Chapter 19: Stormcloud
Doko got to his house as the sun was making orange streaks in the west. He'd never been so utterly wiped in his life. What a long, long day.
At least now they had two more days off, so the second and third-years could have their festivals. Aizawa had told them that, as well as telling them that they would receive internship requests from pros when they got back.
Since I won, there's probably nothing to worry about. Probably. Surely he would find himself with a few good heroes to choose from. The only problem was...he didn't know many heroes still!
Maybe I can ask Midoriya for help? He'd gotten the green-haired boy's number in the aftermath of the sports festival, along with a few others like Uraraka, Yaomomo, Kirishima, and Ojiro. But Midoriya was probably just as exhausted right now - he didn't want to be a bother.
No, what was truly worrying him as he walked through his yard to the front door was how this next part was going to go.
"DOKOOO! YOU DID IT!"
As soon as he opened the door, his sister had launched upon him in a tackle-hug, twirling and laughing. Doko couldn't help but laugh, too, although her attack had sent a shock of pain through his exhausted body. "Haha, yeah I guess I did..." he separated from Akane gently, and put his bag down. In the living room, his parents were standing and watching. Behind them on the TV, a recap of the festival was playing.
"...quite the upset, as Shoto Todoroki was increasing in the betting polls throughout the day, with more and more people expecting the son of Endeavor to take home the victory. But the number one spot actually went to the boy's teammate in the second round, one Doko Katayama, who possesses a powerful warping Quirk that he mostly kept hidden over the course of the event. Here is what some spectators had to say about it!"
"Brave kid, he was. I started rooting for him when he was fighting the explosion guy. He had a lot of tough matches and squeezed through every one of 'em. Always a joy to watch these things, ya know? The kids have such spirit for what they're doin'..."
"OOOH, he was awesome! He went like, shoo shoo! And punched the ice guy like six times. And then the ice guy went like psssssh and then there was a BIG explosion..."
"He was so cool! Way cooler than my boyfriend...ugh..."
"And now from pro hero Kamui Woods, who ran security at today's festival!"
"Despite some slip ups here and there, Katayama displayed an excellent tenacity and sense of battle that really propelled him all the way through. And luck played a part, as it always does with these sorts of things. While he did lose his temper on occasion, he doesn't seem to possess much of an ego...which is a valuable quality in a sidekick. I think a lot of hero agencies will be quite interested. I know I am."
"What do you think about that last move he pulled, warping Todoroki out of the ring?" the interviewer asked.
"Many people seem to be praising him for the strategy, hiding a secret aspect of his Quirk and saving it for the last minute. But as a hero I can say this: he had no idea it was going to work. It was a matter of chance, and thankfully, it paid off. Quirks are strange things, and we heroes especially learn new things about our Quirks all the time. The intensity of battle only increases that likelihood."
The anchor spoke again. "That was pro hero Kamui Woods, along with some other spectators, voicing their thoughts on today's first-year victor. According to the limited information we received from the school, Doko Katayama does not appear to be descended from any major hero families, and the science community has acknowledged many times how rare a warping Quirk is these days. With those thoughts in mind, how will he, and the other first-years we saw in action today, move forward as heroes? Time can only tell...stay tuned tomorrow morning, as we begin exclusive coverage of the second-year festival!"
Doko's father switched the TV off. His face seemed...sheepish. "Well...well done...Doko." He could not meet his son's eyes.
Well isn't THIS interesting. Doko shifted his violet gaze from his father to his mother. She shifted uncomfortably on the balls of her feet.
"You...um..." she coughed. "I had no idea that your Quirk could...do all of that. You haven't been practicing behind our backs, have you?"
"No," he said reflexively, then thought of an excuse. "I got all the practice I need from UA."
"Ah. I see."
Akane leaned against his arm, her eyes twinkling. "Do you know what this means? You're gonna be so popular, and famous!"
"Yeah. It's gonna be super annoying." He smiled at her mischievously.
She pouted. "Don't say that."
"Doko..." his father spoke up. "This festival...it's like an audition, right? For you and those other students to get job requests?"
"Umm..." Doko hadn't thought of it that way. "Yeah? Sort of. I mean, it's a lot of other things, too."
"But mainly that." His father considered a moment. "You'll be getting lots of job requests, won't you? And those hero agencies pay really well."
"As far as I'm aware." Doko narrowed his eyes.
"Well..." the man sighed. "You'll be successful, then. That's good. We're glad."
"That's all we've ever wanted, son," his mother added. "For you to be successful."
Doko's face twitched. He was too tired to deal with their bullshit right now. "...Yeah," he said emptily, and went up the stairs.
...
Later, in Doko's room...
His phone buzzed. He had several text messages, by the looks of it.
?: hey, katayama! this is uraraka.
