Warning: Contains Overhaul arc spoilers
A/N: Adjacent art now on Instagram: mayhata_copycat (still new). Apologies for the wait, uploads for the fic and Insta may slow down due to other commitments. But I do still plan on continuing and doing art with it.

My Dear Copycat
Chapter 8
Lemillion

Over the next weeks, the students that were in the hospital following their mission had returned to UA. Midoriya, Uraraka, Asui and Kirishima all came back stronger than ever. They had been wounded badly and took some heavy hits, including some major losses such as Sir Nighteye who passed away in hospital. But, they had rescued a little girl named Eri whose abilities were being farmed to create a quirk stealing drug that had also been used to render Lemillion, a third-year UA student and the head of The Big Three completely quirkless. The little girl was now staying in the teacher's dorm as her only living relative was in a coma, and due to the nature of her quirk, authorities thought it would be best to not only ensure she was in a safe and comfortable environment but also one where pro-heroes could intervene when necessary and also help train her.

When Midoriya went to find May to go meet with Eri at Mr Aizawa's request, his classmates had said that she was in her room. Midoriya knocked on her door, instead of her answering it, her soft voice ringed out from within, "come in!" A light blush hitting his cheeks at the thought of peeking inside a girls room, he opened the door. She was sat on the floor atop a mustard yellow patterned rug, wrapped up in a soft cream blanket leaning back against the side of her bed with a fantasy romance novel in hand. She had finally got her room in order and more comfortable. She kept the original single bed that was pushed up into the corner but had bought her bedding from her father's house that was thick and plush that swallowed her every time she lay in it. She had a large bookcase filled with various manga volumes, Fantasy and Science Fiction literature along with large study books – a majority being in computer science and disaster management. She had a wooden desk that housed filled, yellow desk tidies and a PC set up along with her laptop and a fridge and kettle hidden in the foot space. She kept her walls a bare white, in favour of various plants providing decoration, either hanging from the ceiling, on the floor, or the shelves. She still had the gift from Bakugo despite his accusations and their now collapsed friendship. It rested on its side on the bookshelf, with the soft, velvety roses facing outwards in full view. Her inner anger says to destroy them, but she had found herself looking to them longingly whenever she missed him. She just could not bring herself to do it. They were a reminder of fonder times that she couldn't let go of. "Hey Midoriya! What's up?" she had a big grin on her face, but Midoriya could tell she was hurting. The details of what happened between her and Bakugo did not stay secret for long.

"I'm about to go see Eri with Mr Aizawa, he asked if you could come as well," the reasons why he had no clue.

May put a flowery bookmark between the open pages and freed herself from the warm, welcoming embrace of the blanket. She wore a knee-length, loose skirt in a muted blue and black polka dots with dark tights and a black, long-sleeved turtleneck top. She adjusted her skirt as she stood, "ah right, I'll just be a moment, wait for me?"

Midoriya left her room to wait in the commune area that held several of his classmates. Including Bakugo, Kaminari and Kirishima having lunch at one of the dining tables. He didn't have to wait long for her to enter the commune area. She now had black ankle boots and a chunky knitted cardigan.

As she met up with Deku, Bakugo could not help but notice how her skirt swayed, wrapping itself around her thick legs and how she seemed to ignore him completely. He noted how angry he felt that she was going somewhere with Deku, it made his heart heavy and a sickening feeling in his gut. Was this…jealousy? But he had no real contact with her since that evening, the effects of her father's quirk couldn't still be affecting him? Right? He growled as he turned back to lunch, glad that Kirishima and Kaminari waited until they were gone before making comments. "Little too late now bro, you had your chance," came Kirishima.

"Yeah, you idiot," Kaminari shook his head. Bakugo didn't bother responding except with baring his teeth and glowering at them. They didn't know, but he did and he knew exactly what he was doing. He refused to be controlled by anyone, there was no way they would understand.

