Hospitals suck, and Izuku and Ochako are determined to give Recovery Girl a heart attack at this rate. Katsuki hatches a diabolical plan to make Izuku actually FEEL things, how dare he. And Toru gets a very welcome surprise!
Yeah this is purely self indulgent fluff. I won't apologize. But since I refer to a few songs in this chapter, I'll list them here:
Lifetime, by Three Days Grace
Skin, by Sixx A.M.
Here's To Us, by Halestorm
Izuku came to in a darkened hospital room. His entire body hurt, like every muscle had been pulled and every inch of his skin was burned, but his chest ached most of all, a powerful pulsing feeling that made it difficult to breathe. But he did not care. He needed to know everyone else was safe. He struggled to his feet, ignoring the loud machines beeping around him. Every movement was agony, but he needed to know.
It took him five minutes to get out of the bed and stand up, almost losing his balance the moment he did. A quick grab at the edge of the bed managed to keep him from falling flat on his face, but he was very unbalanced. He took in a couple deep breaths and demanded his wobbly legs start supporting him. Which, in hindsight, probably wouldn't work but he did not care, he needed answers!
Answers which hopefully he'd get now that a very short nurse came into the room, exasperated, her doglike ears drooping slightly as she glared at him. "Mr. Midoriya, you get back in that bed right now mister!"
"I need…I need to know," he managed to blurt out, his arms shaking as they tried to hold him up.
The nurse sighed as she approached him, her hands on her hips. "Know what?"
"I-Is everyone else okay? Did everyone make it? What about Sensei, and Thirteen, and-" his continued questioning was stopped by a held up hand from the nurse.
"I don't know the details, but I do know there were no reported fatalities. If you'll lay back down and wait, I can retrieve someone who does know the details, okay? Eraserhead and Thirteen will be fine. And most of the students had superficial injuries, so they went back to their dorms."
"Most? Who got hurt?" Izuku asked.
The nurse thought for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. "I believe her name was Ura-Mr Midoriya!" As soon as she had mentioned the start of Uraraka's name, she glanced down to see Izuku (who had been starting to relax), stomping her way through what looked like sheer determination and using his Quirk to forcibly move his legs, the green energy wrapped around them in bands.
"I-I need to see her," he managed to stutter out as he took another step, his body quivering. The nurse rushed forward to catch him as he started to fall, but he stopped himself a moment later with another use of his Quirk. The door opening behind her had the two of them stopping, Izuku flushing at the glare he was receiving from Recovery Girl.
"I should have known, just after I have to practically beat Uraraka back into her bed I have to come here and do the same!" she sighed.
"Is she-"
"She's fine, Midoriya."
"Recovery Girl, I, I have to-"
He was cut off once more by the loud, annoyed sigh from the older hero. "Get back in bed young man. I knew this would happen the moment one of you woke, but I didn't expect both of you to wake at nearly the same time. If you get back in bed and stay there, I'll have you moved into the same room. Alright?"
Izuku nodded, his shoulders slumping slightly with relief. With effort and the help of the very annoyed nurse, he managed to get back into his bed, just in time for the transport technicians to enter the room and start prepping him to be moved. The entire time the nurse kept scolding him, reminding him of how hurt he was and that patience was a virtue, Recovery Girl just smirking in the background as the young nurse lambasted the reckless boy who could only nod sheepishly, unable to get a word in edgewise.
It took a little over ten minutes to get him and Ochako moved into the same room. With them both awake and out of the danger zone healthwise, they were moved out of the ICU to a step-down ward to rest, which was enough to put them in the same room. Not that the transporters had an easy time of it, because the moment the two caught sight of the other they nearly leapt (and fell) out of their beds to get to the other, only the quick action of the large nurse with a pair of long, prehensile tails overseeing the transport keeping them from falling on their faces.
Recovery Girl came this close to knocking them both out with her cane out of sheer frustration, but her oath to do no harm was stronger…this time. After explaining to them that it was okay to get up (carefully) now that they were properly set up and the only wires they had to worry about were a few monitors and an IV in Ochako's arm, they were left to their own devices.
Izuku wasted no time, almost tripping over himself to throw his legs off the edge of his bed next to Ochako's, the brunette doing the same. The two paused after a moment, each seated on their respective hospital bed, staring at each other with a startled look that became sheepish after a moment, before softening further.
Izuku managed to get to his feet just enough to wobble over to Ochako's bed (taking advantage of the fact she had an IV and he did not), and sit down next to her. He found himself out of breath from that tiny action, but he did not care, as the two immediately latched onto each other, arms wrapped about the other tightly, holding as if they were only tethered to this Earth by the other.
Izuku wasn't sure how long he held her. Surprisingly, he wasn't crying, though he felt like he should be. He was just so happy to have her in his arms, to feel the press of her body against his, to be able to smell the everpresent scent of vanilla from the body wash she liked to use, he just…felt so happy. The same was not true for her, he could feel his shoulder getting soaked by silent tears, but he didn't mind. All he wanted was the knowledge she was there. But after some time, he had to know how she even ended up in here with him.
Gently, he pushed her back just a little bit, looking at her tear-stained face and gently brushing his thumb over her cheek to catch the falling tears and wipe them away. "What happened after I was taken down? How'd you even end up here?"
Ochako lowered her head, looking down at the bedspread, where her hand was clasped firmly in his. "After…it happened, I think…I think most of us lost it, a little. You um…you stopped breathing. And I saw it…Katsuki went off, took down Kurogiri like he was nothing. Himi jumped on the Nomu and stabbed it so many times, but it…it got her in the leg and threw her off. Recovery Girl fixed her up though!" she added quickly when she saw the question in Izuku's eyes.
"Alright…Can't say I'm happy they got hurt but still, what happened to you? You're the only other one in here with me…did Nomu get you too?"
Ochako winced at his phrasing. "Um…not…really. I kinda got Nomu…"
"...huh?"
