Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida

45. Fault Lines

In complex systems malfunction and even total nonfunction may not be detectable for a long period.

-John Gall

Izuku woke up around the early afternoon, yawning and stretching. After completing a rather late toilet, he made sure to thoroughly dry his stump, then carefully attach his arm. It was difficult to get it properly resting on his shoulder and strapped in alone, but he could do it after the months of practice he'd had. Then he sent a quick text to Mei to let her know he was heading to the gym to work out. To his surprise, she answered back that she was already there and would wait for him.

At the gym, Izuku found Mei working out with Hagakure, who waved excitedly to him as he entered, her sweat stained top wiggling with enthusiasm as she continued to run on a treadmill. "Hey Izuku! Come on, Mei's just finishing up!"

Mei was jogging in place on a treadmill, a look of intense concentration on her face. Izuku walked over to glance at the readout, and was impressed to see it ticking up towards 5k. He climbed on to the treadmill next to Mei, starting his own exercise routine. He didn't get his full 10k in every day these days, but whenever he could he continued to follow The Hero workout program, as it was a comforting sense of routine.

When Mei's machine dinged in just a few minutes, she gasped for air and nearly collapsed, slumping down onto the treadmill and groaning softly. Izuku paused to check on her, but she just lay there with her eyes closed for a minute. "Exercise is hard," she whined.

"It gets easier!" Hagakure said happily, continuing to jog. "But now your secret's out!"

"It wasn't really a secret," Mei muttered, opening her eyes and frowning at Izuku. "I have been exercising sometimes. I decided that even if I am not going to be a hero like you, since I am in the hero course I should participate in the same group activities. It is a part of increasing my social skills."

"Well, I'm glad Toru talked you into it," Izuku said, smiling and offering Mei his left hand. She accepted it and he hauled her up, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. He was now a good two inches taller than Mei, and that gap continued to widen to her continued consternation, as they had to keep adjusting the Power Armor to fit Izuku's growth.

"Kyoka and Mina were the ones who convinced her," Hagakure commented, slightly out of breath from her own run now. "She's been coming for a few weeks with us girls!"

"Yes, it is very exhausting but I think it is getting easier. Maybe I should give myself robot legs, that might help," Mei stated, patting Izuku's right arm affectionately. "I am supposed to work on weights now. You can keep running Izuku, I know it is important to you."

Izuku got back on the treadmill as Mei moved over to lift some of the lighter weights, completing an exercise routine that Izuku recognized from watching Jiro and Ashido.

"Thanks for convincing her to exercise," Izuku told Hagakure quietly. "I never even thought of it."

"According to Kyoka and Mina they didn't need to do much more than mention that it was something the rest of us all did," Hagakure said, slowing her pace down as she finished her run. She sighed, stepping off the treadmill and doing a few cool down stretches. "Honestly I think she's still scared from getting kidnapped by The League of Villains. We all are, really. Can you imagine if that happened again?"

"I had nightmares about it every night for a month," Izuku said, shaking his head to try to dislodge the memory. "Still do sometimes."

"Yeah. Me too. And sometimes...sometimes I don't get out of that warehouse fast enough. Or I do...and none of you are still alive."

Izuku ran in silence for a few moments, watching as Mei methodically continued to exercise.

"Wow, I guess I really killed the mood, huh?" Hagakure said with a nervous giggle. "Sorry. Well, gotta go lift some weights myself. Have fun!"

Izuku lost himself in the routine, enjoying Mei's company in the gym but doing his own thing. He nodded to students from the other classes, most of whom looked as tired as he felt. Class 1A wasn't the only one working long hours at Internships. From what Izuku had heard, it was rare for any of the Hero Course classes to actually have class these days, and when they did it was always training related in some way. While the other classes were split up amidst various agencies, all of them were making a big push to bolster the number of heroes on the streets. But it didn't seem to be enough.

"Four murders were reported last night in Mustafa, a record high. The deaths were a result of a clash between the Meta Liberation Army and a yakuza group. Police blame increased violence on a recent influx of drugs, especially variants of the well known American Quirk Enhancing Drug, Trigger. Various pro heroes are working closely with police to curb the violence, including The Pillars of Peace from Class 1A," a TV screen reported as Izuku finished up his crunches.