May and Midoriya approached the teacher's lounge, they could see from the short distance that Mirio and Eri were already there – Mirio, the tall third year with blonde hair, blue eyes and a physique made for strength and combat, and Eri, a little girl at only seven years old with a singular small horn on the left side of her forehead; long, wavy grey hair and red eyes with a deep-rooted sadness to them. Midoriya waved excitedly at them, "heeey!" and jogged ahead, unable to contain himself from the anticipation of seeing Eri again.

Mirio waved back to them with a wide grin that was contagious and lifted even May's dampened spirits. Bakugo had still been extremely cold towards her and treating her worse than he did before. She had decided to put her focus into her schoolwork and training where possible, though the effect of having Bakugo missing from her training sessions, especially combat was blatantly obvious. But she just had not found anyone to train with yet that had the time and it grated on her. But seeing the older student's smile and hearing his laugh took away her worries. She tucked away a shy strand of burgundy hair behind a burning ear as she approached the trio, her attention turning to Eri. "Hi! You must be Eri, I've heard so much about you. I love your jumper!" to her surprise, Eri recoiled, grabbing Midoriya by the sleeve and hiding behind him. May blinked, she lowered herself and got down on one knee to be more Eri's height and Midoriya copied. She had seen Eri (and Mirio) around but this was the first time May had properly met them, she was sure she had never – but the girl seemed fearful of her.

"It's okay Eri, this May Hata, she's a hero too. Like us," he put an arm around her and gestured to May who put out her hand. "It's okay…" he assured.

After a few hesitant seconds, Eri accepted May's hand, "you look like someone I've met before…"

Giving Eri's hand a small shake, May gave the frightened girl a soft smile, "that's alright Eri, I get that a lot. Plus…" she leaned in closer to fake whisper, "I also find it pretty scary meeting new people," she gave the girl a wink, in return she smiled and May straightened back up again so she could be formally introduced to Mirio.

"Mirio, this is May. May, this is Mirio…"

"Hi there! Nice to finally meet you, though we did briefly meet before…" came Mirio, rubbing the back of his neck, the usual big smile on his face.

May chuckled, "yeah I think I still got the bruise somewhere from when you knocked us all on our ar-butts." She changed what she was going to say, not wanting to swear in front of Eri.

"Yeah sorry about that!"

Midoriya laughed, jabbing Mirio in the side with his elbow jokingly - thinking back to when The Big Three got his class in the training arena so Mirio could prove the importance of work studies and explain his quirk. "May had got a peak…"

May's face flushed a deep crimson as she waved her hands up in defence. It was true, that when Mirio had attacked their class she had gotten an eye full, as, due to the nature of his Permeation quirk, if it was any other clothing other than his specially made hero costume, he would lose them completely as they would fall right off! "Oh naughty! Sorry about that, Nejire and Tamaki are always moaning at me for using my quirk out of costume!" he responded, his cheeks going pink as well. May thought she would die of embarrassment any moment.

Eri moved behind Mirio then as she noticed someone else approaching, "it's the bad guy, oh no…" her voice was so quiet and fragile that it made May's heart melt and break all at once.

That is when she noticed Neito Monoma, a real character from Class 1-B who harbours a very one-sided competition with Class 1-A. He laughed obnoxiously, pointing at the frightened child, "what is this foolish child saying?"

Mirio's response was so nonchalant she burst out laughing, "oh I told her that UA has its bad parts, and you represent one of its downsides." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and thought how cute she looked when she laughed.

"Oh I'm sorry I'm a man that follows the path of peace and justice! How dare you undermine me sir!" he noticed May then, who he had finally seen in action during the training battle between their classes, "it's you! My quirk-rival! A cheap knock-off of my own magnificent quirk, yours is but cheap tricks in comparison!"

"Except mine's better," she smirked with a raised brow.

"How so?"

"Ha! I don't need to touch someone to copy them for a start…"

Midoriya leaned towards Mirio as the two copy-heroes bickered over their similar quirks. He uttered just loud enough for Neito and May to still hear, "you have any idea why he was asked to come here?"

Mr Aizawa, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-A slowly strolls up to them and gives them a wave with the same amount of energy, or lack thereof. He was a rather dishevelled man, with long black hair, rough facial hair and an expression that says he hasn't slept properly in forever. "Ah Midoriya, Hata, Togata, sorry to borrow your time. There was something I wanted to ask Monoma and Hata to do. But thinking about Monoma and Eri's personalities, I wasn't sure they would mesh well."

