chopsticks with his left hand, and Hari was actually cooking for both him and Mei each morning. It wasn't anything spectacular, but she was insistent that the two of them needed hearty meals to help with their recovery, which was certainly the case. This morning she served up rice, eggs, and fried spam.

"Make sure the two of you get lunch in the cafeteria," Hari lectured. "It's included in the boarding fee for the school now so I don't want the two of you 'forgetting' or trying to skip it."

"Yes Hari," Izuku and Mei mumbled. Izuku looked up and smiled at her. "And thanks for the food, it's really good."

"It had better be, it's costing an arm and a leg to-" Hari froze, a look of horror coming over her face.

"It's fine," Izuku told her quietly. "I know it's just an expression."

Tears welled up in Hari's eyes, but she turned around to hide them, sniffing and busying herself with cleaning. Mei didn't seem to notice, worried about shoving the food in her face as fast as she could, as usual.

For once, they didn't head to the Workshop first. With all the extra time it was taking Izuku to get ready, they only had a few minutes to make their way to class. Since Izuku hadn't ever actually been to room 1A, he was a bit nervous about walking there, as he usually felt when he had to go somewhere new, imagining himself getting lost somehow and being late. They made it in plenty of time though, and Izuku found that most of his new classmates were already in the room.

"Izuku! Hatsume! You made it!" Ashido said, waving as Izuku came to the door.

"Yep, I had to make sure." Mei looked into the classroom, then nodded. "Izuku's class is 82 square meters, that is good, he will be safe here and we didn't get lost."

"Yeah, guess I found it after all," Izuku mumbled, blushing slightly. He turned to Mei, smiling. "Thanks for walking with me, I-"

"Hatsume, we need your help," Jiro said, suddenly coming out and grabbing Mei's arm. "When I was using the sonic amplifier you gave me I was getting this weird feedback. I just got it back from Power Loader and I was hoping you'd take a look at it."

"Is there something wrong with our baby?" Mei demanded, springing out of Jiro's grasp and hurrying over to her desk. She picked up the device, which was built like a small convex speaker that could strap on to Jiro's legs. "Ah, I see, Izuku, come look. I think some of the circuits were damaged by the vibrations."

"Really? Oh, I guess I can take a look, but Mei really should-" Izuku began, but Kaminari grabbed Izuku and pulled him to a desk nearby.

"Hey man, my capacitor overloaded and I really need you to take a look at it," Kaminari said, dumping the fried headband on Izuku's lap. "Can't you do something?"

"Oh, well, I'll have to make a new one," Izuku said. He gingerly picked it up, frowning as he examined some of the exposed circuitry. "How much voltage can you generate, at what amperage? It looks like these parts are fused, that's why you were experiencing negative effects. Here, I've got my tools, let me take a look."

Both Izuku and Mei were soon so absorbed in examining their creations that they didn't even notice the bell, not helped by the somewhat noisy chatter of their classmates. Izuku only looked up when the door shut and Mr. Aizawa walked in. He sheepishly put Kaminari's fried gear into his backpack, then sat up.

"Well, I hope you all enjoyed that little break, because it's the last one you're getting for a while," Mr. Aizawa said, not looking up from a bundle of papers in his hands. "I'd say welcome to our new students, but you already know who they are so-"

Mr. Aizawa suddenly paused, frowning at the top piece of paper in his stack. He looked up, glaring at the desk next to Izuku's. That made Izuku look to the side, and he started when he realized Mei was sitting there, looking a bit lost and confused.

"Hatsume, what are you doing here?" Mr. Aizawa demanded, his eyes narrowing as his mouth thinned into a scowl.

"I was just looking at Jiro's baby! It got hurt during the fight and she needed me to fix it so I was going to take it apart and figure out how to make it all better but then they told me to sit here and not say anything so I was being quiet," Mei explained.

"Maybe you should check the class roster, sir," Iida suggested.

"I am." Aizawa held up the sheet of paper, turning it over to reveal his class list. "Somehow, there seems to be twenty-one students in my class, including Mei Hatsume."

"Oh, well, then I guess I'm supposed to be here," Mei said, sounding relieved. "I just hope Mr. Maijima won't mind if I keep going to the workshop for my babies."

Izuku glanced around worriedly, unsure of what was happening. For some reason Ashido and Kaminari looked very pleased with themselves, though they were trying and failing to hide it. Iida was a picture of concerned responsibility, while all the other students had varying levels of smug satisfaction and blank masks on their faces.

"The only ones," Mr. Aizawa said slowly, his baleful gaze resting on each of the students, "who have access to change the class rosters for the Hero Course are myself, and Principal Nezu. I don't recall changing it personally or the Principal discussing such an alteration with me."

