Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida

40. Catharsis

I don't know whether war is an interlude during peace, or peace an interlude during war.

-Georges Clemenceau

As luck would have it, there was no school the next day for Class 1A, as the moment everyone returned to school, Recovery Girl ordered them all on bedrest for at least the next day. For a brief moment it appeared Mei would be forced to endure all her classes alone, until Mr. Aizawa announced he would be on bedrest as well, as they had managed to give him a migraine. However, based on the fact that Mr. Maijima kept the workshop open well into the small hours of the morning, Izuku had a feeling it was much more related to the need for replacements for all of their destroyed gear.

The most pressing loss from Izuku and Mei's perspectives were of course the destruction of Izuku's prosthetic as well as the Power Suit, both of which were damaged to the point that Mei declared them write offs and set to work on building improvements from the ground up. However, everything from Kaminari's insulator band to Bakugo's sweat storage tanks had to be reworked and rebuilt. Hari spent nearly all of her own time in the workshop with Mei, while Izuku slept and recovered from his injuries.

Despite their recent triumph in getting their licenses and in the day off, the dorms were rather subdued and quiet. Everyone had suffered some degree of injury, from the ubiquitous burns to broken bones and simple exhaustion. Everyone had a collection of new scars, including several rather nasty ones for Yaoyorozu, who's costume had left a great deal of skin exposed. She'd suffered second and third degree burns from the steam, including a rather hideous looking scar that covered the left half of her lower jaw and torso as well as her left arm.

"She's very sad," Mei reported to Izuku the next day. "Jiro says she thinks she's ugly now."

"She was hurt really badly, will she recover?" Izuku asked worriedly.

Mei nodded. "Hari says she'll be ok but she won't be as pretty anymore." Mei frowned, looking down at her bowl of noodles. They were in Izuku's room, Mei having brought him a late lunch. "Do you think I'm still pretty?"

That caused Izuku to half choke on his noodles, but after Mei pounded on his back a bit he managed to nod. "I've always thought you're pretty, Mei. Even beautiful. Why do you ask?"

"Because of my eyes," Mei said quietly. "They don't look right anymore."

That shot a pang through Izuku's heart. He frowned, then motioned to his arm. "Do you think I'm ugly?"

"What? No!" Mei said immediately. "You look...well, I don't think you're cute like our babies, but I do like how you look."

"Even missing an arm?" Izuku asked.

"That's the best part about you," Mei said seriously. "It's how I know you love me."

Tears filled Izukuk's eyes, and he had to set his bowl down as he cried. He felt Mei at his side, hugging him, and expected her to say something, but instead she just held him, humming softly. All the horrific things that had happened to Izuku in the last few weeks, all the raging emotions for the trials of the test and before them poured out in those tears, as did his love for Mei. When he finally got himself back under control, he wiped at his eyes with a sodden napkin.

"I'll always see your eyes as a sign you believe in me even more than I do," Izuku told Mei. "I might have given up my arm to rescue you, but you gave up your eyes so the world could see me."

Mei was quiet for a moment, thinking. At last she asked, "Is that a metaphor? Because I'm pretty sure the Black Mask took my eyes because he's evil. But I did think what you said was nice anyway, even if it wasn't what really happened."

"Yes, it was," Izuku said, smiling at Mei. "See? I'm rubbing off on you after all."

Mei returned Izuku's smile. "That's good, because we both need lots of help now."

That evening, everyone sat together in the dinning room after Hari had called a dorm meeting. There were several boxes of pizza stacked on the table, made specially by Lunch Rush in the cafeteria. Izuku had tried pizza before and thought it was alright, but was willing to eat anything so long as it was going to be simple as he was still exhausted.

"Where's Yaoyorozu?" Hari asked, looking around at the assembled students.

"She, um, doesn't feel good," Uraraka said quietly.

"None of you feel good. If she's really not feeling good, we can take her to Recovery Girl," Hari said.

"No, it's just…ribbit…" Tsu looked down, biting her lip. She had a fresh scar of her own on her cheek, a narrow gash that would never quite fade.

"I'll get her," Todoroki said, suddenly standing.

"No!" Hagakura said, blocking his path. "She really doesn't want anyone to see her right now. Especially not...well...one of you. I mean boys."