He sighed and stood, glancing at Mei and Hagakure. The invisible girl was training Mei on how to use a few of the machines, and while Mei seemed to grasp the concepts quickly enough, she clearly wasn't enjoying herself. He walked over and smiled. "Hey, I'm pretty hungry, you two want to head to the cafeteria and get something to eat?"

"Yes!" Mei said, popping up immediately. "I am hungry also!"

"I could eat," Hagakure agreed. "I guess that's enough for the day anyway."

It was early for dinner, but the Cafeteria was populated with plenty of students as they entered. Even the General Studies and Support Course students had their schedules thrown out of whack, with the support course racing to churn out supplies for the Hero Course and the General studies students volunteering at hospitals, homeless shelters, and other places.

"UA sure is making a push to be visible in society these days," Izuku commented, glancing around. "Seems like nothing is normal these days."

"That's rich, coming from you, the people who caused all this!"

Izuku frowned, turning to see a boy with blonde hair dressed in an oddly anachronistic suit. He vaguely recognized him as Monoma from Class 1B. Before Izuku could speak, Mei had stepped right up into the boy's face, sticking her finger in his nose.

"Izuku is not to blame for things being so strange! He is trying to help! What are you doing to help, huh? Learn some social skills!"

"Geeze Monoma, if Hatsume has your number, you know you've screwed up," Tetsutetsu laughed, coming to stand beside his classmate. He slapped Monoma on the shoulder. "I'd suggest picking on someone else, you threaten one member of Class 1A and you're likely to end up in a shallow grave."

"'Even a fool is counted wise when he stays silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue,'" Shiozaki said, her tone indicating she was quoting something.

Monoma rolled his eyes. "And here I thought Kendo wasn't with us. Fine, I've already eaten anyway. You two enjoy sucking up to the star children." He walked away, Mei glaring after him.

"He is very rude. I do not like him," she huffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"Be at ease," Shiozaki said, resting a gentle hand on Mei's shoulder. "He has had a trying time. A few nights back, he watched a child bleed out while he was trying to rescue them from a car crash. He is in mourning."

"Oh." Mei considered this. "Well he's still rude. But I will try to be nice."

"I heard about that," Hagakure said quietly. "That's awful. I've seen a couple of people hurt really badly at my internship, and one villain died when Endeavor burned them when they tried to kill Shoto. They deserved it, but...I can't imagine having a little kid die while you were trying to save them."

"Yeah. Didn't think about stuff like that when I signed up to be a hero," Tetsutetsu said soberly. He glanced at Izuku. "Guess you guys have more experience with that stuff than we do. Honestly? I'm not jealous."

"Hey, have you guys eaten? We were just going to get something! You should join us!" Hagakure invited.

Mei looked unsure and looked to Izuku, but he smiled and nodded. "They're our schoolmates. We should try to get to know one another."

"It would be our privilege to break bread together," Shiozaki said, smiling and nodding, and Tetsutetsu gave a thumbs up.

They all grabbed trays and loaded up from the buffet style line. Lunch Rush kept hot food available at all hours of the day, along with tea, coffee, and whatever else a tired student might need after a long shift at an internship. They sat together at a vacant table, and Izuku and Mei dug in immediately. After a moment though, Izuku paused, noticing that Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki hadn't begun eating. It was hard to tell what Hagakure was doing sometimes, as food vanished when it entered her mouth, but she seemed to be hesitating as well.

Izuku put a hand on Mei's arm, and she paused, frowning. "What?" she mumbled, her mouth half full of food.

"Do not be troubled, it is merely my habit to give thanks before a meal," Shiozaki stated.

"I, um, well, sorta picked up the habit," Tetsutetsu admitted. "Kinda nice to listen to her sometimes. It's weird, but well, I guess if it helps you sleep through the night, it's OK."

"Oh," Mei said. She gave a jerky bow. "Thank you for the food." She looked at Izuku, her chopsticks stretched towards her food, but Izuku didn't move, frowning as Shiozaki bowed her head.

"Our father, who art in heaven," she began. She said a short, strange prayer in formal language that Izuku hadn't heard before, her eyes closed and her head bowed. Tetsutetsu copied her, his fingers twiddling nervously, one eye cocked at Izuku and his classmates, obviously wondering if they thought he was weird.

When Shiozaki was finished, she looked up and smiled. "Thank you for humoring me. Please, eat."