"Well, I'd love to hear that you've been thinking about me Teach! Haha!" Neito bellowed a laugh again, but May wasn't sure if it was real or not. She concluded that it all had to be an act he puts on for the sake of his image. Why though? She couldn't say. Why would anyone want to choose to look like an obnoxious fool?

The six of them headed into the teachers' lounge and got settled, "Monoma, if you would like to go first with what we spoke about, May, if you could also try do your thing," gestured Mr Aizawa, who was currently leaning back against a desk with his arms crossed.

Neito nodded and slowly kneeled in front of Eri who still seemed unsure. May joined Neito on the floor in an attempt to help Eri feel better and less intimidated. Eri glanced up at Mirio who was by her side when Neito raised his hand for her to touch. Mirio nodded, silently telling her it will all be okay. May couldn't help but think how sweet he was with her. Taking a deep breath, Eri raised her hand and met Neito's steady hand. In a moment, a small replica of Eri's horn sprouts on Neito's forehead. May smiled at the sight, thinking that Neito could probably succeed where she could not – as she could not draw in any quirk energy from the small child, so she would have no chance of imitating her. She would never hear the end of it from him for sure.

"How about it? Any luck?" Mr Aizawa stood and came closer, eager for results.

Neito seemed hesitant, "hmm…" looking to Aizawa with a half-smile, "this one is a blank. Unfortunately, I'm not gonna be able to help you out it seems. Sorry, sir."

Mr Aizawa looked at May and the others followed suit but sadly, May shook her head. Their teacher rubbed his head in thought, "Disappointing, but it's not neither of your faults."

"You wanted them to copy Eri's quirk? Why would that be a good thing?" asked Mirio, May could tell that he has become very close with her, and Eri trusted him more than anybody. She remembered hearing from her classmates that after the rescue mission to save Eri and Mirio losing his quirk, he was put on extended leave – taking a break from his studies until he could get his quirk back. Furthermore, he had decided to use his new free time to take care of Eri. He had become somewhat of a protective older brother.

"Also, what does a blank mean?" added Midoriya.

Neito stood and stretched his arms above his head, "It must mean her power works like yours. Both of your quirks function as stockpilers. I copy the core nature of the quirk itself. But if it's an ability that accumulates something and changes it into a form of energy - I don't copy the stored-up fuel that would make it function."

Midoriya rubbed his chin in thought, "that makes sense. For example, Fatgum's quirk only works if he has stockpiled a bunch of fat. Monoma could copy the base power but he would still be skinny..."

Neito nodded in agreement to Midoriya's conclusion, "I draw these blanks every once and a while. The same logic goes for when I copied your quirk but could not release any of its energy," Neito shrugged, then looked to May who now straightened up, giving Eri a reassuring hand on her slim shoulder, "what about you?"

"My quirk works by taking in the energy that is given off by a quirk in use. So, without Eri using her quirk I can't say for certain. But, if Eri's quirk relies on the horn to work, I may not be able to imitate it anyway," she sighed.

"Why is that?" asked Mirio.

May turned to him with a sad smile, "so far, I am not able to copy quirks that would change the physical form of my body. Like Shoji's multiple arm quirk, or Ojiro's tail. So, if Eri's quirk relies on the horn to function, even if I could take in her energy, I may not be able to use it," Mirio nodded in response, and May looked down at Eri who looked like she was getting more and more upset as the conversation drew on.

Mirio pushed Mr Aizawa for answers, "so, why try this on Eri?" he had noticed her expression as well, and he could not stand to have to put her through this for it to fail.

Aizawa stepped forward, his hands going into his pockets. "She's not able to activate her quirk right now, but one day it may return in full. She doesn't know how to use it. She might endanger herself or others. That's why I thought it'd be easier if Hata and/or Monoma borrowed her power, trained with it and taught her how to use it safely. But I suppose that was a long shot."

