Yaoyorozu Momo was not a rebellious person.
As the heir to a very wealthy family of Supporter-Tech Crafters, she had a lot of responsibility on her shoulders. She had dedicated most of her life to making her parents proud, learning everything she could about science. From Physics, to Chemistry, and even to Engineering—she absorbed it like a particularly determined sponge. With the natural intelligence that came from her parents and her upbringing, she tackled every challenge thrown at her with incredible drive and dedication. Every lesson they gave her, every tutor they hired, she assimilated it all and asked for more. It was the purpose of her existence to be the perfect heir. She had an amazing quirk that would drive forward the Support Gear industry decades into the future, since it allowed her to be accurate with construction down to the atomic level with enough practice and dedication—things she had in spades…
…But then she actually met a Hero.
It had been a normal day when it happened. She had simply been walking to school, considering whether it was possible to make a composite material of steel and rubber while retaining their chemical properties, when a villain had attacked. Her memory of the event was spotty, thankfully the only consequence of the concussion she received, but there were two things that stood out in her recollection of the event.
Fear… and Hope.
Fear from the villains arrival and the rampant destruction that had resulted—the terror so overwhelming that she was certain she was going to die… and then Hope when a hero had arrived. Momo hadn't recognized him at first, but after the incident she'd discovered her savior's name: Cementoss.
He was a peculiar man, with his stone-like skin and rectangular body, but what stood out the most to her was his quirk. 'Cement,' a simple name for a simple ability, allowed the hero to have immaculate control over the namesake material of his quirk. In a vacuum, it wasn't that strong, but in the modern era—a time when cement was one of the most common building materials—it was a preposterous ability.
The thing was… that wasn't what had intrigued the girl the most. No, what got her attention was the fact that the man was a hero despite having a quirk that would make him impossibly rich in the construction industry. Momo was smart enough to calculate the potential market effects, and the man could single-handedly bankrupt his competition with his ability—something that modern quirk regulations did nothing to prevent. All he needed was the appropriate licenses and he could sell his services to the highest bidder.
It stumped the girl.
More importantly, it made her re-evaluate her life choices. She had never even thought to question the direction her life was going. It was planned out from the start, so there was no reason to do anything but push forward along the path paved before her. It was a blessing, right? Many people didn't have anything approaching a proper plan for their life, so she should take full advantage of what she was given and count herself lucky…
Yet, Cementoss hadn't done that.
Their quirks were incredibly similar in potential, even if they were different in almost every other way. Her own quirk, 'Creation,' had nigh infinite potential to make money once she mastered it. She'd been told for much of her life how special it was and how useful it could be for the family and their work in the Support industry, just like Cementoss' quirk was incredibly useful in the construction industry.
It made her wonder… What did he see that she hadn't?
There was nothing wrong with making money or advancing the sciences, as long as you kept to moral methods at least, so why didn't the man take the easy path? The obvious one that must have been presented to him early in life? It boggled her mind…
…and it made her doubt.
Doubt was not an emotion she was used to. All she had to do was put in the work and follow directions and she would inevitably reach the goals set for her. Of course, Momo was distantly aware of the fact that there would come a point where she had to walk her own path, advance the sciences beyond what was known in the way only she could, but that was a worry for the future. It was at least a decade away, so she didn't need to worry about it…
But this? This she could only worry about now.
Was she making the right decision, following her parent's path? What if she was meant to be a hero instead? Or maybe something else she hadn't even considered? It was a dizzying perspective that only got more confusing the longer she considered it, and she wasn't sure she liked it.
So Momo did what she did best, and took action.
She modified her highschool application without her parents' awareness or permission, applying for a double workload split between the Hero Course and the Support Course—something she was certain was only technically allowed, and began physical training to be more athletic than the minimum for health purposes. She would need a better understanding of how to move properly to be a hero, she was sure, though she wasn't quite sure where to go from there beyond memorizing the formulas for various equipment. There was no textbook to guide her, no tutor to direct her, so she had to devise her own plans.
It was incredibly frustrating, but she kept pushing forward.
Eventually, her parents caught on to what she'd done and had a… chat with her. It was not a happy one, even if it was as perfectly cordial as almost all of their interactions were, but she'd eventually managed to convince them that it was a worthwhile course of action. Being a hero would grant her a unique insight into their needs that would bolster her ability to make Support Gear, she'd argued, and she wouldn't allow the extra work to get in the way of her duties, so they didn't have to worry.
It was true, but it wasn't why she was doing it. She was doing it to see if her parents were wrong about where her talents belonged and to decide whether she wanted to follow their path or forge her own.
Actually… when put like that… She did sound kind of rebellious, didn't she?
Pushing the errant thought out of her mind, she returned her focus to her current task: managing her club's participation in the Joint Festival. It wasn't an easy task, given that a few other fashion clubs involved in their aspect of the frankly overwhelming event had pushed for smaller competitions to be the opening act for the main one, and almost every member of her club had a submission with them. It was even worse because she herself was participating in the main competition as the model for her own outfit.
Momo wasn't one to show off her body, her self confidence solid enough that she saw no point in pursuing other's attention through her physical appearance, but she had been outvoted by her club members. Most club leaders would have pulled rank in her situation, but she believed quite deeply in the idea of democracy, so she accepted their decision gracefully—even if the idea of being on stage was… somewhat nerve-wracking.
Despite the awareness that she would need to be on a stage eventually if she was to ever inherit her parent's position, she'd yet to actually do it…
Regardless, now wasn't the time to worry about such things. It was the day of the festival and there was work to be done. Organizing and double-checking the grouping of the clothes stands for the smaller fashion show for her club and communicating with the others, attempting to speak with the young man—Agoyamato—who had placed himself in charge of the whole event through a lucky combination of having a club so small that it needed essentially no management and having a frankly worrying dedication to the position.
There was also the fact that she needed to arrange her own submission and make sure it was properly stored in the small changing room that was behind the stage the various fashion clubs had worked together to make.
It was a busy area, filled with people coming and going from the different clubs as they finished their last-minute preparations. At Momo's demand, however, they all wore a simple lanyard to identify themselves as members of their respective clubs. It was to ensure there was no sabotage or pranks. She didn't expect such things, but it was plausible enough that she took reasonable precautions.
So it stood out quite a bit when she saw a young man leaning against a stack of boxes without a lanyard of any kind. He was almost exactly her height, though the punkish slouch he maintained gave her a slight edge that he countered with his obnoxiously spiked blonde hair. The bored look on his face and the untucked nature of his dress shirt only served to further annoy the girl as she marched over to him.