"I was just so hurt, and angry, and upset, and…honestly, I don't really know how I felt except I never want to feel it again so don't you dare get hurt like that again," she narrowed her eyes at Izuku as she spoke, having lifted her head to look at him when she spoke. She took a deep breath before continuing. "But uh…Nomu didn't see me coming, and I got my hands on it, and…well, I brought it down."
Izuku's eyes sparkled, his grin going wide. "Wow! All by yourself? That's amazing! I'm not surprised though, you've always been amazing! What happened next? Did…did one of those bastards hurt you to free Nomu?" His cheer fading as he remembered Nine and his crew, but he shoved any thoughts about Nine in particular into the deepest part of his brain to deal with later.
"No, Izu, it…it was my own fault. I wasn't thinking and I overdid it…really badly, I guess. Recovery Girl told me it um…was really bad. Quirk backlash I guess."
Izuku narrowed his eyes. "How bad is bad?"
"...minor brain scarring. But it's okay! She said it's superficial and won't impact my normal life!"
Izuku stared at her, uncountable emotions swirling in those green orbs. His shoulders tensed, his free hand fisting on the railing, the metal groaning and creaking under the pressure. There was a soft spark of emerald lightning off his skin, skittering across his shoulders and vanishing just before it touched her, his eyes flaring radioactive green for a brief moment…but then he relaxed. His body language fell, like all fight left him in that very second as he sighed, looking so much older than he was.
"Part of me really wants to go off on you for that…but I'm trying not to be a hypocrite, and I don't have much room to talk after what I did because I saw that…that bastard. If I hadn't screwed up at the end, you wouldn't have had to do that."
"No, Izuku, you can't blame yourself for what Nomu did, it was crazy fast-"
Izuku shook his head no in reply. "The vestiges pointed out to me that if I'd been less focused on my revenge, I could have reacted quicker. I realize now it wasn't its speed, it was some type of short range blink quirk, likely a line of sight teleport. I could have dodged that, and if I had, we'd have been in much better a state. I doubt I could have held Nomu off as well as you did, but together we probably could have contained it without either of us getting so hurt."
Izuku looked up at Ochako, worried at her reaction, only to be surprised by the sheer level of affection and pride in her eyes. She let out a choked, half-hysterical giggle. "Oh my god Izuku, did you finally learn self-preservation and the concept of reasonable plans that don't involve sacrificing yourself!? It's a miracle!"
Izuku gaped at her for a brief moment, before rolling his eyes and giggling. "Oh shut up!" He gently shoved her shoulder, ignoring her fake pout for a moment. Unable to resist her, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulder once more, kissing her cheek. He let out a rueful chuckle at himself, looking up at the ceiling and speaking softly. "I don't think I'm that far along, if I'm being honest. And I'm like…not really thinking about the whole Nine thing right now, so uh…pretty sure I'm gonna lose it when I do. But…I won't be a hypocrite. That much I'm going to promise you."
Ochako leaned her head against her boyfriend, resting it on his shoulder as she wrapped her arm behind his back and gripped him tightly. "I'll be there when you're ready to think about it. Himi too, and Katsuki, and I bet all of our class will be too."
"...I know."
She gave him a significant look. "Do you?"
He looked back at her with a soft look in his eyes and a half-smile. "I'm starting to."
It took three days for the two to be discharged. During that time, UA classes had been canceled for the entire week, as security systems were revamped and rebuilt, a series of anti-warp Quirk sensors created to keep track, as well as more robust communication security procedures, and automated alerts when communication was lost for more than thirty seconds from any part of campus.
During that time, Himiko spent nearly every waking moment that she was permitted to at the hospital, even with how often the duo insisted she rest back at the dorms where it was comfortable. Katsuki came about periodically, but he clearly felt like a fourth wheel with how awkward it would become with Himiko switching between hanging off them affectionately and scolding them repeatedly.
The students weren't aware of what happened in the meeting between the parents and the UA staff. All their parents would say is they were worried but accepted the school's reassurances, albeit the Uraraka's were very upset when they visited Ochako (both Izuku and Himiko had to suffer a rapid-fire bout of questions about their 'intentions' with her from Ochako's father, while her mother just rolled her eyes at her husband's behavior and gently shooed him off every time he started up again).
Ochako, Himiko, and Katsuki had one major worry on their minds though. Izuku had steadfastly chosen not to think about Nine and what him being there meant to Izuku. Every time the subject came up, Izuku refused to speak about it. The only time he spoke was to Nezu in private. Neither of them would reveal what was talked about, Nezu being clear it was not his place and Izuku refusing to talk about it.
Even upon returning to the dorms, Izuku wasn't quite himself. His smile was back, and he wasn't exactly faking it per se, it was clear he was at least somewhat happy, but…everyone could see him holding it back. Holding those feelings he felt that day somewhere away from him. Like he'd just put them into a box and shoved the box across the street from where he lived in his mind, still there where he could see it out the window, but not there with him.
So Katsuki hatched a plan, because he knew his brother and knew what they needed to do. After returning to the dorms on a lazy Friday where Eri was out with Aizawa, he cornered various members of the class one by one or in small groups and asked permission for something. Everyone agreed, most excited by his idea, leaving him to ask Ochako and Himiko for one big favor, the two agreeing without hesitation as they headed to his room to move it.
Finally, he found one of the last two he needed to speak to. Knocking on Kyoka's door frame, the door currently open, he got the attention of the purple-haired girl as he leaned against the frame, arms crossed.
"What do you want, Bakugo?" she asked.
Bakugo jerked his head at the instruments lining the back wall. "You any good with those?"
She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. "Yes, I am in fact 'good'. Why? Didn't think I was?"
"Nah, just wanted to ask. So uh," he rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment, looking away from her. "…wanna jam with me and Zu?"
She blinked at him. "What?"