"Oh my gosh, are you a Christian?" Hagakure asked. "I've never met one before! At least, not one that I knew about."

"I am," Shiozaki said, nodding her head and taking out her chopsticks. "My family has long been Japanese Christians, since the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is a relief that we are once again allowed to practice our faith in the open, after the dark days of the Times of Change."

"I'm not," Tetsutesue said hurriedly. "I just, well, I mean, man's gotta be polite and stuff."

Hagakure giggled and her clothes leaned towards Shiozaki. "Oh my gosh, does he have a crush on you?" she said in a stage whisper.

Tetsutetsu let out a strangled sound, his quirk suddenly activating as his body went rigid.

Shiozaki eyed Hagakure, then shrugged. "That is a private matter. At the very least, I am grateful to him that he is willing to respect my faith, even if he does not share it."

"That's OK, I've totally got it figured out who likes who in my class," Hagakure said confidently, food beginning to vanish from her plate. It was always odd, watching her eat, and Izuku had to do his best not to stare. "I mean, aside from the obvious, like Mei and Izuku being together. People knew that from the first day of school."

Izuku blushed and looked down, while Mei laughed. "That is funny! Izuku did not know we were dating until the Sports Festival! I forgot to tell him, but it should have been obvious as we had gone on a date together when we graduated from Junior High! You have very good social skills, Toru."

"That's debatable," Tetsutetsu muttered, slouching in his seat, his face half hidden by his arm as he shoveled food into his mouth. He was sneaking the occasional glance at Shiozaki, but he was clearly still embarrassed.

"What!?" Hagakure gasped. "Mei, you can't be serious! It was like, so obvious that you two were in love! You mean Izuku didn't confess to you or anything until the Sports Festival!"

"Confess what?" Mei asked, clearly confused. "I don't think he did anything wrong. Well, except when he said I was disabled but he said sorry and I forgave him."

Hagakure let out a small gasp. "Shiozaki, can you believe this?! Clearly, Izuku needs to learn a thing or two about love!"

"I think not," Shiozaki said calmly, continuing to eat in a slow, almost dainty fashion. "He and Hatsume clearly care for one another deeply. They are patient and kind to one another. They neither boast, nor are they overly proud. They are not self seeking, and neither of them seem to have a short temper with one another. They do not seek evil, only the good for one another and their fellow man. I think they understand love quite well."

"Wow! That is like, super wise! You must know a lot about love, where did you learn that?" Hagakure asked eagerly.

"It's from the Christan Bible," Tetsutetsu muttered, looking up to glare in Hagakure's direction. It was somewhat hard to do, as she moved about a lot and you could only see her clothes. "From the New Testament. Corithians or something. It's a super famous saying about love."

Sudden interest sparked in Shiozaki's eyes, and she set down her chopsticks. "Why Tetsutetsu, I didn't know you had been studying the scriptures. Have you been reading the tracks I left out for everyone?"

"Nothing else interesting to read and we don't need to study much no more," Tetsutestsu mumbled, looking away. "I mostly just like the stories. Like when that dude strangled a lion with his bare hands. Guess they had quirks back in the bible or something."

"Ah, the story of Samson! He was a mighty man of God, but flawed," Shiozaki said with a sigh. She glanced at Izuku and Mei. "My apologies. I know you did not invite us to dine to hear a sermon. Please, tell us, how are your internships going? We heard you arrested one of the MLA's leaders early this morning."

"Yes, Izuku beat up the Ice Jerk!" Mei said eagerly. "The Ultra Armor has a flamethrower now, but I need to find a way to increase its output in case we fight more bad guys with strong quirks! It barely held back the ice!"

"Ochaco, Bakugo, Tenya, and Burnin saved me," Izuku explained. "I just got tapped to do the press conference."

"Man I hate those," Tetsutetsu complained. "Why do they make us get up and talk in front of the cameras?! We're just interns! I mean, it makes sense for you guys, you're famous and all, but I'm just a first year nobody!"

"I don't like it very much either," Hagakure agreed. "Especially when they made me do it in costume before my new threads. I was naked on TV, did people not consider that?!"

"That is rather salacious when you put it that way," Shiozaki agreed. "I have often wondered myself why our mentor hero, Kamui Woods, is so eager to have us so prominently in front of the cameras. It is very odd."

