Chapter Twenty-Seven: Lovers and Friends
Izuku and Kyouka sat on the rooftop of the school, as they had many times prior when they wanted to get away from everyone else, only to have been inexplicably followed by their group of friends with the new addition of Shouto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Tsuyu Asui.
It was now time for lunch, and many of their classmates, as well as many of the other students at UA had found themselves eating in the cafeteria. The couple would look between themselves almost as if they should consider making a break for it, but decided against it as that would be rude to their friends.
"So This is where you guys head off to when you disappear off on your own… We were curious about where you guys hangout so we decided to come by and hangout!" Uraraka exclaimed, smiling brightly as her airheaded personality began to seep through. She really wasn't picking up on the fact that they wanted to be alone together.
"Right… Well what about them?" Kyouka questioned, pointing to the three new additions to their group. Izuku would nod in agreement, his eyes especially set on Todoroki.
"Midoriya invited me. I usually eat by myself." He revealed, causing Kyouka to glare at Izuku maliciously. Really? He had to go and ruin their alone time just to be nice to someone? "That and I wanted to see how him and Iida were doing after… Well, the incident."
"No need to worry Todoroki-kun! Me and Midoriya-kun are still standing strong thanks to Endeavor." Iida intervened before Izuku could say anything. If Izuku were to try and lie, Kyouka would have been able to tell and Iida was well aware of how awful he was at lying.
"Yeah, you guys gave the others quite a shock. I'm surprised you didn't flip out at Kaminari's question earlier, ribbit." Tsuyu added, putting a finger to her chin as she turned her head to face Iida. The group was seated cross-legged in a circle, eating their lunch as they talked, though Kyouka was feeding Izuku without either of them noticing that they were getting stared at.
Yaomomo would watch them with a smirk on her face. It seemed that Kyouka had taken her advice and mustered up the courage to initiate at least some sort of relationship with the greenette.
"Well, as I said, it's fine if people find his conviction 'Cool'. As long as the public knows that purging society isn't the way to go, then I'm fine with just that." He replied, taking a bite of his lunch before finally turning to Izuku with confusion terribly obvious on his face. "Midoriya-kun… What are you two doing?"
"Hmm?" He questioned, his mouth full of Katsudon before he swallowed and both him and Kyouka turned to face him with a questioning raise of an eyebrow in tangion. "What do you mean, Iida-kun?"
"Jirou's feeding you." Todoroki uttered nonchalantly, slurping on his noodles as he stared down the two with a blank expression. Ochako would especially be staring at the two with a bit of a painful expression present on her face… What was this feeling?
"Oh, guess it's just a habit. I-I kinda picked up on it back in the day when we were training for UA…" Kyouka revealed, rubbing the back of her head as her face began to flush with red. This bullshit excuse would just have to do for now. "I had to feed him while he worked out. He wouldn't stop for anything, seriously…"
"A habit? Right." Yaomomo stated, playfully rolling her eyes as she received a glare from Kyouka. Luckily it appeared that none of the group had noticed their exchange of glances towards one another.
"R-Right." Izuku said as another chopstick full of rice and pork was placed in front of his face, urging him to take another bite. "But what about you Tsu-chan? Why'd you decide to join us?"
"I guess you could say I came to watch. Something has been bugging me for awhile." She revealed, eyeing both Izuku and Kyouka. "But pay it no mind. You guys are just some of the more bearable in the class. Mainly because the others hangout with Bakugou, so it gets pretty hectic."
Izuku sighed and nodded in agreement. Of course it was because of Bakugou… At least the greenette wouldn't have to put up with him anytime soon. For now he could enjoy spending time with his friends and his wonderful girlfriend.
The group would soon finish up their lunch and the gang would head back to class, with Izuku hanging back to grab his phone as it seemingly fell from his pocket without him even noticing. As he searched the roof he suddenly felt a pair of arms reach behind him and chuckled.
"Of course you'd take it." He said through a sigh, turning around to find his purple haired girlfriend holding his phone right in front of his face. "You just wanted a kiss, didn't you?"
Kyouka smirked, "You know me so well."
Class would commence soon after and the students were directed by All Might to make their way to field gamma. As the students changed and made their way out to the field All Might would stand tall to greet them in his hero outfit.
"I AM HERE!" He'd shout aloud, causing the students to snap to attention. Izuku would grow concerned as he watched Kyouka flinch at the man's booming voice. It must have really been difficult for her to have to deal with that in class… Perhaps there was a way to help lessen that.
'Maybe I'll see if the support course can do something about that…' Izuku pondered before All Might went to speak once more.
"And the reason for that is your basic hero training! It's been a while boys and girls! How is everyone!?" He questioned, surprising the students with his lackluster "All Might gag" type introduction. It seemed even he has days where he can't be as upbeat.