"...That whole thing sucked, and Zu's still torn up about the whole Nine thing. Can't say I'm exactly okay with it either, but he refuses to talk about it. So uh…sometimes when he'd get stuck in his head, we'd just…play some shit together. I asked everyone if it'd be okay if we took the common room to play for a while, since they'd hear it even with the soundproofing and shit. And I figured, you know…if you play, maybe you wanna play with us, I guess?"
Kyoka gaped at him for a moment, before a half-smile crossed her face. A part of her had been wondering about this, and this was a good opportunity to see what they could do. And it wasn't like she hadn't noticed the way Izuku had been acting, but she hadn't considered it her place to interfere. She nodded. "Sure. That could be fun. What do you guys play?"
"I do drums. Zu plays guitar, and a little bit of bass, but he's better on the guitar. As for music, we like a lot of pre-Quirk stuff, mostly rock, metal, punk, etc. Shit like that. Some pop-rock stuff sometimes. Zu really likes ballads and power ballads."
Kyoka stood up, reaching onto her wall and grabbing a sleek, black bass off of it. "I'll play bass then. How're you getting a drum set into the common room?"
"Cheeks Quirk is pretty damned OP for that sorta thing, so Fangs and her are moving it for me while I came here." He rose up off the door frame as she got up, giving her a half-smile. He pulled out his phone and sent her a quick message, the entire class having traded contact info the prior week. "That's uh…the first song I wanted to play. I know how Izuku feels about it, and I think it'll help his dumbass. You know it?"
"Not well, but I've heard it a time or two. But it's okay, I have perfect pitch and stuff like that. My Quirk helps with that. Just gimme a minute to listen and I'll know the whole thing."
"That's pretty cool. Me and Zu are good at sight reading and shit but still takes a minute to get the hang of it normally."
Kyoka shrugged, dropping her phone into her pocket. Lifting the bass up, gesturing for Katsuki to proceed downstairs.
"Izukuuuuu!" Himiko called out as she slammed the door to his room open, startling the greenette who was scribbling in his notebook.
"Himi! The fuck?!" he shouted, clutching as his chest exaggeratedly as he stared wide-eyed at her.
She ignored him, looking about the room until her eyes landed on his guitar case. Her amber eyes lighting up, she darted over and grabbed it in with one hand, the other grabbing her boyfriend's hand and yanking him up from his seat. He was so confused by her actions he didn't question her, just following along as she half-ran down the stairs into the common room, where most of the class was gathered.
The couches had been pushed away from the one wall, Katsuki's drumset already in place, the blonde sitting on a stool and going over where everything was, making sure it was in place. Kyoka was on another stool just in front and to the left of the set, her phone sitting on a small table before her as one jack was plugged into it, her head bobbing along to something he couldn't hear. In her lap, a bass guitar sat, her hands gently running over the strings occasionally. Another stool was set in a mirrored position, where Himiko was dragging him over to.
He managed to get himself free after a moment, staring at his girlfriend in confusion. "What's going on?"
"You guys are gonna play for us! Kats came up with the idea! And Kyo was up to join in!" she replied brightly, her fangs visible in her wide smile.
"...am I not being given a choice in this?" he asked, his gaze narrowed.
"Zu, don't be like that. C'mon, let's jam, it's been a while. And Ears here even agreed to play with us!"
"...I know what you're doing and I don't like it," he hissed at his brother.
"I ain't hiding it," Katsuki replied, blank-faced as he stared at the greenette. "But I'm also not wrong and you know it." He stood up from the set, walking around it to close in on Izuku. He reached out, placing his hand on his shoulder, speaking quietly, quietly enough that only Himiko could hear. "You're not going to talk about it, and that's fine. So just…let it out here. Besides…I think we all need a fucking break after all this shit."
Izuku stared at Katsuki, emerald meeting ruby for a long moment, tension running through the air as the two stared each other down. Izuku's shoulders relaxed, his eyes closing as he sighed deeply. He held out one hand to his side, Himiko gently handing him his guitar case. He could hear Kaminari quietly cheering in the background, the electric blonde apparently super excited from the whispering going on.
His other shoulder was bumped by another, Izuku turning to look over at the chocolate brown eyes of his other girlfriend, smiling up at him and leaning into his side. He gave her a rueful half-smile back, kissing her on top of her head before turning and giving the same treatment to Himiko on his other side. Katsuki smirked, walking back behind his drum set as Izuku followed behind, sitting down and pulling out his instrument.
Kyoka looked over at the dark-green guitar, giving him an acknowledging nod as he strummed a quick chord. He gave her a smile back, silently thanking her for joining the two of them. She flushed slightly as the bright smile he gave her, giving a nervous one back in return.
Unseen by either one of them, Himiko waggled her eyebrows at Ochako as the two looked at the interaction. Ochako snorted quietly, pushing Himiko over to take a seat on the loveset that had been set facing the trio directly. As girlfriends of one of the performers, she was determined to get the best seat, and no one challenged them for it (although Shinso just rolled his eyes at them).
All of the class save Todoroki were seated around in various positions around the common room, slouched on the furniture or seated upon a few of the dining room chairs. Izuku finished making sure his guitar was in tune, and glanced over at Kyoka, who had just retracted her jack from her phone.
"You good?" he asked, fingering the strings subconsciously.
"Yeah. Bakugo gave me a specific song to play. You know which one?" she asked, tilting her head at him.
Izuku turned to look back at Katsuki, the blonde just nodding back. Izuku's smile became sad, almost bitter as he looked down. "Yeah. I know the song. I'll open?"
"On your go, Zu," Katsuki replied, settling into position. Kyoka nodded at him as he turned to her. He let out a deep breath and strummed the first notes. Opening his mouth, he began to sing, a calm, clear voice ringing out into the suddenly very quiet common room.
'Called to say hello,
Your voice always takes the pain away
The thought is unimaginable
That I saw you for the last time and didn't know'
A simple beat behind the music, the other two playing keeping silent as they played along, allowing Izuku to be center stage. As he sang, his eyes closed, it started to dawn on people why Izuku was singing this particular song, as he hit the first intro to the chorus.
