Third chapter this week. Daaaamn. Could release it when I hit 100 likes, but whatever. Why would I keep you waiting?
Also, I have a Halo 2 reference here, from Nezu. From "Sacred Icon" cutscene. Literally first words from that cutscene. Damn I love this game. In last chapter there was a reference to Sponge-Bob with "He's just standing there, menacingly"
Quite a lot of bonding with class 1-A here, and some fluff. I'm not an expert here, but I did what I did. It was needed in this chap.
You know, keeping the time connected with previous chapters is quite a drag.
Huge thanks to M2R, A friednly dude, Monster King and Fsecret.
To Fsecret: I answered you in PM, but the anwer to your question is also in the chapter.
As I said, when you ask questions, I know what to add to next chapters.
I should also note that I might return this story to rating M with the next chapter.
Hope you enjoy!
And...well, before you go. I apologize. You'll understand why.
Urban fire simulation zone, 11:10 AM.
The source of those explosions that harmed the first two waves of villains disappeared. Again, the group of students were on their own in this.
"Hey, you, asshole!"
"Ha?"
The villain lost control over his body.
Shinsou felt sweat rolling down his forehead. He wiped it away, looking around. The temperature of the urban fire zone was really something, and their costumes didn't really help. He put the gas mask back, since the smoke from fire was quite realistic.
Was it really a Simulation Joint?
"It's the third one" Said Momo, wiping her own gas mask for a better view.
Shinsou threw the villain a gas mask – a different one – and made an order.
"Put this mask on"
The villain did as was said, inhaled and immediately fell to the ground. The filter of this particular gas mask filled with Midnight's gas that quickly and safely knocked the villains out.
Of course, they could hit the enemy on the head with something heavy, but you can never be sure if this knock the enemy out. Shinsou's quirk, Brainwash, stops working when something hits the victim.
"At least this is working" Muttered Kaminari with an unsure smirk. He turned to Shinsou. "Told you your quirk is cool"
Shinsou picked the mask from the unconscious villain.
Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise got the attention of the students. All of them looked up and noticed a dozen of helicopters hovering over USJ.
"It seems that we are…" Shinsou's head started spinning and he almost fell on his knees.
"Woah!" Kaminari, with his mask down, caught him. "You okay dude?"
Momo ran to him, while Jirou stood in her position in case a villain attacked.
"Head…" Muttered Shinsou, clenching his hair.
'The fire around us is taking its toll' Thought Momo. Jirou and Kaminari thought they were hiding it well, but Momo noticed they too were tired just from being here.
"We need to get out of here" She said. "We don't get at-"
"Enemy!" Shouted Jirou and put the jacks into the ground. A wave of sound went through the ground, stumbling the enemies, but nothing else.
Momo's eyes widened.
"Jirou, get-"
"Fire!"
Suddenly, lights from flashlights were blinding the students. After this, there were flashes of something they couldn't see.
"Ah!"
"Woaaha!"
The villains screamed while shaking in place. After this, flashlights were blinding young heroes once more.
"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"
"At ease" Said another voice. "It's the students"
The flashlights stopped blinding the group of students. They finally noticed who those were.
Black uniform. Assault rifles. HPSC insignia on chest.
Students sighed in relief. The leader of the group approached them.
"Anyone wounded?" When he saw the students shaking their heads, he nodded. "Follow us. We are getting you out of here"
"Kurai here. We got four" he said on the radio, reloading the stunning ammunition.
Unmistakable voice of the HPSC representative sounded on the other end.
"Good work."
Urban fire simulation zone, 11:10 AM.
"Die!" Shouted Bakugou as another villain was blasted away. He stood at a little hill of debris, reading his hands for another villain. "Come at me!"
Suddenly, there were flashes of light in his face.
"Freeze!"
"Ah?! And who the fuck are you? Wanna die?! Come here!"
Bakugou almost attacked the stranger.
"Halt, this is a student!"
The blinding light disappeared, and Katsuki noticed the black uniforms on the group of newly arrived people.
"You sure?" Asked the man that almost started firing at Katsuki with shocking ammunition.
The leader slapped the helmet of the guy.
"Damn sure." The leader of the squad turned to Katsuki. "Any injures?"
"Ha! They didn't try hard enough."
"Okay. Follow us to the exit."
Flood simulation zone, 11:10 AM.
Tsuyu never felt such despair before.
Not only her class was attacked and separated, she was stuck with Aoyama and Mineta of all people. Be it Uraraka, the two of them could easily escape this trap. But no. She was stuck on a boat with two people that decided that sitting in a corner shaking was the best option.
All the while the enemy was approaching them.
And then, the trio heard loud buzzing noises. They looked up a noticed a helicopter right above their position.
What was-
Suddenly, the passengers of this helicopter started shooting the villains, breaking the glass ceiling and forcing them away.
A rope ladder was thrown to the students.