"Izuku doesn't like being on TV very much. I don't know why, he's very smart and amazing and should tell people about it more but I try to do that for him since he hates it," Mei said.

"Do you like being on TV, Hatsume?" Shiozaki asked curiously.

"No, because that means less time for Izuku, my friends, and my babies," Mei said. "But I do not mind it very much as it makes people happy and we get more funding! Also Izuku and I get letters from people which I think he likes."

Izuku blushed and looked down. He continued to receive a great deal of fanmail, and did his best to answer at least some of it, though the sheer volume of letters these days meant that he'd needed to have his mother take over answering most of the mail, only sending him a select few. Interestingly, she was drawing a wage from UA for doing so, as it was considered an important Support Service to answer fan mail.

"Yeah, I got some letters too from some kids I helped rescue during a robbery," Tetsutetsu said, smiling. "It was sorta nice. Bet you 1A types get a whole bunch of fan mail."

"It's nice," Hagakure admitted. "I think I probably don't get as much as Izuku does but I do treasure the letters I get. I never thought I'd stand out, you know?"

"Even if your quirk is invisibility, I think you're a rather unforgettable person, Hagakure," Shiozaki said with a smile. "You're just so happy and bubbly all the time. Being around you is like being around a ray of sunshine."

"Really? Thanks. That means a lot to me," Hagakure said, sounding relieved. "I just...I want to help people, you know? And it always made me sad no one could see me smile, so I wanted to make sure to make as many people smile as I could, just like All Might."

That brought an abrupt silence to the table. "How is he? Do you guys know?" Tetsutetsu asked quietly. "The last we heard…"

"Still alive, as far as we know," Izuku answered, keeping his voice low. "But he's not doing well. He sends us little video lectures sometimes to encourage us, but...but he doesn't look well."

"No. I pray for him every day," Shiozaki said fervently. "Truely, he is a great man. I only wish we had more time with him. He gave so much for us all."

"I like him, now," Mei said, looking at Izuku. "I used to think he was mean, but he was really nice all along."

Izuku nodded, folding his hands together and looking at the way his flesh and metal intertwined. "I was wrong to ever hate him. He's the reason I met Mei, the reason I found the drive to be a hero. I suppose...I suppose I needed to be angry, to break myself out of my self pity. But...but I do feel guilty I ever hated All Might. Sometimes I wonder, if I'd acted just a bit differently...Maybe he'd still be OK."

"It wasn't your fault, Izuku," Hagakure assured him. "It's just...well, personally, I think All For One stole All Might's quirk. Just like he did with Mei."

Tetsutetsu choked on his food, gasping for breath. He scrambled to take a long drink of water as Shiozaki's food dropped out of her chopsticks as she gaped in Hagakure's direction.

"I think that is supposed to be a secret," Mei told Hagakure. "The teachers keep telling me not to tell anyone my quirk was stolen, but it is very obvious if you ever look at my eyes."

"Um, yeah, but you always...wear...goggles...oh crap." Hagakure's clothes almost seemed to deflate slightly. "Oh man. I am so glad I'm invisible right now."

"All Might's Quirk was-" Tetsutetsu began, but then cut himself off. He looked around, but no one was really paying attention to them. UA students discussing All Might was about as interesting as the weather; it was conversational filler for the most part. "His quirk was stolen? Hatsume lost her quirk? Did they give you that tainted Trigger or something?"

"No, it's not. All Might told me himself," Izuku said quietly. "Just...don't go spreading it around. If people knew it was possible for you to lose your quirk, or have it taken...there might be a panic."

"I can see why," Shiozak said, sounding rather faint. She made an odd gesture over her body, touching both her shoulders then her forehead before kissing her fingers. "Christ preserve us. If you can have your quirk stolen...I can't imagine anything more terrifying. Hatsume, please, is there a way you can get it back? Could we help you at all?"

Mei looked down, rocking back and forth nervously. She glanced nervously at Izuku, looking very uncomfortable.

"Not that we know of," Izuku said, taking Mei's hand and giving it a squeeze. She leaned into him, and Izuku could feel her trembling. Whenever the subject of her missing quirk was brought up, she always seemed to regress to those first days out of the hospital. Some wounds, Izuku knew, never really healed.

"It's OK, Mei. Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki are our friends too. They won't hate you like the MLA does," Izuku said quietly. "It doesn't matter if you're quirkless, not to me, or any of us."