'You were the one that I wasn't supposed to lose
I thought I'd have you for my lifetime
Have you for a lifetime'
On the word lose, his voice almost cracked, but he recovered, refusing to open his eyes as he continued. A soft, almost silent voice rang out beside him on the second verse, Kyoka adding her voice to his as they sang.
'Now, I'm walkin' 'round in a haze
There's no color, only darker shades of gray
You showed me the way when I was lost and alone
But you never really showed me how to let you go'
The song was not one most of the class knew, but they could understand the message. They knew what it meant and who Izuku was singing to, and each one of them could remember a moment in their life that felt the same. Ochako, her arm wrapped around Himiko, thinking about her grandmother's funeral only a few years ago. Himiko, the blonde's eyes closed, missing the family she never got to truly have, the one she was supposed to have but had been refused her.
'You were the one that I wasn't supposed to lose
I thought I'd have you for my lifetime
Have you for a lifetime
Who do I talk to when I wanna talk to you?
I thought I'd have you for a lifetime
Have you for a lifetime'
His voice rose in volume, Kyoka's following along. As they hit the third verse, a tear slipping from beneath his closed eyelids, he looked up to the ceiling as he sung out everything he'd decided to lock in a box and hide from the others, hide from himself, because he couldn't face the reminder…not of his hatred…but of what had been lost.
'Never again
Never again
Will I look into the only eyes that knew me
Feels like a bullet running through me
Never again
Never again
Will I look into the only eyes that knew me'
As he went into the third verse, Kyoka beside him, he could hear Katsuki's low baritone in the back singing along as well. He doubted the rest of the class could hear him, but he knew Katsuki was thinking of the aunt and uncle he lost as well that day. Of his own fears after that, seeing what Izuku had gone through, worrying about losing his own parents someday, something he'd only ever confided in with Izuku. As they hit the final chorus, Izuku's eyes popped open as he heard something he wasn't expecting…the rest of the class, quietly but with feeling, joining in as they played.
'You were the one that I wasn't supposed to lose
I thought I'd have you for a lifetime
Have you for a lifetime
You were the one that I wasn't supposed to lose
I thought I'd have you for my lifetime
Have you for a lifetime'
Hard to reach the age of eighteen and not lose someone you loved. Harder still to reconcile it, to remember that you can't call them again, can't walk to their house and say hi. Hardest of all to just know that there were last words between you, and that nothing you did could ever change what was said. Izuku may have lost more than most, in the manner he lost them, but none of them were alone in having lost someone. And so they sang along, many teary-eyed as he was. Unseen by them all was Todoroki in the stairwell, sitting at the top of them, his knees pulled up to his chest as he whispered the lyrics to himself.
With a final few chords, the song came to a close, the last pieces of the chorus sung solely by Izuku, only his guitar playing into the quiet, his voice dropping to a whisper.
'I thought I'd have you for my lifetime
Have you for a lifetime'
Silence filled the room for a moment…before Ochako rose to her feet and walked over to hug her boyfriend, Himiko following a moment later. He let out a choked chuckle, leaning into them, trying to keep a hold of his guitar so it didn't just fall to the floor. After a moment, he looked up at the rest of the room, the girls giving him a bit of space.
"Kacchan told you all, right? About our past?"
Momo bit her lip, but chose to speak up after a few moments. "Yes, he did. But we're not going to ask unless you want to talk."
Izuku sighed with a soft smile. "It's okay. I…Kacchan was right. The whole Nine thing I'm just…mad at myself for not handling it better. But it reminded me of…Mom and Dad. I guess I've been off since then."
"It's all good Midobro! I think it like, makes sense to be off when it comes to that sort of thing," Kirishima said with a smile.
"Yeah. We're not going to judge you over that. Honestly, we would have been in a lot of trouble if you and Uraraka hadn't done what you did," Sato said.
"Oh she is not allowed to do that again," Izuku said, glaring up at the brunette.
"Was it that bad? No one told us um…what happened to her. I mean, not ignoring you Midori, but we kinda could see what happened to you," Mina asked.
Ochako sighed, her shoulders slumping as Himiko and Izuku both glared at her. She rolled her eyes before turning back to the room at large and speaking. "I had really bad Quirk overuse and uh…I may have caused some superficial brain damage? But it's fine, they said it's just on the surface and won't actually hurt me!" she tried to wave off any expected freakouts…but it was a wasted effort. No one in the class heard anything beyond the words 'brain damage'.
Ochako was practically tackled by Mina and Kaminari, the only reason she did not fall to the floor was Himiko keeping her on her feet while snickering at her predicament. The blonde boy was crying too hard to speak, but Mina had plenty to say. Ochako wasn't entirely sure what the pinkette was saying because it was garbled through worry and tears, but she was definitely saying a lot.
A significant portion of the class had similar reactions, albeit more muted than tackling her, but the brunette swiftly found herself shoved back down onto the loveseat next to Himiko and everyone refusing to let her get up, to her ever-growing consternation and clear amusement tinged with satisfaction from her partners. Himiko just mouthed 'Your fault!' to her, the brunette flopping back onto the seat with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest.
As the room began to calm down slightly after that revelation, Izuku spoke up once more. "Lucky for her, it's not something that hurts her. But she can't do something that big again. Me, I just got punched real hard."
"And broke your storage organ," Ochako shot back.
Izuku shrugged dismissively. "I'm going to be more careful, and while maybe I could have dodged that hit, not a lot I can do if I get hit that hard in my chest. I even had a barrier up and Nomu still busted it."
"Yeah…not sure anyone but Kiri coulda taken that hit," Mina murmured.
Eijiro shook his head. "I dunno if I coulda either. Midobro's barriers are pretty tough, not sure if my hardening is tougher."