Tsuyu looked at Mineta and Aoyama again.
Who knew that their tactic would actually work?
USJ Exteriors, 11:13 AM.
Momo looked around.
There were a few more armored vehicles like the one that Izuku drove.
Most of the teaching staff got to USJ at one point, but went inside to capture the villains that were left there.
"Mild smoke intoxication. No signs of a heatstroke. At least now." Said Recovery girl to Shinsou as she and uniformed combat medics were inspecting the students. Luckily, no one was harmed much beside scratches and bruises.
Momo noticed Jirou looking unease and decided to help her. She put a hand on her shoulder.
"Wah!"
"Ah, I'm terribly sorry! I didn't want to scare you."
Jirou made a few deep breathes.
"Nah…sorry. It's just…I still think someone can attack us from around a corner, you know."
Momo looked down a bit. What would Izuku say in this situation? She thought for a few moments, but nothing came to her mind.
"Let's go to others"
This should help.
USJ Entrance, 11:17 AM.
Izuku stood up from the stairs and dusted himself off. His suit was teared in a few places, and clearly required either a repair or a replacement.
Luckily, he had another suit prepared.
Getting the suit jacket off, he rolled sleeves on his shirt.
'I need to get my case' He thought.
Putting his hand into a pocket, he counted only two remaining explosive bullets. Damn it. He never spent so much in a single day.
Allmight, standing at the center of USJ, got attention of the young representative when he started coughing.
"…Tsk" was heard from Aizawa.
'It seems that black beast was even worse than I thought.' He noted.
Izuku, worried about the Symbol of Peace, remembered how Allmight was coughing earlier, during classes.
Suddenly, smoke erupted from Allmight, and he shrunk to his skeleton state.
Izuku, widening his eyes, ran to him. That is, until Aizawa tried to capture him with his capturing scarf.
Tried, and failed.
Izuku, before getting into HPSC, was able to evade Aizawa for good ten minutes when the hero tried to capture him for helping Katsuki. He knew how this scarf worked.
"Not a word of this to Commission!" Shouted Aizawa to the running representative. He tried to stand up, but was way too tired for this.
'I'll be the judge of that' thought Midoriya.
He got to Allmight and caught the kneeling hero, trying to help him keep his balance.
"Allmight?"
"Young Midoriya?" Asked Allmight with wide eyes.
"Are you hurt? Can you stand?"
Allmight was not answering as he was still looking at young representative.
'Another one who knows' he thought solemnly.
"Yes" Allmight said, standing up without trouble. "Listen, young Midoriya, the Commission shouldn't know about this."
"We already know"
"Huh?!"
Izuku cleared his throat, glancing at the place where the supposed injury from his battle with All for One was located.
"I mean, not exactly how, but we knew you were getting weaker. We keep tabs on all the heroes, it was not hard to notice you spending less and less time on hero activity."
"Then…just don't spread this information."
Izuku raised a questioning eyebrow. He stood in front of Allmight with unwavering gaze.
"We won't let anything smear our Symbol of Peace. Period."
They stood silently across each other. Finally, Izuku broke the silence.
"Let's get you through a side exit. We can't have students see you like this"
USJ Exteriors, 11:21 AM.
"Midoriya-san!" Heard the young representative. It was Momo.
She and other students were waving for him. Izuku smiled and went to them.
"How are you doing?"
"Well…" Mina trailed off.
Some students were a bit closed in themselves, mostly those that got alone during the attack. Some looked more or less fine. Momo looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something to take notes on how to encourage others.
"You managed greatly, everyone"
Momo nodded. That was something she expected. Izuku turned to her, and then to Jirou, Kaminari and Shinsou.
"Yaoyorozu-san, you did a nice job at taking a command and organizing your group. All of you synced and worked in a way that used all of your quirks in the best way"
"Wait" Interruped Jirou "You saw that?"
"Of course. I was the one who disposed of the first two waves of villains."
"Oh"
"But I didn't do anything" Disagreed Kaminari.
"No, you didn't use your quirk around your classmates to not harm them. That counts as doing something."
Izuku turned to Bakugou.
"Nice work."
"Tsk…" Bakugou turned away.
"Todoroki and Ojirou covered each other backs. Good work."
As Izuku was continuing the praising and noting the actions of the students, the nervous atmosphere was slowly disappearing.
He was trying to put their attention into what they did, to make them analyze their actions and get a lesson from this.
"You gave those villains a run for their money. Look at yourself! None of you are even injured! More than a hundred against twenty students, a teacher, and a teenager with a rifle!" Izuku was actually beaming while looking at them. "UA knows how to pick students after all."
The students were slowly but surely melting to the words of the young representative.
"Stand up" Izuku said.
Those that were sitting at the ground looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on. Stand up."
With a sigh they got up.
"Now. Stand in a half circle around me. Come on, come on, do it. Yes, you too, Todoroki, stop looking at me like that."