Eri touches her horn, her eyes welling up more now as she found the courage to speak, "I'm really sorry. You're having a lot of trouble because of me. It's always like that. I cause everyone problems. I just wish that I didn't have this power." May's heart melted and she clutched her cardigan, this little girl was so adorable, but it was apparent now that she had been through a lot of trauma and abuse, no wonder Mirio is so protective.

Midoriya and Mirio go forward and kneel around Eri to comfort her. Midoriya settled himself directly in front of her, with his winning smile and hope-filled eyes, "don't get sad, it doesn't always cause trouble though. You can't forget, you saved my life with your rewind quirk. Powers aren't good or bad…oh I know! Think of them like knives in the kitchen. They may be dangerous but if they're sharp and you use them right, they make yummy food, huh? That's why when you use your power for good, it's wonderful," his grin grew wider, radiating with hope and warmth. He was the kind of person that always knew what to say to help people through, and he would never give up no matter how long it took to see them through.

Eri thinks on his words for a few moments and nods with a smile of determination "okay then! I'll get better at my quirk!" Mirio, Midoriya and May raise their fists in excitement for her.

"You'll get there in no time Eri!" grinned Mirio.

Mr Aizawa cleared his throat, "Eri and I must go now, Eri has another appointment. So if you don't mind…"

"Of course," the two young heroes stood again, Eri hugging their legs.

"Midoriya, Hata, I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Bye Deku! Bye Lemillion!" exclaimed the little girl as the four UA students left the teacher's lounge, finally having a smile back on her face.

Neito went on ahead, his previous vigour returning, "until next time you 1-A losers! Class 1-B will mop the floor with ya!" he waved with an extended arm as he strutted away. Leaving Midoriya, May and a baffled Mirio on the white stone steps.

"He's a strange one, isn't he?"

May laughed at Mirio, "that is the understatement of the century. Lemillion…is that your hero name?"

"It sure is! Because I am going to save a million people! ...well, when I get my quirk back that is."

"May, Mirio…would you both be up for getting some food now? I kinda skipped breakfast," Midoriya blushed, rubbing the back of his head as his stomach rumbled.

His two friends looked at each other, and then back at him amused but it was May who spoke, "yeah I could eat!"

The three of them went straight to the campus' canteen for lunch. The canteen was as busy as it always was, but still, the ques seemed to go down quickly. They settled into a booth and Midoriya and Mirio got caught up with each other, while May mostly stayed quiet and listened, only piping in where necessary. As May was shovelling ramen into her starving mouth, Midoriya decided to address her, catching her by surprise as noodles hung from her lips, "May, how's your combat training going? I noticed during the training battles yesterday that you have improved a lot!"

She nearly choked on her food, she got to the end of the noodles and made sure her mouth was empty before speaking. Her hand had been rolling around as she chewed, holding Midoriya off, "it is going alright I suppose. Strength training on my own is okay, just lonely, I guess. But my combat training is falling behind, I'm struggling with it on my own. I've not been able to find another partner yet-"

Mirio nearly jumped out of his, his hand going up like an eager child in class, "oh oh oh! I can help you!" his hand went down as fast as it went up and leaned over the table with a wide toothy grin. "Even with looking after Eri, I still have lots of free time!"

She blushed and smiled at him, "if you don't mind, that would be great! I do so much better with a partner."

After their conversation, May had picked up training with Mirio three days a week, and she would even go with him and Eri on trips on her days off, their last trip was to the aquarium – they had bonded over their care for Eri, seeing her amazement as she witnesses the floor-to-ceiling tanks filled with various sea life for the very first time. May had been able to capture a lovely photo of Mirio and Eri. Mirio was knelt by her and directed Eri to the different creatures he knew she would love, their faces lit up by dim blue light and pure happiness.

The two had become relatively close fairly quickly, May thought that maybe it was because Mirio was always so open and friendly. He was certainly a lot different than what she was used to. Mirio and Bakugo were such polar opposites – Mirio was always so bright and cheerful, a ray of sunshine even in the darkest moments, he thrived on the company of others and making them laugh, while Bakugo was…certainly not that. Bakugo was an acquired taste, he preferred the company of a selected few and was always so angry except in the quieter, alone moments they shared where she would see his rare smile. But, out of the blue he had turned on her and now treated her worse than he did when she first started. Most of the time he avoided her, but when their paths did cross he was always so cold and bitter towards her – he would never give her a chance to right his misconceptions.