"I know what she's going through," Todoroki said, refusing to back down. He pointed to his own prominent scar over the left half of his face. "You don't think I don't know what it's like to be disfigured?"

"I mean, no, but well, it's different," Hagakure protested.

"No it isn't. I've known for years no woman would ever want to give me a second glance," Todoroki said firmly. "I look like a monster, and I'm related to one too. In a way, we got our scars from the same place. Besides, it's my fault."

"What?!" Uraraka gasped, looking up. "No it isn't!"

"That steam came from my ice. I should have known what my father would do, the maniac," Todoroki said. "Now let me go talk to her. The food's getting cold."

"Um…?" Hagakure glanced at Uraraka who shrugged.

"I mean, we tried. Can't hurt to at least let him knock on her door."

Todoroki walked away, leaving the others to wait quietly.

"Ok, girls, just wondering, but, um, I'm not the only one who thinks he's kinda hot, right?" Ashido asked.

"I so don't need to hear this," Bakugo muttered, then moved his arm down to block Uraraka from elbowing him in the gut at the same time he moved his leg to block a shin kick.

"What? Todoroki?" Jiro asked. "Sure. If you're into brooding loner types. But yeah, he's hot. In more ways than one."

"Wait, where do I rank?" Kaminari asked curiously.

"Somewhere between a rock and my dog," Kirishima said.

"What? There is no way I am ugly as your dog!" Kaminari protested. He looked to the girls desperately. "That dog is hideous! It looks like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, then went back for seconds!"

"I don't know," Jiro mused. She looked to Kirishima. "Can your dog at least fetch?"

"Red? Are you kidding? He knows all kinds of tricks! Once he tracked me down at school because I left my lunch at home! Brought it in his mouth and waited outside my class until I could come and get it!" Kirishima bragged.

"It's official then, ribbit," Tsu said, nodding. "Your dog is definitely smarter than Kaminari."

"Even if he is better looking," Jiro teased.

"Hey! I scored higher than Bakugo on the test!" Kaminari protested. "No one thinks he's dumb!"

"That's because the test measured if you're an asshole or not, dumbass," Bakugo growled. "And everyone knows what I am."

Uraraka sighed heavily. "You really need to stop playing that up, Bakugo. You're not nearly as mean as you act you know."

"Hmph," Bakugo turned his head away, scowling. He still had a bandage over his eyes, which Izuku was fairly certain was hiding the fact that he was blushing, though it was hard to tell.

"I don't know, it works for him," Shinso said with a shrug. "You heard what they're calling him in the chatrooms and stuff online?"

"What, it's not that weird hero name he gave himself, is it?" Kirishima demanded.

"What is Bakugo's hero name?" Izuku asked, curious.

Bakugo muttered something, which made Uraraka giggle. "You should tell him! I think it's funny."

"Not funny," Bakugo snapped. He turned his head towards Izuku. "Lord Explosion Murder. They wouldn't let me keep it."

"Ha!" Mei laughed. "That is funny! Because you make explosions! I think it is good. I will call you Explosion instead of Jerk from now on."

"That's not what they're calling him at all," Shinso said, taking out his phone. He tapped on it a bit and held it up. "Look. The Demon of Battle."

"No way," Kaminari gasped. "That's so badass!"

"It sounds like the name of a delinquent," Iida groused. "I think it's a shameful epitaph."

"Wait, it says here that they're calling me the Belle of the Brawl," Uraraka said, pointing at the phone.

"Better that Uraravity," Bakugo muttered. "That's just a stupid pun."

"Zat eez a magnificent namé fair you, Uraraka!" Aoyama exclaimed. "Eet shows 'ow you are magnifique, yet powairful and dangairous!"

"You just like it because it sounds french," Tokoyami said, rolling his eyes.

Aoyama put a hand to his heart. "Eet eez mon languaje! How can ai not lové a ti-tell bestowed wiv such wondairful wairds!

"But you're not French, you're Japanese," Mei argued. "Yuga Aoyama isn't a french name at all!"

"Mademoizélle, ai am wounded by yur dreadful accusashé-ons! Ai was bairn een gai Paree! Mon mothair eez francais, eet eez true! But mon fathair, wéll, 'e eez japanése. Wé moved to Japan when ai was ten, eet eez why mon accent eez zo ootrajeous!" Aoyama protested.