When the students complied, Izuku pointed his finger to the student on the left.
"Yaoyorozu," He started and went to the right. "Jirou, Kaminari, Shinsou, Bakugou, Ojirou, Todoroki, Mineta, Asui, Uraraka, Iida, Hagakure, Ashido, Kirishima, Sato, Shoji, Sero, Tokoyami, Koda…"
"…I'll personally make sure each and every one of you becomes a great hero. Don't let this attack stain your confidence in yourselves."
With a huff, Izuku adjusted what remained of his tie.
"Anyone willing to train today? I have a stadium ready."
Nineteen sets of hands were in the air. Todoroki was as ignoring as ever.
USJ Exteriors, 11:41 AM.
"Why can't we go with you?" Asked Kaminari, expecting this time to take the passenger seat in the front.
Izuku sighed and turned to Kaminari.
"It's not that I mind. I just want you all to stay together right now. As a class."
Kaminari scratched his head.
"Then why did you let Yaoyorozu in?" He asked, glancing inside the vehicle.
"Eh? I didn't-" He turned and true to Kaminari's words, Yaoyorozu already took the front passenger seat in his armored vehicle. She, with a slight blush, was looking straight ahead, as if not noticing them talking.
"…Yaoyorozu-san?"
"Yes?"
"I think you should go with your class."
"Can I stay?"
"But you are the class representative."
"Yes, but Iida-san is doing most of my job anyway."
"…People can find it strange that you, alone, is going with a representative of the Commission, while the whole class is taking a bus. Kaminari, do you think this looks strange?"
"Uh, yes?"
"See?"
Momo looked at Kaminari with narrowed eyes.
"You know, I thing it looks perfectly normal" he immediately replied.
"I know Midoriya-san longer than he is a representative of the Commission. What's so strange about talking to a friend?" She asked, maintaining her gaze.
Kaminari nodded enthusiastically.
"Good point, really. Totally agreed. I'll go, then. Have a good…a good ride. Yes."
He nodded again, huffed as if he just made a philosophical mark in history and went to the bus that was taking the students back to the UA.
Izuku sighed and shook his head.
Inside the HPSC armored vehicle, 11:54 AM.
"Monoma?" Said Izuku on the phone while driving.
"Yes, Midoriya-san?"
"Ask your class if anyone is willing to train today. Your hero lessons were moved because of the attack, but at least we can train."
"…okay."
"What is it?" Izuku noticed Monoma was a bit reluctant to answer.
"Nothing. I'll tell them."
After this he hung up.
"Huh" Izuku put the phone on a panel.
"So…" Yaoyorozu began. Izuku glanced at her. She got through the first phase of her plan. "Will you come tomorrow?"
Tomorrow?
Wait, today was Friday?
Izuku turned right, following the bus with UA students.
"If you want me to, of course. You want to train again?"
Oh no, not this trope again. Yaoyorozu had enough with them only talking about hero related stuff.
"Yeah…" No! Not that! Wrong answer, Momo! "I mean, I wanted to do something else as well. Like, maybe go to a mall."
"Hm…"
What's that supposed to mean? What did he mean by that 'Hm…'? He didn't like that idea? She couldn't say 'to go and maybe watch a movie', it would sound like a date!
Izuku wasn't holding much better.
Should he agree? It sounded a lot like a date. What if he messes everything up? He didn't have a single clue on what to do in such scenarios. He wanted to keep the friendship with her, and only that.
The multiple fears that he had weren't unreasonable, after all! He long since got along with the fact that he won't have a romantic relationship. His confidence was breaking.
Damn it, then why it was so hard to resist?
"I have another idea."
Why it was hard to resist? Because, deep inside, he did not want to resist.
Momo turned to him. Izuku continued.
"We can go to you after the training with your class. I'll stay for the night. This way we will have time for both the personal training in the morning, and for…the mall."
She looked at him with wide eyes. That means that they will even have time late in the evening. Her small operation resulted in double success.
"Of course! Let's do it like this, then!"
UA Exteriors, 12:58 PM.
Izuku was standing next to UA gates with a phone in his hands.
"The results came in" Said the voice on the other end.
"Did you find anything?"
"Yes. Only one case, three dead, one person disappeared"
Izuku turned to UA and noticed 1-A students leaving the building.
"Send it on my mail. I'll study it and talk to the teachers if I find anything"
"Okay"
Izuku hung up. The students approached him.
"How is it going?" Izuku asked, somewhat unsure at what it was all about.
"Midoriya-san!" Iida began "We discussed with the class, and all agreed to do this!"
Suddenly, all of them bowed to him, minus Bakugou. Though, Momo and Jirou forced him.
"Thank you for saving us!"
Izuku, being a blushing mess, almost dropped his phone.
"E-eh? I-…"
"Just take it, Midoriya-san" Said Momo.
"I…guys…" He made a few breathes. "…anytime. Save me once and we are even"
"Of course!" Shouted Mina as energetic as ever.