He'd forgotten that he was the one to give her his number, not the other way around. He put the contact in.
Doko: got it. thanks for messaging
There were more messages.
Eijiro: yo!
Momo: Hello, Katayama. Just messaging to make sure you put the right number in.
Doko replied to Kirishima with a simple "what's up" and then sent to Momo the following:
Doko: of course I put the right number in. do you trust me so little?
Momo: I was just making sure! Hmph.
He laughed at the thought of her pouting in anger.
Doko: lol
Doko: trust me yaomomo. no ones ever gonna mess up your number.
Momo: And what is THAT supposed to mean?
Doko: u will understand when ur older
Momo: If you're going to make a statement about my appearance, you should at least compliment me directly.
Doko: compliment you say?
Doko: i was just referring to how scary you are. you practically interrogated my number out of me
Doko: i knew there'd be hell to pay if i messed up yours.
Momo: You're impertinent.
Doko: teehee
Momo: Now I see why you spend so much time with Mina. She acts much the same as this in the locker room.
Momo: How does Tsu tolerate the two of you?
Doko: that
Doko: is a very good question
He decided to check up on the last message he'd been sent. It was from Mina.
Mina: hey doko i assume ur grounding is over? theres no way ur parents could still be mad at u after what u did today
Doko: im no longer grounded.
(He'd never really been in the first place.)
Doko: why? trying to take advantage of our days off?
Mina: yes actually
Doko: we should invite sero and shoji this time
Mina: well...
Mina: id kind of like it to be just the two of us, if you dont mind
Doko's mind immediately flashed back. The kiss on the cheek. The moments they'd shared. The inspiration she'd given him before the match with Bakugo.
Is she...asking me on a date?
"Bro...is everything okay in there?" Akane knocked on his door.
"Uhhhmm...yes? Why wouldn't it be?"
"Because you were emitting a low hum that I could hear across the hallway."
"Oh." His Quirk was still exhausted, but it appeared to have perked up a little. There was a faint purple glow around his eyes. "No worries, Akane. Sorry for bothering you."
He looked back at his phone as his sister's footsteps faded. Is she...? I can't just outright ask, can I? Did she share his feelings or didn't she? Was the kiss and the flirting just to throw him off for their match? Was all the bravado during their match just for the cameras? Or was there something more to her behavior?
This is stupid! I finally get kissed by a girl and extenuating circumstances prevent me from even being able to know if it was legitimate!
He finally came up with a response.
Doko: im not turning you down, but why tho?
Mina took a few minutes to reply, uncharacteristically. Doko wondered if he'd made her feel uncomfortable. I hope so! I'm uncomfortable about this too! It's not fair that she's always the one pulling the strings!
Mina: i just need to talk to you about some stuff in private, thats all.
Damn. Doko clicked his teeth. That could be about anything and everything, couldn't it? A private talk.
Doko: ok. how about i take the train to your area instead, and we hang out around there? let's say meet at 11:30 tomorrow?
Mina: that's too eaaarrrrrly
He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. They were all a bit tired, he supposed.
Doko: 2:30 then.
Mina: great, thanks!
She sent him the name of her station and then said good night. Likely crashing to sleep. Today was brutal for everyone.
Still unsure about what tomorrow would hold, he drifted off to sleep himself.
...
The next day, Doko went to his own train station at around 2. The town and station were bustling. Peeking into windows might reward you with a glimpse of a TV playing the second-year Sports Festival. It was all over people's phones as well.
"Oh hey, isn't that the guy who won?"
"Doko Katayama! Hey!"
"Nah, it can't be hi...oh wait I think it actually is."
People stopped him and spoke to him all the way through. While on the train, a little boy asked for his autograph. Several adults congratulated him and wished him good luck. Doko responded to all of them as best he could. It was surreal.
"Hey, Katayama-san," a teenage girl who may have gone to his middle school whispered to him, "are you and that Ashido girl really an item?"
"Is that the rumour?" he asked, keeping his face neutral.
She nodded and held up her phone. "It's all over the tabloids."
Doko scratched his nose. "Well, just between you and me...I'm going to meet up with her right now."
The girl's eyes widened. "No way!"
"Yeah, and I'm only comfortable saying that because she thrives on attention."
"Well, I won't say anything, don't worry." The girl crossed her heart. "You were always a nice guy at Shinobu, after all."
"You went to Shinobu?"
She pouted. "Mio Nishizono. You don't remember me?"
Doko winced. "I had a suspicion; you seemed familiar. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, we only ever had one class together. But dude, I didn't even know your Quirk! You could have been the most popular guy in our year if that had been common knowledge! Did anyone know?"
"A couple of the guys did, yeah."
"Hmm. I mean, I knew Toru-chan was aiming for UA, but now we've got two people there, and one of them won the festival! Can any other middle school claim as much?"