"He's lying," Tokoyami stated. "I hear him talking on the phone with his family at night. He sounds perfectly normal then."

That made everyone burst out into gales of laughter. Izuku laughed until his side hurt, clutching at his stomach.

"Tréachairous bird! See if ai evairy sai anytheng nice abut you evair again!" Aoyama cried over the hysterics.

Things had just about settled down again when Hari suddenly shushed them. "Quiet!"

"What?" Mei demanded. "Black Bird does look like a bird, and Princess Sparkles isn't french!"

Hari unceremoniously kicked Mei, who yelped but quieted down.

Todoroki and Yaoyorozu stepped into the room. Yaoyorozu looking down, her hair hanging down over the left side of her face. They'd just about joined the group when Todoroki suddenly stopped, reaching out a hand to rest on Yaoyorozui's shoulder. She jumped, looking startled and near to tears.

"You should put your hair back up," he told her. "I always thought it looked nicer that way."

Izuku blinked, and suddenly realized that Todoroki had brushed back his own hair, which usually hung in a fringe over his eyes. Now his scars were easily visible, and he strode back to his seat by Iida and sat down, crossing his arms over his chest, looking around the room as if daring anyone to comment.

Slowly, Yaoyorozu reached up and silently pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She glanced nervously around the room. Kaminari gave her a lecherous grin and a thumbs up, until Jiro slapped the back of his head.

"I think she looks nice," Bakugo deadpanned.

"You jerk!" Uraraka snapped, smacking his arm. "You can't see right now!"

"Be better if I couldn't hear, finally get some peace and quiet," Bakugo grumbled.

Before Uraraka could further berate her battle partner, Yaoyoruzu started to giggle. Tears ran down her face, and she laughed for a good ten seconds. Then, she took a deep breath. "Um, I don't have a hair band. I left mine in my room."

"Here," Hari said, hurrying up. "I always carry a few extra. They're useful when you're fixing things too."

Hari quickly did Yaoyorozu's hair up in a simple style similar to her usual. Then she spun Yaoyorozu around and gave her a hug. "You look great, Momo. You always do, and you always will."

"Thanks, big sis," Yaoyorozu whispered. Then she hurriedly took her seat. "Um, sorry to keep you all waiting."

"Don't worry about it," Tsu said, patting her friend on the arm. "We're just glad you're OK."

"Yeah, well, I'm about to burst that bubble," Hari said, dragging her chair forward. She spun it around so that she was leaning forward on the back, and looked around at the class, grimacing. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

"They're not taking our licenses, are they?" Sato asked worriedly. "I knew we were gonna get in trouble about the radios…"

"No, it's worse than that," Hari sighed. "No one seems to care about the radios anyway, no ones talking about them. Instead, they're placing us all at an internship. Including me and Mei."

"That's great!" Izuku exclaimed. "Who did we all get? Oh, I hope I got someone like Sir Nighteye! I want to learn different ways to use my equipment, and with his quirk he can-"

"We're all going to the Endeavor Agency," Hari interrupted.

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped 10 degrees. Several students jumped up, away from Todoroki, whose skin was suddenly coated with frost on his right side, his face a snarl of rage. "WHAT?!"

"Calm down, Todoroki," Hari ordered. "I'd tell you to chill out, but you need to crank the ice down a couple notches."

Taking a deep breath, Todoroki made the ice that was forming around him retreat, and he schooled his expression back into a neutral one. "What the hell is my father thinking! He nearly killed us! He maimed half our class, and nearly made us fail the test!"

"And he's the number one hero, and you're bitching about an accident. Remember the last time you idiots pitched a fit about that? It was when I fought Hatsume, because I was the only one who thought she was a real contender, unlike you overprotective pansies. So take your emotions, put them in your purse, and shut the hell up, you primadona," Bakugo snapped. "Look, I get having a chip on your shoulder in regards to your parents. Shit, how the hell do you think I got so messed up? But we need to learn from the best. And I hate to break it to you Icy-hot but your dad is now the best in the business because we put the real hero out to pasture."

Todoroki stared at Bakugo, his mouth moving silently.