"We got you" said smirking Jirou.
Izuku finally managed to make a normal smile.
"Go home. Rest. We are meeting here at 5 pm."
"Got it!"
He glanced at Momo and nodded. She nodded back.
UA Official meetings room, 1:40 PM.
The atmosphere at the table was mostly angry.
"This is unprecedented, unacceptable." Said Nezu with his hands crossed. "We must up the security. Power Loader, we must start the work on a new project of defense"
"Agreed" Said the teacher of the support class. "I'll start once we finish here."
"I'll join you once we meet with the representatives from the media" Nodded Nezu.
"What should we do with the sports festival?" Asked Midnight. "Aizawa, those were you students. I think you should be the one to say."
"They will be fine. Thanks to the Commission's response, they came out mostly untouched."
"Attacking the sports festival would be akin to suicide. Too many heroes and police are guarding it." Said Vlad King, nodding.
"And yet, we will increase the security. I'll ask for more heroes and police to guard it." Said Nezu.
The door to the meeting room opened and Midoriya came in. He got rid of the ruined suit and took a spare one from his office.
"Ah, our representative" Greeted the director with a smile.
"Director, everyone" Izuku nodded in greetings. Izuku decided against taking a vacant seat. "The research facility got the information I asked. Here"
He gave the teachers papers with the documents sent by the facility.
"This decaying quirk has already been noticed once. I think we can safely assume the intruder's identity."
The teachers looked at the papers.
"There was a similar case. A family was killed and turned into the same dust our door has been turned into."
"Then how do we name the intruder here if the family was killed? This case is not closed."
"Look at the middle of the page" Izuku instructed. "The family consisted of four. Two parents, a daughter and a son. And yet, only three bodies were found, and the son disappeared. His name was Shimura Tenko"
Allmight's eyes widened and he stood up.
"It can't be…"
The staff looked at him with slight surprise.
"Allmight?" was heard from Nezu.
"It…it can't be." Number one hero turned to Izuku "What was the name of his father?"
"Kotaro Shimura"
Allmight felt how strength leaft his legs and he fell into his chair.
"Oh no…" He put his hand on his face, trying to hide his expression from others.
"Allmight, what's wrong?" Asked Izuku.
"Kotaro Shimura was the son of my…my mentor. It means that…that Tenko is her grandson"
Izuku sat down at a vacant seat, looking at Allmight with narrowed eyes.
"And?" Asked Aizawa. Izuku sighed in relief that he wasn't the one to ask the question. "He is a villain, the one that attacked our students, and the one that gave commands to this black beast. I fail to see how his family matters."
Allmight looked at Aizawa with an angry gaze. But Aizawa did not even flinch.
"He is the grandson of my mentor"
"That is, if the information is even true. We still just make an assumption that this disappeared son is indeed the villain from USJ…"
"And the one that intruded UA, destroying the gates" Added Izuku.
"Yes, and that as well" Aizawa nodded, glancing at the representative. "But, even if this assumption is the right one, we can't have personal feelings intervene with our work."
Izuku nodded again. HPSC has a long story of dealing with different kind of traitors – they knew how to work despite what you like or dislike. Personal feelings did not matter on the field.
Izuku noticed that he was agreeing with the grim homeroom teacher of 1-A quite a lot.
"So, you will have to choose at one point. Your-no, our students, or him."
Allmight looked conflicted. Will he let his past connections dictate how he should act?
Aizawa was right, but it wasn't easy to always follow cold logic. Without words, he stood up from his chair and left the room.
"That was a bit harsh" Said Nezu, looking at the door.
"I think it was exactly what he needed to get into his big head" Said Aizawa, crossing his arms. "He left my students today to go into the city instead of teaching, and the only reason why everything went so smooth was Midoriya."
Nezu sighed.
'He won't find a successor working like this' he thought.
Izuku stood up.
"I think I told you everything I could. You have my number, so if there's anything you want – call me"
Nezu nodded and turned to the rest of the staff.
"Now, about what we tell the media…"
Midoriya residence, 2:11 PM.
"I'm home!" Announced Izuku to nobody. His mother was still at work.
He sighed and went to his room to gather things for his short stay at Yaoyorozu's residence. He discarded his suit and fell on the bed.
'I still need a way to train quirks of new students…train Monoma and Shinsou …and this second-year student needs a way to show himself, maybe arrange a personal license exam…and now those villains, and Momo, and the mall'
Izuku groaned.
Okay, everything in order. Students – first. Their quirks were quite straightforward, and Todoroki declined his invitation.
Izuku stood up and got to his table.
'Either train a body, or use the quirk as much as possible to get them to their limit. Like a workout' He mused and started putting down the notes.
Shinsou and Monoma will be tutored by him during the training. He will give the task and tips for the other students and then personally work with those two.