The man then began to explain their lesson plan for the day, a densely constructed city that they'd have to pass through in order to save All Might himself. It was a race, and All Might made sure to warn Bakugou to keep the destruction of property to a minimum.
The students would be separated into groups, and luckily (Or maybe unluckily) Kyouka wasn't paired up with Izuku. At least in that regard she'd have a fighting chance to win this thing. The greenette, however, was paired up with some of the more mobile students such as Sero, Ashido, and Iida. Poor Ojiro was also assigned to the group, though his martial arts would definitely help him make his way through the city.
"START!" All Might exclaimed, signalling the students to begin. Many of those participating in the first group would grow cocky, this sort of challenge was basically made for them! Sero in particular was quite glad to shoot off and attempt to get ahead of the competition, only for Izuku to shoot past him and shock everyone witnessing the scene.
"Looks like training paid off!" Izuku exclaimed, blasting off ahead of his classmates, smiling confidently as he hopped from pipe to pipe while comfortably using 8% of One For All. Lightning cracked around Izuku violently, the classmates behind him watching in awe as they tried to catch up, but to no avail.
"God damn it, Midoriya!" Sero exclaimed, whipping himself around the pipes and buildings as he tried his damn hardest to catch up, but it was already too late. Izuku spotted All Might already and launched himself right in front of his mentor.
Izuku would take a moment to catch his breath while All Might smiled proudly at the greenette. His progress was simply immaculate, and he couldn't help but congratulate him while his classmates took longer to catch up.
"Great job, young Midoriya. You make me proud to call you my successor!" He exclaimed, patting the greenette on the back. Izuku would smile back at his idol, gleeful over the fact he had done him proud.
"Thanks, All Might… I trained my butt off to make it to this level, but I still have a ways to go!" He stated, confidently smiling. All Might was appalled. The fact that Izuku over such a short amount of time had gotten this confident, became this hardworking and always ready for a challenge… It truly was amazing to see his progress from day one until now.
"Always looking to the future… You really are the embodiment of a hero!" All Might would state proudly, watching as Sero was the second one to actually catch up.
"Seriously, Midoriya… What was that?" The boy questioned in between breaths. He was happy to at least get to second, but Izuku was definitely way faster than he was before. It almost seemed like he was a shooting green bullet.
"I call it Full Cowling Jade Bullet: Polished." He informed, shocking both All Might and Sero. "I decided to give my moves a bit more of an original spin, i-is it no good?"
"No not at all, it's just… You went from such an All Might fanboy to making your own moves. I'm impressed." Sero commented as the other students began to catch up. He then turned to All Might, "No offense, but I think it's better that you're not copying All Might anymore."
"Well…" Izuku started, "I had to define myself as a hero eventually." He explained, his gaze shifting to All Might to see if he gained the man's approval. All Might would nod and give the greenette a thumbs up, he was taking big steps to grow into the hero he wanted to be and All Might couldn't be happier for him.
There was still one important matter to discuss with Izuku, however. One that the greenette may not enjoy if he has to hear it, but one that he needs to hear nonetheless. All Might would give Izuku a small signal with his hand, "Come see me after class."
The greenette would catch onto the signal and stare at the man questioningly as he went on to speak to the rest of the class about their results. Izuku, however, only had one question on his mind.
'What could All Might want to talk about..?'
"Take a seat." All Might stated, sitting down on the break room couch ominously in his skinny form. Honestly, he looked terrifying like that, but Izuku knew that he must have had something serious he needed to talk about.
There was such a tense atmosphere in the air, and Izuku almost felt like he was in trouble for something, but that wasn't the case. Izuku would seat himself in front of All Might, fidgeting nervously as he waited for the blonde man to continue.
"Wh-What is this about, All Might? Did you w-want to talk about One For All..?" Izuku questioned, flinching as the man suddenly lifted his head to gaze at the greenette. His piercing blue eyes would soften as he watched the boy flinch out of fear.
All Might would sigh and nod, "Yes, actually. There's a lot you don't know about One For All and it's origin, and I think today you need to hear about it." He'd start, ruffling his hair as he chose his next words wisely. "It's a unique quirk in that it actually derived from a different quirk entirely. All For One, a quirk that lets its user steal other quirks… As well as grant quirks to others.
"All For One… So everything was for this guy to take. I assume the first user got One For All from him..?" Izuku questioned, earning a nod from the blond man who was now averting the greenettes gaze.
"Yes… All For One was a wicked man who, during the age where quirks were first coming about, took the initiative to conquer society and bring people together by stealing quirks and manipulating others with his power." All Might began, retelling the tale of the past almost as if he lived through it himself. "He forcefully gave his little brother the stockpile quirk, his younger brother who was believed to be quirkless, but then a miracle happened."