"I'm sorry, but you can't be here. This area is reserved for the fashion clubs," Momo stated.
The punk's eyebrow raised as he looked at her skeptically.
"Yeah, whatever," he replied lazily, turning away and yawning. It was already noon, so he had no excuse for doing so. "I'm just waiting for someone, so you can screw off, lady."
Momo's eyebrow was not twitching from the boy's behavior. She was definitely too controlled for that, just like her parents.
"I'll have to insist," she stated firmly. "We can't allow poorly dressed young men to loiter in our area. It may convince visitors that our show won't be worth watching just by association."
Oops. She hadn't meant to be so direct, but… She didn't really regret it. Something about this boy just annoyed her deeply…
"Hah…?," the boy breathed, looking back at her. "You've got more bite than I expected, rich girl. Then again, I can't imagine it takes much effort to talk down to people when you're the type to wipe your ass with ten thousand yen bills."
The nerve of this… this… imbecile!
"What a rude assumption!" she countered. "What proof could you possibly have?"
There was no way his assumption was anything more than a lucky guess, and that would give her the chance to accurately take him to task about his horrible behavior and—
"Well, first there's the fact that the dress you're wearing is a custom Tadashi Shoji, then there's the…"
Momo stared at the boy in shock as he accurately identified and listed each piece of designer clothing she was wearing. She had dressed up for the event, so as to properly represent her club when she led them on stage—though she would obviously have to change later to model her own personal design—and it was preposterous that the blonde was completely correct with each of his guesses.
"I… How did…" she stumbled, caught so off guard that she didn't have a proper response prepared.
"My parents are in the fashion industry, rich girl. I may not give a shit about it myself, but I picked up a few things," he explained. "So, why don't you take your snobbish—"
"Bakugo!"
Glancing up at the sound, Momo saw a familiar person approaching. It was one of the girls she was competing with for the main event; Baiken, according to her pristine memory. Her hair was shorter than she remembered, hanging to her waist instead of the floor, but it seemed to suit her. More notable was the fact that she had one of the color-coded lanyards hanging around her neck. At least she was following the rules despite her rough demeanor.
"Tch, sorry about him," the girl said as she came to a stop. "He's an absolute bastard if you… honestly, if you do just about anything, really."
"Feh," the blonde grunted, though he didn't disagree with the description. "You're just sayin' that because you can't handle the fact that I would have won our bet without that jackass interfering."
Ignoring him entirely, Baiken went on.
"I'll get him outta your hair, so don't worry about it."
Thoroughly annoyed by the boy and not wishing to waste any more of her time, Momo nodded firmly and stepped away. As she began to leave, she wondered how one of her competitors could know someone so… uncouth. They didn't seem to be romantically inclined from what their admittedly brief impressions suggested—thankfully—so that couldn't be it. If anything, they felt like…
… like old friends.
Earlier that day…
Izuku stared down at the phone in his hands as he hung around the gates to the Joint Festival. A simple number glared back at him from his contact list, taunting him with its significance. The contact was labeled with a simple name, but his relationship with the person himself was anything but.
Should I…?
It was a stupid question at face value. Obviously he couldn't call Hawks of all people to discuss his… hobby… when he was out in public. But that wasn't really what he was thinking about. The question was really about whether he should call the man at all.
It has to be a trap or something…
Every single law he was aware of suggested that Hawks was baiting him into revealing himself, but then again, wouldn't he have just grabbed Izuku in Naruhata if that's what this was about? Of course, all that did was make the issue more confusing. If Hawks wasn't trying to capture him, then what was he doing with his offered phone call?
"You've got what it takes, kid."
The hopeful part of his mind whispered that maybe Hawks had a way out. A path towards being a hero… but the rest of him denied the prospect almost immediately. He'd heard three people believe in him now, but when contrasted with a lifetime of doubt, it made him… suspicious. Especially when it came to Hawks.
The Naruhata Vigilante had offered words of encouragement after Izuku had proved his capabilities in their spar, failures aside, and Eraserhead had focused rather heavily on Izuku's personal problems… but Hawks? The man had tossed out praise seemingly for no other reason than because of Izuku's quirk.
The idea that that was all it took to be a hero still sat wrong with Izuku, and it was the biggest reason why he was reluctant to trust the man.
…But he might not have much of a choice, anyway.
Izuku wasn't stupid. He knew that eventually he would start getting some attention. It probably wouldn't be too much, probably a cult following on the internet or something, but it would be enough of a target on his back that Hawks would come after him for ignoring his offer. He didn't have much of a choice at this point but to call the man and hope for the best.
Sighing, the green-haired boy pocketed his phone.
I'll call him once I get home…
Making his way past the gates, he entered the festival grounds. It was a massive area, the mostly flat plains area of a nature preserve on the border of the town, that the multiple schools hosting the event had rented out for the weekend. It meant that there were a lot more tents than a normal school festival, but none of the students really minded given how much more fun the event was going to be from the sheer scale alone.
Little shops where hobbyist clubs sold their trinkets dotted the winding paths throughout the grounds, serving as rough walls that led to the self-organized 'districts' that the festival had. The northwest area was reserved for the cooking clubs' food court with the southwest belonging to the fashion clubs' runway and numerous clothing shops, while the east belonged to the massive stage that the music clubs had built for the evening concert. They'd worked with the science clubs to create a fireworks show that would end each night, though some of the science clubs had elected to have their own booths on top of that—selling various gadgets and booklets to the fair-goers. Those booths served as one entrance to the north district's collection of arcade games and challenges, which were managed by the various game-focused clubs.
Overall, it was a massive event that had garnered the attention of a lot of the town. The Joint Festival had well superseded expectations, growing from a simple—if eccentric—event for several junior high schools and turned into a local phenomenon. The place was already filled with people of all ages, enjoying the many attractions and marveling at the students' varied creations.
Unfortunately, between his 'date' and the modeling he would need to do afterward, today wasn't likely to be all that fun for Izuku… though he was going to make an effort to not stress himself out in spite of that. He had a little time to himself prior to those commitments, thankfully, so he was going to make the most of it.
Now, what should I do first—
"Izuku? Oh, it is you!"
Turning around, he noticed.
"Uraraka!" he exclaimed with a smile. "What're you doing here…? Is your school participating?"