Second-year student can wait. At the very least, he has time until the next provisional license exam. Yes, he needed some direction, but he was not in a rush.
And, well, Momo will get her time after the training today.
Izuku heard someone entering the house.
"I'm home!"
It was his mother. Izuku stood up and went to greet her.
"I won't be home tonight" He said.
"Hm? Why?" She didn't turn to him as she was making tea.
"Yaoyorozu asked me to visit, and, well, I thought why not?"
Inko stopped her actions for a moment and Izuku could hear her sniffing.
"Mom?"
"I-It's nothing, I'm just glad you finally have friends."
Izuku smiled, though was unsure on how to respond.
"Yeah…I'm glad too."
Inko wiped her tears and gave him his tea.
"Tell me about her. I still don't know anything beside you being her bodyguard once."
"Well…she is my age. Studies in hero course of UA. She is…uhm…pretty. Very smart…"
Izuku looked down with an unsure smile, and Inko quickly recognized this look.
"Are you interested in her?" She asked with a smile. She noticed Izuku blushing, before he frowned with a sad smile.
"I am but…I don't want to be…"
Inko widened her eyes. That's not something she expected.
"What do you mean? Why?"
Izuku tried to turn to her but didn't have a courage to.
"I have a very risky job, and, well…I am quirkless. I'm afraid that if I ever…you know, find someone, they will at some point go through the same things you did…I don't want that."
He still remembered the face of his mother full of tears when father died. This kind of things you just don't forget.
She frowned and took his hand.
"Izuku, honey. I understand your fears, but know this. I will never regret meeting your father. I will never regret having you as my son. If I had a choice to change something, I wouldn't. Despite anything."
"…but you talk about it after everything happened. In my case, nothing has happened yet. What if I won't let her go through it? What if she won't regret being not with me the same way you don't regret being with dad?"
"Izuku" She stood up and hugged her son. "But what about you? Wouldn't you regret being alone?"
"I…I will manage. S-Somehow. I-I got along with the fact that I will be alone a long time ago."
Inko smiled sadly.
"You don't even know how much you remind me of your father right now."
"Really?"
"Really. He too didn't have a moment to think about something like relationship and girls. When I met him, he only had guns and being a hero of justice on his mind"
"Sounds a lot like him…" He said with a smile.
"Uh-huh" She agreed. "But I kept trying to get to him notice me. And, well, he had to re-learn how to talk with people and open up with me."
"Heh…"
They both stood silently in each other's embrace.
"What I want to say, Izuku…I don't think you will manage alone. We, humans, are social creatures, you know. And she is from hero course, right? You said it yourself. You will be covering each other out there, won't you?"
Izuku nodded reluctantly.
"…You want me to try it?"
"Do you want to? Because, speaking quite frankly, a life without grandkids scares me, so what I think is obvious."
Izuku gave a small laugh at those words.
"I…want to try it"
Inko sighed with a smile.
"Whew. Then you have to bring her here at some point. We've only had each other for five years, maybe she will create a new dynamic in this house."
"Heh, then I hope she won't find it a bit too small. Our rooms are, like, the size of her closet."
"Heeee?! But from what I know, our house is quite big."
"Heh, you just didn't see hers."
"Tell me" She said and sat at the table, finally getting her tea. Izuku sat down as well.
"Where to even begin…"
HPSC Hero License Exam Stadium, 5:50 PM.
Izuku glanced around the stadium and nodded. Each and every students got their tasks for today. He turned to his recommended students.
"Okay, you two. Shinsou, your biggest problem right now is the lack of any weapon. The support course is working on it. And, well, your quirk is quite unique, I'm not sure how we can work on it. So, we will continue where we left off. You see Iida over there?"
Shinsou looked at a small dot in a distance.
"Yes? I think it's him."
"Well, just like last time, run a lap around the stadium. Follow Iida's path. Then, get back to us"
Shinsou sighed.
"Got it"
And, after this, he started jogging in Iida's general direction.
Izuku turned to Monoma.
"So, now with you. What was that earlier?"
"What do you mean?"
"You barely held yourself from saying something over the phone. What happened?"
"Why do you care?"
Izuku looked at him with confused expression.
"Elaborate."
"You've been spending so much time with 1-A that it's clear they are your favorites. Why do you care what I think?"
Izuku held his confused expression.
"I…didn't spend much time with them?" He said, unsure of Monoma's accusations. "Besides being there at USJ with them, I spent as much time with your class as I did with theirs. And, even then, I would be in USJ when it would be your class's turn to train there."
Monoma looked away with an annoyed expression.
"…"
"I guess this excuse for your behavior is not working. Tell me what happened."
"…"
"Monoma, I'm the representative of the Commission, not a babysitter."
"The sports festival is coming…" said the student quietly. He turned to Izuku and looked into his eyes. "You said it yourself on the opening ceremony. We won't get equal attention. And, well, who do you think will be noticed more? The class that managed to fight back against a hundred of villains or…just class 1-B? Why do I even ask, of course you know."