"We could always do some tests later, if you want," Izuku offered. "Would be a great way to see how far your hardening can go. I have some ideas, if you wanted to try some of them out…"
"You got ideas for my Quirk?!" Eijiro asked, eyes sparkling in excitement. Izuku nodded at the red-haired boy. "Hell yeah I'd love to try them out! That'd be super manly!"
"...how is that manly?" Shinso asked, confused.
"Don't ask, Shinso. No one but Kiri gets that," Mina replied.
"Manly is manly, bro. That's how it works. Things are either manly or they aren't! It's a state of being!" Eijiro replied, standing up and clenching his fists in excitement.
"...if you say so."
"You know, since we're talking about that day a bit…Kaminari?" Izuku called out to Kaminari, the blonde blinking at him as he looked over at the greenette. "Thanks. For saving me, you know. You saved my life…"
Kaminari goggled for a moment, his cheeks flushing as he looked away, embarrassed at the gratitude in Izuku's voice. He ran a hand through his hair as he scrunched his shoulders. "Nah man, it's no problem. Like, you saved us from that Nine jerk and I mean, was the least I could do. Really, you should thank Shinso, I was freaking out but he got me back on track. Oh, and Yaoyorozu for that insulation sheet so I could! And-"
"Kaminari, please. Don't downplay your efforts," Momo replied, cutting him off with a gentle smile. "As for myself, I'm just glad I could help a little bit."
"A little bit? Momo, you saved me too," Kyoka replied, having been sitting quietly as she looked at her phone, eyes narrowed.
"Okay, well…thank you, Shinso, Momo. Honestly…thank you, everyone. I heard that everyone helped in different ways, and I'm just glad we all got out alive," Izuku said with a soft smile as he looked over the class.
"It wasn't anything big," Shinso muttered, looking away from the group.
"I just wish Todoroki was here so we could thank him as well," Izuku mused.
"Half and half said he was busy or some shit," Katsuki shrugged. "But he didn't stop us from playing, so…win, I guess?"
"Either way. I just…I wanted you all to know how proud I am of you. We all helped each other, and that's what heroes do. Proof that you're all in the right place, here at UA in the hero course," Izuku said.
"Another example of why you are an excellent class representative, Midoriya!" Ida said, a smile on his face as he stood up and proclaimed his support loudly, the rest of the class just rolling their eyes with indulgent smiles at his earnestness.
"Hey, Izuku?" Kyoka asked, looking over at the greenette to get his attention.
"Yes?"
She grabbed her phone and set it in front of him, pointing at the screen. "Can you play that?"
Izuku took a moment to read it over, looking at the notes carefully. His fingers strummed almost silently over the guitar a couple times as he went, pondering. He nodded after a minute or two. "I think so, yeah?"
"K. I figure, we're all here anyways, we can play a few more. I wanna play this one. Bakugo says he can play it fine too," she replied, Katsuki nodding in the background.
Izuku tilted his head to the side. "I don't know the song, but if you want to play it I'd be happy to. We did ask you to play with us after all."
"Cool. Everyone good to listen to another song?" she asked the room, the class all taking seats excitedly.
"You're singing this one then, Kyo?" Himiko asked.
Kyoka nodded. "Yeah. I didn't show Izuku the lyrics."
"Wait…why didn't you?" Izuku asked, blinking.
Kyoka smirked. "You'll see." Izuku narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion, but chose to ignore it, trusting her. He took position, fingers over the strings as Katsuki snickered behind him. "Alright Izuku, whenever you're ready." Izuku strummed the first notes, Kyoka's voice taking point as she began to sing.
'Paint yourself a picture
Of what you wish you looked like
Maybe then they just might
Feel an ounce of your pain'
Izuku's gaze snapped over to look at Kyoka, the purple-haired girl steadfastly not looking at him.
'Come into focus
Step out of the shadows
It's a losing battle
There's no need to be ashamed'
He was very much not appreciating this so far. Something told him she picked this for a specific reason, and the snickering he'd heard from Katsuki before was sealing it. But he wasn't entirely sure yet, so he kept playing. As the chorus hit, Kyoka turned to look at him as she sang, a stubborn glare on her face as she continued.
''Cause they don't even know you
All they see is scars
They don't see the angel
Livin' in your heart
Let them find the real you
Buried deep within
Let them know with all you've got
That you are not your skin'
Oh that little shit, Izuku thought to himself. Now he knew what she was doing. Somehow she'd figured out how he felt about the marks on him…probably Kacchan. He set his jaw and kept playing…he didn't want to listen to her about this, but he also found himself drawn in. She really had a beautiful singing voice, and he hated that right now.
'When they start to judge you
Show them your true colors
And do onto others
As you'd have done to you
Just rise above this
Kill them with your kindness
Ignorance is blindness
They're the ones that stand to lose'
Kyoka sang louder, letting her voice echo further in the room as she went. Part of Izuku was really annoyed and frustrated that she was just…airing this all right in front of the class, but another part of him knew the others already knew. And he couldn't ignore the message she was clearly trying to send him…okay, and he really was starting to like the song too which made this that much more difficult!
''Cause they don't even know you
All they see is scars
They don't see the angel
Livin' in your heart
Let them find the real you
Buried deep within
Let them know with all you've got
That you are not your skin'
A second chorus, and he found himself humming with it almost against his will. The same applying to the room, many of them softly singing along as well. He chanced a glance away from Kyoka, meeting Ochako and Himiko's eyes. The two weren't smiling per se, but he could see the joy in them as the song played, and the agreement in their eyes with what it was trying to say. Internally he sighed, even as his fingers continued to strum, and as Kyoka launched into the last chorus of the song, he raised his voice to join hers.
'Well, they don't even know you
All they see is scars
They don't see the angel
Livin' in your heart
So let them find the real you
Buried deep within
Let them know with all you've got
That you are not, you are not your skin'
As the music petered out, he let his shoulders droop and turned to look at Kyoka, torn between anger and a strange sense of relief. The purple-haired girl didn't meet his gaze at first, but after a moment she lifted her head somewhat sheepishly to match his look. He let out a sigh, giving her a smile to show her he wasn't going to get angry. The loosening of her body language told him he was on the right track, the punk girl giving him a shaky smile in return.