Even though she was clearly wearing normal clothes—a simple blouse and knee-length skirt—Izuku was instantly rather self conscious of his baggy t-shirt and jeans. At least he had a windbreaker on over that…? He wasn't underdressed, right? Right?
"Hm? Oh, yeah, it is. I'm a member of the 'going home' club, though, so I don't really need to be anywhere," the girl explained.
"R-really…?" Izuku trailed off. "You're so friendly that I thought you'd be in some kind of club…"
The girl blushed lightly and looked away, clearly embarrassed by the assertion, tapping her cheek rhythmically for some reason.
"Er… Well, I was, but I had to quit to make some time to prepare for my entrance exams," she stated. "I'm shooting for U.A., so I really need to try hard."
"Oh, that's so cool! I'm applying to U.A. too!" Izuku replied immediately.
The girl just nodded in response, as if it was expected.
"Of course you are!" she exclaimed with a bright grin. "I wouldn't expect anything less!"
"Hey, could you two move out of the way? People are trying to walk here," a random shop attendant interjected.
Simultaneously, the impromptu duo realized they were standing in the middle of the pathway, partially obstructing people's ability to maneuver through the aisle. Instantly, they stepped off to the side, identical sheepish expressions on their faces.
"Sorry!" the both exclaimed, giving a brief polite bow to punctuate their remorse.
The attendant simply nodded and returned to her tent as the walkway filled up with more people. After a few moments of awkward silence, the duo both turned to face each other.
"So, um…" Izuku trailed off.
"Do you want to… look around…?" Uraraka added.
…
"Y-yeah!" the green-haired boy agreed.
"Great!" the girl nodded with a smile.
Slipping his phone out of his pocket, mainly so he could catch a moment's reprieve from the awkwardness of the moment but also so he could check the time. He'd gotten here at opening time, and he wasn't needed anywhere until around noon, so…
I've still got a while before…
Shutting down the line of thought before he could focus too much on it, Izuku turned back to the girl.
"I-I've got a couple hours before I need to go, so… What do you want to do?"
Uraraka looked away for a moment, visibly pondering the question.
"Maybe the Arcade District…?"
"Detective! Sir!"
Sighing, Tsukauchi forcefully composed himself and turned in his desk chair to face whoever it was that felt the need to interrupt his coffee break.
"Yes?" he asked, perfectly polite.
"There's been an incident off of Yagoya and Nagaruchi, sir," the officer explained.
And I need to hear this, why…?
"The situation, officer?" he questioned.
"A several car pileup, sir. One of the gas tanks leaked and caused a minor explosion, setting off a gas main and igniting several nearby buildings. I'm informing you because we needed to redirect most of our officers away from the Festival so we could handle the situation. There's already heroes on the scene, but they've requested for you to be on standby in case the heroes find anything suspicious," the man explained.
"They're worried about foul play?" Tsukauchi asked, far more attentively than a moment prior.
"Yes, sir. The likelihood of the crash occurring in just the right place to set off the gas main was declared unlikely by those on site," the man confirmed.
"Hmm… Alright, keep me posted, officer," the detective stated with a nod.
"Sir," the man said with a bow, stepping out of the small office after a few moments of silence.
Turning back to his desk, Tsukauchi glanced sadly at his already cooling coffee before grabbing it and taking a sip. It was a shame… He'd gotten a particularly fancy thing today as a treat.
"Well… Back to work," he mumbled.
Despite Musutafu's relatively small scale as a city, the place was home to a shocking amount of criminal activity. Some argued it was the consequence of having one of the best Hero Schools in the nation positioned right in the center of it, while others cited mutant-right's protests and riots as the cause. There were other possible reasons for the issue too, like All Might's gradual decline in active hours—the man had been active almost 24/7 all over the world for years in his golden era—but at the end of the day, it didn't really matter to Tsukauchi.
He knew his limits as a person, and trying to tackle the why behind crime wasn't his place. That particular mess was for people with a lot more power and influence to worry about. The thing he needed to worry about was the crimes themselves. The point of the police was to treat the symptoms of society's problems, after all, while the government was supposed to go after the cause or causes… Of course, reality rarely lined up with that simplistic perspective, but there wasn't anything to be done about it.
It was just kind of depressing to see the stacks of folders on his desk that each correlated to a separate case… from this month.
Working through it was a slog, since more often than not it was simple open-and-shut kind of stuff—which was nice in terms of what it said about the city, but still boring. Sometimes, though, something interesting would find its way to his desk.
One of those cases was the worrying rise of Trigger-usage in the criminal popoulation, while another was focused on a small string of murders that had taken out some low-level mafia execs. The one that Tsukauchi was looking at today, however, was… far less important, if he was honest.
There had been a sudden spike in vigilante sightings as of late—a white haired girl in a black dress, two girls that each wore different school uniforms that didn't match any high school in Japan, another that wore a fox max and hoodie, a fifth that shot laser beams from her hands, and finally a pink-haired girl that dressed up like an anime samurai. He'd heard about there being a seventh—some guy in a trench coat and bandana—but he was out in Naruhata, which wasn't Tsukauchi's jurisdiction. That could change if he found a link to any of his cases that led there, but for now… No dice.
Anyway, the reason he was so intrigued by the case was multifold. For one, barring the guy in Naruhata, all the vigilantes were female. On its own, that would simply be an odd coincidence, but when combined with the fact that they all cropped up around the same time and were all surprisingly competent for vigilantes…? It hinted at something bigger than a few dropouts getting pissy about their missed opportunities.
Still, there wasn't much he could do about the case right now. There was barely any information on the young women, besides a few eyewitness accounts and very rough descriptions, he had nothing. There didn't seem to be much of a pattern for their appearances. There wasn't any consistency about when or where they would show up, but every time they did it helped someone deal with some kind of petty crime.
The closest thing Tsukauchi had to a lead right now had been dropped into his lap by All Might, actually. The man had dropped a gift-wrapped E-rank villain in his lap a little while ago and said that his student had taken him out along with his sparring partner. The hero had used his right as a licensed instructor to waive any penalties there—though it was bending the rules a bit since he wouldn't actually be practicing until the coming school year, but it was All Might. You don't say no to the Number One hero when he's asking for something minor like that, especially when he's doing it purely to try and be a good guy.
The part about this that had interested Tsukauchi, however, was the hero's description of his student's sparring partner. The girl had pink hair of about the same length his loose description of the samurai girl had, and she fought with swordsmanship. It was tenuous at best, but it was something…
Unfortunately, he had nothing on the girl.