Izuku nodded.
"Now we are talking. Yes. Yes, I know. But you are forgetting one thing, Monoma. Was that the only thing I said on the opening ceremony?"
"No…"
"I also said I will help you all. You hear me? All."
"Well, we get the license. We become heroes. But what about our popularity? This is very important. Their class will be one step ahead of us."
"I think you might be wrong here. People don't know you, so if you all show yourselves greatly at the Festival, the public will notice you. Take them by surprise. However…"
"M?"
"Look around, Monoma." Izuku waved his hand around, showing him the stadium. "I said about showing yourselves. That requires training. And yet, how many of your class is here? Five, Monoma. And how many of class 1-A? Nineteen. If you want to show yourselves, your class needs to start working on themselves."
Monoma looked at him, though he was a bit angry. Still, the words of the representative were true. He nodded. Izuku nodded back.
"Now, let's get to the training. You got the samples?"
Monoma pulled out a few glass containers with hair of his classmates. Izuku grinned, and made a few steps away from the copying student. He took a basic fighting stance.
"Let's start. Try changing the quirks as many times as you can."
Inside the HPSC armored vehicle, 9:50 PM.
Izuku was driving behind the car of Momo's personal driver. He sighed. It looked quite dark outside.
A few droplets of rain fell on the front window. It was a calming picture, and yet, Izuku couldn't lose his focus on the road ahead of them.
A few cars passed on their right, moving towards the city.
"You sure he is not upset?" Asked Izuku.
"Don't worry. I think he understands" Replied Momo about her personal driver that was alone in his car. Instead of getting home with her driver, Suguru, she decided to once more take the passenger seat on Izuku's left.
"I hope so"
It was dark inside the vehicle, making the moment a little more intimate. Nothing was heard beside the engine, passing cars and the sounds of rain outside. And it was quite warm inside.
The silence between the two teens did not feel uncomfortable.
"M-…Izuku, I wanted to ask you one thing. Just to be sure. What is your favorite color?"
"Hah" That was so direct Izuku couldn't even hold his laugh. "It's green."
The color of safety and harmony.
Momo smiled and nodded to herself. Now, she knew what she wanted to get in the mall they were going to visit. He was always wearing a white shirt with his suit. Maybe dark green would work better.
She looked at him driving. It was hard to see since it was dark, but it was barely a problem to her.
Yes, this will work with his hair and eyes.
"And yours?" He asked her back.
"Huh?" She was interrupted from her thoughts. "I actually don't have one."
"Really?"
"Well…at least I never thought about it. Now that I think about it, maybe it's red. I've been using it quite a lot with my creations."
Izuku smiled. That suited her quite a lot. With the way her life was going, she was finally releasing all the energy she couldn't express before.
Momo looked outside, looking at droplets of rain rolling down the window.
"So, uhm…any ideas what do to? We still have a few hours" Asked Izuku.
"You know…I still try to calm myself after what happened today" Yaoyorozu said, not turning to him. "So, well, maybe watch a movie?"
'Well, it's not like we should train after training.' Thought Izuku. His eyes widened for a moment, remembering his talk with his mother.
'…he had to re-learn how to talk with people and open up…'
Was him talking about quirks the only thing he could do? Damn it. At least he noticed how his thoughts were drifting in this direction.
"I like that idea. Though, to be honest, I'm not really a movie expert."
"Really?"
"Well…yes. I never really watched anything beside a few movies with Allmight"
Oh my, she had a golden opportunity to show him something he never saw! Damn it, there was so many good movies she just couldn't choose.
"Well, we will need to eat first. I didn't have anything since lunch." Said Momo, trying to find something she could show him.
"A good idea. We still have a few hours before the light are out in the servants' house."
"Oh, that's where you are wrong" Izuku could her a smirk in her voice "I'll do everything myself."
"No, that's where you are wrong" He said with a smirk of his own. "I learned how to cook as well. So, we will do everything ourselves."
Yaoyorozu residence, 10:40 PM.
"How are the noodles?" Asked Yaoyorozu, working with meat and vegetables.
"Two more minutes and ready." Said Izuku, looking at the boiling water and at the timer.
The pair of teens was trying to make simple noodles with chicken and vegetables. Yaoyorozu had turned some radio on her phone to make the surrounding a little noisier, since there were only two of them. The father of the family was in a different city for a few days.
"Only two? It is said it was around 15 minutes." She said, looking at her phone with the recipe.
"It was said from 10 to 15 minutes. I think 12 is the best choice. Somewhere in between,"
"You think?"
"I-eh…I never really cooked anything besides katsudon, to be honest. Wait – don't add salt. We had enough soy sauce in there."
"You sure?" Momo looked at her phone once more "The recipe says we need to add salt."
"Yes."
"I…well, I usually cook the way it is said in the book. Sorry."