Katsuki made his presence known a moment later, tossing his phone down in front of Kyoka. "You know this one?" Izuku leaned over to see what he was suggesting, and rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Really Kacchan? That one?"
Katsuki shrugged. "Listen fucker, let's just take it up a bit and add some fucking cheer or some shit. This fits."
Kyoka snorted as she looked it over, recognizing it. "Didn't think this was your type of music, Bakugo."
"Fuck that, they rock and the singers a badass. I seen some vids of her in concert jumping around on stage with stiletto heels, that shit ain't easy."
"If you say so," Kyoka smirked. She tossed his phone back at him and took position, looking over at Izuku as Katsuki went back behind the drum set.
Izuku shrugged. "You do the singing? Your voice fits better for this one."
"Eh, duet it. It works."
"Alright…for all the rest of you, we're gonna cheer it up a bit and have some fun with this one. Kacchan loves this one far too much for someone who hates alcohol as much as he does."
"It tastes like shit and I don't trust my brain to it," he shot back, spinning the drumsticks in his hands.
"Anyways…here we go," Izuku muttered, a smile stuck on his face at how silly everything had become somehow. He strummed the first notes, following along with Kyoka as she began to sing.
'We could just go home right now
Or maybe we could stick around
For just one more drink, oh yeah
Get another bottle out
Lets shoot the shit
Sit back down
For just one more drink, oh yeah'
Most of the class were bobbing along to the gentle, almost rustic beat, smiles on their faces as they rocked back and forth. As the two began the chorus, Izuku and Kyoka grinned at each other, raising their voices slightly.
'Here's to us, here's to love
All the times that we fucked up
Here's to you, fill the glass
'Cause the last few days have kicked my ass
So let's give 'em hell
Wish everybody well, here's to us, here's to us'
As they launched past the chorus into the second verse, Izuku had trouble not chuckling at how Mina and Toru had begun waving their glasses in the air like they were drunks at a bar, even though they were filled by nothing more than some tea Momo had brewed before they'd started.
'Stuck it out this far together
Put our dreams through the shredder
Let's toast 'cause things got better
And everything could change like that
And all these years go by so fast
But nothing lasts forever'
Maybe it was a bit early to be singing like they'd all been dealing with shit for years, but the USJ was more than enough for the class to start cheering along with the song, letting go of some of that tension that remained even days later. The second chorus began and everyone in the room sang along, smiling and giggling as they went. Kaminari and Sero had joined Mina and Toru in their overacting, sloppily waving their glasses around as well. Ida ran into the kitchen, yanking out a roll of paper towels, completely sure the group would cause spills soon.
'Here's to us, here's to love
All the times, that we messed up
Here's to you, fill the glass
'Cause the last few nights have kicked my ass
If they give ya hell
Tell em to go fuck themselves, here's to us, here's to us'
At the 'tell em to go fuck themselves', Katsuki practically roared it out, slamming on the drum set as he went with a feral grin. Some of the class yelled it with him, while the rest giggled, letting the song continue.
'Here's to all that we kissed
And to all that we missed
To the biggest mistakes
That we just wouldn't trade
To us breaking up
Without us breaking down
To whatever's comin' our way'
The last chorus began, Kyoka and Izuku almost stumbling over their words at the antics of the class. Many of them had hopped up and were stumbling about as they sang along. Mina had handed off her glass to Toru and leapt up into a handstand, showing off her flexibility just because she could. Izuku met his girlfriends eyes, Himiko singing loudly and wildly, as Ochako just giggled at them both, humming the melody.
The chorus repeated itself twice, the class practically yelling now as they sang along. As the song came to a close and the energy died down a little, everyone collapsed from the excitement. A loud cheer erupted from the more rambunctious members of the class, with even the more stoic ones grinning at the enthusiasm.
As Izuku gladly drained the water bottle Ochako handed to him, Himiko handing one off to Kyoka and Katsuki, he couldn't help but feel a little bit more at peace. He wasn't going to say just one day of goofing off and singing would heal the hurt…but it helped. As he set the bottle down, he shared a glance with Kyoka and Katsuki, the blonde smirking as Kyoka simply replied with a strummed chord. Bending over his guitar, he looked back up at his class and smiled. "Any requests?"
The class had played and listened for music for hours that night, until Aizawa swung by with Eri. He took one look at the teenagers dancing (Mina, Toru, Himiko, Kaminari, Eijiro, Sero), the ones being reluctantly dragged into dancing (Ochako, Tsuyu, Momo, Shinso sort of if you counted Kaminari dragging him around in circles), the trio playing and apparently getting much more into it than expected(he did not expect a full headbanging guitar riff from Midoriya but here the boy was), and even the 'calm' ones were either singing loudly, desperately trying to clean up (Ida), or at least just seeming to have a good time.
Eri was understandably a little bit panicked at first, but within moments, Ochako and Himiko had her holding their hands and jumping about happily as well. Aizawa opened his mouth to try and stop his hellions, but then the miraculous happened that stopped everything in its tracks.
Eri smiled. Her lips stretched wide, her mouth dropped open showing her teeth, eyes wide and happy. Izuku stumbled over his next chord, Kyoka freezing in place as Katsuki lost hold of his drumsticks in the middle of a dramatic twirl he had been doing while keeping beat. Mina fell over from her unwise one handed hand-stand. Even Ida paused in his cleaning to stare at the small child they'd yet to see smile in the week they'd known her. Eri's own giggles were music to everyone's ears, taking the place of the song that stuttered for a brief moment.