"Ah… Sometimes I really wish my job was easier…"
Izuku stared at the floor with red cheeks, ashamed of his performance.
"It's okay, lots of guys aren't that great their first time…" Uraraka said, trying to cheer him up.
He glanced up at her, then at the site of his frustration.
"Yeah, but I don't think other guys do that badly…" he muttered.
"Well, at least you scored a point! It's better than nothing, right?" the girl offered.
Sighing, he focused on the scoreboard for the simple festival game, wilting a bit more upon seeing the difference between his points and Uraraka's. She had managed to pop a whopping twelve balloons that were part of the challenge, while he had only managed one within the time limit.
It was so frustrating! The classic thing for situations like this was for the guy to get a really high score to impress the girl, winning her some kind of plushie that she could bring home, right? That's how dates worked in the anime he'd—
Oh god, was he treating this like a date? Was it a date?!
No, it can't be… No way a girl like her would—
"I'm kind of surprised though, I thought you'd be better at this given how well I've seen you aim before…" the girl trailed off.
Startled out of his thoughts, Izuku latched onto the conversational lifeline.
"That's… different. I'm not that athletic without my quirk," he explained.
Despite my best efforts…
There simply wasn't enough time in the day to accomplish everything he needed to do. No amount of coffee could buy him the opportunity to work on all the things he had to worry about. Between studies, making support gear prototypes as practice, training with the girls, and maintaining some semblance of a livable sleep schedule… there wasn't much time left to train his own body to be more athletic. Jogging to school and the occasional bout of calisthenics was all he really managed to accomplish with any regularity.
"Oh… That makes sense," the girl nodded. "It must be hard trying to adjust to something so complicated."
"Yeah, but it's worth it," Izuku agreed.
She gave him a slightly strange look, but moved on before he could explain that he was talking about pure practicality. He wasn't a creep! He wasn't!
"Let's try something else, then!"
…
The Arcade District was really impressive, if he was honest.
Izuku had never seen so many different carnival games in one place before, much less with as many creative modifications as the different clubs had devised. Simple things like tossing a ring onto bottles had been altered such that they were only vaguely recognizable as the same game—granting them a sense of intrigue that a normal festival simply couldn't muster.
It was a shame that it was such a wash, really.
Most of the carnival games required some kind of athletic skill, and what little Izuku had before summer had atrophied from his recent focus on optimizing his mastery of the different bodies the watch granted him. Granted, he may have been comically bad, but it wasn't to the point of being worrying or anything. It was simply enough that fixing the issue had risen to the top of his 'do this once I have time' list.
After a little while, Uraraka had not-so-subtly shifted their exploration away from the Arcade District in a well-intentioned effort to spare Izuku's pride. It had the opposite effect, unfortunately, but there wasn't anything to be done about it. Their next destination, however, had improved Izuku's mood drastically.
"Ooh! Is that the…"
He bounced from tent to tent within the Science District, fascinated by the various materials and mechanisms on display. Most of the science clubs had decided on making large displays to show off their knowledge, taking advantage of their varying specialties to create things like a top that spun itself in different ways depending on the expression of the person who viewed it, or a drone that could transform between three wildly different modes for navigating extreme terrains. Each of the exhibits were beyond the layman's understanding so as to more effectively wow the festival attendees, but Izuku's recent Support-focused studies granted him enough knowledge to understand a lot of what was being done. It was fascinating stuff really, and there were so many ways he could think of to use the technology for making support gear.
"Uhm…" Uraraka mumbled, trailing behind the hyper-active boy awkwardly.
"Oh, Uraraka, did you see the dilithium gas show? They managed to make electricity spark throughout it to create a rudimentary projector!" Izuku exclaimed.
From there, the green-haired boy darted off to another display within the tent, leaving the brunette to stand there as he excitedly examined whatever was being shown off there.
"Wow… He's got a lot of energy…"
Glancing to the side, Uraraka noticed a gray-haired girl who held her hands at waist height as a matter of habit, for… some reason…
"Er…" Uraraka stumbled, unsure how to respond to the off-hand comment.
"Oh… Sorry…" the other girl continued. "It's none of my business… I shouldn't comment on other people's boyfriends…"
Uraraka's face veritably burned with embarrassment, turning fire-truck red within moments as she sputtered.
"H-he's n-not…"
"...Really?" the stranger went on. "Huh… My bad…"
"Uraraka! Did you see this?! It's so cool!"
"I'll leave you to it, then… I should probably get to the Fashion District anyway…" the silver haired girl mumbled, walking off with her weird posture and leaving the tent.
Eventually, Uraraka managed to drag Izuku out of the Science District, though she felt kind of bad doing it. He was having so much fun, but… It was also so boring to her… Thankfully, he seemed to recognize that after a while and agreed to move on to Music District without complaint.
The Music District was an impressive place, filled with various aspiring musical talent. Booth after booth was set up to extol the various specialties of the different teens in each club. They often split into small groups or solo acts, showing off their individual talents since the massive concert that was planned for the night would show off their ability to work together as a larger group.
Additionally, because of how similar they could be, the art clubs had established their own booths on the edges of the Music District. There weren't as many of them, since most art clubs didn't have as many members as the music clubs for whatever reason, but it worked out quite well for them either way. Talented artists, either musical or not, were able to sell their work to the many visitors to the festival.
It was fun listening to all the music, chatting all the while, and glancing at the various drawings and paintings on display. Uraraka bought a few cds from one of the booths, and Izuku got his hands on a couple pieces of fanart for some obscure heroes he liked.
Eventually, though…
…Crap. It's time.
Izuku slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to Uraraka with a slight frown.
"What's wrong…?" the girl said, catching on a moment later. "Oh, you had other stuff planned, right…?"
Izuku nodded.
"Yeah… I'll be here tomorrow to, though…" He trailed off. "So if you want to…"
"That'd be great!" the girl exclaimed, nodding in her usual bubbly manner.
"G-great!" he exclaimed, a little louder than he intended to. "I-I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Yeah!" the girl agreed.
From there, the impromptu duo split up.
Izuku's grin was almost blinding as he thought about what had just happened—even if the girl wasn't interested in him that way, he hadn't gotten to hang out with a friend like this in years—only dimming slightly when he remembered that it was something for tomorrow and that he had something less… fun… to look forward to right now.