"Possibly," said Doko, thinking of Bakugo and Midoriya. I really do wonder what school they went to.
He bid goodbye to Nishizono as he disembarked and changed trains at a midway station. He arrived at Mina's platform at 2:25 and sent her a quick message.
Doko: I'm here.
Mina appeared shortly thereafter, in nearly skin-tight dark pants and a loose, billowing pink shirt tucked into them. The shirt read PINKY in English letters. Across her front on a diagonal was the strap of a brown purse, which went right between her boobs.
The fabled seatbelt effect. Doko gave her a brief innocuous once-over that he hoped wouldn't land him in any trouble, and then said, "you look nice."
Light seemed to erupt in Mina's eyes, and she grinned. "Thank you!" Aforementioned eyes looked him up and down, and for a moment they seemed...hungry. Doko's eye twitched nervously.
He was wearing a green sweater that he had rolled up to his forearms, normal blue jeans, and brown work boots. "You don't look half-bad yourself," Mina said in a lower voice, winking at him. "Come on." She whirled on the balls of her feet. "Let's go."
Before they'd even gotten off the platform, several people stared at them from a distance. Mina's unique looks drew anyone's eye, and of course...now they were famous.
"Hey, isn't that..."
"I think it is!"
"The media's gonna have a grand old time if someone snaps a photo of us," Doko muttered, following behind Mina.
The girl turned for a moment, hesitating, and then closed one eye, sticking her tongue out. "Let them," she said, and then grabbed his hand, dragging him along.
"Hey, whoa!"
They went out onto the street, and Mina pulled him up to her so they were walking side-by-side. She did not let go of his hand.
"So, what's the plan?" Doko asked her, his eyes scanning the shop windows they were passing.
"I haven't eaten, so we're gonna grab a late lunch from one of the stands in the park nearby. Then we're gonna hang out in the park. From there...you can decide something. How does that sound?" she leaned over a bit to look into his eyes, her own eyes twinkling.
Doko couldn't help but smile; she was so cute. "Sounds great. But...what was it you wanted to talk about, though?"
For a moment, Mina's smile faded. Her face seemed to recompose itself...and then she nodded, almost like a twitch. "We'll talk at the park, 'kay? While we eat. It kinda...has something to do with what just happened, actually."
Hmm? Does she mean people recognising us?
They arrived at the park, which was pretty large and well covered with trees. Walking paths formed intersecting webs, and inbetween them were large green spaces. Some were exposed to the sun, some weren't. Doko spotted a gazebo, and elsewhere, a fountain. Along one path there was a sandwich stand.
"There?" he asked Mina.
"Mmhmm," she nodded. "Finally. I'm starrrrving." Her stomach growled.
"Your insides have excellent dramatic timing."
"They're as dramatic as the rest of me!" she winked again.
When they ordered their sandwiches, Doko half expected the guy running the stall to recognize them, and then they would run into an awkward "Oh are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" situation. But the guy didn't appear to give a shit. Not everyone watches the Sports Festival, thank god.
They sat down with their paper-wrapped food beneath a couple of trees, on a section of dry grass. There was a soft breeze blowing, ruffling Mina's pink curls. Doko's own hair was a little longer than he was used to, and he could see locks of dark grey dancing across the surface of his eyes.
"You should have brought a picnic blanket," he commented.
"Maybe you should have brought one. You're the man, after all. And you're letting me sit on this dirty grass!"
"I had no idea we were coming to the park."
"Hehe, I thought I might get you with that one." Her smile faded. "There...there I go again..."
"Hmm?" Doko leaned forward, noticing how melancholy she looked all of a sudden. "Whatever's going on, I'd like to know. Maybe I can help." I want to be able to help you for once, instead of the other way around.
She took a deep breath. "Doko...what I wanted to say was...I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" He didn't understand.
"For embarrassing you in front of all those people." Her eyes were perfectly sincere. "I...that was wrong of me."
Doko raised an eyebrow. "That's what you're concerned about? I thought we established that you were just trying to do whatever you could to win, like we promised. And in psyching me out, the crowd thing was just an unfortunate side effect. That wasn't really in your control. I've long gotten over it, not gonna lie. And if other people in the class think worse of you, then I'm sure we can clear that up..."
"No, you don't get it," she interrupted him. "I...I didn't just do it to try to win, I think."
Doko suddenly felt uncomfortable. Was she actually trying to make fun of me? His face turned red. Have I been made a fool of this whole time, getting led on by some girl?
"Then..." he swallowed, trying to keep his emotions in check. "...why?"
"You see, umm..." she coughed. "I, uh..." her face was turning lilac. "I think when there's a guy that I, umm..."
Doko blinked. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to." I don't know if I want to hear it. "I accept your apology regardless, Mina."