The sudden halt of everyone had her looking around worriedly, her smile beginning to fade, but Izuku instantly slammed back into his playing as if nothing had happened, his eyes saying everything to the class he didn't dare say aloud. Everyone jumped back into what they were doing, wanting to make sure Eri was still happy. Her smile grew once more as she wiggled in place, trying to copy Mina's actions as the pinkette was swaying back and forth in front of her, her own smile wide at Eri's attempts.
Katsuki managed to grab one of his sticks out of the air without worry, the other one caught by Eijiro, the red-head tossing it back to Katsuki as soon as he was looking. Aizawa had opened his mouth to cut the students off, but closed it as soon as he saw Eri's joy. It was Friday night, classes were still canceled the next day, they had Sunday off…maybe he could just leave them be for the night. He would deny to the day he died the small smile that found its way to his face as he turned away from them to leave them to their devices, but he found himself stopped at the doorway by the bulky form of All Might.
"Oh, Aizawa, I did not expect to see you here!" the blonde said, one hand held suspiciously behind his back.
Aizawa arched an eyebrow at him. "I was bringing Eri back. Why are you here?"
All Might scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he pulled a large bag from behind his back. "Well, uh…young Bakugo asked me to bring some food for the children, since they were having a bit of a 'relaxation' evening. Is that him playing?"
"He's drumming. Loudly. What did you bring them?"
"Pizza! Seemed appropriate for their evening!"
Aizawa sighed. "Whatever. Just drop it off and leave them be. I think they need it."
All Might's habitual bright smile faded into a warmer, more genuine smile. "I couldn't agree more. If you'll wait for a moment, I'll simply drop these off and we can walk back to the teacher dormitories. I…I wouldn't mind some teaching advice, if you're willing to give it."
Aizawa glared up at the blonde hero before him. "Fine. But I want coffee. And you get to explain to my husband why I'm going to be late back home."
"Haha, perhaps he could also give me advice!"
"Doubt it, neither of you understands the concept of 'inside voice'. But go on, give the hellions their food. Hurry it up, I don't have all night."
All Might gave a silly salute, before storming into the dorms, loudly announcing his presence and the prospect of pizza. That managed to get the racket that was the trio of Kyoka, Izuku, and Katsuki to quit playing, and a confused Eri asking what pizza was. Aizawa turned around to look at the room, witnessing the now distressingly normal sight of a bunch of hero students having to pretend they were not suddenly very pissed off around a small child. Though he knew the quartet had not told them the details of Eri, most of the class were perceptive enough and picked up enough details to get the gist.
But as per usual, Izuku could set aside his feelings with practiced ease, and had her pick the first slice from the half dozen or so pizzas All Might had brought. As Eri munched away at it happily, with Himiko carefully wiping her face when she got sauce all over her cheeks, he saw the class relax a little bit more, all joining in to grab their own slices. All Might wasted no time, giving his goodbyes, a small aside with Izuku that he nodded at and promised to speak to him later, before returning to Aizawa at the door. The two teachers made their way back to the dorms, leaving Class 1-A to have their own small party. Aizawa had the morbid thought it was a 'Glad nobody died' party, but kept it to himself. He didn't need any of them getting ideas.
As they were all relaxing, eating some pizza, Izuku scanned over his classmates. He was pretty happy with the class he'd been put into. His Quirk vision flickered on randomly, making him blink at the sudden brightness. This whole flickering of his vision was getting somewhat concerning, but he was slowly getting used to it enough he could ignore it. As he glimpsed Toru's crystalline form shimmering as she wiggled in place, happily chewing on her pizza, an idea struck him. He whipped out his notebook and began scribbling in it frantically, the sudden motion drawing eyes to him.
"Whatcha writing there, Midori?" Mina asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Toru!" he shouted as he leapt out of his stool, Mina losing her balance and falling over in surprise. The girl in question jolted in her chair, her mouth full enough that her reply was garbled nonsense. Swallowing quickly, she made a questioning hum towards the greenette who now had the entire class's attention. Izuku rushed around the table to where she sat and reached out for where his Quirk vision had her hand, grabbing it and causing the invisible girl to blush (not that anyone noticed). Staring into where he knew her eyes were, with a wide grin, he spoke. "I have an idea! Can I try it?"
"Um, uh, y-yeah?" she stuttered, confused by his sudden actions.
"Okay, so, I've been trying to determine how exactly your Quirk functions, and I have an idea. You're clearly not allowing light to pass through you, else you couldn't see. So you must be bending it somehow. And I think that if it can be bent in a certain way, we may be able to do something cool. I've been working on this trick for a while, so just hold still for me, okay?" Izuku spoke as he stared down at where her hand was clasped in his, gently placing the back of her hand into his upturned palm. She nodded violently enough that her whole body shook, as everyone else watched with curiosity.
Izuku breathed out softly, a gentle green glow shimmering from his hand. A green trace of energy began to slowly creep around her hand, outlining each finger, each edge, covering it fully in a translucent green barrier. After another moment, he let out another deep breath and concentrated, feeling the barrier that was showing her hand struggle against him for a moment before the green faded from view…but her hand was visible.
"...what?" Toru whispered, staring at her visible hand in shock. The skin was delicate, pale, almost ghostly, but unmarred by any type of mark or lesion. Half the class leapt out of their chairs and clustered around the two of them, staring down at the visible hand with no trace of green in the air.
"Yes!" Izuku whisper-cheered, pumping his other hand in joy. He looked up to where Toru's face was and smiled brightly. "You're bending the light, right? Well, my barriers produce a lot of light. So I figured if I could kind of interfere with the wavelength you were using to bend it, I could cancel out the effect and return the light to functioning as it should! And there's no reason you can't do it too! We just need to figure out the full mechanics of how you are bending it, I assume through a subconscious process, and work on making it at least partly conscious!"
Toru didn't seem to really hear him, slowly lifting her hand up and staring at it in pure shock. She could feel the gentle pressure of the barrier still around her hand, moving with it, even as she wiggled her fingers she felt the tiniest mote of resistance from it before it gave way, following along. She gulped, her voice a whisper as she spoke. "C-can you do that f-for my face?"