Still riding the high a bit, he slipped out of the main pathways and into a small passage between two tents, out of sight from the various people walking around. In a flash of green, a green-haired boy was replaced with a pink-haired girl in the same clothes. Her hair was shorter than it was originally—she'd cut it at Agoyamato's request to better match the outfit he designed, not that she was complaining.
Floor-length hair sucked.
'Sup, boya,' the woman began. 'What stupid crap are ya up to today?'
…Honoring the bet.
Izuku resolutely ignored the laughter that ensued, determined to maintain her mood for as long as possible. Her wide grin had been replaced by an equally impressive smirk because of Baiken's face, but that didn't matter to the temporary girl.
As soon as she stepped out from the little corner she'd switched forms in, she could feel the eyes on her. Like all of the girls in the watch, Baiken's form had a certain aura to it that just made her stand out in an average crowd, even in the 'great age of quirks.' It didn't help that the natural way she walked looked like the classic samurai swagger from old-world historical dramas.
The fact that Izuku was younger than the woman only compounded the oddness of the look, since she came across as an oyabun or a samurai out of time despite being visibly in her mid teens.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason Izuku got attention while transformed into any of the girls…
"Woah…"
"Dude, did you see that pink-haired chick?"
"She's so hot!"
Izuku sped up a little, red tinging her cheeks lightly as she tried to think about anything else instead.
Then someone whistled as she walked past.
It took incredible effort to restrain her body's instinctual response to the sound. The things she could feel Baiken would normally do to the perpetrator sent a chill down her back, especially as someone who was still a guy in mind.
Turns out the urge to wince at the mere idea of a nut-shot still worked even in a girl's body. Who knew?
Eventually, though, the freckled girl made it to where she'd agreed to meet Bakugo—Izuku had been forced to buy a cheap flip phone to keep in contact with the boy because he refused to use Izuku as an intermediary any longer. On one hand, it was convenient, because it allowed them to arrange some specifics for the 'date' while also making sure Izuku would have time for the fashion show, but on the other hand… It meant being in contact with Bakugo more as 'Baiken,' and that just felt icky, so the temporary girl kept their interactions minimal.
Of course, upon arrival, Izuku instantly noticed something wrong with the situation.
He was harassing Yaoyorozu, one of the girls competing with her for the fashion show. Of course he was making an ass of himself. What else would he be doing?
"So, why don't you take your snobbish—"
"Bakugo!" Izuku interjected, inserting herself into the conversation.
From there, she extricated him from the situation rather forcefully, surprising herself, even, with how direct she was. Still, she wasn't going to let him be horrible when she was able to stop it. She wasn't the scared little twerp that let her old friend walk over people anymore.
"Ya didn't have to do that, y'know," Bakugo said as they walked away from the Fashion District's stage. "Rich-girl could hold her own with the insults, even if she wasn't on our level of pissing people off."
"That's not the point, dumbass," Izuku replied, ignoring Bakugo's use of the word 'our' as Baiken's mouth twisted her words slightly.
"Feh, whatever," the blonde said dismissively. "You ready to get this show on the road?"
Grimacing slightly, Izuku nodded.
"Cool," the boy started. "Let's get going, then. First stop's the Arcade."
"Alright…" Izuku agreed, somewhat suspicious.
She wasn't sure what exactly she expected from this, but something this… normal… wasn't it.
…
It was almost frustrating how much better Izuku was at the carnival games now that she was using Baiken's body.
"HAH! BEAT THAT, PINKY!" Bakugo shouted as he knocked down an entire stack of bottles with the ball he'd been given.
Turning to Izuku, his smug expression instantly shifted to an annoyed frown. The temporary girl had gotten the same score as he did, also knocking over an entire stack herself.
"What was that?" she asked, somewhat smugly.
The blonde growled, latched onto Izuku's sleeve, and tugged her over to another stall—ignoring the calls of the previous game's manager trying to give them their prizes.
"Best two out of three, Pinky," he declared.
Izuku found herself smirking in response, and to her surprise, it was actually genuine.
"You're on!"
…
After a while, the duo were actually kicked out of the Arcade District because of the ruckus they were making. They'd both smashed the high score records for just about every carnival game there, and they were scaring off other customers with how intense their competition was getting. Between the name calling, the taunts, and the general intimidating aura they both exuded naturally, it was more surprising that they weren't kicked out sooner, really.
"Heh, did you see the look on that asshole's face?!" Bakugo chuckled.
The pink-haired girl found herself laughing along with the boy, thinking back to the ridiculous shade of purple one of the game attendants had turned after they accidentally broke the bell on the 'Ring the Bell with the Hammer' game.
"I thought he was gonna blow a gasket!" she added. "He wouldn't even listen when I tried to pay for the mistake!"
Honestly, Izuku really felt bad for the guy running the stall, but… His face was really funny. Then again, maybe it was just easier to laugh because she was with a frie—
Her entire train of thought stumbled to a halt, her face slackening into a blank mask as she realized what she'd nearly done.
No. He's not my friend.
"What's eatin' you?" Bakugo asked with a frown. "You hungry or something?"
Blinking away her frustration, the temporary girl forced herself to grin in her normal way, or rather, smirk in this case.
"...Yeah. Somethin' like that. Want to get some food?" she asked.
Still clearly suspicious, the blonde gave a nod.
"Sure. It's almost one, anyway," he agreed.
…
It didn't take long for them to find the food court. It was stocked with all kinds of festival food, but they eventually decided on several servings of Yakitori. Bakugo tore through his like a rabid beast, while Izuku ate at a more respectable pace.
"Ah, stop here for a second," the blonde said, stepping over to one of the booths nearby and withdrawing his wallet from his pocket.
Not seeing a reason not to do so, Izuku complied, continuing to eat the chicken off the kebab in her hands. She was halfway through the second stick of the three she'd gotten. Most of the girls, Izuku had noticed, could put away food like no one's business. It was probably because of all the energy they burned for their quirk-like skills, but it never ceased to amaze the freckled girl whenever she had a chance to eat while transformed.
'Thanks for pickin' the Yakitori, boya,' Baiken commented.
No problem. Why did you want some, anyway? You don't normally care about food…
It was easy to forget that the spirits shared Izuku's senses while she was transformed, so she didn't tend to give much thought to things like this. Most of them didn't seem to mind, either, which only made it easier to lose track of it.
'Reminds me of home,' Baiken explained. 'My… Ah, forget it. It doesn't matter.'
What? No! Of course it matters! You may be stuck in the watch, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to treat you like a person!