She closed her eyes and sighed, mumbling something incomprehensible.
"What did you say?" Doko pricked his ears and leaned forward.
Mina opened her eyes again, and smiled. "...nothing. Basically what I mean is...I like to tease people, and you've been kind of a tough nut to crack in the past, so I really felt a need to get you good...and I took it too far this time. Teasing is how I've always expressed positive feelings towards people, but I don't want to make excuses."
She still wants to be friends. She probably doesn't like me that way, but still...this is a relief. "Mina, like I said..." Doko put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, hoping he wasn't overstepping his boundaries. "I'm over it. Much worse things have been done to me than that."
The girl raised her eyebrows. "Like what?"
Doko froze. Oh no. Is this where I talk about my parents? I know Todoroki said I should talk about it at some point but this is too soon and I don't know how I'm going to say it and the circumstances are weird and I...his Quirk spun in low orbit, increasing his heart rate.
Mina's lips curled upward into a smirk. "Did you get teased by other girls in middle school or something?"
YES! She suspects nothing, jump on it! "Well, you know...I had my share of unrequited crushes, and stuff..."
She snorted. "Oh, man. I am SO asking Toru about this."
"She probably knows nothing. We weren't in the same friend group."
Mina gave him a side-glance. "You didn't really make a fool of yourself in middle school, did you?"
"...Nah, not really. I mostly stayed low. Didn't work ALL the time, obviously, but..."
"Good." She suddenly moved forward and poked his nose, sitting solidly on his lap. "All the guys who confessed to me in middle school just talked about how exotic I looked. It kind of grated on me after awhile."
"Okay. I'll be sure to never compliment you, ever."
She giggled.
"Say, Mina? You're still on my lap." She was warm and soft, and much too close. A guy could fall in love if you're not careful. God, why is she so touchy-feely all the time? How am I meant to interpret this?
"I know." She smiled.
"Erm..." Doko shifted. "Is this your solution to not sitting on the grass?"
"Mmhmm. I'll get off if you want..." she made a show of pouting.
"Here, let me eat at least." Doko lifted her up and stretched his legs out straight , letting Mina sit a bit further away past his knees. Then he picked up their sandwiches, handed hers over, and opened his own.
For a few minutes, the sounds of chewing and crinkling paper could be heard. "Doko," Mina said after a while, chewing, "you're kind of a hunk, you know."
"Hmm?"
"Well...you kinda lifted me up just now without even thinking about it. You wouldn't be able to tell at first glance...but your shoulders are really broad, and you've got nice arms." Her eyes twinkled.
"So you like hanging out with muscular guys, huh. Does your shallowness know no bounds?"
She giggled. "I'm not the one who went for the cutest girl in class."
"What ARE you talking about."
"You...and our resident rich girl..."
"Oh, Yaomomo. As I've said before, there is nothing there. You're seeing phantoms."
Mina suddenly snapped down to look at him, killing intent in her eye. "Since when do you call her Yaomomo? I thought only the girls called her that."
"She asked me to. Also, I'm one of the girls, remember?"
Mina snickered. "So that's how you've been feeling. No wonder you wanted Sero and Shoji along. But hey, Yaomomo ASKED you to call her that? Grrr, she may be attempting to use her feminine wiles. You mustn't fall prey to wanton women, Doko."
"Not to worry. If she tries to shove those knockers in my face, I will alert you immediately."
"What? Not gonna beat her up yourself?"
"I...can't do that."
"You didn't have a problem beating up Shiozaki."
"Come on...I just pushed her. And I even avoided her boobs!"
"Hehe...I noticed that. That was part of what motivated me to kiss your cheek."
"Noted."
"But wow, Doko. You must respect women a lot." She smirked. "We should go to the shopping district and buy you a fedora."
"I respect nice humans who are respectable. Which I'm beginning to think you are not."
"I mean..." she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich. "At least I'm not Yaomomo, attempting to use her feminine wiles on you."
That got him. Doko blushed. "Umm...what do you mean by that? You keep saying it."
She stood up from his legs and balled up the wrapping paper. "You don't get it? Most guys in our class are either plain or have some weird alteration to their appearance. You're one of four viable specimens. Before this everyone was after Todoroki, or Bakugo...but now they'll all be after you."
"I feel utterly objectified. Is this what you heard in the locker room? Plus, I'm pretty sure Uraraka likes Midoriya."
"Oh, certainly." She laughed. "Do you want me to help them get together?"
"Nothing would please me more."
...
They'd ended up walking around the park some more, occasionally stopping to pet dogs, which Doko found mesmerising. He'd never interacted much with animals before, and the dogs seemed to inherently trust him. They went nuts for Mina, too, and Mina cooed in adoration at all of them.