"A miracle..?" Izuku questioned, mumbling as he attentively listened to the blond man speak.
"Yes! A miracle! The two quirks fused and created One For All! Since then it's been passed down and sought after by All For One." The man explained, placing his hand to his chest. "But I was the generation to finally defeat him, or so I thought… He's resurfaced as the brains behind the League of Villains."
"Wait, so that means it's my job as your successor- No, as the ninth successor of One For All to defeat him?" Izuku questioned, his eyes widening in awe as All Might nodded. The blond man then gazed back at the greenette.
"I understand this got a little dark-" The man began, before being cut off by the greenette suddenly rising to his feet determined.
"I have no choice, but to do my best!" He exclaimed, staring at his mentor with his resolve made up without any sort of convincing. "Whatever it is that is my duty, I'll step up to the plate! Even if it means taking down the ultimate evil, as long as I have you, I won't lose!"
All Might's face shifted to one of pain. He knew he should tell the kid the truth, but his determination had forced the man to keep his mouth shut. He just couldn't bring himself to say the words that he needed to.
'When that day comes… I won't be here for you anymore.' He thought, internalizing his guilt for his decision as his head drooped down. Izuku stared at the man in confusion before the blond man spoke.
"...Thank you."
Izuku would sit in his next class, the talk with All Might still fresh in his mind as Izuku knew that the man had been withholding something from him. He had no way of knowing what it was, but there seemed to be more to the story than what he led on. On top of that, what was he supposed to tell Kyouka?
Izuku turned his head to his girlfriend, so blissfully unaware of the situation, and yet she remained oh so beautiful nonetheless- No! Now wasn't the time to admire your girlfriend, Izuku!
His thoughts were scrambled, but he knew that his goal still went unchanged. To be the ultimate hero he had to beat the ultimate villain, end of story. It was just getting to that point that was difficult.
"Uh…" Aizawa spoke, interrupting the greenettes' thoughts. "Summer vacation is close at hand, and of course it would be completely irrational to have you do nothing for a whole month, so you guys will be partaking in a summer training camp in the woods."
A few students would grow excited at the mention of the summer camp, though as soon as he activated his quirk and loomed over them the entire class grew silent.
"Regardless of that, the finals are coming up. Anyone who doesn't pass is in for summer school hell, right here. Anyways, class is dismissed, go home." The man finished, packing up his things and walking out of the classroom as the students began to pack up their items so as to head out of the school.
Kyouka would quickly make her way over to Izuku's desk as he finished packing up his things, though oddly enough he didn't smile at her like he normally would when she approached him. Something was definitely wrong.
"You guys, go on without us." Kyouka instructed, turning to their group of friends waiting for them at the door. "Something came up and we might take longer than anticipated."
Kyouka would then turn to Izuku with concern as their friends left them, with a certain brunette looking back at them with a tinge of jealousy ringing in her heart before heading out as well.
Soon enough the classroom emptied and Kyouka would pat the greenette on the shoulder. "C'mon, you're coming over today. I'm not gonna let you sit there in your thoughts."
"E-Eh? No, I-I'm fine, Kyo. Really, there's no need-" He started, before being cut off by a kiss being planted upon his lips to silence him. Izuku would grow flustered and quickly pull away from the kiss with his hand covering his mouth as he glanced around the room. Empty.
"Don't care, didn't ask, now get your ass up. You're coming with me." She instructed, her voice strict enough to whip the boy into shape and he nodded without any sort of resistance. "Good. Now c'mon, there's obviously something worrying you."
Izuku would rise from his seat and sling his backpack on, sighing as the two began to exit the school. The boy chuckled, "Am I really that easy to read?"
"Only to me, we've spent a lot of time together that I've picked up on your habits." She stated, turning to him with a small smile gracing her lips. "Anyways, my parents aren't gonna be home until later in the day, so we can talk there. Just remember that you don't have to deal with stuff on your own."
"I'm just not sure if I even should talk about it though…" He revealed, running a hand through his mound of messy green hair. "Honestly, it hurts to have to lie to people. To you… But I can't tell the truth either. On top of it all the Stain incident-"
"Don't finish that sentence. Izuku, you know how I feel about talking about the what-if. You have every reason to be thinking about these things, and to be feeling what you're feeling, but I'm gonna be here for you no matter what." She stated, latching onto his hand and intertwining their fingers. "Above all else, at least we have each other, right?"
She was right, truth be told. At the very least he'd have her by his side, though that got Izuku thinking… What if he didn't have her by his side anymore? What if she ended up wanting to leave him? What if she didn't want to be with him anymore?
What if she couldn't put up with him anymore?
The thoughts of Kyouka leaving Izuku had begun to plague his mind, though he was aware that there was no reason for it. He had nothing to base the thoughts on other than his own fears and insecurities. Izuku wasn't perfect, and he knew this. He knew that someone like her wouldn't put up with someone who had to risk their life.