Izuku laughed.
"Don't be. It's just, with salt it is always better to add a little less than a little too much."
"Yeah, you are right. To be honest, sometimes the recipes can be quite strange. I once found a recipe where you marinate the chicken with lemon juice among other spices."
"But isn't that…fine?" Izuku looked at her, removing the water from the pot.
"Isn't lemon usually used with fish?" Asked Momo, now adding the vegetables to the meat.
"Well, Emiya-san – you know, my squad leader – said that citrus fruits are quite universal." Izuku got another pan and put the noodles on it for a few minutes. "It works best with fish, but other meat is good."
"Is he good at cooking?"
"He is a god of all kitchens"
"I guess it was hard eating at cafeteria when you know your squad leaders cooks better."
"You don't even realize how right you are"
Momo looked at the timer.
"Five minutes are up"
Nodding, Izuku lifted his pan and went closer to Momo to get the noodles into her pan with vegetables and chicken.
"2-3 minutes and done" He said, turning to her. "Right?"
She glanced at him with a smile.
"Right"
Izuku got around her and leaned on the counter, looking at her phone.
"Well, the author didn't lie, it took only around 30 minutes."
"Will you make some tea while I'm finishing here?"
"Sure." Izuku straightened. "Okay…it should be thirteenth cabinet on the right. One, two, three…" He started counting the cabinets to find the right one.
"Wait" Suddenly interrupted Momo "You aren't going to eat in this, right?"
"Hm?"
Izuku looked at himself.
"Is there something wrong with my shirt?"
Momo narrowed her eyes.
"Not just your shirt, but your trousers as well. I know they are expensive. And this is your official look. What if you stain it? Didn't you bring other clothes?"
"Well, I did."
"Well, I think you should get those, then. Don't worry, I'll make the tea."
When Izuku returned, Momo has already put two bowls of their dinner and two cups of tea on a tray.
"I thought we would eat here" He asked, announcing his return.
Momo turned to him and…stared. He had a t-shirt instead of the shirt. Damn. Arms. Those arms could kill, that's for sure. She felt goosebumps running down her spine.
"I-I thought we could eat while watching."
"Oh" Izuku approached her, taking the tray. "To the guest room?"
"Yes, there must be a TV if I'm not mistaken"
"There was one."
While they were going, Momo still had doubts about the movie.
'Criminal won't work, I think. Comedy…what kind of comedy would he like? Certainly not horror, we are having a dinner! Wait…we are having a dinner…'
She glanced at him and blushed.
'…while watching a movie. Alone in the house'
Okay, Momo, get yourself together. You called him in yourself.
"So, what are we going to watch?"
Eh? Not so soon! Something, Momo say something, don't be quiet, just something, quickly, quickly!
"La-La-Land!"
Oh no. She didn't just say that.
"Oh, I heard about it. It is quite old, though, isn't it? From pre-quirk era."
Too late to stop now.
"Yes. My mother showed it to me when I was a kid, but when I grew up, I learned to appreciate it even more"
Izuku smiled and let her open the door to the room.
"Oh, actually, I never really asked, but where's your mother?"
"She is abroad right now, travels with her modeling agency. She should be back in a month. Anyway, she has a good taste in movies, so I hope you like it."
"Well, I don't really know what it is about. So, I'm truly walking into unknown territory here."
"Nervous, oh master of information gathering?"
"…a tiny bit, yes."
A few hours later, the pair found themselves steaming a bit.
'Watching it with someone is really different' Thought Momo. Surprisingly, Izuku held nicely enough.
"Hm…that is what is called romcom, right?" He asked, turning to her. Izuku took the spot in front of the bed, leaning on it, while Momo was sitting on it, leaned on the wall.
"Well, yes, but it is also a musical. It was almost a dead genre then, but the director breathed life into it."
"Really? It was good, how could be an unpopular genre?"
Momo put a hand to her chin.
"Hm…it was kind of oldschool? I don't really remember, to be honest."
"Hm…"
"You know, with how you were acting earlier, I thought you would be a blushing mess at the end of the movie"
"I can't deny it was…a bit embarrassing to me, but I guess I was too caught up to notice."
Momo smiled with closed your eyes.
"Well, I'm glad that you liked it." She stretched herself and stood up. "Oh my, look at the time. I won't wake up for training at this rate."
"Well…we can skip it once"
Momo looked at him with wide eyes.
"Who are you and what you did to Midoriya Izuku?"
"I don't only talk about training! I also talk about quirks, guns, hero ratings, and I have to explain everyone around me what is my job in HPSC since everyone is so interested"
"I never said you only talk about training. I just thought that you weren't the one to skip them."
"Well, we had one today, didn't we? Training too much can be harmful as well."
"Oh…I guess you are right. Even though I didn't get a private session like those two"
"You mean Monoma and Shinsou?"
She nodded.