After that, they went roller skating after Doko had spotted the rink. He'd never done it before and made an utter fool of himself, while Mina was an expert, of course. She'd ended up holding his hand for a lap and helping him go a little faster, which only further flustered him on the inside. Is this a date? She's kissed me on the cheek, held hands with me, sat in my lap, flirted with me (I think), and yet the status of our relationship remains unacknowledged. What am I supposed to do?
As he waved goodbye to her at the onset of evening, watching her leave the train platform with a smile, another part of his mind answered the question.
Not worry about it, and enjoy the fact that you have a good friend at all.
Maybe he should have been angrier about her actions during the Sports Festival. But with all the other things that had happened that day, it just didn't seem that important or worth getting worked up about. Am I blinded by my own feelings? Was he really ready for a relationship, or would he end up too forgiving, and let a girl walk all over him?
Here I am, worried about girls. Ridiculous. He tossed his phone onto his bedside table as he fell back into his bed, waiting a few minutes before he would have to head down and help with dinner. I got first fucking place in the Sports Festival. My future as a hero, as far as I've been told, is practically secured. I have stable friendships and a stable education. Why bother muddying the waters with girl troubles? What else is there to worry about?
His phone buzzed. Confused, Doko looked at the screen, expecting some sort of message from Mina saying that she'd enjoyed the day, but it was from Midoriya. Midoriya had texted him.
Izuku: I know you aren't that close with Iida, but it's probably important that you know about this. I know you don't keep up to date with hero news, so I just thought I'd make sure.
And then, a link to an article.
PRO HERO INGENIUM MORTALLY WOUNDED IN ENCOUNTER WITH THE HERO KILLER: STAIN STRIKES AGAIN
His eyes widened in shock. A pro hero called Ingenium, real name Tensei...Iida?
Iida's father? No, too young by the looks of the photo...must be his older brother.
It began to sink in.
Iida's brother had been hospitalised by a villain attack. He was likely never working as a hero again.
Images flashed through Doko's brain. A decaying hand, opening wide toward his face. A monstrous creature bearing down upon All Might, the symbol of peace bloodied and battered and nearly defeated. And narrow yellow eyes, surrounded by a dark purple void, threatening to consume.
Doko dropped his phone, light-headed.
I am the biggest dolt on the planet. Nothing to worry about? The villains are out there, and they have MARKED me.
The struggle is only just beginning.
...
"I'm home!" Mina Ashido declared loudly as she slammed the door behind her.
"No one asked!" her older brother called from his room upstairs. Mina sighed, and deadpanned, her shoulders falling.
In the living room, her mom was watching the second year Sports Festival, while her younger sister played with toys on the carpet.
"You know any of these kids, honey?" her mom asked her absentmindedly, not looking away from the screen.
"The second years? No, not at all."
"Why not? You had older friends in middle school."
"Mom...it's only been like, a month..." Mina gritted her teeth. "Why are you watching that anyway? I'm not even in it!"
"Don't be full of yourself, honey. That teleporting boy wiped the floor with you."
"Ugh! Mom!"
"I think Oka-san was just joking," her little sister put in helpfully. "Where were you by the way, Mina-neesan?" She looked up from her toys.
"Oh..." Mina felt heat rush to her face, and she straightened the strap of her purse. "I was just out...with a friend."
Her mom actually tore her eyes away from the TV and gave her daughter a dry look. "It was a boy, wasn't it?"
"N-no!"
"It was the warping boy that won the festival and beat you, wasn't it?"
"HOW! How did you figure that out!"
Her mom's eyelids were halfway down. "Honey, when you get to be as old as me, you start seeing things that easy."
"It's kind of obvious," her little sister mumbled.
"Okay, well..." Mina traced her toe along the floor, mumbling. "He doesn't even like me like that, so you can both just shove it, to be honest..."
And then she walked out of the living room. "It's your turn to wash the dishes tonight!" her mom yelled after her.
Mina slammed her bedroom door and collapsed onto her bed, annoyed. Why does my family have to exist and ruin a perfectly good day?
She'd been terrified that Doko wouldn't forgive her. But of course he had, he was just nice like that. And funny, and brave, and stubborn with his beliefs. He'd won the Sports Festival with that tenacity.
Ugh...I thought he liked me for sure...but even after I clarified my intentions with the apology, he still didn't make a move...
Mina had no intention of asking him out directly, not yet. She enjoyed the thrill of the game, the cat-and-mouse. It was just like all those romance shows.
Doko Katayama, you walking contradiction. How can you be so hard to fluster and yet so shy at the same time? Just ask me out already, grrrrrr! I'm GOING to say yes if you do!
It was like...he'd trained himself to let all words, including any teasing or flirting, to just bounce off of him. Nothing was sincere. Everything was reflected with a counter-comment. An impenetrable shell.