The woman didn't say anything for a moment, but…
'...Tch, fine.'
Izuku beamed in response. She didn't even care that her resulting smirk got one of the weirdos watching her to blush!
'My mom used to make it for me 'n my dad when we went to train in the fields, sometimes. It was a treat to make sure we came back, she liked to say…' Baiken explained. '...And that's all you're getting outta me, ya hear?'
For a brief moment, images of a burning village and screams of abject misery flashed in Izuku's mind, reminders of the vision she'd received when she'd first met the girl who's body she was currently sharing…
…Yeah… I understand.
"Alright, we can go now," Bakugo declared as he stepped away from the booth.
Izuku glanced down at his hands to see—
"Pft!" she laughed despite herself. "What're you, a kid?"
"Fuck off, Karumeyaki's not just for kids," the blonde denied.
"Heh, whatever, Bakugo-chan…" Izuku taunted.
It was getting hard to tell how much of what she was saying today was influenced by Baiken's mannerisms… yet she couldn't find it in herself to care right now.
"Tch," Bakugo glowered.
Despite his annoyance, it didn't stop him from eating his sugary treat. He even smiled briefly—very briefly—as he did so.
"So, where to next?"
…
They ended up spending a while in the music section next, even partaking in a music competition against one of the clubs, but eventually they started wandering the festival grounds again. It was… a weird experience… for Izuku. It felt like she'd gone back to the past, when they were kids, and she was hanging out with her old friend again.
He was just as belligerent as he'd always been, but at least now it seemed more like a character quirk than a genuine mean streak. It was kind of baffling, honestly. She'd expected him to slip up eventually, to go back to old habits and be a genuine asshole, either to her or to some random person in their path, but… he hadn't. The most he'd done was snark at people or glower when he was annoyed.
It was… refreshing. Sure, it didn't make up for all the terrible things Bakugo had done since they were kids, and he'd probably still be terrible if he knew who exactly he was really walking around with… but Izuku couldn't help hoping that wasn't the case, even if all her logic screamed it was the only thing that could happen.
Bakugo was only acting like this because he was around 'Baiken,' after all. He wasn't 'Midoriya Izuku's friend' anymore, and he never would be again.
"Tch..."
Izuku glanced at the boy walking near her, questioning the sound.
"It's nothing, don't worry 'bout it," the blonde declared.
He inclined his head forward, gesturing at the upcoming tiny bridge over a river that was a few meters below it.
"Heh, they finally added a bridge there," Bakugo commented. "Used to just be a log, though that shitty thing isn't much better."
The boy… had a point. The thing was barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side with their hips touching, and it didn't have any guard rails. It was solidly built, at least, so it wasn't going to collapse under anyone's weight.
As they stepped onto it, Bakugo went first so they wouldn't have to be awkwardly close to each other. Glancing backward as he walked, he started to speak.
"You know, I've been thinkin'..." he started. "We—"
Whatever he was going to say was cut off as he slipped, his foot catching on a loose pebble he hadn't noticed while looking backward, sending him sliding off the side of the bridge in an instant.
Izuku moved quickly to try and grab his sleeve or something, but it was too late. The blonde fell into the river with a loud 'splash,' sending water everywhere upon impact.
Having failed to catch him, Izuku hopped off the side without any hesitation, landing on the riverbed and looking for the exact point the boy was. The current wasn't all that strong so he should be…
There!
"Bakugo!" she called, using his name purposefully to make sure she got his attention. "Here!"
The temporary girl held out a hand, putting one shoe partway into the water so he could reach her easily. The boy pulled himself onto one knee, shaking out his hair before glancing in Izuku's direction, his eyes narrowing at her offered hand.
For a moment, Izuku felt a feeling of deja vu, like this had happened before, but… she couldn't quite place it. There was one thing she was certain of, though.
Why did I even bother…? He's just going to smack it away and—
"Pft!" the boy laughed. "Heh.. Hehe… AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Bakugo stayed there, laughing for several seconds, freezing the pink-haired girl in place from the sheer weirdness of the situation.
Izuku's eyes widened as the boy reached out and grabbed onto her wrist, allowing her to help him to his feet. Once he was on the riverbank again, he shook himself off, trying to get rid of as much water as he could. Even then, he was still chuckling, unnerving Izuku even further.
"...W-what's so funny…?" she asked, still caught off guard.
"Haha… Ha… It's just… ever since we started this 'date,'" the boy began, making air quotes with his hands. "I've realized something, and you just proved it to me."
"And what's that…?"
Bakugo turned to face her, looking her straight in the eye with surprising seriousness.
"You're hot as fuck," he started.
Izuku's eyes widened as she simultaneously felt blood rush to her face and her stomach's contents starting to rebel—
"...but I just can't think of you as a chick," he finished.
Bakugo had never been on a date before, but he was fairly sure it wasn't supposed to feel like this.
That's not to say he'd never had the opportunity, for some reason his general demeanor attracted plenty of girls once he was old enough to care, but he'd been more than clear that he wasn't interested. Eventually he'd garnered quite the reputation as some kind of impossible challenge for the more determined types, causing even more annoying behavior from local girls. No amount of yelling seemed to convince them, and he was starting to think some of them liked it, so he just took to avoiding them altogether…
…Which caused its own problems for his reputation, since people started wondering if he just wasn't into girls, but by that point the blonde had given up on managing his public image. As long as no one was stupid enough to say ridiculous crap in front of him, he just didn't care anymore.
Honestly, it's part of why today was such a novel experience. He knew for a fact that Baiken was different… Even if he'd been struggling lately to figure out exactly what he meant by that. Enemy, rival, something… more… He didn't have a clue. All he knew is that nothing was gonna stop him from finding the answer.
Of course, the first potential impediment was his complete and utter lack of experience with dating, or even just hanging out with girls, for the aforementioned reasons. As such, he'd just settled into the kinda stuff he would have done with one of his lackeys. Competing with carnival games, food, and wandering around the place… Nothing special, really. It seemed to be going well, or at least she seemed to be getting a kick outta it just like he was… But there was a problem.
It felt too normal.
Honestly, it was like he was hanging out with Deku again, like way back when they were kids. Before the quirklessness, before the nastiness and the complicated bullshit… Back when they were just starry-eyed brats that played pretend and made nuisances of themselves for the adults around them.
Fuck, I'm overthinking all this crap again. Why the hell do I keep doing this lately…?
"Tch…"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl glance at him quizzically.
"It's nothing, don't worry 'bout it," he stated.