They had been training together for a few weeks now and May struggled to believe that it was already December. They were already starting to see improvement with May's combat abilities and her other meta-abilities alongside her quirk. She was faster, stronger and more agile now, much like her classmates but she still had ways to go. They had just finished their session in a small training room with no windows and large blue mats cushioning the hardwood floors. May picked up her water bottle and took a swig as she dried her glistening face with her towel, Mirio came over and picked up his own and fidgeted with the cap. "May…" she looked up at him, being roughly a foot taller and twice the width, he towered over her. He took a step closer, casting a shadow over her much smaller form. If it had been anyone else, one might feel intimidated but this was Mirio and he did not have a bad bone in his body. He has a true hero through and through.

He looked flustered now, and like he had something to say. May's thoughts went back to what happened with Bakugo, their relationship had gotten pretty close too until some switch flipped in him and suddenly, he wanted nothing more to do with her – she bit her lip, hoping the same thing wouldn't happen here. She did not want to lose Mirio as a friend too. She could not help but notice the parallels with her relationships with the two guys. He looked her straight in the eyes then, a determination coming back to him, and something else that May couldn't put her finger on, "may I kiss you?" she blinked in surprise, that was unexpected, "I would very much like too…" the corners of his lips twitched into a small smile as he eagerly waited for a response, but not wanting to pressure her – he had been informed about what happened between her and Bakugo some time ago by Midoriya, as he was curious about how she lost her previous training partner. So, if she had refused, he would have no hard feelings, for it would be clear she may still harbour feelings for the explosion hero and he would understand completely. But he had to ask, just in case...

She nods, taking a deep breath as Mirio closed the small gap between them. His hand reached up and lightly tucked the loose strands of red hair back behind her ear. His hand stayed there as he leaned down, May going up on her tiptoes to help meet him. Her hands rested on his bare sculpted biceps that still shimmered with sweat from their training. The reassuring strokes on her hair seemed to calm her growing nerves. He placed his lips softly against hers, he was so careful as if he was worried about hurting her, seemingly forgetting about the various bruises she would soon have following their training. He was this gentle giant that left delicate promises against her lips. As sweet as this was, it wasn't softness she wanted – her mind danced back to the time in the woods with Bakugo and when they had fallen on the grass. Bakugo had been so passionate that it had left her in a daze and her body tingling. Something cruel within her hoped that he would catch them and explode as he normally does. The idea of making Bakugo jealous made her smile as she swapped tender kisses with a different blonde. She pressed against him, hoping to recreate what she truly pined for. But Mirio must have misunderstood or was not ready as he pulled back glowing with that award-winning smile of his. She found herself longing for something more than he had given her. She wanted to tackle him against the mats and lose again, to have her fingers curl in his hair and feel his weight on top of her as she pulled him closer. Calm down May… she wondered which him she was truly thinking about - Mirio...or Bakugo.

May was pulled from her thoughts when Mirio wrapped a warm arm around her and plants a kiss on the top of her head. She leaned against him, accepting this half embrace. He radiated an atmosphere of kindness and positivity that she hadn't felt in a long time. Despite her reservations and feelings for Bakugo, she was curious to see where this might lead and hoped the past wouldn't repeat itself. He guided her out of the training room, "Deku had told me that it's your birthday soon. I would like to take you out, you know, just us two…if…if you want."

She gazed up at him, her large green eyes sparkling. Does he actually want to take me out? He's not flipping out on me as Bakugo did? I don't think I could handle going through that again, "Like…a date?"

His cheeks flushed pink and gave a nervous laugh, "yeah…there's a winter festival going on that Principal Nezu is letting students out to go to. There's always rides, games and amazing street food! I thought that would make a great birthday treat!"

A big smile erupted on her face as her eyes lit up, "I would love that."