Mina's eyes widened, and she lifted her face off her pillow. THAT was another thing. Alongside all the other attractive qualities...Doko Katayama was mysterious.
The way he'd acted around those dogs, like he'd never seen dogs before and was just...dazzled. It had been adorable, sure, but also off-putting. Then there was the fact that he'd never been roller skating...didn't know about any of the good restaurants in his own area...didn't know much about heroes despite applying to become one...
A worrisome thought began to grow in her head. Did Doko...not have a childhood?
Toru had mentioned multiple times that she'd rarely seen him around their middle school and that he never used his Quirk. No one had known about it.
Plus there was the cool-headedness he'd shown during USJ...the initial dismissal of fighting other students in the festival, claiming it to be frivolous...and the surprise combat ability in the 1v1 matches, seemingly from nowhere...
Is Doko...some kind of child secret agent?
Mina slapped herself in the face. Don't be stupid. Something is definitely up with him, but it's certainly not THAT.
...probably.
.
..
...right?
...
Two days later, the sky unleashed fury on Musutafu.
The rain was such that it appeared dark as night in prime morning time as the heroes-in-training arrived on the grounds of UA. Fresh from their sports festivals, it felt like the first section of the year was over, and a new chapter was beginning.
Doko Katayama dropped his poncho and rain boots off at his locker and then walked to class in his mostly-dry uniform. The pitter-patter of rain could be heard through the walls. He wasn't a big fan of days like this.
He caught up with Midoriya and Iida in the hallway.
"Hey, Katayama."
"Katayama, good morning."
"Morning to the both of you." Doko eyed Iida carefully. The bespectacled class rep seemed perfectly normal, but it wasn't like Doko knew him well enough to notice anything.
Then he and Midoriya met eyes. The green-haired boy's face was an expression of worry...and then an imperceptible shrug. Doko just nodded back.
Iida must be struggling on the inside, but he doesn't want to show it. That's fair enough, I guess. Doko knew exactly how that felt.
Inside the class, all the talk was about the Sports Festival.
"People kept coming up and talking to me!" Kirishima exclaimed.
"Little kids kept telling me 'don't worry about it.'" Sero sweatdropped, miserable.
Aoyama rested a prim hand above his chest. "One must be prepared for this sort of attention, hmm hmm."
"Yeah, I'll bet you were the talk of the town after getting uppercutted by Mina," Jiro muttered.
"For every person who came up and talked to me, it felt like six more just stared from a distance. I felt so...visible!" Toru shuddered.
Ojiro lowered his eyebrows. "Sounds normal enough to me."
Yaoyorozu remained silent, keeping her eyes down.
"Katayama..." Kaminari suddenly zapped next to his desk. "You traitor."
Doko made a show of turning around and looking behind him at the wall, as if Kaminari might be talking to someone else. "Me?" he pointed at himself.
"Don't play dumb." Kaminari lifted up his phone. "That's you and Ashido at the park. I thought there was nothing going on between you two!"
Doko's eyes widened. Mina wasn't here yet, but Tsu was, and she leaned forward to look with an interested croak.
It was the two of them walking together, taken from a distance. On a tabloid site.
"Kaminari...do you really frequent those websites? I thought better of you." Doko tried to play it cool.
"That's not the point! Explain yourself!" He began to grab Katayama's shoulders and shake them.
"AaAaAaAhhhh! StoOooop doing that! Stop!" Doko slapped his hands away. "There's nothing to explain! She had something to tell me! It was an outing between friends!"
"Was it now, ribbit?"
He shot Tsu a panicked glare. Her eyes were twinkling with mischief.
Kaminari scrunched up his face in suspicion. "If you're lying to me, there will be hell to pay. You better reveal your secrets."
"Leave him alone," Jiro complained loudly. "He won the festival; he shouldn't have to deal with your tomfoolery."
As Kaminari slinked back to his desk, Doko looked around the room to see if anybody had been listening.
Uraraka was staring, her eyes wide. Sero was giving him a thumbs up and a grin. Momo was looking over for a moment before she jerked her head back down, a faint dusting of red across her cheeks.
"Yo..." Sero whispered to Kaminari. "Let me see the pic."
"Well done on your victory Katayama, by the way!" Kirishima shot him an air-fist bump and a grin. "You've improved a lot since our fight! I kind of wanna fight you again now!"
"Haha, maybe in a future class we'll get to have a rematch..." Doko reluctantly returned the fist bump.
Mina emerged into the classroom, chatted briefly with everyone, and then moved to sit behind Doko. Doko became aware of several pairs of eyes, especially Kaminari's, on the two of them.
"Ribbit," Tsu leaned forward. "Do you two have anything you want to share with me?"
"No," they both said quickly, at the same time. Looked at each other, surprised. Blushed.