Glancing ahead in hopes of a distraction, he noticed a familiar sight. It was the shitty little gorge where he'd fallen off a log as a kid. How old was he when it happened? Six? Seven?
Feh… It doesn't matter…
He commented on it as they approached, getting a nod from Baiken, probably just to prove she was paying attention. Not like she had any reason to care about some random new bridge.
As they crossed, it hit him that he should probably say something to address the situation. The girl obviously hadn't wanted to come originally, even if she seemed to be enjoying most of the experience in spite of that. Even if All Might would have declared that proof of her being a 'Tsundere,' it just felt icky that the only reason she was here was because of their bet. Being around him shouldn't be a punishment.
Regardless of what she was to him, he was only gonna interact if she was interested too. He was not going to have another 'Deku' situation where he just kept pushing until his friend broke.
"You know, I've been thinkin'..." he started. "We—"
So focused was the blonde on what he was thinking, that he didn't pay attention to his surroundings. Catching his foot on a pebble of all things, he slipped off the tiny bridge and into the water. It happened too fast for him to react with his quirk, given how unexpected it was and how focused he was on his thoughts.
SPLASH!
Ah, fuck, it's in my nose!
Spewing out the water, he pulled himself to his knees. The river wasn't all that deep, even if it was fuller than he remembered, so he wasn't in any kind of danger. The biggest issue was the fact that he'd be walking around sopping wet for at least a half hour now.
"Bakugo!"
It was surreal as he turned to face the person speaking—the sheer nostalgia of the situation almost overwhelming the realization that he was pretty sure that was the first time the pink-haired girl had said his name seriously.
It was just ridiculous. The fact that this was happening again, in the same place even… It was just too funny. Just like the time he'd realized the girl had been fighting to piss him off—fighting the way Bakugo did—during their duel, the situation was simply too absurd for him not to laugh.
"Pft!" the blonde laughed. "Heh.. Hehe… AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Beyond that though… The sheer nostalgia of the duplicate scene—the river, the fall, and the offered hand—it gave him something incredibly important. Something only possible now that he'd spent so much time training under All Might and thinking about what it meant to be a Hero… What it meant to do the right thing…
He had a new perspective.
Heh…
Latching onto her hand, he accepted the girl's offer of assistance and pulled himself up—still laughing a bit as he shook himself off.
I can't believe I was such a stupid little brat back then!
Finally, finally… He understood why his best friend had offered his help back then. It wasn't a way to make fun of Bakugo's fall, to make fun of the moment of clumsiness that landed him in the river… It wasn't an act of spite, a way to show off that even Bakugo—with a quirk as special as his—needed help from the quirkless wonder… It was just an offer of help. No strings attached, no hidden insults… Midoriya had held out a hand because he wanted to help the boy he saw as a friend. Nothing more…
…And Bakugo spat in his face because of his pride.
Honestly, after a realization as profound as that, was it any wonder that all he could do was laugh?
"...W-what's so funny…?" Baiken asked, stumbling in that weird way she did when she was startled.
A lot of things…
"Haha… Ha… It's just… ever since we started this 'date,'" Bakugo began, making air quotes with his hands. "I've realized something, and you just proved it to me."
He just couldn't see her that way, no matter how attractive she may be.
"And what's that…?"
The blonde turned to face her, making sure his point would get across properly.
"You're hot as fuck," he started. "...but I just can't think of you as a chick."
"W-w-what…?" she stuttered, red-faced.
Bakugo slipped off his jacket and started wringing it out as he kept speaking.
"The whole day, it's felt like I'm hanging out with one of my guy friends… and you holding out your hand reminded me of something… an old friend did," he explained. "Honestly, you've kinda reminded me of him while we were hanging out, even if you've got way more of a spine than he ever did."
And way better loo—No, don't go there. Not after making up your mind, dumbass…
"R-really…?" the girl asked. "H-how so?"
"Well, there's the fact you start stutterin' when you're caught off guard," he joked, tossing his jacket onto a nearby rock and starting on his shirt. "But it's mainly the fact that you keep sticking your nose where it doesn't belong so you can help people. Showing up to fight me, modeling for that club of yer's, even trying to pay for the bell we broke earlier..."
Baiken merely blinked in response, apparently not having any kind of reply ready for compliments like that.
Fuck. I'm being nice. Shit.
"It was exactly the kind of stupid crap he'd do if he though it'd help someone…" Bakugo continued. "Not that he had the bite to back up all his barkin.'"
There… That's better.
"What… happened…?" the girl asked, clearly noticing his use of the past tense.
Crap… I have to explain now, don't I?
He took a seat on the riverbank as he let his upper clothing dry off nearby, staring into the distance as he tried to figure out what to say.
"It all started when we were kids…" he began. "We both wanted to be heroes."
"...But he never got a quirk."
Izuku stared, dumbstruck, as Bakugo kept talking.
'Boya… is he talkin' about you…?' Baiken asked.
I… He has to be… I don't… What…?
"I was a fucking prick about it," Bakugo went on. "Constantly made fun of him and rubbed my quirk in his face like the brat I was…"
Baiken… Is there some way you can pinch me or something…?
"That shit went on for years, and he kept holding out hope that he'd get one eventually. I thought it was stupid and I gave him so much shit over it," the blonde declared. "But… he kept trying to find a way to force himself to develop a quirk or a way to find a miracle cure… It was ridiculous, but… I… I think I respected that about him, even if I couldn't see it then."
Seriously, Baiken. Please.
"Of course, 'cause I was such an idiot back then, I kept mocking him every chance I got, until eventually… I realized he'd given up."
"I nev—" Izuku began reflexively, angry at the accusation, but managed to keep herself silent before she said anything incriminating.
The blonde didn't even seem to notice, too focused on reminiscing to pay attention.
"You know that saying, 'you never know what you have until it's gone…?'" he asked, rhetorically. "I don't think I noticed it back then, but I certainly felt it. Once I noticed he'd given up, I got so fuckin' pissed. I took it out on him, escalated to being a full-on bully, when I was really just angry at myself…"
This could not be happening. There was just no—
"It was my fault," Bakugo sighed.
Silence filled the air for a few moments, hanging there for just long enough that Izuku thought the blonde was done. Then he turned to look at her directly.
"You wanna know the worst part…?" he asked.
Izuku simply stared, mouth hanging slightly open as she struggled to formulate a response while her brain simultaneously tried to process the current situation. Taking the silence as agreement, the blond looked away again and continued with a gritty chuckle
"I'm too much of a fucking coward to apologize…" he stated.