"Um, Todoroki?" Izuku said hesitantly. "I...I get where you're coming from. You...you might have heard that I used to hate All Might."

"Wait, that was true?" Hagakure gasped. "I thought that was just a stupid rumor someone started because you were quirkless!"

"If you hated All Might, you must loath my father," Todoroki said, his voice dripping with venom. "He's a monster. You saw what he did yesterday. He didn't have to go as hard as he did against us."

"There, Todoroki, you and I must disagree," Iida said, shaking his head. "We're supposed to be the new Pillars of Peace, remember? He has to make sure we're ready to hold that title."

"Your dad's an asshole, just like me," Bakugo said with a shrug. "But if you think either one of us is weak or doesn't have a reason for why we act the way we do, you're wrong."

"Both All Might and Endevour are dumb," Mei stated matter of factly. "They're just mean to people for no reason."

That brought silence on the room, with everyone gaping at Mei. "You...you think All Might is mean?" Hagakure managed.

"Um, I guess you guys might as well hear the full story," Izuku said with a sigh. "I...I was saved by All Might on the day I met Mei."

Briefly, Izuku outlined his meeting with All Might, and how shortly after he'd met Mei, and how she'd been the first person to ever believe in him.

"I guess I sort of fell in love with her then," Izuku admitted. "It just took me a while to realize it."

That made Hari start to cry, sniffing and dabbing at her eyes with a red bandana. Kirishima and Kaminari did their best to look stoic, though Izuku could see their lips trembling. Shinso looked away, and Izuku could see that his expression was troubled. He didn't know everything about Shinso's past, but knew that he'd been even more of a pariah than Izuku had been.

Todoroki, on the other hand, was having none of it. "That's nice and all, but what the hell does that have to do with my father? No offense, Midoriya, it's a cute story I guess."

"I thought All Might was cruel, but he was just trying to protect me," Izuku explained. He held up his stump, waving it around slightly. "He knew this was what would happen to me. Can you blame him for being so harsh? For telling me to give up?"

"Yes," Mei huffed. "It was still mean."

"Not really," Uraraka mused. "I mean, yeah, telling a kid to give up on his dream is a hard thing for them to hear, but I mean, he did it because he cared. I guess...I guess you're saying that Endeavor is the same way? That he cares about Todoroki, and about us?"

"He doesn't!" Todoroki snapped. "I'm his damn lab experiment! I was his little breeding project! He married my mother and kept having kids with her until he got the perfect blend of quirks he wanted, because he could never surpass All Might! He decided that if he couldn't be the Number One, he'd train someone who could! I only exist out of his jealousy and spite!"

"You're not just a lab experiment," Yaoyorozu said, speaking for the first time since she'd sat down. She looked up at Todoroki, her expression grave. "You're kind, and compassionate, and you care about all of us. Don't think of yourself that way. You matter, Todoroki. And not because you have a strong quirk."

Todoroki's jaw hung open, and no sound came out of his mouth for a moment. Then, swallowing, he managed to close his mouth. He looked away, blushing slightly. "Thanks. But, that's not how he sees me."

"Um, I don't think so," Izuku said, feeling nervous. "I know what it feels like, what it looks like, when your dad doesn't even care if you exist. And...and Endeavor definitely cares about you, Todoroki. Maybe you did start off as a lab experiment. But the way he looked at you after the test...he was proud of you. I wish...I wish my dad had looked at me, like that, ever."

Izuku looked down, feeling a lump in his throat. He hadn't even seen his father in years. "You all...you all know I'm quirkless. My dad...well, he left home not long after I was diagnosed. I don't...I don't think...well, I don't know, for sure anyway, that he left because I didn't have a quirk. But...but he and my mom had a big fight a couple days after the doctor told us. And...and I haven't seen him very often since. Only a few times. He lives in America, now. He's visited...a few times. But...but sometimes he'll be in Japan, and just be too busy to see me."

Despite himself, Izuku started to cry again. He felt Mei come over to hug him, but a moment later, another person, larger, pressed herself against him as well. With a start, Izuku realized Hari was hugging him too.

"Hey, you've got a family now, Izuku," she whispered. "My dad thinks you're pretty great. And he's proud of you. I know I am."

"Jesus Christ," Bakugo grumbled. "What, is this turning into a group therapy session?"