Tsu blinked. She might have smiled, just a little.
Todoroki entered the room. Doko looked up at him, chancing it. "Hey, Todoroki."
The boy paused. "Hello," he said after a moment, pleasantly enough, and then moved onto his seat.
"Did Todoroki just acknowledge his greeting?" Sero whispered.
"That's respect between combatants!" Kirishima whispered back. "Manly!"
"CRAAAACKHEAD!" Bakugo blasted across the room, bearing down on Doko's desk with a face of pure rage. "DON'T think this changes anything! You may not be an extra anymore, but I'm still gonna become number one! I'll come up and steal your glory right out of your hands!"
"Oh, wow!" Doko raised his eyebrows at a blank piece of notebook paper he'd just placed on his desk, intending to use it for notes today, and then held it up to Bakugo. "Look! It's the list of everyone who asked!"
Mina belted out laughter. Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero chuckled. Even Ojiro and Jiro let out a snicker. Tsu's half-smile widened.
Bakugo's face got even redder and angrier, and he moved to snatch the paper out of Doko's hands and blow it to pieces...but then Aizawa entered the room.
"Back to your seat," the teacher said in a bored voice, and Bakugo trudged away, shooting Doko resentful looks.
"Aizawa-sensei, congrats on getting your bandages off," said Tsu.
Aizawa rubbed his eyes. "The old lady went overboard with her treatment, and now I'm even sleepier than usual. But anyway, today we'll be picking up where we left off. Since the sports festival, many heroes and hero agencies have called in requests for students. Usually they pay more attention to the second and third years, with their higher level of experience, so for any of them to be paying attention to you should be considered a privilege and an opportunity. Anyway, here are the results."
A graph flashed onto the board.
Shoto Todoroki: 3,261
Doko Katayama: 2,545
Katsuki Bakugo: 879
Fumikage Tokoyami: 448
Tenya Iida: 237
Eijiro Kirishima: 112
Ochaco Uraraka: 90
Mina Ashido: 54
Momo Yaoyorozu: 31
Mezo Shoji: 8
Hanta Sero: 2
The class buzzed.
"I got offers! Hell yeah!" Kirishima declared.
"Todoroki got the most and Katayama got the second-most," observed Ojiro. "The opposite results of the actual festival."
"It's probably because Todoroki was in total control for most of his matches, while Katayama often won by the skin of his teeth," Yaomomo explained.
Doko couldn't believe it, in any case. Mina was shaking his shoulders. "Over two and a half thousand, Doko!" she whisper-screamed. "And I got fifty! That's more than enough to choose from!"
"Shoji-kun," said Hagakure. "You got eight offers despite not even making it to the final round. Good job!"
The multi-armed boy nodded. "I'm as pleasantly surprised as you are. Perhaps it is because of Tsu and I's strategy in the cavalry battle?"
"Yet I didn't get any offers, ribbit," she muttered.
"...two..." Sero grumbled. "Two."
"Iida-kun, we got offers!" Uraraka exclaimed, shaking his shoulders much like Mina had just done to Doko.
"Yes, that's good." Iida's voice seemed distant, his smile false.
"Midoriya, you didn't get any!" Kaminari pointed out, as if incredulous for him.
"They're probably scared because of the crazy way he fights," said Jiro. Midoriya only looked down, a nervous smile on his face.
"He who chases two hares catches neither," said Tokoyami solemnly.
"Alright, settle down everyone," Aizawa called. "Only those on this list actually got requests, but every one of you will be doing an internship at a hero agency."
"Internship!?" everyone exclaimed at the same time.
"Oh my god...PLEASE stop doing that..." their teacher pinched his eyes. "I'll be passing out lists at the end of class so you can decide where to go, but in the meantime...to work with pros, you all need code names. So that's what we're coming up with today."
The class buzzed excitedly. A hero name? Doko had literally never thought about it. It was an aspect of the career he'd completely forgotten about. Based on the rest of the class's reaction, he imagined they all knew exactly what they were going to call themselves, and had known for a long time.
"Remember, these names are what the public will know you as, so they are extremely important," Aizawa said over the din.
The door slid open, and Midnight came strutting in. "If you don't pick seriously, there will be hell to pay!" she sang.
Doko shivered. "MIDNIGHT!" Kaminari and Sero shouted together, hearts appearing in their eyes.
"Midnight is better suited to this sort of thing than I am," Aizawa said. "She'll be deciding if your names are acceptable. In the meantime...I'm going to sleep." He procured his sleeping bag from nowhere and leaned against the wall, cocooned.
Midnight gave Doko a stack of five whiteboards and markers to pass back. "Congrats on your win, by the way," she whispered to him in a sultry voice, winking. Doko shuddered. "Write down your names on these boards," she announced to the whole class, as she distributed them to Ojiro, Shoji, and Hagakure at the front of the other three rows. "When you're ready, come up to present!"