"Well, I'm training those two to be Heroes with qualities required for special operations. You never wondered how Shinsou managed to get through practical exam?"
"I…don't know about the practical exam, not that I think about it"
"They were fighting robots."
"Oh! Now I see your point. No, I don't see him passing it, no offense to him"
"He and Monoma were picked by me to join the hero courses. We have enough combat quirks as it is, so we tried a new program this year."
Momo yawned and stretched as well. This day was taking its toll on her. She laid on the bed.
"So that's how it is" She said with closed eyes.
With the only source of light being the screen of the TV, and with the sound of raindrops outside…the picture filled Izuku with peace.
"Yeah. You should go to your room, Momo. Get some rest. Today was a hard day."
"Mm-hm"
"I'm serious. If you father finds me sleeping here when you are on the bed, he will kill me"
"And then he will kill me for not treating our guest appropriately." She added, standing up. "I'll go, then. Have a good night"
"Good night" he wished back.
"Woah, this one is huge" Izuku looked around the mall. "How do they even hold such a strict security in there?"
"Endeavor's agency is three streets away" Said Momo and grabbed his arm. "Come on!"
Suguru, Momo's driver, followed them with a sigh.
Izuku, being dragged by her, was looking at all the stores around. "Where are going?"
"To the President"
"President?!"
"Yes, this is the shop for parade suits just like your official costume, didn't you know?"
"Yes, I know that, it's just…even with my salary, I only got a shirt there. Once. And that was after your father paid me and Emiya-san. I only wore it for the opening ceremony in UA."
"Well, we just have to change that! I wanted to by you a shirt there. I have everything I need anyway."
"W-wait, but it is expensive. I can't agree to this"
"I don't remember asking for your opinion. Don't worry, this is like a drop in an ocean. So, you will follow me and I will buy everything that suits you"
Izuku laughed.
"Yes ma'am"
A few minutes later, Izuku came out of fitting room in a green shirt and black suit jacket. He tried to make a pose, as if adjusting his tie.
"So?" He asked.
Momo was beaming like a ray of sunshine,
"Perfect. Now with this vest"
"When did you find it?"
"I noticed it when we entered. Now go and try the shirt with this vest"
When Izuku left the room once more, Momo was waiting outside with a wine red shirt.
"Perfect. Now, try this with the vest"
Izuku groaned dramatically, but smiled nonetheless. He returned to the fitting room.
"Um, Momo?"
"Yes?"
"This one is a bit tight?"
Izuku returned from the room with a shirt that hugged him way too tight. Momo noticed and if he breathed in deep enough, the buttons would fly out.
"I-…I'll ask for a bigger size"
"Okay"
"…"
"Momo?"
She started going, still looking at him. Izuku sighed and shook his head with a smile.
He looked at the price tag and was not even surprised to see so many zeroes in it. Though, he couldn't deny that it was both comfortable and classy. Maybe he should use the dark green shirt in UA.
Or the wine red one with the vest? No, he should leave this for some formal event. He still might get into one of those, since being a representative of the Commission is quite a high position.
Momo returned with a bigger shirt.
"This one should do. I checked: it has the same parameters as the dark green one. Though, they both a bit too long for you."
"Oh, this won't be a problem. They make the final adjustments before sending, if I remember it correctly."
"Yes, the woman at the counter said it should take 2-3 days to deliver them to you."
"Oh, we won't manage to the start of the week? That's a shame. I was just thinking about using the green shirt in UA.
"Let's go pay for it."
Midoriya residence, 7:41 PM.
Izuku came home and shut himself in the reinforced basement, filling the magazines of his sniper rifle with newly arrived explosive ammunition. The case and his uniform were still in the car. He didn't really need them right now.
He just couldn't stop smiling.
It felt so strange and new to him. Without his work, without villains, without heroes. He liked it.
Maybe he should try to invite Momo as well. Of course, it would be somewhat different from her inviting him for a visit. They did it a few times already, and Izuku was familiar with Ichirou and the house itself. He somewhat knew the atmosphere of the place.
He was surprised at how confident was Momo most of the time. Even though Izuku was working without even a shadow of a doubt, when it came to relationship with other people, he was always trying to be a bit more careful.
Well, if he was not exploding with emotions, like when he was praising the class 1-A after the USJ. At those moments he was just acting natural.
The sports festival was rapidly approaching, and Izuku was hoping to see how the students will show themselves. He will have to work a lot with possible heroes for the internships, but he actually looked forward to it.
"Izuku!" He could hear his mother shouting. "Dinner!"
"Coming!"
A man was standing in a sidewalk between houses.
He lit up a cigarette and inhaled.
"Sorry kid, but you crossed the road to a wrong man"
He saw a few cars passing the street. A family next door was leaving for a family dinner in a restaraunt. Despite the rain yesterday, this evening was quite warm.
The man snapped his fingers.
And the Midoriya residence exploded.
Part II: A representative.
Status: Complete