"You love me the way I am," Mei said quietly, and Izuku quickly nodded and squeezed her a little more tightly.

"We won't speak a word of this to anyone," Shiozaki promised, then hesitated. "Do the teachers know?"

"Most of them do at least, Mr. Aizawa and Principal Nezu for sure," Hagakure said. "Um, sorry. I know that's a lot to dump on you. And...please, forgive me, Mei. I should have thought more carefully about what I was saying."

"It's OK, Toru. I know you weren't trying to be mean. Sometimes I forget too. Secrets are hard," Mei said, wiping her eyes on Izuku's shirt and sitting up. "I am happy the way I am now. Before, I did not have as many friends. Izuku didn't love me. But now I have lots of friends and Izuku loves me very much. He tells me a lot."

Izuku tried to tell Mei he'd loved her before, that he'd love her no matter what happened, but he couldn't make the words come out. Instead, he hugged Mei, closing his eyes and letting a few tears fall. A moment later he felt arms around him and Mei, and heard Hagakure whisper, "We all care about you, Mei. You're like a sister to me. And Izuku is my weird, awkward brother. We're just one big messed up family."

After a long minute, they sat back up, Mei sniffling and taking her goggles off to clean them and wipe at her eyes, while Hagakure loudly blew her nose into a napkin.

"Your class is very close, isn't it?" Shiozaki asked, dabbing at her own eyes with a handkerchief. Tetsutetsu had red eyes himself, and had excused himself to the restroom, apparently determined to maintain a stoic mask.

"We weren't at first, that's for sure," Hagakure laughed. "We were just a normal class. Sure, I had some friends I was closer with, but we were just schoolmates, you know? But then, well, things changed. I think it started with the USJ attack. After that, I was a lot closer to Arms, and Monkey Boy. Um, I mean Shoji and Oijiro. We were trapped together, fighting off villains. But then...then came Summer Camp, and…"

"And the Hand man and the Mask," Mei whispered. Then she started shivering and humming, but stopped herself when Izuku put his arm around her again. "It was very bad. But I don't think I'd do anything different. Except maybe stop Izuku from losing his arm, even if his new one is very cute. I have lots of friends now, and even without my quirk, I am happier. I get letters from kids who say they like me because I do not have a quirk, like them. Hari helps me answer them."

"I may envy your class's closeness, but I thank God we have not been through the Hell you have," Shiozaki said, shaking her head. She bowed slightly. "Thank you for the meal. I must check on Tetsutetsu. We should speak again; this was pleasant."

Shiozaki departed, and Izuku became lost in his own thoughts, playing with his food and gently rubbing Mei's back, her head resting on his shoulder.

"So, how mad at me are you?" Hagakure asked, breaking Izuku out of his revelry.

"Why would we be mad at you?" Izuku asked, frowning. "Oh, because of what you said? Don't worry about it. Honestly, I'm tired of having to keep secrets. Are you upset Mei?"

"Yes," Mei said. "But not at Hagakure. Let's go to the workshop, Izuku. I need to be alone for a bit."

Izuku thought it somewhat humorous that Mei's idea of being alone was with him, but he understood the sentiment. Truth be told, he dreaded sleep most because it was the only time he was truly alone. He'd woken up late at night more than once to head down to the living area to find others there, struggling with their own nightmares. Mei at least had Hari, for which Izuku was grateful.

At the workshop, Izuku and Mei had a dozen projects that all needed to be completed, but focused on repairing and improving support gear for their classmates. Izuku worked on recalibrating Jiro's sonic amplifiers while Mei worked with Hari constructing a new cooling unit for Iida's engines that would allow him to run faster for longer and farther. While they were working on seperate projects, they were still together, working for a better future.

Authors Note:

When Shiozaki refers to God or says Jesus, she's basically the only character who's actually doing that. The rest of them should be considered to be saying some Japanese equivalent. So Bakugo isn't actually saying goddammit, he's just speaking very rudely in Japanese and that's roughly the English equivalent in peppering his speech with mild swears. As I'm a native English speaker writing for a predominantly english speaking audience, I believe in writing using English idioms to convey the meaning and context of the characters speech and actions instead of using Japanese idioms and slang, as it makes communication clearer for me. That's a choice of style on my part.

I maybe should have written this author's note a bit earlier than halfway through the story, but here we are.