"What? We're presenting these?" Kirishima suddenly seemed nervous.
"That's right!" Midnight grinned.
Doko passed the boards back, taking one for himself. "What are you going to call yourself?" he whispered to Mina.
"Alien Queen," she said with a smirk. "Like from the movie."
He sweatdropped. "I don't watch movies, but isn't that a scary monster? Midnight's going to reject that."
"And what would YOU know about it, Mr. Dense-about-heroes?"
"You should at least have a backup."
"...Pinky..." she mumbled. "That's the one I wanted when I was little, before I got into the Alien franchise..." she was clearly embarrassed about it.
Doko grinned. "That's adorable, but the Queen thing is kind of your thing, isn't it? Maybe combine them?"
Mina's eyes widened.
"Katayama-kun?" Midnight called after another minute or two. "Since you're in seat one, would you like to go first?"
"I haven't come up with anything," he said frankly. I've literally never thought about this before!
Midnight scowled. "Well, hurry up. We've not got all day."
"I shall go!" Aoyama did a pirouette on his way up to the front, before placing his board down. "Shining Hero: I can not stop twinkling!"
"It's a sentence!" multiple students exclaimed.
"Hmm, maybe remove some words, to just be Can't Stop Twinkling?" Midnight suggested.
"Excellent, madame!"
"SHE APPROVED IT!" They all exclaimed again.
"I'll go next!" Mina rushed to the front. "Acid Hero...Queen Pinky!"
"I love it!" Midnight gushed.
Mina beamed at Doko. He smiled back.
From there, the damn broke. Tsu became Froppy. Ojiro became Tailman. Sato became Sugarman. Kaminari became Chargebolt. Shoji became Tentacole. Jiro became Earphone Jack. Hagakure become Invisible Girl. Yaomomo became Creati. And Sero became Cellophane.
"Red Riot!" Kirishima exclaimed, holding up his fist.
"That wouldn't be an homage to the Chivalrous Hero, Crimson Riot, would it?" asked Midnight.
"It is! I know he's old fashioned, but...the hero image I'm going for is Crimson himself..."
"Bearing a name like that brings all the pressure of living up to it," she warned.
"I'm prepared!" Kirishima declared.
Near the back of the room, Iida stared intently at his board.
Koda simply showed a board that said "Anima," without actually saying anything. Midnight gave him a thumbs-up. Uraraka became Uravity, which was the coolest name so far in Doko's opinion. Argh! I've been too busy paying attention to the others, and haven't come up with anything!
Tokoyami became Tsukuyomi, the god of the night. Todoroki was simply "Shoto." His first name.
"Is that allowed?" Midnight wondered.
"Yes..." Aizawa groaned from his sleeping bag.
"Well, alright then."
Then Iida similarly just used his first name. "Tenya." Something about it seemed off and incomplete to Doko, but he couldn't worry about that right now.
"So all we have left is...Bakugo, Midoriya, and...Katayama, you still haven't gone."
"I know, I know."
Midoriya went up. "This is my hero name."
Gasps around the room.
"Dude...are you sure?" asked Sero.
"They'll call you that for the rest of your life, you know," Kaminari put in.
Bakugo growled upon looking at the board, while Uraraka beamed.
"I used to hate this title, but someone changed the meaning of it for me and..." Midoriya cast his eyes downward, and then back up, determined. "I'm Pro Hero: Deku."
"Katayama, Bakugo, you two better be ready now," Midnight warned.
"Alright, I'm coming." Doko had managed to put something together, writing the kanji on the board.
He turned to face the class at the front, pausing. His board still faced his chest. "I didn't know much about heroes before coming here, so I don't really have anything I'm trying to emulate...but I want to help people. I want to help everyone I can. Like, no matter where they are, I'll be there in a flash...but if you're up to no good, I can get to you in a flash, too. That's the sort of the image I'd like to cultivate."
The class hummed in understanding.
"So...this is my hero name." He turned the board, and grinned, violet light flashing in his eyes. "Warping Hero: Everywhere."
And that's it! A bit more development for our central romance, and the reveal of Doko's hero name. Next time...we find out where he'll go for his internship.
I want to widen the focus a bit from here, and write more of the other students...but it's tough to do so without retreading ground. I think I'm gonna write some of the lesser-known internships for people like Shoji and Sero and Toru, just to see how they're going to develop. And Mina's internship will also be seen, obviously. Other than that, I can't get too much into detail about how I plan to use Hero Killer Stain, since I don't really want to focus on the internships in canon very much...besides one in particular. Stay tuned!
Also, interesting question: if I were to add someone else in the class to the group of six friends, who would you like to see? Preferably one of the minor characters outside the Dekusquad. Let me know!