"You've been under a lot of stress lately sir," Shinso said, his tone sober. "I think we've all had some troubles with our memories in the past few days. There's a lot of things I wish I could forget."

Aizawa's eyes suddenly locked with Shinso, his long, dark, lanky hair rising about his head as his quirk activated. Shinso didn't react, simply returning the teachers look stare for stare. After a few seconds, Aizawa's hair lowered and he blinked. "I don't know how you did it, but I'm only going to ask you one thing. Lie, and you're out. Did you use your quirk to do this?"

"I'm not saying I did anything," Shinso said carefully. "But if I did do something, I didn't use my quirk to do it. Though I would say that, just perhaps, some people shouldn't leave their passwords to their user accounts on sticky notes taped on the side of their desk drawers. Turns out, any teacher can adjust class rosters if you log in as them first, then switch over to administrative mode while filling out report cards."

"God dammit, Yamada," Aizawa growled. "I've told you to be more careful with security!" He suddenly smiled widely at Shinso. "Well. It seems you have taught yourself a few new tricks."

"Someone one once told me that you can't be a pro if you only have one trick," Shinso observed. "I got burned for not being smart online once, and then had my ass saved because people knew how to get information out of computers. I've been doing more than hanging out and playing video games the past few weeks."

"I see. Well, it seems my class roster has been adjusted. Hatsume, interrupt me and I kick you right back to where you belong," Aizawa growled.

"I thought I belonged here now?" Mei said, looking very unsure of herself. "I was just walking to class with Izuku but then Ashido needed help with her babies and-"

"-and it seems I'm the victim of a wide ranging conspiracy," Aizawa said, looking around at his students. Even Iida's sycophantic mask had come off, and he was looking rather delighted with the way things were going. The only student who wasn't looking like the cat who got the mouse was Bakugo, who was slouched in his desk at the back of the room and looked like he was generally pissed off at the world. Which, really, was his default expression anyway.

"If you don't want me to interrupt you then you shouldn't interrupt me," Mei grumbled to herself.

A smile tugged at the corner of Aizawa's lips, and he bowed to Mei. "Please excuse my rudeness. But Hatsume, do you understand what your being here means?"

"I get to go to class with Izuku and learn about everyone else's quirks so Izuku and I can make even more amazing babies for them! I'll get to see first hand what they can do and collect lots of data that will make our babies even cuter! I did see them at the fight with the bad guys but I didn't feel very good and I don't remember most of it so this will be an excellent opportunity to collect data first hand!"

"I imagine so," Aizawa agreed. He looked around at the rest of his students. "And I suppose you all think you're terribly clever, don't you?"

"Pff. Whatever. We just didn't want to see Midoriya mope 'cause he couldn't be with Hatsume anymore. That would have been really annoying," Bakugo grumbled.

"Come on Mr. Aizawa, Mei's one of us now," Uraraka argued. "She's faced the League of Villains on the front lines. It wouldn't be right to just send her away."

Tsu nodded. "Plus, she lives in our dorms, ribbit. How can we have her going to class somewhere else?"

"Hmph. Well, if this didn't solve several headaches for me, you'd all be in a lot of trouble right now," Aizawa muttered, stacking his papers on his desk.

"How could we possibly get into more trouble than we're already in?" Yaoyorozu asked. "I mean, we should all be in jail or at least expelled right now."

A sinister gleam came into Aizawa's eyes, and his lips spread in a mirthless grin. "Well, for one thing, one of your idiot stunts could have gone very, very wrong. What if there had been an IR camera that caught Hagakure? She'd be dead right now."

Everyone glanced in the invisible girls direction, and her clothes seemed to collapse in on themselves slightly.

"Or what if Togata had got there just a little bit later? Then God only knows how many of you would be dead. Need I go on?"

Everyone quickly shook their heads.

"Good." Aizawa let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "Honestly, you have all put us into a tight spot. Hatsume, I will admit, this isn't your fault. If anything, it was our mistake to bring you to the training camp and drag you into this."

"But-!" Mei began, but Izuku put his hand on hers, grateful she was to his left. She glanced at him frowning, but then subsided.

"So you can control yourself. But yes, you're all in a great deal of trouble, even if you don't seem to realize it. The past few days you've been isolated and resting, but that can't last any longer. The fact is that you've put the country in a precarious situation and that your own status is extremely delicate. The public now sees you all as All Might's heirs, along with -"

"Me!" Togata declared, popping out of the wall. Everyone but Shinso, Izuku, and Mei jumped in surprise.

"Is Togata going to join the class too?! Togata, how's your underwear, did it work?" Mei demanded.

That brought some snorts of laughter, especially from Jiro and Ashido who had to duck under their desks as they giggled.

This didn't seem to bother Togata at all, who nodded and smiled. "Yes! It's very comfortable, and it stays on no matter what I do, Hatsume, thanks!"