Izuku's smile faded slightly as he started to grasp the gravity of her tone. With a deep breath, he nodded. "I should be able to, yeah. I'm really good at making my barrier mold to things. And it's permeable to oxygen so you could breathe still."
"...I need a mirror," Toru replied quietly. Mina shot to her feet and started dashing out of the room, but Momo held up one hand to stop her.
Concentrating, Momo turned away from the group and lifted up her shirt to expose her abdomen, a large mirror beginning to protrude from her midsection. After a moment passed, she stood up, sweating slightly as she held up a full length mirror beside her with a grin.
Sato lifted it up and brought it over to Toru, the invisible girl getting up almost as if in a dream as she stood before it. She reached out and grabbed Izuku's hand, pulling it close and shaking slightly as she stood before the mirror resolutely.
"Okay. Close your eyes, it'll take me a minute to focus it around you, alright? Don't want to blind you with the glow," Izuku chuckled nervously at the end. Toru just nodded, her hand gripping onto his tightly as the class gathered around. Izuku focused once more, his eyes closed, letting the green glow begin to trail up Toru's arm slowly. A shimmering barrier wrapped around her hand, up her arm, over her shoulder, slipping beneath the clothes and up over her neck. It outlined each part of her slowly, painstakingly so, each part of her being covered until she was a glowing statue in the middle of the room. The glow even spread over her hair, the class seeing the length of it as it rested upon her shoulders. And then…Izuku made the glow vanish once more.
"Okay…you can open your eyes," Izuku said quietly, Toru having heard most of the class gasp in shock. Toru opened them, blinking slightly to clear the change from dark to light as she saw a girl before her…green-yellow hair with pink speckled throughout it, eyes that were partially blue and yellow, a cute button nose and a shocked expression. She lifted a hand up and placed it against her cheek, watching as the girl before her mirrored her action.
Her vision became blurry, wavering, as she felt the tears begin to fill her eyes, a dozen emotions flooding through her all at once. She let out one sob, before she felt arms wrap around her, Mina holding her close. The pinkette squealed. "Oh my god you are so cute!"
"You look incredible Toru!" Ochako said, her grin so wide it looked like it hurt.
"Now we see why you're invisible all the time, the universe had to nerf you for being too gorgeous!" Himiko added with a giggle.
"I…I…" Toru could only stutter as she stared at herself in the mirror. One arm pinned by Mina, the other one just kept touching her face, sliding her fingers across her cheeks, over her eyebrows, running her hand through her hair. Momo stepped over and, trying not to block Toru's view of the mirror, began wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.
"Damn Hagakure, you're s-so pretty!" Kaminari practically wailed. Shinso rolled his eyes at the blonde, shoving him away from the currently visible girl.
"You look wonderful, Hagakure," the purple-haired boy said with a barely visible smile on his face. The class followed along, all of the ones there telling her how good she looked. Even Katsuki complimented her hair.
"Izuku?" she managed to get out, turning to look at the greenette standing next to her with a grin.
"Yeah?"
Toru practically leapt onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. "T-thank you! Thank you so much!" she cried, almost choking him with how tightly she latched on. The greenette blinked in shock for a moment, before returning the hug, his arms wrapping about her waist as he chuckled.
"I can't keep it up forever, but I truly believe you can do this on your own with some practice. We can go over it whenever you like!"
Toru shook her head in his shoulder, still latched onto his neck. "I-It's okay. I know you can't do it all the time. But still, thank you!"
"...anytime, Toru. Anytime."
Unseen by both of them, Himiko waggled her eyebrows at Ochako once more, the brunette shrugging with a sheepish grin. The two stared at each other for another second, before giggling.
Eri tugged on Toru's pant leg, the girl looking down at her as she slowly released Izuku from her deathgrip. She crouched down on one knee before the unicorn child and smiled at her through teary eyes. "Yes Eri?
"You're very pretty Miss Toru. I like your hair," Eri said, smiling up at her.
Toru giggled wetly. "Well, maybe we can braid our hair together sometime soon, okay?"
Eri tilted her head to the side. "Braid our hair?"
"I'll show you!" Toru replied, taking her hand and pulling her over towards the couch. Toru turned back to look at Izuku for a moment. "C..can you keep it up for a bit longer?"
"Sure thing Toru," Izuku smiled at her. Toru flushed, her pale skin pinking as she turned back to Eri and helped her up on the couch.
Mina scrambled to follow behind. "Wait, if we're doing hair I want in!"
Kyoka chuckled, shaking her head fondly as she followed the two girls. Himiko lifted her arms up and cheered. The remaining female members of the class followed behind, all of them clustering around the couch to show Eri another thing she had missed out on.
Kaminari scratched at the back of his neck, feeling a little out of place. "Um…"
"Why don't you boys set up the console again? When we're done with her hair, we can all play!" Momo said, looking back at them.
"And we can watch the kid kick your ass again," Kyoka chuckled.
"Oh you are on now, Jiro!" Kaminari said, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I wouldn't make bets you can't cash, Den," Shinso replied with an arched eyebrow.
"...Den?" Sero asked, looking over at the now very flushed Shinso as the purple-haired boy realized what he'd said.
"Shut up!" he snarled, turning away from them as Kaminari hunched his shoulders, looking away from the group.
Katsuki snorted. Izuku just gave him a knowing grin as Eijiro sidled up next to Katsuki, smiling widely at the blonde who just glared at his brother silently. Izuku couldn't help but laugh softly to himself. After everything that happened, this…this was just what he needed. He just looked out over the class…his new friends, his brother, his partners, his daughter…he was content.
…wait. Daughter?
Sometimes Izuku just has very convenient realizations that help his classmates with their deep-rooted insecurities! Sometimes, he also has very inconvenient ones about having accidently become a father at 18 to a traumatized 5 year old too!