"Oh shut up," Uraraka muttered, then blew her nose loudly. "I feel better now at least. At least I know my parents love me...Oh my God! I'm so sorry, I just, I mean, they've always loved me and been kind to me! I'm not trying to be mean, honest!"

"We know," Hari said gently. "Seriously, I've had fights with my folks, but you kids make my mom and dad look like saints."

"Yeah well, my parents never beat me or any shit like that, so don't any of you dare pity me," Bakugo grumbled.

Uraraka threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "It's OK, Bakugo! You can cry too! I know your parents hurt you, I've seen how you mope after you talk to your mom! I bet she's actually really proud of you!"

Izuku half expected Bakugo to shake Uraraka off and harangue her, but to his shock, Bakugo's lip started trembling, and before anyone knew it, he'd whispered, "You think so?" Bakugo shook his head. "Wouldn't kill the damn harpy to say she thought I did good even once…"

"God dammit man, now I'm getting choked up too and it's all your fault," Kirishima muttered, wiping at his own eyes.

"Dude, you're gonna make me cry too," Kaminari said, tears now streaming down his face.

"Shut up, you started crying first!" Kirishima bawled.

"Oh my god, you two are such babies," Jiro sniffed. She blew her nose loudly. "God, I didn't think I'd start crying when we sat down, but with everything that's happened…"

"I just want you all to know, I love you guys," Sato said, looking down and fiddling with his thumbs. "I mean it. I don't got any brothers or sisters or cousins or anything, but you guys are like family to me now."

After much sniffling and a lot of used tissues, the class managed to pull themselves back together.

"So, we'll be at your dad's hero agency," Ashido said, smiling at Todoroki. "That's cool. I hope we do learn a lot."

"Yeah," Todoroki said with a sigh. "And...and maybe you're right. I've never liked my old man, even if he is a talented hero. I suppose I could learn something from him. I guess maybe I should be the mature one. God knows our family needs someone to do that."

"And on that note, there's pizza," Hari said. "And I'm going to the cafeteria and stealing a bunch of ice cream. After a cry like that, I need some goddamn ice cream. I got lactaid for anyone else who can't handle it. You deserve it."

"You have the keys to the cafeteria?" Sato asked, sounding eager. "Could you get us some ingredients? I could make french toast in the morning!"

"Um, no. I'm just going to get Mei to pick the lock," Hari admitted. "I'd just go out and buy some but I'm not allowed. They can yell at me and dock my pay later."

"Wait, Mei can pick locks?" Kaminari asked. "Since when?"

"Since my dad tried to lock up his tool chest when I was three," Mei explained. "It's not very hard. Locks are just cute babies that want to open up if you ask nicely."

And so, that was how Class 1A came to be found in the school cafeteria, having liberated several gallons of ice cream, by none other than Mr. Aizawa.

"I don't even want to know what, how, or why you're here," Aizawa said with a heavy sigh. "I just have one question: Hari, just what exactly did you think I meant when I asked you to keep the kids out of trouble?"

Hari swallowed the bite of rocky road she'd had, then licked her chocolate and marshmallow stained lips. "Um, to make sure that I accompany them on all chicanery, so that I know what to put on the police reports?"

"Um, hi, Mr. Aizawa," Hagakure said. She offered up a tub of ice cream. "How do you feel about Pistachio? It's my favorite."

A slow grin crept over Mr. Aizawa's face. "As it so happens, it's mine as well. I suppose you kids have earned some ice cream. But we're going to have to have a serious discussion about this rule breaking habit of yours."

In the end, Mr. Aizawa sat down and ate ice cream along with everyone else. Somehow, it just felt right to Izuku. Mr. Aizawa was becoming in many ways another father figure to Izuku, even if he was weird and harsh and lied about things sometimes. He seemed to have found a dozen brothers and a half a dozen sisters, along with a woman who loved him and he loved in return. Despite the pain, despite all that he'd lost, he'd gained ever so much more.

Authors Note:

For those wondering, Aoyama sounds like a cross between Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau and the French Peas from Veggietales, except much worse.

Also, my beta kylekatarn77 has requested a fanart of baby Mei picking locks. I figured I'd pass this on because at the very least because baby Mei is very cute.