"Togata," Aizawa growled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You were supposed to wait until I called you."

"Oh, sorry."

Togata popped back out through the wall, causing Aizwa to let out a heavy sigh. "Come back, they've already seen you."

When Togata reappeared, Aizawa sighed and pointed to him. "Yes, you're all the nation's most darling heroes. Thankfully they've mostly focused on Lemillion, but you've all been latched onto as well as the new 'Pillars of Peace.' We've tried controlling the media narrative, but it isn't working. The public is demanding more of you, and to see you in action more often."

"Which is a problem, because you don't have provisional licenses yet!" Togata chimed in. Aizawa glared at him, which made Togata flinch and offer a sheepish grin in apology.

"The licenses at least are a problem we can solve. Experience and more advanced training will have to happen on the job. You're all taking your provisional license exams in two weeks. We just missed the previous exam, but you were all still recovering from your injuries. We'll have to travel out to Kansi to do it, but it's vital we get you all tested."

"So what's he got to do with that?" Shinso asked, eyeing Togata. Izuku well remembered the harsh lessons they'd learned under the upperclassman, and wasn't eager to repeat them.

"I'm going to be helping train all of you!" Togata told them brightly. Shinso let out a soft groan, closing his eyes. "We've got to get you back in fighting shape, and we've only got two weeks to do it!"

"Yeah!" Kirishima said, grinning and raising his fist. "Let's do this! You got lucky last time, we softened that big bastard up for you!"

"As much as I think you could all do with a little ego deflating, I'm not going to let Togata just pound you all into the dust," Mr. Aizawa informed them. "You'll be training on working together as a team. While you all have shown promise in your ability to work together, it's going to be vital going forward. That was the only thing aside from luck that kept you alive in Kamino."

Izuku shakily raised his hand, and Mr. Aizawa pointed to him. "Um, what about me, sir? We, um, we haven't rebuilt the Power Suit just yet."

"That's your top priority. Get it done sooner rather than later, I want you training with the others," Mr. Aizawa ordered. "That goes double for you, Hatsume, and it's one of the only reasons you're still here."

"Of course we'll rebuild our baby!" Hatsume declared. Then she frowned, glancing at Izuku. "But we do still need to finish adjusting Izuku's new arm. He can't use our baby without it!"

"Actually, I think maybe we should design the power suit without a place for a prosthetic, at least initially," Izuku suggested. "If I can learn to directly interface with the suit, it will allow me to respond more quickly, and it will mean I don't need to worry about whether or not the arm is damaged or with me."

"That's true! We could use the neural interface and some electro sensors to-"

"Go talk about that in the workshop," Mr. Aizawa ordered. "The rest of you, you're with me. Time to start on your training."

"Wait, but what about our classes?" Iida demanded. "We're supposed to have Modern Literature right now."

"Until further notice, such classes are canceled," Aizawa informed them. "We're literally playing with your lives here. I don't give a damn if you don't know why the author made the drapes blue."

"YES!" Ashido and Kaminari cheered, turning to high five one another.

"-but you still have a midterm, and you'll need to pass it. Don't think this means you're getting a break. You're simply going to have to work all the harder. Now get moving. We're short on time."

Izuku and Mei separated from the others, hurrying down to the Support Course workshop.

"Hatsume, where were you this morning?" Mr. Maijima demanded when he saw them. "You're not even on my roster!"

"I'm in Izuku's class so I can make babies for all my friends," Mei stated. "I have lots of friends now! I like it."

"Really? Well, we'll just see about that. Aizawa thinks he can poach my two best students, I'll show him a thing or two," Mr. Maijima grumbled. "Go on, get started on whatever it is you're here to work on. I was going to modify your schedule anyway Hatsume, things are moving quickly."

Once more, Izuku found himself entering into the workshop with Hatsume. He looked around at the tools, materials, and various projects that were scattered about the space, feeling an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and longing. In so many ways, this was where and how his journey had begun.

"No…My poor baby…" Mei walked to the center of the room, where the remains of the Power Suit lay under a tarp. Mei knelt in front of it, resting her hand on its surface. Izuku saw tears trickle down her cheeks, as Mei bowed her head, her shoulders trembling.

"It's OK, Mei." Izuku carefully knelt next to Mei, putting his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, pressing herself tightly to his body, and Izuku squeezed as hard as he could. "We'll fix it, together. It will be even better than before."

"But it's like us," Mei whispered, tears still running freely down her cheeks. "It's so broken. My eyes don't work. Your arm's gone. And...and I don't know if I can really fix it all, if I can still help you, Izuku. What if I'm broken?"

"Then we'll just have to fix each other, together," Izuku said.

Mei looked up at him, smiling, her tears vanishing. "Ok. I guess if we do it together, it's OK."