"You know I can hear your heartbeat, right?" Kyouka spoke, snapping the greenette out of his worries. "Izu.. What's wrong? Talk to me, please…" She pleaded, turning around to face him as the couple had reached their destination. She gripped tightly onto his hand and turned to face him, refusing to let go until he spoke.
"I-I... " He paused and looked down at their intertwined hands, squeezing it gently as he felt his heart beating out of his chest. He released a breath he was holding and looked her in the eyes. Communication was key. "I feared that if I told you what was bothering me.. You'd no longer want to be with me. I feared that I would lose you…"
Kyouka could feel her heart churn at the greenettes' admittance. It appeared as though there was a lot more going on in his head than she originally thought. He must have been carrying a lot of issues on his back, things that had been making him doubt himself, and she couldn't stand for it. She quickly embraced the greenette.
"Izuku… Nothing you could ever tell me would make me leave you. You're my green bean, my main motivator… My boyfriend." She started, feeling the boy's arms slowly wrap around her. "Nothing could be so bad as to make me not want to be with you, Izu… Everyday you remind me just how much I love being with you. Nothing could change that."
"You promise?" The greenette questioned, squeezing her protectively as if she might just vanish if he let go. Kyouka would squeeze him just as tightly in return and pat him on the back reassuringly.
"I promise." She then pulled away from the hug to give the boy a proper kiss on the lips. It was short, but sweet, and got the message across to him as his hold on her loosened. "Now can we head inside? I feel like my neighbors are watching us."
Izuku looked around to see that the neighborhood was completely barren, she was only teasing. He chuckled and nodded, feeling slightly better after his moment of weakness. The two would enter Kyouka's home and remove their shoes, making their way up to Kyouka's room soon after.
Kyouka would sit down on her bed, leaning back on the headboard of her bed before pulling Izuku's head in between her thighs (Not like that). He was sprawled out on her bed rather forcefully, but he soon relaxed as she began to play with his head idly, as he stared up at the ceiling.
"Think you can tell me now? I won't pressure you, but you seem like you need to vent…" She mumbled, running her hands through his scalp, and unknowingly causing him to feel more relaxed than he had ever before.
And so he did. He spoke the truth, starting from the Stain incident all the way up to what All Might had told him today. He told her everything he could remember, and throughout it all she truly began to understand why he's been so secretive. She understood why he had been so stressed as of late.
After he finished speaking there was a long moment of silence. Kyouka continued to play with Izuku's hair, processing everything that he had just revealed to her. Things that he was supposed to keep secret, but it weighed on him too much to keep it from her. He didn't know why he felt the urge to tell her, but he couldn't hide anything from her anymore.
"...Wow." She uttered, completely at a loss for words. Izuku would peer up just as her eyes shifted to gaze into his own. The two sat there like that staring into one another's eyes, neither of them knowing what to say. "Izuku… I-I don't even know what to say."
"It's fine, neither do I…" He revealed, closing his eyes as she continued to play with the scruff of his hair. "I just feel better getting it off my chest… You know I can't stand lying, especially when it's to you… B-But I'm sorry for spilling all of this onto you, I know it's a lot-"
"Don't apologize." She commanded, pulling lightly on his hair and forcing him to open his eyes to look at her. "I'm glad you told me, even if All Might wanted to hide it from me. I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me something that could even land you in jail."
Kyouka would lean down and place a gentle kiss atop his head before hovering inches above his face, her hair drooping down slightly. "We're in this together, Izu… I'm here to listen if you need it."
Izuku would smile before sitting up from his position, turning around and sitting cross-legged to face Kyouka. His hand would gently reach up and caress her cheek, causing her to instinctively lean into his touch and release a breath.
"I know. And I appreciate you a lot for it." He said, grazing his thumb across her cheek as her eyes narrowed and a smile formed on her face. "But you know I'm here for you as well, right? I don't want you to feel like you can't vent to me either. I know there are things you want to talk to me about, I can see it in your eyes."
Kyouka would nod and giggle, "Just stop getting hurt, nerd."
AND THAT'S CHAPTER 27!
Wow, I really can't believe we're making it so far into this!
Anyways, with this chapter we see Izuku get to show off a few of his new moves and gaining some independence as a hero, as well as finding out about the truth of One For All.
I also feel like I owe an explanation as to why these updates usually take so long to you guys, but it's literally just because I have literally everything planned. Like literally everything. It's way too easy to write, which is why I write other stuff to keep myself occupied creatively.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy, and I'll see you for the next chapter! Please do check out a few of my other fics if you haven't already! Oh, and please come hangout in the discord that I'm in, we've got many likeminded individuals that enjoy IzuJirou!
Discord: /ytERWwp8UV