Where before, Izuku simply could not handle the situation, now she could have sworn that her heart stopped.
"I told him to kill himself, and I can't even muster the nerve to say 'sorry,'" Bakugo declared. "It's fucking pathetic."
He smashed the ground with his fist to punctuate the sentence. Leaving it ground into the dirt as he sat there silently, a dark look on his face.
I—I—I… He just… He's…
SMACK!
Bakugo socked himself suddenly, using a startling amount of force to slug his own jaw. Shaking out his oddly shaky hand and rubbing his chin with the other one, he pulled himself to his feet.
"Fuck, that's enough of that. I can't believe I just whined at you," he stated with a scowl, clearly annoyed. "It's not your problem, so don't stick your nose into my business, got it?"
The boy seemed to be back to normal, but…
I… I have to tell him.
'You sure that's a good idea, boya…?' Baiken asked.
You heard him! I can't just pretend it didn't happen! He wants to make amends!
'Yeah, but don't you think he'll be a little too pissed that the girl he tried to date turned out to be—'
That'll only get worse the longer I wait! I can't keep lying to him after—
A sudden buzz from Izuku's pocket interrupted her thoughts. Grabbing her phone to silence it, since whatever was there wasn't as important as—
"Where the hell are you?! You've got ten minutes until you're supposed to be on stage!"
Izuku's eyes widened in shock. Where had the time gone…? There was no way it had been that long… But the clock on her phone disagreed.
"Shit," she muttered. "I have to go…"
Glancing up at the blonde across from her, the temporary girl winced at the look of annoyance on his face.
"Sorry, but I'm running really late for the show," she explained, feeling more and more awful with every word.
Looking at Bakugo's face only confirmed what she already knew… Even if he was trying to hide it, that was a face she had seen before. Izuku had seen it in the mirror after her dreams were crushed, on Uraraka's face when she realized her parents were in an out of control power station, and even on Shoto's face when she first met him…
It was the face of someone that needed saving.
Now that she had decided on her purpose, her course in life… It wasn't something she could ever ignore again. It didn't matter what it would cost her personally, she was going to do something about it.
But… she couldn't inconvenience others that she was already helping when Bakugo's problem wasn't likely to be fixed soon, even if she explained everything right now.
"I…" she trailed off.
There was only really one thing she could think of to try and help, and she didn't even hesitate. It was for the purpose she'd dedicated herself to, after all.
"Oof!" the boy grunted as Izuku lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him in a comforting gesture. Their heights were more than just a couple centimeters off, so it was a bit awkward planting her face into his collarbone, but she forced the hug anyway.
Pulling away, she took several steps back before speaking.
"We'll talk later, okay Blondie…?" she stated. "I've… got something to tell you…"
Any other time, she would have laughed at the comically baffled expression on Bakugo's face, but right now…? All she could focus on was her drive to save the boy.
"See ya."
Detail Diatribe:
You're probably wondering what this section is and why I keep changing my format for Author's Notes! Essentially, I discovered that my old format for putting asterisk on specific phrases and areas of the story so I could explain trivia and fun design decisions… doesn't really work on mobile properly. Given that I know plenty of readers prefer the mobile app over desktop with this site (I'm one of them!) I've made the decision to make this new section of my end-of-chapter notes to address the same kind of topics.
Also, the name is definitely not ripped from Overly Sarcastic Productions. Mhmm. Definitely not.
Anyway, first on the agenda is a quick mention for a mildly important edit I made back in chapter fifteen. I've settled on a naming convention for the waifus outfits, and the Outfit made for Baiken in that chapter didn't match up with it, so I've changed it to suit my new system.
Next!
Baiken's proud strut really does seem to take direct inspiration from characters in Kurosawa films! I saw a twitter post a while back that made a direct comparison of her walk cycle in the games to a couple clips in black and white films and it was an almost perfect recreation. Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore, so I can't give you my evidence. If anyone finds it, feel free to message me and I'll include it here.
Next!
Izuku's Baiken form did get an off-screen haircut. I've done this for multiple reasons. For one, after experiencing the games for myself and browsing more fanart, I've noticed that her hair length varies throughout the series. Given this, I think it's more fitting for Izuku, who hasn't even come close to mastering her powerset yet, to have hair that hangs to the waist. Shounen tropes dictate that the longer the hair, the stronger, right? (Or maybe I've seen too much DBZ…)
Last for today is Karumeyaki. It's essentially the Japanese equivalent to fried dough at state fairs, at least, from what I can tell from my online research. It's a sugary treat that kids are particularly fond of, hence Izuku calling Bakugo 'Bakugo-chan.'
That's it for today's Detail Diatribe! See ya next time!
AN:
New chapter time!
First thing on the docket today is Momo!
I've taken her character in an entirely new direction that I think suits what's presented in canon. She's seen creating a lot of complex machinery, and her parents aren't ever described as anything beyond 'rich people' to my knowledge… So I combined one with the other and made her come from a highly successful Support family. You'll get more details for that as it becomes relevant, but I hope you guys find it interesting.
Also, just to be clear, she comes across here as a little ruder and more 'proper' than her canon counterpart both because of the backstory I developed, but also because she isn't her U.A. self yet. Teenagers often grow a lot in a year-ish, and there's still plenty of months until canon's events start picking up.
Now, the next thing to mention is Uraraka!
I've finally figured out where I want to take her character arc and narrative presence, though I won't be sharing that particular detail. Spoilers are a no-no in my book for narrative stuff like this. Just know that I plan to give her plenty of screen time along with the other main cast members as the series progresses, even if she hasn't been too relevant for this arc.
Thirdly, Bakugo!
Our resident explosives expert has taken quite a few small steps forward from his canon personality as the story progresses, and it's all been leading up to this chapter. Small growth adds up over time to big changes, after all. Mind you, he's still got more to learn, just like the rest of the cast. They're all teenagers trying to be adults (a tale as old as humanity, really) and that's gonna cause them issues as they mature into better people.
Finally… Izuku!
Izuku is… a special case. Not just because he's the protagonist, either. He's already grown a lot since the story began, overcoming much of his self-doubts and finally gaining the confidence to step forward towards his dream… but he's still got one glaring flaw that I hope has begun to surface properly for you all. It's this flaw that's driven him to make decisions no normal person would, including the idea of trying to help Bakugo in spite of their shared history.